Chapter XIX - Woodington's request

*** Kiara ***

I am under house arrest! I have never in both my lives been grounded. I was the kind of kid you had to force out of the house, not the kind you had to lock up at home. Worst of all, my grandmother’s explanation that an adventurer group was currently in Northwing had me curious. But even my mother agreed.

Both had agreed I needed something to do, or else I would do something stupid. Outrageous! But I loved my newest addition to my wardrobe. A small pouch filled with marbles.

Maya had seen our training and declared that it was only fair to allow me to retaliate. Not that I had hit either Mum or Grandma so far.

Mum had a competitive streak and the skills to turn small marbles into deadly projectiles. Her first throw had been through the whole living room. I had a shield ready. I was even a little bit proud of it. Thinner and with more Mana in it. However, it stood no chance. I saw the marble whooshing through the air and immediately jumped behind the couch, barely dodging the marble, and I swear it started curving towards me as soon as I dodged.

My mother was scary!

She heard the marble loudly impact the wall behind me and immediately became flustered.

“Kiara, you can come out of hiding. Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw the marble quite so hard.”

Reluctantly, I peeked out from behind the couch.

“Maybe I want to play with Grandma after all?”

She just smiled. “Oh, come on, don’t be like that. You dodged! You did great, and dodging is at least as important as a Mana shield.” She tried to convince me.

It was working.

“Ok, you can continue playing.” I conceded.

No sooner had the words left my mouth, a marble shot out directly towards my head, and I had to take cover again. My mother was just laughing.

I later found the slight indentation the first marble had made in the wall. The marble itself had cracked.

A large part of my morning was spent running around the house together with my grandmother and mother. They competed on who could get the most hits.

While the marbles of my mother were deadly fast, Grandma stuck to our agreement of slowing the marbles down. However, she insisted I block hers with a shield.

The first time I dodged one of hers, it suddenly turned around and hit me from behind. The mana she used to slow them down also allowed her to change their direction drastically.

I was just jumping over the coffee table, twisting around in the air, and trying my best to summon a shield when the siren rang out. The marble chasing me had suddenly lost all momentum and fell harmlessly to the ground. I landed on the couch.

My grandmother looked worriedly over to my mother. She was already walking to the door. Picking up a small backpack, her bow and arrows, and buckled up her sheathed short sword.

“The timing can not be a coincidence. It has to be a trap. You know that!” Magdalena whispered.

“Let me go to the meeting and see what the emergency is. I can decide afterwards.” Maya said, kissed me on the forehead, and was gone.

Magdalena seemed angry.

“Do not leave the house! Upstairs, you will find a scroll describing the basics of engraving and material for a heating plate. You have used them with Sia, and maybe they will help you with your cooking. I have to go and look after your mother!” She said coldly. Anger and worry danced over her face.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She rushed out of the house, trying to catch up to her mother.

*** Maya ***

It was rare that the fast response team was requested in an emergency. Either a strong monster, the guard was unable to handle had broken through the wall, or was about to, or one of the surrounding villages had requested emergency assistance, and time was of the essence.

The reason they suspected a trap was that all adventurers were forced by law to also report to help.

They gathered on the town square. The guard captain briefed them.

“What we know so far is that a horde of Arachnids has attacked Woodington to the east, and they are about to be overwhelmed and bunker down. They need immediate relief as fast as possible. There are both Infants as well as grown Arachnids among the attacking force. No reports of Guards or higher variants.”

One of the adventurers stepped forward. He wore shining armor, elegantly ornamented with gold and silver, and was armed with a sword and shield.

“Aren’t you a lucky bunch? That sounds like an appropriate warm-up for my party.” He spoke arrogantly. “Tirak Edel and his companions will save the day.” His armored hand punched his chest piece.

The guard captain looked slightly irritated by his behavior.

“Maya, I will need you to join them. You're familiar with your grandmother’s work and should be able to work with the weaves on the bunker. I also want at least two more hunters to join you, and two guards have agreed to join you as well. Together with Mister Edel’s group, you will be nine. I have requested additional aid from the Guild. I want you to reach Woodington by nightfall. Any concerns?”

Everybody was silent. Time wasted could lead to people dying who need their help. Three hunters volunteered, bringing their number up to ten.

“May the gods be with you!”

The group set out nearly immediately. Some rations were handed out, and I added them to my emergency kit. It already contained some rations, some emergency potions and salves, a waterproof tarp, a needle and some strings, a little bit of rope, and an axe.

Her heart was heavy. The bunkers were old and, thankfully, were rarely used. The fact that the emergency message had already stated its use meant, the village was hopelessly outnumbered. They took off running. She kept in the back. She trusted everyone in Northwing, but the same couldn’t be said for Tirak’s group. It was unlikely to be a trap or ambush from them, but foolishness has killed nearly as many as bad will. Tirak and Jamal were struggling with the speed because of their heavy, unwieldy armor, but they did their best to keep up.

*** Magdalena ***

“Why is my daughter so god damn fast?” the

The minute or two, her daughter had started before her had led to her completely losing sight of her. By the time she arrived at the town square, the guard captain was discussing with the guards who else could be sent out as reinforcements.

“What’s the situation, Captain?” she inquired.

“Arachnid attack on Woodington. It looks bad. Really bad. They are bunkering down. The adventurers with a handful of hunters and the guards I could spare are trying to relieve them. A call for additional aid has been sent out, but they will take too long.”

“Well done, captain.” She replied, before she could stop herself. When she was stressed, she fell into familiar patterns and took charge.

“Sorry,” she added meekly.

Her daughter knew there was a spy among the adventurers, and she was a capable adventurer in her own right. Everything would turn out all right. If only she could get the heavy weight that had settled in her stomach, convinced of this fact.

“Please come back to me, my stubborn daughter!”

It might be the right time to dust off some of the old war armor. Just in case, and maybe make some new additions. Arachnids were vulnerable to electricity. Mature versions were often capable of using air and sound magic. A high-powered lightning field and a reliable delivery method would make a nice addition to her battle suit. She would need to visit Lurk for some parts, but he would begrudgingly craft them for her.

*** Kiara ***

I was worried. Mainly because both my mother and grandmother were worried. I did not know what was going on. I had promised myself the next time her family was in danger, she would be ready, and now here I am. I can form a small shield that can barely stop a marble.

Fuck. I felt my thoughts spinning with worry and self-loathing, and had to consciously suppress them. I needed something to do, or my own mind would torture itself.

I went up to my room, and as promised, there was a scroll titled “The Foundations of Engraving”. I opened it and started reading. The words blurred before my eyes as my head was not in it at all. A lot of my problems would solve themselves with time. As she grew older, she would become stronger, faster, and overall more capable, but she had the feeling that if she did not push herself harder, it would not be enough. She put the scroll away. Building a heating plate was useful and most certainly a great learning experience, but it would not help her grow stronger in the short term.

She sat down, closed her eyes, and started meditating. She opened herself up as far as she could and activated her Mana Sense. Information rushed in. It overwhelmed her. Her mind struggled to work with all the new input. However, she just sat there and let herself get used to it. [Mental control] was helping ease the burden. Slowly, the dizziness faded. Time to get to work.