Chrysalis

It took a good bit of travel before we were able to reach the first staging area on the path between the nest and the anticipated direction the horde would be travelling. A steady stream of workers ran back and forth in long lines, bringing information back to the nest or returning for designated rest periods.

I found it curious that even with their enhanced senses and intelligence, which removed the necessity for the ants to move directly on top of a trail like regular ants on Earth would, they still chose to do so. The result being that I was treated to the sight of hundreds of ants the size of large dogs hustling about in long trails, one after the other.

The main difference between this and looking at an ant trail back on Earth, other than the size of course, is that I could hear the chatter between the workers as they ran.

"Keep it up! Run hard!"

"We've got this! Push, push, push!"

"So much work to do, no time to slow down now!"

"Lift those claws! Don't forget you have six legs, not two like a human. That means three times the work!"

"Work hard for the colony!"

"FOR THE COLONY!"

Endlessly.

of not having to breathe in order to talk I suppose, no matter how fast they run or how tired they are, they can talk continuously. It was interesting to hear them pump each other up and encourage one another as they ran, to the point I wasn't sure

greater efforts. I'm looking forward to catching up with Vibrant when she makes her way to the front lines. From what I understand, she decided to remain behind with her dedicated followers in order to make a push toward meeting the colony's food requirements before she left the nest to join

campaign here to chip away at the horde, and the more food will be built up by those remaining behind to hunt, adding to the

the raiding force has been gathering as more concrete plans are being drawn up, scouts are being sent out and preliminary ambush preparations are being made. It isn't much to look at though. When I arrived, I would have missed it had

the ground, but in the interest of concealing it as much possible, they'd done a good job of spreading the loose dirt around and carrying it away from the site itself. A large hole in the ground was the only sign of the nest,

and Crinis topside for the moment and plunged vertically down into the tunnel. The relative calm of the surface gave to a flurry of activity beneath the ground as workers climbed all over each other as they rushed about their tasks,

ant and dirt shoved in my

quite rattled and extremely grateful to enter a chamber that contained a little

"It's good to see you made it to the front in time

for an ambush

Victor shook her head.

locate the horde but they are yet to return. We expect them to make contact with the horde tomorrow and then make their way back. Of course,

It's called a

waved her antennae

strange human convention, it matters not. We have dispatched workers to scout

the surface of which had been carved into a semblance of terrain. I could see roads, surprisingly detailed little building to represent what I think are towns. Midum was there, as well as the human village and I believe a rounded hill to represent the main nest of the colony. I