Nikalia was resting in the small web that she'd made underneath a large spruce tree. She'd dug it out on the second day that the newcomers were still waiting in their fort and added some logs to cover the earth on the fourth. It was currently the eighth day since she dealt with the siege on their fort.

  She didn't know who was to blame for their complete inability to accept that she was the person sent to help them. When she sent one of the golems they would have stones flung at them. They were scarily effective at breaking the limbs and Iron was a much less friendly mouthpiece so they weren't any more generous with them so all she could do at the moment was wait for the Patriarch to communicate with the group and assure them that she, although an arachne, was the person who was sent to help them.

  She'd noticed that when she only left an eye, which was made in all appearances identical to a rock, that the people would leave and glean, hunt, and gather whatever food or water they were able to , though they left the deer carcass that she'd had Iron catch for a day before they seemed to get desperate.

  Nikalia wasn't opposed to 'roughing it' for a few days but waiting for them to leave so she could send her guards to protect them while they 'escaped the arachne princess' would have been fine with her provided that they actually leave.

  She had been able to send her prisoners back with some simple creations that were shepherded by one of her better golems, some stretchers with legs that would follow the golem unerringly. The problem there was that they needed to be sedated and Nikalia's sleeping potion was something that she was in need of in case of her insomnia.

  It normally wasn't an issue until she was taken into an unfamiliar ans stressful environment and since she'd left quickly to deal with the seige and bring them back then she hadn't taken much. A week's supply for her which, given she was larger and somewhat inured to the substance, meant that half of it had kept the prisoners unconscious for their two day trek back.

  And she hadn't ordered the golem to return with more potion since she had thought she would have returned by now at the latest.

  It was currently night and she was unable to sleep. Everything she was able to control was set in a way that would help her sleep. Temperature, darkness, but what she couldn't control was the tree moving in the wind and the dryness of the air since she'd heated it up.

  If she'd expected to wait so long she would have spent more time building a better shelter but doing the work now would admit that she was expecting to wait even longer, and she didn't know how long the people she was supposed to protect would last without her direct help.

  She was wondering how she would go about leaving a letter that they would actually read instead of the first two when she heard a cataclysmic noise.

  Immediately she spun a ward against blunt force trauma and sent a golem to verify whether or not the hillside was sliding or not. If it was a meteor or the leftovers from a dragonfight she would need to be attentive.

  And now she was fighting back the fatigue. Damn.

  Looking through the 'eye' she saw that the guards had warned the others and the arrowslit windows showed light from the others waking. Nikalia got off her hammock and rested against the log floor. The chance she would fall alseep like that was less likely on the ground.

  She dozed with an order to wake and inform her when the travellers did anything abnormal or if any threat arrived.

  She woke up in her hammock with Iron poking her with a stick.

  "Wha'sit?" She mumbled as she oriented herself. Still roughing it. It was late morning.

  Iron, lacking a speech function, signed with his hands.

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  (No threat, people outside)

  After swallowing a mouthful of water that one of her other golems provided she perused the golem eye that was pointed at the fort.

  An old lady was seated in a chair outside it with two guards beside her.

  "I guess they're finally ready to talk."

  Mask tied her black hair into a braid as she walked to the fortification. One golem was picking their way uphill in case of any attack and Iron was walking behind, ready to charge up if anyone caused a threat. The rest were taking down the shelter. If the Pitarav migrants were going to let her help them she'd take everything into the fort.

  If not she was going home without them.

  The guards stiffened as they saw Nikalia and the old lady waved them back inside. She was left alone outside the fort, though the iron banded door was still open. The best Nikalia could expect, probably.

  "Hello!" Nikalia waved at three dozen paces and called out. "Are you ready to talk?"

  "Yes." The lady, given she was dressed in finery, stated. "I am Roxana. I apologize for our actions. My little brother did not include all the pertinent information."

  "Apology accepted." Nikalia cautiously approached. "Though I'll ask you not throw rocks at me. I'm not as strong as my golems."

  Roxana gave a glare to the top of the wall where a guard quailed with a sling in hand. "My people have been in not the best state. I must apologize again for them."

  "Don't worry. When do you think you'll be ready to leave?"

  "That's the problem I think we have." The elderly woman Had a silvery glimmer to her skin with the accompanying scales intermittently that almost blended into her white hair, "Most of the workers we have are ready to leave. Some of our elders and children are less able so we'll need to carry them. We're also nearly out of food, including the help you provided. It will take us twice as long to get to the City, even longer if we have to stop to gather or hunt. Saying nothing about the combat that's ongoing?"

  "What?" Nikalia's surprise was mirrored by Roxana.

  "I thought you would know. The Silver Chain brutes sent an attack on the settlement. They're expecting another and our arrival would be a good chance for that. What communication do you have with the city?"

  "None. I left as soon as I was able and was expecting to get back much sooner. I sent a message carrier with the prisonners, but they weren't supposed to return. I suppose they're busy enough up there."

  "But why take prisoners? The food situation is more plentiful but I don't think it is so much we can handle many other mouths?"

  "Lady Aria Taravyna ordered it."

  "Hmmm." Roxana mumbled as she thought, "And you're certain that it is in fact the goddess? I heard she was sealed away."

  "Yes. I was familiar with her before so I would know." Nikalia had a small bit of pleasure from the surprise on the elderly looking woman's face. She was probably five times her age and still had very many years left. Vitality potions are quite effective.

  "Nikalia Taravyna. I've heard of your exploits in the past. I suppose it's not a surprise to see you helping."

  "I suppose not." What stories were told about her to the children? Was she a villainous person turned good by their goddess? She might need to join in on the stories with the children and elderly. They might not like her tales of the web but she knew a few fables from the humans. "When should you be ready to leave?"

  Her retinue of guard golems emerged around the bend in the road carrying their collection of webbing spooled around some of the logs while Iron, who must have circled back, was dragging the whole spruce tree that was in the middle of the shelter she'd made.

  "I should've been more specific." Nikalia murmured as Roxana hid her smile behind a hand.

  "We can make use of it. I wouldn't want your people's work to be in vain."

  Nikalia resisted the urge to huff and called to her golems to bring the stuff inside. The inhabitants of the fort were gathering everything of theirs but it remained disorganized.

  "I think we'll be ready to leave in the evening, so we should go in the morning." Roxana hobbled in after Nikalia. "People are tired from the thing that happened in the night. I don't know what it was but my little brother didn't tell me about it. He's still alive and he didn't try to contact me again so it shouldn't be a big problem."

  "It certainly sounded like a problem."

  "Wellm grandmother Nikalia," The elderly woman patted the shoulder of the arachne who appeared much younger than herself, "I have seen much of the greatest mages in the war. When they are pretending to be strong because they are weak you notice them. When you don't notice them they kill you. We noticed that so if it was someone actually trying to attack they were going the wrong way about it so they can't be that strong. I was something of a warrior when I was young-"

  Roxana reached into a pocket and took out a copper coin. With a slight appearance of concentration the coin radiated heat, showing no glow of molten metal. Then it dissolved into a powdery ash.

  The lack of sound and sight clues was a sign of skill, but the fact that Nikalia couldn't notice any sign of mana being used, despite the obvious use, showed that she was a skilled mage-warrior.

  "Then I defer to your knowledge. I know of a few spaces where I prepared a few hideaways, If we can't meet up with your brother the Patriarch we should hide well enough no-one can find us."

  The two discussed the different hideaways as the people and golems worked to pack and prepare for the journey into the new battlefield.