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[WunderKatze]

Raioyris gently scoops one up with his locus, he tries to get a read on its spirit.

[Caellath]

Keep watching.

[_DivideByZero_]

Raioyris gently scoops one up with his locus, he tries to get a read on its spirit.

It walks faster and faster as Rai's metal hand chases it. He scoops it up, yet it leaps off quickly. It seems to have gained an awareness of its surroundings.

...

As the spiders gather and disperse, a familiar face glides in and inserts herself into the loosely-spaced circle of friends. She walks into the gathering of spiders, which step around her as if she were terrain.
"Someone called? Excuse my tardiness,"
She looks down at the vast migration of spiders.
"It's a beautiful thing, watching old plans come into motion.
But ere you wish to be caught up in something larger than yourselves, you should exercise caution when you return." She rests her hand on the beating, pulsating heart. Her nails dig into the soft tissue, drawing rivulets of lavender blood, which cease after a short while.
"You'll come back, right?" she asks.

[Caellath]

"Lady, what's up with that? I want to know what is going on and if I should close the door again, and I'd rather have a non-poetic explanation if possible." Gilles replied.

Talk.

[AzyWng]

"It's always folks getting caught up in things larger than themselves," Johan muttered to himself, already remembering the plot of almost every videogame he'd ever played.

"Do I even want to know what kind of plan involves a swarm of spiders eating some machine's heart?"

[WunderKatze]

"I'm getting the impression you are not very fond of your upstairs neighbors."

I'm also getting the impression she can control the spiders at will.

[_DivideByZero_]

"Lady, what's up with that? I want to know what is going on and if I should close the door again, and I'd rather have a non-poetic explanation if possible." Gilles replied.

Talk.

"I'm no history teacher," she declares. "Nor am I some kind of quest-giver. Make of my words what you will.

These spiders once had a civilization of their own down here. It was a long time ago... perhaps during the time of the magicians. They were a reckless bunch. Both the spiders and the magicians, I mean.
I did not know what they planned, at first, turning themselves into subservient husks, but this heart you see is not the only one. Each seed is a soul from the past nation."

"I'm getting the impression you are not very fond of your upstairs neighbors."

I'm also getting the impression she can control the spiders at will.

"You couldn't be more mistaken. There is no common lineage."

"It's always folks getting caught up in things larger than themselves," Johan muttered to himself, already remembering the plot of almost every videogame he'd ever played.

"Do I even want to know what kind of plan involves a swarm of spiders eating some machine's heart?"

"Do you fancy fighting in a war?"

[Caellath]

"What war? Are the spiders fighting something?" Gilles always had the impression that the more he knew, the more doubts and questions he ended up having.

[AzyWng]

"Fighting in a war? I had to be helped out of a cocoon after a single huge arachnid took me down, I'm no fighter. I mean, I barely know how to use a gun... Besides, I'd rather fix things than destroy them." Johan really didn't want to get involved in this. He was no hero, and while he realized this was a fantasy trope in and of itself, he wasn't interested in learning if it applied to him.

[WunderKatze]

I guess the spiders sudden boost in awareness did not correlate with the Banshee's presence.

"Collect them all win a prize-"

Probe around the heart/bead for the soul.

Knock knock.

[_DivideByZero_]

I guess the spiders sudden boost in awareness did not correlate with the Banshee's presence.

"Collect them all win a prize-"

Probe around the heart/bead for the soul.

Knock knock.

[4 -> 3] Raioyris has a look. He sort of spaces out for a while.

Spoiler: Shenanigans (click to show/hide)

Raioyris finds himself in an ancient temple with blood marble pillars. The passageway is tall yet narrow, and it extends a long way ahead. Every few meters a step takes you higher, a shallow stairway into the heights of the unknown.

In front of him is a mangled vehicle, like some kind of battletank, but modified for underground fighting with a short plasma-cut barrel and a dozer blade for pushing back rubble. A familiar scent fills the air, the smell of death.

"What war? Are the spiders fighting something?" Gilles always had the impression that the more he knew, the more doubts and questions he ended up having.

"Fought.

This world has a rich history. A thousand-year history. Older than myself, even. In that regard, I can't guarantee a comprehensive account. But I will tell you that humans and spiders once fought each other, supposedly to the bitter end. This was around the magicians' time.
They lived here, in this labyrinth. The great structure the Aurogen later built was founded upon these ruins," The Banshee looks bored.

"You don't suppose I'll give a lecture, do you? They fought to kill each other. And the spiders lost. Rather than give up and allow mankind to decide their history, they changed themselves, made themselves servants.

Up until the past, oh, say hundred years or so, I thought they were gone for good. But it turned out there were lots of hearts like this one hidden behind the walls, and since I started finding them they've been awakening, just like this one."

"Fighting in a war? I had to be helped out of a cocoon after a single huge arachnid took me down, I'm no fighter. I mean, I barely know how to use a gun... Besides, I'd rather fix things than destroy them." Johan really didn't want to get involved in this. He was no hero, and while he realized this was a fantasy trope in and of itself, he wasn't interested in learning if it applied to him.

"Whether you care to fight or not, there could be bloodshed. Will you stand and watch as others march to their deaths?"

[WunderKatze]

Well. Now we're talking.

proceed up the stairs.

"Such hospitality-

Not even a complimentary mint."

[_DivideByZero_]

Well. Now we're talking.

proceed up the stairs.

"Such hospitality-

Not even a complimentary mint."

Spoiler: Shenanigans (click to show/hide)

A stray hand grabs at his ankle, but he breaks its feeble grip as he walks toward the shrine at the top of the long passage.

At the center is a golden table, about a foot high, held by eight ruby legs. It is encrusted with an image of a human knight. The knight's limbs are deformed, bent and broken, as if being twisted by his own armor.

There are no chairs. But the shrine has a roof, held by eight blood red pillars, and standing at each pillar is a knight's armor, halberd pointed against gravity.

[Caellath]

Gilles adopted a pensive stance inside of his hardsuit, or at least as much as he could in the suit's limited interior. "So... Do the spiders want to fight us again? That'd be a waste and a problem."

[AzyWng]

Johan was visibly shocked by the accusation. "Hey, I know it's bad to keep out of things as devestating as wars, but like I just said, I'm no fighter. To directly participate would be little better than to march to my own death... Or would you have me do something else?"
Another thought occurred to the mechanic.

"Actually, why have you been trying to find the hearts in the first place?"