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Glass Web · The Monster Catcher's Journal

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Travelers and Monster Catchers bound. I'm Stelliferous
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and this is Monster Catcher's Journal
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Podcast. Let the light of the glyphs protect
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you. Today's episode isn't your normal run -of
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-the -mill catcher story. This one's about a
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creature called the glass web. It was an ordinary
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morning on Nibiru. The twin suns and three moons
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hung in their usual places, their endless glow
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spilling across the sky. The air was calm, the
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breeze soft. One of those rare peaceful days
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when adventure felt like a distant rumor. I was
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enjoying the quiet when Orion appeared through
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the fog, his expression unreadable. Quasar, he
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said, his voice steady. I have an important mission
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for you. I raise an eyebrow this early? There's
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a new strain of carnivora plant with white meaty
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bulbs, he explained. Its seeds could be revolutionary.
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But I need you to harvest it immediately." Before
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I could argue, he handed me a map with a glowing
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red coordinate, and disappeared back into the
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mist. Moments later, Luna and Xena arrived. Do
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we have another mission, Xena asked? I hope it's
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a jungle, Luna said excitedly. I was hoping for
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a quiet island, I muttered, rolling my eyes.
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Still, I packed up the hovercar, and we set off
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toward the fern -crate rainforest. The flight
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was long and quiet. When we landed, the sight
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before us nearly took my breath away. The rainforest
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stretched in all directions, lush, damp, and
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alive. The trees were fifteen feet tall, their
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red vines like a leaf swaying, like willows in
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the wind. The underbrush shimmered with bioluminescent
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moss, glowing faintly beneath the twin suns.
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And a cool fog clung to everything, curling between
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the trunks like smoke. Wow, I whispered. Amazing,
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Luna finished my sentence for me. For a moment,
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none of us moved. The place felt ancient, untouched.
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A hidden world suspended between light and silence.
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I unfold Orion's map. We have to cross a canyon,
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pass a boulder shaped like a bird, and then find
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a lake covered in webs. The plant should be growing
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near there. We hiked for hours until we reached
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the canyon. The only bridge was a fallen tree,
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slick with moss, and hovering dangerously high
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above a roaring stream. Are you still afraid
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of heights, Luna teased? Yes, and I think it's
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justified, I snapped. Then I crossed first, calm
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as ever. I followed next, heart -hammering. When
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I reached the other side, I collapsed, kissing
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the dirt in relief. That's when I heard it, a
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faint chime, like the sound of a glass cracking
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in a slow motion. We followed the noise through
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a patch of moss and came upon something remarkable.
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Hidden beneath the roots of a twisted tree was
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a perfect circular trapdoor made of silk and
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glittering dust. When I brushed my finger over
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it, the surface shimmered like crystal, and then
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it moved. The creature that emerged was no ordinary
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spider. It was about the size of my palm, its
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body a crystal clear blue that reflected the
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light like cut glass. His legs were dark, bristled
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brown, strong and fast, but his body looked like
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it had been sculpted from water in frozen motion.
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Every time it shifted, the air around it glittered.
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It built its nest underground using its own silk
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to craft that shimmering trap door. The entire
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structure blended perfectly into the earth, invisible
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unless you knew what to look for. Inside tunnels
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spiraled downward, their walls lined with silk
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that looked almost metallic in the dim light.
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Unlike most arachnids, the glass web didn't hunt
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from the trees or chase its prey. It waited patiently
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below, the faint glimmering of its door, the
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only sign of its presence, ever so often. It
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would surface to check its web, the soft glow
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of its crystalline body breaking through the
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fog like a shard of light. I crouched low, breath
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held. Luna and Xena stood frozen behind me, staring
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at the creature in awe. Beautiful and deadly,
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I could feel the tension in the air, the stillness
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before the forest excelled. Again, the glass
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web was a perfect balance of elegance and danger,
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a living gemstone hidden beneath the soil of
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Nibiru. I stepped forward hoping to get a better
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look, and well, let's just say my curiosity got
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the better of me when I did. I remember kneeling
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there, the soft fog rolling over my boots, my
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reflection flickering in the spider's glassy
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shell. It was mesmerizing, like looking into
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a living gemstone. The creature's abdomen caught
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the light of Nibiru's twin suns and three moons,
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scattering it and fractured rainbows across the
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mossy ground. Careful still, Zeno warned in a
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whisper. I just want a closer look, I murmured,
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leaning in. The spider shifted its body, tensed,
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and a faint crackling sound filled the air, like
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ice splitting into a frosty pond, or sorry, frozen
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pond. The ground beneath my palm vibrated, I
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realized too late that I had crossed the invisible
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line, the boundary of its den. Before I could
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move, the glass webs sprang from its burrow.
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It was faster than lightning, its legs a blur
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of brown and shimmer. The trapdoor snapped shut
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behind it with a sound like shuddering crystal.
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Runs! And I shout it. I stumbled back, narrowly
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avoiding its strike. The spider's fangs gleamed
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like black or silver, or sorry, not black or
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silver, but translucent, dripping with a clear
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venom that hissed where it touched the soil.
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The webbing at its feet gleamed bright blue.
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tightening into threads so thin they could slice
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through cloth. Luna grabbed my arm. Come on,
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Stella, move. We pulled it through the underbrush,
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branches snapping beneath our feet. The sound
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of the spider's pursuit echoed behind us. It
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wasn't a loud sound, more like the soft tick,
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tick, tick of glass tapping against stone. But
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it was close, too close. The first forest blurred
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past and streaks of red and green. The fog thickened,
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the air damp with the scent of acid moss. I could
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feel the spider silk brushing my sleeve, sticky,
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light as air, but cold enough to burn. And then,
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just as sudden as it had begun, the sound stopped.
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We burst out of the trees and into a clearing,
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breathless, wide -eyed, and covered in dirt.
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Before us loomed something colossal, a rock formation
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carved by time and weather into the unmistakable
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shape of a bird, its wings stretched skyward,
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shadowing the clearing in its stony embrace.
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That's it, Xenek gasped, the landmark from the
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map, the bird -shaped rock. I turned half -expected
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to see the glass web still crawling after us,
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but there was nothing, only silence and the faint
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echo of my heart beat. Luna bent down, running
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her fingers over a patch of silver webbing, tangled
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at the edge of the rock. It followed us this
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far, she said softly, and then stopped. I nodded,
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still catching my breath. They don't chase prey
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far from their dens, I said. They only defend.
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The realization settled over me like a mist.
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We hadn't been hunted. We'd been warned. The
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glass web wasn't a monster to fear. It was a
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guardian, protecting its home. I brushed dirt
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from my coat and glanced backward toward the
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forest. Come on, I said. Let's find the lake
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before the sun sets. But as we turned to leave,
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a faint chime echoed again, far off in the fog,
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not threatening this time, almost like a farewell.
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Past the bird rock, a bird -shaped rock, the
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air began to shift. The fall grew denser. Tenged
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with a faint green glow, the forest thinned into
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a clearing where the ground dipped into a wide
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basin. And that's when we saw it, the lake. It
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wasn't water that shimmered below, but a slow
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bubbling pool of green acid, surface hissing
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and steaming under the twin suns and the three
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moons. The stench of minerals and burnt moss
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filled the air. Along the edges, blue mossy bushes
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grew in thick, vibrant clusters, each one glistening
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beneath a thin veil of sticky silk webs. This
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has to be it, Xena said, awed and concocted mixed
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in her tone. The new carnivora strain, I whispered,
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scanning the area. The plants were unlike anything
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I'd ever seen, thick stems of translucent green.
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Their tops bearing white fleshy bulbs that pulsed
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faintly, almost like they were breathing. The
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webs stretched from bush to bush, weaving through
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the foliage like living glass threads. Luna pulled
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her gloves tighter. You sure this is safe? No,
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I admit it. But since when has that stopped us?
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We stepped carefully, the ground crunching beneath
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our boots. Every sound echoed, even the rustle
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of a leaf sounded too loud in the acid air. I
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knelt beside the nearest bush and inspected a
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bulb. The texture was spongy but firm, and when
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I cut into it with my blade, a pale, milky sap
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oozed out. Oren was right. I said, these are
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nutrient -rich. No rituals, no catalyst, pure
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organic energy. We just need seven. One by one
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we began plucking the bulbs, sealing each in
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containment drawers. Three, four, five, Luna
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counted out loud six, Xena said, handing me another,
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and seven, I finished, tucking the last jar into
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my pack. For a moment all was calm, the acid
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lake hissed quietly beside us, and the blue moss
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rippled in the breeze. Then I heard it, the same
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sound from before, the faint crystalline tick
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-tick -tick. Don't move, I said. A ripple spread
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across the webbing that covered the moss, and
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from beneath a new glass web crawled into the
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opening, this one larger than the last, its crystal
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abdomen fractured with glowing green veins. The
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acid fumes had changed it, twisted it. Its eyes
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glimmered like liquid emeralds as it raised its
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front legs and hissed, the sound sharp as breaking
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glass. That's not the same one, Zenabreath. I
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know, I said, backing up slowly. It's guarding
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the lake. The spider lunged, its webbing shot
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outward like strands of lightning, catching the
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ground near my boots. I slashed at the silk with
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my blade, sparks flying as the fiber cut through
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the air. Luna grabbed one of the jars, narrowly
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dropping it. As we turned and sprinted towards
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the ridge. Go, go! I shout it. The forest came
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alive again, fog swirling, the acid lake steaming
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louder behind us. I could feel the spider's vibration
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through the earth as it chased the tick tick
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tick growing faster. A glob of webbing hissed
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past my shoulder and hit a tree, melting bark
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where it struck. We crashed through the brush.
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Hearts pounding, the sound of our own breathing
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down by the forest's chaotic course. The moment
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we saw the glint of the hover car through the
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vines, we didn't slow down. Xena jumped into
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the driver's seat, firing up the engine. The
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hover thrusters roared into life, kicking up
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a spray of leaves and dust. Luna and I dove in
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just as a final thread of silk snapped across
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the hood. The car lurched upward, breaking through
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the canopy. The spider streaked below, a piercing
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glassy well that echoed for miles, and then silenced.
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We were safe. The rainforest stretched beneath
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us, glowing in the fading light. The jars clinked
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softly in the pack, each one holding the fruit
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of our perilous harvest. We've done it, but I
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couldn't help thinking. Maybe the glass web wasn't
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defending its nest this time. Maybe it was defending
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the forest itself. I hoped Orion was proud of
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himself. We almost died thanks to his careless
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endeavor. The memory of the acid -green lake
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and the glass web still clung to my nerves like
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static. But we had managed to get the seeds,
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so he should be happy. When we finally returned
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to Luon, the mountain fog curling around the
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Academy spires felt like a blessing. Orion met
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us at the docking platform before we could even
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shut down the hovercar. His eyes gleam behind
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his lenses, already hungry for discovery. Without
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so much as a good job surviving, he snatched
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the containment case from my hand and rustled
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it straight to the research wing. Typical, Orion.
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Weeks passed, I visited his lab a few times,
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more out of curiosity than concern, and each
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time the air smelled a little greener, sharper.
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Like moss and ozone, somehow he'd done it. The
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seeds had sprouted into strange, glass -feigned
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plants that pulsed faintly in the dark. He even
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got an offer to sell them in the verdant market.
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I should have been relieved. Instead, all I could
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think was, At what cost this time, Orion? One
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bright morning, Orion summoned us to the verdant
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market. He'd set up a small stall, the sunlight
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catching the glass panels of his greenhouse crate
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like a prism. Behind the counter, rows of the
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uncooked plants glimmered, pale and translucent.
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While small sample portions of the cooked white
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bulbs sat neatly in polished trays, I called
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you three here to try it, Oren said, his voice
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tinged with pride. Since you went through the
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trouble of finding it, he handed us each a small,
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steaming sample. I picked up mine carefully,
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the steam curling around my fingers, carrying
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a sharp, earthy aroma that immediately made my
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stomach rumble. Tentatively, I bromp the first
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bite to my tongue. The moment it touched my taste
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buds, I understood exactly why Orion had insisted
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on our help. With savory and juicy, with the
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subtle sweetness that lingered behind the initial
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richness, the texture was unlike anything I'd
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ever eaten. Dense, yet tender, almost creamy
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and warm with the faintest hint of the forest
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floor. Luna's eyes widened. Oh, wow, Stel, try
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this! Xena simply nodded, her usual composed
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expression giving way to a soft smile. It's remarkable.
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I swallowed, letting the flavor settle. Orion,
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I said slowly, this isn't just good, it's incredible.
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I get why you wanted us to risk our necks for
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it. Orion's grin stretched from ear to ear. Exactly,
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he said. You three did the dangerous work. Now...
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you get the reward, and soon so will everyone
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else. As I took another bite, I couldn't help
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but glance at the faint green glow of the remaining
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uncooked plants. There was something alive in
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them, something ancient and sharp, reminding
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me of the glass webs in the acid lake, even in
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the markets bustling chaos the forest memory
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clung to them. And for now, I let myself savor
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the moment, the flavor, the triumph, and the
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rare satisfaction of a missing Sorry, mission
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finally done. Luna and Xena made their leave.
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They had other things to do, and I stayed behind
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because I really needed to talk about an important
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matter with Orion. Orion's lips pressed into
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a thin line. The look he gave me was that of
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a teacher catching a student with their hands
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in a forbidden jar. He folded his arms The annoyed
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cadence heavy in his voice. You still haven't
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told them, have you? No. I kept my voice low.
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The market's clamor rolled around us. Bender's
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hawked spiced kelp. A laugh formed from a merchant's
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apprentice. The tinker of coins. But the stall
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felt like its own island of quiet. They don't
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need to know. I intend to go after Yurikeb. For
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a beat he said nothing then he let out a breath
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that was half a laugh and half a warning If you
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go alone, you could die the glyph is he paused
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searching for words It's not simply a star -born
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thing. You can poke and take home. It's old and
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hungry I blinked. It's only a star -born from
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collision of Dark matter and supernote and a
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supernova. How can it be so hard? I hadn't meant
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the edge in my voice, but the words slipped sharp
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and naive out anyway. The annoyance melted away
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and something colder slid in. Oren's face softened,
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not in disempathy exactly, more like pity for
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someone who had just walked into a storm and
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didn't know the sky could swallow them. You keep
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calling it a star because that's what the stories
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fold it into, he said quietly. but the glyph
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but a glyph like the urakeb isn't a piece of
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sky it's a knot in the world it twists the rolls
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around it gravity bends differently near it time
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stutters the air cuts you like a knife if you
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aren't careful it binds to fear and eats it single
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misstep and it'll anchor itself to you My stomach
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flipped, and for some reason I pictured the asset
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lake, the glass tines of the webs, the thin threads
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that had tried to catch my sleeve. Orion's hands
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fidgeted with a scrap of paper on the counter.
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He moved like a man who'd rehearsed this conversation
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and hated every word. You didn't tell them because
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you wanted to protect them, he asked, or because
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you don't trust them to listen, which isn't quasar.
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The truth was both. Luna and Xena were brave
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and reckless in ways that made me love them.
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I didn't want to be the one to hand them a death
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sentence, disguised as an adventure, but there
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was a stubborn thing in me, too, a hollow that
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called for answers. Only the Eurekape could give.
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I swallowed both, I admit it. Orion's eyes narrowed.
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You already fetched me a thing others couldn't.
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I won't pretend I don't value that. But this,
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he tapped the crate of bulbs with an exacting
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finger. This success doesn't mean you can waltz
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into every mystery. If that glyph grabs hold
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of you, it won't be us who unravels it. He stepped
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closer, and for the first time since I'd known
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him, I felt a warmth that wasn't strictly academic.
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Promise me you'll let me help. Let me prepare
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you. Not to stop you, I won't. But to make sure
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you come back. Pride rose in my throat like a
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bitter taste. I'd always been the sort to charge
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first and ask questions later. It felt wrong
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to cage that, but the memory of the glass fangs,
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the way the silk had almost sliced through my
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sleeve, and the way Luna had grabbed my arm,
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all of it, made my defiance seem foolish. You
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want to come? I ask, surprised at the whisper
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of hope beneath my own words. Oren's mouth twitched.
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I can't go with you everywhere, Stella Ferris,
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but I can teach you the margins. How the Raqeb
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has bent rolls in other places, what wards will
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hold for an hour, and what will snap in ten minutes,
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I can build you something to see through the
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stutter of time it causes. I thought of Xena's
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steady hands and Luna's reckless grin. I imagined
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telling them, or not telling them, and the weight
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of the choice sat heavy in my chest. Alright,
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I said finally, the decision startling like,
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sorry, settling like a map on a table. You'll
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help me prepare. We do this smart. We do this
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with wards and lenses, and we do it quick, but
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I go." Oren nodded once solemn, already shifting
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into the motion of a man who'd traded theory
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for urgent craft. "'Well, we'll begin tonight,'
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he said. "'Bring me everything you kept from
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the lake, every thread of web, every drop of
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sap. If there's a way back from the Uruk Keb,
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it'll be found in the things that touched it.'"
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As I left the stall, the market swallowed me
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again with its colors and noise. I should have
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felt secure. I had Orion's help now, but the
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hollow in my chest hummed with a new kind of
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electricity. Preparation was a comfort and a
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countdown. Somewhere out there in the dark, a
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starlit knot waited, and I was stubborn enough,
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perhaps stupid enough, to untie it. And that's
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another episode of the Monster Catchers Journal
24:00
podcast. And, I know it's not the same thing
24:05
as what they say on Earth for Euregeis' trick
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or treat. Or Halloween. But, may the glyphs protect
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you. And I will be talking about the rest of
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the story next week, where I talk about the Eurekeb
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and how I caught the Eurekeb.