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Walking on the dirt path, you're stared down by an iron golem who seems wary of you. If it could make human expressions, it would probably be squinting at you with scrutiny. One wrong move and you'd be thrown up into the sky by it.
It's like any other afternoon for you as you're out of the house once again, except you've chosen to emerge from the woods. An adventurer like you needs supplies – supplies that you cannot obtain simply through foraging.
You make your way to the center of the village where the bell is. It's bustling as most of the villagers here spend their time loitering about with some partaking in oh-so much gossip. They chatter so much that you wonder if they'll ever run out of remarks to say or neighbors to slyly badmouth. You heard your name floating around after the first few times you helped some of the villagers though. Your reputation's great, it seems.
Anyone here knows they could request anything from you for a price. That's why you make weekly visits to see if anyone's got a task for you.
They'd give a part of their resources, depending on which villager, which is pretty neat. You need more stuff like arrows and enchantment books. Sure, you could go spelunking for treasure, but after an incident with a creeper, you refuse to go further down inside a cave. Dying is not in your bucket list.
That is unless you were tasked by these guys.
Anyway, this village is quite far from your house, so it did take a whole entire trek to get here. To compensate, the villagers allowed you to sleep in their houses instead of camping outside however many days you need.
"Hrmm-hrmmm hrmmm-hrmm hrmmmm..."
"So, fletcher guy, you're telling me there's a spider infestation near the village?"
"Hrmmm! Hrmmm-hrmm hrmmmm-hrmmmm."
"I see... that sounds like a difficult case. Don't worry, we can talk about the payment later."
You're feeling generous after all. Also, it's a mutually beneficial thing. If you keep the village and its residents safe, then nothing will affect your transactions with them. This is the closest village to your residence, and you can't afford to walk many more blocks to find a new one.
"Hrmm-hrmmm!"
The fletcher villager nudges you with his elbow and reveals an emerald from within his brown sleeves. He's urging for you to take it.
"Why thank you," you push past your bashfulness and accept the small gift. It's lovely how you're trusted here. ...Except for the iron golem though.
After that interaction, you are bid farewell by some of the villagers. You prepare your kit first – shield in your offhand, your diamond sword plus an iron axe, a stack of torches, and a stack of bread – before setting off.
You've never hated spiders or are opposed of them as they're neutral mobs who only turn aggressive under a lack of light or if provoked first. You never minded them because they're out here surviving in the world like you.
But you're dealing with a major infestation here, and you need the village's favor.
The spiders are a nuisance, even if they haven't harmed the villagers yet. They're guaranteed to do so at night, and the village's sole iron golem could only take so much damage. If it were to die, then who would protect the villagers? Certainly not you, and that's why you have to clear the infestation before it becomes severe.
You've already culled some spiders who would've skittered past you if you weren't actively hunting them down. A maximum of three spiders are the ones you've usually encountered thus far and have dealt with ease. You dread to see larger clusters of them.
The scenery sort of changes as sunlight barely penetrates past the tree canopy, casting huge shadows on the forest floor. It's not dark enough wherein you'd have to place down torches, but you're growing wary. Not a cave in sight either.
Your steps turn sharp and brisk, knowing that time is your enemy here. When nightfall arrives, it's not only spiders you gotta deal with. Zombies, skeletons, and creepers... god, you don't like the latter at all.
You don't know what time it is actually. You can't even tell the position of the sun because of the trees around you. All you know is that it was afternoon when you arrived at the village. How many minutes has it been since then? Or could it be hours?
Your stack of bread's not halfway drained at least. It could mean it might be barely an hour or something. Yeah, you're safe, you think.
Back to the topic of your task, you're under the assumption these spiders come from a spawner – a spawner that has been active for days now. Yikes. That is horrible to know, and it's even more so since you'll be the firsthand witness to see the source of it all.
It's fine. You were never squeamish, and you believe in your abilities.
Tap tap tap.
The skittering sounds grow louder like they're everywhere around you. That just means you're getting closer to the source! Also, that could mean you might encounter a horde at a moment's notice! If you were just gutsy enough, you would have brought a bucket of lava with you and strategically used it. Screw this forest, actually.
...But nope. You do care about the local fauna that also live here. You did hear some cow mooing earlier and a wolf barking. They're all residents of this forest, and if it were to burn down, then you'd feel guilty for taking away their home.
That just leaves you to fight them fair and square. One versus a group sure sounds fun!
"Holy shit..." you somehow startle yourself upon seeing what you exactly dread to see.
Although the cave's just right there, there's just, hm, seven spiders wandering and blocking your way. Oh, your poor shield.
On second thought, you don't have to kill them on sight since they are far from the village. You can just ignore them for the time-being.
You grimace and move on, making sure not to bump into any of the spiders. Now somewhat near the entrance, you make another step and–
"Ah–!"
Your feet do not touch the ground. You've sank into a grass pit trap and now you're falling.
Bundles of cobweb break your fall, and around you are some spiders who look agitated by your presence. It's dark in here, and that you can assume is why they're aggravated. They're coming for you. You have to do something, but your sword's out of reach. It's lodged deeper in the webs below you, and if you were to retrieve it, then you would have to sink further in.
Sucking in a breath, you lower your weight to try and get your sword with your boots. At the same time, you struggle to raise your shield up to protect yourself. A spider crawls above you and lunges at your shield relentlessly. You can't swat it away because of the webs, leaving you vulnerable.
It's so hard to maneuver... Your legs close in on the hilt of your sword, and you desperately try to pull it up. The spider bothering you isn't helping at all.
Another spider approaches the opposite side of your shield. This time, it jabs your torso, its mandibles penetrating your armor and sinking into flesh.
You cry out in pain, flinching as you keep trying to get your sword. The spider keeps doing it again while the other one tries destroying your shield.
You're overwhelmed here. You can barely do anything.
"HELP! HELP ME!" your screams become louder while you force yourself to endure the pain as the rest of the spiders begin encroaching on you.
...You were so prepared, but you were fooled by some kind of trap that's near impossible to have sensed. That begs the question – which sick fuck made this?
Your field of vision suddenly darkens, like you're being blinded. You feel your body being pulled up, however you can't fight whatever's happening. It's hard to remain vigilant that you decide to assume you're being save. You want to be optimistic.
Whoever is lifting you is really gentle. You decide to rest for awhile since you can barely keep awake because of your wounded body.
You fall asleep in the arms of your unknown savior.
And there you go, sleeping in its arms without a care in the world. Now, how could it stay mad at your for so long? It's like it could almost forgive you. But it chooses not to. You've been a horrible person for the past few days.
Why have you been ignoring it? It's been trying to make itself known to you, but you stay so oblivious.
The one time it approached you, you hit it with your sword, screaming at it. How could you? It was agonizing to think you'd ever accept it, and it got its answer. After everything it has done for you...
It has always kept an eye on you. It knows where you live, even has stepped inside your house. It has watched you sleep countless times with it never coming close to touch you, only staying by your side. You'd be scared. It doesn't want to scare you.
Silly you! You never look back when you first started your journey, giving prime opportunity for it to study you then eventually follow you home.
It likes you. Wants you. Needs you. The feeling grows more everyday, and it can't get enough of you. It remembers your smell and your preferences, like for food and the spot you'd go to forage for ingredients.
Though... you never appreciate its gifts for you've assumed them to be trash on the forest floor, burning them as a means of disposal. You shrug them all off – basically dismissed it.
It was angry and hurt because such gifts are special. Gift-giving was its means to get close to you without ever revealing itself to you. It cannot move on from that. Do you hate it so much?
You're fascinating, but you're infuriating. It wants to snap you in half yet it wants to treat you gently. You're confusing it.
Anyway, it has finally found a way to finally have you all for itself as the first interaction with you was its breaking point.
You sometimes traveled to this village that it loathes ever seeing. It hates seeing you interact with those other flesh beings and had always dreamt of tearing them apart, even that tall iron mob that is considered a "protector". It could rip it to pieces if it wanted to.
However, the village is admittedly special. It's special in a way that it's close to its den that is tucked away in the nearby forest.
It so happens to be the place you were going to go, and it planned it all along. It can spawn spiders freely as it wishes, and so it caused havoc by spawning maybe a tad bit too much.
It planned on letting the spiders hurt you but not kill you. You just needed to learn what "consequences" are.
Navigating inside the cave, it goes straight to its den where it gently places you on a makeshift bed made out of dried wheat, dead leaves, and a lot of clumps of web to keep it soft. The bed's not there because it needs it. It's there because it thought about you.
It confiscates your entire inventory and your armor, bundling all of the items in cobweb. It attaches it on the cave ceiling, too far for you to reach.
Then it goes over to you again, hunching down and staring at your limp, sleeping body. Your injuries are visible. Small bite marks and puncture wounds litter your exposed flesh, paired with specks of dried blood. Battered as you are, you still look divine. Its claws touch your forehead then traces them down to your right cheek which it pinches, feeling you.
Soft. You're very soft. It's been missing out on so much of you.
Its claws then make their way down to your neck where it halts. The length of its claws can easily wrap around your poor neck, crushing it. You could asphyxiate and choke on your own blood, possibly be able to wake you up. What would you do then? Scream at it? Call it a disgusting monster? Would you even be able to force words out or would you just wheeze out air?
It pauses and looks at your face. No matter its contempt, it feels peace around you. Your death would bring it distress.
Reluctantly, it pulls away and sits on the hard ground next to the bed, sulking like you've done all kinds of wrong to it.
Like the starved creature it is, it reaches out and plays with your arm. It flops it around in its hand and lets its claws sink into the skin, though not enough to hurt you.
Just how would you react? It saved you, didn't it?
"Ugh..."
A groan comes from your throat, low and pained. You feel like shit. Your head's throbbing, and you're starving like you haven't eaten for days. Your eyelids fluttering, you take in your surroundings.
You're inside a cave. You can spot some glowing lichen, and that's it. A rotten smell hits your nose, probably a decaying corpse. Not much different from the smell of a zombie. Surprisingly, you don't retch or gag at that as you've been desensitized after fighting so many of those hostile mobs. It's still gross, however.
You're laying down on something soft and kinda itchy. It's like you were sleeping on a hay bale. Absolutely unpleasant.
Wait, you were sleeping the entire time?
Fuck. Your situation's beyond dire.
You thought you would've been sent back to the village, and not in some nondescript dark place with the concerning smell of a corpse nearby. And worse yet is how you're considerably weak because of your wounds and the bodyache you've just developed. You weren't saved at all!
Your inventory is empty too. You were robbed.
You try to get up, but you feel like an anvil's weighing you down. You manage though.
...And it's all for naught as a thin yet strong hand pins your chest down, making you lie flat on the nest again. Followed next is clearly something straddling your hips, ultimately restricting your movement. The creature reveals itself as it takes the chance to lean forward and show you its face.
It has glowing white eyes and a smile with sharp teeth that looks too ecstatic. It unironically looks happy to see you, and not in a predatory sense – just unadulterated joy from a thing that looks both humanoid and monstrous.
"Did you save me?"
More accurately: "did you abduct me?", but that's just asking to get obliterated by your captor savior on the spot. Appeasing it is the smartest move (in your head).
...No verbal response from it. It instead squishes your face with its long claws, leaving you dumbfounded. It lacks any ill intent from the way it's not applying intense pressure, but, uh, what?
You let out a surprised noise as it caresses your cheek, its hairs from its hand bristling against your skin. Such a weird feeling! The hairs are unexpectedly soft as you'd think it to be coarse. By that description, then you suppose it's more akin to fur than hair.
It stops moving its hand and instead lets it linger on your cheek, much to your chagrin. Haah... you'll have to suck it up. If you were to try and wriggle out, it would simply ground you back by pressing more of its weight on you.
For a captor, this creature sure is clingy, and it's also familiar.
Didn't you fight it during some random morning like weeks ago because you thought its appearance was creepy? It briefly blinded you then had flee once you struck it with your sword. Ah, this must be its revenge against you then.
Just a guess, but you think this thing was stalking you. You've briefly seen it in your peripheral vision numerous times, however you never addressed it – partially because you're actually scared, and you're a strong believer of the saying "if you don't see it head-on, it doesn't exist". What's this creature's problem anyway? You only want a stress-free life.
Might as well play along and act like you're someone naive.
"Hey, I'm starving," you bluntly say, miffed at the way this thing's not yet done cozying up to you.
Biting back a sigh, you watch as it rises from its position. It's great that it can understand you.
It moves away, disappearing into the darkness. Good. You're alone.
Escaping would be hard. Though you think you've still got some energy, outrunning the captor wouldn't be possible. Landing punches is out of the question too.
Do you really have to lay in the psychological tactics? Yes. You can tell your captor likes you, but you're afraid to see how volatile it is. Though, maybe it'll be easier on you if you reciprocate its advances.
The creature comes back with some indescribable meat in its hands. Looks like a mix of every rotten animal meat covered in hair. It helps you sit up and drops the "food" onto your lap. A foul smell emanates from it, and this time, you really try to suppress a gag.
It's expecting for you to eat it, isn't it?
"...Thanks," you say as you pick up the animal remains. Awful.
You hold your breath and bravely take a bite. You chew without trying to taste the meat and instead trick your mind to think it's just like that raw porkchop you ate one time. The texture is both slimey and rough on your tongue, and even if you manage to mitigate some of the taste, it's still overwhelmingly putrid.
You can't take it anymore! You look to the side and begin to hurl. Clenching your stomach, you expel disgusting-looking vomit that makes you feel more sick. You obviously didn't digest the meat, and now you're seeing a much more gross version of it.
The creature isn't happy. It frowns at you while you're shaking like a leaf.
"On second thought, I just lost my appetite," you cough out the rest of the remains, your throat burning. One glance, and you can tell your captor's mad.
"Don't be upset," your smile's a little tight around the edges, "The willingness to feed me is what matters in the end! Ahaha...."
You're dying on the inside. You're validating your stalker to make it feel better.
And it's working! Its face eases back to something positive, not anymore moody. It smiles in adoration, eyes crinkling, and... uhhh. Your heart's thumping at the sight. It looks cute? For some reason?
Mm, you've gone mental in a span of an hour.
"You're really kind for that," you say another line of sweet words, buttering it up.
It hunches over and leans down close to your face. Spider limbs unfurl from its back with a cracking sound as they stretch and spread out. While you're perturbed, one of the upper limbs tap your hair and does a rubbing motion like it's petting you. It elicits a shiver from you, having not expected that. Its other limbs wrap around your torso in what can be seen as a hug or a way to constrict your body.
Either way, your injuries act up in discomfort, making you unintentionally groan out in pain. Despite that, your captor continues smothering you with unwarranted love. God knows how long this guy will let you go.
Suddenly, you wish you never went outside.
It's been a month since your abduction. You're pallid and weak, however you're well-fed. The disgusting taste of spoiled meat is nothing to you as it's your forced diet. Raw, untainted meat has become a blessing for you to sink your teeth into – a weekly treat you're given.
Your wounds have healed through time, however they're not completely gone. They're untreated for so long that it's a miracle you didn't get an infection. Your body's resilient as it can be.
You've been lying down on the makeshift bed, counting the days until you can see the sun. Until you can go back home. You can get up and roam as you please, but your muscles and injuries scream if you try anything more exerting than walking. It obviously seals the fact you were never meant to escape through physical means. And though you want to get up as much as possible to prevent your muscles from weakening, there's nothing for you to do since you were given no enrichment – basically nothing to play around with.
How long must you play the facade of a willing victim? It's so grating to act like everything's fine, but you're a natural, all things considered.
You've memorized every sound you hear here, mostly spiders skittering somewhere further into this wretched cave, but a certain someone's foosteps are more so imprinted in your brain.
You hear exactly that just now, and you sit straight up with your heart beating in a fast pace. It's a trained response – one you shamefully did yourself. At times it left you alone (pretty rare, but it's a huge thing), you've learned to wait for it. Like right now.
"Lenny!"
It was awkward not having a name for the creature, so you declared it one. Humanizing it is the worst decision ever, but in your defense, uh, it abducted you! This folly is just part of your method of escape!
Your arms are wide open as it approaches, and it graciously engulfs you in a hug with its main arms, lifting you up. Its spider limbs support your body to ensure you don't fall. Lenny nuzzles its face into your cheek as you smile and try to hug it closer.
"What'd you do outside?" you cradle its face with your hands after it's done nuzzling you.
Bitterly, you wish you were the one outside.
It doesn't answer you as it goes in for a light smooch on your forehead, repeating it several times, sometimes on your cheek as well. With each time, your heart flutters and you laugh in a carefree way.
The heart betrays what the rational mind says.
"Me? I've done nothing productive so far, but I don't mind it."
You've been indulging in self-talk AKA one-sided conversations. Lenny cannot speak, but it can make series of sounds, either guttaral or soft. That's how far you can talk to it.
It makes an approving noise, you think. Ah, praising you for doing nothing – just how it likes it. The more useless you are, the less likely you'd run away.
You still have a plan! It's a long term plan now thanks to some miscalculations in your part... Yeah.
You'd just have to go along with all of this, and then you'll be home sooner or later! Indulging it with more smooches and hugs work like a charm!
It all started because of the village's commission, huh?