Touch of Fate

Morris raised his hood and left the inn. It was late, and the streets were mostly deserted, but he didn't want to risk anyone recognizing him. Mike had been gone for a few days, and he probably wouldn't be back in the near future, but already, people were beginning to ask questions and make connections.

The Saint of West Street, as they were calling him, had become a major topic of discussion. The strange and generous mage that was able to treat injuries and cure illnesses that confounded other healers, and would do so for a fraction of the price, had attracted all kinds of attention from the major powers in the city.

It was clear to Morris that he greatly underestimated the effect of Mike's brief foray into the healing industry. If things kept going the way they were, it wouldn't be long before some organizations started beating down their doors, trying to find out more about the mysterious figure.

Morris knew that it was only a matter of time before someone tied Mike and the Saint together. In order to shelter his young friend from the coming storm of consequences, he needed to find allies. Unfortunately, Morris had cut most of his former ties when he joined the Order of the Wheel.

He had already left a message for those few people who might still be willing to help him. However, they were part of the criminal underworld of Wyrport. Any aid they could provide would, by necessity, be unofficial.

Morris knew that they would need allies in the highest echelons of society in order to make it out unscathed. So, in order to help his friend, Morris resigned himself to do the one thing he had sworn never to do.

He was going home.

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A pitiless morning sun woke the sleeping adventurers. Daylight came as quickly as night in the Ash Foothills, and a chorus of groans welcomed the new day. Shy, who had been on last watch, chuckled quietly at the suffering of his fellow party members.

Philip sat up, bleary-eyed and fixed an accusing glare on Mike. The bags under his eyes betrayed a sleepless night. "Thanks for the nightmares, jackass. That one about the hook-handed man will keep me up at night for the next week, at least."

Kat laughed. "You're such a coward when it comes to scary stories. I, for one, had a great time last night. I especially enjoyed the one about the ghost that comes out of a mirror if you call her name three times. You'll have to tell me more tonight, Mike."

Philip stood shaking his head. "No way. I've heard quite enough for one trip."

Mike snickered while packing away his bedroll. He'd slept decently, but had awoken to disturbing, half-remembered remnants of a dream. With a quick shake of his head, he dismissed his concerns. Hopefully, the group would be done long before nightfall, and would be able to camp in a less depressing location.

After conducting their morning preparations and eating a quick breakfast made primarily of scavenged food and trail rations, the group resumed traveling.

It only took them a few short hours to reach the edge of the Palmeray Forest. Mike was amazed at the size of the trees. They resembled the redwoods he had seen in his past life, only dark and twisted.

Much like everything seemed to be, this close to the Ashmourne, the entire forest came in muted shades of grey. The ground, the underbrush, and even the bark and leaves of the trees seemed drained of their natural colors.

With unspoken agreement the group entered the tree line cautiously.

Still feeling slightly upbeat despite the depressing atmosphere, Mike felt the need to voice a question he had been holding in.

"So, why do they call it the Palmeray Forest?"

"Ah, well it's pretty simple. The two explorers that discovered the forest, and the strange variety of bees that made their home here, were called Palmer and Ray. Naturally they combined their own names to create the name for their discoveries." Kate replied, matter-of-factually.

"That was a lot less interesting than I expected."

"I know, right? You'd think with this kind of atmosphere, there would be something more to the story, but it's all just so disappointing."

"I did hear that when they first reported their findings, Ray actually tried to have it called the Raypalmer Forest, but everyone more or less decided that Palmeray sounded better." Philip added.

Mike chuckled. It seemed like vanity was a cross-dimensional trait.

They had been walking for about 30 minutes before Shy held up a hand, signally the group to stop. He motioned forward with two fingers.

At the location Shy indicated, Mike saw two gigantic insects clinging to the side of one of the massive grey trees. They vaguely resembled honey bees from earth, but were colored in the characteristic greys of this region. They strangely elongated limbs, making them seem more graceful than he was used to.

The group braced for combat, but Mike surprised them all by simply walking forward.

"Are you really doing this again?" Philip whispered sharply as Mike passed by.

"Trust me."

As Mike approached, the bees started buzzing angrily. For some reason, Mike could understand their challenge. Proficiency in the strange insectoid language of buzzes, body postures, and scents flooded into his mind.

With a soft, yet strangely resonant voice, he spoke to the bees. "Calm yourselves. We mean no harm. Please, lead us to your hive, so we might converse with your queen."

The bees quieted, indicating to Mike an acceptance of his suggestion. Without any prompting they took off and started slowly flying deeper into the woods.

Mike waved the rest of the group forward and started following the giant insects. Evidently, having an escort was all that was necessary to allow the adventurers to pass unmolested. Dozens of the giant bees were visible, flying with almost manic activity throughout the forest, but their group was largely ignored.

"So, what is the plan, exactly?" Kate asked nervously, trying to keep her eyes on all of the bees, but ultimately failing due to their sheer number.

"I'm going to walk in, and politely ask for them to give us some honey." Mike responded simply. He was a little worried at first, since he wasn't sure if his Communication Magic would work on insects, but he was now feeling confident.

Kate and Philip were left speechless at the sheer brazen simplicity of his plan. Shy merely shook his head, evidently resigned to ride out the adventure regardless of its direction.

"You think that will work?" Kate asked. If anyone else had told her that he planned on negotiating with a colony of giant insect monsters, she would have called him crazy, but with Mike it almost seemed believable.

"I hope so, but be prepared to fight your way out, just in case." Mike replied with a wink.

This left the rest of the group unsettled, jumping every time one of the bees got too close. Eventually however, they were able to fall into a sort of numb acceptance, resigning themselves to whatever may happen.

Mike noticed that several of the giant insects were hovering around equally giant grey flowers that were growing from the branches of the gargantuan trees. They resembled sunflowers with numerous petals arranged around the circumference of a dark grey circular depression. He could see the bees entered there and left with clumps of a sticky grey substance attached to their limbs.

[This must be the source of the honey that the bees produce. I wonder what grey honey tastes like.]

The escorting bees soon reached their destination. With a simple message of acknowledgement, they departed. The four adventurers were left in front of a massive, dying tree. Much of its central trunk had been hollowed out and then re-covered with a waxy grey plaster, making it clear that this was the Palmeray Bees' hive.

Unfortunately, it was also nearly 20m off the ground.

"I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this is problematic." Mike mumbled more to himself than anyone else, before turning to address the group. "Did you have any plan to get into the hive once you got here?"

Philip shrugged. "Honestly, after getting this far, I have to admit that we were very much unprepared for this whole mission."

Kate cuffed him in the back of the head. "That's what I was trying to tell you! We aren't ready for this kind of mission."

"Ow. Hey, you all agreed to it. It's not like I forced anyone to participate." Philip tried to defend himself feebly.

Kate threw up her hands in disgust. "Oh my gods! You are unbelievable!"

Mike signaled one of the nearby bees. "Would you mind staying with my comrades and making sure they aren't considered intruders?" He asked, once again utilizing his strangely resonant voice.

The bee hummed a note of acquiescence and landed next to the group, focusing on them with its compound eyes.

Philip stared at the bee nervously. "Mike, what are you trying to do?"

"I have an idea for how to get up there, but I suspect that the rest of you wouldn't want to follow me. So I'm going to go in alone, collect the honey, and be back here before you know it." He said in as reassuring of voice as he could manage.

"I'm not sure if I like this plan." Philip replied, clearly worried about being separated from the only person who was able to convince the bees they weren't a threat.

Shy undercut his leader's worries by handing Mike a pair of large glass jars with simple cork stoppers.

Mike nodded his thanks before motioning to a group of nearby bees. "Could you give me a lift up to the hive entrance, I need to see the queen."

Two of the bees grabbed onto his shoulders, while another two caught onto his legs. With a little bit of effort the group took off, carrying Mike up towards the hive.

He couldn't help grinning at the trio of astonished adventurers left standing on the ground.