Gong continues speaking about the underground caves and the creatures within.

“What you all may not know, but have guessed, is that there are openings to the surface in other parts of the city. To my knowledge, while some people know of them, most avoid them. The reason is because of the variety of creatures that live underground.

“To repeat. For those who can’t defend themselves, it can eventually be a death sentence. That includes you guys, if you leave this area without support.”

She gestures downward, toward the spider den area, “You don’t need to worry about this area though. These children here, now fully under my control, can expand even further.”

At those words, a thought comes to mind.

Doesn’t my ability allow creatures to not have to feed? I better check on that really quick.

A quick scan of the spiders shows that they continue eating as normal, though it appears they only do so as an instinct, so it is less. However, they make sure the area is clear, in accordance with Gong’s orders. They are also choosing to breed less, for some reason.

Ooo, they are getting bigger though. That ought to be interesting over time.

Okay, James. Time to tune back in.

“… Sometimes, it’s quicker to travel underground, since there aren’t as many obstacles. This is especially true, if you don’t have to worry about hostile people or creatures.”

She pauses.

“So, what does having this large spider army and area to move around in, mean for us? It means that we can transport items from one place to another securely and safely. Not only that, it is in area we can naturally make difficult for anyone else other than us four (and the spiders), to travel through. If we don’t look at that aspect, we could also use this even further for information networks.”

Lin raises the first question to this, “Are you sure the spiders could carry the items? Even if there are a lot of them, wouldn’t it be difficult?”

With a radiant smile, seemingly at being able to show-off, Gong raises her arm.

Out of two tunnels appear two different types of spiders. One is simply a large spider, about half the size of Gong’s body. Which is still the size of a car. The other is an extensive collection of spiders. Gong then motions us to step away from the table.

The large spider easily picks up the table. It then weaves a web around it, lugging it on its back. Just as easily, it unweaves the web and places the table back down, web-less. For Ai and Lin, the large number of small spiders does the same thing, lifting it up and covering it in the web by swarming over it. They then move it around, relatively easily in its webbed form.

They are like a wave, working together and lifting it around like a toy, in some ways easier than the big spider.

I’m not surprised, mostly because of all the fictional stories from my world, which take the strength of spiders into account.

Placing the table back down in its original spot, they then surge back down into the tunnels below.

Ai is the first to speak again, “Ah… That was pretty intense. So, I assume we can leave that as an option then. Though this brings something back to the forefront again. Do we really want to transport items using these tunnels as a business? This could be easily interpreted as smuggling or used as such.”

Gong seems to be uncomfortable with the idea, as am I. It appears she may have overlooked the optics on that.

I think she’s more worried about what could happen to her spiders in that line of work though, rather than the act of smuggling. Guess I should put in my two cents.

“I agree about being concerned about being perceived as smugglers. I’m not sure about you guys, but I want to try to keep things as legal as possible, except in one area. Healing items.”

Taking a pause, I consider my words carefully.

“As we know, demi-humans don’t have ready access to healing items.

“And while my healing ability could do a lot of good, it isn’t a permanent solution. Especially, since I will eventually leave…”

Gong looks a little worried at that notion.

“Oh, don’t worry too much about me leaving. I’ll always come back when I can and you’ll always keep control over the spiders, even when I’m gone.”

Continuing on, “From what you all have told me, there is a genuine need for such items and services in this community. I know the first thing that comes to mind, is how do we pay for such things? My answer, is if we can grow and make it ourselves, there will be no need to buy it from others.”

Ai and Gong both interrupt at this point, with Ai shaking her head, “James, you may not know this, but there is a hold on the market for seeds and the like to start your own healing gardens. It’s basically a closely guarded item. Most of the healing plants with seeds in them have been treated to have their seeds not be able to be planted. This doesn’t even include alchemy or cultivation ingredients. Those aren’t even close to an option.”

Gong follows up, “Not only that, but even if a farm was up and running, there is no way that the city or gangs would allow undefended resources like that to be in the hands of individual demi-hu… wait a second.”

She seems to come to an understanding.

“Are you saying that we use the spiders to defend the farms? But what about getting the seeds to start with? Even if we can protect them, they never sell seeds that can actually sprout, unless it’s to their own members.”

And here is where I can help. “That’s where my ability will hopefully come in. This is only a guess, but I believe I might be able to fix the seeds, so they can actually sprout.”

They take the time to consider the implications of this. I let them mull over it and continue with some additional thoughts.

“In terms of staying under the radar, this could also make those looking to attack the farms cautious. If we only bought a few healing plants and said that there were actually good seeds within it, no one will believe us. They will believe that there is someone backing us. This will be doubly reinforced, when suddenly people with knowledge of using those ingredients emerge.”

I think it’s a good idea.

Gong then responds, crushing my hopes.

“I really like the thought behind this, but I don’t believe it will work. If someone with knowledge comes out and gives away healing items to demi-humans practically for free… they will either be recruited or ‘removed’. We want to stay under the radar for as long as possible. The only other option, is if you are part of gang yourself and have the approval of the other groups. Even then, you would need to sell the item for demi-humans to believe it wasn’t a trap.”

She takes a breath.

“I’m not saying it’s all bad though, we just need to pick and choose who and what we bring into the fold. Any demi-human that accepts that type of healing needs to disappear and live in these caves. We can then train them and help them live a better life, but become stronger. However, tall trees attract the wind. We should wait until we are strong enough to actively resist gangs and the city to do open actions like that. Or all of this…”

She motions all around,

“Can be taken away in an instant.”

Ah, she’s right.

This isn’t some power fantasy where I can come in and make enormous changes. There are things in this cavern that could cause some major waves.

We don’t need to attract that kind of attention. Not until we get powerful enough to stop them, at least. Which also kicks out my idea of using my healing powers for money… Sigh.

“I can understand that, thank you for clearing that up for me.”

She nods.

“We are getting close to that level of strength, at least for one group. With the support of others, we could come out into the open. Not yet, but very soon.

“We’ll still look into that other stuff though, but just on a much smaller scale and not in terms of profit.” She then looks back towards Ai, who then looks back at me.

“Since you mentioned it, what have you been able to come up with, James?” she asks, as the spiders shuffle into a corner of the room.

Ah, it’s my turn. I guess I should also mention a thought that came to mind… Remote tracking and healing. Might have to open and honest. Just with these three, though.

Time to fill them in… Mostly.