Just Like a Spider

Clara and Silas exchanged a tense glance.

She bolted towards the door, gripping the doorknob.

"Wait! You can't just open it," the old man protested.

"Move, or you'll lose an arm!" she screamed.

The old man cowered, stepping back. Clara yanked the door open and rushed outside.

Silas hurried after her. A message box popped up, urging him to follow Clara immediately.

[Quest IV: No Living Walk on Four Feet]

[Description: Follow the woman and visit her husband in the clinic; you must hurry.]

[Reach the clinic 0/1]

They arrived at the clinic, where a crowd of curious onlookers blocked their path to the entrance. Pushing through, they finally reached the main hall, greeted by the sight of a torn door.

Clara collapsed to the ground at the sight. Silas knelt beside her, helping her up. Once on her feet, she rushed toward the building, but a group of Peacekeepers intercepted her.

"Stop her!" one of the Peacekeepers shouted.

Two guards grabbed Clara and dragged her away from the entrance.

"My husband!" she cried. "I need to see my husband!"

She struggled, her grief palpable, but the guards roughly threw her to the ground. Nearby onlookers rushed to her side.

"Annoying woman," a guard with brown hair muttered.

Silas glared at him. 'How can they treat her like that?'

He scooped up a handful of dried soil and hurled it at the guard's face. The crowd gasped as the man started cursing.

"My eyes!"

'What have I done,' Silas thought, panic setting in.

Before he could react, two more Peacekeepers restrained him. The crowd tried to intervene, escalating the tension between the guards and the residents. Silas feared it might spiral out of control.

"Stop! You're hurting the kid!"

"This kid threw soil at my friend's face! He needs to be apprehended."

"And you people disrespected his mother! That guard just threw her to the ground!"

"What's happening here?" A familiar voice cut through the commotion.

Silas looked up to see Danavar approaching. He surveyed the scene: Silas, held by the Peacekeepers; Clara, surrounded by concerned townsfolk; and the guard, Fajar, scrubbing his face with a wet towel.

Danavar nodded to himself and addressed the nearest guard.

"Bron, help Fajar back to the House District. I'll handle everything here. You two, release the boy and assist the woman."

One of the guards shifted uncomfortably beside Silas.

"But Captain…"

"No buts," Danavar interrupted sternly. "Do as I say."

Reluctantly, the guards released Silas and helped Clara to her feet. Danavar turned to Silas, his expression unreadable.

Danavar's eyes roamed around the crowd of residents.

"First, I must ask for everyone's forgiveness. My subordinates are on edge... Some of you might find this turn of events inconvenient. But rest assured, everything we do is for your safety. The House District swore to uphold your safety above all else."

The crowd murmured among themselves, embarrassed by their actions. Those at the back were the first to slip away, soon followed by the rest, each muttering an excuse as they left.

"Now, boy, can you tell me what happened here?"

Silas rubbed his arm where the soldier had held him. Glancing at the remaining Peacekeepers, he recounted the events in the clinic.

"So, she is the wife of the man from the caravan," Danavar said. "Bron, come here. I need the report on that lady's husband."

"I'm afraid to inform you, sir, that the lady's husband is missing."

Clara looked around, confused, then slowly approached the guard. "Are you saying he's dead?"

Bron looked uncomfortable but shook his head. "No, we don't know."

'They know,' Silas thought. 'But withholding that information is necessary to avoid causing panic in this small village.'

Silas and Danavar continued talking. Silas almost forgot Clara beside him, who looked forlornly at the building before her.

"I think it's best if you bring her back to where she's staying," the captain said. "You can come back here if you want to investigate."

"Are you allowing me, a kid, to see a crime scene?" Silas laughed.

"I believe your words about Jack. And I think this man is struck by the same disease that killed Jack."

Silas nodded. He had considered the possibility, but if it were true, then Sam might turn into a spider and terrorize the small town. He wondered who Sam's target would be. Jack had managed to maintain his humanity out of love, but remembering how the merchant lied, Silas wondered how long it would take before Sam gave in to his desires.

He helped Clara back to her inn. Before they parted, he tried to assure her that the Peacekeepers would soon bring her husband back.

"Are you sure of that?"

Silas smiled. "I'll make sure of it."

[Quest IV: No Living Walk on Four Feet]

[Description: Go back to the clinic and help with the investigation.]

[0/3 clues found]

As soon as he arrived at the clinic, the captain welcomed him and immediately brought him inside. The first sight of a dead person greeted them just a few meters away from the broken door.

"Do you want to see it?" the captain asked.

Silas nodded.

The captain bent down and removed the white blanket covering the body. The victim lay facedown, with a puncture wound near the kidney.

"He died of blood loss," Danavar said, pointing at the blood on the floor.

They moved towards the room where the merchant used to stay. As they approached, Silas caught sight of a room with its door ajar. Inside, he saw the body of a dead child, half-dangling off the bed, as if she had desperately tried to escape.

The merchant's former room was in shambles. The sheets were ripped, broken vases littered the floor, and scratches marred the walls. On the floor, he saw a twinkling gold light. Silas approached the scratches in the wooden floor and found bits of black, sharp material resembling obsidian—a carapace.

[You found a clue!]

"What's that?" the captain asked, intrigued.

Silas handed it to him.

"Something from an insect's skin. When I faced Jack, I saw something similar; his hands had already turned into something insect-like."

Danavar nodded and used a white handkerchief to secure the piece of skin. Silas continued his search for clues, aided by the glowing light on his screen. Other clues included a hair and a torn shirt stained with green blood.

"So, this means the man we're looking for has already turned into an… insect?" Danavar asked.

Silas nodded. "Yes, and wherever he is, chaos will follow. Jack slowly lost his mind in the process. He tried to prevent it by running away from his son."

"But where would they go?" the captain wondered.

Silas thought for a moment. "I don't know, but it's safe to say he might try to reach his caravan at the inn. You should place guards around that building."

"Okay, I'll station some guards there."

Silas nodded and headed back to the hotel. But as soon as he was inside, he reconsidered their situation.

"I think it's better if I stay close to where the caravan is."

He rented a room in an inn across from where the caravan stayed, opting for a room on the second floor so he could observe everything from the window.

Silas was certain Sam would go to his wife. When someone loses everything, they often seek the comfort of those they love.

'But what he doesn't realize is that his instinct to kill drives him. Like a spider that kills its mate, or a spiderling that eats its mother, spiders prey on those close to them.'

Silas waited in his room, anticipating the events to unfold. It was past midnight when he heard the sound of falling rocks outside. He stood and observed the building across the street.

At that moment, the clouds parted, and moonlight cascaded onto the building and the monster scaling its walls. The beast looked grotesque; Sam's transformation was incomplete, lacking two more sets of legs. His body was a disturbing blend of man and spider.

Silas went downstairs, a message box appearing before him just as he reached the front door.

[Quest IV: No Living Walk on Four Feet]

[Description: Sam had just appeared outside at the inn. Help the Peacekeepers kill the monster before he can harm anyone.]

[Kill Sam 0/1]