Niko spared one glance back into the hatchery before jumping upwards through the shaft, landing on the next floor up. Above him, the rest of the Wyldwalkers continued to climb while being secured with rope, each as eager as he was to be leaving the hive. The rescue had gone exceedingly well, to the extent that Niko worried that something very bad was going to happen.
“I’ve let the Guildmaster know that we’re on our way out,” Ronald called out loudly, even as Niko jumped up to the floor with their exit, “He’s told us to immediately retreat with all speed back to what remains of Greenleaf.”
Punctuating his statement was the deafening ‘crack’ of something smashing apart what Niko assumed was part of the hive overhead. An enraged, buzzing shriek of sound followed after with what felt like a drumbeat of noise against Niko’s head.
“That’s definitely our cue to leave,” Dachna shouted over the din, “Get going!”
Even without his insistence, the rest of the rescuers moved quickly, in what was not so much an orderly retreat as an outright sprint. Niko shamelessly joined them, slowing himself only just enough to not stampede over anyone in front of him. Another shaking impact rattled out above them, closer now, it seemed, and then the noise became constant. Dust shook loose from the ceiling, and Niko didn’t think he was alone in hearing the cracking sounds that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. An acrid, ozone tang filled the air, followed by a bellow that Niko vaguely hoped was Camille’s battle-cry, and other noises he couldn’t even begin to be bothered with sorting at that moment.
“They couldn’t wait for us to leave!?” Niko cried out in dismay as the sounds of combat only seemed to redouble and escalate with every passing second. No one responded to him, desperate only to get through the exit. A thin sheet of whatever material the hive was made of cracked to Niko’s right, falling to the ground and shattering into smaller pieces. Niko cawed aloud in surprise and fear as a much louder crack sounded over his head, and dove forward just as another, much larger chunk of ceiling crashed down where he’d just been.
He scrambled to his feet, doing only a cursory check to ensure no one was missing. They were still ahead of him, likewise making every effort to flee at speed. Niko poured essence into his Wyldstrider pattern, letting him close the distance almost instantly. Fragments of hive fell around them, but just as Niko feared the whole thing was going to come down on top of them, a pale light illuminated their surroundings.
It took Niko a moment to realize that it was moonlight, and that the squish under his feet was soft, loamy earth, rather than hardened hive-amalgamate. Relief flooded through him, but he didn’t dare slow down, instead running along with the rest of the Wyldwalkers.
A sudden wave of force clapped against Niko’s back, almost sending him stumbling, while the explosion that caused it bloomed fully from the top of the hive, sending up a plume of red-orange fire and light that spilled across the sky. In a heartbeat, a wave of lightning bolts crashed into the opened roof, almost resembling the points of a many-tipped crown for a split second and leaving lasting afterimages in his retinas. The thunderclap followed instantly, this one successfully blasting not only Niko, but several others from their feet and across the ground. Nearest to the hive, trees suddenly exploded into motion, and while Niko tried to find his footing, he also tried to figure out if this next occurrence was a threat to them or not.
Yet, for all he looked, Niko could only see flashes of essence, indistinct darts of blackness that twirled through the air as though all the shadows in the land nearest the hive were suddenly deeper, blacker than starless night. They pierced through the shell of the hive in tens of places in the first second, and rapidly ascended into the hundreds in the next few breaths of time.
‘We need to go.’ Niko felt his feathers standing on end at the sheer display of power roiling within, and his instincts were screaming at him that they needed to put distance between them post-haste.
“Go, go go! Grab onto me!” Niko shrieked, feet already moving forward with enough force to throw scoops of soil out from behind him. Ingloriously, Niko ducked his head under Ronald, shoulder checking the man hard, but with the warning given he just barely managed to desperately cling onto the straps on Niko’s harness. Next, he darted towards Mithel, who just barely managed to jump as Niko ducked down, ending up in a clumsy, awkward mounted position atop his back while desperately grasping onto Ronald and a handful of Niko’s feathers for support.
Dachna and Skye ran, but whereas there once was a fairly thin margin in their speeds, Skye was now far the superior. Behind them in the hive Niko could hear the sounds of buzzing becoming louder and louder, even to the extent that the explosions Niko had been hearing were buried beneath the cacophony.
‘Faster,’ Niko felt his feathers grow rigid, the sense that someone was stepping over his unmarked grave coming to mind with the cold and clammy sensation that suddenly invaded his body.
“Dachna, you too!” Niko cried out just a second before he slammed into the man and scooped him upwards with his arms. Dachna yelped, reeling around like a cat seeking ground, and somehow managed to loop himself firstly around Niko’s neck, and then into a relatively stable position mounted at the base of it. Niko felt the load of weight awkwardly, but doggedly ignored it, instead focusing on pouring as much essence into his Wyldstrider pattern as he possibly could.
Niko spared another, wider look outside of himself, hopeful of finding his other furred companions. ‘I hope Sasha and Thokk can take care of themselves,’ Niko thought to himself as he turned his gaze forwards once more. It wasn’t a concern he could afford to focus on, given the escalating sound and the foreboding sense of doom that washed outwards in waves from the hive.
“Oh, sweet God’s breath,” Dachna uttered in a low whisper, but Niko didn’t dare turn to look. A sound like an avalanche rang out, and all at once the droning noise of beating wings was washed away, replaced instead by just one pair. Somehow, it was louder than the rest, though not so much in volume, but in sheer presence. Essence bled through the air, too, like a deep reservoir of the stuff had simply been ejected from the earth like a volcano. The air behind them shuddered before stilling unnaturally, and if it weren’t for his senses telling him they weren’t safe, Niko might have stopped.
Ahead, Niko saw Skye turn her head, her eyes wide as she looked behind them. With a loud caw, Niko called out, “Keep running, Skye! Don’t stop!”
“It’s… beautiful.” She said, slowing down even further. Niko cawed, this time in annoyance, and before she could slow any further, he shoulder checked her. Yelping, Skye almost fell to the ground before Niko snapped his beak around the straps of her pack, forcibly dragging her onwards.
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In the motion, he did glance behind them, and saw that much of the forest was somehow utterly transparent. The sheer oddity of the notion struck Niko, ‘It’s not transparent, it’s gone.’ Niko swallowed, realizing that the scent of fresh cut wood and vegetation was suddenly omnipresent.
Niko risked searching behind them, slowing only just enough to secure Skye in a better hold, when he realized that what he was seeking was above his sight line. Upon seeing it, Niko immediately knew that this creature was what had transfixed Skye’s attention. A Massacre Hornet, larger than any of the others by three times over, flew over the hive, the top half of which was simply gone. Alabaster wings that shone with the reflected lights of the fires at Camille’s attacks and the flashes of electricity from Orson’s domineering offensives blurred behind the insect. Niko wasn’t even sure if it was one set of wings, or more, but the crown of essence on its head, more like a halo and a wreathed frame not unlike royal armor, drew on his attention further.
It felt somewhat similar to what he’d witnessed the Dawr Goblins use with their blood, but whereas there was something dirty and unclean about what they’d done, this was something else. It was a homogenous agglomerate of power, of a thousand minds unified in one purpose and one goal. As the insect’s cold, multifaceted eyes surveyed the gathering of high tier men and women before it, Niko got the sense that it was viewing them with a cold hatred and disdain.
And then Niko noticed the hundreds of trees, shredded and honed down into spears that floated around the insect. Not a single hornet remained aside from the Queen, at least none that were in combat. Whether there were more or not didn’t matter, because there was only one thing that they needed to do now.
‘Time to get the cluck out,’ Niko nodded to himself, picking up speed once more and hoping that he wasn’t going to full-on hit a tree.
Just before he turned around, though, he thought he saw the Queen turn her head towards him. The weight of that regard was heavier than anything else he’d felt, save for what the Titan, Vol, had shown. And after just a moment, it moved on, and Niko felt almost as though it had allowed him to live and leave, rather than having decided he wasn’t worth it.
Before he even realized it, Niko’s legs were moving faster than he’d ever run before, leaving him feeling as though he’d just narrowly escaped the jaws of death. A great howl of force rang out behind them, and Niko felt the impacts of whatever attacks were occurring now in the earth even with how hard he was running.
“Niko, let me down!” Skye shouted, “I’m fine, I can run!”
Niko didn’t stop, though, he was far beyond listening to anything, his legs pumping as rapidly as his heart thundered in his chest. Tree branches whipped by in his vision, but he dodged through, around, and over them, doing everything he could to minimize moving anywhere but straight away.
It was another minute before Niko stopped, but not because of his own will. It became harder and harder to move to run, until he felt himself slowing while desperately pushing for more. With a furious will, he pushed more, and then, finally, Niko missed a step. Niko suddenly found the earth rushing up to meet him, and his body refused to keep up any longer. With a shriek, Niko tumbled head over feet, mingling with the surprised shouts of the other Wyldwalkers. He slammed hard into the soil, a knot of roots hitting him in the chest.
Two, three, then four times Niko rolled, before finally coming to a rest at the base of a tree. His body groaned with soreness, and Niko felt his essence channels fully emptied with the hollow ache deep within his bones. He simply sat there, breathing in long, heavy breaths as he failingly tried to move.
“Calm down,” Skye’s voice broke through a fugue that Niko hadn’t even realized was there, like cotton had been stuffed in his ears, “We’re clear, Niko, calm.”
Her voice was soothing, and Niko realized then that he was feeling hands stroking down the length of his neck. Steadily, his vision refocused, and he looked around himself curiously, trying to ground himself in his surroundings. Instead of the trees and soil, Niko saw figures around him, and after furious blinking, Niko was finally able to focus on them. ‘Ronald, Dachna, Mithel, and Skye,’ Niko’s mind worked through things, and it felt like he only really saw them after several more seconds of thought.
“What’s wrong with him?” Asked Mithel quietly.
“He’s freaked out,” Skye answered shortly, “I think he thinks that we outran death.”
Ronald grunted, “I think we did, too. If that’s normal for Massacre Hornets… no wonder why armies get deployed against them.”
Silence persisted then, aside from the calming nothings that Skye whispered to Niko. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, or try to formulate a thought, Niko felt like exhaustion and confusion sapped it from him. It was only after he got feeling back into his legs several minutes later and his heart rate dropped to something approaching normal that Niko let out a calm trill. His sore throat told him that he was almost certainly making noise the entirety of the time, but hadn’t consciously realized it.
“I’m okay,” Niko spoke aloud, trying to convince himself just as much as the others, “I can’t do more than walk, but I’m okay. Are we okay?”
“We’re fine,” Skye said, “You got us out of there, and I hear the other rescuers and refugees further out.”
“The fight is still going on,” Dachna whispered, “We should probably keep moving.”
The others looked to Niko with expressions that he thought seemed half-guilty to be asking him to move. He nodded, not at all begrudging them for wanting to put more distance between them and the enraged Massacre Hornet Queen.
“Help me up,” Niko trilled softly, “I’m still pretty weak.”
“Here,” Mithel pulled out a small flask, “It’s not nearly as good as what we were given in those rations, but… it should help take the edge of the essence exhaustion off.”
Niko looked at the tepid amber colored liquid before nodding. She uncorked it, and Niko successfully struggled to angle his head properly to drink. Almost immediately, he began to feel the essence trickle into his pseudo-veins, but Mithel was right in her estimate. This was just barely enough to be able to walk around, and beyond that, Niko could feel his essence channels hurt in a way that worried him. They felt somehow brittle, like he’d overtaxed them.
‘Considering the last… What, twenty four hours? Yeah, that’s definitely plausible,’ Sardonically, Niko mused to himself. They helped him to his feet, Skye leveraging her full body pattern to make the attempt easier on them all.
Tremors rolled through the earth, one after the other in quick succession, but they felt dim and distant now. It didn’t help Niko’s heart rate in the slightest, but he managed to keep his cool just enough to not try to scatter.
‘I’m not normally this flighty,’ Niko shivered, ‘What the peck is that Queen?’
Even with that question, Niko wasn’t sure he wanted to have that answered anytime soon. Thoroughly worn out, Niko limped his sore body along with the other Wyldwalkers, following after the trail of refugees back to Greenleaf.
Or whatever was left of it…