Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Above Tom, the Playful Ice Wisp on the cusp of evolving to a personality of helpful but erratic took a fraction of a moment to assess the new reality. It was an elemental, and it carried its plane of existence within it. To it the world it found itself in was strange, hostile and hot. But it instinctively understood how the world worked. It would grow from the experience and the mana he had gifted it was its forever no matter how the rest of the experience played out. For that mana already paid, it would fulfil its contract and anything else it received would be a bonus.

The wisp extended its senses. Its body was tiny versus the vastness around. Fragile, weak and barely able to affect its surrounding but it was an elemental and that meant inside it there was a permanent connection back to the ice plane. 

Through that hole, there was a continual trickle of energy that soothed it and made the hot place bearable.

The request of its master was clear. He wanted it to kill those strange creatures. Monsters that were against the one who had contracted with it were absolutely tiny. Those creatures were three, maybe four times larger than it. Size did not matter, but then again it sort of did. Doubt assailed it, but then it readjusted its attitude. It had been given a task. It would be successful… but. 

How?

They were substantially bigger than it and so it was not like a physical fight would go in its favour. One of its targets zipped by and the wisp sent out a probe, trying to understand the monster that its master \ contract owner had asked it to destroy. For now, it was just a light touch to gather information before committing to battle. The feint contained nearly no energy, but when it touched the enemy boy, it met no resistance. The wisp’s consciousness plunge into the creatures’s body and to its shock the wisp discovered it could influence the state of matter within the biological container. It was unheard of within the elemental planes. There was no way there that the wisp could affect the internal state of anything around it. But here in this strange hot place it had the capacity. Without even meaning to have the impact, the tissue around the probe started to freeze. 

That was unexpected, and the wisp felt guilty about granting his contract holder’s foe with the gift of ice, the singularly most powerful and holy vitality in existence. Buffering the adversary had not been its intention. 

Confused, the wisp pulled back before it accidentally blessed the wasp further. The creature seemed to woggle potentially shocked by the unexpected offering. Helplessly, the wisp watched as the gift it had left kept expanding, probably empowering the biological creature that he was supposed to destroy.

Annoyed at its mistake, it attempted to assess its next step.

There was a click as the blessing of ice completed its spread. The thing had gone from being weak to filled with power… It was a disaster… then…

The creature fell out of the air and the sense it was giving off changed. From within the enemy, something shifted. A mist that was beyond this world or even the wisps ice plane emerged. It was nothing it recognised, but before it could react the blob split. Most went to its master, but some shot straight at him. The wisp tried to dodge, but it was like the power the enemy had generated could track his position and change its direction at will.

Despite its best attempts, the strange energy struck the wisp.

It went straight to the brain.

It was intoxicating.

An absolutely wonderful filling.

It was…

What had been specified in the contract?

Experience.

That was why the energy had split with most going to the wisp’s master rather than to it. Even the fraction it had retrieved was extraordinary a lovely incredible power, a taste of what was coming.

Enemy Defeated… Experience 0.1

It was not said with words, but with thoughts. Understanding filled the nascent mind of the smidge of ice energy. The wisp now understood its mistakes and terrible assumption. The enemy was evil and the gift of the ice plane had not blessed it, but it hurt it. That tiny amount of power that the probe had imparted had exterminated it. An opponent which was so deviant that holy things killed it.

And it was weak. This hot world must be truly pathetic that the wisp could kill by accident. 

Elation coursed through the wisp. That was something it could work with. Small blessings to each wasp to kill them like its master wanted. If it did, then not only would it be completing the contract there would be more of that absolutely intoxicating feeling.

Good!

More!

Another wasp was flying past. This time, when the probe hit the wisp instinctively applied less energy. It was driven to experiment. The more efficiently it could kill individuals the longer it could stay and accumulate that wonderful energy.

It was not used to this type of thinking, but it knew it needed to experiment to maximise the value of it being here.

The insect it was targeting had part of it vibrating rapidly. Symmetrical objects, one on each side and why they were large, they were thin and light. Ice coursed up one of the beating biological segments. With one wing frozen, the wasp w plunged to the ground. It hit hard, bounced, but it was not dead.

There was no flood of wonderful experience. 

The wisp was disappointed, but already it could see the mass of wasps below it. More than a wisp or its size could ever freeze solid with its meagre efficiency. It needed to learn and do better. To be helpful and get as much of that remarkable energy as possible. It had to kill with the tiniest of touches. The wisp spun down, moving towards the incredibly slow wasps that covered the summoner.

Probes went out.

Tiny ice crystals no larger than ice grain formed within bodies. Most flew or crawled on, their movements more erratic but alive. 

Then one or two fell.

Energy flowed to the wasp from those deaths.

The same descriptions flashed up in its mind, gifted by the world.

The ice wisp wanted to dance in delight but the desire to be helpful and get more powerful overrode everything else. It kept experimenting.

Targeting the head was the most effective. It tried to make the energy expenditure smaller. Finally, it found where to hit. Not the thinking centre of the wasp, but the tube which fed the thinking area with unappetising energy that apparently sustained the wasp’s life.

Block that and ten seconds later it would die and more of the wonderful energy would be shared between the wisp and its master. 

The experiments had been boring, but the wisp had been methodical and now it knew its enemy.

If it created ice in the right spot, then in physical space he only needed to freeze a volume which was no larger than a flea. For barely any expenditure, it could kill an opponent.

It plunged into the mass of them. Probes shot out. Not all the wasps were as susceptible as the first few, but most were, and the ones that weren’t just needed a bit more energy to get the result that it was after. Its mind went from one to one to create a blockage before it moved to the next one. It reaped its profitable harvest. Its almost intangible body flickered between the physical presence of the enemies. There were thousands of insects covering its host and everyone of them received attention for the split moment that was required. 

They died.

Glorious experience filled it

And then more died. 

They all died. 

Tom, through the link had felt what his wisp was doing. It was trying to be helpful and then it acted and the withering mass of insects almost stilled as one even while two thousand experience flowed into him from the wisp’s actions. 

The wisp darted around, and he could feel its disappointment when there was nothing more for it to slay.

Tom stood the dead insect bodies falling off him en masse.

Come here.  

The wisp flashed over to hover in front of his eyes.

No more insects now. More tomorrow. If I can find you?

Impressions flooded from the wisp. It would stay in the lower energy realms and if it felt Tom appear it would answer. Promises of lower cost flashed through its mind.

Great. I am going to send you back now. You can keep the extra mana.

Happiness greeted that thought, and then, with a crackle of blue it vanished. 

Hastily Tom retreated from the hive that he could not kill easily with his lightning. 

Everlyn jogged next to him. Her hand brushed away the insect corpses that had died when stuck to him. “Are you hurt?”

Tom shook his head. He was bone dead tired and done with hitting mounds, at least for the time being. “I’m finished for the night?”

“Wait,” Michael asked. “What do you mean? I thought you were going to dawn to get the title. Or do you have it already?”

“Nope, it’s out of reach. I’ve got six natural points of strength in twenty-two hours. There’s no way I’m getting three in the last two hours. And,” Tom made a head gesture back towards where the lightning resistant bugs were. “It’s too dangerous to continue if they’re mutating. What happens if they develop a new poison or different resistance?”

It was dark, but with his low light vision he saw Michael nod. 

Everlyn linked arms with him like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’m so glad that you’re safe. I was so worried when you fell to the ground. What class did you get?” She shifted her arm, and their fingers twined together.

“You two,” Sven mock protested, and Tom ignored him.

He squeezed her hand. He doubted anything more would develop, but for now he was happy to be accepted and to be honest, carrying out any conversation was difficult unless it was about survival and the strange rules of the system that had been thrust upon them. “It’s a class called elemental summoner. Expert level.”

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“Wow,” she exclaimed.

“I can feel you’re growing strength.” Michael agreed. “You’ve almost rank 5.”

“The class gave me thirty magic for taking it.”

Everlyn whistled. “That’s incredible. I wish I could get an expert class.”

“It’s not that great,” Tom admitted. “It just front loads magic because elemental summoning is so mana intensive. I won’t receive any more attributes till level five.”

“Apart from what you get from your titles and traits.” Michael reminded him.

Tom grinned happily. “True.”

Everlyn started walking, dragging him. “Let’s go get some sleep. Camp is about a kilometre away.”

He followed, contemplating the next steps. The insects near where they had been placed had lightning vulnerability. That was absolutely because of the ninety-seven fate he had thrown out while there was wiggle room for it to have a significant impact. He had not fully considered what that meant. It had been ridiculous to expect such a paltry amount of fate to change the tens of thousands of hives that existed on the flat plains, but if there were patches of different vulnerabilities then ensuring favourable ones were close to him was not unreasonable. 

Everlyn nudged him. “What’s you thinking?”

“That we have five hundred hives to kill and now we don’t know what we’re facing and whether my build will destroy them”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Michael said, responding to his question. “You’ve bought us the time we need. Whether it is you carrying all the load to the end or someone else isn’t significant. We’ll find a way.” Michael stopped abruptly, everyone of them with instincts honed from years where death continuously surrounded them were instantly on the defensive. Weapons came out and electricity crackled in Tom’s hands. They weren’t used to fighting together but belaying that fact they immediately shifted to face outwards like they had trained together.

“What?” Everlyn demanded her voice tense.

“The camp.”

Tom instantly looked. Ahead of them, closer to the camp Tom could see people up and about. Too many people.

Everlyn was next to him and her eyes widened in response to whatever she spied. “Something’s definitely wrong,” she concluded. “But they’re not currently under attack.”

Tom let go of Everlyn’s hand and took off at a run. Everyone matched him. As he got closer, more and more details revealed themselves. There was a group gathered about forty metres from the shelter on the far side and they could hear angry whispers as they ran.

Light filled the haphazard tent, leaking through the small gaps in the fabric and what was happening was unclear but the entire camp was awake. As he ran forward, he spotted Clare outside the entrance flap to the shelter, looking toward the commotion.

There was a tweak in his senses. She seemed stronger?

No, that wasn’t right he decided after a moment of consideration.

Fate?

He was most likely imagining it, but her fate felt stronger, richer… something. It was almost certainly his exhaustion speaking it was difficult to change the quality of fate and probably impossible at that level. It was possible she took a class and invested in fate, but that seemed unlikely given it was not an attribute that people usually devoted points to and healers definitely did not.

Not important, he decided though he would attempt to follow up tomorrow. “What’s happening?” He asked as he drew alongside her.

Clare did not startle as she had clearly heard them approach, but nor did she turn. She kept looking out toward the commotion. “I think someone died.”

Tom went to step forward, but both Michael and Everlyn grabbed opposite arms.

“Not you, Useless,” Michael told him with amusement in his voice. “I am sure you’re nemesis is over there.”

“I can’t see him.”

“He was the one who died.” They all turned in shock to look at Clare.

“What?” Everlyn stuttered. 

“I heard,” Clare pointed into the shelter behind her. “But.”

The group of them looked at each other not sure what to do. 

“Let me go,” Michael blurted. “Wait here and I’ll find out what’s happening.” 

Tom wanted to follow, but Everlyn held him back. “What do you know?” she asked Clare.

In the darkness, Clare shrugged. “Nothing. Jeffrey, apparently it’s suspicious and the corner guards”. She waved at the two spots on the camp that would have had a clear view of where Jeffrey laid. “They were drugged.”

He went to step forward. 

Everlyn stopped him with a firm hand on his lower arm. “Are you a policeman?” She asked him.

“No.” Tom shook his head.

“Medically trained?” 

“No.” His shoulders sagged when he understood the point she was making. “You’re right. There’s not much I can do.”

She rested her head on his shoulder an arm linked around his waist. Automatically, his arm encircled her and he could feel vibrations.

“Wait. Are you laughing at me?”

“Me never. It was not at all funny that you felt you could contribute something.”

Tom snorted. “Got me. I’m too used to being on my own and having to do everything by myself.”

“We all are.” They walked slowly forward, but then stopped at the corner of the shelter. She waved at the crowd of twenty gathered around the body. “How many people should be there? Not that many, for sure?”

“Wasps.”

The call went out. Following by cursing. Magic flared some sort of life drain. 

“Tom, get over here.” Michael roared. 

He untangled himself. “Guess I’m needed after all. Who would have thought?”

“You go be you,” she ordered, pushing on his shoulder. She was laughing. “Our brave and super intelligent fly zapper.”

“At least I’m not a. Ouch, Ouch.” he tried to mimic a high-pitched voice. “It bit me. Oh no I’m going to die. Someone heal me.” 

“I heal myself.” She sniped back, but he could see her teeth flashing in a broad grin. “And that happened once. Now go be stung.”

“Maybe I don’t want too…”

“Wasp.” There was another panic cry.

“Tom.” 

“But I guess I need to.” With an extravagant sigh, he jogged over, enabling lightning skin as he did so. 

When he reached the crowd, there was a bright ball of light and the contrast forced him to abandon Low Light Vision. The skill at his current lack of mastery did not handle changes of light at all.  

When his eyes stopped watering, he could see Jeffrey lying there. His face was transfixed with fear, and it felt like he had been drained of all his life. “What the hell?” he said under his breath. The ground was smooth like it had been at the start in the dome before anyone arrived. The grass had been ripped up and not thrown to the side instead it had just vanished. There were furrows in the dirt where the first person who had found him had slid on their knees to check. The dirt was soft and visible footprints were all around it.

Wasps hit him and died. 

His very presence quelled the panic. From what he could observe, the clustered people were not achieving anything. The crime scene was destroyed. Any evidence that might have once existed was gone. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like they could use old forensic techniques. Photos and DNA tests and the like. 

Tom kept absorbing everything that he could. Whatever had killed Jeffrey had done it while he was alert. The fear in his eyes, the stretched lips no one deserved to die like that. How much Jeffrey suffered was far less important than the simple question.

What the hell had killed him? Tom thought.

He looked around at the grass plains that seemed to extend forever. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

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