Sarah approached the boundary between the safe-zone and the native mana of the fifth with a deep sense of trepidation. From everything Anthony had said, she almost expected toxic, knife-faced fish to spring out of the ground beneath her paws the second she crossed the line.
[The Krath have been very active in this area,] the general in charge, a little ant named Antvantage told her. [Don't extend far beyond the safe-zone if you can avoid it. Just in case, we have emergency rescue teams on standby in case you get in trouble. You'll be as safe as we can make you.]
[Thank you,] Sarah said, her gratitude truly heartfelt. [I appreciate it. I'm a bit nervous, to tell you the truth.]
The ant, so much smaller, almost comically smaller than the gigantic bear beside her, reached up with an antenna and patted the bear on the side.
[It is dangerous, and the enemy is cunning. I won't lie, you are taking on a great risk for the family, and we don't take that lightly. Should something happen, we will do everything in our power to bring you home.]
The giant bear nodded her head, touched by those words. Being welcomed into the Colony as part of the family was still something she was adjusting to, but for the first time in either of her lives, she felt as if there was a place she belonged, and that meant more to her than she could ever say.
[Alright,] Sarah said, firming her resolve, [I'm going in.]
[I'll be there with you,] Odin said, stepping up beside her. [Don't worry.]
The two former humans strode forward, and as they passed through the visible border between the cleansed blue and the toxic greenish-yellow, they each became enveloped in a bubble of safety projected from the enchantments built into their armour.
The armour itself was surprisingly comfortable for Sarah. Not that it was actually pleasant to wear, but it was far less restrictive than she'd expected. Overlapping metal plating ran down her back and flanks, along with further steel strapped to cover her belly. There was even segmented armour that covered her legs. It was heavy, of course, but she found she was more than strong enough to bear the burden.
Stepping out into the fifth stratum for the first time, Sarah found it was even more unpleasant than Anthony had described. Thick ropes of slime and mucus connected the floor to the ceiling, some of them metres thick, and everything seemed to be covered in some variety of goop. With every step forward, the surface sizzled and hissed as her mana bubble burned away the corruption that coated everything.
Before she could even acclimate to the terrible environment, the monsters were already upon her. Frothing, hissing, belching foam, mucus and clouds of toxic gas, they swarmed towards her.
Rather than recoil, Sarah stepped forward. Her heart thumped once.
She slashed out with one paw, her claws tearing a screaming gash through the air, jagged lines of red light streaking through the air and rendering the closest monsters apart.
Her heart thumped again.
Jaws open wide, Sarah lunged, teeth formed of red light extending from her own head to crunch down on the putrid, slime-dripping turtle in front of her.
Her heart thumped again.
Jets of acid blasted down from cracks in the ceiling, spraying across her armour and fur, causing steam to rise and her flesh to burn.
Her heart beat harder.
It was starting to flow now, she could feel it pounding through her veins, roaring in her core and igniting the red patches of fur along her body.
Nets formed of slime shot down from the ceiling, and Sarah roared, drawing on the fury, blasting them away with the raw force of her anger.
More monsters came, and she continued to hack and slash, her paws ripping jagged tears through the air and her enemies alike. With every felled opponent, acid and mucus splashed, parasites leapt towards her or some other nonsense occurred. Not even three minutes had passed, and already she was covered in burns, slashes and cuts as the hordes descended on her. ℞
Yet the pain only served to fuel her rage heart even further.
No, it wasn't a rage heart any more, it was a foundry, and her fury was the hammer as well as the forge. She stoked it, feeding on the pain to build the flames higher. The more fury she built, the more it coursed through her flesh and filtered into her fur, causing it to glow faintly with ominous red and black energy.
She was in control. Sarah was in control. As she fought, she danced on the tip of the knife's edge, building the fury higher and higher, but never so quickly that her grip on that anger slipped from her grasp. Covered in wounds, one of her eyes dissolving from an accurate blast of acidic slime, Sarah grinned a savage grin.
With an audible FWOOSH, her fur ignited, her fury manifesting in an aura that swirled around her body like a flame. Her flesh sizzled and hissed as her wounds burned and began to close, her eye reforming in its socket.
Now her anger had been made manifest. It would no longer hurt her, and she could use it to protect those she cared about.
Her eyes shifted, turning completely red as she allowed her fury more control. No longer did the world seem filled with yellows, greens and browns, monsters and slime, mucus and acid. All she saw was moving shapes and red.
Her roar rattled the stone walls of the tunnel, then she bounded forward clothed in fury.
Nearby, Odin watched with narrowed eyes. As Sarah began to mow down all before her, despite the literal rain of acid and sludge from all directions, he nodded slowly, then faded into the background.
This was something he was keen to see.
-x-X-x-
How many of these monstrous killing machines were attached to this invasion?! Zluth could scarcely believe his eyes when, instead of the ant he'd expected, a giant bear had come waddling down the tunnel. At first, he'd seen it as a positive thing, especially so when the creature didn't seem all that strong at first.
He had been quickly disabused of that notion. The beast was now ripping through everything it could get its paws on faster than the monsters could reach it. Even worse, ever since that flickering, ominous aura had appeared, the bear's endurance seemed to have shot through the roof.
"I'm not sure we'll be able to achieve much here," he muttered to himself.
They'd been working to wear down the ant monster who regularly patrolled these tunnels. The creature seemed to have inexhaustible endurance, returning to the fight time and time again, no matter how battered it became or how much toxin it absorbed. It seemed they'd finally managed to wear the cursed monster down, but now it had been replaced by another formidable beast.
A member of Zluth's war party slid up beside him, whispering news.
"The attack in Sluzzl's tunnel appears to be going very well. Chozth has ordered us to concentrate our forces and join in the assault."
Although he wanted to protest, he knew it wouldn't do any good. It wasn't like they could just turn their attack into another tunnel. He had members of his war party working kilometres away, funnelling newly spawned creatures into this tunnel and others adjacent to it. Conditions right at the edge of the ants' cursed blue mana were the result of days of preparation and herding from his war party. Chozth knew very well he couldn't redirect his attack, she wanted him to abandon it and bring his war party to another tunnel.
It was frustrating, but if he tried wriggling around her orders, he was going to be eaten for sure.
"Gather the others," he whispered back. "We'll relocate in an hour."
That didn't give them much time to gather the more distant members, but Zluth wasn't willing to push his luck. Both Krath compressed themselves and began to slide away, gaining speed the further they got from the ants and the bear currently wreaking havoc on all it could touch.
It wasn't all bad. He hadn't thought they were going to be all that successful already, and if Sluzzl was having some luck, Zluth would rather be there to garner some of the credit for himself. Pushing himself to a dangerous pace, he zipped through the tunnels, helping to round up his war party and gather them safely in their temporary hideout.
"What's happening?" Thossiz grumbled. "We were just starting to get somewhere."
"Chozth wants us in another tunnel to support the attack. You want to argue with her?" Zluth asked.
"No. No, I don't."
"Thought not. We're going to race over there as fast as we can, so take a brief moment to get anything you need and rest. I don't want to give Chozth an excuse to eat one of us for being slow."
Not one of the Krath was going to argue with that sentiment. Making a show by disciplining the regular slugs was a tried and true method among the tribes. In short order, the war party was sliding through their shortcuts, making good time.
When they finally emerged into the tunnel Krath'sizz Sluzzl was in charge of, they found quite a few Krath had already gathered. When they were spotted, Zluth and his group were led directly into the hidden command post where they found Chozth herself.
As soon as they entered, she turned her eyes toward Zluth, her amusement obvious as they curved into wicked moons.
"You made… reasonable time," she burbled. "Tell your war party to rest for a moment. We are coordinating."
Zluth quickly told his slugs to find a safe space to recover and rushed back to the crude table around which the other war leaders were gathered.
"Krath'sizz Sluzzl has succeeded in pushing the ants holding this tunnel to the brink. There are notable weaknesses in the line, which we will look to exploit. We will look to punch through their wall of mana and chew away at their safety from the inside out. If we can reach and disable the platforms they fill with those abominable creatures who corrupt the fifth, all the better." Ɽ
Chozth grinned wickedly.
"The invaders have been more durable than we expected, but now they've started to crack. We're going to show them what it looks like when the Krath go for the throat."
All of the gathered Krath'sizz felt a thrill go through their slug flesh at their leader's naked, savage glee. That was right, this stratum belonged to the Krath! It was theirs by right, and the invaders would finally feel their wrath.
Under the personal command of Chozth, the various war parties began to work in concert. They were spread far and wide, working throughout the tunnels to prepare for the assault to come while Sluzzl continued his push at the front.
Zluth was pleasantly surprised by the lack of infighting and bickering amongst the various leaders, but he quickly came to realise why that was the case. Chozth was a dominating presence. She stalked through the tunnels like a vicious predator, her personal guard-slugs ever by her side. Being anywhere near her felt like having fangs wrapped around his neck. There was no illusion about what would result from the slightest insubordination.
Thus, in a remarkably short amount of time, the attack was prepared, and Zluth found himself amongst dozens and dozens of Krath, slowly creeping toward the ant lines as their war parties carefully herded the deadly surprises they had prepared for the cursed invaders.
Chozth herself accompanied the attack, taking personal command of the offensive. With so much at stake, Zluth was determined to prove himself and claim his share of the rewards should this offensive work.
In the distance, he began to see the cursed, shimmering glow of the blue mana. Sluzzl did indeed have a promising offensive going, a horde of monsters pressed right against the blue mana wall with Krath support close behind. When he arrived, those ants were going to crack like a slime-withered shell.
-x-X-x-
The Krath reinforcements slithered forward, their bodies pressed flat to the rock, using every fold and crevice within the rock to conceal their presence. Changing the colour of his outer flesh to blend in, Zluth crept alongside them, drawing ever closer to the battle raging at the edge of the wall of blue mana.
Once he was in position, alongside the other Krath'sizz, he grew still, his eyes barely raised atop their stalks, peering eagerly at the unfolding struggle.
Monsters were hurling themselves into the blue energy, letting it consume them, but disgorging huge volumes of virulent mucus that sizzled and hissed, releasing dense toxic mana into the lines of the ants. The normally iron-straight, disciplined lines of the ants were broken in several places as pools of sludge slowly dissolved beside them. The non-monstrous invaders had been drawn back, likely so they could sacrifice the ants if things went poorly, ensuring their own escape.
Zluth was determined they wouldn't escape him. Not only would they drag ants away to the pools, but humans, golgari and Folk as well. Everyone would pay for daring to try and take that which rightfully belonged to the tribes!
He was hungry. No, he was more than hungry, he was starving, but what he wanted was not sustenance. No, he hungered for suffering, the suffering of the invaders. He wanted it so badly his mouth watered and the acid flowing through his flesh boiled from the strength of his desire.
So it was that Zluth, and all the other Krath gathered with him, waited with almost unbearable anticipation as the pressure continued to mount.
Sluzzl led his attack from the front, or as close to the front as was reasonable. A significant pool of mucus had been built up close to the blue-mana zone, and the Krath continued to push it forward and add to it. Whenever it touched the barrier, it sizzled and hissed, releasing its corrupt energy and draining away the blue mana, but it never lasted long. To actually break through, they would need much more.
Which was exactly what Chozth was about to deliver.
The fighting at the front was already intense. Yet it was only a shadow of what was soon to come. It started with a rumble, a vibration that Zluth could detect through the rock beneath his foot. The monsters were coming.
Judging by the frenzied reaction amongst the ants, they could also tell, but it was too late. Far too late.
Zluth watched eagerly, waiting for the signal. It didn't take long for Chozth to reveal herself, rising from her position in the centre of the ceiling.
"GUGUGUGUGUGUGUG!" she laughed, uproarious and savage, her laughter reverberating through the tunnel.
As one, the Krath rose from their hiding places and unleashed their magic.
Zluth reached deep within himself, summoning the power of acid he had carefully cultivated all his life. Refined and purified over and over again, burning him from the inside out as his tolerance grew to accommodate its strength. It was exactly that strength he drew on now, concentrating the acid in his flesh, drawing deep on the toxic mana of the fifth stratum around him and flooding his body with its poison.
His flesh swelled, acid and mana mixed, burning him from the inside out, but he embraced it, drawing in more and more. When the mix had become as potent as he could make it, Zluth began to weave. He wasn't the most accomplished Krath mage, his acid wasn't potent enough, and only after his promotion to Krath'lath had he gained access to the resources needed to practise, but he was learning quickly.
When his weaving was finished, he pushed the power from his body in one explosive burst. A ball of dense mana formed in front of his face, swelling with the energy he expelled. When he was done, it blasted away from him, spraying a deadly rain of toxin in all directions.
Dozens of Krath performed similar works of magic, unleashing their most potent techniques, sending their spells flying toward the wall of blue mana in front of them.
Of course, nothing they produced compared to what Chozth unleashed. From her open mouth, a seemingly endless stream of lurid yellow slime poured, falling from the roof down the floor where it pooled, bubbling ominously. On and on she poured out more and more power, her acid so powerful the sizzling stink of it soon overwhelmed the entire tunnel. The larger the pool grew, the more it frothed and hissed. Zluth's own magic had already penetrated the blue mana, clashing with the foreign energy as the constant spray of acid from the central ball was dissolved by the blue energy when Chozth ceased the stream of sludge.
Even though she'd stopped, the now enormous pile of goop continued to grow. In fact, it grew even faster than before, spreading wide across the tunnel. Once it had reached a critical mass, the sludge rose suddenly, climbing ten metres high across a hundred-metre-wide span, then launched itself forward, a wave of dense slime that rolled over the tunnel floor, seemingly uncaring of anything that was in its way.
Reacting quickly, the ants withdrew before it reached them, but they couldn't prevent all the damage. The sludge rolled right into the middle of the blue wall, and punched a hole straight through it. Weakened by all the spells thrown at it, the front of the blue wall gave way before the wave, unable to consume it fast enough. In the gap created by the sludge, toxic mana flowed, filling it in and creating a wedge in the ant defences.
Rumbling from further down the tunnel intensified as the monsters the Krath had painstakingly herded finally arrived. Like maddened beasts, they charged directly into the weak point Chozth had created.
Grinning widely, Zluth and all his fellow Krath moved forward into the widening breach.
There would be prisoners aplenty soon enough. He couldn't wait.
-x-X-x-
A horde of monsters crashed into the ant lines, who were already engaged in a fighting retreat. The blue mana continued to be blown back by the concentrated power the Krath had created.
There was a way in! Finally, the invaders were on the run!
Zluth couldn't restrain a gurgling bellow of glee as he and his fellow Krath'sizz charged forward, their war parties following in their wake. Many had Net Slimes stuck to their flesh, feeding off their acid, ready to be plucked loose and thrown at their targets, and there were so many targets.
To slide past the outer defences of the invaders was an almost surreal feeling, and to see the ant lines crumble was intoxicating, causing his flesh to sizzle fiercely.
"Go forward!" he roared.
"Poison and torment!"
"Meat for the pits!"
"Feast on their bones!"
The savage cries of the Krath rang out through the tunnel as they followed behind the charge of their herded monsters. Despite their savage glee, they were still members of the tribes, and maintained their cunning. Why would they risk battling at the head of the column when they had pawns to do that work for them?
Zluth felt his internal acid bubbling and the heat of his rage rising to its pinnacle as he sought out targets for his nets. Who should he aim for first? Decisions, decisions!
Before him, the chaos of the battlefield unfolded. The ants maintained their disciplined lines, holding off the horde of savage monsters, but were constantly falling back as the field of blue mana shrank. There were weaknesses everywhere, and even the non-ant combatants were becoming exposed. Zluth compressed his body and zig-zagged forward, eyes darting atop their stalks, trying to hunt his first prey.
There!
One of the strangely robed humans had charged to the front of the line, roaring and bellowing, bizarre attachments to the top of their hood flopping wildly. Zluth's eyes curved wickedly as he pulled his first slime away with a wet, sucking noise. With his many, spindly arms, he began to swing it, building up momentum before he released it with unerring accuracy.
The strange human was caught completely unawares, the net knocking them down to the ground with the force of the impact and immediately beginning to expand and cover them. Zluth watched, bemused, as the human continued to bellow and roar, waving the short stump of one arm, right up until the net finally wrapped over their mouth.
All along the width of the tunnel, the Krath pushed forward, seeking out vulnerable targets and letting loose their nets. The ants reacted aggressively, finding those who had been netted and dragging them deeper into the blue mana, letting the poisonous energy destroy the nets over time. Yet, in the chaos of the fighting, it wasn't possible to save them all.
Zluth unleashed several of his nets, each one finding a target, but most of them were found and dragged to safety. He didn't mind, he only needed to succeed once, and after watching carefully, he finally found one.
Ironically, it was the first net he'd thrown. At first, the bizarre human had been moved to safety, but as the blue mana continued to be driven back, and the ant lines continued to withdraw, once again the human was at the very edge of the mana. And now, it was completely enveloped by Zluth's still-living Slime.
The Krath spat out a wad of sticky goop, moulded it in his claws, then flung it forward. It unspooled into a line, latching onto the slime with an unbreakable bond, then Zluth began to wind back his prize. Unnoticed, he dragged the netted human behind a rock and ensured the seal of the slime was tight and unbroken. If it was penetrated by toxic mana, the human would be dead long before he reached the pits, and that would be a waste.
"The cursed blobs!' Chozth roared. "I see them!"
Zluth raised his head to see the great Krath'lath still attached to the roof of the tunnel, looking ahead as the blue wall pushed back further still. He raised his eyestalks high and indeed, he could see what she saw. In the distance, a glowing platform, covered in the awful, defiling blue monsters who fed on the natural energy of the fifth and pumped out poisonous filth sat, well within reach!
"Leave your captures!" Chozth ordered. "Destroy the filth that taints our land!"
The opportunity to strike such a dire blow to the invaders was a great one, but Zluth felt his natural Krath-born caution stir in warning. Was it really safe to push so deep into the enemy fortress? The platform was still hundreds of metres away, and the breach was far from going that deep. In fact, the blue mana seemed to be recovering, pushing back against the hole the Krath had blown into it.
Yet, there was a chance. The wave of monsters the Krath had unleashed was yet to exhaust itself, and if the Krath'sizz drove their warriors forward, then the breach could be further widened. Destroying those platforms was the best and fastest way to stop this invasion in its tracks.
Pushing his reluctance aside, Zluth ordered his warriors forward.
-x-X-x-
The Krath left their captives behind, safely secured within their living nets, and swarmed onward. The mass of monsters they had driven into their attackers was starting to run out of momentum, yet there was life in it still. Zluth watched carefully as he slid toward the defenders once more.
Confident that the invaders were pressed and unable to strike back, more of his fellow Krath were taking risks, exposing themselves in ways they never would have normally.
With a piercing clicking sound, he summoned his war party to him, waiting for them to gather before speaking.
"Be careful as we advance," he warned them. "Something doesn't quite feel right."
He could see they were feeling just as high-spirited as the others, but at his warning, they narrowed their eyes and nodded, accepting his word. Cunning and self-preservation were deep-running instincts for the Krath, and his warning had poured cold water on an overly-exuberant and uncautious atmosphere.
The more he slid forward, the more his feeling of disquiet grew. The ants were still engaged in a fighting retreat, and there had been dozens of captives taken, but there were precious few casualties. When he tried to examine the unfolding battle dispassionately, he realised that although it looked like the invaders were desperate, with multiple punctures in their battle line, those gaps weren't widening as time passed.
Finally, he watched Chozth. The leader of the Krath in this war effort continued to exhort her followers to push, to destroy the platform pumping out toxic mana, but she herself had not moved much at all. In fact, as Zluth slid onward with his war party, Chozth was growing further and further away, hurling blasts of acid and demanding more from her followers.
"Something is wrong," Zluth muttered. "Something is very wrong."
His mind churned even as he supported the battle, shooting slime and acid to assist the monsters still frenzying at the boundary of the blue mana. What was happening? What was the play? There was danger all around him, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Was it the mana?
The blue field of toxin was rallying against the influx of natural fifth stratum energy, but he couldn't see any sign that the Krath were going to get cut off. Indeed, the blue energy was still retreating. If that wasn't it… what could it be?
The ants?
Chozth had ensured that the tunnels and surrounding rock would be monitored for any tunnelling activity, and so far no slug had sounded an alarm. It shouldn't be possible for them to be flanked unawares.
Was it Chozth?
Betrayal from within was a daily occurrence for the Krath tribes, but to throw her own war party into the jaws of their enemies during an invasion was unacceptable. If word spread that she had committed such an act, her own tribe would devour her the moment she returned to the Slimeground.
Zluth turned his eyes back to watch the sleek, powerful leader, even as he continued to make a show of supporting the fight. Chozth appeared as savage and confident as ever, but still, she wasn't moving up along with the rest of them.
Either she was betraying them, or she also felt something was wrong, but was content to risk lesser Krath for the chance of a great victory.
At that moment, Zluth decided to halt.
"Wait," he demanded of his war party, and the slugs slid to a halt.
In front of them, the battle still raged, the platform and its cursed, unnatural beasts had drawn closer, but was still hundreds of metres away. The push hadn't lost all its momentum, but it was certainly slowing.
They weren't going to make it.
Zluth saw a hint of movement, and both of his eyes snapped to it. It was an ant, not even a full ant, just a leg, but he knew to what that leg belonged. Before the creature could even fully emerge from its place, buried in the ceiling of the tunnel, Zluth was off and moving.
"Ambush!" he roared. "Fall back!"
His own war party reacted quickly, trusting in Zluth's judgement, but others were not so fast, losing critical seconds as they cast about in confusion. Gleeful aggression did not transition smoothly into panicked retreat, and many Krath were too lost in their bloodlust and rage to realise what was about to happen.
That confusion scattered like moss in the wind as the giant ant fully revealed itself, clacking its mandibles in a steady, intimidating rhythm.
Zluth raced across the ground, pushing his foot to its absolute limits. He knew what was about to come, and if he didn't get far enough away, there would be no escape whatsoever.
With an audible thwump, the strange field snapped into being, and everything in the tunnel became flattened, smashed into the floor with inevitable force.
But not Zluth.
He and his war party were clear, they'd covered enough distance! Yet the triumph that surged in his flesh was short-lived, as he saw what was waiting before him.
"CHOZTH!" he roared.
The leader turned her eyes on him.
"LOOK!"
She followed his arms and looked behind her, hesitating for a brief moment as she failed to see what had riled up her subordinate. Then she noticed.
Slowly, but with increasing speed, roots were beginning to emerge from the walls of the tunnel. Not just the walls; the floor and ceiling as well. In a matter of minutes, they would seal off the path of retreat completely.
"RETREAT!" Chozth bellowed. "FULL RETREAT!"
It was a trap!
-x-X-x-
"Abandon the captives!" Zluth told his war party. "Slide as fast as you can!"
His group was much further back than most and had managed to avoid the crushing force of the large ant's spell entirely, but many others hadn't been so lucky. As Zluth raced to escape before the twisting roots could block the tunnel, he turned one eye around to see what was happening behind.
It wasn't pretty. Many Krath had acted cautiously, just as Zluth had, but many others had not. When he'd shouted his warning, several Krath'sizz had pulled their groups back just far enough that they'd either outrun the strange spell or been caught right on the edge. By pressing themselves down to their smallest, thinnest shape, they were still able to push out of the field, if only just.
Yet there were several dozen Krath who were caught right in the middle. Despite straining with all of their strength, it was unlikely they would make it clear of the crushing force before the giant ant was able to reach them. Indeed, as he watched, the massive ant strode inexorably forward out of the blue mana and toward the captured slugs, clacking its mandibles mockingly the whole time.
His initial fears that some would betray the tribes, as Goszi had, were allayed as his fellow Krath began to detonate themselves one by one. The loss of good slugs was a blow to Chozth, but more traitors would have been enough to send Zluth into a fury.
Chozth herself hadn't been idle. As her people rushed towards her with all the speed they could muster, she once again sucked in mana and began to work a spell. When she turned and started racing for the tunnel exit herself, she dropped down from the ceiling and began to hurl a stream of slick goop from her mouth.
With the trail of slime in front of her, she raced across the ground at an absurd pace, her lithe and powerful body capable of speeds that Zluth could only dream of.
"Quick! Onto the trail!" he yelled to his followers, sliding onto it himself and instantly finding himself gliding faster than before.
His followers responded, and soon the growing wall of roots began to fill their vision.
"Damn tree!" Zluth cursed, eyes bulging with fury atop their stalks.
There was only one tree monster capable of doing something like this. At least, only one that wasn't an Ancient, and every Krath knew, and hated that cursed creature. Zluth sizzled with anger as he realised he should have seen it coming. The cursed children of the wooden thief had been seen assisting the ants, so of course they were here with her knowledge and approval. The Krath had expected the ants to tunnel around behind them and had taken measures to ensure they couldn't be surprised, but they hadn't bothered to try and detect the presence of the Mother Tree's roots.
A costly mistake, but one that wouldn't be the end of him! He was going to make it out, no matter what!
Ahead, Chozth was already far ahead of them, the stream of goo from her mouth finally coming to an end as she ran out of power. Yet, for her, it didn't matter, she had reached the growing blockade and leaped through, roots lashing after her form as she sailed through the open gap.
That gap was rapidly closing.
Zluth cast his eyes about frantically, looking for another way out. He pushed as hard as he could for the exit, but he could already tell it was going to be close. Desperate for a fallback plan, he hunted for a crack or crevice in the tunnel walls, anything that he could force himself into and try to dig his way out through, but there was nothing. The ants had been busy, reforging the natural walls of the tunnel into reinforced stone, smooth and without blemish.
Seeing no alternative, he abandoned his search and concentrated on the only escape he could still see: the narrowing gap ahead.
"Push harder, you weaklings!" he roared to his war party behind him, some of whom were already flagging. "Faster! Or you won't make it!"
Despite the risk of slowing him down, Zluth pulled in more mana and began to blend it with the acid inside him. Weaving a quick spell, he launched a glob of lurid, sizzling acid, splattering it over the roots, which immediately began to sizzle and burn.
He grimaced at the expense. The acid stores within him had grown thin, and he didn't have enough for any more magic. What remained pulsed throughout his slug flesh, but lacked the vigour and heat he was accustomed to.
It would be the work of many days to restore himself, but that was something he could worry about after he survived.
As the wall of roots loomed larger and larger in his eyes, he pushed himself to the limits, his foot straining to eke out every bit of speed he was capable of.
With a roar, he launched himself, compressing himself to lower the wind resistance as he sailed through the air. Roots scraped against his flesh, digging painful grooves along his foot, but Zluth was through. The tunnel beyond was clear, Chozth waiting a short distance away.
The rest of Zluth's war party followed soon after, and a small number of other groups made it through. More Krath launched spells at the roots, trying to burn them away with acid and sludge, but it had little effect. As time passed, the roots grew thicker and thicker, adding layers as well as mass to the wall.
Soon, it formed a solid barrier, and the Krath trapped on the other side were left with no way out.
Chozth's flesh bubbled and popped with the strength of her fury as she beheld the small number of Krath who had managed to escape. Only a third of those involved in the attack had found a way out. This assault had been a disaster.
Yet, witnessing the raw power of the Krath'lath, there were none who entertained the slightest thought of challenging her, not even Zluth.
"We will retreat," she burbled furiously. "Move."
Tired, weakened, and burning with fury, Zluth gathered his war party and slid away, one eye fixed on the barrier behind him.
-x-X-x-
The ambush went well, but Solant doesn't seem all that pleased. Not that she looks mad, she just looks… like Solant. Calm and cool, the little general sits amidst her swarm of generals, scouts, mages and other leaders at the heart of the command post, absorbing all the chaos with the equanimity of a monk.
Of course, I'm happy to barge in and make a nuisance of myself, which I do.
"Looking at you, I can't even tell if we did well or not," I say to Solant, resisting the urge to prod her with an antenna.
Her plan came off without a hitch, baiting in the Krath using a week-long effort of subterfuge, allowing the line to appear to buckle without it ever really being the case. To my mind, that had been the really impressive thing. She orchestrated that front perfectly, playing the opponent like a cheap fiddle. Aggressions here, weakness there, making minute adjustments, hour by hour, day by day, until even the cunning Krath had been lead to believe that the opening was real.
"We did very well, Senior," she tells me calmly, "but we merely won the battle, not the war. There is a long road yet to travel before we can declare victory over the fifth."
"I mean, sure," I reply, "but it's still something worth celebrating, right? With this win, the pressure should come off us a little, which means the final stages of construction should go smoothly, which means we'll beat the wave and lock this place up tighter than my fridge when my parents were home."
Solant waves her antennae a little uncertainly.
"I… presume that means tight?"
"Very."
"Your exuberance is pleasing, Senior, but I do not share your optimism. I believe the Krath, feeling vengeful, will redouble their efforts to break through. For all their faults, I do not believe the slug tribes are motivated by fear or cowardice, but hate. They will not be afraid to push back against us; rather, they will attack, filled with rage."
Well, that doesn't sound ideal. I can't help but sigh.
"I was kind of hoping for a bit of a break from fighting out in the fifth. There's only so many times I can tolerate having my eyes melt in my head."
"Soon, the inner workings of the fortress will be done, and the outer defences will be worked on. Day by day, it will become more and more difficult for the Krath to strike us in the tunnels."
"Not that they've been doing that good of a job so far," I chuckle.
Solant looks at me askance.
"Perhaps it seems that way to you, but that isn't the case. The Krath have nearly broken through on several fronts, and we have had to sally forth to prevent captives being taken no less than six times. Without this ruse, the Krath would have orchestrated a breach eventually, at great cost to us."
Uh… dang. I had no idea things were that rough! I suppose, on reflection, it makes a grim sort of sense. Even in the tunnel I was guarding, while I was there, the Immortals had to rush out to help prevent the loss of a captive. It isn't that hard to believe that in the tunnels that don't have me, or Tiny, Crinis, Vibrant or Invidia to help, they would struggle to hold off the slugs.
Solant's lack of smug energy is starting to make more sense. She's pleased the attack went well, but at the same time knows she was forced into creating this victory by the cunning of our enemies.
It's a sobering thought.
"Alright then, I won't bother you any more. Good luck with everything, and let me know if I can help. More than I am already, I mean."
"I will, Senior," she says, dipping her antennae in respect before turning back to the ever-evolving model and her swarm of advisors.
I make my way out of the command post, being careful to step over the influx of messengers as I do. I'm at an awkward height at this stage, where ants can easily run beneath me, but can't really reach high enough to climb over me. If they want to run over my back like they used to, they first have to latch onto my legs and climb up, which is awkward for everyone.
The end result is that I have to move a little slowly lest I end up pinning some unfortunate mage to the ground with one leg.
"Eldest," Advant is there to greet me on my way out. "Good to see you."
"Let's scuttle and talk, Advant. I assume you have something to tell me, and I'm headed to the medics to get checked out again."
The mighty Soldier, who is roughly half my size, falls in alongside me as I continue to carefully step down the tunnel.
The main thoroughfares of the fortress are largely complete at this stage, which makes it a lot easier for me to get around, since they always ensure there's a passage large enough for me to move through.
"I wanted to catch up with you before you got too far, Eldest," Advant says. "The Legion is demanding you submit yourself to another inspection."
"What? Already? What could possibly have changed between now and the last one?!"
"I'm not sure, Eldest, but it is in line with the schedule. They aren't asking for anything you didn't already agree to."
Dangit.
"I suppose I'll have to show up, then," I groan, clacking my mandibles in irritation. "Lousy Legion. Do they really think I don't have anything better to do?"
-x-X-x-
I was going to visit the healers anyway, so being prodded by the Legion at the same time isn't a big deal. I'm the one who agreed to their conditions, after all; it's not like I can complain now.
Well… I can… and I will! Just… internally.
Advant and I wind our way through the myriad tunnels of the burgeoning fortress, and I'm pleased to see how far along the building has come. With these large connecting tunnels complete, the build teams have moved on to finishing all the rooms, passages and chambers that come off them. Through the offramps and entrances, I can see workshops, resting chambers, storehouses and even guest rooms being filled in.
Solant's mastery of logistics continues to amaze and astound with just how efficient everything is. The guest rooms already have carpets, beds and tapestries in them, for goodness' sake! Not to mention the fine woodworked furniture!
Hello? Can we get a wall or something in the outer tunnels where the fighting is taking place?
As much as I want to protest, I know that Solant has arranged everything this way for a reason. Just because I don't know what it is doesn't mean it isn't for the best. Most importantly, the network of channels that will be the lifeline of this base are now complete, and the final touches are being put onto the many, many wuffer platforms dotted throughout the fortress.
When that work is done, the outer edges of the fortress will finally be completed, and I, along with all the other ants fighting at the frontline, will be able to retreat inside, secure behind the thickest walls, the most robust gates and the deadliest traps the Colony has ever devised.
Not to mention a thick wall of blue mana that will dissolve any enemy that comes too close. Gweheheheheh. If things go well, we won't have to defend the fortress at all; the cleansed energy of the wuffers will do all of the work for us.
We stride into a chamber to find a group of healers and Legionaries standing ready, waiting for my arrival. The Legion Commander is in attendance, along with Morrelia, which is nice. It's good to see Morrelia is doing well, though, if I'm honest, she looks a bit stressed.
Ah. I think I see the reason, and it has a large, luxurious moustache. In the time it takes me to move from the entrance to the centre of the room, Isaac hasn't taken his eyes off Morrelia once, smiling gently to himself and stroking his moustache idly with one hand while she avoids his gaze completely.
Geez.
[Isaac, get the heck out of here.]
He jumps when I speak to him, whipping around to look at me.
[Wha? Why?]
[Your facial hair is annoying. Go wait outside the door.]
[My… my facial hair?] he asks, voice trembling as he raises both hands to cover his pride and joy.
[You don't have to shave it or anything, just go wait outside, dammit!]
Yeesh.
Still confused, he does as I've asked, and only when he's out of sight does Morrelia visibly relax. Come on, Isaac, you have to be a lot better than this if you want to be her friend. Even Odin is doing better than you. Odin! Sarah can at least stand to be around him, which is more than I can say for this situation.
Commander Chyron, resplendent in her burnished armour and sweeping red cloak, cuts quite the dashing figure in the middle of the room, and I approach her, looming over the much smaller human, clacking my mandibles ominously.
[Are you done?] she asks once the mind bridge has been established. [You aren't impressing anyone.]
[Is that so? I'm a supremely unimpressive monster? Then I suppose you can pack up and go home. No need to be hanging around here with five thousand highly trained and expensively equipped troops, am I right?]
Chyron frowns and folds her arms across her chest. [You're annoying, if nothing else.]
[Coming from an Abyssal Legion Commander, I think annoying is a compliment,] I chuckle, giving my mandibles a few more snaps. [How've you been finding your tunnel? I hear things have been getting crazy up there.]
[I'm catching up on my sleep, if nothing else,] she says. [Can we hurry this along? I'm late for my nap.]
From what I hear, the Legion aren't taking it easy at all. Chyron has been putting the troops through an intense training regimen, whipping them into shape and ensuring her soldiers are in prime condition. They've been getting pretty much no attention from the Krath at all, only having to deal with random monster spawns, which they've done with contemptuous ease.
[No need to rush. If you come all this way to spend some time in my presence, we may as well have a chat. Can I interest you in tea and biscuits?]
[You cannot,] she firmly refutes. [I'm not here to exchange pleasantries with a monster, I'm here to do my duty.]
[Your duty involves having that guy wander over and wave his hand at me? What information is he even getting out of that?]
[We aren't required to give you that information, monster.]
[It'd be nice if you did, though.]
Chyron just glares up at me, clearly running out of patience. She really isn't much fun.
[How's the information exchange been going,] I ask. [Given us anything really juicy yet?]
[Your leader is satisfied with the intelligence provided,] Chyron says shortly. [That will have to be enough for you.]
Well, I suppose it is. If Solant is happy, then I am too.
[I wonder who we'll learn more from in the end,] I wonder, settling down for their Dungeon Seer to examine me, [you lot or the Krath we captured.]
[The what?!] Chyron snaps, glaring up at me.
I'm surprised by the intensity of her voice and turn my head towards her again. Then I think for a moment. I… probably shouldn't have mentioned that.
[Nothing. Just lies. All I do is lie, all the time, so many lies. Holy moly, there I go, lying again. Better get this inspection done with. I've got stuff to do.]
Smooth.
I reach out an antenna and prod the Dungeon Seer, prompting him to move forward. He recoils from me and looks to Chyron for guidance, trying to avoid my repeated poke attempts.
[You've captured a Krath? That's impossible,] she grinds out.
[Absolutely. That's the first clue that I was lying. Man. Such lies. I really shouldn't lie so much. It's bad for the soul. Or something. Are we done here?]
Times like this, I'm glad I can't sweat.
Chyron glares at me for a long moment before gesturing for the Dungeon Seer to approach me. As before, he holds out his hand for ten seconds or so, then lowers it again. This time, I'm watching closely, and I see the quick look of surprise that flickers through his eyes.
[You're reading my Level,] I say. [Why would that matter?]
Then I think for a moment.
[I shouldn't have said that out loud. Dangit.]
-x-X-x-
Commander Chyron of the Abyssal Legion stomped away from the meeting with the infuriating ant, her mind awhirl. Morrelia hurried along in her superior's wake, wondering just what was bothering the woman so much.
She didn't get any answers until they'd made their way back to their outpost. Without a word, the Commander strode through the camp and into the command tent, taking off her helmet and sitting down with an irritated huff.
Following into the tent were her two tribunes and the Legion Dungeon Seer, each with wary expressions on their faces as they wondered just what had put Chyron in such a poor mood.
"Report," she stated flatly and the Dungeon Seer stepped forward.
He was a man of middling age, with the short cut hair and clean shaven face expected of a Legionary. Despite his Class as a specialist form of Mage, his frame was packed with lean muscle, as even Mages in the Legion were not exempt from the hard physical training.
"Yes, Commander," he saluted. "The inspection was carried out cleanly and without interference. It seems the ants don't know how to interfere with the process, or aren't trying."
"Just give me the number, Wallace," Chyron grimaced. "I don't think they have any interest in trying to meddle with the process."
"The monster's Level has risen to one hundred and seventy one," Wallace reported.
"It's climbing rapidly," Morrelia noted without inflection. "Fighting in the fifth has been providing a great deal of experience, it seems."
Joshen Aurelis, her fellow tribune, looked at her askance.
"This is clearly an issue, Commander," he said. "If the target reaches the next tier before descending to the next stratum, our task will become significantly more difficult."
Chyron eyed the three figures in the tent with her. All of them waited on her words, though Joshen appeared somewhat impatient. He was always that way, eager for promotion, eager for advancement, eager to prove himself. Every moment was an opportunity for that young man. It was good for the young ones to have ambition, but she found his constant push to elevate himself detracted from his performance more than elevated it. Duty for duty's sake should be enough for a Legionary.
"And what do you propose we do about it, Joshen?" she asked. "Attack the target in the middle of this enormous fortress while surrounded by hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of monstrous ants? Even if we were able to destroy the creature before we were attacked by the others, which I cannot guarantee, then our entire Legion would be annihilated. At a time like this, we need every man and woman available to fight against the Dungeon. I won't sacrifice lives needlessly."
Chastened, Joshen nodded his understanding, though his expression firmed. Doubtless he was already thinking of a way to put himself forward again.
"What are your thoughts?" Chyron asked Morrelia, turning toward her other tribune.
The young woman considered her words for a moment, a habit Chyron had seen from her often when it came to the ants. Normally, she was decisive and forthright, unflinching in her views and advice. The Commander still wasn't sure what made her so hesitant to give her first thought when discussing these monsters, but she continued to ponder the reason.
"As you said, Commander," Morrelia said slowly, "we can't act now. Events have unfolded in such a way as to make completing our mission almost impossible. Without reinforcements or a fortuitous opportunity, it's difficult to see how we could succeed and escape with our Legion intact."
"So what do you advise?" Chyron prompted.
Morrelia took a breath, then spoke, and the Commander strongly suspected this was her initial thought coming to the surface.
"I believe we may need to consider the possibility that the Colony will actually succeed," she said.
Joshen shot her an incredulous look and opened his mouth to speak but hesitated when he saw Chyron's expression. The Commander sighed and turned to Wallace.
"Thank you for your time, Wallace. You are dismissed."
"Yes, Commander," the Mage replied, fist crashing to his chest in salute before he exited the tent.
Once he was gone, Chyron spoke once more.
"The ant let slip something during our… conversation. It seems that the ants have captured a Krath."
"That's not possible," Joshen stated immediately. "The Krath have never allowed themselves to be captured. Not in thousands of years."
This was true. It was difficult to even see a Krath if they didn't want to be found. In all of their time in the fifth, the Legion had fought with the slug tribes many times, and had never taken a captive. In truth, the Legion hadn't really been trying; they much preferred annihilation over capture, a policy the Krath were happy to oblige.
"Do you think the ant was lying?" Chyron turned to Morrelia.
Again, that slight hesitation.
"I doubt it. Anthony… that is to say, the target, is almost incapable of convincingly lying. It's more likely they let it slip unintentionally."
"You think the ants were trying to hide this information from us?"
"Unlikely," Morrelia shook her head. "I think they just didn't think we needed to be told, since it doesn't concern us."
Joshen looked incredulous.
"Do you really believe that they captured a Krath? The very idea is nonsense."
"Normally, I would agree with you," Chyron stated. "But for some reason, I think the ant might have told the truth. It's possible these monsters have done something nobody else, in the history of Pangera, has ever done before. Actually found a Krath so cowardly they would allow themselves to be taken."
If true, it could change everything, or nothing. Catching a Krath was one thing, getting them to spill the secrets of the fifth was another. This could also impact the deal Chyron had struck with the ant leader Solant. If the ants had another source of information, then their deal with the Legion became less important.
Chyron stood up and grabbed her helmet, placing it over her short-cut, iron-grey hair.
"I'm going to speak to the ants," she announced. "I wonder if they'll let me see this miracle for myself. If they really have taken one, I can only imagine what they are doing to the creature to get it to talk."
-x-X-x-
It wasn't easy for Chyron to get a meeting with Solant. Not because the ants prevented them from speaking to each other, but because the demands on the ant's time were so extreme that opportunities for them to get together were scarce.
They'd met several times since the initial agreement had been formed, and the Commander expected things to go much the same way as they had last time. However, she was in luck, and was granted an audience with the ant leader at oddly short notice.
Walking into the command post, alone, was a disorienting sensation for Chyron. There were ants everywhere. They crawled over each other, on the roof, on the walls, antennae waving and legs flickering. The space was filled with constant motion to the point it was dizzying, even to someone with her level of vision.
Not that the area wasn't organised. There were clear lines of delineation for tasks, areas of expertise and processes. Messengers coming in were organised based on priority, shuffled into different queues to be processed, information was double and triple checked before being passed to the inner circle, moving from outer ring to inner through trusted intermediaries. As a leader herself, Chyron recognised the purpose to much of the flow. There was just so much of it, and the space was so full, that being inside gave her an oppressive feeling of claustrophobia.
Fortunately, she wasn't required to go too far inside, just to wait on the outskirts, and soon a small ant surrounded by many others emerged from the chaos, a mind bridge forming between them soon after.
[Greetings, Commander.]
Solant's mental tone was always cool and calm, almost devoid of emotion. She spoke with a deliberate, precise pace, as if every word had been measured and weighed before she opted to deliver it.
Chyron didn't bow or tip her head, but raised a hand in greeting.
[Solant,] she said, attempting to show some level of respect to the monster. Insulting the creature wouldn't get her what she wanted, nor would open hostility. Who'd said Chyron was incapable of diplomacy?
[I have heard you are interested in meeting our resident Krath?] Solant asked, coming to a stop before the Commander.
The monster almost reflexively began cleaning her antennae, dragging them through the elbow joints of her front legs, something all the ants did habitually.
[So it's true?] Chyron noted. [You actually captured one?]
[The Eldest makes the impossible possible on a regular basis,] the ant noted, [I no longer question it. Would you like to meet him?]
[I'm interested in seeing for myself,] Chyron confirmed, but wondered whether they would allow it. To her surprise, the general nodded immediately.
[Very well. I will take you.]
One thing about the ants is that they didn't tend to move slow. Much like the non-monstrous versions on the surface that Chyron recalled from her youth, they skittered about quickly, and she was forced to maintain a jogging pace to keep up. In her heavy armour, a normal person would have been exhausted in moments, but she easily maintained the pace.
Through many tunnels and twists they ran, the still-developing fortress being built up around them. Every time Chyron came through the tunnels, she was more impressed by what the ants had been able to achieve. Not content with half measures, they had decided to build something enormous in scale. When complete, it would dwarf the Legion's own holdings in the fifth, but it was yet to be seen if the ants could finish it, let alone hold it.
Eventually, they came to the outskirts of the fortress, through a tight security corridor and finally into a small chamber. One entire wall was made of some form of glass that, for the moment, was opaque. The rest of the room was plain and undecorated, without furniture or embellishment of any kind.
[It wasn't easy for us to create this space,] Solant explained, indicating the glass wall. [There's a null mana zone all around the chamber in which the Krath is held. It pushes away the purified energy of the fortress as well as the natural mana of the fifth, preventing the two from blending. Once a day, we have to refresh the mana inside, as the prisoner absorbs it over time.]
Five ants had entered the room along with them, and Solant nodded to one who then began weaving magic. Chyron could feel the monster reach out to something in the other room, forming a mind bridge, then communicating.
[We want to let him know you're here, so there aren't any surprises,] Solant told her.
[You don't want to surprise it?] Chyron wondered.
Just what sort of treatment were they giving the creature? The Krath were the most despicable creatures in the entire Dungeon, regularly inflicting the most horrific treatment on their captives to the point that capture at their hands was considered the worst fate a person could suffer. The Legion had burned down whole swathes of the fifth to try and exterminate them, but had never succeeded, locking the enmity between them in stone.
[He doesn't want to talk to us with Commander Chyron present,] the mage announced.
[He doesn't have a choice,] Solant replied coolly. [Open the glass.]
The window turned transparent, and Chyron's eyes widened.
The Krath were as ugly in form as they were in spirit. Long, green-yellow slugs, their large mouths were filled with needle-pointed fangs, and atop their form, their eyes sat at the end of long stalks. At the front of their bodies, twelve spindly limbs extended, each tipped with razor-thin claws.
Right now, the slug was glaring straight at Chyron, its eyes bulging and burning pure red with hate. Though she couldn't hear it, Chyron could see the writhing and slight popping up and down the creature's flesh. Sensitive to its mood, the acid the Krath kept within their flesh was clearly active.
To be fair, the Commander felt much the same way, her hands clenching into fists as she imagined tearing the creature apart and stomping it beneath her armoured boots.
So pure was her anger, she didn't notice the creature's 'cell' for some time. Soft cushions, rugs, nice furniture, a bed, even paintings and tapestries on the wall. Was that a plate of tea and biscuits on the table?!
[Is this your prisoner or your guest?] she demanded of Solant, rounding on the little ant.
[Prisoner,] came the reply.
[Then why are you treating it so well? If your roles were reversed, you would be begging for death!]
[I don't care about inflicting pain, or making the creature suffer, or how the Krath have treated others,] Solant said. [I only care about extracting information.]
-x-X-x-
The Legionary Commander and the Krath glared at each other, each wishing they could destroy the other, while Solant stood to the side, observing their interactions calmly.
[I refuse to say a word in the presence of this metal-clad usurper,] Goszi hissed into the general's mind. [Get rid of her immediately.]
Solant clacked her mandibles, somewhat amused.
[Do you think I am here to question you? That is not the case.]
Goszi narrowed his eyes, turning his glare onto the ant as his mind buzzed with possibilities. Were the Legion the true architects of the invasion? Had they finally stepped forward to claim credit?
If so, he would rather die than talk. Goszi wanted to live, of course he did, but even he had his limits. Spill the deepest secrets of the Krath to their most hated enemies? You may as well have him talk directly to the tree!
He wouldn't do it.
Chyron also turned her ire-filled gaze toward Solant.
[Do you really think if you treat a Krath nicely, they will reciprocate with kindness? They eat each other as a way to prune the weak. There isn't a shred of kindness to be found in them. They are more monster than sapient.]
Even Solant couldn't let that pass.
[Almost as if being born naturally or from the Dungeon has no bearing on character,] she chided the Commander, who didn't take back her words. Not wanting to quarrel, Solant moved on. [No, being kind to Goszi will not elicit his sympathy or respect. By the same token, being cruel and administering pain will only cause him to withhold from us, or begin to lie. In order to persuade him to share, we have to give him something he values. Only then can we threaten to take it away.]
Chyron frowned. It was probably impossible to cause enough pain to a Krath to make them speak. They lived with acid burning within their bodies every second of every day. Pain was nothing to them, a constant companion from the moment they were born to the moment they died.
[You really think you can extort information out of this creature with tea and biscuits?]
[We will soon see.]
[Have you finally decided to reveal your true masters?] Goszi spat at Solant. [This whole invasion has been the work of the Legion all along!]
Now the general turned back to the slug, waggling her antennae.
[You believe the Abyssal Legion has created an army of monstrous ants and joined forces with the bruan'chii to wage war on the fifth?] she asked.
She let the absurd question hang between them, raining ridiculousness down on Goszi's head.
When he considered it, what Solant said made sense. The Legion would never do such things. The Legion wouldn't cooperate with monsters or bruan'chii in any way, and yet, they were here! There was a Legionary Commander standing next to a monster staring daggers at him right this moment!
This had to mean something, a play by the real puppeteers, but for what? Perhaps they were trying to tip him off balance, rile up his anger by parading this hateful sack of meat in front of him. Or was it misdirection? Perhaps the Legion really was in charge, and this was just to make him think they weren't! Still… would they really abandon the principles they had held onto for thousands of years?
The more he tried to read the situation and find the deeper layers of meaning, the more he became tangled in his own thoughts. Whoever was pulling the strings was a mastermind, hinting at things but never revealing, leaving Goszi in a web of illusions.
[What do you want, bringing this… person here? All you have done is stir my hatred,] he declared probing for a response.
As always, Solant was unperturbed by the words of the slug.
[I don't want anything. I don't expect anything. I don't need anything,] she replied. [You assume that this is about you, but why would that be the case? We may be here for the Commander, or perhaps in the service of our unseen 'masters'?]
The slug glared at Solant, who looked back placidly, unresponsive in the face of Goszi's rising fury.
[Do you think this will bait me into revealing something I shouldn't?] he sneered. [I am less likely to talk now that you've shown how closely you are working with my enemies.]
Solent waved her antennae thoughtfully.
[Goszi, I shouldn't have to remind you that we are your enemies, yet you propose to work with us just fine. If you truly feel that you don't want to divulge any information… then I'm afraid we may need to consider cancelling afternoon tea today.]
Goszi frowned, looking at the ant monster askance.
[You're… cancelling tea?] he queried.
Solent nodded.
[Yes. It is difficult to bring tea and biscuits down into the fifth; there is a limited supply, as I'm sure you understand. If you refuse to cooperate with us at all… then I'm afraid it is difficult to justify providing you with such rare commodities.]
Goszi laughed in her face.
[I was expecting threats from you, but this is what you choose to threaten me with?] he mocked. [I have lived most of my life on slime and rotten meat. You won't pry any knowledge from me with a few of these… biscuits.]
[As you say,] Solant acknowledged, then cut him off, turning to Chyron. [As you can see, we have not misled you. We have a captive, there he is, and we are working to extract what reliable information we can in our own way.]
[Do you think you will be successful?] Chyron growled, still staring at the hateful slug. Seeing a Krath like this was a first for her, trapped and helpless, unable to escape her glare. [If you need assistance, I know how to make them fear.]
It wasn't something she should have offered, which she realised immediately, but found she wasn't prepared to retract her words. Yes, she could inflict horrors on this Krath, and would gladly do so.
[That will not be necessary,] Solant informed her, before gesturing that they should leave the small viewing chamber. [I believe there is nothing to be gained from having you and Goszi glare at each other any further. Let us leave.]
[So you gained something from this meeting?] Chyron asked as she turned and stomped out.
[I believe so, yes,] Solant said with satisfaction, her many-lensed eyes gleaming.
-x-X-x-
[About time you got involved,] I rant, prodding at the roots of the Mother Tree with my antennae.
The roots quiver and slide around each other, creating a menacing hissing sound, but I'm not intimidated.
[You want to threaten me? Down here? I don't think so!] I roar, prodding at the fibrous plant matter more aggressively. [You said you'd turn up ages ago, and only now you follow through? Do you have any idea how hard I've had to work in these tunnels? It's been outrageous!]
The roots turn towards me and start to waggle rudely, which causes my mandibles to twitch. Just before I can start pruning this mannerless hedge, I'm interrupted by a gathering of the bruan'chii approaching their mother with warmth and love in their eyes.
Honestly, what has she done to deserve such treatment? As far as I can see, the offspring are far more agreeable than the parent. Something no ant would ever dare to claim about themselves.
The smaller, regular bruan'chii are so little to me now I have to be careful not to squish them as I move over to allow them the space to gather around their mother. The blue mana has extended out to this point in the tunnel now, finally letting the tree-ish people through to welcome their parent.
I mean, regular bruan'chii are around the same size as a person, perhaps a little bigger, but I'm too huge at this point for that to matter. The Grove Keepers, on the other hand, are significantly larger than a person and can still look me in the eyes, though I outmass them to a hilarious degree. Much more tree-like than their smaller brethren, the Grove Keepers are chunky, with thick, wooden limbs covered in leafy vines and deep, green or brown eyes that seem to hold a deeper wisdom that can only be found by being made of wood or something.
As if wood is as awesome as diamond! Just nonsense.
There are two of the huge Keepers here with the group, and one approaches me, holding up a hand in welcome. I feel their mind reach out to mine, and I accept the bridge, allowing it to snap into place.
[Greetings to you, great ant,] they say in a deep, slow voice.
[Hey there. Nice to see you. Hope everything has been… not as unpleasant as it could be while you've been down here.]
The bruan'chii didn't have to show up to support our invasion of the fifth, but they did, even though the Mother Tree hadn't been keen on the idea. They've been very helpful across the base, chipping in on the front lines, helping the medical teams, and carrying truly ridiculous quantities of building materials.
The Grove Keeper meets my eyes with a slight smile on his wooden face.
[We have been well, but it is wonderful to be in the presence of the Mother once more. She is the light that brings warmth to our spirits.]
If I'm not wrong, they probably mean that in some literal way. I don't know much about the bruan'chii, but I do know that they're all connected in some way, to each other and to the tree.
[Well, let her know that we're grateful she's here,] I say grumpily. [I know she didn't really want to expose herself in the fifth more than she had to.]
Bringing attention to the fact that she's here at all is something she wanted to avoid. Her real body is down here, after all, and the Legion in particular would be very interested to get their hands on that little bit of information. Or the Krath.
[I believe Mother understands that the battle for the fifth is… important… to us… for her… and for all of us who live in the Dungeon.]
The Grove Keeper has a slow, methodical way of speaking, but their mental voices are quite pleasant to listen to. Somehow they're soothing, like rich soil or vibrant growth.
I'm a bit sceptical that the Mother Tree is quite as invested as the Keeper thinks they are, but hey, who am I to know the ways of their parent better than them? The best possible way to get her to stick around and help more is to make sure the bruan'chii remain involved in the invasion, which I will certainly endeavour to do, all the way to the end.
Gweheheheh.
I wave goodbye to the Keeper and watch as they trundle off to commune with the Mother Tree. As a group, the bruan'chii seem very happy to be closer to her, lots of big smiles and all that. It almost makes me wish we could bring the Queen down here to cheer everyone up, but I know that would end in disaster. There would be no way to keep her from the front line, and if one of the Colony were kidnapped, she would charge off into the unknown without hesitation.
Well, that's enough mucking around. We've won a glorious victory here for the family, which hopefully means we have a little breathing room. It might be time for me to go and spend some Skill Points and see if there's anything I can spend my Biomass on.
Not that I have much….
-x-X-x-
There are many strange magics in this world, different forms of mana and ways of employing that energy that combine to make almost anything possible. The Colony has put enormous time, effort and resources into attempting to map all of these, to create a complete record of every type of mana and magic discipline, but at some point we began to believe that our quest may not be possible.
Some forms of mana are so esoteric that access to them is extremely difficult to acquire. It's unknown exactly what is needed to unlock some of these rare magics, and it's a possibility that the way we ants think is preventing us from being able to use them.
Some individuals have been able to attune themselves to rare and powerful magic, but are not always able to pass on their knowledge to others. The Eldest is a prime example. Despite several attempts, they were never able to unlock their particular, devastating brand of magic for anyone other than themself.
- Excerpt from the private notes of Coolant, Mage of the Colony.
I may not have been able to get much in the way of Biomass while I'm down here, but I sure as heck have had plenty of time to practise my combat Skills. I've been chomping, blasting with fire, dashing all over the place and making judicious use of my gravity mana through all sorts of intense fights.
By now I'm sure to have reached some caps. I mean, I should be regularly checking and upgrading my Skills as soon as I'm able, it's not like I'm struggling for Skill Points right now… but I can't be bothered—I mean I've been very busy!
There's a whole invasion of the fifth stratum going on right now, war with the slug tribes and all sorts of important stuff to deal with! Who's got time or energy for mucking about with Gandalf? Not me!
Well… I suppose I do right now….
I wander back into the fortress, heading away from the bruan'chii and their touching reunion toward the inner chambers. So many of them are complete now, and there's a bit more available space since there aren't build teams everywhere, or large stockpiles of construction materials crowding everything.
Once I spot a sufficiently out-of-the-way pocket, I plop myself down, take a breath and open up my status screen. As expected, there's a large number of Skills that need upgrading, some important ones at that, but my eyes are first drawn to one in particular, my pride and joy: Gravity Magic Affinity.
Lo' and behold! There it is in my status screen!
Master Gravity Mana Affinity (IV) Level 40.
Which means… I can rank it up! Grandmaster, here we come! I'm so excited, I spend the Skill Point immediately, not bothering to look at anything else. As soon as it's done, an overwhelming flood of knowledge begins to pour into my brains, filling them with a trickling, shivery sensation as new information takes shape within my memory.
And it's a heck of a lot of knowledge, which is exciting! I wonder how many spells I just learned! I haven't gotten a new spell since Gravity Well at rank one, which is a rather handy piece of magic, to say the least. Whatever I get this time is going to be just as, if not more impressive, so I'm super keen to see what it does!
As soon as the process finishes, I start dredging through this new knowledge, picking up each individual piece before setting it back down again in a new spot as I try to piece the puzzle together.
It's a painstaking process, and one that isn't made any easier by the sheer bulk of what I have to process. I mean, a puzzle doesn't get easier if there are more pieces, right? Generally speaking, the opposite is true. Every single spell is an intricate weaving of mana, a three dimensional masterpiece with hundreds, if not thousands of interlocking parts that all need to be perfect for the spell to function properly. Even the simplest bolt is a complex shape that requires a high level of mental fortitude to create.
As I pick through my new knowledge, I'm eager to see just how many new shapes I've been given, but as I work, I slowly start to realise that all these pieces I've been looking at seem to all fit the same general puzzle. Which means, I've only unlocked a single new spell.
And… looking at just how much knowledge was shoved into my brain, it's… rather large. Significantly larger than even Gravity Well was.
This is just unreasonable! Do you have any idea how hard it is to cast Gravity Well? It's ridiculous! Creating an adaptable mass of power that can selectively exert the power of gravity might sound really simple, but I assure you it isn't! Whatever the heck this spell does, it better be mighty impressive, because it's going to take ages for me to be able to cast it reliably!
Before I can even start to practise, I need to go through this process to get the actual shape right. After a couple of hours of using my brains to work on the problem at the same time, I've made a lot of progress, and I have to say, this spell is giving me the heebie-jeebies.
For starters, it requires an absurd amount of mana. Like… all of it. All of the mana. Second, if I'm not mistaken, it seems to be rather… dangerous. And I don't mean to whatever I'm aiming at, I mean in general. Even to me.
Putting this much power into such a small space, in such a chaotic way, just… just can't be right. If I actually cast this thing… just what is going to happen?
-x-X-x-
After spending an hour burning mental energy trying to figure out just how this new spell form works, I give up for the time being. Well, sort of. The nice thing about having multiple brains is that I can have the others continue the work while the main mind gets on with other business.
Gweheheheh. Yes, sub-brains, work hard for me!
I know I'm technically laughing at myself, but it still feels like I'm passing off the work to someone else, which is always a lovely feeling.
Reading through my extensive list of Skills, I have to wonder, how long have these things been maxed out? I'm going to say… not long. I'm not basing that on anything, but if Granin were to ask, I'll make sure to tell him I've been diligently monitoring my status sheet as a good Ancient prospect should.
The next big Skill I take a look at is, of course, Void Chomp.
It finally reached level ONE-HUNDRED AND SIXTY! Which is a heck of a lot of levels. Turns out smushing all these fifth stratum monsters between my mandibles has paid off after all! Void Chomp is one of my most potent Skills right now, a rank six physical attack that, when empowered, absolutely detonates anything but the strongest monsters. I'm super excited to see what it turns into at rank seven!
In fact, I'm so excited that I upgrade it immediately, spending the Skill Point and confirming the purchase with Gandalf.
Void Chomp (VI) -> Starcrusher (VII)
Uh, what? Starcrusher? Excuse me? That sounds super deadly! I mean, Starcrusher? It crushes stars? What will happen if I empower it?
As the knowledge of the new Skill trickles into my brain, I wait eagerly, my mandibles quivering in anticipation. I need this Skill to be amazing since I'll be using it for a long time, a full three-hundred and twenty levels until it reaches rank eight, but I certainly don't want to be improving this any further until I evolve. Granin warned me that my Skills shouldn't outpace my evolutions, lest they become stronger than my body can handle.
The moment I'm finished learning the rank seven ability, my mandibles fly open, but right on the verge of activating it, I look around at the newly completed cavern that I'm occupying. Right now… it's probably not a good idea to let it rip here in the fortress, which hasn't even been finished yet. If I use it and blow up a few rooms, the carvers are going to be… a little upset. I can wait. I can hold it.
Probably.
For now, let's distract myself and look for more Skills that I can upgrade, and there's a ton of them:
Tunnel Compass (IV) -> Tunnel Compendium (V)
Master Stamina (IV) -> Grandmaster Stamina (V)
Layered Mind Magic Affinity (V) -> Multi-Layered Mind Magic Affinity (VI)
Guided Acid Shot (V) -> Pinpoint Acid Shot (VI)
Expert Chomp Combo (III) -> Master Chomp Combo (IV)
Grandmaster Dodge (V) -> Flicker Dodge (VI)
Flash Dash (V) -> Unseen Dash (VI)
There's a lot going on there, and much of it is to my fundamental capabilities. More stamina is always nice, better mind magic is certainly welcome, hopefully it improves the quality of my mind constructs, more accurate acid, faster dashing. All good stuff.
Sadly, neither of the two new fusions are ready to rank up yet. Manifold High-Focus is rank five and still has a ways to go, but Precognitive Agile Defense is only rank four and is very close, just a few more levels and it'll be ready to advance.
I confirm the purchases and settle in as a wave of warm trickling sensations flows over my mind. I don't think I'll ever get used to learning this way, but I'll never say it isn't convenient as heck. All I have to do is sit on my backside for a while and new knowledge just flows into my brain. With so many higher rank upgrades, it takes a bit of time for the process to finish, time I spend continuing to pick over my new gravity spell. It's so absurdly complicated that I'm sure it'll take days or even weeks for me to fully iron it out, then practise the spell form to the point I can put it together in battle conditions.
However, other things, like my new starcrusher bite, or better dashes, are relatively straightforward. I should be able to use them pretty much straight away. Filled with anticipation at the havoc I'll soon be causing, I pick myself up and start heading out to my usual frontline tunnels. Sarah has been holding down the fort for a while, giving me more rest and freeing up my time to participate in Solant's trap, but she'll need a break herself by this time. Hopefully she and Odin haven't had too bad of an experience. Fighting in the fifth is deeply unpleasant at the best of times, but both of them specialise in up-close fighting, which means they've had to deal with all of the slime and ooze without any chance of getting away from it.
Making my way through the tunnels, I come to the area I usually defend, and it doesn't take long for me to find Sarah lying down and being tended by a team of healers who are crawling over her, prodding and poking with their antennae as they treat her extensive injuries.
[Holy heck, Sarah! What is going on with you?]
The massive bear lifts her head, much to the irritation of the ant sitting on top of it.
[Hey, Anthony,] she greets me wearily. [I just got back from the tunnels. You weren't kidding when you said how rough it is out there. It's absolutely disgusting.]
[Did you get much trouble from the Krath?] I ask her.
[No, not really,] she says. [I think they were still trying to get used to me, but I'm happy for a break, if I'm honest.]
[Absolutely. I just unlocked a bunch of new Skills and I'm keen to test them out! You can rest and recuperate for a couple of days. I've got this.]
[A bunch of Skills?] she asks me quizzically. [Don't you rank them up as soon as you max them? How are a group of them all reaching max level at the same time?]
[Of course I do!] I laugh, unconvincingly. [I'm always on top of things!]
Then I run.