After dressing, I hastily hurried to my room to check on Ivy and Ditto. I moved quickly because wanted to avoid running into Anniate when she was so embarrassed. That would be utterly awful for the poor girl; especially since I somehow felt partly responsible for the whole situation. A sneaking suspicion formed in the back of my mind concerning what had done it.

‘The Alraune use that overpowering scent to woo in potential victims while clouding their minds. What if… I’m somehow replicating that ability, but on a smaller scale?’ I hoped not. But, the possibility was still there. If more people began acting strangely around me I could blame it on that. And then… I’d have another random power that’d need turning off. ‘With so much junk to manage, I wonder how powerful mages deal with all their… passives? Toggles? Whatever they’re called?’

I reached my room and paused my thoughts as I peeked inside. Both were soundly sleeping. Well, Ivy was obviously asleep, looking adorable as usual. Ditto was lying beside her and seemed dormant, passive, as if in the slime version of rest. An affectionate feeling bubbled within me and I smiled. I was lucky to have run into them and even luckier to have contracted with them. We were going to get along well in sort of a… family type of way?

A family. I hadn’t had one for a long time. I was looking forward to it.

With that, I closed the door and headed downstairs. Again I lucked out as Anniate was nowhere to be seen.

‘Probably ran to the lake to… cry or something…’ I let out a little sigh. Making a girl cry. That felt pretty rotten of me; but, it wasn’t my fault. Hopefully. Perhaps I should have acted differently? Maybe not called Croon for assistance? The what if’s spun within my mind like some cruel vortex that steadily drug my mood into the mud.

As I headed for the door out of the Bessy Barstool, I lightly smacked myself and focused. What was done was done. I wanted to enjoy myself, not hold myself under a rain cloud the entire day. Today was the first day of my actual enjoyment in Mortalis. No dead bodies. No killer Mimics. No sadistic goddesses.

I stepped out. Breathed in deep. And headed for the shops, willing myself to have a great day.

However, Swallow Lake didn’t share my mood. What was once a normal, busy, and happy place seemed so barren and melancholy. People walked with their heads hung low. A crowd stood near the lake. Near silent. Those working outside did so slowly. Or not at all; sitting next to their tools and staring off toward some wall. I spied more than a few puffy red eyes from men, women, and children.

Their mood drove mine down again as I remembered. ‘Dang… that’s right. Lonely Briar. The news must have spread.’ Instead of thinking on it, I just continued on my way to the clothing shop I had spied earlier.

Luckily, it was still open. The arachnid woman still worked her wheel loom, though I noticed her emotions were distant, her face sullen and movements slow. My eyes glided over her rather fearsome appendages again. A brown spider. And a jumping spider at that… like a wolf spider. The tiny hairs clung to it like a fine velvet. I suddenly wanted to leave the clothing shop for last.

Regardless of the feelings, I walked to the opened door and lightly knocked on the frame. “Miss?”

Her head jerked up in surprise, orange eyes staring at mine. “Sorry. Was a bit lost in thought there, ser. Please come in,” she motioned me forward and a bit tentatively I stepped into the shop.

It proved more pleasant inside than I had thought. Fabrics hung along the walls, accompanied by the occasional article of clothing hanging off a wooden rack. Drapes hang over the woman and filtered the light coming from the lamps above them; giving everything a slight purplish taint that matched the more serene order to the store. Two flames wiggled off to the right, sitting atop candles sharing a striking scent resembling vanilla. A tart, fresh vanilla touched with the smell of fabrics.

I breathed in deeply and enjoyed the scent. I wagered one of the corners would provide the perfect nook for a good book.

“A pleasant place you have here, Miss,” I commented while looking around. Different wooden carvings sat upon a far shelf: bears, wolves, some sort of nymph in a tree. ‘Or is that a Dryad?’

The woman dipped her head in gratitude and pulled my attention back to her, “Thank you, ser. I’m glad. I’m Janril, the owner.”

“Chaon. A pleasure, Miss Janril,” I held offered my hand in greeting. Looking at her again, I noticed she was not unpleasant on the eyes… except for her body. It took all the strength I could muster to avoid staring.

A bit hesitantly she accepted, “A pleasure, ser.” When her hand touched man, she hesitated and a slight look of confusion crossed her features. She quickly hid it and gently exchanged the handshake. “How may I be of help, ser?” After it, I let go. She didn’t, seemingly forgetting and I didn’t want to rudely remind her.

I calmly explained, “I need some new clothes for myself and my companion. If it is alright, I shall bring her later for fittings.”

“Of course, ser,” she smiled and dipped her head again. “Let me just get my measuring thread.” She began to turn, her hand still holding to mine. She yanked me a bit forward and I quickly stepped closer to avoid falling straight into her. Surprised, she looked at her hand and then flushed lightly. She hastily let go and yanked her hand back, offering a quick bow. “Silly me… I’m sorry ser. I forgot.”

“No apology needed, Miss Janril. I would forget my own head if not for my neck,” I said with a chuckle. She chuckled lightly with me and headed behind the counter to collect the thread.

I watched. Fascinated. Still rather disturbed. Her spider legs moved as if a spider. In a creeping manner. Each flexing and pulling in an oddly reverse synchronism with the others legs, keeping her body raised about the height of my chest and moving forward smoothly. They didn’t skitter, but based on their functions, I had no doubt she could leap and run like actual arachnids.

‘I wonder if she melts the insides of her meals like spiders do…’ I shivered a bit at the thought. I couldn’t help but wonder something else as I noticed how her dress wrapped to ensure her front crotch area was covered. ‘How does her kind reproduce, even? Does she have a human… what am I even thinking about?!’ I quickly shook my head to clear my mind as she eased back over.

“If you can spread your arms out wide, ser, I can measure.” She held up a long, white thread marked with red lines in steady intervals. I nodded and did so. She was about to begin when a brush of wind whistled in, disturbing a few of the patches of fabric near the door whilst causing the candle flames to waver violently. She headed over to the door and closed it. “I hope you don’t mind, ser. Seems a slight breeze showed up.”

“I do not mind at all, Miss Janril.” Of course, that was a small lie. I felt more anxious. Trapped. I shunned the feeling and calmed myself. She was just doing it to keep the wind out of her shop. That was to be expected.

“Thank you, ser.” She came up, placed the thread along my right arm, and began.

Oddly, the measurements seemed to go more slowly than I had expected them to. An idle, friendly conversation arose while she moved from one side to the other, laying the thread against me and shifting it to and fro. She took her time, I noticed. She also took several measurements twice or thrice over. Her fingers brushed over my skin, leaving shivering traces that threatened to ignite my lustful spark; but her arachnid half kept that lust dead.

More concerning was the way she seemed to enjoy brushing the thread against me. It was soft. A silken touch that bode well for the clothing’s eventual comfortableness. Her own gossamer, as I discovered.

After near ten minutes she acquired all the measurements to her satisfaction; or maybe her excuses to extend the activity ran out. I didn’t know.

Stepping back, she pocketed the thread and offered a slightly more sultry smile than before. “All done, ser. Thank you for your patience.”

“Thank you for doing such a meticulous job, Miss Janril.” I noticed immediately the slight confusion when I said the larger word. I added, “Such a fine job.”

Her head dipped, “My pleasure, ser. What type of clothing…?”

I had already seen the ones I wanted during the measuring. Several pairs of more comfortable adventuring attire. Lightweight. A bland gray. But would definitely do well underneath some light armor. Socks. Undergarments. A scarf. Some gloves. A hooded cloak. I explained all this to her while she dutifully wrote it down.

As for colors, gray. It was a pleasant entity between glaring white and the far too ominous black. Perfect for me. Not a hero, but not a villain. Not to mention Chaos what a mix of black and white…

‘Maybe I’m taking this Chaon identity too far…?’ I wondered after ordering it all. ‘Naaah.’

She finished writing it down, her quill pen dancing above some form of dark brown paper. Glancing up, she said, “That will cost three Stone and eighty-two Wood, ser. Would you like to pay for it now o-” she stopped as I offered her four Stone Crysts.

“Please keep the change, Miss Janril.” I found that giving hearty tips increased the quality of service. I wanted my clothes to be great. Hopefully, that would be a good incentive.

Once more, she readily bowed, “Thank you very much, ser.”

“My pleasure.” I lay the Crysts in her open hand. Our palms met. She stared at the contact. Her fingers slid upward, brushing against my palm, slightly tickling it. She offered another smile, but this one more familiar… more flirtatious. I looked into her eyes and noticed they were dimmer than before.

‘So it was me!’ I thought as realization slammed into me. I sighed in both relief and a bit of sadness. I had caused that poor girl Anniate to act nigh crazy. But! ‘At least I know that someone isn’t trying to cause me more trouble. I just need to learn to turn this… Alraune Aura, yeah, that’s what I’ll name it…’ I nodded to myself. I liked that name. Since no one else could contract with Alraune, I could name it whatever I wanted. ‘Yeah, I just need to turn the Alraune Aura off.’

It was only then I noticed that Janril was slowly leaning closer. The weight of the situation began to form. She was starting to fall into the trance… and if she tried to force herself on me, I didn’t know what would happen. And then there was the now closed door… leaving us relatively blocked off from the outside, and making my escape route less than ideal.

‘Crap… Not again…’ I internally cursed and pulled my hand back slowly.

“Thank you for all your assistance, Miss Janril. How long should it take?”

She blinked a few times to collect her surely hazy thoughts before answering. “A couple days at most… ser.”

“Excellent. I shall be coming later with my companion to get her measured…” I said, forcing myself to play it casually and start just turning toward the door. Slowly. Though I wanted to dash. “I would like her attire completed before mine, as she is in the more dire need.”

“Of course… ser,” she said. She inched forward, clasping her hands together and letting them hang by her waist. An earnest, slightly desperate tone touched her voice. “Would you… like some tea, ser? A fresh raspberry brew… we can talk about the clothing… some more then.”

‘Time to go, time to go, time to go…!’ I started panicking a little but still forced a slow movement to avoid being rude; though I didn’t even know if she would notice. “As lovely as that would be, Miss Janril, I have other duties to attend to before that. Perhaps another time?”

“That… that’s a shame,” she said with a slow, sad nod. Still, she kept moving closer, now matching my pace as I opted to back up. Backing up kept a polite eye contact… while allowing me to keep my eyes on her movements.

I smiled and said apologetically, “Again, I am sorry. I greatly appreciate your generous offer, however.” I was only a few more seconds from the door.

“Another time…” she whispered with a little nod. By now I could easily see she was nearing the full trance. Any further and I wouldn’t be leaving without force.

“Have a pleasant day,” I quickly turned and pulled the door open; but, one of her legs landed against the door’s edge with a ‘Thwack!’ It made it impossible to pull on. My heart sunk. I didn’t want to have to defend myself… it would cause all sorts of issues. Least of which bring up a lot of tension between our future platonic relationship. Gulping, I looked over my shoulder at her. I didn’t like the predatory look rising in her eyes. “Is there something else… Miss Janril?”

“Yes… there is,” she whispered, leaning toward me. Her mouth slowly opened and her canine teeth grew quickly into fangs. A greenish poison mixed with her saliva, coloring their dagger tips. From deep in her throat came a hiss as she inhaled.

Adrenaline raced through me. My hand clutched at my knife, prepping to cut myself so I could cast.

A candle blew out abruptly. The hissing ‘whoosh’ shook her enough to earn her attention. Her leg left the door as her body turned to look at it. I used that chance to quickly slip out.

“Good day,” I said hastily before slamming the door shut and hurrying down the road. I kept to a near jog. My eyes forward. I didn’t know if she was watching me go, but I wasn't going to look back. I didn’t want to risk anything.

I hurried down back toward the Bessy Barstool. Before I reached it, though, I slid into a shadowed alley, created by two of the shops sitting only a few feet apart. I hurried behind one of the buildings and out of sight. Holding to the shadows.

“Holy… wow…” I muttered, leaning back against the wall and trying to calm my racing heart. That had been close. Far too close. I chuckled a little from the nerves, whispering to myself. “Well… I guess arachnid types have venom… and aren’t afraid to use it. Lucky that candle went out…” Though the reason why it did seemed a little suspicious, I was too thankful to care.

“I really need to turn off Alraune Aura before it gets me raped… or killed…” My hand rose to my head. My fingers ran through my hair as I looked up at a now melancholy sky. “Dang that was terrifying… I wonder whether she wanted to eat me, or just have sex…?”

“Latter, latter, climb the ladder and slide back down,” a woman’s sweet voice whispered in my ear. I jumped. Adrenaline surged. I cut my finger and prepared, thinking it was Janril.

No one was there.

“Skittish. A kitten fresh off its mother’s milk…” the voice said with a little giggle. A hand caressed the back of my neck and I spun around, facing nothing but a wall. My head spun on a swivel as I looked in all directions. “Look to the left, where nothing is right… and to the right, where nothing is left… and up, where floor vanishes… to down, where the dirt sky is. Back, forth, up, down. Ring around and never sound. You cannot see what remains to be seen.”

She was right. My eyes spied no one. Nothing.

“Oh no…” I muttered. This felt like deja-vu. Chaos hadn’t manifested the first time we met. So… ‘a goddess?’

“Very good…” she purred in my ear, her warm breath tickling it. “But numerous are there in a set. Beget, oh unto me your words, flow, let. Ground bones and ashes scorned, you wonder who I am… what I am… when the answer lies on tongues deceived and hearts relieved.” Slim fingers curled around my shoulders and a pair of lips brushed against my neck as they moved. “Fear and pain to order bring. Nature’s folly accelerated. Joy, joy, to the horror manifested in myself… and in the heart of every being.”

She spoke oddly. Extremely so. Between making sense and then just spewing out words in chaotic fashion. No… not chaotic. More so. It bordered on utter pandemonium, yet held some logic to the madness.

I had my answer. “Pandemonium?” I shivered. If Chaos was a sadistic, overpowered, spoiled brat… how bad would Pandemonium be who was even more powerful than Chaos was?

“Uttereth the truth. The truth uttered. Like a bushel left to dry till beaten asunder…” her fingers slid down to my waist, where they looped around to my chest. Her arms hugged me, pulling me backward and pressing me against her body; her sizable bosom especially noticeable on my back. A wild, tantalizing and dangerous fragrance danced around her. A violent power, like some sort of static, shivered in the air and caused color to blur and bleed together; turning the world into a watercolor painting doused in fluid.

“What… do you want from me…?” I asked, anxiously fearful to hear her answer.

“What empowers maiden moons to shine? Because yonder sun grants them stay in the night sky… the stars drip upon the canvas black. Without the void, would their light, our eyes rack? Exist? The heavens kissed?” Her hug tightened and her velvety words slowed, bringing the last thing I expected to hear. “Be my sun… beloved one… dear Chaon.”