Chapter Two

The cave spider scuttled back and forth, studying the seated figure. It experimented with lowering a loop of webbing, but abandoned the plan when the loop made contact and their size difference became too obvious to ignore.
“Even if we all worked together,” It thought. “We still couldn’t capture that. We’d need a Scion.”
A tremor in the roof webbing passed along a warning; Invader. The spider looked up, then hurled a loop of webbing at a hornet as it flew by, snagging it at the same time as one of its brethren slightly deeper into the cave.
As they reeled the struggling insect in, the spider asked itself.
“What’s a Scion? Why do I know that word?”
It felt important somehow.
When the hornet was defeated, and it’s energy was sent flowed into the roof webbing, the spiders sent out a message.
“Intruder not invading. Not gathering, not destroying, damaging but not attacking.”
“What’s a Scion?” The first spider added.
A flood of messages filled the web.
“More intruders not invading at entrance.”
“Damaging because large and clumsy?”
“We know ‘Scion’. How do we know ‘Scion’?”
“Intruder not invading tried to gather; Now poisoned.”
“‘Scion’ is bigger us. Why do we know this?”
“Bees see intruders not invading outside.”
“Intruder not invading attacked while gathering? Not right.”
“Bad weather coming outside.”
“Intruder not invading gathered and ate toadstools.”
“Why!?”
“Not What Toadstools Are For!”
“Bees say ‘Scion’ like Queen. Powerful.”
“Intruder not invading dying?”
“Sick, not dying. Big creature, small toadstools.”
The cave spider, still speculatively eyeing up the seated figure, tried to imagine a spider so big it could catch the huge creature, then tried to imagine what the creature could possibly want. It wasn’t trying to gather anything, it didn’t seem to be trying to destroy anything, it didn’t seem like a threat; it was just sitting there.
The last message from the bees stuck in its mind. More intruders not invading outside, and the bees knew something about Scions, whatever they were. It started making its way along the web, heading for the entrance; This needed a direct conversation, not messages.
“Why did I think that?” It wondered, looking down at the small group of large creatures clustered around the rock pool by the entrance. “I’ve never needed to do this before.”
One of the large creatures was vomiting into a crack in the rocks, while another crouched nearby, offering a bowl of water.
“Why eat toadstools?” The web asked. “Gather yes, eat no.”
“Very new? Very young? Very stupid?” Replied the cave spider, trying to think of a reason to eat anything so clearly poisonous as a toadstool. The things glowed; Nothing that glows is good eating.
Dim sparks crawled out of the roof web and onto the cave spider as it traveled, though it didn’t notice, intent on making its way to the entrance. The way seemed clearer here, it could grip better and reach further and jump longer that it had ever been able to before.

Down on the cave floor, the vomiting figure wiped it’s mouth with a shaky hand and took a gulp of water, then lay on it’s back on the cave floor.
“No, definitely not edible.”
It pointed at the roof.
“Wonder where that one’s going?”
The figure with the bowl of water looked up & jumped slightly, splashing the one on the ground.
“Hey!”
“Sorry, but … That’s a big spider.”
They watched the cave spider make it’s way towards the entrance.
“Biggest one I’ve seen so far.” Said the one on the ground.
“It’s the only big one.” The standing figure replied. “And there aren’t any small ones.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look around.” The standing one gestured. “We’re maybe 50 paces into this cave, those spiders are everywhere, but apart from that big one heading right for the entrance in a dead straight line, all the rest are exactly the same size.”