“Does this have anything to do with where you’ve been the last couple months?” Goose asked.

“What?” I asked. “What couple of months?”

I got a strange look from both Ethan and Goose. The kind that spoke volumes without saying a word.

“Dude, you’ve been gone for like two months,” Ethan blurted out, his expression a mix of relief and incredulity.

Goose laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, you vanished. No note, no nothing. Just poof, gone.”

I rubbed my head, trying to piece together the fragmented memories. The last thing I remembered clearly was; well, it was fuzzy. “Huh,” I said, the confusion evident in my voice. We walked in silence for a few more minutes. “I believe additional precautions may be in order before we try this weed in wider circulation.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Goose chuckled.

“Also, I have a girlfriend now. Or a wife?” I said, the revelation hitting me as if it had been whispered to me in a dream. “I’m not sure. But the missing months? That makes more sense now.”

We walked in silence again, the gravity of the situation slowly sinking in. “So what’s been going on since I’ve been gone?”

Goose responded, “Just like that? You find out you’ve been missing for two months and that’s your response?”

“That was some really good weed,” I said with a wry smile, trying to inject some humor into the surreal situation.

We finally arrived at Kim’s Café, the familiar sight of villagers bustling about, chatting and enjoying their morning meals. As we entered, the conversations hushed momentarily, eyes turning towards us, or more specifically, towards me.

“Gavrin!” Kim’s voice rang out, a mix of relief and exasperation. “Where on earth have you been?”

I shrugged, still piecing it together myself. “Long story, Kim. But I’m back now.”

“Good, now maybe you can do something about the spiders.” Kim answered.

“Spiders?” I asked, shivering.

“Yeah, Loki has been running around with these giant spiders. She won’t let us touch them.” Kim complained.

I cocked my head to the side and reached for Thor and Loki through our bond. The response was immediate. Loki’s presence was strong, filled with pride and protectiveness. Images of ice blue, glistening spiders flickered in my mind.

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Loki has been raising baby ice spiders.”

Kim looked at me, exasperated. “Well, can you do something about them? They’re causing quite a bit of chaos. People are scared, and it’s hard to get any work done with those things crawling around.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll talk to Loki. Let’s see if we can sort this out.”

I walked back outside, reaching deeper into the bond with Loki, calling her to me. It didn’t take long before I saw her bounding towards me, Thor trotting along beside her. Behind them, a trail of baby ice spiders skittered along, their tiny legs glistening like frost in the morning sun.

“Loki,” I called. “We need to talk.”

Loki’s ears perked up, and she bounded over to me, the spiders following close behind. “What’s up boss?” She asked, her tone casual, as if raising ice spiders was the most normal thing in the world.

“These spiders,” I began, gesturing to the small swarm now encircling us. “They’re causing a bit of a problem. People are scared, and they’re getting into everything. We need to find a better solution.”

Loki’s eyes narrowed slightly. “They’re my babies, Dad. I can’t just abandon them.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I’m not asking you to abandon them, Loki,” I replied gently. “But we need to find a way to keep them contained. Maybe we can set up a special area for them, where they can stay safe and not disrupt the village.”

Thor, ever the peacemaker, chimed in. “Yeah, Loki. A special spider nursery. They’ll be safe, and you can still visit them anytime you want.”

Loki considered this for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, but it has to be a nice place. They deserve the best.”

I nodded and lowered my voice. “Why didn’t you have them stay in the shard?”

Loki looked sheepish for just a moment. “I tried that, Auntie Sera didn’t like all the spiders.”

Thor barked out a laugh. “The little blighters got into the alchemy lab and froze everything. They ruined a lot of experiments. Gina and Sera demanded she take them elsewhere.”

“They didn’t mean too.” Loki whined. “They don’t just know any better.”

“Also, Gabby scares them.” Thor added helpfully.

I nodded along. “Yeah, she scares me too. She gonna be joining us?” I asked, looking around.

I turned back towards Kim. “Will that be acceptable? We will make a spider nursery.” I shivered again. I really didn’t like spiders, but for Loki, I would hesitate to nuke them from orbit.

“I guess.” Kim continued. “Who’s Gabby?” Kim asked.

Thor jumped excitedly. “Daddy’s got a girlfriend.” He started barking in a sing song fashion and jumping around.

Kim pursed her lips and raised her eyebrow. “Really? A girlfriend? What did she do? Kidnap you?”

“Maybe, I don’t know.” I said. “Can I get some coffee. I’ve been having a weird couple of days.”

Kim nodded and poured me a cup, pressing it into my hands. “Drink up. You look like you need it.”

“Thanks, Kim.” I said gratefully. “I needed this.”

“It’s good to have you back,” Someone said from the crowd, and murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the café.

“Alright,” I said, setting the cup down with a determined clink. “Let’s get caught up. I want to know everything that’s been happening since I’ve been gone.”

Derek was the first to bring something up. His rugged face etched with concern as he recounted the latest news from the outskirts of Schoolville.

“The first notable development was the appearance of bandits in the surrounding woods,” Derek began, his voice low and serious. “These ruthless brigands have been attacking travelers and villagers alike. Their presence has created a tension that’s hard to ignore.”

I nodded, setting my cup down. “Persistent little buggers, I’ll give them that. How bad has it been?”

Derek sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. “Bad enough. We’ve had a few close calls. Fortunately, Fernando has been providing adequate warning. Almost everyone has a Fernando now.”

“Nice.” I agreed. “How are people holding up?”

Derek shrugged, a mix of frustration and resolve in his eyes. “They’re on edge, but they’re resilient. We’ve increased patrols and are working on reinforcing the village defenses. The guards are doing their best but we just can’t pin the bandits down.”

I tapped my fingers on the table, deep in thought. My thoughts briefly linked with Fernando to get his perspective. “Damn, there is a skill blocking Fernando from tracking them properly.” I finally said. “I can probably get around it, but Fernando is limited by himself.”

Derek shook his head. “Yeah, that tracks. They’re elusive, striking quickly and then disappearing into the woods. Fernando’s trying to track them, but a skill makes sense.”

“Yeah, give me a couple of days.” I said. “I can probably figure something out.”

“How so?” Derek asked, plainly curious.

I paused to marshal my thoughts. “You ever watch The Princess Bride?” I asked and continued when Derek nodded. “Well, the part when Buttercup claims Prince Humperdinck can track a falcon on a cloudless day really got to me. I was a little kid the first time I watched it and it stuck with me. How would you track a falcon? It’s in the air, it leaves no tracks. Why a cloudless day? Do clouds make a difference? Surely, Buttercup wasn’t implying falcons leave tracks in the sky. It bugged me for years, until I figured it out.”

Derek leaned forward. The café had fallen silent as I spoke. “You can track a falcon?” He asked disbelieving.

"Of course not." I said. “I’m not the farm boy. No, I realized the clouds were important. Buttercup said a cloudless sky because of shadows. You know chickens can tell the difference between a hawk and a duck flying overhead. It is in the shape of the shadow. Well, I realized I could track the hawk by the response of the animals on the ground.”

“Bullshit.” Derek said. “There’s no way that would work.”

I bobbed my head from side to side. “I will admit, I have never actually tracked a falcon using this method. But the theory is sound. You can track a target indirectly. You don’t even need to know what it is you are tracking. You just need to be aware of your surroundings, and you can track your primary target by the effect it has on secondary targets.”

I continued explaining. “I used to be an investigator. People are usually pretty good at covering their own tracks. But the tracks of people reacting to them? Not so much. Very often, they don’t even know they are leaving traces behind. Of course, it takes more time and you gotta figure out what the appropriate secondary tracking target is, but it works well enough.”

This quieted down Derek and he got a thoughtful look on his face. “Goddamn, Gavrin. That’s some serial killer shit, right there.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I’ve gotten that response more than once. I can assure you, I only use my powers for good. Or if I really feel like it.”

Just then, the door to the café swung open and Gabby sauntered in. Her hips swaying and drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“There you are Gav Gav.” She cooed. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”