Velariah went to work and almost immediately after starting to produce silk, I could feel something was off. I didn't lose strength at a rate that was even close to comparable to when I created the waterproof version.
"Hold on, Vel. This isn't right."
"What do you mean?" Velariah asked as she stopped rotating the spool.
"I don't feel anything. I don't know if it's working. Could you test the bit you have?"
"No problem."
Velariah stood up, unlocked the door, and made her way through it.
While she was gone, I started thinking about things to tell her about my world. I also started to think of things to ask about this new world. Up until now, I'd only made do with the bare minimum on how things worked. Even with that bare minimum, I'd already learned quite a bit, or so I felt.
There were inherities, which seemed to make up a large portion of how combat worked in this world. They could be evolved by Corium, which was mainly acquired in dungeons. Dungeons seemed to operate like plants in some way. They consumed, for us, some useless, invisible, ungraspable material and created Corium in return. It was fairly comparable to plants creating oxygen.
One of my worries was the insanely broad array of abilities this brought forth. It didn't seem to be something simple as fireball, into larger fireball, into huge fireball. This left me with the issue of not knowing what could be used against me.
I'd been skeptical about learning magic earlier on, but it seemed it didn't have to be learned. Instead, one would gain knowledge on how to use different abilities during an evolution pretty much for free.
I wondered if it would work in the same way for me. Velariah and Seralyn had evolved their abilities and seemed to be able to use magic to some degree. It gave me hope that it wouldn't take too long before something like that should become available for me as well.
I had to consider myself blessed that most sentient races seemed to be at peace with one another. I couldn't be thankful enough for that fact. I would have probably been killed a thousand times over already, otherwise. I almost died once to a certain adventurer already.
The thought of leaving Velariah behind brought a tear to my eye.
I would probably have to deal with such encounters again. All I could do was prepare myself for it by growing stronger. My only issue was that growth seemed to be quite slow. Sure, Valtheril managed to jump up in ranks and power quite quickly, but he had worked on that for more than half a human lifespan.
I could only pray.
Velariah returned with an empty spool and looked a bit down. I already knew what that meant.
She locked the door and turned to me.
"No luck?" I asked.
She shook her head. "It burned slower than the waterproof one, I tested a bit of that to make sure, but it still burned."
"That's." I paused for a second. "Not actually that bad. I imagine, or I hope, that evolutions will improve my silk properties. It would make sense, wouldn't it?"
"Could be," Velariah said, her head up high again. "Your carapace seems to have grown stronger than it was when I first met you. It wouldn't be completely out of place for your other properties to grow stronger as well." She shrugged. "It seems you may have two inherities."
"Oh?" I asked. "How would you know it's two?"
"Well," She said. "There's the poison resistance, that one I am certain is an inherity. Then, there is the durability of your body and, apparently, the ability to heal it during molts. These two things are so far apart from each other that I doubt it's a combined inherity."
"But it could still be one?" I asked. "You told me I am the first of this… race you've seen. Do you think there is a chance this whole spider thing is more of an inherity than a race?"
"Good point," Velariah noted. "I have no idea."
"How does that work with Draco?" I asked. "I mean, he has an inherity that improves his power and defense with axes, but what about that transformation ability and the bit of healing magic he possesses?"
"That's two inherities," Velariah confirmed my suspicion.
"So it's not a lizardfolk-specific trait?"
Velariah shook her head. "Inherity stands for 'Inherent ability'. Many of them are passed down from ancestors, some are more common in certain races than others. Draco's ability to transform is very common among lizardfolk. His inherity regarding axes is what you would consider his second inherity."
"Ok, I guess that clears up a few things. In that case, I should consider the molting process and healing and whatnot my first and my poison resistance my second inherity?"
"That sounds the most logical to me," Velariah said. "Then again, there is only one way to be sure."
"The ritual," I said.
The elf nodded. "Speaking of the ritual, I will have Elly take these spools to the tailor. She is a much better haggler than me. Maybe she will be able to sell the waterproof silk for a fair bit more."
"You said thirty-seven gold before, right? With this silk, we'd be up to forty-six at least. Damn, we're almost there."
"Correct," Velariah said. "The only remaining issue will be getting the materials and a Grandmaster to Dawnleaf."
"Is that going to cost us any extra?" I asked, fearing the worst.
"I checked with the guild the other day, we don't have scheduled rituals anytime soon, so it probably is going to cost us extra if we want it done as soon as possible."
Velariah looked over at me and grinned. "But I get the feeling you're rather impatient and would not mind paying extra to get it done as soon as you can."
"How did you know?" I grinned back.
"Just a hunch." She smiled.
"How much will it cost extra?" I asked.
"Probably about ten gold."
Yikes.
I sighed. "Guess this walking silk factory is going to work overtime..."
"You're insanely lucky to possess something so valuable," Velariah said. "It really speeds things up when we're not out and about."
"That's true as well. This would have probably taken months to gather normally. It's been what, one month so far? We're almost already there, though I do have you chipping in. Thank you for that, Vel."
"No problem," Velariah said with a broad smile. "I'd like my spider girlfriend to know what her capabilities are."
She walked up to me and pressed herself against my human body, not reaching further than my chest.
I lowered myself as I knew what she was getting at.
I soon had a lovely pair of elven lips on my own and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed every second of it.
"Hmmm. I imagine my capabilities are quite broad." I grinned as I let her go.
"For sure." The elf said as she took me in for a hug.
"I can either ask my father or have a letter sent via the guild to summon a Grandmaster to Dawnleaf, whatever you prefer."
"Would your dad summoning one yield a more trustworthy person?" I asked, while I hugged the elf back.
"It's not like anyone else can read your inherity, but I imagine he'd get someone he can trust if you'd prefer that."
I nodded. "I would."
I wasn't one to take risks where they could be avoided. At least, I'd like to think that.
"Hmmm," Velariah let out as she put her arms around my neck and kissed me again. "Let's continue storytime. I loved every second of it."
"Can do," I said as I lifted her once more and deposited her in the pile of pillows, gently, before wrapping my right set of legs around her again, and placing my pedipalp in her long, white hair.
"They are nice, you know." The elf spoke while stroking one of my legs.
I couldn't believe that even without the hairs they were so sensitive. I could feel every touch on them as if it were skin. How was that even possible? I blamed magic, for lack of a better explanation.
"Temptress Vel is at it again with the leg fetish." I grinned as I kissed one of her ears.
"You're one to talk, with your elf ear fetish!" She retorted.
Oops.
"I guess you're right," I said. "But look at them, they are so cute!"
The elf grinned before calming down and sighing.
"Where were we?" I started. "Let's see what I can come up with."
I looked at the wall next to my head and came up with an idea.
"Hey, Vel, you see this?" I said as I held one of my hands up against the wall, creating a shadow by blocking the light from the chandelier.
I then started to make a bird with two hands and let the shadow dance.
"What am I looking at?" She asked with curiosity in her voice.
"Look at the shadow."
"It's a bird. We know these things, this is nothing new." She sounded slightly disappointed.
"Yes, but what if I told you we evolved this?"
That seemed to bring the spark back to her eyes.
"Evolved? How?"
"In my world, we have a box with a glass screen that can show these types of shadows on the glass panel, but they have color and can move around. We can make figures on the glass panel that look exactly like humans and even elves, and everyone can see them."
"No way!" Velariah seemed impressed.
"Yeap, we can literally show what is going on on the other side of the world. This is the television thingy I talked about before. I don't know how they work, but I do know how a predecessor to a television somewhat operated. I imagine they still use some of the same ideas but with technology that is beyond me."
"You're telling me you can make something like that?" Velariah asked hopefully.
"Calm down, Vel. It wouldn't be that impressive, really. I would need an intense light source and a very long strip of paper or multiple pieces glued together to make a long strip, preferably very thin or as transparent as possible."
"And then?" The elf asked.
"You make drawings on that paper. You divide the paper into equally large portions and you create a drawing on each."
"I have no idea what is going on," Velariah admitted.
"Okay, here, let me try to explain it in an easier to understand way."
I created a very simple shadow on the wall with just my index finger pointing upward.
"Look at this shadow. It's a simple finger right. Now imagine you draw that finger on the paper and then have an intense light source shine on that paper. The finger would then be visible on the wall, right?"
Velariah seemed lost in thought for a moment, trying to understand what I just said.
"The light would block where there is ink on the paper, creating a shadow of the finger." She concluded while still lost in thought.
"Correct."
I moved my finger up and down.
"What are you doing?" Velariah asked.
"Blink really quickly while looking at the shadow."
I observed her doing as I asked while I still moved my finger.
"Now imagine that each time you blink, you see a new image, slightly different from the last one. When you see all those images in the same place in quick succession it makes it seem like the image moves right?"
"I guess." The elf said as she stopped blinking.
I chuckled "Now, of course, you don't have to blink yourself. You take the strip of paper and each square will be an image that is slightly different from the last. Then, you hold the strip of paper in front of the light source and move it quickly. You will see the shadow on the wall and it will appear as if it's moving."
"That's so cool."
"This is how movies started — moving pictures."
"Can you make something like that, Elania?" She looked at me with glowing orbs for eyes.
"Possibly, but it would be so much work, and I fear it will interfere with adventuring and growing stronger, which I believe are more important at this point."
The elf nodded in understanding. "You're right. I could, however, ask my father to see if he can find some craftsmen who could make something with this."
"Sure, you can always see if people can make something of it."
"You never cease to amaze me, El," Velariah spoke softly as she lay down in the pillows again.
I lowered myself as well and put my head on her shoulder.
"I'm glad you enjoy these stories, Vel."
I kissed her again, softly.
"I'm having a great time with you. Do tell me something about this world in return."
"What would you like to know?" She asked.
"What sentient races are there in this world? I know there are Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Lizardfolk, and Harpies. I also know there are trolls and goblins, but I don't count them. I'd like to know about the more… agreeable races."
"Hmmm." She thought for a moment. "Those are really the only races you will see in this vicinity. There are the gnomes who are fairly similar to dwarves, they are slightly shorter and less… broad. Then, to the far, far north in the arid and desert areas live the Foxkin, they are similar to humans but have some semblance to foxes, tails and fluffy ears being the two most prominent similarities. They are also very good with hotter climates which is why they live where they do. It provides them with a fair deal of safety as no other monster races like goblins or trolls dare to attack them in their home territory."
"Sounds similar to a certain country in my old world, except it was reversed, they are protected by snow and cold."
"Interesting," Velariah said.
She thought for several more moments.
"I think that is about everything that lives on this continent, sentient race-wise. There are small tribes of Sirens living near the coastal areas that have recently started building relationships with inland races. Apparently, they are all too eager to trade fish for other meat and vegetables."
"I can imagine only eating fish will get really tiring at some point."
"I'm surprised you didn't ask me about any of these races," Velariah stated. "How they look like, I mean."
"That's because I have heard the names before. Sirens are like half-snake, right?"
"Half sea-snake, yes. Sluggish on land, but if one chases you in water, you're done for." The elf continued.
"I thought you just said they were friendly." I gasped slightly.
"Friendly, hmm, not really. Some, yes, but most of them are merely accepting of other races. They have been hostile for so long, they are in the middle of adjusting."
"Sounds like we'd have to be careful around those," I said as I observed the elf's face.
She was looking at the ceiling and lost in thought, it was quite cute to see. She didn't even notice my legs playing with her frame.
"Yeah, they are not the kind of people you want to screw around with. Also, there's technically one other race on this continent, although they are more like a collection of races. There are certain spirits that assume forms. The most important example for us is nature spirits. Some appear as Alraune in forests, beautiful plant ladies that can be either friendly or hostile, it's completely random. The reason these are so important to us, in particular, is because their vines are used in high-quality anti-venom potions. Alravines sell for quite the price."
"I can imagine that they'd be less than happy when you start cutting their vines, then." I chuckled.
"You're not wrong. Although, some happily depart with some vines in return for other things."
"And what would those things consist of?" I smiled.
"Generally? Food. If you can get them a nice meal consisting of a lot of meat, they tend to be quite helpful. There have been known incidents where parties captured people and 'fed' them to Alraunes."
"That… sounds pretty nasty."
"Well, they go out of this world free of pain. Alraunes use special toxic pollen that completely shuts down their brain and makes them fall in love with them instead. They then willingly step into their flowers where they experience endless pleasure before they are consumed."
"Sounds like you." I grinned, "Stop using your pollen, Vel."
"I would have used that if I knew how to!" Velariah grinned back.
"I imagine you already did that when I was out cold during my molt!"
"Nah, I just cleaned your leg a couple of times and cuddled you for as long as I could between my duties."
"How sweet," I said softly as I planted another kiss on her lips.
She didn't expect that one at all but soon relaxed into it.
"Hmmm, you're the one releasing pollen here, El." She said, before forcing her lips on mine again.
Heat rapidly built up in my core again and I ran two hands through her hair as I kissed her deeper and deeper. I had my eyes closed and took in the wild sensations that my body was experiencing. My legs under her frame twitched in reaction to my heart beating faster. Only when the elf put her hands on my chest did I realize where this was going and I quickly broke away in slight shock.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Elania," Velariah said softly.
I felt myself relax as I looked into her worried eyes.
"Vel, you really make it hard for me to resist you, you know that?" I said with a smile, indicating I'd taken no offense to her actions.
I took her hands with my free arms and put them behind her head; I'd pinned her down. This way, she could not repeat her actions and we could continue to kiss without taking it further. I kissed her again softly and the elf happily obliged.
I finally broke away after a while.
"You sure you're not a plant spirit?" Velariah asked with a smile. "You're consuming me with those lips of yours."
"I'm a spider spirit, can't you see?" I chuckled.
"Doesn't matter to me," Velariah said. "I love you, El."
I answered before I even knew.
"I love you too, Vel."