Hasty backpedaling leads to me tripping on the rough ground, something I really don't need with these moleratmadillos closing in. I manage to get to one knee as the first beast opens its jaws, and I attempt an underhanded swing at the bottom of the creature's jaw. It connects, but it's not a solid blow. The creature's jaw slams shut, severing a chunk of its tongue and spraying arterial blood everywhere. I'm glad I left my new bag near the sun orb, I guess I'm not completely stupid after all.

I pull back on the axe and it makes a sucking sound and pulls free along with a chunk of furry skin and a bit of bloody slurry.

A swift overhand puts the creature down for good, driving its head into the dirt and causing its eyes to protrude comically from its skull. I pull on the axe but it doesn't come free. Another is on me in an instant, and I'm forced to scramble back and give ground, a second creature hot on its heels.

I suddenly realize that without a plan I'm gonna get chewed to bits by these stupid, fuzzy, plated, hole digging, annoying varmints. My life flashes before my eyes a bit, and I decide that I refuse to die to a stupid oversized rat. I didn't want to ask the bees for help, because they seem kind of fragile and I've grown fond of them. They might not be geniuses but they aren't nearly as dumb as I thought a bee would be, and they make good company. I gently ask if they could distract the rearmost beast and buy me a little time. Of course the industrious little buggers are happy to help, and they all roar out in defense of the hive.

I see Eliza sting the creature right in the eye before I suddenly become preoccupied with my own fight. Thank goodness the queen is still here with me, I completely forgot to ask someone to hang back so I could still see. The view isn't that great as we exchange blows and jostle the hive, but it's way better than nothing. The beast lunges forwards and crashes into me, snapping it's jaws. I hold an arm out and push back, while punching it in its snout with the other hand. A few blows later it squeals and snaps at my hand, taking a pinky and half of a ring finger with it.

It keeps pushing me back, and I'm not going to win a contest of strength. I focus and begin to string together a few mana constructs, linking up to the pinky finger I can still see hanging between the creature's teeth. I see smoke, then suddenly the Moleratmadillow looks panicked and its mouth opens wide in a screech. I shove my already mangled hand down its throat and hold it there, grabbing on with my other arm to keep it from escaping. After a few cycles of power through my hand as I push, there's smoking holes all down the creature's neck where burning hot bits of calcium went through. I pull my arm free and let go, and it makes a horrid wheezing sound and attempts to crawl away. I stand and rush over and make a new attempt to free the axe, succeeding this time, and take a few quick strides over to the other beast. It's currently flailing wildly while a few bees fly around it, keeping its attention. They've done a number to it, and most of its unarmored flesh is swollen or bleeding. I almost feel sorry for it. As I get ready to put it down I recall the bees to keep them out of harms way.

An upward swing from ankle height combined with a lunging forward step drives the axe upward into the creatures underbelly, lifting it off the ground a bit with the force. A quick push on the handle flips it over on to its back. A step next to the axe blade and a yank, and I'm ready to swing again, and I bury it right in its unarmored throat. I take a step back out of range of those claws as I take stock and it gargles it's last.

There's a lot of chunks missing off the zombie I'm piloting. But the real casualties are with the bees. I can see one of the adults weakly fluttering its legs near the tunnel wall, another split in half by a sweep of the moleratmadillow's clawed paw, and one of the elders was squished between its back and the floor as the beast rolled about and flailed. The bees are proud of victory, but exhausted and sad too.

We're all just lucky these bees aren't the kind who die after stinging. This could have been so much worse. I ask a few uninjured bees to clear out a larger cell in the hive, and put the injured bee in it, sealing her up with wax so her head is poking out like a full body cast. Hopefully she'll heal up with time. I attempt to pick up the dead bees, but I forgot I only have one hand, and there's an axe in it. I head back to the cleared room, place down the axe, retrieve the bag, and grab both bees and place them in the outer pocket.

In the back corner of the flowering zombie room, I spend some time digging a hole with one gouged up hand and lay them to rest. I don't think the bees understand, but I tell them it's a gesture of respect for their sacrifice, and they go along with it. There's minor injuries to most of the bees, and they're mostly resting anyway.

I sit down and firm my resolve. This is my fault. I could have spent a few more days training, I could have used more caution and asked a bee to scout ahead, I could have done a lot of things, but I didn't and now thinking beings that trusted me were dead. I didn't feel very victorious. I didn't want this to happen ever again. So I trained.

Spell List Unlocked

Levitate (Basic)

Earthshape (Basic)

Heat (Basic)

Spark (Basic)

Grow (Basic)

Psionic Screech (Intermediate)

I studied the brain crystals and figured out how to use their manas with the mana constructs I already had. I also learned to recharge and transmute their mana types. It turned out there was a small section embedded in the crystal with mana constructs for transmuting their mana types built in. The basic functions of the mana present when channeled were fairly easy to bring out. I could make most things smoke or melt given enough mana present now, conjure a small spark, speed up and control the growth of a plant a bit, cause soil to move around a bit, and make objects float based on the basic properties of these mana,

With the forms I learned and the understanding I gained, I built a simple psionic spell that projected a feedback loop of the targets own mind overlapping on to itself. An amplified echo of what they were experiencing was projected in to their mind again a few seconds after experiencing it. I tested it on my self and it was annoying and disorienting. Two overlapping series of events going on at once really messed with my reaction times and concentration too. I was a bit proud of that spell.

I looted the crystals from the corpse of the poor sod in the hallway, and tried to loot the moleratmadillows but all but one corpse had been eaten, and there wasn't much left of the last one. The bees all healed up all right, and although there were a few crooked limbs among the crowd, none of them were bothered much.

During the time I trained, I intermittently charged the green orbs I had found in the nasty zombie organ. They glowed a bit brighter every day, and every time I charged them I felt something strange, like a vibration. While practicing my manipulation of heat in an attempt to learn how to freeze something, I paused and charged the crystals once again, and this time something clicked into place. I think I just found something important.

Life Force Unlocked

Creature Type Changed:

Chimeric Animated Beehive