Thrall quickly flew over to the side of the jackal, under the watchful eye of Ma'at. Her fury was palpable, but constrained by an endemic need to retain order. She wanted Thrall to release the innocent spider, but he was under no intentions to let a being that dangerous roam free. Not until Xantheaa reconvened with him, would he relax even an iota.
The jackal leapt and snarled at the spider in his hand, but he held him back with an outstretched palm, wielding the spider far overhead with his other. "Heel, brethren, heel!" The fire scalded the flesh on his palms, a bit, but he would not be assuaged by such superficial injuries.
"Arrgh!" He groaned, for the pain was great, but nothing like the fury of the light of God. "I said, Heel!" and he shouted, sticking his foot on the canine's open mouth, and forcing the smoldering beast down to the withering foliage below.
It was almost blackened by the heat by the time he continued speaking. "I have the spider, now. You job is done! Go find something else to occupy yourself, with."
But, instead of disappearing with a shower of sparkles, the jackal simply took a deep breath in through its nostrils, and exhaled with a whine. He removed his foot from its calescent snout. It ran off with its tail between its legs, to who knows where.
The spider was amazed. "H-how did you manage to get the beast to obey you so easily? It never listened to a word I had to say."
"Let's just say, we're kind of related. Now, where can I find Thoth in this incredible place? I haven't seen the patriarch of this library since the moment I arrived, here."
"I don't know! I was minding my own business doing research for you, when your beast suddenly attacked me out of nowhere! Thoth could have been anywhere, by now!"
Ma'at spoke up. "I will guide you to him. Then we will see if you have fulfilled the terms of his contract." Then, she leapt into the air, and flew in a wide arc toward her final destination. Her egress was so imperious, and sudden, that Thrall scrambled to climb into the air, and follow her.
She slammed down into the earth right next to her equally titanic husband, who was crouched against the wall on the far side of the space. His long, curved beak—whose black coloration so elegantly blended into the short spurs of feathers upon his globular head—opened wide, as he spoke; not turning his head to look back at her from the parchment he was writing.
"My love. How many times do I need to tell you not to impact the ground with all your strength? You are ruining the balance of my garden."
"My hurry was justified," she remarked, turning to watch Thrall, with a traumatized arthropod in tow, as they leisurely approached. "You have visitors."
Thrall flew with all his might, but it was nothing in comparison to the swiftness of justice, in this place. They were still several seconds out, which was an eternity from the perspective of the incarnation of both justice, and order.
"Yes, I was expecting them. He should have finished his task by now, or so I should hope."
Panting, Thrall settled down behind the divine betrothed. The spider's screaming from being put through such incredible acceleration was all they could hear as they gradually approached. Finally, he fell to his knees before them, humbling himself involuntarily due to the exhaustion that had overtaken him, trying to keep the Lady in sight.
Thoth turned, his protruding bill almost reaching down to his diaphragm, as he gazed down upon Thrall's supine form. "Now, that's a fine look for you. You should have simply done that back in the antechamber, then I would not have had to try you like this."
The angel panted, then looked directly into the face of Ma'at. She was a rapturous woman, with gleaming bronzed skin that shimmered in the light; almost like she was born wrapped in a thin veneer of gold that sang out her glory whenever it caught the sun in just the right way. Her charcoal hair was orderly, and straight, as it hung past her shoulders. Not a single raven strand hung out of place.
"You know that I do not bow to gods, any more. She simply leaped too quickly for me to keep up. I had to summon all of my strength, just to be sure that I did not lose sight of her form within the massive terrarium that you have built."
Ma'at scoffed, and pointed at him with the forked end of her quail-headed scepter, and "Release the spider, or I will make you." She ordered.
"Now, hold on, darling," Thoth mediated, holding up the hand that wasn't occupied with the service of catering to his beloved parchment, in an effort to keep the ground he carefully ordered to become soiled by mortal blood. "He's only frightened of what the little critter can do; you can't judge him for that... Now! Let me see what you've brought me."
He slowly traipsed across what was formerly a polished platform of solid marble, but was now more like a web of small interlocking puzzle pieces. He tutted, again. That would take forever to reorganize. Thrall tried to stand up again, or move in any way, but all he could manage was to raise his hand up to be observed by the owner of this place.
Leaning in to get a closer look at the small creature, Thoth began mumbling to himself. "Hmm, four sets of legs, with seven distinct joints each, yes. Abdomen pyriform, wider behind constriction, covered with thin hairs. Coloration; generally black, brighter at carapace. I see... furrow, lateral light marks in abdominal constriction, grey on the center of abdomen."
He leaned back up, and out from a shelf high into the stratosphere, a scroll rocketed down. Without looking, he caught it in his hand, and ran another finger across the page. "Hmmmm, Pedipalps oblate, black. Epigyne weakly sclerotized, with a large central depression, though the conformation is slightly maladaptive. Four sets of eyes, two aft, three fore. I believe we're looking at an arachnid ant mimic here, namely Belippo cygniformis. Endemic to Ghana. Why! You're a far ways from home, aren't you, little fellow?"
The spider bowed its miniscule head as best as he could from his position. "I am only present to serve your purposes, my king."
"We have met before, have we not? I instructed you then, what to call me."
"Urk!" Anansi froze, suddenly exposed for his miniscule disdain for the culture of his superior. "Correct. Please forgive me, Neter."
"It's not me who you have to impress." Thoth laughed, "That's the business of my wife! Now as for you," He continued, turning to the one holding the spider in one hand, "I believe I have something that belongs to you."
He pulled a map out from seemingly nowhere at all, and it unfurled into a scale model of the temple. Then he put his hand through the ceiling, and pulled out Xantheaa.