The four of them paused for a few minutes as they returned to the ruined village of Willow. Larkin kept a wary eye on the thatched roofs, remembering the ambush from before, but nothing showed any sign of descending from them.
Beside him, Jorg ran thick fingers thoughtfully through his beard while staring off to the west.
“Would you say it’s about an hour from here to Red Oak, Robiery?” He asked.
The villager in question gave a nod of the head.
“Yes, Sir Jorg.” He replied, audibly panting for breath. “If you keep at this pace.”
That was the closest thing to a complaint that Robiery had made all day, despite clearly being worn out by the pace - easy for Classbearers - that they’d been maintaining. But that did raise a question in Larkin’s head concerning the villager.
“Jorg, should we send Robiery back to Fari?” At the Shieldbearer’s quizzical look, he added. “It doesn’t sound like it should be too hard to get to Red Oak…” - he paused at a dismissive snort from Jasset but continued after a beat when she showed no sign of speaking. “And it sounds like we’ll be facing a lot of monsters soon.”
And that last was a massive understatement. The plan was to try and get as many of the Firestinger Queen’s minions focused on them as they could. And Robiery didn’t have any Class to help him.
Don’t we have a responsibility for looking after him? Though Larkin wasn’t sure if the adventurers would have the same opinion.
I doubt Jasset does.
“You forget Larkin, that the monsters might not just be coming from ahead of us.” Jorg told him. “We’ve already heard that a group of their hunters were seen heading northeast, and we don’t know if they’ve returned yet. Or if they were the only such group.”
The Dwarf gave him a pointed look. “What do you think would happen if they came across Robiery all on his own?”
Larkin could imagine the result of that all too well. Though Jasset chose to make that explicit.
“Monster food.” She muttered.
Larkin glanced over at Robiery, noting the villager’s pained expression. But Jorg broke the sombre mood with a hearty laugh and a slap on the man’s back that sent him staggering forward.
“Your concern does you credit, Larkin.” He said. “Make sure to keep an eye on our friend.”
He gave Robiery a reassuring grin.
“Don’t you worry though.” He said. “My Wild Challenge Skill is guaranteed to keep you safe and well.”
That did seem to cheer Robiery though it mostly served to remind Larkin of the scale of the task they were taking on.
“We should go.” Jorg continued. “There are some monsters to kill!”
No one objected, and soon their Scout was leading the way through the sparse trees.
It wasn’t even noon yet, with sunlight filtering erratically through the clouds. That meant that there was as much visibility amongst the trees as there was ever likely to be. And yet Larkin found himself tense, constantly looking around in search of some stealthily approaching monster.
But he didn’t even know that they were approaching any danger until Jasset suddenly levelled her bow and let fly. Larkin was still trying to work out what she was shooting at when she fired a second arrow and then a third.
The Scout stood poised for a moment before giving a satisfied nod and turning around to face them. Or, rather, Jorg.
“Any idea what that is?” She asked.
Larkin followed the Dwarf as he went over to investigate whatever Jasset had shot. It was slumped on the ground right next to a large tree and it took Larkin several moments to understand what it was that he was seeing.
The creature looked to be about the size of a large Alsatian, though it had no tail, had thick stubby legs, and was covered in chichitinous scales rather than fur. But what struck Larkin more was that it didn’t seem to have an actual face; just an enormous set of teeth.
That large snout was gaping open in death, giving an unfortunately clear view of its serrated teeth.
Larkin heard a sound of disgust from Robiery who’d wandered up beside him.
“That’s a Hive Mole.” Jorg told them after briefly examining the corpse. “Or, rather, it would have been if the Queen had spent longer nurturing it.”
The Shieldbearer reached down and prodded the monster’s hide with a finger.
“See how soft this is?” Jorg said as his digit visibly pushed into the scales. “A mature Hive Mole can shrug off a direct strike from an axe.”
The Dwarf lifted up one of the limp forelimbs of the dead monster. “And these are usually far bigger.” He added. “They aren’t real moles, of course, but can certainly tunnel effectively.”
Jorg hummed softly to himself as he looked down at the corpse before going back to look around their surroundings.
“So the Queen’s sending her spawn to face us unfinished.” Their Scout spoke up. “That’s good news, right?”
Jorg nodded as he rose to his feet.
“It could be a sign of desperation.” He agreed, though his voice had become graver than his words. “But…”
He cut off as Jasset suddenly raised her bow again.
“Incoming!” She snapped as she let an arrow fly and smoothly drew again.
Her warning came only a few moments before the droning of the approaching monsters. Spinning around, Larkin saw a flock of Firestingers descending towards them.
He abandoned his spear in favour of his bow and managed to get off a couple of arrows. Then he let the bow fall and drew his sword.
The first monster that closed with him was cleaved in half with one stroke before it could get in range to strike, and Larkin was turning to let its body parts fly past him as his attention went to the other attackers.
The last time he’d faced the Firestingers they’d encircled him and had tried to bait out his attackers before striking when he was committed. He’d only survived thanks to his Null Mage abilities.
Now though, the monsters just charged straight towards the four of them. And thanks to his longer, and far better made, sword, Larkin was able to cut them down before they could do him any harm.
It was a real testament to the effectiveness of good equipment, even for Classbearers.
And while he was stuck in the midst of that melee, Jasset continued her steady rate of fire as she dodged the occasional monster that swerved towards her. Jorg meanwhile, stayed back with Robiery and only struck down those that managed to get through the attacks of the two of them.
The Shieldbearer also seemed to have another Skill up that was covering the villager, with Larkin getting a faint glimpse of some light emanating from both of them.
But Larkin didn’t have time to focus on Robiery, or anyone else really. Instead he was absorbed with the cut of his sword, the half-step that would take him out of range of the next monster, and then the follow up strike.
I can feel the urge to let go.
It was a nagging sensation in the back of his head. Like some thought that was wriggling around back there, but Larkin refused to respond to it.
I want to be me!
Despite his brief inner struggle, the fight was over very quickly, with a dozen of the monsters left scattered across the ground.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“That was easy.” He remarked, only for Jasset to again roll her eyes aggressively at him.
“Easy when I saw them coming.” She reminded him. “Keep an eye out while I get my arrows back.”
The girl stalked off and Larkin decided to keep quiet and do as she’d asked. Their surroundings seemed quiet but there hadn’t exactly been any warning ahead of the last attack.
“What were you about to say?” He asked Jorg, making sure to keep peering around. “Something about why that… Hive Mole thing was a bad sign?”
There was a brief pause before the Dwarf replied.
“Stinger type monsters tend to follow a fairly typical development.” The Shieldbearer said. “It can be summed up as; the older the Hive gets, the craftier they become.”
Jorg’s voice took on a tone that Larkin couldn’t identify.
“My old home - the Dwarf clans of the Axehearth - borders a large stretch of land up in the northern plains. They’re called the Lostlands, as they’re completely filled with monsters.”
“It means the Elders have had a good opportunity to study them.” The Dwarf continued.
“There was a big attempt to clear them out, maybe a century back. But that meant that the Iron Legions were up against Hives that had been around for decades, or longer. And so they found themselves facing swarms that were as organised as any Orcish horde.” Jorg snorted. “Probably more so.”
“The battles that drove the Legion back saw the Stingers use tactics at least as advanced as any intelligent species.”
Jorg shook his head. “After those defeats the Legion focused on stopping the spread of the Stingers. Newly settled Hives proved far easier to wipe out.”
Larkin nodded before tentatively responding.
“...And?”
Jorg cracked a loud muscle in his neck, before gesturing back at the Hive Mole.
“That thing is a worker and the occasional scavenger.” He said. “But it was sent out towards a dangerous foe and it wasn’t even fully developed.”
“And then once we’re all standing over it the jaw of the trap closes.” The Dwarf waved a hand towards the scattered dead monsters. “It was an ambush. But it was also testing to see how we’d respond.”
Larkin nodded, turning to look at Jorg as Jasset made her way back to them.
“So what?” He asked. “Is the Queen just smarter than usual, then?”
But the Shieldbearer shook his head.
“Unlikely.” He replied. “Even if she was, sending one of her spawn to die, even an unimportant one, is something the Queens generally avoid. Again, especially for young ones. Most likely it was done by one of the Enforcers that would have accompanied the Queen from her old Hive.”
Larkin opened his mouth but was cut off by an irritated sounding Jasset.
“We don’t have time for a lesson, Jorg.” She said. “Is any of this important?”
The Dwarf gave her a placid smile.
“Just in the sense that we’ll need to be alert for more traps.” He said. “But the good news is that it appears we’ve got the Hive’s attention.”
That somewhat unfortunate prediction was soon proven very definitely correct as the group faced four separate attacks over the next half hour. None of them involved many monsters, maybe a dozen at most. And Larkin had to agree that it seemed something seemed to be wanting to test how they’d respond.
But even as Larkin grew more concerned about a malevolent force directing events, Jasset had a different worry.
“We’re going too slow.” She announced after the fourth attack had been dealt with. “We haven’t even reached the next damn village yet!”
Certainly they weren’t going as fast as Larkin would have liked. The plan was to get the attention of the Hive and that definitely seems to have happened.
So he wasn’t surprised to see Jorg nodding at Jasset’s complaint.
“The attacks are too cautious.” He agreed. “I was hoping for a bigger surge by this point.”
The Shieldbearer appeared to give it some thought. But Jasset already had a plan.
“We should just ignore the small fry.” She argued. “Just run straight through to the next village. I should be able to find a decent trail there and we can follow it straight towards their Hive. That should get their attention.”
Larkin frowned as an obvious objection came to his lips.
“Robiery won’t be able to keep to that pace.” He pointed out.
The Scout gave a carefree shrug.
“Either of you two can carry him.” She pointed out. “It’s not like it’s any better than going at this slow pace.”
Larkin still didn’t like the sound of that, but Jorg slowly nodded.
“That does sound like a better course of action.” He growled. “We can’t give the Hive too much time to think.”
So Larkin agreed to carry Robiery and carefully positioned the villager over his shoulders to avoid all the other bits of gear he was carrying. When he was done, Larkin felt amazed at how little encumbrance he felt.
A miniature arsenal and a man; no problem for the Fighter Class.
When they started moving again it was Jasset setting the pace and Larkin had to hurry to keep up. The trio raced single file through a narrow trail, up a slight hill and then down through a dense copse of trees at the other end. The three of them nimbly dodged past the trunks and branches as well as a number of Firestingers that had been waiting for an ambush.
The monsters were too slow to react to the Classbearers, who were swiftly through and moving on.
They crossed a brook and then went around another hill, before going over a rocky patch that angled between two more slopes. More Firestingers were waiting for them there, but Jasset veered off the trail to avoid them and the monsters were soon lost behind them.
They crossed another brook - possibly a continuation of the first one - and went up another rocky slope, and then finally came to the cottages of the village of Red Oak.
The place was, as expected, utterly abandoned. Like with Willow, it seemed as though all the inhabitants had just picked up and left one day. Though Larkin had the distinct feeling that they’d been picked up and taken away.
He walked over to a large red-leafed tree that probably gave the place its name, and gently sat Robiery down.
The man looked a little pale but nodded thanks before wandering off a little distance away. Meanwhile, Larkin turned to Jorg who was standing nearby.
“You said that you want the monsters to surge at us.” He pointed out. “Do we have a plan to deal with that?”
The Shieldbearer, who seemed utterly unaffected from the run, gave an easy nod.
“It’s the same plan as before. But now that we’ve got closer to the Hive we should get more attention.” He said. “When that happens I’ll attract the bulk of the swarm - and protect our friend.” He gave a nod to Robiery. “While you and Jasset deal with the rest.”
“There’s not much point planning anything more than that.” He told Larkin. “It’s best to keep it simple - especially when we know so little about what we’ll be dealing with.”
Jorg glanced up at Larkin.
“Focus on the bigger monsters.” He added. “They’ll both be more dangerous and could also be the Enforcers provided by this Queen’s mother. So getting rid of them will likely weaken the organisation of the whole Hive.”
Larkin nodded, and at that point Jasset came over.
“Found the trail.” She said with an eager smile. “Ready to go?”
Jorg agreed, though - much to the Scout’s annoyance - he insisted that they keep to a slower pace. That is, Larkin was still carrying Robiery over his shoulders, but he and Jorg now moved only a little bit faster than the villager could probably have managed on his own.
Jasset ranged ahead on the trail, dropping back occasionally to report what she’d seen.
Their route took them out of the village and through a gentle slope where some sort of crop was growing. Larkin was hardly a farmer, but it seemed like there should have been labourers out inspecting the growing plants. But obviously they were conspicuously empty.
Shortly later they crossed a ridge and started to go through less regular terrain, interspersed with small copses of dense trees and the occasional rocky outcropping.
Perfect spots for ambushes in other words. Which Jasset made a point of observing, though not always avoiding.
“Found another of those Hive Moles.” She told Jorg at one point when she reported back, and at another time. “A half dozen Stingers were following us.”
But as the next hour passed the Scout started to return to the two other Classbearers more frequently. At first she took them on a new route that took them around some waiting monsters. But increasingly they had to slow to a crawl again in order to wind a circuitous path around them.
“This is getting ridiculous.” Jasset announced at one point. “Everywhere I look there’s more of the little bastards hiding away.”
She accompanied that statement with a glare around their surroundings. Though when Larkin looked around he couldn’t see anything lurking. He definitely wasn’t going to gainsay what the girl said though.
“I think we’ve gotten close enough to the Hive.” Jorg announced. “Or at least as far as we can without a fight.”
He peered over to a slight rise off to their left.
“Is that free of anything?” He asked Jasset.
Who looked narrowly in that direction for a moment before giving a slasher smile.
“It will be soon.” She announced, striding towards it.
A few dead Firestingers later, and their group was standing at the rise. It was about a metre wide at the summit before slanting downwards.
“This will do nicely.” Jorg announced, glancing over at Larkin. “You can put Robiery down now, lad.”
Then to the pale villager he gave a reassuring smile.
“It’s going to get pretty wild shortly.” He told him. “Just stay near and I’ll take care of you.”
The Shieldbearer turned to Larkin and Jasset.
“Get ready.” He said. “And remember, we want to make as much noise as possible.”
With that, the Dwarf lifted his shield - his upper arm coming almost parallel with his face - and then brought it slamming down to the ground. A concussive wave of energy seemed to rush out from the impact, running down from the rise and through to the rougher lands beyond.
And then Jorg did it again. And then a third time.
And then the Hive responded.
