In Celebration of Halloween- A D&D Short Story

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The Cavern of Carnivorous Webs
Tionne ducked to try and dodge a cobweb, but the sticky substance was too vast. The red haired elf squeaked, as a larger than average spider dropped on her nose. She brushed the hideous thing off her face, hurrying to catch up with Galien. His torch was starting to dim, it had maybe twenty minutes left before the couple was plunged into complete darkness. Galien turned to her, took a few minutes to pick some of the web out of her hair. “The torch is going to go out,” Tionne looked worried.

“We should be out of this cave soon.”
She wrinkled her nose, “That’s what you said hours ago, and neither the light nor the smell has improved. Not only that, but the webs are getting thicker, and the spiders are bigger.”
He kissed her on the forehead, “It’ll be alright, trust me.”

She looked at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other. Galien turned and started forward again. Tionne caught a glimpse of movement just beyond their fire light, it looked like a spider, but it was the size of a dog. She casted a light spell, augmenting the dying torch. The cavern was starting to narrow, by the time the fire went out, Galien had to duck his head to not scrape it on the ceiling. They then encountered a wall of gossamer threads, woven together to obscure the chamber beyond. Galien took out his long sword, cutting the web out of the opening. They inched forward, there was light emanating from around the corner. Tionne extinguished her spell and Galien looked into the chamber. The sight he saw terrified him. The huge spider in the center of the room was bad enough, but the other beings in the room sent a chill down his spine. Two death tyrants hovered near the front of the spider, their hideous bodies rotting, most of it’s eyestalks were missing, the ones that were still intact, the eyes were glazed a milky white, their swollen purple tongues lolling in their undead mouths. Galien turned back to Tionne, his face as white as snow. Her features twisted in worry, she had never seen her stalwart paladin afraid before, but the smells wafting in on the breeze at least suggested at the contents of the cavern.

“A breeze,” she whispered to Galien, “there’s got to be a way out.”

He just stood there, eyes staring straight forward. The elf leaned out a little, then she understood why her lover was so scared. The source of light were dozens of luminous pools, the smells inundating the air were a combination of the acrid smell of large spiders, the sickening sweet smell of the undead beholders and the salty brine water of the luminous pools. Tionne knew instantly that they were in serious trouble when the being that belonged to the brine pools showed itself. A mind flayer came into view, it’s normally smooth, wet skin was dry and dull looking, it’s flesh was rotting off of it as well. It was an alhoon, panic gripped Tionne’s heart and the lich turned it’s gaze on her. She felt her will melt away, her mind fought, but it was nothing against it’s want, it’s bloody, hungry want. It was like she was trapped within her own body, her self preservation instincts couldn’t help her, she knew she was about to die. The unnatural thing gripped her in a gentle embrace, it’s tentacles playing lightly over her face. The horrid eyes of the lich stared into her soul, disassembling her mind, readying her for his feast. The tentacle assaulted her nose, shoving it deep into her nasal cavity. She felt warm liquid flow down her face, as her eyes rolled back and the darkness consumed her.

* * *

Tionne felt a warm light on her face, she was sure she was dead. She knew that if she opened her eyes she would be in Kelemvor’s plane, awaiting the correct time for Mielikki to collect her. She gingerly opened her eyes, afraid of what she would see, but all she saw was sky and the green canopy of the forest they were traveling in. She touched her face, her nose was intact, she looked beside her, Galien was sleeping peacefully. She realized she was holding her breath and let it go, along with the dread the dream had instilled.

Her heart lifted as she realized it was just her mind playing on her worst fear. Galien hadn't froze, he hadn't left her to face inexplicable evil alone. She almost screamed when a small spider dropped from the tree above her. Almost.

 

Cashback!

 

I was getting worried that she wouldn't die for a second there, but to add my own ending:

'And she died'

 

"She Died" But that wouldn't be scary... just gory! Orginially I was going to have her die at the end but I opted for the mystery instead!!!

Cashback? I hope that means you liked it