Chrysalis

[Worms are stupid.]

[I said I was sorry already…]

[They look disgusting and they eat dirt.]

[I know, okay? I know.]

[They're soft and don't have a carapace which makes them less shiny.]

[Not all ants are shiny! Only you are shiny!]

[Are you talking back to me?! Invidia, I think he's talking back to me!]

[Sssstrange. It should be shame.]

[Yeah, you're supposed to be shame! Aren't you, Jim?]

[… yes. I am shame. Can we PLEASE discuss this another time? Like, when we aren't being ACTIVELY chased?!]

[I suppose…]

As much as I enjoy reminding our resident worm that he and his entire species are massive failures who the world would most likely be better off without, we do have something of a situation on our claws. After we popped up outside those massive stone gates, we hightailed it back underground but it wasn't long before we started to sense signs that we were being followed.

Luckily, Jim was able to retrace the tunnel that I'd collapsed a lot faster than he could dig through solid rock, but we couldn't follow that all the way back, we'd just end up in the Shaper outpost that we'd started in. Which meant that we needed to dig our way into another Dungeon tunnel, a job for which we needed Jim's now suspect earth senses to try and find.

[Look, I found a tunnel, didn't I?]

[Just not the right one…]

[I was close!]

[Close to a city full of Golgari…]

[I'll be quiet.]

Monster detection? Perhaps trying to sense vibrations in the rock? Either way I'm not a huge fan. Jim and I are using every technique we can to speed up our tunnel digging. He's biting and utilising

now… Does that mean they're homing in on us or

far, Jim? We can't be

tunnel, probably… twenty metres dead

given

[Agreed!]

Being a sheltered creature, not having to fight for so long, having his meals brought to him, it must have killed his edge. Although,

Jim.

[Right!]

super great if I could not have worm butt in my face sometime soon, I'm well over it. It takes a couple of minutes for us to drill our way through and with

[We did it!]

[Get down, Jim!]

with Invidia close behind, my mandibles

CHOMP!

shear it apart and it falls to one side, twitching. Stupid centipedes! They pop

hell was

now. What do you want to do? Try

He hesitates.

[I've got places to be and you'd rather hide, it's fine. I just need you to

worm shudders for a moment as he

too close to try and hide

[Let's go!]

HAZZOW! I'm off!

looks like it's going to get too

[Yesssss.]

[Let's hustle!]

from the shadows, motivation to run isn't hard to come by. Invidia isn't the fastest, so I pile

up, but he isn't designed for flat out speed. In terms of tunnelling through the earth, nobody could hope to match him. Over rock though? He's sluggish at best. Which isn't the problem that I thought it might have been. This is the Dungeon after all.

earlier. Obviously not somewhere I'm keen to

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

that inhabit these tunnels with Invidia casting support magic on me. The support spells make all the difference as my enemies reel from his dizzying mental attacks, are rebuffed by his shields or straight up detonated by his explosions. The support caster I always wanted is

way, Jim! Keep hustling.

is going to be safe? I

for. As far as he knows, there isn't any safe place anywhere