Fable - Ask Monsters In The Streets

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Matias

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La Torren
Felice Harlowe

It was quiet.

A city was always quiet after it had been conquered. The people who were left alive made themselves scarce. The Soldiers who had had their fun were sleeping off a night of pillaging, and the nobles were busying themselves with the signing of treaties and divvying out who got what. Matias had heard this silence once before, though it was the only one that he'd experienced with the Regiment.

Most of the 'monsters' had already left La Torren, moving on to the next task. It was Matias and a few of the others who had been left behind, told to ensure that the new Duke of the City paid the price that had been owed to them.

Matias sat on the steps of the great cathedral of La Torren, dusk falling over the city as the quiet loomed. Every now and again a few people walked by, mostly in groups. Some of them were carrying carts of goods, others were clearly moving towards another part of the city. Some offered glances towards the Three monsters sitting upon the steps.

The young Frost Giant paid them no mind. ["Can you go into a Cathedral?"

He asked quietly, rolling his head to look at his more silver haired companion.

"Or would you get burnt up?" Matias had worked with Harlowe before, a task set before them a few months ago by Nazara. Felice he had never met before, and had only encountered after the end of the battle of La Torren when he'd been ordered to stay behind with the two women. He had no idea what she was, though to his eyes she looked ordinary enough.
 
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"Would you melt if I put you in a fire?"

Matias was the type of soldier she was used to dealing with Before. Arrogant, assertive, and didn't appear to have the capabilities to think before speaking. If he did he decided it was worth speaking anyway and lacked the warning bells possessed by normal people when asking about touchy subjects. She shared a look with Felice that women often shared with one another when a man said something she found exasperating before looking back down to the sword in her lap she was cleaning.

"No," she said eventually, speaking as though she were explaining it to a child and only mostly because she knew Felice was probably curious too. The young monster who she had been training on and off for the past few months was the closest Harlowe would call a friend in the Regiment. She might have even called Matias that if other names such as arsehole and bastard didn't come to mind first.

"Religious buildings have no impact, neither do icons. Orin says decapitation and burning are the only way to be sure I die," it was what made her appearance so exciting for the Regiment.
 
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A cathedral really was the worst possible place for this assignment. Navaia had been clear after a brief bit of study at the Regiment’s library back in Reglin. There were four things to worry about for her: silver, holy magic, sacred objects, and her body being forcibly separated from her head. “Aside from that you should be fine,” the Gorgon had insisted.

Yet here they were at a place that likely was filled to the brim with all of the things that could cause, “horrific pain and possibly death.”

She’d been learning from Harlowe to cover her weaknesses, her reaction speed was getting better, and she was finally realizing that she might actually have a shot at being a capable member of her new little family. So, when this Matias fellow joked about the cathedral and Harlowe confirmed it wasn’t a threat to her either...

”Yeah, we’re all good, no need to poke fun at Harlowe,” she quipped back with a glare to defend her friend while hoping to deflect any attention on herself.

The last thing she wanted was for this person to think she was weak. Felice was getting stronger by the day and if they knew of her particular weaknesses the two of them might ask her to wait outside or something. Not only would that be boring but she might miss out on all the fun.
 
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"Oh." Matias said. "Well that's good."

He glanced over towards Felice, narrowing his eyes for a moment as if suspecting something...but then rolling his shoulders in a shrug.

The Frost Giant didn't particularly care either way, as long as neither of them was going to burst into flames as soon as they crossed those doors. He assumed that wouldn't go over too well for their negotiating position. Particularly if they started tossing holy water at them.

Slowly he pulled himself off and up the step, giving one last glance towards the figures milling about in the street before he address his companions. "Shall we see the status of our bounty?"

He asked, frowning for a moment.

"Sorry." Matias said to the Harionago. "What was your name again? I'm Matias."

The Frost Giant offered her a hand, both in greeting and to help her up. He wasn't a complete ass.
 
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Harlowe caught the edge to her friends tone but made no acknowledgement of it as she stood up and sheathed her now clean blade. There was a satisfying hiss of metal against metal before it slammed home and settled against her hip. A comforting weight. Of course she didn't necessarily need a weapon to fight anymore - her hands were strong enough to rip a mans head from his shoulders - but she still enjoyed using it.

"It might be wise," she drawled, leaning against the railing of the steps as she watched Matias help Felice to her feet. "If we meet in the graveyard instead of in the cathedral. It is good for them to rely on things which do not work, so playing to that idea might help us in the future," they certainly would get a nasty surprise when they splashed her with holy water and only found a slightly damp, pissed off vampire in front of them.

She didn't look at Felice as she examined her nails but perhaps the girl would know she'd made the suggestion for her.
 
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A shiver crept up Felice’s arm as she grabbed hold of Matias’ hand and stood. She wasn’t sure what sort of monstrosity he was but it was definitely something cold. Something very, very, cold.

Once she stood she relinquished his hand and willed some warmth to return to her palm. A small smile was presented, ”I’m Felice.” She crossed her arms, more to warm herself than anything else, and added a, ”nice to meet you.”

One thin eyebrow lurched upwards at Harlowe’s suggestion. Graveyards seemed a lot safer, much more open, and would likely cut down the prevalence of religious totems. Felice wondered if, perhaps, the idea was suggested on her behalf. She’d have to thank the vampire for that later.

”The graveyard sounds more appropriate to me too. They might be too comfortable in the cathedral,” and there was no reason to divulge just how uncomfortable Felice would be in the holy site. Plus, meeting monsters at a graveyard sounded ominous. If she were still human she’d have definitely been intimidated.

Just needed to drive the point home now. ”I’m definitely a fan of the graveyard plan.”
 
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Matias perked an eyebrow. "Right, so definitely nothing about the Cathedral then."

Then Frost Giant said, noting the objection that both of the girls had to wandering into the massive holy site. Maybe it was a lady thing, or maybe they were both thinking of genuine strategy. It was quite difficult to tell in all honesty.

Eventually a sigh escaped him and he threw up his hands.

"Seems I'm outvoted." He rolled his eyes and then shrugged his shoulders, glancing around them for a moment in search. "Suppose we'll ask to meet them at midnight too. Add to the 'scare' factor."

After a moment Matias found what he was looking for. "You there, boy! Stop."

A young lad, no older than ten stopped as soon as Matias picked him out. He was an urchin clearly, his clothes dirty and hat a rag. From his pocket Matias pulled out a silver coin, motioning towards him and squatting down on the step. "Want to earn a bit of coin?"

"O-oh yes I do ser! Times is hard nowadays an-"

Matias held up a hand.

"I understand lad. So here's what I want you to do. You're gonna go into that Cathedral, ask for Lord Lindon, and tell him they are to meet the representatives of the Regiment at St. Mary's Graveyard at the Witching hour." He brandished the Silver coin. "Understood?"

The boy nodded eagerly, and Matias flicked him the coin. Almost in an instant the lad shot off up the stairs and towards the cathedral doors, leaving Matias with the two women. "So....Wanna kill a few hours at the tavern?"

He asked.
 
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Harlowe gave Felice a subtle wink.

When Matias was done with his deal with the kid, who Harlowe had half expected to run off with the coin without doing the job, she pushed off the railing and gave a catlike stretch. She'd fed well enough on the battlefield so the red-mist of bloodlust wasn't riding her hard and there was nothing else to do so she shrugged in agreement.

"I am curious how alcohol affects this body..." she mused, more to herself than the others, before setting off down the steps. Still spattered in blood from the battle she didn't think any of them would be welcome in there but she was rather looking forward to watching anyone trying to tell Matias to go away. She didn't think he knew what it meant to be rejected.
 
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Felice smiled at the errand boy before he disappeared into the elaborate priory. She was pretty sure Matias mentioned the witching hour as some cruel joke but she let it slide for now.

The tavern could certainly be… fun. It was the source of some poor memories in her old life but she always enjoyed the hustle and bustle inside. Not to mention that alcohol was one of the best remedies to forget your sorrows as a human. Felice doubted the substance would come close to the high she experienced upon consuming a fresh meal but it was worth a try.

”Ditto,” she affirmed Harlowe’s statement. ”I haven’t tried rum since, well, since I was not this.”

Rum was plentiful in Cerak and Felice had been drinking it since she was probably too young to drink any alcohol. She was unsure if La Torren’s meager tavern would stock any but a trip down memory lane could be nice. And, of course, there was always wine or ale in a pinch.

Her hair shook rapidly behind the trio in an effort to dislodge any of the blood or viscera still caught in the tresses.
 
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Finally.

At least he could get them to agree to a drink. Sometimes he felt as though most of the Monsters in the Regiment had forgotten that they used to be human. Just because they were something else now didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy what they once did.

"Rum, huh?" Matias mused.

"Might be able to find some at the back of some bar." Though he doubted it. "I think you'll have more luck with Wine and Brandy though."

This was La Torren after all, a city famous for it's more fanciful ways of getting absolutely off your trotters. He shrugged, and then lead the way for the other two monsters. They walked for some time, Matias shifting his gaze through the streets as he searched.

Eventually he found what appeared to be a bar, or might have been one. A stone had collapsed the roof of the place, but the wall holding the sign was still up. "Look, we won't even have to pay."

Matias said as he pulled open the half destroyed door to the tavern.
 
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Harlowe watched in amusement as the door crumpled apart in the Frost Giants hand. It seemed it really had been hanging by the last nail in the thick wooden beam. Artfully she stepped around him and in a flash she was behind the bar. Pieces of discarded paper and napkins suddenly leapt into the air with a rustle and flap as her speed caught them in its wake but she paid them no mind. She was already squinting at the different labels.

"Wine... wine... port... brandy..." she ran a finger over every label smearing away the dust and rubble which had come to rest over the bottles. If a particularly nice one caught her eye she turned and put it on what was left of the bar behind her for the others to take a look at. For the upper shelves the slender Vampire had to rock on to her tip toes but eventually she gave a victorious noise.

"And some rum," she set the dusty bottle down whilst she clutched a bottle of gin with her other. Clearly what she intended to drink. Grabbing three glasses she set them down and then poured herself a suitable measure of her chosen poison.
 
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For a brief second Felice hesitated at the entrance of the rundown bar. She had to stop herself from questioning if the three were allowed to enter. Adjusting to being in the Regiment was still a process no matter how much she preferred it to her old life.

The fiery haired beast grinned when Harlowe announced her discovery of the rum and pale fingers wrapped around the dusted bottle. ”Looks like the rum really was in the back of the bar,” her voice a playful jest. She tilted the bottle over one of the empty glasses and the brown liquor pooled a quarter of the way up the short glass.

Aged rums were nice. Folks in Cerak weren’t as picky and thus the only time they got darker rums there were from the barrels off ships that docked from foreign ports.

”Cheers!”

Felice raised her glass and waited for the others to follow suit before she took her first sip. The taste was fantastic, as good as she remembered from her youth. But she felt nothing even as she downed her glass. She waited a few seconds, hoping that a tingling would begin or her mood would suddenly feel elevated.

But nothing came.

”Wow, I’m going to need to slow it down,” another, lesser amount of rum poured into her glass. ”Need to make sure I’m sober enough for our spooky graveyard meeting.”

No sense in ruining the other two’s merriment. Plus, she knew from her human life that people loved to tease lightweights.
 
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Matias grabbed one of the remaining bottles at random, not bothering with a glass and simply plucking the cork from the bottle with his teeth.

He brought the liquor to his lips and practically poured it down his throat. Unlike the other two Matias was already well aware that his tolerance had grown through the roof since his transformation. On his second day after he'd woken up the young man had done his best to drink himself to death in a small attempt to feel any sort of warmth.

After threw bottles of some sort of strange grain alcohol the southern detachment kept around all he'd felt was some vague sense of being drunk. It was the same with food. He didn't need it, but he could eat a whole buffet before feeling any sort of satisfaction.

When he'd asked about it he'd just received shrugs. No one had any answers, just that there were old stories in the north of Jötuun being famed for their feasts.

As he half finished off the bottle Matias let out a satisfied sigh. "Not bad."

He said, inspecting the bottle and seeing that it was some sort of brandy. His gaze drifted towards Felice's cup, raising an eyebrow but not saying anything.

"So Felice, where you from?" He'd had the conversation once with Harlowe on their previous journey. It always interested him just how far flung the Regiment recruited from.

As he waited for an answer he peered behind Harlowe. "Check for some Wine, would you?"

Everyone always said you had to try the Wine from La Torren.
 
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Harlowe gave Felice an amused little smile as she eased herself onto the splintered shelf behind her. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was about the redhead but Harlowe found her funny. She didn't think the girl tried to be but that made her humour all the more funny, at least to the young vampire. Matias began questioning her as she took her own sip of the gin and cocked her head to the side as the liquid trickled down her throat.

Much like her companions she couldn't feel the impacts at all but she did like the taste of the infused gin so she was content to merely sip at it. Orin had warned her about filling her body with substances she couldn't really process and how it might make her sick.

At the frost giants request she chucked him a bottle of the wine as though it cost a few coppers and not a few silver pieces.
 
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These two were clearly heavy drinkers. Matias had downed half a bottle of some sort of alcohol and was preparing to switch to wine. Maybe they couldn’t feel the effects of the spirits either?

”Cerak. Ever been?” Most people hadn’t. Or if they had they stayed near the port. The entire city was like one giant slum except if you walked down the wrong street you weren’t just risking robbery or assault but enslavement by crazed pirates as well. ”It’s lovely this time of year. So long as your drunk. And on a ship docked in Cerak’s port instead of Cerak itself.”

She swirled the rum around for a few seconds before pressing the glass up to her lips and enjoying another chug of it. It was honestly kind of sad to miss out on such a simple pleasure as mild intoxication. Maybe if she just drank a lot of it she’d feel… anything.

Before pouring a third though she added, ”I died in Oban so I’m not sure if the Regiment’s ever even gone to Cerak.” Why would they? A third glass was filled and she sipped this one slowly. Preferring to enjoy the taste and savor it a bit longer.

”And you? Where’re you from?” A tuft of red hair rose and curled in confusion.
 
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Matias caught the wine with his right hand, taking another swig of the brandy with his other.

Gaze flickered towards the bottle that she had thrown him. "Torren Loire."

He read off the label in common, though noticed there was a far fancier script below it. He mused for a moment, listening to Felice explain that she was from Cerak. His eyebrows raised for a moment, though more in shock than anything else.

Cortosi ships had been the victim of Cerak pirates for decades.

More than a few merchants had lost their entire livelihoods at the hands of the black ships, and a few had even been brought into Slavery. From her demeanor he would not have guessed Felice's home, but he didn't hold it against her.

"Cortos." He explained. "Feíara, to be exact."

Feíara was on the eastern most islands of what was considered Cortos, a great trading city with high walls and towers that had been built centuries ago specifically to hold out against Black Corsairs and Slavers. "I was killed in a battle on the Western Baal, relieving a town the Regiment had under siege."

It obviously had not gone well.
 
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Harlowe's brows also rose when Felice mentioned Cerak. Even in the North of the Steppes the famed slaver city was known and not for pleasant reasons. A kindling of understanding flickered in her eyes now of just why her friend had found it so easy to adjust to her new life.

She shifted uncomfortably as she filed that piece of realisation away.

Her attention turned to the Death stories being shared and grimaced in sympathy at Matias' story. She raised her glass in soldier solidarity before downing the contents of her glass.

"On the Bloody Meadow holding them back so our army could retreat."

Fate was funny like that she supposed.

"If you could have chosen the monster you became what would you have chosen?" Her head tilted to the side. It was a question she had mulled over herself the more creatures she saw.
 
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So many in the Regiment had been soldiers. It made sense, when you really thought about it. The monster army was mostly used to fight battles so many of their ‘converts’ were opposition forces. Sure, not all of ‘em because the Regiment did more than fight wars. Felice hadn’t been a soldier and she’d met a bodyguard, a smuggler, a misfortunate merchant, and someone who said they were just, ‘really bad at poker.’

Luckily she wouldn’t need to elaborate anymore on her own death with Harlowe’s change of topic. A sly smirk rose as she pressed an index finger to her lips. It was a fun question, one she could’ve thought on for hours.

Initially she had wanted to say, ‘vampire,’ but she knew how hard the silvery haired friend she’d made struggled with it. Honestly, anything really strong would’ve been liberating. ”An undine. Like Neesa.”

Neesa was one of the monsters back in Reglin. She was an undine, a physical manifestation of the elemental force of water. Neesa was nice enough but by her own admission she didn’t even realize how old she was anymore. Nazara had told Felice that Neesa wasn’t even sent out too often after she drowned an entire village by accident. Clicked her heels together too fast or something.

”Just would be interesting to know how it feels to control that much power. To shapeshift into water itself.” And to presumably be immortal and practically a god. Felice wasn’t sure if Neesa was blessed or cursed but it was as honest an answer as the young monster could give.

She relaxed her shoulders and kept her smirk as she awaited the other two’s answers.
 
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An Undine, interesting choice. Matias hadn't met Neesa, but a power like that sounded satisfying in it's own sort of way.

Briefly his ego flickered to the surface, and he wondered if with his own abilities he could freeze the woman solid. A briefly flicker of his eyes was shot down to his hand, fingers flexing as he considered, and then shrugged.

The rest of the bottle of brandy was downed, and then tossed behind him where it smashed against the floor. "A Doppelganger."

He answered.

"Like that one in Olgren." Matias had thought the idea was a fun one. "The ability to be anyone or anything."

The Frost Giant didn't have the same craving for power that Felice did. His own abilities terrified him at points...though he'd never admit that to the other two.

His hand came up to hold the top of the wine bottle for a moment, not wanting to reach for a corkscrew. The glass seemed to make an odd sound as it froze, and then Matias flicked the top of it. The top of the bottle snapped and broke away.

As he poured the wine into the cup Harlowe had earlier retrieved for him he looked at the vampire. "And you?"
 
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Harlowe cocked her head to the side as she pondered the question.

When she had first awoken in this body she had been terrified of it, of the other monsters in the regiment, and of what she could have ended up becoming. Now... Now she found herself wondering at the different creatures the contract churned out. She'd never even heard of half of them and now she lived with them. Her lips pursed as she thought through the list. Neesa was one of those who she had also considered in the past but..

"A Peri," she said eventually with a firm nod. "Like Tahmina."

The Peri were creatures who preferred the warm temperatures of the desert lands. They appeared as winged beings and were so beautiful to look at it actually hurt sometimes to keep looking at Tahmina. However, they were actually spirits with similar gifts to djinns and seemed to feed off souls. She'd once questioned her new friend but the woman had only smiled with those sharp teeth and tapped her nose.

"I'd quite like to fly," a small, shy smile.
 
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A Doppelgänger would’ve been skills Felice would’ve loved when she were human. To be someone else though wasn’t as important anymore. For the first time in a very long time she belonged somewhere, she was happy.

But to Harlowe’s idea she had to chime in, ”oh, yeah, flying would be amazing.” Her face glowed slightly as she wondered if she formed her hair into giant wings could she fly? Might have to try that back at the camp. Alone, preferably, to avoid embarrassment.

Felice cast a look at Matias but didn’t let it linger. He couldn’t have been all bad or Harlowe would’ve warned her but the creature, whatever he was, gave off the same vibes as the everyday assholes in Cerak or some of the people in the Obanese gang she loosely affiliated herself with to stay fed. Maybe soldiers weren’t any better than criminals. Or maybe it was just men.

Another sip was taken as she longed for the sweet embrace of intoxication that never came. ”I never rode, or even touched, a horse when I was human,” she admitted. Never really had the opportunity to.
 
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Matias took a sip of the wine, the taste of it rolling over his tongue with a pleasant sort of spice. He smacked his lips for a moment, looking at the glass with a very satisfied smile.

Before downing the bottle he picked it up and offered some to his companions, because that was what a gentleman did. "I bet we can find you one."

Most animals he'd encountered had been utterly terrified of him since his change. Horses, chickens, pigs, even dogs. Didn't really matter much what they were, but most started to try to get away as soon as he took a step towards him.

He knew it was the same with many others in the Regiment.

"Find a lake with a Kelpie." Matias offered. "Or a Nuckelavee"

In truth he had absolutely no idea if either of those things existed, but he was now a part of a regiment of monstrocities. Why shouldn't other legends exist in the wild.
 
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"Do not do that," Harlowe scowled at the other soldier and snatched the wine out of his hands. There was a moment where she clearly thought about smacking upside the head too but she managed to keep a lid on the very rare flare of a temper. Over the recent weeks she had come to learn that Felice had a way of wanting to fit in even if that meant agreeing to some of the more stupid things the Regiment suggested. Soldiers never changed, it seemed, no matter what they were.

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath before pouring Felice a glass of the ruby red wine. She slid the glass over to her friend then took a swig from the bottle.

"If you want to try and ride a horse we could probably find you one here," the vampire offered kindly. Felice didn't smell like death nor like the terrifying frost that she smelt on Matias. Perhaps she would have better luck with horses than either of them.
 
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She had started to open her mouth to agree on the plan of taming a kelpie until her vampiric friend spoke up. That was probably for the best. Felice didn’t think she could drown but she also didn’t have any desire to test that assumption.

”You don’t think they’d run?” Aside from the unnaturally pale skin and the way her mouth shifted when she feasted, Felice still looked relatively human. ”Maybe after our graveyard meeting. If there’s time.”

The red haired beast pressed the rim of glass to her mouth and allowed the wine to wash over her tongue down towards her throat. It was probably the fanciest thing she’d ever drank. Not to mention incredibly delicious. However, the Ceraki native knew that members of the Regiment didn’t gush about things. They played it off like it was beneath them. That’s why they were all so cool.

It’s what made Harlowe refreshing. She seemed the most human of them all, easiest to talk with. Maybe it was because they were both so new. Maybe they’d both end up like Nazara or Neesa or Matias given enough time.

”So, uh, Cortos? How long ago were you turned?”
 
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"You're an absolute bore." Matias said to Harlowe with a slow roll of his eyes.

There was no telling what could have happened with a Kelpie or something of the sort. For all they knew Felice might have been the greatest monster tamer in the history of the world.

He doubted it, but it might be possible.

A sigh escaped him as he watched his vampiric companion taking a swig from his bottle of wine, reaching out to quickly snag it back as soon as she lowered it. The broken glass was put to his lips, and he took a long swig before answering Felice.

"Five...sixth months ago?" He said in a guess. "I was mostly with the Southern detachment. Vix was the one who recruited me."

Unlike the two of them which had Nazara at their backs. "Big scary...spider...demon...thing."

He was still not entirely sure what the woman was.
 
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