We make it to our meeting point late into the afternoon. We are expecting a large number of spiders waiting for us. Maybe one or two hundred, at least. We come around the last bend before our camp and see the host of spiders waiting for us.

"Couldn't find any more," I ask the six spiders waiting for us.

Quick to be heard, Kelly is the first to speak. Oh, we found them all. They were great. Pockets of our sisters hiding safely.

Great! Will they arrive soon, or do they plan to join us on the other side?

Noth, the spider who said nothing to me earlier, defies her first impression. They aren't coming. They found a new religion.

We should have killed them all — those ungrateful traitors. Tress can't hold her frustration back and lets it be known.

Looking sturdier than the rest of the six spiders, Fen jumps in on the action. We have already been over this Tress. We swore an oath to protect, not kill.

Oh, come on, Fen. Cher, who had been a silent observer, enters the fray. Our oath was nothing like that. We swore to protect the Namer only. I, for one, would have liked to test our strength out against the traitors.

Test our strength out? Just because we have fancy names doesn't mean we are strong. There were dozens of them. They would have wiped us out quickly. We would have defeated half of them at best. Besides, can you blame them? I hear the new god has fancy powers that can make a spider shine.

Maybe you wouldn't have put up much of a fight, Kelly. Fen says defensively. I would easily have defeated a hundred of them on my own.

Fifty were basically already caught in my web, Apper says.

You mean our web, Noth interjects.

It was my idea, and I laid down most of it — basically, my web.

Oh, and I suppose you will want to take credit for finding the spiders now, Apper? Cher sees her moment and jumps back into the convo.

I'm at an utter loss for words. There's so much I wasn't prepared for. Gene, who isn't privy to the conversation, must understand the web I am trapped in because she is laughing. I get my revenge when I start giving her the play-by-play in detail.

"Tress, the sharp, aggressive-looking spider, just called Cher, the smaller sneaky spider, a charlatan—"

Before I can finish, Gene pleads mercy. "Please don't do this." She's full of fake remorse. I don't relent.

"—And accused her mom of being a hussy."

"Isn't that Annette?" Gene asks. Her earlier mask of misery is replaced with keen curiosity. She isn't supposed to enjoy this. Betrayed by my own plan.

"Oh, it is getting good now. Kelly, the um… better… least looking spider, is now challenging Tress to a duel. Fen has volunteered to be her secondary. It looks like a council is being established, and they are trying to vote Tress out of the pack." I keep Gene in the loop word for word. Eventually, we will make for our new home. For now, we've got some spider drama to unfold.

In the end, it's a split vote. At first, Cher and Fen cast all sixteen votes in favor of Tress' banishment. They skillfully persuaded Kelly, who was eager to be a part of the group. Just as Apper was about to raise two legs in favor of banishment, Noth took it upon herself for some sly politicking.

Who here agrees calling Cher a charlatan, though accurate, is out of line. Everyone but Cher raises their legs. Who disagrees that Annette has had a lot of spider spawn? No spider lifts a leg. Who hasn't thought about how she created so many of us? Again, no spider raises a leg. And who among us hasn't wondered if Annette was more selective, perhaps, we would have better sisters? She gains full support with another round of non-raised legs.

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So then, let's put it to the vote. Cher shouldn't be called a charlatan to her face. All in favor? Fen and Kelly raise their legs first. Kelly, still determining how the majority will fall, only raises four. Apper also adds all eight of her votes to the count. Cher almost lifts her leg, then pulls back, realizing the vote's implications.

Now who agrees Annette should be more selective in her life choices? Left with no other options, Cher, Kelly's other four legs, and Noth, who shouldn't be allowed to vote, cast their vote in favor of caution. So, it is decided. We will not eat Tress.

"Wait, what?" Gene and I are startled by the last bit.

Boo, calls out Cher, who voted in favor of the decision.

Sweet! Tress celebrates with dancing legs like her life wasn't on the line. It's starting to get a bit weird, but for Gene's curiosity, I force myself to be a witness for the remainder of the trial. From then on, the amount of speculation that went on from that direction regarding Annette's decisions got far too uncomfortable for me to listen to.

"Boo, you prude. At least link me back in there." Now fully invested in the spider's affairs, Gene voices her disappointment when I disconnect the mental link.

That's a thought I didn't think of before. Can I link someone else to the mental connection? I give the idea some thought, working through any possible kinks. In theory, I should be able to create the mind tether between Gene and the spiders. If I keep the connection alive, then at the very least, Gene should be able to listen to the conversation.

I stop thinking and start doing. I recreate the mind tether with all eight of us linked together. The spiders are in the middle of a great sex debate when I interrupt them. Ladies, can you all hear me?

Of course, we can hear you. What do you want? Tress confirms with a spicy attitude.

I'd like to cast my vote in favor of eating Tress. In response, the huntress spider eyes me with newfound respect.

Yesss! Exclaims Char.

I vote we keep her! I'm rather fond of the aggressive attitude. Gene chimes in, keeping the vote even.

Fine, no eating Tress. Everyone, this is Gene. Gene, these are the spiders. I start on my left and point at each spider introducing them by name. Gene wants to be a part of the conversation. She has some very controversial ideas on the subject. Be sure to ask any and all questions. Gene's eyes widen, and she glares as I exit the mind tether. All forty-eight spider eyes shift to Gene and her expertise.

With the spiders and the lycan locked in conversation, I head to our next destination. I hear Chuckles behind me as the seven spin up all the talking points. I'm grateful I haven't a clue what they are talking about.

Laughter fills our entire expedition. I join in occasionally to see if I am missing anything, only to get kicked out of the conversation quickly. I don't mind. They are bonding over who knows what, and that is enough. Besides, I'd promptly lead the discussion into a complaining session, which is only fun for me.

We take a break from the endless hiking through dense forests and steep inclines at the crack of dawn. We only have one more mountain to climb before we reach the valley. The spiders join us in our nightly feast, and then we all take turns taking watch for the night. We divide the night into four shifts and split into pairs of two. Gene elects to partner with Kelly, who happily accepts. Cher and I are next, followed by Tress and Fen, and Apper and Noth will close out the night.

Since it is still pretty early for bed, I stay up and maintain the mind link between Gene and Kelly. Though I never listen in, I sense they are having a serious discussion. I'll be honest and admit that I am curious, but I keep my distance and avoid listening in.

For the rest of the night, I work through my forms. Stretches are first, followed by swords, then Bo practice. Afterward, I cool down with meditation and cycling. My main focus is on my mind, mana, and I try to create new tricks. It's a successful session full of failure. Because I need a small win, I focus on perception exercises before retiring to bed.

When morning arrives, we eat breakfast and begin our trek home. The forest we climb through is as thick as the Deep Forest before Cru cleaned. It prolongs our trip, but eventually, we make it to the last mountain and work our way up.

On top of the mountain, I get a good look at our new home. It's breathtaking. A large lake reflects the mountains and sky about a mile from the mountain's base. Flowing from the lake is at least a class nine stream that runs far south. Massive trees of all varieties pack the valley. Among the regular trees is a golden shining one, which adds to the majestic scenery.

"There is a lot of work that we must do, but welcome to our new home." Gene's words urge me to take a deeper look.

Trees are packed tightly and will need to be dealt with. More than that, there's a lot of activity for abandoned land. I try to focus my eyes pushing them to make out the details below.

"One of Fury's main focuses was to keep the demon invasion in check. The demons have free roam on these lands with him being gone." The small details become much more apparent with Gene's explanation. We have a fight ahead of us if we want to claim this as our home. Thousands of demons can be seen below.