Mimi

The night was still young, as the first cracks of thunder sounded across the village. My Hive spread out from the wagon, clusters moving through the buildings. The Wisps were coming at me from all sides, as I moved between the gaps in their attacks. Those that managed to hit me simply phased through leaving a cold patch on my armor. I couldn't grab them, nor could they harm me. Sadly their attacks were much more effective on my bugs, making them curl up and die. Which meant I needed their attention entirely focused on myself.

They could possess iron and steel while altering silver. Which left gold as the best way to deal with them. A single gold coin was enough to deal with one of them, but the coin itself would be burnt in the process, making it rather costly to get rid of them. I simply didn't bring enough to deal with them either. There was probably enough hidden away in the village, but it might take hours to find every last piece.

I clicked my tongue when I let fire form in front of my hands to engulf one of the wisps. It didn't work, as the wisp went through the fire without issue. I couldn't connect to them with mental links, or even try bonding to them as if they were a part of my Hive. The worst part was that Richard's alchemy used a part of his soul to guide his fire and anything else he made. He would probably be able to take care of these Wisps without any issues, but if he hesitated then they might manage to kill him.

He was safe in his tree with my bombers ready to help him. He was doing enough, and it was good for his confidence in the long run. Eventually, he would stop hesitating, and his reliance on the haze would cease. It didn't make the present any easier, but small steps would get us to our goal. Let's just hope his trauma with curses doesn't flare up since I'm running out of options and patience.

Carpenters were dispatched to a shack that was falling apart already. Meat carvers were sent to the barn to gather flesh for the ritual. I would bind the wisps' being to larvae and slowly break them into serving me. I only had to keep their attention long enough so my workers could do so in peace. Thus the dance continued, twirling and hopping in the moonlight. Glints of gold towards any foolish enough to turn away from me. The wisps wailing angrily while lightning arced above our clearing.

There was nothing but flesh to be gained from the zombies. The wisps would be useful if I could bind them, or they might become personalities themselves. I prepared a method for making them sleep just in case, looking forward to the experiments I could do with them. The village was bound to have useful things to sell, mason jars for Richard's explosives, and more. I sighed to myself, knowing he'd want to gather the bodies in each house. He'll probably spend a day or two making graves for them.

The hour passed, with no sign of a Wisp Mother. I had to waste another gold coin to keep the wisps' attention. It upset them quite a bit whenever one of their friends fell while screaming in agony. I puzzled out how most of the people here died, most of them seemingly caught off guard. A few children were protected by their parents before being dragged out and eaten with them. None of my scouts found any survivors, the freshest scents ending in a bloody pool a few days ago. If we had been earlier then they wouldn't have ventured out for water by the looks of it. Such was life, and it was their fault for being weak.

I pretended to pant, after dancing for an hour. Taking a few more hits than necessary to simulate exhaustion. The gaping smiles of the wisps were growing wider, as I jumped back towards the shack with my trap. They chased after me in a nice large group, the larvae sitting at the center of a circle with nine points from three triangles. The points casting lines to the edges of an outer circle with breaks and more triangles. I drew blood from my cheek, smearing it over the 'alter' circle to activate the trade. A gold coin was flipped and quickly dissolved into nothing as a golden dome trapped the wisps inside.

Richard was doing fine, with most of the zombies laying broken on the ground now. The wisps wouldn't be able to leave, the barrier making their fists smolder when they beat against it. I left them there to retrieve the bars of iron left behind by the village's smith. His zombified corpse was pinned under the anvil. I squished his head while walking by, and placed the bars in seven of the eight remaining circles. The binders were filled, as the iron melted and metal whips lashed out to grab onto each wisp.

I moved the elastic chitin around my ribs to reveal pale flesh, before bracing myself. For the ritual to succeed, it needed a proper sacrifice of life to bind death. A still-beating heart would ensure its success. I punctured the space below my ribs, feeling the muscle give way as blood seeped from my lips. My healing stinger at the ready as I grabbed my heart. I felt the coiled muscle give as I pulled hard, a few veins still clinging to the spring-like organ. It bounced on itself, the black heart lazily dropped atop the circle of sacrifice. My healing stinger allowed me to regrow another by the time the metal turned black.

The wisps screamed, while my workers licked the blood from my closed wound. The black whips dragging their spiritual bodies to the larvae while they struggled. The golden barrier slowly shrinking, as they were forced closer, and closer. The larvae were empty vessels, devoid of even the smallest soul, waiting for something to be placed inside them. Fifteen wisps for 150 larvae should be more than enough. Some of the larvae exploded into black mist, as the whips grew even darker. The wisps were dragged deeper into the small circle, where flesh met life and death. I could feel their pain as they were connected to me at last.

The ritual continued, while I offered the wisps a choice. They would serve, or they would be broken and fragmented into pieces that would serve. A few defied me and were left to suffer with their pain as the whips drew ethereal blood. The ones that submitted had their pain eased by our bond, as I suffered with them. Their souls broken or spread among the larvae, their memories coming to me. They had wandered too far from their mother, and this was the result.

These wisps had found fresh bodies in the graveyard that they could inhabit. They rose from the dirt, making more for their companions. They saw the flames of life, and found every survivor, even playing games with those that had hidden the best. Everyone in this village was dead, and I stole those memories from the wisps. They no longer knew what they had been, what they once were. They might regain them if they proved themselves, but only time would tell. I set them to sleep, so I could deal with them at a future time. They were going to be clusters on their own, each one needing nine larvae to hold their 'being.'

I looked through the eyes of the bugs around Richard. He was doing fine, but the storm was still coming. I teleported just a few inches above a couple of zombies laying on the ground. Their heads popped beneath my weight. The ones that could still move tried to approach me. I used my lower hands to tear their throats out, before kicking them away. I walked around the base of the tree, killing any that were still moving. Two were still crawling up, trying to find a break in Richard's ring of fire. I could see the magic clearly, and I was glad he made a few more layers just in case they tried rushing him.

"Richard~" I called up to him, "Playtime is over, jump down and I'll catch you."

He jumped a little, "Is that really you Mimi? It's not a wisp trying to mess with me, right?"

I smiled to myself, glad he wouldn't fall for something so simple. "You got me, I'm a wisp possessing her body. She died fighting valiantly. All that's left is getting you now."

"By the Hells Mimi, that's not funny!" He was looking down at me, squinting. I knew he couldn't see me, but he knew I could see him frowning.

I rolled my eyes, "It's not funny that you forced me to get involved in this. Something about rushing into things without consideration from others. Wonder who taught me that."

"This is different!" The zombies climbed past his first layer, and my distraction made him spout a gout of fire too late. He could tell he missed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are all the zombies dead down there? What about the wisps?"

"Dead, and dealt with, respectively. Come on and jump down, it's a trust exercise~"

"I don't like that tone." He looked at the two zombies slowly trying to climb past his next layer.

"You know I wouldn't let you die, not after you managed to fend off a small mob of zombies."

"A small mob!? There were like thirty of them! No, make that sixty because a few tried climbing back up twice! How did you deal with the wisps? Was there a Wisp Mother?" He caught the zombies' hands on fire but didn't make it spread. "Oh shit!" He used too much, and his second layer of defense was gone.

"Just one more left, Richard~" I tapped the tree trunk. "Why don't you just spread the fire over them? I know you have that kind of control."

He swallowed hard, "T-they feel pain Mimi, they groaned when I did that."

"Richard, they're dead. They can't feel pain, the ones below you right now don't even have legs. They just have what's left of their organs trailing under them. They're faking it because it makes you hesitate. Also, there wasn't a Wisp Mother, just a group of lost wisps that killed everyone."

"I... I'm sorry." The fire on the zombies' hands spread to their arms, the muscle turning to ash as they groaned. The two fell into my waiting arms before I smashed their heads together.

"You want to save others, you want to help them as much as you can. I'm not sure why, but that's what you do. It's what makes you, you, Richard. I hate it, and I love it at the same time. By the way, I bound the wisps to my Hive and put them to sleep. Their memories were wiped, and we can potentially get more personalities when we're ready. If you want, we could still put a small Hive here for anyone that got away. Others might find this place and rebuild it."

"It wasn't a waste of time? You aren't upset?" He wiped his face with the sleeves he still had left.

"Slightly upset that you did this so recklessly, but that's outweighed by the fact you fought a small mob to a standstill mostly by yourself. Besides, letting you hit the ground doesn't help either of us. I want to get a warm fire going inside the church and go dim while you pillage the village. You're free to take or leave whatever you want, just wake me up when the storm is over. I'm going to at least get three gold to recover what I spent dealing with the wisps."

"Th-three gold!? What!? Wait, Mimi, how much do you have on you? How did you spend it?" He was getting ready to jump.

"Wisps die to gold, and a single gold coin kills one of them. I used two to keep them focused on me, and one in the ritual to bind them to my Hive. The blacksmith had some iron ingots I stole for the ritual, and you can't tell me he wouldn't be happy they were used to kill the things that killed him. There are some more ingots in there, but as I said, the looting is up to you."

He nodded his head grimly, before jumping down. I caught him in a princess carry, much to his dismay. He covered his nose at the smell, while I carried him away. "Maybe you missed a survivor? I can still find one if there are any around."

"You're free to do whatever you want, I haven't explored every nook and cranny with my bugs yet. Though I feel that leaving the wisp clusters here will help atone for what they did in some sense." It also allowed me to freely experiment on them without Richard knowing. I smiled to myself, carrying to the wagons.

Richard nodded, "Yeah, that's probably for the best. That means you're going to keep a connection to this village, right?"

"Yes, while I am aware I will be connected to it. This place will make a good outpost for us in the future given how close to the city it is. It would be nice to have people develop it, but even that isn't completely necessary. We will make decisions as we go since you went through the trouble of reclaiming it. Make certain you leave a note about the grand battle we faced, and that you reclaimed this place."

Richard laughed a little as I set him in the wagon. The church's doors were broken, and just wide enough for us to get the wagons inside. The first drops of rain started to hit the ground. I didn't comment on the tufts of fur hanging on the splintered frame. The wisps were following something that already moved on. "I'll find some paper and leave the note on the alter. What about the bodies Mimi?"

I tilted my head, "What about the bodies?"

He swallowed hard, "I mean... you usually eat what you hunt and kill..." He rubbed the back of his neck as he usually did when nervous.

"We can leave them to rot, I can have my Hive eat them, or you can burn them to ash. You can even bury them if you wish since they won't rise after what we did to them." The rain came in through broken windows, but the church was the biggest building in the village. A few splintered pews later and we had a nice pile of wood ready to burn in the center.

Richard considered what I told him, before using the last of his flames to start our fire. His arms were ash, leaving inflamed flesh that had been burnt. I gave him a healing sting, as both of them regrew into a healthy fresh set. He shuddered from the pain of it, his face pale as calories were burnt to make the new limbs. He flexed the pale pair, before donning another set of gloves. Richard took a deep breath, "I'll bury them, that way people will know we didn't lie."

I smiled, as he moved to the wagon to eat his fill of boar jerky. My healing stinger always left others famished. "That's a pragmatic choice of words Richard. I thought you would mention how it was their culture, or that it just felt like the right thing to do. Are you feeling okay?"

Richard swallowed another piece of jerky before nodding. "I fucked up, and made us waste time here. It was a risk that we didn't need to take, and I see that now. I don't regret it, but it sucks that we didn't get here in time. I'm sorry about what happened here, Mimi. Go ahead and do your thing, after I'm done with everything I'll get us going."

I laughed a little, "Not much of an apology when you say you'll do it again without regrets. Though we can still profit in some way or another, so it isn't a terrible loss. I'll see you after my next step is complete, sooner if you need me." The world began to fade away as Richard nodded.

Richard Adams

Mimi went dim, as thunder cracked outside. The rain was really pouring now. Thankfully, most of it was staying outside. Commands from previous dim states carried over, but I checked anyway. "Mimi, who do you listen to?"

"Only. Richard."

I nodded, glad that I wouldn't have to worry about that. She sat by the fire, while I brought some of the boar jerky to her. I asked her to eat before making myself a torch. A quick note later, and I was walking towards the smith's place. I couldn't really tell the buildings apart, but it was what I arrived at. My bond with Mimi allowed me to know where I was in relation to her, and she wouldn't go dim if it wasn't safe. The scene inside was grisly, with the poor smith caught under his anvil. His head was popped, while his body just laid there without moving.

He didn't have many weapons here, mainly axes for chopping wood, arrows, and even mallets. Weapons that would double as tools for hunting, or work in the village. I could tell he wasn't a great smith, but he took pride in his work. The tools were clean, despite it being so long since they were used. Specks of rust on them from where blood splattered onto the things. None of the weapons or tools had black veins so there wasn't anything cursed. Leather armor and straps were hung in the next room. I wiggled my toes, before using the torch to dry my wet foot. I grabbed one of the boots that turned out to be the right size.

I sighed, realizing we left the ax and mace out there in the rain. I decided to get them when the rain let up, I took the straps we could use. The armor was left alone as something nice for the next people to find this place. I just took a set of leather pauldron with fur around the sides to remember this misadventure. Mister Smith was a much better leatherworker than he was a smith. Though I guess in small villages like this it helped to do more than one job.

I found ten silver hidden under his bed, with some liqueur he had stored away. The glass would work well for my explosives, so I decided to take them as well. It kind of felt wrong to take all this stuff, but they were dead and if I didn't Mimi would get mad at me. She might even teleport back here and loot the place herself since could go wherever her Hive had vision. Her skillset was just too much, even other monsters had trouble keeping up with her. It was hard to imagine just how much more absurd she could get.

I smiled to myself, glad she was on my side. I carried everything I was willing to take from the smith back to the church. It took two trips to get all the ingots that would probably be useless by the time someone else found them, the coin, some coal, and all the alcohol. Most of the other buildings turned out to be homes, with maybe a couple of silver coins in each one. Most of the people living here were hunters or okay carpenters from the looks of it. I appreciated how each one was personalized with its little touches. It helped to distract me from the blood staining the floors and walls, but also made this whole place just a little more tragic.

The world didn't care about these people, or their struggles to survive in it. I left some of the heirlooms on their mantles and didn't even bother touching the one cursed sword I found. It would sell for a decent bit, but I couldn't figure out a way to wrap it up without the metal touching me. It wasn't worth the risk if the thing managed to burn through my clothes. Cursed items were just a mixed bag, and I wasn't feeling particularly lucky today.

Mimi would probably be immune to it, but with her strength, it would probably break before it grew strong enough for her to use. It was the main reason she didn't use any weapons. Nothing she tried was better than her hands, and anything she might use was too expensive for her liking. I let out a soft sigh before heading to the barn.

The smell of death hit me, as the livestock laid there half-eaten. Mimi's bugs were chewing on the remains, while I pulled out a rag I was glad I kept on me. It helped dull the odor, but not enough to get rid of it. I looked around, finding the ladder going up. There was a tamer in this village and his room had a couple of books. I took them and the coin, before doing one last walk around.

We ended up with fifty silver coins, one hundred copper (another silver), ten bottles of liquor, five iron ingots, various clothes, some sheets, tools, arrows, and so on. I was disappointed they didn't have an alchemist, but there was no point crying over it. If we sold the stuff we got, we could probably recover some of the gold spent here. It was a loss, pure and simple though. At the very least, these guys deserved a proper burial after the rain let up.

I stashed everything in my wagon, still not knowing just how much coin Mimi brought with her. I smiled deciding not to ask, she'd tell me eventually. Though that meant I got to keep the coins I looted for myself. She probably planned for it to end up like this. It was her way of making me feel less bad about everything that happened here. The rain continued through the morning, with a break during the afternoon. I got my ax, mace, and boot. I managed to drag the bodies close to the church before it picked back up.

The rain continued throughout the day, and into the night. Every break there was I would head out and dig a grave for the people that used to live here. The rain itself finally stopped on the next morning, and I spent the entire day just digging graves. It felt nice to bury them all after I kind of took most of the valuables they used to have. I convinced myself that it balanced out somehow. I added a few more things to the note I wrote, and put a copy of it in the smith's home.

I spent the morning mixing some explosives with the storage bugs Mimi had for these situations. The alcohol tasted good and wasn't wasted. Finally, we were ready to resume our adventure. Our quiet little wagon ride to the next village or town we stumbled across. It was only a week away, I could manage it. I let out a sigh as I asked Mimi to start walking. Nothing changed, but at least this misadventure gave me something to do while we traveled. Explosive mace, here I come.