Could you write a vignette about Orym having a spider Queen nightmare? (Bonus have Dorian and fearne comfort him once he wakes up)
Hmmmmm...
"Black Strands"
He could see Dorian, Fearne, Dariax, and Opal walking ahead of him, talking amongst themselves, laughing...
But then slowly, ever so slowly, their shadows began to lengthen, and spread, even though the sun in the sky above hadn't moved, and no trees or buildings lined the road upon which they walked.
"Hey, guys?" Orym called out, but something choked the words in his throat and no sound came forth.
The shadows around the other four started to shift and writhe, crawling up their bodies, but still none of them noticed.
"Guys?!" Orym tried to call out again, but again his words were stifled, and so he began to run to try to catch up with them. But the faster he ran, the further away they were, until there was nothing left but their shadows.
"FEARNE!" he shouted desperately. "DARIAX! OPAL! DORIAN!"
Something lashed itself around his throat and pulled him off his feet, and the halfling found himself surrounded by black threads stretching out in every direction. He struggled with all his might, and as he thrashed, trying to get free, he saw that he was in the center of a vast, elaborate web...
Then he screamed as with no warning, four shapes abruptly dropped down in front of him like marionettes on strings.
Opal, Dariax, Fearne, and Dorian, their faces blank and expressionless, their eyes and sclera completely pitch-black.
Orym fought the urge to vomit, even as he felt the bile stinging and rising in his throat.
You cannot win... not against me...
"LET THEM GO!" he shouted, thrashing even harder, but the thread around his throat continued to tighten.
What I cannot corrupt...
His breath gurgled and choked, and still he fought.
What I cannot control...
Four more threads lashed out of the darkness and wrapped around his wrists and his ankles, pulling them taut.
I WILL CONSUME.
And then came the pain as his body was torn asunder while his friends still hung there, limp, unmoving, as still and as empty as death, even as his blood spewed across their faces-
"NO!"
Orym came awake with a scream, his eyes wide, his heart slamming so hard in his chest that he thought it might burst, and icy sweat drenching his entire body.
"Orym! Are you all right?!"
"Orym, what happened?!"
For several seconds, Orym couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, his whole body shaking.
"Dorian, quick, the blanket-"
"Right, got it, here, Orym, sit up, let me put this around you-"
The halfling's teeth were chattering in his head, tears stung his eyes, and he was only dimly aware of Dorian sitting him up, wrapping a blanket around him, and then embracing him hard from behind while Fearne lit the candles near the bed, then anxiously rubbed his hands in hers, trying to warm them.
"It's okay, friend, we're here, we're both here, you're okay, you're safe..." Fearne's soft crooning, as well as the warmth of her hands on his and Dorian's body against his, slowly brought Orym back to himself, and he looked from one to the other as the tears spilled down his cheeks.
"You're... you're okay," he was finally able to whisper, his voice so hoarse that it was barely audible. "You're okay."
"We're okay?! My gods, Orym, worry about yourself!" Dorian held him tighter. "What happened?!"
"It was..." Orym swallowed hard. "A dream... a nightmare."
"About what?" Fearne kept his hands in hers, gently massaging them.
Orym closed his eyes briefly and shuddered. "I saw... you two. And Dariax. And Opal. And... you were... all of you were... consumed by... these shadows. And then I was... in a spider web. And so were you. But... but it wasn't you. You were all... puppets. And I heard a voice. But not like a voice-voice."
"Like a voice in your head?" Dorian asked quietly, and Orym nodded.
"Yeah. And I think... no... no, I'm almost certain that it was... it was the Spider Queen." His hands closed hard on Fearne's. "And she... she... tore me to pieces."
Fearne leaned forward and hugged Orym awkwardly, as Dorian was still holding him.
"It's okay now... everything is fine. I know you're worried about Opal, but I'm sure she's okay. And Dariax is with her. And Fy'ra Rai, if needed."
"Yes, I'm sure Fearne is right. And Opal's strong, you know. She can take care of herself."
"I guess so," Orym whispered. "I hope so. And I'm sorry I woke you two up."
"What are friends for?" Dorian reassured him.
Eventually, they lay back down to sleep, Orym in the middle, Dorian in front of him, Fearne behind him. As Dorian turned to blow out the candles, Orym stopped him.
"No... leave them lit. Please."
"Of course."
The other two drifted off, but Orym lay awake in the candle-lit room.
"It was just a dream," he whispered to himself. "It was just a dream."
Then he looked down at his friends' arms where they were both wrapped around him.
And saw the faintest glimmer of black silken strands on each of them.
