Veylance, the Weaver Maiden, claimed she could see through fate and had honed her cunning and disguises to an extraordinary degree. Today, though, she had done something unusually reckless.
According to the plan she had agreed on with Murphy, she was supposed to play a frail female NPC, too weak to lift a finger, in this staged "escort mission." A group of powerful, courageous players would then escort her out of the dangerous Baphomet Labyrinth.
The first half of the escort had gone perfectly.
Veylance had given a flawless performance as an important NPC in need of help—a total weakling. But after hearing the little players' taunts and scorn, and watching her feminine charms repeatedly fall flat, the Weaver Maiden couldn't keep it together.
The secondary reason was that the little players really were terrible. If Veylance hadn't helped, they'd probably have been wiped out.
The main reason was that Shadow Elves were a rather peculiar bunch. They had a twisted worldview, completely different from that of other races. In their dark and wicked traditions, a Shadow Elf woman's allure was a vital part of her personal strength.
In short, Veylance had snapped!
She shifted into her powerful, fearsome Weaver Spider form and effortlessly slaughtered the elite goatmen the players were supposed to defeat at great cost. She even made the whole scene as bloody as possible, just to scare these incompetent, clueless Transian barbarians.
It was one of the Shadow Elves' favorite strategies, too.
After all, fear was a useful force that could be controlled.
But things once again went in a direction Veylance hadn't anticipated. She thought her terrifying appearance would frighten the players out of their wits. Yet after brutally cutting down the goatmen, she turned around in the slaughterhouse wearing the most wicked smile she could