Spider of the Vampire Countess

As the sole possessor of the family castle, the vampire Countess Minha was responsible for all upkeep and security. In years past, local war caused by feudal puppets of the month caused the occasional bit of damage and vandalism, even though Minha herself made a policy of never supporting a particular side. Chances are, they mainly sought the fort for what defense it could offer or perhaps the famous family vault. Either way, defending the place was a hassle.

Preferring spartan living, which is to say she stayed within her means, Minha found herself repeatedly needing to drive out the invaders, be they a group of bandits, soldiers, or otherwise vandals. She lived alone in the keep, save for her loyal vampiric thrall, a once-local-girl-now-french-maid known as Zola. In exchange for a taste of agelessness, she was an indentured servant for the next century. It was either a high or small price to pay, depending on how you looked at it.

Zola was no use in defending the castle (a vampire's potency increased with age, not by some divine right of having been bitten) but she could be counted on to do patch work repairs and keep the Countess appraised of what was going on. So when it came to the Countess that the growing quiet in the area was not from a ceasefire, Zola warned her things were less safe than ever.

More able to travel in the sunlight than her mistress, Zola could still visit local villages during the more cloudy days. There she learned of a terrible plague overrunning the land that compelled both noble and peasant to hunker down within their respective manors and huts. Supernatural beings had moved into the region. Minha's presence was suddenly a bit less special.

There was talks of goblins, demons, and perhaps most worrisome to a vampire, werewolves. Minha did have some general dealings with supernatural beings unlike herself, but she was hardly the source of this incursion. And she certainly didn't invite any werewolf packs to visit, for they were a natural enemy of her parasitic lot.

With this turn of events, Countess Minha's habit of living quietly and peacefully in solitude might come crashing down around here. As a vampire went, she was not overtly vicious. At least- not one to get her hands more dirty than needed. She mainly relied on scaring intruders off and use of traps in her castle. Occasionally, yes, she did feed upon the living, but she wasn't really a killer. In all truth, she preferred the role of a quiet neighbor, content to study collected books of art and read stories in her spare time. Fighting was... undesirable.

"Mistress, I know it will be expensive, but we must look into security," Zola the maid spoke as the Countess enjoyed a simple lamb repast, which was more for flavor than necessity. "If we are raided by werewolves or even a stronger vampire, all of your holdings will be lost. And perhaps our lives. The lupine sons of the field will not take prisoners of us."

Taking a nibble with her silver cutlery, the Countess consented the point with a sigh. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could simply move the castle away from this place? So much fighting! But you are quite correct. I'm not certain the installed traps will stop a werewolf in its tracks. And I haven't enough silver weaponry to deter them."

There was a moment of pause following this.

"Loyal Zola, we must fight fire with fire. I will find a way to stretch the castle's finances. Use the Witching Orb in my study to contact potential guardians. Cheap ones! We can spare only so much gold comfortably on such insurance."

"Yes, m'lady," Zola answered with a professional curtsy of her skirt. "I shall get the endeavor immediately."

The following night, Zola returned to Minha in her dining hall. "M'lady, I have done as you asked. But I'm afraid the possibilities are less to your liking."

Minha has been pouring over an collection of a Renaissance art by an up and coming fellow named Da Vinci. She looked up with a frown. "The way you say that fills me less with hope. Surely someone of caliber is willing for a fair price!"

The french maid sighed. "In truth, we have only two, um, candidates. No one else was willing to travel to these lands right now."

"Only two!?" the Countess exclaimed, dropping the book on her dining room table. "Are things really that bad?" There was awkward silence as Zola quietly thought to herself that the Countess' offering of payment was not significant enough for many to risk their neck playing door man to the keep.

"Well," Zola began. "The first and most promising was a verdant dragon of an old distant forest going by the name of Zertug. He's quite willing to park himself by the bridge and deter anyone and anything. Truly, one cannot find a better guardian than a dragon."

"That sounds fine! What's the problem?" Minha inquired excitedly.

"He wants eight times what you've offered. Per season." the maid replied dryly.

Minha's smile slowly faded and her eye twitched. "Holding an estate is... not quite as lucrative as he might wish it to be. There is simply no way to pay that commission." Sighing and leaning against the table, she looked up again. "What of the other candidate? What astronomical price have they demanded as well?"

The french maid fidgeted and spoke after a bit of hesitation. "Well... that is to say... a colony of spiders is, um... the second candidate."

"Eh? Did you say spiders? Common little vermin... spoke to you?"

"In essence," Mina replied, clearing her throat. "Yes. They're apparently intelligent. In actuality, it's a mother spider and her brood who currently live in a nearby cave. They're willing to work for, hmm... free? More or less?"

Minha stared at the thought of this. Little spiders? Or perhaps not so tiny? They were intelligent, so perhaps monstrously big. And if they were indeed of a working mind, they understood the task at hand. Minha was preparing to deal with a werewolf problem, not an infestation of flies and ants.

After some deliberation... "Free... you say? Have her... um, 'them' meet with me as soon as they can. Given the lack of options, I must entertain this notion. However strange it may be."

Zola bowed and excused herself, looking very unhappy. Her cleaning duties might become endless if a family of spiders moved in.

Later that night, Minha and Zola gathered underneath the castle in the empty catacombs. These chambers did connect to some parts of a local cave network, fortunately which the spiders were able to navigate. Down here, Minha had several traps to deter spelunkers and raiders, but it was mainly maze-like and empty.

From an adjoining hallway, a small red to rust colored swarm of arachnids poured in. Mainly small things no bigger than a gold doubloon, but led at the front by the apparent mother, some two feet in diameter. Minha raised a brow, but said nothing. These would repel werewolves... how?

Zola, rather unsettled by spiders, quietly moved behind Minha and then far away. Neither of them was particularly arachnophobic, but viewing a swarm approaching you is not an easy sight to handle. "I will be here if you need me, Countess." Minha glanced back briefly and rolled her eyes.

"Ah... greetings?" Minha began as the swarm stopped moving. "I am Countess Minha of Duval Keep. I am to understand you and your brood are interested in the guardian work- for free?"

"That is an accurate assessment," came a surprisingly pleasant feminine trill from the mother spider. "My children and I can provide your home with a great deal of security against most any intruder."

"Forgive me, but I have doubts if spiders of size comparable to tiny birds and a canine, no matter how intelligent- can stop a common brigand. Let alone a supernatural being such as the lupine sons."

"You've clearly never seen my lair," the spider quipped. "Wayward thieves find themselves not leaving all the time. Their presence is quite lucrative for us."

"Hmm. I see. So, by what do I call you?"

"Ah, name, names... always names," the spider seemed to sigh as if the concept had less relevance than the vampiress put upon it. "I've been called a pest, a menace, and a nightmare, depending on the audience. I suppose Azrael is what you're looking for." An elegant enough sounding name, Minha thought. More than she expected, actually.

"Fair enough. So how is it you're willing to work for free? Not that I mind, really... but I suppose gold coins hold no allure for you?" asked the vampiress.

"That is a reasonable assessment," the spider responded, sounding polite in her tone. "I can't very well go to town and spend it. At best, something shiny attracts those who see nothing but glittery things as more important than their lives. Hence my mention of thieves before. But in truth, what my broodlings and I most need is a stable environment, particularly one from a wintery draft. This catacomb seems far away from open windows. And I have little to myself over regarding things emerging from the cave."

"So it's a form of room and boarding you want out of this? Down here?"

"Essentially. If you have intruders, we can't very well go chasing them around. But we can set up a network of traps in which tripped strings to a central web down here can tell us where the unwanted visitor is. From there, we can find the problem by climbing through cracks in the floors and walls. After the problem has been dealt with, we can remove the, hrm... 'remains' into the tunnel. That will leave no clue of something unsettling going on here."

"Sound reasoning, but wouldn't I want such evidence? If brigands and werewolves can be defeated, wouldn't proof of that outside act as warning enough?"

"It would also serve as more reason for mobs carrying torches to come here. Whether they find human bones or suspect you're attracting supernatural creatures- it could just as easily make more problems. Besides, having a few intruders now and again helps my brood grow. We can't very well starve down here."

The spider seemed to have all the answers, Minha thought. Except one hadn't been addressed yet.

"You talk a good game, Azrael. I'll give you that. But I'm still dubious if you can actually defeat the kinds of problems I'll be having."

"I'll tell you what, o' Countess. Allow me to settle in for the night and I'll prove to you I'm quite capable of doing all I say I can. If you're not satisfied, you can have us leave."

"Hmm... very well. What harm is there? I owe you a chance, I suppose. Come along, Zola. Let's leave our willful guardian to get comfortable."

"Yes, m'lady."

And with that, the vampire and her thrall maid returned upstairs to the completion of their day. Azrael, meanwhile, decided to get busy with preparations.

Some time later...

Minha awoke from her casket with a startle, almost banging her head on the plush lined wooden lid. A scream ran through the keep. Once and then several more times. It was Zola, no doubt about it. Brigands? Werewolves?

She pushed the lid, not concerned if it were day or not as her room had no outside illumination and Zola was usually good with the curtains elsewhere. Except it didn't open. At least, not immediately. It was as though something heavy were place on top. However, the vampiress could call upon reserves of strength from the stolen blood in her system. With that, she gradually managed to open her way out of her deathly bed.

Shaking off the adrenalin for a moment, she looked back at the lid once more. There was only strands of spider silk over the edges holding it to the bottom of her casket. "Azrael," she thought to herself. The spider or her children were in here at some point. It was certain.

Rousing herself to her feet in a state of half dress, Minha stumbled over to the parlor to throw a quick gown or dress on, only to find the contents were sealed tight. "What?" Silk was strewn densely over the parlor dresser. Over the closest. On the ceiling. Floor. Bookcase. Everywhere, cobwebs in various degrees.

"Azrael!" she shouted. "What is the meaning of this!? I invite you into my home and you defile it?" There was no response, of course. But she had a good idea where Azrael might be. More important, she had to find her thrall, who was likely in danger. That scream suggested only bad things.

Brushing her way out of the room, she found the hallways were no better off. Webbing, dangling from every nook and cranny, strewn from floor to ceiling and back again as though the place had been neglected for decades. Still, she imagined that scream wasn't born of a fit of frustration from her maid.

Unable to access any of her items (not even the ornamental weapons on the plate armor knight stands in the hall) from the dense amounts of silk wound over everything, Minha headed for the catacombs. She wasn't a violent person, but it looked like this wasn't something she could let slide. Azrael seemed to be claiming the keep for herself. After all, a vault of gold coins attracts more thieves to catch than a monthly handful. In that mindset, what would she need Minha and Zola for?

Minha made her way down in a heavy, occasionally tripping on spokes of tangly silk while wearing little else than her french tailored red lace panty. Much of the silk was not in fact sticky at all, just inconvenient. The worst of it was wrapped around doorknobs and items Minha tried to grab, but couldn't wrest as if tight fine ropes held them still. Her patience was wearing thin. Damned bugs!

She heard no more from poor Zola, but it was not long before the web strewn path funneled her into a section of the castle that needed some repair. Old water damaged planks, worn stone, and too many harsh winters damaged this part of the keep. Not needing it for much, she decided to play the miser and just ignore it. A shoe on the floor from Zola implied she couldn't right now. First, she had to save her thrall before Azrael could be dealt with.

As a vampire, she wasn't too scared. The bigger webs could be brought down without much effort and she doubted whether spider venom could have any effect on her. Being a vampire did come with many benefits, after all. That, and it was hard to feel threatened by a smaller creature of the night. Undaunted, the Countess pressed on.

"Zola! Where are you! Call me out if you can hear me!" cried the Countess, looking for her loyal servant and friend. "Zo-la! I'm here!"

Unfortunately, it had been a while since the Countess paid much attention to this decrepit wing of the keep. Distracted by her search, she failed to notice the well bowed depression of the floor. Promptly, it gave way and she fell through with a shriek.

Regaining a mind of composure, she found herself laying back first on a giant suspended web in the upper reaches of the catacomb. Trying to rise, she found the thin strands clenched at her aggressively, sticking to nearly nude flesh all too well. "Damn pest..."

"Oh, is that what I am now?" Azrael said disapprovingly from a nearby pillar upon which one of the many spokes of the web was anchored to. "That wasn't very nice, you know. Especially for a lady of some esteem like yourself, Countess."

Minha fidgeted to view her as she tried to move her body overall. "What do you think you're doing, Azrael?! You vandalize my home with your broodlings webs, terrorize my servant, and then try to seal me in my own coffin? This is intolerable!"

"Well, in fairness? We've done more than terrorize your humble maid." Azrael gestured down, where some twenty feet below, Zola kneeled face first in a humiliating pose of servitude on the ground. But it wasn't a willing act. Silk has been strategically wound around her neck, mouth, and feet, keeping her still. And this was reinforced by a tight arm binding to further leash her down. Zola glanced up, only able to murmur unhappily. Minha's thrall had been subdued.

Growing frustrated and indignant, Minha called upon her vampiric strength and thrashed in the web to break it apart so that she might free her servant and stomp the spider children crawling over her. Still, the web did not release her, although the motions were quite violent and likely to tear the silk apart.

"Oh no, none of that now," Azrael chided. The spider quickly crawled over, her brown and red frame looking like so much shadow in the gloom. Minha struggled defiantly even as the spider arrived upon her half naked form. "I told you, I am quite capable of stopping even supernatural creatures in their tracks. I won't give you the time to break free, Countess."

"How dare you!" Minha hissed, her pupils narrowed like an angry cat. Some loose sticky webbing was pulled over in her struggles, but it was unlikely to hold her. Azrael set about restraining the Countess' arms. Little by little, Minha found her upper limbs being stuck in precise sticky soft manacles. "I won't be treated like some ransomed wench!"

Azrael ignored the threats and protests, soon turning her attention to Minha's legs. While the vampiress worked to free her arms, the legs were quickly secured in the sticky gauze Azrael produced. And soon, they were forced into a pretzel-like position and her arms were bound behind Minha. "Stop it..."

But the spider didn't. Her chidren joined in and together they weaved a skein of white silk over Minha's chest and torso, further anchoring the fighting vampire. In minutes, the once thrashing vampiress could only wriggle and buck, straining against an increasing amount of spider silk.

She fought and fought, but it was no use. Whatever she could break, the spider and her brood easily fixed and sewed her right back up again. The vampiress' strength soon failed her from fighting for so long and she was forced to rest. It was embarassing to think she could be beaten like this, but it seemed Minha would soon be cocooned... it would be an unsettling way to spend an ageless life. Assuming the spider's were incapable of ending her, which she began to debate with herself.

"Comfortable now? Have we come to understand you cannot escape me?" Azrael asked as Minha sobered from fighting back. "I told you what I could do and I have proved it."

"I... wait, what?" Minha asked, raising a brow as the spiderlings crawled over her trapped form. "THIS was how you wanted to show me?"

"Indeed. You're a supernatural being. Why not? I suspect you see the point."

"Then... the whole webs all over my keep?"

"We'll tidy those up."

"And Zola?"

"Bait," the spider replied with bemusement. "I quickly discerned from her fearful reaction earlier that she wasn't too terribly tough. No offense, dearie," she said conclusively below to the maid. Zola only made a whining noise.

"So... you're not here to take my keep and fortune?" Minha asked, still trying to process the incredulous turn of events.

"No. Well... not exactly."

"Huh?"

"I think I deserve a bonus, my dear Countess. You see... I think I need some further encouragement to let you go. Otherwise, why not just keep the two of you here, safe and secure in my webs? I am your guardian, after all."

Minha stared, first in some shock and then with a shrewd grin. "You're not just an intelligent spider, Azrael. You're TOO intelligent. How unfair, ha ha!" The web shook as the Countess laughed. "Oh my. So, how would I go about convincing you to free us?"

Azrael tilted her head slightly. "I think I like the idea of being genuinely vampiric... as much as intelligent. It could only add to my value and I think it's a natural evolution of things."

"You want to be a vampire spider?" Minha blinked. "I've heard of fellow humans making such requests, but... you want me to bite you and deliver the curse, is it?"

"No, no... I think I'm quite capable of doing my own draining. I just wanted your blessing on it."

Minha chuckled nervously as the spider crawled to her neckline and suddenly bit into it with two small but sharp fangs. Minha yelped as her eyes widened. The spider lapped her blood neatly.