{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://serpentsquiggles.neocities.org//posts/black-nerve/chimhop/03",
  "path": "/posts/black-nerve/chimhop/03",
  "publishedAt": "2022-03-03T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:ivoe7cntxuy6at7uzmxzs2ft/site.standard.publication/3mfk6cpprzt2t",
  "textContent": "Ooliri had never been on a C-rank mission before.\n\nEvery mission that took banes --- and it had to have banes --- outside\nof the safety of the stronghold walls was a C-rank at least. Even if\ncombat or politics wasn't mentioned in the brief.\n\nOoliri is staring down the reason why.\n\nThe direhound roars, crouching, and then it leaps for his vulnerable\nneck. The pawn is freezing up.\n\nAnd that's why I haven't been promoted yet, he thinks.\n\nA metal mass cracks against the hound's skull mid-jump. It falls limp\nand bleeding. Well, the direblooded are always bleeding. But it's blood\nthat flows rather than crawls.\n\nThe metal mass is attached to a staff, held by a diamantis with\nOoliri's same gray-green chitin, same golden yellow antennae, and a\nwelkinmark between them.\n\nOocid smiles and firmly pats his coxa. \"Breathe, brother. I've got\nyour back.\"\n\nHis abdomen rises and falls, and his right raptorial is taken in the\nnymph's grasp.\n\n\"Do you remember how to hold your baton?\n\nConsciously, Ooliri tightens his grip.\n\n\"Do you remember how to swing it? Get ready, it's standing back up.\"\n\nThe direhound is panting, but still has fury in its eyes.\n\n\"Let's give it a try.\"\n\nAnd, with his older brother guiding the swing, with him providing half\nthe force, Ooliri knocks down the hound.\n\nThat doesn't kill it. That happens when a brown nymph with burnt-orange\nantennae comes up, and plants a sword right in the beast's bulging\nheart.\n\n\"You're wasting time,\" she says.\n\n\"This is partly a training mission, Fihra.\" Oocid directs Ooliri to\nhang his baton at his side. The older nymph steps away, graceful in\nflowing red and white robes.\n\n\"Was that the last one?\"\n\n\"I took out the other two,\" the orange-antennae'd nymph replies.\n\nOocid nods. \"Did anyone get hurt?\"\n\nOoliri looks around to see if any of the other two pawns say anything.\nThen, hesitating, he lifts his foreleg.\n\nOocid curls antennae in concern. \"Let me get that.\"\n\nHe grabs a ritual knife and slits the palm of his tarsus, then his\nfingers contort into tarsigns. He has to make the full sequence of ten,\nthen blood crawls out from the wound, over his flesh, deep red rather\nthan mantid green. Empowered, the ichor of vesperbats grows brighter in\nthe air, much brighter than blood exposed to air should. Then, it\nclears, transparent and pure.\n\nOocid's mandibles crunch in concentration as he presses the hand to his\nbrother's wounds and closes them.\n\nAnd that's why I was supposed to be good enough to promote, Ooliri\nthinks. Oocid was only one instar older than him, and he was already\nusing [Serum Form: Pure Healing Palm]{.spell} in the field.\n\nAt Ooliri's age, Oocid had already been promoted from pawn to wretch.\nThey were both supposed to be the great prodigy sons of the Arch-Sovran\nSilverbane, legendary knowledge-hunter.\n\nAnd he couldn't even hold a baton straight.\n\n\"Excellent work, my little nymphs.\" Their mentor steps forth, wearing\nthe gray vest with the Windborne Stronghold insignia, four spirals\narranged in a diamond. The same symbol, etched on the blood-iron plate,\nadorned her antennae-band. \"This is why you never drop your guard when\ntraveling the heartlands.\"\n\nIt's why every mission that left the safety of a stronghold was at\nleast C-rank: the world-scars. Direbeasts were merely the most common,\nleast threatening of the horrors plaguing this land.\n\nAnd one had nearly killed Ooliri.\n\n\"Who can tell me what exactly this is? Was, rather,\" their mentor asks\nafter calling them all to sit before her. Oocid's antennae perk up ---\n\"I'd like to hear from one of the pawns, if you please.\"\n\nThrough his goggled eyes, Ooliri glances at the other two, one shrinking\ndown and the other tapping antennae nervously.\n\nCautiously, Ooliri lifts a leg.\n\n\"Yes, darling?\"\n\n\"It's a maned wolf, madam.\"\n\n\"What do they eat?\"\n\n\"They mostly live on a diet of fruits and smaller bugs.\"\n\n\"Then why attack us?\"\n\n\"It wasn't just a maned wolf, madam. It's infected with the\ndireblood, which turns any mammal into a vicious predator.\"\n\n\"And how do we deal with direbeasts once they stop moving?\"\n\nThis time, all the pawns have an answer. \"Burn them.\"\n\n\"Adequate answers. But there's more to these beasts in particular, I\nsuspect. Pawns, set up camp. Oocid will need a meal after so much\nbloodletting.\"\n\n\"Madam, it was only a few cuts I healed---\"\n\n\"Oh, I don't mean that. Dissect these beasts, and taste their ichor.\nI expect a full report of your findings.\"\n\nThe pawns get to work under a sky still dark with clouds and black orbs.\nAt least the wisps had stopped falling this morning. But the sunless\nland still felt desolate.\n\nIn the horizonward distance, you see the crags and creeks of the\nDuskhold territory. They could reach it by day's end. Then they could\nstart carrying out their mission.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nAs the banes and pawns eat packaged meals prepped over a fire, Oocid is\nsharing his findings.\n\n\"They're arete-touched,\" he says. \"This isn't the result of natural\ndireblooded infection. A vesperbane did this.\"\n\nThe mentor is nodding. \"I knew something was wrong.\"\n\nOoliri can't help asking: \"How? What tipped you off?\"\n\nShe points out toward Duskhold. \"Tell me, what do you see in that\ncountry?\"\n\n\"Hills... grassy hills? Crags from erosion, so streams, creeks, I'm\nnot sure what you're looking for, here.\"\n\n\"Exactly that, darling. It's a healthy land, more or less. Not many\ntrees, but there are some, and the mountains are kilometers distant. And\nit's late spring! Given all that, how in E'yama's name is there a\nwispfall? A wispfall that lasted three damn days?\"\n\nOoliri thinks to what his brother just said. \"It's a bane's work too.\nBut that would take...\"\n\n\"Shadowcalling,\" their mentor finishes gravely. She looks out, not to\nDuskhold, but the plains they had just crossed.\n\n\"Navera better not have sent us to die. Pray the prophets this just\na C-rank.\"\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe mentor is scraping out orders, tone buzzing high. \"Fan out. Check\nthe tents.\" The team has marched upon a camp where two dead bodies are\nstill lying around.\n\nThe noise spurs motion. The flap of a tent is opening. Awelah emerges.\nMakuja is behind her, the glint of a knife visible in her hands.\n\n\"Threat spotted. Fihra, engage.\"\n\nThe wretch with burnt-orange antennae rushes at the pale purple nymph.\n\nAwelah has time to get her spear up --- having started unfolding it as\nsoon as she saw the fiend --- and she blocks a swing of Fihra's sword.\n\nThe pale nymph never gets a chance to attack; she's buried under a rain\nof blows. Some she blocks, and some quick and weak blows break through\nher guard. In seconds, it is clear: this nymph, who had taken down half\na dozen trained pawns, is utterly outmatched.\n\nFihra hadn't even used any vespertine arts; just her hands and a sword.\n\nThe fight's over when the wretch throws out a foreleg to wrap like a\nvice around Awelah's. She's pushed to the ground by the novice bane's\nweight, and another foreleg seizes another limb, completing the lock. It\ndoesn't matter if Awelah gives up; she can't move.\n\nMakuja's knives are nowhere to be seen; she's now kneeling before\nOocid, having surrendered in the course of Awelah's fight.\n\n\"Stand down and face judgment. You are hereby detained under suspicion\nof defection against the Pantheca. Laymant, are these the bandits?\"\nThat last line wasn't for Awelah, but for a mantis hidden safe behind\nthe banes. They tentatively step forward.\n\n\"You!\" Awelah says, struggling against restraint, making Fihra\nsuddenly redouble her grip. \"Why aren't you killing me?\" The mantis\nwho stepped forward --- it was one from the camp, whom she'd spared.\n\nThe mentor arches one antennae. \"There is no warrant out for your\nexecution.\"\n\n\"Beetleshit! Your pawns have been hunting me for days now, Unodha.\"\n\nAt this remark, Makuja's expression flickers.\n\n\"There has been a misunderstanding, then,\" the mentor says. \"Allow me\nto grant you context. I am Emusa Rutabrood, fiend mentor under the\nWindborne Stronghold's countenance. We're here because communication\nlines with Duskroot went dark days ago, followed by anomalous\nnervestorms in the region. Team nineteen --- that's us --- were\ndispatched to assay the damages and provide emergency relief to any\nrefugees we find, escorting them back to Solaroch.\"\n\n\"I am a refugee!\" Awelah says. \"I was there, I watched my home get\ndestroyed, and now you're detaining me for defection against the\nPantheca?\"\n\n\"Your name?\"\n\n\"Awelah Asetari.\"\n\nThe mentor's gaze flickers to her chitin, pale violet tint visible\ndespite the grime and dirt. \"Thought so. Release her, Fihra. The story\nchecks out.\"\n\n\"You're buying it just like that?\"\n\n\"You don't have the diplomatic briefing I do. I know what a member of\nthe noble clan of Asetari looks like, and I was advised personally to\ngive any Asetari refugees high priority.\" Rutabrood looks at the bug\nwith orange antennae. \"That was an order, wretch.\"\n\nFihra complies. But Awelah's eyes are on the traitorous pawn who led\nthem here. But it seems she was the only one; they're taking this\nmoment to slip away from their baneful entourage.\n\nAwelah shouts alarm with her spiracles, but the mentor raises a tarsus.\n\n\"They're getting away!\"\n\n\"Let them.\"\n\n\"Aren't you going after that lying sack of shit?\"\n\n\"Outside of mission parameters. You and your companion are our\nconcern.\"\n\n\"They tried to kill me, and will try again.\"\n\n\"Do you not trust banes of the Windborne Stronghold to defend you?\"\n\nAwelah looks to Fihra. The wretch smiles, baring her mandibles.\n\n\"Come on, let's get you out of here.\"\n\nAwelah and Makuja join the vesperbanes on the road, and journey on ---\nbut in the distance, they hear wolves howling.",
  "title": "A Bloody Wolf"
}