Emma took one of the knives from their pile of goods from the assassin and walked over to cut the bonds of the said assassin.

  "Get up," she sighed, handing over the dagger. Alora stared at it as she stood, confused. Emma averted her eyes. "Here. Take it before I change my mind."

  With a shrug, the assassin snatched it out of her hand. "What's this about?" she asked.

  "It's too difficult for us to carry a prisoner around with us. So you either join us, or we kill you, simple as that."

  Alora pondered for a moment. "After this...whatever it is...is over, I get to go back to my guild, and we leave the country. That is, after we murder King Ralph. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would pay a price much higher than your bounty for his head." She grinned, teal eyes twinkling in the morning light.

  The mage nodded, extending her hand. "Deal."

  The assassin shook it. "Deal."

  Now, the others had been watching this entire exchange. They all stared, almost dumbfounded at the Emma's sudden change of heart. Finally, Sam stood up, walking over to the mage.

  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked quietly.

  "Nope," she replied loudly. "But hey, having an assassin with us is a lot better than having an assassin after us."

  "True," Isabella called, lying back in the grass.
  Sam dropped it, though he cast a weary glance at Alora as she gathered her weapons. The assassin ignored him. After a few minutes, he said aloud, "So, what comes next?"

  "Yeah, what do we do now?" Grian added, standing. He brushed stud grass off his robe. "I mean, we don't really have any objectives. We just escaped Vikings and a bloodthirsty king. We don't have a clue what happens now." (A/N: count how many King George III references I put in this chapter; hint: I'm already at two)

  "Well, I do." Emma grabbed her staff, turning to he group. "There's a reason I came to the castle and out of hiding. I had a mission to complete before I got tangled in your mess. The King was the first step in the plan." She hesitated. "He wasn't supposed to die." She motioned for them to depart. Isabella and Taurtis finally got up off the ground, and the six of them left the clearing. The followed Emma through the dense foliage until Grian spoke up.

  "So, where exactly are we going?"

  "My mentor, Yajín, had evidence that pointed toward the entirety of Valor being attacked and destroyed. King Buford was to be made aware of this, as he was one not only wise, but also the ruler of the capitol of Valor. I believe this destruction is the same thing as the 'Great Destiny of Valor' we keep hearing about." She pushed pass a tree, the branch flinging back behind her and hitting Grian in the face. He glared. If she saw it, she ignored it. "My next stop after seeing the king was the Library of Tabelle. It's right in the middle of the dense wood full of redwoods. You wouldn't be able to find it if you didn't know what you were looking for."

  "What are we looking for, then?" Alora called from the back.

  The mage smirked. "A spider web."

  The assassin stopped short for a second, face paling. She continued, however, refusing to show any signs of weakness. A simple web wouldn't scare her.

  However, fear started to creep in when they finally reached Forest of Tabelle after a day. The sun was almost gone, so the shadows from the trees were everywhere. Not to mention the millions of tiny webs that lined the leaves and branches of the redwood trees, seeming to create a blanket of silk that surrounded the canopy of the forest. The assassin jumped at every little thing that moved, but because she was in the back, no one saw. For that, she was thankful.

  "This is ridiculous," the ginger muttered. "There's a million spider webs here, how will we find the specific one we're looking for?"

  "Uh, yeah," Isabella agreed. "It'll be dark in about an hour and a half. That's when all the creepy crawlies come out." She gulped. "Why did we have to come in here again?"

  "Relax, you two," Emma called from the front. "Gord, you're more scared than Grian, and he's afraid of everything!"

  The wizard scoffed. "Am not!"

  "Yeah, whatever you say."

  They continued through the forest, barely telling if it was day or night. The forest grew darker as they carried on; the webs growing thicker and thicker. Finally, Emma lit a torch with her staff and started burning away the silk threads that latched from branch to branch. She stayed silent, leaving the others to wonder how long this was going to take and how much time they had before she declared them lost.

  Finally, Taurtis groaned aloud. "I'm tired," he moaned, throwing his head back.

  "Do all of you have to complain?" said Emma in response.

  "Yes." The ninja hesitated. "Hey, here's a small query for you (A/N: I told you), o great and powerful mage: how much farther until we get to this supposed library of yours?"

  "Not long now."

  Taurtis let out another loud groan. Sam shushed him, his ears standing up. He yelled, "Stop!" and the entire party froze. He craned his neck to the side, listening.

  "I think I hear something," he muttered.

  Hear something he did. A sound like high-pitched giggling came from above them. The group shot their heads up collectively, trying to see whatever was making the spine-tingling sound.

  "Uh, Emma?" Isabella asked, drawing her dagger. "Are there...spiders in this forest?"

  "Yes," replied the mage, her voice a whisper.

  "Um, how big are these spiders?"

  Emma didn't get the chance to answer. The laugh came again, but this time it was more audibly. The entire party drew their weapons. There was movement in the trees, but it was too dark for them to see what it was.

  "What a curious arrangement," said a high-pitched voice, rolling the 'r' in 'arrangement.' It laughed again.

  Another voice from the other side of the trees giggled, "Indeed. All alone, watch them run. This shall be fun."

  "How do you think they taste?" added a third voice. "I can't wait to try their flesh!"

  With a three-part synchronized laugh, three giant spiders lowered themselves down from the trees, surrounding the group. Their faces were turned towards the party, their giant fangs dripping with venom. Their eight hairy legs twitched awkwardly, making them even scarier than they already were. The group held their breaths, their weapons drawn. Both Alora and Isabella's faces were completely pale.

  "Humans," said the first spider. "We haven't had human in a long time."

  "And a rabbit, as well," the second interjected, an aching for flesh evident in its eyes. It stared into Sam's wide eyes, hissing quietly. He gulped.

  The first spoke up again. "We love to play with our prey, but we know how much trouble humans can be. So we'll make this quick."

  Before they had a chance to attack, however, Emma screamed, "Run!" and the group scattered. The darted away from the spiders, who immediately dropped to the ground and began to follow them through the bushes and undergrowth. Emma shot fireballs back at them, and Sam slowed for a second to take a swing at the third spider's legs. It screeched upon impact, collapsing in a heap of black hairy insect and screams. Sam sprinted away from it instantly.

  "Guys, over here!" Emma called from afar. She pointed to a particularly narrow opening in between two giant bushes, gesturing the others to follow her in. Exchanging glances, the rest of them complied, hoping and praying that the spiders couldn't follow them through.

  Inside the opening was a small clearing that had a giant spider web in string between two trees. It was bigger than any other they had seen, almost as wide as two of the spiders combined.

  "What are supposed to do now?" Grian asked.

  "Jump onto it!" Emma replied as if it were obvious.

  "What? We'll get stuck, and then we'll be sitting ducks for those beasts out there!"

  The mage rolled her eyes, gripping her brother's arm. "Trust me." Then she shoved him onto the web. With a scream, he fell right through it. The party gasped.

  "What. In. Valor," said Alora.

  There was a high-pitched giggle from behind her. "We're coming to get you~!" one of the spiders cried.

  The assassin shoved her way past the rest of them until she was standing before the net. Then she stepped through it carelessly, disappearing.

  Emma coaxed the other three into doing the same until she was the only one left. With a smirk, she followed them in, sadly unable to hear the frustrated wails of the spiders behind her. She stepped out the other side into a sunny clearing where the others were waiting. The forest had ended, leaving a much smaller wood with smaller trees and much less webs. In the center of the clearing stood a seventy-foot tower. The others were staring at it in awe.

  The mage walked past them to the base of the tower, where a six-foot-tall door stood. She grinned up at the tower before turning back to her friends.

  "Welcome to the Library of Tabelle!"