CH 7: Rushed Tasks

The Queen sat on a portable throne near the base of a great root. She looked bored, as she listened to a familiar larger beetle-kin woman. The beetle-kin let out a sob as Waz led us through the crowd of gathered Kin, until we stood before the Queen. The crowd around us chirped and hissed, which I guessed was the equivalent of booing.

“What happened to Henry?” The beetle-kin woman said. “The ants won’t tell me a word about him, even though they must have seen him.”

“Those are the Queen’s Men,” Waz shouted at the beetle-kin woman, “Show respect for their station and your Liege.”

The Queen waved Waz to silence. He didn’t look happy about it, but he clamped his mouth shut.

“And you said that he has disappeared?” The Queen asked. “Have you any further details as to his whereabouts?”

“Your Majesty,” Orb said, “Pardon my interruption, but is this truly worth your magnificence?”

“And do you question your Queen?” The Queen asked, her voice warm, her lips curled in a warm smile, which seemed completely opposed to the nature of her question. What is going on here? I wondered.

“Naturally not, I would never,” Orb answered demurely. Waz harrumphed softly.

“Henry’s Soul has gone dark.” The beetle-kin woman pointed at a black spiral that was tattooed on her shoulder. “He is gone. He should have respawned at least once. Why did the ants not find him before he went dark?”

“Troubling,” The Queen said. She turned to Waz, “Have you any word regarding this missing beetlekin?” The Queen was definitely smiling. What was up with that? What did she know? I had a bad feeling about the interplay, on top of the angry mob of insect-kin (Kin).

“I fear so,” Waz said. He turned to Orb. “I warned you, and yet you proceeded. Now you must answer.”

Orb maintained composure, not reacting in the least. When she spoke, her voice sounded as always, slightly playful. “Of course I remember this one,” She said. “Her Highness, Princess Joey, asked for the ability to change Paths to something more desirable. As we had already captured the beetle-kin Henry, Her Highness insisted upon destroying the beetle-kin with the hopes of gaining a more suitable Path.”

Wait...That wasn’t what happened.

Waz glared at Orb, Orb glanced towards me, and the crowd of Kin gasped, hissed, and buzzed in displeasure. The beetle-kin woman cried out with a heart wrenching sob.

“You murdered my Henry for an...Evolution?” She shouted. “You monster…”

“Silence,” The Queen said. Her Guards stamped their pikes upon the floor, in unison, creating a resounding thud to emphasize the command. “What does my Daughter have to say for this matter?”

Again with the daughter bullcrap. I thought and swore under my breath. But something told me this was not the time to push it. The something being mostly the crowd ready to lynch me, and the Queen and Spider Lady that seemed ready to turn me over to them. I thought very carefully about what I would say, planning my next words with extreme and utter caution.

“Uh…” I started. “That’s not exactly how I remembered it…?” I winced as I spoke. The Queen motioned for me to continue. “The guy was sentenced for execution for some traitor business, and Orb--”

As soon as I mentioned Orb, The Queen cut me off.

“Daughter, it is not becoming of you to blame your inferiors for your actions. Did you or did you not destroy this...beetle-kin Henry?”

Fuck. What was I gonna say to that? It was totally Orb’s fault. But if I couldn’t blame her, I guess I’d have to own up to it. Such bullshit. God damnit. I hated owning up to shit.

“I did,” I said, very reluctantly, I might add.

“And did you not have the Royal Writ of Execution?”

I stared at Orb. She slightly, very slightly, shook her head. I looked to Waz, who also shook his head.

“No,” I said.

The Beetle-Kin woman sobbed silently, burying her face in the chest of another Kin.

“Louder for the Court?” The Queen said.

“I did not have a Writ of Execution,” I said. “But--”

“Outrage!” The Kin cried out. “Murderer! This cannot stand! Justice! Justice against this brute!”

The Queen paused several seconds before theatrically standing and holding both hands aloft, causing the crowd to still their shouts.

“A transgression has occurred,” The Queen said. “And a transgression remains to answer for.” The Queen lifted her glowing scepter and pointed this towards me. “Daughter, I regret this--” she didn’t sound regretful at all, “--but atonement is required...you are hereby banished.”

“But--” I started, but the Queen allowed me not a single chance to speak, ushering me towards the dirt mountain.

The Ant Guards pushed and pulled me along, up the dirt slope. Once at the top, a broad and thick plank of wood was held out, so that it stretched out over the hole. Far below was a glimmering pool of sunlight. Waz and Orb stood to either side of the Queen, while the Kin gathered around the perimeter of the cone, watching and waiting. One of them stamped their foot, again and again, until a rhythm formed. Others of the Kin took it up, gradually, until all the Kin were watching and stamping.

Thamp. Thamp. Thamp.

It sounded a bit muffled, as they were stomping upon dirt afterall. The ground shook slightly with each stomp.

“I had hoped for better results,” the Queen said. “But what will be will be. Hold out your hand,” She finished.

I numbly held my hand out. She grabbed it firmly with one hand, a very warm hand, that sent an electric pulse through my skin. With her other hand, she held aloft what looked like a glowing crystal thorn.

“This is a Token of Entanglement,” she said. “Use this on the Thread near the Twin-Mother, to free our Court from this horrid siege.” And as she spoke, she pressed the thorn into the palm of my left hand. The thorn slid all the way in, leaving just a fleck of glowing blue on the surface of my skin.

“Ah!” I was startled. It felt like getting stung by a bee.

“Noises such as that are far below you, Daughter,” The Queen said.

All the while we did this, the rhythmic stamping increased in tempo and volume. The Kin began adding to the sound with a single word, repeated over and over again.

“Drop. Drop. Drop.” They said.

For the most part, the Queen and I both ignored them.

“Why would I do anything for you, let alone whatever this Entanglement business is?” I asked as I massaged the blue spot on my hand, which still hurt by the way.

“And why did you set me up?” I added, glaring daggers at Orb. “That fucking spider told me to fucking kill that beetle-kin, and then she left me hanging there, as if I’m the one that’s some kinda monster…”

“Baseless and crude allegations,” Orb said.

“Perhaps you should not have insulted our people, Daughter,” The Queen said. “Regardless, once you complete this task, your term of banishment shall conclude.”

“What makes you think I’ll want to come back here?” I sputtered.

Screw this place, Screw these weird insects.

“As further incentive,” The Queen added, “I shall grant you the ability to transform from your base form, to one that is similar to mine.” She gestured to herself.

Ok. She was pretty hot. I think I said that before. I would not mind looking like her. In fact, I craved it. I very much wanted to stop being a hideous hag of a bug lady and start being the hot as fuck fairy.

The stomping came faster, and the chant grew louder.

“Fine,” I agreed. “But I still don’t know what you need me to do. I don’t even know how to use--” I shook the Token of Entanglement, “--whatever this is.”

The chanting grew louder. One Ant Guard held the end of the plank down, while two others forced me out upon it. They shepherd me along, to the end, by poking me with their pikes. I glanced down. It was a long drop to the bottom. And the daylight down there was still an impossibility. It almost looked like the skin of a bubble, with a subtle rainbow hue, backlit by daylight.

“Steward Waz shall accompany you,” The Queen said. “Now fly.”

The Ant Guards went to push me off completely, but I chose to jump instead, denying them the satisfaction.

Air whistled past me. The dirt walls of the pit rushed by. Racing past, I saw terraces and battlements, a hive network of tunnels, and several Kin watching from the fortifications. The bubble below me quickly approached, but I managed to turn in the air, so that my back was towards the impending collision, and my face towards where the Queen, Kin, and Orb stood.

I gave those fucks the double bird.

“Prepare yourself!” Waz shouted, who was diving along beside me. “Once we’re through, I’ll clear a path!”

I hit the barrier, and everything vanished.

But it wasn’t darkness that assaulted me, nor a lack of existence. There was no scent, no sensation, no motion. I couldn’t feel anything, not even my limbs. I couldn’t move. I didn’t have anything to move. And then I saw something. The only sense I had, vision. Though I couldn’t move that vision. And it wasn’t what I was used to. I was stuck looking at the strangest thing.

It was a colored sketch, stretching across my entire field of vision. A sketch backed by a yellowed screen. The drawing showed several things, not all of them connected, almost a mosaic.

There was a rendition of The Queen flying on top, raining fire down. Below her, was a regal woman sitting on a crystal throne. To the left there was a peach tree, with a short bearded man perched on a branch with a steam-punk hand cannon across his lap. To the right was a cave entrance, with a glowing set of red eyes that peered out.

And below it all, there was text.

[Loading!]

Tip: Consumables are available to modify stats, abilities, and to even gain additional Paths.

Note that while multiple Paths can be walked, only the most recently acquired Path may be added upon.

Note: There is always a cost.

It was a fucking load-screen.