Today he and Charles would finally get to sharpen their claws on some beetles.

Malik woke feeling refreshed and excited for the day. The ventilation was nice inside of the House of Truth, but it managed to keep the colder air out, making the atmosphere very comfortable. Not like the stifling heat of the Incubation Chamber.

Bursting with energy, Malik quickly went to refill his water, grab some food and made his way to the guard tower. The settlement was still asleep for the most part except for Naveck ambling over. Did the dwarf never sleep?

“Got somethin’ for ya!” Naveck said cheerfully and a little too loudly for the early hour.

“Oh?” Malik asked.

Naveck dangled a small copper chain in front of him, “The bracelet’s got a simple air-purifying enchantment on it. It’s useful underground sometimes and cleans a small amount of air around the wearer. Bad smells and vapors can get trapped down there, making it hard to breathe.”

Malik admired the bracelet as he clasped it around his wrist, “Thank you, Naveck. I hadn’t considered that.”

Naveck waved a hand, “Ah, it’s nothin'. The air is so pure up here, it’s no use ta’ me. Anyway, I won’t keep ya. I’ll do my best ta take care of the place while you’re away. Stay safe, Malik.”

“I trust you, Naveck. Take care of Aisha and Aziz,” Malik said, returning to the guard tower. He sliced his thumb and painted a primitive face with horns on a few of the wooden sheets, happy with his handiwork.

Malik went to the Altar and checked his map. There were some markings of tunnel entrances, but for some reason, he couldn’t see any beetle movements. Garok was also absent from the map.

Charles lumbered up towards Malik towing three dwarves with him, all carrying large packs, “Alright Malik, where to first?” Charles’ normally stoic expression was replaced with an upbeat look.

“There are a few tunnels just past the tree line. We will actually still be in sight of the settlement,” Malik said.

Charles appeared disappointed but the dwarves breathed a sigh of relief.

“Does that mean we don’t have ta’ lug around all this crap?” Werander asked, gesturing at the large packs they were carrying.

“I assume those are all of our supplies?” Malik asked.

“Yeah, the bear has us bringing anything and everything from food, candles, and rope, and my pack even has a bloody lead ball in it,” Werander fumed.

“I saw firsthand what a ball and a few runes can do,” Charles said with a snarl. “It could be the difference between life and death for us.”

Werander conceded a bit, “Aye, but Themo was an artist with the way he combined runes to have various effects.”

Malik clapped a clawed hand on Werander’s shoulder, “Speaking of Themo, if you’re ever unsure of what to do, do the opposite of what he would have done.”

The dwarves laughed, “Aye, wise advice,” Werander said.

The group made their way to the first tunnel just beyond the tree line. It was disguised beneath forest mulch. One could easily miss it if they weren’t actively looking for it. Malik recalled that this was the first one he had spotted during his encounter with the squirrel and wondered what had ever become of the thief.

Charles swiped away the tunnel cover, revealing a hole sloping downward, large enough for them to pass through single file.

“I’ll take the front. I can see in the dark. Charles, you take the rear and protect our backs,” Malik ordered.

There was no argument from the group as Malik took point and crept down the tunnel. The air quickly grew warmer and denser.

“Dargun’s breath, what is that smell?” Werander complained.

Malik furrowed his brow and was already glad for Naveck’s gift. A quick glance behind him showed that the rest of his party was putting a hand or piece of their shirt to their face.

“Every twenty meters put a glow rune up. I believe the tunnels branch off and we will need to know our way back,” Malik said.

Bogart, who had been silent the entire time, nodded and began scraping on the wall.

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“I’ll stay with him. We’ll catch up at the next stop,” Charles said.

“This will be slow going if we stop every twenty meters,” Eltig said.

“Would you prefer we retreat through the darkness if we run into trouble? I’m perfectly happy to do so. The lights are for you, not me,” Malik grumbled.

The dwarves shrugged in concession as Malik turned and ventured further in. Each time one of them finished, they would catch up to Malik and Charles would stop at the next dwarf scraping a rune into the wall.

This went on for hundreds of meters and turns in the tunnels. Still, they had not run into any beetles, but they soon heard the distinct scuttling sound of oversized insect legs. Malik stopped. In front of him, the tunnel branched out into two different directions. The sound came from the right side.

“Ah, so we take the left?” Bogart asked through hopeful eyes.

Malik couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle as he proceeded toward the noises on the right.

They continued etching glow runes into the walls as they advanced. The tunnels grew taller and wider the further they went. Malik’s heartbeat increased in unison with the growing sounds of beetle activity.

“Let’s collapse it here,” Werander whispered, eyes wide.

Malik shook his head, “Stay here. I’ll scout ahead.”

Activating Camouflage, Malik trotted further in toward the sounds, keeping his footfalls as quiet as possible. Even with the bracelet that Naveck gave him, the smell was overbearing.

The tunnel opened up into a wide circular room with entrances to multiple tunnels along the wall. In the center there were dozens of beetles similar to the Soldier beetles, but slightly smaller, stacking what Malik assumed to be eggs in a neat pile.

Activating Scout, Malik focused on one of the beetles.

Worker

That was all that had been revealed to him as it somehow sensed the inspection and turned its attention on Malik, interrupting his Scout. The worker beetle emitted a shrieking sound that threatened to burst Malik’s eardrums, only made worse by the other workers taking up a similar cry.

Not waiting for the nervous dwarves or Charles, Malik dashed into the first worker, easily ripping it apart with his claws. Rather than flee or fight, the other workers continued their horrible whine.

Malik’s lips curled into a smile as he dashed from one worker to the other, feeling his chest fill up slightly with each kill. Finally, the dwarves and Charles entered the room.

Charles immediately joined the slaughter, not letting Malik take it all for himself. The dwarves stayed near the entrance of the room.

Within a matter of seconds, the high-pitched whines from the workers were cut off completely, leaving Charles and Malik gulping for air, staring at the pile of eggs in the middle of the room.

Malik picked one up to examine it. They were much different than the ones in his Incubation Chamber. These were more of a gelatinous texture that left his fingers feeling sticky.

After wiping his hands clean on his trousers, he removed the sword Sigrid had given him and chopped one of the eggs in half. Yellow goop pooled around the two halves, emitting an even stronger stench than the room already contained. Werander retched.

“Start making the runes to collapse here in case of an emergency,” Malik ordered.

The dwarves, pale with nausea, complied.

Soon, only Malik could withstand the smell while he hacked at the eggs. The dwarves managed to carve a couple of runes, but quickly joined Charles down the tunnel they had come from.

A few minutes later, Malik paused mid hack. There was a faint noise and a slight breeze wafted into the room from some of the other tunnel entrances.

The buzzing quickly grew louder. Malik knew that it was the sound of Scout wings and bolted toward his companions.

“Get ready! We can hold this tunnel. Which one of you knows how to use a sword?” Malik yelled.

Eltig raised his sand slightly, “I’ve had ah little practice.”

Malik shoved the hilt of his sword into Eltig’s hand, “Good. You’re front line with Charles and I.”

Eltig gulped. The wider tunnel was just large enough to fit the three of them shoulder to shoulder.

Charles looked back, “If you two run, I’ll catch you and kill you myself.”

They didn’t have time to argue as the circular room burst with hundreds of winged beetles. They hissed as they saw the eggs that had been cut apart and found where Malik was standing, claws ready.

The Scouts shot directly at the group. Thankfully, the enclosed area forced some of them to drop from flight. Malik knew that in the air, their mobility was far superior.

No time to think. The scouts were on them. Malik grabbed the first one in front of him, tearing it apart. At his feet, another tried biting at his legs. He kicked it back, the sharp nails on his feet piercing it.

The room kept filling with Scouts that soon, none of them could fly without buzzing their wings together and tumbling down.

Charles swiped his massive paws and snapped with his jaw at any that came too close.

Eltig admirably held his own, flailing and thrusting with the sword.

“Get back here!” Bogart yelled.

Malik chanced a glance back and saw Werander retreating. Charles couldn’t fulfill his promise to hunt him down as Scouts kept pushing, crawling all over each other to get at the three.

At this rate, they would kill the Scouts in droves, but would inevitably tire out. Malik wondered if the more dangerous beetles were busy or too far away, but he was thankful that he only had to worry about this many scouts rather than hundreds of Horned Beetles.

“Keep it up,” Malik roared, “Activate the collapsing runes on my signal.”