That night when we finally made camp it was…awkward. Yeah, awkward sums it up about right.

We had reached the edge of the woods surrounding the Grove by late evening. The dirt path used by traders that we had followed led down a gently sloping hill of grass and wildflowers before twisting out of sight in the rapidly growing gloom. The gentle burble of the creek had faded as it traveled away from us but Nel said it moved pretty much parallel with the road we were going to follow.

I wasn’t too keen on camping out in an open field and the others were too tired to continue on so we stopped at the tree line and the four men fell over. Well, some of them. Niel and Tam. Titus held himself away from the group, a distant shadow, and as they settled themselves out in a loose circle he walked off.

Nel, showing that she didn’t trust the humans (even if she wasn’t willing to let me kill them) had moved back into the woods and climbed up one of the trees, her spider legs making it effortless, and settled into the crook made by the branch and trunk.

I followed her up with just as much ease, if not as much finesse, and there may have been a trail of scraped bark and bare wood left behind me. Turning around was a little awkward on the branch and I worried for a second that it wouldn’t hold my weight, but I managed to adjust myself and finally sat facing the spider-woman, my legs hanging off either side of the branch as I straddled it.

“You look like you want to laugh,” I said, scowling.

Nel’s eyes twinkled in the dying light as she watched me. She wore her cloak and had pulled it tight around her like a blanket.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone that doesn’t belong in a tree more than you.”

I had to raise an eyebrow at that. “And just how many people have you seen in trees?”

She laughed then, her cloak falling open. Her spider legs slid out to grip the sides of the branch and she moved towards me, her human legs trailing lightly against the rough bark. With a small smile, she settled down near me, her legs still out for support, and leaned forward so her forehead pressed against mine. It was oddly intimate and I would have loved it except for my growing fear of the branch breaking.

“You are the only person I’ve seen in a tree…but Denvii? Most take to nature with ease…but do you really want to talk about other people right now?” She asked, bringing her face even closer to mine. I could feel the barest whisper of her lips on mine as she talked and her warm breath washed over me.

Fuck the branch!

I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to me. She giggled, her hands bracing themselves on my shoulder, as she went with the movement. She ended up straddling my waist, her toned legs wrapped around my hips. She kissed me then and it was different from the first time. There was no burning hunger in this one, only a slow-building lust.

Nel moaned as the kiss deepened, her tongue darting into my mouth. She ground herself against me and I pulled her tight, her breasts pressing into my chest, her hands trailing down my back. I had one hand on her back, between her shoulder blades. The other was on her meaty ass, gripping and squeezing and helping her grind down on me.

I hissed as she broke our kiss and nipped at my neck, her sharp canines scraping against the skin before she planted a gentle sucking kiss in the same location.

That’s when I heard the sound of a struggle and someone screamed like a stuck pig. Nel jumped out of my embrace, her spider legs scuttling about as she spun towards the noise. I, in all my awesomeness, fell out of the tree thanks to all the sudden movements.

“Alexander, what was that?” I heard Nel hiss from above. From my place, laying on the ground, I could make out her figure on the branch, a dark silhouette against the lighter black canopy, and watched the blob that was her head move about. “Alexander? Champion! Where are you?”

“Down here,” I growled, loud enough for her to hear. The fall hadn’t hurt me. The ground was surprisingly soft with the fallen leaves surrounding the trunk and the mud beneath that.

“Oh, good! Wait, why are you laying dow…did you fall off the branch?”

“No. I took the fastest route to the ground. I am a man of action after all.”

I got to my feet, brushing myself off, and turned to glare in the direction of the cockblocking noise. It had come from the four men’s camp and I wondered briefly if I should just let them kill each other while I went back to necking with Nel.

There was a soft thump as Nel jumped off the branch to join me and I turned to her in time to see her extra legs fold back up under her cloak. She was flushed and breathing heavy and looked about as pissed off as I felt.

“We could just let them kill each other,” I suggested. Hoping she would agree.

“No,” She finally said, but it came slow and reluctant. “We need them to sneak me into the town and I want to try and help them if I can.”

There were more yelling and screaming and the sounds of forceful movements.

“I’m going to go break that up, then you and I are going to continue doing what we were doing.”

“You do know we aren’t going any further tonight don’t you,” Nel said with a cheeky smile. “I don't think you have the necessary dexterity to complete such an act in the tree and I am not doing it in the dirt like some wild animal.”

She tiptoed and kissed my nose before stepping back with a wink. “at least not yet.”

“Tease,” I growled but I was smiling. There was no rush to take things further and now that I was starting to think with my real brain, this wasn’t the best place for Nel’s first time. I’d probably fall out of the tree at the worst possible moment, and knowing my luck, land on my erection.

Also, I didn’t trust those men, they might peek…you know, after they’ve killed each other.

I was not a happy individual when I made it to the camp but the sight that greeted me cheered me right up. Tam was laying on the ground comatose, fresh blood stained his face and shirt. He must have been the one that squealed like a pig, which was funny because he was a butcher…

Niel was fighting with Brin, his knife out and waving in the air, but not aimed at the other man so I guess it was meant to intimidate. Brin, I noticed in the light from their small fire, had blood on his knuckles.

The shadowy form of Titus sat unmoving just outside the firelight.

See, I told you, a bunch of idiots.

They weren’t going to kill each other or if they were at least Titus wouldn’t be involved and he was the only one we really needed. I left them to it.

I spent the rest of the night in the tree with Nel, I sat in the junction this time and she curled up against me, her head on my chest and her arm around my stomach. Her spider legs wrapped around me and anchored us both in place.

Under the cover of darkness and with her snoring quietly I studied the legs as the distant sounds of the three men fighting wound down. Nel’s spider legs were hard like bone, but warm to the touch, and smooth like glass. It was interesting. I’ve never been a big fan of spiders, never had a problem with them, but never really thought about them either, you know? So I thought it might freak me out more, having a spider woman snuggled up against me and these whopping big spider legs wrapped around me…but I was fine.

Nel murmured something in her sleep and burrowed tighter against me and I kissed the top of her head gently.

What the fuck was I doing? Being tender? That thought almost made me throw up.

I was never tender…or romantic…

I looked up at the dark leaves above us as they swayed gently in the breeze, the quiet rustle they made acting like background noise to calm my mind.

Was this world changing me? Was being Aeris’s champion doing something to me?

I knew the system (I doubted it was the god himself) had tried to assimilate me and failing that it had tried to integrate with me. Which was where my fear lay. My brain was my own, my thoughts mine, but there was this little chip, microscopic really, nestled amongst my grey matter that was responsible for controlling the nanobots and my more…robotic parts. It held a whole bunch of codes and preset functions, the major one being maintenance and care of my body. It should just try and stop bleeding, clog cuts, reinforce damaged tissue, all that jazz until I could reach Sandy for repairs, but the fact that Aeris had given me a gift that let my nanobots use material stored in me to completely repair any damage done…it spoke of something a little worrying.

The damn planet was capable of reprogramming me, at a literal microscopic level.

I finally fell asleep, my arms around the warm form of the curvaceous woman, and my mind full of the horrors of being a planet and or god's bitch.

By some unspoken agreement, we didn’t discuss anything of importance the next morning. I didn’t ask the men about the fight and they didn’t share any details, though from the few snippets of conversation I caught between them, Tam had grown angry with Titus after asking some unanswered questions, in the heat of the moment Brin had punched his already broken nose, Niel had gotten involved and waved his knife around to feel important and Titus had remained seated.

They must have settled their differences though since the three men walked a couple of dozen meters in front of us. Titus now had his arm in a sling and Tam looked horribly uncomfortable. Brin, surprisingly, would talk with Nel and me on occasion.

We didn’t stop for lunch, the men not having much in the way of supplies and Nel and I did not have much left since we had never planned on being away for this long.

The pastures around us slowly turned into farmlands. The fields of wheat and barley came right up to the dirt road we traveled, the crops fenced in by large fences worn by the elements. I caught sight of the occasional scarecrow poking out from between the stalks and thatched roofs could be seen off in the distances.

“That there are the outer farmlands. They were the first ta fall victim ta the Denv- the attacks.” Brin said, falling back to talk with Nel and me.

“Are there signs of a struggle?” She asked and he shook his head in the negative.

“Was like the Grove. Quite as the grave and still as a dead mouse.”

Jeez, talk about morbid imagery.

“How far’s the river?” I asked.

“A ways that way.” Brin pointed off in the distance to the right of us. “an the farmers get their water from the ground, not the Broken River.”

“Broken River?”

“Aye, the name o’ the river coming down from Champions Fall. Same one running over yonder.” He went back to pointing to our right.

“I would have expected it to be called Champions River or something,” I muttered, loud enough for him to hear apparently because he answered.

“See no reason to call it that. It’s water’s don't always reach the bank and ya can never tell when it’s gonna dry up. It's broken.” He shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I’m sure their well water was fed in part by the river,” Nel said quietly to me. “Even their crops may be poisoned.”

I considered it as I looked out across the farmland. It made as much sense as everything else.

“But would it affect humans the same as the Denvii?” I asked.

“That is a good question,” Nel said before going quiet, her eyebrows scrunching up in the way they did when she was deep in thought.

I left her to it.

Another two hours of mostly silent travel and the road we followed started to slope up ever so slightly.

“Trade Town’s coming up,” Brin said. “I better go see what Titus wants to do. He may wish to wait till night to sneak in.”

He hurried forward to speak in hushed tones with the hunched and hooded form of his comrade. There was a lot of hand movements and pointing. Part of me, the logical side, said that if Titus was smart he would let us get caught sneaking into the town. Another part of me, the one that wanted nothing but good things to happen to me, said that Titus was an upstanding individual and that he would keep his word.

Sometimes I wish I believed that little optimistic bastard that resided in me.

The Town when we came to it was…unimpressive. No, that's not completely right. I’m sure it was impressive in its own right, built on the top of a hill and spilling its way down. We stopped on the road, a good distance off so as not to be noticed and I studied its tall imposing walls of thick logs that could probably be burnt down in a couple of hours. The buildings near the top of the hill were easiest to see, both because they rose above the other structures thanks to the elevation of the terrain and also because they were just plain large.

“Trade Town started with that single building, the one right at the top o’ the hill. It belonged ta a Farmer named Barlas Hoe who didn’t mind trading with the Denvii. He got the idea ta build a little store ta sell ta those folk not wanting ta travel far from the main port cities. Didn’t take him very long ta turn inta a merchant,” Brin laughed. “more an more folk came round here an he sold off his land, ta rich ta work, and now his family runs the place. His great great grandson is the mayor.”

“That's great and all,” I said, rolling my eyes. “but I asked if Titus had a plan for getting us in.”

“He says ta wait for shift change.” Brin pointed towards the city gates. “Can’t see from here but there be guards walking the wall. Mayor ain’t taking no chances. Titus has a few connections with a guard captain and can bring us through the fish gate without much hassle.”

“What the hell is a fish gate?” I asked, picturing a gate shaped like a fish that would swallow you up and shit you out the other side. What? This was a great new world. Anything was possible.

“A small gate round the riverside. It’s used by the fishermen.”

Well, that was…anticlimactic.

“Come on. We better get in position.”

Titus led us through the grain field in a large arcing circle to the right. He was trying to get us as close as possible to the wall while using what little there was for cover so as not to be seen. That meant crouching in the crops for the most part.

‘Why don’t we just wait till night?” I hissed.

It was Neil who answered me. We hadn’t talked much and his eyes kept darting around whenever I looked at him and when he talked to me his voice shook. “The Captain works the afternoon shift, and the guard is doubled during the night.”

“How did you get out then?”

“Through the side gate when no one was watching. They weren’t expecting no one ta be stupid enough ta leave.”

I just shook my head at their combined idiocy.

I could hear a bell toll from the town and counted four chimes.

“Change of shift! We can use the confusion ta get as close ta the wall as possible.” Came the message, passed up the line. I repeated it to Nel as we all crouched lower as Titus picked up the pace.

The good news was we made it through the field and to the wall undetected. The bad news was I had lost all hope in the town's defenses. The walls were pretty impressive when seen up close, but I knew that Nel or any Denvii could scale it in seconds if they needed to and that made them useless in my eyes. Also, the guards were pathetic, though I guess half of them weren’t even really guards. They were volunteers who wanted to put on a fancy uniform and parade around the woman after shift. Brin’s words, not mine.

Trade Town had never had to close it’s gates since it’s founding and other than a few minor roving bandits and the occasional mob, the guards were there to watch for petty thieves and angry drunks. They had never had to actually guard, and it showed.

The fishgate was made of wood bracketed in iron and stood just a little taller than me and barely as wide. Obviously it had been added as an afterthought by someone too lazy to walk around the wall every day and agreed to by a mayor who was tired of listening to that person complain about it. We all huddled against the wall, almost hugging the wood, and praying the sole guard that walked along the top didn’t look down.

There was a shout from above and for a second I thought we had been found out but when there were no further noises I relaxed. Titus sidled up to the gate and knocked lightly. A few moments later it swung inwards and his form disappeared. My nerves were on edge, the little voice in my head that had kept me alive in Dockside was yelling at me that this was a mistake. Not to trust a man who had tried to kill you just a day ago.

The rest of the men moved through and I motioned Nel to stay close to me before following.

I caught the tail end of a conversation between Titus and the Captain, who was short and stocky, his broad frame covered in a basic chainmail shirt that ended at his knees with a yellow tabard over it. The whole thing was cinched at the waist by a thick leather belt laden with a dagger on one hip and a sword on the other.

“…but I already sent him away to check the northern wall. We’ll have to do.” The Captain said and he turned to watch the rest of us file in. His eyes were hidden in the shade of his helm but I could see the lower half of his face and his mouth tightened into a thin line when he saw Nel and me.

My unease grew.

This whole situation was wrong. It was stupid. Of course the Captain would know something was wrong. Titus was wounded and Tam was all fucked up, and what did he mean about ‘we’ll have to do.’?

I looked around. We were in a narrow alleyway between two tall stone buildings, the wall behind us blocked out the sun and the buildings to the side deepened the shadows further. I could hear the bustling movement of a town alive with people but it was far off and distant as it filtered through the narrow entrance to the ally.

“As promised,” Titus growled, gesturing towards the square of light that marked the exit. “You’re in Trade Town.”

I nodded my head, keeping track of everyone out of the corners of my eyes. The Captain was standing next to Titus watching us. Neil had drifted to the side to let us pass and Tam was leaning against the other wall, dabbing at his nose. Brin was next to me.

I motioned Nel forward and fell in behind her as she made her way towards the alley. I sensed as much as saw the others fan out behind us and I let a little energy trickle through me. I pulled level with Titus and the Captain and said quietly “Nel said we would help find your son. She meant it.”

He flinched at the mention of his boy and his dark eyes watered. I continued walking. That was the only warning he would get.

Because I had let the energy trickle through me my senses were sharp enough to pick up the almost silent hiss of metal sliding against leather and I sighed.

“You should have just let us find your son,” I muttered, dropping my sack on the ground.

I overclocked even as I turned. I had been expecting the attack. I’d hurt them, almost killed them, instilled fear in them, and given Titus nothing but an empty promise. Of course he would retaliate when he had the support of a man who actually knew how to handle a weapon as well as the home-field advantage. And of course the others would help. Wounded pride and smarting injuries bred anger and anger lead to stupidity.

I tilted my head to the side, the sword blade that would have gone through my head slipped harmlessly passed and I stepped forward into the captains reach and swung a closed fist at his throat. I was surprised when he ducked his head down but my knuckles still slammed into his chin and he staggered back.

Titus moved towards me, slower than the Captain, and I realized that was the difference between a combat class and a normal one. It was almost comical when I had both side by side to compare. The Captain was already recovering from my blow before Titus had finished his swing.

I reached out and grabbed the poacher's wrist and squeezed. Bones ground together under my grip and Titus screamed, dropping his dagger, to punch at me with his free hand. I lashed out with a kick to push the Captain back and give myself space and tucked my chin down so Titus’s fist landed on my forehead where it broke with a sickening crack.

I pushed up with an open palm against the joint of his elbow and Titus’s scream turned shrill as the joint splintered, shards of bones tearing out from his skin and sending drops of blood splattering everywhere. I used the same hand to swing him around and into the way of Neil. The two hit the wall of the ally and crumpled down.

I had to jump back to avoid the captain's sword as he stabbed at me. Lightening quick his stab turned into a slash and I was forced to duck under the swing. My sack was near my feet and I grabbed it and threw. The stupid thing opened and my clothes flew out, blinding the Captain for a second. That's all I needed to launch into a forward roll, picking up Titus’s dagger from the ground at the same time. I finished the roll right next to the Captain's legs.

He was already swinging the sword back around when I stabbed him in the thigh, missing his artery by sheer bad luck, and then rolled around behind him. My hands seemed to move by themselves as I punched out with the dagger in two quick moves that hit the Captain on each Kidney. Bloodied brawler must have activated.

The Chainmail saved the Captain’s life and he staggered forward, pain shooting through him, but the wounds were shallow and broken links of the mail rained to the ground. I heard a whistle from behind me and dropped flat to the ground in time for the arrow to fly over my head and skid off the ally wall in a shower of sparks.

I rolled over onto my back and looked into the wide eyes of Brin, he opened his mouth to say something, I’m not sure what he wanted to say and I’ll never find out because a knife appeared in his throat.

Nel jumped off the side of the alley wall from a story up, her spider legs spread out behind her like wings, and rocketed to the ground. She hit hard, her legs curling around her for protection and she leaped back to her feet in time to grab and pull the knife from Brin’s throat. Blood bubbled out and ran down the man's body, staining his shirt. Nel shook her head sadly as he tried to stop the flow with one hand and reached out to her with the other. His gift of regeneration wasn’t going to help him in time and he crumpled to the ground, his finger snagging Nel’s cloak, before going slack.

I let her advance towards Tam who was backing away from her, shaking his head in fear. She could handle that.

I turned to see the Captain raising a whistle to his mouth and threw the dagger to distract him from calling help. He cussed and ducked under the wild throw. I was already running towards him when Niel tried to be brave, he dove at me from the side, his nose busted from contact with the wall.

I was done being nice.

My hand plucked him out of the air by the face, my palm smooshing his nose flat while my fingers dug into his scalp and ears. I stopped my run, using the momentum to tip me forward and I twisted at the hips to drive more force into the swing as I slammed the body in my hand into the ground.

The was a wet smacking sound, loud enough to smother out the crack of breaking bones and the scream of anguish that was cut short as Niel’s head burst like a balloon under my hand. Bits and pieces of his head splattered everywhere. I got a little brain on my shin and what looked like an eyelash was stuck to my boots.

I looked up, my teeth bared in a snarl and met the wide eyes of the Captain. Titus was retching on the side. Gripping the corpse by the collar of its shirt I took another step forward, anchored my left foot and torqued at the waist as I slid the dead body across the alley floor, the blood pumping from the neck stump helped lubricate the way, to bowl the Captain off his feet.

I stood up, blood dripping from my hand, and turned to look at Titus.

“I’ll be right back.” I snarled, stalking towards the downed captain as I pulled the axe from the sheath on my back.