Veldrin sat down easily in the stool, thankful to be off her feet. An acid burn on her arm still stung ferociously, though she had hidden it well from Sergeant Arc and the other guardsmen. Arc had just gathered the zoogi fungus from her packhorse, completing her Watchman Trial. All that was needed now was a decent report...I would have been a fool to pass up this opportunity. Standing idly in the barracks were Junior Scout Kal Shadowhand, Junior Guardsman Anari, and Recruit Das'nord Reck. With my packhorse purchased and waiting in the stables, I had been forumlating a plan to get past the ant beasts and keep them from trying to attack my horse. Recognizing what had been laid out for me in the very room I sat in, I sprang at the chance. I stood from my chair. "Might I make a suggestion..."
Moments later, we were standing outside. Watchman Judas Deibeau had also chosen to attend. The packhorse was waiting patiently nearby as I stood, for the first time, in front of a line up. If I wanted to get promoted, I told myself, I might as well get used to it. I cleared my throat and annouced the situation. I am very familiar with the Solen. I had experiences with them before I escaped to the surface. I had explored their hive before and I knew it somewhat well. I also knew that the Solen spit acid, and thusly warned the guardsmen. They didn't take to the concept too well.
By way of a magical portal, the five of us, plus the horse, arrived at an entrance to the ant caves. One of many. We each filed into the darkness. We were greeted at once by angry solen workers, a smaller breeds whose only quest was to shovel dirt around. We freed them from their unfulfilling lives and moved on, the packhorse following behind at a safe distance. We made our way through the maze of the solen Hive, destroying any pitiful creature that dared to cross our path. Das'nord Reck summoned a water elemental to aid us.
Finally we approached one of the Solen egg nests, where I knew the queens and workers tended to their Matriarch's eggs and cocoons. Ordering the horse to stay put at a safe distance, and following up with an invisibility spell to protect it from attacks, the five of us attacked the queens, as well as the workers that defended them. A passing thought crossed my mind that they were only trying to protect their nest from intruders, but the Solen are just as hostile outside their hive as they are within it. There was no room for mercy.
Though I had warned the others about the Solen's ability to spit acid, some had apparently forgot, and even I myself sustained a burn to my arm after casting a spell to injure a queen. Anari's boots were heavily damaged as he stepped into a puddle of acid, and at one point was burned so badly that he lost consciousness. We quickly roused him awake and helped him up. Once I had collected fifty zoogi mushrooms and stuffed them into the horse's pack, we left the hive as fast as we could. Once again, every living creature that dared to block our path was slain. The horse came close to a confrontation with a gigantic insect known as an antlion, but I quickly blocked its path, and the others felled it before I had a chance to cast a spell.
Finally we breathed fresh air again, emerging onto the surface. Wasting no time, Das'nord Reck opened a portal to the barracks, and we returned home once again, triumphant.
Veldrin Ni'Harel
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