"My lady, wake up, we must leave now," Blair heard clearly as she opened her sleepy eyes. Osric's voice sounded tense, filled with a restrained fear that made his throat tremble. As she opened her eyes, Blair saw Osric standing in the open doorway, his face pale and gaunt, his armor and clothes soaked with water.
Behind him, in the distance, the storm roared over the camp. Rain pounded the ground and rooftops with fury, but what caught Blair's attention was a terrifying figure: a fiery colossus, gigantic, resembling a cyclops made entirely of living flames. In the midst of the darkness, its body burned with such intensity that it became the only point of light in the nighttime landscape. The water that touched it evaporated instantly, bursting with a sharp hiss, while clouds of white steam rose toward the sky like boiling columns, momentarily hiding its silhouette in a scorching mist. The heat it radiated was so extreme it distorted the air around it, and the smell of scorched earth and sulfurous vapor mixed with the rain, saturating the atmosphere.
Then, it raised its incandescent arm. With a sudden gesture, it unleashed a whirlwind of fire that sliced through the darkness like a burning spear. The tornado of flames rose, defying wind and rain, twisting like a whip that devoured the damp air. The droplets that crossed its path disintegrated instantly, and the roar of the fire thundered above the storm.
Seeing the situation, Blair didn't hesitate. With her legs trembling from the creature's overwhelming magical presence, she picked up Guinevere, who stared in awe toward the entrance, unable to look away from the scene unfolding outside, and hurried to follow Osric.
Rain and cold struck their bodies violently as they stepped out. The ground, turned to mud, was mixed with blood, limbs, and the fallen bodies of knights. With a trembling hand, Blair covered Guinevere's eyes, keeping her from seeing the brutal scene. Fighting the urge to vomit, she struggled to follow Osric, while around them the knights battled enormous spiders. The creatures tore and slashed through everything in their path, though some, instead of killing the children, wrapped them in thick webs to keep them from escaping.
Seeing the number of spiders continue to grow and with the fire colossus looming behind them, Osric knew he had to hide them. Sword raised, cutting down every creature in his way without hesitation, he managed to find a suitable shelter.
By the stream, a carriage had crashed against some rocks. "Blair, listen to me. I want you to hide inside and cover yourself with everything you can find. Don't come out until the sun has risen, do you understand?" said Osric firmly, looking at the girl who followed closely behind.
"Yes, Osric. Please, be careful," Blair replied, pulling her sister to help her climb in. Once inside, Osric approached the stream, lifted a large stone, and placed it over the carriage's main opening, blocking the path for larger creatures. The other, smaller openings would allow the girls to escape if necessary. When he finished, he turned around. "I hope the mages from the Tower of Dawn can hold out," he thought, before returning to the battle alongside the other knights.
Inside the carriage, Blair and Guinevere hid beneath a pile of clothes and pieces of wood Blair had managed to gather.
"Blair… Osric will be okay, right?" asked Guinevere, her face worried.
"Yes. Don't worry. He's a sworn knight. Nothing bad will happen to him," Blair replied, though inside, doubt and fear gripped her tightly.
Minutes passed, and for the two of them, time became eternal. The rain didn't stop, and water seeped through the cracks in the carriage, falling onto their bodies. Outside, the screams, the clash of metal, and the hiss of steam from that giant of fire began to fade, until only the constant roar of the storm remained.
Suddenly, Blair heard heavy footsteps. Someone was approaching from outside.
Each step was followed by a wet sound, as if the mud refused to release the intruder's boots. Then, the scrape of stone being moved. The sound shook her to the core, and both girls held their breath. The footsteps drew closer, slow, dragging.
An invisible and violent force swept away the clothes and wood they had used to cover themselves. Blair could barely react. Her heart pounded in her chest. A tense silence filled the air before a crackling voice broke the stillness:
"So this is where you were hiding..."
The voice, low and distorted, cut through the rain like a rusted blade. Then, a metallic click echoed in the night, dry and final. Blair couldn't move. Guinevere clung to her tightly, eyes wide with terror.
The figure speaking stood at the entrance, completely cloaked in black. A mask covered its face, smooth and featureless, as if nothing human lay beneath. It wore dark gloves, hardened leather that creaked as they slowly clenched. Beneath the fabric, something stirred, moving with an unnatural rhythm.
Around him, spiders began to emerge from the mud and shadows of the carriage—dozens, then hundreds. They crawled up his legs, and others dropped to the ground, sliding like a silent swarm.
Then, from the shadows, two enormous spiders appeared. They lunged into the carriage with brutal precision. One reached Blair and wrapped her in thick, sticky, gleaming threads, immobilizing her in a white cocoon. The other did the same to Guinevere, covering her completely as terror filled her eyes.
A moment later, only darkness remained.