C1587:1695 - Delving
The practice of Delving the Dungeon is as old as the Cataclysm. During the time of Rending, the world below became open to the surface for the first time. Other than horrific danger, there were many things to be found in the depths. Without the efforts of those first delvers, even the remnant of civilisation that survived the Cataclysm would not have endured. Metal and wood infused with mana, rare gems and crystals capable of channeling power, many were the wonders of the Dungeon at that time, when magical energy was at a dizzying, unimaginable level.
In the modern day, Delving is a time-honoured profession, exploring and seeking riches, battling monsters and unearthing rare prizes within the depths. Operating at all accessible strata, the men and women who ply this trade are among the bravest, most adventurous and strongest to be found outside of a professional military.
For this reason, they are to be respected.
-Excerpt from 'Delving: An Introduction' by Carollus
"You hear that?" Shamus whispered.
Elsi tipped her head slightly and closed her eyes, focusing on her hearing.
She could hear many things. Monsters fighting in the distance, the drip of water, a monstrous vine trying to sneak up behind her, the breathing of a half dozen delvers within a hundred metres. Yet, she was sure none of that was what Shamus referred to.
"No," she replied softly, opening her eyes as she flicked a tongue of fire behind her.
The vine flinched away from the burst of heat, hesitated, then kept coming. Whatever it was connected to must be hungry. With so many delvers in the area, there had been far fewer monsters to feast on, causing it to become desperate.
She turned and worked her mana, fire igniting between her hands. Fire magic wasn't the most circumspect way to attack something, but it was highly effective against most plants. Thrusting her palm forward, she sent a finger-wide beam of concentrated blue flame searing along the length of the vine, which shrivelled and burned away in a matter of seconds.
"Are you alright back there?" Shamus muttered.
"Dealing with a vine," she whispered back.
Cursing under his breath about how irritating plant monsters were, he went back to listening, his ear pressed into the ground.
"I heard something big moving around. Real big," he told her. "Not sure what happened, but it's gone now."
"Gone?"
If a large monster, like a Thunder Lizard or Monarch Beast were thumping about the tunnels, they didn't just… disappear.
"I'm not sure. I could feel the vibrations, clear as sunshine, but they just… stopped."
"Maybe it's standing still?"
"Maybe…"
Shamus kept his ear pressed down for a few moments longer before he straightened with a frown.
Balding, bearded and with scars across his face and arms, Shamus was everything Elsi wanted to see in the leader of a Delving team. In this line of work, you either died young, or got smart, and someone who'd been in the game as long as Shamus was a damned genius when it came to the Dungeon.
Wearing sensible, beast leather armour, he looked like the thorough professional that Elsi hoped she would be in a few years when she had enough experience to strike out on her own.
"Better to be safe," he muttered to her, "we'll back up a hundred metres to that rock outcropping over there. There's too many idiots camped around here to make a capture anyway. If an ant shows up, there'll be a free-for-all. What did I say about those?"
"For fools and dead delvers," she replied.
"Exactly."
Following his lead, Elsi crept back down the tunnel, keeping to the shadows and making sure her senses, all of them, were open to the Dungeon around her. In a place where a flower's thorn could kill, you stayed alert, or you never made it home. The first lesson every delver had to learn.
When they reached the outcropping, the two delvers hunkered down, concealing their location by placing discreet wards and masking their scent. Only when all traces had been scrubbed did they start to observe once more.
"I still can't hear it," Shamus said. "It was coming this way, a kilometre or two off. Can you sense any concentration of magic?"
Elsi focused, using her mind to sense the ebb and flow of power around them. At first, she sensed nothing, but after a moment she realised that wasn't quite right. The flow was… off. Mana was moving, just a little, but she couldn't see any explanation as to why. Normally it would act that way if… if a large monster were around, pulled towards the beast by its core.
Yet she couldn't sense a thing. That was… not good.
"Mana's moving a little strangely, like there's something big out there, but I can't find any monsters that size."
"I don't like that one bit. We might have to back up further. Keep watch and I'll find another spot for us…. Wh… what in Pangera is that?"
Shamus' voice turned hoarse towards the end, sending a spike of fear running down Elsi's spine. She whipped her head up and immediately froze.
That… shouldn't be possible.
In the distance, a gigantic, colossal ant was floating through the air. Drifting into sight, the monster had its legs curled up beneath its body as it just… drifted along.
A deep purple, shimmering carapace, long, mean-looking mandibles, and eyes that shone like brilliant diamonds, the ant slowed to a halt. After a moment, it unfolded legs like tree-trunks and drifted down to the ground.
Elsi sucked in a sharp breath and Shamus whispered to her without taking his eyes off the creature.
"What is it?" he hissed.
"It was masking its core," she whispered back.
"What tier?"
"Eight. Possibly nine."
"By the Path."
Huddled in small groups, delvers throughout the tunnel hesitated, fearing to move, unsure what they should do.
CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
The monster slammed its mandibles together rhythmically.
Laughing at them.
-x-X-x-
"What… what do we do?" Elsi whispered urgently. "It's an ant. Didn't we come for an ant?"
Shamus shook his head.
"Fool girl," he replied, "we didn't come for a tier eight giant. We are getting out of here."
"Ah! AHHHH!!! HELP!"
Screams echoed in the tunnel as a delver lost their cool. Elsi couldn't see what was happening at first. Heart pounding in her chest, she looked out over the rocks, casting her eyes about trying to see what was happening.
After a few seconds, she saw it. Someone she didn't know, a delver from another team, was rising up into the air, glowing red axe in hand, and flailing as they floated helplessly in the air. Desperate, they lashed out, sending an arc of deadly energy streaking through the air and crashing into the ant's carapace.
Only for it to dissipate harmlessly against that deep purple material.
Clackclackclackclackclack.
A rapid staccato of mandible snaps, like a chuckle, emanated from the beast. The giant ant extended an antenna and prodded the helpless Delver, mocking him as he continued to swing wildly. Without his feet planted, or any leverage, he couldn't exert much power, and the ant was clearly unharmed.
A sick feeling rose in Elsi's stomach as she knew what was coming next.
Monsters and delvers fought and killed each other every day. She herself had killed hundreds, if not thousands of Dungeon spawn. Someone like Shamus had probably killed tens of thousands over their career. Everyone knew it could easily go the other way. She just didn't like to see it happen.
Mandibles opened wide as the screaming delver hung in the air, right before the monster's face.
"Whoa… whoa! IT'S GOT ME! ATTACK!"
Another voice cried out, another person, drifting up into the air, rising from their concealed location against the tunnel wall.
This time, someone listened and leapt out of hiding, bow shining with golden light as they pulled back on the string. When they released, a beam of pure radiance fired from the bow, slamming into the monster's side. Shards of light scattered everywhere, blinding Elsi for a moment as she raised her hand to shield her eyes.
The ant… was unharmed.
"Get out and fight!" the archer demanded, stringing another arrow to her bow. "Are you going to let it snatch us out of hiding one by one?"
Her voice rang through the tunnel, and, after a moment, others leapt to her call.
Bolts of sizzling magic tore through the air and detonated against the ant's carapace. Warriors leapt out of hiding, brandishing their weapons and sending deadly arcs of blade light against the creature.
"Watch for the mandibles!"
"Spacing, spacing!"
"Mages to me! I'll shield you!"
"Move, move, move! Don't stay still!"
A dozen delvers joined the fight, calling to each other as they drew on their years of experience to try and coordinate. They'd all fought against strong monsters before. It was hard, but a skilled and organised group could get the job done. It was the only way to get the job done.
For a moment, Elsi didn't think the ant was even moving, but as she stared, through the explosions and barrage of light, she could tell it was making minute positional adjustments, shifting its body, angling its carapace to receive the strikes.
Yet it didn't appear flustered, it didn't even appear to be fighting back. Two delvers still hung in the air, flailing, unable to free themselves from the invisible force that bound them.
"Are we going to join in?" Elsi asked urgently, half raised from her crouch already.
"Wait," Shamus hissed, his gaze fixed unerringly on the ant. "Something isn't right here."
"Other than the gigantic ant fighting us in the tunnels?"
Had the ants finally decided to push back? The monsters had been in hiding for so long, Elsi had begun to think there was no point looking for them, regardless of the reward posted.
She examined the ant more closely, her delving instincts trying to assess the value of the creature. Realising she couldn't put a name on the materials she could see, Elsi felt like that number was going to be quite high.
Still, you couldn't spend money if you were dead.
"Give it a minute," Shamus told her, intense focus on his face. "I'm no coward, but I won't leap in over my head and get killed."
A moment later, the two of them flinched back as intense pressure assaulted their minds.
Elsi could feel mind magic being pressed against her. She tried to fend it off, but taken by surprise, she could only feebly push back as a bridge slammed into place.
[Trying to capture ants, eh?] the alien mind mocked them. [Well, I'm right here, come and get me!]
Purple light exploded from the monster's carapace, and Elsi felt herself rise into the air. Keeping her wits about her, she looked down and found herself falling toward the roof.
-x-X-x-
A stalactite rushed to meet her and Elsi reacted on pure instinct, spinning like a dancer in the air as she parried the stone and flipped, landing on her feet. She looked up… or down… to the floor of the tunnel beneath them, wondering how she could get back there.
Shamus had also landed somewhat gracefully, grunting as his feet slammed into the stone.
"What type of magic is this?" he wondered, crouching low, eyes still focused on the fighting in the distance.
"I have no clue," Elsi said, settling in beside him.
"Have you managed to cut the mind bridge?" he asked, and she shook her head. "Neither have I," he grunted. "Must be a powerful mind in that beast to overcome our enchantments."
Mental illusions were a common tactic for some of the most deadly monsters in the Dungeon. All delvers protected themselves in one way or another.
The fighting… wasn't going well. Cries and shouts of alarm and fury rang out as the bulk of the delvers had fallen into the ceiling, just as they had. Professional delvers, it didn't take them long to adapt, regaining their footing and redoubling their attacks, only for the switch to happen again.
Elsi couldn't help but yelp in surprise as she once again began to fall, in the normal direction this time. Shamus was ready and landed with ease, throwing himself down into the rock once more, concealing his presence. She managed a reasonable landing, able to plant her feet and dive into cover quickly.
The delvers fighting weren't so lucky. In the midst of launching attacks or dashing, they fell awkwardly, several crashing into each other as they landed.
[Hah! You don't even seem to know which way is up or down!]
The ant continued to mock them, and Elsi felt unease creep up her spine. Could this monster really flip them upside down whenever it wanted to? Was it even possible to fight something like that?
Even more worrying, she studied the beast and saw it was almost totally unharmed. Not long ago, it had been suffering under a barrage of spells and strikes, but with the delvers thrown off balance, she had a clear view of the creature. No matter where she looked, she saw nothing but exceptionally superficial damage to the carapace, and as she looked, even that seemed to fade away with absurd speed.
"Did you see that regeneration?" she hissed.
"I did," Shamus confirmed grimly. "A powerful healing gland inside that thing."
Regeneration fluid was something monsters could produce with ease, but humans couldn't.
[I've given you enough chances,] the ant said condescendingly.
Elsi tensed, wondering what was going to come next. Would the slaughter begin? Was it time to run? Would the delvers manage to turn the tide?
A flicker of purple light sparked within the ant's carapace. It pulsed once, twice, then exploded outwards, a dome expanding at rapid speed. It raced over the rock, dying everything it touched dark purple. When the first delver was caught inside, they slammed into the ground as if struck from above.
"Run!" Shamus roared.
By the time Elsi turned, he was already off, mid-dash as his explosive speed launched him forward. She braced her legs and leaned forward, heart pounding in her chest as she prepared to do the same.
Not fast enough.
The light overtook her and–CRACK!
Her skull smashed against the stone with such force she blacked out for a moment. Seconds later, she groggily awoke, only to see nothing. Her face was mashed into the tunnel floor, her nose was thoroughly broken and she thought she tasted blood in her mouth.
What had happened?
She tried to rise, tried to turn her head. It was impossible. As if a mountain pressed into her back, she couldn't move an inch, trying to shift her neck only felt as she were driving her face further into the stone. The weight was total and unyielding. With rising panic, she realised she couldn't breathe, couldn't muster the force necessary to suck air into her lungs.
It didn't make sense, something like this was impossible!
She tried to fight back with her mind, use her abilities to break down the mana holding her down. Elsi knew she was in some sort of domain; breaking down something like that wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible.
Yet… the energy was so absurdly dense she felt like she was trying to break down a brick wall with her bare hands. No matter how she tried, she couldn't take hold of it.
Panic rose. Was she really going to die like this?
As if to answer her question, she felt vibrations through the rock as something enormous drew closer. Every step of the giant monster shook the ground, and with six legs, there were a lot of steps. Louder and louder, as the beast approached, only to stop right next to her. She didn't need to look, she could feel the monster's core, burning like a star, right above her.
[Well now. Up you get.]
All of a sudden, the weight was gone. Desperate for air, Elsi flipped herself and gasped in a breath, sucking in all the oxygen she could get. Looking down at her as if she were… an insect… the giant monster stared impassively through those glittering, diamond eyes.
[Let me get your friend as well.]
There was a gasp not far away as Shamus did exactly the same as she had. Her spirits fell. So he hadn't escaped either.
[I was expecting more out of you lot,] the ant mused. [You wanted to come hunting my family, and this is the best you can do? Hopeless.]
Elsi carefully didn't answer. To hunt a monster this powerful, thirty to forty delvers would usually gather, study, train and prepare for weeks before making the kill. A dozen of them taken by surprise never stood a chance.
There was no reason to tell the monster that.
[I'm in your head. You don't have to tell me,] the monster said.
Elsi's eyes widened, and she carefully stilled her thoughts.
[Up. Come on, up. I don't have all day to wait for you to catch your breath.]
Urged by the creature, Elsi staggered to her feet and saw Shamus do the same. The monster shepherded them together, then loomed over the two delvers while they braced themselves for their inevitable fate.
[Do you… have any idea… how much I'm worth?] the ant asked them.
Else blinked.
[P-probably a lot?] she hazarded, unsure what the creature expected from them.
[Probably? Please. You clearly have no idea what you're looking at. Here, take this.]
Lifting a giant foreleg, the creature held out something in its claws. Elsi reached out with her hands and the ant released it, letting the object fall to her.
She nearly fell to the ground again, it was so much heavier than she'd thought. Looking down, she realised she was holding a shard, about palm-sized, of the material that made up the monster's carapace.
[That is a specially compressed form of diamond. Hyper dense, highly mutated, an absolutely one-of-a-kind material. This is sixth stratum or lower stuff, and I am covered in literal tons of it. And that's just the start. My muscles? My eyes? Look at these things! Unsullied Crystal. Imagine what some king would pay for one of these puppies. I've got Twilight Filament antennae and Soul Crystal organs. This body is worth more than the Silver City. You won't find a prize like this for the rest of your lives.]
Elsi… was struggling to process what was happening.
[Why are you telling us this?] Shamus said. [Why give us this?] he gestured to the hunk of diamond.
[Because you need to show it to the others,] the ant told them flatly. [I don't have time to crawl through these tunnels looking for delvers. Much easier if they come to me.]
[Why would you want that?]
[Because I'm hunting you. Every single one of you. That lot back there are my first haul, but they won't be the last. Not to worry, I won't kill them. In fact, I'm feeling generous. Tell Green Mountain they can buy them back from me. My prices are fair.]
[Do you really believe that the delvers are going to be blinded by greed and come after you? We aren't so foolish.]
The ant clacked its mandibles in that same, staccato pattern again.
Laughing.
[Yes, you are,] the ant assured them. [Run along now. I'll see you again soon.]
-x-X-x-
Rare indeed is the individual whose appetite is equal to their capacity. Humans especially, they always want more.
-Excerpt from 'Observations of Merchant' by Historiant
A churning mess of panic, relief and anxiety thundered through Elsi as she saw the staging camp come into sight. Even when the monster had dismissed them, she hadn't believed it was truly going to let her go. Every step, she expected it to descend on them with those savage-looking mandibles, each the size of a merchant's wagon, or crush them with its strange magic.
Yet it hadn't happened.
Even then, she hadn't let herself believe she was going to survive. The monster was only using them to track down the camp and capture more delvers. As soon as they got close enough, it would squash her and Shamus and that would be the end of it.
That hadn't happened either.
When she finally stepped over the warded threshold and the illusion of the tunnel wall fell away, the three-way war of emotions finally ended as relief overwhelmed its competitors and she collapsed to her knees.
She was alive. She was alive!
How many people had encountered such a powerful monster and lived to tell the tale? Not many. She'd certainly never met one. Tier eight… a mythic monster, a real powerhouse of the Dungeon. Finding a monster at a higher evolutionary state than that in the fourth stratum was essentially impossible.
Barely aware of Shamus slumping down to the ground beside her, Elsi just let herself draw in shuddering breaths, letting her thundering heart begin to slow its frantic beating.
"Elsi? Shamus? What the heck happened?"
A gruff voice called from nearby, and she didn't need to look to know who it belonged to.
"Frederick…" Shamus groaned. "There's a problem. A big problem."
"What? Have the ants launched an attack or something? Do we need to retreat?"
"Sort of and maybe," the veteran delver replied. "Just give me a second. I don't think I've been that close to death in… ever."
Frederick was a large, bearded man with a booming voice and presence to match. One of the most senior delvers in Green Mountain, he was in charge of this forward camp and a liaison for the Union. Dozens of other delvers looked curiously at the two collapsed figures at the entrance, but otherwise went about their business, either resting in the neatly arranged tents or preparing to head out.
Elsi had a feeling they wouldn't be going anywhere once word got out.
Even now she could see the image of that monster just floating into view around the corner and the oppressive air around it. Against such a monster, she was completely helpless, unable to fight back, unable to even understand what was happening.
If she never saw the creature again, she would be glad of it. Hopefully Shamus agreed and they left. There was plenty of work to be done in the Dungeon without chasing the bounty on these ants. You couldn't spend money when you were dead.
"Are you sure?" Frederick rumbled, a doubtful expression on his face as he stroked his beard. "There's no word of the ants having a monster anywhere near that strong."
"I'm not a Dungeon Seer," Shamus snapped, "but I watched it crush a dozen delvers with ease, treated them like they were toys. Tier eight at minimum. Mythic for sure."
Frederick held up his hands.
"Not trying to call you a liar, Shamus. I know your word is good. Why did it just let you walk away, then? You said it captured everyone else?"
"It wanted us to tell everyone it was there. Even advertised how much it was worth, telling us about the rare materials in its body."
"It did what?" Frederick stared. "Why would a monster tell delvers how valuable it is?"
"So we would try and kill it," Shamus said flatly. "It wants us to try so it doesn't have to bother looking for us."
Frederick looked utterly baffled.
"Well… I doubt there are many stupid enough to try and fight a tier eight mythic. Catching one evolving is one thing, but… fighting it..." The big man pulled a face that said everything that needed to be said.
Shamus slowly picked himself up, then loosened the strings on the pouch tied to his belt. Reaching in, he removed the hunk of carapace the monster had given him.
Frederick reached for it immediately, but Shamus pulled his hand back.
"This belongs to Elsi and I," he warned. "If you acknowledge our claim, you can look at it."
"How many years have you known me?" the senior delver grumbled. "You want it in writing?"
Shamus hesitated, then nodded.
"I do. I'm not trying to offend you, but I think this might be valuable."
Elsi thought he might have taken offence, but hearing such words out of Shamus seemed to rouse Frederick's curiosity more than anything else. It took a few minutes to get the requisite forms signed and sealed, then Shamus handed it over.
As soon as it fell into his hands, Fredericks' eyes widened.
"Mother's milk! This is heavier than it looks!"
He turned it over in his hands a few times, running his fingers along the surface, then held it up to the nearest light source, carefully examining it. With dozens of years of experience, this was a man who knew the value of what he was looking at. Usually.
"I've never seen anything like this," he muttered, half to himself. "Some sort of diamond?"
"The monster's carapace is made of the stuff. It's incredibly hard. Sword light barely put a dent in it."
"Can I take it to the Seer? Get it assessed?"
Shamus shrugged.
"May as well. We can't get paid unless you do."
Dungeon Seers who specialised in monster cores and components were a staple of the Union and could be found everywhere delvers gathered. Elsi was a little surprised one had bothered to come to this forward camp, but considering how many delvers were working here, it made sense. They got paid by the commission, after all.
Towards the back of the camp, tucked up against the wall was the Seer's tent. After a moment, they were ushered inside to find a surprisingly young woman seated behind a table, magically enhanced glasses on her freckled face.
"You've got something good for me?" she said eagerly.
"Take a look," Frederick said, placing the palm-sized hunk down on the table carefully.
Looking intrigued, the Seer reached out a finger and placed it on the surface, closing her eyes as she did so.
The three delvers waited with bated breath as she did her work, communing with the strange powers of the Seers, reading the knowledge of the Dungeon itself.
After a few minutes, her eyes flew open and her face paled in shock.
"Where did you get this?!" she gasped, snatching the shard up in both hands.
Frederick looked at Shamus, but he shook his head.
"Let's talk about what it's worth first," he said firmly.
"There's no price on this," the young woman said immediately.
Elsi's heart dropped. The only consolation she'd taken out of that terrifying experience was the hope that they would get some pay out of it. The stone was worthless?
"What do you mean?" Shamus said sharply. "Isn't this some form of diamond?"
Flushing red, the Dungeon Seer shook her head furiously.
"Sorry, sorry! I wasn't clear. I mean there is no listed price! My Skills tell me this is Gravity Compressed Diamond, and I don't need to check the listings, I'm sure that this is a brand new material. It's literally priceless."
There was a sharp intake of breath and Elsi turned her head to see Frederick stroking his beard.
"You said the creature's carapace was made of this?" he said to Shamus, eyes fixed on the diamond. "How big did you say this beast was?"
-x-X-x-
"So it showed up after all," Alir mused, looking up from the page in front of him.
Once again, the view from his villa on Green Mountain was spectacular. Known for the dense foliage that filled the populated areas, he saw a carpet of gently waving green laid out before him, sloping down towards the sparkling lake. Filled with light and life, the air was fresh and invigorating, filling his lungs and leaving him feeling refreshed and energised.
Truly, he had suffered for years in the third, extracting elixir from demons and making deals on behalf of the Path. Returning to the fourth was nothing but what he deserved after so much suffering and sacrifice.
"To whom are you referring, Grand Priest?" the Deaconess Martha asked from across the table.
These breakfast meetings had become routine lately, discussing the latest report from the Union on the progress of the delvers. Not that there was much progress to discuss. Somehow, despite the enormous reward offered, not a single ant had been captured since he started this venture. Alir wasn't too concerned. The ants had reacted predictably, as simple-minded creatures were wont to do, and retreated, walling themselves in and making it impossible for the delvers from Green Mountain to access their nest.
That simply meant he needed to explore another avenue. Word of the bounty was spreading across the fourth, and there were many delvers willing to chance their hand at capturing a live ant.
Either the insect monsters retreated entirely into their nests, or he would have his live specimens. Either option was a win as far as he was concerned. Weakening the ant monsters and making them more vulnerable would give him what he wanted, it would just take more time.
Yet, with those live samples, he would be able to craft more elixir, and with it, sow yet more seeds of a mighty crusade. There was interest out there, he knew that for a fact. All they needed was a push. He'd been able to gather such a large volume from the first ant, but no one was willing to commit their resources without further proof.
He needed more.
"The tier seven ant raised by that nest of monsters," he said. "You may have heard about the ruckus it caused at the Silver City?"
"I have, yes."
"We thought it had gone down into the fifth stratum and died. There's been no news of it for months. Now it suddenly turns up in the tunnels and scares off all the delvers? I wonder where it's been all this time?"
Something must have happened. Perhaps the ants had suffered a defeat at the hands of the Krath and been driven back, returning the ant to this stratum. Even that didn't quite sit right. The ants should have been defeated months ago, so where had this monster been?
"Actually, I'm not so sure the delvers are planning on retreating," the Deaconess said, passing another sheet from the daily report to him.
It was a brief summary written by a Dungeon Seer close to the front, assessing the potential value of the powerful ant.
Alir frowned as he read through the details, wondering how they managed to learn so many of the materials contained inside the creature. When he got to Soul Crystal, he nearly spat his coffee out onto the table.
"W-what?" he spluttered.
Soul Crystal was immensely valuable to the Church. It resonated with the hearts and minds of the devout! Hardly any of it had ever been found in the Dungeon! When the Church found out about this, they would dispatch a Judgement Battalion without delay!
Grinning from ear to ear, Alir kept reading, only to blanch again when he reached the number at the bottom of the page. Although the Seer repeatedly stressed it was an estimate, such a sum was enough to buy kingdoms.
Even a thousand delvers could live a lavish existence if they split such a sum!
Alir felt a rising excitement. There was no chance the ant would be captured, such a powerful monster was almost impossible to kill, let alone while holding back. Yet, if they managed to finish it off, the ants would be severely weakened, and perhaps even launch an assault to get revenge. If that happened, his crusade would happen sooner rather than later.
"I have several urgent messages to send," he said, reaching for a clean sheet of paper. "The Church must be informed of this monster, and we must inform the Union of our price for the Soul Crystal."
If a buyer was already lined up for a monster's components, then the money the delvers could earn was no longer theoretical, it was guaranteed.
"According to this report, the ant has captured delvers and is… offering to sell them back to Green Mountain," Deaconess Martha said hesitantly, offering another page to Alir, who had already begun drafting his letter.
"Sell them back?" he muttered. "Who do they expect to pay for them?"
"Us, apparently."
He snorted. More monstrous nonsense. Just because he offered a bounty and funded the teams didn't mean he was liable for their safety. Delvers died in the Dungeon all the time. That was what they did.
"I don't know what that ant is trying to do, but it's only drawing a noose tightly around its own neck. If things go well, we could achieve all of our objectives in one fell swoop."
Truly, the light of the Path was shining on Alir today. His feet were surely treading in the right direction.
-x-X-x-
[You did what?]
So loud! Sheesh.
[You have absolutely nothing to complain about,] I grizzle. [I haven't killed anyone, not even the delvers trying to capture my siblings so they can sell them to a church and melt them down for experience juice. Asking any more from me than that is ridiculous. Pin a medal on my carapace, dammit.]
[You leaked details of your own physical body in order to lure delvers to try and attack you?] Chyron stated. [Do you have any idea what kind of response that will create? I don't even know what's in there, but I know it's rare.]
What kind of response? A big one, I hope. Does she expect me to complain if I get more rats than I expect in my trap?
[And what? You expect me to… feel sad?]
[I expect you to think before you act,] she growls.
Lady, you're in for a rough time if that's what you're looking for.
[Aren't you supposed to be getting me killed or something? What do you care if I bring an army of delvers down on my head? I didn't expect complaints from the Legion, I expected a cheerleading section!]
Morrelia looks like she's struggling not to laugh. I was taking a break and spending time with Tiny and the gang when Chyron and her two most senior officers turned up. I barely had the time to stand up before Chyron whipped off her helmet and started yelling at me.
I'm going to have to 'thank' Solant when I get back to the fifth. I had no idea she'd agreed to let the Legion follow me around in order to secure their help during the wave. My antennae swing heavily through the air.
Rather than a light and sharp 'swish swish', they give a rather more ponderous 'thwoom thwoom' sort of sound. They're just too dang big. It's not going to be easy to figure out how hard I can thwack the little general without smashing her carapace to pieces.
I'll need to find that line and then dial it back two or three percent.
[I won't say no if you want to get yourself killed,] Chyron says, staring up at me with her arms crossed. [What I'm worried about is the disruption and potential damage you'll cause with your stupidity. At a time when the waves are growing stronger and the cities are struggling to hold off the monsters, if you destroy a thousand high-Level delvers, then Green Mountain may not survive another year.]
[Which is my problem how?] I say, exasperated. [If they lose the fight they picked, who do they have to blame other than themselves?]
[Isn't it the Church of the Path who picked the fight?] Chyron says pointedly. [The delvers of Green Mountain are only a proxy trying to do their jobs.]
[You aren't helping your case. Their 'job' is abducting my sisters to be painfully and slowly melted into vitamin smoothies. Why am I supposed to show infinite forbearance when it isn't shown to me and my family? Come to think of it, how in the heck am I getting lectured on this by a member of the Legion?! You lot are entirely without chill when it comes to monsters! Chill-less! No chill to be found!]
I point an accusatory antenna at the Commander.
[You have ties to Green Mountain, don't you? Grew up there? Family? Own a quaint bistro? Investment property? Got married in a scenic church thirty years ago to a poet named Romero, and now that he's gone, all you have left are the memories and the sandals you wore when you strolled along the beach hand in hand?]
That got… surprisingly detailed.
Morrelia's shoulders are literally shaking and the other officer isn't much better off. He's holding it in so far, but his expression is suspiciously tight. If something doesn't change, he looks like he's going to pop.
Chyron is silent for a long moment.
[I was born there,] she begrudgingly admits.
[Well, maybe spend some time convincing the people of your birthplace not to poke the bear. In this instance, it's not a bear, though, it's an ant. But… like… a really big and powerful one.]
Poke the ant just doesn't sound as impressive as poke the bear….
[Sh-should I go and get Sarah? She's a type of bear. I'm pretty sure she can eat a whole lot of delvers. Though she wouldn't like that. Look, I'm pretty sure the Colony even tried to pay off Green Mountain and they refused our money in order to keep hunting us. I really don't think they have a leg to stand on when it comes to how we treat them from this point forward.]
I'm trying to be as polite as I can while still telling Chyron to butt out. She's totally aware of it as well.
[I'll be keeping an eye on you for the near future,] she growls, glaring up at me. [I'm aware you're being as… generous as you can be, but I'll be forced to act if I believe you are going to bring harm on the sapient people of Pangera.]
[Which doesn't include me.]
[Which doesn't include you.]
Sheesh. These people are hopeless.
[I feel like I need to remind you of something here, Chyron. When you say you're going to act, I assume that means you're going to try and stop me from doing what I want.]
I drag my antenna through my elbow joint. It's incredibly satisfying to have them be clean and free of dirt and such.
[Now, a thought comes to mind when I picture that scenario.]
I point to Chyron, Morrelia, and whatshisname with a foreleg.
[You're going to stop me? You and what Legion? I'm a tier eight mythic monster. The three of you can't stop me from doing anything.]
-x-X-x-
There's something pleasantly sinister about my newly developed stealth method. I can still remember back in the old days when I would huddle against the roof of the tunnel, stealth activated, desperately trying to avoid detection as I moved around in the first stratum. My new technique is a little different.
Using Gravity Magic, I lift myself off the ground, legs tucked up under my carapace, and silently float along, making no sound whatsoever. Meanwhile, my minds are dedicated to hiding every trace of my mana, concealing the power in my core and helping me vanish from mana sense.
I dub it, Ant Submarine Mode! I have become a submarinant!
Gweheheheheh.
Obviously, anyone can just look up and see the giant floating ant, I'm not concealing my appearance in any way, but by the time they can see me, it's already too late. It's an interesting experience, going through the Dungeon like this. Monsters go out of their way to avoid me. If they smell me coming, or just catch sight of me, rather than launch out of their burrows in a mindless rage like they did before, they duck their heads, dive into their burrows or slink into the shadows, desperate to avoid being seen.
Obviously, I won't let this go to my head. Doing so would be dangerous, and risk awakening the dark one. Instead, I allow myself a quiet chuckle of victory as I keep my senses attuned for my real targets.
I'm not out here to track down monsters, after all, I'm here for a more interesting prey.
I've left Tiny, Invidia and Crinis back at the nest for the time being. There's no need for the delvers to get a glimpse of them just yet, but they do need to get a glimpse of me. After all, if I'm hiding in the nest, nobody is going to try their hand at capturing me. I have to be out and about, vulnerable and exposed.
Well, as vulnerable and exposed as I can be when I'm so incredibly powerful.
MUAHAHAHAHA-ahem.
Oh? What's this? I slow my ominous glide through the air and sit for a moment, antennae waving. Delvers are more competent than I gave them credit for when I first started this escapade. I hate to give them credit, but I'm not too surprised my siblings were struggling against them. Without enough ants, they were forced to operate in smaller groups, perfect targets for the delvers. Excellent at moving through the tunnels and remaining undetected, the delvers are sneaky creatures, deploying an immense number of techniques and methods to remain concealed.
However, they have no idea that they each have their own tiny, infinitesimal gravitational field. So weak as to be effectively indetectable, unless you happen to be a monster specifically evolved and developed to find them.
How many are there? Ten… twenty… thirty… forty? My, my. It seems some quick-thinking individuals put together a team to try and claim wealth beyond imagining before anyone else could.
Perfect.
I begin my forward momentum once more, silently gliding through the air, held up by the gravity well that I maintain with my will.
The golgari did a better job than I gave them credit for. My sub-brains are humming along beautifully, whipping together the mind constructs which are more numerous and more powerful than ever before. Flexing my mental might has never felt this satisfying. Even the hard-to-manage Gravity Mana is like putty in my hands.
Now… at what point are these cowards going to launch their assault? I know you're there, you little scamps. Is there a trap? There has to be a trap, right? No way forty of you thought you would be good enough to take me on directly. What have you got set up?
As I drift forward, it doesn't take long for me to find out. Detonations ring out in series, above and below. Light flashes, stone rumbles and the ground gives way below my position.
Not that I care, I'm floating over here.
What's more concerning is the thousands of tons falling down from above.
Well, I don't really care about that either.
There isn't enough power in the gravity well to hold up all this stone for more than a few seconds, but that's all I really need. I drift forward, then unfold my legs and set myself down on the ground while I use the well to hold up the rock.
Once I'm clear, I let the well dissipate and a thundering roar echoes through the tunnel as the stone ceiling collapses behind me. Shards fly everywhere, bouncing off my carapace as the tunnel fills with dust and debris. I half expect the delvers to slink away since their trap has failed to have any effect, but it appears their blood is up, thank goodness.
Spells and swordlight fly towards me through the clouds of dust, and I angle my carapace to deflect the blows.
I have to say, not having to worry about something going straight through my eyeballs and into my brain is a great comfort and makes warding off these blows a heck of a lot easier than it was before.
I've been testing these eyes out, and while they aren't as tough as my carapace, not by a mile, they're still surprisingly durable.
As the first strikes land, I feel my regeneration network kick in, a trickle of healing fluid flowing through my system. Antennae waggling, I can feel my opponents moving through the dust, can sense their attacks even before they happen.
My body moves on pure instinct, reacting before I have time to think, or even process. Minute adjustments, shifting my position and angle, not letting the strikes hit me straight on, always an angle, always a deflection. I parry a powerful wave of sword-light with my mandibles and charge forward.
My opponents give ground before me, not wanting to be caught in a direct confrontation. Even if I can't see them, I know where they are, small groups of five or six spaced in a rough half-circle in front of me.
Mana flares from my left and I twist, moving with shocking speed for a monster of my size. A beam of sizzling light spears through the dust cloud, clipping me along my right flank.
Yeeouch! That's hot!
They try to redirect the beam onto my head, but my mandibles are open wide. Sensing what's coming, they let the spell fade and try to retreat.
I don't think that's going to help.
Starcrusher!
-x-X-x-
I'm sure they expected me to retaliate, but I'm not sure they expected something like this.
My chomp sucks in the gathered dust, eliminating the cloud and revealing the scrambling delvers in front of me. They've got a bit of space, and a shield up by the looks of things. Hopefully, it'll be enough.
BOOM!
The forming sphere of light shatters between my jaws and the explosion sends a shockwave rolling outwards.
And, for a change, I'm totally fine! My eyes don't explode, my carapace doesn't get damaged, nothing happens!
Well, not to me.
Maybe I can deploy the empowered version without getting hurt! That will be a change of pace.
Fire rolls outwards and the delvers cry out in fear as they fall back. Light strikes at my back as the others try to distract me, pull my attention away from the vulnerable members. As if that's going to work. You think I'm some sort of mindless monster? I'm going to attack the person who attacked me last? Get real!
My regeneration network is really kicking into gear now, winding up faster and faster, sending healing fluid roaring through my system. I have to give the delvers a bit of credit, they are doing a bit of damage. My carapace is incredibly tough and they aren't close to getting through it, but little chips here and there are still happening, especially around my joints.
However, it simply doesn't matter.
With so much regeneration fluid flooding my system, those small nicks are healed exceptionally fast. My HP is completely full, my carapace is effectively undamaged, and I'm not even tired. I was wondering what Granin was on about when he asked about my fatigue after I told him about the incident with Tiny, so I'm being mindful of my stamina, but it's just not going down.
With so much Will pouring into me, it's almost impossible for me to get tired, even if I wanted to. There are millions of ants in range, literally millions. I can do this all day.
Stalking forwards, I examine the aftermath of my chomp and find the delvers managed to survive, but they aren't in great shape. Their shield wasn't enough to protect them and they were knocked down by the blast, but they aren't out of the fight completely. Even as I loom over them, they try to recover, flipping back onto their feet and dashing away, taking the more heavily injured members with them.
I let them go. They can't get away from me, and something else has taken my attention for the time being. I know I said I wouldn't get distracted, but what the heck is going on over there?
With the dust cloud gone, I can see more clearly, and nestled between two stalagmites is a small group of three delvers who don't seem to be attacking like the others, so I'd ignored them up to this point. Yet, they're suspiciously blank to my other senses. No mana is leaking through at all, which means they must be hiding it for some reason.
In fact, as I look closer and reach out with my mana sense, I can make out the layers of wards they've placed around themselves. Not a few either, there must be… a dozen?!
Why?!
Unaware that I'm looking straight at them, the three delvers are concentrating, pooling their mana into some sort of spell that I don't recognise. I can't sense the mana at all, naturally, but why the heck are they doing this right out in the open? I can see you! Why go through the trouble of hiding every trace of your presence but perform the spell where I can see you?!
Maybe these delvers aren't as professional as I thought….
As nice as it would be to let them finish whatever they have planned, I think I might intervene before they launch a death laser to cut me in half or something.
Blows continue to rain down on me, but they just aren't enough to crack through my carapace or outpace the runaway freight train of my regeneration. Under the manipulations of my upgunned minds, the omni-elemental construct spins and churns, pumping out dense water mana which I swiftly weave into a jet of water.
Whatever they were planning on doing, it appears as though it's difficult to accomplish while being subjected to a water cannon. Knocked down and struggling, the spell fizzles out as the groups continue to try and catch my attention, striking at my back and flanks with a sudden frenzy.
Yeesh. Lay off already. My regeneration network is going absolutely crazy! They weren't kidding when they said the regeneration gland would only continue to ramp up. It's not stopping, it's only getting stronger and stronger! Are there limits on this thing? I'm starting to feel pressurised from the inside!
Alright, enough playing around. This has been fun, but I can't hang around here all day. I've got things to be doing, and more delvers to hunt for.
With a flex of my will, an empowered Gravity Domain is unleashed, expanding outwards rapidly to crush everything caught within its grip. In an instant, the fighting is over. No more spells, no more sword slashes, only face-planted delvers trying to breath through a foot of solid rock.
Gweheheh.
I can't say it ever gets tiring, looking at them squirm….
I whip together a mind-bridge so I can force it on them and gloa-I mean, talk to them, but something catches my eye first.
Even better hidden than the delvers hiding behind the rocks, even more concealed than Enid's retirement savings, there is something over there catching the light. Marching closer, I realise it's a person, smushed into the rock and struggling to free themselves, just like the others, but for some reason they are completely invisible to almost all of my senses. In the hubbub of the fight, I must have lost track of their gravitational field as well.
So sneaky!
What I find really interesting, though… what really seizes my interest… is the lovely Church of the Path robes the figure is wearing.
I snap the bridge into place.
[I've just been dying to talk to one of you.]
The priest seems… less enthused.
-x-X-x-
What should I do? Should I cook him? Slowly roast this priest while turning him over a spit? Or boiling? Boiling is good! The flavour of evil and corruption will permeate the water and we can use it to poison the wells at Green Mountain. Oh, I haven't felt this… this alive since the traitorous worm was captured!
I'm… I'm so free!
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
[Anthony! This is a Priest of the Path! You need to stop prodding him with your antenna!]
What? How dare Morrelia try to reduce this creature's torment?
[Nothing shall cause the poking to cease!]
Yes… yessssss. The Priest looks very uncomfortable, and also deeply terrified, as I continue to give him sharp pokes with my antenna. Will it be the left, or will it be the right? THE LEFT! Muahahaha! And now… THE RIGHT!
As I jolt him from side to the side, the priest can do nothing but tremble with fear. Well, there may be loud protesting as well, but I'm not listening. In fact, now that's come to this, I shall poke with both antennae at the same time!
[That's enough!]
It isn't Morrelia who intervenes this time, but Chyron, stepping in the way and knocking my antennae aside. Which stings, by the way. Those are sensitive organs. I have to work hard to keep them out of harm's way during combat, and now people keep hitting them.
[You know what these priests do to monsters, don't you Chyron.]
It's not a question. I know that the Legion and the Church have a relatively cozy relationship. Not that anyone in the world seems to get along perfectly well with the Abyssal Legion. They're so stubborn and unbending that literally everyone seems to have had issues with them at some point in history.
[You're telling me you'll let them do that to my siblings, but you can't stand to watch one get mildly inconvenienced by my antennae?! It's outrageous!]
[What do you mean 'mildly inconvenienced'? Look at the man!]
I've been looking all this time… oh… uh… whoops. Perhaps I was a little too enthusiastic with my pokes. The priest's face is swollen and bruised… and it seems as though his arm might be broken. I uh… did not intend to do that.
[If you'd actually hit him with both antennae, he'd be dead,] Chyron snaps at me.
Well… I do feel a little bad. I think I was perhaps a little blinded by my entirely justified rage.
[Ah… my bad. I wasn't trying to actually hurt him.]
Much.
[I don't think anyone is going to find that very convincing,] Morrelia mutters in my head.
[You three don't seem all that interested in defending the delvers that I caught. What about them?]
[You aren't actively breaking them apart,] Morrelia points out with admittedly flawless logic.
[Bah! Fine. I'll leave this priest alone, but we aren't selling him back like we are the others. The Colony will keep this guy, and every other priest we capture.]
[That's not a good idea.]
Not Morrelia this time, but Chyron. She gives her usual, grizzled stare, and I know exactly why.
[It's a terrible look, it'll stir up tension, it'll give excuses, and it makes us look like unruly monsters. I get it.]
Chyron might want me and every other ant to be destroyed, but she'd rather we didn't cause too much of a disruption in the process of being obliterated. If the Legion wasn't already stretched to the limit trying to hold the Dungeon down through these repeated waves and rising mana levels, they would have smashed the Colony by sending five Legions rather than the one they did manage to attack us with.
And that had nearly been enough!
[We won't keep them forever, but we are going to extract something meaningful from the Church if they want them back. I refuse to release these… people, and I use that term reluctantly, without getting value.]
Behind me, the rest of the captives are being sorted by my siblings. Tiny stands over them, staring hard at each and every delver who walks past him, no doubt a flurry of ghost fists heading their way each second. For some reason, the delvers are reluctant to meet his eyes, can't imagine why.
Honestly, they're getting much better treatment than they deserve. They've been captured by the very monsters they came to hunt, and get to walk away once we get paid for them. If that isn't the sort of big-hearted forgiveness that Pangera wants to see, then I don't know what is. They sure wouldn't have extended the same courtesy to one of us.
If I'm being totally honest, though, we aren't treating them entirely well.
"HOW DARE YOU PROFANE THAT WHICH IS SACRED?! HEATHENS! REPENTANCE IS YOUR ONLY WAY TO THE TRUE PATH!"
I decided to let Beyn and his crew take charge of the prisoners. He's currently 'welcoming' them with a truly thunderous greeting delivered, for some reason, about two centimetres from their faces. The other ant-robed members of his clergy are lashing the delvers with cuddly ant toys and clacking at them with these strange wooden… mandibles?
Wait. Have they created a wooden facsimile of our mandibles to try and recreate the sound we make while chomping? They have!
There's no hope for these people.
"YOU MUST BE SCOURGED TO RELEASE THE FOULNESS IN YOUR SPIRITS! LASH THEM, BROTHERS AND SISTERS. LASH THEM WITH THE FORMICA OF SHAME!"
I have no idea what he's on about, and I don't want to. That lousy priest fell over foaming at the mouth the second he saw me, and I have completely refused to let him speak with me since. The power of his voice is enough to rattle my antennae, I don't even want to know what his pheromones Skill can do to them now that he's had so much time to practice with it. At least there's no reason for him to go blasting me straight in the brain with that volume again. I'll talk to him when he calms down.
Maybe.
-x-X-x-
"Eldest, do you really intend to sell the delvers back to Green Mountain?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
Sloan seems to have reservations about my strategy.
"Won't they just come back again?"
After putting up with the priests for a few weeks? Probably not.
"If they do, it's good," I say.
"Why would it be good?" the general replies, obviously confused.
"Because then we can capture them again," I point out. "Which means we can sell them again."
I'm no expert in history, but from what I know, the best way to stop a fight is to make it too expensive to continue. If capturing ants isn't a path to riches and fortune, but debt and misery, then nobody will come looking for us, no matter how much the church wants to pay.
"Well… if you insist on doing it this way, we can only go along with you. I've done as you asked and found someone who will manage the negotiations for the Colony. They'll be here in a few minutes."
In that case, I should finish up my meal.
"Thanks, Sloan, I appreciate your help."
Wait… where the heck did my food go? I swear I had more of this Biomass left….
[Tiny, turn around.]
The giant ape has his back to me. Unable to refuse my direct order, he slowly turns to face me, revealing his bulging cheeks.
[You can't be that hungry, I've been bringing Biomass back for you, haven't I?]
He manages to choke down the enormous mouthful of food and has the decency to look somewhat shamed.
Sheesh!
He might be getting older and wiser in some ways, but he's still a very greedy boy! Before I can scold him too much, I feel a mind bridge reach out to me and I allow it to snap into place.
[Eldest. I have brought the negotiating team here to speak with you.]
[Sure, sure, let them in.]
A few moments later, I am treated to a very welcome sight indeed.
[Enid!] I cheer, clacking my mandibles happily as the old woman enters the chamber.
My word… she's so small.
I crouch down low, finally flattening myself out and lying down to make myself as small as possible, but she still looks incredibly tiny to me. I didn't get that big, did I?
[Enid,] I relay over the bridge, [have you… shrunk?]
[What? No! Well, sort of. I'm sitting down, you silly ant.]
She is? She is! I see it now, she's in a chair with wheels. A wheelchair. Of course, I remember those. Luckily the floor of this chamber is nice and flat. A small ant is behind the old human, pushing the chair forward while gripping the back carefully with her mandibles, but my attention is focused on the retired merchant.
[Did the healers start slacking or something? You're supposed to be getting healed every day!]
[I am getting healed every day,] she tells me, looking grumpy. Much like a healer, to be honest. [I'm old, not sick.]
[Your legs don't work anymore?]
[Well enough to kick nosy insects who won't stop asking about my legs. I've been walking too much lately and my joints are sore. Now be quiet about that and greet me properly.]
I feel like every time I see Enid, the less care she has for the things that don't really matter. No more platitudes and pleasantries. Someone who loved getting down to business, seemingly over anything else.
[Hello, Enid,] I say, extending an antenna towards her, gently. [It's nice to see you again. How have you been?]
[Well enough, I suppose, for an old chook.] She reaches out one frail hand to rest against my extended antenna and peers up at me. [Was it really necessary for you to get this big? I can remember when you were small enough to fit under my dinner table.]
[I still could if you built a big enough table. You can't even blame me for this one, I wasn't responsible.]
Which is entirely true.
[Alright, hold that pillar you call an antenna there for a second and help me up.]
With a little effort, she grasps hold of a hair and pulls herself up, grimacing as she does so. After a moment, she's up on her feet, hands on her hips.
[There, see. No problem at all.]
[Strong as an ox,] I tell her.
"Can we double the amount of healers taking care of Enid?" I ask the nearby ants, and they nod.
[I see how healthy you are, yet I'm surprised you volunteered to go negotiate with the Green Mountain for us. I thought you were retired from all of this. After you negotiated with the brathian, I thought you would never forgive me for dragging you into that mess.]
[I may never,] Enid chuckled. [But you are right, I am retired from such things. I didn't come here to negotiate with anyone on your behalf.]
[Oh? If not you, then who will?]
[My student. Merchant? Say hello.]
The small ant who was pushing the wheelchair steps out from behind it and skitters towards me, giving me a sight of her for the first time.
What in the name of heck am I looking at?
Since when has an ant ever looked this… dapper?
"Greetings and well met, Eldest," the little ant says smoothly. "How's business?"
-x-X-x-
Just… what is going on here?
The ant in front of me is unlike anything I've seen before. Fancy-looking clothing, gold jewelry, glasses. It's not over the top, but it's enough to create an image of affluence and sophistication that… unless I'm mistaken… an ant simply does not need.
"What's your deal?" I ask this strange little creature.
"My deal? I have so many of those. We can talk about them one at a time if you want, or, if you prefer, I can select a few premium offerings from my portfolio. I have a few things that spring to mind immediately. Have you considered a tasteful robe for public settings? The diplomatic corps are reporting great success from the latest line."
She really is small, possibly only tier four, but she talks… not quickly, not like Vibrant at all, but… smoothly. Effortless patter that flows like drizzled honey onto my antennae, and for a moment, I wonder if I might actually want to put a ridiculous carpet on my back.
I flick my attention toward Enid and see she is watching me very closely, leaning on her walking stick as she observes my reaction. She said this was her student? Clearly the Colony has borne another Champion, because no normal ant would ever do anything like this.
"I don't want one of your rugs, I want you to tell me who you are and what you do."
Lying flat on the ground, I'm as low as I can get, and I still tower over Enid and this little ant. Hopefully she doesn't say anything silly, one thwack will probably crush her to the floor.
"A carpet? Please. This weave is spun by the finest artisans in the Colony using only silk from the gloam-worm fields of the fourth stratum. The ka'armodo are going crazy over the quality, I assure you."
I prod her with an antenna.
"Did I ask you to sell me a mat or to introduce yourself?"
She doesn't miss a beat, sweeping the glasses from her eyes with a smooth gesture and executing an extremely complicated six legged curtsy.
"You must forgive me, I am simply passionate about the things my siblings create. My name is Merchant, and I have been studying the art of commerce under Mistress Ruther while you've been sleeping."
Well… I suppose that explains a lot. She looks the part of a merchant, and she certainly seems to have learned a thing or two about selling stuff.
"What tier are you?" I ask.
Maybe it's a bit rude to ask like that….
"Five," Merchant responds promptly, brushing a speck of imaginary dust from her garments.
Five? But she's still so small? I was thinking it would be a bit rash to place such important negotiations in the mandibles of an ant who was barely out of the antcademy, but tier five is… respectable. Merchant must have been accelerated by the Colony, since she clearly isn't built for combat.
Not regular combat, at any rate.
"And is six months enough for you to have mastered the skills required to handle such high-level negotiations? You know what I want you to do, right?"
"Have I mastered these Skills? Of course not, that will be the work of a lifetime. Am I qualified? Well, Enid Ruther thinks I am."
That's… quite persuasive. I have a lot of trust in Enid's opinion, and if she approves, it's hard for me not to. Enid has been the go-to person for this sort of thing, and we probably shouldn't have relied on her as long as we did.
Actually… is it really a coincidence that this ant was born right at this moment? No matter how I look at it, surely it's too much of a coincidence that Merchant pops out of an egg right about the time Enid becomes too old to keep working for the Colony? Obviously the brathian are doing some work on our behalf, but they don't negotiate directly for us. It's imperative that we have someone to handle situations such as these, and now… here she is.
Could it be the invisible hand of Gandalf? Somehow… I doubt it. That bearded jerk doesn't seem to pay all that much attention to the minutiae of the Dungeon, let alone my family.
"Alright then, I suppose you'll have to do. I'm interested to see how it goes. You'll be in charge of negotiating a ransom fee for the captured delvers with Green Mountain. I'm sure they want their people back, but I want a good price for them. It needs to hurt when they fork over their money. While you're at it, see if there's someone who can negotiate on behalf of the Church of the Path. We aren't prepared to ransom the priests back just yet, but we will probably have to eventually."
In a strangely human display, the little ant rubs her front legs together.
"Well now, suddenly we're talking my language."
With several smooth motions, she pulls something out of her cloak, snaps a claw and puts it in her mouth.
"When playing Tunnel Ball, there are certain levels of play. There's the hatchlings mucking about in the dirt, and then there's the professionals smashing each other to bits."
She takes a contented puff on what I now see is a cigar, then sweeps it out of her mouth to tap the ash from the end.
"How hard do you want me to play?" she says with a twinkle in her multi-faceted eyes.
Why in the name of heck is this ant smoking right now?
"Make them squeal."
Merchant clacks her mandibles together joyfully.
"Oh, it will be my pleasure."
[Enid, just what have you created here?]
The old woman smiles broadly.
[I'm not sure exactly what you mean.]
-x-X-x-
Another negotiation with these ants. They were relentless, Alice had to give them that. Diplomats, as if monsters having diplomats wasn't an utterly absurd notion, had been sending daily messages via their brathian merchant contacts despite being rebuffed every time. Green Mountain had, with some reluctance, rejected their price, and that was that.
Hunting monsters was the right of every delver across Pangera, and the ruling council of the Mountain had no intention of selling that right for any price.
Yet now they apparently had another proposal, and the brathian were kicking up a fuss. Once again, Alice Erry, the chief negotiator of Green Mountain, was forced to board a neutral vessel and endure the presence of a monster for no real purpose. As she boarded the ostentatious ship and made her way below deck, she idly wondered just what sort of proposal the monsters would put forward this time.
Perhaps they wanted to up their offering? Such an astounding sum would surely bankrupt the ants, and perhaps it would be worth accepting just to make them suffer the cost. That had been a line of reasoning some of the more… materially concerned members of the council had taken, but they had been outnumbered in the end.
After being shown into the room in which the talks would be taking place, Alice was a little surprised to see there wasn't an ant in place ready and waiting for her. A little irked, she took her seat, raising a querying brow to the brathian negotiator who had led her in, only to find the woman was gone.
What was this, some sort of trap?
"Ha ha, no trap, I assure you of that."
The voice that rang out from the door as it opened was… strange. A little flat, a little wooden, but still somehow bouncing with personality.
"Any diplomatic talks were to be held with a reputable witness," Alice snapped. She turned, only to start as she found an ant had entered the room.
"Of course, that remains the case," the voice said as the ant clacked its mandibles, "but we aren't here for diplomatic talks. We are here for something much more interesting."
Unhurried, the ant stepped around the table and took its place on the other side, sliding onto the ant-chair positioned there and removing the smart-looking hat it wore on its head. After inspecting and buffing out an unseen imperfection, the hat was placed carefully on the table before Alice had managed to pull her wits back together.
What manner of creature was this? An audible ant? Such strange clothing and mannerisms, along with the glasses?
"Alice Erry, chief negotiator of Green Mountain, what a pleasure to meet you," the ant effused as it began to pull documents and papers from a satchel placed to one side. "Your record is remarkable, I have to say. Very impressive. No Erry has ever served on the council, nor held a position of significant authority, but you have blazed a trail through hard work and talent. I respect that. Perhaps we could even say there's a little bit of ant about you. Hm?"
Ants couldn't wink. It was biologically impossible. And yet.
"I'm only joking, of course. I wouldn't want you to take offence, I know how the Mountain feels about my kind."
The ant reached into its coat and removed a gleaming, silver case that it snapped open to reveal five rolled cigars nestled within. Offering the case over the table, the ant said, "Do you smoke? I've picked up the habit, and I have to say there's something about the scent that I find so… tantalising. It's like immersing my antennae in earth and fire. Would you care for one?"
"W-what? No!"
Alice shook her head, trying to dispel the strange magic the creature had woven in such a short span of time. She slapped a hand down on the table firmly.
"If we aren't here for diplomatic discussions, then I will leave."
"Well now, there's no reason to be hasty," the ant laughed, withdrawing a cigar and snapping the case closed. The ant tucked it away before placing the chosen cigar in its jaws and snapping its claws to ignite the tip. "As I said, there is something much more interesting to discuss here: business."
There was something about the way the monster spoke that word that sent a shiver down Alice's spine. She refused to let her unease show.
"I have no interest. That is to say, Green Mountain has no interest in any sort of business deal with your kind."
"Under normal circumstances, I would completely agree with you. But in this instance, we can absolutely come to an agreement. You see, business is always possible when someone has something that someone else wants, and is willing to part with it for the right price."
The little ant puffed on her cigar, her eyes twinkling.
"Right now, I have something you want, and I am very willing to part with it… for the right price. You see? A deal is more than possible."
It was absurd, and Alice was more than a little tempted to walk out immediately. She would never be able to say what it was that kept her in that room.
"And what do you have that we might want?" she sneered, folding her arms across her chest.
"I heard a few delvers had gone missing in the tunnels. Over fifty, by last count."
"So what?"
Delvers went missing all the time. Long excursions into the Dungeon came with risks and hazards. Some would return, weeks behind schedule after having survived a tumultuous adventure, others would never come back at all.
"We were wondering if you wanted them back."
In an instant, the air around the ant had changed. No longer cheerful. No longer jovial and joking. It sat still, one claw on its cigar, thin trails of smoke winding up around its antennae.
"You… what?" Alice said, maintaining her cool.
"We were wondering…" the ant said slowly, tapping ash into the tray on the table, "... if you wanted your people back."
As chief negotiator for Green Mountain, Alice Erry was no pushover. Her thoughts raced as she tried to understand the implications of what was happening here.
"Are you saying that you have captured them? That they're alive?"
"Very much alive, for the time being. Over fifty delvers just wandering the tunnels inside our territory, poor lost little lambs. We picked them up as a courtesy, and we thought it was natural to ask if you wanted them back."
"You'll give them to us?" Alice sought to clarify.
"Of course we will, once you pay our price."
One middle leg slipped inside the monster's coat and withdrew a small piece of paper that it placed on the table and slid across the surface.
Reluctantly, Alice reached out, picked it up, and read the contents. Her eyes grew wide.
"You want this much for them? Have you lost your mind?"
"Of course not," the ant almost purred. "We want this much for each of them."
The monster took its cigar and crushed it into the tray before rising from its seat.
"Obviously, you won't agree now. That's fine. I'll come again when we have a hundred of your delvers. The price will have gone up, obviously. Then I'll come back when we have two hundred. Again, a rather sharp price increase can be expected at that time, I'm afraid."
"You think our people will just let themselves be taken?" Alice stated, concealing the unease she felt. Something had changed down in the tunnels, but what? What was going on down there? Weren't the ants corralled into their nest, huddling in fear?
"Your people don't have a choice in the matter," the ant replied. "All this time, you thought we were hiding for our protection, and in a sense, we were. What we really feared, is what would happen to you if one of your teams succeeded. The time for that fear is gone now. We are no longer the ones who have to be afraid."
Then, the charm came back, so strong it was as if the lights in the room had brightened.
"Alice Erry. Wonderful to meet you, truly a privilege. I'd love to shake your hand, but ah… I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. Let's put it that way."
They couldn't wink. They couldn't!
"I look forward to meeting you again soon. Please, reach out through our mutual friends if you want to talk. Any time at all, I'm all yours."
Just like that, she was shown the door.
-x-X-x-
It wasn't easy for Merchant to get in touch with people from the Church of the Path. It wasn't easy for Merchant to find someone willing to admit that such a person even existed on Green Mountain.
Which was so obviously absurd, with them having an entire cathedral dedicated to the faith in there, that she honestly respected their dogged refusal to speak.
Of course, that didn't mean it was impossible. What Merchant knew, better than anyone else in the Colony, was what money was, and most importantly, what it could do. Mistress Enid hadn't shied away from teaching her student about the… darker possibilities of the marketplace.
Money was an incredible thing. It held value so much greater than its practical use, or even its scarcity. It could be used to buy goods and services, but that was the most basic, most simple of its applications.
Money had hands. It could open doors and windows that would otherwise remain shut, creating new possibilities and opportunities.
Money had ears. It could buy information and knowledge that would otherwise remain totally inaccessible. Locked lips were everywhere in the world, but money was a master key.
Perhaps most importantly of all, and least understood, money could speak. It could be a whisper, a murmur, dropped in the right place, at the right time. Or it could be a shout, a deafening burst of sound that commanded attention and respect, drawing the light and focus away from other, less deserving things.
Understanding money and how to use it was how Merchant knew where the Grand Priest Alir Vinting was staying. It was also how she knew that a message had been delivered to the Priest this morning, hidden on the tray under his cup of tea.
Knowledge she shouldn't have possessed. Access she wasn't supposed to have been granted.
It was also how she found herself in a warehouse on the dockside of Green Mountain, seated behind a table in the far corner, sipping her own tea, and waiting.
The people who had smuggled her in hadn't really known what they'd done, only that they'd been well paid not to know. Ignorance and silence. Just another two things that many did not realise were on the market.
Perhaps she should have felt in danger, taking such a risk, coming to such a hostile place. Yet, she didn't. Not at all. Safety, after all, was always for sale, even for her, even in a place like this.
When a man emerged from the darkness, she wasn't surprised, and when he sat down at the table across from her, she wasn't afraid.
"Alir Vinting, Grand Priest of the Path. Welcome," she said.
Although she had never met him before, she was confident this was him. There weren't many allowed to wear those robes, and none of the others in the Mountain who were had any reason to be here, speaking with her.
"This was not something I expected," the man said, as he drew back his chair and sat down. "A civil discussion, with one of your kind?"
There was something about the eyes that Merchant had learned to identify. Some people were open with their distrust of monsters. They shied away, or their lip curled with disgust. She didn't mind that. Obvious reactions for people with deep-seated distrust for a kind of being that they had lived in fear of from the moment they grew old enough to learn they existed.
She could work with those people, try to bridge the gap, try to create tenuous bonds that could strengthen over time. Or she could try to make them see her as something else, something other than a monster.
But there were others, skillful enough to hide their true face. These were the merchants, the traders and the travellers with experience enough not to show what they were thinking on the inside. Most of the people she dealt with were like this, and it was much harder to tell who felt a strong prejudice against her kind and who didn't. She'd learned, there was always a tell. It was so much harder to lie through the eyes.
From the day she had been born until now, Merchant had never seen a gaze so cold as the one Alir Vinting levelled her way.
She was not a person, she was barely an entity, in his eyes. He regarded her as less than a human would regard a pet cat, less than they regarded a table.
There was both hatred, and avarice in those eyes.
Suddenly, Merchant didn't want to engage in her usual patter. She didn't want to perform, or engage in the subtle back and forth of negotiation. She would spend the absolute minimum amount of time necessary in his presence.
"We have one of your priests," she said flatly. "Soon we will have more. If you want them back, this is the price."
She took out the paper, slid it across the table, then retracted her leg lest it get too close to the thing sitting opposite.
"You expect us to pay ransom to retrieve our priests?" Alir said as he reached out to take the paper. When he saw the number written within, his eyebrows climbed. "Well now, that is hardly civilised."
"How the Church of the Path feels about us isn't something we worry about."
"You should," he said, crumpling the paper and dropping it to the floor. He leaned closer. "Giving us ammunition to use against you is profoundly unwise."
"As if you would stop firing arrows just because we didn't shoot back," Merchant clacked her mandibles with distaste. "I suggest you pass our message back to your superiors. I don't think your fellow holy men and women will feel all that comfortable in our presence."
"Is that a threat?" Alir asked.
"No. This is the threat: if you take too long, we might figure out how to do to you what you do to us. I wonder how you would taste after being refined into an elixir, Grand Priest? Disgusting, I'm sure."
The priest merely chuckled.
"You can try, I suppose. I assure you, it cannot be done, but news of your atrocities will surely spread far and wide."
"We are done here. Leave."
Perhaps sensing that she would have him removed if he didn't go of his own accord, Alir stood, then bowed, hand to his heart, before turning and striding out of the warehouse. As soon as he was gone, Merchant began to clean her antennae. Pulling her antennae through her elbow joints was soothing, and the routine calmed her mind.
"Ugh," she said. "I need a smoke."
-x-X-x-
"What are those fools doing out there?" Frederick demanded. "If any of you are planning some sort of hairbrained, idiotic assault, you better tell me right now so I can kick you in the face!"
Before him stood the heads of every team who remained in this section of the Dungeon, but all they gave him were shamefaced looks and sideways glances. Except for Shamus, who raised his hand.
Frederick felt a moment of despair. Even Shamus was planning some idiocy?
"What is it?" Frederick asked, pinching his brow.
"I just thought I should point out, Manager, that nobody will tell you anything if the reward is a kick to the face."
"Shut up! You think because you're as rich as the damned Child Emperor that you can start running your mouth?"
More than a few delvers shot envious, or even outright greedy looks at the experienced team leader in their midst, and Frederick immediately regretted his words. Shamus had gotten lucky and now had a tremendous amount of money coming his way, which had painted a massive target on his back.
There was such a thing, after all, as too much money.
"Don't get distracted, you damned fools," the Union Manager growled, trying to get back on track. He pointed an accusatory finger at the group. "How many teams do we need to lose haring off to try and seize a prize they have no chance of winning? Dozens of good men and women have been lost trying to do the impossible. I know it's a lot of money, alright? But damn it, are you pigs in a mud pit or are you flipping delvers? Fighting monsters you can't beat is for idiots and dead people!"
Too much money… that was the problem here. A tiny fragment of its carapace was enough for a delver to retire and live in luxury for the rest of their life. Even Frederick had been blinded by greed, trying to figure out a way to bring down the beast. Fifty good people vanishing into thin air had convinced him otherwise.
This was frustrating. For him, and for them. The largest prize in the history of delving was out there somewhere, so tantalizingly close they could practically taste it. A devilish creature to be sure, it had laid its bait perfectly.
If Shamus and Elsi had returned with nothing but word of the creature, many would have been tempted, but not enough to try and hunt the monster. However, they had brought back that chunk of diamond and become filthy rich as a result. Now there was jealousy in the air, mixing with the greed and creating a heady mix thick enough to drive people mad.
"Why don't we all go?" a voice called out.
Frederick whipped around to see Rubia, hand on her hips and stubborn caste to her features.
"It's the prize of a lifetime. Small groups are never going to get the job done. If we don't all go, then we won't have a chance."
The Union Manager felt a headache coming on.
"Rubia, by the blessed Path and my own wizened mother, what are you talking about? That's a tier eight mythic! Do you hear me?"
He looked around at the others, glaring at them, daring them to speak.
"Tier. Eight. Mythic. No delver has taken down a prize like that since the Cataclysm! Unless some of you are hiding an Abyssal Legion under your shirts, then you aren't strong enough to get the job done!"
"The Legion isn't here, but the Church of the Path might send suppressors, or Green Mountain could rouse the army," Rubia continued, refusing to be silent. "With their help, we could have a chance."
"I don't see them here, do you?!" Frederick roared, losing his temper and throwing his arms in the air. "I'm trying to stop you blasted fools from getting killed. Can't you see that?!"
Shamus shook his head, and as Frederick glared at the others, they looked away, shuffling their feet or looking up into the air. Only Rubia met his gaze with a thick-headed, stubborn stare of her own.
"Bah! Get out of here, all of you. In a few days, this excursion will be over and we're all heading back to the mountain. If any of you want to leave the camp, you can forget it! I'll be handing out no dispensation."
A few protested, but his blood was up and he ran roughshod straight over them.
"I don't want to hear it! When you're ready to act like delvers and not wannabe heroes, then come and talk to me."
As they all shuffled out, muttering amongst themselves, it was only Shamus who brushed himself off and came to speak with the manager.
"How bad do you think?" Frederick muttered.
Shamus grunted.
"Two thirds will be gone before an hour has passed."
"Mother's milk. I'm starting to hate that ant, Shamus."
"Why? It's not the monster's fault."