As I was slowly making my way up the cobblestone path, I caught a glimmer of something from the corner of my eye.
A glistening thread, carried by the breeze, caught and reflected the sun, floated as if in water. It seemed lighter than air... an ephemeral substance which could disintegrate at the slightest touch. I followed it with my eyes, tracing it back to where it lead. It was long, stretching up above the chimneys, and leading up all the way up hill… towards the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace. I was drawn to it, as if it were beckoning me to follow it.
…and so I did.
I thought the ruins laid abandoned for centuries, so I thought it odd to see this thread tethered towards it. Having arrived uphill, I headed towards the Palace ruins, the thread still guiding me. Crumbled walls sprawled all over the place. A rocky landscape with crevasses running deep into a dark abyss. I held onto what was once the architrave of a building, now useful to me as a handrail. I was deep within the maze and it was rare for anyone to come here. Meandering through the toppled stones which were once rooms, the thread guided me to a vast stone structure… It was the main hall, which to my surprise, appeared untouched by time. Standing in-front of its heavy stone doors, I placed my hand on the intricate carving which appeared to be the handle. Putting all my weight behind it, I pushed with all my might. I could only swing the door so far, leaving but a crack between the two massive monoliths which protected the entrance.
A vast hall. I was taken aback. Here, large wooden armatures held spools of thread by the hundreds. As I looked up, on the other side of where I stood, a small opening let in hundreds of threads, where they were then spooled on the loom sitting at the center of this space. The one thread that guided me here had been loose.
Slowly approaching the central spool, I noticed an opening in the ground. As I got closer, I realised I was staring into a deep abyss, where echoes of a rhythmic sound emanated from deep within the bowels under me.
I looked around the space, where I found a circular staircase which seemed to descend…deep.
It was narrow, and I could tell that these underground spaces were carved from the solid limestone on which the hall stood. Only the faint light coming from the opening above illuminated my path though this labyrinth.
I don’t know how many fathoms into the earth I has descended, though I felt the air become heavier, damper, as if I were inhaling the breath of the elemental earth.
As I turned one of the many corners, an arched opening appeared to let into a room which was flooded with light. I ducked to avoid hitting my head under the arch, where I found myself in a large volume. A circular aperture at the top let light in. I had only realised that I was now looking up at the place from which I was looking down not too long ago. Nestled at the centre of this place, I found the spool of thread that I had seen being wound. Now that I had a closer look, it appeared to me made of silk.
The tympanic rhythms emanated not from here, but from elsewhere. I looked around where I saw another path on the other side of where I stood.
Once again, it was dark. Afraid of getting lost, I followed the rhythmic sound, which grew louder with every step I took. It was as if a giant were banging a great drum, invoking a ritual to the heavens above.
I now stood in front of a long corridor, with light emanating from the opposite end of it. I squinted my eyes, to the point where I could make the shape of a small central altar. From a distance, I could tell it was a vast expanse , as the sound was so loud I felt its reverberations through my body. I arrived at the opening, where I took a final pause before peeking my head through.
I was blinded by an intense light coming from above, and the loud drum resembled the deep sound of a bell tolling. Thousands of silk threads fell from above, with most being pulled through a small aperture. I understood now that they were being spooled. The condensation created water droplets which fell into a pool below. Slowly making my way to the central platform, my eyes adjusted to the reveal a gigantic mass hanging high above me.
I finally realised where all this silk came from... spiders. Millions of spiders, hanging onto what appeared to be some type of tower, spinning their silk.
I could do nothing, but marvel at the sight which lay before me.
