The next morning, Traebus gathered up a few basic supplies, stuffing them into his makeshift pack. He checked over his tools—his enchanted stone knife, a few spare stone rings, and a crude but serviceable spear. He’d need them if they ran into anything… unfriendly.
Dusk and Sparky waited nearby, both alert and ready to move. Unlike the excitable smaller lizards, they had a quiet focus about them—Sparky’s scales shimmered slightly with stored electricity, and Dusk’s frills twitched as he sniffed at the morning air.
"Alright, ground rules," Traebus said, shouldering his pack. "Tank, you and the little guys are in charge while we’re gone. Don’t burn down the house—" he pointed at Sparky, "—don’t let anything sneak across the bridge—" he pointed at Dusk, "—and please don’t let the smaller ones dismantle anything important."
Tank, the three-horn, snorted, flicking his tail dismissively before lowering his massive bulk into a resting position. The smaller lizards, meanwhile, chirped eagerly as if thrilled to have been left in charge.
"That’s not reassuring," Traebus muttered. He shook his head and turned to Dusk and Sparky. "Let’s move out. Today’s mission is a full resource run—edible plants, useful minerals, obsidian, and if we get really lucky, some kind of salt deposit."
Dusk sent back a skeptical wave of thought. Salt?
"Yeah, it’s a magical thing. Also a ‘not dying from lack of proper nutrients’ thing," Traebus replied dryly. "We find a source, and we’re golden. If not, we at least need something other than meat to eat."
Dusk accepted this, though with mild indifference. Sparky, however, trilled with excitement and darted ahead—only to be stopped by Traebus grabbing the back of his neck and hauling him back mid-bound.
"Slow down, Sparky. We''re not just running into the jungle like lunatics," Traebus scolded, setting the eager lizard back on the ground. "We have to go through the gatehouse first, then over the bridge, and then you can go bounding off like an overexcited spark plug."
Sparky chirped in protest but fell in line as they made their way to the fortified gatehouse. Traebus checked the stone reinforcements as they passed through, making sure everything was still solid. Once on the bridge, the trio moved with cautious purpose. Traebus glanced down at the deep water below, noting the occasional ripple. Nothing overtly dangerous, but he never trusted a body of water to be empty of things that wanted to eat him.
Reaching the far side, they stepped onto solid ground, where the thick jungle loomed ahead. Sparky trilled again and, with barely-contained energy, finally dashed forward into the underbrush. Dusk followed at a more measured pace, his frills flicking as he scanned their surroundings.
Traebus sighed. "Alright, jungle time. Let’s not die today."
The moment they stepped into the jungle, the atmosphere changed. The dense canopy overhead filtered the sunlight into shifting beams, casting eerie patterns onto the undergrowth. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, blooming foliage, and the ever-present musk of unseen creatures. The sounds of distant calls, chirps, and rustling foliage filled the silence, an ever-present reminder that they were not alone.
Traebus moved carefully, his eyes scanning the terrain. He carried a small stone knife in one hand, the spear slung across his back. Every few feet, he paused to inspect the plant life, kneeling down to examine broad-leafed ferns, thorny vines, and various fungi growing along fallen logs. He carefully cut samples, tucking them into small pouches he''d fashioned from woven vines.
Dusk flickered in and out of the deeper shadows, his scales blending into the dim light almost seamlessly. Every so often, he would pause, sending a flicker of thought back to Traebus—sometimes a warning, sometimes curiosity. He seemed drawn to certain areas, places where the foliage had been disturbed or where claw marks raked across tree trunks.
Sparky, on the other hand, had no such patience. The little lightning lizard zipped through the undergrowth like an overcaffeinated squirrel, trilling excitedly at anything that caught his attention. He bounded up tree trunks, tail lashing as he investigated bird-like creatures nesting in the branches. He dug at the base of trees, sending a small shower of dirt flying behind him, only to pause and zap a pile of leaves as if expecting something to emerge from them.
"Sparky! Stop setting random things on fire!" Traebus hissed as he ducked a falling ember from an unfortunate frond.
Sparky chirped innocently and dashed off again.
Traebus sighed, shaking his head. "I swear, if we don’t find something useful before he sets the whole jungle ablaze, I’m throwing him into a river."
They pressed on, weaving through thick roots and stepping carefully over patches of suspicious-looking moss. Every few minutes, Traebus found something worth collecting—thick, fibrous roots that might be edible, broad leaves that smelled faintly of citrus, and a bulbous plant that oozed a thick, sticky sap when he cut into it. He rubbed some between his fingers, noting its slightly tacky consistency. "Huh. Might be good for binding things together. Or maybe glue."
Dusk sent a mental nudge of skepticism. Or poison.
"I prefer to think positively," Traebus muttered, storing the sample anyway.
An hour passed in relative success—he had gathered a decent haul of potentially edible and useful plants, and Sparky had yet to start a major forest fire. That was about as much as he could ask for.
Then, just as he was kneeling to inspect a patch of strange-looking mushrooms, Dusk froze mid-step, his frills rising as his entire body tensed.
Traebus barely had time to register the warning thought sent his way before the jungle went silent.
And that was never a good sign.
Sparky was nowhere to be seen.
Traebus’s grip on his knife tightened as he and Dusk exchanged wary glances. Moving as silently as possible, they crept toward the edge of a clearing, carefully parting the dense foliage. What they saw made Traebus’s stomach drop.
In the center of the clearing, bathed in dappled light that filtered through the trees, was a monstrous, two-legged predator. Its body was thick with muscle, covered in dark, scaly hide that bore deep scars from past battles. Massive hind legs were planted firmly in the blood-soaked dirt, long talons digging into the earth as it hunched over its kill. A pair of small, clawed arms twitched slightly as the beast tore into its meal—a three-horn, already lifeless beneath its crushing maw.
Its head was enormous, with rows of jagged, serrated teeth that glistened with fresh blood as it ripped through thick muscle and bone. Every bite sent a sickening crack through the clearing, followed by deep, guttural huffs of breath that sent steam curling from its nostrils. Slitted, reptilian eyes flicked around between mouthfuls, ever watchful even as it feasted.
Traebus exhaled slowly, his pulse hammering. He’d encountered plenty of dangerous creatures since arriving in this world, but this was in a league of its own. This was an apex predator, the kind that didn’t just kill for food—it killed because nothing else could challenge it.
Dusk remained stock-still beside him, his frills flattened against his head as he barely breathed. Through their bond, Traebus could feel the pure, instinctual terror radiating from his companion. Even Dusk, a capable predator in his own right, knew they were hopelessly outmatched.
Traebus swallowed hard. Now would be a really great time for Sparky to not do anything stupid.
A sudden, high-pitched trill shattered the tense silence.
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Traebus flinched, eyes darting upward just in time to see a streak of yellow and white plummet from the jungle canopy. Sparky, in all his electrified glory, descended like a comet directly onto the predator’s back, landing with an audible zap that sent arcs of blue lightning dancing across the beast’s hide.
The monstrous carnivore recoiled with a deafening roar, shaking its entire body in an attempt to dislodge the tiny lizard currently clamped onto its spine. Sparky, undeterred by the fact that he had just leapt onto the biggest, meanest thing in the jungle, chirped triumphantly and unleashed another bolt of electricity straight into the beast’s thick hide.
Traebus clapped a hand over his face. "Oh, for the love of—Sparky, WHY?"
Dusk, for his part, remained frozen, his wide eyes flicking from the rampaging predator to Traebus in what could only be described as pure disbelief.
The predator, now completely enraged, let out an earth-shaking roar and began thrashing wildly, bucking like an unbroken stallion as it tried to remove the electrified menace on its back. Trees cracked as its massive tail swung blindly, leveling the surrounding foliage in its fury. The already-dead three-horn was flung aside like a discarded toy as the carnivore focused entirely on ridding itself of its unexpected passenger.
Sparky, meanwhile, was having the time of his life.
The little lizard scampered up the predator’s neck, dodging snapping jaws with unnatural speed. Every time it attempted to grab him, he zapped it again, causing involuntary muscle spasms that made its movements even more erratic. It stumbled, crashed sideways into a tree, then recovered with a furious snarl.
Traebus groaned, running both hands down his face. "This is it. This is how I die. Not by a great battle. Not by some grand magical experiment gone wrong. No, I’m going to be eaten because my lizard has a death wish."
The predator finally managed to twist its head far enough to bite at its own back. Sparky, showing an admirable sense of self-preservation far too late in the process, leapt from the beast’s shoulders at the last possible second. The carnivore’s jaws snapped shut on empty air, but the force of its own movement caused it to overbalance.
With a resounding thud, the predator collapsed onto its side, sending up a cloud of dirt and debris. Sparky landed on the ground a few feet away, tail flicking smugly as if this had all been according to plan.
Traebus grabbed Dusk and started backing away. "We are leaving. Right now.
He, Dusk, and Sparky took off through the jungle, weaving through thick undergrowth and leaping over fallen logs as they made their escape. The sounds of crashing and enraged bellowing behind them faded into the distance—but oddly enough, the apex predator did not pursue.
Traebus risked a glance back, panting. "Okay… either it''s too stunned to chase us, or it''s just really embarrassed and doesn’t want to admit what just happened."
Dusk sent back a wave of cautious confusion, his frills twitching. It should be chasing. Prey runs. Predator follows.
Sparky, still buzzing with leftover energy, trilled excitedly and zapped a nearby tree for good measure. Traebus groaned. "Yeah, buddy, real helpful."
They slowed as they reached a denser patch of jungle, ears straining for any sign of pursuit. Nothing. The usual jungle sounds returned, the distant calls of birds and chittering creatures replacing the earlier carnage.
Traebus leaned against a tree, catching his breath. "Either that thing has bigger problems, or we just witnessed the first known case of a predator deciding its pride was more important than a meal. Either way, I''m not complaining."
As he exhaled, trying to slow his racing heart, something began to feel… off. The jungle around them was still dense, the usual chorus of distant birds and rustling creatures returning to normal, but the light had changed. It wasn’t just the natural dimming of the day—it was something else entirely.
He frowned, tilting his head up. The canopy above, once a thick weave of green, was now interlaced with something pale and silken. At first, he thought they were vines, but the way they glistened in the fading light made his stomach twist.
It took him only another moment to realize they weren’t vines at all.
Webs.
A lot of them.
"Oh. Oh no," he muttered, his pulse spiking again for an entirely different reason.
Dusk had already noticed. His frills flared, his tail curling low, sending Traebus a wave of bad, bad, very bad. Even Sparky, normally a bundle of chaotic energy, had gone eerily still, his crackling aura dimming slightly.
Traebus swallowed hard. "Okay, new plan. We leave. Right now."
They moved slowly, each step deliberate as they carefully backed away from the thickening webs. The last thing they needed was to blunder into whatever nightmare fuel had spun them. The deeper they had wandered, the more densely packed the webbing had become—an eerie, silent warning that something had claimed this territory.
Dusk sent urgent flickers of go, go, go through their bond, but they barely made it three steps before the jungle around them erupted into chaos.
From the underbrush and tree canopy above, monstrous shapes dropped into view. Their bodies, grotesquely large, were covered in thick, bristling hairs, and their many gleaming black eyes reflected the dim light like polished obsidian. Each of their eight spindly legs ended in hooked claws, clicking ominously as they skittered forward with eerie coordination. The smallest of them was the size of a large dog— the biggest, closer to a bear.
Spiders. Giant spiders.
Traebus barely had time to process the incoming horde before one lunged. He yelped, throwing himself sideways as needle-like fangs snapped shut where he had just stood. Another lunged at Dusk, who twisted mid-air, lashing out with his powerful tail and sending the creature crashing into the undergrowth. Sparky, ever the chaos gremlin, wasted no time in zapping the nearest arachnid with a bolt of lightning, sending it into violent convulsions before it collapsed, twitching, onto the forest floor.
"Oh, hell no!" Traebus shouted, scrambling to his feet. "Not today, Shelob rejects!"
The spiders didn''t hesitate. More dropped from above, thick strands of webbing shooting toward them like grasping tendrils. Traebus barely managed to dodge, rolling under a low-hanging branch before slamming his palm to the ground. With a sharp pulse of mana, jagged spikes of earth erupted in a circle around him, skewering two of the monstrous arachnids mid-lunge.
Dusk fought with savage efficiency, his claws raking through the closest spider’s abdomen, spilling dark ichor onto the jungle floor. He twisted, snapping his jaws around another’s leg and wrenching it clean off before flinging the shrieking spider aside. Sparky, meanwhile, had taken to sprinting around at lightning speed, zapping anything that moved and cackling like a lunatic.
Traebus didn''t have time to appreciate their combined efforts because another spider launched itself at him from above. He barely managed to get his arms up before it slammed into him, knocking him flat on his back. Its fangs gnashed wildly, strands of sticky silk wrapping around his wrists as it tried to pin him.
"Oh no, you don''t!" Traebus snarled, summoning his remaining mana into his rings. A pulse of pure force exploded outward from his hands, launching the spider off him and into a tree with a sickening crunch.
"We are LEAVING!" he roared, grabbing a stunned Dusk by the frill and hauling him backward. Sparky, for once, needed no further instruction and zipped toward them, arcs of electricity still dancing off his scales.
They bolted, sprinting through the tangled jungle as fast as their legs could carry them. The remaining spiders shrieked in rage, but none dared give chase. Traebus didn’t dare stop to find out why.
Panting, adrenaline still pumping through his veins, he gasped, "New rule. We do not—and I repeat—do not go near anything that looks like it could house a nest of oversized leggy horrors."
Dusk huffed in exhausted agreement, while Sparky trilled something that sounded suspiciously like worth it. Traebus shot him a glare. "No. No, it was not worth it. Now let’s get the hell out of here before we find out what else is lurking in this nightmare jungle."
Sparky scoffed, sending a cascade of rapid-fire images into Traebus’s mind—disdainful flashes of the oversized spiders and their ridiculous number of legs. Mixed in was a brief but oddly detailed image of a cluster of jagged, pale formations half-buried in the earth.
Traebus blinked. "Wait, what was that? Go back."
Sparky chirped in confusion, sending the image again. It was clearer this time—crystalline formations jutting from the dirt in a way that looked unnervingly familiar.
"That— that looks like a salt deposit," Traebus muttered, narrowing his eyes. He and Sparky went back and forth, mentally clarifying details, until he was fairly certain. That was a lot of salt, and that meant food preservation.
He exhaled slowly, considering. "Alright. New plan. We burn our way through these bastards."
Dusk shot him a you want to what now? look.
"Oh, don’t give me that, you know we need the salt," Traebus argued. "We’ll clear a path, grab as much as we can, and get out before we become dinner. We’ve got lightning, we’ve got fire, we’ve got my fancy new mana rings—this is absolutely going to work."
Dusk did not look convinced. Sparky, however, was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Alright, team—" Traebus cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Let’s roast some overgrown bugs."
With their plan set, the trio moved carefully toward the edge of the web-laden area. Traebus, gripping his spear tightly, let his mana flow into the offensive rings. Flames flickered to life around his hands, casting eerie shadows against the thick jungle undergrowth. Sparky crackled with pent-up energy, his body humming as electricity danced along his scales. Dusk remained a tense but powerful presence beside them, eyes locked on the shifting webs ahead.
Traebus took a steadying breath. "Alright. Let’s start small."
He extended a hand and unleashed a focused burst of fire, sending a controlled jet of flame licking at the edges of the webbing. The silk ignited instantly, curling and blackening as it burned. The flames spread quickly, crackling as they consumed the sticky strands. Smoke curled up into the canopy, and within seconds, the jungle around them came alive.
The spiders reacted immediately.
From the trees, from hidden burrows in the undergrowth, from unseen crevices in the thick foliage, they emerged—legs clicking, fangs snapping, eyes gleaming in the firelight. They came in waves, drawn to the disturbance, their grotesque bodies moving with an unnatural grace as they surged toward the intruders.
"Here we go!" Traebus shouted, stepping forward to meet the first wave.