“I’m not sure I want to know, but I guess I should ask. What’s a matriarch?” Lanek said into the silence that followed Caelis’ words.
“A matriarch is one of the most powerful evolutions that any spider species can hope to achieve. They are certainly among the largest as well. They spawn a variety of spiderlings to achieve their goals, such as blade spiders to deal with heavily armored foes, jumping and climbing spiders to deal with fortifications, and spitting spiders to provide ranged attacks.” Liv chimed in.
“It gets worse, I’m afraid. A matriarch will also train her children, brutally. The survivors will often evolve into rare variants. That is the true terror of a matriarch, they can plan and prepare for future conflicts and they will often require armies to put down. I suspect that the pit to her east and the orcs to her north have kept her in check so far. Even a matriarch would not want to anger the dungeon for fear of it unleashing the myrmidons on her. There is no guarantee that they would be wiped out, but the matriarch’s forces would be crippled.” Caelis explained.
“Okay, so we definitely need more help before we even consider messing with her. Gotcha. So that leaves us with two options, Laethon and the nodes. Any thoughts?” Lanek looked around the room.
Caelis nodded. “I think you should leave the city via the west gate then travel down and around the city to the east to make your way to Laethon. That would definitely be safer than risking the pit and the matriarch. Additionally, the nodes would be much easier to get with a bit of help.”
“I agree, from what I gather, the nodes aren’t going to be easy to collect if the nearest one is guarded by a horde of orcs.” Liv said.
“Alright, sounds good to me. Shall we head out in the morning then? I don’t want to waste any time and if we leave via the west gate, we can meet up with Ograch and see if he can lend us a hand.”
His companions nodded in agreement before Lanek and Liv departed to get some sleep. Alone in the meeting room, Caelis found herself feeling hope for the first time in centuries. Is this really possible? Can we revive the city?
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Lanek and Liv came into sight of the Night Arrows’ new encampment and saw that they had been busy since his last visit. The palisade wall was coming along nicely, however it would still take some time to encircle the entire hill. For now, the encampment was mostly small huts, a sharpened stick fence, and the beginning of a structure at the top of the hill.
“Huh, looks like a nice start to a village here. Do you think you can convince them to help?” Liv turned her gaze from the village to her companion.
“I have no idea about reclaiming or clearing the city, but its worth a shot. If its just information about Laethon or the area, I have no doubt that they will help if they can. So, just to be safe, I think you should stay here with Kazuma. They know me and the furballs, but I don’t know how they normally react to strangers.”
“Yeah, I can wait out here.”
With a nod, Lanek emerged from the trees and approached the entrance to the camp. He started to raise the token that Ograch had given him for passage through the Night Arrows’ territory when the hobgoblin at the gate snorted and waved him through.
“Seriously? We all know who you are. How many humans do you think are wandering around these woods?” the guard said with a laugh.
“That’s… a good point.” Lanek chuckled. “Is Ograch around? I’d like to have a word with him.”
“Yeah, he’s around. He is probably at the storehouse. Well, it’s more of a hut, but you know what I mean. It’s the large hut near your cave.”
“Thanks, I’ll head over there.”
Lanek returned to his old home and laughed loudly when he arrived. The entrance to his cave now had a decently crafted wall with a much nicer door than what he had cobbled together, there were even shuttered windows on either side of the door. He jumped when a heavy hand dropped on his shoulder.
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“See, that’s what a door is supposed to look like.”
“Yeah, yeah, my old door was shit. I get it, Ograch.”
“So was your bed, but I took care of that.”
“My bed?! But, it was so comfortable!” Lanek threw the door open and went inside the cave, flabbergasted at the sight before him. The bed was now sitting along the back wall of the cave. However, there was now more furniture in the room. He could see a small table with two simple stools in the center of the room and two hide rugs on the floor. Moreover, there was a second longer table with the items he had left behind resting against one of the walls.
“Ograch, this is amazing. I have to ask, though. Why? You guys have so much to do already, why spend time on the cave?”
“Relax, the work was done by those of the tribe that are either too young or too old to participate with building the village or going hunting. Two of the elders actually approached Talwarg with the idea, they wanted to find some way to thank you for helping us find a place to settle down. The constant moving was really taking its toll on the children and the elderly. And, it wasn’t that much work, to be honest. I built the door, wall, and fixed up your bed’s structure a bit so it would last. One of the elder’s replaced the soft portions with materials that would last longer as well. Should be a bit softer as well.”
“I don’t know what to say beyond thank you.”
“No need for that, but you are welcome. I don’t think you realize how much our people needed this place. Oh, and some of our people are already trying to figure out how to set up a hearth in here.” Ograch walked over and planted himself on one of the stools. Meanwhile, Lanek opened up the shutters to get some light in the cave.
“Not needed, really. I would prefer you guys spend time on yourselves.”
“Eh, I’m not about to tell the elders what they can or cannot do. I may be bigger, but they always seem to know just where to poke or pinch to make me regret crossing them.” Ograch rubbed his arm, the memory of his most recent encounter with the elders still fresh in his memory. “So, what brings you here? Also, where’s the cat? Is he alright?”
“Oh, Kazuma’s fine, I just have him waiting in the forest with someone I ran into in the city. A human from somewhere far to the north. She said she was exploring a dungeon with some friends before they had to flee from a boss and got separated. When she stopped for some rest, she claims she woke up in the Depths. She’s been staying in the monastery since I found her.”
“Interesting. You trust her to stay in the monastery with you?”
“Oh, I’m not too worried about it. If Liv tries anything, Sanguineus or Kazuma would take her down. Besides, I’ve already fought her, she’s not a threat to me. The most she could do is rob me of some of the gear I have and try to return to her home. But, I keep the best gear in my quarters and it will not open without my key. Apparently, the people who built the monastery were really big on privacy. As a result, she would really only be able to steal items I don’t use or that I have already freely given. Anyway, after she heard how far away her homeland is and all of the gaunts, it would be suicide to go it alone.”
“True. So, why are you helping her? Looking for a mate?”
“Hell no.” Lanek laughed loudly. “Even if I were interested in romance or anything of the sort, I barely know her and I’ve got way more important things to focus on. I’m helping her because I could use some help in turn with my plans and she is a connection to her people in the north should I ever encounter them.”
“Ah, so mutual benefit. What are these plans?”
“I want to reclaim the city.”
The big hobgoblin choked. “What?!”
“Seriously. The world is dangerous and pretty messed up at this point. Listening to Liv talk about her homeland, which is many months of travel to the north, the gaunts are everywhere. The cities up there have been devastated and the small villages cannot trade with one another or even travel without doing so in force.”
Ograch had looked more somber as the discussion continued. “Truly? Even that far away? My people had hoped that it wasn’t so widespread and that we could possibly make it somewhere free of them.”
“I’m sorry, my friend. I really am. I was hoping for better news as well, I certainly hadn’t planned on spending the rest of my days fighting monsters when I was transported here. That’s why I want to rebuild the city. With the protection of the city walls to keep the gaunts and other monsters away and the dungeon to provide resources and experience within the walls, we might be able to create a decent haven for ourselves and other people. Between you and Liv, it is clear that there are pockets of people out there, hiding from the gaunts and struggling.”
Ograch nodded pensively. “What about the creatures roaming the city?”
“Well, if I can find people to help me with construction and security, I was hoping to use the monastery as a base of operations. It has plenty of living space and training areas. From there, I was hoping to block off the streets and alleys to create a safe zone from the west gate to the monastery. That way, hunting, foraging, and other groups can make it safely to the wilderness when they need to.”
“Hmm, would this just be for humans?”
“Absolutely not, it would be open for anyone that doesn’t have malicious intentions. That’s one of the reasons I am here, I wanted to let you know my plans and invite you and your people to join. I doubt Talwarg will go for it, what with this village and all, but I wanted to make the invitation regardless.”
Ograch grinned at his human friend. This has potential. If he can pull it off.