The tension in the air was palpable as we formed our tight circle around the pedestal, our eyes scanning the shadows for any movement of the giant spiders. Haden's hand was stuck fast to the pedestal by thick strands of spider silk, and her eyes darted nervously between us and the encroaching darkness.

"Stay alert," I whispered to Talik still gripping Haden's weapon tightly indicating you were looking for an opportunity to use it. 

Suddenly, the first spider lunged from the shadows, its massive form skittering across the ground with terrifying speed. Alster swung a hand holding the only thing available to him, a blue crystal, but the creature evaded, shooting a burst of webbing that caught Talik's arm. Talik tried to pull free, but the webbing held fast, binding him in place.

Another spider emerged from the opposite direction, spraying more webbing in short, precise bursts. Before we could react, the sticky strands caught Alster and me, pinning us together. The spiders moved with an eerie coordination, weaving their webs around us with swift, practiced movements.

"There's too many of them!" Haden shouted, her voice tinged with panic.

I struggled against the webbing, but every movement only seemed to entangle me further. Alster was similarly ensnared, his over fascination with plants at school causing him to say, "I guess I should have studied Arachnology instead" as he fought to free himself.

"We can't let them immobilize us!" Talik grunted, trying to slash at the webs with her free hand as she struggled to think of a spell or sprite that could intervene.

But the spiders were relentless. They moved in close, their legs clicking against the ground as they tightened the webbing around us. One of them shot another burst, and I felt my legs get pinned to the muddy ground. 

"We have to find a way to cut ourselves free," I urged, my voice strained as I tried to keep my weapon ready despite my restricted movements.

The spiders closed in, their eyes gleaming with predatory intent. Each movement we made seemed to draw more webbing, until we were all but trapped, stuck to each other and the ground. Haden's struggle against the pedestal was futile, and the rest of us were now bound together in a sticky, silken prison.

As the spiders circled us, I caught Talik's eye. "We need a plan," she said, her voice hushed and determined. "And we need it now."

The spiders seemed to move in for the kill, their fangs glinting in the dim light. We had one chance to break free, and it had to be now, before the spiders made their final move.

The biggest spider creeps toward you and raises its legs in what you assume is a final attack. You are now trapped. You brace yourself, expecting the chill of its icy mandibles. But instead it rips away the sticky webbing, freeing you. The other spiders follow suit but you are to shocked to move. Haden once freed walks up beside the creature seemingly unscathed and unafraid. She was extending a hand to help you up. She smiles at what must be a look of complete bewilderment on your face. Only then do you notice the new, glowing blue gauntlet on her arm.

"I can communicate with them now," she says. "It's okay. They won't harm us."

She explains that the gauntlet had wrapped itself around her arm and activated. She knew from her studies that the Voek helped the Guardians develop closer relationships with animals and learn from them and that this gauntlet must hold the ability to send and recieve clicks and information to the spiders. The pedestal contained on sort of special technology to engineer and power the gauntlet, which let Haden adopt communication tools from different creatures. This one gives her spider-like sight and communication. 

"When I asked them to stop they did," she said, "I asked them to help, and they did. Then they asked us to stop hurting them and to leave their home. I told them that we meant no harm and just wanted safe passages through the tunnels. She, the big one," Haden said as she pointed to the largest of the spiders near Talik, "said some of their fellow spiders in their cluster are infected with corruption," Haden says. "They asked for help as the corruption is taking their families apart. I told them of our mission and that we might be able to stop the corruption."  

"Well don't go making too many promises" Talik says to Haden as she brushes sticky silk of her tunic and rubs it into a ball in her hands. Haden 'talks" to them some more and then translates for us. "They say there's a passage that goes by their home nest that only they crawl through that'll take us to the Ruined Lands."

She climbs onto a spider's back and gestures for you to do the same. She looks at you, "Jump on, they said they can give us a ride" — as if they didn't try to eat you minutes ago. 

In this episode You , Haden, Talik and Alster were tied in webbing and couldn't escape. Just how strong is spider web? Search up the tensile strength of spider web and enter the answer to that question in Thy Quests.

Next : E5Q3 On the Brink