Book 3, chapter 25

Standing in a semicircle, blocking off the street, the rift walkers shared glances, communicating without any sound. They were utterly silent and yet, she could somehow understand them. The chaotic ripples echoed through the space around her, entering the range of her sensory skill.

It was incredibly bizarre, an odd sensation, that made her skin tingle, and yet it somehow made perfect sense.

"It can speak?" asked one of the rift walkers, its tall lanky body tensing.

"I thought these were just stupid monsters." Hissed the first.

"Well, we can't just let them invade our sanctum, and kill our hatchlings." Hissed another.

"I say we kill them all." Said a third, flexing its wiry arms, its jagged claws extending from its fingers.

"Didn't you see them kill the others? We are not warriors, they will kill us," The first said glancing disapprovingly toward the third.

"But, if we attack them all at once, we can overwhelm them." The third insisted.

Zee cleared her throat, not liking the sound of that. Focusing on her spatial ripple skill she projected her Words.

"Excuse me. I believe we have got off on the wrong foot. We have no intention of harming your hatchlings, nor you, if you don't attack us." Zee said, her heart racing in her chest as they teeter on the edge of disaster.

The bickering group of rift walkers looked startled once again that she could actually communicate with them. The first of the group, presumably their leader, looked decidedly distrustful of her statement.

"How do we know you are telling the truth? Others of your kind have already slaughtered two of our nests." It hissed angrily.

Zee glanced back toward her team, who looked ready for a fight. Getting into a fight, with so many of these creatures would not end well for either. She needed to diffuse the situation if she could.

"That was not us. We hold no animosity towards your kind. If you leave us alone, we will not attack your kind," Zee said, sheathing her sword to show her sincerity.

"Don't listen to it Veck, this monster is clearly trying to make us lower our guard. It is a murderer, and no doubt a liar," said the third.

Zee offered them a half bow, "I did not murder anyone. Your people attacked us first, we were only defending ourselves." Zee retorted, glaring at the third rift walker.

Veck tensed, "So you say. Pikar, you were there with Nink, does it tell the truth?" Veck asked.

One of the rift walkers to her left shifted uncomfortably as all the others looked at it. This one was shorter than the others by a half foot, with a slightly darker hide, more grey than white. Maybe this one wasn't yet fully grown.

"Yes, prima. Gerk and Nink thought they could catch the monster off guard, and Gerk died for his hubris." Pikar said, its expression unreadable.

Veck nodded in a very human-like motion. "So the monster tells the truth,"

Zee cleared her throat, disliking being called an it, or a monster. "I am Zee, and these people behind me are my friends. If you tell us where to avoid, we will stay away from your nests," Zee said, pushing down her annoyance.

The rift walkers glanced between each other, distrustful looks crossing their faces.

"This monster is trying to deceive you Veck. Don't tell it anything." insisted the third rift walker.

"That's enough Nink." Veck turned back to Face Zee. "Zee... Before we tell you that, what brings you to our city." Veck asked, its posture tense.

Zee glanced around, wondering if she should lie or not. No one had accused them of robbing the place, but who knew it could be a faux pas? On the other hand, these rift walkers had been watching them for days now, so lying would be pointless.

"We are here to search for treasure, and other valuables, not to cause your people any trouble, prima. We didn't even know that Rift walkers were intelligent. Everyone thought you were monsters who would attack us unprovoked." Zee said.

"Who are you calling a monster? Your people have already murdered two nests, killing two dozen of our hatchlings," spat Nink, taking a threatening step toward her.

Zee didn't back down from the challenging words, "I am not a monster, I am a human. And that was not us. My team and I have not murdered anyone," Zee growled.

Veck raised a claw. "Calm down Nink, you are pointlessly antagonizing the human. And you, Zee, what is your nest's intent in the inner city," Veck asked, calmly.

Nink let out a soundless snarl, eying Zee with murderous intent. Zee ignored the rift walker, focusing on the leader of this group. Assuming that by Nest, Veck meant her team, she forged ahead.

"Prima Veck. My team and I want to search these buildings in the inner city, and even the base of the spire. Is there a way we can do that, without disturbing your nests?" Zee asked.

Veck gestured to a rift walker to her left. "This is Pikar, a youngling of the nest. Pikar will accompany you, to be your guide." Veck said.

Zee was taken aback by how smoothly that went. She paused at the last minute as the rift walkers started disappearing one by one. In the end, she decided to risk it and warn Veck.

"Prima." Veck paused glancing back at her with its eyeless face. "You should be wary of other groups of humans. Some of them might attack you on sight. If they do, you can come to find us, and we will talk to the humans to get them to leave you alone," Zee said, deciding it couldn't hurt to do something nice.

In fact, it could curry them some favor, which could be beneficial in the future.

Veck nodded. "You are surprisingly reasonable for a monster," Veck said.

Zee laughed. "I could say the same about you."

The rift walkers vanished one by one, all of them disappearing except one very unhappy-looking Pikar.

"Uhh, what just happened?" Bastion asked, sidling up beside her, studying Pikar nervously.

"OH, I totally forgot that you guys couldn't understand that. This is Pikar, it will be our guide through the inner city," Zee said.

"It?" Bastion asked.

Zee shrugged, "Don't ask me. They called me an it, so maybe they don't have a gender?" Zee said.

"Well, that was unexpected. How did you convince them not to attack us?" Bastion asked.

Zee perked up. "Well, I have been spending a lot of time with the princess. You pick up a thing or two when dealing with so many snobby nobles," Zee said.

"You, diplomacy?" Allison asked, " Didn't you beat up a half dozen nobles from both Carmanah and the Allevark instead of talking?"

Zee smirked, "No one said diplomacy had to be dull, I just do it differently than you," She said.

"Well, I am glad you didn't want to fight today. That many rift walkers would have been bad news for us," Allison said, watching Pikar all the while.

Zee shook her head, smiling. "I don't think they wanted a conflict, aside from one of them, and that one was a jerk. From what I could tell, these rift walkers are not fighters, they are more like civilians." Zee said thoughtfully, glancing at Pikar standing a healthy distance away.

"What did they want?" Allison asked curiously.

"They have nests in the area. Apparently, some other humans have already raided a few, killing some of their young," Zee said darkly.

"What a bunch of assholes," Bastion said.

Zee nodded, and she glanced back at the team. "I just got an idea. These rift walkers might have a monster problem. If we deal with the monsters first, they might show us where all the valuable treasures are." Zee said.

"I like that idea. It's like killing two lizards with one cart." Bastion said, enthusiastically.

"So money-driven," Allison muttered.

"You are just saying that because you are filthy rich," Bastion countered.

"Well, you are just filthy," Allison said.

"Am not, I am perfectly clean-

Zee ignored their bickering and turned to Pikar. Focusing on her sensory skill, she made space hum around her. "Do you have any monsters in the area that you want us to kill?" Zee asked.

Pikar cocked its head, curiously. "Yes. There is a Vixen hive about an hour away that has been causing us trouble for a few years." Pikar said.

"Can you lead us there? We might be able to kill them for you?" Zee said.

Pikar gestured them to follow, jogging along the side of the river, forcing them to scramble to catch up.

An hour and a half later, gore spatter the streets, and walls, as a host of conjured arrows slammed into the bulbous abdomens of the Vixen. They looked like massive willow jacks or a bee that drank a dozen body-enhancing concoctions.

They were yellow and black, with six thin barbed legs, four leathery wings, and a stinger half the length of a finger that dripped venom potent enough to melt stone.

Each Vixen was the size of her head, buzzing loudly as they flew through the flower-rich gardens of a once mighty estate. They were fairly fast, but incredibly frail when hit, and wouldn't have been much of a problem one at a time.

That was the problem though. These vixens didn't attack one at a time. A swarm rushed the team, felled by a hail of arrows, fragmentation grenades, and pushed back by waves of fire.

Still, the incredibly aggressive oversized bees were not deterred as they fell by the dozen. Zee supposed that setting half of their gardens alight was enough to make them properly enraged. Panting heavily, Zee clutched at a burning gash in her side, cutting a Vixen's thin abdomen in half.

Dozens of small blue fires litter the area, as her skill decayed the bodies of her victims. The effects of her spirit echo seemed like only a pale imitation of the real deal when compared to the blazing forest fire, and hundreds of dead vixen in Allison's wake.

Ichor spattered the lush garden, the droning buzz of the hive drowning out the crunch of Dern's glaive tearing them apart.

Her right arm throbbed, the pain nearly overwhelming as toxic venom coursed through her veins. Still, she fought on, her aura flared around her as she flitted between the overgrowth, cutting down the enemy.

Hundreds of bees, flew around her, darting in to harass her whenever she appeared. Their sting was unbelievably painful, but the heart of fire was already hard at work, each beat cleansing some of the toxins.

With each swing of her sword a vixen fell, cut in half by her sword imbued with spirit echo and infused with a spark of compression.

Not even the bees flying high overhead were safe, as she launched spears made of semisolid blue mist at them, piercing the bees. With her enhanced body she could throw with incredible force, hitting things up to a hundred meters away.

Well, she could throw that far, but it didn't mean she could hit them very often. Her aim was atrocious, but it was gradually improving. Having hundreds of moving practice dummies to throw at was great practice.

Three of the giant vixen darted in at once, the angry buzzing warning of their rapid approach. Zee infused her aura with a spark of compression, slamming to the ground with bone-crushing force.

She showed no mercy, cutting the flailing vixens apart with brutal efficiency. There was no time to hesitate, as a dozen more set their hateful eyes on her, before flying in to attack her.

This little foray to do something nice for the rift walkers had long since turned into an all-out war, as the forest burned around her. The numbers were far greater than Pikar indicated. Still, she didn't even think of retreating, as her target was in sight.

Near the far end of the garden, she could see the three-story building that was riddled with the mottled grey hive.

Under the combined attacks of her team, the vixen died by the dozen, but more came, flooding from the windows and doors of the building like an endless tide. It was no wonder the Rift walkers hadn't dealt with these things.

They were seemingly endless and attacked with troublesome numbers and ferocity. Still, despite the number, they didn't retreat. Zee's team was well suited to dealing with large numbers of weak opponents.

Allison's widely destructive flames, combined with Yukna's explosives were enough to stem the tide. Bastion and Dern held the front lines, drawing most of the attention. The two front liners had drastically different methods, but they were both extremely effective.

Dern could basically run wild, without any worry, as the vixen were too weak to penetrate his armor. Whilst Bastion's momentum-based skills made him too elusive to catch, as he kept robbing the speed of the fast-flying vixen and using it against them.

Greg simply stood at the back of the group, releasing a hail of arrows with pinpoint accuracy, supporting the team by targeting the enemy trying to flank them.

Zee did her own part, rushing through enemy-infested forests toward the hive proper. The fight had already gone on for a half hour, pushing her to do something drastic. If they didn't stem the tide, they would be locked in an endless battle and overwhelmed.

Reaching the front door to the house, that the vixen was using as a hive, she pulled an item from her spatial storage. The hair-raising aura that radiated from the device made her shiver, as all four beast splinters let off an ominous red glow.

Leaping out of the way, of five incredibly persistent vixens, Zee flashed forwards. Palming the device in her left hand, she flooded the etching on the device with some of her energy, hurling it inside the door, deep into the hive.

She didn't wait to see the effect, teleporting away using her wayward walk skill. It was a good thing she did, as the next moment, that improved explosive went up like an eighty-pounder.

The garden shook, flaming wreckage launching up into the air, as the stone building was violently torn apart. A blazing white hot inferno burst out through the doors and windows, carrying the distinctive mark of Allison's fire.

The death wails of hundreds of dead and dying Vixen could be heard from inside, as they were all cooked alive. Destroying their nest was basically the end of the fight. There were still several hundred of the pests in the garden, but after destroying the hive, her team's victory was inevitable.

It took another half hour, before the last of the vixen fell, fighting to the last, refusing to retreat. Panting, Zee tried to run a hand through her ichor-drenched hair, grimacing as her hands caught in the tangle.

She was exhausted, and in pain, the stings she got throbbing painfully across her body. It hurt, but she should be fine after a potent healing pill, and some time to let the heart of fire burn away the toxins in her body.

Space folded a dozen feet away, just before Pikar appeared, its expression unreadable as it examined the destruction with its eyeless face.

Zee wasn't sure how the rift walkers saw, but whatever they used was at least on par with her own eyes, maybe better than her own eyes.

"I must say, I thought the vixen would kill you all," Pikar said, its tone almost disappointed that they had won.

Zee smiled at the creature, "Your concern for our safety is overwhelming," Zee quipped tiredly.

Pikar's head bobbed side to side, which she was gradually learning meant it was laughing.

"After watching you slaughter the vixen hives, I am happy we didn't attack your team. Even with our numbers, all of us would have been cut down," Pikar said.

"Maybe, but we might have taken losses. Your ability to sneak around and attack without notice is powerful," Zee said.

"Only if I catch my opponent off guard," Pikar said, unhappily.

Zee raised an eyebrow. "If you don't like your weakness, why don't you change it?" Zee asked.

The rift walker shifted nervously taking nearly a half minute before responding. "There are no warriors in the nest, and I am just a youngling. There is no one to teach me in the arts of combat," Pikar said.

Zee glanced over her shoulder, towards the rest of her team, who had already set to harvesting the splinters from the fallen Vixen. After some consideration, she reached into her spatial storage with her mind and pulled out a long curved dagger.

It was a good weapon, taken from Stella upon her death. Zee rarely ever used it and doubted she would need it considering her new control over her spirit echo skill.

She pulled out a second curved dagger, of middling quality, acquired back in the city of Arden. She had purchased the dagger on the dime of Duke Drakus, not certain if she would even use it.

She hadn't, of course. The only reason she even considered giving this creature Stella's dagger, was that, after her death, it no longer had the potent necrotic effects it once had. It was just a dagger, albeit a really good one.

"Here, take these, they are daggers," Zee said, offering the weapons to the rift walker.

Pikar glanced from the daggers to its curved claws, its expression dubious.

"I get what you are thinking. Your claws are deadly, but they are not great for blocking an attack. If you mess up even a little, you could lose a hand. Besides, daggers are a perfect weapon for hit-and-run and silent assassinations," Zee said.

Rift walkers were tailor-made for the assassin path, even hunting by attacking from behind. Pikar hesitantly took the daggers, holding them awkwardly in its clawed hands.

She smiled, noting the curious stares of the others pretending to loot the corpses of the vixen. The healing pill she had taken was already hard at work, and with the excitement of a duel, she pushed much of her pain to the back of her mind.

Zee unsheathed her sword and formed a long semi-sold dagger in her offhand with spirit echo, adopting a low striking stance.

"Watch me. Hold the daggers like I am, and stand like this." Zee said.

Pikar crouched low in an aggressive crouch, its lithe and toned body coiled and ready to pounce, a long dagger in each hand. Zee was taken aback by its casual grace, wondering if it was a good idea to teach this predator to fight.

Her heartbeat quickened, and a smile tugged at her lips. Of course, this wasn't a good idea. That is what made it fun.

"Come at me, show me what you can do," Zee said.

Pikar didn't hesitate, attacking with speed and ferocity. The young rift walker was agile, and fast, but lacked proper technique. She sidestepped its lunge, batting its daggers aside, and kicked Pikar in the butt, making the rift walker stumble into a still-smoking tree.

Ash fell onto its back, covering the rift walker in a dusting of black soot.

"Not bad, again," Zee said.