Cheep!?

Chapter 100

“I’ll keep this brief,” Orson began, the Guildmaster’s tone drawing bone-weary adventurer’s and guardsmen’s ears, “We’ve traveled several hours at a quick pace; we’ve used all of the essence rations we have; we’ve forgone a measured and surgical approach for a desperate smash and grab–and we’re going to succeed.” 

Up until the last words, Niko didn’t know where he was going with his commentary, but he found himself nodding along, ‘Well, those are the facts. Not sure if I’d have gone that way for morale boosting, but, hey, I’m not an orator.’ 

“Myself, Oum, Crowe, and Camille are going to attack and occupy the Queen and her Guard. If possible, we’ll kill them, but there’s no guarantee we can do that without collateral damage. Luckily, the Queen will have the same worries, so whatever you do, do not kill the larva.” Orson pointedly spoke, “The only reason that she’ll hold back is the possibility of killing their young in the crossfire.” 

“We must move together and move quickly. Watch out for each other and do your best to ensure that everyone gets to go home. You all are here for one reason, and one reason only, so do not lose sight of what’s important.” The Guildmaster scanned the crowd, ensuring that everyone was listening. Niko did the same, seeing looks of tired determination and a willingness to see things through. Though, were it not for what Niko had gone through with these people, he would have given them very little chance of success.

As it was, he was at least mostly certain that they weren’t on an outright suicide mission. 

Orson turned on his heel then, leading the way with a wayward, “Let’s go.” The Wyldwalkers stayed close together, following in quickly behind the spearhead of high tier combatants.

Niko was familiar with most of them, with Oum being the only real uncertainty. He trusted Crowe and Camille, though, and the brother-sister pair stoically marched alongside the Guildmaster. Niko wasn’t sure how they were even still mobile, considering that they’d been operating for much longer and against more enemies than Niko could guess. Their legendary reputation was well earned, it seemed.

“Niko and I will spearhead,” Ronald whispered, “You three will work on pulling out more people and–” Ronald paused frowning, as he looked around, “Does anyone know where Sasha and Thokk got off too? I thought they were nearby.”

“Here.” A shadowy shape gave a soft chuff of sound, startling the Wyldwalkers, “Thokk is farther back in the formation. He’s too heavy and loud.”

Niko looked over at the form as it melted out of the shadows, a type of stealth all too eerily at home in the dark forest as sunset began to fall. In truth, he made as though he wasn’t startled by her arrival, but he hadn’t noticed when she’d moved in closer. That Aether Sight hadn’t allowed him to detect or notice her was a concern that Niko moved up on the list of things he now worried about on a day-to-day basis. 

After Niko relayed her words, Ronald nodded, “Would the two of you mind helping us to pull people out? Or would you prefer to go on the offensive?” 

“Offensive,” Sasha answered unhesitantly, “I’ll ask Thokk, but I suspect he will answer the same.” 

“Good, then I’ll leave it to you how you apply yourselves best,” Ronald said after a moment of consideration. Niko counted that as a wise choice, considering they couldn’t be certain how things were going to happen when they got into the hive. 

‘Hopefully smoothly?’ Niko privately thought to himself, doubting the possibility almost instantly. Glancing around, Niko met Skye’s gaze with an expression similar to his own. 

“Have enough arrows?” Niko asked, eyes landing on one of three quivers Skye had equipped herself with.

With a light scoff, she said, “If I don’t, there’s not much we can do about it now. But… yes, I should be fine,” she answered, and Niko noted how the cynical tone she had lifted with the ending statement.

“I’ve still got one Lightning Bottle,” Dachna patted his coat, “But, probably leave that for on the way out.”

Mithel nodded approvingly, “That’s the last big ordnance we have then. I’m on basic stuff…” She paused, then snorted, “Hah, chemistry pun. Basic.”

The others slowed for a half step, simultaneously shaking their heads while giving small smiles at the joke. Sasha slipped away into the darkness once more, and for several minutes the procession just walked through the deathly silent forest with apprehension and intensity. The trees here were thicker and more intertwined than what they were used to closer to Greenleaf, but from what Niko had heard, this was fairly standard terrain for the Elderwood proper. This far out, they were near the northern edge of the Niffel mountain range and, according to what little Niko knew, the various Beast Tribes that called the range their home. Briefly, he wondered if perhaps they could call upon Sasha’s tribe for aid, but rejected it just as quickly. Time was their enemy here, and while he liked to think that they might help them, he also wasn’t certain what the cultural and political climate was between their people.

At worst, they’d be inviting an enemy in at their most vulnerable moment. 

‘That’ll have to be found out after all of this, I guess,’ Niko glanced through the forest, Aether Sight briefly setting on the incandescent back of the Guildmaster. ‘To some, Sasha and Thokk might look like saboteurs that directed the Massacre Hornets to Greenleaf. They’ve fought alongside us, but… I’d be lying if I said I thought that balanced the scales out. She did promise compensation, also.’ 

With some effort, Niko dragged his thoughts from the subject, noticing that Oum and Crowe had vanished from his field of view. He snorted at that, ‘I wonder if there’s a way I can make a pattern so I can pay attention to more things at once,’ Niko wistfully considered, before pushing his gaze farther ahead, peering through the lacking essence in this part of the forest. 

Brief ripples of essence were the only things that tipped Niko off on where to look, and his gaze followed the source to what appeared to have been large hornets. They were tier three’s, to Niko’s knowledge, but their numbers were sparse, and both Oum and Crowe appeared to be quite expert at dispatching them. Soon enough, they passed by the bodies, and Niko wasn’t alone in being able to finally set his eyes upon the structure that loomed upwards from the forest like a blighted boil on the land.

“That’s a nest?” Mithel hissed quietly, “That looks like a damn stadium!” 

“It’s big, alright,” Ronald glared up at it, “But, we don’t need to go up, we need to go down. Right, Skye?”

The half-elf nodded quickly, eyeing the mottled gray, white, and red structure warily, “That should be right. The Queen and adults are near the top, larva somewhere in the middle, and resources and waste near the bottom.” 

“You said your teacher was a bit… err… obsessed with insects, yeah?” Dachna asked, “Why was that?”

Skye shrugged, “I guess he liked them.”

“Right, right,” Dachna nodded, “But, like, why bugs? Why not something nicer?”

“Such as?” Skye feigned a frown but couldn’t help but be amused by the line of thought.

“I dunno, like dogs or something,” Dachna shivered, “Bugs. Man, who likes bugs?”

“Why not birds?” Niko asked teasingly, “Birds are great.”

“Birds are great. Why not birds?” Dachna nodded sagely, just as Skye rolled her eyes, but the smirk of amusement was ever present.

A sudden, loud crack broke the moment of calm, and immediately the Wyldwalkers moved into ready stances. Instead of an attack, though, Orson called out, “Breach in the wall! We’ve been detected! Remember your mission, pull out everyone you can! Use your own discretion on when and how to withdraw!” 

Before he was even done speaking, Camille shouted out, her body suddenly lined with a scarlet, glowing script that crawled across her skin. In a heartbeat, she was gone with a rush of wind and the thunderous snapping of tree limbs and anything else unfortunate enough to be in her way. Orson followed behind her, with the Wyldwalkers wasting no time in trailing after, happily navigating through the newly cleared trail. 

Ahead, Niko watched with his Aether Sight as the pair entered through the sundered wall of the hive, visible even with all of the ambient essence collected into the structure. He lost track of them shortly though, and Niko had to assume that they were moving upwards in the structure.

“Everyone get inside the hive!” Ronald shouted out, “Before they swarm out here!” 

No one needed more encouragement than that, augmented by the already growing tremor of wings taking flight. Niko looked upwards, seeing dozens of forms as they slipped out of the top of the hive, only taking solace in that they appeared to be weaker and smaller than what he’d seen previously in Greenleaf. ‘Maybe they’re not warriors? Tenders? Peck, it doesn’t matter, into the breach!’ Niko drove himself forward a half step before Ronald, only barely allowing himself to recognize the insanity of what they were doing.

Some kind of damp, wetness squelched under Niko’s foot as he crossed the threshold of the hive's walls, alongside the crunch of hardened, waxy material that reminded Niko distantly of drywall. Only, it was two meters thick, and as he stepped on the pieces they didn’t so much as break from his footsteps as they simply snapped along already present fracture lines. ‘Tough stuff,’ Niko noted, ‘Bad news if we need to try to make a new hole. I don’t think it’ll be possible on short notice.’ 

Putting that aside, Niko widened his stance as his eyes adjusted to the environment they now found themselves in. There was a high ceiling overhead with countless hexagonal pods that lay within. What appeared to be old husks of chitin were packed tightly into the ground, forming a rough but walkable landscape even without the narrow walkways of the edges of each cell. Taking a quick look around, Niko noted that the only other visible things were sundered corpses of hornets, freshly slain no doubt by those that preceded their forces. 

“Someone stay put and defend the entrance,” Ronald shouted, “These walls are thick, we’re going to need to make sure this stays secure.”

Other teams filled in quickly after the Wyldwalkers, each of them getting their first look at the inside of the hive. Pale white dominated much of the space, but thick pillars of the same harder material as the outer walls acted as supports, they appeared as though drenched in blood for how red they were. Like many others, Niko was searching their surroundings, trying to make heads or tails of what they were supposed to be seeing.

“Next to each pillar is a way up or down in the hive,” Skye called out loudly, “We need to go down to find our people.”

Ronald turned to her and nodded before leading the way to the nearest pillar. Niko walked along the edges of the octagonal cells as much as possible, trying to get a feel for how he was going to need to walk if these were full of larva instead of what he now realized were countless empty husks from previous larval metamorphosis. 

As they moved, Niko took notice of other structures shaped more like terraced pools, only seemingly empty and deep enough for Niko to stand in and peer over the edge. When they crossed closer to it, though, Niko realized he’d been very mistaken about it being empty. Fragmented chips of what Niko guessed were bones lay scattered, covering the entirety of the floor of the holding terrace. Grimly, Niko did his best not to imagine how many creatures must have been culled in that location for it to have such a thick layer of bone chips and dust. He didn’t need to wonder what happened with the rest; the grubs likely had to eat something, afterall.

The hive shook suddenly, and Niko nearly staggered forward and straight down the shaft opening next to the closest pillar before narrowly catching himself. A cacophony of buzzing and a wave of essence surged downwards, battering his senses. 

“I guess Orson found the Queen,” Niko commented while shaking his head, before peering down the hole. Unsurprisingly, it was pitch black beyond the edge of the lights the adventurers held, whether they were torches or lightstones.

Ronald wordlessly nodded and secured a rope around the pillar before taking one of his spare lightstones and dropping it over the edge. White light surged through the blackness, and for a split second, Niko imagined he saw countless many-faceted eyes shirk back from the edges of the light. 

‘Just your imagination,’ Niko forced himself to calm down, ‘They’d be on us otherwise.’ 

After what felt like the longest two seconds of Niko’s life, the light stone hit the ground, having traveled only through two floors to get there. ‘So, there’s only two basement levels in this place. That’s not as bad as I was afraid of.’ Niko gladly nodded to himself. He’d been privately terrified that they were going to have to fight through a labyrinthine construction before the confirmation from the lightstone…

And then Skye opened her mouth, “Be sure to check corners and other pillars, there’s no guarantee that where we’re going is the bottom floor.”

Niko refrained, somehow, from glaring at her, but he dearly wanted to. 

“Alright, time to see how this is going to go,” Niko took a deep breath, before poising himself to jump at an angle, “I’ll go floor by floor. I can jump this just fine.” 

“Wait a moment.” Ronald’s hand stayed Niko just in time to stop him. Working quickly, Ronald exposed a pair of lightstones and wedged them into sockets woven into Niko’s vest. Another few seconds and a loop of rope was tied into the straps.

Niko quirked a feathered brow at that, and Ronald explained, “So that if you’re rushed and attacked by a lot of them, we can pull you up before they can drag you away.”

Skye, Dachna, Mithel, and Niko all looked at Ronald flatly at that. “It’s just a precaution. I didn’t see anything down there.”

Niko looked down into the darkness, now wondering if he hadn’t actually just seen a trick of the light. With a deep breath in, Niko said, “I’m really beginning to wonder why I agree to these things.”

Before he could second guess himself further, Niko leaned forward, clutching the edge of the chute with his talons and launching down the next level, shrieking a battle cry as he did so. He landed, sweeping low with his body and immediately throwing his claws wide to prevent anything from attacking him.

And was greeted with nothing.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Niko snorted, relieved and annoyed in the same instance as he called upwards, “Nothing here! I’m going lower!” 

“Go ahead! The other teams are checking out the area around us just in case.” Ronald called back.

Just before he poised at the edge of the chute once more, Skye shouted, “Be careful!” 

“How am I supposed to do that!?” Niko cawed back at her, “I’m literally throwing myself into the dark and hoping not to get mauled!” 

“I have a suggestion!” Dachna called out, “Y’know, instead of just doing this the dumb way.” 

Niko glared at him flatly, “Where was this suggestion thirty seconds ago?” 

“Uhhhhh…” Dachna opened his mouth, before closing it smartly, “Alright, so I might have just thought of it. Look, do you wanna hear it or not?” 

Niko nodded as Mithel handed him a potion that was flecked with what almost looked like gold chips in a lightly glowing, yellow liquid. “Get it?” 

“Oh. Yeah, that does make sense.” Niko cringed, “Well, toss it, I’ll go in after it settles.” 

Dachna nodded, and both he and Mithel charged the concoction, one as an alchemist, and the other as a fisherman would with their Lure.

Niko forced his gaze away as Dachna dropped it over the edge, allowing it to fall straight down into the hole below. Unlike before, Niko heard some noise, a shuffling sound that seemingly was trying to be quiet. He braced for the noise, just before an explosion of light and sound erupted from the hole, suddenly alive with waspish buzzing and angry hornets. 

With a much more validated battle cry, Niko plunged into the waiting floor below, his ingress point surrounded by forms now illuminated by the lights Niko carried, writhing and frantically brushing at their eyes as though to rid themselves of the blindness.

‘I’m really glad I didn’t just dive in here now,’ Niko allowed himself that thought, just before he activated his Sharp Strike and began working at the hornets around him, ‘Now that I think of it, flashbangs are really good against bugs like this, aren’t they?...’