“This is absolutely the worst idea you have ever come up with” Sofia’s tone was less than happy.

“What are you complaining about? I am the one who is actually going to get bitten. No risks no reward right? Also think about it. Even with Recoberry juice I can at best keep spells going for ten minutes. If I just limit it to a single spell I can go for maybe fifteen and then I am out of juice; pardon the pun. Besides don’t you always tease me about getting my ass handed to me by some monster or another? So win win for you.” Kaden’s smug reply did nothing but anger her further.

Her response came quick, “that’s not funny and not fair.” Hesitating for a second, “I ca…” She cut her words off.

Kaden did his best to try and ease her worry, “Look, there really is very little danger. You said you should be able to drain the venom once it was injected, right? Think about it, we can get as much of it as that spider can put into my system. It will also be using the weaker version so the negative effects can’t be too strong. If we can get some, Padvor can hopefully learn enough from it and dilute the effects giving everyone the same edge the tribes have. If not we could just repeat the process again and hopefully get more to give to everyone in the village while Padvor heals the damage”

“Can’t be too strong!” Repeating his words; anger returning to her voice. “The people from the tribes can only handle one bite and have to escape. THAT, is from the weaker version of the venom. They have fifteen minutes before it bites them again and you know what happens if they get bitten that second time; THEY DIE. You want to get bitten multiple times in the hope that I can absorb the venom from your body and negate its effect of shutting down your organs. I’ve got news for you, even if I manage to successfully remove the venom, your organs will still be damaged from it entering your system.”

“We don’t know that. Removing the venom that quick may make it so it doesn’t have any effect at all on my system. At the very least it should keep the damage to a minimal; long enough for me to return to the village and get help.” Kaden responded with a more serious tone, “Look a lot of people were injured from the Spine-back attack. I am responsible. It was my fault those things knew we were there and followed us back. A lot of people died during that and a lot more are injured. Badly.” A pang of guilt reflected in his voice. Ever since the attack he had been doing his best to avoid thinking about it.

“In order for us to survive we need to go on a very long and dangerous journey that in normal circumstances would take an escort of well-trained soldiers. We do not have that escort for protection and we do not have any beasts of burden to carry supplies. We will be forced to hunt and gather slowing us down leaving an easy trail for tribal hunters to follow. Sofia we really don’t have a choice, we need to somehow even the odds. So if you can think of anything. Anything at all, I will seriously consider it.”

Sofia sat down hugging her knees with her chin resting on them. Anger and a heavy sadness causing her to fall silent for a bit. “I don’t want you to do this.” Her voice almost a whisper.

“I know.”

The both of them fell silent as Kaden moved closer to his destination.

Kaden found several of the Saint-mother’s webs close to her cave nest. Gently brushing a branch out of his way he removed the remains of several Spine-backs; the village had no use for these particular parts and were thus discarded.

Kaden then hid out of sight, just far enough away to observe the Saint-mother inspecting her web. She was much bigger than he had imagined, this particular one was three additional feet larger and had a menacing aura to it. The creature crawled up onto the largest of remains revealing a massive set of fangs and bit down. Kaden managed to relax a little after the creature hauled off the remains into the cave.

“So like I was saying. Bad idea.” Kaden smiled nervously having realized the folly of his plan. This wasn’t a creature he could go mess with. A new realization dawned on him, this world wasn’t something he could just go play around in as if it were some game. The dangers here were very real and he should seriously listen to the advice of those warning him.

A huge wave of relief passed through Sofia and she really just wanted to strangle him for putting her through it all. “Let’s go home”, she was glad he finally decided against the plan, seeing that creature would change anyone’s mind.

On their way back, Kaden found an opening in the jungle canopy and decided to take a short break. It was a beautiful grassy spot where he could sit surrounded by several patches of dandelions. He needed to work out a solution to the magic problem and getting bitten by an eight legged monstrosity clearly wasn’t going to be it.

“AAAAAAAAA”, he yelled after a few moments. “I can’t figure this out”

An hour later he finally decided to resume his trip back to the village. This choice however became surprisingly more complicated when he tried to stand up. “Um… Sofia, I can’t seem to get up.” The realization that he couldn’t move any of his limbs dawning on him.

“What do you mean you can’t stand up? Just stand up like you always do.” She responded slightly confused.

“I mean I can’t move my hands or feet.” A little irritation showing on his face.

Looking around to see if she could figure out the cause of the problem, “These aren’t dandelions; they are Para flowers.” She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn’t realize where he sat down and wasn’t able to warn him.

Excerpt Korin’s Jungle Survival Guide: Para flowers look remarkably similar to dandelions but be warned. Unlike their tenacious cousin these deadly flora requires a different type of fertilizer; rotting meat. Unsuspecting fauna that wander into a patch of Para flowers are met with a potent paralysis inducing scent that is constantly being emit from these jungle beauties. Adventurers, no matter how beautiful they look, you don’t want to stop and smell these roses.

“Sofia can you remove it from my system?”

“I can try but it is a constant gas so no matter how much I remove more will be entering just as fast.” She responded as he felt a sharp prick from the Grimoire piercing his skin. Similar to the plan with the Saint-mother, Sofia was going to try and absorb the foreign agent in his body by using the modified Spine-back tooth that was embedded with the Phinsis sting as a syringe. “It’s slow but working. It will take a few hours to remove enough out for you to be able to crawl.”

A few hours later Kaden slowly started to crawl towards the edge of the patch. If he could just get far enough away, Sofia would be able to remove it from his system. Kaden had made it a tenth of the way towards the edge of the patch before he needed a rest. It had taken most of his strength to get there. This is going to take forever he thought and continued on.

“These aren’t the types of flowers one should be playing with”, Kaden heard a familiar voice as a lasso was thrown around him.

After being pulled free of the field, “Rest my friend, it should take a few hours for the effects of the flower to wear off.” Rakhail’s voice was reassuring. “I had guessed you would change your mind after seeing the Saint-mother in person.” Noticing Kaden’s confused expression, Rakhail decided to explain further. “I was part of the Legion’s ghost core, figuring out what you had in mind was a simple task. I must admit I was worried when you did not return so I followed your trail and found you here.”

Kaden spoke with a little disappointment in his voice, “I have a long way to go I guess. Not recognizing how dangerous my plan was and walking into this stupid pit of flowers. It seems I am not very good at sneaking out or hiding my own trail yet.”

Rakhail laughed, “You did well, do not be disappointed. Few things like a Phinsis or Wolf Falcon can safely go after a Saint-mother. You were able to admit you made a mistake and changed your plan. Not many can do that. As for these flowers, they are not easy to spot even if you know what they look like. In fact that is why we used them a lot in the core, it is a great way to trap or slow down the enemy. Do not worry about your ability to remain hidden, a normal soldier wouldn’t be able to track you. You did well for most non-core scouts.”

“Thank you” Kaden’s voice still a little disappointed.

“How about I show you how to properly hide your presence or track a hidden foe on our way back to the village?” Rakhail doing his best to try and cheer Kaden up.

The trip back to the village was less eventful from that point. Kaden learnt a lot from Rakhail, he was confident that even Gion wouldn’t be able to find him should he wish to disappear.

“Rakhail, it must have been hard for the legion to let you retire”

“Hahaha… Once joined, one will always be a member of the Ghost core, from the moment they enter till the moment they die. I am in for life.” Rakhail smiled as he placed a hand on Kaden’s shoulder.

“Thank you for everything”, Kaden waved at Rakhail as the two separated.

Sofia spoke up after they finally made it home and Kaden collapsed on his bed. “What you said earlier is still true. I have an idea but I need that spider to make it work.”