Naria had never encountered anything quite like the locust nests. They were intricate and strangely beautiful, marked by a sinister design that captivated her attention. The colossal mountains that housed them had been meticulously burrowed, not haphazardly, but with vast, cathedral-like caverns. Towering chimney-like structures erupted from the mountains in geometric patterns, each appearing intentionally spaced. The walls of these nests were lined with a brown resin, which, upon closer inspection, was tougher than any material she had seen in human construction.
The locust nests rose like giant, twisted monuments of stone, their exteriors riddled with tunnels and openings that spiraled inward, delving deep into the mountains' hearts.
The locusts carved their way through rock, hardening their tunnels with a cement-like secretion, thereby transforming entire mountains into labyrinthine homes. This secretion fused with the rock, creating an impenetrable fortress that could withstand even the most monstrous earthquakes and the harsh conditions of this barren land.
Naria closed her eyes, focusing her spirit sense in an attempt to catch even the faintest trace of Faelan's spirit scent.
'I can feel his presence, but all attempts to form a telepathic link are blocked,' she thought to herself. 'Some force keeps flooding my telepathic channels.' Naria's curiosity deepened.
'I will have to enter his dream space,' she concluded, though hesitation lingered; it meant she would have to wait for him to fall asleep, and she had no way of knowing when that would be.
'He is in a high-stakes environment. It will be a miracle if he even falls asleep at all.'
Naria had found a shallow cave in a rocky valley, three kilometers from where she sensed Faelan's spirit. According to her estimates, he was moving deeper into the nest. After finishing a simple cloaking formation, she settled into a meditative pose and entered the dream realm.
It took two hours of patient focus before she finally saw him. In a mild mist, a figure made of swirling air walked beside her, unaware of her presence.
"Faelan, come to me," Naria called out.
There was a beat of silence, then his voice echoed back, weary yet steady.
"Naria… my love. I'm here. I have missed you…" Faelan said excitedly.
Naria chuckled, forcing her voice to remain steady. "Relax, you fool. Don't get too excited, or you'll wake up."
Faelan leaned toward her and caressed her face. "Sorry, dear. I never thought I would see you again." He reached to hold her belly but found only emptiness.
"Where are you now?" Naria asked.
"I entered another dimension and will be coming home a bit late," Faelan replied casually.
"I would have believed you, if I wasn't in the hellscape dimension you speak of," Naria whispered.
Faelan looked into her eyes, surprised. "How comes? … Where did you leave our child? How is he?"
"I had to come to save you. The sanctuary accepted Niu as one of its own. He is smart and adorable—qualities he did not inherit from you," Naria said, punctuating each answer with a playful shove to his chest.
"My dear, I do not need saving. I came here to end this mess and return to you," Faelan declared, pulling her into his embrace.
"You always jump into trouble headfirst. Aren't you afraid of what may happen when your guardian angel takes a day off?" Naria replied, attempting to break free from his grasp, her efforts weak as tears began to well up. With Faelan safe, she finally allowed herself to release her pent-up emotions.
"Let me end this. With my guardian angel here with me, I can challenge the heavens," Faelan said, prompting a weak giggle from Naria.
"What are you planning to do?" she asked, wiping her cheeks. As her mood shifted, the dreamscape morphed into a serene picnic beneath a giant pink blossom tree.
"I'm deep in the nest, trying to reach the core. There are eggs everywhere, ready to hatch. If they do, our town won't stand a chance," Faelan spoke, his tone almost pleading as if seeking her approval.
Naria's heart clenched at the thought of the nest's destructive potential.
"You plan on dropping the mountain on their heads?" she asked incredulously.
"I've surveyed this region and witnessed the creations of the locust hives. The locusts secrete a resin extracted from wood. They digest lignin, the organic polymer responsible for tree bark's rigid structure, and combine it with keratin, a protein that adds flexibility and resilience. They digest it, refine it, and secrete it as a hardened construction material," Naria explained trying to persuade Faelan away from his plan.
Her voice grew distant as she continued, "The nests are built into the mountain, layer by layer, using this resin to reinforce the walls. It's like an impenetrable fortress."
"In that case, did you notice the chimney-like structures? They are too small for transportation yet too well organized to be irrelevant," Faelan added.
"Aren't they a ventilation system?" Naria quipped.
"Exactly," Faelan replied, his voice laced with admiration despite the danger. "Their ventilation system is genius. The locusts have created a labyrinth of small tunnels throughout the nest, allowing air to circulate efficiently. The tunnels align with the sun's position, creating predictable temperature shifts that cause cooler air to flow in while hot air escapes."
"They even synchronize the beating of their wings to heat up or cool down different chambers. By adjusting the temperature in key regions of the nest, they can direct cool air to flow in during the hottest part of the day, and warm air escapes, keeping the interior stable. At night, the reverse happens to retain warmth. I think they've even installed some kind of natural valves to direct airflow. It's like they've built a giant, self-cooling machine."
"It's a delicate system, one I think we can use to our advantage," Faelan concluded, his eyes glinting with determination. Naria, however, seemed to be lost in thought.
"What did you mean when you said 'they synchronize the beating of their wings?'" she asked, her brow furrowing.
"They flap their wings while staying in place, using their collective body heat to warm the chambers," Faelan replied immediately.
"You do not follow; do they possess a hive mind?" Naria pressed. "How do they select which chambers need to create the temperature differentials required to make the vents work?"
The powerful telepathic field around the locust nest was a collective mind, sharing and receiving fine details about the nature of their home.
"There's a queen. I faced one before," Faelan exclaimed, nearly jumping with excitement. "We kill the queen, and the colony collapses."
"No, not really," Naria objected. "If we kill the queen, another gets groomed to take her place. I saw you kill a queen; she used herself as a diversion. Even in death, the trap she set nearly got you killed."
"'Nearly' being the main word," Faelan replied, looking at her expectantly.
Naria felt a surge of respect for the locusts' ingenuity, even as their existence posed a grave threat to her people. She extended her spirit sense further, trying to locate where the cool air flowed most densely. "These air vents… could we use them to find the queen's chamber?"
After a moment of silence, Faelan's voice returned, cautious yet intrigued. *You're thinking of reaching the core through the vents?*
Naria's mind raced as she formulated a new plan. "If we can locate the central chamber where the queen resides, I could place a spirit beast seal on her. If I mark her with the seal, the entire colony will fall under our control."
"Instead of using force, you display finesse. I love it," Faelan responded, overjoyed.
He let out a breath, his tone shifting from joy to conviction. "It's risky… but if it works, we'll have stopped them at the source. I located the central cluster and was moments away from setting it ablaze. I took a nap to help in my dash out."
"Keep descending deeper; I will come find you there," Naria said as they touched foreheads. "We won't be able to communicate telepathically, and once you wake up, you won't have another dream for the next six hours."
"Do not worry. It will be fine," Faelan reassured her, holding her close. "If anything happens, we go back to plan B."
Faelan had planned to use the heat exchange system of the nest to his advantage, timing his attacks with the natural flow of hot air moving out of the chambers. "If I ignite the central cluster of eggs," he explained, "the flames will draw the cooler air in, creating a current that could blast through to the surface."
"Fit yourself into any shaft less than half a meter wide and cover yourself with a wind shield. When plan B sets in, the blast will take you to the surface," Faelan instructed.
"All right," she conceded. "But make sure you're clear before you ignite it."
He nodded, his face set with resolve. Taking one last look at her, he nodded in silent thanks and shook himself out of the dream.
Naria slowly opened her eyes, her cheeks still damp from her tears. She steeled her heart as she ventured out to find a vent that would lead her toward the nest's core.
Meanwhile, Faelan woke up amidst the molts of the locusts. He found a chamber filled with discarded locust armor and chose it as his campsite. Moving deeper into the nest, he followed the temperature of the air currents.
His mastery of the wind element allowed him to detect the subtle shifts in temperature, tracing the fresh air to its source. The labyrinthine tunnels were narrow, filled with branching paths designed to confuse and disorient intruders, but he distinguished the faint cool drafts and pressed onward.
Naria, utilizing the wind element to clear her path, slid down the vents. She did not concern herself with alarming the locusts, hoping that the calming aura she released would keep her concealed.
She made good progress until she suddenly stopped, sensing the air grow rich with oxygen. Peeking into a large cavern, she noted the dim light cast by faintly glowing green moss. Large locusts drooled saliva over the moss, tending to it as if watering a precious plant. They cultivated it carefully, feeding it with soil drawn from above.
Smaller locusts gathered heaps of the green moss and flew away with it. These carrier locusts were the size of men, compared to the ordinary car-sized locusts. Their flight paths were peculiar as they disappeared into the smaller vents.
'That moss produces large amounts of oxygen; if I were to guess, it is the food source for one special lady,' Naria calculated. As she passed more patches of moss, an idea took root in her mind. 'Following those locusts is the fastest way to the queen.'
Before she could take a step toward her new objective, she heard a crackling sound above her. She had been spotted.
'And I thought I was lucky,' Naria mocked her odds.
She sidestepped to her left, allowing the locust to slam into the ground. With her right foot, she stepped on the locust's head and leapt into the vent from which the locust had come.
Her strength crashed the locust and provided a moment's reprieve before a swarm began descending on her location. Naria knew she had lost the element of surprise and would need to go all in.