Once we finished our meal, I looked over to the gnome. The poor thing looked so miserable. I looked over to Tom, thinking of his old gambeson... but, right. I supposed the gnome could use it as a tent? The spiderling was out, I've never seen her change her outfit.

My clothes, on the other hand, would be too small. Still, I reached into my backbag and thought of a large shirt or robe-thing. I pulled out two pieces of clothing. A large, off-pink pirate-y shirt and a yellow summer dress on straps. Getting the boy to use a dress was tempting, but I thought, protecting arms and neck was important.

Jons packed me way too many clothes anyway. "Could you guys get a room for us?" I asked while putting two gold coins on the table.

I jumped off the bench and run over to the gnomes table. Since it would be un-graceful to climb onto the table, I simply boosted onto it.

"Hey!! You look like you fought against a teethed pile of shit." I kindly greeted the kid and dropped both the shirt and the dress before him.

The child at first looked angrily at me, then paled and began looking between my face and the clothes. Being very patient and magnanimous, I explained. "It's high-quality spider silk, I've yet to meet anything that can get through it."

I then turned around and gestured towards... I looked around the room. There!! Tom was by the bar. I gestured towards him. "As you can see, those are the only clothes we have, that could fit you."

The gnome glanced at the cat and slowly nodded. "Uhm..." Oh, the poor thing was so grateful, he was lost for words.

"Bowing won't be necessary. Get me some lunch in school or whatever." With those words, I turned up my nose and extended my right hand, palm forward.

I walked to the edge of the table and boosted to Tom. I landed on his shoulder and searched for the spiderling. After a moment, I noticed spider legs sticking from behind the counter. Suddenly, she raised herself, right behind the innkeep. The girl extended her hand over the woman's shoulder and opened it, showing a gold coin.

"Here Rachel, the payment." With those words, the spider dropped the coin and skittered over to Tom's other shoulder. The woman barely caught the coin and gave a disapproving look to the spiderling.

"The change will..." "We've got the key Tom?" I asked my friend.

"Yes." He raised his left hand, showing me the key. I lifted the bags - the spiderling must have dropped them, before diving for the coin - from the floor and waved for the cat to lead the way.

Our door was on the top floor, on the right side wall, at the other end of the corridor.

The room had two wooden walls - the door side one and on the right, behind the beds - and only two, wooden beds. By the entrance, was also a door to a bathroom. Since noble's passed through here, the owners must have given up on keeping the place a hundred per cent medieval. 

I dropped our bags between an undecorated wardrobe and a simple desk, on the left. The spider skittered towards the corner behind the beds and hung her cocoon under the ceiling. The building had a slanted roof, so there must have been an attic above us.

"Let's shower and have a walk around the village, after?" I asked my companions. The spider shrugged. The little marvel of nature hadn't washed once since we met and yet she was as clean as a polished marble statue.

"You or me first?" Tom asked. 

"It will take you longer to dry, so I can wait." I waved him off and jumped onto the nearest bed. The grey sheets were pretty comfortable.

After a moment, I got up and walked over to the small window. I jumped onto the windowsill and looked out. We had a view at the back of the inn. On the right were small stables and on the left a flower garden.

"Hey, you know what those garden spiders, with crosses on their backs are called?" I asked towards the spiderling and quickly clarified. "In Latin."

"Araneus Diadematus, why?" The spider walked over to me and sat on the windowsill too.

"You know Latin... Diadematus, what do you think about it? As a name." I turned towards her.

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"I'm not a princess." She said with a pout. I patted her on the head. "Diadematus it is."

She extended her spider legs before her face and poked at their smooth surface. "I'm neither hairy nor fat either."

"We can call you by your real name if you will ever divulge it." I finished the conversation with a shrug.

The girl mumbled, "I will ask Mother to make cross-spiders pretty." With those words, she tapped at the air before her. After the final tap, she put on a very smug expression. Almost immediately after, she ran her eyes as if reading something and visibly saddened, once she finished. "Stupid Mother and her stupid rules."

"What happened?" I asked.

"I will have to become strong and make them cool myself." She said and nodded to herself.

Looked like I didn't need to think about a different name.

Tom came out of the bathroom, aggressively drying himself with a large, white towel. I ran in, swiping my backbag on the way.

The floor was made out of stone. The bathroom was a little longer than Tom was long and up to around his shoulder in width. On the left was a metal sink with an unclear mirror above it, as well as a metal bathtub on tiny legs. On the right was a metal towel rack and a porcelain toilet bowl, decorated in blue pictures of flowers.

I tapped the small magic circle behind the toilet and it flushed with water, seemingly out of nowhere. 

I was done cleaning a song later. I stuck my head into the bag, keeping my eyes closed just in case and withdrew it, my teeth clean. I took out whatever dirt I gathered in the bag and threw it into the toilet.

I dug out the vampire outfit I had the first time I woke up at Horace's place, adding some white stocking, to avoid getting scratches on my legs. Ready for the rest of the day, I came out.

Tom was still fighting with the towel, so I surrounded him with fire, avoiding the areas close to the bed he sat on. Who knew if they could resist magic and I didn't want to start a fire.

"Thanks." The kitten nodded his head.

"No problem. By the way, I found a name for the spiderling. She's Diadematus now. Diade I guess." I informed my friend and took a sit on the desk.

I waited for Tom to get dry, waving my legs in the air and humming.

On the way down, we passed the elves, coming up to their room. Downstairs, the only ones left were the multiracial group.

They looked up the moment we stepped onto the floor and the little catkin ran up to us. "Excuse me?" She asked in a barely audible whisper.

We waited for her to continue. She waited too. After the long, silent pause, she continued, "We wondered if we could borrow some outfits too."

"Diade, what do you think about getting a payment in souls?" I asked in a bored and lazy tone.

The spiderling looked at the girl, then her companions. She sniffed at the air a little and finally spoke, "Low quality. I wouldn't eat."

I was fairly certain she wasn't running with my joke. She looked damn serious. I shrugged and noticed the catkin was trembling. "We don't have anything that would fit any of you. The cat's clothes are about the same quality you guys have."

I patted Tom on the head and he walked around the girl. After a couple of steps, he paused and turned his head. "She was just joking by the way." What a good kid.

Outside, the nobles carriage was still standing before the inn. Some of the villagers seemed to have left somewhere, but most of the kids we saw earlier were still playing on the road. They seemed to have split into one large group and a rat kid. The rat stood on a box and was making a speech about taking over the world, while the other kids were waving sticks at him.

Diada skittered of Tom and ran towards the children. She picked up the ratkin, put him among the heroes and declared;

"I am the Great Overlord Diadematus!! Fear me, mortals, for this land is from this day onward, under the rule of the Dark God!!" After those words, she pulled out a tall black stick with a red orb at the top and slammed it into the ground.

"Who among you, has the audacity to challenge one such great as I?!" She continued the play. It was as if she was reciting from memory.

I pulled out my violin. "Hey, Tom, come get closer. Let's provide them with some soundtrack."

Tom walked over to the group with steady steps and stood imposing behind the spider. He straightened his back, puffed out his chest and waited for my melody. After some thought, I went with TNT. It didn't sound all that great on a violin, but what could you do. Tom sang in his mother tongue and Diada nodded.

She extended her free - left - hand and beckoned the challengers.

The smaller kids took a step back and the ratkin raised his head. "Heroes!! Greater evil than me has come! Join me in this righteous battle!" With that, he jumped towards the dark god and shot a very weak manaball.

Diada blocked them with one of her spider legs and swiped at the kid with her fancy stick. One of the little heroes, an about nine years old, black-haired girl jumped in, raising her stick to block.

The spider barely stopped her swing on the stick and yelled out, "How can it be? What cursed god blessed you, hero?!"

She then lightly slapped both of the front kids with her spider legs, sending them to the ground. The rest of the kids jumped in, waving their sticks or throwing their feeble mana.

For another ten songs, Diadematus continued to barely overcome the heroes, until finally, they were too tired to fight back.

"Rejoice mortals!! The Great Overlord Diadematus has taken these lands!!" She raised herself on four of her limbs, fanning the others behind her back. I formed a large disk of fire behind her and Tom roared out.

"This is not the end of it!! We will never stop revolu... revo.. fighting back!!" Yelled out a tiny mouse kid. "I, Maurice, so deklure!!"

"Follow me then, when you will have the power, to my Great Castle beyond the Mountain!!" The spider dropped down, slamming her stick deep into the ground.

"I thought nobles were stuck up snobs... but you are cool!" Exclaimed a blonde-haired boy in the back of the group.

"Have I not said? I'm not a noble! I'm the Great Overlord!!" Diada huffed and skittered back onto Tom. I waved at the kids and we continued our trip around the village.