A few minutes later, Maia was roused from her moment of rest by the sound of Liam’s voice.
“What…happened?” Liam groaned. “Why is everything so small?”
Maia opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a woman’s upper body sitting atop a spider’s body, hunched over slightly so as to fit in the cabin; an arachne, her instincts were telling her. She stood, then looked up slightly so she could meet Liam’s gaze. “Ah, you’re done. How are you feeling, Liam?”
“Like…like a haze has been lifted.” Liam said, regret beginning to fill her face. “I…my oaths…” she trailed off, regret turning into grief, “I broke them. I…I believed another to be the goddesses…I’m a failure as a priest.”
She paused for a moment, inspecting Maia curiously. “This holy power I feel…may I assume you are to thank for returning me to my senses? ”
“I’m the one who started the process of curing you, but I’m not to thank.” Maia said. “One of your old pupils, Steph, is; she’s the one who insisted we cure you.”
“I must thank you regardless. May I have the honor of knowing your name?”
Maia scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “I’m not sure how much of an honor it is.” She said. “I used to be known as Michael, but when the goddesses named me their champion and made me a monster girl, they gave me the name Maia.”
Liam’s face froze. “The goddesses did?” She asked. “And…monster girl? Also…I never taught anyone named Steph. I taught a Stephen, but…not a Steph.”
“My understanding is that history has been radically altered.” Maia replied. “She was apparently the first champion of the goddesses, and the first monster girl. We can discuss that more later, but I think you should look down at yourself first, then I’ll answer your questions.”
“What? Why?” Liam asked, but looked down anyway. “W-what? I’m…an arachne? How…when? Uh, n-not that I’m complaining, mind you, this form is breathtaking, but…”
“It’s the cure, unfortunately.” Maia said. “The goddesses gave me the ability to cure people by turning them into monster girls. As for your questions, monster girl is the term the goddesses prefer to use instead of monstrous maiden; they’re the same thing. And Steph is Stephen, after she too was cured of the curse.”
“I…see.” Liam replied. “This might be forward of me, but would you be willing to let me join your cause? I need to atone for my sins, and aiding the goddesses’ champion seems like an excellent start.”
“You believe me, just like that?” Maia asked. “Are you sure you don’t need a bit more time to decide?”
“No.” Liam said firmly. “I can feel the holy energy you wield, it’s…radiant, like a miniature sun. And, thinking logically, there’s no way Aira’s Fervor, which I assume is what you mean by ‘the curse’, is the goddesses’ doing. It goes against everything they stand for.”
“Oh. Well, we’d be pleased to have you then, Liam. I’m sure Steph in particular will be overjoyed.”
“No, not Liam, that name doesn’t suit me anymore. Please, call me Lily instead.”
“Well, Lily, first things first, I should let you know that you can assume a human form just by willing it to happen.” Maia said. “That should keep you from having to bend over like you are now.”
Lily’s lower body rapidly melted into a pair of human legs, leaving her slightly shorter than Maia. “Thank goodness.” She said. “I already miss my real form, but it’s a bit big–”
She was cut off by a sudden lurch as the ship began to move. “Are we on a ship?” She asked.
“Yes.” Maia replied. “We’re heading east on a pilgrimage to the Isle of Advent, where we’ll meet with the goddesses and receive further instruction. It’d be too dangerous to sail the whole way, unfortunately, but we figured sailing would be faster and safer than taking the land bridge.”
There was a knock on the door, followed by Steph’s voice. “Um…is Liam cured yet?” She asked hesitantly.
“She is.” Maia replied, opening the door. “Go ahead, reintroduce yourself.”
Steph, also in human form, hurried into the room, then threw herself into Lily’s arms. “Liam, it’s Stephen, I…I couldn’t bear to think of you still being cursed, so I asked them to kidnap and cure you. Sorry if you’re mad, I just thought it was what you would have wanted, and I–”
“It’s alright.” Lily said soothingly, holding Steph’s head against her chest and stroking her hair softly. “You were right, it’s what I would have wanted, and it’s what I’m glad happened. And please, call me Lily now.”
Steph relaxed. “And call me Steph.” She said. “I’m…so glad to see you again.”
“As am I. Though…I can scarcely believe that my vision was about you and your friends, of all people.” Lily said. She was silent for a moment, but then her face fell. “But…I must confess, I’m not the same priest you once knew. Ever since I received that vision, I’ve been unable to use light magic or healing staves. All of my magical proficiency seems to have been funneled into dark magic, instead. I fear it is the goddesses’ punishment for forsaking my oaths.”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” Maia said. “I don’t know what you’ve done while cursed, but neither I nor the goddesses view it as your fault. This curse prevents you from thinking rationally and removes all of your morals; you’re no different from someone under mind control magic. I don’t know why your magic proficiency has changed, but I think it’s likely effect of the curse. Whatever the case, it’s not punishment from the goddesses.”
“Besides,” Steph said, “you and I both know that light magic and staves are tied to religion by convenience rather than doctrine. They’re simply useful types of magic for a priest to have. And the goddesses gave Maia the ability to use all magic, including dark magic, so there’s absolutely no hatred for that on their end.”
“I suppose…” Lily said, letting go of the hug. “I just…feel awful about the things I’ve done. It feels like they were my choices, even though they were things I normally would never have even considered doing.”
She stood back and took a deep breath. “Would you mind introducing me to the rest of your compatriots, and telling me a bit more about what’s happening?” She asked. “I believe I have much to catch up on.”
Maia spent the next half an hour or so catching both Lily and the sailors up on what was happening. To Maia’s surprise, most of the sailors took what was happening pretty well; in fact, when Corina heard about all the benefits that being a monster girl had over being human, she had said that it was the best day of her life and she wished it had all happened sooner.
That enthusiasm was pretty immediately doused by Galiena pointing out that, until a large part of the world had been cured, they would effectively be fugitives. And, not only would they be fugitives, every single one of them would be hunted down and slaughtered if Maia was to fail in her conquest.
Even so, the sailors seemed to mostly accept the “it wasn’t actually your fault” speech that Maia gave. There were a couple that still seemed to be upset about their actions after Maia explained her feelings on the matter, but most just nodded and moved on. It was a far cry from Sylvie and Lily, who had remained adamant that they needed to atone for what they had done.
After that, Maia remained awake for about an hour more, helping out with what preparations she could before heading to bed. The morning after went smoothly, and there was surprisingly little for Maia to do, so she found herself chatting with Steph and Lily on the deck.
“It’s funny that both you and I lost our human legs.” Lily was saying, eyeing Steph’s tail. “Though, perhaps lost is a strong word when we can just get them back whenever we want.”
“It’s the best of both worlds, really.” Steph said. “I was always tripping over myself before, but I feel so much steadier on my tail. And it’s armored, too; at first, I was kind of worried I’d be feeling every rock I slither across, but these scales are tougher than any boot. And, if we need to get smaller…we can. Nice and convenient.”
“I always used to get seasick, too, but not anymore.” Lily said. “I can even walk up walls now, which is kind of crazy.”
“Oh, you can?” Maia asked curiously. “Uh…can you make webs, too?”
“Yup. I can even shoot them like a projectile, watch!” Lily said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a small metallic disc. She threw it into the air, then a second later a stream of webbing spewed out from Lily’s rear end, intercepting the disc before it fell back into Lily’s palm. She gave it a tap, and the webbing fell away, leaving a small pile of thread on the floor.
“I haven’t tested the strength of the silk yet, but my gut is telling me it should be able to hold a person for a bit.” Lily said enthusiastically. “I can even make non-sticky silky, too, so we can make clothes and the like.”
“You can make clothes out of spiderwebs?” Maia asked, taken aback.
“Oh yes, but they’re usually made from more friendly things than spiders, and generally only nobles can afford them. I’ve heard silk is quite comfort–”
Lily was cut off by a shout of alarm from up above, followed swiftly by Sylvie jumping off of the large tower-like structure that the crew called the crow’s nest. She gently glided down onto the deck, a stormy expression on her face. “The air force is after us.” She said flatly. “Looks like the wyvern riders and the witch brigade.”
“The…air force?” Maia asked. “What’s that?”
“The branch of the military that deals with flying combat.” Lily said. “There’s a branch stationed near the border, that’s probably where they came from.”
“Yeah, Bernard and Anya were there last I heard, and they lead wyvern riders and witches respectively, so that seems accurate.” Sylvie said. “Anyway, I’m going to go rally everyone; get ready for a fight. Their duties don’t include patrolling the sea, so they’re obviously here for us.”
“Alright.” Maia replied, giving a nod. “Anything in particular to note?”
“Wind magic is your best bet here.” Sylvie said. “It makes it hard for the wyverns to stay in the air. Likewise, witches’ brooms are the conduits for their flight spells, so if you can knock those out, the witch will fall.”
“I’ll need to go grab my wind magic tome, then.” Maia said. “Does anyone else need anything from their rooms while I’m heading down?”
“No, I’m going to go inform the captain.” Sylvie said, already moving towards the helm. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I need my tome.” Lily said. “Thankfully Galiena had the foresight to take it, so it’s in my room.”
“I as well.” Steph added. “I’ll head down and fetch both of ours, so Maia won’t have to carry all three.”
“What’s going on?” Elise asked, jogging up to them.
“Sylvie’s spotted the army, we’re going to be under attack soon.” Maia said. “Go get your weapons, and tell anyone you see to get ready.”
“On it.” Elise said, then turned and ran off towards her quarters.
The next few minutes were a whirlwind of frenzied activity as everyone on the ship prepared themselves for combat. Soon, everyone had assembled on the deck, and were looking anxiously off into the distance, where a series of silhouettes on the horizon were gradually becoming larger.
“So…what’s the plan?” Emily asked. “How are we dealing with this? Can’t they just bombard us from the air?”
“Not as such.” Sylvie said. “The magicians will need to be in range to cast their magic, and the wyvern riders will have to swoop down to attack. They’ll have some bowmen with them, but with some focus we can probably dodge those? I mean, Maia did when she was fighting me so I imagine most of the rest of you can.”
“We’ll try to shoot down as many as we can over the boat, so we can cure them, but if it comes down to it…well, it’s us versus them, and we can’t afford to lose here.” Maia said grimly. “We’ll probably have to put the wyverns down, too; I’ve been given to understand that they’re trained to attack anyone not wearing the army’s uniform, and obviously none of us are.”
“Can they swim?” Elise asked.
“The soldiers or the wyverns?” Sylvie responded. “The soldiers, yes, the wyverns, no. The soldiers might have some trouble swimming, but they’re in relatively light armor, so we might be able to pick up some survivors after we win.”
“What parts of the wyverns are least armored?” Elise asked, hefting one of the javelins that Emily had made her. “I can probably shoot a few down with these if my aim is good enough.”
“The wings, they don’t have any scales on the connecting tissue.” Sylvie said. “Putting a hole in one will cripple the wyvern, but wyvern skin is tougher than it looks, even on the wings. I know you’re strong, but you’ll probably struggle at distance with just javelins.”
“Eh, we’ll see. They don’t have to be high up in the sky, just near enough. What about the witches?”
“Just hit their brooms and they’ll fall.” Sylvie replied. “The brooms are small, though, so it might be easier to just hit the witches themselves.”
“Okay.” Elise replied. The conversation petered out as everyone continued to look around, staying on their guards as their enemies approached. And, after just a couple of minutes, the whole battalion was hovering just out of range of the boat.
“Alright, listen up.” A booming voice, clearly magically amplified, rang out. “We’ve been given orders to take you dead or alive. I assume you want to stay alive, so be good girls and put those weapons down. If you don’t, we’ll take it as a sign that you want to resist and be forced to kill you.”
“I’d almost forgotten how bad a commander Bernard is.” Sylvie growled. “The arrogant idiot didn’t even properly scout our strength, he just assumed he could take us and waltzed in blindly.”
“Bernard, be a dear and shut up, would you?” A feminine voice, also magically amplified, drawled. “I think it would be better to state that resistance does not mean death; resistance means we are free to do whatever we please to you under the guise of combat. Many of you will suffer fates far crueler than just death if you choose to resist.”
Maia frowned as she looked at the witch who had been speaking. “What’s…wrong with her?” Maia asked.
The woman in question was simply…off, and it took Maia a moment to realize why. Not only did she have a somewhat vacant look in her eyes that didn’t match the tone of her voice, her body was slightly but noticeably malformed; her eyes were different sizes, her arms were much longer than normal for a woman of her size, and, though Maia couldn’t get a good look at them, judging by the awkward way she sat on her broom, her legs or butt likely had some oddity that made normal sitting uncomfortable. In short, she just felt off-putting to look at, and made Maia very uncomfortable.
“Anya? Mentally, a lot, but…huh?” Sylvie said, looking up at her. “I swear she didn’t used to look like that. I mean, she was always sort of off, but…”
“I’m going to give you to the count of five!” Bernard boomed. “One…two…three…four…five! Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
With a chorus of roars from the wyverns, they began to swoop down towards the ship, and the witches began to cast their spells. The first to react was Galiena, who calmly fired a shot from a bow she had grabbed from Amy’s caravan, neatly hitting the broom of one of the witches and sending her spiraling into the ocean below.
Maia was next, quickly casting a wind spell and sending several blades of wind at different wyverns, impacting them and sending them into freefall. Most of them managed to recover before hitting the ocean, but they were knocked out of the initial rush, and that was what really mattered.
The volley of spells from the witches came next, lightning, fire, and ice raining down onto the boat. Maia was worried that the boat would catch on fire or shatter into pieces under the assault, but it was made of sturdier stuff than that, weathering the barrage with only some splintered planks and mildly injured sailors to show for it.
Galiena downed another witch and Elise managed to spear a wyvern through its wings before the wyverns reached the ship. From there, the battle turned into a frenzied mess as the wyverns closed in; the witches had to draw in closer to avoid accidentally hitting the wyvern riders with their spells, and the deck became awash in blood as wyverns were felled and their riders incapacitated or killed. Maia only realized it was beginning to end when she was able to actually hear talking over the roar of battle.
“Do I know you?” Bernard asked Sylvie, frowning. “You seem oddly familiar, but I’ve never met a harpy before.”
“Sergeant Sylvain of Miral, at your service.” Sylvie said, glaring back at Bernard. “I can’t believe I finally get to say this, but I’ve always detested you, Bernard. You’re a pathetic excuse for a captain who only cares about the coin lining his pockets, not about his men or the people he’s supposed to protect. You didn’t even join the battle until a few minutes ago. You sicken me.”
Recognition dawned on Bernard’s face. “Ah, Sylvain, I’d recognize that rhetoric anywhere! You were that holier than thou buzzkill that showed up on occasion! I’m not sure how you turned into such a fine woman, but I’ll enjoy defiling you!”
“And I’ll enjoy ramming my blade through your gut. Prepare yourself!” Sylvie snarled, rushing in and swinging at Bernard. Bernard parried the blow, then commanded his wyvern to rise, clearly looking to get an edge on Sylvie, but wasn’t prepared for her to take to the air after him.
“What, thought these wings were for show?” Sylvie asked, pressing in closer and forcing Bernard to block her sword before she rocketed upward, planting a knee in his skull from an angle he hadn’t expected. “Pathetic. If I had known you were this weak, I would have dueled you ages ago.”
“Retreat!” Anya’s voice rang out. “We need to regroup!”
Sylvie quickly slashed at the wings of Bernard’s wyvern, but by then he had recovered from his head injury and was able to deflect her blows long enough for his wyvern to begin the process of retreat. Sylvie pursued for a moment, but after a blade of wind flew past her, she stopped and returned to the boat.
“I was really hoping I’d be able to get him.” Sylvie muttered, landing next to Maia and surveying the boat. Maia did the same, and was relieved to see that none of their group had been seriously wounded, but less relieved to see that a couple of the sailors had taken some nasty blows, and that several soldiers on the deck were clearly dead or close to it.
“Sylvie, get our people to start pushing wyverns off of the boat, and get Steph to start healing people.” Maia ordered. “Once you’re done, start seeing if you can rescue anyone in the water. I’m going to go start curing people now.”
Sylvie nodded, grimacing at the carnage on the deck. “Good call.” She said. “I’m on it.”
Maia sighed, walked over to the nearest soldier, a fallen witch, and started the process of curing her. Hopefully, she’d be quick enough to prevent anyone else from dying, but she wouldn’t be surprised if some of them didn’t make it.
It was the first time she had killed people, either directly or indirectly. At the moment she felt numb to it, the fighting had felt no different from being locked in combat with one of the Deepwood’s beasts, but she had no doubts she wouldn’t sleep well that night. But…that was for later. For now, there was cleanup to do.