Glitched

Blah Blah Blah, Torture Warning, Blah, Blah, Blah, Approaching end of Vol 1, Blah, Blah, Blah Working on Prologue, Blah, Blah, Blah......

It's truly a marvelous thing how pheromones work. At least that's what I think was at play.

***

Given the food problem and the potential exponential growth rate of my children, I figured a mating ban was in order. It seemed to be the only activity they wanted to do when I gave them free time. I planned to gather my children up and give them a long and stern lecture on why they shouldn't act entirely on instinct if they started up again, but much to my surprise, no one tried anything.

I had set aside a day for us to hole up in the forest and wind down before our next departure, and for the entire day no one tried to initiate anything. Those who weren't on watch duty simply lounged around, and a few even play-fought to pass the time. It was clearly unnatural behavior, odd enough that I asked a few why they were so averse to mating today. Perhaps they understood the consequences of their actions and put the well-being of the hive above self-pleasure? 

“We do not mate because mother does not want us to.”

“I never said that.” 

“You do not have to say some things mother. We can understand how you feel.”

Another one chimes in. 

“Especially when it comes to mating. Mother doesn't want anyone but herself to mate for the time being.”

“Well that's….interesting. What can you feel now?”

There's a brief pause as my children wave their antennae around in the air, and after a few seconds they come to a conclusion.

“Mother believes it's ok for us to mate now?”

“Not exactly…..but for a brief moment I did. A test of sorts. What else can you feel?” 

“We can tell that mother is stressed and anxious.”

“Hah! I'm impressed. I didn't think you guys would be able to pick up on that kind of thing. Perhaps I need to get more control of my emotions. Anyway, go and find all your smaller sisters. I need to speak with them.”

***

My daughters gather around me after my request for their company. My very own three, who are the biggest, sit on my head and shoulders, while the remaining grand-daughters sit at my feet. Despite this being a gathering for a rather serious talk about the future, my children are snuggled up to me. It's rather touching.

I clear my throat as I prepare to speak, but the daughter on my head makes a request before I can. 

"Mother, I would like to take some of our siblings to the north. We've yet to explore the large white-tip wall in the distance." 

Well that's a rather ambitious proposition. Now that I think about it, this specific daughter has been one of the most ambitious and curious among her peers. In fact, she was the leader of the squad I sent down the other road in the fork the very first time we left the forest. She's done quite a bit around here.

"Ah, you mean the mountain. It was unclear at first, but now that we're here in the tree tops, it's clear that the road farthest to the right leads somewhere in that direction. I think it’s a good idea to explore in that direction. At the very least, it might provide us with food or resources to work with.”

“How many of our siblings can I take?”

“If you and your other two sisters take command, I am willing to give you about a fifth of my grandchildren only. Sixty-five males, forty-five females and twenty of your own kind. You are free to explore the area as you’d like, but beware of humans at all times. Like before, prioritize your lives over those of the humans.”

With that, she and her two sisters climb off my shoulder, already in a rush to begin recruiting. I felt that they were all a little bit too enthusiastic about this whole endeavor, but who was I to doubt my daughters? They came from me. There was no need to worry about them.

How long they would be gone was a mystery seeing as to how big this mountain was from this far away, but at the very least it would be a small help to our food problem. Less mouths to feed for the time being. I would assume that there is food along the way since we haven’t explored that way yet, but just to be safe I had them take fifteen of the thirty corpses we have left. Only after they departed was I able to return my attention to my granddaughters.

“As for the rest of you…..I’ve changed my mind. While the forest provides cover, we cannot sit around and waste time. Every second counts now that the humans are aware of our existence. Rally your brothers and sisters who have not been chosen for the expedition to the mountain. We will leave in an hour to find food for ourselves.”

***

Once again we find ourselves at the crossroads, unsure of where to go. For obvious reasons, the capital and the rightmost path that went in the direction of the mountain were off limits. I’m stuck choosing between the two paths on the left, the innermost of which seems to lead to another mountain in the distance. A group of them actually, although they are far shorter than the one my daughters left for. In the end, it just leaves the leftmost path, which is the same path where my children engaged the reinforcement carriage the first time we tried exploring outside of the forest.

The fact that they encountered a carriage on this road gives me the last bit of confidence I need to make a decision, and make our way down the path. Of course, we wouldn’t travel blind and vulnerable, and so I had a few dozen of my sons orbit our expeditionary force from above to keep an eye out for pursuers.

However...there was definitely something different about the trip this time around. There were no humans anywhere. Occasionally along the way we find some wild animals to feast on, but no one has laid eyes on a human. Not a single one.

Maybe we were on the wrong path? Was it just sheer chance that they had run into humans on this path weeks ago? Or was this just another route to another under visited village? It didn’t smell that way, that’s for sure. No humans or towns in sight yet, but then again it took quite a while for the capital to come into view even with its absurdly high walls.

I decide that we will stay on the path, feasting on whatever comes into view. After an hour or two, there’s finally a break in the plains as we come to see large pools of water on the ground at the bottom of a steep fall. More large walls of dirt and rock in distances, and finally some structures that looked artificial out in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly a village, but rather a widespread collection of human houses and fields.

In a way, we had stumbled upon the boonies after all, although this one was somehow less fortified than the village in the forest. There were no walls protecting them, and instead there was just an abundance of plant growth everywhere. As a matter of fact, a handful of humans are hard at work this late into the night. With all the space and food they had out here, feeding the colony didn't seem like such a hard feat if we just took care of fields once the humans were gone. Better yet we could let them do the work and just rob them in the night. Regardless, we had found a pretty sizable settlement to camp by underground for now, one that should keep us satiated for a good while.

But of course, humans exist. "Mother. There is a human on a horse!" One of my grand-daughters exclaims, pointing to a figure that darts from house to house.

And there goes any hope of robbing the humans in hiding.

"As soon as they ride past, the two-legs immediately retreat into their homes. They block off their windows and the lights grow dim.” She adds on.

Clearly, they were aware of our presence once again. I don’t know how they did it, but they had tabs on us. At least the horse rider did. I couldn’t have it request help from other humans. Horses were without a doubt far too quick for us to chase down, but that didn’t mean capture was impossible.

“Get me the human on the horse. Now. Do whatever it takes to stop it from escaping. It can run, but the human will stop for a break eventually. Track the human down, even if it disappears from your sight.”

I command, dispatching a dozen of my sons to hunt down the human. If they were aware of our existence, they no doubt had information that I could use. I decided that it would be best for us to hide underground here, and wait for my children to return with the horse rider before we made any more moves.

***

It took a few hours, but my children reported back that they had successfully led a party to capture the human. Apparently they went to a much larger city after warning the people, and my children caught it when it left the city to go back in our direction.

The human's struggling voice travels through the tunnel, and it….she groans as she's dragged across the dirt by a handful of my children until she's finally face flat at my feet. At first sight, she seems rather strong-willed. Even going as far to futility struggle against the bindings on her hands and feet. Unlike most people who were traumatized and crying upon capture, she had quite a scowl on her face. I liked dealing with defiant ones.

Just by looking at her, I can tell she’s one of the humans who'd rather die than share information. However, they all had a limit to the amount of pain they could tolerate. All one had to do was push them to the edge.   

《Quite composed are we? Color me impressed.》

She briefly registers surprise on her face at my voice before quickly composing herself. "Hmph! We know you're the one behind the missing people at the gates of Wyn. Try all you like, I won't falter. You won't get anything out of me.”

《Be stubborn all you want, but I will force an answer out of you. I know what makes you tick.》

"It doesn't matter. I was just the messenger, and I knew the dangers of leaving my home. We know you exist and where you live. You won't get away with this. We have the greatest tracker in all of Wyn. He'll sniff you out sooner or later. We know your lot is capable of flight and ground. Then, warriors even stronger than him will find and clean you up. Just you wait.”

《Ah, so that's why you humans were able to snuff us out so quickly. This tracker fellow, does he wear a cloak?》

I had a growing suspicion that we had an encounter with Wyn’s “master tracker” already. Perhaps he was the one with the spear my children met earlier, or he may have been traveling with them. Worst case scenario he wasn't even on the job yet. Regardless, he would forever be a thorn in our side as long as he lived.

To no one's surprise, the human girl stays silent, refusing to answer my question. And here I was hoping she'd talk all Wyn's secrets away.

《Well then, I see that you're already ready to feel my worst. Why don't we make it fun for you? We can play a game. You get a question, and if you fail to answer, I get to break one of your bones. Simple enough yes?》 

"Wh...wha? You would torture your hostages!? What kind of sick monster are you? You're not normal. What the hell are you?”

She thought she was a hostage? I could barely hold back my laughter at her naivety.

《Hostage? What made you think you were a hostage? Did your leaders lie to you? Don't tell me you thought we took all those missing people as hostages. You are food dear. Food to keep my children fed. We are monsters, nothing more, nothing less. Now then, are you ready to begin?》 

"Do your worst!" She dares retorts with a brave face.

Not to waste any time, I start with her fingers, wiggling the first back and forth before snapping it in one smooth motion. Her entire body jolts up, emitting soft whimpers of pain as she tries to steady herself.  

The routine of breaking fingers continues with almost complete silence, a testament to her valor as she endures the ordeal, enduring through an entire hand without wavering. But the moment I touch her other hand, the veins on her head pop as her face flushes red. Her breathing becomes exasperated, and she begins to pull away in the slightest. Though she still has yet to beg me to stop.

《Good...Good, most humans give into the pain by now. I wish you the best of luck in making it to ten. If you make it there, we can up the difficulty level and start with your hands themselves!》 

Despair flashes across her face as she realizes that there will be no end to her suffering, and she quickly gives in after I break her sixth finger. The tears she's been trying so hard to hold back have begun to flow, her desperate pleas reaching no ears but our own. 

“Stop, STOP! I..I’ll answer! ” She pleads.

I take hold of her seventh finger and flex it back and forth like I did the others, and she breaks down into a sobbing and sniffling mess, completely giving up on any resistance.

“I…I’M SORRY! I’M SO SORRY!" She screams, twitching at my very touch. "P..PLEASE, NO MORE! I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!”

《Good human, I knew you would eventually come to your senses. Now, where were we….Ah yes, who is this “master tracker?”》I ask, flexing her seventh finger back and forth slowly. 

"He's a man with emerald green eyes," she gasped, tears streaming down her face. Her voice quivered as she continued, "W…Wears a hood and wields a bow. Sometimes, if forced into close combat, he'll resort to a thin lance." She paused, sniffing loudly, before continuing with a tremor in her voice, "I don't know what he's been ordered to do, but once a target is set, they say he unfailingly hunts them down." Her hands twitched as she wiped away her tears, whispering, "That's how he's always been since joining the kingdom."

《What is his name?》

“U..Ulric. They call him Ulric the Eyes.”

《Yes and you mentioned warriors stronger than Ulric. Who are they?》

“The five protectors of Wyn. Owain the Gallant, Linota the Fire Breathing smith, and Winnifred the Wild, and Ulric the Eyes.” They even have titles? How nice.

《That is only four.》I retort, flexing her finger harder than before.

“They have a leader. He’s known as Godfrey, the undefeated. T…Together they are known as the Knights of Wyn.

《And you. What are you here for? What is your job?》 

“I’m a rider. One of many. We carry communications between outposts.” she replied, her voice still quivering from the emotional strain.

《Apparently these outposts of yours include villages. So, where can we find more?》 

For once she looks down, away from me. Her deep and heavy breaths of pain come to a slow as she grunts in pain before she attempts to spit at me. It falls short due to her position, but her intent is clear. "As if I'll tell you. I won't let you find our villages. I….I won't be the reason more harm comes to our people.”

《I guess I am asking a bit too much of you.》

《Still, rules are rules, so we can resume our little “game.” If only I could make you experience what I did at the hands of your fellow humans, then you'd know what true pain is. But for now, your bones will have to suffice.》 

Again she refuses to answer as she prepares herself for the world of pain that’s ahead. She doesn’t try to hold in her screams or sobs this time around, letting it all out as I proceed to move from her fingers to her hands, then her arms, and down to her feet. Though she screams and begs me to stop at times, she curses me whenever I stop to interrogate her. At some point she gives up begging for her life and instead does the opposite.

"K-Kill m...me" She whimpers weakly, clearly pushed to the edge. 

《You see, this could've been avoided if you just answered my questions. You humans shun selfishness and throw your lives away to protect others. Yet you live in a society that prioritizes individual gain and competition.》I reply, gazing into her longing eyes.

She says nothing in response. Rather, she looks catatonic now. No longer responding or even acknowledging my words. She looks like she may actually have just died from the pain if it wasn't for her breathing. Her eyes stare straight into a blank emptiness instead of shaking and looking around. Tsk. I had broken my toy.

《Looks like I win our little game.》

I swiftly snapped her neck.

Pheromones(Cont.)

As mentioned before, pheromones are chemicals produced as messengers that affect the behavior of other individuals of insects or other creatures. They are usually wind borne but may be placed on various items. They travel slowly, do not fade quickly, and are effective over a long range. Sound and sight receptors are not needed for pheromone detection, and pheromone direction is not limited to straight lines.

Communication by pheromones is highly developed in social insects that operate in colonies such as honeybees, ants, or termites, which bear numerous pheromone glands on various body parts to produce a variety of chemicals. Pheromones of social insects are not only involved in sexual behavior, they also attract or repel members of the same species with markers of food, of trails, and of social groups, and have many other functions as well. For example, the honeybee queen produces pheromones that attract a retinue of workers around her, prevent workers from laying eggs and from swarming, and that regulate several other aspects of colony functioning.

Glitched

Tbh, this chapter felt rough. I'm sorry. It may be rewritten in the future, but won't be necessary to re-read.