Explorer of Edregon

The room went silent, save for the harsh coughing as Scule choked on the water he'd been drinking from the far too large cup in front of him up until that revelation. Vin stared at the chipper merider in shock, wondering if he'd heard correctly.

"So… You weren't always half spider?"

"Not at all, I used to be human just like you!" Kark laughed, shaking his head. "My, that was quite some time ago. It's crazy how time flies!"

"You don't mind being a merider?" Shia asked, giving him a curious look.

"It certainly beats my old life!" Kark grinned. "I was an urchin, begging on the streets for most of my life. If you could really call what I had before becoming a merider a life at all, seeing as all I knew was hunger and pain. Anyway, one day while trying to figure out where my next meal was coming from, I overheard two merchants discussing a hanging village deep in the nearby woods where they would occasionally travel to and trade for reams of silk. They mentioned how the inhabitants were freaky, but welcomed just about anyone into their village, and would even offer free food and drink for all who made the journey. At that point, I hadn't eaten in nearly three days, and I barely had the strength to walk!"

Kark paused, a wistful smile on his face as though the memory of him literally starving to death was a warm one. "I knew I didn't have the strength to make the journey on foot, so I managed to sneak into the back of one of their wagons, and rode with them all the way to Pendet. When the merchant finally discovered me, he tried to give me a proper beating but was stopped by the meriders. I was whisked away into their web, placed inside a warm building, and given as much food as my shrunken stomach could handle. They even tended to my many injuries and made sure I was in perfect health before giving me the option to truly join their society."

"So this merger… It's not something they force upon people?" Scule asked, watching Kark carefully.

"Goodness, no!" Kark said, laughing hard enough for all six of his eyes to tear up slightly. "No, there would be no point! The merger has to be between two willing participants, or the metamorphosis will fail."

"So what, you pair up with one of those big spiders running around and just become one?" Alka asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

"Pretty much!" Kark grinned. "The merger takes a couple of days, but two creatures enter the silk cocoon with one another, and an entirely new one emerges. It is the only way to become a true member of Pendet."

"That's crazy," Vin muttered, looking at the merider's body in a new light. "Are you still… you? From before?"

"I am more," Kark said, giving him a warm smile. "I didn't just gain a stronger, healthier body. I gained a community. A family. Something I'd wanted for as long as I could remember. I would undergo the merger again in a heartbeat, and I'd recommend anyone else who longs for what I did do the same."

Vin leaned back in his admittedly uncomfortable chair as he took in Kark's story. The thought of giving up one's humanity, just to find a place where they were accepted and cared for, was oddly something he could understand. Throughout his travels, Vin had witnessed poverty and struggle the likes of which few people even knew existed. He had a feeling that if those people had been offered the same choice as Kark had, most of them would have taken it in a heartbeat.

"How many visitors have you gotten since coming to Edregon?" Shia asked, trying a slice of the dried meat for herself. Vin couldn't help for once feeling mildly envious of the way her serrated teeth shredded the tough meat he'd struggled to bite through.

"Very few, sadly. Merchants are pretty much a thing of the past, but we have had two newcomers decide they wished to undergo the merger, and a few more that declined! Why, just the other day we got a strange looking visitor who seemed to have see-through skin, if you can believe it. I tried to invite him into the village, but the moment he saw me he turned tail and ran!"

"A pulmon?" Vin muttered, wondering what one of Lumel's people was doing up and out of the water. According to her, her people weren't even capable of doing something like that unless they had specific skills or passives to keep their bodies alive.

"Could we speak with the two who underwent the merger?" Shia asked, shooting Vin an excited glance. "We'd love to ask them about the fragments they came from."

"Of course, I'm sure they'd be happy to help! In fact, I was already going to introduce you to one of them after your earlier request. Despite the fact that he has only been a merider for a few months, he is one of our best runeweavers!"

At that moment, there was a sudden ruffling noise from Kark's bed, and a fuzzy head poked itself out from underneath the many blankets. Letting out a long yawn, the furball smacked its lips, giving them all a curious look.

"Scoots! You're awake!" Kark laughed, motioning for the furball to join them. "Come here, boy!"

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Whining quietly, the furball struggled his way out from under the blankets and waddled over to his owner. Bending down, Kark snatched him up, pulling him in for a tight hug and scratching the top of his head. "Everyone, this is Scoots, one of the furgils I mentioned. He's both my companion, and my source of food."

Vin stared at the panting furball with half closed eyes, clearly enjoying all the affection Kark was giving him. Scoots looked similar to the hissing furgils they'd encountered out in the forest, other than the fact that he was far pudgier. He kinda reminded Vin of a mixture between a pug and an overweight gerbil.

"You drink your pet's blood?" Scule asked, looking horrified. Vin felt a nervous shudder in his shirt pocket, and Reginald tucked his head back into his pocket, hiding himself from the grinning merider.

"Yes, the two of us care for one another," Kark nodded. "As I said, our village has selectively bred these creatures for centuries. Unlike the wild ones you no doubt encountered out in the forest, Scoots is quite fine with me taking a bit of blood from him every now and again. In fact, he regenerates it so fast I probably couldn't drain him dry even if I wanted to! Isn't that right Scoots?" Kark asked, rubbing his face into Scoots' fur and getting a happy pant from the furball as it wriggled around for a bit in his human arms.

"Well, thanks for giving us the rundown on this place," Alka said, watching the odd display of a spider-person tickling a squirming, fuzzy puffball of a creature. "I don't suppose you have any highly skilled warriors that would be willing to spar?"

"I'm sorry, but we really aren't very good fighters," Kark said, finally releasing Scoots from his clutches and letting the furball wander back to his bed where he promptly curled up and went to sleep once more. "We have defensive runes in place all across the web that we can activate to protect ourselves when needed, but we are a peaceful people."

"Fantastic," Alka drawled, turning to look at Vin. "Whelp, I'm ready to leave when you are."

"Come on, Alka, I'm sure you can find something to keep yourself entertained while Vin and I check out their runes," Shia said, rolling her eyes at the Slayer's one-track mind.

"Oh, I know," Vin said, snapping his fingers. "Kark, do you know about the dungeons? Even if you don't you must have webs running throughout this entire fragment. Any chance you're aware of a spot that has way more monsters coming out of it than anywhere else?"

"In fact, there is a spot a few miles from the village that seems to be a hotspot for monsters. We ended up putting a thick layer of webbing around it to keep them trapped within, but that was months ago. There should be quite a large number of them in that section of the forest by now!"

"Alright, that'll keep me busy for at least a little while," Alka said, her eyes flaring with excitement.

"You're welcome to venture over there if you'd so wish, but please do be careful!" Kark asked, looking worried. "The monsters that roam the forest are not the type to attack mindlessly. They are cunning, ambush predators that wait for someone to drift too far from their group before striking. If you head out alone, you'll be attacked almost immediately!"

I suppose that explains why we didn't wander into any monsters while making our way blindly through the woods as a group, Vin thought.

"Don't worry, I know how to deal with hidden monsters," Alka said, a hint of excitement already detectable in her voice. "And don't tell me anything about them either, I want to be surprised. You just point the way and I'll thin the herd for you a bit!"

"If you insist, we'd certainly be grateful," Kark smiled.

"You guys are a bunch of spider-people…" Scule began, pausing as if he wasn't sure how to word his next sentence. "I don't suppose you're the type of spiders that have venom, would you? Perhaps of the particularly lethal sort?"

"I do not, but every merider is different," Kark said, looking thoughtful. "I think Bourges might be venomous, but you'd have to ask him yourself. I'd be happy to introduce you if you'd like!"

"Oh I would like, I would like very much," Scule grinned, practically drooling at the thought. Vin had no doubt the petain was already imagining the literal gallons of spider venom he might be able to collect here. It wasn't money or magic artifacts, but for someone who specialized in poisons, this village might be a virtual gold mine. "Reginald, are you sticking with Vin all day or are you coming with me? I don't think these guys are going to eat you. You're not nearly as plump and enticing as Mr. Scoots over there after all."

"Mr. Scoots?!" Kark repeated, laughing as if it was the greatest joke he'd ever heard. "Oh goodness, I can't even!"

While the merider all but rolled around on the floor, his many legs shaking as he laughed, Reginald finally crawled out of Vin's pocket and jumped down to the table. Staying slightly behind the petian, he nodded, squeaking something quietly into Scule's ear.

"Alright, fine by me," Scule replied, rubbing Reginald's head.

"Oh boy, I nearly lost control of my silk glands!" Kark said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Can you believe that Scoots? You, an esteemed gentleman!"

The furball cracked an eye at his name being used so many times, letting out a noise that was almost more of a chirp than a bark before snuggling back into his blankets and going back to sleep.

"I suppose that's an indicator that we should leave Mr. Scoots to his nap," Kark chuckled, standing up and motioning for them to follow him as he lowered his voice out of respect for Scoots' beauty sleep. "Okay, monsters in the forest, a quick trip to Bourges' nest, and then I will introduce the two of you to our finest runeweaver and the other merider who joined us only a few weeks ago," Kark said, nodding toward Vin and Shia. "Do you care which you meet first?"

"The runeweaver," both of them said simultaneously, turning to share a grin with one another.

"The runeweaver it is," Kark laughed, before shooting an apologetic look at Scoots who grumbled in his sleep at the sudden noise. Kark was careful not to say anything until they'd left his nest, but he grinned as soon as they were outside. "Don't worry, I think the two of you will like Neurol. He's quite the artist!"