The skathári lumbered toward the trench, moving slowly when on two legs. They were known for explosive, blinding speed, but only in near-instantaneous bursts. Yaric and Lauren were able to shuffle along the trench and hide behind a bend before the nearest skathári crossed over.
One of the spears was nearby, but there was no way they were going to risk trying to fight one of these in the dark, let alone four.
Cattle panicked and tried to shy away from the approaching skathári, but they were too tightly packed. A pair stood watch while the other two clambered over and shuffled toward the stricken cows. It was impossible to see exactly what they did in the poor light, but the unmistakable silhouette of a skathári carrying a cow was very clear against the skyline when they made their way back. The cows were already dead.
Shockingly, they weren’t dragging them or even carrying them in their spine-covered arms, but directly overhead, and with no apparent effort at all.
Yaric took note of how their small, narrow trench seemed to cause them some problems. The skathári carrying their prizes hesitated at the edge, before throwing the cows across and making their way over unencumbered. They were not particularly fast or agile on two legs.
The two lookouts dropped down into the grass and moved ahead, but now that he was looking for it, Yaric was able to keep track of the slight shifting in the grass as they made their way back to the hidden nest. Shifting grass was very difficult to see in the light, but the wave of grass shifting back into place behind the skathári was not difficult to see if you were already watching. They weren’t much faster when crawling.
Neither Lauren nor Yaric were comfortable with leaving the trench just yet, so they kept inside and followed it back to Sven and Li Na. Both were waiting.
“This is more than we bargained for,” Sven said as soon as the others rounded the nearest bend.
“They were headed northeast. Not much vegetation there, but the terrain is very rough and there are probably places to hide during the day,” Lauren explained.
It was difficult to see Sven’s expression clearly in the darkness, but it was still easy to spot the concern. “We saw two. They might not have established a proper nest yet.”
“There were at least four,” Yaric clarified, crushing Sven’s hope.
“What do we do now?”
“Call for help. Those things are too dangerous to fight on our own.”
“We can fight some insects,” Li Na declared. “There are four of us. You two keep it on the distracted while we crush it.”
Yaric didn’t even hesitate. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable fighting even one of those, but there’s more than one. The others could swarm us while we focus on the first. Did you see how they carried those cows like they were nothing? And their exoskeleton is famously sturdy.”
“Maybe there’s a way we can set up an ambush?” Sven asked hopefully.
“None that I can see. We don’t know exactly where they’ll go in the wide-open village. And even if we did, they’re ridiculously strong, can cut through almost anything, and they have armor that I’m not sure we can penetrate. High Mage Giles said they’re famous for jumping too. I wouldn’t know how to begin planning an ambush for them.”
“Alright,” Sven said decisively, “tomorrow we brief the representatives and whoever else, and send a message for help. Instead of trying to guess what’s needed, we’ll just explain the situation in the message and let whoever is in charge decide what kind of forces need to be sent.”
“Shouldn’t we try to scout out the nest first?” Lauren asked. “All we can tell them right now is that there are at least four. It could be twenty for all we know.”
“It’s a good idea,” Sven acknowledged hesitantly. “But searching through that kind of terrain, with a hidden nest inside, well…” Sven trailed off.
“Yaric should go. He’s a sneak.”
“I’ll go with him,” Lauren volunteered.
“If we go, we go during the day. We’ll find them easier, and they’ll be at a disadvantage in the sunlight.”
“That will work,” Lauren agreed. “Come to think of it, I don’t know if we could see a hidden nest in this light.”
With their plan of action agreed on, the four students carefully climbed out of the trench and made their way back to the wall, staying vigilant the entire way.
“You catch ‘em?” the guard on duty at the gate asked gruffly.
“We have news,” Sven replied cautiously. “We’ll give a full report in the morning.”
The guard didn’t seem happy about waiting, but he showed his displeasure by not speaking any further, much to Yaric’s relief. All four were able to make their way to the small house they were staying in. Everyone helped each other out of their armor and went straight to their rooms, while Yaric laid out some blankets and slept on the floor in the sitting room. Despite the adrenaline, shock, and now hard floor, Yaric was asleep in minutes.
----------------------------------------
“Open up!” someone shouted, jolting Yaric from his sleep. The sudden pounding on the front door brought him to full alertness in an instant.
It was still dark in the room, but the sliver of sky Yaric could see through the window was already turning slightly grey, indicating that dawn wasn’t too far off.
“You have a report?” Oliver asked as soon as the door was opened, not even bothering to say hello.
“Uh, yes. We’re planning to call everyone together at your tavern after sunrise to let everyone know what we found and what we want to do going forward.”
“No need. I’ll have the tavern open shortly; the others will be there. Twenty minutes,” he added as he turned and strode off into the still-dark town.
‘Friendly guy.’
Yaric woke the others, knocking on their doors in turn, though at least two of them were already moving around inside before he knocked, no doubt roused by the hammering on the door.
No one was happy to be summoned the way they were, but they still decided to go. The town had no authority over them at all, even with their job being to help, so they had no obligation whatsoever to comply with the orders. Still, Sven decided that it would cause friction if several others were expecting them and they simply didn’t arrive, leaving them with no choice but to dress hurriedly and rush to the meeting.
The tavern was already open as promised, though the representatives were yet to arrive. Thankfully the barkeep already had a fire going and water put on to boil, with mugs of cold ale sitting on the counter as well. All four took one gratefully.
The water had boiled and four cups of coffee were halfway drunk before the representatives marched in another twenty minutes later.
“Morning,” Chase greeted them cheerfully as he pulled up a chair and took one of the mugs for himself. Yaric and his friends were less amused. “I understand that you already have some information for us.”
Sven took over, explaining what had been taking their livestock and why, and how they planned to send for help. Professional soldiers would be needed to cleanse the area and clear the nest.
“But that would take too long!” Leo objected. “It would take at least two weeks. The message has to get there first, and then once it’s authorized they still have to gather the units and make their way here. I’d bet it will be closer to three weeks!”
“And that’s what it’s going to take,” Sven replied sympathetically. “We’ve just told you how dangerous these creatures are. None of you would stand a chance. I’m afraid that you are going to just have to accept a few more cattle losses. I don’t want to sound callous, but remember that it won’t add all that much. And you can truthfully think of it as the price of your safety.
“But that’s the problem! Our safety. Damn the livestock! What happens when they go for one of us? Or our families? If these things are so dangerous we can’t just leave them there!”
“They will go for the livestock first,” Lauren interjected. “You don’t need to worry about that. As long as everyone stays indoors you should all be fine. Cows and sheep are far more attractive targets than any of us.”
“Easy for you to say, it’s not your family,” Leo started, before Chase put his hand on Leo’s shoulder in warning.
“Thank you for your help,” Chase said. “We will need to discuss things with the rest of the village, but I will send a messenger in the meantime. We’re just representatives after all, something like this will be decided by everyone.”
“That’s no problem at all,” Sven replied, smiling. “Just two things to note. First, Yaric and Lauren will be scouting the area where we think the skathári are nesting. We’re hoping to have a location and an accurate estimate of numbers included in the message, so don’t send anyone just yet. Second, any plans we make, whether it be how to take care of this problem or when we will meet, needs to be decided together. We aren’t available to be summoned or ordered about. In future we will only be attending meetings that have been agreed upon by both sides,” Sven said with finality, and with far more tact than what Yaric would have used.
Yaric wasn’t sure what to make of the reaction. Each responded differently, looking embarrassed, annoyed, or offended. But all three still agreed with what was essentially a demand, however reasonable.
The representatives left, but since the friendly barkeeper had let them know that breakfast would be available soon, Yaric and the others decided to stay. There wouldn’t be much point in trying to get any more sleep, and all four were feeling hungry.
‘This was worth it,’ Yaric thought, looking eagerly at the farm-style breakfast in front of him. Everyone felt much better with full stomachs, and with nothing else to do at the moment, no one made any move to leave the tavern. They spent the next three hours discussing the skathári and trying to come up with contingencies, before Lauren and Yaric got up to get ready for their mission.
Sven and Li Na went with them, pairing up with the other two to help them get their armor secured properly. Both took their spears, while Yaric also added his bow and a quiver on his hip. Lauren wanted to take hers as well, but she didn’t have any special attachments for carrying her bow like Yaric, and with a spear in hand and the rough terrain they’d have to navigate, it was decided that going without would be best.
Cattle farmers were still clearing out the pens when they left, pulling small groups from the large herd and heading off, apparently making no attempt to separate the animals by owner.
It was quiet in the rocky ground to the northeast of Kald. Rocks, boulders, and large outcroppings ranged from knee-high to almost three meters tall, requiring a lot of jumping and climbing. Clumps of crabgrass made up most of the vegetation, and while there were almost no birds to be found, Yaric heard the ominous chirping and buzzing of insects wherever they went.
It took quite some time to explore even small areas. With the sun still beating down both Lauren and Yaric were sweating in their armor, climbing large boulders and helping each other up, all the while keeping on the lookout for some sign of the exceptionally dangerous creatures they were searching for. Yaric hoped to see some sign of the nest soon.
In the end, the indication of a nearby nest wasn’t anything they could see, it was something they could smell.
Decaying and rotting carcasses didn’t usually smell bad for long. Most parts of an animal that would actually rot were usually eaten by whatever had killed it, usually leaving behind things like bones and pieces of hide. Hide could smell really bad, but it also desiccated quickly, along with all the other remains likely to have been left behind, significantly reducing the stench. Nothing was reducing this smell though.
Yaric felt like he was going to gag, and Lauren didn’t look much better.
They quickly changed direction, traveling perpendicular to their current route. As soon as the smell lessened, they moved back toward their previous destination, slowly mapping out a large circle with the nest somewhere inside. The area they would need to search was almost two hundred meters wide. Not very large when you knew there was a nest of giant insects somewhere within.
“We’ll have to move quietly,” Yaric whispered to Lauren. “We’re probably within a hundred meters already.”
“Closer,” she replied. “We’re upwind.”
Yaric immediately understood her meaning and took his spear in both hands. Lauren gave him a leg up over the boulder in front, and Yaric carefully scanned the ground nearby from his vantage point. There wasn’t much to see. Large creatures could be hiding ten meters away and he wouldn’t see them behind all the rocks and grass, but luckily he was looking for a large nest that could shelter several large creatures. And they would be prioritizing shade.
“Come on,” Yaric gestured, lowering his spear down the side. Lauren held on tightly while Yaric pulled her up.
“There,” he pointed.
Between two boulders was a very clear, and very deep gulley. They could only see a part of it, and it was impossible to determine where it started or ended, but it would be a perfect shelter for nocturnal creatures. It was also the only feature even remotely large enough.
Both crawled forward, pausing frequently to listen and to scan the area around them. Nothing moved. Even the earlier sound of insects had disappeared, and the stench of fresh carcasses filled the air. Just ten meters closer Yaric was able to make out the cloud of flies hovering over the gulley. There was little doubt now.
The next ten meters were nerve-rackingly slow. Twenty tense minutes to crawl just ten meters. They had to carefully scout out the area on the other side of their boulder before making their way down without any noise, and then repeat their climb on the other side. That was when Lauren urgently nudged Yaric’s shoulder and pointed.
It took him a moment, but he felt the spike of adrenaline when he spotted the antennae protruding from a gap in the rocks. A skathári was hiding nearby. They had no idea if it was guarding the nest or simply sleeping, but neither wanted to risk finding out. It was also closer to them than it was to the part of the gulley they could see, ruling out any chance of getting a view inside.
It was time to leave.
Yaric and Lauren retraced their steps carefully, never once dropping their surveillance of the area around them. They kept up their vigilance the entire way, even when they were well clear of the nest site. Neither had any idea of how the nest would be guarded or how far away the skathári might wander. Getting into open ground with the village walls in sight was a massive relief, prompting Yaric and Lauren to break into a jog back to the tavern to report back to the other.
It took walking into the welcome coolness of the dark tavern for them to finally relax and unwind. Li Na and Sven were back by the bar, scowling into their drinks.
Both Sven and Lauren spoke at the same time.
“We have a problem.”
“It didn’t go well.”
“You first,” Sven replied, gesturing to Lauren.
She hesitated a moment, wondering what could possibly be a problem inside the village. They had just been waiting. “Okay… well, we found the nest. We know where it is, but it was too dangerous to get close enough to see inside. We still don’t know how many there are.”
Yaric looked around to make sure no one else would be able to overhear before adding, “It’s less than two kilometers from the edge of the village. These things are living very close by.”
Sven looked like he had bad news as well. “It gets worse,” he said, confirming Yaric’s fears. “The town had a meeting while you were gone. They’re sending someone to make a deal with the town we passed through on the way here. Kald is sending their herds there until the skathári are dealt with.”
Yaric frowned. “But the villagers are being left alone because of the cattle - the skathári are targeting the herds instead. If you take away the cattle, the skathári will be forced to go for the people. Those cows they took saved so many lives.”
“Exactly.”
“Did you tell them?”
“Of course. Some agreed to send their families as well, but there isn’t enough accommodation. Most seem to think they can hide inside during the night. They’ve never had a skathári try to break in, so they don’t believe they will be in any danger. It doesn’t matter how much I try to explain, they still talk of the skathári as ‘big bugs’.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“What happened to that representative from this morning?” Yaric asked, feeling confused. “With his, ’Damn the cattle? What about our families?’ How could he switch opinions like that? Cattle can be replaced.”
“He didn’t vote for leaving, though he didn’t oppose it very strongly either. He’s leaving with his whole family. Essentially leaving the rest of the village to its fate.”
“Dammit, how can they be so stupid? They’ll be the targets now.”
“Greed makes people blind, stupid, and brave,” Li Na nodded sagely, earning her three shocked stares. “What? It does.”
“Anywayyy…” Lauren began, “What’s the plan now?”
Sven had obviously been thinking about it for a while. “We send the message like we planned. Those reinforcements need to get here as quickly as possible, which is why I intend to add the decisions made by the people here and the dangers it will bring. Other than that, all we can do is prepare.”
“Prepare?”
“Yes. We can’t just leave them to be killed by those skathári. And if things work out like I expect, they’re going to be attacked. We need to be ready.”
“How can we be ready? What would even stop those things?”
Li Na took a deep drink from her ale and slammed her empty tankard down. “Only one thing will stop those things. A mace to the face.”
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Three days. There were three days of relative peace. Things were very busy outside the walls, but the last of the herds were being led off along the road to their new homes by the second day, taking the protection they gave with them. Many families stayed behind.
Li Na was fuming when she realized just how many of the men had left to look after the herds, leaving their wives and children behind to lock themselves up in their houses. Even if everyone had deluded themselves into thinking that it would be safe, she couldn’t comprehend how anyone could take the risk. She constantly argued that her own dad would never risk leaving her and her mom behind, even if he thought they could lock themselves away.
Yaric and the others didn’t have much to do during the day, but they did try to extend their trench as much as they could. There was no one left to help, so they were only able to do so much. Still, there were now branches extending toward every cluster of homes, particularly those on the northeast of the walls. The rest of the time was spent trying to sleep, as they were awake all through the night, trying to keep watch, hoping that the skathári would instead try to go for wild game.
They didn’t.
The third night was even darker than before. Clouds obscured what was left of the moon, smothering the entire town in oppressive darkness. The remaining villagers had taken to leaving flaming torches burning outside once the sun went down, but they didn’t burn through the entire night, and no one was willing to go back out with fresh torches. They had all long since burned out when the sound of splintering wood broke the silence of the night.
CRACK
Something gave way almost immediately after, and it was coming from a lone house close to the rocky ground that the skathári called home.
Yaric and the others jumped out of their trench and ran for the house, alternating between themselves to throw fireballs into the darkness. They were very aware of the possibility that more skathári were between them and the house.
Screams rent the air.
Light flared in the doorway of the house, revealing the gap created by the splintered door and silhouetting the skathári trying to push its way inside. Thankfully the gap was too small, and its legs slid uselessly down the smooth wood unable to find purchase. Another skathári was partly illuminated just behind it.
Yaric and Lauren sprinted to the side, aiming to attack the second skathári from behind and turn its back to the house, while Li Na and Sven went straight for the skathári leaning through the hole in the wall.
The screaming inside continued without pause.
The skathári Yaric was aiming for turned to face them, but it was difficult to make out in the darkness. Worse, the only source of light was behind the creature, making it even more difficult to make out details in the shadows it cast.
THWACK!
Twin spearpoints struck simultaneously, driving into the chest only to be stopped dead by the chitin armor. Yaric felt his spear stick slightly, indicating that the tip of the spear likely penetrated part way, but he was shocked when the large skathári staggered back a step. Their strike had been enough to stagger it.
Li Na and Sven were able to strike their target in the side, taking it by surprise. They even managed to hit the gaps by the shoulder and hip, drawing a screech so high-pitched it was only just within their hearing range.
Yaric and Lauren were struggling far more. They split up slightly to force the skathári to keep shifting its attention, but none of their subsequent thrusts seemed to do any damage. Many thrusts didn’t even land, as the skathári was capable of moving its arms so quickly that their spears kept being knocked aside by seemingly invisible strikes as the giant humanoid beetle slowly marched toward them. Deep gouges marred the shafts.
By now the skathári that Sven and Li Na were fighting had managed to pull itself back out of the splintered door and face them as well, putting them in the same position as Lauren and Yaric. Spine-covered arms blurred and disappeared to the crack of wood, sending shockwaves down the shafts that stung the hands.
Anything outside the reach of the skathári was safe, but the area within arm’s length was a killing zone.
Someone inside the house had the presence of mind to light additional torches and go upstairs, from where they opened a window and tossed the light sources out, making the fight far easier. Or it should have, but even with a clearer view, it was still next to impossible to hurt the skathári at all. Meanwhile, all four of them knew that if they got within range of an arm they would never even see the strike that killed them.
Then Li Na made a mistake. Spears were far from her favorite weapon, and she didn’t have nearly as much practice as the others. All four were forced to keep backing up as the skathári advanced on them, keeping out of reach while staying within the range of their spears. But Li Na saw a gap as the skathári stepped forward, and instead of stepping back herself, she chose to lean back to create enough space for her thrust.
The skathári blocked with an armored arm, bringing the spear to a sudden and unexpected stop. Li Na was putting a lot of force behind her thrust, so the abrupt resistance pushed her back. Unfortunately, Li Na was already unbalanced by leaning backward, so the unexpected block sent her sprawling on her back. The dark, armored insect stepped forward menacingly, right near her feet. If Li Na had been standing she would have already been within reach of those deadly arms.
Sven dropped his spear and lunged forward foolishly, drawing his sword as he did so he could get between them and still fight, even if that meant fighting with the reach of a skathári. It was suicide.
Not that it mattered, as he wasn’t able to make it in time. Scrabbling desperately, Li Na managed to unsheathe her mace from underneath where she lay, her face white with fear. As soon as the skathári shifted its attention she lunged, leaping inside the reach of its arms and swinging her mace up with everything she had.
THWACK!
The skathári launched into the air, sailing high enough to draw level with the upstairs windows and disappearing back into the darkness.
Li Na stared at her mace for a moment while a pale and shaking Sven watched in shock, but her eyes quickly widened. “They’re light weight! They weigh almost nothing!”
Yaric hadn’t seen Li Na’s desperate gamble, but he did hear her shout. The effect of their initial strike now made much more sense. The skathári didn’t have the mass to withstand the strike, even though it wasn’t harmed by the blow.
Lauren’s next thrust went straight for the center mass, striking perfectly and visibly penetrating into the chitin. It didn’t penetrate all the way, but they were all very aware of how vulnerable the skathári would be if they managed to shatter the exoskeleton.
CRACK!
The skathári struck both sides of Lauren’s spear as she withdrew, completely shattering the shaft and leaving her with a splintered pole. Lauren backed up, holding up her useless weapon with a determined look. Yaric reacted quickly.
“Here!” he shouted, tossing her the spear the instant she made eye contact and reaching back for his bow.
THUMP!
The skathári was gone.
“Above you!” Sven desperately screamed.
The skathári was hovering high above them, having just reached the apex of its jump. It was at least thirty meters in the air and almost invisible against the ink-black clouds that smothered the stars above them.
Yaric nocked an arrow and took aim, but then the skathári began to fall, rapidly accelerating. The small wings on its back might have been useless for flight, but they reflected the burning torches below as they blurred, the shimmering wings being enough to direct its fall.
It headed straight for Lauren.
Lauren backed up again, but the skathári continued to adjust as it plummeted, aiming to land on her. Even if it missed, it would still land within reach.
Yaric’s first arrow struck dead on, shattering on impact. His second arrow was nocked and drawn back, but then the skathári was on top of his friend.
Lauren, for her part, had chosen to stop trying to avoid the plunging beetle. She stopped on a hard, flat piece of ground and set her feet, sinking deep into her stance and looking calmly up at the beetle screaming down toward her, her grip far back on Yaric’s spear. Nothing moved in that final moment, save for the falling reaper above and long strands of Lauren’s hair, blacker than the night and blowing gently in the breeze.
The spear tip shot upward like lightning, slamming into the falling skathári with a crack and bringing it to an abrupt halt, two meters off the ground. Lauren backpedaled furiously to create some space before it landed.
There was a spiderweb of cracks across that carapace.
“Arrows!” she shouted, sounding out of breath. “They weaken it! We can punch through if you crack them first!”
Lauren had just finished speaking when the second skathári landed close to Sven, leaning forward for another impossibly fast swipe. It had also jumped high, though without anyone to see it jump, the skathári had been invisible in the night sky. Sven flinched back, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp arm.
The skathári didn’t avoid Yaric's arrow, taking a solid shot to the side of the head that shattered the arrow and sent thin spiderwebs spreading through the chitin.
Everyone switched tactics. Sven sheathed his sword and took up his spear again, joining Li Na in keeping their skathári back while Lauren did the same with the other one. Yaric peppered them with arrows, firing quickly.
Any arrow that didn’t strike dead on would simply ricochet off, forcing Yaric to slow down and aim more carefully. It took a dozen direct hits on each, but Yaric managed to overlay enough cracks that Sven finally struck right through, penetrating the body, followed almost immediately by Lauren doing the same.
Both skathári screeched loudly. Sven lost his spear as the skathári shattered it before he could withdraw, while Lauren's opponent staggered back and disappeared with a thump. Sven’s skathári looked down at its torso and for a moment, then looked out into the darkness.
CLICK!
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK!
The sound of dry wood being hammered together gathered speed, just like the creatures had done the first night, while high above them the other skathári did the same, only it gathered speed while plummeting back down toward Lauren.
Lauren was back in the same stance as last time, already prepared to repeat her previous block. She froze again, calmly watching the diving skathári with her spear held near the rear. Yaric had already fired thirty-five arrows, leaving just fifteen, so he paused with his next arrow nocked, waiting for Lauren to block the skathári and give him an easier shot.
The spear tip shot upward, exactly as before. The skathári dropped straight at it, exactly as before.
CRACK!
The skathári’s arms flashed out, shattering the spear while still plummeting to the ground just in front of Lauren. Still in a low stance, Lauren dived back in shock, not even trying to keep to her feet. Yaric didn’t even see the strike that flashed at Lauren’s head, only the desperate attempt to evade, then the long strands of hair blowing in the breeze like before, only this time they drifted through the air while Lauren tumbled back, bleeding profusely from a long cut on her forehead.
CRACK!
Yaric’s first arrow struck dead center in the side of the skathári’s head. Before he knew it, two more struck the same place, leaving the skathári staggering while Lauren rolled back to her feet, clutching a second shattered spear.
Sven and Li Na were still facing the other skathári, and Yaric felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck when he realized it was just standing there after having gone silent. His nocked arrow forgotten, Yaric pinched the other end of the arrow between his fingers and his bow and wheeled around, his draw hand already thrusting out while he furiously channeled as much arcana as he could.
Three more skathári melted out of the darkness. They managed to get off a single click each, replying to the first, when a torrent of wind slammed into the first two, launching them back into the darkness, followed immediately by the third as Yaric swung his arm across to change his aim.
More clicks sounded in the darkness.
Yaric spun back toward his skathári, where Lauren stood shaking. She met his eyes and turned to watch the darkness behind him, ignoring the skathári five meters away. Yaric’s next arrow struck the dazed beetle in the same place, and a second penetrated deeply into the head. The skathári dropped, twitching on the floor.
Li Na was stabbing furiously at the wounded skathári they faced, flanked by Sven who kept lunging with his sword. His was far out of range, but the skathári still reacted to each lunge as if it were a threat, striking at the sword and occasionally allowing Li Na to get through. That ended when it struck the sword cleanly, hitting with such force that it was knocked from Sven’s hand and went spinning into the darkness.
Yaric’s first arrow missed, striking near the hole Sven had made and cracking the carapace further. He ignored the sudden gust of wind Lauren launched past him toward his rear and aimed again, sending his next two went straight through. Both stop only when deeply embedded. It screeched in pain, staggering back and letting out a discordant buzz that was physically painful to hear. Yaric noticed that the other three were staggering as if struck, but Li Na still lunged forward and embedded her spear, putting her weight behind to push it as deep as it would go before twisting viciously.
The skathári dropped, twitching on the ground like the first.
Behind Yaric, more and more skathári kept emerging, only to be blown back by a blast of wind from Lauren. It was impossible to tell how many individual creatures there were, as those that were sent flying kept coming back.
Yaric only had seven arrows left, so he switched to spells as well. Fireballs did almost nothing. They simply burst over the chitin and went out before doing more than singe the carapace, and they still hadn’t learned any variations that would persist or explode. At first he thought his wind blades worked well, as they struck loudly and often made the skathári shriek, but once they moved into better light he could see that he was just scoring thin lines into the armor. It should work if he stuck them with several arrows first, but he’d foolishly thought fifty arrows would be plenty.
Sven and Li Na quickly joined them. It was an unusual sight, as Li Na was the one with the spear, keeping careful watch and making sure that nothing approached too closely, while the others tried every spell they knew.
Wind did nothing but knock them back, but it was still their best defense. As long as they could see the skathári coming, they could now push them away and buy themselves some time. The skathári didn’t seem to have any ranged attacks, though they continued to make the occasional leap, which did threaten to quickly bring them within range.
Everyone was shaken, having either had a very close call themselves or having seen their friends inches from death. Still, they stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the wall of darkness and pushing back at any skathári that approached.
Fire seemed to work, if they could maintain it over their target. Sending a stream of flame into a skathári caused the loudest screeches and the greatest panic, but the range was too short. If they struck at the limit of the range the skathári would simply step back, while the range was short enough that it was too dangerous to let them approach closer.
Worse, a triple stream of flame created a reaction that almost got them killed. The beetles reacted with another discordant buzz, this time from dozens all at once. Yaric’s stream of flames was suddenly the only one, as Sven, Lauren, and Li Na were inexplicably forced to their knees. Soon they were leaning forward on their hands and dry heaving, trying and failing to force their heads back up to watch for danger. Yaric stopped his spell to try and help them, and the buzzing stopped soon after. Everyone recovered quickly after that, and they all made sure not to use anything more than fireballs for brief illumination from then on.
They quickly settled into simply knocking them back and keeping them from the house, spending over an hour taking turns to cast the spell. Everyone was worried that fatigue would set in, at which point they would struggle to create the spell forms necessary.
After three hours more wood started splintering off to the side, as some skathári switched targets and attacked a different house. Sven and Li Na ran off to deal with those, leaving two pairs standing with their backs to a wall, blasting humanoid beetles back whenever they approached.
Sometimes they would jump as well, and despite their light weight they would still have enough momentum to push through the spell for a moment, falling slower and slower while also being pushed back.
One even managed to jump high enough that it went over them. The blast of air was aimed almost vertically, so while it slowed the descent it did very little to slow the forward momentum. Yaric was lucky that it used its vantage point on the roof to try and jump down on them instead of trying to get into the house. Still, they were forced to shuffle along the wall so they weren’t aiming straight up, allowing them to blast the skathári sideways and away.
An hour before dawn Yaric launched two of the approaching insects back into the darkness, only to find that there were no more. He stood next to Lauren in silence, scanning the darkness for any movement while listening intently for any sound that might give away the next attack. Nothing happened for several minutes, but then he heard it.
CLICK! CLICK CLICK CLICK!
It was coming from far away, from somewhere near where the boulders started. The skathári were going back to their nest before sunrise.
Lauren smiled weakly when the sky grew light enough to see properly. They quickly made sure that everyone inside was okay before walking to the house that the other two had been protecting. Both were inside checking on the residents as well, and once they were certain there were no injuries, all four made their way back to the small house they were staying in.
Light shone from the tavern as they walked past on the way back to their rooms. No one even paused, turning as one by some unspoken agreement and marching into the tavern for a drink.
Sven, Lauren, and Yaric held what was left of their shattered spears. Seven arrows rattled and shifted in the quiver on Yaric’s hip, while long lines of dried blood stained Lauren’s face. Everyone was shaking.
“Looks like you four could use a drink,” the barkeeper observed, already pulling up four tankards.
No one said anything. They simply drank deeply while occasionally glancing at each other. Everyone was pale, and their hands shook whenever they raised their tankard for another sip.
“You got them!” someone shouted, crashing through the door. It was one of the men who had stayed behind, and he was followed closely by both Chase and Oliver.
“No,” Sven denied, “we got two. Only two. And three of us almost died.”
“Now you’ll know better next time,” Oliver enthused.
“Did you not see the bodies?” Sven asked, looking incredulous. His voice cracked as he spoke. “Look what they did to those houses, in just seconds. If we hadn’t been there everyone would have been slaughtered.”
“But you were there,” Oliver insisted. “You killed two and fought the rest off! Everyone feels so much better now, you have no idea how much we appreciate your efforts.”
Yaric stared in shock, but Lauren beat him to it.
“Fought them off? We barely survived!”
Yaric looked at Lauren and noticed how her hair hung over her face. A large section hung unevenly over the cut she was still keeping pressure on. His heart clenched at the memory of how it happened.
“Yep! Now there are two fewer, and those folk said you got much better by the end. Learned how to deal with them and all. I bet you’ll kill them all before help even gets here! Gonna be a bunch of disappointed soldiers in a couple of weeks.”
“Oliver,” Sven said firmly, looking serious. “You need to evacuate everyone. This is dangerous. Next time people will die!”
“Huh,” Chase laughed, grasping Sven’s shoulder. “You’ve done a fine job so far! We have faith in you. Come, drink up. All food and drink are on us! We’ll leave you be to rest up and get ready for tonight.”
Chase and the others ignored the glares they received in reply, leaving just as quickly as they’d arrived.
“Are they serious?” Lauren asked, looking shocked. “They saw what happened and think that’s a reason to stay?!”
Yaric and Sven waited for Li Na to make a comment about how stupid they were, but none came. Li Na just sat there, still pale.
“We’re going to have to protect them again,” Sven confirmed. “I just don’t know how. Their stupidity is going to get us killed.”
“And they’ll follow right behind us,” Lauren pointed out.
“So we don’t defend,” Yaric declared.
“What?! We can’t just lea…”
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying we don’t defend. Those things hate the light. And look how bad their mobility is. I think we should attack instead. During the day, when we can see better and they’re at a disadvantage. We attack the nest. I know it’s their home ground, but it’s still more favorable to us.”
“But it’s not great for us either, is it?” Lauren said, half as a statement and half as a question.
“It’s an advantage to us in almost every way. They can’t move easily, or nearly as quickly, and the terrain will limit their numbers advantage. It will also create choke points. The only real disadvantage will be retreat. We won’t be able to withdraw quickly. Actually, retreating will give them an advantage because of their jumping ability. But the idea would be to wipe them out, not hit and run.”
“How?” Sven asked, sounding almost defeated.
“Two bows and full quivers. We might be able to get more arrows from the locals as well.”
“And what else?” Sven asked. “Those arrows are about all that’s left,” he added, gesturing to their shattered weapons.
“Losers,” Li Na said softly, speaking up for the first time in hours.
“The villagers are just scared, Lina,” Lauren replied gently.
“Not talking about them.”
“Huh?”
Li Na picked up her spear and pointed it to the ceiling. Then she held it against the sad, shattered pieces of wood that were all that remained of the other three spears.
“Losers,” she repeated. “Mine's bigger.”