“I’ll arrange an escort.”
The general scuttled away and had half a thousand ants ready to escort the mage closer to the enemy in a matter of seconds. Coolant had a thought, though.
“Do you think a thousand may send the wrong message?”
“What do you mean?”
“They have a total of…” she counted quickly, “eight golgari over there. If we move closer with a thousand, might they think they are being attacked?”
“You think a thousand is too many?” Sloan rubbed the top of her head with an antenna. A thousand didn’t feel like many to her. Then again, she was an ant. “I’ll send a hundred.”
The mage nodded. A hundred should be fine. Shortly thereafter, a procession of a hundred and one ants cautiously advanced toward the golgari delegation, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. Sloan had considered things carefully, and the delegation contained a healthy mix of mages for raising shields, scouts for detecting foul play, and soldiers to hold the line in the event the others needed to retreat.
Once they covered half the ground to the first gate, they very obviously stopped and parked themselves. Acting with great caution, Coolant wove together a Mind Bridge and extended it toward the trio of mages in the golgari party.
[I greet you on behalf of the colony,] she started off formally. [I have come to clarify exactly what it is that you want.]
The stone-people all communicated with each other for a long moment before a reply came back.
[The reincarnated ant. We want you to bring them here so they may duel the High Blade Balta. He wishes to expunge the shame the creature has cast upon his house with his own hand.]
Coolant was rather taken aback by this. This guy came all the way out here chasing the eldest? For what? Some imagined insult? She couldn’t possibly comprehend the meaning behind such actions, but she didn’t let her confusion show. True to her name, she remained calm.
[When you refer to the ‘reincarnated one,’ you refer to the member of our family who was captured by your people? Large? Shiny carapace?] Better to be sure.
More conferring.
[That is correct.]
Nice to have that confirmed.
[You are aware that the individual you refer to is currently engaged in fighting your allies on the other side of the nest?]
[We are.]
[It will be difficult to bring the one you want here to this place,] Coolant said, which was putting it mildly. There was a battle going on! Did they forget that?
[We believe the reincarnated will not want this individual to perish. His name is Granin, and he knew the monster we want quite well.]
In all likelihood, the eldest would not want this golgari to die. Surely, not even these invaders would be so foolish as to try such a gambit if they weren’t at least somewhat competent. On the other claw, there was precious little chance the eldest would be able to extricate themself from the battle with the Legion. Feeling somewhat deflated, Coolant bade the enemy farewell and returned to Sloan at the gate. She rapidly explained the situation to the general.
“We will need to consult those two,” Sloan said. “They might know something that can help sort this out.”
139. The Siege, Part 17
It didn’t take long to locate the two golgari advisors within the colony. Corun and Torrina were anxiously awaiting news of the outcome in Enid’s rooms. The colony had been unwilling to allow them to fight on the frontline, despite them putting forward numerous requests. It was the eldest himself who had to shoot them down, relegating the pair to tea and biscuits with the mayor as the fight to determine their survival went on without them.
They were more than a little shocked to be summoned to the gate during the battle, and even more shocked to learn of the circumstances when they got there.
“By the granite gonads of my forefathers!” Corun swore. “Is that idiot noble seriously trying to fight an honour duel against a monster here and now? With Granin’s head on the line? This is madness!”
Torrina stared hard at the gate, as if her gaze were enough to pierce the hundreds of tons of metal that stood between her and her mentor.
“We have to save him.” She turned to her fellow Triad member. “We can’t just leave him there.”
The usually cold and distant Torrina was nowhere to be seen, replaced with someone whose eyes brimmed with fear. For once, the talented Shaper appeared to have no clue how she should proceed. Seeing the change in her, Corun became unusually quiet as he wracked his brain to find a solution.
[I have to tell you,] Coolant told them, [at the moment, we have no intention of bringing the eldest here to do battle with this person.]
Corun was taken aback by how direct the mage was being, but he couldn’t support their decision when his mentor’s life was on the line.
[I assure you], he pleaded, [Anthony would not want Granin to die!]
Coolant eyed him. [They probably wouldn’t. But is the eldest willing to sacrifice hundreds of their siblings to come here and fight to the death against a foe of unknown strength? Indeed, it would seem to be in the best interest of the colony to take this decision away from the eldest and allow them to focus on the battle in front of them.]
[Is that how the colony treats its oldest member now?] Corun asked. [You control Anthony and make decisions for him?]
[Do not presume to judge how we treat members of our own family!] the usually placid mage displayed her rising anger in her furious tone. [The eldest is fighting for the survival of our entire species. What is one golgari, regardless of who, against that?]
As much as he wanted to argue, Corun could not tell Coolant that she was wrong. He wrestled with himself before his shoulders slumped in defeat.
[Is there really nothing we can do?] he pleaded. [Granin has done so much for Anthony. It’s not right that we would abandon him.]
He brightened as an idea struck him.
[You could let me go,] he said. [Perhaps they would take me instead. I could reason with them, or fight in Anthony’s place.]
Torrina had kept her mind attuned to the conversation, listening with stone-faced silence as Corun tried to negotiate for the colony to save her teacher, but she could no longer remain silent.
[Corun, you mustn’t! You’d be cut down in a second!]
Her fellow Triad member set his jaw.
“You can’t be sure of that,” he said aloud. “I’m stronger than you think.”
“I know you’re good, but that’s a High Blade! In a one-on-one fight, you wouldn’t stand a chance. If you get yourself killed, they’ll kill Granin too, and I’ll be the only one left.”
The heartbreak of being the lone survivor of a Triad was not something she was willing to bear, not when she could save at least one of the most important people in her life.
“Then what do you propose we do?” Corun hissed, his frustration bubbling up. “They won’t get Anthony, and if nobody goes out there, then Granin is as good as dead!”
“Please, calm yourselves,” a new voice pierced the gloom that had descended over the two Shapers. “I may be able to assist in this matter.”
Outside the gate, Balta was rapidly growing impatient.
“How much longer before they bring the beast here for me to slay?” he demanded.
“We do not know, High Blade,” the leader of the Shaper Triad managed to hide his exasperation and reply with proper deference. How could he possibly know? These were ants he was negotiating with! Who knew how they would react to anything?
He was positively relieved when he spotted movement at the gate, the giant, looming ant head splitting once more as one side of the gate was pushed open slightly and a figure emerged. It wasn’t an ant, which was disappointing, but at least some form of response was coming their way. The mage could only hope it was enough to relieve the irritated noble’s temper before he started taking it out on them.