by Pirateaba
Sergeant. Yellow Splatters had no eyes to narrow, but he stared hard at Pawn. What did he mean?
“I am assigning you to tonight’s surface patrol, Yellow Splatters.”
The Soldier recoiled. A surface patrol? That was…ludicrous. He didn’t need to go above!
Above was different from below. Below was real combat, dangerous fighting. Whereas above…Yellow Splatters could remember the joy of first seeing the sun, of walking around and staring at the strange Drakes and Gnolls and people and buildings and…everything! But that enjoyment had become a distant memory. Now he only cared for what really mattered, which was doing his duty.
He wasn’t some new Soldier who needed to become Individual. But Pawn clearly disagreed. He rested a hand on Yellow Splatter’s arm, speaking softly.
“Some food and different scenery will help, or so I believe. And I would like you to meet the Soldier in charge of leading the patrols aboveground. I am considering making him the next [Sergeant].”
That got Yellow Splatter’s attention. He stepped back, letting Pawn’s hand fall off his arm. Another [Sergeant]? Yellow Splatters would be only too willing to see another leader to help protect the Soldiers, but who? Of course he shared the barracks with all the Individual Soldiers, but he was not familiar with the one Pawn mentioned. He had not gone aboveground since he had been promoted.
“The Antinium in question is named Purple Smile. I believe he is taking some Soldiers and new Individuals up in a few minutes. Over there.”
Pawn pointed, and Yellow Splatters saw a group of Soldiers gathering to go to the surface. Among them was Pink Stripes. Yellow Splatters strode over, cutting the rest of what Pawn was saying off and saw the Soldier in charge standing by one of the exits to the barracks.
He was a Soldier. And in that, he was like the others. Only, this Soldier struck Yellow Splatters as somewhat odd instantly. He had paint markings on his body of course, but instead of putting them on his arms, legs, chest, or back, he’d put them on his face.
In fact, he’d carefully painted a purple ring around both of his insectile eyes, and drawn what looked like a smile across his mandibles and lower face. The effect was well, horrific if you weren’t another Antinium. But it was a smile on his face, and his posture wasn’t the military-straightness of most Soldiers either. He leaned against the dirt wall. Since Antinium had problems bending backwards—their carapaces got in the way—he was doing a crazy tilt with his body, leaning his head back against the wall.
It looked ridiculous to Yellow Splatters. However, Purple Smile seemed to be enjoying the activity, and two other Soldiers had already tried to copy him. Yellow Splatters marched over and Purple Smile propelled himself off the wall. He nodded and Yellow Splatters nodded back.
The Soldiers had nothing as elaborate as hand signals. In battle, Yellow Splatters could direct other Soldiers with his mind to a limited degree, which is why pointing is all he needed to do. By contrast Purple Smile pointed, waggled his fingers, and walked them in mimicry of what they were supposed to be doing already. He led the way out of the Antinium Hive at a relaxed, slow pace.
Yellow Splatters already disliked him. And he could not understand why this Soldier of all Soldiers was being considered for a [Sergeant] position!
They went above. Yellow Splatters strode out onto the cobblestone street, not pausing to stare up at the sun or around at the city like all the new Soldiers were doing. Even the ones who’d been above once or twice, like Pink Stripes, were staring.
Purple Smile let them do it. In fact, he kept staring up at a cloud so long that Yellow Splatters had to click his mandibles to get him to move. At last, the other Soldier led them down the street, towards the western gates and the inn that was their regular starting point for each patrol.
It was a mark of the trust Liscor had in the Antinium that a patrol could now be led by one of the Soldiers and not by Pawn himself. Yellow Splatters marched, staring directly at Purple Smile as he meandered down the street. Of course, non-Antinium still got out of the way for their patrol, but Yellow Splatters appreciated that.
What bothered him was the clear awe the other Soldiers held their surroundings in. Every now and then Purple Smile would let them stop to stare at a passing Drake, or at a brick wall, or—or a patch of melting snow!
It hurt to see Soldiers like Pink Stripes, who were pathetically grateful to see the sky, who stared upwards with awe. It hurt because Yellow Splatters understood how mundane the sky was. These other people, the Drakes who passed by on the other side of the street, the Gnolls who sniffed the air and sneezed as they passed by, they saw the sky every day! But most Soldiers would die without this smallest of privileges.
Yellow Splatters snapped his mandibles together irritably and Purple Smile turned to look at him curiously. Pointedly, Yellow Splatters looked ahead and Purple Smile reluctantly picked up the pace.
At last, they marched out of the city and through the wet snow to the inn. There Purple Smile knocked on the door. It was some time before it opened, and when it did, he heard muffled voices and a lot of shuffling sounds.
“Hi, hi! Sorry for the delay!”
The door opened and Erin Solstice opened it, smiling widely. Yellow Splatters stared at her, and saw Purple Smiles open and raise his mandibles in a smile. Erin peered at him and then smiled back.
“Hey, it’s you! Scary-purple-smile-guy! How’s it been? You’re here for food, right? Where’s Pawn? Not with you this time? Well, come on in and—”
She opened the door wider and Yellow Splatters froze. Inside the inn were monsters.
Goblins. Five of them, sitting around a table, eating. They froze when they saw the Antinium. One reached for a sword until another grabbed his arm. Yellow Splatters was quicker, though. He raised his fists and the Soldiers around him stared. Belatedly, copying his example, they raised theirs. Erin’s eyes went round and wide.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
The Goblins in the inn reacted to the threat. They surged upwards, pushing their chairs back and now all of them did draw their weapons. Immediately Yellow Splatters and the other Soldiers tensed up, grouping together, getting ready to rush in.
Goblins! Yellow Splatters buzzed with anticipation. So, there was real fighting to be had above, was there? He hadn’t ever met this kind of Goblin before—they were far larger than the pallid, small Goblins who sometimes rushed the tunnels, but he’d take them down anyways. He began to charge when a set of four hands grabbed him.
Purple Smile yanked Yellow Splatters back and barred the way into the inn. He pointed at the Goblins and shook his head, to the surprise of all the Soldiers. Meanwhile, Erin was yelping, waving her hands and saying the same thing.
“Don’t attack! They’re friendly! I thought Pawn told you—these are good Goblins, okay? There’s no need to fight! Does anyone read the sign?”
Erin looked exasperatedly towards Purple Smile. He raised an authoritative hand and Yellow Splatters realized that Pawn had said something of the kind, only he’d walked away too fast to hear. Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered his fists and the other Soldiers copied him.
“That’s the first time I’ve had to—who’s the big guy? Wait, we’ve met, haven’t we?”
The [Innkeeper] stared at Yellow Splatters curiously. He returned the look for a second and then glanced at Purple Smile. The Goblins sat down cautiously and Purple Smile walked into the room as if nothing was the matter. Warily, Yellow Splatters followed.
The other Soldiers entered the inn, sitting at a group of tables far away from the Goblins, staring at them curiously. Those who’d been to the inn before were clearly eager for food. Yellow Splatters sat in a seat with a good view of the Goblins—just in case—and focused his attention on the young woman rushing in and out of the kitchen, calling for help.
“Sorry, sorry! I was feeding Mrsha—oh! The Antinium are here! I’ll be right with you all with your orders!”
Lyonette rushed downstairs, smiling as soon as she s
aw the Antinium. She seemed to know Purple Smile too, and waved to him as he hurried into the kitchen. Yellow Splatters continued staring at Erin every time she came out.
He couldn’t understand why Pawn held Erin in such high regard. He had taken Yellow Splatters to see Erin, and told him about how he had become Individual thanks to her. And yes, Yellow Splatters acknowledged she was willing to cook for the Antinium and had taught Pawn to play chess. What of it? Could she help save Soldiers’ lives?
Her soup could. But the food that was placed in front of the Antinium wasn’t the enchanted mixture they sometimes ate before battle. Rather, it was a scramble of eggs, bacon, and cheese, a hot bowl of filling food. It was ideal since Antinium couldn’t handle gluten. And it was also useless.
Useless. Yellow Splatters felt his innards gurgling as he stared at the food and inhaled its aroma. He wanted to eat it, and yet something stayed his hand. Purple Smile was already munching down his food with gusto, as were the rest of the Soldiers, but the longer Yellow Splatters stared at his bowl, the angrier he got.
It was hard to explain. Yes, the food smelled wonderful. However, Yellow Splatters couldn’t focus on it. His thoughts were below, with the Soldiers whom Belgrade had assigned to the dungeon’s entrance. How could he eat while they were suffering? There were Soldiers dying in the Hive right now. Soldiers who would never taste this food. And here he was being served this—while his people might never have such luxuries!
Yellow Splatters didn’t know what he was doing until he was on his feet. Erin had paused as she was coming out with hot honey milk for all the Soldiers. Yellow Splatters lifted his bowl. Deliberately, staring at her the entire time, he overturned it, letting the hot food fall to the floor.
Erin blinked. The Soldiers sitting around Yellow Splatters froze. He folded both sets of arms, looking around challengingly. The Goblins had paused in eating and they were poking each other and staring at him, muttering. But Yellow Splatters didn’t care about that.
He looked at the other Soldiers. They were free to eat if they wished, but Yellow Splatters wouldn’t waste the Hive’s resources purchasing food when there were more important things to do. He received enough nutrition from the food in the Hive. This patrol aboveground, paying for food, eating with monsters—it was all pointless!
The other Soldiers stared at him, and then at Purple Smile. The Soldier had paused when Yellow Splatter overturned his bowl. He looked at the splatter of food on the ground and bent. He scooped up the fallen eggs and cheese and bacon and slopped a handful into his bowl.
“Oh don’t do that—I can make more. If you don’t like it, I can uh—what’s the matter?”
Erin raised her hands, looking uncertainly at Yellow Splatters. But then the other Soldiers moved. As one, all except for Purple Smile, they pushed back their bowls and stood up. Yellow Splatters saw Pink Stripes hesitate before pushing back his bowl of eggs, untouched.
“What?”
Erin stared around, and Lyonette poked her head out of the kitchen, disbelieving. Purple Smile stared around in silence, and then clicked his mandibles together softly and got up without a word. Yellow Splatters looked around the inn, at Erin, at the Goblins, and then turned.
The Antinium left the inn as one. They marched quickly back into the city and into the Hive. Once there, they began to train. Or rather, Yellow Splatters did and the others followed his example. Yellow Splatters worked his arms and legs, trading blows, pushing himself harder. Pawn wasn’t there—probably thinking he’d be out of the city for several hours.
Yellow Splatters didn’t mind the patrol with Purple Stripes after an hour of sparring and then eating brown paste at one of the mess halls. He felt good about the entire affair, actually. He had established what should be done and the other Soldiers had followed his example. Hopefully, now they’d stop going above altogether and they could focus on what was really important.
Fighting. Fighting in order to save lives. Compared to that, eating, seeing the sky…it was all pointless.
—-
“You did what?”
It was perhaps the first time Pawn had ever raised his voice when speaking to a Soldier. He stood in front of Yellow Splatters, his mandibles opened wide and lowered in disbelief. Yellow Splatters looked ahead, waiting for Pawn to finish talking.
“The patrol is what Soldiers look forward to each day! The food was already paid for—why waste it?”
Yellow Splatters didn’t bother trying to explain to Pawn. He was a Worker. That was becoming more obvious. He glanced towards the pile of unread books and then away. Yellow Splatters turned.
“Sergeant! I am not done speaking with you—”
But he was done listening. The Soldier marched back to the sparring area and raised his four fists. The other Soldiers stared at him uncertainly, looking back towards Pawn. Yellow Splatters ignored them and gestured.
They’d have to expand the fighting area soon. It was too confined to allow more than a fifth of the barracks to practice at once. Too, they needed a larger barracks. More Soldiers should become Individual. Yes, a lot more. Pawn could take them on patrols to the surface rather than waste time here.
Yellow Splatters looked around for a partner since none were coming to him. He spotted a familiar Soldier, punching weakly with another one in a corner of the sparring area. Pink Stripes wavered as Yellow Splatters approached, but he put his fists up and tried to spar.
This time Yellow Splatters made Pink Stripes go on the offensive, blocking blows, thrusting aside weak punches. He put force behind his blocks, making Pink Stripes work hard for every hit he landed. He kept the spar going until someone thrust himself between the two Soldiers.
Pawn again. The Worker pushed Pink Stripes back since Yellow Splatters wouldn’t move. He clicked his mandibles together repeatedly, looking angrily at the [Sergeant].
“Enough. He is exhausted.”
The Soldier looked towards Pink Stripes. Yes, he was wavering on his feet. So what? That was the point. Soldiers had to fight when they were tired. Sparring like this was the only way to level up, to become stronger. He tried to push past Pawn, but the Worker barred his way.
“I said, enough! I am your leader—I order you to stop, Yellow Splatters!”
Yellow Splatters stared at Pawn. Then he carefully put one of his spade-like hands out and pushed the Worker out of the way.
The barracks, never loud to begin with, went completely silent. Every Soldier stared at Yellow Spatters and at Pawn, frozen where they stood. They stared at Pawn. The Worker seemed as stunned as the others. He looked to Yellow Splatters. The Soldier turned his back on the Worker and raised his fists.
Every Soldier in the room stared to their [Sergeant], and then to Pawn. They hesitated. They looked back and forth, and then, silently, chose. They turned their backs on Pawn, looking to Yellow Splatters instead. He smiled, and turned to Pink Stripes. The other Soldier was looking at Pawn, but he jerked back towards Yellow Splatters. He too raised his fist and Yellow Splatters beckoned. He lashed out and Pink Stripes dodged back wearily.
Helplessly, Pawn stood, watching the other Soldiers. Now they were all sparring, all carefully not looking at him. He looked around, but none of the other Antinium would meet his gaze. Guiltily, they looked away and followed their leader, Yellow Splatters. He smiled as he continued to spar.
Yes, this was how it should be. Pawn was a…Worker in the end. He had his role, but that was only to assist the Soldiers. They were doing the important job. Fight, train, and die. Fight to make sure the other Soldiers would live longer.
Wasn’t that all that mattered? Yellow Splatters looked into Pink Stripe’s multifaceted eyes and saw his reflection looking back. Yes. It was the only thing that mattered.
—-
The inn had never been so quiet, never been as empty as these last few days. Lyonette sat at one of the tables, cleaning up bowls of food, barely touched. She poured some lukewarm eggs from one bowl into another and paused.
�
��It’s so much. We can’t waste this, can we?”
“Dunno.”
Drassi shrugged, looking concerned. She had arrived a few minutes ago to help with what should have been the evening rush. Instead, she was helping clean up from the Antinium after they had left abruptly. Lyonette had no idea what had happened there, only that it had something to do with that strange Antinium with the yellow splashes on his body.
“I know the Antinium have eaten some of it, but it seems a shame to waste. Couldn’t we…feed it to someone? Give it away somehow? I mean…”
She didn’t really want to eat food the Antinium had been nibbling on, but it did feel like a shame. Drassi paused and eyed the table.
“What if we scooped it all up and found some pigs to give it to? There’s at least one [Farmer] around here who keeps pigs. Or goats. We could give it to them. I know this old Drake who raises these huge pigs that taste really great—I could ask him if you want. I don’t think the pigs will mind the bacon, I mean, they eat everything and I mean everything.”
“That’s a good idea, Drassi!”
Lyonette smiled. The talkative Drake [Barmaid] grinned at her and emptied another bowl into a larger container. Then she froze and her scales turned pale as she looked up. Lyonette turned her head and froze.
A Goblin stood in front of their table. He was just standing there, but the Hobgoblin was taller than either Drake or Human, and both their eyes were drawn to the sword hanging at his belt. He was wearing pants and a belt—awkwardly, but that didn’t disguise his Goblin features, only emphasize them.
“Uh—uh—”
Drassi trembled and took a step back. Lyonette made herself stand taller and smile at the Hobgoblin, although her heart was pounding.
“Hi there. Headscratcher, isn’t it? Can I help you?”
The Goblin nodded. Gingerly, Headscratcher pointed to the bowls of eggs and mimed eating them. Lyonette blinked.
“What, you want them? Don’t you mind that they’ve been eaten?”
