"It's an interesting set up though." As she began to chip away at the stone Kersara worked carefully not to simply shatter it but to get some useable material out of it. "What are they used for though?"

"We set them up whenever a hunting party will be staying in a dangerous location for a long period of time in order to get some of the essentials. It's takes us a little longer then you to get around the forest after all. They're meant to hold against attacks by wild tuskers and the like."

"Why haven't I ever happened upon one?"

"Because you and your sisters tend to get pissed if we make any permanent change to the forest outside of our territory. We have to make them strong but quick to set up relatively speaking and quick to take down. Otherwise we're afraid we'd hear from you."

"Ah damn it Kelah why did you have to say it like that? Now I feel like a bitch."

"Well to be blunt you all can be."

"Now that's mean. We try our best to be fair to everyone in our forest. We just do what we have to do to protect it."

"Oh now are you sure you want to go down that road? I doubt you're used to hearing the opinions of others who live in the forest."

"I'm interested in others view points especially while doing something this boring."

"Alright then. Well to be honest we tend to consider you all to be a little excessive if your policies as far as forest protection goes. Now that I said that though I believe it's best if I give an example. Do you remember about six years ago whenever the hianze began to reach outside of their territory and you went to decrease their population?"

"I wasn't actually part of that but I remember it happening."

"Well to be honest you went way overboard with that. Hianze migrate you know that and every now and then they're going to slip outside of their regular roaming patterns. The area they wondered into had suddenly began to develop a large supply of roots they happen to have a taste for so they went after them. If you'd just waited until they'd finished with the roots in that region they'd resume their regular patterns."

"Hianze are extremely dangerous Kelah."

"Ah well I can't exactly disagree with that but it's not like they're viscous. It really would have been better if you'd just let them eat their roots and move back to their regular patterns instead of killing off a tenth of their population and driving them back into their regular roaming region. You caused them a lot of unneeded stress which affected their behavior. That affected the health of their environment in turn."

"They would have upset the balance in those regions that wasn't adapted to host them though."

"How much though? Would it have upset the balance there more then you upset the balance in their domain by killing so many so quickly?"

First instincts told Kersara to answer yes but she held her tongue. In truth she didn't know which would have had the worse affect. "How do you know so much about this?"

"Ah we like to gather certain plants from the region they wondered into. Some of us were actually there and told us about what happened when they got back."

"Ah! So if we hadn't killed them then you'd been influenced as well."

"Yeah it would have made things a lot easier on us."

"Huh?"

"Those roots the hianze love so much aren't exactly good eating by our standards but they do compete with the plants we like to gather."

"Okay I didn't know that one."

"You know it isn't always the animals that go outside their bounds."

A sigh escaped Kersara as she gave a nod. "Okay you have a point. We made a mistake that time though I don't believe any of us knew about it. Surely you can agree that we do a fair job overall though?"

"I can agree with that. It can be kind of rough keeping our numbers low enough to stay within the safe zone though. I'm looking forward to the limitation being increased though."

"Are you planning on having a child?"

"Yeah I am."

"Then have you chosen the father?"

"Mm I've pretty much selected the father to be though he doesn't know it yet. Not that his lack of knowledge really matters in such situations."

"Huh?"

A slight chuckle escaped Kelah as she removed one of her axis. "Okay those claws of yours are doing a nice job with that stone but how about you use this to speed things up?" As she spoke Kelah gave the dragon bone ax a slight toss such that it buried itself in the ground next to Kersara's feet.

"What? Isn't this a special weapon only given to the war leader?"

"Yes it is which is why I will want that ax back when you're done."

"Isn't it a bit disrespectful to use such a weapon to simply cut stone?"

"A useful and well taken care of tool is a happy tool."

"Okay I can see the useful part but what about the well taken care of?"

"Kersara that's a dragon bone ax which has been augmented by the spirits. Cutting stone with it isn't a big deal and considering that one of the spirits that aided in the imbuing was a spirit of earth I doubt there is going to be any problem in how its used. Besides even if you damaged it I would just heal it later."

"You can heal this thing!"

"Yes and considering how much use that ax has gotten over its life time it is a darn good thing that we can heal it."

"That's just interesting but Kelah there is a reason my sisters and I don't tend to use magic items. They degrade in our hands if the magic isn't strong enough."

"I wouldn't worry about that Kersara. If you manage to actually damage the ax I'll let you know and take it back. Until then go ahead and use it."

"Thanks for the help then."

"Dinon! You look terrible but how did things go?"

"The good news is that the water spirits in the region aren't holding this against us. The bad news is that the amount of death that has happened hear has drawn several spirits of death out of the forest and onto the beach. I've been busy trying to convince them to ally with us and not try to cause our deaths but rather try to cause the deaths of our enemies."

"How's it going?"

"Another bit of good news the water kobolds haven't had any shaman on the beach offering a similar deal. The bad news is that some of the spirits aren't interested in making any deals. I've been trying to help those spirits who are interested in dealing drive off those who aren't but they're some complexities."

"You mean a few of them are extremely powerful and aren't so easily driven off or bought off."

"You're correct. However, at least they're neutral in the matter."

"Yeah but neutral beings can easily decide to change sides. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Um actually this is a question for you Kersara. May we have permission to gather a few trees from the forest to burn them?"

"May I know why?"

"I'm currently dealing with a spirit of fire. She's agreed to lend us more aid but she wants a tribute in return for that aid. She wants us to gather up some of the water kobolds and burn them on an alter made from fresh lumber dedicated to her."

"Isn't fresh lumber harder to burn?"

"Yes but as we'd be burning beings born from the water and of youth she'd gain a rather large amount of nourishment."

A low groan escaped Kersara as she looked at Dinon. "Is it worth it?"

"Honestly the spirit knows that we're in a tough spot so it's just barely worth it. Though there would most likely be long term benefits."

"Please try to use trees that are nearing the end of their life span."

"Um I can't. You see the spirit wants young healthy trees used. The type that don't burn well as by forcing the flames to succeed we feed her more."

Instead of responding right away Kersara found herself simply staring at Dinon. "Dinon you're making me wish I had a means of harming spirits that hadn't bridged the gap now. Fine you can use what trees you want. I don't have any faith in this spirit but I trust you as our ally."

"Thanks Kersara."

"Kelah there is also something I want to speak with you about. Would you mind trying to commune with Nightfang and gaining further aid from him?"

"Dinon I communed with Nightfang plenty today. He was with me nearly the entire battle right up until the end. What exactly would you like for me to ask from the great wolf spirit?"

"We were hoping that he might lend us further aid."

A sigh escaped Kelah as she shook her head. "Dinon I'm not going to ask Nightfang to do that. I am the alpha of my pack at least whenever it comes to the war party. Do you really believe that the alpha would go to another wolf and ask for aid because they're not strong enough?"

"I suppose that admitting weakness could be a bad move."

"It'd be a terrible move. Listen Dinon every blessing from Nightfang I've gained I've had to fight for. You don't ask a wolf spirit for a favor like you do some of the others. You show that spirit your strength and that you're worthy to be part of the pack."

A sigh escaped Dinon as he gave a nod. "So did today's battle convince Nightfang that you're worthy of more."

"I have no ideal. He was feeding off the essence of the kobolds every time I killed one of them. After words he sort of went dormant or effectively he's taking a nap while his food digest. I could challenge him later for a greater position them my current one but I don't have the time or strength for that right now."

"I understand. Oh one more bit of good news. The water spirits might not be happy with what has happened to their waters. This unnatural state isn't pleasing to them in the least. However, they are convinced we are their allies now instead of the kobolds and they'll be aiding us tomorrow."

"That's good to know."

"Hey Kelah, Dinon I have to ask. Does being our allies make it harder or easier for you to get the spirits to aid you?"

"That depends on what spirits you're talking about. Kersara I hope you don't take this offensively but the spirits of death that move throughout the forest tend to love you beast girls. They're others though who aren't nearly so fond of you. There is a natural order the forest seeks you see but while you work to keep the forest healthy you maintain your will upon it. Spirits of water tied to things like rivers don't appreciate that. "

"Perhaps I'm just tired but I believe I'm actually getting a little depressed here. I knew that we tended to be feared but I didn't realize how many enemies we'd made for ourselves in this forest. Especially since we consider it our home. Kelah do the orcs see us as friends or oppressors?"

"Um well." A sigh escaped Kelah as she shook her head. "Would you eat a friend or that friends child because they'd accidentally had a few too many?"

There was more then a little time during which Kersara simply set there and looked at Kelah and then Dinon. She felt a lump forming in her throat but then gave a sigh. "We kill our own sisters if they grow too large and don't agree to regress in size willingly."

"What?"

"You know that we grow larger and stronger the more we consume but we must then sustain that body. What do you don't know if we can return to smaller sizes but the procedure is costly especially for the person undergoing it. However, we have rules that say how large each of us is allowed to be and if someone goes beyond that they must regress in size. If they refuse to we kill them regardless of who they are."

It was Kelah's turn to be silent. After a few moments she gave a nod. "I see. That's actually a lot to think on. There have been times when I thought that you were only strict on those who weren't part of your species. To kill your own sibling just because they can't control their desire to eat though that's pretty dedicated."

"We don't want to but we have to make sure we don't outgrow what the forest can provide us with."

"Yeah. Yeah I understand that. No one is exempt from the rules." Instead of continuing Kelah took a moment to look up towards the sky. "You beast people and us orcs should hang out more often. You'd probably have more friends if we could understand one another better. I will say this though. After fighting alongside of you I consider you a friend."

"How come?"

"I noticed how you moved. Whenever the kobolds started to overwhelm us that is where you would go. You weren't just fighting for your own kind out there."

Now Kersara was made to chuckle. "So you consider me a friend even though I may have to butcher your people if you become too numerous."

A sigh escaped Kelah. "No one is exempt from the rules. Though we'd really appreciate it if you all would lighten up a little bit. Especially with the immediate response being slaughter."

"Perhaps we will. I know that the aid you're giving us now could be used as a basis for such a debate. We weren't always like this I'm told after all."

"What happened?"

"We were betray more then once."

"That will do it."

***********************************************************************************

Maria didn't know what to think as she looked down at the market. There were a few piles of burning wreckage at the outer edge of the market while they were even more piles of smoldering kobolds. Apparently they had been victims of either lightning or fire spells. Many more had been frozen and even more had simply been torn apart. "What happened here?"

Joseph didn't know what to say as he raised himself up further on Maria's shoulder so he could better see what was going on. He was actually a bit surprised when he felt himself being lightly shaken and realized it was due to Maria shivering. A sudden gust of wind hit the two of them and he had to release his hold on Maria with one hand to cover his nose. The smell of burnt kobold was almost enough to make him empty what little remained in his stomach onto Maria's back. Part of him couldn't help but wish that his eyes could cut through the darkness as well as Maria's. He wondered what he'd see if they could.

"I wish I knew Maria. There must have been a fight. Is it still going on?"

"No. I don't hear any fighting. Joseph cover your ears."

"Sure just let me get down." Joseph didn't have time to move. The moment he released his hold on Maria he felt her hands take hold of him. Suddenly he was lifted up and over her heard to be cradled in her arms. No questions came from him though as he covered his ears as she'd told him. Moments later he heard an extremely powerful roar escape Maria. The response was easy for him to hear despite the distance and still keeping his ears covered. "Are they alright?"

"Yeah. Let's get down there though and find out exactly what happened."

***********************************************************************************

"Sister you're okay!" As she spoke Mira dashed over to Maria having already outstretched her arms in greeting. She didn't even bother waiting for Maria to respond or set Joseph down as she embraced Maria in a hug squeezing the human gently between the two of them.

"Mira! What happened here and where is mother. Is everyone alright, how much was damaged?"

"Hold hold. One thing at a time. First we were attacked obviously, mother is currently speaking with the other keepers that aren't occupied. Everyone is more or less okay some were injured though and are retrieving treatment or healing. The damages is well. We lost a bit over ten percent of the market area to the kobolds. At least in terms of buildings. In terms of items destroyed by indirect damage such as smoke well we lost more."

"So there wasn't any casualties?"

A sigh escaped Mira as she looked up towards the sky for a moment. "Well there nearly wasn't any."

"Who died?"

"Well they were a few sisters who didn't respond to the call to return to the market area. A few of the distrusted."

At first Maria didn't say anything but continued to look at her sister. A sigh escaped her moments later. To be called a distrusted wasn't a good thing amongst the sister by any stretch of the imagination. It was those sisters who had chosen to reject the rules to the point that it was only fear of the others that kept them in line. Such sisters were forbidden to grow beyond the height of two meters tall and watched very closely when around any brothers. They were not well liked. "I see. Well then at least none of our sisters were killed during the attack. When did you find out they'd been killed?"

"We only learned it after the attack."

"How many of the distrusted died?"

"We only found two bodies. I don't know why they didn't respond to the call to return."

"They didn't believe they needed to most likely. I wish that I could say I feel sorry for them but I don't."

"Yeah that seems to have been the general response though some go a little too far. I even heard a few saying that we were better off without them. That said though I don't exactly disagree with them. Still, even the distrusted are our kin."

"I'm not kin to anyone that sees our brothers as little more then pets."

"Um ladies. I hate to interrupt but. I'm having trouble breathing."

A slight yelp escaped Mira as she looked down at Joseph ans she more leaped back then stepped back. "Sorry about that Joseph I was just so glad to have my sister back. Anyway, I suppose that we should get down to business now."

"Yeah what's the plan?"

"Dan will want to speak to Joseph he's helping prepare some items for battle."

"What kind of items?"

"Well mostly things like frost bombs and the like. I'm sure Dan will be happy to fill you in on the details. As for you Maria. Mirin and a few of the other higher ranked brothers were asking for you apparently they have something important for you to take care."

"Okay then would you take Joseph to speak with Dan?"

"Sure."

"Okay then. Joseph I'm going to go ahead and speak with Mirin. Mira where will you be taking him?"

"They've currently taken over the second floor of the library."

"Huh?"

"They wanted a secure location with a level of space the workshops didn't provide. So some sisters are moving things around in the library to make room for them and the claimed that are helping them. Apparently Dan plans to take this into high production mode as soon as possible."

"Were things that bad?"

"We lost part of the market and had to have our brothers help us."

"Yeah pretty darn bad then."

"Now get moving Mirin is going to have something important for you to handle I just know it. If you're hungry you can grab something while you're running."

***********************************************************************************

"Her Markus it's been a while."

The voice was slightly more powerful then it had been when he last heard it but Markus recognized it right away. "Hey Mirara I'm guessing things aren't going very well huh?"

"What makes you say that?"

"It took so long for anyone to come to speak with me I was beginning to wonder if I'd been forgotten. Dinner was the only proof that I hadn't been."

"Yeah we got very busy a little while ago." As she spoke Mirara made her way into the room and moved to stand in front of Markus though not for long. Nearly the moment she was in front of him she settled down into a seated position so they were closer to eye level. "We came under attack a little while after you were brought back. We've been busy since then."

"Attack? By what?"

"The kobolds attacked us in mass. We even lost some ground though nothing of note. Now Markus I imagine you know why I am here."

"You want to ask me some questions and depending on my answers I could be in serious trouble."

"Wrong!"

Markus nearly leaped out of his seat the moment the words hit his ears. While the word itself was a surprise the power and energy with which it was spoken was what really caught him off guard. "Huh? What do you mean wrong?" Instead of hearing a verbal answer immediately Markus found his ears being met with delighted giggles. It was still a surprise but the sound of Mirara's laughter made him smile and he set back down.

"Startled you a little didn't I?"

"Well yeah."

"You're not in trouble Markus but we'd like to know everything that you know about Alex. Considering the timing and what's been going on we believe he's involved."

"I didn't know he was a mage Mirara I swear I didn't. I only found out yesterday whenever we were setting at the fire and he started to prepare to cast a spell. I realized then that he was the mage that had been involved in the others escapes but I didn't want to risk confronting him."

"How come?"

"Well he's a mage and I don't have that kind of power. Also, I really wanted to get out of this forest but I didn't aid him in anyway other then what I would have done for any traveling partner. I really had no ideal he was a mage."

"You already said that and I believe you. Didn't you believe me whenever I said you weren't in any trouble?"

"I well. I suppose I didn't." A sigh escaped Markus as he looked away from Mirara or started to. Before he could he felt a hand press against the side of his face preventing it from turning away from hers. It was odd. Her hand was so massive he had no doubt she could crush his skull inside of it. Yet it only brought him comfort as he turned his gaze up towards her smiling face. "I've made myself paranoid living alone for such a long time."

"Did it hurt to think about leaving in the beginning?"

"Yeah I suppose it did. I was able to grow numb by keeping my distance though. Um I might be able to recall some of the words Alex was using while casting the spell. Do you believe that would help?"

"Unfortunately no. Markus perhaps I've been too specific. Tell me what you know about Alex the person. We need to figure out how he thinks and if he is involved in this attack upon our village what move he might try to make next."

"Oh I understand now. So I suppose I should start with involuntary habits I've noticed."

"That would be ideal yes."

"Okay then. Give me a moment to think."

***********************************************************************************

As Joseph looked around he was a bit surprised by what he saw. He'd been told that Dan had began setting up the lab for weapons production but he didn't expect anything this rapid. For a moment his mind was made to wonder back to his time in the castle and their weapons efforts. They didn't compare.

"Hey Joseph over here!"

The sudden sound of Dan's voice yelling at him shocked Joseph out of his line of thought and he made his way over to his friend. "They weren't joking whenever they said you'd taken this place over."

"Yeah we've been busy. I'm actually going off a stamina potion right now."

"Um I'm guessing you'd prefer if Mina didn't know that."

"Know what?"

"That you're using a stamina potion to keep yourself going."

Instead of responding right away Dan took a moment to look at Joseph. A low groan escaped him moments later as he shook his head. "Did I really say that out loud?"

"Yes. Yes you did."

"Ah the limitations of such potions. Yes I would prefer if Mina didn't know about that though given what I just did I should probably get some rest soon. Anyway I was hoping that you could help me with a few things."

"I'm taking it you mean help you make frost bombs."

"Sort of but not quite what you have in mind probably. I need someone to supervise the less knowledgeable alchemist and the claimed. I've been doing it for a while now and they're doing alright but I've caught a few mistakes."

"Huh? So you don't want me making frost bombs?"

"Another set of trained eyes helping to guide the hands of others would be a lot more useful. So could you give me a hand?"

"Um sure but I'm still a little in the dark right now."

"Don't worry just ask one of the sisters to give you the information. They're a few walking about helping to keep track of the claimed. Here I'll even call one for you. Rimona I need your help over here."

"Dan that isn't necessary I can wait." As he spoke Joseph could tell that Dan was still pretty hyped up on the stamina potion. He was actually beginning to wonder if Dan had taken more then one.

"Wait on what?"

"Rimona if you don't mind please help show Joseph around and let him know what's been going on."

A sigh escaped Joseph as he looked at the sister and then to Dan. "You need to get some rest or I'm going to inform Mina that you drank more then one of those."

There was no sign of anger from Dan only a chuckle. "Yeah I believe I'm going to go throw up and then lay down for a while. Probably drink a lot of water before I fall asleep. Sorry about this Joseph I bet you're tired as well."

"Yeah okay Rimona please show me what you all have going on here. I'll be filling in for Dan while he recovers."

"Ookay. Um but you know Dan if you did something you shouldn't have Mina is going to smell it on you. I'm not certain what the two of you were talking about though."

"Yeah she probably will but that's okay."

***********************************************************************************

"So Maria do you believe you can get these back to the beach before morning comes?"

"I had to go slower then my top speed when I was packing Joseph to avoid injuring him. As long as I can truly run with these yeah I can get it to them before morning. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to Allen and the others on the beach."

"Well if you see them then please give them an escort after you make the delivery. Don't worry about telling them what's going on we included a letter with the weapons."

Instead of responding right away Maria picked up one of the two large crates that had been placed before her. As she worked to strap the crate to her back as she looked at Mirin. "So you're sure that these will actually helps the orcs?"

"We're certain of that. Part of insuring our safety includes knowing what our neighbors weapons are like. They've only got a few notable weapons that surpass or even match these. Though from what I was told one set of such weapons are on the beach now."

"Other then this delivery and looking out for the kids is there anything else you want me to do?"

"You're going to be very busy upon your return Maria trust me. For the moment you need to get moving though. Are you sure those health potions you drank were enough?"

"Um absolutely not." A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she picked up the second crate. "I'll deal with that whenever I can though. They'll see me to the beach and back here at least."

"Wait in that case." As she spoke Mirin brought out a life bloom from the right pocket of his robe. "Here you go."

Maria was actually a bit surprised as she took the life bloom from Mirin. "Okay what are you doing walking around with one of these?"

"After the attack I decided to stop by the growing facility and see if anything had happened there. It had been quiet the entire time. While I was walking around though I noticed that one of them looked ready to be picked so I just decided to do so. It kind of surprised me after I'd done it but with everything going on it seemed like a good ideal for some reason. I suppose that it was."

"Is security going to be stepped up around the life bloom?"

"The facility is being looked over again to make sure nothing strange happened. Maria make sure you don't lose the seeds from that plant though and we'd like them back as well."

"Here you go." As she spoke Maria handed Mirin the seeds from the now vanished fruit.

"Huh?"

"What? My legs aren't the only part of me that works extremely quickly. Okay then Mirin I'm going to get going. If you see Joseph please let him know that I'll be back in less then an hour."

"So packing him slows you down that much?"

"If I took a sharp turn while running at my natural speed with Joseph on my back I'd end up killing him."

***********************************************************************************

"Rimona I know this is a bit off subject but would you mind telling me what a distrusted is?"

"I don't mind but why do you want to know? I hope that you haven't been talking to any of them."

"I don't believe I have but what are they."

"Simply put they're a sister who's disposition is such that we consider her a significant threat and in all truth would kill her if it wasn't for one little thing. They haven't actually done anything to bring death upon them. That said they also haven't done anything to move beyond the status that we grant to children. Actually, in some ways they're considered even less then children."

"What disposition is that though?"

"Oh they're several parts of it. One of the major though is they want to expand the claimed system to the point that even our brothers would be considered claimed. They believe that the brothers have been given too much authority and see them as less then us. Naturally this is highly unlikely considering that many sisters don't like the ideal of their mates being treated as claimed or their children. Well or their friends or the friends of their friends."

"I see. How can you tell a distrusted who simply hasn't spoken their feelings though from another sister?"

"Oh we're always speaking our feelings at least to one another. We can tell by listening to the response of a sister's body, the smell she gives and her body language how she feels about someone. It tends to become especially clear whenever a brother ask one of the distrusted for a favor or help with something."

"Isn't it possible that she's just nervous or busy?"

Rimona couldn't help but giggle as she looked down at Joseph. Without really thinking it she settled one of her massive hands down on his head. "You're just so cute but you need to stop that. When you learn that one of the sisters is a distrusted you need to realize that they aren't a friend of yours and you need to stay away from them. I know of some brothers who tried to be friends with them and it just doesn't work out. Keep in mind they see you as an inferior life form that is meant to obey them. Now as for your question about how we know a sister is a distrusted and not just nervous around brothers. Believe me the sent a sister gives off whenever she's nervous and when she's feeling offended is very different."

"So I'm guessing that if there isn't a physical response you tend to be less worried."

"Oh you're talking about a sister who intellectually believes what the distrusted say but emotionally she isn't really geared up towards it. Hm no one that falls into that area really comes to mind. However, I like to believe we could show her where she was wrong and how it's better to work together with our brothers then to try to rule over them. Anyway, we don't call a sister a distrusted lightly as it's a pretty darn serious claim."

"Hm is there any reason I've never met one of them or have I?"

"You've probably never encountered one. You're a well liked brother who lives with a sister and spends most of his time in areas we watch carefully. Now the lives with a sister doesn't apply to all brothers but actually most of you stay in areas we watch carefully. The distrusted tend to shun these areas though I can't say they're welcome there."

"I see then where do the distrusted tend to gather?"

"They tend to gather at their homes away from the rest of us. Not to say that every sister that likes to dine in her own home is one of the distrusted they most assuredly are not. They also tend to spend a lot of their time out in the forest."

"Have the sisters or brothers ever set down and tried to figure out why the distrusted behave this way?"

"Of course we don't want to lose any of our sisters and we hate to see them go that way. Once they've gone down that road though we really don't tend to see them as our sisters anymore. As for what tends to bring such behavior on. Well it's hard to say you'd think by now we would have put a stop to such behavior entirely."

"I'm kind of surprised you haven't. What theories do you have though?"

"Oh I just believe it's laziness to be honest. A sort of. Why should I do anything to help them whenever they should be serving me mentality. I consider them to be selfish and that's reflected in how they treat other sisters as well. I mean the little bitches are happy enough to eat our food but they never bring something back for us to eat or it's rare that they do."

At the word bitch Joseph couldn't help but notice Rimona sounded a little more emotional. "Um Rimona did you have trouble with some of the distrusted before?"

"You could say that I suppose."

"I'm guessing that it's not something that you want to talk about."

Instead of responding right away Rimona took in a deep breath. "If you're interested I'll tell you what happened."

"I can't deny that I'm curious but if it's going to upset you that's fine."

"Honestly I suppose my anger towards them is a little petty but it's still annoying. Back when I was younger I'd set up camp in the forest and even had a fire going. I didn't have any brothers with me so this might seem strange but I'd gathered some food and was preparing it. Along came another sister who appeared my own age and said she'd smelt me cooking some dinner. She had a fresh kill herself but it wasn't cooked. She asked if she could join me as she wanted to try something that had been prepared."

"I'm guessing you said yes."

"I did. The meat wasn't ready yet though and I needed to step away to get some water. When I came back my food was gone and what was left wasthe kill she'd taken down earlier. She said it smelt so good that she couldn't wait and I could have her kill instead. Needless to say I was more then a little angry. I don't even remember what she'd taken down but it wasn't something I wasn't interested in. I on the other hand had found a very nice dear killed it and went through the trouble of preparing it. I got a little angry so I decided to kick her tail."

"How did that work out?"

"We were the same size but she was older then me and had more combat experience. I lost and she took her kill back."

"Ouch."

"I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even tell my friends what happened. The fact that a sister had betray my trust like that though left me boiling for weeks."

"Did you ever pay her back?"

Rimona couldn't help but grin as she gave a nod. "Oh yeah. I can't say I was actually out for revenge though. It was just one of those things that happened."

"Excuse me for a moment. Pardon me, pardon me." As Joseph spoke he quickly dashed over to one of the alchemist. "No. No. Don't do that."

Rimona had a grin on her face as she watched Joseph instructing another one of the alchemist. She didn't know the finer details of what was going on but it was fun to observe. As she looked around though she gave a long sigh. The fact that they were having to have their brothers make weapons for them didn't really set well with her but that was how life played out at times.

***********************************************************************************

"Where exactly are we going now?"

"That's none of your concern. You will perform your function upon your arrival and that's all you need to know."

It was impossible for Alex to keep from sighing. He'd thought that he was freed from this kind of treatment after he'd gotten away from the beasts. That didn't seem to be the case though. Unlike before though this voice he could hear in his head and feel her will in every part of his body. "Then may I know what my function is going to be?"

"You will tend to my servants before you. You are a human capable of using unnatural crafts and you will use them to improve upon them."

For a moment Alex said nothing but looked at the kobolds that moved all around him. As he examined them he couldn't help but notice something. He'd seen kobolds before but these seemed larger then the ones he'd noticed before hand. "It seems you've been working on that already."

"My efforts have been long and frustrating. Each generation I have tried to refine my followers sending the weaklings away and allowing those best suited to continue mating. The process has been slow though and while my servants had grown mightier so have those who would defy me. Now one such as yourself have helped them to grow more powerful still negating all my work!"

As the last sentence hit him Alex nearly fell to the ground. Pain surged throughout his entire body but something kept him standing and moving. It was probably the same force that caused him such pain. "I. I understand." Even as the words left his lips Alex realized he'd just been caught in an arm's race. Could he fulfill the spirit's demands though?

"If you obey me I will reward you with power and your desires. Should you fail me though you will suffer to repay your debt."

"I understand but what you ask takes time. It takes resources and it takes sacrifices." This presence inside of Alex seemed to grow stronger suddenly.

"I can see this. First upon our arrival my servants will help you to open yourself up more to me. Then your labors shall begin."

***********************************************************************************

"How are you doing Allen?"

"I'm alright Pera. You and the others are doing all the work after all. I'm just along for the ride."

"Eh. You're so light I could forget you where there if I didn't enjoy your company so much. So are your arms feeling better?"

"Not really."

"Oh yeah. You need longer then a few hours to recover from a strenuous work out. You really gave it all during that fight. I have to admit you inspired me to keep going as well."

"It made me feel better to do something but now that I think about it I just feel silly. I probably just wasted that poor orc's arrows after all."

"Don't say that Allen. If it hadn't been for you those arrows wouldn't have been fired and I'm sure that you took a few of the kobolds out of the fight at least. Hey did you see those tuskers whenever they came out of the forest."

"They were an absolute mess."

"Yeah but did you see how relieved Kelah was whenever she confirmed that most of the blood wasn't theirs. She seemed really happy whenever that really big tusker walked up to her. I wonder if she was so glad to see him that she didn't mind the blood or if sense she was already covered in blood she didn't care."

"I'm not sure but I sure as heck do care." A sigh escaped Pera as she held her claws up in front of her face. "It's going to take some real effort to get this much blood out of my fur."

"I thought you washed off before we left."

"I did the best I could on short notice but I can still smell the blood that sunk into my fur. It might not look like much but I'm a mess right now."

"Her Pera what do you believe my mom is going to do whenever we get back?"

"I'm not sure Allen. I don't believe she'll be angry with anyone after all we couldn't have known what was going to happen and you're safe now. I bet that she's going to be a little worried when it comes to letting you wonder around without someone to watch over you though. You might be going back to the days that if she wasn't with you then one of us had to be."

A low groan escaped Allen as he shook his head. "That is not a very pleasant thought. I enjoy the company as well but I kind of like being able to walk thirty meters from my home, set down and feel like I've got some privacy to myself. At least I don't have to believe that someone's eyes are watching me."

"Do you remember the first time the five of us went to play together?"

"Hm. I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

"I can remember it because of how Stella smelt. I could tell that she was absolutely terrified to let you leave her side like that."

"Yeah my mom has always been a little protective of me. I can still remember riding around on her shoulder. Of course I should be able to remember that. I don't think it was more then a few months ago whenever she felt the need to pack me."

"Like we said earlier though. I bet with this size increase she'll feel the need to start packing you around again like she did when you were younger. After all, you're going to look a lot smaller to her now."

"I hope not. I mean I really hope not. Though it is nice having her carry me whenever it's raining so I don't have to trudge through the mud. Hey what do you think the others will be like when we tell them about the attack on the beach?"

"I bet they'll be happy they decided to increase our size. That battle would have been even harder if we hadn't put on the extra mass after all. I just wish it had more time to solidify."

At first Allen said nothing but looked at Pera. "Oh that's right! Your muscles aren't at full strength just yet are they?"

"I wish they were but no. Even once the mass is added it takes a little while for the body to reach its top performance level again. I guess it's probably because the tendons and ligaments aren't completely done adapting yet. Still, I hope that they can hold out if they're attacked in the morning like we were earlier."

"I bet they have that fort they were working on set up by now they were really working at it. That means they didn't sleep during the night though."

"Yeah. Sorry! I shouldn't have even mentioned that. Terima you've been quiet this entire time. What's going on in your head?"

"Do you think the village was attacked?"

"Huh?"

"Do you believe the village was attacked? Kersara said it herself. She'd never seen the water kobolds attack like that before. That goes for the numbers they attacked in and the fact that they were actually focusing on and trying to kill us. What do you think the odds of the village being attacked are?"

"Terima that's just silly. I mean sure we were attacked on the beach but the village is far too well guarded to be attack. It'd be full of sisters during the feasting to defend it anyway and absolute suicide."

"I don't know. I'm worried that we'll make it back to our homes to find them burned down and we've had to take up a defensive location in the library."

"Paranoid. What do you think Allen."

"I'm too busy worrying now that you two are talking about it. If the village was attack mom is going to be even more reluctant to let me go out and play." A sigh escaped Allen as he leaned his forward against Pera's back.

"Don't worry Allen if she's worried then we'll just stay with you."

"What if you're away fighting?"

"Well then I guess you won't have to worry about playing. You're not going to just set around are you?"

"Huh? What else can I do?"

"You're an alchemist right? You could help Joseph, Dan and the others with their work. I'm sure they'll be doing something to help out if an attack actually reached the village. Don't give me any of that stuff about you not being far enough long either. You know you're smart enough to help out even if its just mixing potions in preparation."

"I suppose you're right. Thanks for the vote of confidence Pera."

***********************************************************************************

Kelah took in a deep breath as she leaned up against the stone wall. The thick slab of rock was supported by several wooden beams which they'd braced deep into the ground. The structure she set before wasn't exactly set up to keep every attacker out. Rather it was set up to force a preferred path that could be easily defended rather then simply allow those inside to be swarmed. This would let them focus their defenses in a few key locations rather then spread all around them. She was glad it was done but at the moment she felt like crap. An entire days worth the fighting as well as a night's worth the work had left even her in poor condition.

"Here you go." As she spoke Kersara held a large shell under Kelah's nose. Inside of it was a pleasant smelling juice.

"Thanks." As she took the container Kelah took a light sip or what was meant to be a light sip. Instead of removing it from her lips though she turned the shell up and began to poor the liquid into her mouth as quickly as she could swallow it down. By the time she removed it she was breathing hard and had several spots were the juice had flowed over and onto her. "Damn I didn't realize how thirsty I was until just then."

An amused chuckle escaped Kersara as she took the shell. "I'll go and get you some more. Shouldn't you be inside napping right now with the others?"

"Oh I wish I was. Damn do I ever wish I was. Some people are more spent then I am though so I. Hey!"

Kersara gave a sigh as she picked up Kelah and began to carry her into the protective structure. "You're taking first watch is what you were about to say. Don't worry about that though my sisters and I are here and we've got more endurance and faster recoveries then you do. We'll make sure to warn you if we're attacked."

"You can watch for physical signs but what about the signs from the spirits?"

"Huh?

"Listen I'm dead tired and don't feel like walking so you just turn yourself around and set me back where I was while I explain. I'm not just setting on the beach using my eyes and ears to watch out for attacks. I'm also listening to the spirits and what they're telling me. If another attack like yesterday's comes they'll know long before our eyes will tell us anything."

"Dang I guess you have a good reason for being out there then."

"Yeah now march fluffy. Right back where I was."

A sigh escaped Kersara as she turned around and carried Kelah back out to her spot. As she set the orc down she gave her head a slight shake. "I'll bring you more to drink in just a few. Why are you leaned up against the stone like that though? It can't be comfortable."

"It's cold and right now that's more important to me then it being soft. Hey Kersara, would you like to know how things went for Dinon last night?"

"Sure."

"The spirit of fire gave us some extra backing and helped push some of the spirits of death that haven't sided with us away from here. There is one really powerful one though that refuses to take sides at the moment. We couldn't do anything about her. Dinon actually spent most of his energy last night trying to push her from the beach but it just didn't work."

"Kelah I have to ask. How does a spirit become a her?"

"Oh well it isn't really a her. The form the spirit chose to take though was clearly that of a female. From what Dinon told me about the spirit though I'm guessing she was formed from the death of a dragon. Powerful creatures like those can provide a lot of sustenance for a spirit but they also change its form."

"Hm is the spirit more powerful then Nightfang?"

"Ha! Fuck no. If it was I'd be able to convince Nightfang to help kill it. As it is now the spirit is powerful enough to be a concern but not powerful enough to challenge Nightfang so she's beneath his notice."

"I see. Anything else I need to know?"

"I'm very thirsty still."

Kersara gave a slight chuckle and a nod. "I'll be right back."

As Kersara turned to leave Kelah felt something pushing against the back of her hand. Instinctively she raised her hand and ran it over the top of the tusker's head. "Hey Razor. Are your cuts feeling better now?"

***********************************************************************************

Maria was rather surprised. As she sprinted through the forest she could tell the difference in her speed. Her longer legs made traveling through the forest all the faster though her larger body made it harder to avoid branches. Fortunately she didn't have to worry about that as she considered the contents of the crate she was packing. Even a full speed collision wouldn't be damaging those weapons. The smell of salt air brought a smile to her face as she realized how close she was getting to the beach. As she neared it though the smell of blood also filled her nose. Instead of risking a sudden appearance and attack she let lose a sharp roar.

Kelah jumped a bit when the sound hit her ears and she looked around. She recognized the roar but had no ideal what it meant. "Hey Kersara is that something I should be" there wasn't any time to finish as Kelah found herself cut off by a roar from Kersara.

"No that's just a greeting. I'm a friend, don't pounce me sort of business."

"Huh. Where some of your sisters in the area or something?"

"Not quite I know that roar." As the words left her lips Kersara felt a sudden rush of air as something burst from the forest and then ran past her.

"You had better know it."

"Huh? What? Maria did you just run past me before I heard what you said?"

Maria didn't hear Kersara's words immediately but only after she'd come to a stop a short distance away from the fortification they'd set up. "I suppose you may have. I know I didn't hear what you said until a moment ago."

"Damn you're speedy. What are you doing back here though?"

"Our brothers sent me to make a delivery. Actually, I have to make several deliveries but this is pretty much the most important one. Kelah on behalf of our brothers and sisters we would like you and your warriors to use these." As she spoke Maria set the crate down and opened it up.

Kelah wasn't certain what to expect as the crate was set down and Maria spoke. Once it was opened up though her eyes were made to widen. While she wasn't a mage her attunement to the spirits and training as a shaman showed her immediately that these weapons were enchanted. Their make was already obvious though from the look she doubted they'd ever been used. "What is going on?"

"Our brothers believe that we need to strengthen our defenses at the shores further however due to certain situations which this letter will explain." Before continuing Maria placed a finger on the letter that had been bound to the roof inside of the box. "We couldn't send additional bodies though. So instead it was decided to send you these. Do you believe they'll help?"

By now Kelah had picked up one of the weapons and was carefully inspecting the blade. "I've no doubt about that. What is going on back at your home though?"

"We came under kobold attack. Our brothers used some spells to inspect the beach and saw that you all had come under attack as well. Giving the timing and the scale of the attacks it seems impossible that they weren't related so we're preparing for all out war."

"I see. Well I'll get these handed out to my troops once they begin waking up."

"Thanks. Kersara, I need to get going but before I leave could you confirm that Pera's little group and Allen have already left for the village?"

"They did some time ago."

"That's good to know. We anticipated that they would have so I was looking for them on my way here but I didn't see anything. If you could point me in the general direction they took though I'm going to try to run them down. They should be easier to find with a trail to follow."

"Sure."

***********************************************************************************

"So what do you think Fera?"

Instead of responding right away the massive beast girl took a moment to look around the area one more time. She could see some residual energy in the ground but nothing of particular note. "There isn't anything here."

"I was afraid you would say that. Well we can see the path that they took towards the village but I'm not seeing anything else. Surely they didn't just all decide to go into one massive suicide attack upon us."

"I doubt that was the case. Weren't the kobolds already acting strange before this happened?"

"Yes. They'd began to move beyond their regular roaming areas and were trying to kill of the dryads."

"Perhaps that is where we should start then. They might know something or at least they could give us some hint as to what was happening. Give me a second to see if I can try to locate one for us to speak to."

Mina gave a slight nod and continued to walk around sniffing the air from time to time. The sent of kobolds was so thick in the area that she didn't have any real chance of finding a trail and she knew that but she wanted to try. At least it meant that she was doing something. "Before we start making any guesses as to what happened here though I believe we will need to speak with our brothers. I wonder if we could convince the dryad to come with us to the village."

"Isn't that kind of tricky? They don't like to leave their trees after all. I can't really blame them for that though. Can you imagine having a part of you attached to a given location and if that part of you was destroyed you'd die?"

"Like us and our original energy source?"

"Hm actually that is pretty similar. Mina I'm not seeing anything or smelling anything how about we get going?"

"Yeah. I can tell that they left from this area but the sent is going in so many directions it's pretty useless. Did you see any dryads near by?"

"Not near by. Which isn't surprising."

"True with the kobolds attacking dryads outside of their regular roaming area there is no way that any would stay within it."

***********************************************************************************

Xelaney didn't know what to think of her current situation as she set upon Fera's massive shoulder. Held several meters in front of her was her tree and it was moving. When the two beast girls had came to her and asked for her help she'd been happy to give it until they'd mentioned leaving her tree. In her current situation she didn't believe that wise at all. Instead of taking no for an answer though they'd offered to help her relocate. She'd been curious and asked them how they would do that. Then they had told her that they would take her tree with them.

Fera was being careful as she packed the tree before her. She didn't want to risk damaging it but she knew she had to hurry. They had managed to get most of the root system along with the tree but they had still cut it off from its life source. "How are you doing Xelaney?"

"I'm fine for the moment. So um exactly where are you going to be planting me?"

"I was thinking that we could plant you near the great library in our village. It's a little closer inside of our domain then we allow most sentient beings but you've been helpful in the past. Wouldn't you agree Mina?"

"I'm certain that would be fine. That way we could also get a dryads opinion of some of the art that was based on them."

"Oh now that could be very amusing or insulting."

As the two sisters talked Xelaney took a moment to look around. "Is the soil good there?"

"Absolutely wonderful. At least that is what the plant life in the region tells me. Hey Mina would you mind running ahead and alerting the rest of our sisters and brothers as to what's going on? Perhaps they could already have a place prepared for Xelaney here."

"Sure thing."

***********************************************************************************

Mirara couldn't help but chuckle as she looked around the room. Despite the severity of what was going on everyone's response to Fera showing up with a dryad had been quite amusing. They had important business to talk about now as their brothers had joined them. She was glad when Mirin decided to speak up.

"I believe it's clear to all of us that something is working against us in a coordinate effort. It isn't just us they're working against though. The attacks upon the dryads of the forest are strong indicators of that. What we must now try to figure out first is exactly what are we dealing with in this situation. Let's start by examining our findings and see if we can come to some sort of ideal." As he finished speaking Mirin took his seat.

At first no one moved causing Flora to look over at Mina. After a moment longer she gave the massive sister a poke in the side intending to get her to stand up. She was rather surprised whenever something gave her an extremely powerful push from behind. Something soft, fluffy and yet extremely powerful. It didn't take much for Flora to realize that it had been Mina's tail. Instead of protesting she grinned and stood up. "From what we found at the kobolds nesting area it's clear that they've moved else where. Now there is no doubt that many of them died attacking us here and in truth with the number of them that attacked it's possible that all of them died attacking us but that is unlikely. It seems more likely that while we were defending our home they were relocating to an area in which we'd have greater difficulty observing them. This would suggest a level of intelligence that we haven't seen the kobolds show before I would believe. If anyone would care to add to this."

Once again no one spoke until Flora had been seated. This time Nathan stood up. "It also shows what we are dealing with is a malevolent force having no concern for its soldiers. Not only that but consider how they pushed their attack upon our village until they all had fallen. It's clear that whatever is motivating the kobolds to attack frightens them more then death. Thus we know that there is no winning this through simply killing off a large number of the kobolds. Either they must be exterminated or whatever is leading them must be dealt away with. What could cause the kobolds more fear then death though?"

This time Flora chose to stand up and speak. "It isn't the death only that matters though but how the death is brought about. We've seen the kobolds fight to the death for other creatures in the past knowing that either choice led to their deaths most likely but believing they would suffer more if they didn't do as they were told. Perhaps we should also evaluate what happened with the mage Alex? I believe the report indicated that during his escape he showed a sudden increase in power. Is that true Mirin?"

"Yes, it was such an increase that the sister who gave pursuit reported the magic suddenly gaining the ability to influence her being. Given the level of spell require to perform such an act we can assume that something was aiding him."

"Is there anything that makes you believe that he had such a mechanism upon his person before hand?"

"I believe Mirara can answer that better then I can."

Mirara already knew the drill as she stood up and moved to the center of the room. Once you were called upon directly it was hard not to respond. "From my conversation with Markus I am certain Alex could not have cast such a spell on his own. Before they were confronted he had actually began to prepare a potion that would aid him in the casting of the spell. This was disrupted before it could be finished though at which time Alex seemed truly afraid. If he had been able to cast such a spell without aid it's unlikely that he would have taken time to prepare a potion or risked his life by drawing out the chase for so long. However, it didn't seem like he was expecting any form of aid either. Whatever aided Alex was unexpected and capable of doing so while a sister was in pursuit."

Nathan waited until Mirara had taken her seat to speak up once again. "So we have something leading the kobolds, capable of frightening them into attacking you sisters, capable of guiding massive numbers of them at once, greatly increasing a mages power, helping him while remaining unseen and are you all certain that we want to assume that this was a single being? I have to say the more I list what we know the more concerned I become."

"Would it matter if it was a single being or an organization?"

"No it wouldn't. What's extremely troubling though is that even we don't like to use teleportation spells. Then again perhaps we are wrong in assuming that it was a teleportation spell that was used. There are other ways of completely vanishing after all."

"Such as?"

"A concealment spell is possible however unlikely. It is also possible that they crossed from the physical realm into the spiritual realm. As you all know our sisters can't perform such acts and would have no means of pursuing someone who had done so or detecting them."

It took a few moments as Nathan set down and several brothers and sisters began to speak amongst one another. Finally Mirin stood up. "For the sake of safety let's assume we are dealing with a lone being. What is known to have all these capabilities though?"

No brother spoke up immediately so Flora couldn't help herself. "Wouldn't a demon have such a capacity?"

Mirin went silent for a moment then gave a nod. "That is a frightening thought Flora and I hope you're mistaken. However, they are beings with similar abilities that aren't demons at least not as we understand a demon to be. I don't know if that's any more comforting though. Let me ask you all this though. Does anyone believe that a being such as a dragon or even a human mage would have the capacity to do all we've spoken of? Perhaps a necromancer?"

Nathan gave his head a slight shake and stood up. "No. For one simple reason. If we were dealing with a dragon or necromancer why would they have aided Alex? We've listed what we know this existence can do but let's also think about what it needed and attacked. It needed a mage at least that's what we can assume and for that reason it saved Alex. A dragon or another mage with such power wouldn't need such a mage. I believe that Flora was the most correct whenever she said that we were dealing with a demon here."

"What do you believe that we're dealing with?"

"We're dealing with something between a corrupted spirit or a devil. That is my theory at least."

"That's quite a large range of spiritual beings though. Let's take a moment and consider the dryads. Would a devil have any reason to begin working against the dryads through the kobolds?"

"I don't believe so. By the same token though I believe we may also rule out the influence of a demon meaning we're dealing with a natural spirit. I believe we all know what kind of spirits would oppose a dryads existence."

"Now don't start that. No assuming that we know what you boys are talking about. Exactly what would oppose a dryads existence?"

"Sorry that was very rude of me. Dryads bring harmony to the natural environment around them for the most part. Many assume that dryads pick a naturally healthy region and they do but that's not the reason those regions do so well. A dryad's presence tends to enhance the environment making an already healthy area all the more vibrant. The more powerful the dryad the larger the area they influence."

"Oh I see. So whatever is going after the dryads would be opposed to such life enhancing magics?"

"That would be the case. So we're probably dealing with a spirit of death, disease, decay or something along those lines."

"Aren't they all the same though?"

"No. A spirit of death should not be treated the same as a spirit of decay. They have different goals and different strengths as well. They make work with one another though which means we may be dealing with a group of spirits that have decided to ally against us such alliances are rare though."

"Shouldn't we get some shaman and druids in on this then?"

"It would be wise."

"Okay then I have to ask now. Does this mean you have an ideal as to how we can deal with this spirit?"

There was no immediate response from the brothers as they all looked at one another. Dealing with spirit beings wasn't exactly an easy task but they were ways to deal with them. Unfortunately most of them involved tasks that the sisters couldn't perform. "Well the first thing we must do is weaken it through the physical world. We can do this by removing its supporters such as a kobold and correcting its taint in any regions it's claimed. For this reason we should go to the kobolds nesting areas and try to cleanse them."

"Okay what else then?"

"Well they are other things that need to be done. We can leave that for another time though."

"Oh no! What are you all trying to hide from us? You're going to do something dangerous aren't you?"

A sigh escaped Mirin as he stood back up. "There is no way for you to help us deal with the spirit directly. In order for that some of us are going to have to cross over into the spirit realm and confront it. Due to your bodies this isn't something you can manage though. Even if we don't cross over and attempt to attack the spirit with spells from our realm there is an element of risk involved. The most you could hope to do is be there should the spirit try to bridge the gap into our world."

"Why don't you try to pull the spirit into our world then? Once it is here we can take care of it."

"What you ask is even more difficult then attacking the spirit or crossing over ourselves. We would need some kind of connection to the spirit to do that. At the moment though we can't do anything along those lines."

"How come?"

"In short if we were to attack the spirit now we would be shooting blindly into the dark. Some of us must first investigate the spirit realm and locate the spirit there. The fastest way to do that is to go into the spirit realm and search for it though spells may be used as well. We could also contract some of the other spirits to find this new comer for us."

"Yet you can't contract them to fight the spirit?"

"We may be able to convince them to aid us however given the power of the spirit we're most likely dealing with direct intervention will probably be involved."

***********************************************************************************

Stella was finding it hard to stand still. As she walked around she lightly thumbed the button of the pouch she wore on her side. Inside of that pouch rested seven frost bombs that the brothers had provided. It was a strange though to realize she was packing a weapon but at the moment it was just something to fiddle with. Her mind was on other things as she looked into the forest and waited. Every time she would hear a rustling or the slightest sound she would spin in the direction though she wasn't looking for an enemy. Rather she was hoping for the return of her child.

The ground spoke of how long she'd been waiting. Each time she would turn the ground beneath her feet would be disrupted due to her massive size and weight. The area she'd been patrolling almost had a clear path through the grass now. The path became all the clearer as she once again turned towards a new sound. Instead of just hearing the wind though she noticed this sound continued towards her and soon she realized that it was voice speaking.

"Okay you all are old enough to help out though you're going to need to speak with your parents first. You're still children after all. As for you Allen, I'm not sure if you'll be allowed to help Dan with his project. They're working with some pretty dangerous materials after all. I am certain that there is something you can do though. I do believe you're going to have a hard time convincing your mother though."

"Yeah I'm worried about that as well. I want to do something though and not just be a bystander."

"Allen!" Stella couldn't help herself as she forgot her post and quickly dashed off to meet her son upon recognizing the voice. As she rushed through the trees though she didn't move to intercept Pera but stopped dead. She knew that stopping Pera at her current speed would seriously injured Allen. She didn't have to ask for Pera to stop though as the younger sister came to a stop just meters in front of her. Stella wasted no time snatching her son up and lifting him to her face to give him a kiss on the cheek. "It's so good to see you!"

"Hey mom. Maria says things have been busy here."

"Indeed they have but how are you my little boy? I don't smell any of your blood so I'm guessing Pera kept you nice and safe."

"Yeah everyone took good care of me."

"Thank you all so much for keeping Allen safe. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to my little boy."

"We were glad to do it Stella. Allen was a big help himself though."

"Really?"

"Yeah when we were attacked by the water kobolds he took up a bow and arrow and fought with us."

"Oh you'll have to tell me all about that though let's get back to the village for now. Oh and Maria. You should get some sleep and eat something you look terrible."

A sigh escaped Maria as she rolled her eyes. "Gee that's exactly what I wanted to hear. I am going to go check up on Joseph though."

"Now Allen why don't you tell me about the water kobolds and exactly what you meant by helping out while you were heading this way."

"You heard that?"

"Indeed I did."

***********************************************************************************

Two weeks had past since the attack upon the village. Mirara felt a little awkward as she made her way through the tree tops. Nora and Tera currently ran along either side of her as she moved along all three of them searching the forest for any signs of odd behavior.

"Are you okay Mirara?"

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah Nora I'm feeling alright."

"You seemed a bit spaced out for a moment."

"I was just thinking about how strange I feel right now. In all the time that I've been a keeper I never expected my claimed to be taken from me like that. I guess they haven't really been taken though simply put in a new environment while I'm busy."

"Well they needed more man power for weapons' production and your claimed were some of the best behaved around. At least most of them where."

"Yeah they were all pretty quick learners. Still, I hope they're being treated fairly by the other keepers. I know each of us have our own style of handling our claimed."

"Well you told them which ones could be trusted didn't you?"

"Yes I did. You know this was one of the worse possible times for this to happen. It sort of set in while I was counting my claimed earlier. A good number of the claimed were killed after their attempt to escape. That already had our work force reduced but then this happens and they have to be redirected. Thanks to that we're going to be short on some basic supplies for a while and I'm not exactly fond of the solution to those shortages."

"You mean like the soap?"

"You mean that stuff our brothers call soap."

"Well they insist that it'll get us clean and remove any scents lingering in our fur other then our own."

"The stuff smells terrible though! Sure the sent goes away after you wash off but it's so hard to stand. I've actually started rubbing some scented oil beneath my nose before I clean myself off so I don't have to stand the smell."

"You're already out of the scented soap?"

"No. I've got some of it left actually I just don't want to use it right now. I'm saving it for special occasions. You agree with me though don't you Tera? That new soap smells terrible."

"Well it sure isn't a basket full of flowers. At least the smell washes out though and takes any other smells along with it. That scented oil is a good ideal though. Where did you get it?"

"Markus made me some."

"Huh? Your former claimed that left with Alex?"

"That's the" Mirara went silent as she felt the branch her foot landed against snap under her weight. Reflexively she shot out with her left leg and struck the tree sending her along a slightly different path but still moving. A notable crunch went throughout the area as her claws sank deeply into the tree she came into contact with next followed by the sound of the tree trunk cracking slightly as it was forced to sway suddenly. Mirara felt herself moving backwards and prepared to jump off but then she felt the tree stop and straiten back up. "Wow. Yeah that's the one though."

"Mirara are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I didn't realize how heavy I've become. Actually." For a moment Mirara said nothing but looked back at the path they'd been taken. She then allowed herself to fall to the ground. "I'm going to travel by ground I believe."

Instead of commenting Nora joined Mirara on the ground. "I guess that as we get larger the times we can travel through the trees is going to leave us. I know that a matron couldn't possible travel through the trees."

"Yeah and besides the branches in this portion of forest couldn't even hold me for an instant."

"Hey you two down there. Do you smell something?"

Instead of responding right away both sisters took a moment to sniff the air. Nora then looked up at Tera. "I don't smell anything."

"Well I do. Come on let's go this way for a few." Instead of waiting for a response Tera quickly changed directions and began to dash through the forest. She could hear the other two behind her.

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Pera took in a deep breath of air as she looked down the river. "This is a pain in the tail."

"Oh it isn't so terrible. At least we're out and about."

"We've been searching for over a week now! I swear I wish he could make himself easier to find."

An amused chuckle escaped Terima as she looked around. "You just want to find him so that you can spend more time with Allen. Admit it you're suffering from withdraw."

"Oh please you make me sound like I'm addicted to him."

"With the way you two cling together at times I believe you are. Anyway, are you detecting any scent at all?"

"I believe I am but it's hard to be sure. Even with our connection he's hard to locate. I wish I could get a second opinion on it."

"Sorry. That's not exactly something I can help with given I lack any form of connection to him."

"Yeah I know. We're going into the cooler months I believe and given the form he likes to take we should be able to find him around the rivers. Do you know the hunting in this area? I mean where do the bears like to gather to catch fish?"

"Um I'm not sure I don't much care for bear meat. They'd probably make use of natural barriers that made the fish easier to catch. Let's go check out all the shallows and any place in the river that the path gets narrow."

"Darn it. Hey wait." As she spoke Maria held up her hand and took in several deep breathes. A somewhat familiar though strange scent field her nose with each breath and she lowered herself to the ground taking in several more breathes. A slight gust of wind drifted her way moments later and she took in another breath of air. "I think I'm onto something but." Once again Pera grew silent and took in several breathes of air. "This would be a lot easier if they didn't use predator tactics as well."

"Can you get an ideal of where the scent is coming from?"

"Yeah. Yeah I believe I can. Come on let's go this way."

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As the bear stood on the bank it held its paw at the ready. Several fish swam by the creature but he made no smooth to strike them. Those fish were too little and swift for it to be worth the energy. This all changed moments later as a rather noticeable target came moving through the water. The bear was made to shift slightly in preparation and then a massive splash as the bear lunged into the water. For a moment the sight was blurred as the creature thrashed about and then emerged packing the fish. A sudden impact upon the bears side soon deprived the bear of its catch though.

"Papa!"

Desmon's ears perked up immediately as the words hit his ears. The bear was made to shift slightly as the weight left it's side. Standing before the bear was a massive feline creature with a rather toothy grin. The druid responded immediately by standing up strait and sending energy throughout his body. Fur, bulk, claws and fangs were all made to recede.

"Pera! What brings you out here?"

"I was looking for you."

"Hm? I'm going to assume that whatever has been moving throughout the forest has began to influence you as well then."

"It probably has. I just hope we're talking about the same threat. Do the druids have any ideal of what's going on?"

"We've noticed changes. Let's talk about that later though. If you're coming out here to find me then I assume they want me back at your village."

"Yeah should I fill you in along the way?"

"No. I would rather hear about what has been going on in your life. I'm certain that I'll hear plenty about what has happened upon my arrival. Now the last I remembered you and that boy Allen were spending time together. How has that been going?"

"Allen and I are getting along wonderfully. I swear each time I look at him he's even cuter then the last and it's hard to resist picking him up and packing him around. My extra height really isn't helping with that desire though." As she spoke Pera began to walk along leading her father towards their village.

"So does that mean the two of you have kissed yet?"

"Um well I've kissed him."

"He hasn't kissed you though?"

"He's kissed me a few times on the cheeks. That is okay though. Oh Terima don't mention that to Stella though. If she knew I'd given Allen a kiss on the lips she'd probably be mad."

"Yeah. Yeah I know. Don't worry about it."

"Hm his mother was that Stella right?"

"Yep."

"Ah well you're both quite young. I suppose I should actually be a little concerned that my little girl is already giving a boy kisses on the lips but I'm sure you can handle yourself. Now you two haven't done anything beyond that have you?"

"We spent the night cuddling on the beach."

"Ookay now you might be a little young for that one. Does your mother know about this?"

A slight giggle escaped Pera as she gave a nod. "Yep! She even gave me some advice for whenever I'm cuddling with a brother to make sure I don't harm him."

For a moment Desmon said nothing but took a moment to look up at his towering daughter. At her current size he didn't even come up to Pera's chests a fact that he couldn't help but notice. He was naturally tall though and a full grown adult. Allen as he recalled was a bit on the short side and still a child. "I suppose I don't have any grounds to complain if your mom says that it's okay. Just don't make me a grandfather too soon."

"You don't have to worry about that!"

"Well that's good to know. So Pera exactly what did your mom say about when cuddling with a human."

"She said to make sure I keep my face turned towards him when going to sleep and keep his body pulled close to mine. As long as I can feel him held against me I'm not likely to roll towards him. On the other hand if we were to sleep with too large of a gap between us my body may not recognize his presence after I actually went to sleep and I could end up rolling on top of him."

"Now that could hurt."

"Hey dad. It's been a while since you last came and visited me. What have you been up to?"

"Well about three months ago I ended up having my right hind leg torn open. It hurt something terrible I have to say that. I suppose that's what I get though for forgetting where I was."

"What tore your leg open?"

"Just one of the lovely fish you have in the river of fangs."

"You were fishing as a bear in the river of fangs?"

"Well not all the fish there have fangs."

"Dad! I get that you're living as a bear when you're out here but is that really needed? Even the real bears know to stay away from that river."

"Yes probably not one of my more intelligent moments I admit. Other then that I've simply been becoming further attuned with the natural elements of this forest. I should have and came to visit you and your mother though. Things were simply busy."

"Busy in what way other then having your leg opened up?"

"The recent activities of the kobolds have kept me busy. The dryads you see do a lot to maintain a healthy forest. With the kobolds recent activity though they've gone through the trouble of abandoning those regions. I've even helped them to change their locations from time to time. Which isn't an easy task mind you. At the same time though someone had to go into those regions and try to sustain the natural balance in those regions. I managed to do away with a few kobold shaman while I was doing this."

"I take it you killed them."

"The little monsters were draining the life from the surrounding plant life and storing the energy into some kind of amber. Of course I killed the little beast for it. I swear they may follow shaman practices but the difference between kobold shaman and most I know is the difference between a warlock and a mage." A sigh escape Desmon as he placed an arm around his massive daughter's waste. "Still, I should check in on you from time to time. Perhaps your mother would be alright with you spending a few months in the forest with me."

"Um well dad. Actually, I don't believe I would want to do that. I'm not sure if I'd like to be away from my friends for months after all."

"Oh! My mistake. Yes I imagine you'd miss Allen terribly."

"It isn't just Allen!"

"Sure it isn't."

In response to her father's comment Pera quickly swung her tail and gave the human a good smack upside the head.

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A sigh escaped Maria as she feel into the chair and let her eyes grow closed. She had been running around so much that even her legs ached as did her feet so it was nice to be off of them for a bit. "Joseph are you getting a snack in there?"

"Not at the moment. Why? Do you want me to get you something?"

"Only if you were going to eat in front of me."

"Not this time I'm afraid." As he spoke Joseph continued to rummage about though only after testing the water temperature of a large pot he had heating up. After confirming it was warm he wasted no time adding a few other compounds before picking the pot up and heading into the setting room where Maria currently was.

Maria perked up the moment she saw the pot. "Wow. You weren't joking when you said you weren't getting a snack. Did you decide to make a meal instead?"

"Oh heck no. This isn't food Maria." As he spoke Joseph continued on over to Maria and set the large container of water down next to her. He then took hold of her nearest foot and began to move it towards the water.

"Joseph what are you doing?" Despite the question Maria continued to let Joseph guide her foot and submerge it into the water. A long sigh escaped her the moment she felt her foot engulfed in the warm water.

"I noticed how you were walking when you got back and I thought you may need this." As he spoke Joseph took hold of the other foot and guided it to join the second. "Now give me a moment and I'll go get the brush."

"Oh? So am I to be pampered tonight?"

"You were looking like you needed it. How are things going anyway?"

"I really don't know. It's kind of strange to be packing weapons now but the brothers insist that we do so. At the moment the forest seems calm enough but we can't be certain of anything. You'd probably know more about what was going on then me though considering what we're facing. How are you and Dan doing?"

"Well we about have every sister who's going on patrol armed but the problem is building up a surplus. Unfortunately tensions are beginning to build. Everyone was okay with the shift in production during the first week but now some people have different ideals about what we should be working on. People are starting to argue over it."

"Yeah some sisters are starting to talk about shifting out patrol patterns and abandoning a few locations to whatever may be there for the time being. OH! That feels nice."

A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he looked up at Maria. "If I worked a humans foot this hard they'd probably be screaming in pain and trying to kick me away right now."

"Well it feels wonderful to me." Maria gave a sigh as she looked down at Joseph and watched him scrubbing the pad of her foot for a moment. He was currently making use of a brush that was more meant to remove rust from metal then cleaning but it worked fine for her skin. Especially the toughened padding on the bottom of her feet. "So what are the brothers fighting about exactly?"

"Some feel we should be working on more permanent weapons then simple frost and fire bombs. I actually agree with them but I disagree with how far they want to go." As he spoke Joseph took a moment to look at Maria's foot then up at her. He couldn't help but grin as he put down the brush for a moment and placed his palm against Maria's massive foot. The padding on the bottom of her foot was rubbery but warm. It clearly wasn't the foot of a human though. What was truly amusing though was how little of that massive foot his hand covered.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well." Before continuing Joseph picked up his brush and resumed his scrubbing. "I would like to work on some shapers."

"Shapers?"

"Hm they're like magical wands. Except that the user doesn't use their own magic to activate them but makes use of a stored energy source. Think of a magical staff with an opening at both ends. You'd point the business end towards your target and them poor an alchemical potion into the top. The staff would then shape that energy and cast the spell."

"How is that different from what you're using now?"

"Well with the potions we're currently using the spell and energy is all contained in the potion. With a shaper the potion is just raw energy which means you can use a wider variety of potions. Also the shaper itself isn't like most magical items. They're not harmed by anti-magic spells or influences though they may keep them from casting. By making use of a shaper you could carry a lot more fire power with you."

"Oh that's neat! I guess the problem is if you lose the shaper?"

"Yeah and they're not as easy to make as these potions. I swear Maria this is crazy."

"What is?"

"How little of your ankle my hand can cover."

A slight giggle escaped Maria as she reached out with her tail and ran it along the side of Joseph's face. "It feels nice though."