Chrysalis

[Run, run, run!] I holler at the others as we continue to sprint through the mould covered forest.

It really is obnoxious to run through this mess. There's mould beneath us, beside us and crawling up the trees to cover the canopy above us. It's like being in a suffocating winter wonderland except far more horrifying. Especially now that some of it is on fire.

[I don't think more fire will be a good idea, Master!] Crinis suggests as we race through the terrain.

[We might need another distraction soon. Starting a small fire will get the termites off our trail.]

[Won't it just bring more of them?] Sarah demands.

[I mean, yes. But also, yes…]

They be distracted though…

Perhaps that's still not good enough.

[No more fires,] Sarah tells me firmly, [we can think of something else.]

[Hmph. You're just worried about the fungus spores getting inside you,] I mutter.

[I hadn't even thought of that! Anthony!]

[Breathe it in deep. That's the sweet smell of fungus country.]

come

on the bright side. When the termites are defeated we can remove the mould from this area and return it to wonderful forest, filled with

alright, the aphids

another aspect of ant superiority. Even if we started fungus farming, we wouldn't let it run wild and

the trail?] Sarah asks, sounding a little panicked as we continue to blast through the

confirm, [it's getting stronger even. Wherever they are,

She may be a somewhat delicate flower internally, but externally she is all beef. Her legs are thicker than a person and positively bulging with muscle underneath all of that fur, much like her shoulders. In

got to work on your stamina somehow,] I tell her, [how do you even last in a

[that usually

Oh, right.

that here and now,] I hastily assure her. My antennae waggle furiously as I follow the trail. [The trail is starting

I can't really tell how many. Tiny bounds along in my wake, suffering much like Sarah is in this long distance sprint, Invidia perched on his back like a nightmarish bat, green eye blazing with energy as he surveys the land. We rush through a

the mountain which had been increasing the further we'd gone and I'd expected that to continue, but it seems as if our opponents had a different concept for this landscape. In front of us a vast yawning chasm has been carved into the rock, the trees cleared for hundreds of metres in all directions. Like a passageway into the pit of doom, the wide tunnel is completely black on the inside, with no light source to be discerned from this distance. More terrifying still, is the view of the mountain I get from here. There are holes, all over the place, fortified with dirt and each angled differently. It's clear to see

is the termite nest. The whole damn mountain is the

it's just ridiculous! You could fit the main nest of the Colony into this thing ten times

there amongst them. It's too bad they aren't alone. Not only are they swarmed by a host of termites, which is bad enough, but watching from

using shields and spells to lock Vibrant and her group into a fight

Not. Acceptable.

roar to Tiny who is

his chest with his enormous palms, bellowing his rage in an ear shattering roar that shakes the trees around us. Then he's off, bounding across the mould covered stone, his fists cracking the ground with

blow

[Even the lizardsssss?]

[Especially them.]