Web of Secrets (7) : Spiders have settled in all across town, and while this isn’t normally any great cause for concern, inky black spiders are oddly common. The spiders themselves are not very threatening–small, nonpoisonous, and cowardly. The interesting thing about them is their black webbing–and the strange designs they make. Webs appear overnight, often seeming to come out of nowhere. They are curiously designed, almost as if made to deliberately spell out something. People all over town have mentioned finding webs that spell out a single word, or part of a sentence. Maybe it’s just imagination, but as the days go on, the words seem to be clearer–and the messages are often uncomfortable or distressing. There’s no evidence that the spiders can spell or are trying to send messages, but really–is it that hard to believe? Once a spider has left a message, it disappears. They are masterful escape artists and cannot be caught. There’s no telling what the spiders want you to know, but maybe if you’re lucky one will leave you a message you understand.
A thousand years ago, spiders had been sacred on Pyrrhus. Sacred mostly to followers of the Lord of Murder's wife, Araush the Webweaver, but sacred nonetheless. So if Pyrrhus paid perhaps more attention than average to spider activity, maybe it just made sense. Seers among Araush's cultists had insisted that things could be understood from the webs of native Pyrrhan spiders, from their patterns and lines. Pyrrhus had mostly taken their counsel because it was expected of him; he had never felt particularly like the patterns woven in corners and on trees were messages from a goddess. Surely Araush had other things to do than give all of her arachnid messengers daily notes on how to weave in case they might be discovered.
But then again, the messages had never been so clear on Pyrrhus as thy seemed to be in these strange black webs on Earth.
The spiders themselves were tiny, and scattered when Pyrrhus got close, but the webs were strange; black, unlike normal Earth spider webs, and he swore there were patterns that looked like Earth English.
The problem was the words.
"If you wanted to send me a message," he grumbled to the absent Webweaver, "you could have sent it in Pyrrhan. I can't read this."
lyricalballads
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2024 4:57 pm
Kom El Shoqafa had never paid much attention to spiders beyond capturing them and setting them free outside. Much as he didn't particularly like them, he also didn't want to cause harm or death beyond what might be necessary otherwise.
Spiders were irritants, not threats.
However, even he noticed the messages that were being left -- or rather, what seemed to be parts of messages, seeing random words here and there, so when he spotted someone looking at the webs, talking to himself, he couldn't help but come closer and look.
"They are coming...? That's rather ominous," he frowned. "Who are they?"
Oh, thank ********. Pyrrhus was having no luck making the symbols in front of him form into words, like his brain just refused to translate anything going on there. But he was lucky, to be stumbled upon by a human who spoke the language and could obviously read it more fluently than he could.
"Well. That's about as vague as the webspeakers were ever able to get, back on my home planet, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he deadpanned, turning to the Knight (who was, holy s**t, so ******** tall) and extending a hand. "Pyrrhus, of Nihility. Thanks for the translation, your language has changed significantly since the last time I was reading it with any regularity."
Spoken English? Fine, mostly. Written English? Absolutely a chore.
lyricalballads
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2024 7:53 pm
He arched an eyebrow, clearly curious as he listened. As a hand was offered, he took it and gave a firm, but brief shake. "Kom El Shoqafa of Saturn." ...he hoped he'd said that right. He didn't exactly go around talking with others about these things in general, was there some sort of protocol for this?
"I can only imagine how much things would've changed over the years if it's been long enough. Even just the past century has had changes all over, language constantly evolving to keep up with the changes in the world. That said...that is still an ominous message. Who are they? Where are they coming from? Are they a good thing or a bad thing?" He let out a heavy sigh.
Pyrrhus gave a brief nod at the Page's introduction. Kom El Shoqafa--he searched his memory, but that wasn't, as far as he could recall, a Knighthood he'd dealt with in the past. Too bad. It was becoming quite funny to him to pull out the "I know who you used to be" card.
"Pleasure," he said, and even meant it, and his eyes moved back to the webs.
"Mmm. This is the problem with divination, isn't it? Always vague signs and portents. They could be anything. The Negaverse. Some strange outer space Chaos. Your Earth police. Plenty of ways for us to find trouble from a mysterious they who are coming."
Pyrrhus sighed, trying to ignore the way his skin prickled with goosebumps. There was no point in mentioning what he was afraid of. The things on his world---they were contained to his world. That couldn't be the they in question. So he could safely box that thought up. Except that it refused to leave.
lyricalballads
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:45 pm
"Is...divination truly a thing?" He couldn't help but ask, sounding wary of the thought. "I know there's magic out there, but..."
But things were so much simpler without it. So much simpler to think in the purely physical. "Although I can't imagine spiders having actual knowledge about...things, either."
He gave a small nod, listening, thinking. "Well, if it were the police we would hear sirens. That at least would give warning and time to flee. The rest I...don't know much about, not enough to make a guess on any of that."
There's a beat before he asked, "Are you certain it might not be something else entirely? Anything that you might know, being from..." He made a vague gesture upwards, towards the stars.
Pyrrhus blinked, and tilted his head to the side. "Well, the Webspeakers on my world certainly believed in it, that spiders brought messages for them from Araush Webweaver," he said, "and there were plenty of oracles and prophets a thousand years ago. How many were accurate...." He shrugged. "Hard to say. But your world has discarded so much, I suppose it's not surprise that's lost too."
Honestly, he'd never entirely bought into the whole thing, but it felt disrespectful to let someone imply the power didn't exist. Especially since Araush's husband was supposed to be his father, as it were, so it was like letting someone disrespect his divine stepmother.
.....A strange and winding thought.
"We'd be able to feel approaching Negaverse. Chaos auras feel vile. As for anything else...." He smiled, bitterly. "It could be. I don't know what does and doesn't still lurk out there. But it could also be meaningless, or meant for someone else, somehow. Difficult to say."
Except it didn't feel so difficult. It felt sure that this was, somehow, for them. That they'd found it for a reason. But Pyrrhus didn't want to say so--it felt too much like superstition.
lyricalballads
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2024 10:50 pm
"There are those who still claim to believe in such things, but none have proven to be accurate a majority of the time from my admittedly limited experience," he shook his head. "So I couldn't tell you how much has or hasn't been lost, simply...many people discredit such ideas due to those who claim to practice the art and...only seem to be after stealing money from people."
But all things considered, Shoqafa wasn't even quite sure where he fell when it came to believing or disbelieving such things, instead more surprised to hear someone from another world speak of such things. If someone from among the countless stars that dotted the skies had heard of such practices and perhaps believed they held a grain of truth...
It certainly gave him something to think about.
"Well, given the difficulty you had in reading it, following that logic the message likely wasn't meant for you. Which doesn't help narrow down who it was meant for, either, which is supremely unhelpful."
Pyrrhus shrugged. "Plenty has changed. Plenty has been lost. The magic that made such things possible might be among them." It seemed straightforward to him. The world seemed to have moved on from magic, in great and small ways.
It was sad, honestly. So much vanished because of Chaos, or whatever else had taken so many worlds.
"Or maybe the people who are genuine are overshadowed by the charismatic fakes. That's always been a thing." He shook his head. "People have been grifting for as long as there's been language. I used to do pretty well at it, myself."
He shook his head. "Whoever or whatever they are, perhaps the message is intended to encourage us--or whoever it was meant for--to not be here when they arrive."
lyricalballads
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2024 11:56 pm
"Is that a not so subtle hint that we ought to get out of Dodge before it gets here, then? Whatever it is? They are?" He couldn't help but chuckle even as he nervously looked around. Nothing horrible seemed to be near. But that didn't mean anything, really. "However much things change, there's always some things that seem to stay the same."
He was focusing on that more than the idea of talking with someone who'd been good at swindling people out of their money. That was probably for the best, after all.
"Honestly, that's the best I can take from it," Pyrrhus said.
And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was more specific than that, somehow. It just felt too coincidental. Spiderwebs. Him finding them. A message. Even if he couldn't read it initially, it still felt....
Ugh, well, he wasn't getting any closer staring at it or chatting.
"Thanks for the help," he said. "Glad we ran into each other, even if it's not much of an answer."
lyricalballads
Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 3:42 pm
"Glad to have been of service," Shoqafa chuckled. "This has certainly given me much to think about. But for now...I suppose we'd best be on our way."
...the fact that he just heard a siren in the distance surely had to be a coincidence. Surely. Someone probably got hurt or something, there was no way that spiders predicted the arrival of the police. No way.
"Right on cue..." Not nervous at all, no. "See you around!"
