Henry opened his eyes. The spot in the fairly tight cave he had been sleeping in wasn't the most comfortable, but it was the only place he felt safe, for he knew rats and possible other threats, were too big to fit through the entrance.
He turned his head to his left – and counted the marks. He didn't know why, but keeping a tally about the passage of days made him feel more organized and on top of things. Though it also reminded him of how he'd spend almost a month with Thanatos in his cave after they had left the rats' land for the first time.
Back then his tally had counted almost thirty, the one now was comparably small. He lifted his arm and made the fourth line. It was almost unbelievable – if he added up the three days he'd spent on the island, the other three he'd been out hunting for Goldfang to the four he'd spent out here now – plus the few in between that he had spent traveling – almost two weeks had passed since Thanatos had been kidnapped.
Henry sighed and squeezed through the crack in the wall that led outside. It was time to start the day.
After he had returned to the island, some five days ago, the crawlers had celebrated him a hero. Not that he cared much, all he had been happy about were the tons of goods they swamped him with. Crops for bread, fuel and badly-needed medicine. He looked at his still bandaged leg, it was getting better with the day. He'd be able to take off the bandages soon.
The bread he had made with the crops was boring and tasteless, for he had no salt, but it made a nice addition to the fish. He had made sandwiches that day for the first time, and it had been bittersweet in a lot of ways. Memories of a past that he had almost forgotten at this point had flooded back, and while thinking of his former friends and family was still sad, he had also felt a slight surge of pride.
For a moment he had imagined their faces if they were to find out he was still alive, and everything he had survived and mastered so far. Never in a million years had any of them – least himself – believed he was capable of any of the things he found himself doing now. Then he had remembered that if they were to find out, they would execute him for treason, and the pride had vanished as fast as it came.
After getting everything ready, he had decided to leave the island for good. Originally, he had wanted to go search for the spinners that had kidnapped Thanatos but had quickly found himself lost. While he had ventured in the approximate direction, all he had discovered so far were empty tunnels of Dead Land and one or two occasional shiners or crawlers.
Eventually, he had stopped at this cave, and spent the last four days here, exploring a different direction every day. Henry had also started mapping out the local tunnels to not get lost again, and at this point had a fairly wide knowledge of the layout of this part of the Dead Land.
Today he wanted to check a tunnel he hadn't traversed yet. A few crawlers he had met yesterday told him the territory of the flutterers lied in that direction, and that if he was looking for someone, they could most likely help. Apparently, they were excellent scouts, all he had to do was convince them to help him.
Henry had never interacted with the Underland-moths before, all he knew was that they were fairly peaceful and close allies to the crawlers. He didn't really know what to expect but decided to prepare for anything.
Though, if he was completely honest with himself – the hope of finding Thanatos alive shrunk with every day that passed. Henry had no idea why the spinners had taken him, all he knew was that the flier had talked of some "unfinished business" as the reason why he had had to come here in the first place. Had he formerly gotten himself into some sort of trouble that had now caught up to him? If that was the case, would he really be left alive for almost two weeks?
Henry shook his head while eating his breakfast sandwich. He didn't know – and he refused to believe his friend was dead before he found out the truth. He knew he had to try and find him – or he'd forever be haunted by the guilt of not having tried everything.
Henry confidently walked in the direction of the tunnel. So far he was in known territory, which made the trek so much faster. His backpack was lighter than before too, he had left most of his heavy supplies and the cooking utensils at the cave. Further, he had stored some of them back at the crawler island, creating a little supply stash he could come back to. The island was safe and the crawlers on it adored him, there was no better place for leaving a stock of goods.
The trip through the tunnel took him around half an hour. It led straight away from the part of the Dead Land he had mapped out, and at last, entered a cave with multiple exits.
Henry guessed the middle way and found himself in a wide passageway that went on for another ten minutes. Occasionally he thought he heard a distant rustling, shadows scurrying in the dark. All he had was the singular torch, that he had only lit after he had entered unknown territory to conserve fuel. Before, his echolocation skills had sufficed.
When he thought he reached the end of the tunnel and started climbing up a fairly narrow exit shaft, he suddenly found himself surrounded.
Four times four wings with a span of nearly five feet, at the first glance of a dull brown or grey, but if you looked closer carefully ornated in different patterns, attached to elongated bodies, enclosed him. Their eyes were huge and black, their antennas almost half as long as their three-feet tall bodies.
Henry winced back and almost ran one of them over that had hovered behind him. "Hey... uh... you the... flutterers? Because I was looking for you actually...", he stammered, cursing the nervousness in his voice.
The biggest one, a moth with pretty orange circles on its wings, drew a little closer. "We have watched you, human, since you entered the passage to our land. I am Kuthe, my mother is the queen of our people. For what purpose do you seek us out?"
Henry collected himself a little and stood straight to emit confidence. "My name is...", he hesitated – was it really smart to go around telling species that were friendly with the humans who he was? "Ehm, well, I wish I could tell you my name, but if you live alone, you don't really need one." He remembered Thanatos' words when Henry had asked him to introduce himself for the first time. He quickly continued "I am looking for a friend. Some crawlers told me you can help with that?"
Two of the others approached the princess and started whispering to her. She soon raised her voice again. "You are a friend of the crawlers?"
Henry sighed, and had a hard time not rolling his eyes. But if these guys were friends of the crawlers, being the "Wielder of Light" most likely meant it would be easier to get on their good side and convince them to help him find Thanatos. So he grasped the nettle.
"Oh I am – actually, I'm not even just their friend, I'm sort of their savior. Two colonies have me to thank for their life – you might have heard, they call me "Wielder of Light". And if that suffices for a name, then I suppose it is mine."
More murmur followed, this time their excitement was notable. "So you are really the famed Wielder of Light our allies praise in all their settlements? And now you come to us, seeking our help?"
Kuthe's voice was much friendlier now. Henry couldn't really tell, but he had a feeling she might even be smiling.
"Indeed. And I'm not even asking for a free favor, if you need my help with something too – I am willing to strike a deal!"
Kuthe exchanged glances with the others. "My mother will judge you." She finally answered. "Please follow."
The cave, that the narrow and steep passage led to, was ginormous. When Henry raised his torch, he could see hundreds and hundreds of flutterers covering the walls with their bodies. The entire cave was buzzing with life, and he had trouble not running into any of them with his feet or the torch. This is most likely their main headquarters, he thought, against his intention slightly impressed.
The princess and her entourage stopped around the middle of the cavern where a natural stone formation rose from the ground. On top of the formation sat a singular moth, surrounded by what Henry assumed to be guards, armed with something that looked like short lances made of bones.
The moth in the middle was majestic. She had a wingspan of more than five feet, the patterns on the greyish surface were of an unusual shade of blue and green. Around her neck, Henry saw something like a necklace with different types of stones.
"This is queen Lakethe, the leader of our people." Her daughter introduced her, and the moth queen nodded his head in his direction. Henry knew it was expected of him to bow, and yet it felt strange when he did it. Never before had he been forced to bow before anyone.
Henry explained his situation to her, and the queen listened with great interest. When he mentioned it had been the spinners who captured Thanatos, Kuthe listened up. "Mother, do you think it could be the Jainex who took the human's friend?"
Lakethe nodded. Noticing Henry's confused face, her daughter explained. "An elite team of spinner assassins, they hold great honor among their kind and kill and abduct for payment."
Henry nodded. That would explain why the spinners were after Thanatos. Someone must have hired them to go after the flier. Though Vikus had never mentioned the spinners did anything other than weave. Although, he supposed it made sense that not every single one of them did the same thing for a living.
"Colleagues, then", the careless tone in his voice was supposed to make him seem confident.
"You are a mercenary? Really?" Kuthe rubbed her cheek with one of her legs in disbelief.
Henry put his hands to his hips. "I am. I killed the rat Goldfang for the crawlers that live on the island in that direction", he pointed to where he had come from. "She was formerly a general under king Gorger and threatening to occupy their home. Wasn't even that big of a deal", he shrugged casually.
The queen and her daughter exchanged glances. "Then we might indeed use your help", Lakethe said finally.
Henry was sitting in a remote corner of the cave, preparing for the trip he would have to undertake. He was as terrified of this job as he had been of the last, though for an entirely different reason.
Lakethe had explained that her people were at war with a species, that resided beyond the maps of the humans, for quite some time now. They wanted to expand their territories at the expense of the flutterers, and those defended their borders. It had been going on for a while, though Lakethe told him if he succeeded today, the war would most certainly be over.
She was talking of a race of Underland-wasps, referred to as buzzers. Though she had warned they themselves hated the name vigorously, claiming it was a disgrace to their species. And short-tempered they were indeed, quick to judge and sting – and their venom was one of the deadliest known in the entire Underland.
They fiercely hated warmbloods, in a similar manner to the cutters, some of their closest allies. That's why they had always avoided crossing paths with the humans, the fliers and even the gnawers.
And those buzzers were who Henry had been set up against. Their queen resided in a nest about a day's trip from here, but the moths had explained it wasn't her who he was supposed to kill.
"The queen is only appearing to be a queen, in truth her only purpose is the delivery of offspring to increase her kind's numbers", Kuthe had told him, "who truly reigns over the buzzers are their two supreme generals. They give commands and organize the society. They are who you need to eliminate. If you take them out, the buzzers will become disorganized and weak, and surely lose interest in conquest, at least for a while. And our borders will once again be secured."
Henry drank the last bit of his water, he would need to refill his sack during the journey.
He was nervous about this job, almost more than the other, because he was going up against a species he had never encountered before. The rats he knew, he also knew that they were lethal and cunning, but when it came to the buzzers – he had no idea what he was even going up against. Yes, the princess and a few of her advisors had filled him in on their main weaknesses and strengths, but still.
In exchange for him killing the two generals, Lakethe had promised to send their best scouts to find out if Thanatos was alive, and if, where he was held captive.
"As further payment, you can keep the buzzers' wings." Kuthe had explained later. Henry had been confused at first, but the princess had elaborated – "If the spinners truly hold your friend, you will need something to buy him free. They do not do favors. And there is nothing the spinners value more than the wings of buzzers. Apparently, they can make some of their rarest type of silk with them."
Henry had decided to try and keep that in mind. The last thing he needed was to stand before the spinners, seeing Thanatos within reach, with nothing to offer them.
Finally, he eyed his leg. He had taken the bandages off a few hours ago, and it was as good as healed. Only a big, still red, line remained from what once had been an angry gash. It wouldn't be bothering him on a longer trip. Henry smiled. He was collecting scars like he was collecting titles, apparently.
The exiled prince took specific care to pack his sling. The buzzers, Kuthe had told him, were much easier to strike down than rats. One proper stone to the head should do the job. The only downside was, that their numbers were as large as the flutterers' themselves.
Oh well, Henry shrugged and grinned a little, what was life without a good amount of risk-taking. Going up against a completely unknown species – he had done crazier things before.
It was the most impressive view Henry had had in a long time. He stood in the entrance to a ginormous cave, hidden behind a ledge, and stared at the massive structure before his eyes.
The trek had taken exactly a day, as the moths had said. One of Kuthe's guards had accompanied him to show him the way, but he had turned back when they entered the cave before the one Henry was looking at. The one with the nest.
It was a gigantic structure of an undefined organic-seeming material, that almost pulsated with life. It hung from the wall and the ceiling on several strings, and here and there Henry saw the black-and-yellow-striped tail of a wasp poking in or out. The exiled prince sighed. He needed a plan.
Fifteen minutes later Henry had finally found what he had been looking for – a water body. A broad river leisurely ran through one of the bordering caves, and the exiled prince found it was perfect for the plan he had come up with, in the meantime.
Once he had lured the buzzers out of their hideout by knocking down one of the strings that held their nest, he would have to hide from them somewhere. And like all flying insects, they despised water.
Henry saw that the river was half underground, running through several, almost entirely flooded, small caves, hidden out of sight and reach by the ceiling. They would serve as nice hiding spots. He was thankful he had practiced holding his breath at the Vineyard of Eyes.
Half an hour later, Henry was ready. This time he was prepared for having to stay in the water for a while, so he had taken off most of his clothes except the pants, the belt with the biggest pocket for stones, and Mys. It was a shame he didn't have any pieces of armor, he'd most certainly feel safer wearing a breastplate or something of the sort to protect against the sting, but he had no means of getting one.
He had further tied his hair together to prevent it from bothering him and collected as many stones as he could for his sling. The rest of his things, including his clothes, he had stored away in a small nice on the other side of the cave.
He was just about to make his way to the cave with the nest to start his plan when he suddenly heard the buzzing noise of the wasps – from the other direction. He jumped behind a ledge and peeked out – only to widen his eyes in surprise.
It was five wasps in total that now crossed the cave with the river. Their bodies were more than three feet tall and colored in a bright yellow and black pattern. The stingers on their rumps were almost seven inches long and razor-sharp.
But that wasn't why Henry had been so surprised. One of them, as he recognized, wore the distinct sash of brightly red-colored spinner silk that Lakethe had described as the hallmark of the generals. This was one of his targets – and he only had four guards with him. Henry knew that he had a plan. But... screw the plan.
The stone hit the buzzer-general out of nowhere. He dropped immediately – dead. Sadly, Henry was only able to take out three of his guards, who had after their general's death started buzzing louder, and angrier. They had strived to leave the cave as fast as they could, and the one who had gotten away just entered the cavern with the nest.
Henry realized that he had gotten his wish to lure the buzzers out, as this guy would definitely soon bring reinforcements. He just about made it to the water and into one of the flooded caverns, when he heard the noise. It was the same buzzing, only a hundred times louder and polyphonic.
Then, chaos ensued in the cave. Hundreds of buzzers filled it with their angry sound and bared stingers, all in search of him. Henry submerged into the water completely, striving to stay out of sight. Then he noticed the caves interconnected through narrow underwater passages and quickly traversed from one into the other.
Hidden out of sight and sting, he finally dared to surface for air. He knew that he needed to go back out to kill the second target, the only thing he didn't know was as to how he was supposed to escape afterward.
Henry explored the underwater tunnel system further and noticed one of the walls at the back had a crack, that supplied water to the river. It was only blocked by a few loose boulders that Henry moved away easily. After swimming through the passageway he had cleared, the exiled prince found himself in another cave filled with a gigantic lake.
This is where he would escape to, he thought. All he needed to do was go back, find the second general, kill him and swim back here. The underwater passage was the only visible entrance to the cave, so the buzzers wouldn't be able to follow. Here he could wait a few hours until they had calmed down, and then retrieve his things and make his way back.
No sooner said, than done. Henry swam back and the first thing that greeted him in the other cave was the deafening buzzing of hundreds of angry wasps. Now it was time for the hard part.
Henry finally spotted the second general, closer to the other side of the cave. His sash shone in bright red and he was the only one not actively participating in the search, he seemed to rather be supervising it.
Henry could easily drop him with a shot if only he could dare come out of the water for a second. He decided to swim to the very end of the river, before it disappeared underground, where there weren't any buzzers. They focused their search on the side closer to the tunnel that led to the cave with their nest.
Henry silently counted to ten, while readying a stone. He took a deep breath, and in one swift motion stepped forward, out of the water and shot.
The buzzer with the sash dropped, and every single other wasp in the room turned to him. Henry staggered back, but the one that had been closest to where he stood, already aimed its stinger. The exiled prince leaped to the side to dodge and it scraped the wall behind him. With an almost intuitional movement, he drew Mys and rammed it into the side of the giant wasp.
It dropped dead immediately and Henry let himself fall back under the water. With an overwhelming feeling of triumph, he swam to the passage he had cleared earlier and out, into the middle of the lake.
It was over. All he had to do now was wait – and reap the gain.
Henry didn't know how much time had passed – it had maybe been a couple hours – when he dared peek back into the cave the fight had taken place in. It was, as he suspected, completely empty.
He had spent the last hours in the cave with the lake, swimming a few laps to keep himself warm, practicing with the sling for a while, and going back to swimming again. It had actually been nice to not have to worry about any attack and relax for a while. The assassination of the buzzer generals had been stressful enough. After today Henry already knew that he liked the wasps as little as the cutters. If not less.
When the exiled prince waded out into the open and prepared to leave the water though, he winched back and feared the noise had given him away. Two guards, previously out of sight, were still patrolling the cave.
Well, maybe the buzzers aren't completely stupid, Henry thought, and hid behind a ledge, pulling out his sling. Luckily, he had practiced firing two stones after each other quickly after the part with Goldfang's henchmen.
The guards dropped to the floor, and Henry wished killing rats was this easy. After he had gotten out of the water, dried himself and gotten dressed, he readied himself to leave.
Another job done, he thought, not without pride. In a day's trek, I'll be back at the flutterers', and they'll have news on Thanatos – maybe. A sharp thorn of fear suddenly pierced his heart. He'd also know if his flier was dead then.
Henry shook his head, unbelievingly. Thanatos didn't survive in the Dead Land on his own for what, seven years, only to be killed by a bunch of spinners – or whoever they worked for – now. He was resourceful and smart, maybe he had already fled on his own?
He was already making his way through the tunnel that led away from the cave with the river when Henry suddenly remembered Kuthe's words. "As payment, you may keep the wings." The wings. He'd almost forgotten!
With the furs over his feet as silencers, he approached the corpses of the guards – those of the generals and the one he had stabbed the buzzers had already taken away.
He cowered down next to them and carefully severed both wings from each of the two. After some consideration, he pulled out an empty container from his backpack and siphoned the venom from their stingers. Who knew when that would come in handy.
After he was done, he carefully stored the delicate wings in his backpack, as well as the flask with the venom. Proud of this accomplishment, Henry realized this was his second successful mercenary job. He was slowly but surely getting a hang of this. And if Thanatos was alive, he would now have the means to find and free him. Maybe he was interested in joining this little business he had established?
Henry grinned when he finally made his way out of the cave. Though, if he really thought about it – as it turned out, he didn't necessarily need the flier around anymore. He had survived for two weeks on his own, and there was really no reason as to why anything should change. Not only had he met and arranged himself with new species and started being able to orientate himself in the Dead Land, but he had also now discovered a possible source of income.
If Thanatos was dead, Henry realized, he would be completely fine on his own. A wave of confidence inundated him, and for the first time after the exile, he felt he had the right to be proud of his own skills and accomplishments again.
And if Thanatos was alive, it will be his choice whether we should continue our alliance, Henry thought. I am not dependent on him anymore – and I will not let him order me around like he used to. He might have been able to force me into submission by threatening to leave before, but those days are over, he realized, overflowing with pride.
Then, a different thought came to mind – if he was really so independent now, why was he even going through all this trouble to save the flier? He had sought out a new species, agreed to risk his life going up against an army of giant wasps, and all that for someone he had no official obligations towards and didn't even have mutual need with anymore?
Those thoughts swarming his mind, Henry came to the spot where he had taken a longer break on the way here. Why not do it again? He was beyond tired, and a little rest was exactly what he needed before taking the final trip back to the moth colony.
When he finally arrived at the headquarters of queen Lakethe, a day later, the joy about his victory was ginormous. Everyone was happy the war would now have an end, especially the queen. He showed them the wings as proof, and Kuthe and her mother acknowledged his success by what he suspected was their version of a celebration.
When he asked if the spies had returned yet with news on Thanatos, Kuthe denied it. She said it would take them a couple of days at most, and that he was most welcomed to stay in the meantime.
Henry spent another day in the cave of the moths, they brought him supplies and fuel, which he was grateful for, as he had used almost all the fuel he had taken from the crawler island.
But as friendly as they all were – the anxious feeling of uncertainty about Thanatos' fate hung over his head, and he wasn't able to relax properly. He had just started asking himself again why he even cared so much when a tumult broke out at the entrance.
Henry made his way there, as did Kuthe, together with her entourage. She approached two smaller moths with dark grey, almost patternless, wings and started talking to them in the flutterer's language.
After what had seemed to Henry like an eternity, she finally turned to him. "These are the scouts I sent to seek for the flier."
"Well? Where is he?" Henry specifically avoided asking if he was even still alive.
Kuthe rubbed her arms together, which the exiled prince had learned equaled a smile. "He is being held close to the headquarters of the spinners, north of here", she paused for a second, "he is alive and well."