Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave watched atop a hill where the trees ended, fading into the lily fields beyond. In the far distance, he could see the entrance to the Lily Lurker’s cavern; the entrance was shaped like a canoe, and the earth looked recently overturned. Closest to the entrance, the lilies wilted, but as they grew further away, they turned a dark red hue.

Argrave knelt down with his left hand pressed against a tree for support as he watched what exactly was occurring. The lily lurkers romped about in the field without order, uprooting and flattening the red and white flowers carelessly. It was difficult to spot reason in their movements, but they did not stray too far from a single point.

The Lily Lurkers were about the size of a human head, though three tails on their back end made them seem quite large. Their body was colored much like an orchid mantis. They had six long legs that elevated them off the ground, and twinges of pink decorated their joints. Each bore a stinger on its back with an eerie-looking pink barb on the tip.

The other two of its three tails beside the stinger swayed back and forth as the Lily Lurkers roamed, vibrating and letting out a harsh noise similar to a rattlesnake. According to in-game lore Argrave recalled, their tails allowed them to communicate with each other. As it was now, Argrave felt it made them seem much greater in number than they were. The only thing that might have made him more uncomfortable was if they had wings.

“Jesus,” Argrave muttered into his hand as he watched. “Scorpions. Ants. Cicadas. Someone couldn’t make up their mind.”

“What was that?” asked Anneliese, her eyes closed as she used a druidic spell to scout out what exactly was happening. Above, her pigeon circled their swarm.

“Nothing,” Argrave said louder, not willing to turn his head away from the scene. Those stingers captured his attention. The Lily Lurkers moved far too fast for him to count them effectively. “What do you see?”

“I am unsure. There’s one in the center of their movement… looks unmoving. Dead, were I to guess.”

Argrave ran his hand over his mouth, pondering this. “I think… one of them must have died to the poison, let out pheromones. It’s agitated a bunch of them. These ones are searching for what happened. Ants do that, I read.”

“Pheromones?”

“Don’t ask me,” Argrave dismissed, lacking both confidence and a sufficient explanation. “I can’t exactly check my notes. Bugs don’t occupy my thoughts, and I wouldn’t spend any time reading about them. I prefer to pretend they don’t exist.”

Anneliese retracted the spell, and her pigeon flew back to the trees. “What should we do?”

“If you’ll notice, they’re staying near the corpse,” Argrave pointed out. “Maybe they don’t have ants in the snowscape that is Veiden, but if you’ve ever squished an ant near an anthill, they all freak out. They’re searching for danger. Once they’re certain there’s nothing, they’ll stop.”

came from nature documentaries. It was dodgy at best,

should wait,” Anneliese

they’re doing, but I can only see this as an opportunity. Imagine them in the trees—or worse yet, in a cavern.” Argrave took one step forward.

you doing?” she spoke urgently. “If this is how they

“You want some insights into my struggles?” Argrave hearkened back to their earlier conversation. “Feeling queasy right about

thing to do? I disagree!” Anneliese protested. “Between the two of us, you cannot believe we

grip. “If things go sour, I can call upon that. For now, I need to determine how these things act when confronted with an

these things' limitations, their simplicity. Use spells like the D-rank [Wind Wall] to block them; I doubt they have the capacity to understand and adapt to

seemed to coincide with the roiling anxiety in his chest. He felt the wind shift, and he foolishly turned to look at his side. Anneliese walked forward alongside him. Argrave didn’t need to have her empathic skills to see that she was wracked with anxiety just as

and clenched his gloved hands tight. I have to become a good leader. The lesson from Mateth isn’t only that this world is ever-changing; it’s that I alone am not enough to deal with everything. The white fields faded behind them as they came to the

rattling of the Lily Lurkers ever closer. Soon enough, the insects turned, their two tails quivering and their bright pink eyes locked on the pair as they approached. Argrave estimated they were about twenty. Feeling the distance was sufficient for good accuracy, Argrave stopped and held out both hands, forming the

close to it. The Lily Lurker spasmed for far longer than Argrave

was much more effective than he thought

of rattling, lacking the time to check if she heard

in unison. He instinctively used [Wind Wall], and the creature slammed against it, splaying out ungracefully on the field. Anneliese finished it off with two quick

took a deep breath, keeping an eye on the open cavern far ahead for any movement. As the remainder grew closer, Argrave continued to use lightning magic from behind the cover of his [Wind Wall], the spells passing through easily. The bulk of the insects, of which likely half remained, finally came close enough to the two of them. Argrave internally reminded himself of the purpose of this fight: to test their reactions. He was uncertain if insects would be afraid of

C-rank attack spell he knew; [Wargfire]. A great lupine jaw emerged from his hands after the matrix formed. The creatures barely seemed to see the fire

Argrave knew such a notion was ridiculous. Despite the fire, the rest of the insects rushed forward, averse to but not afraid of the flames. The dry, wilted flowers were a natural accelerant, and the flames

the insects were consumed by the flames which continued to spread in the ring of wilted flowers. Argrave grew worried that he had caused a large fire, but the air was quite humid and the ring of red, unwilted lilies

they were a safe distance away, Argrave and Anneliese came to a stop and watched. The creatures writhed about, appearing in intense agony, but Argrave could

Argrave concluded as he watched. “Started to get pretty

white to emerge and ruin the victory.

We learned something.” Argrave looked back. “I told you it was purposeful. A lot less traumatic

in a cave, those inside most often