Caledryn arrived at the outskirts of Ashvale atop the horse he acquired just three days ago. The sun was low, and he could see a few villagers making their rounds as they lit lanterns along the main road, extending out into the side roads as the warm glow of light flickered into existence. A message pinged in his HUD, from Dravok. He reached up, tapped the icon and frowned. The fact that they use real-world time always throws me off. He thought to himself before reading the message.

Dravok 2:16 AM: You here yet?

Caledryn 2:16 AM: Just arrived, good timing. What can you tell me?

Dravok 2:16 AM: It’s a mess. The ground, if you can call it that, is covered in some... Organic material. It’s always pulsating and each day it extends further into the wilderness. Watch your step, whatever it is seems connected to the hive.

Caledryn became uneasy as the description did match what The Obsidian Vanguard had observed. He peered into the forest outside the village as if he attempted to see if anything like that was close.

Caledryn 2:16 AM: That checks out. We call it Blight and it tends to choke out all other vegetation in the area. We believe it absorbs nutrients from the plants and earth to produce its own variation of flora. Our infestation is often coated with a thick moss that serves as a secondary food source for the Vescarid and also slows down our movement across it.

Dravok 2:16 AM: Is it true they are connected to it? I felt like the conflict really picked up the second we walked over it.

Caledryn 2:17 AM: Yes, they all seem connected. What happens to one can be seen by others. Think of the Blight as another Vescarid. When you step on it, it’s like bumping into the whole hive. Anyway, I need to know where I am heading.

Dravok 2:17 AM: Northwest, look for a rocky outcrop. The entrance is at the base. But it’s not just the fleshy ground you need to watch out for. The creatures, there are more of them than you’d think, it seems like they double every day. The guy I teamed up with said there was only one when he first got there, then when we arrived with him a week later there were dozens. We came prepared the third time with a huge raiding party and killed a ton of the beasts, but still, they got us in the end.

Caledryn 2:17 AM: This was how long ago?

Dravok 2:17 AM: I respawned four days ago, and was out for maybe three days, so maybe a week? Probably looking at the same numbers. I’d go in expecting to run into thirty, likely more since the thing is probably expecting retaliation.

Caledryn 2:17 AM: Got it. Unfortunately, I will need to risk them growing a little bit more. It’s rapidly getting too dark to effectively scout this place out, so I’ll be taking off just before first light and hope to make it there by sunrise. Stay safe, I’ll let you know when I get back.

Dravok 2:17 AM: I know it doesn’t need to be said, but stay safe.

Caledryn exited out of the message and found his horse a stable before navigating to the local inn. It had been ages since he rested here, back when he was a new player. He needed to make sure this village was safe. The rest would do him well, and then he would assess the threat. Caledryn paid for a room and fell right into bed, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Rested and ready to go, Caledryn had spent the first hour of the early morning navigating toward the rough location of the hive. As he pressed on, the sounds of the forest coming alive and waking with the sun that had just crested over the hills were… Strangely absent. What he heard when he first awoke in his rented room was now an ominous silence. The hues of the forest changed as it thinned out, from lush greens and browns to deep reds.

Reaching the edge of the corrupted forest, his eyes scanned over the blighted terrain ahead. The once-vibrant undergrowth was now smothered in a pulsing, crimson-fleshed material that clung to the forest floor and twisted up the trunks of trees like parasitic vines. It was disturbing, to say the least, but he was unfortunately familiar to a degree with this sight. A fair distance from Aetheron–though far too close for comfort–there were entire plains and roving hillsides that were completely smothered by the Blight.

“Let’s see what we’re dealing with,” he muttered, activating Superior Stealth. His form shimmered for a moment before vanishing into the shadows. He tapped the small rune etched into his bracer, triggering Windwalker, and felt the familiar, weightless sensation as his feet lifted just above the ground. His footsteps were utterly silent, his presence nearly erased as he began to carefully navigate over the Blight.

Caledryn caught movement to his left, a fleeting shadow. He slowly worked to a stop, his stealth skill was rather high, even for a scout, but movement could lead to detection and if something was watching him, he needed to stay still. He squinted to try and make out the form of whatever was out there. A creature resembling a spider, its body camouflaged to match the trees, clung motionlessly to a low-hanging branch.

There’s the first sign of life, watching, waiting. I don’t think it spotted me yet, but I’ll need to keep alert for more.

Caledryn studied it carefully, noting the barbed legs and the way it locked its body to remain perfectly still. He swept his gaze across the forest canopy and spotted another, its body so perfectly blended with the surroundings that it was no wonder lesser adventurers had fallen prey to these things.

There could be dozens of these things, doubtful they’re all right here, but they are out there. Not bad bug man, but we deal with worse every day.

The scout continued deeper, his spells in effect, keeping him hidden and carrying him gracefully above the pulsating Blight. More creatures came into view. Worker drones scurried in and out of shallow tunnels, dragging chunks of biomass toward the hive. These creatures were smaller than others he’d seen, with sturdy yet efficient bodies designed for hauling and digging rather than combat. Caledryn couldn’t estimate their numbers accurately, there were simply too many, and every time he thought he had a solid count another wave would walk over and around the others, shuffling together and leaving him back at square one.. A safe guess was maybe twenty marching about outside, but who knew how many more were in the deeper tunnels or somewhere in the woods?

Second sign, clearly workers, likely to be the bulk of the force. This hive appears young, but rapidly expanding. There might be some under me right now, digging deep, possibly toward the village, it’s impossible to say.

Ahead, another group of creatures caught his attention as they tore through the edge of the forest, darting toward the cave entrance. They were sleek and predatory, moving in coordinated packs, developed with wolves in mind. Their razor-sharp claws tore into the ground as they turned on a dime to throw themselves into the cave at remarkable speeds.

Well, this is new. The other hive took more of a swarm over the enemy with overwhelming numbers, while this one seems to be refining their bugs, focusing on small groups with distinct duties.

Caledryn instinctively forced additional mana into his stealth, the hairs on his body standing on edge as the activity of these killing machines could be described as nothing short of ceaseless.

There were twelve in the pack that entered the cave, likely on some patrol route, but he had no doubt there were far more of them out hunting or protecting the hive’s perimeters. Their raw speed had caught him off guard and he only hoped whatever ruled over this hive had sacrificed a lot of power and lethality for this level of agility. As he watched it was becoming less likely, with their row after row of razor-sharp teeth and claws that looked like they could gut a hippo. He’d fought wolves and other pack animals before, but these were something else entirely.

He moved on cautiously, keeping his distance from the patrols, of which he had seen at least two, hard to tell if the third was one of the initial two because they all traveled in the same group of twelve. The deeper he went, the more he understood the scale of this hive. He spotted hunters perched in trees, their spindly bodies angled toward the ground as though poised to strike. Their spines glistened in the early morning light. He noted at least six, but like everything he came across their numbers were hard to gauge. They were constantly shifting from defensive positions to something else. It was like they were reacting to an invisible force and scurrying off to handle a threat before a new one took its place.

Caledryn’s mana began to dip, a steady drain that he could thankfully measure visually as his mana bar was approaching the low end. He reached into his satchel and uncorked a mana potion, the foul concoction refilling his reserves as he pressed on.

Finally, the hive entrance was a stone’s throw away. It looked like a ferocious maw of stone and flesh that exhaled a steady flow of heat steaming as it interacted with the brisk morning air. He stood in awe for a few moments longer than he intended, his mana ticking down with every wasted moment, but it truly felt like the entire cave was alive, and the thought of going in there truly frightened him. Near the entrance, larger creatures moved. Two hulking forms, stood sentinel, their massive, armored bodies blocking the passage. Their presence alone sent a clear message: Vescarid Only

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Caledryn paused to catch his breath and reassess. If he wanted to infiltrate further, he’d have to be careful. The Mireguards were unlikely to move without purpose, but he could sense the intelligence behind their heavy-set frames, maybe not their own intelligence, but something was connected with them, almost certainly a queen. He would need to avoid their notice entirely.

Slipping between moments of frantic Vescarid movement, Caledryn activated Superior Windwalker feeling the drain hit him harder but allowing him to ascend slightly and walk above the workers, tracing their movements with his own as they were let in, unaware of their hitchhiker. He drifted into the hive, the warmth and with it the acrid smell of the Blight hitting him hard.

He began to take stock of what he saw. The first chamber was swarming activity, worker drones moving single file and with incredible coordination as they deposited biomass along the fleshy walls, in specific areas along the floor, with the large majority of it going into a room that was nearly overflowing with raw meat. It was almost like there were invisible highways they followed, possibly pheromone trails, or something psychic.

Nutrient-rich fungi grew in clusters, their bioluminescent caps providing a faint glow to the surroundings. Caledryn made note of the quantity of the mushrooms, as some chambers were entirely composed of a thick carpet of fungi that would occasionally be thinned out by drones who harvested them and descended deeper into the cave.

He ventured deeper pursuing the drones that carried their bounty down below. He was held up as a pack of Razormaw cut him off, nearly sending him stumbling backward, but he recovered and tried to catch up with them. One of the large armored beasts was just moving back into position to block the tunnel when he turned the corner. He was able to see the fading light from the fungi illuminating a massive bulbous figure just as the tunnel guard sealed the entrance with its body.

Dammit, not enough to get more than a glimpse. Probably the queen, or something similar. Not sure I want to risk going down there, if I get trapped inside when the drone leaves, who knows when the next one will arrive with food and I may not have enough mana potions to hide in there long enough… Of course I could always just pop the crystal, but that would be the end of the scouting…

Caledryn crept closer hoping to at least get one more chance to observe what was in the chamber below. The massive guard began to shift out of the way to allow the drone to pass. Caledryn shifted to the right to peek in and just as he did his foot brushed against a large mushroom. He froze as the stem snapped, the cap tumbling to the ground with a wet thud.

The Vescarid within the hive screeched in alarm, the sound deafening him as it echoed throughout the cavern. He tried to focus and prepare for his escape but the guardian was already swinging blindly at his head. He lifted his arms up in defense but it only served to protect his face, sending him sprawling through the air and into the spongy wall.

Caledryn struggled to his feet, his stealth still active but his head throbbing and his vision blurry. Vescarid drones scuttled along the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling, consumed by a panicked frenzy as they honed in on the disturbance. Prowlers melted out of the shadows, their camouflaged forms discarded as they focused entirely on the mindless attack. Hunters scuttled through narrow tunnels, their forms barely fitting, their spined backs arching as they prepared to fire at anything remotely non-Vescarid. He felt like his heart was going to explode out through his ears as he bolted down the tunnel, his Windwalker ability on cooldown.

Every step was like ringing the dinner bell, alerting the enemies to his exact location for a fraction of a second. It was all he could do to scatter his steps and remain as unpredictable as possible. It was working too, as the Vescarid blows drew short, far, or were targeting the wrong spot entirely.

A prowler lunged from the shadows ahead, its barbed legs slashing toward him as mandibles clacked together at the air, hoping to land a lucky strike. The mandibles missed, but the leg was heading straight for him until he twisted mid-step, his high agility keeping him just out of reach as he drew a dagger from his belt. The blade’s enchanted edge flared as it sliced cleanly through one of the creature’s legs. The prowler hissed as it tumbled to the floor. Another set of glowing eyes appeared on his flank, then another above him.

I can’t fight them like this, I shouldn’t even be fighting them. Where the hell is this stupid crystal? I know I just had it!

He darted through a narrow passage, his stealth barely holding as he evaded the Vescarid’s swarming patrols. The tunnels narrowed and twisted, each turn bringing him closer to the surface, at least he hoped so, he had memorized the route, but his head was booming and there was too much chaos to think straight. Behind him, the thundering roar of dozens of feet sprinting in unison pursued rapidly behind. He took a risk and looked back only to see a dozen Razormaw tearing down on him.

A spine shot past his head, embedding itself in the wall with a sickening thud. Caledryn cursed under his breath and activated Superior Flash Step, a burst of magical energy propelling him forward like a blur. The maneuver heavily tore into the already constant drain of his mana, but it bought him precious seconds as he at least maintained distance from the hunters.

The mouth of the cave was in sight now, a faint glimmer of daylight spilling in from above. The path ahead was blocked by two hulking guardians shoving their bodies together, each one trying to seal the exit. As one adjusted to let the other take the roll of barrier, Caledryn spotted a gap, a human-sized opening near their heads. He poured every ounce of energy into this final action, leaping upward and twisting through the narrow space.

Pain exploded through his leg as a Mireguard’s mandibles snapped shut, severing his foot cleanly at the ankle. He let out an anguished cry, the momentum of his leap sending him sprawling onto the ground outside the cave. Blood pooled beneath him, his vision swimming as he struggled to rise.

The teleport crystal. He needed it. It was now or never.

Caledryn rolled onto his back, took a deep breath, and focused. He almost screamed with frustration as he slipped his hand into his other pocket and found the crystal immediately. Yanking it out from his pocket, he held it in his palm and swung his other hand forward to shatter it and activate the spell.

A shadow fell over him as his hand flew through the air. Darian’s imposing form loomed, his chitinous armor glinting in the light. With a single swift motion, Darian’s claw came down, removing Caledryn’s hand. The crystal tumbled to the ground, landing just out of reach.

Caledryn’s scream was cut short as Darian’s hand closed around his throat, lifting him effortlessly and pinning him against the pulsating surface of the Vescora. The Vescarid swarm surrounded them, their screeches quieting into a dull roar before cutting off completely as they awaited their king’s command.

“Why are you here?” Darian’s voice was cold, harsh. His glowing purple eyes bore into Caledryn.

The scout struggled, his remaining hand clawing at Darian’s grip. “Go to hell,” he spat, blood dripping from his lips.

Darian tilted his head, his expression unreadable. “You risked much to come here. I want to know why.”

Caledryn’s vision blurred as the swarm pressed closer, their collective aura tearing away at his sanity. He had faced monsters before, from dragons to the Vescarid themselves, but this Vescarid was so much different from what he had seen. There was true intelligence in its eyes and that was the most frightening feature of all.

“You… you’re a monster,” Caledryn choked out.

Darian’s grip tightened, but he didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he seemed to study the scout, as though weighing his words. “I am what I need to be, it is the Vescarid way,” he said finally. “You humans attack what you fear. But I don’t want your war. I want a home for my hive. Nothing more.”

Caledryn stared at him, disbelief etched across his face as he realized what had just happened.

I have been speaking to a Vescarid. My brain didn’t even comprehend it, but this creature is one of them. Not only that… he thought to himself before his eyes darted around to gaze upon each bug that surrounded him. They’re obeying it, they aren’t going to attack unless this one gives the order. Holy fucking shit!

Caledryn’s words came out in a jumbled mush, but he managed to articulate two words, “You talk?!” he choked out, both figuratively and literally as Darian clenched his throat tighter.

Darian’s mandibles extended outward and twitched in what might have been amusement. “More than you expected, I see.” He gestured with his free hand, and a drone scurried forward, retrieving the fallen teleport crystal. The drone placed it in Darian’s free hand.

“What would happen if I killed you right here, right now? If I stole your soul and fed your body to the Vescora?” Darian gestured to the fleshy substance below them as he mused to himself, but let the question linger in the air, baiting the scout to answer.

“My guild would come crashing down on you, they would do whatever it took to retrieve me and put an end to this–” his words cut off along with his airflow as he wheezed in Darian’s grip.

“And what would happen if I let you go?” Darian loosened his grip, allowing the man to speak.

“I won't say anything, I’ll leave and never come back” he begged.

“I can feel your heartbeat thrumming against my claws. Shall I pull it out and show you how frantically it pumps, how desperately it lies to buy another moment of life?” Darian’s voice hissed as he let some of his humanity slough off to reveal the merciless Vescarid within.

“No!” Caledryn reflexively spat, “I have to report this, I have to tell them what I saw, but please!” he pleaded, “I know you are Vescarid, but you have something different, you aren’t like the others!” his voice cracked, his words spilled free without reservation.

In a moment of shock, Darian let go of the man and stared past him, into the Vescora.

“The… Others?” he whispered, nearly inaudible before gripping the crystal in his palm. It began to crack and he returned to reality before holding the small arcane gem out to the scout. “Take it, go home, do not return. We will destroy all who come seeking war, but know that it will be a battle of self-preservation… It has always been self-defense…” his words trailed off as he dropped the crystal in Caledryn’s remaining hand.

“I’ll let you leave,” Darian said, his voice low and firm. “But know this: If you return with others, I will defend my hive. And I will not show mercy again.”

Caledryn didn’t hesitate. He pressed down on the crystal with all his might, the familiar pull of teleportation enveloping him in light as the Vescarid hive faded from view.

Caledryn warped into the guild hall, collapsing onto the polished stone floor. Adventurers nearby turned to stare as he struggled to catch his breath, blood trailing from his injuries.

“They’re like nothing we’ve ever seen” he muttered before collapsing unconscious on the floor.