Hive of Minds

It was abnormal how much the forest had changed over mere weeks. Rather than a lofty, lush green forest it was filled with dead wood and infested with fungi. Brown leaves covered the ground as if it was autumn and a foul rotting smell lingered every turn. During a previous mission (by the name of postmortem dogma,) the forest had housed reanimated corpses of animals. Now they were nowhere to be seen and instead a gigantic wasps hovered across the area, scourging for food.

Daniel, Ramza and Deneaerys had been briefed about the events that had unfolded previously. The last team had been sent to investigate the nature of the forest's rapid perishing and found that it had been the result of radiana experiments by none other than Ophelia Mercelliér, an ex-librarian turned traitor. She created two new breeds of insects; a parasitic one that nested and laid eggs in living beings and controlled them, as well as the giant wasps that were their natural predators to keep herself safe from infection. However, the wasps were reproducing far too quickly and with Ophelia apprehended; it was up to the Library to stop that from happening. Already there had been sightings of the giant wasps in towns and it likely wouldn't be long until they'd start ravaging the province...

The librarians arrived at the edge of the forest and met with Hertz Rhajo, a forest ranger under whose name they had been hired. He'd given them maps and a compass, although Hertz had also warned them that the maps were no longer entirely accurate because of the recent developments in the forest's wildlife. “The nest is uphill near the lake here.” Hertz pointed out a blue blob on the map. “If you keep walking east from where we are now you will find a river. Follow it upstream and you should find your destination, but be careful if you see any of the wildlife or lone wasps. There are still some parasites loose and the wasps are getting more desperate for food.” The forest ranger explained, scratching his goatee while keeping his eyes on the map, instead of meeting the eyes of those he was conversing with. It was clear the man was still in shock, and who could blame him after what he had been through.

“If you have any questions, please ask me now as I won't be joining you into the forest.”

A Clayman's Finale

“I thought these things were supposed to be tough.” Lux grinned smugly. After all the horror stories he'd heard about the golems, he just couldn't help but feel good about himself for doing such a number on them. The golem was acting weird and whatever it was; something inside of it was malfunctioning. He put Salia back down, allowing her to stand on her own two feet, or foot, whatever was possible for her.

“I think we found our selves a good chance to see how these things work.” Lux replied to the rook's question, as he cracked his fingers. “If they're as much trouble as I heard, cracking one open might give everyone a fighting chance, or a morale boost.” He explained, and within minutes Lux was summoning the vapor again, but this time localising it around the golem and mixing it with a bluer haze. Between the dense greenhouse and cold frost mist spells, Lux would (unknowingly) follow the example of Valenci's spirit a few floors below them and encase the golem in a large block of ice. After all, if his greenhouse had been powerful enough to make the clay conduct electricity, certainly he could make it expand with ice and cold... Without a doubt making it weaker.

“I don't have a tool to do the surgical part, though.” Lux said devilishly, as he smiled Salia with daring look in his eyes, “Would you do me the honour of cutting this thing open?”

Will 'o the Piper

Sigmund, unfortunately, was not so receptive as to understand Charles' words. He was in a daze, unable to think clearly, or even at all. He was in a state of complete obedience to his own spirit and could only reply a strange sensation that commanded him to stay put. They'd been Medusa's orders and as if his own will numbed, Sigmund simply listened.

Medusa, still shaking and recovering from her outburst, had one predatory instinct pass the torch to the next when Charles and Sophia bolted off. After commanding Sigmund to stay where he was, Medusa ran after the knight and his spirit. “Wait, stay with me, Charles! I need you too!” Medusa shouted, although her ability to control her own emotions left to be desired and although meant to come across like a plea, Medusa's voice had an aggressive ring to it. “Please come back!”

Free Billy

Nathair & Quartz

The man had slipped out of Nathair’s first grasp and managed to get on stage in a clumsy and ungraceful motion. He didn’t get far before Quartz tossed his elongated body against the man’s legs and wrapped about, tying the limbs together with each force to restrain him. When Quartz impacted, the man tumbled with a heavy thump on the stage and was suddenly weighed down by Nathair’s arms when he pinned him down. Nathair had hoped his strength would’ve been enough to keep the man under control but those ideas were shattered when man’s head turned and spat upon his face. It took seconds to protect his eye, even though the phlegm had hit and now glided down the contours of his scarred cheek. Nathair’s teeth bore in reply followed by a low growl, his grip tightened about the man’s clothes as he fought the instinct to slam the man down hard enough to bruise him. Instead he put a knee into the back nook then freed one hand which he placed to force the man’s head against the hard stage then started to rise up. His hands took hold of the man’s clothing in fistfuls while slowly hauling his figure off.

Quartz, on the other hand, had no such desire to control his impulse.

A nail of annoyance had driven itself into the spirit and caused Quartz to let out a hiss in response to the man’s actions. As Nathair pulled the protester upon his feet, Quartz’s fangs sank into the man’s leg near the back of the heel. It wasn’t meant to cause permanent damage, but it would make the man think twice about repeating his insult. Of course it took a great deal of Nathair’s strength to keep the man upright when his leg curled at the sudden pain before a moment later was promptly tossed off stage and back into the crowd. Quartz slithered up his Holder’s leg until he reached the spot where the spat hit. His tail gently pulled Nathair to look at him while the eyes examined for other damages, Quartz likely inwardly debated upon flinging himself back after the immature human. That’s when a voice, other than Simon’s, caught their attention. The feathery head and Nathair’s turned to spot Eowyn’s difficulty instantly.

It seemed the other man got pass Eowyn and now made to rile the crowd up, his body put on a dramatic display which brought forth a loud roar from the audience. A deep, fearful feeling washed over Nathair as his feet started to reach where Eowyn attempted to remove him. An uncalled for need when after she was shoved off the second time, Eowyn suddenly stomped down upon the man’s foot. That drew a chuckle from Quartz, who had half glide and leapt to the stage floor, when he spotted the sword pummet smack down at the same time. His comment was filled with pride despite its simple remark and the snake’s tongue flickered out in approval. “Clever girl.”

When the pair finally pulled closer, Nathair ready to help Eowyn should the man provide more trouble, only hear her question. Nathair’s eyes turned to where her eyes were and saw the large aquarium being pulled into the large crowd who parted enough for a path. That dreadful feeling seemed to have grown, fed by the thing swimming within the tank, as something didn’t feel right. The fact they chose a sea creature and the odds of one being taken from the laboratories in the Library was too odd to be a chance happening, could it? Whatever they were doing, Nathair knew it wasn’t going to end well. At Eowyn’s question about everyone’s location, Quartz was the first to answer and act.

“I don’t know.” Quartz hissed, coiled near the pair’s feet as he tried to determine what actions were possible. He had a chance to make it but that would’ve required him flying and gain unsettling attention. After all, snakes didn’t fly every day. If he had to, he could turn invisible and still fly yet that meant he wouldn’t been able to use it again should they need it for a time.

Nathair had looked on the verge to say something to comfort Quartz, only to keep silent. Nothing he could say would’ve helped as his brown eyes sought for the familiar figures of Remia, Arlette, and Mime. It took a bit of but he finally spotted them altogether. They were towards the back of the crowds, their bodies close to the path created when the cart had been brought in. It seemed if they could make to the path then they would’ve had a straight shot to the cart rear but whether they could stop it or not was another question.

Suddenly he pointed out where he saw the trio to Eoywn, careful not to touch her. “There, near the cart’s path.”

Quartz was the next to pipe up his feather head turned upwards and noted where Nathair’s finger extended to. “I’ll tell Remia or Mime if they can intercept it. If they release it then it’s no telling what harm those on the beach will be in. For all we know, this animal’s carnivorous and isn’t picky about were its meat comes from…”

‘Mime, you and Remia better do something to stop that cart. If they release that thing, there’s no telling what might happen! Namely to Arlette if that thing is a human eater and decides she looks tasty!’ Quartz knew he was likely exaggerating, though he hoped Mime wouldn’t risk the chance Quartz was right. From the looks of it, it seemed the three were deep in a fight and were intent on causing a scene much to his dislike.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Emily

Emily’s mind had been pushing the pain from her mind, her leg and arms sting seemed to have died to a slight drone which was easily brushed aside. Though she was certain with movement, and time, it would quickly enflame again. Her flesh pricked at the sensation of eyes set upon her causing her dark ones to dart towards the source: Vignar. The man seemed worried over her state with good reason. She had almost been hugged by a very, very spike worm before she escaped the blunt of the damage. However, it wasn’t without scratches and that meant she had to end this fight quickly or risk worse results.

Her frame holding her upright, Emily’s ears caught the man’s reply. She absorbed it for a moment or two, her mind weighed her options even as she held out her hands. The cold chill of shadows once more formed along her arms, reached for her hand where her bow took shape into a solid mass. It seemed he was more of the support then the brawl, a fact that made her job that much harder and strenuous. Her chest seemed to hurt, slightly, from the heart’s frantic pounding thanks to her last experience. Her knuckles tightened from the grip to brace against the movement’s pain, Vignar’s word ceased at noticing her weapon out and ready without wasting time. Emily’s head twisted towards him to spot the nod as a familiar rush of energy poured into her, her lips pulled into a thankful smirk.

“If Wormboy tries to stop me, see if you can stall or distract him. If we can get rid of Sean, the spirit goes away and the armor might not be able to attack without a wearer. I only hope I’m right.” Emily said while her eyes jerked back to the tug o’ war going on, her mind pushed aside the growing sting.

Teeth gritted, her feet kicked off at a right angle and brought Sean’s exposed spot into her sight. Mentally she recounted where everyone was, namely those within her sight. Vignar was only a few feet from her and left behind her, Emily slightly closer to the summoned pair. Diane was to Octal and Eight’s far right and still singing.

The main difference was the song had changed its rhythm. To something more upbeat and cheerful that Emily could practically could jig to it, though it wasn’t the time for it. She readied another arrow while she watched the Bishop bent down, her hand picked up two fistfuls of sand then toss them towards Sean. It wafted like dust over him making Emily’s eyebrow raise in question at what Diane was going to do, but instead of questioning her fellow Holder’s sanity, she decided to trust and provide a more immediate threat to gain Sean’s attention.

The Rook’s eyes narrowed and her arms came up, one pulled back with the string’s stress sounded in her ear. The creak was followed by the arrow’s sandy hiss when the arrow formed. Breath steady, her mind fully on the small exposed spot she knew hurt. The precious seconds seemed to have passed into minutes until her fingers let go. Her arrow zipped from her bow and launched towards Sean’s shoulder, the exact area she had hit before.

Free Billy
"Nope, you're mistaking us with someone else!" Mime adamantly argued against Remia even as Arlette's muffled protest in the spirit's hands. "I never saw you in my-" Mime started to hiss before stopping as Quartz's message arrived via the uninterrupted Telepathy link Mime set up earlier. The spirit glanced a skeptical look towards the stage before releasing Arlette.

"Fine fine, fish stay in the box, what to do then?" she said to Remia. Mime didn't wait for an answer as she turned toward the poor kind woman. "Bye bye lady!"

Arlette, still confused, looked between the fish tank and Remia, "Uh, umm....what happened?"

Hive of Minds
Ramza Losstarot

He had his hood down over his head as he stood before Hertz Rhajo, hiding his horrid face from the man even though there was no need to as Hertz had his eyes elsewhere. He read the map and then glanced into the dead woods and fungi infested forest, mentally noting down that its no longer as accurate as it once was. But with the compass and Hertz's instruction on how to get there, with the river to lead them, he knew it wouldn't be the terrain that might throw them off course. Ramza's piercing gaze then followed the sole giant wasp currently in sight before he returned his attention to the ranger.

Silently, he pieced every occurrences and mission statement from the previous mission together, considering the two companion on top of his own minions' abilities he's now with as well. Intel gathering is always important and it always play a major role to whether a mission would be successful or otherwise. And since neither of them have the ability to tell nor was there any record from the Library on how strong the giant wasps actually were, Ramza hoped the answers this man could probably provide might serve as an advantage. May it be by the work of nature or manmade structure other than the already mentioned they could use against these abominable creatures on site, he wouldn't mind. Or at least a good enough information to prevent future and similar encounters around these parts they could use.

"Is there any settlement at the end of the river?" he began, the question almost sounded irrelevant as to how it might aid them. But Ramza got a few ideas, "And what can you tell us about the lake? Is the water contaminated... or rather, have there been sightings on the wasps using the lake's inhabitants as hosts for their eggs?" He paused, "Any distinct patterns on the wasps' movements being reported?"

Pixie, who was standing right next to the Rook, looked up at him momentarily before looking at the other two Holders. Although it was a sign of interest and the matter at hand was no doubt serious, the female minion couldn't help but smile in the presence of the man she'd dearly missed. Shroom wanted to tell her to wipe the expression off her face, but decided against it, not wanting to disrupt the conversations. So he sat still on Ramza's shoulder, occasionally glancing back over his own to make sure Rugratz was behind the group and not run off somewhere, not that he'd do so without any command given though.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Diane's sugar grains infiltrated Valor, slipping through his visor and even the joints of the plate armour. Soon, Sean would fall victim to the spell as he would be blinded as the spell tried to get into his eyes, mouth and nose. Not just that, the sugary bits even exploded, and bursts of blood sprung from Valor's visor accompanied by Sean screaming in agony. The man was truly in horrific pain, Even the living armour itself was dented from the inside as cracks appeared in the front of the helmet. To add onto that, Emily's arrow hit right on the mark; piercing the scales and iron to bore into Sean's shoulder. Without a doubt; the resulting his would cost Sean an arm...

However, Valor was still in control of the chains and Valor's arms could still move. With one last pull, the chain slipped out of Octal and Eight's hands and Fran ended up in a lock pressed against the living armour's chest-plate. Like a snake-charmer, Valor made his chains bind Fran's legs and wrists, and put a strain on her neck as well.

“Leave or I kill the woman.” Valor's voice echoed through the cage. The living armour knew that he couldn't win the fight, but was nonetheless determined to protect it's holder. Even so, it was clear from his tone that taking a hostage was not his favoured tactic. The armour sounded desperate, and if the librarians were paying attention they'd know Valor really didn't want it to go down that way...

Although Sean's bloodloss would certainly put Steve on a timer, the ragworm wasn't down for the count just yet. Hearing his holder's pain, the ragworm would attempt to rush to it's side, even if it had to go through Vignar first. Not willing to waste time, Steve opted for a full-body tackle; spikes out! It should prove more than painful if it would connect.

Will 'o the Piper

Charles managed to lob Sophia to the other side of the river; but that wasn't where the kappa were going... They were swimming upstream with the children in tow. Although this seemed hardly as playful as they were dragged up and under water by the kappa; scaring or even drowning some of them as the tried to get away. However, on foot Charles and Sophia were faster than the kappa trying to swim against the river; and so three kappa were dispatched on either side of the river. They jumped out in front of Sophia and Charles (and Medusa) to block the way. They appeared nervous, as confused by holders entering their world as the librarians were likely by them. None of them seemed to want to fight, but all six of them were prepared to do so if they couldn't get the librarians to stop chasing them otherwise...

A Clayman's Finale

Maria's taunt was effective, as the spirit turned it's attention directly towards the armour-clad rook. The icicle shattered against her shield, causing shards to fly in all directions. However, that wasn't all... The spirit might not have had the offensive might to break through Maria's defences, it had many other tricks up it's sleeves... With it's maws wide open, it exhaled a cold gas. The cold frostbite began to settle between the joints of Maria's armour and began to cool her body. She would only get a glimpse of the spirit grabbing another icicle before it vanished from her sight (although not Soneillon's or Adeline's) and tried to slip around Maria's shield to use it's frosty blade to sting Maria's side...

Will O' the Piper

Charles saw that the creatures seemed to be more scared than threatening, so he wanted to try something other than fighting. He reached out with his mind, hoping his telepathy would work even though he had never used it on a non-human. Stop fleeing with the children, we would rather solve this peacefuly, without bloodshed. I don't want to fight you, but getting those children home is more important than my personal feelings. He hoped they understood and responded, but he still had Medusa to contend with. "Sophia, chain!" He yelled, Jumping over the river. Sophia threw out her chain knife for Charles to grab, then pulled him through the air towards her.

The Clayman's Finale

Maria shivered at the mist. Magic? she thought, I can't see, and it's too late to capture the spell before it affects me. She swiped her crystal shield through the mist anyway, capturing the remnants of the spell in the first shard. Should I equip the Armor? No, I might need that later against someone stronger. "Well then, are you just going to skulk in the shadows?" She taunted again, not to draw his attention but to make herself feel better about losing sight of him.

Rendezvous Crash

As Bishop entered the room, she could hear Jester laugh. Ha! Crazy bird man. Of course. The only way to make this more cliché would be with penguins. His form changes until he was wearing a suit and bow tie, a fashion style not yet invented, or at least not popular. Bishop sighed softly and was glad when the birds finally ceased speaking their strange language, and looked upon the man across the room from herself. He was a fat, pudgy thing, a disgusting example of human greed, the very antithesis of her own work as a scientist... And her father worked with this man. More and more she began to understand what went wrong.

Quietly she takes off her hat and bows her head respectfully for a moment as introduction, then she listened to his series of statements. It seemed this man was either lying to her or completely foolish to not know of her betrayal by now... Yet, her interest was piqued that her father spoke of her. Why? Hmph. "The Bishops always keep their debts." Bishop says softly as she reaches out and shakes the don's hand. Gingerly she retracted it after the handshake was done, feeling the sweat off the man's palm. "Ahh, pigs, so fat, juicy... They get that way one way or another... Fed, or perhaps genius? Hm... Hm. hm." Jester mused quietly with Bishop's telepathic link to her comrades. There was a moment of hesitation as she processed what to say, before speaking once more. "Ah, interesting... A power grab, hm? I am interested, you seem to be quite a likeable man, but... Of course... For, my own, humble self-interest, how would this benefit me, and my father?" As she awaited his response she decided to use scan on him, to figure out if he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Jester grinned. Good... Keep it up and you might just get out of a mission one day without being horrible scarred! The amusement in his voice shattered any pretense of genuine care for her well being in her mind.

Hive of Minds

Giant wasps. Daniel Constantine had mused to himself the idea of fighting such things for a while, he had fought giant wolves, and giant bears, and many giant things, but giant wasps were new, and they were a menace. He watched his fellow compatriots carefully for a moment, he wasn't used to team work, his line of work was often the solitary kind, hunting down prey and fugitives, not discussing tea time or politics with allies. Yet, here he was, his uncle nowhere in sight, and needing to be made aware of the enemy's capabilities. Ramza was already asking questions of the ranger, though Daniel was dubious of the ranger's real ability to discern a threat. He was just a man who wanted to survive, and didn't really wish to understand, at least, that's what he interpreted at a glance. Yet it did unnerve him, all the little things crowding about him like children to a parent.

Demented children, to a parent that for all tense and purposes, had a god for a spirit.

Still. At least the god was on their side, for now. He stretches out his arms over his head and asks follow-up questions. It wasn't likely going to give much useful information, but, who knew, it was better to ask anyway. "How many wasps are there? Are they territorial? Have you ever noticed them exhibit strange behaviours, like having favourite scents, or other things we could use as bait?... Do you have some kind of booklet, or notepad, with information you've collected? Those who had to escape these beasts, was there any consistent theme for their survival? Being under the water, perhaps? I know it works on bees." He makes the last statement with a wry grin, as his uncle finally appeared and lightly grasped his shoulder, making him shudder physically in surprise before realizing what it was. "Funny. Bees. Truly... You may want to try and catch one alone, and see how dangerous it is, what it takes to kill it, no?" It was at that point that Daniel snaps his fingers.

"Do you have any... Explosives, perhaps? Something we could use to light their hive on fire, or blow it apart? If you don't, do you know where we could retrieve some?" Otherwise he couldn't much imagine being able to destroy it. After all, they must have built it on the ground, there is no way there was a tree large enough to support their hive.

... Right?...

Hive of Minds

Deneaerys stood near her three companions keeping silent, but listening intently to the ranger even as she scanned first the lone wasp, and then her two companions. The sight of the huge wasp made her shiver in disgust, and knew (and regretted) making her decision on taking this particular dreadful task. She shook her head slightly and let her gaze wonder back to her companions, dismissing the ranger. She took in first Ramza and his three companions, and eyebrow raising as she once again studied them, curious things. She'd seen them around the library but no more than once or twice, and she'd never really bothered to stop and say hi to people she knew, let alone people she didn't. She tilted her head slightly as she mused, wondering where on earth the man had come across his companions and then dismissed it, her attention turning to her other companion. She eyed him for a brief moment before turning to listen to the ranger speak, not minding too much to what he said, but glancing at the map briefly.

She nodded once in understanding and listened to both of the men's questions regarding the wasps, intrigued by both sets of questions, wondering how on earth a settlement might help them. When Daniel asked his questions, her eyes lit up, just as Dragos settled in behind her, his warm breath blowing against her back as he chuckled slightly. She cleared her throat dryly. "I might not have explosives on hand, but I can definitely help you out with the fire aspect of things, although unless we are able to set up something to continuously burn the nest while we clear the stray wasps, I'm going to need a clear shot at the nest to start with." She looked at her two companions, an eyebrow raised.

You do love to get yourself into these situations don't you, Dena?" Her guardian asked blithely, amused by her slight discomfit because of the wasps, and now she had gone and possibly put herself right in the center of the situation. Deneaerys ignored both his nickname for her, and his comment, because he was right. She always seemed to manage to pick the wrong missions. She sighed softly and mentally gritted her teeth, waiting for either of the men to respond to her comment of helping fire up the hive and get the slaughter started... or finished, depending on how much fighting they had to do beforehand.

A Clayman's Finale

'Bloody mutt!' Sonneillon roared, yanking the chain hard after it realized what the creature had done. However, it was only a couple of chains. Sonneillon leaned against them and tugged with its full unholy strength. The ground cracked, but the chains gave way first. One link started to bend, then snapped entirely. Sonneillon spun around angrily to pursue the spirit.

Adeline's mind was already going haywire. Even Maria's interception had done little to calm her down, since the mysterious thing had vanished yet again. For all she knew, it could be at her throat with another one of those wicked icicles right now. She clawed out wildly in panic.

"W-where is it? Maria! Do you see it?" she started to babble. She saw- and heard- Sonneillon return from the unlit section of the tomb. But the spirit was useless here. Sonneillon's attacks were too wide and destructive. It could strike at the invisible spirit using sheer brute force, but not with the two girls within the vicinity. For now, all it could do was wait for an opportunity…

Will O' the Piper

Charles was too quick for Medusa, the knight was carried across the river before she could catch up to him. To top it off it was by his spirit; Sophia... And if there was anything Medusa could not stand it was competition. Like Sigmund and Eidren before him, Medusa wanted Charles for herself. To her great frustration, men were still running away from here... Like they had for centuries... Ever since the jealous goddess had cursed her. She shrieked out of frustration, before she laid eyes upon the kappa. The little creatures were in her way and she hissed viciously, as to intimidate the the creatures.

However, she had only very little interest in the kappa. Medusa's lower body remained that of a snake, and understanding that Charles was not coming back to her side, Medusa simply turned her tail to the kappa and slid into the water; where she would try to cross the river. Combining her human and snake parts, Medusa was a surprisingly solid swimmer, although perhaps not the most graceful one. Water splat from all sides and the stream played with her body; pushing her back as she tried to reach the other side...

Hive of Minds

“Yes.” Hertz answered Ramza's question. “There is a small building that girl who was researching left behind. Although it is on an island in the lake, and the bridge has been destroyed. I've heard from your colleagues it can be entered by swimming, but I'm not sure about the details. The wasps don't seem to be able to go underwater, so I think that is safe.” Hertz said, conveniently also addressing one of Daniel's questions. “There is a weird pinkish layering on the water, it smells sickeningly sweet but we don't know if it's poisonous. You can find it drift in spades all throughout the river. I should have some samples...” The ranger turned his head and scratched his brow, for a moment doubting if it was relevant to show the librarians, but then asked for a moment and took off his backpack; from which he took three small jars filled the thick, pink liquid he described.

“We've not tested it for poison. I wouldn't know much about it anyway.” Hertz explained, as he gave the jars to Ramza, Daniel and Deneaerys. “But it keeps the parasites away. The tiny ones. The wasps don't take hosts, but those bugs do. I meant to give this to you for protection, but beware; although it repels the parasites, it attracts the wasps.”

“As for their flight patterns, I don't know. I'm... I don't want to get enough to find that out.” Hertz admitted, his lack of courage being a sore spot for the man. Although unknown to the librarians, Hertz had lost two colleagues to the recent changes, of whom one Vignar had to give a mercy killing in Hertz' stead. “But they're flying further each day. It's as if they're scouting... It's not safe to be out in the open.”

The man then turned to Daniel to answer his questions in order, “I don't know their number, but from what I was told, the nest could house at least fifty and they've been expanding it. They mark places like the river with those pink liquids; I'm guessing that is how they communicate. We've found it near abandoned hives of the parasites as well, or near the bones of the animals they possessed... The stuff in these jars was f-f-found-” The ranger suddenly stuttered. “O-o-on my colleague. She was one of the first human victims of the wasps...”

Hertz took some papers out of his backpack and gave them to Daniel. “I have a small booklet with what I've already told you, you can have it. But we don't have any explosives, however and as I'm sure you've noticed, we're quite far from the civilization. The closest town is a day's walk.” Hertz sighed, realising that would be of little help. Fortunately for the ranger's spirits and the mission, Deneaerys herself was a firestarter.

“But there is a lot of dead wood and fungus in the forest now.” Hertz told the woman, “You could get a large fire started. Be careful a previous holder burned down a quarter of the forest... We'd like to preserve as much of the forest as we can...”

Will 'o the Piper

Medusa was followed into the water by thoroughly frightened kappa. Although she could have taken them on land easily; the slimy lily-pad wearing creatures were far more agile in the water. The three of them all snatched at Medusa's skin with their clawed hands and duck bills.

Charles didn't fare much better in negotiations. The only thing he could make out was there being something the kappa were far more afraid of than him. Those in front of him exchanged only a few word, before they would jump onto him and Sophia. Claws out, the little slimy creatures would attempt to tackle them and push them into the river, where they would have the advantage.

A Clayman's Finale

Unfortunately, the taunting would do nothing to soften the incoming blow. While her shield's absorbing effect had done away with the icy breath, the icicle was not at all a spell. The frosty spike rammed in Maria's side, and scattered upon impact into many sharp, tinier icicles. It was fortunate that the young rook was tough, but the invisible spirit broke off even more of it's spikes and continued battering her in a relentless assault and while Maria was tough, so was Valenci's spirit. She wouldn't be able to last this kind of beating for long.

Will O' the Piper

Charles shook his head, whipping out his staff. I'm sorry. He sent to the Kappa, then to Sophia I authorize force, but try not to kill them. Sophia nodded, bringing out her own staff. Both of them started swatting the Kappa back before they could land on them, trying to hit them into the water rather than onto land. Neither of them stopped running, and Sophia managed to pick up speed. They needed to figure out how to get the Kappa out of the water and get to the children.

A Clayman's Finale

Maria cried out at the blow, and instinctively activated her Painkiller. Seeing Adeline's spirit approach but do nothing, she realized he couldn't do anything without hurting them. Maria swung her steel shield outwards towards the spirit who was attacking her, then Stomped the ground. Skipping back towards Adeline, she said "It looks like I'll have to use this anyway. I'm putting my trust in you, Sonnelion!" Breathing in, she Activated her armor, cloaking herself from head to toe in steel and leaving no crack unguarded. Turning, she tried to cover Adeline's entire body. "Get down." She said through the steel mask.

Hive of Minds
Ramza Losstarot

Taking the proffered jar from Hertz, Ramza took a moment to study its content. The second question he'd in mind after whether or not it was poisonous was, was it flammable. But he guessed they'll get a chance to find that out during the mission, assuming that too have not been tested yet. The Rook then passed the jar to Pixie, entrusting her to hold on to it before he nodded towards the guide, satisfied with the answers provided.

"Thank you for everything.." the man managed before he faced both Daniel and Deneaerys. "Let's not grab any attention to ourselves before we have the hive in sight. The last thing we need is these creatures calling out for reinforcements.. So I suggest we avoid both contact and the open until we reach our destination as best as we can.."

If there's been a report stating that the hive could at least house fifty wasps, then it's most likely up on a tree.. or trees rather. For one couldn't possibly come up with that number should the hive be underground.

"I've got a plan.." Ramza continued. "..but I have to see the situation on site before telling you guys what it is.. One thing I can say however, is that we need the element of surprise on our side.. What I have in mind is less destructive to the environment but might be more if not just as effective as the method you'd thought of using," he said.

For a moment, assuming these giant wasps behave the same way as any wasps, and that they'll probably be less active during the night, he'd considered suggesting a night confrontation. Any light source during that time would attract these abominable. But the Rook wasn't sure what kind of nightlife the team might encounter if they were to wait until sunset. So he dismissed that thought and stick with his initial idea, not wanting to risk the team facing something more predatory than the ones at hand.

"I only ask that we go with the fire solution as our last resort.." Ramza searched his colleagues' eyes, almost telling them to trust him through his own. "If there's nothing else you need to inquire of him, let us be on our way and he, his.." he gestured towards their guide before he found Rugratz's tiny eyes. "Into the woods, eastward and be stealthy.." he beckoned the minion.

A Clayman's Finale

The armored holder stomped the ground with such force that the ground trembled violently. Maria broke off from the invisible spirit's assault and dove towards Adeline, covering her with her body. If Sonneillon had a mouth, it would be grinning from ear to ear right now.

'I've been wanting to try this out... a small idea, if you will.' the spirit muttered. Already a sphere of inky darkness was growing above the spirit's head. The strange object materialized whenever Sonneillon utilized its gravity magic, but this time the sphere continued to grow. And grow. It was several times wider than Sonneillon's breadth before the orb stop expanding. It loomed ominously above the already monstrous spirit, darkening the already shadowy tomb. And then it flew forward, with no apparent command by the spirit. It bore down right onto spot where Maria was a few seconds ago- where the invisible spirit would still be, hindered by Maria's stomp. And when anything came in contact with the ball, it simply ceased to be, erased by some otherworldly force.

Sonneillon did not leave its holder's safety completely to Maria. Worried about the power of its experimental attack, the spirit aimed the Orb of Annihilation so that it just grazed past the armored girl. Hopefully she was able to withstand that much.

Will 'o the Piper

In her pursuit of the other hold, Medusa felt weighed down. She hadn't thought the little creatures could be such a threat; but she found herself struggling and squirming between the creatures. She whipped her tail and bit at every part of the kappa she could reach. Her fangs managed to pierce the hand of one; enticing it with her poison. Now it would be two on two. The suddenly lovesick kappa threw itself at it's ex-comrade, tearing it off Medusa's tail, which now, with only one kappa attached, got the upper hand. Relying on her upper body to stay adrift, Medusa's tail embraced the last kappa and squeezed it tight with the strength to break it's very bones.

Will 'o the Piper

As Sophia got ahead; she would notice where the kappa were bringing the children; up the mountain to two huge figures; the one red, the other blue. However; their images were blurry, as they were not actually in the spirit world...

As his spirit had gotten ahead, however, Charles had to deal with double the kappa assaults. Knocking them into the water merely made them waste less time getting up; water was their home turf and the kappa were faster in it than on land. They didn't simply jump one by one; but dove at him from multiple angles. One targeting his thigh, while the other made a high jump in preparation to hug his face.

Medusa's attempt to crush the kappa in her embrace failed, as the creature was too slimy and slippery to get a good hold of. It managed to break free and shot a few meters up in the air, before it dove underwater once again. However, the kappa she had charmed was willing to go at his companions with lethal force; something the other kappa couldn't reciprocate. It was feral and winning, but had drifted too far off to help her now...

A Clayman's Finale

The spirit's constant assault was interrupted by Maria's stomp, forcing it to take a second to re-balance itself. That was enough to be it's defeat; suction more powerful than itself sucked the spirit towards Soneillon's orb of annihilation. It tried to hold onto it's surroundings; but tiles and rubble were sucked into Soneillon's attack as well. It tried everything in it's struggle; using the icicles on it's back as hooks; freezing it's own body to the floor; but Valenci's spirit lacked the strength to compete with Soneillon and all it's attempts were met with destruction. The spirit was powerless to prevent being sucked into the orb.

“Curse you, black fiend! These ruins will be your end! If not by my hand, then by the anc-” The spirit screamed, but rest of the spirit's threats were suffocated as it was compressed in the orb of annihilation.

Adeline and Maria were left in the aftermath of their fight; floors and walls had been broken and there was still frost on many of the stones. If only they could remember where the voices had come from, because they before long they would hear heavy footsteps, slowly approaching their direction...

Will O' the Piper
Charles gave a silent prayer as he realized he wasn't going to be able to hold the creatures off for much longer the way he was. Go on Sophia, I'll handle these. He said telepathically. Slowing down slightly and just keeping pace with the swimming creatures, and whipped his staff downward. As he did, a curved blade slid out and settled into position, leaving him with his Naginata in his hands. "I'm sorry," He said, feeling bad about using lethal force on these creatures, who seemed to be getting more like innocent victims by the moment. "I wish it hadn't come to this." He changed his style, now aiming to slice them with the blade instead of shoving them back into the water. His swings were faster now that he wasn't holding back, but he felt that it might not be enough.

The Clayman's Finale

Soon enough, Salia was back on her two feet. She wasn’t used to relying on others and even less in the way she had to rely on Lux, now. She could not help but find it interesting that nothing he had done was special for him in any way. “Are you sure that we ought to use our time here with these?” the question was perhaps more for herself than it was for her companion, but a good part of her shared Lux’s opinion.

“Alright, let’s see about that!” she smiled confidently, after the golem was struck down by Lux’s vapour. It was truly astonishing, how something so easy to do for this holder was the perfect way to bring down the golems. “I’m not too fond of doing such things but… I figure the golem is not actually alive in the conventional way, right? So…” and as she had been requested, Salia used her sword to make the cut… she made sure to make a clean one. If they were to study the whole thing, they’d better be careful not to destroy that thing too much.

Free Billy

No time to think and Remia was receiving a message to stop the cart. It was clear that her following Arlette and Mime was not working… and for whatever reason, they were not reacting normally to her. So she would have to act reasonably. Waste time in a fruitless endeavour or rush back to stop the cart? Only after the message she received, there was a reaction, and Mime turned, not even waiting for Remia’s answer to the question she asked. “Ugh!!” frustration kicking in. Chances were Mime would not leave from Arlette’s side, at least not too much. However, taking the risk of heading on her own to the cart and leaving her companion on her own was something she could not take.

After a quick moment of realisation, Remia knew what to do. Taking matters into her own hands. She should not hesitate and if anyone knew her sister, Salia, they would realise the same genes were inside her. Even if she always considered her to be some sort of rival and a benchmark to overcome… they were still similar in various ways. What Remia hadn’t realised was that her trip had made her mature as a person, somewhat. She had been childish and even spoilt. Yet now she was becoming closer to what her older sister was, while being her own person. “Understood!” she replied to Quartz’s message and even her eyes had changed, showing resolution as she focused her look on the cart. “Stay behind me, Arlette. I will make sure you are safe!”

Remia was already facing ahead with Arlette behind. “Move aside!!” the young girl exposed her sword in the middle of the crowd. They might panic, yes, but either way, having her sword in plain sight would make it easier for her to get to her new objective… intercepting the cart and stopping them from releasing the creature. One might think that taking Arlette away from it might be safest but… at the same time, being closest to her would give Remia the chance to know what her status was at all times… and she was confident.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Just as Diane guessed, her idea was working. Her spell was working well and she continued to sing, unable to stop because of the powerful magic surging through her. Her foe was quickly blinded and incapacitated in a way… The woman tried to block the man’s screams of pain, as she knew she was the one causing them… and she was already against violence as a whole.

But this was to protect her companions, to prevent more deaths… so she was doing the right thing. Right? This was Diane’s first time using such a spell and it surprised her, how strong it was and how effective it had been against both Sean and the armour. If anything, she had learnt well how this worked and what it was capable of. A man with severe wounds and a dented armour. Not bad…

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Emily

She was pleased, inwardly, to see her shot had hit its mark as it bored deeply in the man’s arm where it likely crippled him at least. At least those were her thought originally. Her eyes widened in slight surprise when suddenly the sugary sand exploded within his armor and fought the instinct to jump, her body held firmly in place. Valor’s visor was quickly stained with blood, followed by the man’s screams that echoed within the inner hollows. Dents and cracks appeared, seemingly to center on the face cover, where they disclosed only a hint of the man’s torment after only what Emily could guess was Diane’s spell.

The Rook made a mental note on get on the sweet holder’s nasty side in the future, the woman stilled singing in her melodious voice. Either she was oblivious of the damage caused or ignored it, Emily wasn’t sure completely. Most of her didn’t want to think about it when suddenly Valor’s chains tore Fran from the twin’s grip then pinned her against his chest. The chains slithered up her legs, wrist and neck where they held her firmly as a hostage. Emily’s heart seemed to have jumped into her throat at the sight of spirit’s attempt to repair the failing situation.

“Leave or I kill the woman.” Valor’s voice echoed through the cage. It seemed to have settled within Emily’s head and lingered there where it dripped like venom in her head.

Emily’s hand dismissed her bow, noted the desperation in his and made one last attempt for negotiations. She only hoped he wouldn’t take Fran’s life or she would end his. She slowly took one step forward as she faced the armor and the man underneath, her voice edged on cold and calm. “Then I’ll have no choice but to finish it. There’s still a way out without any more bloodshed. Please… just let us help.”

Before Emily could continue or even heard Valor’s reply, her eye corner spotted movement. Steve’s body, spikes out, came flying at Vignar seemingly to plow the man down on its way to its holder. Too late to cover the distance between the two or an idea to be effectively, Emily shouted to Vignar. “Vignar, behind you!”