I dashed through the fire with a scream,

The heat made the air twist and gleam.

My shoes nearly burned,

Yet onward I turned,

Chasing the end like a dream!

Goldie Honorhide.

Holding my aura steady as we moved through the ants was easy. If I had made it a bit wider than the road, the last wagons would have an easier time, and Makara wouldn't get so exhausted. I was pulsing Frigid Void regularly, and my energy levels were dropping.

What we didn't account for was the heat. The cool road after my Frigid Void quickly heated up again, and then ants moved again, and the heat rose again. Makara didn't have to put out many fires, but she had to keep the horses cool. She was continually moving up and down the wagons, spraying mist.

Once we punched through the leading edge of the fire ants, the numbers went down. The road collapsed in several places, but it was shallow hollows, and the wagons still crashed hard with the weight. The Carpenter was also constantly moving up and down the wagons as he had a skill to strengthen wood.

The heat was continuous and relentless. The ants were fewer, but they were larger and hotter. It was getting common to sense ants the size of house cats and occasionally bigger.

After the first hour, we lost a wagon when the axle broke. Everybody swarmed, unhitching the horses and emptying the light, but valuable goods. The heavy mining equipment would be left. I cooled a radius, but ants started coming at us faster and from various directions. We had to move fast. As we were rolling away, flames were licking the disabled wagon, and I saw ants crawling up the side.

A constant haze of smoke and heat restricted vision. My Clearsight levelled. It was ready to tip into Journeyman levels.

Felix stuck with me. Our Heat resistance levelled, but this was not pushing it from a temperature point of view, but from the length of time. I guess some smart people have figured out how much Spiritual energy the resistances stored per level, but I know it was getting low when I started getting hotter. That pushed it to another level.

We were drinking sparingly. The barrels of water on the wagon were for the horses and to put out fires. The thirst was starting to mount.

The horses were slowing. By the second hour, we were slowed back to our normal travelling speed, and the heat was constant and oppressive. It was like being on the edge of a bonfire for hours and hours, with no cooling breeze unless you caught the edge of Makara's mist. She was only using it on the horses' heads, and it was gone by the time they had passed through it.

The rear wagon caught alight during the third hour. I had been reducing the area of my aura to reduce the cost of Frigid Void. They put it out with their barrel of water, but it must have weakened a wheel, and it came apart, tipping the wagon.

That wagon belonged to an independent Merchant, and I could hear him yelling from the front of the caravan. We paused briefly, and the merchant wanted a new wheel to be put on. Borko could be very intimidating and they did the same to his wagon as they had the other.

Kevin was with the Cargomaster, noting what goods went where. Then we were off again, and the merchant scrambled to jump on a rear wagon or he would have been left behind. At least that shut him up briefly.

We really slowed on the incline. This was a rocky area with fewer ants and tunnels, so I actually slowed down Frigid Void and restored some energy. This was very much needed.

I actually earned an attribute in Spiritual Strength. I thought my days of earning attributes were basically over. You earn attributes by extreme effort, and that effort gets greater with the more attributes you have. I was putting in the effort.

Felix was also putting in the effort. He was feeding me energy, and when we stopped, he ran around the wagons, leaving a ring of frozen ground so I could rest. His Frigid Void moved into Apprentice.

When Makara came to water the front horses, my Hearing Aid heard her mutter, "I should have stayed in the ocean." I think she intended me to overhear. This must be her worst nightmare. Dry, constant heat is the exact opposite of her natural environment. She was using the barrels of water to lessen the energy her skills required. The water levels were getting lower. As she left I heard the grumble, "Reduced to watering fucking horses. I can't even ride the stupid things. I wonder what they taste like?"

Going downhill was even more problematic. Because the wagons are so heavily loaded, they need breaks so they don't get out of control and overrun the horses. Managing that was part of being a driver. However, everything was overheated and dry. The drivers had to use water in the barrels to cool the brakes so they worked. We didn't lose anymore wagons, but it was a close thing.

Kevin was running back and forth with instructions, ensuring the drivers had the help they needed from the guards and bringing back reports of how much water was left in the barrels. "The soles of my boots are nearly burned through," he said when he stopped for a moment by me. "I have Heat Resistance now, but there must be a better way of getting it than this nightmare." He doesn't need to know there are worse ways, like losing an eye through being an idiot.

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We were back on the rolling foothills and what used to be forest. The occasional stump is not totally burned away yet. These ants are devastating the environment.

"Half the horses are on the verge of collapse," the Beastmaster reported to the Caravan Master. "If we don't stop soon, we will lose everything."

Karen looked at me. I shook my head, "I am almost out. We stop, we burn."

She looked at Kevin. "All barrels are under a third, some under a quarter," he reported.

"Makara is almost dry," I added, but she knew that.

I looked at my skill list to see if I had anything to pull us through. I had Tremor, but that took Spiritual energy as well. I did have two spare Attribute Points. They were no good to me if we were dead. I put them both into Spiritual Strength. That helped a little.

"OK," said Caravan Master Karen, "Get the Guards ready. Hammers and Spears. We stop for twenty minutes, and the guards can earn their ride and keep us ant-free for twenty minutes. Spread those who can sense the tunnels around." She looked at Kevin, "Tell Borko. We stop in five." She looked at the Beast Master, "Twenty Minutes, no longer.' He nodded and left.

Kevin ran off.

"I can sense tunnels without using energy," I told her. Sure, it used some, but it wasn't much, and I had just been sitting here pulsing Frigid Void and trying to make it more efficient. It levelled, so that helped. I must admit I was looking forward to a break, but I just didn't think it would come. Thank you, horses.

Five minutes went by fast, and I blasted a small radius as we stopped. Guards were jumping off the carts and hitting the ground with hammers to try to find and collapse tunnels. A couple had senses to find them. Some ants were surfacing. Some were the larger cat-sized ones.

Felix and I jumped off the lead wagon and went ahead along the road. I jammed my spear in the ground, hard to reach a tunnel, and Felix started digging furiously.

"Pace yourself," I told him. "We are both dehydrated."

Two cat-sized ants emerged, and Felix attacked one as I jabbed my spear at the other. These were faster as well as bigger. I missed. It came at me, and I jabbed again, hearing Felix snarl behind me. It dodged again, but I was ready with teeth and claws. Foot claws to be precise, and I caught two of its legs under my clawed foot. It managed to bite me before my spear finished it.

I turned to look at Felix, and he was finishing his ant with a Crushing Bite. He had a small patch of burned fur on his leg and around his mouth. I guess we are both levelling our fire and heat Resistances here.

I move around to the side, sensing for tunnels and looking for ants. I stab a small one, and Felix chases another.

The guards are spread in a semicircle around the wagons, killing ants and looking for tunnels. The Beatsmaster and his helpers move through horses, and the Carpenter and his helpers inspect the wagons.

A small swarm emerge ahead of us, and we join the guards to kill them. This is starting to happen in other places and will get worse the longer we stay. Twenty minutes. Keep them away for twenty minutes. I don't know why Karen picked twenty minutes, but I assume it was the minimum the beastmaster needed.

Everybody is getting burned. I saw one guard being carried back to the wagons. They were still trying to put out the fire. I heard some grumbling against Karen, saying that she should have turned back rather than tried this. I ignored it. What's done is done, now we deal with what is before us.

The thirst was the worst. Both Felix and I were feeling it. I ended up following my team leader's lead and eating some ants for the liquid. I saw some guards stack the bodies to sell when we got to Jern, but I didn't care about that.

Borko was moving around the caravan, helping where needed. I saw Kevin following him. He had his sword out and, like the rest of us, was sporting burn marks, so he had seen some action. He was the one who wanted to come. I hope he is enjoying his trip.

Thirst. I grabbed an ant and used a Crushing Bite to break the carapace. Oops, it wasn't quite dead yet. It is now as I sucked the juce out of it. I heard Felix crunch down beside me.

The faint Spiritual energy is still there. I tried to collect it and make it mine, but I couldn't tell if I was successful.

I saw a guard throwing up with a burned face.

"He tried copying you and eating one," Kevin said.

It was a waste of moisture. Felix went over to lick up the vomit, but I drew the line there.

The swarms were starting to build. I stayed near the front of the caravan, and Karen was also out with a spear.

It was constant now, and I noticed the drivers putting out a fire, so something must have gotten through. It wasn't through us.

Spear thrust, Stomp, Quick Claw, Crushing Bite. I hope I am not going to be shitting fire after this. I bet I am, aren't I? Thrust. Stomp, Quick Claw, boot it back. Oh, it got stuck on my foot claws. Scrape it off and kill it.

I am getting burned regularly, and my Fire Resistance is rising. So is my Pain Resistance.

Felix has a lot of fur burned away, but I think his Fire Resistance is starting to catch up, and his technique is getting better. He goes in from the side or the rear now and is getting burned less.

"Five Minutes till the Wagons roll!" came the yell.

I checked my energy levels. They had steadily risen. It wasn't full by any means, but it was a lot better. It was still going to be a long five minutes.

"Two Minutes till the wagons Roll!"

Stab, claw, bite.

"Ivan! Retreat!"

I fell back to the lead wagon.

"Everybody withdraw!"

I looked at Felix. He knew what I wanted, and he ran off doing a circuit of Frigid Void to slow the ants as we got underway.

"Wagons Roll!"

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