Monster Girls Book 1: A Tale of Tails!

Chapter 188: Catching Spiders!

Back at the settlement camp, Emyri was busy grinding some healing herbs into a thin paste using a pistil and mortar. One of the three cat girls squirmed while on her bed, groaning in pain from the deep purple discoloration spreading through her side below her ribs. It pained the mother to see these girls tortured this way, and it would be months until they would make a full recovery even with the right materials. Still, she wiped the sweat off her brow before setting the mortar down and taking the bowl with her before kneeling beside the wounded Nekomata. 

"This is gunna hurt, but it will make the pain go away real soon." She warned, spreading the green paste across the bruise. 

The cat girl's face scrunched up as she clutched her side, turning away from her. 

"No-no no, lie still. You have to lay still, c'mon." She urged, her motherly instincts kicking in as she continued applying the creamy mixture. 

"Mewwwww~" She whimpered, leaning her head back against the pillow. 

Emyri set the empty bowl down and sat by her side, caressing her cheek and stroking her hair. "There we go, all done. You'll feel better soon sweetie, I promise." 

She remained with her eyes fixated on the girls' facial expressions, watching as she softened up and relaxed with a sigh. Satisfied, she leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, giving her a quick pat on the head before standing back. Looking at all three girls, Emyri exhaled loudly knowing that she would be kept busy for the rest of the day. Her cat ears pricked up as she heard running movement going on outside, accompanied with excitement and chattering from the men. She poked her head out the window, staring as Mesa and Raz led a group of Perdilius' men marching out the front gates.

Mesa whistled for her Golem to accompany her, much to the disdain of the men following behind. Some of them made faces and covered their noses, gagging and pulling away by a few steps. Near the gate stood a pair of horses dragging a cart loaded with metal cages inside, the same ones used for trapping the Nekomata. 

"Think they're the right size?" Raz asked, "What if they're too small? They could just slip through the bars."

"Too big or too small, we kill them all the same." She stated proudly, planting her hands on her hips. "MOVE IT!" 

"Yes Ma'am!" One of the men nodded, grabbing the horses by the reins to move them forward. As the front gates budged and parted away with an exasperated groan, Raz was met by one of the servants bringing him two large gourds. 

"Just in time, thanks." He smiled, strapping them to his belt from opposite sides. 

"Er how long shall it be till your arrival, sir?" 

"Should be returning in an hour, no later. It'll be brief, worry not." He flashed them a smile, hurrying to join his adopted sister as the group marched out through the large doors, exposed to the outside forest. 

"The assault at Bowey Fort wasn't a total loss." Mesa briefed him as they marched down a familiar rocky path. "They only sought out to rescue the girls." 

"Interesting, a bit of mercy perhaps."

"Or they don't have the manpower to take us on yet." Mesa corrected him with a smirk. "Which gives us the ultimate advantage. With us alone, we should turn the odds to our favor. Find the elves and we find the girl."

"I sent orders for our other forts."

"I told you not to-"

"I didn't. They don't know about the attacks. They will send troops over to restore the South entrance. The place was in ruins, but the walls still stand and the gate remains operable from my recollection. A bit of woodwork would be required, but the point is to have that missing gap covered."

"In doing so, we'll have eyes around all entry points to prevent the girl from leaving the forest." Her smile grew from ear to ear, "Well done, brother." 

"Just doing Father's bidding." He froze as the men around them stopped walking. 

They had soon arrived at their destination, faced with the familiar entry point of the tunnel burrowed through the mountains. The Mountain Pass faced them with its mouth closed by the wall Mesa summoned. Raz breathed in, recalling the hundreds of cave spiders that swarmed them as they ran for their lives to escape. His hand trembled as it hovered over the gourd to his right, whilst the two dozen men huddled behind them waiting for orders. 

"You're certain about this?" He asked, swallowing heavily. 

Mesa flashed him a grin, running her hand down the Golem's right arm. "Don't be nervous. Big Brother is here just in case."

Licking his lips, he held out his arm for the men to step back. Mesa walked forward, clasping her hands together as specks of essence manifested around her. She kneeled down and pressed her hands against the symbol she had carved below, the same one that summoned the wall days prior. 

A flash of white light emerged through the symbol, surrounding her briefly before surging through the dirt like a snake pouncing on its prey. It landed on the wall, outlining it before the light dissipated and the wall began to quake. Dust rained down and the men readied their spears and crossbows, watching with anticipation as the wall began to shrivel and sink. Soon, the tunnel entrance was exposed once again, and once the wall settled back into the ground, Raz felt that familiar cool air tickle his skin the second he stepped inside. 

Mesa held up a lit torch, raising it high above her head, circling around in wait. She huffed and signaled the Golem to follow, embedding the torch into its muddy fist. 

"Big Brother, hold this up high for me please." She stepped back, hands behind her back and rocking herself back and forth in wait. 

The Golem stared forward with its smooth head lacking any ways of expressing itself, obeying its master as it raised the torch high above itself. Raz stepped back as soon as he caught sight of the multiple black eyes staring down as the flame reflected its red glow off their pupils. 

"There, you see them?" He warned, popping up the cork to his gourd. 

Mesa nudged his arm. "Well? Can you do it?" 

He licked his finger and raised it in front, testing for any wind. "Plenty of moisture in here, yea. I should be good Keep the others far back, I don't want to risk any collateral damage with them around."

Without word, Mesa knelt down in utter darkness and got to work. She dug her finger into the ground and drew the same familiar symbol required for her magic. 

"Arm yourselves!" She warned, clapping her hands together. "This is where the fun begins." 

Once she used her spell, the symbol glowed bright and the ground began to shake. Dust and pebbles rained down as the Golem hovered over Mesa to shield her. A crack tore through the tunnel ceiling as tremors shook the earth, and soon the spiders began to descend. Some spun their webbing while others dropped down on all eight legs. 

Raz twitched his hand and raised his arm as water spilled from the gourd. It followed his movement as he spun his finger around, directing it into a swirl of fast movement. Around and around, gaining momentum as it kept spinning. The nearest spider dropped several feet from him, turning its sight on Mesa. Once it began to approach her, the water sliced through its body like a spinning saw blade, tearing it in half. The blade spun back around, catching another spider and sawing through its front legs. 

The soldiers took their positions with shield bearers in the front and spearmen at their side. They formed a wall with their shields, prevent the spiders from escaping through the tunnel exit. When several of them staggered against their shields, a spear handler poked its midsection as the men in the back had the cages ready. 

The plan followed through as one by one, the spiders were trapped and caged in. Raz pulled his hand back with a raised fist as the spinning body of water hovered back around him. He opened his hand with his fingers wide open, directing the blade to tear apart and form four shards carved out like cones. With a twitch of his fingers, he threw his hand forward sending them like projectiles as they pierced through multiple spiders, pinning them to the wall. They slumped down as he retracted the cones back; this time the cones were coated and dripping in spider blood. 

As an Elemental, Raz used this to his advantage and blended the four cones together into one large spear before sending it through another arachnid. This time the spear split in half down its shaft, tearing the spider's carcass open as its blood was levitated in the air like some magnetic attraction, its large globules pooling together into one big body of murky dark blood. Raz held it with one closed fist and reshaped it using his other hand, twitching his fingers and moving them to form symbols as he got to work. 

Mesa sat below her Golem watching him effortlessly slay dozens of spiders with their own blood. Spears, projectiles, saw blades, it didn't matter. They fell to him all the same. 

A strand of web shot out and clung to his arm, followed by another on his ankle. Raz took notice as more webbing stuck to his back and thigh, realizing that the spiders attempted a different approach. He had enough blood to form a barrier that surrounded him, spinning it around to tear the webbing off and repel any spiders from grabbing him. Looking back, he counted six spiders that the men successfully caged into their cart. Dozens were killed as the spiders grew fewer in numbers. Some began to retreat further into the tunnel; others chose to remain hidden in the darkness. 

The last spider struggled to limp and crawl away while missing three right legs. Raz dropped a javelin shaped from its sibling's blood through its head, dropping concentration as the weapon splat over its body forming a puddle. 

Mesa looked up as he offered her a hand. Some of her blonde curls fell forward, covering her right eye before she brushed it back. Taking his hand, he lifted her up effortlessly when a spider emerged from the shadows and pounced on his back. 

SPLAT!

The Golem swung its arm back, swatting the fly with enough force that it struck the tunnel wall as a red sticky paste with several legs dropping on the ground. 

"You missed a spot." Mesa smirked, skipping back into the light of the tunnel entrance where a few spearmen took out the remaining two spiders. "One, two, three... eight! Yea, eight works." 

Raz stepped back out, his uniform stained with several blood stains around his right breast, shoulder, and his left thigh. His boots squished with bits of spider gore stuck to the soles. Taking his left gourd out, he popped the cork off and took a swig of water down his throat, swallowing with a loud sigh. 

"That's the first step." He remarked, strapping the gourd back on his belt. He noticed the wide grin on his sister's face. "Happy?"

"A bit." She giggled before dropping down and resealing the tunnel entrance. "There. Now on to the next step."

Raz turned around, addressing the soldiers. "Wrap those cages in blankets! One bite from them will leave you paralyzed for the next twenty-four hours."

"Yes sir!" 

"Let's head back." Mesa added, looking at Raz. "Are spiders nocturnal?"

He stuttered and replied with a shrug. "These might. They certainly prefer the dark." 

"Then rest up. We'll be busy tonight." She grinned, walking off to join the others.