by Unknown
The other adventurers had been interesting to talk to, particularly a boisterous, large man who’d spun tales of how his father had delved into hidden ruins buried in the clouds across the sea to the north, places where the very air itself could come to life and attack intruders, or where giants could form the very clouds themselves into fortresses and homes. Others had talked about deserts, volcanoes, and jungles that she could hardly imagine, and which Joy found herself thirsting to see for herself. Specifically, one of them had talked about a jungle with flowers even larger than those in the Flower Forest, one ruled by strange, glittering fey creatures. That was something which Joy wanted to see… and a part of her regretted that she probably wouldn’t get to see it, if she founded a hive of her own. No matter how incredible the world might be, she couldn’t abandon her duty.
Unlike her, the others seemed less impressed by the stories than Joy was, and on the second day of their trip Joy asked, “Have you heard their stories before?”
Cora glanced over at Joy curiously, tilting her head as she asked, “What do you mean?”
They were traveling along a rocky section of the road, one with virtually no cover, and with no sign of any people around. Goats were common enough, though. Large, vicious-looking goats that stood well clear of their path.
“The other adventurers. You and Brianna just look at each other and smile, while Stella seems a little more interested. James and the others often don’t even listen!” Joy explained, gesturing at James, who flushed slightly at that, clearing his throat.
“It isn’t that, Joy. It’s just that…” James began, pausing before finishing, somewhat lamely. “I’ve just heard that sort of thing dozens of times before.”
“It doesn’t help that it isn’t firsthand experience, either,” Cora added before anyone else could speak. “If any of them had spoken from personal experience… well, believe me when I say that all of us would have been listening as closely as you were. But they’re just too low-level to have gone to any of those places.”
“Really?” Joy asked, perking up a little more.
“She’s right,” Stella said, adjusting her pack as she looked around. “Most low-level people live on this continent, Joy, along with countries on Avda to the south, and across the archipelagos that surround us. Avda is a smaller continent, just to be clear. Only those who’re above level fifty generally cross the sea to any of the continents that they’re telling you about, because those places are just too dangerous for anyone lower level to survive easily.”
“Um, why?” Joy said, looking between all of them, getting the sense she’d asked a silly question from the way they looked at one another.
“Who wants to field this one?” Brianna asked, cracking a smile.
“Not me, that’s for sure,” Eda said, shaking her head firmly. “That’s way out of my league. I don’t know enough.”
“I have some hints, but I think the one person here who has the background to know best is James,” Cora said, a smile flittering across her lips, and James looked at the sky as he sighed.
“What did I do to deserve this?” James asked helplessly, prompting a giggle from Joy.
“You tried to recruit Joy, then took us into the Blackstone Mines,” Helen replied, prompting a chorus of laughter from everyone in earshot.
“And as well you did,” Jean murmured from behind them. “What would have happened otherwise doesn’t bear thinking on.”
For a few moments everyone was silent, and as they were, Joy hopped onto a rock, then from it to several more in succession, smiling as she tested her balance. One of the rocks wasn’t as stable as the others, but it just added to her satisfaction when she bounced off it to the next stone.
“To a large extent, the number of people who’re so low-level on this continent is due to our own successes,” James said at last, letting out a sigh. “It’s said that in the beginning, all of the continents were about the same. The same sort of creatures lived on them, and everything had the same starting point. But here there were more humans, elves, dwarves, and other species, and we grew stronger than the ones on the other continents. Where most of them were wiped out, we thrived, fighting back against monsters that would wipe us out. Instead we destroyed many of the species that were the gravest threats to us. Yet without those threats we’ve also become weaker, one generation after another. Without those threats to push us to ever-greater heights, we atrophy. Only the threat of the Kingdoms of Darkness and some other regions and monsters allows us to reach the higher levels these days, and those who wish to push beyond… they cross to other continents, where many of those beings that could destroy countries still live in great numbers. At least, that’s what I’ve heard from my parents and teachers.”
Joy’s eyes went wide and she inhaled, then paused to think, trying to imagine what he was talking about. Before she could say anything, Cora spoke softly.
“That… is far more detailed than what I’d thought. I knew that we’d made the world relatively safe compared to in the past, but I didn’t think… well, it doesn’t matter, I suppose. That’s the problem of being from a small village,” the elf said, her gaze somewhat distant.
“The nobility keeps track of things like this. It’s part of why we deliberately leave some areas wild for adventuring, so that we don’t weaken ourselves still further,” James said, shrugging uncomfortably. “I’ve heard that the Kingdoms of Darkness have more dangerous regions still around, plus they encourage infighting between their members to push themselves to higher level, so we need what we can get. It isn’t pleasant to think about.”
“Oh! That’s why the Flower Forest doesn’t have people trying to take it over, right?” Joy asked, clapping her hands together as she put what he’d said together.
“That’s right,” James said, smiling wryly at her. “There’s lots of relatively small areas where different creatures can fight with one another, growing stronger and proving to be good challenges for young adventurers. Some of them could be cleared if we wanted to, while others would be almost impossible, these days. Like the Shimmerwood, we just don’t have a strong enough army to deal with it. I guess that’s just nature finding a balance, though.”
Joy considered that for a moment, a little surprised that the Shimmerwood was that dangerous, since there was a hive there. If anything, it made her even more curious about the apis who lived there. They had to be surviving somehow, which made her think that they might be even more powerful than the Shadebough Hive, which was a slightly daunting thought.
That was when Joy heard hoofbeats approaching, and she glanced back to see Silverhoof approaching, the centaur Guildmaster scowling as he approached. A wisp of concern went through Joy, since he was approaching them, but she banished it a moment later. They hadn’t done anything wrong, so she shouldn’t be worried.
“Are you lot busy?” Silverhoof asked bluntly, adjusting how the halberd stowed across his back hung. Cora glanced at James, who cleared his throat and replied.
“Not especially, Guildmaster. We’re just keeping an eye out for ambushes,” James said, nodding to their left. “Is there something you needed us for?”
“Yes, as it happens,” Silverhoof said, glancing to the northeast. “Some of the apis reported that they noticed something odd about a half-mile north of us. While they said they could investigate, I don’t want to push that onto them, not when they aren’t really adventurers.”
“What sort of ‘something odd’?” Cora asked, frowning. For her part, Joy paused, turning to face the Guildmaster curiously.
“That’s the problem. It’s a cave, and the apis said they smelled a bunch of people inside. We don’t know much more than that, though they didn’t think there were more than a couple dozen of them at most,” Silverhoof said, frowning. “I want people to scout it, and the nine of you are a solid party. It could be people who escaped a raid, prisoners, or even a raider camp. Are you willing to take a look?”
“Why us?” James asked, his eyebrow
s rising. “We aren’t the strongest people here.”
“No, but you have an apis with you. She’ll be able to follow the trail of the other ones, and she can fly. That’s better than any of the higher-level adventurers, and most of the ones I have aren’t as willing to work together,” Silverhoof said bluntly. “The biggest of their groups is one of five, so I’d rather entrust this to you. Besides which, if this is a distraction to pull someone out of position, I’d rather have the heavy hitters here.”
Joy frowned at that, a little uneasy about the idea of adventurers who weren’t willing to work together. That was practically alien to any apis and made her view some of the adventurers she’d been listening to a little differently. Not working together could get everyone killed, and she didn’t want that to happen.
While she thought, a bunch of the others looked at one another, while James simply nodded politely as he replied. “I understand, Guildmaster. We’ll look into the cave.”
“Good. I’ll have several of the others here to cover this part of the caravan shortly,” Silverhoof said, nodding firmly as he turned and trotted off toward the head of the column.
The others didn’t say anything until Silverhoof was well away from them, far enough that Joy doubted that the Guildmaster could hear anything. Then Jean spoke, her voice flat.
“He considers us expendable, doesn’t he?” the human asked unhappily, frowning.
“I don’t think so. I think he was being honest in fearing that this could be a trick,” James said, shaking his head slowly. “It could also be that we’ve gotten out of tricky situations way out of our league a few times, so he’s willing to give us more dangerous assignments. I don’t know which it is, but either way, what can we do?”
“True enough. This is why I didn’t join the army,” Brianna muttered, letting out a heavy sigh. “I hate having to take orders which are really dangerous.”
“Um, I could ask the attendant to have an apis follow us,” Joy volunteered hopefully.
For a moment the others were silent, but then Stella spoke gently. “Silverhoof said that he didn’t want the apis investigating the cave, Joy.”
“No, he said he didn’t want to push investigating onto them since they aren’t adventurers,” Joy corrected, smiling broadly. “He’s right, they aren’t! But I’m not saying I’d ask them to investigate, just to have someone follow us! If we get in trouble, she can come back and get help.”
That caused the concerned expressions Joy saw to ease, and Cora smiled warmly at her as she asked, “Could you ask the attendant, then? It would be a huge weight off my mind.”
“And mine,” James chimed in, smiling at her appreciatively. “The last thing I want is to get trapped again.”
“Sure! I’ll be right back,” Joy said, and quickly took flight, following the trail of pheromones leading to the queen’s attendant.
It was so much more convenient to find other apis than humans, elves, or even centaurs, Joy thought. They just didn’t have as obvious of scents.
“Why are you sending them to investigate?” Abigail asked, nodding toward the departing adventurers from atop her horse. She noticed the faintly caustic note to her voice and wished she could do something about it. Abigail hadn’t been able to suppress the faint grudge she felt toward Joy for what she’d done to Abigail’s Guild house, even if the apis hadn’t known what was going to happen and hadn’t done it intentionally.
“Would you trust Elton and Meldith to cooperate?” Silverhoof asked, popping a nut into his mouth while sorting through the small pouch of other nuts idly.
“Them? Gods, no!” Abigail said, flinching at the very thought. “Those two have hated each other ever since they broke up. I swear, dating inside the same adventuring party is a recipe for the worst relationships ever.”
“Not necessarily. Some of the tightest-knit adventuring groups I’ve seen have been made up of family or lovers,” Silverhoof countered, swallowing before he continued. “However, most of the adventurers who’re stronger than James and the others have been rivals for too long. There’s a fair amount of bad blood between them, and I just don’t trust them to do the job without coming to blows. Not unless there are enemies for them to focus on.”
“I suppose. I just…” Abigail paused, struggling with herself, then shrugged. “Can they really do the job? You don’t even know what’s out there.”
At that Silverhoof chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, they’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
“Why do you say that?” Abigail demanded. “They’re not even level twenty!”
“No, they aren’t,” Silverhoof agreed, popping another nut into his mouth and chewing with relish before swallowing.
“Then why are you so confident?” Abigail asked, her impatience growing.
“Because they have Joy with them,” Silverhoof said, nodding toward the apis as he grinned. Abigail inhaled, but he wasn’t done, cutting her off. “How many people do you know of who can say they not only escaped from an enemy over thirty levels higher than them but sent them fleeing and heavily injured? Who could walk into an ambush of higher-level opponents, fight their way out of it, find reinforcements in the unlikeliest of locations, and retake Bearton afterward?
“Joy may not be powerful on her own, but she has something else important. She’s instilled a sense of bravery and unity in her companions that I admire,” Silverhoof continued, looking after her. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she has the makings of a Hero. They’ll succeed at the job, just wait and see.”
Abigail tried to come up with a reply, and just couldn’t. Instead, she looked after the departing adventurers and wondered.
Chapter 16
Cora could only occasionally catch buzzing from the apis that was following them, which was almost more distracting than if she were listening to it constantly. Even worse, when she looked back she’d only caught a glimpse of the apis once. How the woman could hide so easily while flying through the hills was beyond Cora’s understanding, but the apis of the Shadebough Hive seemed to have a knack for it.
Of course, the distraction had also nearly led to Cora twisting her ankle once, and only Brianna’s swift reaction had kept Cora from tumbling down the hillside, which would have been really unpleasant. The sheer number of rocks at the bottom of the hill would have made that painful, if not deadly.
To be perfectly honest, though, the countryside northeast of Irador wasn’t terribly inviting to begin with. Most of it was rocky and infertile, while the handful of useful areas had small villages at this point, mostly functioning as places to stop for travelers heading toward Clarion and the border. Cora expected she wouldn’t have bothered coming this way at all if it hadn’t been for their current quest, and she glanced at Joy, who had a broad grin on her face, her antennae twitching as the apis looked around.
“We’re close!” Joy said, focusing on the area ahead of them as she sniffed, then nodded. “Yep, I smell something, too. I don’t recognize it, but there are people, too.”
“Great. And that cave doesn’t look terribly inviting,” James said, frowning as he stepped up next to a rock and peeked around it, shading his eyes and frowning. “I think I see a privy near the cave, too. A rather big one.”
“Is that the smell you couldn’t figure out?” Stella asked, looking at Joy, and the apis giggled, shaking her head.
“Nope! I know the smell of poop, and that isn’t it,” the apis said bluntly, causing Cora to blush. “It smells different. Want me to go look? I could circle around and peek down from the top of the cave.”
Cora frowned, speaking cautiously. “That would put you easily in the line of fire, Joy. Again.”
“But we need to check the cave, and there isn’t an easy way to get near it without being seen!” Joy protested, gesturing over the edge of the ridge, and Cora hesitated, then stepped up to take a look herself.
Unfortunately, it looked like Joy was right. The cave was about ten to fifteen feet across, and it gave anyone inside a c
lear line of sight at pretty much all of the approaches. Even the top of the cave would be difficult to get onto without flying. Then Cora’s eyes narrowed as she spotted something rather odd. The sun wasn’t quite directly above, and was coming at an angle, which should have cast a slightly uneven shadow from the cave rim, yet the shadow she saw wasn’t uneven. Instead it was almost perfectly straight and very dark.
“I think that we’re onto something,” Cora said, frowning. “It looks like someone used an illusion to make the darkness in the cave deeper. Probably to conceal its contents from observers, but I can’t be sure.”
“Why’s that?” Helen asked, peeking over the edge next to her.
“The shadow doesn’t match the upper rim of the cave,” Cora explained, nodding toward the cavern. “Plus, it’s too stark of a difference. There should be more light inside.”
“Yeah, I see it, now that you’ve pointed it out,” James murmured.
“Me too,” Helen said, tapping the hilt of a dagger restlessly. “And that approach… I see what Joy means.”
“So, should I? I mean, if nothing else I can just go up,” Joy suggested, looking back and forth restlessly. “We’re supposed to investigate the cave.”
“Well, the problem is going to be attacks at range. I think the only ones who specialize in those are me and Jean, though maybe Eda and Stella might have some…?” Cora said, looking at the two women, and Stella grimaced, shaking her head.
“Sorry, my abilities are mostly defensive in nature, since I get up close in combat,” Stella said apologetically.