Jackal Among Snakes

Anneliese looked out the window of the carriage, her head resting on her hand. Her other hand played with her hair, which was splayed out on her thighs. The carriage rode across a field of lilies, leaving two trails behind in the pure white flowers. The fields seemed unending. As Argrave recalled, one could only see this field at certain times in the game—fall. They bloomed near the end of fall.

“A pretty sight,” Anneliese commented. “Like snow, but… alive.”

“Yes, very beautiful,” Argrave agreed, staring at Anneliese. “As we move ahead, they’ll begin to turn red, and beyond that, wilt. That means we’re growing closer to the cavern.”

Her amber eyes switched from the scenery to him. “Erlebnis told you this?”

“He doesn’t tell you so much as reach into your head and place things there,” Argrave responded. “Unpleasant yet convenient at the same time.”

She crossed her legs, placing her hands atop her knee. “For an agent of Erlebnis, you don’t seem to rever—”

“Now that we’re getting this close, we should really discuss the plan for these insects.” Argrave shut the book he held in his hand, changing the subject. “These bugs, they’re called Lily Lurkers locally. They’re the reason this field is so largely… undisturbed.” Argrave set his book on the carriage seat, and Galamon slowed the horses to hear his words better.

“The nearby village’s young couples would have late-night rendezvouses at this place when the lilies bloomed because the moonlight reflects beautifully off the white flowers. Now, at night, those bugs roam the field like supersized ants, ripping people apart.” Argrave pointed.

“You know, ants can carry…” Argrave paused, struggling to remember the number. “…100 times their own bodyweight… if I remember right. They’re strong. These bugs, they’re the same way, except they weigh about ten pounds and have a paralytic poison stinger. They’re around the size of my head.”

Anneliese nodded, a frown disturbing her face. “You mentioned they come out at night. We must’ve come here during the day to attack them while they’re in their… burrow. Burn them out, perhaps.” She waved her hand as she offered the example.

“A plausible solution,” Argrave agreed. “But the underground caverns are large enough it would be difficult to do either. Burning them out or using water might collapse the cavern, too. We need to go inside. This task requires precision.”

“Entering the cavern would be suicide,” Galamon contributed. “Tight spaces… perfect for those bugs. Impossible to kill when they’re in large numbers.”

“Both of you…” Argrave spread his arms out, shaking his head as though ashamed. He clapped his hands together, though the sound was muffled by his gloves. “Such mindless killers. Violence isn’t always the answer.”

Both of them looked at him like he was mental.

Argrave carried on, unaffected. “Fact is, we can’t butcher this whole colony of Lily Lurkers. Waste of time to even try. Would take weeks, maybe a month, if we tried to kill them off one-by-one without any casualties. Their numbers are too high. Originally, I had been thinking just the same as you two, and consequently dreading this task. But these bugs—they have to eat, no?”

“Poison,” Anneliese caught on quickly, and Argrave confirmed with a nod.

“Plausible,” Galamon commented. “Don’t think poisoning counts as non-violent, though.”

Argrave waved his hand. “Mere semantics.”

quest. That option would probably be

ants have instincts,” Anneliese responded after some consideration. “These bugs, if they are like ants, won’t eat poison even if it is

all just trial and error.” Argrave spotted some discontent with that statement, and he quickly added, “All of

Anneliese agreed. “But

promise you, though, I definitely won’t forget a single recipe for poison. I wrote thousands of articles about alchemy, be it the ingredients or the final product. It was unimaginably tedious.” Argrave tapped his temple. “This mind of mine

write thousands of articles?”

Masochism, perhaps. We’ll get back to that. For now…” Argrave turned his gaze towards Galamon. “Galamon, turn left. Hard to brew potions

in his chest. This would be the first time he tried something major that was beyond the

might be time to bring

#####

here, particularly because they were so far from any source of water or civilization. They paid homage only to the Count of Jast, who himself was sworn to the Duchy of

roofs, these buildings were well-constructed and near uniform in design. They looked fanciful rather than sturdy. When coupled with the well-kept hedges in yards, the place had an altogether

of the houses, chewing at his thumb’s nail as he tapped his feet quickly and anxiously against the porch. He was missing a few of the teeth on the right side of his mouth, and significant balding left him with only a ring of gray around the top of his head. He

walked off the stairs leading to the porch. He strode across the village square with purpose. A few people in the village watched him rush by curiously. In the far distance, a wooden carriage moved closer. The old man and some few others gathered to watch the carriage come in. In a small town,

they’d be less welcoming if they knew that Argrave had circled around the village before rejoining the road. He assumed it would not be especially

Anneliese, who had her hands in her lap as she waited quietly. “No issues with the

us much anyway,” Anneliese shook her head. “Your methods are strange, but you have come this far,

“Well, faith is earned, I suppose. You’ll be singing my praises by

I will,”

sure her amber eyes weren’t rolling. “I’ll be charitable and assume you’re not

Argrave pulled back the door’s bolt and pushed open the door, alighting onto the road. Above, Galamon leapt from the top of the carriage, and it shifted when deprived of

me,” an old man said,

to say, Argrave spoke quicker. “Are you Bertrand Guill, the one who sent the notice to Jast?” His voice

old man paused, looking up at Argrave and his company. “Yes, I am,” the man said, his voice slightly strange on account of his missing teeth. “You’re from Jast?

the Order of the Gray Owl, making it shine by willing some of his magic into it.

some distance behind him. The people started to approach and gather in

elves?” one asked,

thing that I’m the one who got it. These creatures… ‘Lily Lurkers,’ you called them?” Argrave waited for Bertrand to nod, and then

one seemed to have the slightest idea the grandiose name was entirely fabricated. “Ordinarily, I’d have

someone echoed. “What’re

Reinhardt of House Parbon has declared war against the royal family in an attempt to end their tyranny,” Argrave explained succinctly. “But that is a long way off, and Jast has maintained neutrality in mirror of their liege lord, the Duke of Elbraille. More importantly, it’s not why I’m

crowd was unsettled. Beyond them, more people started to approach, and the crowd grew larger

lily fields need to be dealt with,” Argrave said brusquely. “As such, Count