Chapter 165 - Into Darkness

When Ao Wen and her companions arrived at the entrance of the Gong Family's spirit mine, a sense of gloom enveloped them like a cold, wet fog that dimmed light and chilled the heart. The mine's entrance lay less than half a dozen li into the Darkwood Valley outside of Lantern City but with the thick tree canopy overhead and the oppressive late autumn weather, it felt like they'd left the world of warmth and twinkling lantern light far behind. 

The entrance to the mine itself had been boarded over recently and here and there a few tools and piles of broken rock spoke to how little time had passed since what remained of the Gong family had been forced to abandon the once lucrative mine. The wooden barrier itself was crude, made of quickly hewn branches, boards salvaged from mining carts, and whatever else was immediately at hand to seal up the entrance. 

"It looks like they left in a hurry," Zhang Bai observed, taking in the crude work of the boarded-up entrance. "That looks like something you build to keep things in, not something you build to keep people out."

"I read Alchemist Ma Xiaohua's notes about Dark Weaver Spiders," Ao Wen said, taking in the scene around them. "It's supposed to be rare, but if they're really hungry, they'll come out of their tunnels at night to hunt. I don't see any webs around here though," she observed, casting about with a Blazing Sunstone to illuminate the area. The tools had cost more than she wanted to pay for them but unlike torches, they could easily be slipped into a net pouch hung from the waist to leave both hands free for fighting. Since the only one among their group who didn't need two hands to make effective use of their weapon was Tang Jin, they felt like a vital expense and the light they provided was better than what torches offered anyway. "Maybe the Gong family didn't wait for signs that the spiders were approaching the entrance before sealing things up. If so, it speaks well of them for protecting the rest of the valley."

"True," Zhang Bai said as he approached the barrier. "Still, we have to get it out of the way. Brother Jin, lend me a hand."

"I'll help too," Ao Wen added, tucking the Blazing Sunstone into a pouch at her waist and joining the young men. "At least let me get the rocks out of the way," she said, drawing on her earthen martial energy to nudge a few of the heaviest boulders out of their way with less effort than it would have taken for either of the young men. 

While the group made quick work of the obstacle, Feng Xi knelt beside the boards and branches they laid to the side, a concerned frown forming on her face. "Stop for a second and take a look at this," she said, pointing at several deep gouges on what had been the inside of the boards. "Something tried to get out." 

"Xi, you think you could squeeze through the opening we've made so far?" Ao Wen asked. "I want to take a look at the other side before we tear it apart."

"Sure, I can do that," the young archer said, dropping to the ground near the space Zhang Bai and the others had already cleared. 

"Wait, let me go first," Ao Wen insisted. Drawing a fan from her waist, she gave two quick beats of the fan, sending a pair of flickering butterfly flames through the hole in the barricade and into the dark of the cave. Only when nothing happened for several moments did Ao Wen drop to the ground and shimmy through the opening on her back, quickly rolling to her feet in the dark and moist environment of the mine's entrance. "No threats," Ao Wen called once she'd glanced around the entrance. 

Feng Xi followed behind Ao Wen as soon as she heard that there weren't any immediate threats in the area. It took a bit more wiggling from her than it had from Ao Wen, clearly the chest guard she'd taken to wearing for archery didn't compress her fuller bust enough to comfortably fit through the opening, but after a little extra wiggling, she was through. 

"Xi, look at the barricade," Ao Wen said once Feng Xi had come to her feet. 

In the entrance of the mine, several tools were strewn about, left where they'd fallen or been flung. Here and there, other items could be found; a pair of cheap helmets, sacks used for collecting spirit crystals, even a lost boot. The disturbing part, however, was the damage to the inside of the barrier. 

The lower portion of the barricade held rough gouges, the kind that might be caused by the claws of a beast tearing at the wall. Further up, however, several sharp chunks had been carved into the wood of the barrier from the swing of a pick, an ax, or other handheld tool. In one spot, it looked like someone had frantically stabbed at a piece of the barrier with a small knife! 

No matter how much damage had been done to the barricade, however, nothing had gotten through. Instead, several dark brown and reddish stains stood as mute testimony to the carnage that had taken place here not more than a few days ago.

"They trapped their own people in here!" Feng Xi said, taking several steps back with a gasp. No sooner had she stepped back than her head brushed against the smallest wisp of dark spider silk hanging from the ceiling. Suddenly, Feng Xi's vision swam, the edges of her sight becoming lost in darkness as a new scene unfolded in her mind's eye. 

Four men crowded against the barricade, shouting, hammering it with whatever tools they had in their hands, begging to be released. All of them were dirty from the mines but two of them bore the signs of struggle with long gashes in their grey tunics and breaches. Bright red blood stains made it clear that they hadn't escaped the beasts of the mine unscathed but rather than weakness, the desperate men showed greater strength in hammering at the barricade for release. 

Moments later, chittering and clicking filled her ears followed by high-pitched screeches and the terrified wails of the men. Dark, sharp, elongated spider legs struck out at the men from the edges of her narrowing vision, splashing blood on the barricade and the floors until the men shrieked their last and a blood-splattered word was left behind on the barricade. 

'Prey.'