Runner's Start (Private)

Tessa nodded at Arachne. "You heard him. We're going. But we're getting answers too."

The demon rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just give me a minute." She turned around and started working on making the portal.

"You can't create a portal to someplace you've never been to, boy," Arachne spat, her many spider's legs working with her normal arms to spin a large web between two buildings. The pattern slowly formed a large swirl, and…was it moving?

Tessa sighed and came up to Runner out of sympathy while they waited. "Ignore her, she's old and cranky and can't make a portal as quick as she used to."

Tessa looked over her shoulder at Rhianon, who was watching Arachne work with interest and sometimes calling out advice. "Don't know much. Just that she's an exiled Fae princess corrupted with Dark magic. I think. If the legends are to be believed. But if I've learned anything during my time as a demigod, it's that the legends are almost always to be believed."

Tessa shrugged. "She might be. You never know." She gently nudged Runner. "If she is, you'd better hope she's not as big of an asshole as my father turned out to be."

"He makes hotheaded seem tame." She snorted. "He expelled me and my friends because my one friend pulled rank one too many times–and he just didn't like us from the start."

"Nope." She popped the p, then looked over to see how Arachne was doing. "Would you look at that–Grandma has finally finished."

Tessa scoffed. "Old enough to be considered rude to ask." In reality, everyone was just too afraid of getting their tongues ripped out to ask.

Rhianon finally glanced Runner's way. "Immensely. Stay near the Queen, and her subjects will not harm you. Stray too far, and you will find yourself getting ripped limb from limb. Or, perhaps, eaten alive. All rely on their mood."

"We'll see about that, now won't we?" Arachne chimed in. She lifted herself off her feet with her spider legs and entered her portal. Rhianon's hidden gaze lingered on Runner for a second before she headed through the portal.

"Like I said–corrupted by Dark magic. Let's go before they leave us." Tessa lightly pushed on Runner's back to get him moving.

(Oh, now it's time to finally flesh out this world. Let's see how I do…)

Instantly, the sickeningly sweet smell of the demons inhabiting the dark world overwhelmed their senses. No light reached this world, for it was clouded by heavy black clouds of ashen mist. The rolling land was dead and littered with webs. Upon closer inspection, the webs were actually holding the cracked and decaying land together. Some pieces of earth shifted and cracked some more, but didn't fall thanks to the straining webs desperately holding on. Death hung in the air.

Giant flies flew overhead. Demons skittered across the ground. These demons had the upper body of a beautiful or handsome human, and the lower body of a hideous, bulbous spider of all kinds and species. They sneered and hissed and salivated as the group walked by. Arachne kept her head up high, occasionally growling and hissing at the demons that came too close.

Tessa snarled at a few that got too close to her for comfort. "Don't let their looks fool you. That's to draw in their prey. The real monsters show once they have you trapped in their web."

Arachne roared and charged the redhead. They got into a squabble, and the redheaded demon scrambled away with a slight limp. "That's for disobeying my orders," the queen scoffed, heading to the middle of the group.

"It's a matter of principle, boy," Arachne said over her shoulder. "I gave them a direct order to leave you lot alone, and she disobeyed. I am Queen here, and they are the subjects. There are consequences to disobedience."