It’s getting hot in here!
[Anthony! What the heck did you do?!] Sarah wails as she bats away the termites who try to swarm around her.
[I don’t know!] I cry. [How was I supposed to know this stuff was so damn flammable?]
Even worse than the sudden conflagration is the reaction of our termite opponents. The sudden ignition of their garden sends them into a frenzy, and they alternate between trying to put the fire out and punishing us for setting it off. A few of them duck back underground and rush off through the tunnels, doubtless going to get help to manage the fire.
[We can’t stay here for long,] I warn the others as I ready my mandibles for another chomp. [Let’s clean up a little and then make a dash for it!]
[Are we retreating?] Sarah asks.
[Heck no! We’re following the trail of Vibrant! The termites will be too busy tending to the food supply to chase us for a little while.]
[If you’re sure…]
[Of course I’m sure!]
I express a level of confidence across the mind bridge that I absolutely do not feel, but what choice do I have? I can’t leave Vibrant and her crew behind, not for anything.
DOOM CHOMP!
Activating my potent bite Skill, I lunge and bring the black jaws of pure energy shut on a pair of enemies who have no time to consider what’s coming at them before they are nothing more than notifications ringing in my head. A few detonations go off as Invidia blasts some small groups of insects, and then we are off, racing through the fields as my antennae waggle furiously, trying to keep track of the scent.
[The trail is getting stronger!] I let the others know. [I think we’re on the right track!]
Behind us, we leave a scene of devastation and an increasing group of termites who boil out of the tunnels below and race about extinguishing the flames. A few give chase, but Invidia is more than enough to ward them off, detonating any stragglers who get too close. It won’t last forever, though. The termites are just as capable of following scent trails as I am, and I have no doubt they’ll be after us in force soon enough.
Dammit, Vibrant! Why the hell did you go so deep into their territory? There’s no need for it!
94. Hot on the Trail
[Run, run, run!] I holler at the others as we sprint through the mould-covered forest.
It really is obnoxious to run through this mess. There’s mould beneath us, beside us, and crawling up the trees to cover the canopy above us. It’s like being in a suffocating winter wonderland, except far more horrifying. Especially now that some of it is on fire.
[I don’t think more fire will be a good idea, Master!] Crinis suggests as we race through the terrain.
[We might need another distraction soon. Starting a small fire will get the termites off our trail.]
[Won’t it just bring more of them?] Sarah demands.
[I mean, yes. But also, yes…]
They’ll be distracted, though…
Perhaps that’s still not good enough.
[No more fires,] Sarah tells me firmly. [We can think of something else.]
[Hmph. You’re just worried about the fungus spores getting inside you,] I mutter.
[I hadn’t even thought of that! Anthony!]
[Breathe it in deep. That’s the sweet smell of fungus country.]
[I should never have come here. I hate this place!]
[Look on the bright side. When the termites are defeated, we can remove the mould from this area and return it to wonderful forest, filled with aphids.]
[That’s alright, the aphids are cute!]
Just another aspect of ant superiority. Even if we started fungus farming, we wouldn’t let it run wild and out of control like this. It just isn’t civilised.
[Do you still have the trail?] Sarah asks, sounding a little panicked as we continue to blast through the termites’ feeding grounds.
[I have it,] I confirm. [It’s getting stronger. Wherever they are, we’re catching up.]
I get a strong sense of relief from the giant bear as she heaves for air. She may be a somewhat delicate flower internally, but externally, she’s all beef. Her legs are thicker than a person and positively bulging with muscle underneath all of that fur, much like her shoulders. In fact, the shoulders are even larger. Yet, for all of her strength, she isn’t much of a long-distance runner.
[You’ve got to work on your stamina somehow,] I tell her. [How do you even last in a fight?]
[I berserk,] she snaps. [That usually takes care of it.]
Oh, right.
[Well, no need for that here and now,] I hastily assure her. My antennae waggle furiously. [The trail is starting to curve, follow me!]
I shift my weight and drive to the right, taking a chance to look behind as I do. There are definitely termites following us, but I can’t really tell how many. Tiny bounds along in my wake, suffering much like Sarah is in this long-distance sprint, Invidia perched on his back like a nightmarish bat, green eye blazing with energy as he surveys the land. We rush through a cluster of trees, blasting away the mould that had grown up to fill the space between them and showering ourselves in the horrible stuff before we pull up abruptly.
Up to this point, we had been running farther inland, heading up the slope of the side of the mountain, which had been increasing the farther we’d gone. I’d expected that to continue, but our opponents clearly have a different concept for this landscape. A vast, yawning chasm has been carved into the rock, the trees cleared for hundreds of metres in all directions. Like a passageway into the pit of doom, the wide tunnel is completely black on the inside, with no light source to be discerned from this distance. More terrifying still is the view of the mountain I get from here. There are holes all over the place, fortified with dirt and each angled differently. It’s clear they aren’t natural features of the terrain, and judging by the weathering of those areas, they are likely to be recent.
This is the termite nest. The whole damn mountain is the nest!
I kind of expected it, but to see it for myself… it’s just ridiculous! You could fit the main nest of the Colony into this thing ten times over with room to spare!
The other shocking development is the appearance of our quarry. In the mouth of the tunnel, a tight gathering of ants can be seen, the large form of Vibrant zipping here and there amongst them. It’s too bad they aren’t alone. Not only are they swarmed by a host of termites, which is bad enough, but watching from above are five ka’armodo with their attendants in tow. In a flash, I take in the full scene, drawing knowledge from the Vestibule as I allow the will of Vibrant and her coterie to fill me.
The ka’armodo are pinning them here, using shields and spells to lock Vibrant and her group into a fight so that the termites can harvest them for experience.
Not. Acceptable.
[Get in there!] I roar to Tiny, who is only too happy to comply.
The giant ape rears back onto his legs and thumps his chest with his enormous palms, bellowing his rage in an ear-shattering roar that shakes the trees. Then he’s off, bounding across the mould-covered stone, his fists cracking the ground with every step, gathering momentum as he goes.
[Invidia, keep him alive and blow up everything I don’t like!]