Cold. Hardness. Stacey shivered. What had happened to her bed? Had she fallen off again and ended up on the floor? Wait, hadn't she been doing something important? It seemed too much of a struggle to try and remember now. What she really wanted--no, needed----was sleep.
She tried to turn over to get comfortable, but the hardness simply shifted to her back. What was going on here?
Despite her body's urgings, she struggled to open one eye. Or, thought she had, anyway. It seemed just as dark as before. Slowly, she opened up the other eye and saw the same thing. It was then that she noticed she was swaying rhythmically, as if with someone walking.
Feeling about herself, she found huge columns about her. As she grew stronger, she began to emit a soft light, letting her see her surroundings.
A giant comb the size of a small table greeted her, while in its shadow lay other objects, each seeming vaster than they should; but she'd gotten used to that--as a fairy, everything seemed big to her.
What interested her the most was the tall brown cliffs that seemed the walls of a cave. They were sheer and smooth, with signs of tool marks and, when she looked into one of the corners, she saw rough, jagged marks that looked like crossed railroad ties. She realized that it had to stitching; she was in Mausi's bag.
I just hope that everyone isn't captured and tied up and I'm being carried to the midden heap! She thought nervously.
Instead of calling out, she started climbing carefully, trying not to disturb whoever was carrying her until she had time to get out and have a proper look around.
At the top of the bag, she eased the flap aside (she felt thankful it was untied) and peered into the darkness around her.
Well, we're still in the forest, or it wouldn't be so dark.
Once her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she realized that it was the dark under the trees she saw and not the night. Around her she could see her companions racing grimly; Tom flying just ahead with his light turned on just enough to allow the others to see the ground ahead. Lana pumping wildly next to her, moving as swift and sure as any fox on two legs. Her spear had been shattered at the tip, but she clutched the remaining haft like a club, the jagged ends held out like the points of a spear.
Well, that's comforting at least, Stacey thought.
She flew out from the bag and saw that Mausi was running next to Lana, the older woman pacing herself to keep up with the younger.
"Stacey! You're...haaa...all right."" Tom gasped as she flew next to him.
"Yes." Stacey said impatiently. "How long was I out?"
"A day, maybe. It's hard to tell in here." He said shortly.
"A day!" she said in surprise.
"Yeah. We've been running through most of it, hounded by the spider-folk. We've only just managed to keep ahead of them.""
She looked at him with grave concern. His forehead was pale and his wings seemed so thin! He must have expelled a good deal of energy in the fighting.
"Well, I'm rested now, so why don't you take a break in Mausi's bag?"" she suggested.
He gave her a weary grin. "Not just now, I'm good for another mile or so." He said cheekily.
"Get back there." She pointed.
"Yes mother." He sniped with a grin.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
She looked back at the panting, haggard, worn Brissons who still ran ceaselessly behind them. How long they'd been running, she didn't know, but suspected that they had to be exhausted. How much further did they have to go before the accursed spiders let them go? Until they reached the last tree, she suspected; and perhaps even further, into the cold slopes beyond.
If we don't stop soon, they're going to collapse on us. If we do stop, the spiders could catch up to us and they'll be in even worse shape. She fretted. Could they forgive me?
She rushed to a nearby tree, causing a temporary halt.
"Great tree, how much further to the edge of your kin?" she asked desperately.
The tree rustled and groaned, its dark heart fighting the light that blossomed deep in its roots and making slow progress up.
"Not long." It whispered at last, "Perhaps a thousand standing trees to go."
A thousand trees! At about twenty paces across for many of the large specimens here, that would suggest they still had about a mile to go until they were in the clear.
"Hurry!" she urged. "We still have about a mile to go." The weary women lurched into a jog, then a run. The terror of what awaited them great enough to overcome weariness.
"Thank you!" she thanked the tree. "Please slow the spiders, if you can!"
"I will do what I can." The tree said slowly, but stronger and more healthily. It was as if just hearing a friendly, fey voice had pushed back the rottenness of its core and brought healthy growth.
They held their pace for more than an hour, over bramble and hard stone, down slippery slope where small rocks clattered and fell away with every step, and up steep sides that saw them bent nearly parallel; and always they heard the spiders seemingly just behind them.
The brisson's fur was matted with sweat, their glazed eyes locked on her light as she led them through the trees. The land started to slop upward and ahead they could see the trees start to thin. Long fingers of light stabbed downward from the canopy, brushing faces and warming weary limb after the cold darkness they'd endured. A great, shivering cry rent the air behind them. By mutual consent, they pelted the last distance outside the line of trees into the frigid air beyond before stopping to look behind them.
Nothing stirred under the line of trees, which had transformed from the broad-leafed trees from below into sturdy pines and firs. Plants that could most handle cold snows and temperatures, Stacey noted dimly.
"Well, we've lost the spiders, at least." She gasped.
No answer. She turned round to see Mausi and Lana embracing each other, giving each other strength to stand. The wind whipped their thin, desert garments away from their fur, leaving them horribly exposed. Stacey realized that they would need warmth, and shelter, soon.
She looked desperately around on the cold, bare sides of the mountain. Finally, she saw a boulder further on that looked large enough to give cover from the biting wind.
"This way!" she pointed.
"I-i-i-t-t-t's k-k-k-cold" Lana shivered.
"It'll be warmer out of the wind. To the boulder, quickly!"
Slowly they made their way to its shadow, and almost immediately the wind was blocked. It howled its displeasure, pelting the irritating stone that stopped its mischief, but the stone did not yield and at last they could rest.
With Mausi and Lana huddled together at the base, Stacey took out one of her seeds and grew a thick vine fort for them. It found little purchase on the slabs of granite from the mountain, or the thin soil that covered it, and Stacey winced at the pained struggles of the heroic vine, but at last it closed them completely, shutting out the wind and cold. The air started to warm rapidly, while delicate blossoms bloomed, scenting the air delicately while a soft glow came from their white petals. Stacey knew the name for them, almost as well as her own, though she'd never before heard it in life.
"Moonhedradon", or simply, "Flower of the Moon".
Gentle snores soon echoed in the chamber, while Stacey kept watch. She bustled about for a while, trying to occupy her mind with thoughts of plants and growing things; tending their shelter with gentle hands. Everywhere she went, she would gently push a loose vine into position, or move an errant flower back to its proper place, or find some earth to place around a bare root.
How long she worked, she wasn't aware. Time held no meaning for her, as it seemed the work brought about memories of her previous life (the fairy half at least), of working in magnificent gardens hidden deep within the forest; great flowers and trees that bloomed and grew without fall or winter to darken them with sorrow; and everywhere, hundreds upon hundreds of fair folk working together, tending nature so it could grow without worry to its maximum potential.
Snatches of fey song came to her ears, and she started to hum it softly under her breath.
The garden of the world is in flower
The men and women of the fey find it un-sour
The world is young in our day
The men and women of the fey
Slowly we shall tend the gardens
With magic strong and hands tender
Until our time is past and done the gardens
Until we must return to the Life Sender
Great is the blossom in the dark
Holding back beast and shadow
The wolves shall howl and the dogs shall bark
And the men shall seek the dark and not bow
Arise! Arise! Fey of the world, Men of the West!
Stand against the darkness,
Hold courage to your breast!
Though shield be shaken and spear splintered,
Though magic falter and potion wither,
Together we stand against the Masters of the Night
Together we will stand triumphant in our might
So the world shall be made safe once more
The gardens will flower in glen and moor
Once more the forests shall be strong and whole
With sturdy root and broad bole
The seas shall grow kelp and the fish shall swim
And we shall laugh in delightful whim
On the mountain shall sit pure light
The cold, its bite!
Of deliberations beyond our sight
Oh! How wonderful is its delight
So the world will be made fair in our day
And peace shall cover the land,
And truth will be all we shall say
Together we will stand
With every note she sang, the plant seemed to become more vibrant, more alive. The whimpers of fear from Lana slowly vanished until she relaxed entirely in the limp sleep of peace. Mausi, too, seemed completely at ease as she held her sister close for the warmth.
Stacey paused a moment in her work as she looked down at them.
Hmm. They are going to be pretty cold unless Mausi has more spare clothes. But, no, I don't think she does. What she did have she gave to Lana to replace her stolen ones, and that wasn't winter clothing either, she mused.
She flew there a while, pondering her options. Looking into her bag of seeds, she found a cotton plant that had somehow fallen in without her noticing.
But what good is it? She lamented. Without water to grow them they would die! The vines are tough and strong, and will keep good for some time, long enough for the water to flow down the mountain slopes again.
She found herself close to despair and had to blink back tears of frustration. There had to be something she could do to help her friends, or they would suffer horribly from frostbite.
A thought, almost too quick to register, flicked past her consciousness. She slowed almost to a standstill as she considered it. It would be too dangerous, she pointed out to herself. The reward didn't justify the risk, and they wouldn't wear such garments anyway. Yet she couldn''t quite dismiss it out of hand.
Well, maybe just a check near the edges, she huffed. There could be some strands there, and if there wasn't perhaps she could find something else to use.
Her mind made up, she made sure the others were comfortable, and the bag really did hold no further option. She found Tom sleeping comfortably there, completely worn from his adventures. He looked so handsome that, almost without realizing what she was doing, she kissed his brow tenderly. The taste of him on her lips was divine, and she had to restrain herself from taking more. Slipping silently out of the bag, she went to the wall of the bower.
"Please let me out." She asked politely. "I will be gone only a few minutes."
The vines shifted slowly and laboriously, until at last a narrow tunnel just her height was revealed. She passed through, patting the plant in thanks.
Outside, the sun still shone brightly from above, removing some of the tension coiling in her belly. So long as she didn't go into the darkness, she'd be fine. The line of trees looked grim in the distance, but she flew towards them with a will.
Arriving at the outermost trunks, she flew carefully, keeping a weather eye out for danger and another out for what she sought.
A dangling web near the far edge of the forest caught her attention. Far from an ordinary spider's web, this one could only have come from one of Cassandra's ilk.
Now, to get the threads down without being snared myself, she mused.
Careful tugging revealed that the outside of the thread was not sticky, while the connecting threads were. She used a bit of her magic to cut it, the piece falling to the earth with a soft whump!
Picking it up proved to be more of a challenge then she thought; if she shook it a little, the sticky threads threatened to snare her. Quickly, she moved back to the fortress, carrying her prize.
Several trips she made, while the sun sank lower in the sky, and the night crept ever closer to the outer ranks. Shadows started to shift in front of her eyes, as if they were moving, pacing her on her trips.
As her fear grew, she moved faster, risking entrapment in her rush. She couldn't seem to gather enough, but she didn't dare linger long. When the sun had reached the tops of the trees, she at last turned from her mission and raced back to the safety of the thorns.
Too late! Behind her she could hear the movement of legs. A glance over her shoulder showed the spiders in hot pursuit of her, staying just behind the thin line of the sun. She had just seconds before the sun dropped too low and the line would be gone, heading far up the slopes until it leaped off the peak and the world was once more in the grip of terror.
The hole she'd made gaped large before her; she added a last, desperate burst of speed...made it! A relieved grin split her face as she passed the outer door.
A tremendous yank on her bundle pulled her right back out with a scream of surprise. The thread she'd been carrying proved to be her downfall, the spider having latched onto it before she could completely get inside.
The spider clacked excitedly as it watched her soar out of the hole. The ground came up around her and she felt the air leave her lungs as pain shot up her wings and back. She lay still a moment, trying to get her wind back, but that was all the time the spider needed.
Strong silken threads struck her in the belly, the legs, her arms; she couldn't move! A glob fell into her mouth, not letting her scream again for help.
She watched as the huge, hairy legs of the spider, with surprising gentleness, picked her up and started to wrap her in a skin-tight layer. Helplessly, she begged with her eyes to be let go, but the spider simply ignored her as it continued to bind her arms.
Abruptly, she fell to the ground. She gasped in shock and pain. Slowly she turned her head to see another spider fighting the first.
Sandra, she realized numbly.
Sandra was on top the other spider, hissing wildly as she stabbed downward again and again with her fangs. Her foe shrieked wildly and cursed in their horrible language, but Sandra didn't give up. The other spider tried to roll, but Sandra leaped off before she could be crushed and leapt on again as the other gained its feet again.
Stacey, having regained a second wind, struggled with the spider silk, but it proved tougher and more resilient than anything she'd ever come across before. For a wild moment, a memory came to her; sitting on the green quad at campus, reading about the remarkable properties of spider silk, and how it was thought that if someone could scale it up to workable size, it could be made into anything: armor, steel cable, even netting that would be a hundred times better than the best steel they'd had then.
Well, my hands certainly won't cut it, she thought grumpily.
Grasping a sharp rock nearby, she tried to cut the threads, but again they resisted her. It was then she saw how truly marvelous the spider silk was. Every cord had millions of finer threads connecting it, in such fashion as to become nearly liquid in appearance, or perhaps a latex dress would be nearer the mark, if latex could be made as soft and supple as the finest silk bed sheet.
This stuff will be great for what I have planned, if I had enough of it, she thought. Even with the amount used to wrap her up, she felt that there would hardly be enough for the brissons, but she had to try.
A pained scream jolted her from her efforts and she looked up just in time to watch another spider come running from the shadows to bite the rear leg of Sandra.
She was pulled from the other spider, but the motion threw the first off balance, sending it tumbling down the slope until it could regain its legs some fifty feet below.
For the moment, Sandra could concentrate on the newcomer, who was actually somewhat smaller than her, but possessed the bloated body of one who hunted from a web and let the prey come to her. Sandra's sleek, speedy lines proved her great advantage here, and she ran rings around the challenger. This one, seeing how badly outmatched it was and feeling Sandra''s teeth on her hide in several places, retreated quickly and raced back to the tree line of the forest.
However, issuing from the dark mouth of the trees came hundreds more spiders bent on killing them. Seeing this, Sandra ran over and picked her up gently. Stacey had to control a shudder from the touch; something about spiders sent every sense she had reeling in fear. She managed to control it, however and stayed calm in Sandra's grip. She started to cut the threads but Stacey shook her head.
"No time!" she commanded. "To the thorns, quickly!"
"They shall sssscratch and hurt me" Sandra protested nervously.
"They shall not, at my command! No time to argue, that's a good girl." Stacey said distractedly, staring over Sandra's back at the horrors rapidly advancing on them.
Sandra rushed to the thorns and, true to Stacey's word, pulled back quickly in a broad arch that let Sandra through before closing firmly behind her.
Inside, they found the others up and ready for battle. Mausi thrust Lana behind her as she grasped a rock, ready to throw it. Tom had his sword out and began to advance grimly while Sandra cowered back.
"Stop!" Stacey yelled, surprisingly loud. Everyone looked at her, held in Sandra's front legs. "She's a friend! She saved me from the others."
"What were you doing out there in the first place?!" Tom demanded angrily. She realized she'd never seen anyone scowl so fiercely before.
"Getting supplies." Stacey said shortly. "Unless you want our friends to freeze to death on these slopes."
Tom looked guiltily over at Mausi and Lana before remembering what he'd been doing. His glare returned full force.
"That doesn't excuse you for going out there alone! You could have gotten hurt."
"I was fine. Sandra gave me a hand when I got caught--" Stacey grumbled stubbornly.
"Caught!" Tom gaped. Lana and Mausi looked equally stunned.
"Got yanked back out." She explained. "A spider had me wrapped up until Sandra here jumped on its back and fought them off.""
Everyone turned to the frightened spider. She looked back with her multitude of eyes and nervously twitching jaws; she looked like a horrific post-nuclear-apocalypse dog. Several scratches rent her armor, from which green blood oozed out, heightening the illusion.
"Sandra, please relax." Stacey soothed. "You've earned a welcome by our fire. We are very grateful for your assistance."
To everyone's shock, Sandra actually bobbed her head in a sort of bow. The move seemed so out of place for a spider her size, but Stacey concealed her disgust and smiled gaily.
"Now that you are here, perhaps you can aid me further?"
"What do you need?" Sandra asked warily.
"As you can see, we've lost some of the clothing that we will need to survive the cold temperatures further up the mountains. My friends in particular have only clothes for the warmth of the desert; I need to make them some warm ones for tomorrow. I''ve gathered supplies, including some spider silk for the under layers, so they can be comfortable, but I don't think I have enough. With your help, I can make two jumpsuits that should be capable of withstanding both battle and the elements."
"Battle?" Mausi blurted curiously.
Stacey smiled. "Tom might know more than I do, but in our time our people were studying the silk of smaller spiders in an attempt to scale it up to useful size. It would have had properties similar to steel and, with the right weave, have made better armor then the Kevlar we used then. Cassandra's folk have very strong stuff, with properties I've never seen before in their webs, but it is able to be cut. With a slight change of the weave and some additional material, I believe I can make it cut resistant, giving you protection in battle."
Tom shook his head. "My area of expertise lay in automobiles and things like that. I'd heard something of the sort, but I can't remember much.""
"Well, that's okay. We can experiment a little tonight before we go up the mountain tomorrow." Stacey suggested. "The thorns will protect us from the rest of the spiders."
"If you say so." Tom grumbled. But then he looked hard at Sandra. "But what about you? Last we met, you needed a host to lay your foul----er, your eggs in. You wanted to take Lana and Mausi for that purpose! What happened to that? Are you trying to trick us into letting down our guard?"
Sandra shook and, for the moment at least, no sound came out. At last she managed to gasp out: "No. Don't need baby-hosts...not anymore. Tree, Spider Queen, eggs destroyed in fight...lost all." The obvious agony in her voice silenced further questions. Tom looked abashed, rubbing his toe down the back of his calf as he looked away.
"We will not speak further of that." Stacey said gently. "But for now our main concern should be using our time wisely.""
Mausi looked unsure but laid aside her rock. Stacey realized how highly she had to have come to regard her that she stepped forward and allowed Sandra to poke and prod her as she carefully measured the wolf-girl.
Tom patrolled the perimeter, studiously looking away from the spectacle closer towards the stony face of the boulder. Mausi's thin tank-top had been taken off and now Sandra was busy spinning a strong web around her torso and outstretched arms. This stuff was different than the type used by the other spiders; Stacey couldn't help but notice. Where the others were sticky and a dead, corpse-colored grey, this stuff was lighter, nearly white, and as strong and firm as rope. The incredibly complex and tight weave formed a seamless shirt with long sleeves that came down to Mausi's wrists. When Sandra was done, she stepped back.
"We mussst waitsss a bit. The web mussst dry before it can come off, like other sssecond ssskins."
Stacey looked at her handiwork, finding it very impressive; the shirt flexed and moved with Mausi like the second skin she had called it, seemingly very comfortable to wear, judging from the wonder on Mausi's face. She stretched carefully and moved slowly until she was sure the shirt wouldn't strangle her. Then she moved more and more normally, going through several form exercises. Once she seemed satisfied, they worked on trousers. Sandra's workmanship excelled the finest automatic weaving machines of Stacey's generation; it wasn''t long before the full outfit for Mausi was complete and a second set for Lana was mostly finished. They incorporated leaves, moss and other insulation in the weave, and when the project was done, the two stepped back to admire their handiwork.
The suits were now much thicker thanks to a second and third layer added over the initial. Worked into the cloth were some of Stacey's enchantments, powered by the leaves and other things she'd gathered from the forest. Her meddling altered the color of the garments, turning them green and mottled brown; perfect for blending in. The spider silk was extremely hardy, as proved when Mausi took her knife and tried to cut it; the blade left no mark. To finish, Stacey laid several enchantments on the dress, aided by memories of doing similar things when she'd been queen. These were spells of warding and protection, of letting no enemy weapon, blade or net snare them or pierce them, and of bringing the bearers home.
Feeling utterly spent, Stacey left the others to still talking about their clothes to lay down a bit and clear her head. She found a small section of rock that looked comfortable enough. Looking one last time at the strong silhouette of Tom flying in slow, endless circles, Stacey fell asleep feeling completely safe.
She awoke the next morning with the feelings lingering on, though it was Lana on watch, and not Tom. The young fox looked around nervously at the form of Sandra, the lidless eyes that stared around ceaselessly.
No wonder spiders have such a horrible reputation, Stacey thought. They are really a 'sleepless' menace.
She felt absurdly glad that Sandra had proven to be on their side, though tension remained with the group. Nothing she could do about that, she thought. It would be counter-productive: everyone would learn to trust Sandra or not. In the short term, it would keep them on alert in case she actually did try anything.
They broke camp and started the long slog up the mountain. The bright sunshine had driven all the rest of Cassandra's ilk to their cursed home, but the webs and deep tears in the dome had convinced them not to linger.
For several hours they followed the stream bed up towards the glistening peaks. They were balked only once by the sheer cliff face of a dry waterfall that, when it ran, hurled water a hundred feet or more to foaming pools at its base.
"We'll have to see if there are any paths around." Tom sighed wearily. "We could make it up, but I don't see any handholds for our friends."
Stacey studied the walls and saw he was right. She started to suggest that they scout around a bit to see if they could spot a place from the air that would be easier, when a blur out of the corner of her eyes blew past and hurled itself on the cliff face. It was Sandra, and she sped swiftly up the wall as if it were the New Jersey Boardwalk. Behind her, she threw down several silken ropes that dangled on the ground. In moments she'd made it to the top.
"Or we climb the ropes." Stacey said with a laugh. The others didn't look quite as sure, but Lana went to one of the ropes and started to climb easily. Mausi followed and both Tom and Stacey watched them closely. They cheered their efforts when they seemed tired, scolded them for wanting to rest, and otherwise begged or bullied them all the way up to top. There they rested for just minutes while Sandra pulled up the ropes and proceeded to eat the silk. Stacey thought it bizarre until she remembered that spiders recycled old webs thusly, to regain the nutrients used.
When the group had rested, they went on, the air getting colder around them. On the ground, the first white flecks of un-melting snow started to appear, growing steadily into patches that joined into greater and greater until they realized they'd passed the snowlines and were standing at the tail of the glacier.
"Well, we're here at last." His words were light hearted, but his voice and bearing were grim. His eyes glowed blue as he studied the magic surrounding the ice.
"Well, that's interesting." He muttered, almost to himself.
"What is?" Stacey asked him.
His concentration broken, he glanced her way.
"The magic? It's acting like a glass lid or shield; preventing any attack on it and stopping the water from pouring around the edges. Let's go forward a little and see if we can't finish penetrating the barrier."
They walked forward at a slow pace. Stacey could feel the magic buildup around her, and when she reached for her own magic she saw that the threads of magic were reacting to their presence; becoming stronger and more twisted. Tom seemed oblivious, looking about him with fascination. Stacey realized that it was the magic inside of them that had attracted the attention of the shield.
Like ringing the doorbell, she thought nervously.
She pointed that out to them. Tom looked around thoughtfully.
"You're right, Stacey. We've got to go dark, at least until we get inside the walls. Shouldn't be more than fifty paces, it looks like."
They immediately closed themselves off from magic. Just to be safe, they landed on Mausi and Lana's shoulders and clung on, not daring to flap their wings.
Bereft of power, they could only wait until they'd past the edge of the barriers set against them. Stacey could see, now that she had no magic, that two lines were drawn in the snow, fifty feet apart. Both were smooth and perfect, and in between no movement of the icepack stirred.
When the adventurers passed the last line, Tom floated into the air, studying the edges of the walls and the thick magic that surrounded them. Stacey felt the power flood her once more. She became aware of the magic that permeated the very air of the mountain, a living thing it seemed, but one that had set its will against them.
Stacey glanced at Tom; noting the clenched hands, stubborn lines of his jaw, the eyes dancing behind their lids; and guessed that he was sensing all the water on the mountain and where the magic had directed it.
"Mausi, Lana, Sandra," she called softly, so as not to distract him.
The three came over to her.
"What is it?" Mausi asked quietly.
"We are nearing the end of our goal, Tom is determining what will be needed to restore the water to its proper course. Yet this place is so full of evil magic that I fear it will be a herculean task. He may need my help, which means that we will both be vulnerable. Our enemies know this and are waiting for us to make our move. If they attack, it will be up to you to hold them off long enough for us to complete our mission."
Mausi looked around, pursing her lips thoughtfully as she looked at their own weapons and the terrain.
The snowpack did not offer much in the way of fortifications; the ice sheet formed a shallow bowl whose edges crawled up the sides of the peaks on either side, before dipping miles away back down towards whatever lands lay on the far side. Their "weapons" consisted of two small branches shorn of limb and leaf but not yet a spear, and a few small pebbles collected perchance on the snow.
"We need more." She realized out loud.
Stacey wondered if her scepter would do them any good here. She reached out her hand to call it but found herself balked; some dark force bent its will against hers. She struggled with it quite a while, the sweat beading her brow, her muscles trembling with exertion as if she were trying to move a parked semi-truck with puny human strength.
The forces snapped like the parting of a cable under too much tension. The resulting force popped and snapped in the air like fireworks, startling everyone.
The cool weight of the scepter filled her hand, the green gem on top glowing brightly as she held it. With such power in her hands she felt capable of facing anything and she waved it confidently about her almost giddily.
Mausi and Lana had been busy while she'd striven; Stacey noticed when she became aware of what had been happening around her. They'd started work on a set of trenches in the snow, scooping out handfuls at a frenzied pace. Sandra was nowhere to be seen.
Stacey went to help, but her size made it nearly impossible for her to do much good and snow wasn't like living forest; it fell under Tom's domain, not hers.
Sandra returned in little under an hour, bearing a bundle of sticks and several deep cuts and wounds on her side. She deposited the stuff and hurried off to get more without waiting for aid.
Mausi and Lana took the sticks and set aside six. The rest they planted in the first trench with what sharp ends they could find pointed out. The six had any defect removed rapidly with Mausi's belt knife. While she worked, Lana knapped out spear tips for them, using rocks from the base of the ice pack.
The sun had started its downward journey when Sandra made it back and laid out several more sticks. She paused a while to help attach the spearheads to the shafts with her tough webbing, giving them a near-unbreakable fastening.
The spears were ready, and not a moment too soon, for Sandra gave a report from her second trip while Stacey set to work on healing her wounds as best she could.
"The foressst isss alive with ssspidersss!" she hissed. "They are coming thisss way, and ssslavess and goblinsss come asss well."" And when she said "goblinsss" she hissed so angrily that spittle flew from her mouth and froze on the snow.
"They've come to attack." Stacey said with a calmness she didn't feel. Inside her belly felt full of twisting snakes.
"They won't get by us." Mausi assured her.
"I'm counting on that." Stacey admitted. "I will do what I can, but most of my time now will be spent with--"
"Stacey! Stacey! Now!" Tom called suddenly.
"Perfect timing." Stacey muttered. Louder, she cried, "Coming!" Then, to the others; "Stand ready! They will come the moment we engage! Best of luck to you all!"
She flew to where Tom hovered some fifty feet above, spinning slowly with his palm straight out in front of him like an ancient pharaoh commanding his troops.
Slipping her hand into his, she felt the power rip out of her body and into his; an unpleasant feeling similar to that of what being an outlet in her apartment must have felt. Yet she could see that their threads were tiny compared to that of the enemies devices. She thrust her scepter in the direction Tom had chosen to attack, amplifying her power tenfold. Light blinded her, the colors oscillating between green and blue as together they strove to defeat the barrier around them.
How long they stayed like that, Stacey wasn't sure. It seemed like a life-age of the earth. Time held no meaning for her in the savage grip of the forces they had unleased. Surely, the world would incinerate with what they used?
The magic netting began contracting, as if it had been a balloon that the air had gone out of. As it shrank, Tom's muttering got stronger as he focused all of his energy into the shield. It reached a point where it stopped shrinking, and actually began to expand again; however, where the individual threads had once been red and black, they were now turning blue-green.
The transformation of the shield to their own devices seemed so slow! But as the last thread changed color and their magic was released, they heard the ring of steel and hoarse shouts from below.
While they'd been aloft, a great host had marched out of the forest and up the broad rocky face to the glacier. Mausi and Lana and Sandra had chosen to fight them where the snow made a slight dip towards the rock, increasing the climb of the soldiers facing them and giving the defenders a desperately needed edge, but the fact remained that there were far too many to face.
The three had given their best efforts, however; many bodies were cast down in the snow, and those that came in did so warily, trying to evade the stabbing spears that threatened to disembowel them.
A large spider with a goblin sorcerer riding her like a demented knight, charged into the defenders, scattering Lana and Mausi and pinning Sandra beneath her larger sister. A brief stab downward with two great legs shattered Sandra's body; her legs already curling up beneath her in the death.
"NO!" Stacey cried aloud in grief! How could it have happened so fast? Now Mausi seemed to be the next target, as the spider advanced on her slowly, drool dripping from its jaws as she trembled beneath its malevolent gaze and the laughing face of its rider.
Stacey grasped her scepter, intending to fly down and strike the foul things in the head, when a memory filled her for just a second; a flash of inspiration in a rapidly losing battle.
Tom cursed next to her and drew out his magic sword, intending the same thing when he was stopped by Stacey's hand in front of him.
"They don't need force of arms, but magic." She said firmly.
He looked at her like she was crazy, then a look of understanding dawned on his face.
Together they faced the onrushing hordes. A jet of water burst from the snow and blasted the spider above Mausi, hurling it and its rider two hundred feet where they landed in a crumbled heap.
While Tom used dozens of blasts to clear a path for Lana and Mausi to hurry back to them, grabbing more spears along the way, Stacey gathered as much strength as she mustered. Like she did in the clearing with the spider queen, she cast a summons to the forest, begging for help as loud as she could.
Far, far away she could see the tree line start to stir, but little other sign that she'd been heard. Well, she thought to herself, the trees will come or not, but the monsters won''t wait nicely.
A glance to her right showed Tom with his eyes closed, seemingly wrestling with some great problem. She briefly wondered what he was going to do, but for now he had to be on his own.
She hurled herself at the enemy, green fire shooting from her scepter, burning spiders and goblins alike, smashing aside bodies as if some invisible warrior were on the battlefield.
The spiders and goblins screamed in baffled rage and fear, while the Fallen moaned and shrank back. Driven forward by the rage of their dark masters, the poor slaves lunged forward to come to grips with the irritating brissons in front of them and the horrifying fairy that protected them.
The women's spears darted past the basic clubs and even bare claws of the Fallen, striking home with sickening thuds and gargled cries of pain. The corpses began forming a wall of dead right in front of them, but they were getting deadly tired, and it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed and killed.
A blast of fire narrowly missed Mausi and singed the very tips of Lana's hair. She screamed in fright, ducking involuntarily. A club thumped her shoulder and now her cries became filled with pain. The sorcerer that had thrown the magic looked smug as he stood behind the front ranks. Stacey flicked a ball of green flame into the Fallen standing above Lana, readying the killing blow.
Cold. Hardness. Stacey shivered. What had happened to her bed? Had she fallen off again and ended up on the floor? Wait, hadn't she been doing something important? It seemed too much of a struggle to try and remember now. What she really wanted--no, needed----was sleep.
She tried to turn over to get comfortable, but the hardness simply shifted to her back. What was going on here?
Despite her body's urgings, she struggled to open one eye. Or, thought she had, anyway. It seemed just as dark as before. Slowly, she opened up the other eye and saw the same thing. It was then that she noticed she was swaying rhythmically, as if with someone walking.
Feeling about herself, she found huge columns about her. As she grew stronger, she began to emit a soft light, letting her see her surroundings.
A giant comb the size of a small table greeted her, while in its shadow lay other objects, each seeming vaster than they should; but she'd gotten used to that--as a fairy, everything seemed big to her.
What interested her the most was the tall brown cliffs that seemed the walls of a cave. They were sheer and smooth, with signs of tool marks and, when she looked into one of the corners, she saw rough, jagged marks that looked like crossed railroad ties. She realized that it had to stitching; she was in Mausi's bag.
I just hope that everyone isn't captured and tied up and I'm being carried to the midden heap! She thought nervously.
Instead of calling out, she started climbing carefully, trying not to disturb whoever was carrying her until she had time to get out and have a proper look around.
At the top of the bag, she eased the flap aside (she felt thankful it was untied) and peered into the darkness around her.
Well, we're still in the forest, or it wouldn't be so dark.
Once her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she realized that it was the dark under the trees she saw and not the night. Around her she could see her companions racing grimly; Tom flying just ahead with his light turned on just enough to allow the others to see the ground ahead. Lana pumping wildly next to her, moving as swift and sure as any fox on two legs. Her spear had been shattered at the tip, but she clutched the remaining haft like a club, the jagged ends held out like the points of a spear.
Well, that's comforting at least, Stacey thought.
She flew out from the bag and saw that Mausi was running next to Lana, the older woman pacing herself to keep up with the younger.
"Stacey! You're...haaa...all right."" Tom gasped as she flew next to him.
"Yes." Stacey said impatiently. "How long was I out?"
"A day, maybe. It's hard to tell in here." He said shortly.
"A day!" she said in surprise.
"Yeah. We've been running through most of it, hounded by the spider-folk. We've only just managed to keep ahead of them.""
She looked at him with grave concern. His forehead was pale and his wings seemed so thin! He must have expelled a good deal of energy in the fighting.
"Well, I'm rested now, so why don't you take a break in Mausi's bag?"" she suggested.
He gave her a weary grin. "Not just now, I'm good for another mile or so." He said cheekily.
"Get back there." She pointed.
"Yes mother." He sniped with a grin.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
She looked back at the panting, haggard, worn Brissons who still ran ceaselessly behind them. How long they'd been running, she didn't know, but suspected that they had to be exhausted. How much further did they have to go before the accursed spiders let them go? Until they reached the last tree, she suspected; and perhaps even further, into the cold slopes beyond.
If we don't stop soon, they're going to collapse on us. If we do stop, the spiders could catch up to us and they'll be in even worse shape. She fretted. Could they forgive me?
She rushed to a nearby tree, causing a temporary halt.
"Great tree, how much further to the edge of your kin?" she asked desperately.
The tree rustled and groaned, its dark heart fighting the light that blossomed deep in its roots and making slow progress up.
"Not long." It whispered at last, "Perhaps a thousand standing trees to go."
A thousand trees! At about twenty paces across for many of the large specimens here, that would suggest they still had about a mile to go until they were in the clear.
"Hurry!" she urged. "We still have about a mile to go." The weary women lurched into a jog, then a run. The terror of what awaited them great enough to overcome weariness.
"Thank you!" she thanked the tree. "Please slow the spiders, if you can!"
"I will do what I can." The tree said slowly, but stronger and more healthily. It was as if just hearing a friendly, fey voice had pushed back the rottenness of its core and brought healthy growth.
They held their pace for more than an hour, over bramble and hard stone, down slippery slope where small rocks clattered and fell away with every step, and up steep sides that saw them bent nearly parallel; and always they heard the spiders seemingly just behind them.
The brisson's fur was matted with sweat, their glazed eyes locked on her light as she led them through the trees. The land started to slop upward and ahead they could see the trees start to thin. Long fingers of light stabbed downward from the canopy, brushing faces and warming weary limb after the cold darkness they'd endured. A great, shivering cry rent the air behind them. By mutual consent, they pelted the last distance outside the line of trees into the frigid air beyond before stopping to look behind them.
Nothing stirred under the line of trees, which had transformed from the broad-leafed trees from below into sturdy pines and firs. Plants that could most handle cold snows and temperatures, Stacey noted dimly.
"Well, we've lost the spiders, at least." She gasped.
No answer. She turned round to see Mausi and Lana embracing each other, giving each other strength to stand. The wind whipped their thin, desert garments away from their fur, leaving them horribly exposed. Stacey realized that they would need warmth, and shelter, soon.
She looked desperately around on the cold, bare sides of the mountain. Finally, she saw a boulder further on that looked large enough to give cover from the biting wind.
"This way!" she pointed.
"I-i-i-t-t-t's k-k-k-cold" Lana shivered.
"It'll be warmer out of the wind. To the boulder, quickly!"
Slowly they made their way to its shadow, and almost immediately the wind was blocked. It howled its displeasure, pelting the irritating stone that stopped its mischief, but the stone did not yield and at last they could rest.
With Mausi and Lana huddled together at the base, Stacey took out one of her seeds and grew a thick vine fort for them. It found little purchase on the slabs of granite from the mountain, or the thin soil that covered it, and Stacey winced at the pained struggles of the heroic vine, but at last it closed them completely, shutting out the wind and cold. The air started to warm rapidly, while delicate blossoms bloomed, scenting the air delicately while a soft glow came from their white petals. Stacey knew the name for them, almost as well as her own, though she'd never before heard it in life.
"Moonhedradon", or simply, "Flower of the Moon".
Gentle snores soon echoed in the chamber, while Stacey kept watch. She bustled about for a while, trying to occupy her mind with thoughts of plants and growing things; tending their shelter with gentle hands. Everywhere she went, she would gently push a loose vine into position, or move an errant flower back to its proper place, or find some earth to place around a bare root.
How long she worked, she wasn't aware. Time held no meaning for her, as it seemed the work brought about memories of her previous life (the fairy half at least), of working in magnificent gardens hidden deep within the forest; great flowers and trees that bloomed and grew without fall or winter to darken them with sorrow; and everywhere, hundreds upon hundreds of fair folk working together, tending nature so it could grow without worry to its maximum potential.
Snatches of fey song came to her ears, and she started to hum it softly under her breath.
The garden of the world is in flower
The men and women of the fey find it un-sour
The world is young in our day
The men and women of the fey
Slowly we shall tend the gardens
With magic strong and hands tender
Until our time is past and done the gardens
Until we must return to the Life Sender
Great is the blossom in the dark
Holding back beast and shadow
The wolves shall howl and the dogs shall bark
And the men shall seek the dark and not bow
Arise! Arise! Fey of the world, Men of the West!
Stand against the darkness,
Hold courage to your breast!
Though shield be shaken and spear splintered,
Though magic falter and potion wither,
Together we stand against the Masters of the Night
Together we will stand triumphant in our might
So the world shall be made safe once more
The gardens will flower in glen and moor
Once more the forests shall be strong and whole
With sturdy root and broad bole
The seas shall grow kelp and the fish shall swim
And we shall laugh in delightful whim
On the mountain shall sit pure light
The cold, its bite!
Of deliberations beyond our sight
Oh! How wonderful is its delight
So the world will be made fair in our day
And peace shall cover the land,
And truth will be all we shall say
Together we will stand
With every note she sang, the plant seemed to become more vibrant, more alive. The whimpers of fear from Lana slowly vanished until she relaxed entirely in the limp sleep of peace. Mausi, too, seemed completely at ease as she held her sister close for the warmth.
Stacey paused a moment in her work as she looked down at them.
Hmm. They are going to be pretty cold unless Mausi has more spare clothes. But, no, I don't think she does. What she did have she gave to Lana to replace her stolen ones, and that wasn't winter clothing either, she mused.
She flew there a while, pondering her options. Looking into her bag of seeds, she found a cotton plant that had somehow fallen in without her noticing.
But what good is it? She lamented. Without water to grow them they would die! The vines are tough and strong, and will keep good for some time, long enough for the water to flow down the mountain slopes again.
She found herself close to despair and had to blink back tears of frustration. There had to be something she could do to help her friends, or they would suffer horribly from frostbite.
A thought, almost too quick to register, flicked past her consciousness. She slowed almost to a standstill as she considered it. It would be too dangerous, she pointed out to herself. The reward didn't justify the risk, and they wouldn't wear such garments anyway. Yet she couldn''t quite dismiss it out of hand.
Well, maybe just a check near the edges, she huffed. There could be some strands there, and if there wasn't perhaps she could find something else to use.
Her mind made up, she made sure the others were comfortable, and the bag really did hold no further option. She found Tom sleeping comfortably there, completely worn from his adventures. He looked so handsome that, almost without realizing what she was doing, she kissed his brow tenderly. The taste of him on her lips was divine, and she had to restrain herself from taking more. Slipping silently out of the bag, she went to the wall of the bower.
"Please let me out." She asked politely. "I will be gone only a few minutes."
The vines shifted slowly and laboriously, until at last a narrow tunnel just her height was revealed. She passed through, patting the plant in thanks.
Outside, the sun still shone brightly from above, removing some of the tension coiling in her belly. So long as she didn't go into the darkness, she'd be fine. The line of trees looked grim in the distance, but she flew towards them with a will.
Arriving at the outermost trunks, she flew carefully, keeping a weather eye out for danger and another out for what she sought.
A dangling web near the far edge of the forest caught her attention. Far from an ordinary spider's web, this one could only have come from one of Cassandra's ilk.
Now, to get the threads down without being snared myself, she mused.
Careful tugging revealed that the outside of the thread was not sticky, while the connecting threads were. She used a bit of her magic to cut it, the piece falling to the earth with a soft whump!
Picking it up proved to be more of a challenge then she thought; if she shook it a little, the sticky threads threatened to snare her. Quickly, she moved back to the fortress, carrying her prize.
Several trips she made, while the sun sank lower in the sky, and the night crept ever closer to the outer ranks. Shadows started to shift in front of her eyes, as if they were moving, pacing her on her trips.
As her fear grew, she moved faster, risking entrapment in her rush. She couldn't seem to gather enough, but she didn't dare linger long. When the sun had reached the tops of the trees, she at last turned from her mission and raced back to the safety of the thorns.
Too late! Behind her she could hear the movement of legs. A glance over her shoulder showed the spiders in hot pursuit of her, staying just behind the thin line of the sun. She had just seconds before the sun dropped too low and the line would be gone, heading far up the slopes until it leaped off the peak and the world was once more in the grip of terror.
The hole she'd made gaped large before her; she added a last, desperate burst of speed...made it! A relieved grin split her face as she passed the outer door.
A tremendous yank on her bundle pulled her right back out with a scream of surprise. The thread she'd been carrying proved to be her downfall, the spider having latched onto it before she could completely get inside.
The spider clacked excitedly as it watched her soar out of the hole. The ground came up around her and she felt the air leave her lungs as pain shot up her wings and back. She lay still a moment, trying to get her wind back, but that was all the time the spider needed.
Strong silken threads struck her in the belly, the legs, her arms; she couldn't move! A glob fell into her mouth, not letting her scream again for help.
She watched as the huge, hairy legs of the spider, with surprising gentleness, picked her up and started to wrap her in a skin-tight layer. Helplessly, she begged with her eyes to be let go, but the spider simply ignored her as it continued to bind her arms.
Abruptly, she fell to the ground. She gasped in shock and pain. Slowly she turned her head to see another spider fighting the first.
Sandra, she realized numbly.
Sandra was on top the other spider, hissing wildly as she stabbed downward again and again with her fangs. Her foe shrieked wildly and cursed in their horrible language, but Sandra didn't give up. The other spider tried to roll, but Sandra leaped off before she could be crushed and leapt on again as the other gained its feet again.
Stacey, having regained a second wind, struggled with the spider silk, but it proved tougher and more resilient than anything she'd ever come across before. For a wild moment, a memory came to her; sitting on the green quad at campus, reading about the remarkable properties of spider silk, and how it was thought that if someone could scale it up to workable size, it could be made into anything: armor, steel cable, even netting that would be a hundred times better than the best steel they'd had then.
Well, my hands certainly won't cut it, she thought grumpily.
Grasping a sharp rock nearby, she tried to cut the threads, but again they resisted her. It was then she saw how truly marvelous the spider silk was. Every cord had millions of finer threads connecting it, in such fashion as to become nearly liquid in appearance, or perhaps a latex dress would be nearer the mark, if latex could be made as soft and supple as the finest silk bed sheet.
This stuff will be great for what I have planned, if I had enough of it, she thought. Even with the amount used to wrap her up, she felt that there would hardly be enough for the brissons, but she had to try.
A pained scream jolted her from her efforts and she looked up just in time to watch another spider come running from the shadows to bite the rear leg of Sandra.
She was pulled from the other spider, but the motion threw the first off balance, sending it tumbling down the slope until it could regain its legs some fifty feet below.
For the moment, Sandra could concentrate on the newcomer, who was actually somewhat smaller than her, but possessed the bloated body of one who hunted from a web and let the prey come to her. Sandra's sleek, speedy lines proved her great advantage here, and she ran rings around the challenger. This one, seeing how badly outmatched it was and feeling Sandra''s teeth on her hide in several places, retreated quickly and raced back to the tree line of the forest.
However, issuing from the dark mouth of the trees came hundreds more spiders bent on killing them. Seeing this, Sandra ran over and picked her up gently. Stacey had to control a shudder from the touch; something about spiders sent every sense she had reeling in fear. She managed to control it, however and stayed calm in Sandra's grip. She started to cut the threads but Stacey shook her head.
"No time!" she commanded. "To the thorns, quickly!"
"They shall sssscratch and hurt me" Sandra protested nervously.
"They shall not, at my command! No time to argue, that's a good girl." Stacey said distractedly, staring over Sandra's back at the horrors rapidly advancing on them.
Sandra rushed to the thorns and, true to Stacey's word, pulled back quickly in a broad arch that let Sandra through before closing firmly behind her.
Inside, they found the others up and ready for battle. Mausi thrust Lana behind her as she grasped a rock, ready to throw it. Tom had his sword out and began to advance grimly while Sandra cowered back.
"Stop!" Stacey yelled, surprisingly loud. Everyone looked at her, held in Sandra's front legs. "She's a friend! She saved me from the others."
"What were you doing out there in the first place?!" Tom demanded angrily. She realized she'd never seen anyone scowl so fiercely before.
"Getting supplies." Stacey said shortly. "Unless you want our friends to freeze to death on these slopes."
Tom looked guiltily over at Mausi and Lana before remembering what he'd been doing. His glare returned full force.
"That doesn't excuse you for going out there alone! You could have gotten hurt."
"I was fine. Sandra gave me a hand when I got caught--" Stacey grumbled stubbornly.
"Caught!" Tom gaped. Lana and Mausi looked equally stunned.
"Got yanked back out." She explained. "A spider had me wrapped up until Sandra here jumped on its back and fought them off.""
Everyone turned to the frightened spider. She looked back with her multitude of eyes and nervously twitching jaws; she looked like a horrific post-nuclear-apocalypse dog. Several scratches rent her armor, from which green blood oozed out, heightening the illusion.
"Sandra, please relax." Stacey soothed. "You've earned a welcome by our fire. We are very grateful for your assistance."
To everyone's shock, Sandra actually bobbed her head in a sort of bow. The move seemed so out of place for a spider her size, but Stacey concealed her disgust and smiled gaily.
"Now that you are here, perhaps you can aid me further?"
"What do you need?" Sandra asked warily.
"As you can see, we've lost some of the clothing that we will need to survive the cold temperatures further up the mountains. My friends in particular have only clothes for the warmth of the desert; I need to make them some warm ones for tomorrow. I''ve gathered supplies, including some spider silk for the under layers, so they can be comfortable, but I don't think I have enough. With your help, I can make two jumpsuits that should be capable of withstanding both battle and the elements."
"Battle?" Mausi blurted curiously.
Stacey smiled. "Tom might know more than I do, but in our time our people were studying the silk of smaller spiders in an attempt to scale it up to useful size. It would have had properties similar to steel and, with the right weave, have made better armor then the Kevlar we used then. Cassandra's folk have very strong stuff, with properties I've never seen before in their webs, but it is able to be cut. With a slight change of the weave and some additional material, I believe I can make it cut resistant, giving you protection in battle."
Tom shook his head. "My area of expertise lay in automobiles and things like that. I'd heard something of the sort, but I can't remember much.""
"Well, that's okay. We can experiment a little tonight before we go up the mountain tomorrow." Stacey suggested. "The thorns will protect us from the rest of the spiders."
"If you say so." Tom grumbled. But then he looked hard at Sandra. "But what about you? Last we met, you needed a host to lay your foul----er, your eggs in. You wanted to take Lana and Mausi for that purpose! What happened to that? Are you trying to trick us into letting down our guard?"
Sandra shook and, for the moment at least, no sound came out. At last she managed to gasp out: "No. Don't need baby-hosts...not anymore. Tree, Spider Queen, eggs destroyed in fight...lost all." The obvious agony in her voice silenced further questions. Tom looked abashed, rubbing his toe down the back of his calf as he looked away.
"We will not speak further of that." Stacey said gently. "But for now our main concern should be using our time wisely.""
Mausi looked unsure but laid aside her rock. Stacey realized how highly she had to have come to regard her that she stepped forward and allowed Sandra to poke and prod her as she carefully measured the wolf-girl.
Tom patrolled the perimeter, studiously looking away from the spectacle closer towards the stony face of the boulder. Mausi's thin tank-top had been taken off and now Sandra was busy spinning a strong web around her torso and outstretched arms. This stuff was different than the type used by the other spiders; Stacey couldn't help but notice. Where the others were sticky and a dead, corpse-colored grey, this stuff was lighter, nearly white, and as strong and firm as rope. The incredibly complex and tight weave formed a seamless shirt with long sleeves that came down to Mausi's wrists. When Sandra was done, she stepped back.
"We mussst waitsss a bit. The web mussst dry before it can come off, like other sssecond ssskins."
Stacey looked at her handiwork, finding it very impressive; the shirt flexed and moved with Mausi like the second skin she had called it, seemingly very comfortable to wear, judging from the wonder on Mausi's face. She stretched carefully and moved slowly until she was sure the shirt wouldn't strangle her. Then she moved more and more normally, going through several form exercises. Once she seemed satisfied, they worked on trousers. Sandra's workmanship excelled the finest automatic weaving machines of Stacey's generation; it wasn''t long before the full outfit for Mausi was complete and a second set for Lana was mostly finished. They incorporated leaves, moss and other insulation in the weave, and when the project was done, the two stepped back to admire their handiwork.
The suits were now much thicker thanks to a second and third layer added over the initial. Worked into the cloth were some of Stacey's enchantments, powered by the leaves and other things she'd gathered from the forest. Her meddling altered the color of the garments, turning them green and mottled brown; perfect for blending in. The spider silk was extremely hardy, as proved when Mausi took her knife and tried to cut it; the blade left no mark. To finish, Stacey laid several enchantments on the dress, aided by memories of doing similar things when she'd been queen. These were spells of warding and protection, of letting no enemy weapon, blade or net snare them or pierce them, and of bringing the bearers home.
Feeling utterly spent, Stacey left the others to still talking about their clothes to lay down a bit and clear her head. She found a small section of rock that looked comfortable enough. Looking one last time at the strong silhouette of Tom flying in slow, endless circles, Stacey fell asleep feeling completely safe.