Sylvia closed her eyes, and whipped the pearls of sweat from her brow. That was a strange fight, one that their group had lost, and they almost died. The leader of their group, a large man with brown hair and grey eyes, was shouting at her. She was not processing what he was saying, but she knew that they were not nice. The reason why the words didn't reach her ears was, because the banshee had screamed into them, and now all she heard was a loud ringing. She still wondered why they, no not they, that dude that was yelling at her, had angered the creature. Banshees were not dangerous, they were simply messengers of death. They didn't bring it or something of the sort, and most of all they are not aggressive. So the fact that this idiot of a man had driven the creature so far that she wanted to kill them was impressive. And not someone she wanted to be around for much longer. The woman with black hair rushed to Sylvia's side and attended the wounds with her magic.

"Stop it, Anthony," the woman said. "She is not to blame for all of this." The man huffed and started to scream at her. 

"She is a fucking newbie, and she needs to listen to what I tell her to do!" he screamed. Sylvia wanted to roll with her eyes, she might be a newbie, a rookie, or what ever they wanted to call it. But she knew more than this wind bag of a man. Her father, and grandfather after that, had trained her and learned all she needed to know about the creatures she might encounter. And if she had listened to him, then she would be dead. They all would be killed, by a normally none aggressive creature that had nothing to them. Other than crossing paths with this... She was not going to sink to this man's level, that would be too easy for him. Like, blaming her newbie status, for his mistake. "She is nothing," Sylvia stood up, grabbed her axe and checked her backpack. It was not damaged and everything was still in one piece, including the flask George had given her. She placed one of the straps over her shoulder, and started to walk away. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Well, I am going back to town. I am going to rent a room with a nice bed for the night and after that I go to Aeria. Like you said, I am a nobody. So you will not miss me when I am gone," she said and placed another step.

"You do not dare, I didn't give you permission to leave this group." Anthony snapped at her, she turned around. Let the backpack slide off her shoulder, placed it on the ground and walked with two big steps towards him. The axe was still placed on her back, Anthony looked smug when she walked towards him. But that was short-lived, she smacked that expression of his face. There was not much in the world that would make her mad, but this man had done it. This man had endangered her life, and now he was telling her what she could or couldn't do. Heubin to the no! She was not going to let that slide, she might be young and a rookie. But she knew what she was worth, and now this man knew that too.

"I am going, and there is nothing you can do, or say to stop me." She hissed, anger was dripping off her words. Like venom from a serpents' fang. She turned back around, looked at the woman. Who didn't know how to look, and she left the two of them to their own. The tavern owner looked surprised when she entered. 

"You are back, didn't suspect that." He said, she smiled at him.

"Well, it didn't work out. That wind bag, led us into a fight with a banshee. Can you believe it?" Sylvia said, the man named Edward looked at her stunned.

"A banshee?" he asked. "Those aren't even dangerous." She rolled with her eyes, she already knows that. "A, well, I hope that this man learns his lesson. Here take a bit of this stew, and I was not able to rent out the room you used, so take that one. You seem to need it." She wanted to thank the man, when a woman burst into the tavern. With a newborn in her arms, was she crying?

"Daddy, Jones, kicked me and are son out of the house." she whined. "He was already married, and that woman..."

"He is what!" A female voice bouldered out of the kitchen, a much older version of the woman came out, not soon after. She looked pissed off. "That bastard, I am going to teach him how to teach my baby girl and my grand baby boy. Edward, make yourself useful and watch the baby." The young woman gave her son to her father and followed her mother out of the tavern. The whole tavern looked at Edward, and he sighed.

"I am sorry folks, but you know how my wife and daughter are." Edward said, so most of the patrons were locals.

"That girl should have kicked that good for nothing to the curb, and stuck with Percy. He would have treated her right, her and the baby." One of the men said.

"You are telling me that," Edward said, he tried to smile, but failed. He then turned back his attention towards Sylvia. "Sorry, about that. Percy was an adventure like you. But he was ready to settle down and start a family." Sylvia knew that being an adventure was not for the long haul, eventually an adventure settles down to start a family. Her father and mother did, when they got her. "But instead of sticking with him, my daughter choice this bastard, and here we are. Well, enjoy your stew, and get some rest."

"Where is this Percy now?" Sylvia asked. 

"Aeria, he is currently working for my good friend Owen. Who is the guild master, there." Edward said, she nodded. Maybe it was time to push onwards. She has being on the road for months, and had done some little jobs to keep herself fed. But she hadn't lost sight about why she was on the road, the Lamia. The creature that killed her parents.

"Funny, I am heading there too," she said. Edward looked at her and nodded slowly. 

"Maybe you two will meet, but do me a small favour? Do not talk about me or my family, we have hurt him more than I want to admit." He said. She looked at her stew and took a small bite.

"I will."

*********

Percy walked into the guild's headquarters ready to go on the new job. It was not a crazy job, it was killing some spiders and collect their webs for something. He didn't care for what it was, but it was not his business to know. His business was to collect the stuff and then to deliver it to the woman who requested it. The wood in the fireplace was softly crackling, which was in his mind a very welcoming sound. He had noticed when he was with that ungrateful wench that the smallest thing could make it feel like home. Like a soft crackling fire, the smell of fresh baked bread, the things he missed more than that woman, and the promise of a life she took away from him. Owen was standing behind the counter, rubbing his temples. Percy only knew him for a couple of weeks, and he knew this man enough to know that he only made that gesture when he was stressed out. So, was he going to ask what is up. Heubin, he didn't need to ask the head of the guild at all. That man shared everything, really everything.

"Ahh, Percy, there you are. Gillian already told me that you would be a bit later. Something about your quarterstaff," Owen said. Speaking of the so-called leader of the group, where was he? And where were the others? Percy felt a pit form in his stomach, and he couldn't say that he was surprised about it or anything. He had heard that another job had presented itself, and that job paid more gold. Something Gillian didn't hide, he wanted more. Percy had told the man the night before that they gave the woman their word, and he was not willing to break it. "Gillian, and the others, are gone. They have taken on that other job, I told them that I would not tolerate them breaking their word. But they didn't care, so they will finish that job and after that they are no longer welcome inside my guild, that is for sure." Owen again rubbed his temples. "But how am I going to tell, Isabella, that you guys are not going to get that spider silk for her daughter's wedding dress?" Percy was not even over the fact that Gillian had broken his word, but also left him behind as well. Alright, that part was not a shocker to Percy. Gillian and he didn't get along, and that was not a secret at all. But the comment about them not completing the job as promised, rubbed him the wrong way.

"How said that she is not going to get that silk?" He asked. Owen stopped passing, which he started to do, right when he started to tell him about Gillian. He looked confused to say the least.

"But Gillian, and the others, are gone." Owen replied, Percy shrugged.

"I do not need them, I am going to kill those buggers and get the silk. It might not as be as easy as I make it out to be, but what other option do we have?" Percy said. 

"Telling Isabella, that this is not happening." Owen snapped. "Percy, I appreciated the gesture, you are a man of your word and I respect that. But what you are suggesting is suicided! I am not standing for that, I am not going to stand for that at all!" Owen shook his head, the door opened, and the elderly woman called Isabella walked in.

"And neither will I. My daughter would have to think of something else," Isabella said firm. She then sighed, "although she has her heart set on it. But no team, is no team." She sounded so defeated, so disappointed. Percy walked past her through the door. That girl will get that silk, all is it the last thing he would do.

*********

Emrys looked at the trees on the Gibwater trail, all of them were covered with a thick layer of spiderwebs. Nothing went untouched, in the distance he could hear the spiders walk and even some faint sounds of them talking to each other in a language he was not able to understand.

"Am I the first one to say that this will be a bad idea?" He asked, his longswords already in hand. Audery who was standing next to him, shook her head. Her mouth was slightly a jar, so she was as stunned as he was about the sight. The whole group of druids was standing behind them. 

"Good luck," First Druid Eileen Mist said, Emrys nodded. They were going to need luck, and a lot of it.