Heartwell stretched his body in his tent. Doing such exercises several times a day became a habit of his, ever since he has received the first wound on his arm. The healers did their job right, but something that’s broken will never be the same again. No matter how skilled an artisan is, the best he can do when restoring something is to make it look right. The cracks remain forever, making it a frail version of what it used to be.

And, for some reason, Heartwell keeps adding new cracks to his body, as if it’s some twisted addiction of his.

So, to keep his cracked body as prepared as possible, he had no choice but to stretch his sore, itching muscles every chance he gets. A precious lesson he learned from some village elder he met along the way. Some people don’t appreciate his enthusiasm though, ridiculing him when they see him do it in public, which is why he has decided to perform such extravagances only when the other people aren’t around.

The truth is, he probably wouldn’t have to do it if he’d just listen to his friends. Considering his achievements and flawless service record, he could give up on the war, take a patch of land he deserves, find a decent wife, and spend the rest of his life in peace. However, that would mean he’d have to work the land and, in Heartwell’s mind, there wasn’t much difference between swinging a sword and swinging a hoe. Sore muscles would be the end result regardless.

Another option would be to train the young officers, an idea he considered to be even worse. The very thought of babysitting young, spoiled nobles, who are always offended by the fact that a lowly peasant can be above them, disgusted him. While The Timkik Empire claimed to be meritocratic, and while its laws were written in such a way, its nobles didn’t appreciate the idea and did their best to show it at every turn. He got tired of that a long time ago.

Those things aside, the truth is, nothing could ever compare with the sense of brotherhood his legion gave him, even if most of his brothers are with him only temporarily.

“Excuse me, may I come in?” His stretching was interrupted by a pleasant, feminine voice coming from outside the tent.

“Just a moment,” he took some time to put everything back in order and calm his breathing, “come in!”

Hazelmere entered the tent somewhat shyly.

“I came to tell you what my mages have observed on the other side.”

“Since you’re calm, I take it we aren’t in immediate danger?”

“That is true.”

“Meaning, there’s another reason why you’re here. I doubt a lady like you would come to see a peasant just to put his mind at ease.”

Hazelmere scowled: “That is also true! I want us to try and find a better way of observing the other side. Considering our observers have failed spectacularly two days ago, and we wouldn’t notice a demonic army approaching until it is too late.”

“I gave twenty lashes to each of my soldiers. I believe the entire camp could hear them screaming.”

“Indeed, we have.”

“I’m not going to ask what punishment have you given to your mage. I don’t like poking my nose in my superior’s business.”

Hazelmere tilted her head a bit: “That’s strange. Usually, males don’t accept such things easily, even when their superior is an archmage. Male pride and all that meaningless stuff.”

“My peasant heritage carries far more weight than my gender. Even if you’re a female, your wealthy, high-born heritage puts you above me.”

She nodded her head with satisfaction: “A male who knows his place … what a refreshing sight to see.”

“But you didn’t come here to talk about where my place is, didn’t you?”

That made her straighten up: “Right … soo, let me remember …” she tapped her finger on her chin a few times, “oh yes! That flying bug, we know where it comes from! Listen to this, this is crazy!”

She took a seat without asking for permission.

“You know there are crawling bugs crossing from the other side.”

“Of course.”

“Well, much bigger bugs are now crossing the portal. They look very similar to those small bugs, with threads sticking out of their … rears. They are exactly like an oversized version of those, but with a flat back.”

Heartwell narrowed his eyes: “The way you said that makes me think that’s somehow important.”

She pointed the finger at him, smiling like a child: “Exactly! Because, listen to this: they are carrying those flying, buzzing bugs on their backs! Those demons put the flying bugs on the flat backs of those big bugs, move them to our side of the portal, and then the flying bugs … well … start flying. Once they get tired, the flying bugs land on those big bugs and go back across the portal.”

“What?”

“Yes, that is exactly the reaction we had! Why are they complicating things? Why not have those bugs just fly through the portal?”

“The small bug without a thread stopped moving, maybe that’s why,” realizing something, Heartwell ears perked up, “are those flying bugs connected to threads?”

Hazelmere’s lower lip moved to reveal her teeth, as she looked away: “No … they aren’t …”

“But …”

“I know! They aren’t supposed to move without a thread! But these flying ones do!”

“Hmm …”

“They must be somehow connected with those big bugs carrying them over the portal. What other reason could there be for something like that? Cybil assumes that those big bugs are somehow giving their energy to the flying ones, they could be bound somehow. Those big bugs are connected to the threads, so maybe they can supply the smaller ones. And, while that is not a perfect explanation, it is really hard to come up with a better one.”

“And let me guess … that means trouble.”

“Yesss … if they can bind those bugs to some energy source and make them move without a thread, then they can certainly do the same thing with their soldiers.”

“Aww, that’s great!” Heartwell exhaled as he leaned his entire body back.

“There is another thing you should know about.”

“Is it worse than this one?”

“No … but it is very … strange, so I think you should hear of it.”

“Go ahead!”

“For some reason, the demons have started tying some other, small animals to those bugs and are taking them across the portal.”

“Why would they do that?”

“These other animals aren’t connected to the threads, but the bugs carrying them are. I guess they are trying to test if being close to the bug which is supplied with the energy can help the other animal survive.”

“And can it?”

Hazelmere made a short pause.

“It can. Those tied up animals don’t stop moving when they cross the portal. They can’t really move, since they are tied up, but you can see their limbs moving rapidly as they are trying to escape. We don’t know how affected those animals are, but they are clearly not experiencing the issues the lone bugs have. If you remember, the bugs without the thread stop moving as soon as they cross the portal. But, when tied up to a connected creature, the animals can still move their limbs.”

“How did they even get the idea to try that?”

“I don’t know, but these demons are extremely careful and thorough. And, even though it looks like they are not in a hurry, they are making some decent progress. They learn something new about our world with each passing day.”

“Makes you wish we were half as ready as they are. And they are the ones responding to our initiative.”

Hazelmere straightened in her chair: “There is one more reason why I came here, as I have already told you. We need to change the way our sentries work. The current arrangement has shown its flaws. Mizette is someone whom I trust the most so, if she can fail in her duty, then the others can too!”

“I bet it was happening all the time. We just didn’t notice it.”

“What makes you say that?” Hazelmere said, blinking a few times.

“I was worried something like that may happen, which is why I proposed to have at least two soldiers protecting the mage. I thought they’d compete with one another, trying to put each other down. That’s what usually happens when a cute girl comes anywhere close. But, instead of competing, they decided to cooperate. Strangely, I’m proud of them in a way. Seeing my soldiers reach such a compromise instead of butting their heads gives me some sort of … I guess, fatherly pride? When you’re glad to see your children work towards a common goal, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I know what they did was extremely dangerous. That’s why I’ve lashed them personally. But, still, it took a lot of compromising to … not to mention, the practicality of it. I mean, how is it even possible … with four males at once?”

Hazelmere averted her eyes away from Heartwell, looking rather guilty: “I … I don’t know. But that’s not important! What is important is to find a better way of dealing with it!”

“Honestly, I don’t think we can. The soldiers have to escort a mage. If having four of them didn’t work, increasing the number of soldiers won’t help either. And you’ve said it yourself, that we can’t have more than one mage observe the other side during the night. Proper rest is extremely important for the mages and all that stuff.”

“I’ve run into someone tonight, which gave me an idea. Do you remember we have an archpriestess in the camp?”

“Yeah, she’s doing her best to avoid everyone, but I’ve noticed her.”

“Maybe, having a priestess present will help? Maybe that would dissuade the others from doing anything stupid?”

Heartwell crossed his arms, exhaling deeply: “I’m not so sure. We can’t have her on the night guard duty every day. Besides, that priestess is too timid. I don’t think she can pull it off.”

“But she is a priestess! Certainly, having a priestess nearby …”

“Maybe you’re not aware of it, but some people find modesty and meekness to be very attractive! And our priestess is the very example of it! In all likelihood, some soldiers will try persuading her to participate, and considering how unassertive she is, I’m worried she wouldn’t have the necessary fortitude to resist as fervently as she should! I’m not going to be the one responsible for giving her name its meaning! Not like that.”

“So … what? We should just keep it like it is? Is that your idea?”

“No, I agree we should change something. I just disagree with using the priestess because I don’t think she has what it takes.”

A soldier stormed into the tent from the outside, ending the conversation in an instant.

“Chief!”

“What is it?”

“A bug is approaching, a big one! Tis’ big as the people! It’s coming this way!”

“Towards our camp?”

“Right at it!”

Heartwell stood up, grabbing his sword: “Looks like this conversation will have to wait.”

---

A crude wooden palisade was erected around the camp after it was smashed in that enormous storm a moon ago. It would do little against a determined attacker, but Heartwell ordered it constructed since it looked like they’ll have to deal with all kinds of insects before the demons decide to come at them personally. And, even though it didn’t offer much resistance, the palisade provided great observation for those who’d climb it.

Arriving at the defensive perimeter, they saw everyone was ready. Both the soldiers and the mages were precisely where they were supposed to be, their eyes focused on the approaching threat.

Some of them were perhaps too eager. Heartwell noticed some archers have already nocked their arrows.

“What are you doing, you imbeciles!” He roared at them, “You’ll hurt someone even before the enemy gets in range!”

Startled, the archers looked at him. Then, they released the tension on their bowstrings, with shy expressions on their faces. Heartwell continued forward while shaking his head in disbelief.

“Aren’t they supposed to be ready?” Hazelmere asked.

“If the enemy was in range, all the archers would’ve been ready to shoot. They were nervous, not ready. Come, let’s take a look,” Heartwell said as he grabbed Hazelmere’s hand.

She was visibly confused but didn’t complain.

“Where’s the enemy?” He asked in a loud, commanding voice as soon as they’ve joined the archers on the palisade. There was an occasional mage here and there mixed in with them.

“Right there, chief!” An archer pointed in the distance with his hand.

Heartwell and Hazelmere looked in the direction. As soon as they did, their ears and tails went straight up, together with their hair.

Yes, what approached them was indeed a big bug. But it wasn’t just that. It was the creepiest creature Hazelmere has ever heard of.

Imagine a big, fat, armored bug, crawling extremely fast on the ground. But, this bug had a torso growing from its front, where a typical insectoid head with antennae was supposed to be. Its torso was really thin, just like every limb on any other insect. It resembled a pole much more than a torso. However, it was clearly a torso because the shoulders, a pair of arms, and a head were sitting on top of it. Its shoulders looked the same as the torso and were as thin, with the only differences being that these were much shorter and were placed horizontally. The arms were even thinner and had no hands. Instead, three really thin fingers grew straight out of the arms. Those fingers were so thin, they looked much more like blades than fingers.

And, on top of the torso sat a disgusting, insectoid head. As the creature got closer, Hazelmere noticed it had a set of two big eyes and another set of two smaller ones, right below the big ones. There were no mouth, nose, not even antennae on its head, nothing but the eyes.

“Oh, look! It has a thread coming out of it!” Hazelmere noticed.

“At least we know it has one weakness,” Heartwell responded in a solemn voice.

“It really is disgusting, but do you think it will attack us? What is the point of sending it to fight all alone?” She asked.

“It has no chance of winning alone, at least I hope so, but maybe they didn’t send it to win. Maybe they only want to see the way we fight. Remember, they can see the camp, meaning they’re watching. Probing enemy defenses before an attack makes perfect sense.”

As they talked, the creature got much closer. It finally stopped some two hundred beards in front of the palisade. It observed the soldiers on the ground for some time, before lifting its ugly head to look at the people standing on the palisade, sending chills down Hazelmere’s spine as soon as their eyes have met.

Everyone held their breath as the disgusting creature observed them. Nobody dared make a single move or utter a single sound.

After a while, the creature got tired of observing and started lifting one of its disturbingly thin arms in the air, very slowly. Its arm moved so slowly, Heartwell started wondering if it was mocking them.

Once it rose its arm completely, it started waving it left and right, slowly at first but increasing the speed with each move.

“Hazelmere!” The sudden female voice coming from behind startled her so much, she squeaked involuntarily.

“Cybil … don’t do that! You scared the heavens out of me!”

“Yes, and your squeak scared everyone around you! But that is not the point! It is waving at us!”

“What?”

“It is waving at us, look! Take a good look! Don’t you think it is trying to wave its hand?”

“Do you honestly think it’s intelligent enough to understand a social greeting?”

But, the discussion didn’t go far before it was interrupted by a strange, alien voice.

“Riiidddiii!”

It sounded like an overly enthusiastic child greeting someone. Even though the word was utterly ununderstandable, there was no mistaking its purpose.

“Is that …”

“Riiidddiii!”

“I am telling you, it is waving at us! It is trying to greet us!”

“But, that sounded like a child!”

“I see no mouth on that thing,” Heartwell pointed out.

“You two are overthinking it!” Cybil pointed her finger accusingly at them, “Whatever it is, it isn’t hostile! It is only trying to communicate with us!”

“Maybe it’s trying to hide its real intent?” Heartwell said.

“Maybe. I am not saying we should let it into our camp, but responding wouldn’t hurt. Maybe that will satisfy it and make it go away.”

“Riiidddiii!”

“We should, what, try to talk with it? But it wouldn’t even understand us! I mean, we have no idea what it is saying. Why would it be any different the other way around?”

“Hmm,” Heartwell started thinking, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. It’s not like we have anything to lose. And if it tries anything stupid, we have plenty of arrows aimed right at it.”

“Ok, what should be our response?”

CLANG!!!