Triple Strength

293. Growing Pains: Tabitha.

I knew I should have interfered with that coin toss and left the bitch Lee behind. My shadow Manipulation could have done it easily. Lee is getting to know all our secrets. I guess it was inevitable, but I feel like strangling her and dumping the body. I still might. Maybe I will let a small section of hornets escape in her direction tomorrow.

Now Wiremu is building Umreti, a portable hive from leather. I am really not sure about this. We are carrying around a Monster Hornet Hive. Something about that just makes me shiver uncomfortably. I know I can suck them dry of energy in seconds, but still, I shiver because I sort of can’t do that to Umreti, and the thought of a ten-centimetre hornet landing on my shoulder just makes me seriously uncomfortable. Tomorrow is going to be bad enough, but I don’t mind going on a killing spree against them. It is living with them that I have trouble with.

Umreti and his new queen are going to sit out tomorrow so they don't get mixed up in the slaughter. We are going for a multi-pronged attack at around dawn, so the sun is rising on Nyx and myself. Nyx and I are in charge of the above-ground part. Wiremu has identified three main exits for the hive and some smaller ones. Nyx and I will blanket them and suck the life out of everything that exits. I think we will get overwhelmed, but it is the best place for us. We will have Težka, Ruku and Tāoke with us. Težka for his earthquake skill to close some of the tunnels and restrict the number coming out. Tāoke will be mixing his funny cloud to add to the mix and using his Phantasm to keep them off us. My Intimidating Aura may not be enough if they work up into a frenzy. We have some heavy furs to cover ourselves with, and Ruku can add his Whirlpool shield, which should also be effective. Worst case scenario, we hide under Težka and his Armoured Skin.

Wiremu, Puia and Modrica are the underground team. Modrica is going because it is burrowing under soft soil, and earth is her affinity. She will also be able to collapse areas as well. Wiremu and Puia are going to smoke them out and poison them. It will take a while for his venom to make it through their resistances, but the Phantasm mental attack should confuse and slow them down enough. The queens are normally at the bottom of the hive breeding. The new larvae will be very susceptible to the cloud, and the queens will get hit first, slowing down any call to swarm. At least, that is the theory, so we start the cloud underneath the hive in several places. Wiremu and Modrica will laze around in a soft tunnel while we have to deal with the swarm.

The bitch will be sitting around the wagons doing nothing as normal. I will see if Umreti will bug her with the hornets.

Wiremu and Modrica left at around midnight to dig tunnels, and the rest of us set up an hour before dawn. Nyx blanketed two main exits and a wide area, and I did the third exit. Nyx and I tried a few things as there were hornets coming and going even at this hour. We settled on a thick layer of shadows and then a hard top to stop them from escaping if they got through the shadows. None of the few hornets that exited got through the shadows. They dropped to the ground, sucked dry of energy.

Activity picked up as the sun rose, and we were handling it fine. The constant stream of energy coming in was nice. Nyx was very much enjoying it. She was using the energy to grow. I am not sure grow is the right word. She doesn’t grow larger. She grows stronger or darker or more dense. I suddenly realised I probably haven’t really been providing her with enough food for real growth for a while. I have been negligent.

Then the hive really stirred up. Wiremu and Puia have started. Hornets started exiting from every hole we had mapped and a few we hadn't. They were coming out faster than we could syphon them dry, and the first ones struck our hard ceiling. It was only my Reflecting Surface, even though it was the most non-reflective I could make it, but it was strong enough to stop the Hornets, giving us more time to syphon their energy. I was directing most of my energy toward Nyx.

Then, the Hornets who struck the barrier did what Hornets do when threatened. They stung the barrier, and it fucking hurt. The stings started multiplying, and the pain ramped up. Through the haze of pain, it occurred to me that the hornets were spiritual monsters and, as such, could hurt spiritual beings like Nyx. That's how I found Nyx trapped and being attacked by goblins who were also spiritual beings. Maybe only one in ten were making it to the barrier, but that meant for every thousand, there were a hundred attacking the barrier. They were swarming out of the hive in their tens of thousands.

I weakly waved Težka forward. Her job was to use her Earth Manipulation and Earthquake to close some of the exits and limit the hornets exiting the hit. I felt the ground shake. Težka started drawing attention from the hornets, and they started attacking her, but her Armoured Skin was sufficient for now.

We had to release the Reflecting Surface as spiritual damage was starting to accumulate, as well as the intense pain. Nyx and I released it at the same time while also trying to deepen the shadows to give more time to syphon the energy. Nyx was coming up to her limit despite her growth. With the removal of the surface, hornets were now out of the shadows and circling. Angry. Looking for a target. It is fortunate we were all hidden in the shadows.

One in fifteen or one in twenty was making it out of the shadows, but the swarm was growing. For every hundred thousand hornets, that was a swarm of five to seven thousand angry hornets. More were pouring out of the hive all the time, even with Težka closing exits.

I signalled Ruku. It was time to give the hornets a target. Ruku stepped close, and I thinned the shadow around us so we became visible to the hornets around us. Ruku started spinning his Whirlpool Shield around us both as the swarm above us dove down at us, back into our syphon zone. It was a good plan, but Nyx and I could not handle much more energy. I let most of the swarm hit Ruku’s whirlpool Shield, and it darkened with the bodies of drowned hornets as they attacked it. It changed colour with poison as well, but I couldn’t tell if it was Ruku’s poison or the hornet's sting. It was probably both.

I felt the Earthquake, and I was sure it was not Težka, so it must be Modrica collapsing things underground. The intensity of the swarm coming out was lessening, or they were less vigorous. I think these ones were affected by Wiremu and Puia’s mind fuck cloud, whatever the hell they call it.

I am starting not to think straight. It is like a pain building up and threatening to burst, and I could sense Nyx was similar. I shut the shadows back around us to hide us, and Ruku pops the lid on one of the containers of water he brought as he thins his shield and starts cycling clean water into it. I dunk my head into it and take a long drink. Then I feel Ruku’s Refreshing Mist and Hydrate Skills activate.

I notice one of the tunnels suddenly stops spewing out hornets, and nobody seems near to it. Then I sensed a small lava snake moving through the tunnel with bits of hornet burning off his body. I had totally lost track of Tāoke as he moved through the tunnels burning and letting loose the mind fuck cloud.

These Hornets seemed endless. Nyx and I felt like we would burst.

I spoke to Ruku, “Nyx and I need to consolidate for a while.”

“Direct me to the best spot,” he said.

I guided Ruku with Shadow nudges. He was not totally blind in the shadows as his Sonar pierced through to a limited extent. Ruku took both a full water container and an empty one with him. Once he was in position, he strengthened his shield from the full container, which cost him less energy than creating the water itself. Water Manipulation was one of his Master Skills.

I then called Nyx to me, and the Shadows withdrew from the area, and she came and entered the Blacksteel knife to rest and consolidate her gains.

With the shadows withdrawn, Ruku became a target for the hornets exiting the tunnels rather than them trying to escape. His Whirlpool Shield became dark with bodies again, but the hornets also started dropping around him, and the empty container started filling with murky water. This was his Hydrate skill in reverse. He was dehydrating the hornets around him, and the majority were dropping before hitting his shield. I knew he couldn’t keep it up for long, but it was giving Nyx and myself a breather.

Yes, I was still covering my area, but the two of us were now consolidated and could easily handle half the input, so we took it easy as Nyx condensed as much energy as she could, and we released the rest. The sun beating down on our shadows was also using more energy, which was a good thing at this stage.

I looked at the sun. It was well above the horizon. This had been going longer than I realised, and still, there was no end in sight. There were now two angry swarms curling above us, looking for a target, and one had just focused on Težka, who was now outside the Shadows. Težka could armour up against the attack but had no way to fight against it. I pushed my shadow out toward him, and he got the hint and started to come to me. Then the swarm hit him, and I lost sight of him under ten thousand Hornets. This was a problem, and I was worried for him. He should be stronger than a Forest Troll, but these things took down a fucking Forest Troll.

Then Ruku hosed him down with Water Surge, and I saw his fur on one side as the side facing Ruku was washed down. Težka took the opportunity to let out an Enraging Roar, which enhanced his constitution and had a short stun effect. He was still quite a way from me, and the roar had attracted the attention of the other swarm.

Just before the swarm covered Težka again, I sensed a rock flying toward him and landing on his back. A layer of Granite appeared on his back and head, giving him more protection, and Tāoke went to work farting out mind fuck gas from his back.

The hornets emerging now could barely fly straight as they were heavily affected by Wiremu and Puia underground. The thing is, they kept coming, and they recovered after a short time in the fresh air. Then I saw actual smoke from some tunnels, and the ground looked like it was burning. Wiremu and Puia were working their way towards us, turning the hive into Molten Rock. They must have hit some key breeding areas.

It was time for a last push. The end is in sight. Nyx moved back out to Ruku’s Blacksteel pendant, and her Shadows once more engulfed the area. With the Hornets now coming out weak from the gas clouds, they were already half out of energy, and this made life much easier. Nyx and I were almost able to keep pace with it now. Nyx had had a growth spurt, and the sun was beating down at our shadows, sucking out our spare energy.

An hour and a half later, I sank down beside Težka, exhausted. I realised it was almost noon. Nyx was full to bursting with energy, but I was physically exhausted. The landscape was a burned and smouldering mess entirely clear of vegetation. Wiremu and Modrica were walking towards me, covered in dirt. They had emerged from the ground near the centre of the destruction.

Some queens certainly escaped, but they would have to start from scratch again. The significant threat was dealt with. Težka was the most damaged, but Ruku and I had some stings to show for it. My Syphon Constitution was very effective in the swarm, and Ruku’s Regeneration is off the charts. Težka was the problem, needing to drink the blood of his kills to recover, and the hornets were not suitable. He was stuck with a potion and a general anti-poison cleanser.

“Was there a core?” I asked Wiremu.

He opened his hand, “We recovered parts of one.”

“Well fuck. I am going to close my eyes for a bit, and then we can see what we can salvage from this mess.” I walked over to Težka and sat down, leaning against him and closed my eyes.