Morgrim played:

Farah, Sethiss, Thylis and Vector

"You need to let me go now."

The monitor lizard cradled in Vector's arms shivered as her head was eased away from his shoulder, her eyes tightly screwed shut and passively allowing toes to be individually unhooked without making any move to assist.

Near catonic until a spider the size of Patches scurried over her tail.

A shrill voiced hiss of fear and the half detached Sethiss launched back into motion and ran up Vector's chest as if he were a tree trunk, ignoring his cry of pain at her claws puncturing the fabric of his shirt and digging into the skin beneath, not pausing until she was half crawled over his shoulder and nearly concealed by his white lab coat.

The faceless human cursed before addressing the protruding hindquarters shaking in fear. "They're programmed not to hurt us. And if you don't let me climb down both of us will have to continue this spider-ride," Vector pointed out. Bunny slippers grimaced as a curious arachid prodded at Nibbles; with the other Citizens further away more and more of the accompanying spiderlings were creeping ever nearer.

Digits latched onto the back of Vector's collar and dragged the startled man from his seat where the Guardian's abdomen and cephalothorax met. Adrethyrian unceromoniously dumped them next to the other Citizens as Thylis addressed the group. "I think that's everyone. Farah, will you do the honours and grant your blessing to those who have come before you?"

The giant spider chuckled. Larger than any of them, her dark grey chitin faded into the gloom of the antechamber; all but the broad slash of crystaline glowing blue striped down her abdomen and huge living sapphire eyes. "Dear, I do not carry the unworthy," spoke Farah in grandmotherly tones. "My children are unharmed. I give you passage of Atelier and my key to Lycia freely. Except perhaps this little one." One long forelimb delicately stroked down Sethiss' tail only to prompt a frantic struggle from the lizard.

"I don't think threatening to keep her here will help," Vector pointed out as he shrugged his far arm out of his coat and tried to wrap the fabric around the frightened lizard and her surprisingly sharp claws.

The spider Guardian hummed thoughtfully and spread her pedipalps wide. Behind the group two previously dull crystals began pulsing with light as another swirling nebula grew between them, the twin of the one they'd seen in Sacellum. As it touched its supports a spark flashed between them and a mote of light drifted downwards fragmenting as it went and spreading outwards until one was orbitting the left ankle of every member of the party, spinning faster and faster until the ring of pale blue light sank into the skin as a continuous marking.

Interestingly, as the portal opened a matching band appeared around the leg of their thylacine guide, along with five others. Alarmingly, no band marked Sethiss. "No, I have decided. To you, Sethiss dear, I give only my own sign. Thylis can bring you to my web if you master your fear and I'll give you my blessing when I have met you properly. The rest of the island is barred to you until then." Farah clicked her fangs together and the final mote of light darted down and under the labcoat. "If I can aid your quest for the Empress, return." With that the giant spider nodded at them all and made to return to her web.

Sethiss was the first to dive through the portal.