Webs & Wards (Beesong Chronicles Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “It’s a level eighty-nine apocalypse spider, Viper. If that gets free, it’ll shred all of Astonia before a group of adventurers who’re powerful enough can get here to stop it,” Silverhoof said bluntly. “There isn’t a group in the country that could stand up to the thing.”

  “Oh. Oh dear,” Viper said, and his scales were slightly paler than normal, then he paused and cursed. “Ah… I just remembered, but the messengers with the apis? They were going to Bearton as well.”

  “Well, hopefully they manage to get away alive,” Silverhoof said, considering for a brief moment, then shook his head. “If Abigail could be taken down without getting a message off to us, they wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “As you say, sir,” Viper said, and quickly turned to leave the room, moving with marked alacrity.

  Silverhoof hoped it’d be enough.

  Chapter 22

  Brianna paused and vigorously brushed off the upper portion of the waystone, cleaning off the dirt and moss that had adhered to it. Cora noted the words carved into the stone and smiled as Brianna sighed loudly and stretched.

  “Oh, thank the gods! I was beginning to feel like we’d never get to Bearton!” Brianna groused, wrinkling her nose as she added, “At least we’re far away from that swamp. The smell was… bleh.”

  “It wasn’t that bad! Sure, there was a lot of rotting plants, but there were lots of flowers, too! I even got some tasty nectar!” Joy replied happily, looking at the waystone curiously as she considered, then asked, “What does the three mean? Three what?”

  “Three miles, Joy,” Cora said, laughing softly as she pointed down the left fork of the road. “The town is probably obscured by the trees over there… I’d guess it’s an orchard, as regularly spaced as the trees are. Still, we aren’t far from town.”

  “Oh! Okay, I understand now!” Joy said, fluttering her wings and lifting off with a buzzing sound, though the apis only flew twenty feet or so into the air before she paused and added cheerfully. “Yep! I can see a temple spire and some other buildings from up here. I think it has a stone wall, too… not a wooden one.”

  “We’re near the border, which is why they probably built it out of stone. Usually, only big, wealthy cities tend to build stone walls since they take ages to build, Joy,” Stella said, putting her hands on her hips as she looked upward at the apis in amusement. “It also takes a lot of stone in the area, so some areas tend not to use them even if they’re wealthy. Would you come back down here?”

  “Sure!” Joy agreed happily, flying back down again, and the loud buzzing of her wings ended. The apis adjusted her footing as she landed, then added, “The fields look strange, though.”

  “Oh? What do you mean?” Cora asked, pausing just as she was about to start down the road.

  “There were lots of people in the fields out around Irador and Seldrim, but there aren’t any I saw here, even though there’s lots of fields,” Joy explained, waving her hand toward the town casually. “I just thought it was odd. I hope they aren’t going to let their harvests go bad…”

  “What?” Brianna asked sharply, her head jerking upward and her eyes narrowing. “You didn’t see anyone?”

  “No? Maybe a couple on the walls, but that’s it. The fields looked really empty, which was why I noticed that no one was there,” Joy said, blinking at Brianna, then looking at Cora and Stella as they exchanged worried looks, prompting the apis to frown, then she asked, “Is… that strange?”

  “Very. It’s the middle of the day, and farmers tend to work for almost as long as they have daylight,” Brianna said, frowning as she glanced around. “For the fields to be abandoned… that’s a really bad sign. You didn’t see smoke or anything like that coming from the town, did you?”

  “Nope! Well, I saw some, but no more than I saw from Seldrim,” Joy chirped, looking hopeful as she added, “Maybe there are some nasty monsters outside, and they’re just staying where it’s safe?”

  “While I suppose that’s possible, I don’t think it’s very likely,” Cora murmured, frowning as she looked toward the town, beginning to grow concerned.

  “Come to think of it, have we seen any travelers coming from this direction? Some of them came from the other towns along our way, but I don’t think I saw anyone coming from Bearton,” Stella said, looking at Cora and Brianna. “Am I wrong?”

  “No… I really don’t think you are. Which is a bad sign,” Cora said, looking at Brianna in concern. “I suppose it’s possible something happened since we left Irador, but this feels wrong. Most Guildmasters in areas like this are higher level than us, so I doubt it’s a monster.”

  “We could be wrong, though. It could be a festival or something,” Brianna said, scowling as she tapped her foot, then nodded. “Still, best to be cautious. Why don’t we head for town, but keep an eye out for anything dangerous? Gods know what’s going on, but it’ll almost certainly be safer in town.”

  “Alright! Do you want me to fly?” Joy asked, almost bouncing in place, her eyes bright with curiosity. “I have a lot better view from above!”

  “Yes, but it also makes you an obvious target, Joy. Especially in the middle of the day, in that armor. Black stands out,” Cora said dryly, nodding toward Joy’s armor. “No, I think you’d best stay on the ground, just to be safe.”

  “Indeed. I’m just glad you said something, Joy. If you hadn’t, we might have walked right into danger,” Stella said, reaching down to adjust how her mace hung from her belt, and checking her shield as well.

  “You’re welcome! I never know what’s normal or not, so I thought I’d just ask,” Joy replied happily, not seeming too focused on their worries.

  “You seem awfully happy for a situation which could turn out to be dangerous, Joy,” Brianna commented, shaking her head. “We could be in trouble, you know.”

  “Well, sure! But we could be in trouble anywhere, so why not enjoy our time together?” Joy replied with a grin. “A wasp could eat me later today, after all! If we see bad things, that’s when I’ll worry.”

  Cora laughed, her anxiety easing slightly at Joy’s comments, and she nodded, murmuring, “That’s a definite point, even if I don’t really want to think about being eaten. Come on, let’s go, but cautiously.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Brianna agreed after a moment, her tension relaxing slightly. “We’ll just keep our eyes open.”

  “Well, of course! How else can we see?” Joy replied, looking perplexed.

  Both Cora and Stella broke out into laughter at Joy’s confusion and the look on Brianna’s face as the human tried to figure out how to respond.

  * * *

  Lethe blinked as she saw the group coming down the road, opening her mouth, then she shut it, considering for a few seconds more. The group was an odd one, though she’d mostly have taken the four adventurers in stride if it hadn’t been for the apis in their company.

  “What the… is that an apis?” Jacob asked, leaning forward slightly. “Analyze.”

  Lethe gave him an annoyed look, then replied tartly. “You tell me, hm? You’re the one with the ability.”

  “Er, right. And yes, she’s an apis. A… level eleven apis Rogue, as a matter of fact. While her friends… let’s see,” Jacob said, and quickly checked the others before continuing. “A level fourteen Acolyte, a level twelve Swordswoman, and a level thirteen Mage.”

  “Hells, what are they doing here?” Lethe demanded, her voice rising ever so slightly, but she quickly forced herself to be quieter as she hissed, “This area is for low-level adventurers!”

  The two of them were part of Captain Leah’s company, and had been stationed to watch the road since about noon. While there were other teams in the area, they were spread out far enough that getting assistance would take a little while. More importantly, both of them were level twelve, which was why Lethe was concerned. They were more than powerful enough to deal with any of the locals, or the handful of level four and five adventurers or merchants who’d wandered in over
the last week, but this group was an entirely different matter.

  On the other hand, they had a good hiding spot along the road, partly hidden behind a large boulder and some bushes, so it was unlikely that they’d be spotted easily. That also gave time for them to decide what to do, with the casual pace of the adventurers.

  “I don’t have the slightest clue. Still, they don’t look like they’ve spotted us, and—is that apis bouncing?” Jacob demanded, his tone turning incredulous.

  To Lethe’s shock, Jacob wasn’t wrong. The apis was bouncing along the road, hopping from one stone to another along the cobblestone fence as she hummed loudly, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Someone less like the stories Lethe had heard from Egan’s company, where the apis had attacked murderously from the shadows without warning, was hard to imagine. The woman looked practically harmless, even with a rapier and a couple of daggers sheathed on her belt.

  The other adventurers were normal by comparison, though the broad smile on the dark-skinned Acolyte’s face showed that the apis’s antics amused them as well. They also seemed to be rather distracted by the woman, which gave Lethe an idea.

  “How about we try to take her or the mage hostage?” Lethe suggested, nodding toward the red-robed elf. “Both, if we can manage it. That’d likely delay them long enough for some of the others to get here, and even if we’re a bit lower level, it isn’t that big of a difference.”

  “Well… sure, that seems doable. The apis should practically come right on top of us, so if you’re quick, you could grab the mage while I go after the apis,” Jacob said, nodding slowly as he looked at the apis contemplatively, fingering his knife. “She doesn’t look like she’s paying that much attention to her surroundings, anyway.”

  “Exactly. And with Speed Burst, I can get to the mage before they can react,” Lethe agreed, relaxing a little. “I just hope the others saw them coming, so they react quick enough.”

  “Eh, even if they didn’t, no adventurer is going to risk the life of a friend, and if they aren’t that close, they’ll probably just run,” Jacob said, grinning. “Let’s do this.”

  “Agreed! Hells, we might even level off it,” Lethe agreed, smiling brightly, a hint of anticipation rising in her. It’d been a while since she’d leveled, and the idea improved her mood.

  “We can always hope,” Jacob agreed.

  Chapter 23

  Joy hummed happily as she hopped between one stone and the next, but anyone thinking she wasn’t paying attention would have been quite mistaken. Her antennae were at full extension, and while she was watching her footing, she was also watching her surroundings, while wishing she had her eyes as a bee again. She’d be able to keep an eye out for danger far more easily, and she rather regretted the more limited sight she had now.

  Still, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t keep track of things around her. Every brush of the wind against her antennae told her its story, bringing with it the scents and sounds of the world around her. For instance, she could tell that there were a lot of blooming bluebells to the southeast, ones that she’d have immediately gone to investigate as a bee. As an apis, she merely felt a faint longing, but far more important were the other smells interspersed with the scent of flowers, and not merely the hints of smoke from Bearton.

  It was the scent of sweat and a little oil, along with soap as well. It wasn’t what Joy considered a pleasant smell, but she supposed it was better than how others smelled when they didn’t wash often. She rather preferred bathing in pure, clean water herself, but the lavender scented soap Cora had bought for her wasn’t too bad, and was something Joy could tolerate.

  Still, the scent told her that there were other people nearby, and she looked around, still humming as she tried to see if she could spot them, like the others had taught her to. They’d also told her not to make it obvious that she’d noticed someone was nearby in a lot of cases, which was the only reason Joy didn’t speak about it. Instead, she reached up and adjusted her backpack, just like they’d suggested, as a warning.

  The road was nice enough, though, and Joy glanced up, grinning as she saw a group of sheep in a pasture ahead of them, just past a large rock and some bushes. To her it looked like one of the fields was separated from the others by bushes, which she approved of. The bushes had plenty of flowers, and that was one of the most important resources for nectar, in her opinion.

  She didn’t see anyone else, though, and by this point even Joy would’ve been growing concerned about the lack of people even if the others hadn’t warned her. Joy knew that the others thought she was frivolous at times, but she didn’t mind, as she liked to enjoy herself. On the other hand, when it came to the safety of the others… well, she’d rather put herself in harm’s way first. She’d just have to make certain not to let the others know she could’ve gotten out of the way since that might upset them.

  Jumping off the fence and onto the boulder, Joy noticed the smell growing stronger, and she braced herself for what she suspected was coming, since she couldn’t see why someone nice would have hidden themselves. The others were just a short distance behind her, too.

  “Speed Burst!” a woman exclaimed, and the next instant an elf with blue skin and black hair erupted from the bushes, a short blade in one hand, while she wore dark leather armor much like Joy’s, though it wasn’t quite as ornate.

  She moved past Joy so quickly the apis barely had time to start reacting. More importantly, right behind the woman was a man in leather armor who had a dagger in one hand. He was human, and wasn’t very remarkable to Joy’s eyes, though his armor was much like the woman’s, as both had a red emblem on the armor that she didn’t recognize. He lunged at Joy, and unlike with the woman, she did have time to react.

  The man grabbed Joy’s right arm, and she didn’t try to stop him, instead drawing her dagger as he pulled her down toward him, growling out, “If you don’t want to lose—”

  His dagger wasn’t quite to Joy’s throat when Joy flipped her dagger around and slammed it back and up, a word escaping her lips as she did so. “Stab!”

  The man gasped in pain as the dagger slid under his breastplate, jerking away from Joy, and her dagger pulled free in the process. She went for her rapier, but as she did, she heard Brianna behind her. “Power Strike!”

  “Fire Blast!” Cora exclaimed, and there was a meaty thunk, followed by a scream and a blast of fire behind Joy.

  She didn’t look, though, instead looking at the man, whose eyes were wide as her rapier cleared its sheath. He spoke quickly, his breathing hard. “Now, don’t you dare touch me! I’ve got friends coming, and they’re—”

  “So do I,” Joy replied, smiling and raising her rapier as she asked, “Should I stab him more?”

  “Yes!” Stella said, her voice frantic. “There’re others coming!”

  “No!” the man exclaimed, turning and scrambling away, but Joy didn’t hesitate, instead stabbing quickly.

  Her first two attacks bounced off his armor, to her annoyance, but the third one pierced deep into his leg, and Joy heard him cry out in agony before he got through the bushes, but before she could pursue Brianna spoke.

  “Joy, time to go! Too many are coming,” Brianna called out, a note of worry in her voice as the man escaped.

  Joy looked away from the man, and as she did she felt her antennae shrink back slightly. The woman who’d darted past her was laying on the side of the road, one of her arms partly detached, while she’d been charred by a blast of fire. Worse, she could see a couple more people racing across the field to her north, and when she looked south she could see still more of them, all in similar armor.

  “Joy?” Cora prompted, and Joy shook off her distraction.

  “Right!” Joy agreed, quickly jumping back over the boulder and out onto the road. Sheathing her rapier, she quickly asked, “Where’re we going? And who are they?”

  “This way!” Brianna barked, and rushed back along the road without hesitation.

 
Joy blinked, but Cora and Stella didn’t hesitate, instead following Brianna quickly. Without many other options, she rushed after them, wondering just what was going on.

  They quickly raced down the road, and for a minute the others were silent. Joy glanced back to see some of the people she’d seen pursuing, then looked forward again, just in time to see Brianna cut into an orchard, the others quickly following her.

  “This way!” Brianna said, waving Joy over. “They probably have bows or the like, so we need to get into cover.”

  “Who are they?” Joy demanded, following the directions. “You seem to recognize them!”

  “They’re part of the Kingdoms of Darkness,” Cora replied, having paused to catch her breath, and the elf was pale. “I don’t recognize the emblem, but there’re enough different factions that isn’t unusual. They must have captured the town.”

  “And they’re probably going to try to keep us from letting the word spread, so we need to keep moving,” Brianna said bluntly, shaking her head. “We’re not that far away from them.”

  “Yes, but where? They’ll probably head straight for the road back to Irador, and we’re tired from traveling all day!” Stella said, looking around worriedly.

  Brianna glanced back nervously, but replied bluntly. “I don’t know! We don’t have time to—”

  “The hive?” Joy interrupted, her tone hopeful as the others stopped. “I think they’d help us, if we asked. It’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

  “…Hells, why not?” Brianna said after a moment of thought, tilting her head. “They’d never expect us to run south.”

  “Sure,” Cora said, nodding in agreement. “We don’t have time, and it’s better than nothing.”

  “West, then south,” Stella added quickly. “I hear them, so let’s go!”

  Joy nodded, smiling as she said, “Sure!”

  The sound of men and women yelling was getting closer, but the others quickly started through the orchard, and Joy followed them. A tiny part of her was a bit embarrassed that she rather liked the excitement.