AN: "Cookies" → Speech / spoken air quotes
"Cookies" → Thoughts
"Cookies" → Spells / Martial Arts
"Cookies" → Message spell speech
I don't own Overlord
Have fun, enjoy and please review
Chapter 5
→ Arwintar Nazarick-mansion / Arachama ←
Arachama was happy. Yesterday was a great success for her. This team foresight proved a good investment. They were teaching Yuri Alpha their knowledge with things a normal commoner should know. Yuri would then write it down and Arachama would then copy it and send the copy to Nazarick for further processing.
Arche also proved quite gifted. At the end of their first full day training she nearly managed to summon a "House Spider", which is good.
Arachama also asked for another maid to help out at Nazarick-mansion. Nazarick sent over Foire.
Foire was a maid with golden blond hair in a shoulder length. She was selected for her personality. Arachama wanted a maid that was outgoing, since those should be quite able to handle children.
Foire and Fith had prepared breakfast for all of them, Nazarick and foresight. For foresight it would be bacon, scrambled egg together with buns. For Arche and Arachama it would be Salad, Arche got the ones with plants while Arachama got it with "bipedal sheep".
Arachama saw them approach and looked at the small children. She liked how excited they looked. It also hurt, since her daughter also had such a glimmer of curiosity in her eye.
"Foire? I want you to entertain the children. Learn what they like, what they don't like. Give them the chance to explore, except the western part, and the cellar. But keep an eye on them." Arachama ordered and Foire bowed and smiled.
"Fith, please bring the breakfast for me and Arche inside my living room. Then the one for Yuri and her group. Yuri, this afternoon you and I will proceed with our plans. You will therefore not be learning as long as yesterday. I know you hate humans, but please bear with me." Arachama smiled. She saw how Yuri nearly melted away.
"As you wish, lady Arachama." Yuri stated.
Arachama went through the foyer just in time before team foresight came in. Once she sat down on her couch she waited.
She heard multiple feet coming and children laugh until the laughter went away. She then saw Arche enter the room and kneel.
"Ara ara. Please don't kneel. Just come over here and we shall take our meal" Arachama said and Arche did as asked.
"Thank you lady Arachama for allowing my sisters to be here." Arche smiled.
"It is no problem. I like filled my heart hearing them laugh" Arachama smiled.
"I am still grateful. Thanks for this favor. I now can be reassured that my parents will nothing stupid with them." Arche thanked Arachama, who had already eagerly eaten half of her salad.
"No problem. Today we will look over what mana actually is and then try to cast "House Spider". If you do well we might take a look at mana-regeneration." Arachama said and Arche nodded.
"She is quite a sponge in terms of knowledge. Lucky me that I found such a willing person. And such a cute one with more cuties" Arachama squealed inside her head, while Mini-Arachama was nodding furiously.
"Thank you mom, ehh lady Arachama" Arche replied, hearing her mistake and correcting it instantly. Still she looked at the floor.
"Ehhhhhh. Yess. Yess. I like that" Arachama thought and squealed even higher in her head and had a chibi version of herself dance in her mind.
"Ara ara. What would your people say? Tststs. But I appreciate your sentiment and if you like you can continue to call me that." Arachama teased and Arche simply nodded.
"A bit dense but I like her." Arachama thought. She went over and stood behind her. Then she hugged her.
"Relax. If you like you can call me mother. But I must warn you that Enti might get a bit jealous. So just watch out for her and don't do it in front of her '' Arachama whispered.
"At least until we are finished, human" Arachama finished in her mind
Arche broke into tears. And hugged Arachama back. They hugged for a while until Arche broke off and then they proceeded with Arches theory lesson.
"I don't know exactly how she got this coping going on. But I certainly will get you Arche, especially you and your sisters" Arachama smiled.
→ Arwintar / Foire and Arches sisters ←
Foire was quite happy that lady Arachama had allowed her to help at the newly acquired mansion. She had already helped with the renovations and now it became bearable, at least in contrast to Nazarick. She was also thrilled that Foire was told to watch over the children, she later learned that the children were the main reason for her transfer.
After her orders were given Foire moved into the foyer and greeted the workers. She looked over them and then turned towards Arche.
"Please continue to the northern part. Team foresight, please go to lady Yuri Yamana. The sisters of Arche may come with us." Foire said and Arche hugged her sisters for the day.
Once the group was closer to the living room which Yuri used, the smell of the breakfast was creeping into their noses and stomachs grumbled. The group went inside and, together with Yuri, ate breakfast. Foire meanwhile stood in the corner and waited if there would be orders.
The order didn't come.
Once the group finished the children began to look around. Foire gathered them and left the adults for their lessons. Foire meanwhile let the children run around the foyer for now, without losing sight of them. They began to play fetch and after some time they needed a break. Fith came in and told her that she had prepared a small table in the kitchen.
The children then ate lunch together with the maids. After which the children became tired and Foire brought them to sleep into a guest room.
She waited outside until she would either receive a command or would hear them inside. The sisters would remain sleeping until early afternoon, when Arche woke them up.
→ Arwintar central market / Yuri Alpha ←
Yuri Alpha walked into a workshop for armor and weaponry. This shop was larger and had a smith in the back. She also saw that the quality, in comparison with Nazarick, was terrible.
She looked around until she found the clerk of the shop. He had leathery brown pants, a big leathery apron and a berrett. She walked over.
"How may I help you mam?" The clerk asked.
"I am here to sell leather and iron, which I have from my homeland." Yuri said and the clerk looked shocked.
"We are in the wrong place mam. The leather and iron must be sold to the emperor, or in his stead the city hall. Then we buy it from the city hall. It may sounds stupid, but this is how the emperor collects his taxes." the clerk explained.
"Then so be it. Have a good day." Yuri said and left. Once outside she got into a carriage, which was driven by Fith and they traveled to the city hall.
This time the search went much faster. She was directly sent towards the treasury. She then simply had to arrange a meeting in a few days for an inspector and a later meeting for them to gather the materials. This only took her a little time and Yuri then went back to the mansion.
Once in the mansion she reported back to lady Arachama, who simply nodded. Yuri then prepared the next paper for her lady.
→ Arwintar Emperor-Palace / Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix and Fluder Paradyne ←
The Palace of the emperor was a massive building. It engulfed many parts of the empire's most important projects. Amongst those was the magical academy, the barracks of the most elite forces and the chambers for Jircniv. The buildings in this complex were built in white marble and usually had wooden floors. But the chambers had marble floors with deep red carpets. The windows within the chambers had golden trims and the walls had golden patterns.
Inside the chambers stood the emperor. He was blond with a golden crown, wichhad the pattern of a laurel wreath. His clothing was held in golden and red, with some black was famous for his purge of the nobles, which gave him the epithet "bloody emperor". He was quite intelligent and tried to get talented people under his thumb if possible.
The older man accompanying him was Fluder Paradyne. He wore yellow, white clothing and he had a long gray beard and gray hair. He was the strongest human, at least in terms of magic. Fluder Paradyne was the court magician and was able to perform tier 6 magic. He also had a lot of years on his bones, over 200 years if the rumors were correct. He taught the emperor, helped him grab power and now helped him run the empire.
The last occupant was a member of the "four imperial knights", an elite formation. She was Leinas Rockbruise and was on her shift to guard the emperor. She had long blond hair, a stray covering her right eye, since it was cursed. She wore the imperial armor, dark brown with a golden pattern. She also used a black spear proficient. Sadly she was the least loyal to the emperor, since she only looked for a cure to her curse. The curse took everything from her. Her standing was destroyed since her family left her to rot. Her arranged marriage was canceled and her career in the army would also be destroyed by this, if she hadn't been lucky and Jircniv was in search of much strong personnel.
Jircniv was thinking about a problem with their armory. Somehow another country got their hands on their armor and then provoked a war. Sadly this will lead to another pitch battle.
"Why are the nobles of Re-Estize so stupid? Surely they must see my taktic here. But then again, most of them sold their kingdom out." Jircniv thought.
"Did you hear your majesty? The black mansion was sold not even a week ago. It was quite expensive, if I remember correctly." Fluder stated, probably trying to improve Jircniv mood.
"I think it was up to 380 gold coins. Quite a hefty sum. Who bought it?" Jircniv asked.
"More interesting would be the question of what." Fluder said. This shook him awake and excited Jircniv.
"What do you mean?" he asked Fluder.
"I snooped around a bit. The daughter of a merchant bought the mansion, foreigners to be exact. They moved in the same day. " Fluder explained.
"That is probably not why you care, old man" Jircniv grinned and it spread to Fluder.
"With that you are right. You know about my talent. I looked over the city with it activated. Inside the mansion were at least two people that stood out. The lesser of them was able to cast tier 3 spells." Fluder started, making a deliberate break to let that information sink in.
"Tier 3 spells aren't really common. What about the other?" Jircniv asked.
"I can cast tier 6 spells. I know how someone looks with my talent if they can cast tier 6 spells. Against the stronger one at the mansion I look like an ant trying to climb a mountain. Whoever it is can destroy us by mere thoughts." Fluder grinned.
"That is quite upsetting. But if I could get this kind of power on my side." thought Jircniv.
He was also able to see interest in the eye of Leinas Rockbruise.
"Is there anything else we know about them?" he asked Fluder.
"I know that they hired a team of workers and paid them extremely well. They also wanted to sell leather and iron from their homeland. I also arranged for me to go with the clerk. We will then look and try to speak with them, your highness." Fluder explained.
"They must have good money if that is true. Don't antagonize them." Jircniv said.
"If I might be your highness? Could I go with Sir Fluder Paradyne? Maybe these strong caster can help me with the curse?" Leinas tried.
"It was my word. You can go, but remember our deal." Jircniv reminded her, she nodded and resumed her post.
"We will go in three days. I will gather you" Fluder stated and Leinas nodded.
The rest of the meeting was nothing noteworthy.
→ Arwintar Nazarick-mansion / Arche ←
After Arche had gathered her sisters she had left the mansion. She still felt a bit embarrassed about her little mistake. But she felt like she would rather have the arachne as a mother than her true mother, which made her sad.
They had gone home and sat in the room of the twins. She heard much from her twins and most of it was simple childish praise. But still. The staff of her lady had proved nice and helped her a great deal. For Arche it was sad that she had more help from outside than from her parents.
"It was amazing. This house is so great" Kuudeirika explained and spread her arms out. Her sister meanwhile told her about the nice maid.
"So you liked it there?" Arche asked.
"Yes sister. The maid was so nice to us. But sadly we weren't able to see much." Ureirika went on.
"That makes me happy. I was allowed to bring you with me each morning, as long as my contract is ongoing" Arche smiled and the sister grinned over their ears.
Then they jumped on Arche and hugged her tightly.
After much more talking the twins went to bed. Arche meanwhile looked for James, the butler of the house.
James was an old man. He was slim and had gray hair and a beard. He wore an oversized tuxedo, a sign for his malnourishment.
"Good evening lady Arche." James greete.
"Good evening James. Could we talk in private?" Arche asked. James nodded and followed Arche into the backyard.
She gave him parts of the lunch she was allowed to get with her. She had asked lady Arachama if she could take something to eat for the butler of her house. She knew that the butler was not paid anymore by her father or mother and therefore ate much less. This showed in his figure and his clothing. She knew that the only reason he stood till now was her and her sisters.
"Thank you James." Arche said.
"No, thank you lady Arche." James smiled weakly and ate the food.
"I'll tell you this now. I got help outside. Once I prove myself I will move out of here with my sisters. I was also allowed to take my sisters with me till the fitting timing. We are in no trouble for now. I wanted to thank you for all your care. I can never repay that debt. But please know that I respect you deeply for your loyalty." Arche said.
James ate and obviously thought. She knew he was tired of her father and mother.
"I would go with you. Sadly my heart is failing. I am too old. I think I will leave when you leave. Please forgive me." James told Arche
"I understand. I am sorry my family shows such a terrible side to you" Arche said and James shook his head.
"I always told others that there is always beauty and ugly. You just need to look at the right places. For me the beautiful part was your sister and you lady Arche." James said and finished eating.
"How much debt did they build this time?" Arche asked, trembling.
"They are currently sitting at 280 goldcoins. The worst thing is that I am sure I saw a slaver with the debtors." James said.
"So I should take my sister with me everytime I move out." Arche concluded.
"That would be wise." James agreed.
"So we wait until I give them the go and then we let them be?" Arche asked and James nodded.
James then helped Arche with cleaning the tray and to store it back in her backpack.
"It was a good meal. Thank you lady Arche" James thanked her again.
"Don't think anything about it." Arche smiled and they walked inside the mansion again.
The night went without incident.
→ Border to the Slane Theocracy / Nigun ←
Nigun rode the third horse he stole. The other horses died under him from exhaustion and then were eaten. He needed to warn his people from the calamity that was running around unopposed.
The pain that Nigun felt only grew larger every day. A big cut on his stomach was infected and it festered badly. His legs became weaker and weaker. He also developed a bump near his chest. It was deeply red and only a single hair looked out. He also fell sick. He felt like his insides wanted to turn outside and he had vomited nearly every time he ate. He barely was able to drink and hold the water he drank down.
His mind drifted back and forth. It drifted between seeing the arachne for what it was and seeing her as his master. This made him worry for his mind even more.
His clothing was ragged and his hair now was uncared for. He smelled like sewage and his eyes were only half way opened. His walk was shaking and he was bowed over. His teeth had protruded a bit forwards, a development he hoped did not continue. They also got a bit sharper.
Nigun also had seen a green shining inside of him one night, but sadly he would need a physician to help him and those mostly lived inside the capital of the Theocracy "Silksuntecks".
He came closer andd closer to Silksuntecks until he was stopped by a patrol.
"Stop right there. Who are you?" The leader of the patrol asked.
"I am Nigun Grid Luin. I bring important news for the cardinals" Nigun told them. They looked at him and the leader of the patrol sent out for a cardinal.
After quite some time the messenger returned and whispered to the leader of the patrol. The leader twisted and recomposed quickly.
"Looks like you shall speak to them." The leader said and then led him to the capital.
The capital was enormous. It was divided into six parts, each part in accordance with the religion of the Slane Theocracy, the six gods. The districts were divided by small walls, if one would have been breached. To mark the districts, different tiles for ceilings and streets were used. Black was for the god Surshana, the good of evil. White for Alah Alaf, the god of light, and so on. The city was the most populated, if you count the elven slaves in. If not it would be only a small margin behind Arwintar.
Nigun was led to the main building within the city and followed the leader of the patrol inside. The inside was wide and high. The ceiling of the building was barely visible. The floor, walls and ceiling were completely white. A blue carpet wass on the floor. The walls had windows in gothic architecture. Colored glass inside the windows depicted multiple scenes of the six gods. Nigun saw the cardinals and kneeled. The leader of the patrol bowed and left.
The cardinals wore robes with the colors of their respective sekts. They were the ultimate authority in the Theocracy, just behind the Pontifex. The Pontifex was comparable to a king.
"Nigun, you look terrible. But what is it that you need to tell us?" A cardinal with a brown beard and hair. He wore a brown gown and had a brown miter. He was known as Raymond Zarg Lauransan.
"We encountered a danger, which wasn't planned. When we tried to get Gazef Stronoff, he got help. A magic caster destroyed our decoy. He was named Ainz Ooal Gown. When we saw Gazef Stronoff and his warband we moved in. We didn't expect Ainz Ooal Gown to open a "Gate". We were able to see an arachne walk out of the "Gate". She then proceeded to march towards us. I later learned her name was Arachama.
During the battle she knitted while summoning "Giant Tarantula". We lost the battle." Nigun reported.
"Where is the rest of your scripture then?" Raymond asked.
"We got wiped out. The only reason I was able to get here was because the "Giant Tarantula" overworked me and I was lost inside of the rubble it had thrown around. It was by mere luck I am able to report here." Nigun replied.
Raymond looked at the other cardinals.
"You will wait here, while the cardinals will speak about your report." Raymond ordered.
The wait was painful and excruciating. His body was weakened and he would need much needed rest. Nigun also suffered because of the cold air inside the church. That together with the fear of what the cardinals will do made him tremble.
After much time the cardinals came back. Raymond walked to Nigun.
"We heard you and will look for these threats. The sunlight scripture was wiped out and you will rest until we manage to assemble a new sunlight scripture. You will also see a physician, since you are obviously not healthy right now. We will send for you when a new scripture is formed, now move out." Raymond ordered.
Nigun got out of the church and searched for the physician, walking through the whole city in his search.
→ Re-Estize royal Palace / Princess Renner←
Princess Renner was a girl with long blonde hair, mostly wearing a blue dress. She also wore a small silver crown. She had blue eyes, but those only did look at her so called "puppy" with love and care. All the others within the palace just bored her and saw her either as stupid or a monster.
Her love was blond and around her age. He had brown eyes and usually wore silver armor. He was a commoner, to Renners deep displeasure. Renner had safed Climb's life when he was young.
What Renner loved about her Climb was his loyalty to her, and her alone. She recuperated those feelings, even if she couldn't do it openly.
She lived within the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom, called Re-Estize. The city had muddy roads and most of the buildings were in a terrible state. The only part of the city that had decent buildings was the district of the nobles. This district was around the Royal Palace.
The floors of the palace were covered with white tiles. The walls were white and the ceiling was also covered with white tiles. The windows were large with heavy curtains. A red carpet was used on all floors and rooms.
Renner walked down the floor to speak with Gazef Stronoff. She had seen that he had changed. She wanted to know how much. She had already seen that Stronoff had nearly doubled his training. She also knew that the warband around Stronoff had also increased their training drastically. The group also looked like they died inside when they came back from their assignment.
"Probably a plot by nobles. But I should confirm it. I hate this place." Renner thought. While she was a genius, her own family simply disregarded her as a stupid monster. She only had Climb and an adamantite-adventurer team behind her. The latter only because she helped them indirectly.
Aside from Stronoff, many things changed after he returned. Renner always felt watched, her father thought she was getting paranoid. Stronoff had redeveloped his opinion on monsters. He had refused to hunt down the basilisk near "Katze Plain", a cursed area, where many battles between them and their neighbor the Baharut Empire were fought. Her father had lost his will, so to speak. His position was shown to be extremely weak in his own court. Her brother was getting more arrogant every day, to her annoyance. The nobles became more vicious, towards the warrior captain, because he is a commoner, and her father, for allowing said commoner hisplace.
"This show is annoying me. It is obvious that the foe will destroy us over time. We can't do anything. Nearly every year we levy our peasants to fight a battle, which will bring nothing, besides from lost workers and spoiled corn" Renner thought.
She walked down the final floor and knocked at the office from Stronoff. It was also his bedroom. He had a bed in a corner and a table with a desk close to the entrance. There was also a wardrobe closer to the bed. Stronoff sat at his desk. When he saw her he bowed.
"Your highness?" Stronoff asked.
"I wanted to know more about your trip to the frontier." Renner asked with a sweet smile.
"Why would you like to know more?" Stronoff asked.
"I saw changes recently. I think I know that there was a plot. I also know that you refused to hunt down a basilisk. Not because it was dangerous, but because you changed your view on the matter of humans. Not to speak about your increased amount of training." Renner said.
Stronoff sighed and then leaned back in his chair.
"You are right with your observations. I sadly can't confirm nor deny the part about the plot. The increased training my warband and I do has to do with the mission you mentioned, as has my changed opinion on some "monster"" Stronoff said, air quoting "monsters" with his fingers.
"Then please tell me. Maybe it will help sort things out?" Renner asked, playing her concerned-mask. Gazef Stronoff sighed again.
"We were going to the village Carne, where the battle took place. There I met the magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown. I guess he was a necromancer. I don't know where he came from nor how he looks, since he wore a mask, heavy robes and gloves. He had rescued the village in their time of need.
I traded information with him, nothing critical, only information someone could read in a library. It was about our country and what I knew about the Baharut Empire. He meanwhile told me about a friend, who would later join us since she had to conduct an experiment.
Later one of my warband saw "Archangel Flames". It was then clear that we went right inside a trap. I tried to hire Ainz Ooal Gown, since he is a strong magic caster. He used a spell called "Gate" and then his friend showed herself. Can you guess what she was?" Gazef Stronoff reported.
"Hmm. Since he asked what and not who it will probably be a monster. This would explain his changed attitude in regards to them." Renner thought.
"Please continue. I am curious." Renner asked.
"It was a monster. The lower part of her was a giant spider while she had the upper body of the most beautiful woman I ever saw. She had eight eyes, six smaller ones and two where the eyes of us humans are. In the beginning me and my men were not really thrilled with the idea of her presence, as you can guess.
She then moved ahead, while Ainz Ooal Gown explained that in his homeland some monsters live peacefully with humans.
Once the battle began she used a summon and I saw a giant spider appear. She didn't need anything more, since even the trumpcared got destroyed by it.
It shocked me to my core, Princess Renner. Some of the humans I protect try to kill me, while a monster, who should try to kill me, safes my life." Gazef reported the rest he saw from that battle.
"That explains a lot." Renner thought.
"It is understandable. I also now understand why you're hesitant to fight monsters, since you don't know which are sentient, correct?" Renner asked and Stronoff nodded.
"But why the training?" Renner asked.
"I saw the woman, Arachama was her name, using a summon. This summon must be weaker than her. It was taller than most of the buildings I know. It could easily destroy me and my warband. I must close the gap between me and her, in case they prove dangerous to the kingdom." Gazef Stronoff said, determination showing in his eyes.
"Such a powerful being." Renner thought shocked.
"In what terms did you leave her be?" Renner asked.
"She left in a hurry. Ainz Ooal Gown meanwhile left on good terms." Gazef said.
"Then we should keep our vigilance and look out. But thank you for telling me all this. It gave me much to think about." Renner said and stood up.
"It is not a problem. It quite helped to talk about it. But please, I never told you." Stronoff stated. Renner nodded and left.
Renner walked through the palace. She saw more and more spiderwebs. Also the amount of spiders has increased since Gazef Stronoff returned.
"Hm. Controls spiders and has body parts of a spider. It would make sense if the spiders were used as some kind of spies. They would also be able to sit in every room, since they are mostly ignored." Renner applauded the spider woman in her mind.
She went to her room and locked her door. She saw multiple spiderwebs and spiders in her room.
"I want to talk to your master. Please allow me to make contact." She said, She felt eyes on her and then saw many spiders crawl in front of her. They started to form letters and she started to read.
""Stay here until sunset. I will get to you then. No other person shall be allowed inside. If you don't follow this instruction you will have bigger problems than the health of Climb. Till then, Arachama." As you wish." Renner said. She used the rest of the day to prepare her small table.
→ Arwintar Nazarick-mansion / Arachama and Entoma ←
Arachama sat in her office and thought a bit about Arche. It was late afternoon and the lessons were already over. Arche was learning quickly and only needed some fine tuning for her "House Spiders". It was nice for Arachama to see a capable person, unknowingly fulfilling some requirements for Arachama. She thought about having the small twins learn the spells from Arche, but that could be asked tomorrow.
She then looked over reports and copies from Yuri and the others. She then took notice of the new appointments Yuri Alpha had made.
" Ara, ara. Sneaky girl. Placed them in two days, so that she would have two shorter days. But I approve, since she is doing well." Arachama thought, smiling.
She then turned to her duplicated "Spider Paper" so that she could also look at them. She expected something from the "Corner Spiders" she placed with Stronoff and the former enemy.
The ones for the Theocracy still had to come out of their cocoon. But the ones for the Re-Estize kingdom brought results, and tons of them.
Nazarick was now aware, not only of the superficial moves the kingdom was doing. They had already a growing list of conspiracy and traitors in their hands. And those lists were growing by the hour.
"It is creepy how little the kingdom does know about itself and how little it cares. If the other "Corner Spiders" grow to that extreme capability I should order two more maids to oversee the "Spider Paper" and let them write it down by the hour." Arachama thought, hugging Entoma a bit tighter with her forderlegs.
She placed her head onto Entomas and continued reading.
""I want to talk with your master. Please allow me to make contact"" Hmm. Seems that there is at least one capable person in the whole bunch." Arachama thought in dizziness.
"I should meet her in person, but I will take Enti with me. It would be great to gain assets. But I should also order her to remain quiet. Luckily I know where the room is, since my "Corner Spider" already made it possible to create a map." Arachama thought out loud. Luckily Entoma did not respond, probably because she was sleeping.
"I should be able to use "Signal" on the papers and the spiders should form them, if I am right. Let's try" Arachama thought.
She held her hand over the paper and casted "Signal" she then wrote a message on the paper. It dissolved and she got a reply.
"So it worked. Let's see where this will lead us. I just hope that she will heed these orders, or I would have to be serious." Arachama whispered.
"But who cares? I will cuddle Enti till I have to wake her up. Hihihi" Arachama grinned. She walked over to her bedroom and then embraced her with her hands and cuddled into her bed.
AN: Thanks for reading and please review