The ignorant men and women who had not descended into the cellar were busy bemoaning their misfortune. How could they have known how fortunate and unfortunate they were? To avoid the results of Alexis’ diluted variant of The Gift and yet still be at the mercy of what was to come, such a fate could only be one that no sane man would want.

“Truly a pity that we could not enjoy a private tasting.”

“Indeed. I do wish we had the chance to indulge in such a drink. For someone to call their wine a gift from Lumina herself shows that they intend to stake everything on their wine.”

In the distance, far beyond the boundaries of the estate, a magical and invisible bubble began to open up in various places, the myriad holes increasing in size and number as time wore on. The clock struck midnight, and in the swamps that encircled the estate, deafening buzzing began to rise from within the deep and inescapable mire. To those inside the main building, there was no way they would have heard the sounds of the innumerable hand-sized mosquitos that swarmed like locusts towards the domain of their queen.

Awakened from ages of hibernation due to the birth of a new Swarmqueen, the Bloodbugs had started to move towards their goal. The Queen must be fed, to permit the swarm to grow. The swarm must grow to permit the Queen to be fed. Their drive was like an Ouroboros, a self-fulfilling prophecy, a cycle without an end.

The first among the surviving nobles to witness the horrors that had been unleashed were those on the outskirts of the estate, nearest to where the bubble’s limits were. They were the first to hear the deafening roar of the numberless swarm of oversized parasitic insects and the first to fall to them. Those further away from the borders of the land had time to run, but their clothing slowed them, and thus many of them fell to the ravenous cloud that hummed with a terrifying intensity.

Those that made it inside shut the doors and windows and began to barricade themselves inside. They had now made themselves the prey of a swarm far more terrifying than the fist-sized mosquitos. The entrance to the cellar creaked open, and the scent of blood wafted out. From deep down beneath the earth came a chittering sound mixed with the twisted vocalizations of those who were once humans.

“FeEEeeeDd!”

“FffOOOrr tHE ZZZzwaArMmm!”

“TttHe QquUeNN nnEEEEdzzZ BLLLOOOOOODDD!”

“ZZZZZZOOOOOO HUuUuNgrrRRrYyyy!”

The twisted abominations of flesh, bone, and chitin clawed their way up the stairs as their lust for the ‘Red Wine’ had driven them over the edge. They were entirely devoted to the even greater monstrosity that was now dwelling even further beneath the manor, that was in turn wholly dedicated to the Divine Empress that had created her. A monstrosity the size of the main building you see in all pictures of the American White House, what was the second most beautiful woman in the building had become something out of Lovecraft’s nightmares. It was a towering mess of chitin and meat, with a gaping circular mouth filled with needle-like teeth and a proboscis for a nose that could rip through even the strongest of armors to get at the blood within.

Its only purposes in existing were to reproduce and direct the swarm according to the wishes of Alexis. The twisted creature was so large that even if it were not underground, it would be unable to move from its position and would at best be able to turn around quite slowly. This was its Achilles heel and the reason that the 1000 Heroes of Old were able to eventually take down the first and only Swarmqueen of their time. Although it cost them several of their numbers, they finally managed to kill the monster before it could pop out more support, and the fact that it could neither dodge or even move was the only reason that they did not lose more.

The Swarmqueen that existed now was the second ever to live, and Alexis had taken the knowledge she had gained from the death of the first Swarmqueen to heart. Keeping the monster in an enclosed area that was heavily guarded deep inside a near impassible swamp that was filled to the brim with all manner of beasts and horrors was a better idea than what had been done previously. The last Swarmqueen had just been deposited in a destroyed city, wideout in the open, with no real support or defenses. In hindsight, that certainly wasn’t the best strategy she could have used.

…

The scene inside the manor was one of utter chaos as the noblewomen trembled in fear and the noblemen prepared for the inevitable eventuality of the oversized parasitic bugs getting in. Their swords would cut down a few of them, but it was only a matter of time before enough of them grabbed hold and they were drained of their lifeblood. There were only a few spellcasters among them, as most had designed it better to join the Mages Guild. What they knew were a few simple protection spells and a bit of magic designed to increase a person’s capabilities, but aside from those, they knew only a minor projectile spell or two. Those with any talent more than that were almost certainly slated to be in the Mages Guild or would have been ushered into the cellar to taste the wine.

“Where in Lumina’s name are they?! Are they still drinking wine down there?!”

“I don’t know! Why are you asking me?!”

“Because you sent your son to fetch them from the cellar to aid us!”

“And I have not heard anything from him! I have seen neither head nor hair from my son in over thirty minutes!”

The previously locked door that led to the kitchen clicked and began to open up slowly.

“FaaaThEeerrr…?”

The voice of the boy who had taken the long way to reach the wine cellar came from beyond the barely open door. It was drawn out and raspy and mixed with the sound of something too odd to be called human.

“My Son! Thank Lumina you’ve returned! Have they finally stopped drowning themselves in wine and decided to help us?”

“FaaAtHhEeerrr… I’mmm hUngRy….”

The door opened up more, and the form of something too distorted to be human scuttled out on insectoid legs and latched itself onto the nobleman.

“ZZZZOOOOO HUUUUUUNNNGGGGRRRRYYYY!!!! FEEEEEEDDD MEEEEE, FAAAATTHHHHEEERRR!!”

The assembled survivors realized what the Thing was. It was the nobleman’s son, which had begun to use its mix of teeth and tick-like mandibles to rip into his own father’s throat and drain the blood from his body. From the kitchen came the sounds of pots and pans being thrown helter-skelter and the ungodly noise from clicking mandibles and scuttling legs. The door was too small to fit the monstrous forms of some of the twisted members of the Swarm Court through it, so they began to rip their way through the walls with their inhuman strength.

As the swarm of monstrosities disgorged itself from the kitchen, Dion and Alexis walked out behind the onrushing wave of abominations. One of Dion’s admirers called out to him as she was about to be devoured, but Dion merely gave her a look of utter contempt and mocked her as she was torn asunder.

Step One in Kain and Alexis’ preparations for a possible Second Heroic Incursion had nearly been completed. Anglond was now on its last legs and a much more difficult ‘Boss’ had been made that would at the very least cost a potential Second Incursion far more than the previous one had. Only the elimination of the Anglish Royal Family and the destruction of their ‘Black Site’ were left. The Month of Long Fangs was over, and Anglond was now trapped in a never-ending night.

Whether Darksol’s Conquest of Anglond would ultimately benefit the Anglish people or not was something that they would have to decide for themselves. Either the carrot or the stick was available to them.