“This is definitely a Massacre Hornet corpse,” Camille stated gravely, standing over the examiner’s bench after having performed a necropsy on the creature. “Young, too. No more than two months old at the most, probably a lot less, though. She’s been dead for only a few hours.”

The Wyldwalkers listened to her give her own analysis in silence. They’d reported everything, but given the gravity of the issue, everything would be reconfirmed. Orson’s expression looked like he’d bitten into a lemon, “That corroborates with your report. Plus, we have another team that ran across a hunting pack in the Elderwood.”

“So, we have an infestation?” Ronald asked, clearly tense. Niko couldn’t blame him in the slightest; the Massacre Hornets were terrifying. However, this was as good an opportunity as any to fill in the blanks for what he didn’t know.

“Is there a reason why this is an issue outside of the fact that they’re giant bugs with potentially hundreds of members?” Niko asked, and then immediately added, “Not to say that isn’t terrifying already. I just know next to nothing about them.”

Skye translated, but before she could begin to explain anything, Crowe spoke up, “They are a menace to the known world, and have occasionally appeared in the Kingdom’s lowlands and forests for centuries.” He began with a tone that reminded Niko of a teacher, “Aside from their numbers, they become more intelligent the longer they live, forming ranks with military-like discipline, and eventually possess enough numbers and might to rival any city you might find in humanoid lands. Beyond that, they are merciless butchers, often sweeping through areas of resistance like a scythe through wheat, and abducting anyone who cannot fight back, whether through weakness, dismemberment, envenoming, or otherwise. These captured individuals are slain in aptly named massacre pits where the young of the hive may receive a boost to their essence levels.”

“In sum, they cascade out of control rapidly. They naturally deplete any environment they’re in of life, and move on. If left alone, they are a nation-ending threat. Though, thankfully, such an event hasn’t happened on the Teros continent for thousands of years–and hopefully not for thousands more.” Crowe finished speaking.

However, Camille added an addendum, “We still have no idea how they come to be, and we don’t know what the long term consequences of them being around are.”

A thoughtful silence fell over the Wyldwalkers at that, before Skye turned her attention to Orson, “Guildmaster, what’s the plan?”

Orson contemplated his words, walking around towards the necropsy table and staring at the insect with a complicated gaze. He turned said gaze to the Wyldwalkers, and even before he said anything, Niko knew he wasn’t going to like what the man was about to say.

“I’m going to have you all quarantined for the time being. The fact that you all used a scent masking solution is the only reason why we haven’t fully mobilized all of our defenses yet. Given what I sensed, or rather what I didn’t, Mithel’s solution is likely sufficient to mask your presence from the hornets.” He began, and Niko felt his stomach relax slightly at that assertion. The lot of them had known that the hornets had excellent senses of smell, but it was relieving to know that their precautions were likely enough. Still, it did concern Niko greatly that the hornets could potentially track someone back to a city. How many people had led Massacre Hornets straight back to their homes without ever realizing it?

Orson Maul must have noticed that relief on the faces of the Wyldwalkers in spite of him having told them that they’re on quarantine, “It’s not a well circulated fact that hornets tend to let scouts that have come across them go in order to find additional prey. Those of us in the know keep that information under our hats, because it easily leads to victims blaming those who brought the news of a hornet incursion for their problems in the first place.”

“So, why are we quarantined, then?” Mithel asked, “Shouldn’t we be able to just navigate to another part of the forest?”

“Yes and no,” Orson shook his head, “You’re all on the pilgrimage, so there’s no way I’m going to put you anywhere near the hornets again. That’s all I’ll say on that subject, so use your imagination if you want to figure out why,” he said that part firmly, “As for everyone else in the guild? They can continue adventuring further afield with notice about the hornets, while I put out handlers to help in the event that someone is found by a scouting party. I already have some men moving to the north east parts of the Elderwood to create bunkers for an early warning system and safety precautions. I’ll have to extend that to the Evergreen as well, now, but better safe than not.” He paused then, turning his attention to Crowe and Camille, “Crowe, Camille, I want you both to check out the Daurghast to make sure we aren’t encircled towards the south, then go deeper into the Eldergreen to the north. I need to be sure this is just one hive.”

Niko balked at that, “Is that normal?”

Crowe shook his head, “Not at all. However, the last incursion that came through was made of three weaker hives. The third had been missed at first, and nearly escaped into the deep wilderness.”

“That would have been bad. Very, very bad,” Camille expressed, “Most of the beast tribes are strong enough to fight off the lower tier incursions, but the humanoid races have a lot of low tier people even in the largest cities. It’s very dangerous for us to let Massacre Hornets go unchecked, since they’re more likely to try to go after us as easier prey.”

“Well, that’s just lovely.” Dachna muttered.

The Wyldwalkers agreed with the sentiment, and Niko knew that they all–himself included–couldn’t help but be especially dispirited about once more being put on lockdown.

Orson, however, noticed this and further clarified, “Ah, you can go anywhere you want in the city. That much is fine. Besides, I need someone to clear out the underground. We have Shadow Stalkers and Slimes that need taken care of.”

The group fractionally perked up at the first mention, but both Mithel and Niko frowned at hearing about the slimes. “Slimes? Are those even a problem?”

The rest of the room turned to look at Mithel like she’d just said something very strange. Defensively, she said, “What? Aren’t they just blobs of goo that roll around?”

“Oh, Mithey, honey…” Skye poked fun at her good naturedly, “That is true only in the most distant sense.”

Niko cocked his head to the side and chittered questioningly.

“Well, it’s better than nothing. Can we go and see the Quartermaster now and get kitted out?” With a bit more eagerness, Ronald asked the Guildmaster.

Orson nodded, gesturing to his assistant who had been cataloging their findings in the corner of the room, “Mary–if she wouldn’t mind–” he spoke to her quickly, to which she quickly and smoothly pulled out another piece of paper to write on, “–Can write up the quest and rewards for you now. They’re fairly decent, and of course you’re free to take your time and harvest whatever you find in the waterways.”

Niko listened with Mithel, neither of whom were especially enthused, but the rest of their team seemed at least lukewarm to the idea, so, perhaps Niko would give it a chance?

The write up and subsequent trip downstairs went quickly, as the Wyldwalkers left Orson and his colleagues to their devices. Niko did not envy Orson in that moment, knowing that he was almost certainly about to become very busy. Still, he was glad that the Guildmaster was competent and seemed to be approaching the issue with seriousness. Soon enough, if it hadn’t already been sent, the Kingdom would receive an alert and request for aid regarding the situation.

“Question,” Niko began, asking Skye and the rest of his team by proxy, “Can Greenleaf take down this threat on its own, or is that not really a possibility?”

Everyone looked to Ronald at that, who was likely the most familiar with the overall strength of the city. He hummed thoughtfully and put a hand to his chin in consideration for several seconds before grimacing, “It’d be close. The Guard is strong, but there’s only so much we can do against those numbers. Maybe if we had all of the adventurers and guards come together? Honestly, it’d be easier if they tried to attack the city, but there’s no guarantee they’d just hit the walls. Worse, there’s a lot of noncombatants in the city. It would be incredibly tricky to defend against that, but attacking might be feasible. We would just need to make sure we hit the nest and that there wasn’t a second one. If there’s more than one, the second hive would just raid Greenleaf.”

Niko noted that Ronald left unsaid what would happen to said noncombatants, but he and his companions weren’t naive enough to believe that a creature that had massacre pits wouldn’t put them to use.

“Do you think we found them just because we’re on pilgrimage?” Dachna asked, keeping his voice low as they descended the stairs of the Guildhouse.

“Maybe? Though, maybe the only reason they didn’t find us was that we were on pilgrimage.” Skye shrugged, “I wouldn’t think about it too hard. Besides, I think I remember Camille saying that the less you think about pilgrimage stuff, the less it’ll try to screw with you.”

Dachna contemplated that for a few seconds before nodding, “Duly noted.”

Ronald led the way through the main room, the group doing their best to look inconspicuous. Luckily it was barely even midday, so very few people were even in the guild at the time. Niko wondered what the response was going to be like when news of the hornets was released. Would the general public even be made aware? ‘They’d have to be, right? I mean, panic is a concern, but that’d be guaranteed to happen if the hornets attacked, so I’d think that people knowing to stay hunkered down would be far more valuable.’ Niko reasoned, hoping that the Guildmaster would notify everyone.

The Quartermaster’s room was attached on the opposite wing of the building from the dining hall, spanning an area that was probably equal in size to the mess hall, but much of it was gated off, starting with the counter and going straight across to the nearest wall. That left a few tables and bars set into the walls where teams going in and out could organize whatever they received from the quartermaster into their packs. The Guild technically could supply everything that an adventuring team would need, and at high quality, but the prices were higher. For general single-use goods or things that were noncritical, most people would rather just go to a general store in town.

However, if you needed specific things, this was the place to go. And, with the quest paper they were granted, Niko assumed that the quartermaster would be able to accommodate them quite well.

Sure enough, the man behind the counter only grunted as he picked up the paper, “Good, this has been needing done for a while. Have any of you ever hunted a Shadow Stalker?”

Ronald nodded, “I have. Used plenty of torches, lanterns, and antivenom for it.”

The Quartermaster nodded, “Yup, nothing else for it. Can you afford any firestone?”

“We can, but we’d lose out on money, wouldn’t we?” Ronald frowned.

“Hmm?” The Quartermaster looked confused, “Every Stalker is worth good money. Fangs and venom sacks for alchemy, skin for leather, organs for healers–they’re apparently a good reagent for total regeneration elixirs and rituals,” the Quartermaster shrugged at that, as though he still had trouble believing it, “That’s a new one, though, really kicked up their prices. Bones are good for totem work, too. Only thing that’s really worthless is the blood and meat.”

Ronald stiffened as he listened, before finally asking, “And how much does one good harvest generally yield?”

Oblivious to Ronald’s growing pain, the Quartermaster responded, “Depends on quality, but you can get somewhere in the area of one to five large silver per body. They’re in high demand right now, so pretty much everyone… You alright son?” The Quartermaster trailed off as he saw Ronald’s expression tighten further.

“Perfectly fine. Just, lessons learned, I guess.” Ronald answered, to which the Quartermaster made a quiet ‘ah’ noise, before moving off and gathering materials.

“Did you not harvest yours when you hunted them?” Skye asked Ronald with a low tone of voice.

“I wanted to,” the man huffed, “But the temporary team I was with didn’t think they were worth anything. Ugh… I could have afforded better armor so much sooner.”

Dachna chortled, “Well, ain’t that a shame?”

Ronald sulked at that, before Mithel pinched Dachna’s shoulder ineffectually and said, “Leave him alone, how would you feel if you let that much money go down the drain?”

“Not really helping,” Ronald groaned as Niko patted his shoulder concilitirially.

“At least you’ve got us this time. We’ll get a whole bunch of them!” Niko declared proudly, and a smiling Skye translated that happily.

That, at least, got Ronald’s spirits up a bit, “Yeah, yeah I guess you’re right.”

When they finally got underground, Niko regretted it entirely. “It smells so baaaad!”

“Don’t worry Niko, we’re just traveling through until we hit the next junction,” Skye answered while making a disgusted face, “The sewers don’t see much monster activity, but it does happen. Usually it’s a punitive deal, though. We’re going to the waterways beneath this.”

“Why are–” Niko gagged for a moment then did his best to not breath through his nostrils, “Why are the waterways under the sewers?”

“They’re not actually a part of the city proper,” Mithel answered, “They were made by my people back when Greenleaf was being looked at as a prospective mixed settlement. Those plans fell through because the mountains just weren’t close enough for any dwarves or gnomes to care about.” She said, not bothered in the slightest by the smell. Every now and then, Niko was reminded that Mithel regularly worked with the stench of acids and other concoctions every day.

‘Does she even have a sense of smell anymore? Pluck me,’ Niko mentally groaned, trying his best to not think about the sound of flowing slush in the waterway beside them.

“Some people think we should empty out the sewers, clean them, and then retrofit them to the new clean-water system,” Ronald spoke, a cloth tied around his face that let him breathe relatively comfortably. As he spoke, he handed another one out to the others, before quickly tying one around Niko’s beak awkwardly. It worked, though, so Niko wasn’t complaining at all.

“Why is that?” Dachna asked, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, yeah?”

Ronald shrugged, “Something about swapping the functions of the two, but I don’t know why. I’m not an engineer.”

“Probably afraid of wastewater contamination,” Mithel answered, “This is right above the gnome construction. Not sure how necessary that’ll be. Should be that both of these were engineered to last a very, very long time.”

They walked on and chatted a bit, and then, finally, they made it to the stairwell down. Niko personally found it almost strange that they were doing this after they’d found a potentially kingdom-level threat, but he supposed that was life for you. Just because something dramatic happened, didn’t mean that they could sit tight, or charge at it head on.

The Wyldwalkers were flush with cash for now, but they needed experience under their belts. There were adventures to be had, essence to be won from their enemies, and indeed, loot to be found. These things were all important to them, though admittedly, Niko knew that they were quite well financed for the time being. Between what they’d been paid by Orson and what they’d obtained from the Baron’s mansion, they were trending upwards of fifty large gold coins. He didn’t have a great reference point for what that actually meant, but a loaf of bread was three small coppers. Considering ten small coppers was one large copper, ten large copper equaled one small silver, and so forth, Niko knew that their combined wealth could very easily feed a small village for years if his quick and dirty mental math had anything to say about it.

Granted, bread was much less pricey than, say, a shiny magical weapon, but the point stood that they were quite well off. Most prices for artisan goods sat in the small silver range, rarely large silver.

‘Mmm… especially a good essence meal.’ Niko thought to himself, somehow managing to think about food in spite of walking through a sewer.

When they finally made it to a large intersection, complete with textured metal bridges that would ensure grip even if damp, Niko had at least somewhat adjusted to the sewer. It did require him not to think about anything he was standing on, but it really was easier when he just imagined he was standing on dirt and mud instead of shi–

“Here we are! The path down into the dark waterways.” Skye declared ominously before saying, “Probably. That’s what the map says.”

Ronald grunted before pulling his lantern forward in front of him and cranking open a large metal door with one hand. It clanked heavily with every turn, and Niko actually did have to admit the door was rather intimidating. Finally, it unlocked and he pulled it open, releasing a large ‘whoosh’ of air that flowed out into the sewer.

“Fresh air down there, at least,” Ronald grunted, “Close up behind us, don’t want to risk any Slimes getting loose in the sewers again.”

Skye and Dachna made noises of disgust at that, but Niko and Mithel were just as lost, “Why is that a problem?”

Skye answered, “Slimes take up the traits of their environments.”

“Ah.” Niko comprehended the issue easily. Sewer Slime did not sound at all like a good time.

“I use slime in some of my reagents, but I’ve never actually seen a whole one. What are they like?” Mithel asked, “Are they dangerous?”

Skye shivered, “Not at all, but they are delicious.”

Mithel and Niko both exchanged glances, horrified at the declaration, before they realized that Dachna and Ronald both nodded firmly along.

“What the cluck!? Really?” Niko nearly screeched, imagining a snot-bubble being eaten by his companions.

“Not uncooked, of course,” Skye looked vaguely nauseous as Niko’s mental image bled through their mind-bridge, potent enough that she was very acutely aware of it, “You can fry them, boil them, or dry them out. They make for some delicious recipes so long as you get a slime that doesn’t live in a toxic environment.”

That at least alleviated Niko’s concerns a little, albeit he was not wholly sold on that. From the look on Mithel’s face, she felt the same way.

“Come on, time’s a’wasting, I want to hit our quota today if we can so we don’t have to go through the sewers again.” Ronald led the way into the well-made, robust stone stairwell. Niko followed immediately, appreciating the near-concrete feeling of the walls around him, even if he wasn’t too happy about being beneath the earth like this. It was a somewhat claustrophobic feeling, but not nearly as bad as he’d feared.

When they stepped through the stone archways at the bottom of the stairs nearly ten meters below, Niko couldn’t help but pause and stare at the pristine water flowing gently between the catwalks. In the dim light, he could still make out well carved likenesses of vaguely humanoid shaped figures that resembled flowing water, pouring actual flowing water from their hands that extended from the walls of the waterways and flowed down through channels carved beneath the walkways themselves down into the trench.

The stonework itself was unusual to Niko, fitted in oblong shapes, rather than simple, rectangular brickwork, with a smoothness that he was surprised to note didn’t feel slippery underfoot. He then realized that was because the walkways themselves were nearly devoid of water droplets and even dust, which immediately piqued his curiosity.

Most welcome of all, though, was the free-flowing draft of air that he felt against his feathers, enough to keep the air fresh and moving, but not enough to be more than a simple breeze. Niko had to admit, this was quite a bit nicer than he’d expected. Hopefully, the rest of this job would be pleasantly surprising.