Dulvroc take the miserable things, they had a SoulSpeaker. They were far and away the rarest affinity of Speaker, and the best one to have in any group. They were able to bolster troops and raise up energy among those around them, similar to my own [Innervating Address]. Exhausted as I was after a draining hunt and a day’s march I stood tall. “Swarm! Eat as quickly as you can until you are comfortably full, then carry whatever you can! We’re leaving as soon as we’re able!”

I heard groans around me. Internally I agreed, but a thought crossed my mind.

“All pack Alphas to me! Immediately! Swarm Beta and Gamma too!”

Within a minute the entirety of the swarm’s Alphas stood before me. There were about thirty here, with probably another ten or so in the field. Surprisingly, nine of those present were Alqat, and I couldn’t help but notice Iituli, Ishtar, and Isnanna standing proudly on the fringes.

“I can’t talk to each member of the swarm individually, so I want you all to do so. From now on, I will call these gatherings about once a day. For now and for as long as you remain Alphas, you will be my representatives to your packs. For now, tell them that we will move through the night until shortly before the dawning of the suns. Then we will take a break and sleep before continuing the march.Your job is to ensure that the swarm continues to march regardless of morale. I trust you.”

I saw serious and proud faces and knew that I had been successful in my aim. “Good. Then get your packs ready to march, and carry as much excess food as you can. You’re dismissed, except for Rulac, Gamma, and Beta.”

The Alphas began to rush to their packs as I turned to my most trusted confidantes. “Rulac, do we have anyone who can use earth magic?”

“Ehhh. The Sixth, Ytte. She’s the only one we got. She’s not great, like her sister Histy, or even Berk, but she can do a little. Why?”

“I’m going to need all three of them as well as Durgal and at least one pack of scouts. You should come too. Maybe Second too, if we can convince him”

“... You’re gonna take the fight to them, eh?”

“Not quite. Just make them slow down and remember,” I grinned, “why they fear us.”

“Yeah, I wanna be there.”

“Beta, I need at least four of your strongest, not counting yourself. And that’s literal strongest, not in a fight. They’ll come with me while you protect the flanks of the swarm as they go with the rest. Gamma, you’re in charge of getting the swarm moving as soon and as quickly as possible. Go directly in that direction, there’s too many of us to stop them from tracking us. Just move quickly.”

Took nodded while Sybil spoke, “Understood. Be safe and wise.”

“Rulac, get them over here as soon as possible. We have some planning to do.”

…

The swarm left shortly thereafter, leaving my group of twenty behind to begin our delaying tactics.

Initially, Histy and Berk didn’t think what I’d had planned was at all possible, but the more we brainstormed the more into the idea they got. They lamented the fact that we had no keelish capable of water magic (Berk said something about how the moisture in the air would help the plan, but I didn’t understand.) since it would help the plan work even better, but the idea was quickly hammered out.

Ytte was slow to work in creating the trench I’d asked her to create, but she was doing her best and the five bodyguards Took had left behind were doing their best to help shovel the dirt. Meanwhile, the scouting party was bringing more and more wood and filling the expanding trench. Most of it was long dead and rotting, but so long as it was dry, I was happy. Before too long the wood completely filled the expanding trench and began to pile higher and higher in the center of the tracks the swarm had left.

“Ytte, stop with the trench. How much you got left?”

“Little. Whaddya need?”

“If you could create small walls, just about hip height, that would be perfect. As many as possible, in rows leading that direction. Try to keep them as hidden as possible.” I pointed perpendicular to the path that the swarm had taken, and, head sagging, Ytte began channeling her magic. Strange that she had such deep reserves but struggled with such basic utilization of her magic… I filed Ytte’s name away and went to Rulac, the scouting party, and the bodyguards.

“Now, we have enough wood. Gather two to three rocks that you could throw hard enough to go somewhere, but heavy enough to hurt and possibly kill. Then, get behind the second wall and prepare to throw and disengage. If necessary, protect yourselves, but focus on escaping alive once the trap is sprung. Clear?”

“Yes Alpha!”

Finally, I turned to Histy. “Can you create a small, controlled blaze at the base of the wood pile? Enough to be hard to spot but easy to coax the rest of the pile into a roaring fire?”

“I’ve been doing this for longer than you’ve been alive, Alpha. They won’t know what hit them.

I grinned. We were going to slow these annoying hangers on.

…

Finally, just a couple of minutes later, the humans entered our view.