“Hey Jori!” Ash called brightly over the barricade. “I’m here for breakfast!”

  “Good day Ash.” He replied, letting her in. “In good spirits? I hear you’ve been working on inscribing our tools. Neat work. Carving with that knife has never felt better.”

  “Yeah, I’m rather enjoying the skill. It seems a good way to enhance my equipment. I’m planning on making it my specialty.”

  “Oh yes.” Jori looked down at her club, dangling from her waist. “You know, there are other ways to enhance that weapon of yours, you know.”

  “Oh, really?” Ash paused “Like what?”

  Jori shrugged than fell into step next to her as they headed towards the cookfire. “Like adding metal to the head there. Making it into an axe or a pick would make it hit the thinner point harder.”

  “Oh, I kind of need it to stay as a Great-hammer, for my specialty”

  “Oh. Well, in that case you could just add a metal cap on the end, making it heavier. Or maybe even hammering in some nails will give it some bonus piercing damage.”

  “Huh, I never really considered that.” Ash continued chatting to him while they collected breakfast from Tyra, Jori giving the woman a soft peck on the cheek as she put together his portion. They started eating as Ash followed him back to his post at the gate, chatting about a few ideas for her club. Then she remembered something that might work even better. “How about obsidian?” She asked.

  “Obsidian? I know we collected some from the lizardmen, but I think it’s a little too valuable for you to get your hands on, same issue with the metal cap idea. I’m not sure you’ll gather enough to trade for it any time soon.”

  “Actually, I have some. A shattered obsidian throwing dagger that maybe could be repurposed.”

  “Oh. Well in that case then sure. We could probably find a way to embed them into your club. Bring them along this evening and I’ll help you look into it.”

  Ash smiled at him, continuing to chat about more casual topics like his relationship with Tyra as they finished eating. She was interested to hear their first-year anniversary was coming up soon, letting him know her take on the wooden jewellery he was in the process of making for her.

  Finally, ash sighed and stood. “It’s been good chatting but I should get some crafting done before I get kicked out.”

  “Yeah. I suppose-” Jori dropped his spoon, standing and staring out into the jungle. Ash turned following his gaze.

  “What is it?”

  “I thought…” He whispered. “I saw movement…” He trailed off, waiting a few more moments then letting out a sigh. “Sorry. Maybe a bird, or the wind. I guess the jungle makes me jumpy sometimes.”

  “Oh, no don’t say that! Now it’s bound to be some-” Ash gasped as a dark shape rushed from the jungle, next to the ruin, quickly followed by a swarm of similar creatures. “Shit!” She cried “The ants!”

  “Attack!” Jori cried, running to a nearby warning bell and frantically ringing it. “Attack! Ants attacking!”

  The tide of foragers reached the ditch, crawling down and struggling to the other side until others reached them and then clambered atop one another, forming a living pile of bodies that eventually carried the first of their number over the ditch and to the short wall beneath the stakes. The stakes were too widely spaced to deter the foragers, but they were stopped by the thigh high wall attached to them. Ash noticed them beginning to pile again, and knew it was only a matter of time.

  She rushed forward with a cry, slamming her club through the wooden spikes and down atop the piling ants. She infused ice into the strike and the pile burst apart beneath her assault, shards of shattered ant flying in all directions as a notification of several kills blinked at the corner of her awareness. She repeated the feat on another forming pile, then again without the ice infusion, worried about draining her reserves too quickly. The impact was lessened, but the piling creatures were still disrupted. Then Jori was beside her, thrusting his spear into another pile.

  They worked desperately to quell the onslaught, but the ants just kept coming. One pile almost broke through, the first ant shoved back at the last moment by Jori’s desperate thrust. Then Ash misjudged a swing, her club cracking into a stake and cracking the barricade it was attached to. The ants were given just enough purchase, the first scrambling over the piling bodies to enter the village.

  Ash cried out and hopped back, quickly splattering that one, but it was soon followed by others.

  “Kinetic Push!” Came a voice from behind her and a wave of force hit Ash from behind, knocking her a step forwards. The barricade rattled as it too was impacted, but the ants behind it were sent flying. Ash saw a few crack into the side of the ditch, falling down unmoving. The tide abated for a moment, as Hestia rushed to the side, casting another blast on the next section of the wall.

  A few shapes seemed to resist the push, standing out amidst the swarm and providing a buffer to bolster the foragers Infront and behind them. The guardian ants, shield arms raised in a defensive posture, marched inexorably forwards.

  “Shit, I can’t use a stronger push or I’ll knock down the barrier!” Hestia cried out, breathlessly.

  “Keep forcing them back!” Jori yelled, darting in with his spear.

  “Stavos!” Hestia called “We need a barrier!”

  “I’m here!” Came a gruff voice from behind “Oh hells!” He cursed “Barrier!”

  A wall of light glistened into existence, blocking off a section of fence further from the ruins. It was angled, encouraging the rest of the ants into a funnel to the section of the wall Ash, Jori and Hestia were guarding. Another woman joined them, the girl Kara with her pitchfork, and together they struggled to keep the ants from breaching the village.

  Ash’s hammer slammed down on a guardian’s head, the ice strike smashing it into shards instantly. She grinned in triumph, her new power meaning she could flatten the pests in one clean channelled strike. She was also glad for the breakfast’s recovery boon, meaning her stamina was coming back fast enough for her to keep swinging with fewer breaks and she had already regenerated enough Will that she still had 3 ice strikes to spend.

  She smashed another guardian with one while Jori and Kara struggled with another. Hestia focused on her wide area blasts, concentrating on deflecting the bulk of the swarm before it could overwhelm their barricade. Stavos concentrated on his barrier, occasionally adjusting it to keep as much of the swarm contained as possible.

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  The struggle continued for long, desperate moments. But something was eventually going to break.

  Stavos cried out in pain, his barrier collapsing. Ash turned to see him stumbling away from an ant infiltrator, two bloody rents in his clothing.

  She ran, instinct telling her to deal with the new threat as quickly as possible. Her Great-hammer swung down into the creature’s side, blasting it into the barricade in a crack of ice.

  Yet still it was not dead. It twitched back onto its feet, clearly damaged but still moving, only to be met by a flash of steel as Stavos severed its head.

  “Foul beasts” He muttered and turned to recast his barrier with his left hand, keeping hold of the sword in the other. Ash’s eyes caught on the blade. That was Eric’s sword, wasn’t it? It seemed that it wasn’t only his armour that was being collected and repurposed.

  There was a cry from behind and Ash turned her focus back to the fight. The interruption had been enough for the ants, even as the wall of light flickered back into existence, a guardian reached the wall, pushing a swarm of foragers in through the gap.

  Kara screamed and hopped back, trying to stab at the cascading ants, leaving Jori to desperately fend off another approaching guardian. Hestia cast another blast of force, scattering the encroaching ants and knocking a few of them back into or over the barricade. Yet some remained, picking themselves off the ground and skittering away into the village.

  “No, the children!” Kara cried and ran after one of them.

  “Kara, the barricade!” Stavos called after her, straining to tighten up his defence, but she was already gone.

  More ants rushed in through the breach, and Ash moved in, sweeping through a cluster of them then slamming her final ice strike into the guardian’s face, finally stemming the tide.

  Then Jori cried out, pulling back with a pair of foragers clinging to his spear. An ant bit into Ash’s leg from behind, another bouncing off her shin-guard. This time, she was unlucky. She felt the toxin setting in just as the notification blinked into her awareness.

  Her thoughts slowed, her mind starting to spin. She swung down at the ants by her legs, crushing one then three then five of the nuisances. Someone screamed and ash looked up to see Hestia stumbling and falling to the floor, a swarm of biting foragers crawling over her.

  No! No, not her. Not her too! Ash’s mind span, but she desperately clung to that fear, that horror she felt at seeing her friend being overwhelmed. She stepped forward, both her Will and stamina worryingly low, but determined to do something, anything to save Hestia.

  She took another step, raised her club to swing, and was blasted back as a great wave for force erupted form the mage’s body. Ants went flying, blasting apart, insect body parts scattering in all directions. Ash hit the floor, registering a few points of damage from the unrestrained force blast.

  Her head still span, but she needed to focus, stumbling back to her feet, breathing out in relief at seeing Hestia back on her feet, raising a potion to her lips and gulping it down.

  “Are you… okay?” Ash gasped, her voice sounding slurred.

  “Ash? I’m just fine!” Hestia panted “More importantly, why haven’t you taken an antivenom!” The woman reached into her pouch and thrust a bottle into Ash’s hands.

  Numbly, ash looked down at it, taking a few too many moments to realise what it was. Another bite sinking into her leg brought her back to reality and she unstopped the antivenom and drank. She drained it as she kicked away the ant, pocketing the used vial and gripping her club once more while the effects sank in.

  She took a brief moment to assess her status, surprised to see that she’d only taken 7 points of damage, leaving her with 9 to work with. She had recovered almost enough Will for an ice strike and had just under half her stamina after the brief pause.

  Her thoughts swam back into focus and she noticed the ants still skittering around her. More were slipping past into the village. Jori had backed off, stabbing at any ant in reach. Hestia conjured up another blast to stem the tide breaching the barricade. Stavos slashed at a few foragers that nipped at his ankles while maintaining his gleaming barrier with his left hand.

  Behind all that, the ants still swarmed. A seemingly endless tide. Within, a few larger shapes of guardians and behind all those three even larger shapes rose. These stood as tall as a man, leering down like generals over their massing troops. She didn’t need her assess creature skill to tell her they were more dangerous still.

  There was movement to the side. Ash identified another infiltrator, already rushing them. Behind it three more clambered into the village, having just crawled up and over the ruins – completely bypassing the barricade entirely.

  “Infiltrators!” Ash cried, rushing forwards to intercept.

  She braced, timing her swing as the lead one approached. They were still just so fast. Her Great-hammer came in from the side – just a hair too late. The ant’s great scythe-arm sunk into her wrist then her weapon connected and it was blasted away. Not dead, but reeling. She followed up, crushing its head in two quick blows before it could recover and turning to face the other three. She didn’t have enough health to survive a double attack, she had barely interrupted that first one. She would just have to time her swings even better. One ice strike left. 3 infiltrators.

  She slammed it straight into the first ant that leapt at her, her timing perfect. She twisted and struck at the second, hitting it mere moments before its scything arms reached her. But her desperation left her off balance. The third, she couldn-

  Jori cried out in pain, twin blades of the infiltrator sinking into his flesh.

  What was the idiot thinking! Ash reeled, then noticed the pierced body of the infiltrator she first struck. He had darted in and finished it off, but now he was paying the price. Ash screamed and ran forward, just as the arms scythed down again. Her weapon hit home just as the tips bit into him once more. They pulled free as the ant was knocked into the air in a tangle of its own limbs.

  A shadow shifted behind her.

  The other ant, coming to finish me off.

  She almost gave in, let the exhaustion overcome her at last. But the bleeding form of Jori below twitched. The man was still alive. There was still hope.

  She span, only to see the twin scythes flying straight towards her face.

  “Stunning ray!” A voice cried out in the distance, then a flash of light intercepted the leaping ant, which sailed off course. Then a crossbow bolt slammed into it, splattering it in a burst of ichor. Another bolt soon followed, taking out the other infiltrator.

  “Rejuvenating circle!” came another cry and Ash felt her body instantly beginning to mend, her pain subsiding as her heath slowly began to tick upwards. Jori gasped in relief below her, his wounds visibly beginning to close.

  Three strangers had appeared from the village, looking tired and scruffy but clearly fighting on their side. Reinforcements had arrived. A burly tan man with a crossbow quickly reloaded, then took a potshot, splattering a guardian that had reached the barricade. A young pale man with a white streak in his hair ran forwards, summoning a cascade of sparks that tore through the ranks of foragers. The dark-skinned woman behind them glowed, an aura of peace and life emanating from her as she concentrated on healing.

  Hestia and Stavos quickly responded to the newcomers, pushing forwards and forcing the tide of ants backwards. Ash noticed the three larger shapes had disappeared from the horde. The remaining ants now scattered back from the fresh onslaught, retreating as blasts of force, lighting and an impenetrable barrier shoved their frontlines back.

  Ash hurried forwards, but by the time she had reached the barricade the remaining ants were in a full-on rout, quickly dispersing into the trees and leaving a poignant stillness in their wake.

  “Deepest hells… That was too close. Too close again.” Stavos said gruffly. Then he turned, surveying the grouped fighters. “You arrived just in time.” He nodded at the three newcomers. Then his eyes alighted on Ash and they narrowed.

  “Hestia, Lance, Ama, go sweep the village. Make sure there’s no remaining ants inside.”

  The three nodded and hurried away in the direction of the main hall.

  “Vidar, take this one and keep her under guard until we can examine her properly.”

  “Understood.” The man with the crossbow nodded and before Ash knew what was happening he had grabbed hold of her arms and wrenched them behind her back, her club falling uselessly to the floor.

  “What?” Ash struggled but the burly man’s hold proved inescapable “What are you doing, get off of me!”

  “You are to be examined by Ama, once the rest of the village is safe. The lizards. These ants. The attacks only started after you arrived. I need to know that taint on you is not somehow linked. Until then, you are to remain where I can keep a proper eye on you.” He looked up at the crossbowman “Vidar, take her to my quarters. Do not let the others know until I’m ready.”

  “You can’t just do this! Hesti-” Her cry was cut off as a thick bundle of cloth was stuffed in her mouth. She half choked, the gag secured by a rope and then her hands were tied as well. Her cheeks burned at the indignity as she was frogmarched around to the back of the main hall, entering through a back door into what must be Stavos’s private quarters. There, the stoic Vidar tied her to a corner of the room and instructed her to sit and wait.