Chrysalis

Anger boils inside me at the thought that these moronic Shapers would dare to kill my siblings! Outrageous! They've nobody to blame for their current circumstances but themselves, I've no pity for them at all. My attitude toward the Golgari is hardening at a frightening pace. If I hadn't had such positive experiences with Granin and his triad then there's a possibility that none of the Shapers would have made it out of this assault alive. I suppose that's a dark thought, but these people are messing with my family! That's not something I can allow anymore.

[Crinis, do you think you could jump through to the Shadows in the next room?]

[I'll need a distraction. They'll be on the lookout for a tactic like that.]

[Not a problem. I can give you all the distraction you'll need. Keep your senses open and wait for your chance.]

[Right, Master!]

…

[That means you need to climb off me and move to the side.]

[… No it doesn't.]

[Yes, it does! What's the point of me drawing their fire and creating a distraction if YOU are the one being hit?!]

[But…]

[No buts! Get your nightmarish gloop over in that corner and wait for a chance!]

full of reluctance, I'm finally able to get Crinis to climb off of me and out of sight in a corner where she huddles pitifully, small tentacles extended in my direction trying to latch

avoid her feeble attempts with ruthless precision, she'll be glued back onto my carapace before too long anyway, I need to enjoy this brief moment of freedom whilst it lasts. Troublesome pet dealt with, I approach the fire zone at the end of the corridor, an area covered in ants clinging to any

support?" I demand a

tied up on other floors keeping the peace. They're the

Makes sense.

attempted here?" I

opened fire the second they saw

Hmmph.

they deserved for it, don't

"Yes, Eldest!"

of ice and other more esoteric magics

POW! POW! POW! POW!

jets of sizzling liquid streak through the air down the corridor to splatter against something out of sight and the ants begin to duck back down again in anticipation of the next wave of spells. This is the time I choose to spring

POW! POW! POW!

the corridor and impact against what is definitely a magical shield of some sort. The Shapers, who'd been preparing to return fire, are shocked to see their precious shield begin to bubble and steam as my acid begins to eat into it. I follow up with a solid blast of flamethrower magic as I charge down the corridor, my bulk

I'm hoping it prevents them from seeing me coming. Flames belching out from between my mandibles, I race down the corridor like a freight train, but as expected, it only takes a moment until I can feel my flames

BOOM! THUD!

other direction, slamming into my carapace with impressive force. The best I can do to protect my eyes is lower my rear legs as I run, creating an angle to protect the top of my head, but the damage adds up. It's not as if they can

SHING!

as an almost clear shard of ice flies through my flames and lodges deep in my carapace. Ouch! Someone put a huge amount of mana into that thing! But it's only enough to slow me down