Bareth and Gareth were the only humans here in the Spider Kingdom.
Bareth was the older one of the two. While he was in his early fifties already, his objectively youthful look was the reason why he was still allowed to join the peasant levy. And he did so to pay his debts. Gareth, the male in his late twenties, joined in to pay his debts also. But the reasons the two had the debts were different. Bareth had gambling debts and Gareth had to borrow to support his growing family.
The two were the few peasants who knew how to read and write in the late King Aurelius' army. The older man used to be a merchant, but by some unlucky twist of fate, he had lost it all and turned to gambling and excessive drinking. Meanwhile, Gareth was a seventh son to some minor noble, a bastard as well, so he had a very basic education but no real wealth.
Due to... circumstances, they ended up being the only humans in the Spider Kingdom. And also, their debts in the Human Kingdom were likely excused too; just a clause in their contract if they happened to die. So maybe this was a blessing in disguise, or so Bareth thought.
At first, it was very daunting. They were tasked with translating the texts for the Spider King, but also teaching him the human language. The two afraid of the King’s wrath worked together to the best of their ability. Surprisingly the King was less of a villain than they'd imagined and he was a quick learner too.
The living conditions weren’t that bad either. They had their personal abode, and while it was shared it was a lot better than some gallows for war prisoners they should normally expect. Actually, It was better than the rented rooms your average inn would have. And the meals were included too!
So they were housed, they were fed... and they were even paid for their labour. So the idea that they would be just slaves here quickly disappeared, however, it was made very clear that they couldn’t leave the farm. But of course, some roaming was acceptable. Their pay came in the form of gems and a ration of Slug Jelly. At first, Bareth couldn’t wrap his head around why they were paid so handsomely, but later he found the reasons why.
There was no market or a stall for them to spend their pay. While the Gems were obviously more valuable, but it was the Slug Jelly that was the most useful. They quickly found that they could exchange that for the favours from the spiders. What favours- you ask? Simple stuff, like clothes or some furniture; the spiders knew how to make them all. And they used the gems to buy food from Lamia; after all, even if they could eat as much of TomGrape as they wanted, some other food, like meat, was nice too.
However, and rather quickly, things began to change. There were more things from the Human Kingdom available for them to buy, but also from Drow and even those tiny lizard people.
The King absorbed their lessons quickly, and soon he needed no help with writing in human language at all. That was when the two were tasked with teaching the spiders. Again the task seemed daunting but only at first. Unlike humans, the spiders were very well behaved and they seemingly absorbed the language lessons without complaints. Learning to speak a language in just a month... These spiders were quite impressive!
Even now, Bareth vividly remembered his first class of spiders. Especially the point where they graduated from the Basic Human Language course:
“Thank you. Teacher.” Twelve spiders chirped in unison not in the Spider Chirp but the Human Language. “We prepared you. A gift.”
A spider handed in a small wooden box.
At that time Bareth opened it with anxiety. “You... You didn’t have to.” He bowed in genuine gratitude.
A similar box was gifted to his younger colleague standing just beside him; he did the same the Bareth did.
The first class of spiders waved a parting goodbye. “Be well. Teachers,” and so they left.
The two looked at each other. “What do you think we got?” Gareth asked while already peeking at his box.
He pried the lid of the box hoping that this wasn’t some elaborate prank.
“Wow... I didn’t expect this.” He looked at a small chest filled with human coins. It wasn’t gold but various denominations would amount to a tidy sum.
“Pretty worthless right?” Gareth laughed. “It’s not that we can spend this fortune here at all.” Imperial coins were useless here.
Bareth thought about it. “Maybe someone told the spiders that humans love the gold the most.”
Gareth sighted. “That wouldn’t be wrong. Actually, the amount would make me rich. But then again...” He didn’t finish, a solemn look took over his face.
Bareth knew that Gareth was thinking about his estranged wife. They could definitely use this money.
“Hey, Gareth. Maybe if we asked the spiders nicely, they could pass these to your relatives?”
“You think so?”
“It’s worth a shot.” Bareth shrugged.
However, they were too late to catch up with the spider graduates. The spiders looked all alike and as far as Bareth knew they didn’t have names. So what happened was quite disheartening, the two couldn’t find their graduates. They tried asking the other spiders using the Spider Chirp, but neither of them was as talented in languages as a spider so their message didn’t seem to reach the spider farmers.
After that, Gareth doubled his efforts in learning Spider Chirp. And, actually, it was the second class of graduates who agreed to pass the boxes to their relatives, but only after they graduated.
Bareth and Gareth waved their second class goodbye. The spiders carried the boxes with them. Hopefully, those will reach the Human Kingdom at some point.
“Bareth are you sure about this?” Gareth was asking this because the older man gave his box away to him.
“Yes. It’s not like I have any close family. Your ‘widowed’ wife could certainly use that money.” He said with resolution.
“Thanks, man. I owe you one.” He patted Gareth on the shoulder. “But anyway, take this.” He handed his flask of this week’s Slug Jelly.
“Finally something I can spend.” He beamed a broad smile.
Hence so, they kept teaching the spiders. And almost as a custom, each class would bring them either gifts or a massive favour upon graduation. Obviously, the two used that to their advantage.
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...
Instead of remaining cooped up in their house like Bareth, Gareth was the one who liked to explore the farm. The boredom wasn’t the only reason, the reasons were many, and despite Bareth’s advice, he was looking for a way out. This was because, unlike the old merchant, he wasn’t all too happy about his current predicament. Even if treated extremely well, they still were prisoners here. And he still had family to worry about.
He kept the strolls casual, and every time he went out he would let out a defeated sigh. The farm was ever-changing and ever-growing; he just couldn’t keep up with all the changes. Also, he didn’t think he could find his way past the web-like TomGrape labyrinth. Aside from ever-present and watchful spiders, past the farm proper was an endless jungle, so despite his otherwise valiant efforts, he realised that he was hoping for the impossible.
Accepting that he was likely trapped here for the rest of his life might have been a good choice to make. After he had done so, instead of feeling depressed he felt liberated. To brighten his dull days he sought for the company, someone else from an elderly male that is; Sorry Bareth you’re just not that interesting! Communicating with spiders was hard. It wasn’t because they couldn’t understand him, that was because they kept their answers short and on point; they never made any effort to expand the conversation. They were just too boring!
The Lamia, however... They were quite spicy. And, if you happened to not have any other more human-like options - beautiful. So, ever so slowly and ever so carefully, he began approaching them. There was some language barrier at first but even from the first conversation, he could tell that they had equal interest in him.
‘I just hope they don’t look like that at me because they want to eat me.’ He remembered thinking something along those lines. The Lamia gaze was quite intense.
At first, he kept it simple: asking what were they doing in their spare time and what foods they liked. And despite their otherwise savage appearance, the Lamia were rather welcoming towards his approaches. Soon he made a few Lamia friends.
Already knowing that they liked gems, Gareth used his teacher’s allowance to curry favours with some select girls. The ones he quite fancied that is.
Yes, he had a wife, and yes he had children. But that life... He left that behind.
‘This is my fresh start!’ He would often say so before making his amateurish advances on Lamia.
Somehow, even the cheesiest pickup lines seemed to work.
‘Maybe, this is something to do with the lack of Lamia males?’ After all, he hasn’t seen even a single Lamia male.
He continued pursuing the Lamia shamelessly, and in the end, his advances were successful. In retrospect, it was rather easy!
So the inevitable happened and he committed a grave sin... Well, it would be so (a grave sin) if he was in the Human Kingdom; copulating with monster races was beyond taboo, but he wasn’t there, he was in the Spider Kingdom. However, he had almost regretted the hot and steamy night with Lamia. He thought he would die that night. He was wrung completely dry! But it that vice-like technique felt rather amazing.
Of course, he boasted about the out-of-this-world experience with the lucky Lamia, all of it, to the old Bareth.
“What if you got her pregnant.” He scolded him that morning. “This is the King’s harem!” He shouted. “You’ll get us us hanged!” He began to panic, waving his hands in the air.
“I just... I was.” Gareth struggled to find an excuse. There was a reason he had seven children. And he just couldn’t keep his serpent docile, even if he should have. But those were all pathetic excuses.
“Worry not Bareth. I’ll just go and hand myself in, straight to the King. You had nothing to do with this so you should be safe.”
Bareth was standing there with mouth agape, clearly, he didn’t expect Gareth to take the responsibility.
Without delay, he went to seek an audience with the Spider King. The spiders were confused about his reason even if he explained everything clearly. It took some effort but in the end, he was granted an audience.
For the first time, he was allowed into the Throre Room. In that spidery splendid room there was a magnificent throne and on that throne was a King and his wife, the Lamia Queen. If Gareth wasn’t so nervous he would have spent his time appreciating the beauty of the Throne Room, but instead, he was trembling beneath the King’s feet.
“Gareth, what is this about? I don’t understand.” The King said betraying his confusion.
Gareth decided to cut to the chase. “I’ve slept with one of your virgins. I have sullied your harem!” He grovelled.
“My harem? What harem?”
Gareth trembled, of course, the King had multiple harems, and he needed to be more specific. “Your Lamia harem that is.”
“SSS!” The room was filled with a loud hiss. “Lamia Harem?”
Even the Queen was outraged. Of course she would, those were her girls; the ones she must have gifted to the Spider King. He looked up and gazed beggingly at the two. Only that he saw the Lamia Queen grasping the King by his collar.
“What Lamia Harem? SSS! Dear, care to explain?”
The King seemed flustered. And for some reason, he was looking beggingly at Gareth. This time it was Gareth's turn to give a confused look.
It took some back and forth to clear the misunderstanding. Apparently, there was no harem and Lamia were free to pick their mates.
“That old jealous bastard,” Gareth grumbled, “pulled one nasty prank on me.” He said so to himself under his nose.
However, the King had something to add. “I’m glad we cleared the misunderstanding but I expect you to take responsibility. Then the eggs hatch, you are the one to train and care for your Lamia children so that they grow up to be upstanding citizens.” He said so with an oddly happy grin.
Unbeknown to Gareth, this played to the Spider King's advantage. Even now if they could reproduce asexually, the Lamia needed a male to produce eggs which didn’t result in a lesser lamia (Lamia Servant). With the help of a male, lamia warrior’ could be born. Of course, some Lamia pestered the King about the problem, but he refused their requests for many reasons. The biggest two were that he wasn’t that type of a person and the Lamia Queen was strongly against it. So having a willing male saved him from needing to capture some humans so that they could be rap... bred - something the King didn’t want to do either. Having someone willing was a godsend.
Gareth swallowed his saliva, he didn’t like that grin. It was both conspiratory and menacing. After all, there was a price to pay. Bareth might have been right, he should have kept the naughty snake in his pants. What this meant was that he was now truly and permanently bound to this kingdom.
“Forgive me, my children... I’m a scumbag.” Once again he mumbled under his nose.
The King must have heard that. “If you want, I can see that your family makes here. The relationship with the Human Kingdom had grown better just recently.” He smiled conspiratory again.
Why would the King even offer that? His wife would never forgive him. So Gareth shook his head sideways enthusiastically.
“No, it’s better if they think I’m dead. But... And I ask a lot. But can you see that my allowance reaches my children?” He asked mostly out of guilt.
“That I can do.” The King allowed magnanimously.
With the misunderstanding cleared Gareth bowed goodbye to the King. That day he promised to keep his cobra tame.
However, the promise didn’t last a day, he didn’t even make it back to his room. As if he had opened some sort of forbidden box, the Lamia (plural) assaulted him on his way back. This was a proper ambush, they sprung seemingly out of nowhere as if camouflaged. And he tried to resist, both in mind and body, but unfortunately, Gareth was weak. Weak in morality and mind. He couldn’t pretend or lie that he didn’t like it; to be desired by these women, to be so wanted, the Lamia sang an enchanting like some snake charmers fully captivating his snake right to submission; he succumbed to their tempting gazes and let himself to be ravished right there.
The next morning Bareth was surprised to see him alive. “You look as if your soul was sucked out from you!” Regardless, he hugged his comrade just happy to see him not hanged.
“They sucked more than my soul...” Gareth spoke in a haunted ghost-like voice.
“As long as you’re alive. We can nurse you back. Here.” He offered his flask of Slug Jelly.
Gareth knew how precious those were, and indeed he could use the pick me up the substance would provide, however, “I rather have a Fertility Potion.”
Bareth gave a questioning look.
“A cure for my condition. Or so the Lamia say.” Gareth explained.
“Haven’t you learned your lesson? You should stay away from the Lamia. What if the King...”
Gareth interrupted his best friend, “I think it’s the opposite the King wants. You see I might have been set up. Entrapped." He began explaining his 'truth' about the conspiracy he had fallen into.
Of course, in reality, the King had no blame here. Gareth repeated what he saw. That’s it, no more.