Chapter 577 Silent Halls
You might think it would be challenging to operate in a territory administered by ants. Indeed, I have heard many express such sentiments, going so far as to insinuate that I'm suffering from an affliction of the mind when I tell them otherwise. Any attempt to explain on my part is waved away as the ravings of a lunatic. Good thing they'll still trade, even if they refuse to engage in proper discourse. Gold forged by ants is still gold, as it turns out.
It just made so much sense! It took a little adjusting to, of course, but once I did, my business began to thrive! Perhaps I had an edge in that department, as I was far quicker to accept the new status quo than many of my competitors. The bribes? The under the table deals? Gone, overnight. You can't bribe an ant! There were many who tried, only to stand rather awkwardly, a purse covertly extended in one hand as a giant insect stared back at them, uncomprehending. The entire concept of commerce was foreign to their society. They didn't sell, or buy, or trade in any way, but once they understood the fundamental nature of it: fair compensation in exchange for goods and services, then they decided to ensure that that's what would happen! Any merchant who failed to see the light was hurt in the simplest and most profound way possible: crippling fines.
Overcharging? Half your business gone, overnight. Fraudulent goods? Half, vanished. Repeat offenders were out of business in a week. No matter how they tried to conceal their shoddy dealings, the ants always sniffed them out. They wailed and gnashed their teeth as they appealed to the council, but the ants didn't care. Why would they? When it was suggested that the penalties might be too onerous, they were genuinely puzzled and rejected any compromise. Since the seized materials were immediately and efficiently distributed to the poor in the city, there was a blossoming of support amongst the people for the new administrators.
Thus, a new playing field was created for the merchant Class. A place administered by uncorruptible, brutally fair and somehow almost omniscient creatures who questioned the very existence of business. With such dramatic drops in costs, the ants insisted the savings be passed on, 'fair' compensation, after all. The drop in prices allowed many who could never access my goods to now become customers, and the volumes I moved rose and rose.
For an honest businessman, nothing is better than working for ants!
Excerpt from "Letter to Bilanan of Tulson" by the merchant Chulo of Rylleh"
----------------------------------------
It takes the Colony a few hours to search through the entire city thoroughly. Every building, every mansion, every room and every cellar is opened for insect inspection. Sometime during the process word comes back from the force the Queen led to the Legion fort informing us that it was empty. Not a single soul was found inside the walls. What's more, papers, documentation, cores, rare materials, all gone. Several forges and workshops were scraped entirely clean, not a piece of wire or pliers left behind to indicate what they may have been working on in there.
It's clear that they realised we were coming in advance and wiped clean all traces of themselves and their technology from the fort before abandoning it. How much notice would they have needed to pull that off? A day? Two? Did they realise what was happening once we began testing the defences around the city, or did they have some other means of detecting our presence? The possibility also exists that they were recalled in preparation for an assault on another front after receiving a call for aid from the golgari.
No matter which of those situations turns out to be true, it doesn't bode well for us. The gates were found within the fort, just as captain Wallace had suggested they would be, and were summarily taken apart and returned to the nest for further study. Lending further credence to his words, no other gates were found anywhere in the city, not even in the largest and most wealthy looking abodes. In this city at least, running a private gateway appears to have been too expensive to justify.
With our immediate mission complete and the safety of the Colony secured for the short term, the Colony begins to move out of the city. The headache of having to administer the city as part of the colony's territory also begins to make itself known as Beyn enters into negotiations on our behalf. He arranges for a full meeting of the Rylleh city council in the next day, decreeing how many ants will remain in the city and where they should go, what the guardsmen will be allowed to do and not do. It's a nightmare that I simply don't have the attention to detail to handle.
Besides that, I have my own council meeting to attend. We need to decide what the next steps are going to be given the conquest of the city has gone according to our best case scenario.
"We still have no idea where they're going to come for us from," Sloan grumbles.
"At least we can be confident that it isn't going to be from here. Which means the expansion and construction of the new nests can proceed," Tungstant sounds pleased at the prospect.
"I agree, we need to expand," I say, "not just across the second strata either. We can't afford to be ignoring any resource. We need more surface nests and to grow our reach in the first strata also. The more territory we can balloon into, the sooner we'll know where they're coming from."
The council reacts with muted surprise at my words. I suppose they didn't expect me to be advocating for reckless expansion.
"We can do that, Eldest. It steps our timetable forward a bit, but we can do it," Cobalt says.
"We also need to expand down," I tell them firmly, "there's a good chance that even though the first and second strata in this area are largely abandoned, that the richer territory beneath us is likely to have been claimed. There'll be more cities with gates, and races like the golgari, who've made their civilisation in the depths of the Dungeon. I think the direction of the attack will come from below."
"Pushing down is dangerous," Victor warns me, "the Colony doesn't know enough of what goes on down there."
"That's why I need to go," I say and before they can protest and I continue, "not on my own, not this time. I'll take Vibrant and her team, and I'll have my new protectors along for the ride."
I glare at Advant and she wilts a little.
"We need to send the strongest we have to uncover as much as we can, as quickly as possible. This is the best way to get the job done. I don't intend to take any unnecessary risks, but in my view, Dungeon exploration is key to our survival. Not only because of what we can learn, but because we need to continue to level up and evolve our people if we want to survive."
Myself, Tiny, Crinis and Invidia are still the strongest non-Queens in the Colony and we need to continue to power ourselves up to meet the threats that will face us. We can't be everywhere at once, so others need to step up with us, Vibrant being the obvious next choice.
"I advise that we push for further integration with the human village," Coolant interjects. "They've proven that they can be useful to be our face when we interact with non-Dungeon spawn and I think it would be wise to continue to do so."
I'm a little shocked to hear this coming from ... not me. The rest of the council are happy to include humans?
"I agree," Ellie speaks up, "many of our advancements have come from interacting with those people, I'm sure there's still a lot we can learn. We could look at establishing new villages alongside each of our surface nests, to ensure that there's always someone to 'talk for us'."
"That's a greater level of cooperation than we anticipated embracing," Advant sounds unconvinced, "would they really be willing to accept such a thing? Where would we even find the people to populate new villages? They don't seem to be able to increase their numbers like we do."
The rest of the council nod as they consider this massive failing of the human race. I can't help but laugh inside. Yes, they aren't producing hundreds of new children every day like we are, it doesn't quite work like that for them! More's the pity, if we could churn out devoted human helpers at even ten per day, it would be a serious help.
"I'll scatter the scouts and get them ranging away from the nests, we'll shoot for as wide an area of coverage as possible," Burke tells the group. "With any luck, we'll be able to catch them coming a long way out."
"I'll lead a team toward the golgari territory," Wills offers, "they'll most likely come through that area."
"We should meet back at the main nest in around a week. Does that seem reasonable to everyone?" Sloan asks.
None of the members take any issue with that, and so the various council members disperse. Vibrant hops towards me, full of energy.
"Hey-hey! Ready to go and explore! Just like old times! I hope we go fast, we'll go fast right? Lots of ground to cover after all! Let's go, go, go!"
I'm already regretting this...
-x-X-x-
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"Dammit, Vibrant! NO! It's going to take us a while to get there, okay?! We're moving as fast as we can already. We can't go any faster than this. Just think of something else to talk about!"
A moment of blessed, blessed silence descends amongst our group as we run through the tunnels. My pets and I are all here, along with Vibrant and her whole posse, several hundred ants at this point, as well as my twenty 'shadow helpers.' This is the advance group of powerful troops that I've chosen to take on a push further into the depths of the Dungeon. A special mission, in a sense. If the warning given to me by Corun and Torrina is true, then there's likely to be more settlements, cities, probably larger ones than Rylleh, below us. My suspicion is that the next closest path of attack is likely to be from deeper in the third strata or perhaps even in the fourth. The Colony needs to get its eyes as deep as possible and we will be the vanguard of that.
I still feel a little useless. Although I think this work is necessary and that we're the best group in the Colony for the job, I have to say that the real work, of building the nests, rearing the young, developing the culture and taming new territory, you know, actually constructing the kingdom of the Colony, is being left for the others. We're just off to fight and snoop around. It kind of fees strange to consider my family as now large enough, and powerful enough, to be taking territory and building something that is closer to a nation than a family. But hey, hard to keep a good ant down. Can't really fault them for being the industrious, powerful and all around awesome collective of kick-ass insects. They gonna do what they gonna do.
As the Eldest, it's my duty to oversee and support them as they grow! Not to inhibit their dreams and desires!
"Are we there yet?"
"GAH! Vibrant! Aren't you evolved now? All grown? You're a leader, you have your squad that follows you around and all that? You have a position on the council! How the heck are you still this impatient?!"
"What do you mean? I've always been like this! Why? Do you think there's some reason for me to change? I've just kept on doing things the way I've always done them! It's been working out okay!"
I eye her sceptically. She's still this casual and cavalier, yet things have been working out alright? Somehow I'm doubting that. I take a moment to have a look at the group of ants that is dutifully following along in their leader's wake. If Vibrant actually hasn't changed from the hyper-energetic, impulsive and enthusiastic ant that I recall, how the heck are any of these Colony members still alive?!
One of the smaller ants trailing along behind us appears to nod her head a little at my words before catching herself and checking to make sure Vibrant hasn't noticed. Vibrant, of course, hasn't, as she's too busy nattering on and flicking her antennae in every direction as new scents make themselves known to her. Sigh. I honestly thought she'd grown past this stage. Perhaps all the organs and mutations she has that emphasise speed are just making her experience moments of relatively normal movement as painfully slow? I mean, we're all running right now, but there's no doubt that she could speed ahead of us with ease should she choose to do so.
"Well, what have you been doing lately? I can see that your group has grown in size again. How do you recruit members, anyway? They just show up out of the blue?"
"Uhhh, where's the blue? This place is pretty dark, is this the black? The mana in the first strata is blue! Do you mean they come from the first strata? I suppose so since that's where we're all raised. Not me though! I spent a lot of time on the surface when I was a hatchling, didn't I? I mean, I don't need to tell you that, you were there too. Well, not all the time, but you know what I mean."
"I do."
This is exhausting.
"No, it's just a saying that refers to... never mind. Where do they come from?"
"Oh well, I don't know really. They approach me and ask if they can join the group and I always say yes, because, why not? We're ants, after all! We're happier and more effective the more of us are around!"
She says that as if it were just common sense and I suppose for ants it is. I can think of a lot of humans who didn't necessarily enjoy the company of other people. I mean, as a human I frequently tried to get people to enjoy my company, but I don't think I could say I was successful. I mean, my parents certainly didn't like spending time with me, given the whole abandonment thing. I guess not all humans enjoy company? Personally, the ant vibe is good, now that I'm more accustomed to it. The more of my siblings there are, the more comfortable I feel.
"So you don't have any criteria or anything? Everyone is welcome?"
"Yep-yep!"
I turn my attention toward the smaller ant I noticed behind us and she tenses immediately, not expecting me to focus on her.
"So tell me, what made you want to follow Vibrant?"
I mean, I know that Vibrant is a champion monster, as they're described by the humans. Individuals born with higher stats, better evolutions and a strange capacity for leadership that attracts others towards them. To my knowledge, another champion is yet to be born in the Colony, but it's only a matter of time. The more we understand them and the way they work, the better we can make use of their talents.
The ant, a general by the look of her, considers my question seriously for a moment before she answers.
"I felt that aiding and assisting Vibrant would be the best outcome for the Colony and for myself. I believe I made the right choice, considering all that we've been able to achieve."
Good answer. Vibrant and her team have been in the hottest and most active areas of the Colony's expansion, for sure. Not to mention the role they played in extracting my butt from the fire after I was captured. Interesting that she put forward that she was motivated by a 'feeling'. Was that inspired by the mysterious champion quality that Vibrant possesses?
[Massssster.]
[Oh. What's up Invidia? You sense something?]
[I foundsss an expansssssse. I crave its secretss!]
[And you'll get 'em chief!]
Not that you'll be satisfied...
"Hey, Vibrant. Invidia says he's found an expanse nearby."
"Yay-yay! Let's gooooo!"
And she's off.
"I didn't tell you WHERE! HEY?!"
-x-X-x-
Any person of sufficient courage, who has walked the Dungeon long enough to know its pain and glory, will come to hunger for the power that is buried at the root of this world.
Words attributed to Gaius Magnus, founding member of the Legionem Abyssi
We're moving in. It feels nice, in a way, to be boldly adventuring where no ant has gone before alongside my fellow Colony members. We creep toward the powerful flow of mana that Invidia has sensed, making short work of any monster that happens to pop up in our way. I almost feel sorry for the critters as they're set upon by dozens of ants before I even get my mandibles open. I could push my way to the front, but somehow I don't feel it's appropriate for me to hog all the experience for myself. The Colony is going to need other powerful members, that's why I brought Vibrant and her group here to begin with. Which reminds me...
"PROTECTANT!"
Vibrant and the other ants around me all twitch in surprise as I flood the tunnel with pheromones. Vibrant in particular has a quizzical tilt to her antennae as she looks at me. If I'm guessing correctly, she probably had nothing to do with the plan to put twenty baby sitters around me. Even if they discussed it in front of her, I doubt Vibrant would have been interested enough to follow along. This sort of scheming is completely not her style.
I wait for two minutes before I decide to call again.
"GET OUT HERE PROTECTANT OR I SWEAR I'LL GET THE COUNCIL TO REASSIGN YOU TO GUARDING LEEROY!"
It only takes a few seconds for her to appear over my head, clinging to the roof of the tunnel. She looks a little sulky and I feel a little bad for my threat.
"This isn't supposed to be part of how we operate, Eldest," she says.
She's lucky I can't roll my eyes.
"Oh, I know all about Operation Silent Shield. Gawd. I called you here because I need to make sure you understand something. The council, Advant, Sloan, even the Queen, are not the ones who tell you how to do this job. I do. If we can work together, then we'll all have happier lives and more safety than if I have to keep guessing what it is you're going to do."
She remains silent and watchful as I speak and I can almost hear the gears turning in her head and she thinks over my words.
"If you're thinking of activating some stupid protocol that you were taught where you pretend to cooperate with me but just keep doing things the way they told you, I'm going to be super annoyed."
Twitch.
She's so easy to read. Perhaps it's because she's so used to not being seen at all? If nobody can see her, or doesn't notice her, what would be the point of learning to control your reactions? A blind spot in their training.
"Look, all I want to say for now is that you need to be careful before you jump out of nowhere and take a hit for me. You're no use to anyone dead. In this expanse I just want you lot to pick around the edges and secure some xp and Biomass for yourselves."
She looks at me steadily for a moment.
"That's not really what we were trained to do, Eldest."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're meant to live the most sacrificial lives in the history of the Colony. Always on duty, never resting, never a moment of peace. It's all super noble and everything, but let me ask you this question. If I evolve and I'm tier six, whilst you're all still tier four, what exactly are you going to protect me from that I can't handle myself?"
...
I let that thought sit in the air as Protectant digests it before I dismiss her with a flick of my antenna. She gratefully fades away into the darkness to join her fellows and I feel Crinis stir on my abdomen.
[Problem, Crinis?]
[I don't like the way these newcomers have tried to take your security as their responsibility.]
[It's not something that I chose, or something that they chose. We may as well make sure they're useful, since they're here. Not to worry, I still consider you my real last line of defence.]
HRK!
Letting her emotions get the better of her, Crinis dang near puts a crack in my carapace by gripping on too tight. Trying to push the discomfort from my mind, I push forward with the others and before long we arrive at the entrance of this new expanse. The pure, dark mana flows into our faces and wraps around us as the ground drops away beneath our feet. In front of us a vast space opens up, the shadow mana so thick that it swirls in massive currents, like rope coiling around itself. The largest detail that really hits home is that the whole place is covered in webs. Giant webs. Monstrous, mountainous webs. Clinging to the gaps between the strands of the huge web, are just more webs! What the heck is this place?!
"That looks nasty," Vibrant complains, her antennae twitching with disgust as she looks out onto the mess that awaits us.
"I bet half of it's poisoned as well���" I mutter.
The air amongst the group has certainly fallen, except for with Tiny. The big ape is positively grinning, his eyes blazing with a fierce light as his fists clench at his sides.
[You want to get revenge, eh big fella?] I ask him.
He nods vigorously and bellows as he slams his chest.
[SMASH!] he roars in my mind.
A word! An actually properly formed word! I mean, if there was going to be one word that he got right, it was going to be that one!
[Good stuff Tiny!, we'll get in there and tear those stupid webs to shreds!]
"Come on, team! This is a chance to strike a blow against the foul arachnid menace and ensure they remember for all time the superiority of the insect! For the colony!"
"FOR THE COLONY!"
"Down with the arachnids!"
"FOR THE COLONY!"
Close enough. Our group pushes forward into the expanse and immediately begins to descend, scaling the rocky wall and making sure to avoid the webs where they connect to the stone. We hear the chittering and clacking of hateful spiders in the darkness as we move, but we ignore them all. Their time will come, but not yet. Our conquest of this expanse is going to come from the territory where we are superior, the ground. Making our way up into the nightmare tangle of webs will come later, after we test and ensure the safety of the footing.
-x-X-x-
The floor of this particular expanse is quite similar to the last one I was in. Long fronds of those spined weed like plants that drift and bend with the flow of shadow mana in the air. The stone coral is also present, but the huge strands of web that are anchored to the rock dominate the space that we can see. I can detect flickers of mana in just about every direction, monsters huddling away from this new invasion of their space. An interesting point is that I can feel mana flowing through the massive webs I can see also. The spiders that made these must be similar to the one that poisoned Tiny.
"Be careful of the webs," I warn everyone around me, "there's shadow mana infused inside."
There are a few mages in Vibrant's group and they quickly busy themselves running over to the nearest web and investigate it, their antennae quivering with eagerness.
[You watch yourself,] I say to Tiny, [I don't know if you're immune to the influence of that mana or not, but I don't see any reason to take a chance, do you?]
The big ape looks mad but he shakes his head with a grimace. The pain of having your insides constantly eaten away seems to have made a lasting impression on him. Since his evolution, I'm pretty sure he would be at the very least, resistant to the effects of that mana, but we have absolutely no reason to push our luck.
[Any chance I can send you out on a scouting mission?] I ask Crinis.
[No.]
Haaah.
[Fine. I guess we'll just hold here for a moment as we get our bearings. Invidia! Let's do some practice!]
The magical skills grind is never ending and today is no exception. Invidia practices his shields, forming barriers out of hardened mana in the air as I blast them with whatever element I happen to be practicing. That, or we engage in mind magic duels, which I almost always lose. I think that once I manage to evolve again, I'll be able to have the raw power to keep up with him. If I combine higher stats with sufficient mind magic ability to create those mental constructs that he uses, I might even be able to come out ahead!
For now I work on my fire magic. I know that it's effective against these stupid spiders and their webs so I want to ensure I'm well practiced with my constructs. The fire bolt, fire spear, even the fire domain might come in handy in this place. The fire domain is a little tricky to use though. My allies and pets aren't affected by the flames of the domain itself, but since it produces such ridiculous amounts of heat, that it tends to set everything around it on fire and those flames can absolutely burn my allies, as Tiny found out. Considering how flammable these spiders have proven to be, the use of the domain might be questionable.
Vibrant, being who she is, doesn't share my patience and decides to lead a group to scout the surrounding area, screaming at me about how she'll 'just take a quick look!'. Naturally, she returns ten minutes later with the severed pieces of a monster gripped in her mandibles.
"Eldest! Look at what I found!"
"Did you 'find' it, or did you chase it down and bite it until it questioned its life choices?"
"One of those! Yes!"
The creature itself appears to be some sort of scorpion? Hardened carapace (of an inferior sort) in segments that support a powerful looking tail. When I take a closer look at the barbed point of that tail, I notice an interesting detail.
"Did this thing shoot barbs from its tail?" I ask Vibrant.
"Oh, yeah! They were fast, too! I mean, not fast fast, like me, but quick!"
I thought so. The musculature at the tip is oddly shaped and way too bulky for just stabbing. Looks like it's all attached to some sinew which acts as a launching mechanism. The barbs themselves are probably formed deeper in the tail so there's a ready stock of ammunition. Seeing the claws and tail is bringing up some bad memories for me. If those damn centipedes pop up in here then this expanse is going to experience the full measure of my wrath.
Still, this is evidence that there's more than just one type of arachnid making a home here in this expanse. The eight legged menace has truly gained a strong foothold in this cursed place! I can tell from the ants around me that they too are burning with outrage and disgust at the appearance of these wrong things. It's time to go to war!
"Enough waiting, we'll leave the webs for later. For now, we can sweep around this area and clean up anything that we can get our mandibles on! If it has the wrong number of legs, it is to be destroyed without mercy!"
[Come on guys, let's get hunting.]
Without further ado, teams of ants, a very excited Vibrant and my group swarm out into the darkness. Acting as coordinated units, the native monsters are unable to put up much resistance before our onslaught. I have fun operating twin flame throwers and roasting whatever gets in front of me as Crinis performs her dark work and Tiny punches everything into pieces. For his part, Invidia acts as the perfect support mage, shielding and healing whilst unleashing his potent disruptive capabilities of illusion and bewilderment.
The monsters we find are, for the most part, more of the scorpion variety, though we do start to come across some spiders. Nimble creatures of shadow and death, they constantly try to launch sneak attacks, creeping from the dark with their glistening mandibles ready to puncture our defences. With Crinis and Invidia on the lookout, they never had much chance, but when we regroup it's clear that a few of Vibrant's squad weren't so lucky.
[Invidia, see what you can do to heal them.]
[Yessss. I sssshall takess their suffering!]
[Good stuff.]
There are already healer ants picking over the wounded, but Invidia has a lot more oomph when it comes to magic.
"Stupid sneaky spiders!" Vibrant complains, "jumping out of the shadows like that!"
She's fussing over the injured as she declares her disgust for the deplorable stealth tactics of the enemy.
"This is their hunting method. No point complaining about it, we just need to come up with countermeasures. What have we learned?"
"Well, there's a lot, and I mean a lot of monsters out there. They look like they're trying to give us a run for our money in the numbers department, Eldest! They're dumb and like creeping up from behind, which works super good here in the dark, and they can jump down from those webs! The scorpion things are also around, but they're not much trouble. Their barbs are poisoned though."
"Oh, how do you know?"
"I'm poisoned right now."
...
"Medic!"
-x-X-x-
Thanks to our advanced medical techniques, or at least, advanced compared to how primitive they were before, our wounded compatriots are back on their feet in a relatively short amount of time.
"Let me up!"
Ah, the truly wondrous cooperation that members of the same colony can display. It's heart-warming.
"I won't run! This time!"
The collective and unselfish nature of the ant is a marvel of nature. The healers see to their injured siblings not only with care and dedication, but true joy, as they fulfill their chosen purpose and dedicate their labour to the glory of our family.
"Eldest! I'll be good!"
Over here we have a slightly different example. An ant being sat on by a giant gorilla because she refused to sit still whilst the poison she readily admitted to coursing through her veins was expunged. How impatient can you get?! Too impatient to be healed of frickin' poison?! There's a limit! Luckily, Invidia was on the ball and before Vibrant had managed to get up a full head of steam, she ran mandibles first into a barrier which stunned her long enough for Tiny to latch onto her leg. After a brief wrestle that she was destined to lose, I asked Tiny to ensure she remained still for the rest of her treatment, so he sat on her. For some reason, she's chosen to persistently complain about this eminently satisfactory outcome.
"What is the problem, Vibrant? You are poisoned. You are getting healed. Because you couldn't sit still long enough for that to happen, you are being pressed to the ground by ape butt. None of this should be confusing to you!"
"I'm booooored!"
"WHO CARES?!"
"Oh! Me! Me!"
"THAT WAS RHETORICAL!"
GAH! I'm going to burst a valve or something.
"Just be sat on until we get the all clear and next time don't get bit, alright?"
We haven't even gotten up into the vast tangle of webs above our heads, the true home territory of this gang of spiders, and already we're having trouble with tactics. If we constantly have to stop and purge poison from amongst the ranks, then we'll have a slow time of it indeed. If we get jumped by a swarm with half of our members out of action due to poisoning... I'd be fine, more likely than not, but the regular ants with us wouldn't be so lucky. The objective here is to level up Vibrant's squad, not get them wiped out.
"Do we have any generals around here?"
One of the ants nearby raises an antenna in response to my question.
"Yes, Eldest. I'm Emilia, one of Vibrant's generals."
This is the ant I saw on the way here, running along at Vibrant's heels.
"Emilia? She named you?"
"She's named most of us, Eldest."
The general sounds proud of the fact, which is fine. I never claimed to have some divine right to name all ants, it's just curious that Vibrant would take it on herself to hand out names. I wonder why she did. Just because I did? That seems unlikely. Perhaps now that the ants know about the concept of names, they're beginning to grow fond of the idea? I think I'd like that, if it were true. I mean, technically we'd all have the same last name, being descended from the same individual. And it appears we may have finally reached the stage where the word 'ant' doesn't have to feature in every name.
"Alright then, Emilia. I think we should mix up our strategy for our next outing. Mages in every group, light up the area to reduce sneak attack opportunities, scouts with eyes on the sky. Keep the groups close together in case the flames attract too much attention. We can shut off the fire and work on clearing out the mess. Also, do we have any core shapers in this group?"
Emilia looks at me a little confused for a moment.
"We do, Eldest. But why are you telling me this?"
"So, we can... so we can do the things I've suggested?"
"We follow Vibrant."
Oh really?! Interesting! They are in fact loyal to Vibrant in such a direct way that they won't do what I tell them, just because I tell them to? That's neat! Far from being frustrated or mad about it, I feel somewhat happy. Finally, some people who won't just do everything I say! Having everyone following my instructions is beyond weird, given my previous life. As a human, I don't think anyone did what I suggested even once...
At any rate, this situation is an easy enough fix.
"Hey Vibrant, should Emilia do what I said?"
"Will you let me up?!"
"Sure."
"Do it, Emmy!"
[Tiny, let her up.]
[Haaah.]
The big ape almost seems a little disappointed at having to relinquish his comfortable seat. Freed from the rather burdensome weight the gorilla posed, Vibrant springs to her feet and immediately dashes around in a blistering circle.
"Ahhh! I need to move my legs! All six are cramping!"
"Vibrant!"
"Yep-yep!" she cheerfully replies without stopping her sprint.
"Sit down and let the healers finish checking you or I'll get Crinis to hold you down this time!"
"Crin-Crin wouldn't do that!"
"Wanna bet?"
"What's a bet?"
"SIT!" I flood the area with a roar of pheromones which are apparently just persuasive enough to make Vibrant stop running. "Now, what did you think of my idea?"
"Hmm? Ah! I thought it sounded good! We're best suited for high speed fighting though, so I think we should make sure every group keeps moving! I can stay in the middle and help out where I need. I can be there in a flash!"
"That's... actually a good idea."
Vibrant and her squad are just as she said, specialised in moving, hit and run style fights. After joining her squad, most of the members have taken at least one mutation to enhance their speed and train their dashing skills relentlessly. When her generals evolved to tier four, they unanimously chose a speed or agility aura power to supplement their existing combat aura. The result is an incredibly mobile force that does its best work on the run.
"Alright then Vibrant, we'll do it as you've suggested, how does that sound, Emilia?"
The tier four general salutes with one antenna toward Vibrant and then me.
"I'll see it done!"
She quickly scuttles off to arrange things with the other generals of the group and before long teams are being reforged and more detailed movement plans being discussed. I only have one more thing I need to organise before I'm ready to go.
"Protectant, make sure you and your team secure experience and Biomass during this outing. I want a full report when we're done."
...
"Understood."
The message is barely a whisper against my antennae and the ant herself refuses to step out of hiding, but it appears I've gotten my point across. There is a metric boatload of spiders in this expanse, should be enough experience for all of us! In fact, the numbers make me curious if all of these eight-legged beasties are spawned, or if a giant spider momma exists in this expanse and has taken over the place. The truly giant, kilometres high web seems to suggest that a big ol' spider is living in here somewhere. If she's laying eggs, then a ridiculous population of young would make perfect sense. Perhaps if I eat and get a few profiles I might get an answer to that question. Although spiders don't produce at quite the same prodigious rate as ants, they can lay up to a thousand eggs in a single clutch, depending on the species. That's a pittance compared to say, army ant queens, who lay around three-hundred thousand per day, but spiders are usually a lot more capable on their own than a single ant. Heck, army ants are pretty much blind, and the workers are tiny. Not that it matters with those sorts of numbers.
Imagine if my colony was producing three hundred thousand new hatchlings every day... Yeesh. It'd get out of control pretty darn fast.
-x-X-x-
Our second outing is less experimental and much better planned than the first. Ants spread throughout the surrounding terrain in a spiral pattern, mages burning bright flames that illuminate the area and chase the shadows back, exposing the creeping spiders that seek to approach from the dark. Just as it did when I was fishing for monsters with Tiny and Crinis, the hated light brings down more creatures who seek to extinguish the painful spark and before long the surrounding area is filled with hissing and spitting. From the shadows all around and overhead, the arachnids come running, their eight claws click-clacking on the surfaces they crawl on. Without the benefit of striking from the shadows, the ants see them coming and respond like the well-disciplined troops that they are. Barrages of acid and magic wound the enemy from range, slowing them enough that nimble scouts and soldiers can easily duck in and out, biting and tearing with their mandibles before darting away.
Always fighting, always moving, that's the way Vibrant likes to do battle.
My pets and I stay on the ground, but we strike out from the main group. Every now and again I flare a bright blast of fire into the air in an attempt to draw away a portion of the monsters descending on the ants and into our own monster blending apparatus. Crinis has detached herself from my back, for once, and joined the others on the front lines to help deal with the onrushing horde of skittering beasts. The spiders and scorpions come in all shapes and sizes, some of them clearly tier one, but strangely, many more are higher. I suppose the weaker are either killed off quickly or ascend once we get this deep.
[Invidia! Scorpions on the left!]
[I sssseeee them alllll!]
A barrier snaps into being just as the damn pinchy beats unleash another salvo of their damned spines. The projectiles hurtle through the air with incredible force, whistling as they pierce the space between us. They crunch into the demon's barrier with a sound like fracturing glass and I'm genuinely not sure if it's the barrier or the spines that have broken. The damn things hit hard. Not hard enough to break through my splendid carapace, of course, but hard enough that the impacts sent a shudder through my body.
If they hit Tiny? They'd rip through the muscle bound idiot. The poison wouldn't really matter once his soft, tender flesh was taken into account. Ah well, good thing he has Invidia backing him up and a kind, diligent master to pick up after him.
Eat flame throwers!
Twin jets of blue flame burst out from before my mandibles, roasting the damned arachnids where they stand. The creatures clack their claws and try to run, but I keep the fire trained on them until they collapse to one side, cooked to perfection. Of course, the sudden flare of light only brings more of the damned things down on our heads, but it's all fun and games.
[You have slain level 24 (III) Sagitta Scorpionem.]
[You have gained experience.]
A little bit of experience never went down the wrong way. Going to take a heck of a lot more to evolve if all I get to fight are tier threes though. I'm fairly confident there are much higher tier monsters above our heads right now. Maybe a few fives, perhaps a six? No more than that, though. I doubt a seven could manage in the mana here, certainly not at peak condition.
The skittering menace is really starting to mount up at this point. Dozens of the sneaky beggars are angrily snipping their fangs as they scramble down through the coral and leap from their webs. Normally I wouldn't worry about these sorts of numbers, but we have to be cautious due to the venom they possess. Which means we need to deploy excessive measures.
[Tiny! Invidia! Let's see the light show!]
[HHHURRRRRAAAAAAAA!]
[I'll take their soullsssssss!]
[... Can you actually do that?]
I don't get a response from the little demon as he's already focused on unleashing his special combination attack with attack. I say special, really it's just the two of them going nuts with the largest power output they can manage in a short time frame. In practical terms, that means Tiny unfurls his wings and leaps into the air, lightning crackling all over his frame with such intensity I can barely stand to look at him. After charging up the voltage for a few seconds, he lets it rip and unleashes twisting ribbons of sizzling electricity in the air around him. The bolts seek to ground themselves through the nearest monsters, who quickly find themselves attracting far more lightning than they'd like to see. As he does this, Invidia begins to do what I haven't let him do since I reconstituted him, which is charge up his eye laser. Explosions rock the stone around us as the envy demon weaves his magic of destruction, all the while his one eye grows more and more bulbous and luminous. It isn't long before it starts to feel as if we have a bright green lamp of extreme power beaming out into the dark. Being the crafty little demon he is, Invidia lines up the maximum number of spiders he can before he finally unloads the spell.
It's just as destructive as I remember, shredding through stone, spiders, scorpions and everything else that happens to get in the way of it. Invidia himself delights in the destruction, wiggling his stick-thin arms over his eye and his too-small wings flap and flutter to keep him aloft. Between the two of them, we manage to clear away the swarm of monsters that was descending on us, but naturally the incredibly bright nature of their efforts, we've only called down another wave.
[Crinis, time to go to work.]
[Yes, master!]
Hey bubbly, chipper tone completely at odds with the grisly nature of her fighting style, Crinis begins to unfold herself even further, extending tentacle after tentacle out into the gloom around us. The descending spiders find themselves caught in an altogether different sort of web, one that coils and twists, that grips and squeezes. If that were all it did, it wouldn't be so bad. But no, after that point the barbs come out, followed by the tearing and grinding. Mere tier three creatures have little hope of standing up to Crinis, not unless their numbers were truly absurd. I still need to unleash the odd jet of flame, usually at monsters coming toward us from across the ground, but Crinis takes care of the majority of the monsters above over the next five minutes.
Even though I can't see everything that goes on up there, I can hear the spiders start running away in terror, so I can take a guess at what it was like.
[Uh, good job, Crinis.]
[Thank you, master!]
So saying, she gathers herself into a blob of pure darkness once more and drops down onto my abdomen, glomping onto my carapace once more and making herself at home.
[Oof! Alright then. Let's start a slow retreat back to the group and see how we all went.]
With my pets in tow, I begin to retrace our steps back toward the agreed meeting point. There are still many monsters about in the darkness and we deal with them as they appear. A lot of precious Biomass is left behind as we do this, but I'm hoping that we'll be back to collect it before it dissolves back into the Dungeon. It's more important that our little strike force get together and assess our progress than spending time gobbling down food. There'll be plenty of time for that later!
Before long, I run into Vibrant and her group, already running through the numbers and assessing the situation. Well, her generals are doing that. Vibrant herself is running around between groups of ants, checking everyone is well, asking if they need help and generally sticking her antennae into everyone else's business.
"Vibrant!"
"Eldest! Hi-hi! How'd you go fighting the nasty things?!"
"Uh, well, I suppose. How about you and your team?"
"We did good! Really good!"
Somehow I doubt she has the numbers to back that statement up.
"Alright then. Let's go through it...."
-x-X-x-
Deep beneath the surface, under layers of rock and stone, burned a flame that had never been seen on Pangera before. No ordinary flame, this. It did not burn, yet its heat was unbearable. Had no colour, yet glowed bright with the light of molten steel. Made no sound, yet contained the ringing of a thousand hammers on a thousand anvils. The flame of insect industry had roared to life within the Colony of Formica Sapiens and its intensity grew day by day such that should it continue unchecked, it would consume all the world.
The Eldest had commanded his siblings to look upon the humans, on their sciences, skills and craft, and learn from them. The Colony had done, as they always did, their utmost to comply. No effort was spared, no question left unasked and every observation was discussed, disseminated and dissected so that every kernel of wisdom would be extracted. The blacksmithing trade was one that the Colony had initially dismissed. What need had they for tools? Their mandibles could dig better than any spade! Cut rock better than any pick! Not only that, what need had the ants of swords, spears or axes? Their bodies were not soft and weak, like the humans were. The opposite was true! Where the humans sought to compensate for their sagginess with more solid materials, the ants were already armed and armoured from birth! What need had they for metal?
Yet, there were other concerns. Many valuable minerals could be found in the Dungeon. If the Colony learned to extract and refine them, trade became possible. As knowledge of construction grew, the ability to manipulate metals became more valuable. As Skills at finer manipulations were uncovered and levelled up, more detailed metal work was possible. Suddenly the ant smiths were called upon to make brackets, fittings, moulds and pins for any number of widgets. Yet the initial assessment still rang true within the Colony: they did not need smiths to forge arms nor armour.
The crafter startled from her torpor and began to drag her antennae through her elbows for a clean, still feeling groggy. Ever since she'd evolved to tier four her rest just hadn't been the same. Antennae clean, she began to pick over herself in the way that only insects would recognise. A fastidious need for cleanliness was born into all the ants of the Colony, and it never left them, no matter how intelligent they had become. Her first task of the day complete, she stretched all six of her legs and then, slowly at first, began to crawl out of the chamber she shared with her sixty two roommates. At least this time she hadn't had to sleep whilst clinging to the roof. That was always a less restful torpor.
Entering the tunnels, she felt the ever present messages of the Colony waft into her antennae. "Go this way for such and such", or "go that way for things and stuff" none of it was relevant to her, yet it always helped invigorate her. She felt immediately connected to the larger organism, the super-organism, that was the Colony itself. Her chamber wasn't far from where she performed her work and she was eager to return to it, so she made good time through the tunnels, the twists and turns as familiar as her own legs.
One more left turn and she was in her element. The temperature rose with each step and the ringing sound of metal impacting on metal filled the air. Every chamber she passed was part of the great machine the Colony had built within its nest. A powerful production line that took raw ore at one end, processed it, refined it, blasted it in a crucible and produced ingots of strong metal at the other end.
She herself had been part of developing that project, the frustrating days of experimentation, of trial and error as the detail obsessed carvers iterated on what they'd learned from the humans, always seeking to improve by even a fraction of a percent. She was aware that those tests continued still, elsewhere in the nest. Waste was inefficient and inefficiency was not something the Colony was prepared to tolerate. Thus they strove to improve their processes. Every ingot that formed with impurities was an indictment on the entire carver caste, an insult that burned inside their carapace and drove them to do better.
But she had long graduated from that more menial labour. Her Skills at handling the refined metals had grown at a prodigious rate, such that she had been given a new task. Entrusted with the finished product of the long refinement process, her new task was the final and most important of all: smithing.
She came to her own chamber and eagerly leapt inside, ready to begin. A fresh stockpile of ingots lay waiting, delivered as she rested, as they always were. Now brimming with energy, she rushed to her station and began preparing it for work. Enchantments were activated, the fire primed, the air circulation hummed to life and the quenching stations were meticulously examined for faults. As she busied herself preparing, she was interrupted by a somewhat unwelcome visitor.
"The materials consumed by your project are becoming a drain," the message wafted around the chamber, disturbed by the airflow that was necessary for the ants to work in such hot environments.
With a sigh, the crafter turned to the entrance and came face to face with what humans would consider a 'boss' or 'supervisor'. Such roles didn't really exist within the Colony. Each ant was given responsibility that best suited their abilities and inclinations. This particular carver had a talent for organisation and an excoriating eye for detail. Giving her responsibility for managing the resources of the foundry made perfect sense.
"My Skills continue to improve day by day." the crafter defended herself, "I'm confident that the next rank up will be crucial in unlocking the techniques I need to complete the work."
"How many levels is your blacksmithing skill from its next rank up?"
"Three."
The newly arrived crafter's antennae twitched as she envisioned the amount of raw materials required to provide enough metal for those three levels.
"I know I don't need to remind you, there isn't much enthusiasm for your project within the caste. Some have even begun to suggest you are being selfish by pursuing such an unneeded piece of equipment."
"Selfish..."
That stung. To learn that her own caste, her own contemporaries would say such a thing about her... did they really have so little faith in her abilities? Nameless she may be, but it was no conceit to say that she possessed the highest Blacksmithing Skill in the Colony, at Expert Blacksmithing (III) 17, so close to the fourth rank. She'd been working with metal longer than almost any other ant. Did they really think she would be pushing ahead with a project such as this if she wasn't firm in her resolve?
She shook her antennae. It mattered not. Only results mattered.
"I have utmost belief that I will produce results. All that is needed is time."
The other crafter nodded.
"I will give you as much time as I can. Though you burn through ingots like none other in the Colony, it's also true that you level up faster than anyone else. Hard to think that you'd be in the wrong."
"I ... thank you."
Without another word, the ant departed, leaving the crafter to her own devices. Unwilling to waste any time, she began to renew her preparations. Her mandibles and legs were busy, but her mind was focused on something different. Ever since she'd been introduced to the concept, she couldn't help but be captivated by it. The idea of an ant, bedecked in armour, a steel insect juggernaut, had possessed her. Should she succeed in creating it, an all-new type of soldier would be born, one with an entirely different sort of strength!
Her heart ablaze with passion, the ant grasped hold of the first ingot in her mandibles and put it to the fire. Her last prototype had failed, but she had learned much, and her Skills had grown. Perhaps this time, she would break through.
-x-X-x-
The crafters of the Colony were an interesting and formidable bunch, to be sure. The first time I worked with them was when I had heard they were willing to provide certain materials, namely processed mana infused woods, at near cost. Being an engraver and enchanter, such a ridiculous drop in price was far too tempting to give up, even if it meant dealing with an occupying force of monsters. If my competitors were to take advantage of this new supplier and I didn't, they could price me out of the market instantly! In many respects, I didn't have a choice, and, I'm a little ashamed to say, I wasn't pleased at being forced to deal with the 'monsters' at the time. I saw this move on their part as a way of forcing the city to become reliant on their help. Since the gates were closed and Dungeon delving banned, we didn't have anywhere else to go but to rely on an ever dwindling stockpile anyway.
So, steaming on the inside I swallowed my pride and took part in a trade mission. The ants and their human associates were extremely accommodating, which did little to dull my distrust, and led the group of similarly disgruntled merchants and crafters to the closest nest. Our safety was impeccably managed. Not once in my life had I experienced such a peaceful journey through the Dungeon. What was more surprising, was that the ants and their associates were more than happy to speak on the nature of this trade agreement, and their honesty was almost disturbing to a long-time businessman such as myself.
They were open about the reason for the low price they demanded for their goods. They simply had little need of money and were harvesting the materials at a rate faster than they could consume them. When I pointed out that they were processing the raw materials themselves, couldn't they then go ahead and complete the final product, they admitted that the number of ants in the Colony dedicated to creating such things was limited. They didn't see a need for wands, couldn't operate bows in the classical sense, were insulted by the idea of a stave and used stone for almost all their furniture.
(The idea of insect furniture was quite startling to me at the time.)
From the description I was given, I began to think of the crafters in the ant community as short sighted, lacking in appreciation for their craft and quite possibly stupid. How wrong I was. The crafters of the Colony were INSANELY dedicated. Their attention to detail was inhuman, their work ethic, unparalleled. When they showed us the chambers where the raw woods were cut and shaped, the workers were industrious to the point of obsession. A single poor cut was intolerable to them and every one of them was fanatical in their pursuit of efficiency. When next they showed us the area in which the mana grains were examined and refined, I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Row after row of ants sifted and organised the cuts of wood before meticulously examining each one. Not a single one faltered in their concentration for even a second in the hour I was there.
I was beyond impressed. Refining the grains is mind-numbing, headache inducing, incredibly detailed work. Highly qualified workers that could perform this task were almost impossible to find and worth their weight in gold, simply because almost no sane person could endure the job and its exacting standards. I came away sure in the knowledge that Colony, for as long as it existed, would become the centre of industry in the area. Who could hope to match that level of production?
As I worked with them more, I came to see that the only real weakness of the ant crafters was their lack of imagination. They could grind through tedious tasks like no sapient creature ever could, but when it came to making bold leaps of creativity. They were the definition of 'by the book'. I was certain that this would come to be a lasting advantage that we held over them. How disappointed I was to learn that it simply wasn't true for all of them. Even within an ant Colony, remarkable individuals could emerge that completely upset their dynamic.
-Excerpt from the journal of an unknown bowyer of Rylleh.
The crafter laboured tirelessly, firing and shaping the metal without pause or rest. It consumed all of her attention, to the point the ant who delivered her Biomass was forced to physically drag her to the food before she would eat it. She made fine rings and riveted them together, she made solid plates that overlapped with cunning joints, she made fine scales and layered them, she made and made and made. Small test pieces, larger scale prototypes. She burnt through all of the knowledge the System had granted her on the working and shaping of metal, desperate to find a solution that would meld what she knew about armour with the reality of Formica Sapiens biology.
She didn't stop for three days, until she was dragged unceremoniously from her chamber, still trying to work the bellows and fire another ingot.
"No! I'm so close to the next level!" she cried out, straining against the firm pull of the three ants tearing her from her work.
"You've already skipped one mandatory rest period," one of them scolded, "any more and we'll be forced to block you from entering the workshop for three days."
Three days?! She couldn't bear it! Filled with indignation against the Eldest for their regulations, the crafter allowed herself to unceremoniously dragged through the tunnels and deposited back in her rest chamber. She resisted the urge to try and sneak back in, that hadn't gone well for her the last time she'd tried. They'd be on the lookout for a repeat offender like her anyway. There was little choice but for her to accede and get some rest. But first...
She moved through the chamber, careful not to disturb the torpor of the others in the room as she made her way to the back corner. Once there, she used her mandibles to lift a strategically placed stone to reveal a small steel container buried in the dirt. Slowly, so as not to make any unnecessary noise, she lifted the box up with her mandibles and opened it to reveal a small collection of materials and cores. The rainy day supplies!
She couldn't possibly rest yet, her vision hadn't even begun to fade! So instead, she continued to grind away in secret at her second passion: enchanting. She'd only recently reached the third rank in her enchanting Skill, quite a ways behind her blacksmithing, but with the limited time and resources she had, she considered it quite the achievement. She felt that she would never be satisfied handing her work off to another crafter to complete. Imagine, when she finally managed to complete the first, perfect ant armour, only to give it to someone else to stuff up the enchanting work?! The very thought was enough to make her grind her mandibles.
To prevent such a travesty, she spent the next five hours tinkering with the cores and metals, testing different combinations until her mind felt dull and fuzzy. Only then did she pack away the box, conceal it once more and allow herself to fall into torpor.
It wasn't long into her next shift that the magical milestone came to pass.
[Expert Blacksmithing (III) has reached level 20, upgrade available.]
Elated, she raced into the menu to confirm the selection.
[Expert Blacksmithing (III) -\u003e Basic Metalsmithing (IV). Cost 1 sp. Imbues the Skill user with more detailed knowledge of metalworking, guiding them to more accurate and finer shaping. Also grants advanced knowledge of metalworking patterns.]
Yes, yes, yes, YES!
She mentally smashed the confirm button and almost swooned as she felt the knowledge begin to trickle into her mind. New ideas, new methods, new instincts all blossomed in her thoughts as the System poured the knowledge into her head like a cup being filled with life giving water. When it was done, she remained perfectly still, digesting, thinking, feeling out exactly what it was that she had learned. She remained that way for an hour, before she realised she had yet more to do with her menu.
Once more she opened the interface and mentally tabbed through it, this time checking for new Skills. Had her advancement unlocked anything new? A speciality? A more specific, in-depth Skill? Almost in a frenzy, she ripped through the menu until she found something.
[Armour Smithing (I)]
Finally! Weapon smithing was also there, but she ignored it completely. Here finally was the Skill she'd been hoping for! Maybe with this, she'd have the knowledge necessary to make her vision a reality! Just before she confirmed the Skill purchase, yet another caught her eye.
[Enchantment forging optimization (I)]
What was that?
-x-X-x-
As much as the crafter wanted to leap into further work, to practice each and every new pattern she'd learned to tease out all of the little morsels of information that could only be learned through application, she knew she couldn't. She was the first Blacksmith to reach the rank four Skill and therefore the first to unlock the new Skill specialisations, which meant she had certain obligations to the Colony.
She packed away her tools and shut down her workstation before stepping into the tunnel and hunting down the organiser. The ant turned to her with a quizzical tilt to her antennae.
"I didn't expect to see you out of your room. I suppose you must have ranked up Blacksmithing?"
The crafter nodded.
"I did," she confirmed, "and I have a few new Skill options to report."
"Excellent news. I'll fetch the brood tenders."
She scurried off, leaving the crafter to wait. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she returned with a pair of eager brood tenders who took over the moment they entered the chamber.
"Is this the crafter? How wonderful! Well done, sibling, we're very proud of you! The very first in the Colony to unlock these new Skills, a truly meaningful contribution."
"And new Skill unlocks as well! We'll have to go through your status in detail to ensure we can pinpoint the conditions. We have a lot of work to do!"
The crafter sighed as the two brood tenders fussed over her as if she were a new hatchling. It was only natural that the tenders took responsibility within the Colony for studying and documenting the System, since they were the ones most involved in teaching it, but their mothering nature slowed the process down significantly. It was several hours later before the crafter, near her limits, was finally able to return to her workshop, exhausted, but brimming with excitement. She threw herself into her work, determined to unravel the secrets of her new Skills and push them into the next tier.
For three whole days she forged without rest, her fire burned unending and the ring of clanging metal sounded again and again as she worked in a fever. Her mad spree was only brought to an end when a team of five workers forced their way into her workshop (she'd barred the door) and dragged her away as she cackled with mad delirium.
After a full day of observed rest, during which she was restrained by an earth mage, the crafter was allowed to return to her workshop to inspect the fruits of her labours. The last day and a bit was little more than a blur in her memory, so she was quite surprised to see the sheer volume of different patterns and pieces she'd produced. Her two new Skills had even made it to the second rank! Something was beginning to synthesise in her mind and she couldn't wait to get started!
Except there was something standing in her way.
"You're running out of time," the supervisor told her.
"What?" the crafter was shocked, "I'm closer than I've ever been before!"
"And the amount of resources you're consuming has increased, with nothing to show for it."
With a flick of her mandibles, the supervisor indicated the sheer amount of armour bits and pieces that littered the small workshop.
"It's becoming harder and harder for me to source materials for you. If you want to continue this project, then you need something to show for it, and soon. The voices of those who are displeased by the waste are growing louder by the day. Inefficiency isn't something the Colony is willing to tolerate."
"But how are we supposed to develop something new without experimentation and failure? How am I supposed to push my Skills forward without practice?"
It was generally accepted in the Colony that to develop Skills and uncover new branches of knowledge it was necessary to test, test and test again. Hundreds of ants had been committed to sub-optimal Skill and mutation builds in an attempt to unearth new fusions or combinations. Yet, they accused her of waste?!
"Your case is somewhat unique," the organiser told her, "because the products you produce in your practice have no value to the Colony, yet to mine and refine the metal you use costs a huge investment of energy. Furthermore, many are convinced that what you are trying to make is something with fundamentally no value. I've heard several say that the most talented blacksmith in the Colony is wasting her talent. Only results will still their voices."
With that stark warning, she left the crafter alone to consider her path. In the mind of the crafter, there was pressure, concern, and not a little anger at the short-sightedness of her fellow crafters, but not a single iota of doubt. She knew, KNEW, that what she sought to build was close to being within her grasp. The ant armour would be realised! She would forge it right here, with her own mandibles!
Burning with conviction, the crafter cleaned her workspace, and began to plan. As she lifted different pieces of armour, each forged with their own unique methods, an image began to take shape in her mind's eye. A powerful soldier ant, covered in gleaming metal that thrummed with enchantments. An iron juggernaut of unstoppable might. The Steel insect!
Yes! She could use moulded plates over a layer of mail for the head. And scale would be used in the joints and to cover the petiole. The abdomen would need to be flexible, of course, but also thick. The thickest plates would need to be around the thorax. She had to consider how it would attach to the carapace itself. Where to strap it? And how would the armour interact with the carapace? There had to be a way to maximise the benefit of both carapace and steel...
In her head, the full suit slowly began to take shape as she considered processes, pieces and techniques, discarding this one, modifying that one. And between the carapace and armour, an entire new layer began to take shape. One that would allow the armour to flex, yet be braced against the unyielding exo-skeleton beneath. As she filled in the details, the more her understanding of enchantment played into the design. If she modified these materials, the enchantment effect would be stronger. If she connected this section to that, the magical effect wouldn't be diluted by the incompatibility of the metals.
Eyes ablaze and antennae twitching with insane energy, she fired up the forge and shoved in a mandible load of ingots. Today, she would complete a prototype that would prove the entire Colony wrong!
-x-X-x-
"I still don't understand why I have to be the one to wear this," Leeroy grumbled.
"You know exactly why," Brendant was having none of her sibling's nonsense, "because we asked this crafter to make it to fit you, since you're the one most in need of extra protection."
Leeroy fidgeted and wiggled and the many, many different pieces of equipment were attached to her carapace by the fussy crafter, who constantly had to poke and prod the council member to get her to be still.
"Stop your fidgeting," the crafter scolded, "the point of this armour is to keep you alive."
"That's why I don't like it," the soldier muttered.
"What was that, Leeroy?" Brendant demanded.
"Nothing! Nothing at all."
"You've been warned any number of times to adjust your attitude," Brendant told her wearily, "you aren't a hatchling anymore, stop acting like it. It's your responsibility to fight, yes, but also to do everything you can to preserve the investment the Colony has made in you. Do you think everyone is given complete core evolutions like you? Does every ant in our family receive the personal education of the Eldest? You need to stop being so selfish."
Leeroy endured this lecture in dignified silence, she'd heard the same thing many times before. At times she wondered if she was just built fundamentally different compared to the rest of her siblings. She just couldn't see things the same way they did. But the Eldest had spoken, and everyone appeared to accept their word. All Leeroy could do is continue to secretly plot and plan her own glorious contribution to the greatness of the Colony. Something that this new armour would actively seek to impede!
Already she hated it.
"There are five cores powering the enchantment matrix," the crafter was saying, "two of those are here and here," she thwacked the metal with an antenna to indicate the locations, "which help to regulate the weight of the heavier plates."
The crafter moved toward Leeroy's head where she finished tightening the straps for the helmet as she continued explaining.
"The other three cores are concentrated toward the front of the armour. The metals here are infused with earth mana and the cores help to enhance that stability and hardness. The idea is to give maximum protection to the vital areas, as well as preserve the mass and momentum advantage the armour gives."
As she finished her explanation, the crafter stepped back and felt a surge of joy as she beheld the completed product. Leeroy was a large tier four soldier, with a thick carapace that housed a powerful musculature. Even with the enchantments lightening the load, the full set of armour still weighed over a ton, a soldier with less physical stats would likely struggle to move wearing that suit.
Watching the process from the side, Brendant had to admit that the crafter had done an incredible job. The many various pieces of armour fit together ingeniously, clips, hooks and straps used in a variety of clever places to help hold the suit together. She didn't have high expectations for this project, but looking at the final product now, she had to admit that she was impressed. Leeroy had been transformed from an indomitable soldier to something else entirely. The helmet gave her the visage of a fearsome demon, the folds of the metal that protected her eyes cast her features into shadow. Plates of metal swept down the sides of her head and curved around her mandibles, jutting forward beneath them to protect her mouth.
Thick plates covered her abdomen and thorax, with the most attention given to the plating down the sides of her body. Virtually no protection was afforded to the underside of the carapace. The idea was to keep the body low and charge forward, allowing the armour to both protect, and add to the impact.
The shock absorbent properties of the armour were also excellent. The crafter had done an incredible job of building an internal structure on the inside of the metal. The joints cunningly inserted would allow the armour to flex whilst the inner layer would transfer force from the armour to the carapace, dispersing the impact across a wider area and borrowing the strength of the existing exo-skeleton.
"Well, nothing to do now but test it. Are you happy to proceed, crafter?"
The smaller ant did one final tour around the indignant form of her test subject, checking straps and brushing her antennae lovingly over the plating one final time. Suddenly nervous, she stepped away and steadied herself before replying.
"It's ready."
The supporting ants cleared space to allow the two big soldiers some room.
"Alright then Leeroy, I'm going to enjoy this!" Brendant laughed rushing forward.
For the next ten minutes, she charged, bit and battered her sibling as Leeroy stood and absorbed the punishment with a resigned attitude. From the side, the crafter watched intently, her heart pounding in her chest. She needn't have worried, her work held up remarkably well. With her powerful jaws and many mutations, Brendant was able to puncture the armour in several places, but was unable to do any meaningful damage to the carapace beneath, the force of her mandibles wasted on the metal.
"I have to say, it's far more durable than I expected," the soldier observed as she stepped back. "Although carrying all that weight can't be good for your mobility."
"Certainly, only the stronger soldier specimens would be able to wear a suit this heavy," the crafter informed her, "for other castes, such as the generals, a more lightweight version would be needed."
"Makes sense. Alright then Leeroy, time for revenge, let's have it."
After enduring the attentions of her sibling for so long, Leeroy was more than ready to return the favour. Though, it should be noted that her enthusiasm was lacking. Without the threat of very real, mortal danger, she just couldn't become enthused. She shook her body to settle the armour, still adjusting to the feel of it before she set her feet and charged. Although slow to get going, she built up speed quickly, the dirt flying every time her claws dug into the soil.
The crafter's eyes shone as she watched that charge. The power, the force, the unstoppable momentum! This was it!
Mandibles wide, Leeroy dashed with all her strength, her speed much reduced but the power of that charge was undeniable. Brendant braced herself as best she could, but it was for naught. When the fusion of steel and insect that Leeroy had become collided with her, Brendant was instantly bowled over. Unable to stop her own momentum, Leeroy charged directly through her sister and smashed into the wall of the tunnel, cracking the stone heavily and burying her head in the dirt.
It took several minutes to extract the soldier, but the crafter was elated. This model of the armour was merely the first. In her eyes, it was a crude and brutish thing, lacking the elegance and with only a fraction of the raw strength that she envisioned. Even so, look at how well it performed!
"Well," Brendant said as she picked herself up, "that's quite the thing, isn't it?! I've got a crack in my carapace! I don't think she even bit me! I'm impressed! What do you think Leeroy?"
A little dazed, the other council member staggered over with a depressed air.
"It works really well. I feel almost un-killable in this."
"So why do you look so unhappy?"
"I feel almost un-killable in this."
"Ah."
Ignoring her idiot sister, Brendant turned to the crafter.
"Congratulations. Although it has a huge cost in resources, this armour does appear as if it will have a use. We can create and maintain a small number of these to begin with. I presume you have revisions? Smithant?"
The crafter started.
"What's a Smithant?"
"You are. You've got a lot of work to do. I think I might be recommending the Eldest pay you a visit as well, if they get a chance. I'm sure they'd want to see what it is you've done. Good job!"
-x-X-x-
It would be an understatement to say that Enid was nervous. The first time her husband had taken her into the Dungeon, she'd been nervous. When smuggling Karak shells from the blue desert, she was nervous. Marching into the heart of the Colony's nest? She was distinctly nervous. When representatives had approached her about the ants wishing to engage in further cooperation with the refugees living on the surface, she'd nearly fallen out of her chair. It was true that the people had grown more comfortable in the presence of the monsters, even Enid herself had experienced a profound shift in attitude toward them, but she'd felt that the ants were more or less uncaring of the humans who were their neighbours.
Certainly, they were curious. Even now members of the Colony, almost exclusively mages and crafters, wandered through the town, observing, questioning. It was hard for a craftsman to go a day without having a giant insect poke its antennae through a window and start asking about this or that. Some found it intrusive, but the ants certainly did more than their fair share of work around the place. Whether it was tilling fields, sourcing construction materials, extending the irrigation system that they themselves had built, the Colony did a lot to help a group of people they didn't really owe anything to.
She stepped carefully as they continued to tread through what must be close to sacred ground to the ants. They'd trudged through the Dungeon for many hours to make it to this subterranean nest. The town council had been more than a little apprehensive about journeying this deep, in the frontier kingdoms there were very few people who were able to venture to the second strata safely. Aarran the Bowyer had been amongst the most hesitant to venture down, yet the Colony had managed to make the trip almost boring.
Being escorted by a full hundred monsters seemed almost extravagant, but they'd done a remarkable job. Enid didn't think she'd even heard a monster during the entire trip, a ridiculous thought under normal circumstances, yet the sheer numerical strength of the Colony made the impossible possible.
"I still don't believe what I'm seeing."
Enid rolled her eyes and looked at Isaac as he gazed with wonder at the intricate carvings that adorned every wall that they'd passed. She herself had been shocked at the quality of the work. Her mercantile spirit had ignited at the sight of the intricate details. Work of this quality would have high demand in several markets that she could think of. She'd have to see if she could track down the artist during her visit.
"Try and focus, Isaac. We're here representing Renewal as members of the council. Stop gawping at the walls and try to project a little dignity," she snapped wryly.
The guard captain did straighten up, but it didn't last long. Five minutes later he was staring idiotically at something else. Enid went to rebuke him again, but Aarran cut her off.
"Leave him be, Mayor. I can hardly keep my mouth shut myself. If you'd told me something like this existed in the Dungeon, I'd have called you a liar to your face."
She turned her glare in this new direction, but the grizzled old craftsman was as immune to her ire as always. He merely shrugged and went back to carefully placing his feet as they navigated the tunnels.
[Are there any problems?] the slightly alien voice of her guide rang in her mind.
She concentrated on the connection and replied.
[No, nothing wrong. I think my people are just a little surprised at how far your family has progressed in such a short time.]
She could feel the ant's pride radiating across the bridge. Enid had noticed that the best way to compliment an ant was to praise their family.
[Yes, we have worked very hard to apply the concepts that we have learned from the Eldest.]
[Didn't you learn them from us?]
[It was the Eldest's idea to do that,] the mage shrugged.
That was another observation that Enid had made. They were almost incorrigible in their determination to assign credit and or praise to Anthony, often for things that he himself wouldn't agree had anything to do with him. Indeed, after considering the value of the artworks that she'd seen, her second thought had been how hilarious the 'Eldest's' reaction must have been the first time he'd seen it.
Rounding a corner they came to a large central chamber. Its size and perfectly uniform shape was enough to impress the visitors, but the elaborate carvings on the walls, when viewed alongside the truly massive carving of Anthony in the centre, were beautifully illuminated by glowing orbs placed around the base. The walls and floor of the room bristled with ants, climbing over each other as they darted in and out of the many tunnels that branched from this probably central area. Enid sucked in a breath at the sight, there must be thousands of Colony members around them at this moment in time.
"Ah! Welcome! Glory to the Colony!" came a call from their left.
"GLORY!"
Startled to hear another human voice in this nest of monsters, the delegation turned to see a group of robed figures approaching them after having exited a nearby tunnel. At their lead, as ever, was the one armed priest, Beyn.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up," Enid greeted him, "you've been down here this whole time?"
"I have," the priest's eyes were almost glazed over with joy at living in such close proximity to the ants and Enid averted her gaze from the disturbing sight. "The Colony - "
As he said the word, the figures behind him erupted in a unified shout of "Praise their wisdom! Praise the Colony!"
Beyn waited for them to finish before he continued. "- have been very accommodating. It seems that they were impressed at how useful my comrades and I proved to be during the siege and now wish to engage in a deeper partnership!"
The mayor of Renewal was shocked.
"You were useful?" she could hardly believe it. "I thought you'd all end up getting in the way before dying in a comical and stupid manner after making fools of yourselves."
Beyn's expression turned hurt.
"Really now, Enid. You surely wouldn't expect that the Colony -"
"PRAISE! PRAISE!"
"- would let us just die? Especially after asking for our help!"
Enid noticed that he didn't even attempt to protest the likelihood of them making fools of themselves, just that the Colony wouldn't let them die for it. With Beyn and his followers here, there were a total of thirty-five humans huddled together amidst the mass of insect life that boiled with activity around them. She tried to draw closer to Beyn.
"Have you any idea what they want us for?" she muttered, "look at what they've been able to achieve in just a few months! What can we actually do for them?"
The priest's eyes glittered at her praise for the Colony. He'd observed the softening of the mayor's attitude toward the ants over time, and was mighty pleased to see that it continued.
"I can only suppose," he whispered back, "that they want us to act as a face for their interests. During the siege, I was used to negotiate with the city and I think they want you and a few others to represent them in further talks."
Her business mind instantly understood what the Colony was driving at. By bringing along other people who had lived peacefully and prosperously under their 'rule', the ants would be able to start to allay the fears of the people in the city. They would also be able to make use of Enid's sharp negotiating skills when it came to matters that they themselves likely didn't understand. Although it was an imposition on Enid herself, it isn't like she would say no. Her responsibility was to the people of Renewal, and a deeper relationship with Anthony and his family could only benefit them.
[It is nice to see you all gathered here together,] a new, powerful mind reached out to Enid and spoke to her. Judging by the heads swivelling around her, the rest of the gathering was able to hear this new voice as well. How'd they worked that out?
A large ant pushed forward from the crush of insects around them and dipped it's antennae in greeting.
[I am Coolant. Mage Ant and representative of the council here to welcome you to our main nest. It is nice to see both members of the town council,] she used one leg to gesture to Enid and her group, [as well as Priest Beyn and his acolytes who proved so useful at Rylleh. Come, let us move somewhere a little more private.]
A pause.
[I do ask that you be careful as we walk. We are moving to a room quite close to the brood chambers and security is very tight, as I'm sure you understand. Sudden moves or noises would make the guards jumpy and they take their role very seriously.]
With that warning, Coolant turned and began to stride through the press of ants, who began to clear a path and move around the humans as they started to shuffle forward. Enid herself could barely breathe as she turned to look with a face full of dread at the idiot acolytes trailing behind their leader. Those idiots were supposed to be quiet?!