Lee sat in front of a roaring bonfire on the outskirts of Lopus. Wisps of smoke trailed off the towering flames, and the comforting smell of smoke eased his tensions.

Multiple bonfires were set about the outskirts of the village, creating a lightened barrier of vision to all those near. Multiple adventures stood watch, but even more were huddled in small groups, laughing jovially and drinking with one another.

Kendri had left their fire and was in the company of a different party. Lee could spot the faint hints of a smile tugging on his lips, and when he took a drink from his trusty bottle, it wasn’t out of despair or self-deprecation. It was of enjoyment.

Belgrate was by his side, not drinking or easing into a conversation, but getting pointers from an absolutely ripped topless fighter—a monk or pugilist, Lee assumed. Lee was very aware of his own physicality, and the peak specimen teaching Belgrate was awe-inspiring, to say the least. Lee had heard of a six-pack and even the fabled eight-pack, but a twelve-pack? He didn’t even know that was physically possible.

Em sat next to Lee, lazily kicking her spider fang legs outwards as she gazed into the raging fire. Her dark, red, ruby eyes reflected the flickering flames as she thought deeply. Since leaving Kip and Clive, Em had been slightly down. A slight frown had been etched onto her face since their parting.

Meriah and Kooco sat across from him, and the fire separated them from Em. Meriah pat Kooco as she occasionally took a swing from a bottle.

Jeremy was off to send a message to his higher-ups. While Lee didn’t have the most favorable outlook toward the nobleman, he could empathize with his duty. His job wasn’t easy, far from it. To be the one responsible for every single mistake anyone in his squadron made, and to have to fill the shoes of the responsible adult, even when there were older members of the squadron who should have taken that mantle of responsibility…

“Friend Lee Barnes, I am sleepy. There will be eggs tomorrow morning. They are nourishing and tasty. Some might say they’re the tastiest of eggs.”

Lee exasperatedly closed his eyes and let loose a long exhale. “I understand, Kooco. I’ll keep watch over Meriah and Em. Nothing will happen.”

Kooco’s half-open, tired eyes squinted at him. “I know that. But, the eggs…”

Lee remained stoically silent and watched as Kooco’s squinting eyes closed more and more. Her head began to tilt, and soon enough. She was out for the count.

Meriah gave Kooco a final pat and carried her off into their tent. When she returned, she pushed her slightly tilted glasses up her small button nose and sat beside Lee next to the fire. She glanced over toward Em occasionally, but progress had apparently been made. No death threats, no sneering, and little nervousness.

“I’m kind of jealous that you can talk to her. I wish I understood what she said sometimes. It would be… nice.” Meriah said while taking another drink.

Lee nodded and gave her a slight smile. “She’s mad and frustrated at me right now. She’s trying to get me to eat her eggs.”

Meriah barked out a laugh. “I understand where you’re coming from. It’s not really ordinary to have a beastkin around. But, people do eat their eggs or other products. There’s a subsect of beastkin called Minotaurs. Their females can produce milk; apparently, it’s a delicacy and an honor to be given some.”

Lee had the terrible imagery of a female minotaur getting milked flash through his mind, causing him to shiver. “I think I’ll pass. Honor or not.”

She shrugged and gave Em a quick side-eye. Lee also glanced quickly at Em and saw she was still down in the dumps. Frown on full display and still thoughtfully gazing into the fire. “You okay?” Lee asked.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“I think so. I feel… bad. I am both disgusted and ashamed that I sought out the fear of those around me. Some of their fear did taste foul, but I reached for it and reveled in it anyway. I do not understand why.”

Meriah placed her bottle down and turned to face Em fully. “Fear has different tastes?”

Em nodded as she looked away from the fire to gaze down upon Lee and Meriah. Even while sitting, she was still looming over many of those standing. “Sometimes. It’s rare, but it does change. I do not know the cause.”

“There are fears of many things. Fear of loss, of failure, of death, you name it. I know a lot more about fear than most. So, my thought is… maybe the disgusting fear you taste is the fear of you?” Em’s eyes widened as Meriah continued on.

“Everyone lives in fear, but only to a certain degree. Right now…” She gestured around the sea of adventures. “... people fear the current situation. The statues, delving deep into the cavern below, wondering if they will die and leave their family behind…”

She dropped her hand to the bottle at her side and took an enormous chug. Lee watched in awe as she hastily finished off the bottle. She shuttered out, eyes shimmering with growing tears. “I’m going to sleep… Goodnight.”

Lee mumbled out a “Goodnight.” as she left for her tent, shaky on her feet. Lee thought he got a glimpse of Meriah’s past. He turned to Em, who was nodding to herself in thought. Her frown was replaced with a hint of a smile. “I think she may be right. How curious.”

Lee patted her on one of her metallic spider legs. “It should be easy to test. By the way, I thought that maybe you’d like to come around the village with me and heal people tomorrow. One of my class quests is for healing, and the other is for using spells on people. So, two birds one stone.”

Em moved her leg away from his touch. “That is fine with me, but please refrain from touching me. You tingle.”

Lee slowly dropped his hand and felt a little awkward. If someone randomly patted his leg, it would be weird as well. “Sorry. I don’t know why it tingles. Nobody else has said anything about that.”

Em noticed his discomfort and uncertainly and awkwardly looked around. Almost as if she was looking for help in a social situation. Eventually, she gazed down at Lee with a forced smile. “It isn’t uncomfortable, it’s just different. Is it a skill?”

Lee gazed into the fire. “It’s an ability. A very helpful, but very dangerous ability. It’s passive.”

The sound of the crackling bonfire and jovial laughter echoed around them as they sat there with one another. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, but Em eventually broke the silence. “I have two abilities. One of them creates my threads. I was told many Arachne have threads of their own, all of varying types. Mine are obviously metallic.”

Lee looked away from the fire to look at Em’s face. There wasn’t a blank look, a grin, or a frown. It was serene. Almost as if she was glad to talk about it. “My other ability is complicated. It also has to do with metal. It is helpful, but also painful at times.”

Lee turned back to the fire as they sat in silence for another moment. “I have three. One is the tingles. I would be dead without it. The second lets me understand any language. The third is my storage. It was until two months ago that I was ill. The last few years before that were… not great. Most of my family is gone—I will never see them again. Do you have any family?”

Em minutely shook her head as she turned her head away from Lee, hiding her face. “I do not. My mother died giving birth to me, and my father was… not a person.”

Sadly, Lee wasn’t surprised by this piece of information. He had guesses, but he was hoping that he was wrong. Neia had once described goblins as murderers and rapists, and while he didn’t want to think about the possibility that every and all monsters were like that, he knew they reproduced. Otherwise, they would long be extinct—at least, he hoped they would be.

“Was your mother an Arachne?” Lee asked softly. If she didn’t want to answer, she didn’t need to.

Em, was still looking away from Lee but subtly shook her head again.

Lee stared at Em, the light from the fire reflecting off her metallic body. “I understand. What about the spiders from Breye? Were they not your family? They seemed intelligent.”

Em snorted and smiled as she turned her head back toward the fire. A single red tear strolled down her cheek. “No. They were simply spiders—Animals. They thought me their queen, and I played along.”

Lee nodded with a faint, encouraging smile. “Friends are nice. Where I’m from, many people have animals as friends. Dogs and Cats usually, I once knew someone who wanted to befriend a cow.”

Lee saw a heartwarming smile grow on Em’s face as she gave a small chuckle. Lee stared at her with his bright, glowing blue eyes and asked a simple yet quiet question. “Did you love them?”

She nodded, and a smile warm enough to match the fire in front of them rested on her face.

Lee left it at that and laid down on his furs to sleep. Tomorrow, they would go about the village and heal others. Lee hoped that Em could see the change a simple healer could make in someone's life, and seek to do the same with her newfound spells.