V2Ch8-Seven Seconds

How the hell do I get myself into these situations?! James asked himself, exasperated.

He didn’t think he’d misinterpreted Anansi’s invitation.

But it was a bit hard to believe that the Spider God had invited him here, mentioned his arrival to his monstrous sons, and yet failed to make any efforts to assure the safety of his guest.

Maybe Anansi had lied to him. Perhaps he was taking the Spider Queen’s death more seriously than James had imagined, so he’d decided to just let his sons take care of James for him. Anansi probably knew how they’d behave in the absence of any strict instructions to avoid eating his guest.

Whatever the motives involved, the situation spoke for itself. James was bound tightly. He was a prisoner, not a guest, as far as these spider-people were concerned.

But at least he wasn’t completely helpless. Predator’s Armaments!

His fingernails turned sharp as razor blades, and he easily ripped a hole in the webbing near his hands. It took him several minutes of cutting, but finally, he freed himself completely.

Fortunately they didn’t use the sort of golden thread that giant web was made from, or I’d never have gotten loose. Now, how to get out of there?

Fight or flight time, but he wasn’t sure how to do either one. The children of Anansi would surely be much stronger than him, and they had no obvious weaknesses. And if he wanted to flee, he didn’t even know how to escape from this room unseen.

In the time that James had been struggling to free himself, he’d heard Afudohwedohwe go over to the pot and check it. James estimated from the sounds of movement that the water was boiling on the other side of the wall near where he lay.

Afudohwedohwe said: “Water needs another few minutes to be hot enough. It only just started really bubbling.”

“Fine,” Ntikuma said.

From that point on, James didn’t hear any further signs of life from the brothers. They could be just outside the door into the room where James listened, or they could have wandered off anywhere else. As long as they were trying to walk quietly, he had no confidence that he’d pick them up.

James decided not to risk opening the door to the next room. Instead, he would try Skill Fusion again. This time, he combined Basic Elemental Magic: Earth with Natural Camouflage, producing Camouflaged Earth Magic.

And he began casting. He sat in silence for almost a full minute, gathering power. Then he placed his hand on the wall furthest from where the water was boiling, and the material of the wall began to reshape itself according to his will. A small block of wall separated itself from the rest, and James slowly, quietly pushed it outward. He lowered his hands, and they came to rest on clumps of yellow-green grass.

Thank all the gods but Anansi that this was an exterior-facing wall! he thought. He pushed a bit further, until the block was far enough away that he had room to emerge through the hole. He stuck his head out first, to get a good look at the surrounding environment.

He was outside of the house, back in the savanna. No spider-people around. No people of any kind. Nor animals.

He pulled himself completely out of the house. Did a three-hundred-sixty degree rotation, to make sure there was no obvious threat he was missing. But there was nothing.

He began the long trek back to the exit. He could almost see the point he’d entered from when the brothers carried him in. The big advantage of not having to walk or run the whole way, in retrospect, was that he’d simply watched the scenery. Now that he had to navigate his way back, he found that he remembered many landmarks, despite this having seemed like a boring savanna landscape on first entry.

Keeping low, he tried to remain hidden in the long grass or behind the occasional tree where he could. And he gained distance quickly. He had no desire to be eaten. The only thing that slowed him down was the priority of remaining unseen. That was critical, given that he was all but certain the brothers could outrun him.

He occasionally stopped and looked back. Just to see if there was any sign of pursuit. Every time was the same.

No one seemed to be coming after him. But he was sure that the brothers would eventually. Perhaps they were delayed, because they had taken some time to notice he was gone.

Finally, he began to get closer to his destination. He could actually see the small hole in the sky where Anansi’s realm met the Orientation world. It looked like a small target from so far away. But the real problem was below.

James immediately dropped to the ground as soon as he spied them.

Both of them came. Of course they did. They knew this was my only way out.

Afudohwedohwe and Ntikuma stood back to back beneath the opening. Blocking his escape route.

Goddammnit! What the fuck?!

James had a quiet, contained tantrum. A stream of curses ran through his mind as he looked at the two figures. The only motion he made associated with those feelings was slowly grinding his fist into the dirt beneath him.

Finally, he lowered himself all the way to the ground, and he slowly crawled sideways, until he was shielded from view behind a group of rocks.

Okay. How do I get around them now? he questioned. There was only one idea that immediately presented itself to him as possible. Attempting this plan would be extremely painful, so he was reluctant.

He reviewed his Skill descriptions just to make sure the idea actually had a chance of working. Seemingly, it did.

And finally, he gritted his teeth and accepted that he didn’t have any better options. First, he produced a large quantity of silk, infusing it with Mana to make it as strong and sticky as possible. Then came the painful part. He drew a dagger in his right hand and infused Mana into his left arm. Then he raised the dagger, lifted it over his left arm, and swung it down with as much force as he could.

He chopped the left off at the elbow. The pain cut through his resistance, and he almost bit through his tongue as he restrained himself from crying out.

His first order of business was regenerating the lost limb. He accomplished that while gritting his teeth and focusing on his survival

Then he began manipulating the silk and the severed arm.

—

“Bro, do you see that?” Afudohwedohwe asked.

“I have exactly two eyes, smartass, and they're both in the front of my head,” Ntikuma said without turning. “Maybe you could describe what you’re seeing so I don’t have to turn my back on the side of the savanna I’m watching.”

“Right, right,” Afudohwedohwe said. He didn’t get insulted anymore when Ntikuma said those things. As his father had told him years ago, his big brother was just jealous that he was the handsome one. “Well, there’s someone or something running through the long grass in front of me. It’s not exactly close, and it’s getting further away. It’s keeping low, so I can’t see it well. But the skin tone is definitely the same as our visitor’s.”

“I see what you’re saying,” Ntikuma said. “You think he saw us out in the open like this, and now he’s running away.”

“Yeah. Where can he really go, though?” Afudohwedohwe asked.

“It’s a big world,” Ntikuma said. “We can’t embarrass Pop by letting this drag on too long, right? You should probably get after him. I’ll stay and keep watch here.”

“You sure, bro? What if I lose him, and he comes back?”

“You don’t think I can handle one solitary guy, little bro?! Don’t insult me!”

“Fine, whatever you say. I’m going!”Afudohwedohwe said.

And Afudohwedohwe took off into the long grass.

—

Once Afudohwedohwe left, James took his opportunity.

Ntikuma was no longer standing facing one direction. He walked in small circles, trying to get a good view of all sides. He was muttering something to himself under his breath, which was indistinct due to the distance that separated them.

As James crawled closer across the ground, he continued listening and watching Ntikuma’s lips. When James was halfway to the spider, he finally realized what he was muttering.

“I know you’re coming. Hit me with your best shot.”

Fine. Not a problem. As long as Afudohwedohwe didn’t come back—and James’s Flesh and Earth Golem indicated he was still chasing it—it didn’t matter too much if Ntikuma knew he was coming. Let the spider-person focus on James’s approach.

It would only increase the likelihood that James’s plan would actually work.

He began Silent Spellcasting, gathering wind Mana around himself.

After around thirty seconds of gathering Mana, he deactivated Natural Camouflage. Just to make sure Ntikuma saw him, he rose from his prone position. When James was on his feet, Ntikuma turned fully toward him.

“So, you’ve finally decided to fight like a man?” he asked.

They were taunting me the whole time, James thought. I don’t know how I failed to see it sooner.

“That’s right,” he said. “Assuming you don’t need your brother to bail you out. A one on one fight, just you and me.”

“Ha! You’ve got jokes!” Ntikuma snorted. “Did you forget that I was the big brother?”

He took a few steps down from the slightly elevated piece of land he stood on. Then he frowned.

“What did I just step—” He looked down, clearly confused at what he was seeing.

“Gotcha,” James said. It was almost under his breath, but it returned Ntikuma’s attention to him in an instant.

“You did this!” Ntikuma exclaimed. He tried to lift his leg, and it barely moved. A creature made of silk was wrapped around it, clinging to two legs with one half of its body and a big chunk of rock with the other.

James estimated the Silk Golem wouldn’t hold Ntikuma for long. Seven seconds at most?

He took off, letting the wind carry him up and away, toward the hole in the sky. Below him, he was barely cognizant of Ntikuma’s movements. The spider-person was frantically working to dislodge himself from the creature that gripped his legs.

It shouldn’t be easy, James thought. The only Skills his creation had inherited from him were Natural Camouflage and Predator’s Armored Defense—the fusion of Predator’s Armor and Adamant Defense. The Silk Golem wouldn’t live for long, but what life it had, it would expend in slowing Ntikuma down.

Ntikuma yelled for his brother while he grappled with the creature. “Afudohwedohwe! Afudohwedohwe, you pot-bellied fool! We’ve been tricked! Get back here!”

James smiled. The Flesh and Earth Golem had led Afudohwedohwe on a merry chase. There was no way he would return in time to help Ntikuma.

As he closed in on the portal, he sensed motion beneath him. He looked down without pausing in his forward motion. Ntikuma was leaping up toward him, pulling the Silk Golem and the giant rock the Silk Golem clung to behind him.

I almost didn’t account for how impossibly strong Anansi’s children were, James thought. Ntikuma was moving much faster than he was, despite dragging a massive weight behind him. Seven seconds was a wildly optimistic projection for how long he’d be distracted with the Golem. But James had a big head start.

The spider-person rocketed upward toward him through the sky.

Ntikuma’s long spider limbs came within inches of grabbing James’s ankle. He felt the movement of air from around Ntikuma’s body. James lifted his ankle slightly, just in case. Just to put himself a little more out of reach of those grasping limbs.

And then James was through the opening.

He found himself in darkness, but it wasn’t the darkness of the void. The darkness of a thunderstorm, lit by occasional bolts of lightning.

There was a sound of drums, rain sticks, and strings playing.

A collection of sounds that James recalled from his last encounter with Anansi.