Chrysalis

The city of Ironwall gained its name in the days following its founding. The first lord had been a skilled earth mage, capable of shifting and compressing metals to a high degree. Having made his fortune delving and being paid handsomely for his skills in fortification, he decided the time had come to put his money to good use. Together with the extended family, he put together an expedition and found a location on the frontier to establish his own independent city.

The stone here was rich with minerals, particularly iron, and over a period of decades, the first lord excavated and compressed the outer shell of the city into an unbreakable wall. Surrounded by a sphere of almost pure, hardened metal, the city was renowned as an unbreakable fortress, a rare island of safety in the wild and undeveloped frontier. Combined with the prosperity gained from mining the rich Dungeon seams in the nearby expanse, the city grew quickly to the relative powerhouse it had now become.

At least, that's how the locals thought of it.

In Wallace's eyes, the city was a fat calf, just waiting to be slaughtered. The people had become complacent, confident that the work of the founder would keep them safe, as wealth had continued to accrue. Trade through the gate network had made the people wealthy, but the lack of threat had made them indolent. The impregnable shell, the unbreachable gates, had complete faith amongst the citizens here. They could not imagine a world in which they would fall.

Thinking that the only things that could exist in the Dungeon were those that they could imagine. That was their fatal sin.

"You want… my city?" Lord Korbell looked at him as if he were insane. "Is this some sort of joke?"

Yasmine glared at Wallace for a moment before she turned back to the lord with a more moderate tone.

"The Colony has sent us to inform you of their intentions. They conquered Rylleh some time ago, and are now in the process of increasing their territory. It is unfortunate, but that includes your city."

"Are you insulting me?" Korbell slammed a hand down on his desk. "You think you can just walk in here and tell me that some insects want to take my city from me?"

As if they were less dangerous because they're insects. Isn't the opposite true? Wallace thought to himself.

"We wouldn't dream of insulting you," Wallace drawled, "and I believe I can explain why this situation may seem so strange to you."

The young lord settled back in his chair, anger still plain on his face.

"Speak," he said curtly.

his

been intelligent for around a year. Perhaps less, I don't have the exact dates on hand. The point being, they are quite new

"These creatures are intelligent?"

You can't expect me to

to Rylleh,"

'rules of war'. They believe it would be detrimental to their future dealings if they were to gain a reputation for unscrupulous actions. The idea of reputation is important to them. Were your city to be conquered without having offered you an opportunity to surrender,

the concept of reputation. Although on the one hand, they didn't really care what humans thought of them, they also refused to give others a reason to speak poorly of them. They would keep their dealings scrupulously clean as they

Lord Korbell's face darkened.

city against the Dungeon and I have a deep regard for

said, a slight smile on his face. "Some days I feel as

Ironwall. We will never be defeated, by those ants.

to pull him out of his chair. It was clear

you any distress," she tried to cover for

going to make this difficult. Stupid old man! He just couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore. Wallace allowed himself to be

you think at first. You'll find they're pretty easy to get along with. Though you might find a fair portion of your wealth might end up redistributed. They can't abide inefficient

ant will set foot inside

Wallace Dalton shrugged.

of course. They don't have

Garbled voices and panicked shouting began to echo throughout. Lord Korbell looked around in shock before pounding

Lord!" one cried. "The city is under assault by

sighed and rolled his shoulders. He flicked a glance at the others in the room, judging their mood before he decided to tactically return to his chair.

lord demanded. "A surprise attack while

Wallace raised one brow.