This place, had gone from an oppressive temple, to a house of horrors. With a mear gesture, the Arachnomancer of Lolth had summoned swarms of horrid black spiders! That crawled like a living tide of venom from the walls of the temple of Lolth. They swarmed and chittered, injecting their poison into the flesh of the party. But they were more of an annoyance, compared to the priestess of Lolth, and her two giant tarantula allies. Grukk’s claymore was cleaving into one of the giant spiders, all the while Boris’ glaive bit into the other.

Kara’s marksmanship made short work of the two-remaining drow lackies. While the others fought with all their might, Alydrezea was staring down the other drow woman. The druid gritting her teeth, and clamping her fist around a wooden staff. She waved her hand, speaking in elvish as a light golden stardust fell over one of the giant tarantulas. But nothing happened, she could feel that this spider’s mind was resisting her influence.

The high priestess laughed, mocking Alydrezea’s efforts. “My dear little girl, you have so much more to learn if you think your puny druid magics are a match for the influence of The Spider Queen!” The Arachnomancer held out her hands. They wore gloves resembling a spider web, and glowed with a sickly green energy. “Why don’t I show you some real magic?” With venom dripping from her voice, Lolth’s loyal follower spoke a hideous language. It sounded like a mixture of hissing, combined with harsh whispers. Boris’ ears perked up at the words, a look of recognition momentarily distracting him. The witch casted a bolt of pure chaotic magic at Alydrezea. The druid’s simple clothing was useless against such magic. As the witch bolt made contact with the small dark elf, her body lit up with sickly green lighting that electrocuted the druid. As she let out a cry of pain, the minotaur became enraged. Boris let out a braying cry, his pupils dilating and his muscles bulging and pulsing with raw might as a barbaric rage overcame his body. The bull-headed brute charged out of the fight with the giant tarantulas, heading straight for the priestess of Lolth. The world around him changed, the floor fast approaching as he fell with a hard smack into the ground. Furious, he turned to see what was keeping him from ripping his prey limb from limb. In his haste to attack the Arachnomancer, one of the giant spiders had caught his legs in a string of web! Already it was pulling him closer to its massive fangs, dripping with venom and hunger.
“Boris!” Grukk cried out. “Hang on, I’m coming!” Grukk wore scalemale armor. Armor of a leather base, with interlocking scales of tempered steel, that provided impressive protection. They glowed with a pale-white rune reminiscent of great white clouds in the sky. In a flash, the magic of the Cloud Giants poured forth form this rune as a fog that covered the body of Boris. As the giant tarantula’s large fangs bit into the fog, the second giant spider let out a terrible cry of pain! The fog had forced the fangs of the first giant arachnid to plunge into the body of the second.
Lolth’s faithful servant bristled, her voice still composed. “Your friends are full of surprises, little one.” A comment that Alydrezea couldn’t help but smile at, despite the pain. “Wait till you see what else they can do.” As those words left her lips, Kara had snuck around, climbing along the walls like a rock climber to avoid the worst of the fighting. The human woman was covered in spider-bites, as the living swarms still worked to poison the entire party. Daggers weren’t any good against them. Her hazel eyes lit up, as inspiration sparked within her mind! She jumped with all her might, and in an impressive display of acrobatics, the rouge caught herself on one of the chandeliers. Maneuvering to lock her legs around its iron frame, she now hung upside down 50ft above the battle below. Rummaging through her pack, she produced a match and a flask of oil. By tying the two together with some twine, and lighting the match, she had created a makeshift Molotov Cocktail. The Rajan woman smirked, pleased with her quick thinking, and threw the firebomb. The glass shattered, and as the oil touched flame fire spread like spilled beer in a tavern floor. The bright orange flames engulphed a chunk of the arachnid swarm, burning them to a crisp! The rest of the swarm was kept at bay from Alydrezea thanks to the flames.

The Aracnomancer of Lolth was, not impressed. “Resorting to throwing toys like children? You must be desperate!” The priestess clenched her fist, that green magic returning and once more Alydrezea was electrocuted as the magical lightning stayed wreathed around her body! The druid panted as she powered through the pain. “My turn!” The druid’s form glowed with the light of stars, her body morphed and magical changed with the power of nature, as she changed into the form of a black bear! This large form easily barreled through the tiny swarms, squashing spiders with heavy footsteps as she charged the aracnomancer! With a mighty swipe of her paws, she tore into the flesh of the priestess, cutting through the drow woman’s studded leather armor, and Alydrezea let out an ursine roar. Blood dripped from the left arm of the priestess of Loth, who’s composure fell as her voice rose in outrage. “You surface-dwelling bitch! I will make you suffer!” The Arachnomancer’s form was engulphed in black spider-threads until she was fully cocooned. The cocoon shifted and convulsed from the inside, and horrific arachnid arms burst from the silky shell! One by one, until from the cocoon emerged the form of a giant black-widow spider, with the symbol of Lolth upon its abdomen.

As the black bear and giant black spider engaged in a savage melee, Boris tore through the silken webs that had ensnared him. Now back on his feet, the enraged minotaur let out another braying cry, his normally human teeth had turned sharp and savage like that of a wild dog or wolf. In his fury, he sank his new fangs into the leg of one giant arachnid! In some strange way, this action felt pleasing to Boris. The barbarian could feel some pain leaving his body. With a twist of his thick and muscular neck, the cape buffalo head of Boris tore off one of the eight legs of the giant tarantula! The sheer shock of the pain was so intense, that the spider thrashed about, and fell down dead. As life left the beast, its form changed back into the figure of a drow male. Dead, with is left arm torn off and bleeding into the cold stone floor. Grukk spied that Alydrezea was taking on the dark elf priestess alone. His grip on his greatsword tightened, and the runes on his sword and bracers began to glow. As the might of the Giants filled his body, Grukk’s form grew larger and larger! His equipment grew in size and might alongside his body, until the half orc now stood ten feet tall! Grukk could look an ogre in the eye if he wanted! With the might of Giants now manifest, the rune knight drove his now enormous claymore into the head of the last giant tarantula, skewering it! Blood gushed out, and the creature was killed instantly. It’s body changed back into the second of the male drow that were altered by the Arachnomancer’s dark magic. Boris looked up at his now giant friend. The minotaur stood an even seven feet tall, but his head now only came up to the elbow of the half orc. Grukk smiled at his newfound power and size. “Looks like I’m the tallest in the party now!”
“Magic is cheating.” Brois huffed, his body still pulsing with rage.

“Hey boys!” Kara called from her upside-down perch on the chandelier. “A little less talking, and little more fighting please!” With her hands free, she loaded another bolt into her crossbow. Taking careful aim at the giant black widow, she let loose a shot that jammed itself into one of the giant spider’s eyes. Blood spurted out from the fresh wound like a sprinkler, and the monster shrieked in pain, tearing off the bolt from its face. The giant black widow bit into the flesh of Alydrezea, who was still in the form of a black bear. The druid for her part, roared in pain and anger! Her powerful ursine jaws clamping down onto the spider, piercing the exoskeleton! A bite for a bite.
By now, Boris had charged in, his rage still fueling him as he slammed his buffalo horns into the last giant spider. There was such raw force behind his goring rush, that the terrible arachnid was flung five feet away from its scrap with Alydrezea. The druid in question had dropped her wild shape, reverting back to her true form a short drow woman.
“You pathetic…little wretches!” The giant black widow hissed out, her body magically changing back to that of the drow high priestess. Her hair was now a tangled mess, and her right eye now a horrific scar thanks to Kara’s crossbow shot. “I can’t lose! I won’t lose…to surface dwelling scum, and her pathetic pets!” The Arachnomancer put forth both of her bloody hands, and a magical darkness spewed forth like water from a hose! The darkness was so deep, and so oppressive, that not even the eyes of Grukk nor Alydrezea could see through it. A magical darkness of pure malice. The entire party was rendered blind.
“Coward!” Boris shouted out, insulted at this display.
“Hidning the dark won’t save you!” Grukk called out. He had stopped all movements, not wanting his new massive form to crush one of his allies by mistake. The only sound was the voice of Lolth’s faithful.
“Hahaha! You think I’m hiding? Why would I do that? You may have been a match for me in a fair fight, but Lolth teaches us that fighting fair is the way of fools! The only thing that matters, is victory!” The voice echoed so from the black stone walls, that it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. The flames from Kara’s flask, and the braziers and chandeliers, were all snuffed out by the magical darkness.
“Boris? Can you sniff her out?” Alydrezea asked, reaching out so her hand touched the side of her minotaur friend.
“No..there’s too much blood in this room….her scent is everywhere.”
Grukk let out a cry of pain. He felt on his leg, the touch of someone’s hand. This touch spread caustic poison through his body, and it washed over him like a river. It was so painful, that his leg gave out from under him, and he fell to one knee! The ground quaking beneath his fall.
The Arachnomancer laughed once more. “Oh, this is so much more fun! I get to take my time with you all, while my poison turns your bodies in fetid soup!”

Alydrezea’s mind was brought back to her time as a child. She could only see flashes of memory. Sitting at a table, wearing fancy clothes that she hated, and listening to her mother speak of her people. The cruelty of her cousins that dwell in the Underdark. Their power, their bloodlust, their ambitions. But one thing stuck out, loud in her memory. Those that dwell underground, have no love of the sun.
“The sun…the sun!” The druid gasped in realization. Concentrating, her body glowed with magical, soft starlight. A new constellation came to float above her head like a halo, and on her body like glowing tattoos, the simple form of a dragon. She chanted in elvish, gesturing to bring the starlight flowing from her body, molding it like a ball of dough until it coalesced into a huge bright orb of light! This spell was called ‘Daylight’, and it burned through the magical darkness wrought by the Arachnomancer. The druid had to close her eyes, as they were just as sensitive to the bright light. The priestess of Lolth cried out in pain, having to cover her sensitive eyes to shield them from the bright light.
The party did not waste this opening. Kara fired a powerful shot into the back of the priestess! Boris impaled her upon the tip of his glaive, pulling it back out with a wet slopping sound! As the Arachnomancer fell upon the ground, Grukk stopped his large foot upon her legs! The drow woman screamed in pain as her legs broke under the force of impact. Those same red-hot shackles erupted from the temple floors and pinned their adversary down to the ground. All while searing her flesh! The dark elf coughed up blood, the light burning her eyes. “You…think you’ve won? You may kill me, but…there will be others. There are always others! There is…no escape….from Lolth’s web.”
Alydrezea’s voice was low, but it did not drip with venom like that of the drow on the ground. The druid’s voice was one of pity. “You may be right. But Her webs can’t reach up to the Stars…but for you? For you, it’s too late. I hope you find Her webs comfortable.” Alydrezea ran her hand over her wooden quarterstaff, deep emerald magic hummed around the weapon, making the impact to Arachnomancer’s head strong enough to break her neck and finish her.

The remaining swarms of spiders scurried back to cracks in the walls and floors. Grukk’s body got shorter and shorter as the magic of the runes wore off, leaving his body back to his normal six and half feet tall. Kara scrambled down the walls of the temples, brushing off the corpses of the little spiders. “Ew, ew, ew, ew! I never want to see another spider, for as long as I live!”
Grukk’s baritone voice chuckled in agreement. His greenish-blue eyes fell upon Alydrezea with some sadness. Even if these dark elves were evil, they were still her own kind.
For her part, Alydrezea stood over the corpse of the priestess of Lolth in silence. It was so strange to her. This woman threatened terrible things her, to her friends! But…the druid could not bring herself to hatred. Once more she remembered the words of her mother, “The Spider Queen’s venom drives us to madness…” She said in a melancholy whisper.
Boris placed a heavy, but warm hand on the drow woman’s shoulder. Alydrezea reached her hand up to touch his own. Her gaze moving towards that of her massive friend, her smile returning to her face. “Let’s get the Hells out of here.”