The Spider Queen

[Stage 2- Trial Complete]

Sophie stared at the floating green text and could not help but feel a bit of relief that her answer was the correct one.

The golden chain that was wrapped around the handle of the wooden door had shattered into tiny particles that disappeared.

Now there was nothing stopping her from opening the door and facing the next stage of the trial and the person behind the annoying voice.

There was no way of knowing how many stages were involved in this trial, so Sophie was prepared to just go one step at a time.

She walked over to the wooden door and tightly grasped the metalloid handle. The metal felt cold and was freezing to the touch.

Small blue frost-like crystals crept up Sophie's right arm as she gripped the handle, and a bone-cold chill invaded her body.

Sophie exhaled slowly and a small cloud of white mist formed that hung in the air for a few seconds before dispersing.

The handle was getting harder to hold with every passing second so Sophie quickly yanked the wooden door with as much force as she could muster.

Creak!

The door swung open and the frosty chill emanating from the metalloid handle suddenly disappeared along with the blue crystals that were newly formed on Sophie's arm.

The room behind the open door was incredibly strange.

Its contents were nothing more than complete and utter darkness with no details visible.

Even Sophie's enhanced vision could not pierce this mysterious darkness and the light from the crystals protruding from the underground walls seemed to disappear once they entered the room.

"Hello…. is anyone here?" Sophie called out as she stepped into the darkness boldly.

There was a sudden bright white flash of light that caused Sophie to close her eye in pain as the surroundings lit up.

Bang!

She heard a loud crashing noise as the wooden door swung firmly shut and locked the hybrid girl inside this new environment.

Sophie hesitantly opened her eyes and saw to her astonishment what appeared to be a goblin dancing around a campfire in the middle of an open field.

Somehow this room deep underground had been transformed into a wide-open grassland with a bright yellow sun shining high above in the sky.

Sophie turned around and saw that the door had vanished and the scenery before her eyes was an endless sea of greenery.

Tall trees with long leafy branches stretched out towards the heavens and the ticklish feeling of grass beneath her feet made Sophie realise that this was not an illusion or hallucination.

Teleportation?

Or was it a pocket dimension artificially constructed?

Sophie took a quick sweep of her immediate surroundings to search for any traces of spatial runes but could not find anything.

She turned her attention back towards the hunched over figure merrily shaking his tiny body around a blazing fire.

This humanoid alien was around the size of a small child with greenish-yellow skin and two beady red eyes.

There was a small lizard-like tail growing out from his posterior region that was covered in pus-filled boils that oozed out nasty smelling liquid with each step he took.

He wore tribal attire made from an unknown fur material and held a stick in one hand that had been sharpened at the end to form a pointed barb.

"N'rea! Ber'e Fre're!" the creature sang as he shook his butt at Sophie.

It was the perfect picture of a native from a low technology civilisation were it not for the metallic mask covering the creature's mouth that glowed purple.

"Hello… are you the guide for the next stage?" Sophie asked politely while secretly reaching for the dagger hidden in her pocket.

"I must offer my greetings to this weary traveller!" the creature laughed as he continued to dance.

"My name is Khul! Would you like to partake in this sacred ritual with me and then perform a simple task? I promise to reward you handsomely!"

Sophie tightened her grip on the dagger and glanced around a second time for any unseen threats or dangers.

Apart from the gorgeous scenery of nature, it appeared that the only living organism nearby was this goblin lookalike.

Sophie did not immediately agree and instead tried to find out more information,

"What do I need to do to take part?"

Khul shook his hands in the air while his singing voice rose by two octaves into a beautiful soprano.

Small droplets of pus dripped off the boils on his tail and landed on the ground where they made a sizzling noise.

Sophie watched in disgust as the grass melted after being showered by this corrosive liquid. She subconsciously took a few steps backwards.

"Traveller it is a great honour to join this ritual," Khul paused his movements and turned to face Sophie with a serious expression.

"This opportunity will come only once in a lifetime!"

His passionate cries echoed through the open field and caused the nearby trees to rustle softly as if they agreed.

Sophie's danger sense did not activate near this odd alien which meant that he did not pose a threat and yet….

There was something in Khul's eyes that made Sophie feel extremely wary.

Whenever Khul mentioned the ritual, his eyes would fill with the emotions that appeared to be equal parts fear and devotion that combined to create a violent madness.

Minutes passed as Sophie weighed the pros and cons of agreeing to this offer before asking once more what exactly this ritual involved.

"Look…I understand this ritual is a tremendous opportunity," Sophie spoke hesitantly.

"But you have to tell me what I need to do in order to participate otherwise I cannot come to a decision."

There was a brief silence.

Khul's beady red eyes stared at Sophie so fiercely that the hybrid girl felt as though his gaze penetrated her flesh.

His stumpy green hands curled into noticeable fists and the lizard-like tail furiously moved from side to side.

"Alright then traveller," Khul finally spoke.

"I shall tell you the story of my tribe and why we need a chosen one such as yourself to save us from the horrifying monstrosity that terrorises this land."

"Please have a seat."

The goblin-like alien gestured towards a stump near the campfire and Sophie approached with some caution.

Khul must have realised that his pus-filled boils disgusted the traveller, so he thoughtfully moved away from the stump before kneeling down.

Sophie could hear the crackling and roars of the fire gradually soften as the open field fell into a strange state of silence as Khul knelt with his forehead touching the ground.

Finally, after a few minutes passed, Khul raised his right hand and made a cross-like symbol before beginning his tale,

"The story of the chosen one who will face the terrifying beast begins like this…."

"Long ago this field was divided into hundreds of tribes and war-like nations each desperately fighting for control of more lands and territories.

This had been the way of life for our people for thousands of years.

Each of our kind would mature in the span of one month into a fully grown adult capable of wielding weapons and fighting.

Life was much simpler in those times.

There was no chance for technological or cultural progress as all the available men and women were sent towards the battlefield in order to defend or attack neighbouring tribes.

My ancestors sang stories and told legends of this 'Age of Heroes.

Famous figures such as 'Boudica the Unbroken', 'Ragnar the God's Shield', 'Malik the Storm's Fury' and 'Creant the Maidenhead Piercer.'

Each of these brave men and women fought and died for their tribe. It was only thanks to their courage that my tribe became one of the greatest nations.

Then something changed…

Year by year we discovered that our world was shrinking.

Territory at the edge of our world that once spanned hundreds of kilometers were losing more than ten kilometers every day.

This was such a concern that for the first time since the stone age, our people put down their weapons and called a ceasefire.

Peace reigned in the grasslands but no solution to this problem could be found.

The wise sages and scholars of the tribes gathered together but no natural herb remedy or alchemy fusion could stop the loss of land.

Seeing no answer from science…

The great leaders of the tribes turned to the gods themselves for help.

Everyday the high priests would kneel naked at the foot of hastily constructed wooden altars and pray.

Days passed and small tribes who had lost their land were now being absorbed by the bigger nations who controlled the rich and fertile territories in the center of the grasslands.

Not everyone was welcoming to these refugees but the word of our leaders was law so there were no serious complaints or rebellions.

But soon this fragile calm was broken…."