“Arrows incoming!”
Paloiku held her shield up as yet another volley of arrows flew out of the dark. She gritted her teeth as she heard the clangs of the arrows against their shields. The karnuq’s own archers retaliated with a volley of their own while the whole group slowly backed away. The hunter next to her growled.
“Why in the gods nas is there a spiderkin band here?!”
Paloiku wanted to know the answer to that as well, but right now she had bigger concerns. Mainly, the dark figures skittering along the ground, walls, and pillars of the underway. They had the full bodies of spiders as their lower halves, with human torsos rising from where the spider heads would be, allowing them to launch their arrows accurately even as they crawled about.
“Less talking, more retreating. And keep those shields up!”
The hunt had been going well when they had encountered this band. Fortunately, Noigakkuq and the digging bees accompanying them had alerted them to the incoming ambush, while the iron shields were blocking the spiderkin’s arrows. She was deeply grateful for that, spiderkin connected webs to their arrows that would allow them to pull anything they struck.
Still, this area of the Underway was too large and open for the karnuq to deal with the spiderkin, so they needed to retreat to a narrower tunnel. Maybe tsaitti could have turned this situation around, but he was being kept at ho since Chief Rohsuak didn’t trust the fey just yet. Paloiku, on the other hand, had not attempted the Trial of Fire since tsaitti had almost died, and so lacked a blessing of the gods. It was all she could do to keep the hunters retreating.
“Gah!”
She whipped her head around as one of the hunters cried out. He had raised his shield too high and an arrow struck his foot. The spiderkin pulled on the arrow and yanked him off his feet, he took two more arrows as his shield fell to the side. The spiderkin then began dragging him out towards their own line. Paoliku growled, but there was nothing she could do without compromising the shield wall…
At that mont, Tyghak thrust his spear forward, sending out a stinger of mana that cut through the webs. He and his squad rushed forward, mana strengthening their legs and arms. The two spear karnuq blocked with their shields while the two archers grabbed the fallen hunter and pulled him back into the line.
It was truly wonderful to have a full blessing, but Paloiku had no ti for envy. They still had a long way back to Tower…
Belissar resisted the urge to imdiately start shouting commands when he saw what was going on. Niobee had noticed as well and was already dancing, the soldier bee army was already forming up at her command. He took a deep breath to calm his beating heart. With Niobee already handling the imdiate response, he could do as Chief Rohsuak advised and consider the situation as a whole.
At least, until he saw a karnuq hunter hit by arrows.
“Niobee, one of the karnuq is wounded! We need the Second of the Sixth!”
“Ok!”
Niobee shifted her dance. The Second of the Sixth had already been preparing for battle casualties, so it was a simple matter for her to add her hive to the gathering army. Belissar gave the bees the command to head to the Underway entrance and they began to fly through the shortcuts to the Tower’s exit.
In the anti, Belissar inford Chief Rohsuak what was going on.
“Chief Rohsuak! The hunters are under attack by so kind of spider people!”
Chief Rohsuak’s reply ca quickly.
“Understood, what is your command, Tower Keeper?”
“I’m sending the bees, can you send tsaitti? After that, do you know these people?”
“He’s on his way. And yes. Unfortunately, we know them very well. I will join you as soon as I can.”
With the shortcuts, it took only a mont for Belissar and the karnuq to et at the entrance and set off after the bee army. Along the way, Chief Rohsuak began to explain with a grim look on their face.
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“They’re a known threat in the Underway and we’ve clashed with more than one band in the past. They breed quickly, laying eggs that hatch into half-grown children that are already capable of fighting. They ambush anything that wanders into their territories and once their numbers fill up, they send out roving bands that look to establish new hos. But no matter whether defending an existing territory or searching for a new one, they are vicious. Many of our losses in the past were at their hands.”
Belissar frowned.
“So, talking wouldn’t be an option even if they hadn’t attacked us?”
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
“I don’t know what they think of Tower Keepers like yourself, but I’ve never encountered a spiderkin willing to talk before. And…”
Chief Rohsuak’s face fell.
“Even if they were, many of us have lost people to them. We will follow your command, Tower Keeper, but most of us would not be eager to do so.”
Belissar shook his head.
“They’ve already attacked. Right now, we need to protect our people.”
Chief Rohsuak managed a small smile at that. In the anti, the bee army had reached the tunnel entrance on the surface, while the hunter band managed to reach the smaller tunnel that led up towards them. The spiderkin broke off their pursuit rather than follow the karnuq into the tight corridors, so it seed Belissar would not need to send the bee army down underground for now, though squads of digging and blinding soldiers that could fight in the dark were already making their way through the tunnels. All was not well, and Belissar began to shout.
“Second of the Sixth, one of the karnuq is dying! Can you send your bees to help him?!”
The Second of the Sixth danced her salute and deployed her hive. dicinal workers and soldiers climbed onto the backs of her dicinal lancers. Digging and blinding workers landed on the lancers’ faces to guide their way underground and then the lancers flew down into the tunnels at the fastest speed the path would allow. The Fourth of the Seventh followed after them, she and her nomadic bees creating a big gust of wind that pushed them forward even faster.
The hunters had to stop as the wounded karnuq was quickly fading, but the lancers reached them in hardly any ti at all. The dicinal bees got to work imdiately, one lancer carefully stabbed the thin tip of its stinger into the karnuq and pumped him full of dicine, while the other grabbed hold of one of the arrows still lodged in his body. dicinal workers gathered by the arrow and once they were ready the lancer pulled it out. The workers imdiately sealed up the wound with dicinal wax and propolis before the soldiers began applying dicinal stings to the area. The dicinal bees repeated this process for each of the arrows, while a dicinal communer kept the Second of the Sixth updated. The queen herself hovered by Belissar and Chief Rohsuak on the surface, relaying their progress.
“Still hurt bad, needs more help. Bees will bring back.”
Belissar nodded and thanked her. The dicinal lancers and soldiers each began to latch onto the wounded karnuq and lifted him together, careful to keep his body as still as they could as they flew him through the tunnels. The rest of the karnuq hunters followed while digging and blinding soldiers took up the rearguard. Belissar let out a sigh as it appeared the spiderkin would not make any more attacks today.
The bees brought the wounded karnuq back to their settlent, while the remaining hunters returned without issue. The bee army returned to the Tower as well, although a full battle formation remained to guard the entrance to the Underway. The Second of the Sixth was personally tending to the wounded karnuq with her own, mana-heavy dicine alongside much of her hive. Laaniasiu, the karnuq’s doctor, and Juosiutik joined the bees. Juosiutik clenched her teeth and began to tremble when she heard what happened, though for the mont she was absorbed with helping the wounded hunter.
Belissar, Chief Rohsuak, tsaitti, and Paloiku waited outside. Paloiku bowed her head.
“I apologize, Chief, Tower Keeper. This is my fault.”
Chief Rohsuak shook her head.
“You did well, Paloiku. Neither I nor tsaitti have managed to escape a spiderkin ambush without casualties.”
Paloiku frowned but nodded. Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh.
“Still, I should have known better. I had thought we had traveled beyond their range, but once again they’ve surprised . I apologize, Tower Keeper. I should have inford you of this possibility before now.”
Belissar wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He wanted to tell Chief Rohsuak it was fine…but soone had nearly died and might still, so it wasn’t really. So, instead he decided to focus on the more important issue.
“What should we do? We should probably tell Tarwantrad and the sigmaka, right?”
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
“I’ve passed a warning to Fourth Queen Pezuya and her challengers, but I’ll arrange a more formal ssage as well. As for the fey, I will leave that to your judgent, Tower Keeper. But as to how we should respond ourselves…”
Chief Rohsuak let out a heavy sigh.
“I don’t presu to make decisions for you, Tower Keeper, but I must let you know that there is likely little choice here. I know you prefer to live and let live, but if the spiderkin establish a foothold nearby anyone traveling the Underway will be subject to their attacks. If you wish to prevent that, the only thod I know of is to drive them off with force.”
Belissar shook his head. He turned to look at the doctor’s house behind them, using his Tower sight to observe the bees and karnuq trying to save the hunter. He narrowed his eyes.
“No, I think this ti it’s pretty clear they’re not just going to let us live. And to be honest, I’ve just about had it with getting attacked out of nowhere. We’ve had to deal with the Hunger, then the Tower Lords chased down, and now this. If that’s how they’re going to act, then I’m not going to sit by.”
Belissar would do anything he could to prevent a fight, if only to spare the lives of his bees. But if these people just attacked without a word? Then, as he promised himself before, no one, be they human, god, or Hunger, would take his bees…or the people that treated them well.
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