It’s so strange! No matter how many of them are gathered in one place, the ticky-tack of their claws is basically all that one can hear. Emilia assured me that the ants were constantly communicating and were, in fact, quite chatty, but without the ability to understand their pheromonal language, it isn’t possible to partake in these conversations.
After visiting the mine, we followed the trail taken by the raw ore into the nest itself, whereupon it was delivered into the largest foundry I have ever laid eyes on. The heat was so intense, even within this frozen stratum, that the viewing area we were taken to was lined with cooling enchantments on the walls. The air outside wavered and shimmered in the heat rising from the enormous crucibles of molten ore. At least a dozen of these literal melting pots could be seen from our position, and Emilia took the time to point out the different minerals being processed and the final products they would be turned into.
Each crucible measured dozens of metres across, giant cauldrons into which tons and tons of material seemed to constantly flow, with waste product and separated liquid metals flowing from controlled outlets at the bottom. From there, the precious metals were funnelled into gravity-fed pipes and whisked away for further processing elsewhere.
The sheer scale of the operation opened my old eyes to just how vast the industry of the Colony truly was. How many mines like the one I saw would be necessary to feed a foundry like this? A hundred? And this was far from the only such foundry, I was assured. Hundreds of mines, with thousands of tons of material, were being fed to a literal army of artisans who crafted everything one could imagine, from arms and armour for ants, people, or their pet monsters, to furniture, statues, and kitchen implements.
The most senior and revered of all the craftsants was Smithant, and I was especially pleased to be able to meet this individual hard at work at the forge.
“Smithant was one of the original smiths in the Colony and the first to craft armour specifically for use by ants,” Emilia told me, a touch of awe evident in her voice as we stood to the side as the large ant beyond feverishly worked the tools of her trade. “It isn’t often that she returns to this stratum, as she runs the Colony’s largest armoury deeper in the Dungeon. She comes up to teach younger ants sometimes, or to check the quality of the more basic equipment produced here.”
Nothing I saw looked basic. Even my guards were impressed as we watched the dark-coloured ant shape the metal. The speed at which she worked was incredible, taking a raw ingot, firing it, and then using a strange, enchanted hammer to pound it into shape. Her six legs were constantly in motion, shifting, adjusting, firing the bellows, changing the angle, operating the hammer. It was almost dizzying to behold.
As she worked, I was able to see how she had adapted her body to her work. One leg channelled pure heat into the metal, keeping it cherry red as she plunged one claw deep into the molten steel. In fact, she needed no equipment to touch or move her work, so heat resistant had her body become.
I was even more shocked when she leaned forward and clamped down onto a rod of glowing iron with her jaws directly! Sparks flew as she chomped several times in rapid succession, her mandibles acting as hammers to compress and fold the metal.
Nor did she stop the motion of her obviously enchanted hammer during this process. The more I watched, the more I felt I wasn’t looking at a smith, but an entity who had designed its entire being around metalwork. She had moulded every aspect of herself to better suit her chosen field.
Without a mage present, I couldn’t speak directly to this remarkable individual, but Emilia offered to translate for me, and I was most eager to learn more.
“Can you ask her what she’s working on now?” I led with.
Always go for the safe questions first, readers!
To my eye, the ant before me didn’t respond in any way, even after Emilia turned to her and (I assume) began to speak.
“She is attempting to perfect a new archetype of heavy armour. Specifically, the Mark 10 Layered Armour, Immortal edition.”
“Mark 10?”
“Yes. She has developed nine previous versions of this particular armour, I believe. I must confess, Miss Tolly, I am not too certain of the technical aspects.”
“What specifically does she mean by ‘Immortal edition’?”
“I can answer that. The Immortals are a particular heavy armour division of the Colony. They are famed for their durability, to the point where legend holds that only one ‘proper’ Immortal has ever died in battle.”
Every army in the world has these sorts of stories, but for some reason, I always give them more weight when I hear them in the Colony. The ants do not seem to have the capacity to lie.
“Can you ask her why she decided to become an armour smith?” I ask. “I am most fascinated as to why she chose this path.”
A brief pause as the two conferred, and then Emilia came back to me.
“Armour is good, a carapace is also good, why not combine the two? Would it be possible to create a methodology that would make an armoured ant not a hindrance, but more than twice as durable?”
I blinked.
“Is it? Possible, I mean.”
“She says, of course, that is what I did.”
126. Running Amok
The first day in the third stratum was the worst. Along with Crinis, Tiny, and Invidia, I rushed about trying to put out fires and help the Colony in every way I could. We took part in the siege of a city, overrunning the defenders in spectacular style, leaping from a pillar that rose ten kilometres high. I left the duel with the city lord to our resident demon overlord, though. I don’t want to tangle with any more tier sevens if I can help it.
Bit of a silly thought, considering there’s even stronger demons running amok beneath us, but there it is.
Speaking of Brixin, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier demon. With the territory that she controls expanding by the day, her smile is just as wide as her dial. The might of the Colony is allowing her to indulge in her obsession for conquest and expansion to the fullest. It won’t last forever, or even much longer, for that matter, but for the time being, she’s happy as a clam.
All well and good. With the city conquered, we don’t rest on our laurels, rushing back down and tearing off to find something else to fight. The Colony is now targeting demon cities that border along the area claimed by the ka’armodo, which has only exacerbated tensions between us. Except not really, because the lizards were apparently intent on steadily escalating from the beginning. Either way, border skirmishes are becoming more common, and both sides are exerting more pressure every day.
My family has been busy whilst I’ve been down below grappling with the termite menace. The number of cities seized by the Colony has reached twelve. Twelve! That represents a ridiculous amount of space within the Dungeon, a huge swathe of territory, along with the resources contained within.
The industrial arm of the Colony can be seen everywhere we go. Mines are springing up. Way stations are being constructed inside the mountain-sized pillars rising from the endless plains. Vast smelting operations are being established in the major hubs, and every single city is getting its own nest constructed around the base of the pillar. None of them are quite as absurdly sized as the original around Roklu, the scale of that thing is utterly bewildering, but they are still massive.