DD 304 Ch 22 (Patreon)

Crimson and I stood by the stairs. Every few minutes another dwarf would try to wander down, only for Crimson's whip to snap out, scoop him up, and deposit him in front of Penny. Penny then would heave her blade off her shoulder, cleaving down into the freshly caught dwarf before it even realized what was happening.

Crimson yawned. "Just another day of hard labor you're putting me through, Ken." She leaned back, hands on her hips, and popped her back.

Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with their antics much longer, because I could already see our raid closing in on the safe zone. This floor was already mostly cleared, and the final scraps of dwarves were being taken care of while my people tightened their ranks. I flicked open my CID and tapped on it, only for the Harem Queen's face to appear, the connection flickering in and out.

"Oh, Ken, lovely to see you. I hope everything is going well on your side."

"Well enough," I said.

"Helen said she'd take great care of you during this trip." The Harem Queen winked. "Don't lose hope for her yet."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd muddled all this with a lie. It sounded like Helen had already deepened it on her end. Fuck this was almost certain to come back and bite me in the rear at some point. "I'll do my best," I said to the Harem Queen, non-committally. "But, more importantly, we're closing in on the safe zone from our end. How's your side?"

"We've already had a number of warriors appear and try to stop us. They must know something's up." She reported.

I frowned and glanced at the pile of dwarven bodies nearby. "We haven't seen a single warrior. Perhaps you've drawn them all."

"Perhaps," the Harem Queen said, "but don't worry, they haven't been a problem. We've only had a few needing revived, but we haven't lost anyone permanently yet."

"Good." I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. "I'll contact the others to make sure they're in position, but you should expect to move in the next five minutes." I set a timer on my CID as I said it.

"We will be," the Harem Queen said, with a beaming smile while she fidgeted with her own CID. "Take care of my daughter for me," she winked, and ended the call.

Des, beside me, snickered. "Oh, yes, we'll take wonderful care of Helen."

I gave her a long enough stare that she mimed zipping her lips. "I mean, in all fairness, her mother did ask us to. However, I doubt your interpretation and hers are the same," I said, pointedly.

"Oh no, I'm sure they're more similar than you realize," Des chuckled, pulling up her CID and calling her father, her expression flitting from its usual joyfulness to something stern and emotionless. "We're almost wrapped here. I hope you're in position." I suppose even if her family was on the same route as the Harem Queen, it was still polite to keep them informed.

I saw the gruff man on the other side of the screen.

"We'll have this finished clearing momentarily, but we have enough forces at the final safe zone that even if we're a few minutes late to the party, nothing will slip past us." He told us.

"Prepare to go in four minutes," Des said, and canceled the call before he could respond, turning back to me with a smile plastered on her face. I knew her family was rather demanding of her and her siblings, but it was still uncomfortable watching her expression flit to something so different from normal, and back again.

"Everything all right?" I asked quickly.

"It's fine," Des waved away the concern. "Renards don't do the friendly-family vibe. It's more hierarchical. If I smiled it would make him uncomfortable."

"Like the military," I said, and she waffled her head.

"That wouldn't be incorrect." She waved a hand.

"And is that where your wanting to play chain-of-command comes from?"

Des gave me a horrified look. "Ew, no, no, ick, ick, ick, ick." She started rubbing her shoulders like she was trying to get the thought off of her.

I turned with a smile as my CID opened to show Elysara in more ornate armor than I'd ever seen her in before.

"Oh, are you guys finally done?" she asked.

"We're going to move in a few minutes here. We were letting some of our lower-level members get most of the experience." I told her and then shared my timer.

"Ah," Elysara said, her smile broadening. "Neldra made it a competition for the sentries, so our floors didn't last long."

"How long?" I asked, and checked the time.

"About three minutes."

I noticed Elysara looking down, distracted, then suddenly heard Neldra in the background beginning to bark orders. "We'll move with you. I will note we didn't see much to indicate there was Threadspawn on this floor," Elysara said.

I nodded slowly. "Same on our end. We're guessing the Threadspawn, after being slaves themselves, have let the drones take care of most of the grunt work. That, or they're not disturbing the hive too much. Perhaps they need it, and the drones, to keep functioning as usual."

Neldra's voice came from the side before her head popped into view. "I doubt Threadspawn are exactly experts in how to maintain all of this."

"Another good point," I said. "We'll have to wait and see for now. I'd rather not spend all our time speculating."

"Fair," Neldra said, holding her hands out. "I'm just thinking out loud."

"Well, I welcome your thoughts, especially from someone as wise as you," I tried to butter her up, only for Neldra to scowl.

"Did he just call me old?" she asked, a sharp expression overcoming her features.

"I don't think he was calling you old," Elysara said quickly, though I could tell by her face there was a correct answer to that one.

"No. And let's put that aside to deal with what we came here to do, Neldra," I reprimanded her, only to hear Elysara hiss in laughter.

"He got you there."

Through the whole exchange, Neldra's eyes were nothing but cold and dead as they stared back at me. "I eagerly await the conclusion of this discussion," Neldra said, and turned away to yell at soldiers again.

"I don't mind her," Elysara said quickly. "She's been in a bad mood lately."

"Something you did?" I asked.

"Oh, no. She'd never be upset with me," she dismissed the possibility. "Family stuff, is all." She didn't give me much detail, so I'd have to leave it for later.

"Later?" I asked.

Elysara nodded. "Later, for sure. For now, let's finish this."

I nodded to her and closed out the call on my CID, glancing up and looking around. "Alright, everyone! We move in a minute. Do what you need to be prepared." There were a number of nods as people sorted themselves out, filling up on water or sitting down to triple-check their equipment one last time, straightening their belts and scabbards as they prepared for a fight in their own ways.

I then opened a call to the new UG president to make sure she’d be moving with us too.

***

As soon as I stepped into the safe zone, I could already tell it was different from anything we'd seen thus far. Where so often it was a large, open area, this one was much different. Instead, floor to ceiling, taking up a good two-thirds of the central area, was a massive, smooth stone structure. It wasn't ornate in any way, but it was strangely cohesive, as if it had been carved from a single slab of stone. The thing had an odd elegance to it, minimalistic yet solid.

"Not what I expected," Des said, stepping up behind me.

"Me neither." I stared at the structure. The whole thing twisted and wound upward, filled to the absolute brim with dwarves hustling and bustling about.

"Surprised?" Crimson asked, stepping out beside me with a hand on her hip, watching me closely.

"More civilized than I expected," I admitted.

"Fair," Crimson tilted her head. Our appearance had caused more than a few of the dwarves to turn our direction, pausing in their tasks. Some of the drones dropped what they were doing and threw themselves forward. Others ran deeper within the safe zone. A few of the warriors met our current challenge, and those that came were already being engaged by Grandpa and his people.

Still, I hadn't seen much in the way of Threadspawn. Activating [Eyes of Wisdom], I peered deeper into the safe zone with my ability, only to be proven right. While many of the dwarves on the outskirts were uninfected, those within the depths of the hive were all infected and beginning to move now that we'd come and picked a fight. 

They were surrounded. There was no option for them to try to escape otherwise.

As we began fighting, the drones were quickly replaced by dozens of warriors, these with far more intelligence in their gaze. And unlike the drones who fought simply, the warriors had actual skills they used to great effect.

But even with those skills, the first wave met an unfortunate end as Crimson stepped forward, her whip lashing out and turning most of them into mincemeat before they even had an opportunity to put up a fight.

"I thought you were going to hold back," I smirked at Crimson.

"Would you like me to stop helping?" she threatened.

"No?" It came out more like a question. "And while you might be a brutal trainer, I refuse to believe you're going to leave us high and dry."

Crimson rolled her eyes but didn't deny the fact. "Everyone, keep your eyes open. There's something coming."

Her words were cryptic, but I could see with [Eyes of Wisdom] that all the Threadspawn I'd been tracking were beginning to move. It did not take long before they began to pour out of the hive.

I watched a number of familiar races of Nekorian, Orkai, and even some sort of large, hairy people come storming out, one after another. I frowned at the new species, which I could only describe as bigfoot, with dark, matted brown fur and faces that leaned right into the uncanny valley.

"Grims," Misha offered. "They're peaceful people. Don't worry."

"Somehow, I suspect these are going to be less peaceful than promised," I said, glancing at the large, heavy blades they carried.

Her tail flopped against the ground. "You're probably right. Of course you're right. They're Threadspawn-infected, after all. We'll talk about the Grims later."

With all the other races present, it was no surprise that quite a few humans were among them as well, staring at us with deep scowls on their faces. One of them I couldn't help but recognize and I lifted a finger, pointing accusingly.

"You don't get to come to our world and cause problems," I declared, shouting across the space.

One of the Threadspawn in a Nekorian's body, slowly tilted his head toward the one I had pointed to. There was some silent communication between them before what I could only assume was the leader's head twisted back to me. "It was unaware your people were expert trackers. This will be remembered for a future host."

"No, this won't be remembered, because I'm going to kill all of you," I said. "Meanwhile, the Orkai are descending on many of your other bases."

The leader twisted his head in a gesture of curiosity. "You speak with such conviction. I suppose we'll know in time whether your conviction holds truth or falsehood. Either way, today, I am the prophet to tell this future." His eyes glanced over our whole group. "Though from what little I currently understand of humanity, I must thank you for bringing such an opportunity to our door. There are many high-level hosts."

While we were speaking, the drones that had previously attempted to attack our group retreated through the back of the hive, toward its center. I failed to understand exactly what was happening, but I doubted it was going to end well for us.

Doing a quick check with Eyes of Wisdom, I found more and more Threadspawn-infected dwarves pouring out of the center, as if they were being made in the center. But I knew the truth of what was happening. The hive, which may have previously been allowed to function normally and keep working, was now being sacrificed to fight all of us.

I drew my weapon. I had hoped to learn more, but the stalling was only going to benefit them as they created more fighters. My weapon was out and at the ready, so I sent it straight into the face of the nearest Threadspawn. My blade sank deep, but it was just one down as many more appeared. Threadspawn-infected dwarven drones poured out from the base of the structure. Crimson's whip lashed out and diced a good many of them to pieces, only for them to stand right back up.

"I knew I hated these things," she cracked her whip as the mass reached our own forces, becoming close enough that she could no longer attack so recklessly.

My blades hummed as I dove in with [Eyes of Wisdom] active. I stabbed cleanly through the Threadspawn on multiple hosts, flitting through the drones like a flicker of death as I came and went through the fight. Threadspawn fell, and this time they didn't revive so easily.

"You!" a Threadspawn shouted, getting right up in my face.

I scowled right back. "Yes, I know you."

It was the human Threadspawn I'd pointed out only moments earlier. He lashed out with a punch that I easily caught, rolling my weight and driving his force to the side and away, to his disheartened expression. That look lasted until my blade pierced his chest. I threw him to the ground a moment later, moving past to the next target.

I had clearly made myself a target. As soon as I turned from dealing with him, there were no fewer than a dozen other Threadspawn bearing down on me. Three dwarven warriors came at me from every direction with long spears and barbed tips. I blocked two and dodged out of the third's reach, but I hadn't seen the fourth warrior come up from behind. 

I learned he was there as one of its barbed tips dug through my leg, causing me to stumble to the side. This time, when they came back at me, I wasn't quite so nimble. I drove one spear to the ground to stabilize myself as another caught me in the waist, and the third jumped high, trying to drive its spear into me.

I lifted my hand, but a blast of Des's green fire caught the jumper and sent him tumbling and well done with charred edges.

I spun, wrenching the barbed spear painfully out of my leg as green, soothing waves of energy rippled across the wounds, closing them in seconds.

Charlotte gave me a thumbs-up, and I smiled back before a golden shield appeared in front of me just in time to take a large spell that had flown across the battlefield, aimed directly at me. 

Helen appeared behind it, spun, and the shield on her arm rocketed off in a trail of golden flames, hitting the Threadspawn that had cast the spell, before reappearing on her arm in a blink.

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't mention it," she said, just as quickly. "I'm just jumping in like I'm supposed to do as a tank." She ducked her head and turned away.

I watched her go, noting that for once we’d had a civil conversation.

Not dwelling on the fact, I looked for more Threadspawn to kill. Unfortunately, there were plenty to choose between. While Crimson could take the intense approach of simply destroying the entire body and everything in a ten-foot radius, not everyone was equipped to end the Threadspawn for good. In fact, most people were doing little more than stalling them.

The Threadspawn were simply reviving their hosts moments later, healing them back to full and getting them right back into the fight. That ability had been incredibly dangerous in the first few moments. We had lost several of the Silverfangs simply because they were caught off guard when a Threadspawn revived behind them, catching them unaware.

The Threadspawn certainly weren't ones for fair play; they revived and almost immediately went for people's ankles, slashing the Achilles tendon before rolling to their feet and resuming the fight they'd just lost. Of course, that just meant our healers had to work overtime, trying to make up for other people's mistakes. It was honestly the worst part of being a healer, and the reason I would never want to be one.