Book 3, chapter 17

"Yukna was injured? Why didn't you tell me?" Allison asked, her calm expression instantly replaced by worry.

Zee looked up from plucking the willow grouse, giving the older woman a warm smile. "Don't look so worried. She is fine now." Zee said.

"Who shot her with a poisoned arrow?" Allison asked, her recently evolved aura leaking out, turning the air around her into an oven.

Grass, leaves, and branches blackened and combusted, wilting under the relentless heat. Zee dropped her hand full of grouse feathers, eying the ten-meter-wide circle of leaves that were suddenly on fire.

"Dern and I already killed Yukna's attackers. All you are doing by getting angry is starting a forest fire." Zee said reassuringly.

"All of them?" Allison asked, glancing back at Greg who had wisely retreated from the sweltering heat.

"Yep, they are definitely dead, Dern made sure of it," Zee beseeched.

"Not as good as turning them to ash, but it will have to suffice," Allison said reluctantly.

"You know, you are a scary woman," Zee said, eying the circle of ash and fire around the princess.

"Thank you," Allison replied.

"And Nathan calls me a maniac." Zee mutter.

"What was that?" Allison asked.

"Uhh, nothing. Yukna is over there, with Dern and Bastion," Zee said.

The princess left, leaving them to pluck the grouse in peace. It was nice. Hanging out with Greg was like hanging out with a tree, only Greg talked less.

She was starting to suspect that was just his personality and didn't mind. By the time the bird was plucked, her stomach was grumbling.

Her excitement for Bastion's delicious cooking quickly waned as she realized he was setting out dried rations. The princess and Yukna were already eating some of the travel rations, speaking in hushed whispers.

Bastion looked up as they entered the camp, eying the grouse she carried by the legs. "We got you a willow grouse to cook," Zee said.

Bastion raised an eyebrow. "Willow grouse? That's a good catch, set it over there, and I will marinate it." Bastion said.

Zee took a seat on a downed log, sitting next to Bastion. She watched him cover the grouse meat in a layer of spices, before tucking it away in his spatial storage.

"You might as well eat some travel rations, the grouse meat won't be ready to cook for at least half of a day," Bastion said.

Zee eyed the dried jerky, and fruit laid out on a tablecloth. With a grimace, she took some, eating salted lizard jerky and dried fruits without enthusiasm.

Every bite of the hard jerky brought back unpleasant memories. She had survived on the awful stuff for months, both when she arrived, and when she was recruited into the army of ducal.

Every bite felt like sawdust on her tongue, tasting just as bland. She had sworn to never eat this stuff again, and yet here she was.

Bastion laughed next to her, jostling her shoulder, dragging her from her brooding.

"Don't look so disgusted, it's not that bad. I will cook the willow grouse later after it has time to marinate." He said.

She glowered over at him. "I thought you said you were making dinner. This stuff isn't dinner. Eating it is killing my will to live." Zee grimaced.

Bastion grinned playfully at her. "Once we get a feel for the area, I will make you something," he promised.

"Really?" Zee perked up. "I will go scout the area right now. You better have food ready when I get back." With that, she stood and darted into the forest.

(**)

Bastion watched the redhead go with a fond smile on his face. She disappeared into the forest, leaving the camp deathly quiet.

His eyes flitted around the small camp, noting that the princess was giving him a death stare.

He knew why of course. Ever since he had that uncomfortable talk with Zee on the dunes, the princess had been cold toward him.

It made sense in a way. From Allison's perspective, it might look like Bastion was giving Zee false hope making passes at her even after rejecting Zee.

It was a truth that Bastion was having trouble with. He knew he should just let it be, and move on, but he just couldn't help himself.

She was like no woman he had ever met before. The way she caused trouble was truly awe-inspiring. She made his penitent for mischief look tame in comparison. It was just one part of her that made him incredibly intrigued.

If only she didn't have the giant red flag, called Dern who lived in her head.

Bastion was adventurous by nature, but not to that extent. The thought of getting intimate while that thing watched made his skin crawl. Whether it be a conversation or physical intimacy, the hurdle was just too much.

(***)

Scouting ahead of the team, Zee ranged through the trees, looking for rare herbs, energy-rich fruits, and monsters. This place should be swarming with powerful monsters, or other greedy cultivators looking for valuables.

And yet, it wasn't. She found only a handful of herbs emitting weak energy fluctuations, hardly even worth harvesting. Her luck seemed to have hit the gutter, the area devoid of anything of value. The only positive of the fruitless scavenging was her spatial ripple skill.

Somewhere along the way, it reached mid-F rank, giving her omnidirectional sense a new effect.

Her sensory skill could now detect energy fluctuations along with movement and sound. It didn't sound that great, considering she could already sense that kind of thing through her aura.

Though she was quickly proven wrong. She found over a dozen energy-poor herbs, which was proof of the new effects usefulness.

The others hadn't sensed the herbs at all and would have walked right past them without her newly ranked up skill.

For nearly six days the team pushed deeper into the increasingly desolate forest. The chew marks on bushes, and even the bark of trees was kind of disturbing.

It looked like the area was inhabited by a creature that ate everything that wasn't nailed down. Finding anything of value had become a pipe dream, making the others unhappy.

The monster was probably the reason they couldn't find any other creatures living in the area.

"Tell me again why we are deeper into this Barren forest. It is clearly owned by some swarm-type monster." Bastion asked.

Allison gave Zee an assessing look. "Yes... Do tell us why you insist on heading in this direction." Allison insisted.

"What? This direction is as good as any other. Besides, I didn't hear anyone else come up with a better direction." Zee said defensively.

Allison folded her arms, clearly suspicious of her motives. It's like the princess expected her to cause them trouble or something.

"You keep saying that, but I get the feeling you are leading us into danger," Allison said.

"What do you mean by that? We haven't seen anything in days. This place seems far safer than anywhere else." Zee said.

"That is because we haven't run into the monsters that control this territory," Allison gestured to a tree covered its bark covered in deep gashes. "Look at those markings. They are at least six inches into that tough bark. Do you really want to fight whatever is making them?" Allison asked.

Zee shrugged. "Kind of. It's why we're here, isn't it? Just think about it. Whatever lives here might be guarding something extremely valuable." Zee said.

Zee glanced around at the rest of the group, the team arrayed in a half circle facing her. "What do you guys think? Are you down for some adventure, maybe some good old fashion monster hunting?" Zee asked.

Greg simply shrugged, unshouldering his horned bow, which might as well have been a shout of agreement.

"It sounds like fun to me. I have never robbed a monster before." Bastion said, excitement crossing his face.

Yukna adjusted the bandoliers strapped across her chest, palming one of the small cylinders in its holster. "Why not. I have been aching to field test out some of my new explosives." Yukna said.

Lastly, she turned back to the princess, who still looked a bit hesitant.

"Wasn't it you who said you wanted to become a sword saint? You won't get there if we run away from danger." Zee said.

"Alright, fine, we will continue on. But if it is looking too dangerous, we are turning back." Allison said.

"Don't worry so much. What could go wrong? "Zee asked.

"I feel like you are tempting fate when you say that," Allison grumbled.

Zee patted her friend on the shoulder and led the way deeper into the forest. "It will be fine," Zee said. The direction she was leading the team was in the direction Petrie's compass indicated.

If they kept on this path it would lead them toward the heart of the planar space. Zee felt kind of bad for not telling the others why they were headed in this direction.

Her flimsy excuse, about monster hunting and adventure, doubtless caused even more suspicion. Was her track record really that bad? Dern raised a mental eyebrow, his thought all the answer she needed.

*** Days without running into danger seemed like surprisingly good luck. Or bad luck, depending on the perspective.

There were only so many days that she could scout for hours on end with nothing but trees, small frogs, and bugs to see. It was eight days of traveling deeper, into clearly occupied forests before she spotted one of the monsters who ransacked the place.

Zee was jubilant when she ran into a seemingly innocuous beetle. Standing atop a leafless dead branch, watching the bug far below. Was this really the monster that had the others on edge? It couldn't be, as its aura was hardly on par with a mid-F ranker.

It was about two feet long, with a soft smooth carapace, and six spiny legs. She studied the beetle for a minute, wondering what all the fuss was about.

This thing was hardly worth killing, too weak to give her much proficiency. The bug walked beneath her branch, in range of her spatial ripple. Her eyes widen, her gaze drawn to something atop its back.

Her eyes locked in on the juicy yellow and green fruit atop its long pincers. The fruit glowed brighter than a lantern in her spatial ripple, making her skin tingle.

Her mind instantly changed gears, her focus solely on that fruit. She was already falling before she could make a plan. In a puff of mist, Zee teleported in, snatching the fruit, then vanishing. The beetle didn't even notice the theft until seconds later.

It skittered around, its long black mandibles clacking together in confusion. The bug frantically looked around taking a few seconds to notice Zee standing nearby.

She was feeling elated at her sly steal and didn't feel it necessary to hide after she had the prize. The bug's beady little eyes locked onto her, and it paused. Zee gripped the thumb-sized fruit, falling into a state of epiphany just by holding it.

It smelled absolutely divine, making her mind hazy. Her hand moved unbidden, stuffing the fruity plum into her mouth. She chewed, her body vibrating from the sudden overload of energy.

Might not be the smartest idea to consume something like that, but she just couldn't help herself. Zee was dragged back to reality, as the recently robbed bug chittered.

Standing on its barbed back legs the beetle turned its small head towards the sky. It let out a high-pitched challenging cry, half screech half clacking mandibles.

The air turned deathly silent, not even the insects and frogs daring to make a sound. Zee drew her sword, ready to meet the charge of the pissed-off beetle. Moments later, the forest practically vibrated as hundred of calls echoed back through the forest.

A shiver ran up her spine, despite having eaten the energy-rich fruit. The beetle wasn't challenging her, but calling for its friends. Every warrior should know when to fight, and when to retreat.

Zee turned and fled without hesitating, rushing back towards her team who were nearby. Hearing the deafening racket, her team rushed through the trees to meet her.

She met them in a small barren clearing, sliding to a stop.

"What did you do?" Allison asked her tone accusing.

"I may have pissed off a hive of giant beetles by stealing a natural treasure from them," Zee said unrepentant.

"Again! Didn't you learn your lesson after pissing off that lizard in the tunnels?" Allison asked, her tone miffed.

"Don't look so affronted. Those beetles didn't look that strong, it will be good practice for us to fight them." Zee said, hefting her sword and turning to face the way she just came from.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? It sounds like there are a lot of them." Bastion shouted, his deep voice nearly drowned out by the clacking of the approaching hoard of beetles.

"It will be fine. Get ready, sounds like they are almost upon us." Zee shouted.

Any further comments were drowned out as a swarm of overgrown beetles broke from the trees skittering forward. Her eyes widen at the sheer number of them. So many bugs to kill. The sight of dozens of bugs scurrying across the forest floor like a tide filled her with excitement.

She felt more alive than ever like she was on top of the world. Practically vibrating with excitement from ingesting that juicy plum, Zee cut the first beetle from the air.

That beetle was surprisingly agile leaping twenty feet, right at her face. Her sword met it mid-air, leaving a deep gash on its soft belly, grievously wounding the creature.

The dark blue flames of Spirit echo clung to its chest, letting off faint wisps of smoke that drifted towards her. Zee didn't have time to wonder what that was about as another beetle bit at her leg.

Her body moved with incredible speed, as she stabbed it through the top of its tiny head, pinning it to the ground.

Another wisp of smoke trailed from the body, swirling towards her. The smoke moved around her in a mesmerizing dance, forming complex patterns in the air.

The patterns looked very similar to the etchings that Dern and Yukna used, only they were far more complex and primal. Just looking at them made her brain hurt, the incites too deep for her to comprehend. Her vision narrowed, the enticing incites in the smoke drawing her in.

Zee was roughly pushed to one side, as the princess knocked her out of the way of a large bug going for her throat.

"Zee, no time for daydreaming, focus!" Allison shouted.

Zee flailed, suddenly caught her balance, her mind reeling. What in the stary hells was going on? What was that fruit she ate doing to her?

"Sorry. Thanks for the save." Zee said, kicking a bug right in the face. The damned things were everywhere, and some were even moving to surround them. If she didn't get herself together they might get overrun.

She scrambled back, noting that Greg and Yukna were about to be overwhelmed. Bastion was trying his best to keep the beetles at bay but he couldn't be everywhere.

She rushed in, carving a bloody swath through the beetles. More wisps of smoke drifted toward her, threatening to draw her back into that state of delirium.

Zee shudder, her mind a whirl as she killed bugs as fast as she could.

"What are these things!" Bastion shouted excitedly, crushing a beetle's face in with a single punch.

"I think it is a Clackson hive!" Allison shouted, launching a horizontal wave of fire, toasting half a dozen beetles in their shells.

"That doesn't sound good," Yukna said, tossing a handful of fist-sized cylinders deep into the tree line. Four explosions rattled the forest, followed by the high-pitched wails of dying beetles.

Several beetles staggered by the explosions were suddenly pierced by arrows, as Greg expertly picked them off. Waves of heat filled the air, followed by a crescent of white-hot fire that sent dozens of bugs to a fiery death.

Allison skewered a beetle, spattering herself with green Ichor. With a grimace, the princess kicked the giant bug off her sword, using the momentary reprieve to glance back at them.

"Stay on guard. If this is really a clackson hive, the queen will show up to kill us if we kill too many of its children." Allison said.

"That's just wonderful. Whose bright idea was it to fight these things again?" Bastion asked.

"Oh, shut it. If you have time to talk, you have time to kill more bugs." Zee said, falling into a defensive stance, her blade flashing in beautiful and deadly arcs.

She sounded calm, but she was frantic to get herself back under control, which was hard as pressure built around her. She needed a few minutes to calm herself and clear her head, but the beetles afforded her no such luxury.

Whatever that fruit was, it was really messing with her mind. Zee had never felt so, inspired before. No matter where she looked, she was being drawn in, as if glimpsing the underlying truths of the universe.

Frantic, to stay focused, Zee swung her sword. Every swing met flesh, every step designed to get her in close for a strike or to avoid getting hit.

Her blade was an extension of her arms, creating a song of death as it cut through the air. Bodies covered in blue flame piled around her, letting off faint wisps of smoke that gathered like a haze.

She could feel it, a growing pressure that kept increasing the more she killed. With each passing second it felt like she might be forcefully drawn into an epiphany.

The flame in her chest beat like a drum, every sonorous note making the wisps of smoke dance. The sounds of her friends fighting the hoard slowly faded, replaced by the beat in her chest.

Every beat spoke a truth, divulging primal secrets of the universe. The flame flickered and danced, its every flickering movement hinting at perfection. Every beat made her movements more precise, and the sword song's notes change pitch.

Hearing that beat drew her in, connecting her with her sword in a way she had never experienced. She could suddenly see all of her own flaws, tell where she was wasting movement. It was all so clear.

Everything from her sword work, and skills, to the laughable inadequate use of her aura and incites. Her movements suddenly changed, her body falling into an unheard rhythm.

Steel met flesh, and beetles died by the dozen, cut, or torn apart without any wasted effort. By now, dozens of tendrils of smoke whirled around her, some of them entering her body.

The pressure rose uncomfortably in her chest, urging her to do, something. With each beat of her heart, it felt like her veins were on fire, her body letting off waves of steam.

It was an incredibly uncomfortable sensation, as though her blood was boiling. She gasped for breath, startled at the realization. The pressure was getting unbearable, her skin steaming ominously.

Something wanted to release, and it felt like she might explode if she didn't let it out. Frantic for an outlet, Zee launched forward, plowing deep into the hoard of beetles getting away from her team.

A mass of beetles immediately focused on her, an avalanche of chittering bugs. Zee let out a pained shout as she released her aura. The ground cracked around her in a wide circle, she flooded her aura with the spark of compression.

Dozens of bugs charging her were violently crushed under their own weight. Zee wasn't relieved at all, after witnessing the destructive burst.

Fear clawed at her mind, as dozens of smoky tendrils floated up from the corpses, rushing to join the cloud around her.