Shae worked her way through several more rooms and one more set of goblins the next waking cycle. That fight had gone much better. She was more proactive and took the fight to the goblins, rather than wait for them to attack first. She even managed to get a flame bolt spell off from hiding to start the fight, then moved in like a hurricane of fists and feet.

That room was again used as a waste depot and a place to eat and sleep. Did these things not have noses? Or just used to their own rank odor. The goblins had no loot again, just the usual bones, which Felix grabbed one of again. Since the dog took to staying with her, and was nonaggressive toward her, she named him.

Turns out she was wrong. Even though the dog had scaley looking skin, the scales had a soft smooth quality to them. It was pleasant to the touch, not at all rough like she assumed it would be. She was able to touch the animal while she rested once. But when she tried to touch him when he was chewing on the bone, she got attitude in the form of growling. Obviously, it thought she was going to take it food. After that, she decided to do what your supposed to do to show a dog who’s the alpha. She pinned it down and lay on top of it. She held it there until it relented to her, and that was that. No more grumpy pup. She wasn’t sure exactly how to train a dog, but she did know that one trick to show who was the dominant one.

Again, the dog laid down at her feet when she set up her bedroll and lay in it to get some sleep. She hoped tomorrow she wouldn’t wake up with her foot asleep again from the weight of the dog laying on it all night. She also wondered where the dog had come from, as she had yet to see another. Maybe it was a one-off encounter and she had gained her prize? Dungeons were a risk for reward place after all. Which made sense goblins had little to no loot. Not much risk involved.

She had bed down in the room before her second goblin encounter, backtracking felt safer than moving forward. At least since Felix got his own food this time, she could save on her rations. Not having to share. She did have to find a natural depression a couple of times to fill with water for him though.

Again, her sleep was uneventful. Plus, not feet asleep this time. She only woke once when Felix went to do his business in a corner of the room. And yup, dogs here spun around too before pooping. Even though there was nothing to tramp down on a stone floor.

With a quick bite and water to wash it all down, the two set off to pass the goblin room.

She added another journal entry depicting her newfound friend and the trip up to the last group of goblins. Map updated as well. This goblin room had one exit. She quietly moved on to her new destination. She was moving in a northerly direction. Two full days journey at a slow walk did not put her too far out from the entrance to the dungeon. But being who knows how deep, and the floor was not sloping up, she had no idea for a timeline to get back out.

She had gone through the ring once again to make sure there was no extra food she had missed. She would need all she could get. Also hoping to be able to find an edible animal of her own to replenish her stocks.

As Shae moved through the tunnel, she came to a wider area again. Not a full-on room, just a widening of the tunnel by a couple of meters.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she lowered herself into a crouch. There was nothing she could see, but the roof was once again out of sight and soft cover feel. There was something bothering her though. She backed up a bit and dropped her pack. She concentrated on listening lowering her flame and using her soft cover to feel out the space around her.

There. It wasn’t much, but ahead of her she felt a fuzzy feeling in her cover. Like a very minor static. Whatever it was, it was so fine she could barely feel anything. Was it a ghost ahead? Felix lowered himself down, staying still, but made no noise. He sensed something too.

She couldn’t give up and go back. No other tunnels continued on. The other tunnels she entered, had either dead ended into a room, or doubled back into a loop upon themselves. Unless she went ALL the way back to the first room she fell into. Which was likelier a more dangerous route.

‘Time to take a chance.’ Shae flared the flame in her hand to double its normal size, giving off much more light that she normally used for traveling. She needed to know what the issue here was before deciding anything. A few things happened all at once.

Felix jumped back and scampered away. She caught sight of a fine filament that was strung across her path. Then she felt movement above her with her soft cover. It was bulbous. Big, the size of a beetle car. With… eight legs and moving fast down toward her. That was one big spider coming at her like a freight train. She could see it’s shadowy outline as it moved into the light. When the flames reflected off its many eyes, the white giant spider slowed and hesitated for a second, allowing Shae to ready herself for combat. Dawning her kinetic armor and readied to attack, though like Felix, she backed off a bit to move away from the webs in front of her.

As Shae retreated the spider must have thought she was fleeing, because it once again started moving down far too fast for something that size.

The spider was three meters away when it leapt at Shae, two front legs leading to try and impale her. Shae not waiting around, dodged right as she used her armor to push the spiders legs away to it’s right side, twisting its front end a bit away from her, swinging it’s round back body segment toward her fist which was now swinging up twisting at her hips to meet the falling spider. Just as Shae was about to make contact the spiders long front legs touched down and with a crazy act of agility, it swung itself out of the path of her punch twisting further right and around to face Shae again. She barley managed to catch a small piece of that fat body with her force punch. All that did was aid the spider in coming around to face her directly.

The damn thing had crazy agility, strong legs, and a will to fight.

The spider immediately pulled up onto it’s back six legs, lift it’s front two up and slashing them back down at Shae to try to impale her again. Shae’s response was to flare her flame in her left hand, as she repelled the spider’s right leg sideways just far enough to miss her. The stronger flames licking at the beast’s leg as it swung down past her hand. The left spider’s leg she pushed out to the right in the same way with her kinetic armor, saving her right hand to once again throw an uppercut enhanced by her force attack, this time at the spider’s face that was coming down to meet her, large fangs opening wide to bite her arm or impale it.

Shae’s force attack slammed upward into the spider’s upper mouth, its fangs slamming shut on either side of her arm by reflex.

The spider was lifted up and pushed back by Shae’s attack, its fangs sliding along her arm, unable to pierce her armor yet. It made no noise, she expected it to make a screech or something. They did in books after all. But nothing, it was silent as death, except for little click clacking of its feet. Shae was adding a lot more force protection than she thought she might need to foil the spider’s attack; she was taking no chances with a mistake it pressure. Especially against those pointed front legs. They were sharp and flying at her like spears thrown by a giant.

The spider jumped forward quicker than Shae could recall her punch all the way. It led with it’s fangs again in a downward pinching slash that hit Shae on her left shoulder, side and front. The fangs dragged down her body pushing her back, but once again finding to purchase.

Before Shae could regroup, it jabbed at her with it’s left front spear like leg. This thing was fast and relentless. Shae was starting to lose her cool. The leg slammed the right side of chest. But this time instead of just blocking the blow, she also added a bit of force behind her pushing her toward the spider so she would not be thrown back off balance again. Even as she was able to arrest the attacks momentums, she was not able to slow them a lot before she was forced to outright stop it. Being a spider and with eight legs sticking it to the ground, it had the advantage of being able to push Shae around. But not this time. After she pushed back against the floor behind her, to keep herself from being pushed. The leg slid down the front of her body still being held back.

Shae was starting to feel a bit of power fatigue. She was using a lot more power than she needed to out of growing worry. This was her best bet. She had a decent read on this attack, she had almost expected it to use a leg attack after it failed again with its fangs. Once the spiders leg hit the ground and found purchase, or so Shae hoped it would, she threw a slight cross punch and added a lot more energy behind it. She felt like she lost a bit of breath, like she was lightly punched in the gut. But the attack was a success, it tore through the spider’s front leg not just breaking it but even going so far as to breaking it in half. The force punch continued through into the spider’s chest, just below its head.

With the beast being held down by its own legs, not expecting such a blow, it took the full force of the blow unmoving. There was a crack and fluid exploded out of a hole that was blown open outwards exiting the right side of its body after piercing the front of its chest.

Then Shae hoped back creating a small distance. For the first time she was able to make the first move, as the spider was reeling from the blow. The seven legs that were left folded dropping the body to the ground stunned. Before it could rise, Shae delivered a superman punch down onto the things head. Again, she put too much into the blow, and again feeling like she took a small gut punch. But she didn’t care. She wanted this over. Needed it to be.

The spiders head blew open, splitting down the middle, spraying the ground below with green blood. Still, it made no noise, other than a squelch when hit. As Shae landed, she slipped in the gore underfoot unceremoniously landing on her ass in the puddle. She had nothing to worry about other than wet pants, as the spider’s legs had curled up into itself. There were a few twitches, but it was no longer alive.

A little wide eyed, and breathing just a bit heavy, Shae sat there, ass and hands sitting in goo a little stunned herself. Then she scooched back from the spider, just in case, and waited a few seconds with bated breath. Seeing it was truly dead. ‘Well, I guess it does not have a head anymore.’ Shae got to her feet, finally feeling the goo she was covered in and wrinkled her nose.

“Ewww” She flicked her hands to throw off the goo. Giving up, she summoned water and cleaned herself with an impromptu shower while clothed. Basically, just hosing herself down.

Then she moved to her pack, her hands shaking a bit. She tried to take calming breaths, then changed her clothes out for a fresh set of leathers.

By this point Felix had skulked back into the room seeing if it was safe. It went over and sniffed the spider, then licked at the goo a bit.

“Gross! And aren’t you just the bravest thing now huh?”

Felix moved away and sat. Shae stood staring at the spider, her nerves settling a bit.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with that thing?”

Then a though came to mind, she waved the ring over the body, and it was sucked up inside, stowed away.

Hopefully a dimensional item also acted as stasis. Otherwise, she would have to dump this thing sooner than later before it started rotting in there.

Still a little wide-eyed Shae took a break to recover some of her magic. She had used more than she intended with those last two hits. But it had done the job. She went over the fight in her mind. She was still learning proper control. This was a good learning experience, but she had kind of wasted it by using too much force and not risking more to learn. She just hammered her way out. Still. She was alive. Trap avoided.

Once Shae felt a bit better, she got up and considered her options. Then she took out a staff and started to collect the webs by twirling them onto it. They were damn tough. And maybe worth something to a weaver. It took her a few hours to get it all done. Farther back into the larger tunnel area, she had found its lair. Well just a denser funnel webbing it probably sat in. the spider had no captures and no other loot than the webbing. She had hoped maybe a corpse or two with something on them she could make use of. Even if it was just food for Felix. But no such luck.

‘I wonder if he’d eat spider leg? I’ll give him the option latter.’

Shae took her time moving forward. That was too close a call, but her instincts had come through. Hopefully the next room would be empty, her nerves could use the rest.