“This world would be far better off without the existence of certain creatures in it.” - Saying attributed to Alazan-D’ur Habalin, perpetrator of the mosquito genocide of 535 FP.

“Many thanks… Huff… for the help…” said the dwarven mage who had been throwing fireballs from the small caravan. Aideen’s guess had been right and the mage had exhausted her mana, having used every bit she could to help defend the caravan. Her healing could not replenish that mana, but she could get the caravan’s guards back to their feet, all their injuries removed, which in turn allowed the poor mage to catch a breather.

“Think nothing of it. We’re all in the same boat in this case,” replied Aideen to the young dwarf. Given how the caravan she was on was already more than halfway through the pass, the chances were low that they would turn back upon running into this sort of obstruction. After all, while the smaller dwarven caravan was greatly troubled by the Cragmites, the same had not applied to the larger caravan from Alfheim. “We’re all taking the same road after all.”

The fighting around the small caravan had stabilized to a safer point by then, the Cragmites being poorly suited for dealing with the great birds from the eastern plains. In fact, the birds cherished the opportunity to snap up a cragmite to munch on every now and then, The insects’ mandibles trying to cut through the tough legs of the birds and mostly failing.

Even in the few occasions where a Cragmite managed to cause a wound to one of the birds, the rider would quickly swerve out from the tide of insectoid beasts and head for the small caravan, where Aideen was. She would quickly heal the bird which would then rush back into the fray with a vengeance and a renewed appetite for the insectoid creatures.

For the most part, the larger caravan stayed in the distance, far enough away that not more than a few of the Cragmites headed their way. Those that did were swiftly dispatched by the guards who remained with the caravan itself. It was a stroke of fortune that they happened to run into a creature that their mounts were the natural predators of.

Of the fifty riders that went out to help the smaller caravan, five stayed a bit further away from the action, by the caravan itself. The leader of the guards directed his men from there, while the rest of the riders grouped up in fives and took turns to cut wide swathes of carnage into the tide of Cragmites. What few beasts made it to the caravan were disoriented and disordered, easy pickings for the dwarven guards that remained.

It was not a suspenseful fight, just one that took a long time as insectoid creatures like Cragmites were far more stubborn than most. Eventually, after another four hours had passed, the tide ebbed as the colony started to run out of Cragmites. That was when a larger Cragmite – one easily the size of a large horse – came out from the direction the tide was from.

The larger insect was a bonafide monster, one of the earth affinity, that even the great birds shied away from. Its presence reinvigorated the tide’s offense, at least until the head guard chose to make his entry into the battle to counter it.

What allowed the head guard to counter the beast was the fact that his own avian mount was one that had lived long and had the fortune to awaken its magic as well. Monsters were after all just beasts that naturally awakened their magical potential, which usually changed their form and granted them new powers.

Just as the Cragmite grew to a prodigious size after its awakening, the head guard’s mount – which had jet-black feathers, unlike the light gray that the other great birds have – was half again as large as its fellow avians. The great bird strode into the tide of Cragmites with ease and confidence, at times breathing out a black mist that seemed to dissolve the insects in its path.

The two monsters clashed as stone spikes met against breaths of pure death affinity that dissolved everything. While lesser cragmites were mere prey to the great birds, however, their awakened brethren was a much tougher one. The guard leader’s great bird failed to do much damage to the insectoid monster, and had to avoid its snapping mandibles instead.

Its discharges of death affinity mist was countered by shields of stone conjured by the Cragmite, the fight overall leaning towards the advantage of the insectoid monster. It was larger and heavier, with sturdy carapace, so the guard leader had to keep his distance. He could not afford to allow the Cragmite to catch his mount at all costs.

“It’s not going well,” commented the young mage from the smaller dwarven caravan with a frown as they watched the ongoing brawl between the monsters. Neither the lesser Cragmites nor the lesser birds that most of the guards rode dared to interfere in the clash. “Can you clear me a way? If I can get closer I might be able to help out.”

“We’ll go together,” said Aideen with a nod. She then turned and asked the second-in-command of the guards to help clear a way for the three of them. The man was reluctant at first, worried for their sakes, but when he noticed that the commander was having a hard time with the Cragmite, he eventually agreed to her request.

He ordered for five teams of guards to ride together in a narrow wedge formation. The guards used their mounts to forcibly clear a path through the tide of lesser Cragmites, while Aideen, Celia, and the young dwarven mage followed from the inside of the wedge. They were seated on the backs of great birds as well, riding behind the guards who controlled the mount.

The team quickly worked their way as close as they could to where their leader battled the greater Cragmite, as close as their mounts dared to approach. There they deposited their passengers, while guarding to make sure that they were not disturbed by the lesser Cragmites.