“I’ll try,” Felix agreed, the dark-haired man sweating a lot as he swallowed and took deep breaths, muttering, “Poor bastard. They focused on him.”
“Why’d they even attack us, anyway?” Gabe asked, looking back toward the jungle, shaking his head incredulously. “They came out of nowhere!”
“They attacked us because Egan’s an idiot,” Dramond said, and Gabe flinched, looking at the lieutenant in shock.
“Sir! Egan’s one of the captains, you can’t—” Jaime began, only to have Dramond interrupt.
“I don’t care, when he’s an idiot, he’s an idiot. I’m going to report to Velk about this,” the orc retorted, shaking his head as he scowled. “Bees are somewhat territorial, sure, but for the most part, if you don’t attack them they leave you the hell alone. Attack them, though, and you rile them up. Assuming apis are the same way, they now have a long memory, so we likely just ran into a response to his attempts to capture some of them.”
“Crap.” Gabe muttered, paling a little as he thought about what that meant. “Do you mean we’re going to run into an ambush like that every time we try to go into the jungle? We barely injured one of them!”
“I have no idea. We’ll just have to find out,” Dramond said, grimacing and letting out a heavy sigh. “Besides, we had no idea what we were getting into this time. If we’d known, I’ll guarantee we wouldn’t have been hit so hard. We walked right into an ambush, when all we expected to be dealing with were some wildlife and monsters.”
Gabe opened his mouth, then shut it as he nodded grimly, looking at Felix in worry. He might argue with him a lot, but Gabe enjoyed his friend’s company.
Hopefully the others who’d died had resurrected, but there was always a chance they hadn’t, which was galling.
Chapter 20
“Your orders have been carried out, my queen,” the attendant said happily, kneading the wax between her hands calmly as she continued to work on making another storage container.
“What were the results?” the queen asked, looking up tiredly. It had been a long day for the queen, and she wasn’t getting any younger. It was odd to think about, but transforming from a bee to an apis had only increased her stress, which was odd. It didn’t help that the other creatures in the Teeming Jungle had not cared for their transformation, either.
“Several dead among the intruders, only one of your warriors was injured,” the attendant replied immediately, looking up to meet the queen’s gaze. “The warrior was returned here, and the priests saved her. We don’t know anything more.”
“I understand. Well, if they choose to respond, we will have to as well,” the queen murmured, shrugging and letting out a soft sigh. “Hopefully they won’t cause too many more problems. We already have enough problems with the ants and spiders; we don’t need to worry about an entire second front.”
“Agreed,” the attendants present chorused, continuing on their work, and the queen looked over them fondly.
All of them were her daughters, and were also so terribly short lived that it saddened her. It wasn’t like it was their fault, but it was one of those things that made her wonder about her choice to evolve yet again. At the same time, they took such happiness in their new state that she couldn’t honestly say her choice was bad. Instead, the queen turned her attention to another subject.
“How is the search for metal deposits going?” she asked, not expecting much in the way of news.
“Poorly!” an attendant chirped, looking up with a smile. “While a couple of workers have gotten the Miner job, the ground here isn’t good for digging in a lot of places. The chances of us finding the ore needed aren’t good, from what they say.”
“Unfortunate, but not completely unexpected,” the queen said, considering for a moment before adding, “At least we have plenty of nectar in the area. We’ll have to keep an eye out for other options in the future. In the meantime, I want the patrols to focus on defending the southern border, with only the necessary forces to the north. Any workers are to keep their distance from intruders, just to be safe, and retreat at the first sign of hostility…”
She continued giving her directions while the attendants listened closely, cleaning the cells that adorned her chamber.
* * *
“Egan, what were you thinking?” Damaris demanded, turning to the dwarf incredulously.
All of her captains were present after the reports of what had happened in the Teeming Jungle, and Damaris was not happy, since it set back her plans significantly. They were running short on time, as far as she was concerned, and that was frustrating. Worse, she wasn’t sure they had time to break the code on the messages she needed from the archives, and Abigail was frustratingly reticent.
“How was I supposed to know they’d actually figure out who’d done it? Or that they’d react like that?” Egan protested, spreading his arms widely. “I’ve never had to deal with giant bees, so I didn’t know they weren’t territorial unless you attacked them! I just wanted to speed up our search.”
“Instead, you got a couple of soldiers killed, and might have made our job that much harder,” Ovlin said waspishly. If the woman’s look or tone could kill, Egan would be dead several times over. “Thank you so very much.”
“I don’t see you going into the forest and looking for the seal, so I don’t want to hear—” Egan began hotly, right up until Damaris slapped her hand down on the table, silencing them instantly.
“Enough!” Damaris said, scowling at them for a long moment, then she looked at Ovlin. “How have your recruiting efforts gone?”
“They’ve been… modest. We’ve got about forty adventurers of up to level six on the high end, most of them are level two to three,” Ovlin admitted, considering Damaris for a moment, concern growing in her gaze as she hesitated, then asked, “You aren’t planning to send them into the jungle, are you? They wouldn’t last long.”
“No, nothing of the sort. I think we ought to send them and a detachment back home. If we’ve got new people, they should get to where they can be trained to be of use,” Damaris replied immediately, shaking her head firmly as she looked down at the map, tapping it a few times.
The surrounding environment wasn’t one that made Damaris happy. The swamp to the northwest was useful, as it made it easier to keep track of the locals and keep any of them from making an escape, but the adventurer who’d escaped still worried her. The woman hadn’t died, and the messages they’d gotten didn’t indicate that the woman had made it to any authorities, but that simply left her a mystery, and that was a threat.
“Nathan, Leah. How have your sentries been doing?” Damaris asked at last, glancing up at them.
“Quite well,” Thomas said, smiling at Leah as he continued. “There haven’t been many people coming along the road, so they haven’t had to take many people into custody. Only one group of new adventurers tried to fight, and they were easy to disable.”
When Damaris looked at Leah, the half-elf nodded marginally, her voice soft. “He’s correct. We haven’t had any issues with the locals trying to run after the first few days, either.”
“Good. In that case, I want a squad from your company to escort the recruits back home, while the remainder of them take up security in town,” Damaris said, looking at Thomas levelly, then glanced at Leah as she asked, “Would that stretch you too thin, Leah?”
The woman pursed her lips for a moment, then shook her head, her voice slow but calm. “I don’t believe so. It does mean we won’t be able to have as many sentries in a post, but I believe we can handle it.”
“Good,” Damaris said, nodding firmly as Thomas grinned, then turned her attention to Ovlin. “Now, I want you to assist Egan. The losses were primarily due to our people not expecting to run into hostile apis, so at least we know it could happen, now. I want the jungle scoured for that seal; we don’t have time to waste here.”
“What about the apis, though?” Ovlin asked, frowning. “If they keep attacking…”
“Defend yourselves, but otherwise leave them the hell alone. I’m hoping that they attacked as a reprisal and warning, then will leave us alone. Why else would they stop even attacking after Dramond’s people left the jungle but were in clear sight?” Damaris said, straightening a little, then glanced at Velk as she added, “If you are attacked frequently, though… defend yourselves in whatever way you have to. Call for reinforcements if it comes to that. Velk, you’ll be in command of any response.”
“Of course, sir,” Velk said, grinning toothily as he nodded. “I’d be happy to show them that we’re not pushovers.”
“Only if it’s necessary. We’re here for a seal, not for a war. That comes later,” Damaris cautioned, and he nodded quickly.
“Yes, sir, I hear you,” Velk agreed.
Damaris looked around the room once more, then at Egan, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, she let out a soft sigh.
“Mistakes happen, Egan. I wish you hadn’t let this mistake happen, but there’s nothing else to be done about it. Just find the seal so we can finish up here and get out. We’re running out of time,” Damaris said, firmly stepping on the anxiety trying to take over in the back of her mind.
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best,” Egan agreed, letting out a breath as he straightened. “We’ll get the job done, one way or another.”
“Excellent. Now, you all have your jobs, so let’s get moving,” Damaris told them.
As they left, a tiny part of her considered sending Abigail back to Lord Alethus with the recruits, but Damaris decided against it after a moment. She couldn’t be sure that they wouldn’t change their minds and free her, and that could be disastrous. No, she’d just take the woman back with her.
She looked around the office again as the others left, then Damaris rubbed her forehead and sat down to pore over the documents again. Shala had the important ones, but Damaris was trying to figure them out, too. Maybe there was something in them that would help.
Chapter 21
Guildmaster Silverhoof finished going over the document and let out a sigh of relief as he signed it. He hated having to collate the various expense reports for his superiors, but Viper absolutely refused to let Silverhoof foist the task off on him. Of course, that was probably for the best, since his superiors would have been incredibly irritated if he’d slacked off.
On the other hand, the sudden pounding on his door nearly caused Silverhoof to punch his ink pen straight through the document, and he cursed, quickly pulling it away as he hastily blotted the excess ink off the page.
“What is it?” Silverhoof snapped, his gaze rising to the door angrily.
“Sir, we have an emergency! Bearton has fallen!” Viper exclaimed as he opened the door, looking uncharacteristically flustered as he fidgeted with his glasses. Still, it took a moment for Silverhoof to really process what he’d said.
“Bearton has what?” Silverhoof demanded, straightening suddenly and looking over at the shelf of message books that linked to other guild houses. Obviously, Viper hadn’t heard from those, since Bearton’s was still on the shelf. “How’s that possible? We got a message from Abigail just a couple of days ago!”
“I know, but we have an adventurer here, and—” Viper paused, taking a deep breath, then let it out and spoke more calmly, though his voice was still taut. “Sir, you need to come see her. She isn’t in the best of shape, and you need to hear this for yourself. She’s in the infirmary, which is where she belongs.”
“Right, I’ll be there momentarily,” Silverhoof said, pushing aside his shock as concern rippled through him.
He hesitated, then reached over to take the message book and opened it to the place marked with a ribbon, only to have his concern grow. There weren’t any new messages, just the same one in Abigail’s bold handwriting, acknowledging his warning and reporting no movements in her area. She’d even declined the offer of reinforcements, which had been a tiny bit surprising, but in character for the Pyromancer.
“Hells,” Silverhoof muttered, then closed the book and slipped it into his belt. He really hoped the adventurer wasn’t right.
* * *
The infirmary was large enough to fit Silverhoof and other larger species easily, which was a relief. The woman who’d arrived didn’t look like she was in good shape, and Silverhoof had to wonder how she managed to get to the guild without being stopped by the city guard. Tina looked half-dead to him.
The elf had waxy, pale skin that normally would have been tanned, but was currently sickly at best, and she looked like she normally was fit, but hadn’t been eating well recently. Her brown hair was stringy and clumped, and their healer was tending to the angry red mark on the woman’s shoulder, a look of concern on Vana’s face. Still, the elf was forcing herself to sit up as she swayed in place, her green eyes mostly in focus.
“Can you tell us what exactly happened?” Silverhoof asked, trying to keep his tone patient. Panicking the woman wouldn’t do any good, and she looked like she wasn’t especially stable.
“It’s why I’m here,” the elf said, her words slurring ever so slightly, and she took a deep breath, then let out a whimper at a prod against the injury. Eventually she managed to speak, though. “It was… a week ago? Close to that. We’d gone hunting a couple of grizzlies in the north wood, trying to get new armor for Dean.”
“A week?” Viper asked, looking up sharply from making notes. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what the hermit said. I lost three days to the fever while he was takin’ care of me,” Tina said, pausing and frowning. “No, eight days. Five days here, three days for the fever.”
“Viper, don’t interrupt,” Silverhoof interjected, glowering at the man for a moment. “You can ask questions afterward. Now, Tina… please, continue.”
“Right, um… well, we were heading back to Bearton around noon. Nathan noticed that there weren’t many farmers out, which seemed odd, but we were distracted. Then we saw the people at the walls, and the busted gate. There were orcs and the like, so we ran, figuring Bearton had been taken by the Dark Kingdoms,” Tina said, swallowing hard as she paled even more, hesitating for a moment, then admitted, “We ran right into an ambush. There were eight of them, ’n there was no way we were getting through. Dean yelled for me to run, and they blocked them. I… ran, since my arrows just bounced off. Theirs didn’t, though, ’n it was poisoned, too. I had to go into the Fog Glens to lose them, too.
“The poison got to me before long, though. I lost consciousness, and probably would’ve been eaten if it weren’t for a hermit. He dragged me back to his hut ’n kept me alive through the poison ’n fever. He… he told me to stay there, ’cause I might kill myself tryin’ to get here, but… but my friends trusted me, ’n…” Tina looked up at Silverhoof, her breathing growing ragged as she begged. “My friends, I left them back there! Please, please help them if you can! I… I…”
“Shh… calm down and don’t stress yourself. You’ve been through a lot, Tina, and you need to rest and recover,” Silverhoof interrupted, despite the sinking feeling in his stomach. Still, he continued after a moment, glancing at Vana. “We’re going to help your friends, but the best thing you can do is make sure you’re well enough when they show up, alright? Just let Vana treat you, and get you back on your feet.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much, I just can’t…” Tina began, rapidly blinking back tears, and Vana rested a hand on her unhurt shoulder as she interrupted.
“Now, now… let’s get you laying down, hm? You’ve pushed yourself quite far enough, and your body needs time to recover,” Vana said firmly, giving Silverhoof and Viper a pointed look. “Further questions can wait.”
“Agreed,” Silverhoof said, looking at Viper grimly and tilting his head toward the door. “Come on, Viper. We need to figure out how to respond to this.”
“Of course, sir,” Viper said, and followed as Silverhoof headed for the door.
They left the infirmary quickly, and Silverhoof debated,
then decided to step into the nearest empty room instead, waiting for the man to follow him in and close the door. The situation was grim, in his opinion, and it wiped away all his frustration with paperwork. As much as he hated paperwork, it was far better than something like this.
“I don’t think she’s lying, sir. Mistaken… possibly, but that isn’t likely. She was too emotional, and you’d have been told if something like that happened. It’s four days from Bearton on foot, at worst we should have gotten word three days ago,” Viper said, looking up at Silverhoof in worry. “There’s no reason for Abigail not to have told us about something like that, where an adventuring party fought someone.”
“Unless she’s entirely delusional, but I don’t think so,” Silverhoof said grimly, shaking his head. “No, we’re likely seeing the attempt to take the seal near Bearton, and that is frightening. I should’ve damned well sent reinforcements anyway, but no, I just had to give Abigail the option. What do we have available, Viper?”
“Not much. Most of the local adventurers are too low-level to do much good, but we’ve got two groups of level twelve adventurers that likely could be hired, along with a level fourteen… well, prospective hero, so he’d probably be willing to help out,” Viper said, grimacing and sighing before he continued, adjusting his spectacles again. “There’s the staff here, of course, and I could contact the duke. I’m pretty sure we could get a few companies of soldiers to help out.”
“Do it. We have to get to Bearton quickly, and I’m going to be leading the charge,” Silverhoof said bluntly, shaking his head firmly as he suppressed his worry as best he could. “This could be disastrous, Viper.”
“Ah… is it truly that bad, sir?” Viper asked, pausing and looking up at Silverhoof in trepidation. “I don’t have access to the records regarding the seals, but…”
Webs & Wards (Beesong Chronicles Book 2) Page 14