Vir Leaped again, using the momentum to throw himself into a forward roll. Right under the hunter-gatherer. Vir extended his Prana Bladed katar to the side, rotating as he rolled.
The spinning blade sliced into the hunter-gatherer’s foreleg, then its midleg, and finally, aided by an Empowered thrust, bisected its hind leg as Vir exited his roll.
With all of its legs on one side out of commission, the beast slowly fell over. Its massive weight meant it couldn’t right itself, making it vulnerable.
Vir jumped up onto its back and drove his katar down, right into its heart.
The beast quivered, then lay still. The forest was silent… for a single moment.
Its remaining five brethren had noticed the fight and surrounded Vir while he’d fought.
It hardly mattered. With Dance, no enemy could ambush Vir.
Glaring at his foes, Vir sunk into the shadows.
This, too, had been a probing test. Not only had his fight shown him the capabilities of the hunter-gatherers, but if the Brood Matron was as intelligent as he thought it was…
Then she ought to send reinforcements to this area of the forest, where a threat lies.
Except, Vir was currently far south in the forest. Their camp was to the north. If the Matron sent her hunter-gatherers here, it would mean less resistance for Spear’s Edge. The Matron would be left open to attack.
With a satisfied smile, Vir set a course due north to return to base.
It was only then did he notice a strange smell. Its source was none other than his own upper arm, which burned as searing hot acid numbed his pain and ate into his skin with each passing second.
27PREDATOR AND PREY
“Itold you to be careful!” Haymi chided as she applied a Treat Minor Burn orb. While it was a B Grade Life orb, it still wasn’t capable of completely healing Vir’s acid wounds, which had eaten deep into his flesh. A deluge of water along with her Heal Skin orb neutralized the acid, allowing Haymi to patch up Vir’s bicep.
Neel looked on with worry.
“Sorry, but would you mind looking away for this last part?” Vir asked as his skin began to painfully reform. “It’s kinda embarrassing.”
Haymi rolled her eyes but obliged.
“You’ll have to wait for your body to do the rest,” she said. “I could’ve healed you fully if I’d been present when you received your wound, but the acid had continued to spread.”
“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d have done without your magic. Is, uh… do you know of any non-magical ways of healing, Haymi?” Vir asked.
“All Life mejai carry salves, balms, and alcohol with them, but there is a limit to what herbal remedies can do. Against such a strong acid… I’m afraid there would have been little to be done other than waiting for it to dissipate naturally.”
That was about what Vir had figured. But what Haymi said next came as a surprise.
“The Pagan Order might have something to treat acid, though. Their non-magical medicine is said to be the most advanced in the Known World, but that isn’t saying much. Magic can do things the Order could never dream of.”
Makes sense, I guess. When you’re forced to live without magic, you’d come up with alternatives.
Vir wondered what life was like in the Voidlands. He supposed he’d find out soon enough.
“So?” asked Tia. She’d been walking around the camp with a furrowed brow ever since Vir returned. “Was your foray worth putting yourself in such jeopardy?”
Vir cracked a grin. “Actually, it was.”
He proceeded to tell them all he’d learned, and though initially Spear’s Edge remained skeptical, they grew more and more impressed with each tidbit he divulged.
“You learned all that in just two hours?” Vason asked. “What Talent do you have and how can I get it?”
“The Talent helped, but I was mainly moving around on the treetops.”
“Wait. You jumped from branch to branch?” Tia asked. The others wore the same shocked expression as her.
“I have my reasons, but yeah.”
“Uh, Apramor? You do realize that’s not a normal thing, right?” Vason said with an awkward expression.
“Most people can’t run on trees,” Haymi added.
“That’s, uh… I’ve had a lot of practice,” Vir replied sheepishly. “Anyway, what’s important now is that we come up with a plan. And I think I have just the thing.”
“Oh? We’re all ears.”
Vir took a deep breath and began. “First, the scouts. As we saw earlier, they’re not that hard to take down, but they have excellent senses. They find food for the Brood Matron. Then the hunter-gatherers move in. Tia was right. They’re tough. Venom, hard armor, and sharp pincers.”
“Balar Rank?” asked Tia.
“I actually fought one. That’s how I got my wound. I bested it, but I’d say around thirty to forty. Hard to say, but they’re strong, and they always move in packs of six or more.”
Each of the members reacted differently to his words, though respect at his feat shone through in all of them. Haymi gave him a concerned look, while Tia looked contemplative. Vason whistled in appreciation.
“That’s going to be troublesome,” Tia muttered, tapping her hipbone with a nervous tic that reminded Vir of Maiya.
“What about the workers?” Vason asked. “Anything we need to worry about?”
Vir shook his head. “Not that I can tell. They don’t seem to have any offensive abilities at all. It’s the Matron herself we need to worry about. She’s like a bigger hunter-gatherer. I didn’t feel safe fighting her—”
“As you well should!” Tia said. “You’re telling me you saw her?”
“Only from afar. Didn’t feel safe going any closer. The thing is, she can move. And I think she’s powerful. Probably much stronger than her hunter-gatherers.”
“That’s bad news,” Vason said, his expression grim. “If these hunter-gatherers are as strong as you make them out to be, we’ll have our hands full just dealing with them.”
“Not to mention the scouts,” Tia added. “If they pile on… And if the Matron joins in…”
“We won’t stand a chance,” Vir completed. “Which is why I think we should target her scouts and workers first.”
“The scouts I understand,” Vason said. “But why the workers? Aren’t they harmless?”
“If we kill her scouts, the hunters can’t kill prey, and so the workers can’t bring them back. But with enough workers, I figure the Matron could use them as substitute scouts. As long as the Matron’s receiving nourishment, she can create more offspring.”
“You hope to starve out her brood,” Haymi said. “Not a bad plan.”
“Thanks.” Vir looked at each of them in turn. “If we can isolate the hunters and pick them off one by one, we can eventually whittle down the Matron’s brood. I doubt we’ll ever kill all of them off, but if we can get the Matron down to just her and a few guards, we might stand a chance.”
“I like it,” Tia replied. “Let’s do it!”
They each took turns guarding the base overnight. Vason was the happiest about having Vir onboard. With four people, each watch was shorter, making the burden lighter for everyone.
Prana Vision allowed Vir an unfair advantage when it came to guard duty. Despite the night—or rather because of it since the contrast against the darkness highlighted prana signatures better than during the day—Vir could see threats well beyond what the others could.