“First off, we believe there is a dungeon in the forest.”

Valtheril frowned. He was obviously not expecting this.

“A bold statement to make. What makes you think that?”

I wondered how Valtheril would react to my next statement. He could, after all, detect if it was a lie.

“The dungeon told me.”

He narrowed his eyes and stared at me.

Nope, it wasn’t a lie.

“How? What did you do?”

“You see, a subpart of my inherity allows me to communicate with spiders… to a certain degree. The dungeon outside the village controls a huge spider which it uses to communicate with me. I can talk to the dungeon that way.”

Valtheril rubbed his eyes with two fingers while his elbow rested on the table.

“I can’t believe this,” He said with a sigh. He then fixed his gaze upon me once more. “But that’s not everything, right?”

I shook my head. “The dungeon calls itself Arch. We took some of the Borer material with us and had him analyze it… long story… In short, he concluded that the massive Borer we killed was created by a dungeon and was then controlled by an individual who gave it orders. It then followed those orders until it died.”

Valtheril kept looking at me, as if expecting more.

“We thought it could have to do with the assassination attempt on me, seeing as that happened not long after we removed the threat. It is as if they intended to finish me with that first, before resorting to more… direct measures, that’s how it feels at least. We also thought that the necromantic magic that was used on that large wolf could have something to do with an unknown dungeon.”

“I see why you would think that. I’m afraid I can’t quite disclose that information yet.” He turned to Velariah. “What would you have me do?”

“We wanted to let you know about this and have you start a search for this unknown dungeon. We don’t know if you have any other sources that may indicate there to be one. We understand that this is not a source that you can simply share with people. As things stand, this dungeon must be found and registered.”

“That’s for certain,” Valtheril commented.

“We have one advantage,” I added. “None but us know that I can talk to a dungeon. Whoever was in control of that beast must have colluded with the dungeon in the forest and either coerced or extorted it into creating this creature. If we can find the dungeon, we could possibly have it spawn a spider-like creature and establish communications with it. If it’s cooperative, it may reveal the identity of whoever is responsible for that monster.”

“But we would have to find it first. To set up exploration to find it from an unknown source is a bit… risky, to put it lightly,” Valtheril said.

“Exactly our problem…” I sighed.

“The other solution is to organize more quests to search-and-destroy small goblin encampments and hope they stumble upon it, but that’s risky too.”

His face flooded with anger as he gritted his teeth. “Damn goblins.”

“About the goblins...” Velariah started. “We were planning on heading out to destroy one of their encampments to the northeast.”

“Be careful, Vel,” Valtheril said, his voice suddenly becoming much softer. “Latest reports have it that there is a large gathering of goblins in the northern part of the forest.”

“We’ll be careful,” Velariah promised.

“Do you think Pylanor will come to the same conclusion?” I asked. “About the beast being formed by dungeon magic?”

“He might,” Valtheril started. “But that does give me an idea. If he, somehow, does not arrive at that conclusion, I could try to steer him in that direction, as to justify a search for it. That’s better than nothing.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Draco suddenly said. “The other option would be to start a rumor about a possible dungeon, but, once again, that’s risking lives.”

Valtheril nodded. “That’s correct. Elania, from what I’m seeing, I may need your help again sometime soon… in the alchemy lab.”

I nodded, understanding that he meant assistance with creating anti-venoms. I should probably share that information with my other party members soon.

“Not a problem,” I replied. “How are we doing regarding the goblins, anyway?”

“We’ve had moderate success. It’s not going as quickly as I’d like, but casualties have been low. I’m not too unhappy about that. It appears that the southern forest is slowly being cleared out, but it seems that the goblins are starting to band together with other goblin tribes and even trolls in the northern part of the forest. I had counted on this as a possibility.”

“Round ‘em up and exterminate them all at once?” Seralyn asked.

Valtheril nodded. “Why do you think I have a hundred and fifty soldiers in the village right now? We'll soon get to the point where we will finally be free of this threat. One piece of good news, though: the human kingdom has started to go on expeditions of their own, effectively cleaning the eastern part of the forest.”

“That’s good, I guess,” I let out.

“Agreed. They’ve left this threat untouched for too long. It was about time they started to move against the goblins.”

Valtheril leaned back in his chair and a small smile appeared on his lips.

“Another piece of good news is that it seems the first coffee plants have started fruiting. We’ll soon enter a more prosperous future for the village. I don’t know how I can thank you enough...”

I knew that was directed at me. “I’m happy as it is. I don’t need more. Sure, the money in the contract is nice and all, but I’ve already been given much more than that,” I said.

“I’m glad to hear it,” He said, before standing up. “I must once again thank you for this information. I’ll go see Master Pylanor.”

Right after he said that, I heard knocking on the door.

“I’m guessing that’s Master Endomir,” Velariah said.

“I’ll get it,” Valtheril said before he made his way to the hallway.

He re-entered the room with Master Endomir next to him and spoke up. “I’ll be off, I don’t know if I’ll be home for dinner. I’ve got a bunch of things to take care of.”

“It’s fine,” Velariah replied. “Please take care.”

“I will,” The General responded before leaving the mansion.

Endomir looked at me with great curiosity. It was slightly creepy, but I could at least understand him. He, for some reason, was fascinated by insects and spiders and gathered a good amount of knowledge about them. He had been of help to me earlier with my little problem as well, so I didn’t mind.

I at least liked his spirit.

“Miss Elania… I was told you had something that I would be interested in, correct?” He asked politely.

I nodded. “I have an almost perfect molt in the bathroom. I was wondering if you’d like to buy it.”

His eyes grew wide.

“That’d be… interesting. Can I see it?”

Eager as expected. I smiled as I walked into the bathroom. I returned moments later, dragging my old molt across the floor.

“Holy crap, El,” Seralyn commented. “Wasn’t one of you enough?”

“Very funny,” I said. “Fortunately for you, it’s only my lower half.”

“It’s… impressive,” Endomir commented as I placed it on the ground. “Can I?”

He pointed at the large molt with a finger, seemingly wanting to inspect it from up close.

I nodded.

He knelt before the molt and ran his hands over the chitin and lifted a leg to see it from up close. He had seemed so interested in inspecting me up close, I was happy he was finally able to more or less do it without creeping me out.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Elania, what color is your blood?”

“Huh?”

I was dumbfounded at the question.

“It’s red, why?”

“Even your lower half?”

“Uh… yes?”

I thought back to when I first came to the village. I recalled when the goblin arrows had struck my behind. I could see red blood coming from the wound.

“Yes, it is,” I said with more certainty.

“Very interesting...”

“Why?” I asked.

“I’m currently looking at your leg structure. Spiders have blue blood which they use to contract and retract their legs through blood pressure. They seem to have no muscles to do it. I’m wondering how it works in your case.”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. I can feel my legs and move them, I don’t quite know the workings behind it.”

“Didn’t you have difficulty walking when your heart was out of commission?” Velariah asked from next to me.

“Huh, I guess that makes sense, then. If blood pressure is used, then I imagine missing one of my hearts does that.”

“I’m wondering why your blood is red, while spider blood is blue...” Endomir seemed lost in thought.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“I know why blood is red,” I replied. “I can’t quite say why spider blood is blue, though.”

“You know why blood is red?” Endomir turned to me, seemingly shocked.

He didn’t know? I imagine they weren’t that far yet.

“Iron,” I said. “Iron is the reason that blood is red.”

Endomir seemed intrigued. “Interesting hypothesis.”

He thought I wasn’t sure?

Maybe that was for the better.

I doubted he’d use this knowledge to cause harm, but I still had to be careful. These people just weren’t as advanced as humanity back on Earth yet…

Endomir turned back to the molt and knocked on the carapace, causing a hollow sound to reverberate through the room.

“Lightweight and strong. Have you not thought about selling this to the armorsmith? I imagine he’d be quite interested in this material.”

I chuckled. “I have. When I molt again, I’ll take it to him. I wanted you to have the opportunity to buy the first one.”

“I’ll buy it. How does fifteen gold sound?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Free money was the best. Well, there was the part where I had to get out of it, but I’d have to do that either way.

“I can’t believe this...” Seralyn commented.

Nira giggled at the brunette’s comment.

The treemender seemed overjoyed to have this molt for his… I guess he had a collection somewhere?

I wasn’t going to ask…

I thought for a moment. Did I not have questions for Endomir about my body? I believe I was going to ask how spiders ate, but it seems I more or less figured that out on my own. Even if it wasn’t quite the same, the reason I would ask questions like those was to see if I could utilize the knowledge to my advantage. In this case, that specific question was moot.

What else could I ask?

I couldn’t come up with anything… I had the feeling I was forgetting something, but I had no idea what.

Perhaps that was just me.

Endomir pulled out a coin chest from under his robes and started counting. He then handed me two square gold coins, four normal ones, and two square silver coins. I thanked him as he turned his gaze back to my molt.

I smiled at the sight. He was like a kid in a candy store, staring his eyes out. I imagined this was probably a dream come true for him. It made me happy I was able to help out.

Who knew if he would be able to find out a thing or two about me through that molt? I’d love to see it.

Endomir carefully dragged the molt behind him as he made for the exit. I helped him by making sure the molt’s limbs wouldn’t be damaged by the doorposts. Once he was outside, he waved goodbye, all too happy with his newest prize.

“What a weirdo,” Seralyn said when I returned to the room.

“He’s been of great help, though,” I replied. “Did you know spiders have blue blood? I didn’t. I’m actually wondering why that is. Who knows, I might benefit from knowing that someday.”

“If red blood is because of iron, do you think blue is because of some other metal?” Velariah asked.

I started thinking. “Hmm, two things come to mind. There’s cobalt, I know that metal is often depicted as blue. The other thing that comes to mind is copper, I believe copper in solutions has a blue color.”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know how to find out. I hate it when that happens, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Your knowledge sure is interesting,” Draco said.

“Blood being red because of iron is common knowledge in my old world. At least, I think it is.”

I smiled. “Trust me, there’s much more interesting knowledge in this head of mine.”

“Looking forward to seeing it.” Draco smiled.

“One day, Draco, one day.”

“What do you guys want to do?” Velariah changed the topic as I repositioned myself at the table.

“I’ll go out in a bit,” Draco said. “I’ll make sure to get a large number of supplies for when we head out. We will probably need some tents or sleeping bags.”

“Good idea,” The white-haired elf said. “I think Elania and I will make another stop at Coldanus’s shop in the afternoon or early evening to see if he can get it done before we head out tomorrow. Elania?”

“Hm?” I replied.

“Shall we go for another round of silk so we can pay for your weapon and any extra costs, in case Coldanus decides to charge extra for making something like this on short notice?”

I nodded. “Let’s do that.”

“Have fun, lovebirds,” Seralyn grinned, as we walked over to the bathroom.

I simply smiled at her comment, but I doubted she was able to see it.

I entered the room and stepped over the hammock, before opening my side eyes.

They traced the walls, but I didn’t see Minia anywhere. Where had she gone off to?

Seriously, where was she? She could always be found near the head end of the hammock on the wall, waiting for us to return, yet, she wasn’t there.

I decided to look in the last place where she could possibly be; the crate.

And it seems I was right. Minia was inside some sort of housing made of silk, like a pup tent. She stood in it, completely motionless and I couldn’t feel any emotions come from the spider.

I was a bit worried, but I could feel she was alive.

Was she molting?

She sure had eaten a lot lately.

“Is she okay?” Velariah asked, looking over my shoulder.

“Seems she’s molting, at least I think she is.”

“Poor Minia. At least she has someone who can sympathize,” I saw Velariah smile next to me.

“Heh, funny.” I smiled back at her.

“Do you think you’ll be able to make a nest like that too?” Velariah asked leaning, her head against my side.

I took hold of her side with my arms as I lowered myself to her height.

“Hmm, our own little love nest. It has a certain charm to it.”

“You make it sound so much more interesting that way,” Velariah replied.

I grinned. “I wonder if I could.”

“You probably can,” She said while grasping my lower set of arms and turning me away from the crate. She then put her hands on my cheeks and pulled me in for a kiss.

“Are you okay, Vel?” I asked when she broke away. “I mean, physically.” I pointed a finger where the fireball had hit her earlier.

Velariah pulled up her shirt and showed me a burn wound that was located just below her chest. Her movements made me blush slightly as I stared at her chest in the process.

I ran my finger over the wound that was about two inches large. “Does it hurt?”

“Not really,” She spoke. “But it made me wonder if I should get a fire protection enchantment on my chest. The problem is that we never know what we’re up against.”

“I guess that’s one of the reasons that higher-tier armor with more slots is also far more expensive, right? You can simply enchant it against everything.”

Velariah nodded. “It’s very useful for all-rounders, though, for certain creatures, you want to focus entirely on a single school of defense when you know what you’re going to fight. My father taught me that.”

“Must be extremely strong creatures then. I’d like to not run into one of those anytime soon.”

The elf nodded again.

“Isn’t there one specific gem that protects against all schools of magic?” I asked.

“There is...” Velariah started.

I knew exactly where this was going. Her voice became much softer as she said that, which could only mean one thing.

“But it’s going to cost a thousand gold, isn’t it?”

“Fifteen hundred, in fact. They are made from incredibly rare gems and extremely hard to craft. but yes, they are mighty expensive.”

I sighed. I had seen this coming from a mile away.

“It protects against all schools just as well as all gems combined, and it only takes a single slot. It’s not hard to guess why it’s so expensive.”

“I do wonder if the tailor has that much...” I said.

“Heh, as long as he can make a name for himself, he might be working overtime. I heard the new clothes made from your silk have started to gain some attention from the higher-ups.”

She smiled. “And my father may have had a few words with some people and recommended them to visit the tailor.”

“Such blatant misuse of power.” I smiled as I put my hands on her hips and chest (my hands were still under her shirt), my pedipalps on her shoulders, and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Hmm, I like this misuse of power,” She said seductively.

I gave her several more small kisses and simply enjoyed her touch.

“At least we have something to work towards, I guess,” I said after a good minute of affection for the elf.

“We have plenty to work towards...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked with a grin.

“Who knows? Anyway, let’s get to work, shall we?”