V2Ch111 New Ant

The new voice sounded elegant and refined, albeit a little angry. I could see a yellow outline of his eyes. They were narrow and staring right at me.

"Every world has its little ups and downs. Every time you think you are going up in the world, something seems to pull you back down. As you fall, it feels as if the ground couldn't come soon enough. Every little thing that just irks you in the back of your mind can build and build upon itself. Growing every day. Some are forgotten and can shrink the pile but, what about those days when you just can't seem to do anything right? You start to recall similar events in the past and the pile grows larger than ever until..."

The eyes started to sway in the background before they lowered themselves close to the ground.

"BOOM!"

The eyes shot up off of the ground. I could hear footsteps now.

"I'm sure you can tell by now. I am your representation of frustration. You can call me Frust."

His legs came into view. His clothes were a little on the ragged side but not unkempt. His shoulders were at the same level as mine. His face came into view.

It was as if I was looking at a mirror of myself in an organized mobster outfit.

"You have some troubles. New kid on the block is dead. Girlfriend was taken away. Wife still missing. Not a great day, now is it?"

"No..."

"While I may represent frustration, I am not here to cause you more of it. Let's work on some details. First, let's figure out how to get your girlfriend back. Then we can work out the other deets."

"How can I get her back? You saw and heard what I did, right? If I show my face..."

"Exactly. "IF" you show your face. Don't show it. Hide it. Get some help from people who know how to hide theirs."

"Help from where?"

"You know exactly where. You have an entire guild at your disposal."

"The Tracker's Guild?"

"NO! Think! What do you have in your backpack that you've used to hide in the past?"

To hide? My black cloak?

"The... Assassins Guild? They won't help me. They hate me."

"Who cares if they hate you. They can't touch you now that you don't have someone at your immediate side to protect. Go to them and figure out how to turn them over to your side. Use them like the tools they are to solve your current problem."

It wasn't a bad idea. I was holding back with Wrath. I was toying with a new power against the dwarf. If I really wanted to, I could wipe them off of Eyse. But, if they can be useful...

Suddenly, I could feel a breeze. My darkness became a faded light. My eyes opened. I took in a few breaths before I realized that I couldn't move. I didn't feel tied down. My neck felt... wrong. I think I landed on it and broke it.

I could see the ground in front of me. I saw a variation of ants, trailing along. Little workers.

Time to put you to work.

I focused on Fear's power and took over an ant with my shadows. It was easy to make the connection on my own after taking over a body entirely made of shadows. I grew the ant until it was the size of a small dog.

I looked over my situation through the eyes of my shadow ant. My neck was indeed snapped back. My body is lying on its side and was already healed up aside from that.

I used the ant to push my body onto my back. I pulled at my foot to straighten out. I placed a few rocks on either side of my head to hold it in place.

I released the ant from the control of my shadows and focused on my explosive healing. It only took a moment to feel my limbs again. I felt an intense prickling pain all across my body as I began to move.

I forced myself up through the odd feeling. I felt light. My backpack was missing. I browsed the area and saw it lying on the ground about 50 feet away. It was still useable for now but, I should get a new one sooner than later. I dug inside and found a small meat snack. I placed it by the line of ants as a show of thanks for letting me borrow one. I swapped my eared hood out with my black cloak.

Judging by the sun's position, I was out for about an hour. I had no time to waste. I had things to do and sitting around here wouldn't help.

I took off running toward Heiarch. I had no solid plan beyond find the Assassin's Guild and make myself known. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get what I wanted by being my usual carefree self that leans toward the preservation of life. The thought bothered me. I wasn't sure I could pull off a facade like that.

Mid run, I started bounding, covering large distances in a shorter span of time. By nightfall, I was close to Heiarch. I slowed my speed and came to a walk so as not to draw attention. I made it in half a day. Could I have been to Tianret by now if I had just sped through the territories?

No. That kind of thinking won't help right now.

I walked up to the entrance of the little town just outside the east gate. The griffons that tried to attack before were waiting for me. All of them had weapons in hand and there were more than double their numbers.

"I'm not interested in you right now..."

"Too bad. You did something to us and we wanna know what and how. Tell us or you won't get out of here alive."

"Not happening."

I began to speed walk toward the gate. One guy stepped into my path. He tried to slice at me with his sword. I caught the blade and snapped it off close to the blade guard. I wrestled the hilt from him and shoved the handle through his throat. His comrades were quickly wary of me.

A sudden realization actually worried me. The hilt began to glow orange. I kicked the griffon into the air toward the south. The explosion was large.

I let out a smile.

"Perfect cover."

I leaped up high enough to get over the wall while the guards were scrambling over to the area of the explosion. The hoodlums were left in the dust, not knowing where I went.

I started hopping across the rooftops of the city. It was dark enough that I shouldn't be seen very easily. I Hopped toward the free zone of the city, a more familiar area. I found the curiosities shop that buys and sells WoM objects and waltzed in. An unfamiliar dwarf was tending the shop.

"Can I help... YOU!"