The Wandering Warrior

The Wandering Warrior is the eighth episode of Spider Riders. It first aired in Canada on June 11, 2006 on Teletoon.

Summary
The Forest of Bewilderment holds a secret and Hunter falls into it, supposedly never to return. Here he finds a mysterious young man named Magma, who is searching for something.

Plot
Hunter and Corona patrolling different sections of Arachna. After finding nothing in his patrol area, hunter notices a forest and tells Corona he is going down to check it out. Corona tells him not to and that the forest is called The Forest of Bewilderment. She also explains that the pollen from the trees upsets the sense of direction for both Humans and Spiders. She then makes Hunter promise not to go in. Hunter tells her he won’t, then he Shadow get into and argument about how Hunter always gets into trouble. Hunter makes an offhanded comment about how he always manages to fall into trouble. The cliff then breaks apart under him and he falls down into forest. Shadow saves him, but as they hanging from the cliff by Shadows webs. The web creaks sending Hunter and Shadow into the forest.

An Invectid watches as Hunter and Shadow fall and it then sends a message to Beerain. Beerain informs Mantid, who tells her to have Billbug go and finish off the young Spider Rider. Corona and Venus manages to find were Hunter and Shadow fell. After investigating the area, they decide the two must have fallen into the forest. Hunter then wanders around the forest. Hunter tries to tie a root to a tree then find his way out. After walking around for a bit he walks past the root he tied to the tree. Shadow informs Hunter that the forest is a three-dimensional maze that is constantly changing. Hunter sits and gets yelled at by Shadow for giving up. Hunter jumps up and informs him that he is not giving up he is just hungry. He then hears a flute. He goes and investigates and finds a young man sitting on a tree branch. The boy stops playing his flute and throws Hunter a piece of fruit. Hunter takes a bite, only to find out that the fruit is not yet ripe. The young man laughs and thanks Hunter for testing it. Hunter asks if he knows a way out of the forest. The young says yes and that all one needs to do is find an exit. Hunter asks where he can find one only to learn that the stranger doesn't know either.

The young stranger offers Hunter a place to stay if he were to pay him money. Hunter tells him that his prince will pay him whatever he wants. The young man asks Hunter who he is talking about. Hunter tells him of Lumen and the stranger thinks Hunter must be joking. Hunter quickly proves to him that he knows Prince Lumen by showing the young man his Manacle. Once again the stranger is amused. After convincing him they head to the young strangers home base. The young stranger then tells Hunter that his name is Magma. Hunter tells Magma his name and then tells him that he will protect Magma without asking for money.

Corona tries calling into her manacle trying to get in contact with Hunter. After she gets nothing she starts thinking about heading into the forest herself. Venus stops her warning her that she will get as lost as Hunter if she goes in. Corona sees her point and decides against it. Venus then tells Corona that Hunter is with Shadow and they may find a way out together.

Hunter walks back to Magma’s home after looking for an exit again. Magma sarcastically asks Hunter if he found one. After a smart remark Hunter asks Magma what he was doing in the forest. After not getting a response Hunter starts to get angry at Magma only to find he's fallen asleep. Later on Magma hears a rumbling in the forest. He gets up and leaves and once Hunter wakes up. Shadow suggests Hunter go after him. Magma begins talking to himself as he starts to look around the forest. Magma remembers talking to a peddler about a purple battle spider. The peddler tells Magma that he saw a purple Battle Spider in the Forest of Bewilderment.

Hunter comes appears and surprises Magma. Magma asks what he is doing and Hunter asks the same of him. Magma says he is souvenir hunting, but this does not fool Hunter. Hunter figures out he is looking for something and tells Magma that if he tells him what it is then he can help him. Magma tries to change the subject and tells him that he is in the forest to repay a debt. Then the forest starts to shake again. Magma sees something coming through the forest and calls the name Portia. Just then Billbug knocks down the trees Magma was looking through. It turns out that the purple Battle Spider the Peddler saw was actually the Invectid Billbug.

Billbug attacks Hunter and Magma but they manage to avoid the attack, Hunter calls out Shadow and they begin to fight Billbug. After attacking Billbug Hunter has Shadow shoot webs at him. The trees are to dense and Shadow can’t hit the Invectid. Billbug attacks Hunter and Shadow but is knocked away by Magma. Magma apologizes to Hunter for keeping the secret that he to is a Spider Rider. He then reveals his Manacle and calls out Brutus. Then Magma has Brutus, toss Billbug into the air. Corona and Venus see it and wonder what is happening. Magma then knocks Billbug completely out of the forest. Hunter then realizes that the Magma and Brutus's battle created an exit. Magma apologizes again for keeping his secret from Hunter. Hunter tells him it's no problem. Magma says he should be at Arachna Castle fighting alongside Hunter but he can’t because he made a promise to find the spider Portia. He then tells Hunter his and Brutus’ story. The Invectids attacked Magma's village and Brutus heard his cries and came to rescue him. Magma tells Hunter that to honor his the memory of his own family he would help Brutus find his younger sister. Hunter promises to help find Portia as well.

Corona and Venus find the place where Billbug came down. After looking they find Hunter and Shadow. Corona then lectures Hunter for going into the forest. Hunter apologizes and they leave. Magma is then shown and he thinks back on his and Hunter’s conversation. He then decides it is time for him and Brutus to continue searching. A report goes back to Buguese who finds out that Hunter escaped from the forest.

In the episode

 * The pollen from the trees in the Forest of Bewilderment upsets the sense of direction for both Humans and Spiders. That is why hardly anyone has made it out of the forest. Hunter and Magma only escaped because Magma made an exit by clearing the trees away when he hit the Billbug. How and why Invectids are not affected is left unexplained.

Characters

 * Hunter Steele
 * Corona
 * Battle Spider Shadow
 * Battle Spider Venus
 * Magma
 * Battle Spider Brutus
 * Beerain
 * Mantid
 * Billbug

Quotes

 * "Spider Riders protect Arachna. I guess I have betrayed that sacred trust. But I made a promise and I intend to keep that promise no matter what Hunter."- Magma explains to Hunter why he can't come back to Arachna Castle and join the rest of the Spider Riders.

"Why do you always insist on dragging me into your problems?!" "The ground crumbled underneath me! It wasn't my fault!" "As usual, you weren't paying attention!" "Give me a break. Eh? I was just kidding!"
 * "Thanks a lot Shadow."
 * —Hunter is saved from falling by Shadow, who scolds him for the trouble. Then both fall after Shadow's web snaps.