He had plenty of time to practise Aura Projection, the spiders reacted well to it and he was getting a hang of the perk. Every morning he would put on Kings Aura and make his spiders do a report on their activities. It was a win-win, the spiders would have a chance to practise their speech skills and he his Aura. In the midday, he would visit the hardest workers of them all and put on Friendliness Aura and then give them honest praise. The words of course were not enough, so he rewarded the hard work with a bonus slug jelly portion.
And in the evening… He had that for himself and his various crafting projects. At the moment he was working on a new set of armour, it was coming along well but far from finished. The other project, however, was complete.
In the beginning, he was unsure what to do with the white pelt he had obtained from that squirrel creature. That was until he realised how hard the seat of his throne was. So he turned it into a bag and stuffed it with filling. The pelt he used was named [Guardian’s Pelt], some sort of unique item, he didn’t know why it was called so or why it was unique; the only thing it will guard is his rear from hard surfaces.
[You have crafted divine pillow, by default it is of legendary quality. Crafting +1000exp.]
“Ah… Okay.” He was speechless.
He inspected the item in his hand, to him it was just a stuffed bag. Well, the fur was shiny white and softer than silk, but he didn’t think it was worthy of divine or legendary titles.
“I should give this a try.”
He pushed an old cloth cushion away from the seat and put the divine pillow on, and then sat on it.
“Oh. Yeah, I see.” It definitely felt different.
He couldn’t put it to words but his ass was feeling blessed.
[Temporary perk Increased Authority obtained.]
“What? Why? You know what, I don’t care. Thanks, system!” The system worked in mysterious ways.
He was happy with the item, actually, he was so motivated he didn’t want to wait another day to see what [Apex Fang] could give him. The fang was destined to be a weapon, it was too short for a sword but long enough for a short blade. Instead, he decided to stick with what he knew and began crafting a spear. He used the design he knew.
[You have crafted apex spear of superior quality. Crafting +250exp.]
Was he disappointed? – No!
“This is by far the best weapon I possess.” He tried thrusting and swinging it. It felt just natural.
And it came with a bonus: [Apex Spear: +10% fear factor. ]
“All I need is to finish my new armour.”
A spider messenger ran into his workshop, the taps were quick and rushed.
“Hello.” It chirped a greeting.
He turned to look noticing the fidgety spider, he knew that something of significance had happened. “Yes?”
“La-Mia.”
“And here you worried me for a second. Where are they?”
The spider turned around and sprinted out of the workshop.
“Hey wait for me.” He ran after the messenger.
Apparently, there was a lot of running which needed to be done, the Lamia were at the edge of the clearing which was at least three miles away from where he was at the moment. On his way back he met the trade expedition, the one he sent out to Kobolds.
“Hey you are back, how did it go?”
The expedition leader stretched an arm-like appendage and handed a tiny cloth sack. He quickly opened it, it was full of emeralds. There was just too much.
“Did they get greedy and want to buy all of our fruits?”
“More. Fruit.” The spider confirmed.
“I’m glad you did so well at negotiating, but this is just too much. You know what, just give them what they asked. I will deal with it later.”
“Un-Der-Stood.” The spider chirped and went towards the storage buildings.
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He could see Lamia in the distance, the whole lot of them. There were at least fifty lamias gathered here. The gathering was a familiar one, just lamias wearing nothing but loincloths and wielding long spears in their hands. However, there was one which stood out like a sore thumb from the rest.
The lamia in question was larger than the others and white as snow. Her scales, skin and hair all were pale white, only her eyes were red. She was also wearing a lot of jewellery all over: bracelets, necklaces, rings and piercings, all sorts. By her side were much smaller lamias, half the size of warriors, they were unarmed and from the fact that they held a huge umbrella over the big lamia the little ones were likely servants.
He approached the lamia, he could feel all of them looking at him with burning intensity. It was worth mentioning that, he didn’t have his guards behind him, nor his advisor, he didn’t even wear armour or brought a spear. He wore plain pants and a shirt he had crafted ages ago. He understood all of this slightly too late, maybe he didn’t have appropriate attire but he had his perk. He projected a King's Aura with the highest intensity he could manage and closed the distance.
The judging looks Lamia were giving, didn't ease, they only burned in intensity. They were just ogling him without even uttering a single word. Within his group, he recognised a familiar friend, the friendly lamia from before. He looked at her for help, but she just turned her head down as if in an apology.
It was up to him to break the silence.
“Greetings and salutations!” He greeted. “I am… The King of Spiders.” He decided to roll with the title he gave himself. “Welcome to my dominion: The Dreaded Place.” He winced at the ominous name, after all, he couldn’t change it. “And you must be, no one else but the Lamia Queen.” He only guessed.
“That I am-sss.” She gave a curt bow. “May I, sss, enter your domain?”
“Yes, of course. You are welcome here, we have so much to discuss.”
“That we do, sss.”
He guided the procession towards the newly build throne room. There was quite a distance and plenty of time to make small talk, however, the Queen and her subjects were too busy ogling the surrounding fields and structures. Actually, he could take advantage of that so he projected the Aura of Awe. The lamias began to whisper between each other and several times the Queen had to shush her subjects. He didn’t know why she preferred them to be quiet, some sort of Lamia custom or etiquette, either way, he was in no position to butt in.
Finally, they entered the throne room. The Lamia Queen had to crouch to fit through the entrance, which was slightly embarrassing, he will tell the spiders to make it larger. Luckily the throne room was built like a large hall with a high ceiling, all of them fit there nicely.
He sat on the throne. “Please feel at home and if you need anything just ask.”
He realised that he left his guest standing, but there was a small conundrum. These were lamias, he didn't know how their tails would be compatible with standard furniture.
“Ehem.” He cleared his throat and changed his aura to that of a good host. “Let me provide the refreshments first.”
He whispered to his best advisor who just found the way back to his side minutes again; just in time.
The spiders rushed from all over, the sides, the walls, and even the ceilings. In a matter of seconds, a long table was constructed, a blue cloth laid over it, and on top of it fruits were arranged in neat stacks.
Even he was impressed by this performance.
“Please help yourself.” He encouraged.
The Queen took a bite of the fruit, he did the same. He just wished she was a bigger talker, it was still uncomfortably silent.
“Let’s talk about the alliance, I assume you are here for that, yes?”
“Yes-sss, I’ve forgotten-sss.”
That reply surprised him, she didn’t look like a birdbrain. She was a snake!
“So can we make a trade, do I have something you want?”
“Yes-sss. The fruit. They are sss-splendid and nourishing, and magic, sss. We want-sss them.”
“Brilliant.” If only he didn’t empty half of the storage to please the Kobolds. “And the cloth, would that be something you are interested in?” He pointed at the tablecloth.
The weavers had learned several different weaving patterns, the tablecloth was anything but plain. And these Lamia could use some clothes, he would lie if he said it didn’t bother him.
“The cloth? [Inspect]”
The eyes of the queen popped out ruining her otherwise pretty face.
“We can’t-sss, it’s too expensive.”
“Well, I didn’t name a price, did I.”
“No… the fruit, they must be expensive too.”
He wasn’t quite sure where the Queen was going with it, it was just not true. So he gave her an odd look; which of course she misunderstood for something else.
“There was an incident, our resources are sss-strained, sss-so we don’t have much to trade.”
It didn’t look like it, she was drowning in jewellery. He changed the aura to the equivalent of an Aura of Trust.
Right before he could ask for more details Lamia Queen opened up. “We don’t have much food, sss, our mushroom fields-sss were devastated by The Great Worm of Oberon. No, the sss-situation is quite dire. We are sss-starving.”
“Wow.” Too much information. “I didn’t know you had it that bad.” He could understand why the Lamia were so tense the first time he met them, they were vulnerable. “I can make a discount. What do you have for trade? Any samples I can see?”
“We have some-sss.” She clapped her hands, and a little servant produced a tiny bag.
The little lamia servant seemed panicked for a moment but in the end, she pushed the bag to the random spider. The spider brought it to him. He opened the bag, there were some glass, precious gems, and some carved figurines out of bone.
He didn’t need more baubles that’s for sure, he needed practical items. His expression must have betrayed what he thought.
“No, good? I figured-sss, you have a rich kingdom. What use do you have in our alliance? None-sss.”
“Ah… That’s not true! Friends are important because friends are there in tough times. I want this alliance, and I will help you. You can have the fruits for free, but don’t take more than you need.” He stood from the throne and gave the bag back to the little servant.
The servant girl wasn’t that little, she was almost as tall as him, and the Queen was just huge. Lamia might not be good farmers, but they had strong individuals for sure and their warriors seemed capable.
“I’m sure you will help me when I’m in trouble, right? Consider this alliance sealed.”
“Are you sss-sure?”
“Positive, I can even tell my spiders to carry the sacks for you. So do I have your trust and friendship?”
“You do-sss.” The queen smiled a toothy smile at him.
“Do we need to sign something?” But then he remembered that he had neither ink nor paper. “Sorry, lets just shake on it.” He stretched an arm.
“Sign? A contract?” The Queen asked, her voice tinged with fright, but it disappeared just as quick as it appeared. “Yes, I agree.” She offered her arm.
He grabbed the appendage, the hand was big, and the nails sharp, and even if it was cold he could feel no hostility in the shake.
“Deal done. So why don’t we relax a bit, and know each other better.” He whispered to his advisor to bring the good stuff out, the slug jelly and PurpleM fruits. “Tell me more about this Great Worm of Oberon.”