Her brother strode off, bold and bright,

To clash in the heat of the fight.

She wandered with ease,

Through soft-swaying trees,

And basked in the quiet delight.

Goldie Honorhide.

"He stole my Monster Kill," Brom complained loudly to Nash. "I came to get a monster kill, and I had it! He stole it from me!"

Nash was very unhappy and let out a low, low growl that only orcs can do. The sort of growl that reverberates through your body. "If you came for a monster kill, you came for the wrong reason. We are here to clear out a dangerous nest. That is it. If you can't do that, then leave right now. You play up here. I will not only kick you out of the guild for breach of contract, but I will also let Mog loose."

Mog smiled.

Brom turned away violently. He spied me crouched down, petting Felix. He stomped over to us and leaned over threateningly, "You owe me!" he said. He pointed a finger in my face, "You owe me," he repeated.

I stood up, and he had to step back as I was not only taller, but significantly outweighed him, even a supposedly large human. I took a page from Makara's book, smiled with sharp, pointed teeth, leaned into his face, and said, "No. I do not. Now get out of my space."

He backed away and stomped to his team, "Freak," he said.

I just raised a hand and picked my teeth with a claw.

Nash raised his voice, "Everybody WILL stay on contract! Finish looting, we move in two minutes."

My pack now had the fire sacs and mandibles of the queen in it, and I kept the monster core as part of the payment for my services. Nash didn't complain.

Nash had also decided to continue, rather than retreat. He brought Makara and me on as emergency backup, but we were now essential to the mission's success.

Nash had us move with his people in front so Makara and I didn't waste energy. We were going to need it.

The day wore on as we travelled over the barren landscape. The sun and fire on the earth made it hot, and the air smelled of smoke. There was a haze everywhere.

The packs got steadily lighter, and the water was used up. The smart people rationed it more than the idiots. We knew we had to travel back out of this nightmare place.

Everybody's Heat and Fire Resistant was growing, but it was not enough. Makara was probably suffering the worst, but she didn't show it. She will probably use her Hydrate skill on herself, which was probably why she learned it.

We reached the marker late afternoon and started searching for the nest. The tunnels here were bigger and busier than anywhere else. Elite and queen-sized bigger.

We had ambushed several elites, but queens didn't travel alone, and we had not seen another one.

We were constantly being attacked, but most were easy to defeat. A couple of times, there was a larger swarm, but it was mostly in the tens, not the hundreds.

It was hot and tiring. Tempers were being stretched, including our hotheaded Brom and company.

When we found it, night had fallen. It was hard to miss. We basically just followed the tunnels, and there was an underground warren and a large mound above ground, crawling with ants. It was easily two hundred meters across and probably a hundred meters deep. It was dug into the side of a hill, which was going to be a bit problematic for the poison. We all knew we didn't have enough poison. We also didn't know how effective it was against the queens and elites.

Nash held a war council with his leaders, Mog, Thomas, Fred, and Sandy. It turns out the dwarf with the quake skill is called Fred. Makara and I were invited, but the hotheads were not, which got them grumbling even more.

"We will work our way around the hill and place the barrels on the uphill side, but there is no way it will be enough," Nash said. "Suggestions?"

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Fred said, "Plant four and throw two into the centre to get as wide a coverage as possible. I could visit various sections and try to bring them down with Quake, but it won't reach that deep, so it must be done in sections."

"There is no way we are not going to get swarmed with elites and queens," Sandy said. "It will have to be hit and run, then come back and do it again. It will take days, but at least there is a chance of success and a chance of survival."

"Send the hotheaded idiots in," Mog said, "they must be immune to the heat and they are willing and eager to go."

"I don't mind idiots killing themselves,' Nash said, "but I want some more out of them first." He looked at Makara and me, "How far do your skills reach?"

"Not that far," I said, "and the elites and queens are resistant."

Makara said, "I can make the poison go further, but not over the whole nest, and it will dilute it."

"Mass killing the small ones is still an advantage," Nash said.

My mind was thinking about a gully in the wilderness that I had repeatedly turned into molten rock. How resistant would the queens be to my Solar Flare? Fire and Heat Resistance are their thing. How big was the gully, and how would it go if the steep walls did not constrain it?

My Map Skill told me the dimensions of the gully. I could compare that to the hive, which was considerably larger, but there are no steep rock walls.

"Ivan!" Nash's raised voice brought me back.

"Don't worry," Makara said, "he does that, but he usually comes back with a good idea."

"I am not sure this is a good idea." I looked at Nash, "Which is your preference, getting monster cores and glands etc, or destroying the nest?"

"That is an either-or option, is it?" Nash asked.

"Very probably."

"Shit, really?" said Makara. She was there for the Pike and saw the results of the experiments.

"I don't have any other suggestions," I said, "and it looks like weeks of hit-and-run tactics are the only other option."

"Somebody wants to enlighten us?" Nash said.

"I have a skill that is basically opposite to the freezing one, but more violent. More explosive."

"I like it already," Mog said.

"When you say opposite, you are talking fire and heat. The ants are resistant to fire and heat," Nash said.

"Their fire does not melt rock," I said, "mine does."

"That is a lot of goblin shit," Fred said. "I have worked in mines. You are trying to tell me you have a volcanic-level skill as well as a freeze skill? No way. They are opposites."

"Well, it isn't an ice affinity then," Sandy said. "What is it?"

"I have no affinity recorded. I only have skills," I said. She snorted in derision at the deflection.

"We need the nest gone," Nash said. "It is worth a try. What do you need?"

"My problem is I can't control it. I sucks all my spiritual energy and the only control I have is where I place it and that has to be… about 50m from me." I could probably reach 60m in a line, but they didn't need to know that.

"What kind of supid ass skill is that?" Fred said.

"One that cost me my eye when I was too close," I said.

They stared at me in a mixture of confusion and disbelief. It didn't matter. "What I need is a strong shield or three. I will need to get up to the edge of the nest so I can reach in and down as far as I can. The lower it is, the better. Nobody can stay with me. You all need a hill between you and the nest."

"Ivan." It was Makara. "You are not getting paid enough for this. You are essentially soloing this contract. You can't spend money if you are dead. We walk and let them bring in the Avions."

I looked at Nash. He growled in frustration. "We are here. I would like to attempt it, but the shark lady is right. If you weren't here, I would bail with the information we had. We either come back with the army or the avions or both. A thirty-person raid group is not enough. It is up to you. I would like to try. If you tell me what you want, I will try to make it happen. I am the Guild Master here."

"Fair compensation, I will leave to my teammate to settle," I said. However, I don't want the credit if I survive this. You take credit. You are the Guild master. I don't want my name mentioned any more than I came and froze a few ants."

"You are sure?" Nash said. "That doesn't make much sense to me."

"Ivan never makes sense," Makara said. "I have learned to just go with it. I will take credit. I am the affinity user, after all. You can pay me the bonus. We are teammates."

"Won't everyone see fire and melted rock? How is that from you with a water affinity?" Fred said.

"Don't mess with a Mer!" Makara said.

"I can't see how it won't get out," Nash said, "but we can make something up if you like."

I nodded. I can't die and join my team under a different name, as I stand out everywhere as different, so I have to hide what I can do. Unfortunately, what I can do is massive and can't be hidden. That gave me a thought. I looked at Makara, "Misdirection? Barrels of explosives?"

"That is one fucking big missdirection," she said.

Nash said, "We will discuss it. Everybody here is a part of my mercenary team, the Teeth Nashers, so I can vouch for them anyway. Let's talk specifics."

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