Raine was never an early riser, but he learned how to be when duty called. As the first mayor of Dragon’s Rest, he made himself busy with administration business and other negotiations. The cat-eared human did not wish to simply be a paper-pusher, though he must admit that he was not much of a leader when it came to towns. Granted, his charisma and his way with words managed to persuade traders and visitors to visit the town and spread its existence throughout Emerald Valley.

While his first tasks were to ensure the town was operating properly, he made a good decision to connect with folks back home, now that his hometown was merely days away by foot. The relative safety of the Emerald Valley enabled couriers to travel the roads with minimal risks. Granted, like many other places throughout the world, the Valley was not without its criminal elements. That was the reason why the Knights still existed. In fact, he appreciated that law enforcers existed; out in the Desert Wasteland, the only one to save yourself was yourself, and killing to survive had become the norm. Over time, Raine found that too be depressing and counterproductive to the recovery of the world. There was no need for unnecessary violence after a thousand years, especially after the worse of it was over. He was referring to the Anarchy Years which were recorded in tomes frozen in time that would survive for years to come if Aether did not degrade the spell cast on them. Despite his desire to escape the pastoral life of the Valley, seeing the relative peace was something he wanted after having his fill of adventure.

After five years being exposed to unbridled violence and malice, it was time for Raine to take some well-deserved rest. Partially inspired by Jacques and keeping his promise to Narati to keep him safe and life a good life, Raine chose a peaceful life while also reconnecting with friends and families he left behind. That did not mean he would put down his weapons (if he had any) and take up farming tools. He could still do both. He wasn't that old yet.

At least for a while, he did not have to take up arms and defend himself in his sleep. Not that he had a sword anyway. His last sword, made from junk and worn-out blades, was only used to accommodate his enchantment-style spells, not for pure fights. Now that the junk sword was gone, he decided not to be involved in a fight and focus on his administration duties while also working as a trade liaison between Dragon’s Rest and Cavilen.

Unfortunately for him, boredom started to set in. To his detriment, Raine found that he still enjoyed a taste of adventure. Given his upbringing, he considered travelling in a dangerous wasteland a chance to go wild and to prove that his training as a Knight was not in vain. He wouldn’t have this much freedom as a Knight, given that his primary duty was the safety of others and specifically the kingdom of Cavilen. At least he was honorably discharged, which means he still had good standings with the Knights despite of becoming a bounty hunter. That status helped him immensely when he decided to settle in the town that would become Dragon’s Rest and became its first mayor.

Raine thought that life of adventure was behind him, but soon found that it never left him. Given his job as a mayor was shared with Jonas, leaving it for a while wasn’t going to affect anything. Jonas was a good and reliable friend. Raine would not mind him taking over once Raine had enough, although Raine preferred not to. Except in emergencies. Or when the opportunity arose.

He never thought that opportunity would come from Narati as it did before.

Narati’s recent extended absence due to Karkas’s misguided attempt on vengeance did not concern Raine much, considering how the Fa’ar felt terribly sorry for being reckless. But he would not leave town without letting Raine, Aranis, or Sakiri know of his intentions, even if it was a lie. He was not known to break a promise before, except for one peculiar morning that quickly raised Raine’s suspicions.

Raine was taking a morning stroll as part of his rest from mayoral duties. His route took him through the street where Narati’s workshop was, along with the newly established blacksmith just beside it, run by their newest neighbor N’Dari the Leonian. Immediately, Raine noticed something off. He would understand the workshop not open as he had seen this a couple of times. What immediately caught his attention was the open window right above the storefront. It was kept open, but not all the way. It was creaking as it was blown by the wind.

Keeping a windowsill open in such a way would make it break easily, especially since the hinges were old. Narati would not be that sloppy unless he never had a chance to secure the windows. Concerned, Raine approached the stairs leading up to the apartment and to Herb’s apartment on the third floor. His sharp Felinari eyes caught a hulking golden-furred figure banging at the door, accompanied by the neighbor from upstairs.

Raine took his time climbing the stairs until he found N’Dari and Herb standing in front of the door looking concerned. Herb’s furless appearance was quite striking when he was not wearing his wide-brimmed hat, especially when he was standing beside a lion man with thick mane and thick, burly body. They were like opposites.

“Hey, fellas,” greeted Raine with his usual, jovial tone. “Is something wrong?”

“Ah, Raine,” said Herb. “Ain’t used to seein’ ya here.”

“I visited Nara’s apartment from time to time. About that, what are you two doing in front of his door?”

“He’s late,” said N’Dari. “I have been waiting for him in the workshop for two hours. We were supposed to meet to talk about traveling back to the Wasteland.”

“What for? I know he’s worried about Kar, but we got the Vox.”

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“No, it’s not the Crocodilian. Let’s just say he wants to increase the quality of his products,” said N’Dari. “I assume that he woke up late, but I kept knocking on his door and I got no response.”

“I just done my shift when I saw him knockin’ on Nara’s door,” explained Herb, with his usual accent. “I called the little fella, but no response. He ain’t home.”

“He’s not the kind of guy who’d leave his window open like that, either.” Realizing that something must’ve happened to Narati, Raine took the initiative. He immediately said, “Herb, N’Dari. I’m coming in.”

“Got it, let me—”

“No need to break the door down. I know just the spell.”

Raine murmured a word under his breath before his hand glowed. He then mimed unlocking the door with a key, followed by a click from the door. He then simply opened the door into Narati’s apartment, inviting the two in like a courteous doorman while smiling. N’Dari, who did not understand the gesture, walked in while silently nodding, while Herb was more amused by the mayor’s antics.

“Should I be concerned with my locks? Ya know I ain’t got no spells to counter that if a thief happened to know that spell,” remarked Herb. "Same reason for the ratty boy, y'hear?"

“Then don’t tell anyone, bud,” said Raine, putting his finger on his lips. “Much easier than a lockpick, but at the same time, easy to detect.”

“My point exactly.”

“I’ll ask someone to put a counter-spell. Now, are you coming in?”

"Yeah, alright," said Herb, shaking his head. "I'll take ya words for it."

The apartment did not seem to be terribly disturbed. Narati, despite of being a Fa’ar, was taught about neatness by Aranis. Nothing out of ordinary could be found at first glance. The living room was dark with the windows closed, and the door to the bathroom was wide open.

The room with the open window was Narati’s bedroom, which faced the street across N’Dari’s own apartment. Herb pointed out the similarities between Narati’s room and Herb’s room, which gave the others the necessary information about the bedroom.

The neat condition of the living room was soon replaced by something remarkable when N’Dari opened the door into Narati’s bedroom.

“Holy hell!” said Herb. “This place was taken over by gosh dang spiders! What’s with the cobwebs?!”

As Herb described it colorfully, both Raine and N’Dari observed the room, now covered in fine layers of cobwebs. The bed was untidy as Narati slept there, but then they all noticed something peculiar; the bed was covered with cobwebs. An unnatural number of cobwebs that could not have been made by one spider. It reminded Raine of the communal cobwebs the spiders made during the hot summer days he once saw in Cavilen. It disturbed him, especially when he saw a giant, palm-sized spider crawling on top of it.

Shaking his mind off that disturbing sight, Raine returned his attention to the bed. He examined it while trying not to be disgusted by how sticky the cobwebs are.

“Unless the spider’s as big as N’Dari, this is not possible,” said Raine. “Makes quite a good amount of silk, though. I wonder if we can make this into something?”

“Seriously? That’s a bed. Full of spider web. And you’re thinkin’ about makin’ muns?” commented Raine.

“Just wondering aloud, bud.”

“This is…I never thought she’d….”

N’Dari’s bewildered comment caught Raine’s attention. He turned to the Leonian and said, “Anything we should know, N’Dari?”

N’Dari looked as if he was unsure whether he wanted to tell Raine and Herb about what he and Narati promised to their acquaintance. But he convinced himself to break that promise as Narati was gone and keeping others in the dark would serve no purpose but fracturing a budding relationship. Besides, it wasn't he who broke that promise first.

“I know who took him,” said N’Dari. “They called themselves Mygaleans. Spider-people, complete with spider-like heads and four appendages on their backs. We rescued one of them from Asran’s lair and decided to split up. We promised not to talk about her.”

“Why not?”

“She’s self-conscious enough to know that people fear spiders, especially a human-sized one.”

“Yeah, I agree, bud. And she never told you where she’s heading?”

“She disappeared into the forests.”

“In Emerald Valley?”

N’Dari nodded.

“That’s going to be difficult. The Valley’s a big place with a lot of untouched forests. We cannot find Narati unless we know where to look. Good thing we have a wood elf in our midst.”

“Would this help?” asked Herb, drawing Raine’s attention.

While Raine and N’Dari talked about the Mygaleans, Herb was searching around the room for clues other than the cobwebs. He managed to find a piece of paper pinned to the wall by a cobweb, which required a knife to cut it off. The three of them walked out of the room and put the unusually placed paper onto the living room table.

Raine read the writing on the paper aloud.

“To whom it may concern. Well, that’s considerate,” joked Raine, before he continued. “We have your pretty little mouse with us. If you want to ever see him again, come to the forested region your people called the Forest of Fear. We can only guarantee his safety for one week. Who knows what the others would do to him beyond that. If you decide not to come, it is not our loss. We still have your so-called friend.

“P.S. Bring that handsome-looking redhead mayor of yours. Love, the Mygaleans.”

When Raine read the last part, he became flustered. He read that part out loud to the others, causing Herb to let out a whistle while nudging Raine’s side with his elbow.

“Someone’s got a secret admirer,” teasted Herb. “Well, mayor? Wanna take some vacation for a little rendezvous with sexy ladies?”

“Sexy spider ladies, Herb! There’s nothing sexy there! But I can’t just ignore this. I won’t let Nara be…be….”

“Don’t be too overprotective, fella. Narati’s not a kid.”

“In a way, he still is. Nara’s been through a lot, okay? I am not going to elaborate, so let’s just say that whoever’s writing this letter is going to do what I fear they’ll do.”

“I think I get the ‘torture with pleasure’ part she said,” remarked N’Dari, before cracking a smile. He lost his smile when Raine glared at him with his yellow cat eyes. Realizing what he was implying, N’Dari sheepishly said, “Sorry.”

“Come on, you two, walk with me,” said Raine, turning serious. “I am not going to abandon my friend to some spider people who thinks it’s the right thing to threaten Nara’s friend.”

Under his breath, however, Raine murmured, “Spiders. Of course, there would be spider people. But why?"

Herb, who caught that, tapped N’Dari’s side and whispered, “How are they? The spiders, I mean?”

“They’re humanoid spiders,” said N’Dari. “Unless you prefer a four-eyed lady with four spider legs and chitin-covered body, they are not your type.”

“Yeah, they’re not. I ain’t stickin’ my dick in crazy,” said Herb with a shrug.

“What’s that supposed to mean? They’re not insane. They are insanely good in fights, though.”

“I’ll explain it to ya.”

Herb’s cheeky smile made N’Dari intrigued, though he already knew what the furless Loup was implying. He sighed and said, “I don’t need to know.”