Bondsfungi: Chapters 39-40 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

Originally I was going to say more, but circumstances make that a bit rough. This book does have an epilogue, like the others, so more talk next week.

Meanwhile, if you would like to volunteer to quality test NGM#2, I will send you a free audiobook. I could use some volunteers who have time to listen through the book.

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Chapter 39

Nauda should have been watching the line of soldier ants approaching, but her gaze continually wandered back to the beetle mound. She had been afraid that she would watch them calmly go about their business until they were torn apart, or even walk out to be dismantled. This was Slest, after all, and it ran on different rules. After seeing how miserably afraid Krikree was of those higher ranked than her, Nauda could imagine the beetles accepting death.

When they at last detected the attack, the mound exploded into activity. Not to flee, she realized, but to block off entrances. Multiple beetles used their horns to push large stones into the entrances of their tunnels. Many of the stones had polished exteriors and emerged from side tunnels, suggesting that their defense was planned.

Would that really be enough? She almost considered agreeing with Theo then and just leaving them to their own devices. There were so many other things she could be doing, likely still saving Slescan lives. But she didn't know if she could actually save many Gray-Blue-Gold soldiers, whereas the beetles were just trying to defend their home so they could make their goo and buzz their little songs.

It wouldn't be enough. There were still leafpullers outside the mound, and the last group pushing the boulder toward the largest hole wouldn't arrive in time. Soldier ants were catching up to them and the beetles began to emit panicked buzzes.

Even then, Nauda hesitated. She had come back from the brink, rebuilding her soulhome further than she'd ever imagined. Fiyu and Theo were waiting for her, and she had obligations in Fithe, not to mention if she returned home. This fight meant absolutely nothing in the ultimate scope of the war.

Remembering the question she'd thrown in Theo's face, Nauda leapt. If she didn't fight here, she didn't stand for anything.

Her staff caught one of the ants while she was still in the air and she swung it to the side, ramming it through the rest of the line. She didn't land in time to save all of the beetles, but her staff hit the ground hard enough to break one of them in half. The surviving beetles were still trying to move the boulder and continued until she pushed them with her foot, urging them toward the last hole.

Nauda fought a defensive action, crumpling soldier ants with each blow as they retreated up the side of the mound. She had never really imagined that the enemy would retreat, but as the swarm advanced on her, she let go of the last vestiges of that hope.

The last unblocked hole of the mound sat at the top, but there were still beetles scattered all around. Abruptly Nauda realized the truth: the last beetle to push each rock into place had no way to get inside. Maybe all but one could go in through the last hole, but one would sacrifice itself. Those that remained sat beside their blocked tunnels, buzzing sad final notes.

Letting out a cry, Nauda threw herself to the first of them. She formed an arc of wards in front of them with her staff while she grabbed the beetle under her other arm and hurled it backward toward the entrance. Though it stumbled around once it landed, it did scuttle into the hole. Since the ants had nearly broken through her wards, Nauda jumped away to the next one.

One at a time, she grabbed the remaining beetles and launched them toward the top of the mound. On the third, an ant managed to crawl around the edge of her ward and tore into her leg. She pushed past the injury, leaping away just before the swarm closed around her. After she hurled the fifth beetle to safety, a flying bug flashed out from overhead, biting into her shoulder. Nauda grunted in pain before she pulled it off, hurling it into the others chasing her.

Seeing no more beetles outside the mound, Nauda raced back to the top and created a quick circle of wards. The ants had already climbed over most of the mound, but she had a moment to catch her breath and examine the area.

Any beetles outside the mound were dead, but at least the stones seemed to be holding: the ants swarmed over the tunnel entrances, but couldn't dislodge the rocks. None of that would matter if she didn't get the last hole closed, and its intended rock was currently swarming with soldier ants. She couldn't come up with any solution and the ants had already arrived, their fangs tearing into her wards.

Flipping her staff to a horizontal stance, Nauda cast binding energy in both directions and captured two of the ants. Then she began spinning, smashing the two into their allies in a widening circle. As she did she raised her staff and swung it in broad circles, sweeping the mound clear of attacking ants. That earned her another second, but she had no time to rest, she needed to find the last stone.

Yet when she extended her staff to bind it, she noticed something worse: a heavier bug with wide horns was marching toward one of the barricaded openings. Arcs of cantae lit up between its horns and began to press into the stone, which she could hear crumbling even from the top.

Nauda jumped to stop it, but the bug raised its horns to meet her. On instinct she reached out with her left hand, grabbing one of its horns. As soon as she did so, her glove quenched the arcs of cantae. She immediately lifted it into the air by its horn and used it as a bludgeon, smashing the soldier ants closing in around her.

She wasn't quite fast enough. Nauda felt mandibles close on the back of her leg and collapsed to one knee, and the rest immediately rushed her. In seconds, her world was filled with skittering legs and biting faces, and she should have died then.

Somehow she threw herself backward, slamming the bugs between her back and the ground. To her surprise, she heard them crumple underneath her, and the impact briefly made the other soldier ants fall back. Nauda leapt up before they could attack, throwing herself back to the top of the mound.

The first of the ants had just reached the top and she barely grabbed it by one of its back legs, hurling it into the second. But her jump had been too reckless, and another ant grabbed onto her leg. This time she grimaced her way through the pain and began flailing in all directions, crushing ants with every blow. Pushing herself to the limit, she could just barely defend the entrance, but they would never stop coming.

Why wasn't she dead? As the battle became a grueling slog of blood and crunching chitin, Nauda couldn't understand how she was still fighting. She was covered in dozens of cuts, but given the damaged state of her soulhome, she should have been torn apart. There was no time to think about it, she dedicated herself fully to defending the entrance.

Gradually her binding techniques were reduced to simply bashing ants with her staff. Her steps became stumbling falls she barely stopped. She no longer felt injuries, pain was simply her state of being.

But Nauda fought on, until the world grew dark.

~ ~ ~

A broad gravitational field rendered the majority of the Slescan soldiers helpless, flailing in the air as they marched into the region Theo controlled. But some circumvented even his broadest field, and he knew it was only a matter of time until the Ruler-tier castes arrived. He hoped that he wasn't going to regret this.

The first was a bright green ant, much larger than the others, that spat a stream of acid at him. Theo dodged without too much trouble, but it became just a little harder to maintain the field. He retaliated with a torsion bolt, but the ant skittered away and prepared to unleash more cantae-charged acid.

Then the second arrived, humanoid and firing bolts of cantae from all four arms. Even though he managed to repel many with a point of anti-mass, one burned into his sleeve and he staggered. The injury made his control slip for a moment and one of the soldier ants managed to touch the ground and leap at him, fangs burying into his shoulder.

His coat mostly absorbed the blow and he tore through it with a torsion bolt. Theo beat a hasty retreat, hurling sphere after sphere of cantae. The Ruler tier Slescans continued advancing, stepping around the hovering spheres as they pressed him further.

Finally Theo let himself smile. He completely released all other techniques, the army raining to the ground, instead raising his hands and drawing back all the spheres he'd released. All the singularity energy he'd gathered flowed together and the Slescans hesitated in surprise. Just long enough for the singularity to unify. Theo clapped his hands over the dark sphere and it reappeared in the air in the midst of the falling army.

At first it didn't have enough mass, but the first ant that fell into it immediately crumpled into the event horizon. It expanded further as it absorbed more of them, aided by a jet of acid that only made it grow faster. Soon the entire field of ants was being pulled into the air, thrashing wildly as they circled around the dark sphere. One by one, they touched the event horizon and were consumed.

The Rulers backed away, emitting [Danger] pheromones to one another. Not all the soldier ants were responsive enough, many marching forward into the effective range of his singularity. It was larger than his body now, so vast it seemed to drain light from the battlefield.

That had been his end goal, but as Theo stared past it, he began to have doubts. Would he just maintain the singularity as it took in the entire army marching toward them? Could he? The singularity's range killed everything that entered it, but the endless lines would spill around its limits faster than it grew.

More importantly, did he want that? The ants might be mindless killing machines, but what about the sapient Slescans? The battle would soon be over and Gray-Blue-Gold would be victorious: since Yeshir allowed surrender, many of those on the battlefield before him could survive.

It wasn't what Nauda had asked of him, but... Theo raised the singularity into the air so it no longer threatened the advancing army. Then he locked eyes with the leaders and threw all his willpower into a single thought:

[Mutual Destruction].

He saw the ants hesitate in surprise, but they seemed to understand. Theo tried over and over, emitting [Mutual Destruction] from his soul while maintaining the singularity churning overhead. A few of the ants began releasing the same pheromone, but others still emitted [War] or [Kill]. So far the Ruler castes hadn't engaged in the chemical conversation at all, staring between him and the singularity overhead.

"You heard, right?" Theo pointed at the black sphere and let it drop a foot lower. The Ruler castes flinched back. "Stand down, or I will bring Mutual Destruction on you all."

For a moment the battlefield hung in the balance. He remained tense, ready to dodge or bring the singularity back down if the gambit went wrong. But then the leaders began to retreat, emitting complex new pheromones and taking the ants along with them. The signals spread across the line slowly as the army peeled away and began moving in the opposite direction.

In the distance, Theo could feel his Authority allies, but none of the others. The battle was won. That might not matter, if he hadn't been able to stop enough of the army.

When he released the singularity, the energy flooding back into his soulhome made it easy for him to rush back. He discovered the beetle mound completely littered with corpses of soldier ants. Nauda knelt at the top, covered in the purple fluids of the insects and her own blood. Her staff lay at her feet and her hair was matted over her face, so he hesitated as he approached, wondering if she still lived.

Then she coughed, spitting up more blood. Theo quickly rushed to help her, finding her a comfortable place on the irregular surface of the mound. Nauda's eyes struggled to focus, but she gripped his arm, leaving a gory hand print.

"Did any... get through?" She spoke so softly that he could barely hear her.

"I don't hear anything from below." Theo squeezed her hand affirmingly and smiled, as one of the beetles poked its head out. "Look, do you see them?"

"I... can't see much... of anything." Nauda shook her head slowly, her hand weakening in his. "I've never fought like that. I should be... dead. I can't explain it."

She could barely hear what he said, so Theo just held her hand as the beetles clustered around them. Nauda might not understand, but he did. Her defenses were down and he could practically see the blue glow within her soulhome. In the heat of the battle, she had finally attained true mastery of her bondsfungi: just as they reinforced the walls of her soulhome, they reinforced her skin. Even now, he could feel her remaining cantae attempting to knit her back together.

The beetles interrupted his thoughts, a few pushing him with their horns. Most emitted [Confusion], but he also felt [Intruder] and [Ants] from some. Yet they seemed less interested in him than in Nauda, clustering around her with odd shuffling movements.

Eventually one of them emitted a new pheromone: [Symbiote]. It rippled through the assembled mass, more and more beetles declaring [Symbiote] as they surged inward. They pushed him out of the way, but Theo let them, since they were only lifting Nauda up onto their backs. 

He followed, just in case, but as he heard the beetles emitting [Symbiote] over and over, he knew the danger had passed. The battle was over.

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Chapter 40

Nauda knew she wasn't truly alone in Slest anymore, but she still felt a vague sense of unease whenever she looked around and saw no one. Well, no one who looked human to her. The beetles ambled by occasionally and either bumped against her or gave her globules of goo. Her soulhome was filling up with extra food, since she felt bad not accepting their gifts.

She was soulcrafting when the others appeared: Fiyu and her relative at the core, but Theo and Tythes stood beside them. Fiyu smiled at her, but the two of them had already said their farewells after being introduced to Guchiro. Though Tythes was approaching her, Nauda ignored him to watch the two Ichili.

Even now, she wasn't sure what she felt about them. Gratitude that Fiyu was so happy, of course. But when they had met, Nauda had seriously wondered if they would just somberly clasp hands and nod to one another. Seeing them actually be physically affectionate was odd: she was glad to see that Ichili weren't entirely cold, but part of her felt rejected that Fiyu couldn't feel so comfortable with her.

"I'm sure this staring business is very important, but there are minor matters of House politics to discuss." Tythes leaned into her field of vision to block off Fiyu. "Can I trouble you, or are you too busy with the critical task of turning leaves into food pulp?"

"Did you really come back to Slest just to harass me?" Nauda asked.

"Oh, if only I could say that I did. That would be delightfully petty. Sadly, I'm here on business."

Nauda groaned and made herself stand up. Her body no longer felt as though it was turning to stone, but she had yet to fully recover from the battle. "Fine, let's get it over with."

"I thought you might want to know that Gethyrue has fully recovered. Our absence held my cherished father in check, and when we both turned up alive, he was placed in a difficult position. We're all going to pretend to be a happy family again."

"Roker isn't going to be punished for trying to assassinate you?"

"Not by Wiltur." Tythes briefly seemed to be staring through her, then he returned to a lopsided grin. "You see, this is far from the first internal conflict in House Crimson. We're just going to return to the same old dance, trying to outmaneuver one another. For that reason, I thought I should spend some more time on Slest, to locate an edge I couldn't find on Fithe."

"Wonderful." Nauda rubbed her eyes and she imagined it. "You're going to be coming over here to bother me all the time, aren't you?"

"Why would I spend time with a beetle botherer when I could stay with the delightful Queen Yeshir? She doesn't know quite what to make of you, by the way. Perhaps you'll be given a title such as 'ambassador to the beetles' or 'chief of large leaf objects' or something like that. All of which is to say that I will be coming over here to bother you frequently, yes."

Nauda sighed and nodded her acceptance. Tythes didn't linger for long before flying away, and thankfully he was replaced by Theo. He climbed up the side of the mound and sat down on one of the ridges, without saying anything, so she sat down beside him. They stared into the setting purple sun for a while before Nauda broke the silence.

"I've been trying to listen, but I haven't been able to hear these signalscents you told me about."

"You may be able to get a translator," Theo said. "Anyone of Krikree's species can use both languages interchangeably."

"I'm sure I'll figure something out eventually." Nauda glanced toward Fiyu, then inward. "I know my main objective is supposed to be a Slescan weirkey, but one of the first things I want is to acquire a sublime version of the honey that Fiyu spoke about. The leafpullers keep it, but not in concentrations that would work in my soulhome. I think it could go on the second floor of my heartoak, since this journey has made it obvious that we need a healer. Do you think it-"

"I think that you've proven that you can handle your own soulcrafting." Theo smiled at her as he rose back to his feet. "If you want to talk about the details, I'm only a world away. But otherwise... I look forward to seeing what you create."

Nauda rose and clasped his hand, holding it longer than she'd intended. She felt as though she needed to say something, but after long enough he turned away to join the others. While watching him and waving farewell to Fiyu, Nauda's face remained in a smile, but it slipped away after they vanished.

Now she truly was alone in Slest. Guchiro would visit her again on a set schedule, but for the time being she was the only human seated atop a mound of beetles.

The light dimmed, their humming music began, and Nauda smiled.

~ ~ ~

After so long breathing the Slescan air, returning to Fithe was a little jarring for Theo. He would eventually need to soulcraft a chamber to help him adapt to any world, but that was an objective for a later tier. As everyone's gaze turned toward the future, he found himself thinking about everything but soulcrafting.

This visit was to be the last before Fiyu and her relative ventured deep into Ichil. Fiyu herself remained inside the Blacksilver complex, making her arrangements for her absence and saying her farewells. That left Theo and Guchiro standing in the courtyard. The tall Ichili man stepped closer, eyes lacking the warmth they held when he was near his ward.

"Fiyu has not told me all your secrets," Guchiro said, "but it is clear that you are an outsider, and older than you look."

"That's true." Theo knew there was no point denying it with someone this experienced, so he just met the man's gaze. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, but I have been thinking about the fact that the falsified message from my ward specifically mentioned outsiders where she did not."

"Not the first time that an organization has tried to make problems for us."

Guchiro shook his head somberly. "That is not the only explanation. In my long life, I have made enemies... and I have also meddled where perhaps I should not." He tilted his head, oddly reminiscent of Fiyu. "You have traveled on Ichil before. Are you familiar with the Jukkean Ice?"

Theo frowned as he sorted back through his memories. "I don't think so."

"Most are not. If one travels across the Greater Ice, one will eventually reach a region lost to time. Even speaking of it is forbidden in many cultures. It is said that fell beasts lurk in that abyss, and at the center of the frozen nightmare lies a monster that no soulcrafter can match. From it flows a treachery that corrupts the very heart of Ichil."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"When I was younger, I investigated this matter, and it was during that time that I heard another story of the Biolumin Relays being corrupted. It has been many years, but..." Guchiro closed his eyes and released a slow breath. "Perhaps there is nothing to this. Over the years, I have been told that it is a fool's errand. And it is certainly nothing that you or my ward are remotely capable of facing."

"For now." Theo waited until Guchiro opened his eyes again and held his gaze. "I may not be from the Nine Worlds, but I promise you, I'm not one of those corrupting it. If Fiyu eventually faces such mythic threats, she won't face them alone."

"Perhaps that is what I wanted to hear." Guchiro gave him a narrow smile and stepped away. "You will need to work hard to live up to those words."

Once Fiyu had returned and said her farewells to him as well, Theo left the Blacksilver complex for one more meeting. Kathina was waiting for him at the State of Rest, already partway through her meal. She gestured toward the food waiting for him and barely slowed down.

"I know you've been jumping between worlds, but there's a lot of Fithan news to catch up on."

"The House of Coin hasn't changed its mind about me?" Theo asked. When she shook her head, he tucked in his napkin and began to eat. "Then go ahead."

"Norro Yorthin performed well in the Ruling City Wargames, but not as well as some hoped. House Crimson is enraged at its poor showing, since it was missing two of its Authorities and had two more injured. But, for the most part, everyone has turned to putting their own Houses in order. With even the wild tribes subdued, what remains are increasingly minor affairs. For most."

"But not the House of Coin?"

"We're more concerned about how rapidly the Asplundat Movement is advancing. It seems like they have backing from across the ocean, someone using them against the Ruling Cities. The war is definitely coming, and it will be bigger than anyone expected." Kathina shook her head slowly. "Not just against the Asplundat Movement, but against forces completely unknown."

"I see." Theo chewed thoughtfully before clearing his mouth. "But they won't start with a war, will they? Most likely they'll begin with a smaller action that they can claim isn't a step toward war. And many of the Ruling Cities will accept it, while only the House of Coin feels the impact at first."

"I thought you'd understand. That's the problem, but none of us have a solution."

They ate in silence for a time. Though Theo tried to focus on the politics, he found more of his mind enjoying the complex flavors after so long eating primitive fare in Slest. Before he decided what approach to take, Kathina spoke again.

"Sometimes I wonder what path my life would have taken if not for our enforced absence." She sat back and stared over the restaurant. "Perhaps I would have become an Authority and become a scion of the House. Or perhaps I would have realized that I was overconfident. Now I'll never know."

"I doubt that will be the last opportunity," Theo said. "If this war is really because of what began in the Chasm of Lamentations, then I think it will be bigger than even your analysts predict. You know what they say about finding opportunity in chaos."

"If so, I'll see if I can't get to it first." Kathina smirked at him before she departed.

He watched her as she left, pondering hypothetical paths through his own life. If he had encountered Kathina just after returning to the Nine Worlds, he might have embraced her ruthlessness. Instead, he had started down a path that he'd never predicted.

Once he finished eating, he returned to the Blacksilver complex. He hoped that during all that time, the officials would have guided Krikree through the process. Instead he entered to find her crouched on top of a cabinet, occasionally hurling objects at anyone who got near. As soon as she saw him, she scuttled over the floor and hung from his shoulder.

"Ivo-sister, what?" She thrust the identity plate with her name partially inscribed on it at his face. "What? What?"

"I guess we need to sit down and explain it more carefully." Theo guided her to one of the tables to handle the process himself. She had insisted on staying with him, and since he thought she had more of a future away from Slest, he'd agreed.

Before they got very far, one of the Blacksilver officials approached with an odd smile. "I don't know about your new friend, but otherwise the House is very happy with you."

"Really? Despite the fact that I disappeared for months?"

"But you played a major role in quelling the wild tribes, you brought back sublime materials from Slest, and if Nauda is successful, we'll be the only House in the city with a connection to that world. Plus, you have revenue from all the petalfilter production to collect." The official patted her record book with one hand. "If you want us to start searching for materials again, say the word. Supply is getting more difficult, but we'll do whatever we can."

"Actually..." Theo considered it briefly, but in this, his path forward was obvious. He finally had the resources to check up on the legacy of another old ally. "Forget the materials for now. I want you to get me access to Noven."

~ ~ ~

After so many weirkey trips, Fiyu was beginning to think of visits to Ichil as nothing but brief interludes in darkness, no more stable than blinking her eyes in a hellish light world. Yet, when they finally returned with only the two of them, she realized that the travel between worlds was finally at an end. For the time being, she was wrapped in darkness with her relative. Nothing could be sweeter.

Well, perhaps not. Having been separated for only a few days, Fiyu did not truly miss her new companions, but she did frequently find herself thinking of how they might react. Their brief time apart would be healthy for all of them, she believed, but she looked forward to the time that they would reunite. Until then, she was grateful to travel with her relative again.

They walked together through the razorforest, easily avoiding the edges that would have been so troublesome for others. As no predators in the region relied primarily on sound, they would be able to speak. Fiyu remained quiet until her relative finished collecting his thoughts.

"The affairs on Fithe are more complicated than I first believed," Relative Guchiro said. "Fithans are always engaged in internal wars, that much is unremarkable. But this conflict has its roots outside of Fithe, and even my brief investigations have revealed hands from many worlds."

"You believe it will be too dangerous?" Fiyu kept her breathing even, maintaining a higher degree of control than had been necessary on other worlds. "I hope that you will not take me away from these events, even if there is a risk."

"Fiyu... when we were separated, you were nearly a child. A soulcrafter just past awakening, barely capable of defending herself in the dangerous regions of Ichil, much less other worlds. But you have acquitted yourself well, and that means that risks will become an ordinary part of your life."

"Truly? You won't ask me to leave House Blacksilver? I had thought that you would want me to join Ichili organizations."

"I did have plans, but it is normal for adults to take control of their own journeys." Relative Guchiro extended his senses toward her powerfully enough that she felt them ripple through her hair. "I wish that you had not been forced to grow up under such circumstances, but you rose to the challenge. And, given everything that you have encountered, you may be involved in affairs of greater import than concerns of Ichil alone."

Fiyu didn't hide her smile as they walked onward. They needed to separate to shift around a bush of razors, then met on the other side. Her relative's body had grown tenser again and she could tell that he had moved on to business.

"First, we must discuss your Corporeal Floor. You have made a number of changes and gathered new materials, so-"

"I apologize if I have made errors." Fiyu lowered her head, trying to make her contrition clear. "Every step was necessary at the time, but I hope it has not ruined the blueprint you designed so carefully. I am willing to scour every chamber and soulcraft from the beginning again, if you deem it necessary."

"Start over?" Her relative smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I was going to say that it's past time that you ascended to Ruler."