“I see what you’re saying,” Tungstant says. “The armour can be used in the meantime to shore up their carapace until they can evolve.”
“Better than that, wearing the armour will help keep them alive until they can evolve. It’s win-win. After my next evolution, I myself intend to order a set. I’ll certainly get one for Tiny.”
“If we spread word of that around, a few more crafters may be willing to lend a hand,” Cobalt muses.
“Do whatever you have to do,” I tell them. “Just get Smithant the help she needs. Asking her to produce enough sets to clad even a small force of ants on her own is just ridiculous. The amount of work that goes into one of these suits is insane.”
I have a think.
“I think I’ll go pay a visit to our prisoners before I leave. From what I hear, we haven’t gotten much out of them, so I may as well poke my antennae in and see what they have to say.”
“The human, Beyn, has been speaking with the two new ones you brought in, eldest,” Mendant tells me in her gentle, soothing voice. “He’s been quite excited to speak with them from what I understand.”
That’s just great. He’ll be filling their heads with all sorts of nonsense.
“As soon as we hear anything about the enemy making their approach, we need to meet back here as a matter of urgency. Until then, continue the expansion, continue to develop our defences and networks, and put Slow Grow into action as soon as possible.”
Nods all around. I make a circuit of the chamber, exchanging pheromones with each of the council members as I make my way out. The colony is growing too large to be managed by just these twenty individuals. Perhaps not numerically, there are plenty of cities with one hundred thousand people in them who get by with a council, but geographically, we’re covering a huge amount of space. The two new nests are one thing, but the hunting territories around them, the various Expanses the colony has conquered, the extensive mining operations, there’s a whole lot going on. Sometime soon, I’m going to have to ensure the council is getting sufficient help, they can’t keep doing it on their own.
I mean, at the rate the eggs are going to be laid, we’ll be up to a million strong colony before too long. What an exciting and scary thought! If the golgari were scared of us before, they’ll be terrified of us then! Gwehehehehe.
Still, as I leave the council, there’s a certain feeling of stress and gloom hanging over the members as they each contemplate their roles under the threat of the impending invasion. A million things to do, but all of them will be dropped the instant one of those stone-skinned fools poke his nose into our territory.
With a shake of my antennae, I try to brush my concerns away. The only thing I can do is try my best to do my duty as the strongest ant in the colony. Get stronger and allow my siblings to rise up alongside me. I’ll act as their sword to drive away those that would bring them harm, and their shield to defend them as they grow and become strong.
To that end, we need MOAR LEVELS!
[Are we heading back out into the Dungeon, Master?] Crinis asks.
[Sometimes I forget you don’t hear what’s said in pheromone language, Crinis. I just walk around assuming you know what’s been discussed after a meeting like that.]
[I know,] she huffs. [I’ve been considering acquiring a Pheromone Sensory Gland when I next evolve, but when I checked the menu last time, it was unusually expensive. I think because I have none of the sensory receptors or nerve centres required to interpret the information.]
[That’d be a waste! Just remind me and I’ll be happy to let you know what’s going on.]
[Then I will do that, Master.] She sounds happy.
[By the by, what Level are you Crinis?]
[Only Level 21, Master.] Now she sounds sad.
[That’s not so bad! Why are you down about it?]
[I’ll evolve a long time after you, again.]
[I got a lot of experience fighting against big nasty monsters, Crinis. Garralosh, the stupid tournament. All of those were extremely challenging and not exactly something I would have sought out on my own, given the choice.]
[I know that,] she mutters in my head. [I just don’t like when you are so much stronger than me. How can I protect you against the sorts of enemies you’ll go up against at tier six?]
[Look on the bright side. When I’m tier six, you won’t have to protect me from enemies at tier five anymore.]
[That doesn’t help…]
Ah well. Worth a shot. Crinis has continued to be as protective of me as always, ever since we reunited after I escaped—with help—from the golgari. She’s still riding around, attached to my carapace. She’s heavy, but I can’t quite bring myself to complain about it to her.
[Hey, Tiny, Invidia. We need to get ready to go.]
The big ape looks up, his fists clenching with excitement.
[Fiiight?] he grunts.
I sigh.
[Yes, we’re going back out to fight.]
He grins broadly and lumbers toward me, slapping me on the back with happiness. For his part, Invidia materialises his haunting, toothy grin in the air beneath his hovering eye, which flashes green.
[I willll haaaavvveeee levellllssssss.]
[Not too many,] I warn him. [You’re still a higher tier than the rest of us. No point funnelling experience into you.]
The large eye flashes brighter as the envy demon baulks at being denied that which he desires, but I prod him with my antennae.
[None of that. We’ll go check in on Jim and Sarah, pop by the prisoners, then a final check on our Biomass and Skills situation, then out to scout and take names. Let’s go.]
65. Doing the Rounds
I find Jim and Sarah in a place I didn’t quite expect, visiting the golgari prisoners, which is an unexpected convenience for me. As I bustle onto the scene, my pets in tow, my two fellow ex-prisoners appear to be getting ready to leave.
[Hey there, you two! How’ve you been?]
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing humanish reactions from giant monsters. Jim is a gigantic worm, he basically doesn’t have a face, you can’t even see his mouth most of the time, but I can still recognise the awkward jerking motion he makes as he reacts to my voice.
Sarah, for her part, has a more standard face. Eyes, nose, big ol’ horrifying bear maw filled with death fangs of murderising. Standard. Those huge eyes blink slowly as she looks down at me.
[Anthony? I-I didn’t expect to see you here…]
[Yeah, I’ve been ignoring this lot for a while. Letting them stew in their own juices, as the fairly disgusting saying goes. I guess I’m not that shocked to see you here, considering how long you were… a guest, of the Cult. Manage to get anything out of them?]
[I’m afraid not,] she says sadly. [They don’t want to open up to me. I can’t get any answers about what they planned to do with me, or why. I guess I just wanted to know what made them want to turn on me.]
I shrug. [Self-interest. Isn’t it always? That’s why you’re better off hanging with the colony. If you ask one of these ants if they’re self-interested, they’d probably slap you in the face.]
[What about you, Anthony?] Jim asks, his tone a little sharp. [Can you make the same claim? You aren’t an ant like them, after all, you were human once.]
I’m a little taken aback at these words, but I consider them all the same, and do my best to answer.
[I don’t think I’m particularly self-interested, or selfish. I didn’t have that many wants or needs in my past life. I mean, some security would have been nice. Physical or emotional, either one, I’m not picky. Could have used some heat in the winter, actually. Those last few years were rough. Perhaps a few less beatings? I always wondered about that, you know? They knew I didn’t have any money, so why continue the beatings? I tried asking once, but—]