Dark Crow Rising

"No awake?" Heiya's Father asks as I stroke Nin's snoring head. Applying what magic I can, I try to nurse him to a healthier state. I understand perfectly what he is going through right now. I don't think much of it, but, situations like this are how I was trained...

They built us up to be strong and powerful, then they would throw us into the lower-magic ravines. They trained our minds in a way we had otherwise not been handled in. No one thinks of it much at first, but as the nights go by without your usual schedule. People tend to get confused in the lightest sense of the word.

I suppose it is a good thing that Nin burnt out now of all times. His lack of self-control and regulatory ability made the process far quicker. Though, I do worry that his unintentional lighthousing has and is still giving the osibindah time to prepare. Thankfully, his burnout means our journey into the hive should be safer as well.

If they can't find him as easily...

"No, I think it is best to let him enjoy the moment while he can." I finally answer as I think back to my time in the war against the heretics. Some had their tricks for easy sleep, but others could never get their mind to stay quiet and I am often one of them. I've even heard stories of my superiors just ignoring sleeping cadets and initiates. Waionr's thirtieth law seems odd to most if not all until one is about to go to war.

"He better not be like this when we have to go into that accursed mountain..." Vadei spits as she cosies up to her tail. Focusing more magic to my hand, I look over at her properly just as she tosses a twig to the fire.

"He won't, none of us will tonight." I struggle to say as my gut trembles at the mention of the hive. Sniffing the air, I bring my attention to the makeshift pan as Heiya turns the meat around. Sizzles leave the pan and she giggles quietly with wet, freshly-licked lips.

"No! Ruin it!" Heiya's Father complains as he smacks his daughter gently.

"Baaack aff! I knaw whaaat I'm daing." she groans as she hits the ammo containers near the top. Watching the older of the two make sure they are still closed, I hear the following smack he delivers to her. They mentioned before that blood wasps are inside of them. Admittedly, I do not know what they are, but, as they make honey, I find myself thinking of home.

Thurn's Forge lacks much in the way of plant life due to its location, so the people are avid gardeners. Often, when I could, I would just wander through the streets and go through and under the many window boxes and hanging baskets. You can find all kinds of bees and joyful, colourful emotivores within them. Oddly enough, it was out there that I most often met a head of a Valkinvar Ordoar...

Eurultus-Valkinvar Pymonsia, a lovely but quiet woman. She likes to go through the gardens of the city and I recall often the few times she did speak up. It was always petty bickering over having some flowers somewhere in the Great Temple of the Valkinvar. I still continue to smile at the fact she even managed to politically brute force a willow tree onto the temple grounds.

Returning my mind to the present, I look down at Nin once again as my hand moves for another motion. He is an odd thing, I have to admit. He has the strength to do more than any of the other three in our plan. But, he lacks the confidence and the all-around know-how to make much use of it.

Despite the doubts cast his way by the others, though, I want to feel optimistic about what he can do for us. Everyone has their points, sure, but Nin can just as easily prove them wrong. Trying circumstances always bring out the best and worst in people. And, I am willing to gamble that he will show his best when push comes to shove...

However, looking around at the debris, Nin might not be the only one we can rely on, "Heiya, answer something for me."

"Caaan it waaait?" she asks as she uses a utensil to rub some cooking meat in the bubbling, runny honey.

"As it pertains to tomorrow, no." I tell her as I focus on the broken tubes. They might be destroyed, but their purpose remains clear and I feel strange looking at them. Some kind of super material designed to keep magic out perfectly. Though, as they are now, my arcane senses are just all blotched up with blank spaces.

"Aaask aaawaaay, then." she says to me, even if she needs to keep her attention on the cooking.

"How many people were you shipping before all of this?" I ask them to which Vadei flinches and growls.

"Uh... Aaabaut... Thirty?" she starts to say as she looks over at her father. He nods and she starts to nod lots in turn.

"How many of them have you been able to confirm as dead?" I ask next as I lightly gesture to an empty, smashed-open tube.

"Maaaybe haaalf? I've faund lats of pads but aaa faaair few aaare empty." she answers after some brief pondering.

"You think we can ask the other slaves for help?" Vadei asks, getting straight to the point. She is touchy, as evidenced by her flexing claws, but her head is otherwise cool.

"I do. Nin managed to survive the process of Sudden Induction. Perhaps others have as well?" I propose to the group and I get a mixture of responses. Vadei looks away uncomfortably while the other two stare. The older one starts to shake his head. Heiya's stare moves towards her gun.

"No. Small chance. Boy unexplained luck." Heiya's Father eventually answers. Watching him reach for one of the guns I pulled up a few orbits ago, he starts to play with it.

"Put thase dawn." his daughter tells him and he groans as he presents it.

"Sudden Induction big. Big boom. Safer on non-living." he explains with gestures that allude to an explosion.

"So we are more likely to find remnants of your cargo?" I ask him as his obvious references easily call upon images from my veteran mind.

"Yes." he answers with a single nod. Shaking my head, I put my spare hand to my chin.

"We're on our own, then..." Vadei whines.

"We were aaalwaaays an aur awn." Heiya quips as she starts to plate the food but not much else. I am confused as to why she is just leaving it on a plate, we can let it cool down ourselves... But, whatever they are doing, Vadei seems to appreciate the fact that they are leaving our food alone for the moment.

But, I can't let go of that explanation... If a low-magic individual explodes when exposed to lots of magic. How did Nin survive? Despite his slowness, he did walk in on me after I...

"No. Hive have many prisoners. We arm them." Heiya's Father points out to his daughter and I look to the aelenvari seed at his words. I know there are others inside that mountain, but would they even have the strength to fight? Osibindah are not courteous or gracious hosts by any metric. At the very least, though, having a seed with us could motivate the aelenvari by appealing to their defensive motherliness...

There might be some benefits to having more people with us, especially armed ones. But the tunnels are tight and narrow, our numbers would be useless just like the osibindahs. Cruel or pragmatic, though, a sudden group of directionless, armed aelenvari could be useful. The sudden chaos would not be handled well even by such a unified thing as the osibindah.

These archers they have might not be a problem, but they didn't just have them. Osibindah are distinct for their unique lore of magic, even if it is bound to one individual per hive. I can deal with the earth shaman, should we encounter him, but... My wound is barely holding together.

That emerald-haired man on that machine, his terrifying, lingering power...

"Is there anything you might be able to tell me about the Earth Shaman?" I ask the other three as I did not know who to go to for specifics.

"Stone worm... Things..." Vadei mutters as she hides behind her tail. Her ears dash about and she forcibly calms them down by pressing them against her head.

Grabbing at the dirt, Heiya's Father lets it sprinkle from his hands, "Rust. Lots."

"Hm, its magic doesn't sound out of the ordinary. And, I doubt its armour means much." I say as I preemptively measure up my main opponent. It is a curious thing, though, an osibindah wearing armour. I've never heard of such a thing before or seen it.

"Saunds like Aaalxxcran." Heiya comments as she pokes at the meat.

"I'm not familiar with the name." I say to her as she looks at me with an unsteady hand.

"The Helm-Taaaker, faaamed far feeding aaa whale fartress tawn ta his warms." she tells.

"It's unusual for osibindah to attack settlements like that." I point out as siegecraft of any kind is typically beyond them. Even with the oft-underestimated Earth Shamans and their stone-focused arcane... Talents...

"Earth Shaman different." Heiya's Father remarks as he taps his left temple.

"Great... Of all the hives I am stuck at. It's one with an infamous bug." Vadei snorts as she bounces a leg up and down erratically.

"Do not despair too much, Vadei, this one may be a cut above the norm but it is by no means comparable to a... Valkinvar." I tell her, though, I hesitate at using the term 'Valkinvar.' I am so used to speaking about myself in that manner but...

"Even when you aren't in your armour?" Vadei questions, drawing attention to my charity towards Nin.

"A force multiplier is only as good as that which it benefits." I tell her as Nin starts to shuffle about on my lap.

"This smell better not be lying to me..." he groans as he pushes himself up off of it. Clutching his head, he winces at some kind of mental pain before he shakes life back into his eyes. But, his waking remark did have a point, the food does smell nice. Rather conveniently as well, they are finally serving it as well!

I smile as Heiya approaches with two portions.

Receiving my bowl, I look down at the red-painted meat as the few pieces of added-on greenery sink into the honey. Sniffing it closer, I pick up on the sweetness of the honey and I poke at it in an effort to find a dryish spot. The others dig right in but Nin and I are slower. Carefully trying to pick it up, I somewhat get a good grip on the bone with the honey and the fat of the meat dripping from it.

"What is it?" Nin asks as he watches mine lose its sweet covering.

"Meat and honey!" I answer quite happily as I move to nibble on the meat. It's only been a few orbits, but it feels like I have been without good food for longer.

"No clue what 'honey' is but what meat are we having? Been chugging gruel down for so long that I want to savour it..." he says as he smacks his lips. I smile because of that, it is nice to see him actually in the mood for eating for once.

"Humaaan." Heiya sings and I drop the meat as my tongue arches backwards in disgust. I want to know that I misheard that...

"Did you just say..." I utter as I desperately pray in my head that my tongue did not just touch this foul meal.

"Yep, humaaan." she repeats nonchalantly as she gnashes some more from the bone. Shivering, I put the bowl down and watch the others as they continue to eat without a care. Nin's lack of disgust is particularly worrying...

"Tastes better than I thought it would." Nin comments as he rips a chunk off of his bone.

"Nin..." I say as he continues to eat it.

"I'll eat yours if you don't want it." he says as he reaches for mine. Grabbing his wrist to stop it, I stare at him as honey clogs up his mouth and smears his face. He starts to teeth his picked bone and Heiya starts to laugh.

"What's so funny!?" I demand to know as Heiya laughs more and more.

Getting a hold of herself, she bites on the bone briefly, "It's just white meaaat!"

"White meat...?" I repeat as I move my grip to stop Nin from chewing his bone. Nearly taking it from him, he turns feral.

"Give it back!" he hisses like an animal as he starts to test if he can eat the bone.

"You dare lie to me about such a thing..." I groan as I start to enjoy my food. Even if I still feel disgusted with myself as I do so.

"Y-Yep!" she cackles as she converts the barren bone into a whipping stick to be licked from. Light taps come from the bowl and she licks it clean again and again with gusto.

"What a horrible mind you have." I remark before I take another bite from the food as Nin eyes it.

"Come on... I haven't eaten much." he greedily tells me between taking finger scoops of honey from his bowl.

"Not my problem!" I snap before I strip another piece of meat off for my own pleasure. Loudly and aggressively, I then eat it in his face. He groans and stares back at me with beady eyes.