Heart of Oak

Silver Tusk Orcs

Over the week, as they traveled up and down the desert dunes in search of the next colony, the male drones passed away one by one. They buried and blessed each drone's corpse to counteract any necromancy. Kesi's mood worsened with each one that passed, and Simadger noticed it almost immediately. The edges of the desert were within visual distance. A stone's throw away was something unexpected. A sparse scattering of trees and thin foliage marked the edge of the desert and the start of something else.

For the first time that week, Kesi's face lit up in excitement. "Simmy! Is that what I think it is?"

Simadger spat on her hands and rubbed her face clean of sand particles. "I see trees, probably another oasis," she said.

"No, no, no. That's not an oasis, that's a jungle!" She broke into a sprint shortly after laying claim to the first pool of water she found.

"Kesi!" Simadger called out, "Wait for me!" Simadger readjusted her shield strap and ran after her.

The outer edges of the jungle resembled a savannah, with a few trees and dried shrubbery. The desert heat dried out the area but not enough to kill the plant life. When Simadger finally caught up to Kesi, the dune ant slumped against the base of the tree, panting hard from dehydration.

Simadger pulled her waterskin off her belt, but it felt very light. Popping the cap, she found it to be empty. She groaned and re-affixed it to her belt. "I don't think we'll find a colony here, but we need water and eventually proper food."

Kesi pointed eastward, "If we can get into the deeper parts of the jungle, we can find plenty of food. There are these dark brown beans that taste very sweet, oh, and there's these curved yellow fruits that are soft and squishy, but don't eat the peel. That tastes stringy."

Simadger nodded along as Kesi started listing off various foods her colony had collected from the jungle previously. When she finally paused to breathe, Simadger spoke up, "Sounds like this jungle is chock full of food."

Kesi nodded her head rapidly. "It really is. I've only heard about it, though." She leaned over and grabbed a clump of grass and ripped it out of the ground. She ran her fingers against the blades of crispy grass, feeling the stringy textures. "This is the first time I've been outside of the colony. This is all so new to me. It feels like a dream."

Simadger knelt down and rested a hand on Kesi's knee. "It's not a dream. Live it up, this is the real outside world."

Kesi smiled at the reassurance. Her mandibles parted widely. Her expression quickly changed when she had a realization, "How do we find those foods and a source of water?"

Simadger turned and looked towards the horizon, where she could just barely see the treeline of what she assumed to be the thicker part of the jungle. "First, we get inside the jungle, then we look around."

As they were discussing what to do next, Simadger saw something moving in the sands behind them. Slowly and with lumbering movements, an exhausted-looking dune ant moved toward them. Simadger drew her Khopesh. "Kesi, get behind me. I think Mother has come for revenge."

As the lumbering dune ant got closer and closer, Simadger noticed something was very wrong about it. Its movements were unnatural and jittery. Fuzzy white webbing filled the gaps between its limbs. Then the ant fell over and from its back, a massive stalk with a bulbous red head forced itself into the open. Simadger froze.

Kesi quickly scurried behind her protector and peered over her armored shoulder. "What-" she stuttered hard, trying to find the words to express her confusion. "What is that?"

Simadger shook her head. "That can't be what I think it is."

Kesi took a few steps back. "Should we run?"