Vel opened the annex doors and we stepped inside. On the right side were several wooden shelves aligned perpendicular to the wall, all empty of anything but dust. The left was occupied by what was left of a workshop, a long bench took up half the length of the room while the other had empty spaces that had probably hosted machines of some kind. The center of the room was left wide open, and combined with the high windows and vaulted ceiling it was plenty of space.

"Looks cozy," Vel said.

"Plenty of space to build a nice web," I stretched my arms.

"I am dead on my feet," Vel yawned loudly and leaned against me.

"Don’t worry, it won't take long."

With the thread skills, the days of climbing walls and awkwardly pressing my butt against them were behind me. Instead, I spread my arms and thin strands of web started to form themselves around me. They wove together to form the structural elements of my new nest. I could even produce the sticky cement with Thread Creation as it worked like a magical spinneret.

Since I planned to stay at least a few days, I made the web more intricate than the simple hammocks I weaved while traveling. I took up the left side of the room, I used Psychokinesis to move the shelves out of the way against the walls. It was shaped like a shallow bowl open on one side. The lowest part was around two meters off the ground and had a convenient rope ladder that would allow Vel to get on and off the web easily. The sides gently curved up to attach to the walls and ceiling.

The center was covered in a blanket of soft silk made with Utility Thread which was then covered in a layer of pillows we had taken from the temple. I left a few holes to pass my legs through so I could sleep comfortably.

Once I was done, Vel looked like she could fall asleep at any moment. I picked her up in a princess carry and climbed into the web with her. She didn't protest when I dropped down and even vanished her armor. I did the same and covered us with a blanket.

She snuggled up to me and mumbled, "Good night love," and promptly fell asleep like a stone. I took her in an embrace with my four arms and did the same.

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When I woke up the next day, the crystals were already shining bright. Vel was still snuggled into my side and had started to drool all over the cushions. It was cute. I wiped it off and she mumbled something incomprehensible.

I decided to stay like that for a little while longer. We were safe after all.

After maybe fifteen minutes, I saw Elyssa and Katherine enter my sphere and knock on the workshop door. They didn't wait for an answer and simply strode in. The two women stopped when she spotted my web. Elyssa gave it a one over and whistled. Katherine stood slightly behind her and I noticed her tail was stiffer than usual. It was probably the first time she saw a web and there wasn't a giant, hostile, spider waiting inside. An instant later, she relaxed and her usual lackadaisical smile returned.

"By Gaia," Elyssa said, "that's a big web."

"This one is a bit more permanent," I said. "It's a lot more comfortable as well."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," I purred, "it's pure silk, so soft."

"I see," she touched the edge of the web and smiled. "A real love nest."

I chuckled.

"We had a walk around the village this morning," Katherine said, "Darrel and Gwynn want to get some of their equipment looked at so we'll be here for a few days. What was your plan in that regard?"

"I need to molt to level one of my skills," I said, "I wanted to take advantage of being in a safe place to do it once or twice. I got an offer of some new clothes from the weaver and I think the runesmith wants to look at my items. I also want to take a day to relax, take a bath if I can.

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"Maybe four or five days? Depends."

There were also the corpses of the three Crimson Lys members I still had in storage. I had been avoiding them, maybe unconsciously, but it was time to bite the bullet. But first, I would research ways to block scrying in case they were looking for them.

"Molt?" Katherine asked. "To upgrade the spider half I guess?"

"Yes, the skill requires a molt every rank. I have enough essence saved up for at least two."

"It should work for us. I'll talk with everyone," Elyssa said with a nod. "The prices here are lower than at the guild so it's a good place to restock."

"And the food is great," Katherine said. "And free," she added. "I don't mind staying a few days. It's been a while since we haven't taken a real break."

"You know Darrel," Elyssa shrugged, "he means well but he's … focused."

At my side, Vel finally woke up.

"Hello beautiful," I kissed her. "We have some guests."

"Good morning," Vel said.

"We'll wait for you two outside," Katherine said as she dragged Elyssa with her.

"Let's get out and about," I said, "it's already pretty late."

"Yeah, let's go," Vel said enthusiastically. "I'm famished. After that, you need some new clothes badly."

I sighed. She was right.

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I had changed my Mystic Armor to eschew the outer layers and Vel had done the same. There wasn't much point in keeping a full set on while inside the village. Most of our wardrobes likely hadn’t survived the attack on Niu, not that anything would fit me any more.

We walked to the kitchens with Elyssa and Katherine, they had already eaten but they stayed with us nonetheless. The chef provided us with a cauldron of soup and I ate to my heart's content. The four of us talked a bit about mundane things. It was nice.

Then, I led us to our first stop of the day. The clinic. I was reasonably certain that my transformation was not dangerous, my own spells couldn’t detect anything and my status screen showed no issues, but I understood where Ailuin was coming from. It was unprecedented after all.

The clinic was smaller and lacked the tree and greenhouses that had been the striking feature of the one in Niu. The front desk was occupied by a young girl with her nose in a thick tome on anatomy. I smiled at the sight.

"Ah, you must be Liscura." The girl said. "You can come …"

She stopped herself. A faint blush crept up her cheeks. The entrance hall of the clinic was large enough for me to fit through but none of the hallways were.

"I will fetch Ailuin!" She got up and bolted towards the back.

"I thought she was about to die from the embarrassment," Katherine chuckled.

"I don't think it will be the last time," I said with a shrug.

"Maybe you can use a spell to shrink yourself? Then you would fit through the doors."

"Not sure it would work and that I want to make myself more squishable…"

"Nobody will try to squish you," Vel pouted.

Vel let it go but she was right. I needed to look into which spells I could use to make my life easier. I didn’t know if I could build a Reduce Person spell but it was probably worth a try. Another possibility was to bend space around me to fit through tight spaces. It would probably be trickier to create but wouldn't put me in a vulnerable position.

"Liscura, welcome," Ailuin arrived from the back of the clinic. "Did you have a restful night?"

"It's reassuring to be behind walls once again," I said. "I slept like a rock."

"Excellent," he nodded. "A change like this doesn't only leave a mark on the body but the mind as well. The best cure for that is plenty of rest and time. Come on in, we can close the door to get some privacy."

"Thank you." I stepped inside. Vel came with me but Kat and Elyssa stayed behind.

The assistant closed the clinic doors behind us.

"May I examine you?"

"You can."

A magic circle appeared inside of his hand. At first, he examined my elven upper body. He stayed a bit longer on my second set of arms and the part where it connected to the chitin below. "Nothing wrong so far. Your nervous system is connected through the spine but not the blood vessels. It makes sense as your spider half seems to use a modified hemolymph."

He continued his examination by looking at my pedipalps and fangs. Then he moved on to the thorax and legs. "Your body is different from Taratects. There is likely a common ancestor but you seem to come from a more evolved line." It was interesting to know. When he moved to my abdomen, he frowned.

"Something wrong?" I asked. Had I missed something?

"Not wrong," he said, "there is only a vestigial organ where your spider reproductive system should be."

That it was vestigial confirmed my theory that the higher evolutions of the class were required if I wanted my own army of spiders.

"I think it's locked behind class evolutions," I said.

"Probably a good thing. So the transformation manifest as a class in the system? You don't have to tell me of course but I am curious."

"It added a special class and modified my ancestry."

"I see … Since it changed your ancestry, it's possible that the change is hereditary. Ancestry is inherited from the mother," though he used the elvish term for the person who carries the baby rather than the more common word for female parent, "so if you do try to conceive, I would advise that your partner should carry the child."

"We'll keep it in mind," Velatha said.

"Besides that, I can't find anything wrong." Ailuin continued. "You're in perfect health, not that I expected anything less from a student of Breknir."

"Thanks for the check-up," I smiled.