The Spider Queen collapses, clutching at her wounds. You move towards the exit, when she extends one trembling claw towards you.

“Wait…little one…” She says, “The path to the Millennium Tower…”

You turn back, interested to hear what she has to say. She struggles to speak as the cave shudders around her – you must have dislodged the mouldering wooden supports in the fight.

“You must… seek… the Necromancers. Dispel their curse. But beware the –“

Her final words are drowned out as a great rumbling sound shakes the cave. Hundreds of spiders spill from the crevices in the rocks and scuttle towards you. You brace for another fight, but they continue on, fleeing through whatever path they can find. The Spider Queen has curled in on herself, dead. Whatever she was trying to warn you of will have to wait – you need to run!

As you dash towards the exit, a colossal stalactite drops from the ceiling and falls to the ground with a crash, blocking the doorway. You whirl around, searching for an alternative. There! The larger spiders are cramming themselves through a crack in the rock. You wade through the sea of arachnid bodies and wedge your sword into the crevice. You push with all your might, hoping against hope that your makeshift lever will hold.

There’s a hideous scraping sound as the wall collapses, revealing a narrow tunnel. There’s no time to wonder where it leads – you dash through, followed by a half-dozen spiders. They scuttle away into the darkness, leaving you to press forward alone.

You can’t see a thing in the cloying darkness of the tunnel. You have the sense that you’re moving upwards, and as the narrow tunnel becomes wider you feel a cool breeze on your skin. Beneath your feet, rough stone becomes carefully laid slabs of rock, and before you know it you see light ahead, peeking through some sort of grate. A way out!

You clamber up a helpfully placed ladder and cautiously push up on the grate with a screech of rusted metal. After hours in the gloom of the Spider Queen’s cave, the afternoon sunlight almost blinds you, but when your eyes adjust, you’re treated to the sight of a beautifully kept city street. The very paving stones seem to shine in the afternoon sun. Planters full of rainbow-coloured flowers hang from romantic balconies and window boxes. Market stalls selling all manner of exciting goods line the roadside, but all is quiet – perhaps the people are busy elsewhere?

Cautiously, you climb out and start to explore. You fill your canteen at a quietly babbling courtyard fountain. You wander down alleyways and peek into windows, but there are still no signs of the people living here. There are, however, plenty of supplies. The stores are filled with fruits and vegetables of every variety – and there’s not a speck of dust on them. Since there’s nobody around, you feel justified in taking a few bites. Then you take a few more. While you’re here, you might as well shove some lemons in your backpack, too.

Before you know it, the sun is setting. The streets sparkle with light as you take a healthy chomp out of a fresh, juicy apple. You could get used to this – although you can’t help but wonder where everyone else has gone.

You soon get your answer. As the sun sinks behind the city’s spires, you hear a noise that sends a shiver down your spine - a bestial sound that suddenly seems to echo all around you. You get to your feet, hair standing on end, and prepare to fight.

The first beast comes racing out of the shadows to your left, teeth bared. You reel back and its sharp claws just barely skim your chestplate, leaving a ragged, dark slice in your armour. Shadow magic? Before you have time to think, a second creature – this one humanoid – lurches forward from the alleyway in front of you and howls a guttural war cry. Without hesitating you lunge toward it with your sword. You strike – and its head falls to the ground, splatting into a shadowy stain on the cobbled streets. Then, as you watch in horror, the shadows surrounding the creature’s head slowly coalesce back into shape. It growls, and staggers towards you once more.

They’re invulnerable! Your sword is useless! Panicked, you back up into the building. Perhaps you can barricade yourself inside? That’s when you notice that the solid oak bolt from the door is lying halfway across the room, snapped in half. Someone obviously tried that before… and failed.

Glass goes flying across the room as the first creature jumps directly through the large shop window. You fumble for your wand and fling a Fire Strike in its general direction, hoping against hope that magic will work where steel has failed. It doesn’t – in fact, the ball of flame completely misses – but the beast shrinks back with an ear-splitting shriek of agony, and as the blaze lights up the room, it crumbles into dust. Of course! The best way to banish a shadow is light!

Thinking fast, you haul down the curtain pole from the window and wrap the fabric tight around before dunking it in the flame. You run outside, brandishing your makeshift torch, and the gathering shadow-creatures pull back, hissing in pain.

You’re safe, for now, but your torch won’t last for long. You have to get out of here! You continue along the main road through the city, beating back shadowy creatures whenever they get too close. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common; they’re angry, and they’re angry with you. Perhaps you should have left the fruit alone… or maybe they’ve mistaken you for one of the former citizens. As you push through the waves of snarling shadows, you wonder what the people of this city could possibly have done to inspire such hatred…