Aym was silent as he witnessed this, and saw the spiders were still frozen.

".....I see." he said.

"Seems like they were taking orders from the larger one. And the corruption made them blindly loyal... to a fault." he commented.

"Now, without their leader giving them orders... they're just... motionless. Still." he went on.

"Useless." he sighed.

"We need to find where this originated from." he told Callie.

"I get the feeling it's nearby."

Adym looked at her for a moment, and thought about it.

"Ah.... hm." he muttered.

"Actually, yes." he said.

"I think I can." he told her.

He then proceeded to grow some large long leaves from the ground, and wrapped it around the wounds she sustained.

"Best I can do for now." he told her.

"They'll stop the bleeding, close up the wounds, and hopefully help null the pain a bit." he explained.

Adym nodded in response.

"Yes, let's." he agreed.

The two of them then weaved their way through the sea of smaller spiders, eventually making their way past them.

They then looked around, and Adym paused suddenly.

"....I..." he stammered.

"I think we're close to the source." he told her.

"I don't know why, but I'm getting a VERY distinct sense of darkness and corruption near me. Like... extremely concentrated." he muttered.

"....yes." Adym responded.

"We're heading... east." he told her.

And so they headed east... and walked for a short amount of time, before they came across a fountain.

And it was a fountain unlike any other.

The fountain itself looked to be exquisitely carved out of marble, and though it had some cracks and was showing its age, it still looked structurally sound, as though it would persevere through ANYTHING. Vines and plants grew around it, covering it almost protectively, like a natural suit of armour, or like a parent shielding their child. The water inside flowed freely and smoothly, but there was something off about the water itself.

It appeared to be... a dark navy colour, to the point of being almost black.

"...this fountain is the heart of the forest." Adym commented. "It nourishes everything." he went on.

"No wonder this is happening. The water appears to be corrupted."

"Yeah... I... probably can..." Adym replied.

"If not, I have no choice but to get in there, myself, and look." he told her.

He then crouched down on the ground, and started to grow a few things... but they looked... weak, and frail. And discoloured, as well.

"Damn it." he cursed.

"The corruption is interfering with my abilities." he commented.

However, he still managed to grow some thin, slender vines, and some rigid stalks. He fashioned them together into a pair of nets... though they looked ready to give up and die at any moment.

"Sorry." he apologised, handing one to her.

"Best I can do, it seems."

"Works for me." Adym responded.

With that, he made his way to the opposite side of Callie, and they started walking. They walked in the same direction, scanning and dredging things with their nets.

Callie wasn't finding anything, but as she walked, she saw she was getting closer to Adym, who had stopped.

And he looked like he was trying to move something.

"...huh." he muttered.

"There's something in there." he said.

"And it's solidly in there." he muttered further.

"I... can't quite see what it is, but... I think we might have found our culprit, here." he then commented to Callie, seeing she was close enough to hear him.

"Callie!" Adym exclaimed.

"...." he was then silent, as it was already too late. She was in there.

And when she was in there, things definitely did not feel right. Even though the water flowed like... water... it felt like she was slugging and slogging through sludge. Sludge that almost seemed like it was going to actively try and pull her down beneath it.

When she grabbed... whatever it was... she found it to be quite stuck. But it also had SOME give to it, meaning it wasn't part of the fountain. She tried to remove it, and it budged here and there.

However, it also seemed like it didn't like being moved around.

She felt her hand start to go numb... and painfully so.

Adym instinctively caught Callie as she fell back into him, and tried to ascertain if she was all right.

"Callie!" he exclaimed.

"Holy crap, are you all right!?" he asked.

"What happened?" he asked her, before looking at the seed.

".....and what is THAT?" he muttered.

"That... that looks... not right. At all."

"......numb?" Adym inquired.

"Oh dear. That's... that's not good." he said.

"We should get back to my home... maybe find someone that can help." he told her.

He then looked at the seed, as it cracked and started to crumble into black ash.

"...guess that was the centre of it all." he muttered.

Then, just as he finished saying that, the water in the fountain turned crystal clear, and they both felt a sense of levity and ease come over them.

It was slight, considering all they'd just been through, but it was there.

"...and I think we did it." he finished.

"Spreading would not be good, no." Adym agreed.

He then helped her out of the fountain, and sighed.

"All right." he said.

"Let's get back." he told her.

However, something was happening behind him, and Callie noticed this.

The shadow of a large arachnid... about the size of her torso... was starting to approach from a dark corner somewhere.

And it was headed right for them.