Freka

Tap, tap, tap!

Quick steps reverberated deep inside a cave. Gerald was running at a significant speed down the stone hallway, away from the spiders.

He was using a flame on his palm to light the way out. His clothes and face were already full of sticky webs, making it hard to see.

The further he went, the more webs blocked his path. His head was already completely covered with them.

The spiders, as well as the Broodmother, were close behind him. He could hear their many legs skittering across the rocky surface.

"Damn, why are there so many webs?!" Gerald complained while running. He had to keep the flame burning strongly to get rid of the webs fast enough. It was a great strain on his Mana reserves as well as his mind.

Finally, he was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The cave expanded once again and he was able to see the light of day once more.

"Finally," he breathed out in relief. Going against hundreds, if not thousands of spiders took its toll on him. Although he killed many, he could not win against all of them.

Especially the Broodmother, he was unable to damage her through her thick exoskeleton.

He quickly turned around and squeezed the last drops of Mana to send the last few Fireballs flying down the tunnel.

Boom!

The flames ignited, blocking the spiders from approaching. Meanwhile, Gerald ran out to the sun with bated breath.

"Freedom at last!"

The cave exited into a forest, quite hidden behind dense foliage. If not for the webs outside the cave, it would almost look like a nice place to go spelunking.

Gerald saw bones of small and big animals, tangled in the webs. They must have been captured and eaten long ago.

He decided not to dally there any longer and quickly left.

Looking at his pocket watch he noticed it was already late afternoon. Only a few hours of sunlight remained. He had to hurry back to the city.

He soon found a road through the forest and followed in the general direction of Geldern.

On the road back he meet a group of warriors clad in leather and metal armor, walking toward him. He didn't pay them any attention. A sight like this was way too common for him to care.

But although he tried to ignore them, one of them attracted his attention as he loudly exclaimed, "Hey, a brother from the Guild!" He waved his hand enthusiastically, to attract as much attention as possible.

Gerald tensed up, he was currently almost without Mana so he had to be on guard. He looked at the group but he didn't recognize any of the members.

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously, "What do you want?"

The group now stopped and they were staring at the one that spoke with questioning gazes. "My name is Gair. Don't worry, we are from the Guild too," the guy pointed at the ring in his hand.

"Oh," Gerald replied, he didn't really know what else to say. A random stranger starting a conversation in the middle of the road was quite unusual.

"You aren't from Geldern, are you? I haven't seen you before," Gerald stated.

"Geldern?" The leader of the group frowned, "No, we come from Freka. Young man, if you are trying to reach Geldern before night I suggest you abandon this thought. It's too far to reach it on foot before nightfall."

"Is that so?" Gerald was surprised, he didn't think he traveled so far away from the city during his bloodlust. "Then, where should I go for the night? Are there any towns nearby?"

The leader nodded, "Certainly, follow this road, and when you arrive at a crossroad, head South. It will lead you to Freka, it shouldn't take more than a few hours."

"Thanks! Oh, I didn't get your names, I'm Gerald by the way," Gerald casually introduced himself.

"A pleasure! I'm Colias, leader of Steelglades gang and these are my trusted companions," leader Colias took off his helmet and pointed at the men behind him. "We are quite well known around these parts, you might have heard of us."

The men all puffed out their chests, exuding a heroic aura.

Gerald ignored the last sentence as he was attracted by a peculiar look on the man's face.

"Is that Stonneskin Potion? I have never seen it before," he curiously asked. The skin on Colias' face looked like it was made of bone or something similar. It had a dull gray color and its surface looked extremely rough.

He noticed the same on his neck and hands, basically everywhere where he wasn't covered with armor. At a closer look, he noticed that the rest also had weird skin, he just didn't notice it earlier because they were wearing helmets.

"That's right! It's a precaution against poison spiders! We are going to exterminate a spider cave that belongs to some rich lord. He likes to hunt in the forest, but those pests started to affect his sport."

Colias laughed, "Hehe, he is paying a damn good amount for this dirty work!"

"Spiders?" Gerald immediately thought of the cave he had just recently left. If these guys tried to attack, they shouldn't have any problems.

They were heavily armed and with the many layers of protection, they would be completely fine against the small spiders.

But the Broodmother was something completely different. He debated in his mind if he should warn them, but eventually decided against it.

He already decided to conceal his real abilities, so the fact that he killed the bandits and slaughtered hundreds of spiders had to be kept a secret.

"Well, I won't be keeping you from your job, good luck on your expedition! I'll be on my way now." Gerald said his goodbyes and left.

"Take care brother! If you stay in Freka, try smoked bear ribs, they are delicious!" Gair enthusiastically waved back.

'Such a high-spirited group… I wonder if they can make it against the Broodmother? It's ten against one, but even then, piercing that tough armor won't be easy,' Gerald thought as the Steelglades left. 'But what do I care? It has got nothing to do with me! I'm just a poor cripple!'

He followed the instructions Colias gave him. He soon arrived at the mentioned crossroad and headed South.

He arrived at the main gates of Freka in a few hours, just like Colias told him.

Freka couldn't be considered a proper city, more like a big town. Although it still had a stone wall surrounding it, the population couldn't exceed a few thousand. It was about one-fifth the size of Geldern.

Gerald found entered a simple restaurant and ordered a meal. He followed the advice Gair gave him, and indeed, the bear ribs were fantastic!

After the meal, he went to find a place to sleep and chose an Inn at random. He paid for two nights, as he had a few things to take care of before leaving.

The next morning he woke up quite late. He didn't have a proper sleep in days and he was well-deserving of a good rest.

He went to purchase some paper and ink, and then made a detailed drawing. He then gave that to the local blacksmith to make.

"Can you do it?" Gerald asked.

The blacksmith was a young man, probably in his early thirties and he confidently replied, "Of course, I can! But it's going to take a while… Do you need just one or…?"

Gerald thought for a while and then placed his order, "Make me ten for now. As for the time… Will it be ready by tomorrow?

"Sure thing, It's going to be tight, but I'll manage!"

"Excellent!" Gerald happily closed the deal and then went to stretch his legs and get something to eat.

His plan was slowly set in motion, and if it all went as predicted, he would be set for quite a while.

There was that big if. He had plans for the Rosecloud brother and sister, but he wasn't sure if they would comply.

He decided to give them an offer they couldn't refuse.

Or maybe they could, who knows?