Arachne Thug

Znanq took a step backward, and the tip of a blade pressed into the small of his back.

“What you doing?” Qotch squeaked, pulling his dagger away. “I nearly stuck you.”

“I ain't going down there! See them webs? Where there's webs, there's arachne!” Znanq spun around and, shouldering his way past his friend, fled down the tunnel in retreat.

Qotch scoffed. “I ain't scared of no arachne.” He puffed his chest up and started forward.

Something with a bulbous body and too many legs dropped from the ceiling. A scimitar sank into Qotch's gut. He staggered and fell. He rolled onto his belly and dragged himself along the tunnel, his claws scraping against the rock. He called out desperately to Znanq, but his friend was gone.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and flipped him onto his back. An arachne thug stood over him, straddling him with her many legs.

“What do we have here?” Her face twisted in a sneer. “Ugh. Vermin.” She spat. “Does nothing else live in these tunnels? Oh, well. My little darlings are ravenous, and food is food, I suppose.”

Qotch struggled, but it was no use. The arachne's legs worked quickly, lifting him beneath her and spinning him about as she wove her web around him.

Wrapped in the silken thread, Qotch couldn't move—he couldn't even scream—as the arachne thug carried him away. The venari and scavo made their homes and livelihoods within the Realm of Silence. They carved a trade from the precious metals that they mined. They collected rare tubers and fungi to sell at markets and feed their families. The two races lived a semi-harmonious life together.

That all changed when the arachne entered the dark tunnels.

Enticed by the enormous caverns and bountiful food supply, these spider-bodied fey soon expanded their territory. They had no care for the Realm's other inhabitants other than as slave labor or hunting sport. The venari and scavo were pushed closer to the surface, terrified of their spidery nemesis and their webs.

The arachne rarely came to the surface until the Chaos Legion arrived. They didn't side with the invaders but simply used the war as an excuse to expand their hunting grounds. Now, they roam the land near their burrows, killing for the sheer pleasure of it.