Chrysalis

So caught up in the strange energy of the moment it takes a moment before I even realise what it is I’ve done.

Uh.... Whoops?

I mean, he hit me on the head with his stupid mace! What exactly did he think was going to happen?! I’ve been living a violent life in the Dungeon, some things are just becoming instinct you know? If you whack me on the head with your stupid mace then you can’t really blame me for retaliating right? It’s self-defence!

The priest seems to also take a moment to process these events. He looks down at his now severed limb before a new expression gradually takes over his face. He falls backwards clutching at his arm and screams loudly in horror!

This triggers the stunned crowd, who had been locked in place with shock to erupt with fear, people climbing over each other as they attempt to run for the door!

Oh boy...

This is not what I intended! Why the hell did we have to dig up into a freakin’ human building anyway?!

Did they think the Dungeon had delivered some free xp to them as offering or something? You expected me to just stand there and get killed?! Even if I were to let you bash my head in with that ornate mace for half an hour it wouldn’t have been able to damage my diamond carapace in the first place! All I’d get is a headache!

Since it has come to this I have to try and limit the damage, my plan was to have the colony hide somewhere on the surface so we could ride out the worst of the wave in relative safety. If we manage to draw a human army down on our heads then we may as well go back down into the Dungeon and try our luck! If these humans run away and bring back soldiers we’ll be in a real pickle!

Think Anthony! You have to fix this!

Out of desperation I do the only think I can think of to stop the people from running away.

I channel my gravitational magic and form the gravity domain.

mean, it would

much more quickly than before, in only a matter of seconds the powerful energy erupts from

children immediately fall to the floor, completely unable to resist the force pulling them down. The adults are better

shrieking and gripping his arm, holding it before his disbelieving face, he doesn’t even

some ways

seconds before I shut it off. In those few seconds the frantic escape of

isn’t easy to communicate "don’t move or I’ll turn it back on again!" with an ant stare but I do my

twists their faces as they have now realised that this isn’t some religious experience but the enemy of their kind, monsters from the Dungeon, emerging when they least expected it in possibly the last place

on the faces of the children is quite a blow to me. It wasn’t that

ant that can apparently control the force of

know a little more about this situation before I decide to bring the colony up to the surface or retreat

double doors at the rear of the church I hesitate a moment before pushing them open with my mandibles and taking in the surface of this world for the

is the first thing that meets my eyes, the alien sky dyed with intense reds and pinks. Lovely. Not much scenery to appreciate in the tunnel after all,

No time to get caught up in a sunset! Shaking myself slightly I turn to take a look at the surroundings. The church appears to be situated on a hill, a cobbled path leading directly up to the doors. Spread before me looks to be a sleepy town, smoke curling from chimneys that poke proudly out of slatted roofs. In the distance I can see farming fields spread like a

entrance I had located seems like

have been

city? Against the darkening skies I’m fairly sure a plume of black smoke is rising from somewhere inside the walls. Some sort of situation happening over there? I don’t especially want to wish harm on anyone over there but this could be

doesn’t seem to be as large as I had originally thought it was, a sturdy stone building with a high vaulted ceiling to be sure, but it isn’t exactly

town, high on the hill overlooking the more simple homes of the people, many of whom possibly work farming the surrounding fields. On the rear side of the church, down the hill and over

sort of place a colony could

to salvage this

of the congregation have begun to offer prayers of a much different sort to the statue, hoping for salvation and survival rather than whatever the heck

the shock has hit him pretty bad. Poor guy. I can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt, I mean,