Chapter 81: Incursion

Chapter 81: Incursion

Belissar immediately focused on the entrance of the Tower...and found nothing. He frowned and then began to zip around the Tower with his Tower sight, but still he didn’t find anything. The karnuq weren’t present in his Tower at the time so he didn’t think there’d be any remnants, but still he searched. Not finding anything, he began to zoom out his Tower sight, hoping to catch sight of anything out of the ordinary, but as far as he could tell all was normal in his Tower.

And yet, he could still feel the Hunger. His heart began to pound.

“Where is it?”

Niobee zipped in front of him.

“Bees looking!”

Belissar nodded.

“Thanks, let me know if they find anything.”

He could see his bees stir and start to spread out through the Tower. Without any further options to check the Tower himself, Belissar tried to focus on the feeling in the Tower’s mana. He couldn’t find a shade anywhere in the Tower, but it was definitely touching the Tower’s mana so it had to be somewhere...

Belissar froze, and then his eyes opened wide. He realized...that the Tower’s mana was not limited to its own walls.

And that attacks by shades were not unknown in his former, Tower-less life.

He immediately began to look outside the Tower, jumping through the eyes of the scout workers still out there. Most of them were on their way back, but a few were further out. They felt his presence and followed his will, turning around and spreading out. However, there were only a handful of scouts, what one joint hive could spare on exploration, and there was a lot of ground to cover.

And then...a bad feeling crept into Belissar’s chest. Because as far as he knew, there were only two things in the area a shade might go for. His Tower...and the karnuq camp. His mind was filled with the image of a big shade-wolf tearing through tents. Of Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak and the hunters trying to face one, of Juosiutik and the gathers trying to flee.

His blood ran cold.

“Move to the karnuq, check the area around them!”

The bees closest to the camp flew as fast as they could, flying above them. Fortunately, the camp itself was not under attack yet. Belissar exhaled the breath he was holding, but then looked closer. There was a lot of movement around the camp, and he could see armed hunters gathering at the edge of the camp furthest from his Tower.

“There, head that way!”

The bees did as asked...and then he saw it. It was shaped like a massive boar, but with six tusks and eyes and eight legs, and taller than even a karnuq, much less Belissar. It knocked over the trees as it walked, not slowed down in the slightest by the obstacles in its path. And it left a trail of death in its wake, grass, flowers, shrubs, and fallen trees rotting and dying in the oily black mist of the Hunger.

Belissar didn’t even spare another thought before he was moving, running towards the entrance of his Tower.

Metsaitti slowly nodded and returned to the hunters. The karnuq stood scattered about, with spears and bows mostly carved from the bones of their prey, only a handful still holding the masterfully forged weapons of their forebearers. Chief Rohsuak’s shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh. They were a far cry from the war parties she had followed and then led in her youth.

They felt it before they heard it, the ground rumbling with each step it took. They heard trees crack and fall, and saw the rustling in the canopy. Many of the younger hunters began to fidget and gulp.

“Steady.”

Metsaitti raised his spear, his voice stopping the hunters from shuffling back. As long as he stood, they would stay and fight. Chief Rohsuak could only hope he would not fall.

It was not pleasant for her to stand behind the lines, instead of in front of them.

And then, the shade burst from the trees, towering over even the karnuq hunters. It paused as it looked around. Then it let out a roar and began to dig into the ground.

“Loose!”

At Metsaitti’s shout, the karnuq archers let their arrows fly. Their aim was true and the arrows sank deep into the monster.

It hardly seemed to notice.

The shade began to charge, shaking the very world around them as it smashed through the trees. Metsaitti took but one look at its building momentum before he made his call.

“Dodge!”

The karnuq hunters, prepared to stand their ground, paused at his cry. That moment of hesitation nearly cost their lives as they threw themselves out of the path of the monster. They hit the dirt, unable to launch any counter thrusts as the shade dug into the dirt, leaving huge furrows in the ground as it slid to a stop and prepared to charge once again.

Chief Rohsuak frowned as the monster began a second charge surprisingly quickly. Despite its bulk, it would not remain still long enough for her to target her spell. Worse...shades were inherently drawn to mana. It would notice once she began to gather hers...and she was not confident she could finish her attack before it could charge her down. How ironic that the Blazing Berserker would now find herself helpless in a fight, forced to conserve her strength until it was safe to unleash it.

Metsaitti, at least, still had the strength to fight. He stirred up his mana, drawing the shade’s attention away from a group of archers as he strengthened his body and his spear. The shade immediately turned to him and narrowed its eyes. A moment later, it began another charge with a roar.

Metsaitti stood in place, digging his own feet into the dirt. He stood completely still, his eyes fixed upon the monster bearing down on top of him. Then, at the very last second, he pushed off and leapt to the side, moving faster than any normal karnuq could and barely evading the tusks of the beast. He then stomped into the ground and pushed back, thrusting his spear into the monster’s side.

The shade roared as it continued to charge ahead. Metsaitti’s eyes widened as his spear was suddenly yanked forward. He held on and was pulled off his feet as the monster charged forward. But he was forced to let go as he nearly crashed into a tree, tumbling across the ground as the shade skid to another half. It turned to face him once more, eyes blaring red as it adjusted its stance. Metsaitti looked up and grimaced.

Chief Rohsuak grimaced even more. Metsaitti’s spear was one of the better weapons they had left, most of the others would have snapped from such forces. The other karnuq hunters were currently keeping their distance, launching arrows when they could but otherwise staying away. Only Metsaitti had the mana and the abilities to consistently dodge the shade at close range.

This fight was not going well.