Chrysalis

Chapter 786

"Explain to me please, why you would ever think that sticking your head into a blast furnace would be a good idea?" I demanded of the hatchling, still dangling from one of Crinis' tentacles.

"I wanted to see what it looked like inside!" she protests.

"Inside? Inside is nothing but fire, superheated gas and liquid metal!"

"REALLY?!" she goggles at me. "Sounds awesome!"

"Yes," I nod sagely, "it IS awesome. It will also melt your face off and you will be dead."

"And that's…. Bad?" she asks.

My mandibles clack together slowly.

"Do you need more time out?"

"… I do not."

"Then tell me that it would be bad if you died."

"It would be bad if I died."

"Good."

[Put her down Crinis.]

blast furnace had indeed been amazing. Six mage ants had surrounded the base of the huge metal construction, lined with bricks, reinforced stone and enchanted on the inside to resist the insane temperatures. When it came time to heat it, the mages had poured great torrents of blue flame into openings designed

one side of the base had poured the slag, a molten slurry of impurities that had bonded to the limestone, and out the other had poured the liquid iron which would be carted away to mould into ingots. It was then that I caught the hatchling trying to

here, time to go meet a

way out of the huge furnace area, picking my way between the many rows of smelters, furnaces and tracks for

steel. Nestled throughout these tunnels are the many workshops of the Colony, producing the various goods required by the ants and our allies. There's delicate work being done, fine wires of various metals intertwined and experimented on to see how well they handle delicate enchantments, as well as more massive projects, like gates

what they might be up to, asking questions and generally being

on then, we need to move

a particular carver who I'd promised I'd come and meet at some point after I'd evolved. I find the

you doing,

massive frame looming over her workstation and clacks her mandibles

to your visit for a long time! And Tiny! Welcome back, my most successful customer! How did you like that armour I made for you, eh? I heard it worked

I'm getting massive waves of 'meh' energy from Tiny once I explain what she wants. Just looking at the bland expression on his face, I can tell he's not that interested in getting his

excited for you to remake it for him," I tell her, giving

not dead?! Would

Then another moment. Then a longer

low did you take your intelligence on this evolution? You kept

gives me a thumbs up, a wide, confident grin splitting

stare at

high

He raises two fingers.

with… but still kept it above the minimum I set… If it means two, we are going to have

back

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