That was good news.
“I’ve asked for the Shaper representative to join us in case there is any new information. It would seem these ants are behaving in ways beyond what we might expect from monsters such as these. Has anything trickled out of that highly trained mind of yours, Shaper? Something that might save golgari lives?”
“Not a damned thing,” Granin grunted.
4. Being Bait
“Why did I think this was a good idea?”
“I have to say, eldest, I’m not entirely sure. I wasn’t surprised when you suggested it, though.”
“I get the feeling that’s almost an insult, Propellant…”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, eldest. My respect for you knows no bounds.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not anymore.”
“What’s sarcastic mean?”
“…I’m starting to think you and the others need another round of training. It’ll take care of this poor attitude I’m starting to detect.”
“Ah, no. I mean. Please. We are… far too busy, eldest.”
“I suppose that’s true. You guys have it rough. What with all the expectations that are put on you. I really appreciate all the work that you do.”
“We do what we must so that the colony will thrive.”
“As do we all, I suppose… You’d better head on back now, Propellant. It won’t be long until they arrive.”
“Good luck, eldest. Don’t forget the contingency plans and reserves.”
Heh. As if I’m going to use them.
“If you don’t call on us, we’ll probably run out on our own and get killed.”
Dammit.
“Did you put Leeroy in charge or something?”
“Of course not, but we could.”
More training is definitely on the cards for the council. Especially Leeroy. That damn fool of an ant is nothing but a headache, and now the others are starting to weaponise her suicidal tendencies against me. They know I can’t allow that moronic ant to get herself, or others, killed. At the same time, they know I’ll never allow another ant to put themselves in danger in order to save me. Ergo, they’re manipulating me into ensuring I won’t refuse to bring out the reinforcements in case something does go wrong.
Haaa. It’s hard being an authority figure in a group of such self-sacrificing creatures. Nobody is willing to take a step back, especially when the stakes are high. In fact, the higher the stakes, the more eager they become to throw themselves in the fire.
“Fine. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. Okay?”
Seemingly satisfied, the mage turns and dashes up the tunnel to rejoin the others. Which leaves me and my pets to face the oncoming golgari. Not that we intend to fight them, naturally. It might come to that, but only in the very worst of circumstances. The lack of scent trails did seem to mess with the trackers hunting us, but only for a time. The guys with the pets no longer go out to scout nearly as often, being relegated to a minor role as the enemy relies on some other method to track us.
We’d managed to establish they weren’t tracking the hostages. When the two Shapers were shifted to another tunnel, the golgari showed no sign of shifting from the path of the colony. We next checked if Jim or Sarah were being tracked, but they showed no reaction to the two of them either. Now it was time to see if it was me they were after. The only way to do that was to dangle myself like a juicy worm down a side tunnel while the colony continued on their merry way.
Now here we are, my pets and I, waiting to see if the golgari will divert themselves to follow me or follow the rest of the ants. Once again, the Stealth Skill has come into play as I wait for the enemy to approach, and they do, at their own steady pace.
The procession is mostly unchanged from the last time I saw it, the various members in the same positions. I don’t see a supply train yet, though I presume it must be toward the back. I can’t imagine all these massive humanoids are going to march this far on an empty stomach.
Oh, here we go. Now we come to it. They reach the divide in the tunnel not a hundred metres away from where I hide and come to a stop. It’s a little odd to see the enemy in this way, stretching, chatting, and working kinks out of their backs. The armoured figures in the centre of the column are having an animated discussion. It’s hard to make out this far away, but the fact that something is being considered down there is clear.
Perhaps they do know where I am… That’s… not a good thing. Not good at all. After a few minutes of waiting, the decision of the column becomes clear. Surprisingly, they split. A small party of fifteen breaks off to move down the tunnel toward me, whilst the others continue on their path, unerringly following the colony as they’ve done all this time. Unfortunately for me, it looks like quite a few beefy characters are heading my way. It’ll get messy if we wait much longer.
[Come on, gang. Let’s get the heck out of here.]
Creeping carefully, we retreat down the tunnel, trying to stay out of sight. But something doesn’t quite seem right. These golgari are moving swiftly. Way too swiftly. In fact… aren’t they just charging?
[Forget the sneaking! Book-it!]
No longer bothering to try and hide our presence, we sprint down the tunnel in a mad dash! Behind, the golgari see us and pick up their own pace.
Dammit! Not only did they know which direction I was in, they even knew I was close. How? There must be a spell or something of the like on me. When and how they put it on me doesn’t matter now. The only thing that matters is, do I turn and fight, or try to flee? Should I bring the colony in to be part of the ambush? There’s a chance we can overwhelm these guys and thin the column that hunts us. I need to get a look and see who’s come to fight me.
I risk a slight turn to bring the sprinting fighters into my view. Oh yeah, they’ve brought out the big guns. Several of those huge monsters, and even one of the armoured figures. I’m not a fan of this at all! Looks like some Shapers have come also. In fact… they look a touch familiar…
5. What are you Really Made of?
As I flee down the dark, cold tunnel of the second stratum with my pets, I try to get a sense of the strength possessed by the golgari behind us. The first few are just massive. Hulking titans of humanoids way too large to move the way they do. Unlike monsters, size doesn’t equate to strength with the sapient races. At least, not directly.
According to Beyn, the stats humans possess aren’t linked to their mass, but rather the capacity to channel Mana through their bodies. Having said that, he did explain that someone with a larger Might stat is going to be bulkier than others. These behemoths remind me of his words. They’re like the Hulk covered in gleaming stone. Or like the Thing, but not a joke.
I never thought I’d see a non-monster that could arm-wrestle Tiny, but here we are.
Comparatively, the armoured figure is smaller, although still of average golgari height, pushing three metres. But something about the way they move is giving me the heeby-jeebies. If I had money, I’d be betting all of it that the armoured figures are the strongest in the group.
And they’re not only chasing us but gaining!
[Come on, Tiny! Pump those ape legs! We need more speed!]
[GRAAAAH!]
The giant ape roars in my mind and out loud as he spreads his wings, beating them furiously in an attempt to build up more speed. It does help, but not enough. The golgari are gaining on us so easily. Their expressions are so calm and confident, as if we represent no threat to them at all.