The Lamia Queen dragged him through the palace, through the throne room and right into his bedroom. It was odd to hide a present there, unless…

She shut the doors behind him and gave him a curious look.

“You know, I like your new look, sss, the horns and all.” She stretched her arm to touch them.

“Amm, thanks.”

“And your body is strong and toned.” She moved her hand down his neck and unbuttoned the top of the shirt.

It was clear where this was going.

“Don’t tell me, your present is your body?”

“Sss! How did you figure it out?” She pouted but regardless began removing her jewellery piece by piece, it clanged hitting the floor.

Apparently, even Lamia had this wedding custom.

“I think we should…” Just then he thought he understood what was happening the situation changed with the lamia pouring a whole bottle of slug jelly all over her body, and then another. “What are you doing?” It was just bizarre.

“Turning myself into a sss-snack.” She smiled finishing the third bottle. “Ta-da! I’m irresistible, sss, and all yours to eat.” She was a sticky mess. Yeah, she definitely had weird ideas in her head.

…

The Kobolds and Drow couldn’t make it in time for the shotgun wedding, but they did receive the message informing them about the union. Well, they didn’t make it to the ceremony but they weren’t late for celebrations, even if it was a third day the soul of the festivity was still going strong.

The High Chief ignored the frolicking spiders and Lamia, and went straight to the throne room. It was quite a sight because it was the first time he came inside the grand structure. It was very spacious with a high ceiling, the ceiling was dome-like and made out of purple triangles. The walls were draped with blue cloth, the drapes had various fractal patterns woven by the spiders, now and then there would be an Iron Oak column to support the structure. The floor was paved with slabs of polished stone, he recognised the signature Kobold touch, and there even was a red carpet leading to a black throne surrounded by a massive open shell; It was a curious structure resembling an egg.

On the throne there was him, the Spider King, he had a slightly tired expression on his face. Moreover, his physical appearance has changed, he had horns and a clawed arm now. But most importantly the High Chief could feel overwhelming authority radiating from his body. He wondered if the King went through some mysterious ritual to enhance his body. However, the transformation didn’t look quite complete yet, so he wondered if it was some sort of secret Lamia ritual, the one which didn’t go as expected; from bitter experience he knew that the Lamia were known to botch perfectly good rituals.

Speaking about the Lamia, the King’s new wife, she was claiming a spot on his lap, her arms were wrapped tight around her husband’s neck and her tail was hanging loosely on the stairs leading up to the throne.

‘Tch.’ The High Chief clicked his tongue, the Lamia Queen was obviously flaunting her newly acquired authority. But if the Spider King loved this serpentine cave creature, he had no protests. Well, his previous self would have a lot to say about civilised races mixing with the monster races, but he was a changed man, and the spiders had completely dispelled his prejudices. They were amazing creatures! But Lamia weren’t spiders so…

The High Chief brushed away the unnecessary thoughts and kneeled in front of the Spider King and his wife.

“We congratulate you on your marriage. May the spirits bless it.”

The King smiled at him, but then the King’s gaze shifted right behind him.

“We Drow wish to…”

The King interrupted him, “The Kobold Leader, I’m surprised you came!” He smiled even more, clearly showing who was his favourite.

The Kobolds were useful allies, but they too were a monster race, hence lacking the proper etiquette and decorum. But since he was good friends with that cheeky lizard he was willing to forgive him. However, the Kobold leader was stealing his turn to speak, and he wanted to congratulate the Spider King properly! He will have to teach the Kobold proper manners later.

The Kobold Leader just waved at the king. “Yes, Yes. I came. The Shadow Spider carried me.” The Kobold looked up. “I was so afraid the sky will fall on me. I’m much better here inside.” The Kobold unstrapped a large pouch from his back. “Here for your lovely wife.”

Again, the Kobold showed his ignorance, first and foremost, it was the glorious Spider King who deserved the gifts and then his tribal wife. Hence, he prepared the gifts for both. Actually, he brought a lot of things, bribes, for the spider advisor and spider leader. So he patiently waited for the Kobold Leader to finish.

The Kobold unwrapped the pouch revealing a rugged rock the size of his head, it also looked quite heavy. The High Chief’s eye twitched ever so slightly. What sort of gift was that? Well, he was a Kobold so he should have expected that…

Actually, he expected the Lamia to flip at any moment, this might prove to be entertaining. Maybe the Kobold was smarter than he looked; now the King will get to see her ugly side. ‘He, he.’

However, the Queen took the rock graciously and smiled at the Kobold thanking him; so she was young but not stupid. She will likely try to punish the Kobolds when the King wasn’t there to look. No need to worry, then he will step up and save Kobolds from vicious Lamia, proving himself to the Spider King again.

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Well, he was plotting and scheming too much and didn’t notice that the King's gaze was back on him.

“Ehem…” He cleared his throat. “We Drow wish to bestow you with a great gift. A most prized rarity you won’t find anywhere.” He motioned towards the rest of Drow congregation.

A young Drow woman stepped forward and made a curt bow, once to the King and once to the Queen.

“A servant to tend to your everyday needs. But she’s not just a servant, she has a unique talent which I’m sure you will find extremely useful.”

The High Chief knew that the woman was only in her fortieth cycle, so under Drow standards barely an adult, but she was pretty and well-mannered for her young age. Her worth came with the perks she had developed during the adulthood ritual performed not so long ago. She was a holder of not one unique perk but two: [Mana Well] and [Elemental Affinity].

Also, she was his niece and will do some well-intended spying for the Drow. Obviously! The Drow couldn’t let themselves to lag behind the Lamia, and the High Chief needed to find ways into the King's good graces. If only he had known that the Spider King was looking for a wife…

The Lamia Queen glared daggers at the Drow woman, but the king seemed interested.

“Talents?” He asked.

“She has endless potential in elemental magic and has a blank slot to pick an affinity. Future genius If I’ve met one. I’m sure she will prove indispensable in your magical research.”

“Are you sure you can part with someone so gifted? I’m feeling like I’m robbing you.”

“I’d love to serve you, King of Spiders.” The Drow woman made another curt bow.

Yes! The High Chief smiled at his niece approvingly, she was well taught.

“Well, then I can’t say no.”

The Lamia Queen puffed her cheeks but remained silent.

“And for the Queen.” He put the chest in front of the throne and opened it. He knew exactly how much the Lamia liked shiny things so he filled it with various jewellery the Drow had made.

The Queen beamed a genuine smile and the High Chief made another bow. “I take it, my gifts are acceptable.”

“Yes-sss, you may go now.” She shooed him away with her hand.

…

The Lamia Queen proved to be clingy, but that was expected since they were just married. But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t tiring. He was saved by the gifts coming from his vassals. First, it was a huge ass unpolished diamond coming from the Kobolds, he didn’t know they could get that big, and then there was all that emerald jewellery coming from the Drow. It was obvious that the Drow traded something to get the emeralds from the Kobolds, which was welcome since he wanted his vassals to get along.

Since Lamia Queen went to examine and try shinies on in her room he finally had some time to mingle with his people. All of the Drow seemed to be present here, and it was unfortunate that he couldn't say the same for the kobolds. There were just a small bunch of them here, probably just a few the Darkness Spider could carry. But little could be done since those guys were really afraid of open spaces. All of the races were mingling with each other, eating and making small talk; it was a lovely sight to see. Most importantly no one seemed to be prejudiced about his spiders; He knew that their appearance could appear scary to a casual observer. Heck, even he would get sometimes scared when ambushed by a spider in an untimely manner, especially when they jumped down off the ceiling. He was almost convinced some of them did that on purpose, just to spook him, and well, those usually were the little spiders who hadn’t yet grown up to their full size.

He went around greeting his new guests and making small talk involving the phrases like “How are you?”, “How’s the food?”, “How are things in your place?”. Small things like that were important, he wanted to show that he cared. It’s just that, not everyone felt comfortable speaking with him. It was evident by their fidgeting and short replies, but he knew that like the Lamia the Drow would also come around. The Lamia were familiar with him, but in a respectful way. But the thing was, aside from his spiders he still didn’t have many friends. Well, he had Johny, Trusty Advisor, Spider Leader, Friendly Lamia, Kobold Leader and the Wisp and he still hoped to make friends with the High Chief and hopefully with Vumbeldor.

The Drow just were hard to approach, they treated him either with too much fear or respect. Well, he was the one to blame for it… But maybe his new assistant will help to break the ice. He looked at the woman who was following him from behind the entire time.

And of course, his look spooked her making her jump. “is there anything wrong, King?” Her eyes were locked on his horns.

He was getting self-conscious here. The Kobolds loved the horns, the Lamia were indifferent and the Drow…

“What do you think about my horns?” He asked. “Be honest.”

“They're wonderful! Magnificent even.”

“Really. I think they’re too short.” He grasped the stubs no longer than a thumb.

“No, no, they're very manly! And it’s not the size that matters.”

“If it’s not the size of the horn, what matters when?” He asked jokingly, fully aware that he was making an innuendo.

“I… What matters…” She fumbled around her words.

“Ha-Ha. Got you.” He laughed and noticed how tense she was. “Relax, I’m only joking. Now, wanna show me your magic?”

She developed a blush. “I still need to pick an affinity…”

“You haven’t? Oh the High Chief mentioned that. So do you need a Magical Essence?”

“No.” She shook her head vigorously. “I have all four elements unlocked, I just need to pick one.”

“Lucky you!” He was jealous. “What are your thoughts about Earth?”

“If that’s what the King wishes. [Earth]” Her body glowed in brown light. “Done.”

He wasn’t telling her, he was asking. Oh well… “Congratulations… Wanna go and shoot some fireworks?”

“Fireworks?” She asked curious.

“Yeah, we’re gonna burn some magic scrolls to fire elemental arrows into the sky. The spiders love that type of show.”

She gave him a curious look, he took it as a yes, thus they began firing the elemental arrows into the sky; the spiders clapped enjoying the lights. There was a complicated look on the assistant's face. “What’s up, you don’t like it?”

“I love it, I’ve never gotten to practise much.” It didn’t look like she was loving it.

She responded to his inquisitive look. “It just feels excessive. Aren’t magic scrolls extremely expensive?”

“Don’t worry about that. We can always make more, no?”

“I… Well…” Once again she was looking for a reply. “I’m sorry.” She bowed curtly.

“Ha-Ha. Drop that nonsense and relax. We are having fun! [Fire Arrow]”. He blasted another projectile into the sky.

The celebrations lasted for two more days. And there was nothing to worry about, he had friends, he had his vassals and he had his allies. The Spider Kingdom was prospering, it was a shiny beacon in an otherwise boring jungle known as The Dreaded Place; an ill-named location which was now the opposite of what it implied. There was nothing dreadful here, only fun and happy spiders; thousands of them, expanding and working diligently every day.