[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FM92P8l.png[/img]
[h1][color=ed145b]Sarah[/color][/h1][/center]

The further she goes down the caverns, the more Sarah finds it harder to breathe. The shadows, which only just flickered and shifted, now seem to form malevolent faces, gaining demonic forms and always seeming to reach out for her, clutching with long, spindly claws. She would startle, only to stop and realize Pip was looking at her funny, as though wondering if she's alright. She realizes that Pip isn't affected by the miasma, meaning she could at least trust his senses if not her own.

She coughs into the crook of her arm as the bitter, pungent miasma fills her nose and mouth, her eyes watering. She's certain this miasma is the source of these hallucinations; get rid of it, and she'll be able to trust her senses again - for that matter, she'll just settle for being able to breathe clean air again!

Pausing for breath, she notes the spiderling claw resting in one hand. She realizes that the claw is much smaller than she thought it was, and the things that had harried her earlier were much smaller than she imagined. It must be the miasma's work too. The sooner she's done here, the better. Fortunately, the deeper she goes, the closer she can sense the sword. It's as though this particular sense, this feeling, is uncorrupted by whatever hallucinations inflicted upon her, allowing her to at least navigate the tight, winding corridors with some reliability. The sooner she finds that sword, the sooner she can begin to understand her past, and the thought drives her onwards, battling her thick, palpable terror.

[color=orangered]Pip, for his part, is worried about the path they're taking. The miasma is thicker here, and it's hurting his nose and eyes, causing him to whimper in protest. He could still smell the fear on New Master, even as she continues to walk forwards. The paths here are new and uncertain to him, and he can smell the spider-things more and more; this is their territory. And yet, New Master seems persistent in the path they're taking.

Then he smells something... close. More Spider-things. He stops and growls threateningly, and New Master takes a few moments to realize the threat too.[/color]

[color=ed145b]"W-what is it, Pip...?"[/color] Sarah asks anxiously, only too aware that her skin is clammy with sweat and she's breaking out in goosebumps. [color=ed145b]"Is... is it more of those things...?"[/color]

She hears something skitter closeby, and prays it's only another hallucination. However, the sound comes closer, and she she grips her makeshift weapon, she realizes the sound is undeniably real. Before she realizes it, there's another patrol of spiderlings here, one bigger than the previous one.

It takes a considerable effort of will to not bolt; there's more of them this time, and she's still suffering from shakes and nausea. However, she reminds herself that these things, while still dangerous, aren't as big as she thought, and that this time, she's armed. If they want to kill her, she'll put up a better fight this time. And she knows she can at least heal Pip if he gets hurt...

[color=olive]The spiderlings emerge from the winding tunnel, not sure what to expect, but ready to fight. They see a human girl and a strange, furred creature, the human girl holding what seems to be a claw from one of their brothers. They collectively hiss in anger, the combined hissing echoing in the caves menacingly. Apparently, those two managed to overcome the previous patrol, and for some reason this particular human is immune to the miasma. They skitter forwards quickly, intending to put these foes down quickly.[/color]

Pip strikes first, the crest on his back lighting up again before filling the cave with a bright light, striking one of the spiderlings in front with a powerful bolt of lightning. The sudden blast and the surprised screeching of their ally surprises the spiderlings, causing them to panic and try to split up, backing away from another possible attack.

Sarah, finding her chance, swings with the claw, only to realize she attacked a hallucination. In retaliation, the closest spiderling cuts her arm with an opportunistic strike, wounding her. Despite the pain, she doesn't let go of the claw. She tries to kick in revenge, but misses as she stumbles, barely managing to keep her balance. The spiderlings try to capitalize on her weakness, trying to swarm the duo with superior numbers. They swing their razor-sharp claws, slashing and stabbing, but Pip dodges deftly using his surprisingly strong legs to dodge and weave their strikes. He'd felt their sting once, he's in no hurry to get hit again. Sarah dodges a swipe by stepping back out of harm's way, but knows that they need to end this quickly. She sidesteps another attack, then sends one flying with a swift kick, smacking it against the cave walls.

Pip avoids another slash, and finds an opening as the spiderling had overcommitted, leaving its flank open. He lunges forwards, snarling, before clamping on the thing's throat with sharp teeth. The spiderling panics and tries to throw him off, managing to inflict a slash while one of its brothers assisted by managing to stab Pip in the flank. Pip yips in pain but doesn't let go, not dropping the spiderling until it flops lifelessly to the ground. It whirls with a snarl and a snap at the spiderling that wounded it. Its brother moves to flank, forcing Pip to hobble around to avoid getting attacked from two sides at once.

Sarah, meanwhile tries to cut down the last spiderling still standing, but it uses its smaller stature and great agility to dodge attacks. However, it miscalculates and finds itself cornered right in the path of a frenzied swing, and blocks by raising its claws to block. It manages, but Sarah's greater strength shakes it, and it would have gotten stabbed had not its dazed comrade recovered, and moved forwards to jump onto Sarah's back. It starts clawing and slashing, causing Sarah to cry out in pain and reach for the thing. Unable to reach the blind spot on her back, she resorts to slamming herself, back-first, into the nearby wall several times. The spiderling ultimately lets go after one too many hits, allowing Sarah to crush it under her boot. Its enraged brother jumps at her leg and stabs her in the calf, causing her to grunt in pain and drop to one knee, but she manages to bring the claw down sharply, impaling it in the back and twisting the blade to ensure it stays down this time. She clutches her wounded leg in pain.

Pip snarls and barks at the surviving spiderlings, trying to keep them back while he charges another lightning attack. The spiderlings sense it too, and try to at least finish this furry threat before the human recovers from her injuries enough to help. One of them skitters sideways, claws raised, but it's a feint to draw Pip's attention while its partner attacks Pip's exposed and injured flank. However, it barely manages to get close before Sarah's boot comes down, crushing it with brutal intent. Sarah had managed to heal herself so she could move sufficiently to help Pip. Surprised by this turn of events, the surviving Spiderling turns and tries to run away, but Pip catches with a strong jolt of lightning, frying it and putting it down for good.

For a moment, the noise in the hall quiets down, as Sarah pants heavily trying to recover her breath and the spiderling's scorched corpse sizzles audibly. Pip limps over to the corpses, sniffs them to make sure, then barks at them tauntingly, as though to gloat about winning. Limping, Pip turns to Sarah, panting happily as he's glad to see she's alright. Sarah returns his grin by kneeling down, petting him gently, and healing his wounds.

[color=ed145b]"There,"[/color] she says. [color=ed145b]"Let's hurry, we're almost at the sword now. Let's find it and get out already."[/color]

She stumbles along, trying to heal her wounds, Pip walking along, lighting the way. This time, Sarah's stumble is a bit rushed; even as dizzy as she is from the fight and the miasma, she can feel the sword close. If she finds it, maybe she'll have an easier time in here.