"No awake?" Heiya's Father asks as I stroke Nin's snoring head. Applying what magic I can, I try to nurse him to a healthier state. I understand perfectly what he is going through right now. I don't think much of it, but situations like these trained me to be what I am now...
They built us up to be strong and powerful, then they would throw us into the lower-magic ravines. The environments trained our minds to handle the extreme opposite of what our bodies were used to. No one thinks of it much at first, but as the nights go by without your usual schedule. People tend to get confused in the lightest sense of the word.
I suppose it is a good thing that Nin burnt out now of all times. His lack of self-control and regulatory ability made the process far quicker. Though, I do worry that his unintentional lighthousing has and is still giving the osibindah time to prepare. Thankfully, his burnout means our journey into the hive should be safer as well.
If they can't find him as easily...
"No, I think it is best to let him enjoy the moment while he can." I finally answer as I think back to my time in the war against the heretics. Some had their tricks for easy sleep, but others could never get their mind to stay quiet, and I am often one of them. I've even heard stories of my superiors just ignoring sleeping cadets and initiates. Waionr's thirtieth law seems odd to most, if not all, until one is about to go to war.
"He better not be like this when we have to go into that accursed mountain..." Vadei spits as she cosies up to her tail. Focusing more magic into my hand, I look over at her properly just as she tosses a twig to the fire. Unlike the flash of guns and other means of siege, the fire eats it up at an almost comfortable pace.
"He won't. None of us will tonight." I struggle to say, my gut trembling at the mention of the hive. Sniffing the air, I bring my attention to the makeshift pan as Heiya turns the meat around. Sizzles leave the pan and she giggles quietly with wet, freshly licked lips.
"No! Ruin it!" Heiya's Father complains as he smacks his daughter gently. If there was less tension in the air, I suspect someone would find this hwardgon's broken speech to be amusing. I remember a couple of my sister Valkinvar being like that back at the main temple. The Valkinvar themselves spare no expense on the education on top of our training. For the sake of understanding and the lives of others, we are to be orators on top of being warriors.
"Baaack aff! I knaw whaaat I'm daing." she groans as she hits the ammo containers near the top. Watching the older of the two make sure they are still closed, I hear the following smack he delivers to her. They mentioned before that the weapon uses blood wasps. Admittedly, I do not know what they are, but, as they make honey, I find myself thinking of home.
Thurn's Forge lacks much in the way of plant life because of its location, so the people are avid gardeners. Often, when I could, I would just wander through the streets and go through and under the many window boxes and hanging baskets. You can find all kinds of bees and joyful, colourful emotivores within them. Oddly enough, it was out there that I most often met a head of a Valkinvar Ordoar...
Eurultus-Valkinvar Pymonsia, a lovely but quiet woman. She likes to go through the gardens of the city and I recall often the few times she did speak up. It was always petty bickering over having some flowers somewhere in the Great Temple of the Four-Winded Valkinvar. I still continue to smile at the fact she even managed to politically brute force a willow tree onto the temple grounds.
Returning my mind to the present, I look down at Nin once again as my hand moves for another motion. He is an odd thing; I have to admit. He has the strength to do more than any of the other three in our plan. But, he lacks the confidence and the all-around know-how to make much use of it.
Despite the doubts cast his way by the others, though, I want to feel optimistic about what he can do for us. Everyone has their points, sure, but Nin can just as easily prove them wrong. Trying circumstances always bring out the best and worst in people. And, I am willing to gamble that he will show his best when push comes to shove...
However, looking around at the debris, Nin might not be the only one we can rely on, "Heiya, answer something for me, if you do not mind?"
"Caaan it waaait?" she asks as she uses a utensil to rub some cooking meat in the bubbling, runny honey. My eyes dash between the popping bubbles with a speed no one here can appreciate.
"As it pertains to tomorrow, no," I tell her as I shift my focus to the broken tubes around us. Destroyed as they may be, their purpose remains clear and I feel strange looking at them. Some kind of super material designed to keep magic out perfectly. Though, as they are now, my arcane senses are just all blotched up with blank spaces.
"Aaask aaawaaay, then." she says to me, even if she needs to keep her attention on the cooking. Gods and goddesses, what a foul-placed ego might do to us in this situation.
"How many people were you shipping before all of this?" I ask her, or rather, them as my eyes jump to the father, too. Vadei flinches and growls at the question.
"Uh... Aaabaut... Thirty?" she starts to say as she looks over at her father. He nods, and she nods a lot in turn.
"How many of them have you been able to confirm as dead?" I ask next as I lightly gesture to an empty, smashed-open tube. Though I understand how the osibindah behave, I want to be sure. Perhaps there's an unwarranted doubt inside of me that these buggish monsters are incapable of thoroughity.
She ponders my words, her mouth open only after a brief spot of thoughts, "Maaaybe haaalf? I've faund lats of pads but aaa faaair few aaare empty."
"You think we can ask the other slaves for help?" Vadei asks, getting straight to the point. She is touchy, as evidenced by her flexing claws, but her head is otherwise cool.
"I do. Nin managed to survive the process of Sudden Induction. Perhaps others have as well?" I propose to the group and I get a mixture of responses. Vadei looks away uncomfortably while the other two stare. The older one starts to shake his head. Heiya's stare moves towards her gun.
"No. Small chance. Boy unexplained luck." Heiya's Father eventually answers. Watching him reach for one of the guns I pulled up a few cycles ago, he starts to play with it.
"Put thase dawn," his daughter tells him and he groans as he presents it.
"Sudden Induction big. Big boom. Safer on non-living," he explains with gestures that allude to an explosion.
"So we are more likely to find remnants of your cargo?" I ask him, as his obvious references easily call upon images from my veteran mind. But I feel no quiver or quease, I sense only inspiration for how to slaughter the bugs. They spilt my most sacred of blood and I will see to it that the hive drowns in theirs. One drop of mine, for waves of theirs...
"Yes." he answers with a single nod. Nin shakes under my hand and I realise my thoughts are affecting my grip. Shaking my head, I put my spare hand to my chin.
"We're on our own, then..." Vadei whines.
"We were aaalwaaays an aur awn." Heiya quips as she starts to plate the food but not much else. I am confused as to why she is just leaving it on a plate. We can let it cool down ourselves... But, whatever they are doing, Vadei seems to appreciate the fact that they are leaving our food alone for the moment.
However, I can't let go of that Sudden Induction explanation. If a low-magic individual explodes when exposed to lots of magic. How did Nin survive? Despite his slowness, he did walk in on me after I...
"No. Hive has many prisoners. We arm them." Heiya's Father points out to his daughter and I look towards the aelenvari seed at his words. I know there are others inside that mountain, but would they even have the strength to fight? Osibindah are not courteous or gracious hosts by any metric. At the very least, though, having a seed with us could motivate the aelenvari by appealing to their defensive motherliness...
There might be some benefits to having more people with us, especially armed ones. But the tunnels are tight and narrow. Our numbers would be useless, just like the osibindahs. Cruel or pragmatic, though, a sudden group of directionless, armed aelenvari could be useful. Even a thing as unified as an osibindah hive mind would not handle the sudden chaos well.
These archers they have might not be a problem, but they didn't have them alone. Osibindah are distinct for their unique lore of magic, even if it is bound to one individual per hive. I can deal with the earth shaman, should we encounter him- It. But... My wound is barely holding together.
That Heir Emerald-haired man on that machine with his terrifying, lingering power...
"Is there anything you might be able to tell me about the Earth Shaman?" I ask the other three, as I do not know who to go to for specifics. Though osibindah hunting is a known Valkinvar pass time for the sake of keeping our skills sharp. It's a rare thing with little action to it. A wing of Valkinvar-Imdvarce such as myself can easily aim and charge. Demolishing the hive outright.
"Stone worm... Things..." Vadei mutters as she hides behind her tail. Her ears dash about and she forcibly calms them down by pressing them against her head. My brows furrow at the familiar spell. One of my seniors had to contest against it during an abrupt raid at the end of a pitched battle.
Grabbing at the dirt, Heiya's Father lets it sprinkle from his hands, "Rust. Lots."
"Hm, its magic doesn't sound out of the ordinary. And I doubt its armour means much." I say as I preemptively measure up my chief opponent. It is a curious thing, though, an osibindah wearing armour. I've never heard of such a thing before or seen it.
"Saunds like Aaalxxcran." Heiya comments as she pokes at the meat.
"I'm not familiar with the name." I say to her as she looks at me with an unsteady hand.
"The Helm-Taaaker, faaamed far feeding aaa whale fartress tawn ta his warms." she tells. Lacking my self-doubt for the moment, I consider her words within the context of what I am. A Valkinvar. Such power is immense, but I've seen such scale before. And, I've dealt with it.
Admittedly... My free hand delicately touches my stomach wound.
"It's unusual for osibindah to attack settlements like that." I point out as siege craft of any kind is typically beyond them. Even with the oft-underestimated Earth Shamans and their stone-focused arcane... Talents...
I cough into my free hand, even the mere thought of thinking of the bugs in that manner is unsettling.
"Earth Shaman different." Heiya's Father remarks as he taps his left temple.
"Great... Of all the hives I am stuck at. It's one with an infamous bug." Vadei snorts as she bounces a leg up and down erratically. Though, if I had the sense for it, I might also remind her of how she is also lucky. My brows knit against each other and I take my thoughts up on the challenge.
"Do not despair too much, Vadei. This one may be a cut above the norm but it is by no means comparable to a... A Valkinvar." I tell her, though, I hesitate at using the term 'Valkinvar.' I am so used to speaking about myself in that manner, but now...
"Even when you aren't in your armour?" Vadei questions, drawing attention to my charity towards Nin. I find myself smiling as I look to my lap.
"A force multiplier is only as good as that which it benefits." I tell her as Nin starts to shuffle about. Minding my occupied hand, he puts his energy into rising. Some of it coming from me as I cut off the supply of comforting magic.
"This smell better not be lying to me..." he groans as he pushes himself up off of my lap. He winces at some kind of mental pain, clutching his head because of it. He shakes some life back into his eyes. But his waking remark did have a point. The food does smell nice. Rather conveniently as well, they are finally serving it!
I smile more openly as Heiya approaches with two portions.
Receiving my bowl, I look down at the red-painted meat as the few pieces of added-on greenery sink into the honey. Sniffing it closer, I pick up on the sweetness of the honey and I poke at it in an effort to find a dry-ish spot. The others dig right in, but Nin and I are slower. Carefully trying to pick it up, I somewhat get a good grip on the bone with the honey and the fat of the meat dripping from it.
"What is it?" Nin asks as he watches mine lose its sweet covering. The colour shifts as the thickest part of it all moves further and further down. All leading into a column that overlaps on itself, a folded pile that melts away.
"Meat and honey!" I answer quite happily as I move to nibble on the former. It's only been a few orbits, but it feels like I have been without good food for longer. Perhaps I have, being a soldier for so long.
"No clue what 'honey' is, but what meat are we having? Been chugging gruel down for so long that I want to savour it..." he says as he smacks his lips. I smile again because of that. It is nice to see him actually in the mood for eating for once. His body is adjusting more and more to the magic in his system.
"Humaaan." Heiya sings and I drop the meat as my tongue arches backwards in disgust. I almost tasted- I want to know that I had misheard that...
"Did you just say..." I utter my thoughts out. A desperate, silent prayer on my tongue as I become all too aware of how it feels. I better not have touched this foul meal!
"Yep, humaaan." she repeats nonchalantly as she gnashes some more from the bone. Shivering, I put the bowl down and watch the others as they continue to eat without a care. Nin's lack of disgust is particularly worrying...
"Tastes better than I thought it would." Nin comments as he rips a chunk off of his bone.
"Nin..." I say as he continues to eat it.
"I'll eat yours if you don't want it," he says as he reaches for mine. Grabbing his wrist to stop it, I stare at him as honey clogs up his mouth and smears his face. He starts to teeth his picked bone and Heiya giggles. She explodes into full-on laughter.
"What's so funny!?" I demand to know as Heiya laughs more and more. Her voice taking on such a grating quality that was barely there before.
Getting a hold of herself, she bites on the bone briefly, "It's just white meaaat! Humaaan is red, Dumba."
"White meat...?" I repeat as I move my grip to stop Nin from chewing his bone. Nearly taking it from him, he turns feral.
"Give it back!" he hisses like an animal as he starts to test if he can eat the bone.
"You dare lie to me about such a thing..." I groan as I slowly but steadily try to my food. Even if I still feel disgusted with myself as I do so. I run a finger along the meat, soaking it in honey and juices so I can double check her word. The meat is pale.
"Y-Yep!" she cackles as she converts the barren bone into a whipping stick to be licked from. Light taps come from the bowl and she licks it clean again and again with gusto.
"What a horrible mind you have." I remark before I take another bite from the food as Nin eyes it.
"Come on... I haven't eaten muh-ch." he greedily tells me between taking finger scoops of honey from his bowl. I narrow a pair of side eyes at him.
"Not my problem!" I snap, stripping another piece of meat off for my own pleasure. Loudly and aggressively, I then eat it in his face. He groans and stares back at me with beady eyes. To rub it in even more, I crunch down on a clean bit of bone. Harmlessly breaking it apart in my magic-rich jaw.