Chapter 24: Fairy Circle

"Ugh, why did you let me eat so much!?" Sael groaned.

"I didn't make you order so many appetizers for the table!" Beth groaned herself having eaten too much.

"Well no one could decide what they wanted!" Grumbling Sael managed to stand up and stretch. It had been a long time since he'd over eaten. They'd really gone overboard. Even Ara was full for a change. He'd just finished dismissing a doggy bag for Silver into his inventory when the screaming started. They all turned to look out the large window in front of the restaurant and were shocked to see corpse spiders crawling along the street. Sael and Nee shared a glance before the front window exploded as a corpse spider burst through it. Patrons and employees let out shrill screams before a heavy boot sent the creature sailing right back out the window.

Sael stepped to the window and looked out it after giving the invader the literal boot. Dozens of spiders ran around outside attacking anything that moved. 'Hmm there aren't nearly as many as before. But it can't be a coincidence that they showed up where I am a second time.'

As another spider charged the broken window he grabbed a nearby table to block it's attempt to enter. "Quick find some stuff to board this up. Dego take over while I go out and keep them away from the building." Dego had to dive forward to catch the table covering the window as Sael let it go.

He was most of the way to the door when someone caught his hand. "Please. Don't go." Sael turned expecting Beth or Ara but instead found a Nee with her face scrunched up in fear.

"Don't worry there are way less than before. You've seen how many I can handle. This will be a cake walk." Nee opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out.

"Let him go." Ara pulled Nee back.

"Just… be careful please." Nee said before turning to give Ara a deep frown.

Sael shook his head as he stepped out the main door dismissing his armor into his inventory. Taking it off was the easy part just getting it on was a problem. Beth wouldn't be able to repair it without her work bench plus it would just get in the way of his plan. He wasn't worried about the spiders, with his regenerative abilities there weren't nearly enough to be a threat. But he was excited about the chance to get some free poison resistance grinding in. Stepping out he put his fingers in his mouth to let out a high pitch whistle to catch everyone's attention. People stared at the crazed man as his shirt disappeared into thin air.

"You people get into the building behind me. You ugly bastards hit me with all you've got!" One spider took his challenge literally and leapt from the nearby buildings intent on attacking him directly. Sael slapped the corpse shrouded bug mid air sending it bouncing along the ground. "No, not like that. Poison you stupid bugs."

The sound of that slap seemed to break everyone out of their stupor. People ran for the building while spiders began to rain down their acidic poison in mass. Sael spun around slowly, his arms out like an idiot as he soaked up the poison damage watching his health dip and rise. "Come on! Let's get at least one rank up! Ooo maybe another vitality point too while you're at it!"

Another spider leapt towards him only for Sael to turn his spin into a kick sending it into a nearby building with enough force to splinter wood. Landing at the base of the building unmoving Sael nodded. "Anyone else want to try something stupid? No good. Now back to helping me grind up my poison resist!"

More and more spiders arrived, standing on roofs, walking on walls, even scuttling across the road. They circled him soaking him in poison as fast as his body could nullify it. Sael just watched his health bar casually as he reviewed the various skills he planned to buy. His daydreams were interrupted by a combination of a system message and his name being yelled from the restaurant.

Glancing first to his messages he was excited to see his poison resistance had ranked up and his life was barely moving. Turning to see Dego standing in the doorway looking pale he figured the poor guy was worried about him being covered in poison. "Don't worry I'm fine. Just raising my resista…"

"No, Something is wrong with the little redhead. She collapsed!" Dego's voice sounded like it was on the edge of panic which made the hairs on the back of Sael's neck stand up.

Calling in his spear even as he took a step forward towards the restaurant he swept it back in a wide arc behind him. He may not have had a skill but he had more than enough raw power to slaughter all those spiders that encroached on him as he retreated back in.

Pulling his shirt back out of his inventory and pulling it over his head he rushed back into the group of girls kneeling besides Ara who was laid out. Once he was beside them he could see Ara was pale and covered in sweat, kneeling down he checked her pulse to find her cool to the touch. "What's wrong with her? Did she get attacked?" He glanced around trying to spot a spider that had made its way in. Now that he wasn't out distracting them they could hear the splintering of wood as they started to tear the building apart.

"She is dying. She…" Again Nee stopped her mouth open but nothing coming out. She shook her head and stood up. "It's ok. I know what to do. We have to take her to the Summer Queen." Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a fist before sprinkling a fine dark powder in a circle around them. "At Least I could still prepare for this." Sael heard her mutter.

Sael glanced between Ara, Nee and then the various spiders starting to tear their way into the building before he noticed mushrooms growing out of the floor where Nee had sprinkled the powder. Bright colorful mushrooms, dull browns, pale greys and every other type of mushroom he'd ever seen grew in a circle around them. The term Fairy Circle popped into his head just as the world around them spun sideways.

**********

The summer castle was hovering so close to the ground the wild grass brushed the stone bottom. Kera Queen of the Summer Court was seeing petitioners that day. In front of her an Otter folk bobbled his head and nervously chewed air as it paused explaining all the troubles his people had. Nervously it ran its hands down the little vest it wore decorated with the shells of some of its most tasty meals. Kera's face was a perfect mask of serenity while inwardly she sighed. Just as with every other petitioner she'd heard that day and probably all the others she would hear the rest of the day, the otter folk's main source of trouble was humans.

'They spread like wildfire consuming everything in their wake heedless of all others. What am I to do. Wage war against the horde known as humanity? They breed and grow so fast while gaining power at an alarming rate.' She couldn't deny feeling somewhat impressed by the way humans managed to grow. Their lives were a blink of an eye to a fae. Yet it seemed as if each and every one of them were in a mad dash for power heedless of any consequences. It combined with their perchance for breeding like the vermin many older races considered them made them an ever growing threat.

Kera was just about to politely let the otter folk know she would try and negotiate with the humans to curb their overfishing even though she knew it wouldn't help when a Fairy Circle started growing in the middle of the room. Her consorts and the guards stationed in the throne room moved forward while Kera stepped back. That day she wore her finest gown while a crown of flowering garland and gold decorated her brow. Her large wings like a monarch butterfly with brilliant gold instead of orange were on full display. She'd aimed to impress and hoped through that to inspire confidence in her petitioners as she feared she could do little else.

Appearing in the large circle of mushrooms was a huge human male, a slightly smaller human male, a human female, then Nee the current Winter Queen, and finally she saw her own daughter Ara who looked to be on death's door. Addressing her guards "Quickly, take the petitioners out of here." Despite feeling her heart race seeing her daughter alive she maintained her appearance.

Guards ushered the various fae and animal folk out of the throne room, unseen was the small blob of darkness that appeared in the circle to slip into the shadow a waddling creature that looked like a humanoid shaped radish the size of a human child.

As the throne emptied save the queen and her consorts Nee stood up to curtsy. "I wish that we could meet again in better times, Kera of the Summer Court."

"Greetings Winter Queen, you shouldn't be able to leave your Castle or have you managed to gain enough mana to stretch your reach?" Shaking her head Kera continued not as worried about that as for her daughter. She'd heard rumors that her daughter had been rescued by a human but since Ara hadn't reached out to her she hadn't been sure. Seeing her daughter in such a state she felt a shiver run down her spine, imaging the horrors the demon's put her through to leave one blessed with Summer's Vitality in such a state. She moved towards her daughter when the winter fairy interrupted her.

"I am no longer the Winter Queen. I am now the consort to the Fairy King." Kera glanced to see the serious faced winter fairy motioning to the hulking human kneeling beside her daughter.

"Fairy King? Not Winter King?" When Nee nodded Kera moved forward more urgently. She touched her daughters cool hand and her eyes went wide with rage. Turning she slapped the human who even kneeling was at eye level with her with all her strength across his face. Her consorts drew their weapons not sure what was going on but sensing their queen's rage.

Sael's first reaction was to throttle the fairy in front of him. The blow hadn't physically hurt him at all but just shocked him. He could already feel his hand closing around the thin neck of the fairy. But before even his hands could move he looked her in the eyes seeing at first rage then the true fear and pain beneath it.

"Release her you…" Kera thought the hulking man had to be a demon but found that the castle senses told her he was just a human. It sensed the blessings of both Winter and Summer caught in the frightening maelstrom of power in human form.

"...what are you?" Before Sael could respond she continued. "It matters not what you are. You will release my daughter and Nee immediately. Or I swear on my crown one of us will die this day." Despite the building rage in Kera she was afraid of which would survive such an encounter, had she not been in her own castle she wasn't sure her rage would have been enough to challenge the strange being in front of her.

"He has not taken from us anything not given willingly." It was Nee's calm voice that spoke up. "Nor does he know what is wrong with your daughter. She never told him and refused to let me. Even going so far as binding me to an oath."

Kera looked around at all the faces of the strangers as the winter fairy's words sank in. She wasn't sure who to be most angry at. The human, her daughter, the former winter queen, or herself. She looked to the human and saw only confusion, worry, and concern. But she still remembered the flash of such wild rage and hate to cause her heart to skip a beat when she struck him. It had been why she was certain she was dealing with some demon before. 'Is his emotions for my daughter that I see now all an act?'

Whatever he was and whatever his intentions were she didn't care. Her daughter would not be left in the hands of this man, regardless of what he was. "As Summer Queen I invoke my right to challenge on grounds that you have not upheld your duties as a King. You are unworthy of the crown nor the love of those you support you. By the old laws I…"

"Mother please no." Ara's fingers brushed her mothers wrist, interrupting her. "I won't let you. He's my king and I love him!" With more force than anyone witnessing expected the little fairy to possess she wept out.