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“May I know why?” I asked.

“Because reports say lizard riders, of the desert people, are on their way.”

I scratched my head. “How are they even feeding those things?”

“With meat.” she said.

“Meat from where? From what animals?”

Uma glanced at me, but kept her attention on what she was doing. Eventually she waved a hand in dismissal. “Go. Spy. Find out the answer, and tell me so we both know. But in the meanwhile, proceed with your mission. Just out the west gate.”

And so, shortly before dawn shift change, I found myself at the western gate. “Open the gate and let me exit.” I told an exhausted guard.

“The gate opens after dawn.” he replied.

.....

I held up my left fist.

“The signet ring indicates I work directly for the emperor. Open the gate.”

“No.” he replied flatly, “the last crew that opened the gate between dusk and dawn got executed. I won’t get the rest of my squad killed.”

“Where is your sergeant?” I asked.

“We haven’t had one since the last time you passed. Not a real one, any way. We got a sergeant who’s here at dusk and again at dawn, and with his own squad on the south wall the rest of the time.”

“Fine.” I said. I took a ladder to the roof of the gatehouse, and climbed down the outside of the wall, nearly getting crushed by the opening gates.

Sometimes life is just like that.

I followed the road west until highsun, and then turned north between the dwindling farms.

Which is where they found me, the four lizard riders. If I’d been thinking, I’d have taken human form, or possibly even uruk or hobgoblin. In hindsight, such things become clearer.

The mounts led the charge, the scouts on their back trying to reign them in. I just blinked. How could they not know how this was going to end?

I had full health, not just half. True, my shield was of copper over wood, but it was at full condition. Heart’s Protector... could have been better, but I had sharpened it, cleaned it with oil.

As they approached, I saw one old man, two boys, and a woman. To this day, I wonder if they were a family. Did I wipe out an entire family and their mounts that day?

But again, I’m getting ahead of myself. The riders fought with courage, if not particular skill, and the lizards themselves were ferocious and unrelenting.

I stood there, at 46/80 health, covered in blood, nursing another [Concussion].

Had they been part of a group? Was someone, somewhere looking at black health bars, realizing how quickly they had died?

I scrolled my reticule over them; one of the boys hadn’t bled completely out. I considered treating him, but realized my sword had passed cleanly through his side between his hip and rib cage; he was already deeply into [Septic Shock].

I knew neither magic nor medicine enough to save his life. As an act of mercy, I snapped his neck, and said a brief prayer for his soul.

Short prayers for the other seven as well, but there was no time for a burial. Not if I wanted to be gone by the time other riders came looking for them.

I ran north for an hour before I felt safe, wandering from wooded area to wooded area, as the trees and underbrush gradually replaced the open areas.

And, finally, I came to webs.

Cried the first one to see me.

cried a young male, jumping against my chest and pushing off.

called another, shooting filament at my ankles.

said a female, jumping onto my back, and lifting the mail coif to bite me on the back of my neck. Remember when I talked about rank six poison? Hers was only rank four.

But all told, there were eight of them. Eight individuals; they had a few clumsy attempts at team attacks. The six who survived were wise enough to withdraw at half health.

I was wise enough to fall back before the swarm of newborn; a mass of black legs and bodies over twelve feet across and perhaps half and again that in length.

So much for my Charisma skills, I thought as I made a cold campsite on a ridge above the river. Sleeping under the water was out of the question; that particular bend was home to hundreds of carnivorous frogs. None larger than my foot, but still enough to swarm me, armored or not. Nocturnal creatures that they were, their noises muffled any noise I might have made.

something said from the underbrush.

I replied.

A whiskered nose protruded.

I took a look at it.

The rabbit hopped out into the open.

I was asleep before they finished, but in the morning I could see the carnage that a family of bunnies could wreak upon the foliage. I was tempted to pull the bush out and just eat what was left, but a quick Commune With Nature revealed that the plant was surprisingly healthy, and would survive.

Okay, so I needed a way to enter a spider camp without looking like food. Ugh.

Actually, I’d missed something. I was so busy talking with spiders that I hadn’t noticed.

Where were the normal, non-awakened spiders?

No, no. Focus. Need a way to project strength rather than...

What were they EATING?

I had been authorized to give them livestock, but what were they eating NOW? The one group had human meat enough to... no, it was probably close to out.

While my System auto-foraged, I checked my Detect Animal ability. There were animals, but not so many as there should be. Most of them were small creatures.

Something Eihtfuhr had said came back to me, about why he took such care to keep the wildlife balanced and healthy.

The children.

There was a horde of newborn spiders in the wooded area. Those who hadn’t learned to control their hunger. Who were seeking only FOOD, and who would not be placated by mere stories. If I could lure such a wave of...

I could. Gods help me, I could use myself as bait, and run before the mass or masses of children. Their own hunger would serve as a weapon.

And I could do that, knowing they were also awakened.

Monster, my reticule reminded me, as it scrolled over my hand.

[Spider.]

What? And it was there, a tiny spider hanging from a near-invisible thread. And another, and...

They were lowering themselves around me from the tree. I’d seen them in time to just walk away, and they loitered there, talking to each other before slowly ascending again. Given their size, how could they give up so much... ah, they were coiling the silk for re-use later.

I wonder, some times, how many clutches of tiny spiders had lost or left their swarms.

But I was distracted by the fire. My first hint was a whiff of smoke, carried by the wind. A camp, I thought at first. It was between where I was and the lands surrounding Whitehill.

A large camp, I thought, as I saw streamers of smoke to my left, and then to my right as well. An army worth of campfires. How many soldiers would it take to generate that much smoke?

I was wrong, of course. It wasn’t many small fires, it was one fire, large like a river of flame.

It couldn’t be, was my first thought. Summer, perhaps, or during fall. Forest fires just couldn’t happen in the spring.

Couldn’t happen naturally in spring, rather.

I looked at a wall of fire as it advanced, trying to figure out how it was progressing through the damp foliage, the green plants.

I didn’t need to look for long. I saw a passing tendril first. An octopus made of fire, swimming through the blaze. A rabbit, three feet long, with ears that burned different colors. A bird that sang waves of heat, drying the foliage so the fire would continue to have fuel.

Fire elementals, let loose upon the world. “Well, shit.” I said.

I sent.

the octopus replied,

I forgot to breathe for a heartbeat or two. Over ONE HUNDRED spirits.

There was no way I could stop them all.

Yes, when you get enough armor, you can take blunt injuries from edged weapons.

When I had time to think on the matter, it was obvious; they were food for the awakened ones.