Walking along flowing streams of crystal-clear water, Bug happily uses two of her hands to mash and mix together a squishy ball of Jelly skin mixed with freshly gathered, giant bee honey.

“Like this?” She asks as she shows the fist-sized ball to Hannah.

“Yup, that’s pretty good. Now you just tear off little chunks and then roll those into balls with your palms. You want them all to be about this size, so they will harden properly and be a good size for sucking on.” Hannah says as she shows one of the finished candies to Bug.

“Once they are made, just fill a jar and let them finish hardening. Best to leave them in the light while they are hardening, to get the best results. You’ll know their done when they look like little golden crystals.”

“Mhm, thanks, Hannah. Mmh, hhm, mhm~”

Humming happily to herself, Bug keeps making the little spheres with her hands and then dropping them into a jar hanging from her neck. Once she has her first jar filled with candies, she takes a thin white cloth that she bought from the Points Store and uses it to seal the top of the jar without stopping air from being able to get in.

“Once the candies are done, you will need to use the cap to close your jar and keep your candies fresh for longer, ok?”

“Yup!”

Setting aside the first finished jar to do its thing, Bug starts to work on her second batch. Looking over, Hannah is already halfway through finishing her second batch and is quickly shaping one candy after another, even though she only has two hands, and her Dexterity is definitely lower than Bugs.

“You’re so fast at doing that.” Bug comments as she watches.

“Hmhm, thanks. I used to make these for my parent’s store. Jelly skins are cheap, and a nearby farm used to raise bees to sell honey at the market. So, my parents would have me make these to sell in the store to kids and the old folk that like hard candies. I used to fill giant jars with these things, and they would sit on the counter near the window for everyone to see…” Hannah says as she looks at one of the little golden balls before dropping it into her jar, her voice full of nostalgia.

Bug can’t help but look up at her as she rolls some in her hands.

“Hannah… Uhm, well… If you could go back to your family… would you?”

“… I… I would like it if I could… Part of me doesn’t want to forgive them for what happened. But… they’re my parents… They raised me with love, and I would like to think that maybe, someday…” She stops as she is on the verge of tears, not saying any more than that. Forcing them back down, she looks to Bug and gives her little friend a smile.

“For now, I’m fine with how things currently are. Despite how weak I am, I’m actually having a lot of fun with this job of mine. Plus, I’ve been able to travel around and visit different libraries and museums, learning about so many things and actually getting to see the world. Something I would have never gotten to do if I had just spent my whole life at home.”

Bug doesn’t say anything and just gives her a nod, dropping a couple more candies in her jar.

Ok, so Sarataga is spared then. I’ll destroy that village that killed her lover, but her parents are safe, for now. If she had said that she didn’t want to go back to them, or that she hated them, I would have added them to the list. Still though… I could see about giving them a visit maybe, make sure that they won’t try and hurt her again…

But for now, candy. I can’t wait to eat these; they already look really tasty~

Up ahead, the others get into a fight with a small group of giant centipedes that come jumping out of the bushes. As their weapons clash against the hard shells of their multilegged foes, Max looks back towards Bug and Hannah.

“Hey, Bug, you mind help out a bit!?”

Bug looks down at her jars hanging from her neck and the raw candy balls filling her hands. Giving a quick look towards Hannah, she calls back to him. “Nah, I’m good! I’m guarding Hannah!”

She drops a couple more candies in her jar and smiles at how full it is getting. She still has several more jars to fill before she will be satisfied.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Shit!” He curses as he dodges a bite and gives a return strike to the creature. “I didn’t mean it like that! Come and help us!”

“Oh…” Bug looks down at her jars again, not wanting to break them. “No, you guys got this! My hands are full!”

“Gaaa! Fuckin’ hell!”

“Hmm, hmm, hmm~” Bug hums as she finishes filling her second jar and sealing it up.

Candies, candies, sweets just for me~

----------------------------------------

“Would have really appreciated some help back there…”

“I said you guys had it handled. You didn’t even get hurt in that fight.” Bug tells Max as she clinks along, a bunch of jars hanging from her like ornaments from a tree, shining gold with honey in the midday light of the forest.

“Haaaah… Glad to know that you value your candy more than us…”

“Like I said, I was guarding Hannah.”

“You know, just because something is technically true, it doesn’t make it the truth, right?”

“Ehh, as long as I’m not speaking a lie, I’m not lying.”

“Oh, and how often do you speak in ‘not lies’?”

“All the time, since I am always telling the truth.” Bug answers with a smug grin and the clanking of jars.

Max just lets out an exasperated sigh, giving up on the conversation. Turning to Hannah, he asks, “How much longer until we get there? I’m looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed again.”

“Yeah, seriously.” Jakub adds.

“It shouldn’t be much longer; we should be able to see it soon.”

And soon it was. Traversing around the trunk of a tree and under its roots that arch up into the air before going back down and into the ground again, they eventually catch sight of their destination up ahead.

At the end of a winding trail set between two distant trees, their path leads them to a massive rotting stump that is wide enough to build a small village on top of. Along one side of the stump is a massive opening where the wood appears to have cracked and rotted open after centuries of being exposed to the elements. Even from this far back, Bug can see the many strands of spider silk that covers the stump in places, the rays of light from the fake sun shining off their gossamer threads with a silver glow.

Hannah points. “There we are. The inside of that stump is the Boss Room. We don’t have a Safe Room to use this time, and when we enter the Boss Room, the webs will seal the entrance behind us. So, we need to make sure that we have everything ready before we go inside.”

Everyone nods, their expressions serious as they mentally prep for a boss battle.

Continuing down the path, Max says. “Ok, Hannah, what can expect for this fight? Any recommendations? I’ve heard some other parties talk about fighting this boss, but I want to hear what you know.”

“Mhm. As I have told you before, it is called the Brood Mother Black Widow. It can use spider webs to restrain targets, spit poison, and all ten of its legs are bladed. Besides that, is also its bite and the paralytic stinger on its abdomen. It is well armored, but its eyes are a weak spot, and heavy enough blows can break through its armor. As for the fight itself, once you deal enough damage, the boss will call out and summon its minions. People call them the Brood Mother’s Children and they are pretty nasty. Through the rest of the fight after that, more of the children will keep coming into the room, so if you don’t kill them fast enough, you can quickly get overwhelmed.”

“Hmm, anything else?”

“Yes, when the boss gets closer to dying, if it isn’t disabled enough, it will climb to the ceiling of the Boss Room and try to flood the room with poisons. If you don’t have a way to stop it after that, then we are good as dead.”

“Bug?” Max asks the little berserker.

“I can handle the boss. Just focus on killing the minions and protecting Hannah.”

“We will.” Max says seriously.

Bug just looks him dead in the eyes, barely an emotion on her face as she speaks with a flat voice. “Mhm, you will. Because if she gets hurt or dies, I will kill the three of you.”

Her words aren’t a threat or even a warning. They are a promise, a truth. With those simple words spoken, the others freeze up as fear runs through their spines, the feeling of Death wiping some dust off their shoulders fills them with a chill that runs down their backs and into their very souls.

Max breaks the silence with a loud gulp, the first to break out of the spell. “Right, yes, yes… We won’t let anything happen to her. We won’t leave her behind again, I promise you.”

“Mhm, good.” Bug says simply, and like that, the feeling of promised death disappears like a fart in the wind. Bug immediately goes back to being happy and continues to walk towards the distant stump with a skip in her step, her jars of golden honey candies clinking with her every motion.

…

Max finally manages to take his eyes off of Bug’s back and turns to look back at Hannah, only to find her blushing furiously. Clearing his throat, he asks, “How the hell did you tame her?”

“Heh!? Eh, uh, uhm… Well, we just talked and became friends… I guess?” Hannah tries.

Sam gives a face full of understanding and says, “Oh, she’s one of those types.”

“Types? What type?” Hannah asks curiously.

“The type that has a hard time making friends, but is fiercely loyal to the few they do make. Hannah, I would be careful if I was you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, people like that, they won’t hesitate to do some horrible things for those they care about… I really hope you don’t have any enemies, because if you do, I can guarantee that they are already on her shit list.”

“Uh, wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“When it comes to powerful people like her? Usually no. They have a tendency of blowing up a simple problem into a much bigger one…”

“Oh…” Hannah whispers as she watches the happy-go-lucky Bug and her clanking jars, looking like nothing more than an- all be it physically different - normal girl having a good day.

Still, it’s nice having a friend that would kill for me… If only she had been there, back then. Things might have been different…

As she is watching, Bug peeks back at Hannah and their eyes lock, a little smile on Bug’s face before she turns away again to head towards their destination.

Aahhh, such beautiful eyes… I miss you, Jesica.