Chương 5: Discovered

Simon had spent the four years since the dragon's death running himself and the Shadow Guard ragged. While outright war had been avoided, both Farun and Tamar had engaged in espionage, counter espionage, and endless guerilla warfare in desperate attempts to prevent the other from seizing the eldar dragon's hoard. At the same time, there had been an unspoken agreement to keep the dragon's death a secret as long as possible to avoid any additional parties from getting involved.

Both of the nations were extremely wary of the Savaren Empire to the south. Thus, as one of the captains of the Farun's elite troops, Simon had been sent on countless raids and ambush attempts. As things had escalated, the Farun kingdom's mage priests had been sent out to participate and provide magical support for the troops.

The truth was that having the mage priests ended up not making much of a difference after just a few skirmishes, as Tamar had sent their own magical support and the two sides had essentially canceled each other out. In the end, it was still the soldiers who were sent to fight and die. However, at the moment, Simon was not participating in the silent war. Instead, he had been sent with a small escort and a single mage priest to investigate a forest on Farun's border.

It was actually the same forest where Simon had been ambushed on his way back from the dragon's lair that first time, and so his memories of the place were less than impressed. He had passed through the forest countless times over the last four years, either returning towards the mountain with the lair, or to raid Tamar's territory. Each of those times he had only passed through the forest very quickly.

After that first attack, things had shifted westwards, and so the forest had simply become an obstacle rather than a destination. Simon's current task was to look into reports of giant bugs. The reports had started as rumors and legends, and had been dismissed as rural superstitions held by the hunters and farmers in the more remote regions of the kingdom. That had changed about a month ago when a chained wardog had disappeared while a squad had made camp in the forest.

Just the hound's disappearance would not have been enough to raise any bells, but there had been blood at the scene, as well as the shattered body of what had looked to be an ant the size of a cat. The creature's remains had been returned to Guilone, along with the report. Such a creature had never been seen before, and it naturally created an uproar within certain circles.

It was known that it was possible to raise and breed dogs for war purposes, selecting mates based on size, loyalty, aggression, and so on, but even then, there was a limit to how big the beasts would grow. What in the world could cause an ant to grow to the size of a cat? That was not merely double the size, but something entirely different. Simon and some of his Shadow Guard had been sent to escort a mage priest to investigate the matter.

If Tamar had learned how to breed monstrous beasts and send them as an advanced invasive force, Farun needed to prepare. After arriving in the forest, a soldier from the squad which had lost the wardog led them to where the beast had been lost. They intended to start from there and try to track down where the ant had come from. If there was a nest, their mission was to destroy it, if at all possible.

Ants were recognized as a pest that could devastate a family's food stores, and it had not taken long for Farun's leaders to understand how terrifying monstrously large ants could be. Simon intended to take no chances, and four soldiers were put on watch for each shift of the night. They could not afford to be taken unawares by bugs, but the creatures were still quite small, which meant that precautions had to be made.

"Captain Simon, I have not been able to sense anything unusual yet, but if any of your men are trackers, we might want to search the forest nearby for traces of the ants. I can't believe that an ant, no matter how large, could wander too far from its nest." The mage priest, Aaron, had not been able to sense any magical activity in the area, but Simon was not expecting to settle this matter quickly. Animals were something that hunters tracked down, not soldiers, yet even then, Simon knew that no hunter tracked ants.

Where would one even begin?

"Tomorrow I'll be sending out four teams of three men to scout each direction, Brother Aaron." Mage priests tended to be very fussy about being addressed properly, especially the followers of Hidde, the god of battle. Only Hidde's priests had been willing to cooperate with the soldiers, so even though a priest of Erdil, goddess of the hunt, would have been far more suitable, Arne's priests and priestesses refused to work with the soldiers at all.

"Hmmm… I will wait here in the camp to await reports so that I will be ready to join whichever team encounters something. In the meantime, I will see about setting up a ritual to search for possible magical activity in the area," Brother Aaron accepted Simon's arrangements without complaint, which was a relief for Simon. He had been sent as the mage priest's escort to assist and protect the man, which meant that technically, Simon and his men answered to the arrogant bastard. The soldiers quickly made camp.

The common soldiers set up little lean-to shelters for themselves. They were elites, and they always traveled fast and light, which meant carrying as little equipment as possible. As an added benefit, their shelters were difficult to see in the forest, which helped them remain undetected on their excursions. This time, they did have to set up a single tent, which was naturally for the mage priest. Used to a much more comfortable lifestyle, there was no way that Aaron would accept such primitive conditions.

While the soldiers were not thrilled about the presence of the tent, there was nothing they could do about it, and it also did not really matter. They were not in enemy territory or even trying to remain hidden from other humans. If they were trying to find monstrous creatures, then the presence or absence of a tent would not make any difference at all. The soldiers simply did not like the mage priest's sense of entitlement.

The Shadow Guard were used to being deployed, and their movements were efficient and silent. They knew their tasks and did not need to be told what to do by Simon or the sergeants. Silence was something that had been drilled into all of the elites for when they were deployed, and only almost whispered conversations could be occasionally heard. Nothing was even said to order anyone to stand watch for the night, as the soldiers knew their rotation by heart.

They were given the luxury of a hot meal cooked over a fire, and quickly turned in for the night. Aaron remained aloof and did not try to speak with anyone, though he did grumble about the crude fare provided for his meals. At dawn, the soldiers did not break camp, but prepared themselves for the day in a typically efficient manner.

Simon had already discussed the four teams who would be sent out, so there was no need to discuss that, though he did gather the men for a quick talk, as they were performing a task that they were unaccustomed to. They were not scouts, they were essentially the kingdom's knife that hid in the dark.

"You know that each team will have one of our trackers with you, but keep in mind that we're supposed to be looking for bugs and ants, not people. All of you keep your eyes open and stay focused. We don't know what we might be looking for, or even where. Stay vigilant, and watch both the ground and the trees. We've been told that if these ants are anything like normal ants, then we should be searching for the nest in the center of a cleared area that may or may not have a mound of dirt.

"Also, remember that while only an ant was brought back, there have been rumors of other bugs as well. You find anything at all, come back and report.

"We'll be doing two sweeps in each direction today, so be back before noon to report, and then we'll do a second sweep if nothing is found.

"Understood? Alright, dismissed." The soldiers quickly moved out. There were four teams of five men heading out in the four cardinal directions. While the remaining ten men, including Simon, remained in the camp. The soldiers who had been left behind were not idle, and they made themselves busy maintaining their equipment, checking the immediate surrounding area, and simply ensuring that any necessary chores were done for the day.

After all, there were only thirty-one men in the camp, but that still meant that latrines needed to be dug each day. Over the last four years, Blake had risen to become one of Simon's sergeants, and he was tasked with leading one of the scouting teams. They ventured north, though they did not move in a straight line, but zig-zagged to sweep the area. No one spoke, as they knew nothing about what the creatures they were hunting might be capable of.

They also left marks as they moved, both to leave a trail of where they had been, as well as a record of what they had found should anything happen to them and their companions needed to track them down. Two hours into the sweep, Burt, the best woodsman on Blake's team, hurried over to meet with his sergeant. The man was clearly disturbed, and Blake let out a bird-call to tell his other men to come back to him.

"Sarge, I don't know what I just found, but it ain't natural. There's drag marks up ahead, but I can't find no footprints. It's like somethin' floated in the sky to drag somethin' heavy to the nor'west. This might be what we're lookin' for." Blake quietly moved up to see what Burt had found, and sure enough, there was a trail through the forest showing that something had been dragged through.

Leaves and dirt were disturbed, but the bushes and trees seemed unbothered, despite the disturbingly straight line the trail formed. It passed right through smaller obstacles, and only went around trees and larger rocks. Blake raised a hand and pointed forward, and after leaving another mark indicating they had found something, the team moved on. It did not take long for them to see other signs of something unnatural in the forest.

None of the foliage had been affected, and there were still plenty of birds, but the soldiers were soon unable to find even a single small animal scurrying through the undergrowth or through the trees. They grew increasingly cautious, and their progress slowed as they continued on. After about thirty minutes more, they finally found a sign that they were headed in the right direction. They did not find an ant, but a massive centipede as thick as a man's upper arm and about a meter long.

It was winding through the underbrush, seemingly searching for something or hunting. Burt saw it first, and he grew pale at the sight. This was clearly not a natural creature, just from its size alone, but it also had discolored pincers at its head. The bug was a solid rust color, with the exception of the pincers, which were practically glowing a bright red. Blake gestured for his men to move back, and they instantly fell into a cautious retreat.

Two men watched their front and sides, while another two watched their rear and sides. As for Blake, he kept an eye on everything and made sure his men kept moving along. After retreating for fifteen minutes, Blake let out another bird whistle, and he and his men immediately started a loping run through the woods. They had retreated far enough to feel safe, and speed became more important than silence or caution.

They were back at the camp in less than an hour, as they had moved in a straight line rather than follow their original winding path. As they approached, Blake gave yet another bird whistle to alert the camp of their return. Simon met the soldiers, and Blake saw that they were the first team to return.

"Capt'n, I think we found the right path. We didn' find any ants, but there was a bugger the size of mah leg, and it seemed… off. It wasn' jus' big, it looked like there was somethin' special with its fangs. I ain't lettin' those things anywhere near me.

"Also, there weren't no creatures aside from some birds, an' we found a trail where somethin' was dragged through the woods. It might've been dragged to the ants' nest." Simon nodded, and the soldiers were allowed to rest until the other three teams returned. As for Simon, he went to speak with the mage priest and give a report. Approaching the closed tent, Simon called out, "Brother Aaron? My men believe they've found something."

While Simon might not like the mage priest, he understood that they needed the man's expertise in unraveling the mystery of what they were dealing with. He waited for a minute, hearing some rustling within the tent before Aaron finally stepped out, looking decidedly more rumpled than the previous day. It seemed quite clear to Simon that the mage priest was not accustomed to being without his various comforts.

"What have your men found, Captain?" Aaron was as overbearing as ever, despite the bags under his eyes and the wrinkles in his robes.

"They've found another monstrous bug, and possible evidence of the ants. The activity is centered north-west of here, and we'll be moving out with most of the squad as soon as the teams return. I want all of my men on this to be ready for any surprises." Aaron nodded.

"I'll be ready shortly. What sort of bug did they find?"

"A large centipede, reportedly as big as a man's leg." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Aaron's eyebrows rose, and he nodded again before ducking back into his tent. He emerged again within five minutes, looking slightly more ready for the day, and carrying an ornate staff that was gilded with symbols of Hidde.

Additionally, the man had one of the ceremonial swords of the god of battle strapped to his waist, though Simon had no idea if the mage priest actually knew how to use the weapon. The gods' priests were an inconsistent lot. It took an hour and a half for the other three scouting teams to return, and the team that had been sent west returned last. The team's sergeant, Edward, went straight to Simon, and Aaron walked over as well to hear the report.

Edward glanced at the mage priest, but delivered his report to Simon.

"Captain, we found something. Once we made it a certain distance west, on a sweep north, we caught sight of a big bug. It was alone, and looked harmless, despite its size, so we shot it with an arrow to bring it back."

"Where is it?"

"That's where things turned odd. First, the arrow didn't leave a scratch on the beetle. Not a mark, even though Matt got a direct shot. I watched, and he didn't miss or hit the thing on the side; he hit it dead on, but couldn't do a thing to it." Simon just nodded, as he knew that Matt was one of their marksmen, and it would be more strange for the man to miss.

"I decided we should come back and make a report before moving on, but things quickly became even more strange. The beetle didn't react to the arrow at all, and it just continued moving as it had been. It acted like nothing at all had happened.

"However, as soon as we started making our way back, we started hearing rustling behind us and to the sides. We didn't get surrounded, but instead it felt like we were being herded or stalked. There had to be at least five or six of the things, and Matt happened to catch sight of two of them dashing between some underbrush. They were foxes."

"Foxes?" Aaron interrupted.

"Foxes don't live in packs, and they don't herd people. They're skittish beasts that might stalk you, but if they do, you'll likely never catch sight of them. You expect us to believe that an entire pack of foxes followed you through the woods?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, and it's also why I took note of the matter. The beasts also stopped about three leagues from here. It was like we crossed a line that they couldn't pass, as all of them stopped at the exact same moment." Aaron turned on Simon before the captain could even dismiss his sergeant.

"Captain, this is the second report indicating the north west, so we should move out immediately. Get your men together and we'll go now." With that, the mage priest started walking away from the camp, heading due west. Simon grimaced, but he could not go against the mage priest. He looked at Edward.

"Get your men together, Sergeant. We're moving back out. Check in with Blake, as his team also found something, and I want to know which path will get us there quicker. I'll catch up with the priest and start moving him north west while you two determine the best route. Whichever route is best, have that team take the lead. We don't need to bother the good brother with this, so let's just show him where to go, shall we?"

Edward nodded and moved off to meet with Blake while the rest of the soldiers moved after Simon. Everyone had already prepared themselves to move out, so there was no need to delay.

"Blake, I heard you found something too?"

"A giant centipede as big as my leg. We came back as soon as we found it."

"We shoulda done the same. Got stalked by a pack of foxes on the way back to the camp after trying to shoot a beetle the size of the priest's head." Blake cocked a brow at the mention of foxes and a beetle.

"You tried to shoot the bugger? Knowin' the cap'n, he wants us to choose a path?" Edward nodded.

"He wants a smooth path as we guide the righteous prick through the woods." Blake knew that Edward had a bad opinion of priests in general, but still glanced around to make sure they weren't being overheard by the mage priest himself or any of the soldiers. Some of the men were devout or superstitious, and it would not be good for anyone if Edward were overheard.

"Well, if you were followed back, we should prob'ly take our path instead. We didn't bother any of the buggers, an' did'n notice anything followin' us, neither." Edward nodded, and Blake's team quickly moved to the front of the squad to lead the way. Simon had managed to guide Aaron to a more northerly direction, but only slightly. Once Blake and his team took the lead, the direction shifted quite dramatically.

Aaron could not move nearly as quickly as the soldiers, and so it took them almost two hours to return to where Blake's team had encountered the centipede. The bug was nowhere to be found, but the trail was as visible as ever. Once there, Simon ordered the squad's scouts to advance in front of the rest of them. Just as they had been warned, there were no animals to be seen in the forest aside from some birds, though they did hear a bit of rustling leaves in the underbrush now and again.

After just twenty minutes, they encountered a strange clearing, and Aaron froze stiff. Simon glanced over when the mage priest did not move for several seconds. Finally the man spoke, "Captain, I don't know what this place is, but this is the purest concentration of mana I've ever sensed in my life. Something is very strange about this, and this should be where we're looking for. Your men need to all be on guard, as I can't tell what we might find. This matches nothing I've ever heard of."

Simon nodded, and the soldiers who were within earshot all started shifting nervously. They could face an enemy without flinching, and had even dealt with mages on rare occasions, but dealing with an oddity of the natural world was not something any of them were mentally prepared for. Simon waved a hand, sending the soldiers into the clearing. The men moved slowly, bows in hands and fingers on nocked arrows. They found nothing.

They moved further into the clearing, but all they found was a single hole that looked a bit like an enlarged burrow beside the rotting remains of a fallen tree. There were no beetles or centipedes that the soldiers had seen earlier, nor any of the ants that had been discovered earlier. After seeing that the soldiers were fine, Aaron also stepped out into the clearing, and he immediately approached the hole, as it was the source of the pure mana he had been sensing since arriving at the clearing.

Still, not even the mage priest could sense anything from the burrow or the clearing. Aaron turned to Simon.

"Captain, I'm going to begin a ritual to peer into the earth with magic. Your men will need to protect me during this time."

"Understood. How long do you need?"

"Until I am finished." Gritting his teeth at the non-answer, Simon stationed the men around the mage priest and the edge of the clearing, making sure that they were safe from anything from the hole or the surrounding forest. Aaron immediately started chanting, not even checking to ensure his own safety. The words sounded nonsensical to the soldiers, and they tried their best to ignore the man as his voice rose and fell in an odd cadence as he circled the hole, occasionally tapping his staff on the ground.

After a bit more than five minutes, the mage priest grimaced and stopped. Simon stepped forward to hear what the man had discovered.

"I can't penetrate this ground with my magic, nor can I send anything through the pure mana that fills the hole. It's as though something is devouring the mana from my ritual and draining the power. I was only able to sense that there is life within the tunnel but I cannot give you numbers, size, or even species.

"I'm next going to try collapsing the hole and seal everything within. It's clearly too narrow for an adult to fit into, and any child small enough would be unable to accomplish anything at all. I can't say if there will be any reaction, but it would be best to prepare for the worst. Do you need any time?" Simon was surprised at how serious and professional the mage priest had become. It was possible that things were much graver than Simon had understood.

"Do you know if there are any threats in the surrounding woods? It would be best to concentrate my men in a single area, if possible, so I would like to avoid having to watch the hole and the forest at the same time."

"I was selected for this task due to my mastery of Earth, so sadly, I cannot tell you anything about the surroundings. That would require wood, air, or life affinity, which I lack. I sadly am unable to provide any guidance." Simon nodded and asked for a few moments to rearrange his men. He set them in three rings; five near the mage priest around the hole, ten between the hole and the edge of the clearing, and the rest were scattered near the edge of the clearing.

Swords and shields were used by everyone but the second ring, who all used bows so that they could reinforce wherever needed. As for Simon himself, he drew his weapon and planted himself beside Aaron before giving the man another nod. Aaron closed his eyes and resumed his meaningless chant. This time, he did not move his feet at all, but the staff continued to rise and fall with the man's voice. The soldiers felt a pressure descend upon them, and grips tightened as tension filled their expressions.

Unexpectedly, Aaron cut off mid-syllable and stumbled as though he had just been punched in the gut. His face turned pale, and the moment he was able to take a breath, he shouted, "Prepare!" Simon's eyes darted between the hole and the edge of the clearing, but he could not feel or hear a thing. There was no sign of what Aaron had sensed, and the soldiers started shifting their feet uncomfortably. There was nothing worse than an unknown, unseen enemy.

The silence did not last long, as suddenly insects erupted from the hole in the ground and forest creatures burst into the clearing from all directions. From the hole came centipedes, countless ants, beetles, and small snakes. They surged towards the soldiers, but it was quick to see that they were targeting the mage priest. From the forest came foxes, squirrels, and other small animals. There was no sign of wolves, bears, wildcats, or even deer. All together, it was objectively a very odd flood of creatures.

Even more strange was the fact that only the insects and other bugs showed an unusual size, as everything else looked to be perfectly normal. The soldiers reacted instantly, performing a fighting retreat from around the hole and from the edge of the forest. They all retreated onto the mage priest and assumed a circular defensive position. Bows were traded for swords and shields, as their opponents were too small to trust ranged weapons.

Out of all of the creatures, the soldiers struggled with the beetles the most, as their swords were unable to harm the bugs, and merely smacked them away and possibly turned them onto their backs. The frenzied state of the creatures left them easy pickings for the soldiers, and they were quickly eliminated. As the soldiers settled into fighting off the various creatures, they heard the mage priest's voice reach a crescendo. Dirt rose up from the ground and condensed into stones the size of a man's head.

Simon noticed what was happening, and shouted, "DOWN!" The soldiers dropped to the ground, ignoring their opponents, and not a moment too soon. Aaron's eyes were closed, yet each of the stones shot forward and impacted the indestructible beetles, crushing them. The soldiers grew pale when they saw that the stones had all moved in straight lines, and many of them would have lost their heads without the captain's warning.

With the beetles dealt with, the soldiers were able to quickly finish off the rest of the creatures. Aaron was gasping for breath and swaying on his feet. Despite his fury at seeing his men endangered by the spell, Simon motioned for one of his soldiers to help the mage priest move, and the entire squad started moving out of the clearing. Aaron fought off the soldier, and stumbled over to Simon.

"Captain, what is the meaning of this!" Simon stared at the man, his confusion so overpowering that he had no idea how to respond to the enraged question. Finally, he asked, "The meaning of what?"

"Why are your men leaving? The beasts are dead! We need to secure samples of every single species here and then block the hole!" Simon was stunned, but also understood what Aaron was saying. They were not facing a human enemy, or even an intelligent opponent. They were facing a freakish natural phenomena. There was no need to respond as though they would be ambushed or soon would need to face the enemy's reinforcements.

After quickly gathering his thoughts, he replied, "We are leaving the clearing to set up a more defensive base before resuming our task. We have no idea what is happening, or what might happen next, and we need to prepare for the worst." Aaron took a moment to breathe and compose himself.

"You will address me as 'Brother Aaron.' Do not forget that you are here to assist me, and not the other way around! Find me a place to sit and recover before I block the hole. Also, see if some of your men can find a large boulder while the rest gather samples of the various corpses. The more intact, the better." Simon had long known that priests were entitled and arrogant, but that knowledge never made them any easier to deal with.

He managed to keep his mouth shut as he nodded to acknowledge his orders and moved to deal with things with his men, who had all clearly overheard the mage priest's shouts. Bodies were collected, scouts checked the nearby area for any approaching threats and a large boulder, and Aaron sat on the ground with his eyes closed and breathing so slowly that he appeared asleep. After about twenty minutes, Aaron's eyes opened, and he looked over at Simon with a questioning expression.

"No, Brother Aaron, my men were unable to find any boulders in the area. We're still quite a distance from the mountains, and this region is entirely earth." Aaron sighed, and then heaved himself to his feet.

"You will need to protect me again, and then will likely need to carry me from here when we leave, as I will probably be incapacitated. Make sure your men leave a clear trail to this place, as we will need to return here with more of my brothers and sisters." Simon made to respond, but suppressed his questions. It was clear that there was something to the situation that he did not understand.

Instead, he just nodded and gestured for his men to take up positions around the mage priest, and two men quickly went to chop down two saplings and grabbed some clothes to make a litter to carry the priest, if needed. For the fourth time that day, Aaron started chanting, but this time, the soldiers were able to clearly see what was happening as the chant continued. Dirt rose up from the ground in the nearby area, and it all started to gather before Aaron's outstretched hand and staff.

More and more dirt gathered, and it soon started to shrink and condense. After a couple of minutes, sweat was pouring from Aaron's head, and his arms were shaking. He took a trembling step forward towards the hole, a massive boulder floating in the air in front of him. Simon understood what was needed, and he stepped forward while indicating with his head for Blake to do the same on the other side. The two soldiers helped hold Aaron upright and practically carried him towards the hole.

Once they were close, Aaron's chant cut off, and the boulder fell to the ground, plugging the hole in the ground. The mage priest fell with the stone, and only avoided collapsing onto the ground because he was held upright by Simon and Blake. Aaron was not merely weak and pale, but completely unconscious. They carried him back to the makeshift litter and laid him down. Simon looked around at his men. There were a few nicks and scratches, but overall, there was no damage to be seen.

"We need to get the priest back and make a report. Make sure you bring the bodies along, and while I know we all hate it, we'll be moving through the night tonight. Make sure your gear's secured and that everything's ready. We'll be stopping to collect the men at the camp, and I want Burt and Matt up in front to alert the camp so that they're ready by the time the rest of us arrive. We'll rest at dawn, and move out again at midday. I want to be home within four days. Understood?"

"Yessir!" The humans left the clearing, leaving nothing behind but a massive pile of bug and animal corpses. Also, deep underground, they left a distraught, fledgling core.