Chrysalis

“Congratulations,” Enid smiled down on the still recovering young woman.

“Thank you mayor,” Lilin replied, radiantly happy despite what she’d just been through.

“We’re very happy,” her husband Phillip said as he stared lovingly down at his wife.

“And how has the care you’ve received been?’

“Oh, just perfect,” Lilin said.

“We couldn’t be happier, mayor. Thank you,” Phillip said.

“That’s good. After the effort we put into building this place, I’m glad it’s all come together.”

[We told you it would be fine,] the on-rotation ant-medic said. [I still don’t understand why you doubted us in the first place. When is the Colony anything but first-rate?]

[I should have believed in you,] Enid admitted, [but even I wasn’t sure how well you would be able to run a maternity ward. You don’t know anything about human reproduction.]

[Bah,] the ant groused, [our queens give birth hundreds of times every day. You think we can’t heal someone who has given birth only once? Don’t be ridiculous. Now get out of the way, I need to check the patient.]

Healers, medics and doctors always managed to be rude and ill-tempered. Even the non-human ones! In some ways, Enid took comfort knowing that this fact of life was even more universal than she’d thought.

Lilin rested in. Even if the eyes didn’t quite reach, the antennae certainly did. The recovering mother was lightly tapped and brushed by those

they

and began to

baby has been cleaned up and checked. It will return to this room in one

Enid was forced to confront just how bizarre it was that she could see a genuine Dungeon monster skittering around with

the new ant said cheerfully, and Enid could only assume it was a younger, less evolved

tear from her eye. Such

I will leave you to it.

smiled at them once more

could have imagined they would have their own hospital? It was less than a year ago that they had fled the ruins of their homes, and already they thrived

one hand to pat at the expertly cut stone walls before she exited the facility, doing her best to stay out of everyone’s way. She stepped out into the

composed of perfectly formed stone, with deep drainage ditches along both sides, they were the sort of roads only the wealthiest lived on in Liria. This sort of mage-work was laborious, and expensive, which made it rare, at least, rare before the catastrophe. Every street in Renewal was formed this way, crafted by the carvers with exacting

but even there, the influence of the Colony was felt. Traffic flowed so smoothly, it was rare to see someone waiting

their minds. She welcomed it. Where not long ago these exchanges were a never

were comfortable. In fact, the people were thriving. Renewal had more than delivered upon

situated in the same building. She walked behind her desk and sat with

stiff these days, and healing magic didn’t help at all. It

grabbed a pen and began to compose a letter. It wasn’t overly long, but she carefully pondered each word, which dragged out the time. As it

time to place it in an envelope and seal it, but decided against it. A waste of