"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Mental link"
"Noble Phantasms"
POV
Chapter 24: Back in the Saddle.
There was a flash of light in the midst of a field, near enough the main road that any travellers could have spotted it rather easily.
From the flash, over half a dozen figures materialized with varied appearances and few suited to their current conditions.
"This is our method of deployment?" Verndari inquired with a slightly inquisitive tone "It is rather jarring."
"My head…" Beatrice moaned as she crouched to the ground, clutching her head with a rather pathetic look on her face "Why didn't you tell me we were going soon?"
"Why were you drinking?"
"I was talking about Oolacile...made me sad…" She sniffed at the question, then dragged herself back to her feet and squinted "Ah, the sun!"
"Wonderful, is it not?" Ash spoke up with a pleased tone of voice and then performed his 'Y' shaped salute, earning him odd looks from those who had no idea what he was doing.
"No…" Beatrice whined "My eyes hurt."
"Complaining about the consequences of your own actions will do naught to benefit anyone." Verndari scoffed, then looked over to see Gareth already jumping onto Sifs back and bringing out a rather large lance "...At least we have some form of Cavalry."
"Well." Ritsuka shrugged as he looked at the tall knight "It does look kind of badass."
"That was uncalled for." Ash's head snapped to him "I realise it is rather unorthodox, but there is no need to call her a mule."
"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked in surprise before he started waving his hands "N-no, no! I mean it looks really impressive! That's what badass means! Its an expression!"
Verndari frowned behind his helm and looked at Arash "Are you familiar with this?" Arash stared back at him and shrugged.
"Not really, but I haven't been around for a while." He gave a small smile and looked back at Gareth and Sif "And he's not wrong, it is quite impressive. Maybe a little intimidating too."
"Rayshift confirmed, Senpai." Mash chose this moment to speak up "We appear to be in the right place."
"That's good." Ritsuka nodded his head and then looked around "...So what now?"
"Where is the closest centre of civilisation for the time period?" Verndari asked, as he dragged Beatrice into standing up straight, then looked at Ritsuka "I believe it would greatly improve our results if we were to head towards a city or town and begin questioning the locals to discover any evidence of foul play."
Ritsuka stared at him for a few moments before he blinked a few times then nodded his head "R-right." his expression became more serious as he turned to Mash "60 A.D. right, where did we end up?"
"Doctor Roman tried to send us into the region of Gaul." She pulled out a small disk and turned it on, giving a transparent image of the map of Europe with several names detailing cities and territories "He said we should have ended up north of the region of Alpes Poeniae."
"Sounds latin." Ritsuka mumbled "I assume that places us north of the Roman empire then?"
"It does." Mash replied with a smile "However, during this time period, the empire was ruled by Nero Claudius."
"Ah…" Ritsuka cringed "Well, shit."
Ash noticed how all the other Servants cringed slightly as well "Is there an issue?"
"Nero is regarded as a tyrant." Arash bluntly put "Quite a terrible one too."
"That would be problematic." Verndari crossed his arms "Especially if we were to offend them in some capacity."
"Well, we'll have to try and avoid that." Ritsuka frowned "I hope the translation spell is working this time, I'm no history buff but I know enough to remember the Romans weren't too fond of foreigners."
"Prejudice?" Beatrice suddenly looked at them in slight worry "Did they hate non-Romans?"
"Not so much hate as viewed them as uncivilised." Mash clarified "However, if the translation spell is working correctly, we shouldn't face too great an issue."
"I suppose we can't worry about that right now." Ritsuka sighed then looked over the map "We're quite a distance from Rome." he cringed slightly "What is that? Five hundred miles?"
"Thereabouts." Mash admitted with a wince "Doctor Roman wanted to get us closer, but the entire region is suffering from interference. This is actually one of the few places we could accurately Rayshift."
"What?" Verndari's head snapped to her in an instant "What do you mean?"
"Doctor Roman couldn't get accurate co-ordinates." Mash clarified, looking slightly taken off guard by the sudden urgency in his tone "The closest we could get to Roman territory was here."
"And that did not strike you as odd?" Ash suddenly picked up on Verndari's point "That in an entire region, which could not be accurately detailed you discover a clearing? Perfect for us to arrive at?"
There was a tense silence that permeated throughout the group, Ritsuka felt his eyes widen as the words sunk in "Y-you mean we-"
"May have walked into a trap." Gareth finished with a frown, Sif began circling the group, staring around them in all directions while occasionally sniffing at the air "We should try and find cover, quickly."
"Squire." Verndari snapped and looked at her "Where's the closet town or fort?"
"Town?" Ritsuka looked at him in mild shock "Do we really want to drag our potentially ambushers to a town of innocents?"
"A town is more easily defensible, and no self respecting empire or kingdom would leave their towns undefended."
Arash nodded his head "He has a point, I don't like it but it is better than sitting out here, waiting to get jumped." he looked over the surrounding environment as Sif and Gareth continued to circle around the group "Well, Master?"
"We should probably contact Chaldea first." Ritsuka spoke to himself "I feel like the Director will probably want to hear from us."
"Very well, Senpai." Mash nodded her head as the Master withdrew his communication device and pressed the small button on it.
For a few moments nothing happened, then device created a blue transparent hologram which made a garbled noise and revealed nothing but static. The group stared at the image for a few moments with varying expressions of concern.
"That's...not good." Ritsuka muttered to himself "I think...I think we're being jammed." he looked around and saw the confused expressions of his servants before clarifying "Someone is blocking our communications."
The group stilled and then immediately went into high alert, weapons being drawn and arrows were notched as the group's heads darted in all directions.
"The nearest town?" Verndari parroted again, Ritsuka nodded is head and looked to the small map again.
"About three miles down the road it seems. We need only follow this path south and we should arrive there." He looked around to the rest of the servants "Yeah...That's not suspicious at all." he clapped his hands together and put on a faux smile full of false confidence to hide his shaky expression "Well, it situations like these when walking into a trap, there's only one thing to do."
"Avoid the trap?" Beatrice asked with a slightly hopeful expression, Ritsuka promptly shattered those hopes with his reply.
"Spring the trap."
"That's a terrible plan." Ash retorted, the frown obvious in his voice "That's like throwing open a mimic to expose it as a mimic."
"Ser Raime did that once." Verndari reminisced "Became a legend in court. Apparently the mimic shattered its teeth when it bit down on his arm."
"...Did it?" Beatrice asked, genuinely curious, Verndari released a scoff and shook his head.
"It shattered his arm more like." He released a small chuckle "I don't think anyone ever heard him scream that loud before, although it would have made for poor appearance for the left hand of the King to have been said to scream like a child, thus the story of Ser Raime's iron arms spread around." he shrugged "The fact he refused the wear gauntlets only served to encourage the story further."
"Why didn't he wear gauntlets?" Ritsuka asked, genuinely curious as the group began their walk South.
"I don't actually know." Verndari shrugged, head still scanning their surroundings "Apologies my Liege, I never actually asked him why."
"Huh." Ritsuka released a slightly disappointed sound before shaking his head "Well, maybe if we ever see him we can ask."
"Perhaps." Verndari idly replied, although the way he winced at the thought of meeting the knight wasn't missed by anyone.
"Master, request permission to go scouting!" Gareth perked up, both her and Sif's head turned to him "Me and Sif can head on and get the town in sight first and call back to you."
"I don't know…" Ritsuka muttered under his breath "Its a little risky to split up...If we are walking into a trap then you'd be on your own."
"I'm sure me and Sif can handle it." Gareth grinned and nodded her head while patting the wolf, the large creature nodded its own head in agreement "Besides, if it gets too bad, I'm sure Archer can support us."
"She's not wrong." Arash gave a reassuring smile "I can shoot pretty far, I can support her if she and the big dog run into trouble."
"Well." Ritsuka closed his eyes and released a small sigh "Alright." he turned to Gareth "You and Sif head south towards the town, don't try and enter it until we catch up." he turned to Arash "Can you keep overwatch on them?"
"I can do my best." Arash affirmed "Any sign of trouble, I'll let you know."
"Right then." Ritsuka nodded "Good luck." with that, the trio darted off south, Gareth and Sif at break neck speeds down the road and Arash lagging just behind the pair.
"Risky, splitting up like that." Verndari muttered, then looked over to Ritsuka "That is not to say I disapprove however, risky though it might have been it is necessary for us to obtain geographical information on our surroundings, especially if we are walking into a trap."
"I just hope nothing bad happens…" Ritsuka mumbled under his breath, Mash gave him a reassuring pat on the back, earning her a small smile from him "Well, then." he cleared his throat "Lets follow them!"
The remaining group followed the dust cloud in the distance
Gareth and Sif POV
Gareth remained focused as she rode atop the large wolf, lance at her side and head frequently darting around in suspicion as the creature continued its sprint down the road, the Lancer gave a fleeting glance over her shoulder to the Archer following her.
She could see his vague form in the distance, arrow already notched as he jogged behind her. Occasionally stopping to survey the area before breaking out into another jog.
Though she wouldn't say it, she shared Ser Verndari's concerns of a trap. An area being perfectly available for their arrival and just as quickly vanishing was textbook for an ambush, as well as the closeness to the town they were supposedly heading towards. One thing she quickly picked up on was how quiet everything was.
She couldn't hear any trace of birds, animals or people. This was a flourishing Empire and a main road towards a town. She would have at least expected something near the group upon their arrival. Yet there wasn't a trace that anything lived here. That alone was cause for a great deal of concern.
The pair crested the slight hill, catching sight of a small wooden wall in the distance. Sif slid to a stop and sniffed the air. Gareth tensed as the wolf's head dropped and he growled at the town.
"Something wrong, boy?" Gareth asked, the only reply she received was a slight nod of the wolf's head. Making it clear with his obvious refusal to continue that there was something wrong with the town ahead. "Everyone." She called out through the mental link "Myself and Sif have caught sight of the town. However, Sif doesn't want to advance further. I think he can smell something up ahead."
"Right. Wait for us to catch up with you." Came her Master's reply "Archer? Can you see anything?"
"No. It's too quite." Was Arash's reply, his tone also carrying a certain tension to it "I've been keeping watch as I travelled. Haven't caught sight of anything. Human or otherwise."
"Well...That's not suspicions."
"I meant human or otherwise. No sign of any animals either."
"Oh...That's...Sif? Can you smell anything?"
The wolf's head took another sniff of their air before lowering, a reply in more of the form of a general feeling of 'no' went through the link rather than an actual word. It was clear enough to Ritsuka what the Saber meant however.
"This is freaky...How does the town look?"
Gareth narrowed her eyes and looked towards the direction of the town "I can't make it out all that well. It doesn't look like its been attacked...What can you see, Archer?"
"Gate is still in place." Arash replied to her "None of the walls looked damaged. From the outside, it doesn't look attacked to me either. Although I'd still recommend caution."
"Right." Ritsuka replied back "We'll be there shortly."
Master Group POV
"That sounds troubling." Verndari spoke as Ritsuka returned to the group "Perhaps they have taken shelter."
"Or evacuated." Ash surmised "However, Saber's reaction is troubling."
"Quite so...The beast senses something in that town." The knight turned to Ritsuka "I'd recommend caution, My Liege. Greatwolves are not easily disturbed, for Saber to exhibit a reaction like that."
"Isn't good." Ritsuka agreed "Still, its the closest town we do need information on what is actually going on around here."
"I suppose we are left with little choice." Verndari sighed, then turned to Mash "Squire Kyrielight." the girl snapped to attention "Stay close to our Liege. Caster, travel alongside them. Ash and myself will take point."
"Aren't I suppose to be the Master?" Ritsuka muttered to Mash under his breath, Verndari's head snapped to him.
"Your position as my Liege has not changed, however I feel as though it is my duty to ensure the best possible chance for your survival. If you disagree with my tactics, I will adhere to your commands."
"No, no!" Ritsuka waved his hands "I was just surprised is all. It's not actually a bad plan." he gestured ahead of them "Lead the way, Shielder."
"Of course, my Liege." He flicked his head and gestured Ash to follow him. The Saber servant nodded back in return, quickly joining step with the Shielder as the group began to advance down the main road in the direction of the town.
"Well…" Ritsuka drawled out, catching sight of the town in the distance as they crested the hill. The others circling around him as they all took in the same sight "Archer? See anything to indicate an attack?"
"No." Arash shook his head "And that's what troubles me." he cast a glance at Sif, the wolf still glaring at the town "Because something in there has this one spooked."
"Quite so." Verndari nodded his head "I can see no signs of forced entry in the gates, nor can I see evidence of a massacre. The walls remain standing, and the houses remain upright." he turned "It is possible the town was evacuated…"
"But that wouldn't explain why Saber is freaked out." Ritsuka surmised, biting his lip before casting a brief glance over at Mash. He took in a deep breath and then slapped himself on the cheeks "Right. We're going to investigate. Stay on guard, Mash. You're with me." he turned his head "Saber and Lancer, you two will sniff out any trouble. Archer, you'll stay with me, Mash and Caster. A small town isn't exactly the best spot for an engagement so we'll be trying to protect you two."
"Sounds fair." Arash nodded, then looked over at Beatrice "What about you, Betty?" he grinned at the way she sputtered slightly.
"M-me? O-oh...I...er...yes." She nodded once "Makes sense."
"Right then." Ritsuka went on "Saber and shielder? You two will search the houses."
"I assume you are using out class names in the event we are being spied upon?" Ash asked curiously.
Ritsuka nodded his head "Yeah. Until we're in definitely friendly territory I don't want to risk it. You guys said that a name revealed a legend so...You know. In case one of you has an obvious weakness like Achilles or Siegfried."
"Makes sense." Ash shrugged "Although mine is a Pseudo name. I don't have a legend attributed to myself."
"Oh." Ritsuka blinked then slapped himself on the forehead "Oh, yeah...Huh. Ash then. Less confusing than calling you Saber when we have two." he chuckled, shaking his head "Right...Lets get going."
The group advanced on the town, the outer walls showing no sign of damage to them, the wooden gates wide open.
The moment they were passed them, the group paused as an uneasy feeling settled upon them. Sif began growling at the houses and not without good reason.
It was quiet.
Too quiet. The group could hear neither an animal nor a person, the only evidence they had ever existed here to begin with was the scattering of debris. An upturned cart and ruined stalls.
"Talk about a ghost town…" Ritsuka muttered darkly, a frown on his place "I guess they left in a hurry."
Ash walked forwards, grip on his sword tight as he advanced on the closest house, then looked down at the entrance "...Assuming they left at all."
"Ash-san?" Mash asked in concern "What did you find?"
"Check the houses." He simply remarked "I've got drag marks here, leading outwards." he gestured at the indentations in the dirt. Evidently it had been wet recently, the tracks from whatever had entered the homes were still present. Ritsuka walked forwards and took a look at what Ash was staring at.
He frowned when he saw it as well, the steady grooves in the dirt where something had been roughly dragged, and obviously it was heavy enough to leave marks in the soil. He narrowed his eyes and looked down at the marks surrounding the drag mark "Are those...puncture marks in the dirt?" he asked in puzzlement.
Ash leaned in and took a close look "They appear to be…" he looked up "Mash. Stay with him." he ordered the pink haired girl, then slowly pushed the door open.
The inside of the house left as much to the imagination as the outside did. Ash frowned behind his helm, the kitchen table had been overturned, the remains of either dinner or breakfast strewn across the floor.
He looked down, a few drops of blood along the floor. He narrowed his eyes and touched them. A faint image appeared in front of him, what appeared to be an elderly man, knocked to the ground by something, he noticed the back of the man's neck rise off the ground slightly, as if something had pinched it before the image faded away.
He had died quickly.
Poison? Perhaps. There were scarcely any drops of blood, not enough to kill a man and yet the blood stain had informed him the man had died. Most troubling. Ash rose back to his feet, exiting the house swiftly.
Finding Ritsuka, Mash, Beatrice and Arash still huddled around the entrance. Ritsuka noticed his emergence and nodded to him "Anything?"
"Empty. Confirmed the dead on an elderly man." He went on "Undead can touch bloodstains of the deceased, witness their final moments. Old man died quickly, something overpowered him. Possibly poison, not enough blood to indicate any other method. Could have also snapped his neck."
"So why did they take his body?" Arash asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in thought.
"I don't know." Ash replied, looking around to see Verndari emerge from another house, he beckoned the Knight over "Empty as well?"
"Indeed. Drag marks in the dirt at the front of the house as well. Attack happened quickly and cleanly."
"Guys!" Gareth called from the far end of the village, the group turned to see her waving them over, a frown on her face "I think Saber found something!"
"Stay with our Liege." Verndari pointed at the servants surrounding Ritsuka "Keep him safe."
"Yes." Mash nodded, firm look while Arash and Beatrice gave a look of reassurance. Satisfied, Verndari beckoned Ash to join him, the two jogging over to where Gareth and Sif were.
"You discovered something?" Verndari asked, Gareth nodded once, then gestured to what appeared to be the town hall. A large building, wooden walls and a thatched roof, a slightly ajar door on the front.
"Saber caught a whiff of it and hasn't stopped growling." She explained.
Ash looked closer at the ground "The drag marks all head in this direction." he stepped cautiously up the street and closer towards the building.
He paused, just shy of several metres from the door, then turned his head to look back at the group "I will investigate Master." Ash spoke, locking eyes with Ritsuka "I will signal in the event something occurs."
"What will the signal be?" He asked.
"...A very large explosion."
That got a snort out of him "Fair enough. Be careful."
Ash nodded in reply, then turned back to the building. Holding up his left hand and creating a small flame to light the way. Using the tip of his sword, he slowly pushed the door open further. Hesitantly, he moved into the house and held up his hand to get a better look at his environment.
He instantly froze.
His eyes scanned the barely illuminated room with disgust and growing horror. Strands of silver thread stretched across the entire room. But that wasn't what concerned him, what concerned him was what was hanging down from the ceiling...and what wasn't.
Thick strands of the silver substance hung low from the rafters, culminating in large shapes, which left little to the imagination of what they were, given their human like appearance. Although considering they were cocooned up, he was working off conjecture.
He slowly took a step forwards, noticing that the difficultly with which it took him to raise his legs, looking down he saw the floor was covered in the same silvery substance. Raising his leg, he saw it stick to the sole of his boot, it was strong.
He frowned beneath his helm, then looked back up. The far end of the room.
The walls were coated in...more of the substance. He narrowed his eyes and held his hand in front of him to get a better look. Very nearly wishing he hadn't.
Humans were glued to the wall.
All women, he noted, although he was speculating given how bloated their bodies were. Stuck to the wall, only their heads and parts of their skin exposed although what was exposed was deeply discoloured, a stretched out redness of the skin indicating where blood vessels had burst beneath the surface indicating where their bodies had been stretched beyond their limits.
He slowly advanced on them, raising his hand to get a better look. He grimaced.
Bizarre growths covered their bodies, ranging in sizes from small enough to be the size of a pebble to the size of a fist.
He abruptly froze his hand…
Did that lump…
Just…
...Move?
He slowly inclined his head to the left of the closest woman, noticing something important, the bodies of the other women had been ripped apart, as if something had burst out of them.
The sound of something impacting wood caused his head to snap to the side.
He looked over, now noticing the hole in the floor boards, where more of the strands converged to form a slight cover. Something poking out of it, sticking into the wood.
It was dark in colouration, segmented too, like different parts grafted together ending in a scythe like appendage, only lengthwise it appeared to be longer than his body. Then another one emerged from the same hole, rising slowly before descending with a similar clunk into the wood.
The pair of limbs pressed into the ground, something began rising out of the whole, supported by the legs.
An armoured, arrow shaped head emerged. Pincer like appendages forming a disturbing mouth and half a dozen eyes stared him down.
The two held a glaring contest for a few moments.
Ash assumed his reaction was appropriate.
"How long do you think he'll be?" Ritsuka asked Mash, Ash had entered the building a couple minuted ago and hadn't emerged.
"I'm sure he's fi-" Mash went to answer, then was cut off when Ash literally leapt out of the building at lightning speeds.
"Fucking flames!" Ash screamed aloud, landing just in-front of the group, then spinning around and turning back to the house, pyromancy charging in his left hand before launching a colossal ball of fire back at the entrance "Gwyn's fucking beard!" went his strew of curses as the front of the building exploded, and the rest burst into flames.
Ash turned back to the group, openly staring at him in shock and obviously demanding some form of explanation.
"We need to leave." Was his only reply.
Before anyone could quiz him further, the ground around them rumbled slightly.
Ritsuka blinked and looked around in concern "What is-?" he cut himself off when a long, armoured, leg like think punched its way out of the dirt, several metres to their left.
The group stared at it in shock for a few moments, before the leg slowly retracted back into the ground. Then another leg punched up at the opposite side of them, then another, and another, and another, and another.
When over a dozen legs had emerged and retracted, Ritsuka got the idea that it wasn't a good idea to stick around "Alright guys...New plan. Let's leave…"
"I am inclined to agree." Verndari muttered, drawing his sword and backing up, next to him Sif materialized his weapon and Gareth readied her Lance.
The ground where the legs had emerged suddenly caved inwards, in front of them lay a new hole leading to a dark pit.
For a few seconds, there was silence.
Then hundreds of large spiders immediately emerged from the hole.
Ritsuka's scream went high enough to shatter glass as he beheld the creatures, then abruptly turning and sprinting in the opposite direction and out of the town.
"S-senpai!?" Mash exclaimed in shock, the dashed off to join him.
She was swiftly followed by every other Servant, frantically sprinting out of the town as hundreds more of the armoured arachnids emerged from the pit and began chasing them down.
"Senpai!" Mash called out as she reached Ritsuka's side, immediately taking notice of the terrified expression on his face "Please give us your orders!" she demanded, trying to snap him out of his shock and fight or flight sprint.
"Get rid of the spiders!" Was his only command.
Ash didn't need much convincing, already having been throwing fireballs at them in an effort to create some kind of barrier.
"Ash!" Verndari called out "Set the gate on fire!"
Ash nodded and slowed down, allowing the other servants to pass him. He looked behind him, seeing the spiders just shy of crossing the gate. Charging up his pyromancy, he let loose a torrent of flames directed at the wooden wall and gate.
The wood quickly catching fire due to the sudden inferno, the spiders hissed at the heat suddenly blocking their path.
Ash allowed himself a small sigh of relief before he turned and ran back to join Ritsuka and the others.
15 minutes of running later
Ritsuka slumped over, letting out panting breaths as the other servants crowded around him. Sif let out a low whine and nuzzled his shoulder slightly.
Ritsuka looked towards the large wolf, allowing a small smile on his face as he playfully patted the nose away. Sif took this in stride, eyes now gleaming with relief as he moved back and sat down.
"S-sorry…" Ritsuka scratched the back of his head, letting out a few more panting breaths "D-didn't meant to...to run out like that…"
"Senpai." Mash began slowly "Are you...scared of spiders?" she asked, then cringed as he winced slightly.
"Y-yeah." He nodded "Normally I can just grin and bare it because most spiders are tiny and I can just chuck them out the window or squash them...Just...seeing one that was."
"Big." Ash surmised "I think it best I don't discuss what went on in the building then."
"N-no..." Ritsuka shook his head, a nervous smile on his face "I probably need to know anyway...Learn our enemies objectives and all that."
Ash stared at him for a few moments, then looked over at Mash. The pink haired girl bit her lip, sending Ritsuka a nervous glance before she slowly nodded her head at the Saber servant.
"They had taken the women and laid eggs in their body."
The thudding sound of Ritsuka's unconscious body hitting the ground seemed to echo around the camp.
Arash pinched the bridge of his nose "That's…"
"Disgusting." Gareth cringed, then looked down at their passed out Master "Yeah...maybe you shouldn't have told him that."
Mash was frantically tending to his body to ensure he wasn't suffering from any injuries. Beatrice was paler than usual, however Verndari was oddly silent for a few moments.
"Those spiders." He spoke after a few moments "I recognised them…"
"Eh?" Mash looked up at him "You did?"
Verndari nodded "I did." then cast a glance at the passed out boy "However, I think it best I discuss this when our Liege is awake." he looked back to Sif "Can you carry him?"
Sif stared at him for a few moments, then nodded his head.
"Lancer." Verndari turned to her "Ride with him, ensure he does not fall off."
"I will." She nodded, a resolute expression as she leaned down and picked up Ritsuka in a bridal carry, causing Mash's expression to turn into a furious blush and at a mix between second hand embarrassment, jealously and amusement.
"Archer, your senses are keener than ours."
"I'll alert us to trouble." Arash nodded back.
"Squire Kyrielight. You and I will protect Saber and Lancer as they escort Master to relative safety from this direction." Verndari turned away from Mash and towards Beatrice and Ash "Sir Ash, you and Caster shall take point."
"Understood." Ash nodded, Beatrice blinked in shock for a few moments then nodded her head as well, rather rapidly.
"Sir Archer? We are still required to head South. Did you spot anything else, aside from the town?"
"Caught sight of a forest to the east." Arash responded "Will provide us with some cover."
The Looking Glass Knight nodded his head along with him "Then we shall head East. When our Liege awakens, we shall strategize further."
AN: Spiders, spiders and more spiders.
Disturbing little things that they are.
Yeah. Gave Ritsuka Arachnophobia.
Should make things very amusing when he runs into a certain Rider class servant.