For some unknown reason, the Imperial Army had decided to retreat. But perhaps it was for the best; pursuing them would mean leaving the Dark Cloud and the strategic advantage it offered to the Aurelian Troops. However, their retreat meant that Duke Aurelius was victorious, and a small celebration soon followed.
Saying all that, the war was nowhere near its end and most of the gathered army had to stay to protect the Aurelian Dutchy from any further attempts of invasion.
The Spider King didn’t have time to linger and participate; there was a tight ‘schedule’ for him to keep to. He congratulated Duke Aurelius and all that, and currently, he was back in the Aurelian Capital. A short stop here was made to bring Elisabeth the Radiant Angel back to her home to recover; she still was under the effects of Negative Mana and the magical coma it induced.
He looked at the massive building. “Is this her home?” He asked somewhat confused.
The Drow Assistant looked at the map again. “I’m positive this is the place.”
“But this is…”
The structure in front of them was clearly a temple, a rather new addition to the Aurelian Capital. The temple stood tall, its imposing spires and oppressive walls were made out of blackened Kobold Bricks. The intricate brickwork was adorned with delicate statues of spider crafters overlooking the street below much like gargoyles would. The IronOak entrance doors were broad and tall as if they were made for a giant, or perhaps a massive creature like Drider or even the Warrior Leader Jr. The entrance too was guarded by stone-carved figures of two spiders, the spider warriors this time.
The inside was packed with cold stone pews and right above them the tall ceiling was decorated with intricate patterns resembling a web. The narrow windows were letting only so little light hence leaving the entire hall shrouded in shadows. There were no candelabra or candles to give light, however further in the hall, as the centrepiece of the temple, there was a massive lantern with an equally massive flame burning inside it. The flame burned cold and was purple in colour, and instead of light, it granted Darkvision.
The temple wasn’t devoid of visitors, all of its pews were actually full. The pious were rather young, and all wore the same type of garb – a simple spider mass-produced blue tunic. The pious quickly turned to look at the Spider King and his two assistants.
It seemed he had interrupted a mass prayer of some sort, but he couldn’t help but think of who they were praying to. No doubt someone who was spider-related, and judging by the dark atmosphere some sort of a Dark Deity… But why would a Radiant Angell be part of this? Her otherwise Light alignment just didn’t seem to fit the theme.
Since the interruption was already made and everyone was now staring at him, it was as good time as any to pose the question.
“Do you know her?” He pointed at the woman resting on the Warrior Leader Jr back. “We’ve been told she lives here. As you see, she’s unconscious because of Negative Mana and will remain so for some time, but a good place to rest would be appreciated.”
The gathering of the pious rushed to the angel. The worry on their faces told him that they recognised the woman, and indeed that she was involved with this temple.
“How’s the war?”, “We were praying for her.”, “Will she be alright?”, such and so was said all at once.
He answered their questions to the best of his ability and soon their attention was directed to his two assistants. They were clearly interested in Warrior Leader Jr.
“The biggest spider I’ve seen!”, “So majestic, so noble…”, “What did you eat to grow so big?”, so and such was said between the awed oh’s and ah’s.
And then their gazes shifted to the drider, and if they were interested before, now they were overly excited.
“A half-woman and half-spider? How is this possible?”, “She’s blessed, I am so envious!”, “Her form is so beautiful. She is perfect!”, they spoke excitedly over each other.
Drow Assistant, clearly embarrassed by the prodding looks, stepped back to hide behind the Spider King; not that it was effective with that large and spidery body of hers.
“I can see you worship spiders, and I understand your curiosity, but I need a place for Elisabeth to rest.” He tried to bring the pious back to the subject that mattered.
“It’s not spiders we worship, it’s the one who made them.” A pious woman explained. “And the Radiant Angel is his messenger. Her bed chamber is nearby, let me show you.” She began to lead them. “Ah!” She exclaimed realising something and then turned to the spider and half-spider to give them a grovelling apology. “The corridors…” she began swallowing hardly.
Yes while the hall was alright the rest of the building was made to accommodate the ‘moderate’ sizes of the humans, the two of his even more generously sized companions simply wouldn’t fit.
The grovelling woman was almost on the brink of tears at that realisation.
“It’s alright.”, “It’s Okay.” He and his assistant spoke at once.
The companions wouldn’t fit so he was the one to finish this. The Spider King scooped the angel from the spider’s back and carried her through one of the doors on the side of the hall. The narrow corridor was filled with doors on both sides, much like a dormitory would. Indeed, the massive temple wasn’t just here to accommodate the prayers but also to house the pious as a monastery would.
The woman leading him still had a concerned look on her face.
“… We just didn’t think the spiders would ever need to come to the servant quarters, you know. It is we who serve them, so… And the two were just too large… it seems we made a planning mistake…” She was mostly muttering. “And thanks for bringing her back, but who are you?”
The question took him back slightly. It even kind of hurt a bit… Was he really that unpopular?
“Oh, right. I’m still getting used to this.” The woman spoke out apologetically. “[Inspect].” Then it was her turn to become staggered and be at a loss for words.
The Spider King smiled sheepishly. “That’s right, I’m the Spider King. But I don’t want you to scrape or bow so don’t worry about it. Let’s just continue to her room.”
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The colour in the woman’s face returned and she did just so, however without uttering a single mutter this time; which somehow made it even more awkward. And it didn’t help that the corridor was excessively long and that Elisabeth had decided to live at the very end of it.
Eventually, the room was reached and the doors opened. The room was small and rather simple: bed, table, chair, wardrobe and a mirror; it was without much flair or flourish, however, there was an oddity. He couldn't help but notice a set of peculiar equipment hanging on a wall next to her bed: whip, rope, blindfold, handcuffs, and other stuff like that. Well, it was not up to him to judge what the Radiant Angel did in her spare time, so he wouldn’t. He just laid her to rest in the bed.
“If she simply rests she will recover, no other action is needed.” He informed the pious woman just in case.
“I understand.” She replied almost robotically.
The side quest was over and it was time for him to get back on track, however, just before he could take the first step a weak hand grabbed him.
“Spider King, you’ve saved me.” Radiant Angel spoke in a barely audible whisper.
“You woke sooner than I’ve expected.” He was genuinely surprised.
“I’ve been awake for some time already.” She admitted.
“I see…” Even if so, she was in no position to walk, so he didn’t mind her pretending to be asleep. “Just so you know, you saved the Aurelian Army. Well done.” He commended her.
“I know…” She tightened her grip. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me. Not yet.”
He looked towards the doors, the pious woman was already out and closing the doors behind her. He found it strange she left the two of them without saying anything.
“Elisabeth, I have a quest to fulfil, I must go.” He informed her unwilling to mess up the schedule the Drow Assistant worked so hard to plan.
“Not yet.” She looked at him beggingly. “Stay with me.”
People, then put in a vulnerable condition, often desire the company to feel more secure. It was basic instinct and he understood that much.
“I can’t. But I think I have something that will make you feel better.” He gave her a meaningful look.
“You do?” She looked at him expectantly.
He nodded. “Get ready, here it comes. [Core Seed]”
With those words, he lost some mana and she gained some. It was just a 100MP however it was still a significant amount.
Elisabeth looked at him with wide eyes. “I’ve gained a new skill.”
“Yes, Monster Core, it raises your MP capacity.”
She shook her head ever so slightly. “No. I mean yes, I did get that but also unlocked a skill from my skill tree. It’s called Initiation.
He inspected her status and indeed Initiation was there.:
Initiation: At the cost of 100MP bring a Corrupted Human closer to the Light and change their monster race to Angelic. The target will be recognised as your follower (Minion) and will be rewarded with a random perk and increased status points. Your angelic power will grow with the amount of followers you have converted.
The skill was very similar to Duke Aurelius’s Bestow Rank; both of them created Minions.
“Oh! Isn’t that amazing!” He was happy for her and not jealous that she could create minions; not jealous at all!
“Yes, with this, more followers will flock to my cause.”
“Mhm, mhm.” He nodded. “And that cause is?”
“To serve you and your spiders of course!” She said it as if it was the most obvious.
“And I was worried you were worshipping some Evil God.”
“What?! Oh you mean the Holy Light, no, I’ve seen past its trickery and deception. And so do the followers I’ve gathered. With this skill, Initiation, we will grow stronger and will eventually challenge the false and evil deity!” She said all that with maddened zeal.
Yeah, the angel here was a bit crazy. But hey her vigour showed that she had recovered from the worst effects of the Negative Mana.
“Just don’t go overboard with it, and don’t force the Initiation on anyone.” He cautioned.
“Of course, only the most worthy will be rewarded.” She gave him a conspiratory grin.
“I see…” In that regard he didn’t want to meddle. As long as everyone was willing and it did no harm to his spiders there was no problem. “Well then…” He stepped to leave.
Once again a hand stopped him. “Won’t you stay, just this time?”
“I’m afraid I won’t, the Drow Assistant is waiting for me.”
Disappointment flashed across the angel’s face but only to be replaced by a smile soon after.
“Be good, my Lord.” She released her grip on him.
He couldn't quite understand the meaning of that sentence, however, “You too, be good,” he replied.
===
===
War or not, the web was cast onto the Aurelian Capital; escape is no longer possible.
Under the directive of Lord G Bling, the spiders were working diligently to bring the spiders and humans closer together. It didn’t take much to achieve their trust and now the spiders were as respected as any human if not more. However, the Master Plan required much more than that; the trust was only the beginning of it. Now the humans needed to learn the ways of the spiders, or as a certain angel would conveniently call it The Way. By the way, the angelic woman herself was an incredible asset which only sped up the process. Thank you Spider King for Evolving her and sending her this way!
As it turns out, the young humans were the most receptive to the spidery teachings so the spiders began to gather them first. They started by stretching a helpful thread to their parents:
Do you have an unruly child? Do you need a babysitter? Are you just tired and need a day for yourself? – fret not human, send them to SpiderCare® and the spiders will look after them all. For free! With three meals and a bed included! And why not just leave them there? For a day, or a few… or maybe even a week! Or even more!
Do you have a teenager who needs an apprenticeship? Look no further, the spider crafters are recruiting, and as we all know there are no better crafters than spiders. Send your kid to SpiderWorkshop® where they will learn to be the best craftsmen they could ever be. If it need be, lodgings and meals are included!
Are you lost? Maybe you just don’t know what is your place in this world? Or perhaps you are looking for somewhere to belong? It might be that you just want to do good but don’t know where to start? If so, visit the SpideryTemple where lost souls gather in search of The Way. It is a place where you can meet like-minded people and spiders, and also gather together to build a better place.
With those threads the web was cast and soon it was full of eager humans. There, ever so slowly, ever so subtly, the spiders whispered their whispers: work is joy and joy is work, and there is no better joy than to work and be of service. To whom or what ‘of service’ the humans were the spiders would often omit. And it worked better if they told the little humans that they were bettering themselves, or society or the world in general… But the spiders knew who they all were really serving and for what reason; the Soulbound duty had to be upheld and it would as long as the spiders lived. Soon the human minds will be theirs!
However, that was only a small part of the Master Plan. The second phase was an uncharted territory and the hardest hurdle to overcome. The spiders might have tangled the human mind in their web, but the body remained human and hence imperfect. The Corrupted Human was a move in the right direction, however, a spider hybrid was more desirable, more Spidery Magnificent if you will. Yet still, the spider and a human were so far removed from each other that a hybrid seemed only as wishful thinking. Luckily, the ever-ingenious and now legendary spider, Lord G Bling, solved the unsolvable and moved the Master Plan closer to completion.
The first spider-human hybrid will soon be born, and from there the spidery thread would only spread further. The plan was to intermarry the hybrids with other humans and thus extend the spidery influence even further. Having the spider blood in the human veins would mean that they too would have to follow the oath the first spider made. Only then they would experience the true joy of service, only then they would understand, and only then they would be allowed the full truth: the spiders live only to serve their King and this is The Way.
But of course, the more – the merrier, the bigger the spidery influence – the better, the bigger the nest – the greater the joy …