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The Ecology of the Giant Water Spider (unpublished AD&D 2E version)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 2324063" data-attributes="member: 508"><p>I am unused to dreaming. For most of my life sleep has been spent in reverie, not entangled in the chaos-world of dreams. I am used to quietly reminiscing over cherished memories, flipping through scenes of my past like pages of a favorite book, not the confusing series of images of things-that-never-were that my sleep has become. Yet since falling overboard and being captured by the giant water spider, since being dragged down here to his air-filled web, my sleep has been a thing of torment.</p><p></p><p>Is it any wonder? True, I am an accomplished wizard; I know the dangers involved in the path I have chosen to walk. But I am more accustomed to the uncertain dangers of a misfiring spell or an ill-fated experiment into the mystic arts than to the in-your-face horror of a venom-dripping monstrosity who will soon rend me for his dinner.</p><p></p><p>In my dream, I can still hear the soft, swooshing sounds of the <em>ioun stone</em> as it orbits my head. It is the one magical item I openly wear when venturing out on my own. Its life-sustaining properties have proven useful, for I often forget to eat for days on end when caught up in an intriguing puzzle or a new line of magical exploration.</p><p></p><p>In my dream, though, the stone is different. The sounds it makes are harsher, more shrill. It seems to grow, gaining in size with each orbit about my head. It begins to sprout legs: first one as it passes through my field of vision, then another one the next time through. I know what will happen, but am powerless to stop it; I am as tightly bound in my dream as I am in real life.</p><p></p><p>The stone whizzes by me, growing in size as it sprouts its spindly legs. Now it is as big as my head, and now as big as my body. It has grown fangs as well, wickedly sharp fangs that spill a greenish venom as the creature wheels about my head. As it grows its orbit shrinks, and the beast gets closer and closer to me as I lay in position, unable to move. Finally, the creature has reached its full size,<strong>[3]</strong> and I feel the hairs of its body brush my face as it passes. Then there is an excruciating pain as it crushes my neck between its mandibles, and I cry out in agony....</p><p></p><p>...and awaken with a scream.</p><p></p><p>Alone. Still alone. Good.</p><p></p><p>I look about me at my underwater prison. What else is there to do? What else, save count the moments until my death?</p><p></p><p>I am in an air-filled chamber, ovoid in shape, perhaps 20 feet long at its longest side. The bottom of the ovoid is open, and it is through this opening that the spider enters and exits his dwelling. I have been webbed up and stashed along a wall, upside-down, with my head pointing in the direction of the entrance.</p><p></p><p>The walls of the dwelling are not very thick,<strong>[4]</strong> nor can the structure be too far below the surface, for enough light filters in to allow me to see, without resorting to infravision. A few shiny objects glitter along the walls of the structure. They may be coins; I am unable to tell from here. If I tilt my head back, I can see strands of webbing jutting away from the opening.<strong>[5]</strong></p><p></p><p>The air I breathe is stale, and becomes even more so as I breathe in panic-induced lungfuls. I wonder if it might be possible to suffocate before the spider returns. Would it be better to die of asphyxiation than to be pierced by the spider's wicked fangs? I'm willing to bet so.</p><p></p><p>I am distracted by a movement from the corner of my eye. I look down at the entrance and see the spider's legs scrabbling for a purchase. It finds its way into the dwelling, and I am amazed by what I see. A gigantic bubble of air surrounds the creature's abdomen. As it pulls its body fully into the web-structure, the bubble is released into the tiny atmosphere it has built here for us.<strong>[6]</strong></p><p></p><p>And still it does not attack me. It kicks off the bubble of air, then turns around and exits the way it came.<strong>[7]</strong> Am I being saved for later, or does it just wish to torment me with the anticipation of its gruesome feast?</p><p></p><p>I no longer know nor care. Exhausted, I sleep. And sleeping, I dream.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 2324063, member: 508"] I am unused to dreaming. For most of my life sleep has been spent in reverie, not entangled in the chaos-world of dreams. I am used to quietly reminiscing over cherished memories, flipping through scenes of my past like pages of a favorite book, not the confusing series of images of things-that-never-were that my sleep has become. Yet since falling overboard and being captured by the giant water spider, since being dragged down here to his air-filled web, my sleep has been a thing of torment. Is it any wonder? True, I am an accomplished wizard; I know the dangers involved in the path I have chosen to walk. But I am more accustomed to the uncertain dangers of a misfiring spell or an ill-fated experiment into the mystic arts than to the in-your-face horror of a venom-dripping monstrosity who will soon rend me for his dinner. In my dream, I can still hear the soft, swooshing sounds of the [i]ioun stone[/i] as it orbits my head. It is the one magical item I openly wear when venturing out on my own. Its life-sustaining properties have proven useful, for I often forget to eat for days on end when caught up in an intriguing puzzle or a new line of magical exploration. In my dream, though, the stone is different. The sounds it makes are harsher, more shrill. It seems to grow, gaining in size with each orbit about my head. It begins to sprout legs: first one as it passes through my field of vision, then another one the next time through. I know what will happen, but am powerless to stop it; I am as tightly bound in my dream as I am in real life. The stone whizzes by me, growing in size as it sprouts its spindly legs. Now it is as big as my head, and now as big as my body. It has grown fangs as well, wickedly sharp fangs that spill a greenish venom as the creature wheels about my head. As it grows its orbit shrinks, and the beast gets closer and closer to me as I lay in position, unable to move. Finally, the creature has reached its full size,[b][3][/b] and I feel the hairs of its body brush my face as it passes. Then there is an excruciating pain as it crushes my neck between its mandibles, and I cry out in agony.... ...and awaken with a scream. Alone. Still alone. Good. I look about me at my underwater prison. What else is there to do? What else, save count the moments until my death? I am in an air-filled chamber, ovoid in shape, perhaps 20 feet long at its longest side. The bottom of the ovoid is open, and it is through this opening that the spider enters and exits his dwelling. I have been webbed up and stashed along a wall, upside-down, with my head pointing in the direction of the entrance. The walls of the dwelling are not very thick,[b][4][/b] nor can the structure be too far below the surface, for enough light filters in to allow me to see, without resorting to infravision. A few shiny objects glitter along the walls of the structure. They may be coins; I am unable to tell from here. If I tilt my head back, I can see strands of webbing jutting away from the opening.[b][5][/b] The air I breathe is stale, and becomes even more so as I breathe in panic-induced lungfuls. I wonder if it might be possible to suffocate before the spider returns. Would it be better to die of asphyxiation than to be pierced by the spider's wicked fangs? I'm willing to bet so. I am distracted by a movement from the corner of my eye. I look down at the entrance and see the spider's legs scrabbling for a purchase. It finds its way into the dwelling, and I am amazed by what I see. A gigantic bubble of air surrounds the creature's abdomen. As it pulls its body fully into the web-structure, the bubble is released into the tiny atmosphere it has built here for us.[b][6][/b] And still it does not attack me. It kicks off the bubble of air, then turns around and exits the way it came.[b][7][/b] Am I being saved for later, or does it just wish to torment me with the anticipation of its gruesome feast? I no longer know nor care. Exhausted, I sleep. And sleeping, I dream. [/QUOTE]
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The Ecology of the Giant Water Spider (unpublished AD&D 2E version)
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