There in the Holy Tower, in the middle of the night, a dim candlelight flickered at the bed table. On the most luxurious bed, in between the finest silks, a woman was having a restless sleep. Despite the excessive comforts her breathing was rugged and pained and her entire body was drenched in sweat.

“No… No… It can’t be… No.” She moaned turning and tossing in her sheats.

Yet again she was having that nightmare, it was something which troubled her for quite some time, and it was the very reason she burned the precious Holy Candle to ward off such ailments, but apparently - to no avail. The nightmare persisted, worse, it became more vivid and clearer with each passing night.

*Gasp*, she shot up straight and now was wide awake.

“It’s no mere nightmare.” She finally came to terms with the reality. “This is a vision…” It was utterered in fright.

Indeed, she was an Oracle, she was gifted with an uncanny premonition and all of her visions had become truth with no exceptions. That was precisely why she was trembling so furiously. With her very core, she feared of it becoming a reality and thus her mind refused to acknowledge it for way too long.

“The Dreaded Place,” she uttered. “Primordial evil which should not be disturbed,” she remembered. "Too late," she shuddered. “Spiders… Spiders… Spiders…” The sensation of spiders crawling all over her body returned to her. “The Calamity which can’t be stopped.” Her face contorted. “Wa… Wa-ahh!” She bawled into her trembling palms like an infant.

It took a while but finally she had calmed down.

“There is no need to delay this further.” The oracle steeled herself.

Wearing nothing but a thin gown, the still frightened woman flung her soiled blanket and stormed barefooted out of her room. It was still the middle of the night, and in no way she looked appropriate, but she didn't feel that insignificance like that mattered, not at this moment.

“The Holy Emperor must know. We must act!”

She rushed through the cold stone floors in wild urgency.

===

In a place nicknamed ‘you know where’ the Spider King was standing surrounded by women of extraordinary beauty, but also talent.

Lady Crimson, the highest-level alchemist in the entire realm, was smiling at him warmly.

Drow Assistant, the most talented elemental mage and irreplaceable personal assistant was looking at him expectantly. She twirled and tossed her long hair playfully.

Centauri Assistant, while not as excellent as Centauri Champion, or the nearby drider, was still a woman with tremendous weapons and skills in her possession. Her cheeks were coloured pink in blush and her two shy eyes were looking down at her own feet.

Day Sapphire, the Mer Princes, perhaps was the most beautiful out of the four. Her gem-like scales glimmered in a blue glow and she carried that expression of self-confidence and pride.

He also had a note from the Myconid Queen and a message from Ever the DemiRabbit. And for what they all wanted:

Lady Crimson: “You’ve blessed me and my husband enough, consider this a small thank you.” She made a curtsy bow befitting a most noble lady.

Drow Assistant: “I want us to go and have tea sometime, just the two of us. It has been a long dream of mine.” Despite the simple words she looked at him like a predator would look at its prey.

Centauri Assistant: “I-I… I want your… the permission to marry Master Bareth!” She began with a stutter and ended with a shout.

Day Saphire: “I think you have a note and a missive. So let's hear them first.” she appointed herself to be last.

Lady Crimson reached into her special pocket to retrieve what looked like a ripped label from an alchemy bottle.

“This is from Ever,” a pleasant smile flashed across her face, “ I have noted it down so I don’t forget.”

She began reading: “Our dearest Father, I hope the pie-making will go well! Surely with so many helping hands, it will come out better than the Midnight Pie! Just leave some for our beloved Mother.” For unknown reasons, Lady Crimson tucked the label right back. “Oh, and I was asked to pass you this.” She gave him an enthusiastic combo of a wink + smile + a flick of a tongue 😜. “Ha! Aren’t the bunnies just the cutest thing ever… I’m glad I’ve met them!!!”

He had to wonder where exactly Ever learned such gestures like this, but indeed, it was rather cute.

And then from out of nowhere, the alchemist’s mirthful expression soured. She went towards her lady back and retrieved a rolled parchment, the aforementioned missive. It was made out of a type of fungus, yet still, it was bleached white, cut expertly, and rolled with extreme care; it had that aura of the royal message, the only thing missing was the wax seal.

She unrolled the scroll. “I have read it a few times already and… anyway, you better be ready, here it goes.”

Lady Crimson cleared her voice and began:

“O’ King of Kings, I beseech thee, may my humble offerings find favour in thine eyes and serve thee and thine kin well. I do present but one small entreaty, a trifling matter only thou, my royal liege, can rectify.” Lady Crimson gave him a hard-to-read look and continued right after a short resigned pause. “Mine cave hath grown damp and humid, struggling to contain the tempest within. Methinks it shall soon burst forth. Would thou, O’ King of Kings, deign to scrape my inner walls and expand my fungal cavern?”

As she was reading, the Lady Crimson’s brow was rising further and further up. “She’s not quite done you know.” With that comment, she continued:

“And whilst thou art engaged in this endeavour, I wouldst be honoured if thou wouldst plant thy seed within me, if it so pleases thee. I do believe that with thine presence within my body, I couldst bestow upon thee something truly extraordinary.”

Lady Crimson rolled the parchment back up. “A rather obscene request, no?” She looked at him and then at the rest of the women.

Yeah, judging by their flushed faces all of them had misconstructed the true meaning. The Spider King felt obliged to clear this misunderstanding.

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“No-no, what she wants me to do is to create more space in the Mushroom Cavern; she’s growing mushrooms there. And the other thing is a request for me to give her a Monster Core.” He explained.

For some reason, he didn’t feel the explanation had reached the women.

“King, what you do in your spare time is entirely up to you.” Lady Crimson nodded in misguided understanding. “All of us here are your loyal subjects and can keep a secret.” She gave another nod. “But if she has some shrooms growing down there then there is a salve I must recommend. Otherwise, I fear it might not be safe enough for you to ‘give’ her anything.”

“OMG… please stop!” He was beginning to feel embarrassed.

“Ha-ha! Made you blush.” Lady Crimson laughed mirthfully. “I just couldn’t pass a chance to tease our King.”

“Oh! So they weren’t…” Day Sapphire muttered sounding relieved. “Anyway, it’s my turn.”

Day straightened her back and puffed her otherwise modest chest. She surrounded herself in a royal aura beffiting her status as the Mer Princess. Her face was filled with resolve and confidence. However, a more discerning eye would notice that the confidence was just a façade, her gills were wide open, the tail tip trembling, and her posture way too stiff.

The other free women turned to look at the Mer Princess with looks of encouragement.

Feeling supported by her comrades Day shot straight to point. “I shall become your mistress!” It was not a request but rather a proclamation.

“Huh? A what?” The Spider King was rather taken aback by the suddenness and also boldness of it.

“A mistress,” Day said again but with a pout. “I have everything arranged already.”

“Huh?”

“King, aren't you lucky? She’s quite a catch!” Lady Crimson grinned at him.

“It’s only natural.” The Drow Assistant agreed.

“Congratulations!” Even the shy Centauri Assistant was jumping in to support.

“Huh? Huh?!”

Hearing the Myconid Queen’s simple and reasonable request they had those shocked looks, and yet, now they were dismissing this outrageous proclamation as nothing of real concern.

“But my wife, the Lamia Queen, she…”

He was shot down in the middle of the sentence.

“As I’ve said, I have everything arranged,” Day interrupted. “I have her permission. No, actually, I have her blessing.” She smiled at him mischievously.

“???” Something was just not right.

…

The Spider King approached the royal bedchamber doors. He hesitated to open them.

“All of this feels like a prank…” He whispered to himself.

He pushed the doors open, they felt uncharacteristically heavy. Inside the room, atop the large bed, there was his wife. She was wide awake and engorging herself in an unusually large amount of food. No, not food, desserts and sweets of various kinds. Crumbs were scattered all around the bedsheet and pillows, and on her face was an expression of pure ecstasy. There, surrounded by a pile of half-eaten treats, she was clutching a large clay pot. A greedy hand reached inside to retrieve the now familiar ingredient. Straight to the mouth it went, she gobbled it up in wild abandon reaching for another scoop right after.

“Oh, sss, husband!” She exclaimed finally noticing his presence. “How was your breakfast with the girls?”

So she knew…

“Dear wife, Mer Princess has made a very strange request of me. I fear it’s a prank of sorts.”

“SSS! Don’t tell me you didn’t take it sss-seriously?” She swallowed a great amount of sticky stuff in one big gulp. “How could you!?” She accused.

“Huh? But…”

She licked her fingers and then wiped her hand right on his pillow.

“She’s my most loyal servant, just look at all the treats she had arranged for me, sss, of course, I would grant her a small request! Husband, good effort needs to be rewarded, you should learn from my good example.” She said that as if teaching him a lesson.

“But… but…” He was looking for words. “ I see… you must know your most ‘loyal’ subject well, and I’m sure you understand what her being my mistress entails exactly.” He probed deeper with that statement.

“Sss, you might not know it, but I’ve spoken with Day at length, we’re good friends, sss. I think you struggle to understand this, sss-so let me explain. I am your wife and she is your mistress.”

He tilted his head in confusion.

“I am The Wife, the Queen of the Monster Realm, sss, the only wife you’ll ever have, I’ll make that clear for you, my misguided husband.” She looked at him intently. “I know of your many dalliances, sss, I am no longer a naive child. And in the end, with the guidance of my friends, sss, I have decided that I don’t mind your misadventures.”

“Realy?” It was hard to believe.

“Why are you sss-so surprised, husband? Do you really know sss-so little about us Lamia? It seems I still have to teach you sss-so much. Sss-so sit down and listen.” She began an impromptu lecture. “Sss-so…”

Lamia were a race exclusively consisting of women. While they could procreate asexually by laying Lamia Servant eggs, a stronger variant of Lamia Warrior was preferred. And for that, they needed a male, where any male would do as long as he was one of the sapient races, however, strong individuals were preferred. Traditionally the Lamia would capture an unlucky male and drain him of life, of course, since the Lamia joined the Spider Kingdom much had changed in that regard. However, the point the Lamia Queen was making was that a male was destined to be shared by all Lamia eventually. The Queen of course had the first claim often taking the best of the best, and in the absence of other male captives was there to dictate who got their turn with her favourite plaything. Naturally, their union wasn’t anything as barbaric as that. In a sense, the Spider King and the Lamia Queen were equals and neither of them had a command above one another.

“With the first of many of our children now secured, sss, I feel confident in sharing you with my best retainers.” She hisses out as if it was of no big matter.

Yeah, the sense of morality the Lamia had was nothing like that of a typical human; at least he was aware of that quirk.

“Sss…” She hissed and narrowed her eyes. “But that doesn’t mean I might not get jealous, sss, you better make your mistresses known to me. Or else I might get an urge to eat them! SSS!” She hissed a warning. “Oh, and no kobolds! I won’t budge on that rule!”

Of course, such a relationship would come with many rules. Now, considering the feelings and inclinations of the less-than-ideal Spider King… Such an arrangement worked well in his favour, after all, there were so many temptations. ‘Curse you KelpCream and MeowChanel No 69!’ – whoever made them was a madman; a naïve and ignorant fool unaware of the hell such materials would unleash upon the world.

However, there was a very important question to ask. “What if someone gets pregnant?”

Lamia Queen only smiled at that idea. “Even better, sss-surely sss-such individuals, sss, would be sss-strong and sss-serve me and our children well.” She said hopefully but yet was hissing an awful lot.

In other words, the children outside the royal marriage would bear no claim to the Spider Kingdom and serve only as its vassals. This was not that unheard of especially in medieval times. And a condition he could accept, after all, he would love them just as much.

“…” He paused to think about the inclinations of all of this.

“Sss-so, my dear husband?” She slithered closer. “Do you find my Mer Princess acceptable?”

Undoubtedly, Mer Princess was the one to push his wife towards the current event. It was almost scary how quickly she swam her way up from a simple guest to a position second only to The Wife, the First Mistress. She was a calculating woman and an expert seductress, she was one to watch out for, but unashamedly so, the King here rather fancied that naughty side of Day Sapphire.

“I do.” He finally admitted.

“Then everything is just as I planned, sss.” She hissed conspiratorily.

Wait, was there yet another overarching scheme he was not aware of?

The lamia didn’t give him space to mull it over.

“Thank you, sss, *Smooch*, and CONGRATULATIONS!”

He was left nonplused yet again.

“S-s-s,” she giggled, “we’re expecting.” She caressed her bulging belly.

The bulge was completely in consequence of all the sweets she had just eaten. Even so, he crawled into the bed next to his queen and caressed her bulging belly with affection.

“S-s-s, we shall have as many as that primitive lizard.” She grinned at him expectantly. “No, sss, we shall have more! We can’t lose to lesser lizards!”

In the end, the formidable achievement of the Kobold King had reached her ears. How frightening!

“Of course…” He smiled weekly realising that the restless nights would continue to follow, likely to the very end of him...

His expecting wife will be placated for a while, so this was a good opportunity to store and accumulate the necessary nutrients. He reached into the clay pot yearning for the sweet taste of honey.

“No, sss!” She hissed slapping his hand. “Mine! You get your own.” Unfortunately, she was unwilling to share.

“Oh come on.” He complained.

She gave him a look infused with Charm. “Well, sss, there is some of that here.” She brushed her finger past her lips.

“Oh? Oh!” He got the hint.

In the end, he was allowed to 👅 peruse inside that sweet-sweet 🍯 honey pot.