Belissar imdiately focused on the entrance of the Tower…and found nothing. He frowned and then began to zip around the Tower with his Tower sight, but still he didn’t find anything. The karnuq weren’t present in his Tower at the ti so he didn’t think there’d be any remnants, but still he searched. Not finding anything, he began to zoom out his Tower sight, hoping to catch sight of anything out of the ordinary, but as far as he could tell all was normal in his Tower.
And yet, he could still feel the Hunger. His heart began to pound.
“Where is it?”
Niobee zipped in front of him.
“Bees looking!”
Belissar nodded.
“Thanks, let know if they find anything.”
He could see his bees stir and start to spread out through the Tower. Without any further options to check the Tower himself, Belissar tried to focus on the feeling in the Tower’s mana. He couldn’t find a shade anywhere in the Tower, but it was definitely touching the Tower’s mana so it had to be sowhere…
Belissar froze, and then his eyes opened wide. He realized…that the Tower’s mana was not limited to its own walls.
And that attacks by shades were not unknown in his forr, Tower-less life.
He imdiately began to look outside the Tower, jumping through the eyes of the scout workers still out there. Most of them were on their way back, but a few were further out. They felt his presence and followed his will, turning around and spreading out. However, there were only a handful of scouts, what one joint hive could spare on exploration, and there was a lot of ground to cover.
And then…a bad feeling crept into Belissar’s chest. Because as far as he knew, there were only two things in the area a shade might go for. His Tower…and the karnuq camp. His mind was filled with the image of a big shade-wolf tearing through tents. Of tsaitti and Chief Rohsuak and the hunters trying to face one, of Juosiutik and the gathers trying to flee.
His blood ran cold.
“Move to the karnuq, check the area around them!”
The bees closest to the camp flew as fast as they could, flying above them. Fortunately, the camp itself was not under attack yet. Belissar exhaled the breath he was holding, but then looked closer. There was a lot of movent around the camp, and he could see ard hunters gathering at the edge of the camp furthest from his Tower.
“There, head that way!”
The bees did as asked…and then he saw it. It was shaped like a massive boar, but with six tusks and eyes and eight legs, and taller than even a karnuq, much less Belissar. It knocked over the trees as it walked, not slowed down in the slightest by the obstacles in its path. And it left a trail of death in its wake, grass, flowers, shrubs, and fallen trees rotting and dying in the oily black mist of the Hunger.
Belissar didn’t even spare another thought before he was moving, running towards the entrance of his Tower.
“Niobee, gather the army! We need to move!”
“Yes!”
The army heard Belissar’s intent before Niobee even left his side and began to fly into the air. They spared not a mont in rushing forward, arranging into their squads and formations mid-flight as they rushed towards the Tower entrance.
As for Belissar…he continued running, even as the bee army flew him by and rushed ahead. Images and mories kept passing through his head of burnt villages and dead flower fields and of standing by the bedside of bodies lying still.
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He could only hope they would make it in ti.
Chief Rohsuak frowned as she stood in the forest. tsaitti directed the hunters as they spread out. She had known that this was a distinct possibility. It had been a risk to set up their camp where they had, the area the young Tower had purified was a bit too small for comfort. Yet, she had hoped that sa youth would an an incursion by the Hunger would be far off, and so was more worried about the Sacred Den Master then about the dangers he warded off. Apparently, she had been wrong on both counts.
But she couldn’t have known that when they first arrived, so there was nothing for it now. The hunters would have to stop it here. If they could not, the survivors would have to flee to the Sacred Den and beg for the master’s protection. She was relatively optimistic he would be receptive, but it would also an her people becoming entirely dependent upon him. She was not yet certain if that was a wise step to take.
Her people would have to do what they needed to, however. Long-term caution did not trump imdiate survival. She put aside her thoughts as tsaitti walked up to her.
“How’s it looking?”
tsaitti frowned.
“Will you be able to assist?”
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
“I have the power to attack but not to control the fires that would result. Burning down the forest would not count as our victory. If you can immobilize it I could concentrate my attack, but if I miss I will not have a second attempt.”
tsaitti’s frown deepened.
“I…am not certain we will able to do that. Not without sacrifice.”
Chief Rohsuak narrowed her gaze as she glared out into the trees beyond.
“…we will do what we have to.”
tsaitti slowly nodded and returned to the hunters. The karnuq stood scattered about, with spears and bows mostly carved from the bones of their prey, only a handful still holding the masterfully forged weapons of their forebearers. Chief Rohsuak’s shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh. They were a far cry from the war parties she had followed and then led in her youth.
They felt it before they heard it, the ground rumbling with each step it took. They heard trees crack and fall, and saw the rustling in the canopy. Many of the younger hunters began to fidget and gulp.
“Steady.”
tsaitti raised his spear, his voice stopping the hunters from shuffling back. As long as he stood, they would stay and fight. Chief Rohsuak could only hope he would not fall.
It was not pleasant for her to stand behind the lines, instead of in front of them.
And then, the shade burst from the trees, towering over even the karnuq hunters. It paused as it looked around. Then it let out a roar and began to dig into the ground.
“Loose!”
At tsaitti’s shout, the karnuq archers let their arrows fly. Their aim was true and the arrows sank deep into the monster.
It hardly seed to notice.
The shade began to charge, shaking the very world around them as it smashed through the trees. tsaitti took but one look at its building montum before he made his call.
“Dodge!”
The karnuq hunters, prepared to stand their ground, paused at his cry. That mont of hesitation nearly cost their lives as they threw themselves out of the path of the monster. They hit the dirt, unable to launch any counter thrusts as the shade dug into the dirt, leaving huge furrows in the ground as it slid to a stop and prepared to charge once again.
Chief Rohsuak frowned as the monster began a second charge surprisingly quickly. Despite its bulk, it would not remain still long enough for her to target her spell. Worse…shades were inherently drawn to mana. It would notice once she began to gather hers…and she was not confident she could finish her attack before it could charge her down. How ironic that the Blazing Berserker would now find herself helpless in a fight, forced to conserve her strength until it was safe to unleash it.
tsaitti, at least, still had the strength to fight. He stirred up his mana, drawing the shade’s attention away from a group of archers as he strengthened his body and his spear. The shade imdiately turned to him and narrowed its eyes. A mont later, it began another charge with a roar.
tsaitti stood in place, digging his own feet into the dirt. He stood completely still, his eyes fixed upon the monster bearing down on top of him. Then, at the very last second, he pushed off and leapt to the side, moving faster than any normal karnuq could and barely evading the tusks of the beast. He then stomped into the ground and pushed back, thrusting his spear into the monster’s side.
The shade roared as it continued to charge ahead. tsaitti’s eyes widened as his spear was suddenly yanked forward. He held on and was pulled off his feet as the monster charged forward. But he was forced to let go as he nearly crashed into a tree, tumbling across the ground as the shade skid to another half. It turned to face him once more, eyes blaring red as it adjusted its stance. tsaitti looked up and grimaced.
Chief Rohsuak grimaced even more. tsaitti’s spear was one of the better weapons they had left, most of the others would have snapped from such forces. The other karnuq hunters were currently keeping their distance, launching arrows when they could but otherwise staying away. Only tsaitti had the mana and the abilities to consistently dodge the shade at close range.
This fight was not going well.
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