Is It Wrong To Skitter In A Dungeon? Chapter 44: Shadows of War

Chapter 44: Shadows of War

The Hestia Familia’s expedition had gone through quite a few tumultuous events, and they hadn’t managed to complete many of their objectives. The elite team hadn’t even made it down to the 25th Floor, which had been their goal! But with war on the horizon, Taylor reluctantly decided to cancel the expedition and return to the surface.

They weren’t the only ones, either, with Rivira seeing a large number of adventurers leaving for the city. They were likely going to grab supplies before they got harder to acquire, as while there were the chickens Taylor had provided, it wouldn’t be enough, not for a while, at least.

“Are you sure you want to bring it back with us?” Lucia asked, looking at the Venenthes that had been strapped to a cart that was hitched behind Debbie.

“Yeah, you’ve already got the dragonfly-thing,” Iris commented, eyeing the Gun Libellula that was currently resting on Chris’ back. Flying burned a lot of calories, to say nothing of the cost of regenerating the spikes it shot, and Taylor wanted it to conserve its energy for the moment.

“I can afford it,” Taylor replied. “I also want to have some extra assets protecting the manor.”

The reason being Rakia’s invasion went unsaid, but everyone understood. The captains’ meeting wasn’t until the next day, according to the messenger, as it’d take time to gather everyone necessary. Still, there was a lot to do, and staying in the Dungeon wouldn’t help with that.

“What can they even do?” Silva wondered, peering at the pitcher plant-like monster they were dragging back to the surface. “Doesn’t seem like it can move, much.”

“It has the ability to burrow into the ground, similar to a Dungeon Worm, but it generally only does so in order to hide itself,” Tammuz helpfully explained, being somewhat familiar with the trap-type monster. “Do not be fooled, though. Venenthes can trap Level 4 adventurers, and possesses vines that move like tentacles to grapple with those they’ve captured or have drawn near.”

“I’ll be using it as an extra layer of defense, probably hide it in the yard somewhere,” Taylor claimed. “Now, does everyone have all their gear?”

“Yup, we’re good to go!” Oriana assured her, Lili nodding in agreement.

“Then let’s go up,” the captain said, and everyone obeyed, following her back to Orario.

Like last time, the Level 1s rode on Debbie with Taylor, while the rest ran alongside the long monster. They made decent time, getting back around dusk.

Upon returning to the surface as fast as they could, Taylor paid a quick visit to the Guild and bought two new licenses for her recently acquired monster companions – much to Eina’s chagrin and exasperation – before going back to the Hearth Manor.

“Welcome back!” Hestia said cheerfully, even though her tone was a bit strained, no doubt because of the war approaching their doorsteps.

After everyone returned her greeting, the tiny goddess gave Taylor an exasperated look. “Two new monsters? Really?”

“Yes,” Taylor said simply.

“Ugh,” Hestia groaned. “At least the big flower thing will look pretty in the garden, at least.”

When she walked off, Welf decided to approach her next.

“Hey, um, captain?” Welf said nervously. “What should I do?”

“Whatever you normally do, I suppose,” Taylor replied, a bit confused, and he grimaced.

“No, I meant… aren’t you mad?”

“At you? Why?” the parahuman asked incredulous.

“My Magic Swords,” Welf replied. “I’ve started making them again… Ares probably found out, and that’s why he’s coming here.”

“As arrogant as I’m sure Ares and his various cronies are, and as powerful as your Magic Swords are, I highly doubt he came all the way to the city just for you,” Taylor said. “Oh, I’m sure you’re a priority target, but wars do not just happen with less than a few months warning.”

Welf didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded slowly.

“I think I should tell everyone my secret,” Welf muttered. “It… they should hear it from me.”

“If you want,” Taylor said, making a mental note to have Ryuu talk to Primo in case the young elf had also inherited the obsessive hatred of the Crozzo name the rest of her kin seemed to possess.

At dinner that night, everyone was talking about Rakia. They tried to avoid discussing the oncoming army, but there were other things to mention. Like past invasions, the culture, food, as well as the history of the nation.

“Everyone, I’d like your attention,” Taylor requested when everyone was finished eating. The seated adventurers quieted down, and looked to her.

She then gestured to Welf. “Our friend here has something he wants to say.”

He stood up, flinching a little as everyone’s eyes focused on him.

“Hey, guys,” he said slowly, before coughing awkwardly. “Um, so, I wanted everyone to know something. I’m from Rakia.”

Some of the adventurers, mainly the newcomers to the city, blinked a bit, looking surprised. They didn’t seem hostile, though, which was a relief.

“Are you a spy?” Gina asked innocently.

“Wha-! No, I’m not a spy! I ran away from Rakia!” Welf spluttered.

“Oh. Okay,” the tiny Amazon nodded.

“Were you worried about us judging you for your Crozzo bloodline?” Gita asked, causing the ten-year-old elf girl sitting next to Gina to sit up straighter.

“You’re a Crozzo?!” Primo gasped in horror.

“Yup,” Welf admitted with a wince.

The tiny elf spluttered something in a language Taylor didn’t recognize, before storming off. Ryuu sighed and stood up, following after her.

“That went better than I expected,” Silva admitted while Lucia quietly explained the history between the Crozzos and the elves to a curious Oriana and Karen. Nobles they might be, but this was still an era was information was a luxury. Ancient history was likely not known by many.

“Huh. So… you don’t care?” Welf asked, deciding to ignore the fact

“I already knew,” Gita claimed, and the other Orario natives all nodded.

“It does not matter to me what your past is. Only what you choose to do now,” Tammuz replied philosophically, and the two Amazons nodded in agreement.

“You’re not like those jerks from the past, so don’t feel bad about what they did!” Aisha added.

“Indeed. To carry a grudge over what happened centuries ago when none alive today can claim to have been involved at all is foolish,” Karen agreed.

“I’m more worried about you being a target for the Rakian military,” Oriana commented, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? You can make Magic Swords like your ancestors, and Ares seems like a warmonger. He’d want to reclaim your talent for himself.”

“That is a reasonable worry,” Taylor admitted. “For now, Welf will be accompanied by one other Level 2 or higher member of the Familia whenever he leaves the manor. As for his forge, I will have the Venenthes guard it. That should keep any infiltration to a minimum.”

“That should do it,” Hestia nodded, while Welf looked relieved.

“Hey, Welf, since you’re from Rakia, how’d you get here, exactly?” Bell wondered.

“That’s a long story, but to sum it up, after I discovered my newfound ability, I was hesitant to follow in my family’s footsteps. I already didn’t like Magic Swords due to their fragility, and I also didn’t want to be pressured into forging tools of war. To that end, Lady Phobos helped me escape. She also didn’t want to see Rakia return to its old ways,” Welf explained. “She smuggled me out of the kingdom with Lady Hephaestus’ help. Of course, as punishment for doing so, she was sent back to Tenkai.”

“Wait, I thought Rakia was ruled by Lord Ares,” Emma asked, confused.

“Lord Ares is the ruler, and his Familia is the military branch of the kingdom, but he had two subordinate gods underneath him. Lady Phobos, who was in charge of logistics and supplies, which included the craftsmen like my family and the siege engineers, and Lord Deimos, who officially runs the legal system, like the law enforcement and such, but in truth he controlled Rakia’s secret police and spies. He’s also a sadistic bastard.”

“Ares sent back the woman running his logistics and administration?” Taylor asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Don’t know how badly things have been since then,” Welf said. “I’m sure the craftsmen like my father and grandfather were absorbed into one of the other Familias, but I bet it’s a mess. Lady Phobos basically ran the whole country, and without her as the sole voice of reason to keep the other two gods in check, I cannot imagine things have been all that good for the country.”

Taylor wondered what exactly the state of the Rakian army would be like if they didn’t have their usual administrator doing the important tasks. She suddenly felt a lot less worried.

As the Familia chatted with Welf a bit more about his experience in Rakia, Taylor excused herself and went to go find the two elves who’d left earlier.

She found Ryuu standing outside of Primo’s room, the part-time waitress looking up when the parahuman approached.

“Is everything alright with Primo?” Taylor asked, and Ryuu grimaced.

“She is… coping,” Ryuu replied. “It was something of a shock.”

“Did she really not know Welf was a Crozzo when she joined?” Taylor asked incredulously.

“She’s a recent arrival to the city, so she likely didn’t know,” the older elf pointed out. “Are you going to talk to her?”

“I was planning on asking you to do so, actually,” Taylor admitted.

“I think, as the captain, and someone she looks up to, you should speak with Primo first,” Ryuu suggested.

Taylor grimaced but nodded. “I’ll do my best,” she said, and Ryuu nodded gratefully.

“Primo? Are you there?” Taylor asked as she knocked on the door. The parahuman knew Primo was, in fact, in her room. But it was polite to knock first and ask rather than barge in.

“…Yes.”

“Can I come in, then?”

“…Okay.”

Taylor opened the door, and found Primo sitting at her desk. She was staring at some books, but wasn’t really reading them.

“Are you mad at me?” Primo asked, turning around to face Taylor.

“No. Just sad that my Familia members aren’t getting along together,” Taylor said, which caused the elf to wince and shrink in on herself.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to react like that!” Primo claimed.

“I’m not the one who should be apologized to,” Taylor reminded her.

“Ah. Yes…” Primo said softly.

“Primo, can you tell me about why you dislike Magic Swords? And I mean you, as a person, not because of some sort of ancestral grudge,” Taylor replied.

“I don’t… I can’t, Miss Taylor,” Primo admitted. “The only reason I reacted badly was due to growing up hearing stories about how we should never forgive the Crozzo for what they did.”

“Well, now you know what you did wrong, and that what the elves taught you was wrong, and you can now do better in the future,” the parahuman assured her, and Primo smiled weakly back.

For a little bit, a comfortable silence filled the room, only to be broken by a question.

“Why did you choose the Hestia Familia?” Taylor wondered.

“Because I saw what you did in the War Game!” Primo said, becoming animated, her eyes sparkling. “I’d just arrived a couple weeks ago and was trying to find a Familia to join when I heard about the fight against the Apollo Familia. I managed to get a ticket to the coliseum and got a good seat to watch the fight being shown on the screens.”

Primo then pointed at Taylor. “I didn’t think you could win! But then you completely overturned everything! I couldn’t believe what I saw when you made all those Magic Circles! You tore down a fortress using a spell young elves are taught in order to control their magic! And then you used said spell again in a modified manner, combining it with martial arts to instantly take out an opponent who was the same Level as you! It was incredible!”

Taylor blushed, not used to being so heavily praised. She recovered quickly and looked at the young elf.

“I’m flattered, but I know Riveria of the Loki Familia would be a better choice for learning magic,” Taylor pointed out.

“I admire her, too, but I think… I have a feeling you’ll be a better teacher for me,” Primo claimed. “Lady Riveria is a brilliant mage, but her education was very orthodox. Since I am from the same forest as her, the lessons on magic she learned would be the same ones I studied before coming her. I think that an unorthodox approach to magic would help me more.”

Taylor nodded slowly. That made sense, sort of. Primo already knew how magic was supposed to work, and while Riveria had definitely done some outside-the-box thinking to earn her Alias of Nine Hells, Taylor herself had no real grounding in magical theory and had come up with ideas to use spells that had caused all ‘proper’ mages to scream and gibber in disbelief.

“What about Hogni and Hedin?” Taylor wondered, thinking about the two Level 6 elves who were well-known for their own magical prowess.

“Um, well, I did consider it, but…” Primo trailed off, fidgeting slightly.

“Is there a reason you’re hesitant to approach the Freya Familia?” Taylor asked.

“There is a rumor that Lady Freya was responsible for the collapse of their kingdoms. Something she did just so she could get her hands on them,” Primo admitted.

“What?” Taylor uttered, not having heard that rumor before.

“Hogni and Hedin were once kings of two opposing elven nations,” Primo revealed. “The Dark Elves and the Light Elves, two groups who’ve always had issues with each other. It doesn’t help they both claimed the same island as each other’s ancestral territory, which led to constant fighting between them.”

Primo looked down. “It’s not exactly clear what happened, but after a particularly bad battle, the kings just up and left, abandoning their duties to follow Lady Freya. And considering how mauled both nations’ forces were, they simply… collapsed. Even to this day, the homeland of the Dark and Light Elves is practically empty, with most of the survivors having been forced to scatter to other lands to survive.”

“They were kings, and they just left? Like that?” Taylor asked incredulously. “No transfer of power or anything?”

“That’s right. Of course, those were just rumors. I thought they couldn’t be that truthful. But when I went to the Freya Familia compound to ask about joining, I got scared of how much everyone, Hogni and Hedin included, seemed to act around both Lady Freya and each other,” Primo admitted.

Taylor nodded slowly in understanding. The adventurers of the Freya Familia had always given her bad vibes. They seemed to be slavishly devoted to the goddess, and treated their own companions like enemies. It reminded her of the Masters of Earth Bet, specifically a genderbent Heartbreaker. She didn’t think Freya was as bad as that particular scumbag, but even so, the similarities were… worrying.

“Alright,” Taylor said. “If you really want me to help you with your magic, I will do what I can to make you into a great mage.”

“Really?!” Primo gasped happily.

“Yes. However, it won’t be easy. And we won’t neglect your physical combat abilities, either,” Taylor vowed, a smirk slipping onto her face.

“Oh,” Primo said, suddenly a lot less excited. But then she gained a determined expression. “Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll handle any lessons you throw at me!”

“That’s the spirit,” Taylor said. “Now, let’s head back to where the others are. You still have an apology to make.”

Primo looked hesitant but she stood up from her desk all the same and together the two of them returned to the dining room.

Everyone was still there, and they looked over when the pair entered.

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Welf!” Primo said, bowing towards the Blacksmith. “I know you’re not a bad person and I shouldn’t have been making assumptions!”

“Ah, yeah,” Welf said, scratching the back of his head, not at all used to getting apologies from elves. “It’s fine. Apology accepted.”

“Thank you!” Primo said. “I promise to do better!”

“That’s the spirit,” Taylor said with a smile. “Keep that attitude up with your magic practice and you’ll be casting major spells in no time.”

“Are you going to teach Primo how to be a kick-ass mage?” Iris asked.

“Yes,” Taylor confirmed.

“Ooo! OOO! I wanna learn how to do magic stuff, too!” Gina said, raising her hand eagerly.

“Really?” Taylor asked, and the young Amazon nodded.

“Yeah! I saw your fight in the War Games and you were like “WHAM!” And then the blue-haired girl fell down in one hit!” Gina declared. “I’ve never seen magic used in close quarters combat like that before! Can I learn to do that?”

“Well, I don’t see why not,” Taylor said after a moment. She then looked at Primo. “Is that alright with you?”

“Yes,” the elf said. “Having somebody to learn magic with sounds nice.”

“I’ll draw up a study plan and training schedule for you two,” Taylor informed them.

Gina and Primo grinned. They were young, but they had potential. Taylor would make sure she dragged it out of them.

That evening, after dinner, Taylor needed some time alone to decompress after everything that’d happened that day. To that end, she was doing some work out in a storage shed within the backyard. It had previous been used to hold all of the various Apollo themed junk that wasn’t being used in the manor. Apparently, the narcissistic god had had ‘seasonal’ decorations.

With all of that stuff sold, it left a lot of empty space for the parahuman to work with, and she’d filled the shed with thousands upon thousands of spiders, all of them producing silk. The Spider Hutch, as it was now known, was the cornerstone for the bespoke silk garment business the Hestia Familia was in charge of.

However, her peace and quiet was about to be disturbed as her swarm detected somebody from the house come outside and head towards the shed.

“Miss Taylor?” Lucia’s voice called out from the door. “Are you there? I saw the lights…”

“Come in,” Taylor called out as she continued to inspect the latest batch of silk her loyal arachnids had produced.

“How are things going?” Lucia asked as she entered.

“The silk is coming along well. Production is increasing nicely, and the quality is as good as ever,” Taylor said.

“That’s good,” the blonde adventurer said.

“So, what did you want to talk about, Lucia?” Taylor inquired, turning to face her.

“Well, I had this idea for a new type of silk,” she replied. Taylor was intrigued, and motioned for her to continue.

“I was thinking we could try feeding some of the spiders a couple of antidote potions to see if their silk will gain any sort of unique abilities,” Lucia explained.

“Antidote Silk?” Taylor queried.

“Yes! And more besides! Potion-infused spider silk could be a big thing, if we manage to do it right!” Lucia said excited, and Taylor couldn’t blame her.

The idea to have silk with magical properties could change a lot of things. Silk with the ability to heal wounds or cure poisons simply by being worn against the skin would allow them to make superior armor and garments for venturing into the Dungeon.

“I think you might be on to something, Lucia,” Taylor said with a slow nod, liking the idea the more she thought. “What do you need in order to test this?”

“Antidotes to feed to spiders, naturally. And I think a hundred or so spiders to start with,” Lucia said.

“I’ll talk to Naaza about buying antidotes and healing potions of various grades and qualities in bulk. I’ll set up a few new sections in the Spider Hutch for this experiment as well,” Taylor promised the seamstress.

“Really?” Lucia asked happily, and the parahuman nodded.

“It’s a good plan. Thank you for mentioning it to me,” Taylor said. Lucia smiled and bid Taylor goodnight.

After some time, Taylor felt her own exhaustion start to catch up with her.

‘I do have that meeting tomorrow afternoon. I want to be well-rested for it,’ she thought to herself. When she left the Spider Hutch, she heard hammering going on in the forge.

Curious, she walked over, and her swarm found Welf relentlessly slamming a block of metal into shape. It didn’t look like anything yet, but Taylor could tell from the magic infusing it that in time it would become a Magic Sword.

Feeling concerned for the red-head, she opened the door, not bothering to knock as Welf wouldn’t hear it.

The Blacksmith didn’t notice the appearance of the Familia’s captain until he started to quench the hot metal, flinching and nearly dropping the half-made sword when he finally spotted her standing in the doorway.

“Gah! Taylor?!” he gasped. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Sorry,” she said, before looking around. “You seem worried. Is it due to Rakia?”

“You able to read minds, or something?” he joked, before frowning. “I’m scared Ares will do something stupid to try and get me back, and the Familia will get hurt by it.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe I should give myself up. If they have me, maybe they’ll leave Orario alone…”

“I won’t allow that to happen,” Taylor vowed, clenching her golden fist. “Ares or anyone else tries to touch you, and they die.”

Welf snorted. “Yeah, you’d sooner drown somebody in bugs than give up your Familia members. I always thought Bell was crazy lucky to have a person like you on his side during that thing with the Apollo Familia, and again with the Ishtar Familia, but now that I’m the one being protected… it feels nice.”

“But you still can’t help but feel nervous,” Taylor guessed.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Lord Ares and Rakia as a whole… things were bad when I left. People who spoke out against the state would disappear, and everyone knew it was the Deimos Familia that was responsible. And Lady Phobos tried so hard to ensure everyone had enough to eat, and not just the military. But Ares has always believed that the only way for Rakia to prosper was through conquest. In his own twisted way, he does care about the country, but…”

“As a God of War, he only has a single string to his bow, so to speak,” the parahuman said. “No originality or ability to change his way of thinking.”

“Right!” Welf nodded.

“You think Ares will try and send spies or assassins after you?” Taylor asked after a moment of silence between them.

“He definitely will. I doubt he’ll succeed since, ya know, our Familia’s elites easily outclass any anyone he can throw at us. There’s a lot of Level 1s, but only a few hundred Level 2s and last I checked, only five people in the entire country were Level 3,” Welf revealed. “But Ares could still hurt someone, and that scares me.”

Taylor put a hand on his shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you. We won’t let anything happen to you,” she promised. “Nor will anything happen to our Familia.”

Welf sighed, but looked a lot better after the pep talk.

“Why don’t we change the topic,” Taylor suggested. “What are you working on now?”

“I was just trying to clear my mind by working on a Magic Sword,” Welf admitted. “It’s going to be a Lightning element blade for Bell. Did you know his clones can absorb electricity and become stronger?”

“I did not,” Taylor admitted. That must have been something they discovered during her coma.

“Give him a Magic Sword to use a battery and he can supercharge those clones of his,” Welf said with a calculating glint in his eyes. “I’m thinking of creating other Magic Swords like that. The Magic Blade Cartridges your arm uses are both powerful and versatile since they can vary the amount of power released at a time based on your Magic stat, and I think they could be a step forward for magi-tools as a whole.”

“It’s certainly an interesting thought experiment,” Taylor hummed. “I’ll look forward to seeing what you come up with next.”

“Thanks,” Welf said, flashing her a grin. “Got a lotta ideas. Maybe when Rakia is driven off I’ll show you some other projects I’m working on.”

Taylor liked that plan. But another question popped into her mind.

“Do you still have family in Rakia?” Taylor asked.

“Odd question, but yeah,” the Blacksmith confirmed. “Got my dad and grandfather who also share the Crozzo name and blood, and a half-dozen cousins and other relatives who don’t.”

He tilted his head. “What about you?”

“Me?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah. You’re a real mystery, you know that?” Welf declared. “I’ve said it before, but you have the education of a noble but act like somebody who had to work for a living. Your home country must be pretty wild to produce somebody like you, huh?”

“It had its moments,” Taylor admitted, thinking back to Brockton Bay. It’d been an objectively terrible place, a real junk heap, but it had been her junk heap.

She folded her arms. “I had a mother and father. Until recently, I had no siblings. When my mother died in a… carriage accident, my father spiraled into depression. And then, during an… incident, I gained my power to control bugs. I knew I wanted to do good with it, but didn’t know how. So, on my first night out, I accidentally defeated a dragon and was tricked into letting somebody, a knight, else take credit. And then I tried to infiltrate a gang to get further into the knight's good graces. That went about as well as you’d expect.”

“Whoa,” Welf uttered. “That’s wild!”

“Yeah,” Taylor nodded. “I… I’m not sure I’m ready to talk more about what happened… what led me to appearing in Orario. But suffice to say… I value loyalty, and I will repay everything that is done to me. Good and bad.”

“Said it once, I’ll say it again: You’re one scary lady when you want to be,” Welf muttered, but he was also smiling as he said it, before looking down at the anvil where his half-finished Magic Sword lay.

“To be honest, I love working with metal. Have since I was a child. It was my grandfather who taught me. My dad was too obsessed with Magic Swords and our lost legacy to give a damn about me until I regained the spirits’ blessing somehow. But before that, it was just me and gramps working in the smithy, learning the ropes. We were a small family. But I was happy.”

He then looked up to Taylor. “I think… no, I know the Hestia Familia can be my new family, and I can find happiness in it. So, thank you, Taylor. For giving me a chance, and for giving me the kick in the rear I needed in order to use my talents to the fullest.”

“Goodnight, Welf,” Taylor said, smiling back at him.

“See ya in the morning, captain,” Welf said, waving at her. “I’ll head in soon, too. Just wanna finish this.”

She nodded and left the forge, feeling better about the future of her Familia. No matter what Rakia or the Dungeon threw at them, they’d persevere.

111 &&& 111

Author's Note: Happy Fourth of July! Please enjoy a bonus chapter on this fine day!