Tiny is behind me, also struggling a little with the heat, but Crinis is the one having the hardest time. She’s in her usual spot, stuck to my abdomen, but every now and again, bits of her slip around the edges, as if her shadow flesh were melting.
[You going to be alright, Crinis?] I ask, concerned.
[I’m alright!] she gasps. [But I’ll be thankful when we make it to the fourth stratum. This place doesn’t agree with my kind.]
[Already talking about the fourth?] I say wryly. [We have to make it through this one first.]
[Of course, it is only natural that we will conquer these filthy demons, Master! Before long, we will make our way down, just as we did before.]
I can only shrug at that. I wish I had her level of confidence.
[Master! I sense food! I mean, monsters!]
Oho! Naturally, Crinis’ keen senses are the first to detect our prey!
[What have we got, Crinis?]
[Feels like… something strange. Tier six?]
Delicious experience… let’s get it!
[I’ll take the lead. Tiny, be careful with the hatchling.]
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I warn Brilliant. “If you feel an overpowering urge to run off and ‘investigate’ something, I want you to approach Invidia and throw yourself into his mouth.”
“Throw myself in there?”
“You heard me!”
With the nuisance dealt with, we creep forward, following the curve of the tunnel as it widens until our prey comes into sight. It’s… ghastly.
[What the hell is that!] I cry to Al.
Around the corner is what can only be described as a horror. It seems like a demon, the normal demon type of aesthetic, at any rate. Some sort of wrath demon, judging by the bladed arms, but that’s where the similarities end. Instead of normal, healthy demon flesh is practically an apparition, immaterial and ghostly. The harder I stare at the edges of the creature, the more they fade in and out of reality. It drifts around, its legs almost completely invisible.
[It looks sort of like a ghost…] I mentally whisper, despite the fact I’m not making any noise.
[Ah, a ghast. Annoying. Physical damage will have little effect on the creature, make sure to use magical attacks.]
[So, wait. Are you saying it’s an actual ghost?]
[No. A ghast is a monster that is created when a demon perishes. Some demons experience their obsession so powerfully that death will not contain it. Their desire fuses with the ambient Mana to create a ghast which will mindlessly act in pursuit of its desire. During a wave, many will be born due to the higher Mana level.]
[So… a ghost.]
I hate this stratum.
128. Rhymes with Drops
Sometimes Isaac Bird had questions for himself. Such as—how the heck did he end up preparing to assault the land of demons alongside a massive army of ant monsters? Or—should he grow a full beard or just stick with a moustache?.
The latter was probably not as difficult to answer as the former, but each was worthy of careful consideration. ‘Take each problem, one at a time,’ as Ma used to say.
“How long do you think they’re going to make us wait here, Captain?” Margun asked.
Isaac resisted the urge to lean over and spit. He wasn’t a country boy anymore, he had to set the standards for his men. If Morrelia didn’t tolerate spitting in the ranks, then he wasn’t going to either!
He turned to his lieutenant with one brow raised.
“You really that keen to be gettin’ your hands dirty, Margun?” he drawled. “I don’t see what the rush is, they put us up pretty damn well right here, all things considered.”
It was true, the Colony had been more than generous, as was their wont, with the accommodations for the human contingent of their war machine. Not just humans, he corrected himself. After the volunteers started to flow from Rylleh, there were a few non-humans amongst the ranks now, including a couple of golgari, displaced from their home kingdom.
“You aren’t wrong there, Isaac. My feet are just getting antsy, I suppose. How are you so relaxed, knowing what’s about to happen?”
He laughed.
“I don’t understand how you’ve got the energy to be nervous, Margun. They’ve had us doing drills and patrols until we drop ever since the wave ended, and it’s not like that was a happy, fun time! If they weren’t busy building all this setup around here, we’d still be at it I wager. Rather than all your fussin’, I suggest you put your feet up while you have a chance.”
The other soldier just stared at him.
“We aren’t talking about a patrol through the tunnels, Isaac! We’re invading the third stratum! You know, the place full of crazy strong demons? That doesn’t worry you?”
Sometimes people couldn’t see the woods for the trees. Another one of Ma’s favourite sayings, and her wisdom was as true today as it was when she passed it down to him.
With great patience, Isaac straightened himself and clapped one hand onto Margun’s shoulder, gesturing behind the man with the other.
“Take a look over there, my friend. Tell me what you see.”
Margun rolled his eyes.
“Oh, come on Isaac, I’m not in the mood for another of your ‘lessons’.”
Isaac frowned.
“You’ve come over here and bent my ear with your plops, so you’re going to right well listen to what I have to say. Now, out with it.”
“Fine.” With a weary sigh, Margun turned and beheld the very thing they’d been staring at most of the day.
“Alright then,” Isaac said with satisfaction. “Tell me what you see.”
“I see the Colony doing a ton of building and stuff. They’ve been at it for days now, Isaac.”
The former captain of the guard slapped a hand to his forehead. That’s it?
“You don’t see anything other than that?” he asked incredulously. “Bunch of ants building stuff. That’s it?”
Margun rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.
“I don’t know what you’re after here. You know I’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed.”
“It ain’t nothin’ to do wit’ bein’ smart,” Isaac drawled, forgetting to control his accent. “And all to do wit’ payin’ attention.”
Isaac took a moment to master himself.
“You see a bunch of ants building stuff. Fine, fine. How many do you see.”
“I dunno. Couple thousand, I guess.”
“Seems like a lot, right? Do you know how many build sites like this one there are?”
“I think there was ten? One for each of the guard companies?”
“Bingo. Ten of these. What does that say to you?”
“That there’s… a lot of ants working?”
“Right. And what are they building?”
“Staging grounds for the invasion.”
“Correct again. Now, there are ten of these staging grounds being built. Let’s ask another question, how many ants do you think would fit into this one?”
Recognition was starting to flicker in Margun’s eyes.
“Around ten thousand, more or less, I would say…” he said.
“Which means the big bad demons you’re talking about are going to get hit with an invasion of a hundred thousand, give or take, monster ants along with ourselves. I’m not sure if you’re a betting man, Margun, but I know where I’d be putting my money.”