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[ This is the morning of Day 5 of the month of Domino. Curufin is in his cabin, having just awakened from an extremely vivid dream -- by falling out of his bunk and landing on the floor with a THUNK! Sorry about the racket, roomies! He climbs to his feet, and since he slept in his clothes, getting dressed is simple. He pulls on his boots, throws on his jacket, and goes to the ICP. ]

Good morning, all. Hate to bother you, but I've just had yet another prophetic dream.

I thought I was trapped inside a block of ice. Ice walls, ice floor, ice ceiling. I was freezing, and it was hard to start walking through this frozen passageway, but I did. The ice was so clear and transparent that at times it almost seemed. . . not there at all.

I spotted what I assumed was a gap or an exit up ahead, and I stepped towards it. But suddenly the world shook under my feet and the block shuddered and lurched, and I was thrown off my feet and crashed into the walls. It felt like the structure was tumbling, with me in it! The cold struck through my bones like knives every time I hit the ice.

I don't know what this means, but the dreams I had before the last two missions were true visions. I dreamed of goblins and flying wolves and a burning city, and that's what we found. The next time, I dreamed of a volcanic planet that was self-destructing, and that's exactly where we went.

So, I must believe we're going to a very wintery place this time.

I suggest to everybody, get your cold-weather gear together! [ His shoulders shake briefly with silent laughter. ] And bring a flask of vodka or whisky if you can.

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"What is this web you speak of?" asked Curufin. He noticed that Khary used his wedding ring as a touchstone.

"We spoke about Black Widows, right?"

"Yes, I remember. What about them?"

He took a deep breath. "One of the many things a Black Widow can do that is unique to their cast is the weaving of Tangled Webs that can entrap the mind. Those are not the only kinds of Webs they weave, but for the moment those are the ones at issue. Because I or we are trapped in one. I'm pretty sure at least some of you are real, and trapped with me, though I have no way to be certain from within. That is what Tangled Webs do. You can't be sure of anything, everything can feel real within one. Often Webs draw from your own mind and entangle you as you inadvertently feed them. So far this one hadn't, at least not from mine. But in all the history of the Blood there have only ever been two male Black Widows. And I serve in the same court as the both of them." He took a deep breath, trying to focus on keeping his temper chained as the air chilled again. "One of the other abilities unique to Black Widows... is seeing the future."

"You think this entire VoidTrecker adventure is nothing more than a Tangled Web cast by a Black Widow, male or female?" Then something catches his attention in an alarming sort of way. "Wait. . . are you saying that you fear that I am the Black Widow, because I have seen the future?"

"Female. Neither the High Lord not Sadi would do this. Though the only witch I can think of with enough power and strength of mind to weave a Web this complex also would not. But sometimes multiple Black Widows can wok in deadly concert. We learned that the hard way."

He shook his head slightly. "I am angered, more than afraid, that whoever did this might be making this web as a way to break down beliefs in traditional gender roles. That was how Dorthea and Heketabah plunged the realms into a war that lasted fifty thousand years. They twisted and perverted what was true and right and fundamental to our being. They poisoned minds with the idea that the stronger should rule the weaker, never mind Caste or gender. And then they taught those they chose how to keep everyone else weaker. Countless Queens and Black Widows killed or broken before they could come to their power. Before they could become a threat. Then setting themselves, Priestesses both, above all people of all Castes. There are two male Black Widows. Hundreds of thousands of years or more, and there are two. They are both exceptionally special circumstances that will never be duplicated. So giving you visions as though they were trying to turn you into a Black Widow..." He shook his head, the air growing colder again. "I will not allow anyone to start another war like that."

"You think that only a female Black Widow could or would do this? Or more than one of them, working together? It sounds as though your world has a dire history. Fifty thousand years of war? I don't blame you for being suspicious of these present circumstances."

He gazed on his friend's face with concern. "And you think that this VoidTrecker adventure may not be real at all, may instead be what you call a web -- a hallucination cast by a malevolent mind or minds? And you think that the visions I have had in this place are not mine at all, but visions imposed on my imagination by those same destructive minds?"

A small slow nod. "I... " his hands closed on the table top a few times. "No that long ago there was an author named Jarvis Jenkell. We used to find his books so bad they were funny. He was a Landen writer who wrote Landed murder mysteries. No one I knew took him seriously. At all. Then he discovered that he was what is known as a half-blood." Yes he had a reason for telling this story, though he hated Jenkell, and even Khary found little amusing in what had happened. Or in how Half-Bloods were often treated.

Half-Bloods are generally too weak to wear Jewels, and among Jeweled Blood they are often servants at best. If their heritage is not known about when they are a child, they aren't raised as Blood, they aren't taught the rules and laws that go with having Craft. And most Blood," he said, disgusted, "can't be bothered with someone so weak. But to the Landens who have no magic at all, they are terribly strong. And without the leashes and chains we grow up with teaching us how to control our dangerous natural aggression, many half-Bloods wind up as rather monstrous, attacking and subjugating Landens until the Blood have to stop them. Few Half-Bloods live more than a handful of years after they discover their power. Landen parents often hide their children if they show any signs of power." It was disgusting. "We are working to change this in Kaleer, of course," he said as much to remind himself as to inform his friend, "but it is slow work to change tens of thousands of years of fear while also recovering from war."

He shook his head. "I'm straying from the point. And I promise I do have one." He took a deep breath, then called in a flask of brandy and took a long swallow. That helped some. "Jarvis discovered later than most that he was Blood. Or half, at least. He started a new series with a main character who was a half-Blood discovering what he was. None of us had any clue that this was his way of coming out to the world. He was just some Landen author from a small village. As much as I love books, I do not follow closely the lives of every author I like. Honestly other than Fiona, I've met few at all. Jenkell sent a copy of his book to Sadi. Sadi saw no reason to reply. He's the Warlord Prince of Dehlman, Consort in the Dark Court, and newly married to the love of his life. He didn't even get around to reading the book for ages and when he did it was because his wife had bought a copy because it was so bad it was hilarious, or so my wife had told her, so she had to read it for herself." He shook his head.

"Around that time Jaenelle and Marian had wound up talking to some Landen kids about what they thought our lives are like. Their responses apparently sent Marin into a cleaning frenzy because apparently Landen children think we live in dark spooky houses dripping with cobwebs and drop sheets," he said dryly. That thought, remembering Yasi telling him about Marin's reaction, thinking about Jaenelle's reaction. All of it soothed some of the hard edges. Some. The brandy helped too. He took another sip.

"Jaenelle, ah, Jaenelle Angeline has always been, will always be my friend for a reason. She heard what the children said and found it all hilarious. She decided to build a 'spooky house' as an entertainment for the Landen children. An over exaggeration of what the kids has said. Ghosts in every room, billowing spider webs, dim creepy lighting. All with a light hearted laugh. She had a spooky stair case where a random step would scream when it was stepped on. A ghostly finger that wrote things in the dust. A door that opened and closed on its own. A snarl in the basement. It was silly and fun and very much not scary. It did not go over well with parts of the family, to say the least."

He took another long sip. Jenkell, however, saw an opportunity, the *****." Oh look, his anger was back. "His next book was set in a locked horror house. So he built his own spooky house. He convinced three Black Widows to help him. Two of them.... when they came for payment...." he closed his eyes and closed his hand tightly around his flask. "He killed them and fed them into the spells. Mother Night I have no clue how he did it. But he butchered two witches and tied them into the house. Along with an adult male and a young boy." His knuckles were pale from how tightly he gripped the small metal flask of brandy. If it was glass, it would have shattered. "The third witch he couldn't kill. She never came for her payment. She wouldn't. Tersa didn't help for money. She thought she was working on Jaenelle's spooky house. She thought she was making illusions for her boy. For Daemon. Surreal said that Tersa's illusions were the easy ones to identify. They were creepy but harmless. A smashed looking mouse in a glass paperweight that came to life and tried to escape. Beetles that crawled out of a bathtub and popped, and then vanished again. A bowl of grapes that suddenly looked like eyes. He would have happily murdered Tersa. But she never came to be paid. She went home and waited to be told that her boy loved the surprises. And that the Mikel boy, Silvia's son, loved the surprises. Tersa... Tera's mind was shattered, hundreds o thousands of years ago. No one understands how Tersa does the things she does, but... she is special. Beloved and cherished by all who know her. We all feel protective of Tersa. And he used her to create a trap for her family." The fury was back. The air chilled. He vanished the flask and called in another one. A stronger drink. Too many gravediggers - more than one, really - would give him a fierce headache. He'd welcome it compared to the heart ache of telling this story. But Curufin had to understand. More, if whoever created this web or controlled it was listening, they had to understand what was coming for them if they did not let everyone go.

"He sent invitations to the SaDiablo family. He wrote them out as if they were a finger snap summons from Jaenelle. The Spooky House opening to be that night, an address. No one in the family approved of the project. The only ones who knew where the house was were Jaenelle and Marian. Yaslana, Yasi... he got his invitation and was about to drop his son and the woolf pup off with Nuirian and Jillian so he could get there, when the kids had a tussle. Both pup and boy got hurt. By the time he calmed both children down, they had fallen asleep on him, and he soon followed. When Marian woke him he said he remembered that there was something urgent, but for him the spooky house was as much about his wife Marian as his sister Jaenelle, so since she was calm he fell back asleep and didn't worry enough to remember it. Daemon.... well apparently Beale thought he was planning a romantic night in with Jaenelle or something, and being the romantic that he is, the butler held all of Sadi's letters. It looked, from the outside, like just another invitation, and those are usually dated weeks if not months ahead. One night wouldn't matter."

He shook his head. "But Surreal got her invitation right on time. Right as Rainer, who used to be our dance teacher, was coming over for dinner. A suspicion I have but will never share with anyone who might ever repeat it to her or anyone in the family is that she wasn't invited so much because she is family, but because Jenkell knew about her former career as a ***** and didn't know about her much more successful career as an assassin. Seriously, the man couldn't write a good *** scene if his life depended on it, maybe he wanted a real life example of what it looked like," he said with a dark smirk and narrowed eyes. "Which only goes to prove he is an idiot even more so since he only invited her and her relatives. Besides, Surreal doesn't sleep around anymore, and even if she did, Rainer is both a friend, and not exactly interested in women," he said, flatly. "And he arranged for them to have children with them. But given some of the spy holes Yasi found? Yeah, my bet is he was hoping to watch more than just painful death." He growled at those last words and took a long drink of his gravedigger.

Rainer wasn't invited, but he's a Blood male who has been properly trained. He was with a cranky witch who did not want to be going but was obligated to. So he stood as escort. He took their dinner to go and they rushed right over. They were the only members of the family to show up. They were ushered inside with a handful of Landen children. Then the door was sealed." He closed his eyes. "Thirty exits. And every time they used Craft an exit would be sealed. When all the exits were sealed they would become part of the spells, part of the house, part of what would have no choice but to try to kill whoever entered next." He shook his head. "Every bit of magic they used fed the spells, made them stronger. It fed on their attempts to escape. Some of the children died," he whispered. Rainer... Rainer was injured, badly, protecting Surreal and the children. He may never dance again. Even with the best healers in the realm looking after him he can barely walk on that leg. The blade was craft enhanced, broke his shields, cut into his bone. Surreal was poisoned. One of the dead Black Widows. Because she was a demon Surreal lived long enough to get help. But it took her far too long to recover. She still has a rasp to her breathing."

He slammed a hand on the table, but the anger was hot now. "Surreal wears the Grey. She is one of the strongest witches in Kaleer. She's a trained assassin who lived almost two thousand years in a war zone. Rainer was trained in Kaleer by some of the same people who trained me. They both can hold their own in nearly any fair fight." His eyes opened, dead and empty. "They couldn't escape on their own. They were too tied into the spells. They would have died in there," he said, his voice hollow. He was shaking slightly.

"Yasi found the invitation eventually. Tried to appologize to his wife for having not been there. She said that she thought it was sweet that he tried to help, thinking he had written the invitation, but told him that the wording needed to be toned down, otherwise it would be seen more as an order. That was when he realized it was a trap. I had learned that Jenkell was setting up a spooky house of his own, but too late. I told Daemon as soon as I knew, but it was too late. Surreal and Rainer were already trapped in it."

His eyes closed again. "Jaenelle was ******ed when she saw the incitation, and more so because no one in the family realized that she hadn't written it. That she would NEVER have written something like that." he forced a small wobbly smile. "Yasi, Sadi, Surreal, they all grew up in Kaleer. The **** Queens there issued those sort of invitations all the time. Rainer had little experience with Queens, because most of his family was among the lower Castes and lighter Jewels. But had I seen that? Uncle Saetan? Any of the other boyos from Kaleer? We would have known that **** would be warm before Jaenelle Angelline would send an invitation like that."

He shook his head, turning grim again. "Yasi got them out, eventually. Yasi and Jaenelle and Daemon. Surreal and Rainer survived. But as strong as they were.... they could not get out on their own." He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes again.

"I wear the Sapphire. Surreal wears the Grey. She is significantly stronger than I am, and she could not escape the Tangled Webs. I have zero hope of escaping from the inside. Doesn't mean I'll stop trying, but I am being smart about it and realistic, doing my best not to feed my power into the Web itself. But whoever created this Web? Sadi will be able to read it. Jaenelle will be able to read it. Karla. Gabrielle." He looked up at the ceiling. "Saetan will read the web and see," he warned whoever might be behind this and listening. "Jenkell was glad when Sadi finally let him die."

Nothing. No sense he had even been heard by anyone but the man before him. "This Web is crossing dangerous lines. And giving you visions is one of them."

Curufin listened to all of this, nodding sometimes, and watching Khardeen's face. The anger was plain to see, and the reason behind it obvious.

"I definitely like Jaenelle's spooky house better than Jenkell's!" he said, shaking his head a little. But none of this could be funny to Khardeen, so he didn't joke in his usual fashion.

"So that explains why you are so afraid that the VoidTrecker may be simply the center of a Tangled Web. And I can understand from your tale just how dangerous such a Web can be. You and those you care about have been through a lot."

He thought. "But Khardeen, I must say that I have always had visions, and they have always been accurate. I do not know what kind of being the train is, or if it is not sentient but some sort of sentient beings are behind its appearance and it's travels between the universes. Or, if you are right, these are only apparent travels, right? Illusions of some kind. It's just that I don't have any sense that my visions were created by some other mind, and I think that I would know."

He ran a hand through his curls pail and spent. He shook his head. "And what if my accepting something so against all that I know feeds the web?" he whispered, voice rougher than usual. It was like the siege all over again. He had not been this exhausted since.

Curufin gave him a look of affection and compassion.

"Do you mean that if you chose to believe me, your belief might go to feed this Web you speak of? Well, then I can see why you would be so hesitant to accept my view. But are you saying that in your world, the ONLY way a person can have visions is if a Black Widow gives the visions to that person?"

"Black Widows don't give visions. They're the only ones who can have them. But they can plant things in a mind that can seem like visions."

"Our worlds are somewhat different, then. In mine, any Elf can theoretically have visions, though in practice, not all Elves do. The ability to plant things in another's mind is not a common skill, but some have it. Actually, I do. That's why I can tell the difference between an implanted vision and a natural one."

"This is all wrong. We need to get through all of this."

"What parts are wrong, exactly? Or is it the entire experience?"

"Everything. A trap Web being in the middle of Maghre. Me still being stuck here. All of you being stuck here."

"I don't actually have a problem with being here. But then, I was looking for an adventure. And not everybody was. A lot of people, including you, have responsibilities in their own worlds and need to get back. I understand that very well."

He considers. "But if this is a trap Web, then what happens if the spell is broken?"

"That depends a lot on how the Web was woven and how it is broken. When Yasi and Sadi broke the Spooky house, they did it in waves, and everyone that needed to survive was out already." Well, with one exception, but none of them talked much about what happened to Jenkell if they could avoid it. About why the Sadist wanted him left alive when he went in to weave his own Tangled Webs. Just like no one asked Uncle Saetan what happened to the fool when Sadi finally let him die...

"Is breaking the Web in waves a particularly dangerous way to break it? I mean, for the people who are trapped in it."

Edited 2020-02-17 11:41 (UTC)

"I honestly don't have the slightest idea."

"I'm still thinking over the implications of what you say. What is Maghre? Are you thinking that the Tangled Web is actually in your world? That in fact, you have never left your own world?"

"My body is there for certain. I suspect the Web touches many worlds, given the people I have met here."

"What makes you so sure your body is there? Also, about this Web? You think that it brought us all to your world to take part in an illusory adventure? So that if the Web were to be broken, we'd all find ourselves at your house?" He smiles a little as he speaks these last words. He can't quite resist making a joke. "That would be quite the party. I hope you have food and booze for the lot of us."

He isn't making fun of Khardeen, though, just trying to make him smile.

"That kind of Web cannot transport the body, only the mind. I think we are all where we encountered the Web, physically. Unless we were moved by those who found us. There are shields around my body that will activate if I am hurt. I am reasonably certain I am safe. Besides, I was riding NightHawk, he would have gotten help."

He ran a hand through his curls and gave a weak hint of a smile. "You all show up at the Queen's residence, and we'll make sure there is food and booze enough for everyone."

"I see," said Curufin. "So you think it is most likely that the Web extends so far that it can find people in their own universes? And therefore we all must have encountered it in our own worlds? I'm not sure that all of us could have been physically moved, as some of us have powers that could protect us. I'm pretty sure this Web couldn't have taken me from the last world I lived in, or I'd have been aware of it. Nor could it have picked me out of the Void where I was journeying, or again, I'd have known it."

He considered what Kardeen had said, and the few details he had just given. "Those shield around your body that you speak of, could they prevent you from being transported against your will? And who is NightHawk?"

He smiled back when Khardeen gave that small smile. "It's a deal. We'll all appear at the Queen's residence, and you'll provide the party fare."

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Spoilers for Tangled Webs, CW: bugs, violence, gore, *** mentions.

No need to warn for spoilers or anything else. XD

I never know who is stalking a game thread. :D

If they're shocked, it's their fault for stalking. XD

Lol, maybe. Still better cautious than upsetting someone, at least, that's how I feel. Anxiety & all

*hugs*

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hugs