Chapter 195: A Seductive Diversion

Ann could not deal with what the Seed was throwing at her.

They’d entered the living quarters under Skullo’s direction. Kat had gotten tired of the title Master at Arms or just calling him Skull, so she had dubbed him Skullo. It was as run-down as they’d expected. Almost every piece of wood was rotten. The main entry hall had a gaping hole in the roof, with the wreckage from the collapse still sitting in the middle of the passage way. Structural beams, roofing material, and plant growth filled the path, requiring the group to climb over.

“Matron! We have guests!” Skullo called into the building.

There was a creaking of ancient wood, and a crash, before a shuffling and then the sound of multiple legs skittering their way. At the end of the hall, through an opening that had lost its door, a mess of long green hair dangled down from the ceiling. Slowly, the scalp came into view, then two black eyes, then two more, then four more. All were set in a fairly attractive face, pale as the snow, with a distinguished nose, and rose red lips that parted in the corners for sharp fangs.

“Oh, my, it’s been far too long. Apologies, honoured guests, the temple appears to have fallen into disrepair. Odd, I thought it was intact the other day.” Her voice was husky, but her speech was impeccable. Her deeper voice was like a comforting rumble whispered into Ann’s ear. Everything about it was calming and sexy at the same time.

“Come greet our guests,” Skullo pressed. “Stop hiding like a school child behind her mother’s skirts.”

“They will be frightened. I am not what I was.”

“I’m a talking skull, Matron. None of us has our old looks about us. Yes, yes, she will be fine,” Skullo said, talking to whatever was giving him directions.

The matron cocked her upside-down head, then nodded. “I understand. A trial for the visitors? Would it not be more proper to offer hospitality? If I can make a trial from that? Oh, yes, I can do something.”

“Ok, I’m tired o’ this,” Kat snapped. “Who’re ye talkin’ tae?”

“Apologies, distinguished guest, but I cannot divulge that,” the Matron said. “My name is Aranaea. Welcome to our Temple. I will be providing the trials for your stay in the living quarters.”

“That’s the other thing,” Kat continued her tirade. “Who is this temple to? No one’s feckin’ talked about it, an’ all this beatin’ around the bush when ye clearly know is pissin’ me off.”

“Oh, that will not do,” Aranaea said. Her head twisted sideways, descended from the top of the door, and then her body skittered into view. She was, frankly, gorgeous from the waist up. Wide hips, with delicate hip bones, held a slender hourglass figure, with an impressive bust obscured by her hair. Long, pale, slender arms extended from her shoulders, speaking of a life taking great pains to maintain her appearance. Below those, however, were another set of insectoid arms. They matched the length of the first set, but a chitinous shell covered them, with joints segmented.

From there, her humanity ended. A massive, black, smooth and shiny spider body continued from right below her tailbone. It looked like it was about six feet wide at the widest, with eight legs, and a rainbow pattern on the upper portion of the abdomen that reminded Ann of the Seed’s barrier. Interestingly, the legs ticked and tapped in an almost nervous pattern.

“Oh…” Rosalyn gasped, taking a step back.

“Gods above,” Bren breathed.

“She’s so pretty!” Kat and Ann cried as one.

“Oh my, that’s not the reaction I expected. Most people would be terrified of my… deformities.”

“Are you kidding? That’s so cool!”

“Four arms is feckin’ useful! Do they feel any different than yer normal arms, or are they as strong?”

“Can you feel the whole spider?” Rosalyn asked, getting over her initial reaction immediately and running up to the woman. “Like, all the little steps?”

“You are most kind, gracious guests,” Aranaea said, a blush rising to her cheeks. “They are stronger, in fact, and yes, I can feel everything as if it were my own body. Something is suppressing my urge to devour you all, but please be aware that it is present.”

“A little concernin’ but we can defend ourselves,” Kat laughed.

Any tension that had been in the room quickly evaporated as they made introductions. Aranaea was in charge of the living quarters, and with her colleagues, now turned nest, had kept the grounds and performed the domestic duties required of the compound. The rest of the nest was still waking up, she explained, but would be with them shortly.

“Now, Matron, this is not simply a visit from guests,” Skullo cut in, breaking the amicable atmosphere. “They are to face a trial here. Do not forget our purpose.”

Aranaea sighed. “Always the one to get to the point. You soldiers are no fun. He is right, however. A trial will be administered. Considering the Goddess Touched in our presence, I think I know exactly what you will need to do.”

“Ah shite,” Kat grumbled.

“You five will be brought to a room, where I will provide service to all of your bodies. There is a game to it. You must resist my temptations and manipulations for the duration of the test. Failure will result in consumption. Should you emerge victorious, I am sure you can infer the reward.”

“A question, Lady Aranaea,” Bren said, raising his hand. “If we do not wish to participate in such lascivious activities, is there another trial we might partake in?”

“I would not expect one in the party of Her touched to be a prude?”

“Hardly a prude,” Bren scoffed. “I just do not wish to be entangled with the woman I see as my sister.”

“Don’t either,” Lucia grunted.

“Would you two be amicable to perform such acts with each other?” Aranaea asked, tapping her chin with a black-blue finger.

“Um…” Bren stammered.

“They’re working their way up to that,” Ann said, elbowing Bren. “Sorry to ask if this is too much.”

“How far along are they?”

“First kiss a couple days ago.”

“Very well, that shall be your test. One of my nest will observe. You are to explore each other for thirty minutes in total. No touching required, but your lips must remain engaged. Please interpret that however you wish,” Aranaea said, winking her four right eyes in sequence from bottom to top.

“Lucia?”

“Want,” Lucia said, her cheeks looking uncomfortably dark green.

Bren sighed and seemed to gather his will. “Very well. If this requires something of such nature, this is acceptable.”

“Wonderful. Julianne? Will you be the one to monitor this?”

“Yes, Matron!” A youthful voice chirped from behind Aranaea. A smaller spider woman skittered out, her spider body a beautiful white with purple patterns, contrasting her chocolate skin. She was, interestingly, bald, but that didn’t diminish her beauty. She was maybe three feet tall and about the same width, with her spider body included. “Just the two of you?”

“Yes. My name is Bren Hedera, and this is Lucia Simorgh.”

“What a lovely couple you two are. This way, this way. It will be my pleasure, no, honour to administer this trial. Shall we?”

“Keep a knife close, just in case,” Kat whispered in Lucia’s ear.

“That will not be necessary,” Aranaea hummed. “Apologies, we have excellent hearing. If you fail, it will be of no use to defend yourselves. You are in my nest. The moment you entered this room, you have been at my mercy.”

Only now did Ann really look at the rest of the room. While it looked normal, with wooden walls, floor, and a scattering of furniture, she started to notice the webs. Nearly invisible threads criss-crossed the ceiling in complicated patterns, and the corners of the room were especially thick with the threads. Apparently, the floor had been cleared, but Ann had no illusions that the spiders couldn’t quickly change that. Even now, she spied smaller ones hidden within the strands, their multi-coloured hair giving them away.

“I will accompany you, if that would make this more comfortable,” Skullo offered.

“Nae, not havin’ that on top o’ the rest o’ this,” Kat decided. She took him from Rosalyn and planted him firmly on a broken table in the corner. “Ye can wait here until this is over.”

“That is entirely fair,” Skullo conceded.

“Hey, you ok with this?” Ann hissed, grabbing Kat and dragging her to the side.

“I don’t feckin’ know. What I do know is that if we don’t, we all die. Not exactly how I wanted tae start experimentin’, but life never really plays fair, right?”

“Yeah,” Ann nodded. “Just… I’m worried, that’s all.”

“Don’t be. Gettin’ tae get blasted by a giant spider woman’s gonna be a tale tae tell fer centuries. Might be uncomfortable wit’ ye gettin’ it too, an’ Rosalyn, but I’ll give it me best.”

“Alright,” Ann nodded. “Tell me if you want to stop, and we’ll do our best to fight our way out of this nest.”

“We’d die.”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather that than have you go through something you’re going to hate yourself for later.”

“That’s real romantic,” Kat chuckled. She leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Ann’s lips. “We’ll be fine, love. Let’s give this spider a feckin’ show.”

“So, how’s this gonna work?” Ann asked.

They were shown to a different room by Aranaea while Bren and Lucia were herded off to their own, much less lewd trial. It was a fairly simple room, but one that had escaped the rot of the swamp. Strong wooden beams crisscrossed the ceiling far above them. Ann hadn’t seen a section of the complex this tall, but this was a Seed, and space rarely made sense. Notably, no other spiderlings or webs were present in this room. It was just the three of them and Aranaea.

“Now, I apologise, but I do need to attend to preparations while you three undress. Do not mind me,” Aranaea said. Ann watched, agape, as she skittered to a wall, then walked up it as if it were flat ground. Her weight and size meant nothing, apparently, as her eight legs carried her upward.

“Well, that cements my theory on what’s gonna happen,” Ann muttered as she started undressing.

“What’s that? Is she gonna just, I don’t know, sit up there and watch like Rowena did?”

“Oh, definitely not,” Ann muttered, getting her shin guards off. “Spiders use silk, yeah?”

“Aye,” Kat nodded, getting her pauldrons off.

“Well, Rowena’s actually an apt comparison, Rosalyn.”

“Whu? Oh. Ohhhhh! We’re not gonna be touching the ground for a while, are we?”

“Doubt it,” Ann shrugged, pulling her gorgette off, the enchanted metal liquifying to allow its removal. “Am I right, Aranaea?”

“As expected by one touched by Her,” Aranaea giggled. “You are absolutely correct. Now, please leave me to this. I wouldn’t want one of you hurt in an unintended manner. Pain only comes from failure to adapt and rise to the trial.”

Ann watched the spider as she got the rest of her gear off. Spinnerets at the end of her abdomen worked constantly as she pumped out sheets of silk. Ann had expected threads, then weaving, but apparently Aranaea could produce a much greater volume than normal spiders. First, she had coated the beams with the sticky substance, allowing her anchor points for what was to come, as well as creating bridges between the beams for traversal and additional hanging points. Each movement was dexterous and precise, performed with a speed that made Ann terrified of the possibility that they might have to fight her. She’d put this woman at Guardian level in any other Seed.

Rosalyn, having the least to get rid of, was naked first and wandering around as she observed Aranaea’s work through her glasses. “So, does that all come from somewhere, or does it magically get produced? That’s a lot of volume, so I’d imagine magic is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but the silk is a natural process, so maybe it’s a combination of the materials coming from magic while your body weaves it into the threads?”

“A curious one,” Aranaea tittered. “After your initial reaction, I am surprised you are so interested.”

“Well, when a freaky person shows up hanging from a door, then gets revealed that they’re a giant spider, it’s a little surprising, but your body is so cool and complicated, and I really want to figure out how it works. Do you have more back muscles for your arms, or do they just kinda get put on there and work ‘cause magic?”

“To answer your first question, I believe it is the combination of magic and my new body,” Aranaea said as she wrapped another sheet of silk around a beam, crawling in a full circle with ease. “It is neither painful nor uncomfortable. Instead, it feels quite pleasant, like I am performing my calling. As to your second question, I do feel musculature back there, so I would assume my body has modified to use these extra arms,” she said, currently using said arms to move sections of the web into whatever position fits her work best.

“So cool. I want to study more of you, but it’s rude to ask that up front, I guess. Just never met a Warped so sapient before.”

“They exist,” Kat said, getting her boots off. “Honestly, there’s a fair amount o’ them. Problem is, they all want tae kill us. Sure they’ll hide it behind tests an’ other shite tae make it seem like they’re fine, but that’s the end goal, right Aranaea?”

“Correct,” the Matron replied as she descended on a strand of silk, then swung to loop it back up to another beam. “I am tasked with administering this trial. Though it is a peaceful trial, I would love the opportunity to devour you, should you fail.”

“See?” Kat gestured. “It’s a front. An act tae get tae eat us in the end.”

“I’m still curious why they seem to be taking orders from someone,” Ann grumbled, finally getting her padded corset off. “Who the fuck has the power to be talking to them inside Seeds?”

“Aye. Don’t think I’ve read anythin’ that talked about Warped gettin’ directions. Not even in records o’ the semi-sane ones. This is new.”

“Maybe it’s because this whole area is new?” Rosalyn guessed, still fascinated by the web being spun above her. “Like, you said that this wasn’t part of the Seed before, right? Maybe it’s because everyone here’s new as well.”

“Like we walked ontae a stage, an’ none o’ the player have their lines. Aye, that’s a good guess,” Kat grumbled, getting her pants off and undoing her chest wrap. “It’d make sense why Skullo had tae talk to whoever so much.”

“Wonder if that’s how all of these are going to be,” Ann said, shucking her kilt, finally completely naked. “It’d be kind of awkward to be hopping into these things and everyone’s just as unprepared as we are.”

“What if those gate guardians and the puzzle were to give the Seed more time?” Rosalyn laughed. “An ‘oh crap’ moment where things needed to get set up at the last minute.”

“That’d be feckin’ funny,” Kat laughed, now standing naked alongside her girlfriends. “We’re crashin’ parties not even ready yet.”

“Hey, Kat, your shoulders are looking a little raw,” Rosalyn observed, tearing her eyes away from Aranaea.

“Hm? Oh, shite, ye’re right,” Kat grunted, then prodded at them. “Feck, feels like more scales. How far are these things gonna spread?”

“Dunno,” Ann shrugged, “but I’m super ok with you getting all scaly. Big sexy lady covered in brilliant blue scales? Mmm, I love it.”

“Love ye too,” Kat chuckled, pulling Ann in for another kiss.

“No fair! Ann’s gotten two now, you big scaly brute!” Rosalyn complained.

The Druid yelped as she was lifted bodily, then peppered with kisses all over her face. “Would never short-change either o’ ye,” Kat laughed as Rosalyn prised her face away.

“Now that we are all prepared, who is going first?” Aranaea asked.

“Wait, we’re taking turns?” Ann replied.

“No,” Aranaea sighed. “First to rise?”

“Me!” Rosalyn cried, jumping up and down with her arms up.

“Such eagerness. I hope that doesn’t backfire on you, little one.” Aranaea descended, eight spidery legs working in perfect coordination to lower her bulk, let her wrap four arms around Rosalyn, and ascend as quickly as she’d dropped.

“Your bug arms feel so cold!” Rosalyn giggled as she was brought upwards. “Tell me the threads aren’t like that.”

“No, I’ve actually found them quite warm,” Aranaea giggled. “Here, why don’t you feel?”

With that, Rosalyn was dropped with a yelp, caught extremely gently by eight sharp legs, and wrapped around the wrists with web. Spinnerets and legs extended the strands until they connected with the rest of the web, then left her hanging there, dangling by her arms.

“You’re right! They are warm,” Rosalyn said, kicking her feet.

“Do not swing overly much,” Aranaea warned. “I wouldn’t want you getting tangled with any unwanted strands. Some are more structural and rougher. I will finish your preparations once your lovers are here. Now, who’s next?”

Kat, surprising Ann, raised her hand. “Feck it. Let’s get intae this.”

Aranaea descended and gently scooped Kat up into the web as well.

Ann felt her heart hammer as she waited for her turn. She had not expected this to be her day at all.