Rise of the Spider Goddess Read Online Free Page A

and stew.
    After retrieving some fruit from another sack, Nakor dipped a cup into a barrel of water and sat down at the table. Pynne flew to the table and tore off a piece of bread.
    â€œSo who were your little friends?” Whoo asked, taking a bite of cheese.
    The grin on Nakor’s face slipped for a moment. Images flashed through his mind. For the most part, they were images of death. The deaths of friends.
    â€œThat’s a long story,” he answered.
    Whoo looked at him curiously. “You’re our host, you know. It’s your job to keep us entertained.”
    Nakor looked him curiously.
    â€œHe’s right,” Pynne chimed in. “You have an obligation to your guests.” She smiled sweetly and took a sip of water.
    â€œBesides,” Whoo added, “I’d like to know who I killed today.”
    Nakor set his cup on the table and sighed. “It’s not terribly entertaining,” he warned.
    They just looked at him expectantly.
    â€œAbout two years ago,” he began, “I was met by an elf dressed in black robes. The same as the elf you saw today.”
    â€œHe asked me to attend a ‘meeting,’ and paid me in gold before I even had the chance to consider it. I decided that it couldn’t hurt, so I let him lead me to a small cabin in the woods.”
    Nakor has obviously never watched a single horror movie in his life…
    * * *
    â€œWelcome,” said the man in the doorway. Another elf, Nakor noted in his mind.
    â€œMy name is Calugar. Please come in.”
    Nakor’s guide vanished back into the woods. With a shrug, Nakor stepped into a large, open room. There were five others who seemed to be waiting, sitting peacefully on the floor. All save one, a dwarven warrior who stood sullenly in a corner.
    â€œNakor, meet Roth, Serina, Brigit, Scrunchy, and Tetichitoani.”
    Also known as the characters from my college D&D group. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that EVERYONE wants to hear every last detail of your latest role-playing game!
    Nakor nodded at each of them in turn.
    â€œRoth and Brigit are wielders of magic, like yourself,” Calugar continued. “The others prefer less mystical means of defense.”
    Nakor took a seat next to Brigit and Serina. Brigit was a plainly dressed woman with a long blond braid down the middle of her back. Serina was a bit more unusual. She was dressed in a leather breastplate and bracers, with a sword at her him.
    I assume that was supposed to be “…at her hip,” but proofreading is for loosers!
    â€œFive thousand years ago,” Calugar began, “the god Kohut was imprisoned by his evil brother, Panich. Kohut was respected throughout the land as a just, fair god who blessed his followers with plentiful food and freedom from disease, among other gifts.”
    â€œThrough the treachery of Panich, he was cast into an astral prison, where he had remained ever since. Kohut’s follower’s have dwindled through the years. Only a few of us still remain today.”
    Another chapter has been infested with invasive apostrophes. I thought I sprayed for those.
    â€œSo what does this have to do with us?” Scrunchy piped up.
    Nakor glanced over, noting the polished dwarven axe at his belt. Scrunchy, like most dwarves, had taken a nickname to use when he interacted with other races. Most dwarven names were unpronounceable to outsiders.
    â€œAfter five thousand years of searching, we have discovered a way to free Kohut from his prison. Inside the nearby temple of Panich are six jewels. These are the very tools used by Panich to trap his brother. We have learned that they can also be used to free him.”
    Am I the only one hearing that guy’s name as “Panic” in my head?
    â€œI need six people who are willing to retrieve those gems from the temple and participate in the spell to return Kohut to his rightful place among the