The Lady Paladin 01 - vs. The Spider King

"And just in case you do manage to get it off," he adds, grinning, "Here's a little something you won't be so easily rid of." I wince as his claws flash and blood wells from a complex design carved between my breasts, just above my heart. He draws a handful of purple powder from the bowl, and throws it at the wound, hissing a word in a strange tongue.

The powder fills my vision, and I sneeze. When my vision clears, there is an odd, embellished oval filled with squiggly marks on my chest in purple and red. As I am wondering how I will explain this to the rest of my order, not to mention the clergy, the Spider King hisses another word. As his eyes flash with green fire, the strange rune fades. "Just to warn you, none of your priests will be able to find that," he says, "So there's no point asking them what it means. But you'll find out eventually." He laughs.

As he vanishes into thin air, his laughter is the last thing to fade, echoing through the cave long after he is gone. A few seconds later, I am able to pull my hands free. I remove my sword hilt from my mouth, and shout, "Fuck you!" into the darkness of the empty cave.

There is no treasure left, save for the necklace I am wearing, but I do manage to find my dented helmet and reclaim my light stone. For some reason, I can find no broken blade. I put the helmet back on, and carry my sword's hilt and the light stone through the passage, out of the hole, and back to where I left my pack by the base of the dead tree.

I don't know how I will explain this to my order. I don't even know whether I want to return. The idea that the Church destroyed an entire race isn't so unbelievable when I think of what they are currently doing to the fairy folk. What if everything the Spider King said is true?

I do know one thing, though. Sex will never be the same for me again.