They left their packs on the high plateau, protected between some large boulders and scrambled to the bottom of the gorge and up the other side until they had reached the former entrance. It was hard going against the rubble that slid under their feet. Teren was studying the cave-in intently. The Kharlins did a good job, he stated. There’s no getting in or out of there without some major feat of magic or a good deal of explosives.

“That’s good news, as far as I’m concerned,” said Dawn. “Please remember, I don’t want to meet any of these monsters ever again.”

A fleeting smile appeared on Teren’s stern face. “Let’s all hope the monsters agree to that.” He turned to Grinna and said: ”We should go a bit farther down the gorge to look for tracks of the demons. The cave-in has destroyed any chance of finding tracks around here.” He lead the way to the bottom of the gorge, and the others trailed after him. The gorge was getting narrower the farther they came. Dawn was overcome by an ominous feeling once again as the rock walls to their sides became steeper and blocked most of the daylight. The lengthening shadows as the day shifted into evening, strengthened her trepidation. Ankou was walking by her side, his presence a comfort to her.

Teren bent down and studied the rocks on the ground, then pointed to some scratches and exchanged a long look with Grinna. “There are definitely a lot of scratches on the rock here. As if somebody had scraped them with a very sharp knife.” Grinna stated.

“That would be the legs of the demons. They end in a very sharp protrusion that looks similar to a knife.” Dawn said with a small shudder.

Teren stood up and turned around. In that exact moment Dawn felt something. It was hard to explain the feeling, it was a kind of excitement at the sight of prey that would be defeated soon. It was a dark and alien thought, that somehow had found its way into her head. She flinched, and without looking up she yelled: “They’re above us.” She didn’t need to look up. She knew the demons were there, as surely as she knew where her arms and legs were in this moment. And she was right. From the rocks above, two spiders were rappelling on their own threads, their monstrous bodies almost too large to fit into the gorge. Malicious red eyes glittered, and now the rangers could see the spiky legs for themselves.

Teren called: “Back up, we need room to move.” The whole company turned around and trotted back into the direction they had come from. Behind them, the clicking of the spider’s legs on the rocks sounded. Dawn turned around, she had to. She couldn’t stand not seeing what the monsters at her back were doing.

Teren overtook her and said: “Keep moving, we need to gain some distance.”

But Dawn was standing still, spell-bound by the sight in front of her. The spiders were moving on the bottom of the gorge, one behind the other. In front of them, Grinna was dancing a deadly dance, all the time slowly backing away in her direction. Her sword against the many legs of the leading demon. The rocky ground beneath her was uneven and unstable, consisting of sliding rubble and sharp-edged, irregular rocks. But it might just as well have been a dance floor, as her every step was sure, her every movement graceful. The blade of her sword clanged against the demon’s legs in an entrancing rhythm. Every time one leg landed at the space where she had been a moment before, she was already gone. Her body shifted for a pace or two, just enough that the intended blow never had a chance to land.

At first, Dawn thought Grinna’s sword had no effect against the demon. It certainly appeared that way, as the blade clanged against its legs without any visible effects. But after a time she realized Grinna chose the same spot for her attacks again and again, and where at first no effect had been visible, now dark viscous blood began to ooze out.

The second demon had been blocked in the gorge behind the body of the first one. Now, it started to climb up the rock wall, clearly intending to come down again on the other side of Grinna and her opponent.

Dawn heard a quiet hiss, and suddenly an arrow sprouted out of one of the many eyes of the climbing spider. An eerily high-pitched shriek sounded, the monster rearing up against the wall. The next hiss, another arrow took out a second eye.

In the gorge below, Grinna had managed to cut off one foreleg of her enemy. She still was keeping up her effortless rhythm, looking as fresh and cool as if she was promenading in the streets of a city. Teren peppered the climbing spider with still more arrows, all unerringly finding its eyes. Finally the unearthly shrieking stopped and the demon plummeted down into the gorge and lay still. One down.

Grinna had now cut off a second leg and was working on the third. As she danced away from the monster once more, another arrow narrowly missed her and hit the eye of the spider.

Slowly, Dawn awakened from her stupor. Her fear died down to a manageable level, as she saw that the demons with all their bulk, their long sharp legs and their resistance had no chance against the rangers. Finally, between Grinna’s sword blows and Teren’s arrows, the second demon was vanquished too.

“Well they’re certainly no easy enemies.” Grinna stated as she lowered her sword. “We were lucky they were hemmed in by the gorge. Thank you for the timely warning, Dawn. I’m no slouch in perception, but these beasts are hard to see against the rock walls.”

Dawn just stared at her. “I have never seen anyone fight like this. It was as if you were dancing with your sword and the demon without any effort at all.”

Teren chuckled. “And it will be a long time indeed, before you will see anyone fighting half as well as her. Grinna is a force of nature.” His voice was warm and full of pride.

“You both were … actually I can’t find a word for it. Somehow extraordinary falls short of the mark.” Dawn stammered.

Grinna smiled at her. “We have both been training with our weapons since we were children. And I confess to a lot of ambition. I never do anything by halves.”

Dawn smiled back, starstruck. “I can see that. But, would you two mind getting back out of this gorge. Where there are two demons, there could be a lot more shortly. My current ambition is to see no more demons today.”

Grinna laughed softly. “I can get behind that ambition of yours. Let’s retreat to your famous Kharlin village for the night.” She cleaned her sword carefully and returned it to her scabbard.

They climbed up to the high plateau again and set a swift pace into the direction of the village, Ankou once again in the lead.

“So, now we have verified the presence of these demons for ourselves. Remains the question how many of them are still alive.” Grinna said boldly.

“And how fast the queen can produce new eggs.” Dawn muttered darkly. “Yes, let’s not forget that they can reproduce.” Grinna agreed.

“I fear these monsters are a bigger problem than we can handle on our own. Two of these spiders in a narrow gorge are manageable. A dozen of them, out in the open, not so much.”

“They are very vulnerable to fire. Or at least, they were in the caves, with that many webs and threads around. Very flammable stuff.” Dawn told them.

“It would be best if we could eliminate these monsters fast. Their reproduction is an unknown factor. If it is fast, we could be confronted with a lot more of them, if we take our time.” Grinna pondered.

“Don’t forget the queen, I somehow got the feeling that it will be a lot harder to take her out than the other demons. And remember these things learn somehow. The next time you meet one of them, it will be harder to fight.” Dawn said.

“Charming prospects.” Grinna said with a lopsided smile. “Obviously, we need a strategy. But it will have to wait until tomorrow. Today, all I want is some hot tea, a good meal and my bedroll.”