Chrysalis

The ant stared at them. Rillik, Elly, Drake and Lacos stared back.

A pause.

Rillik swore viciously, then began to turn the boat around, not bothering to hide his frustration.

“Let’s just kill it and get on the mountain,” Drake said. “There’s only one.”

Rillik didn’t bother answering, still openly cursing.

“There is never just one,” Lacos quoted the advice their leader had imparted earlier in the day, then he pointed over the monster.

Drake turned to see where his friend was pointing, it took a moment, but he eventually noticed several sets of antennae poking from behind trees or around the edge of a bush. It was like the ants were hidden, but not so well that they wouldn’t be found if you actually tried to find them.

The ant in front of them clacked its mandibles several times, the sharp, percussive noise ringing out in a rhythm that felt distinctly like mocking laughter.

“Ah, shut up you damn monster,” Rillik growled as he hauled on the oars.

The rest of the crew slumped in the boat.

“That’s the fourth time we’ve tried to land today,” Elly groaned. “How are they always waiting for us when we get there?”

still think we could force a landing,”

held his chin in one webbed

have jaws? Their jaws full dealing with those mercenary groups, but still, we

stopped cursing and laid off the oars for a moment, staring back at the ant still standing in the open,

enough information,” he spat over the side, “and why we play it as cautious as we

said, “other groups are out there earning money and we’re just getting

fumed in his seat, glaring at the mountain as he clutched the

your patience? Do you have debts I don’t know about, Drake? If this

the man,

he said quickly, “nothing

up, and be patient. By the Path, how many times do I need to show you the folly of rushing in blind before the message starts to sink into your thick head? Are other groups on the mountain? Yes. Are they making money? Yes. Will they all make it back? Not even close. Every group is going

mean?” Elly asked. “I get that we didn’t expect it to be ants, but isn’t that a good thing? They’re first stratum monsters, not fourth, and they have strong

just shook his

fourth and you think you’ve found a free buffet? Don’t be

gathered from a morning of trying to reach

the shoreline, there has to be. Except

signs of monstrous aggression. Baiting tactics, laying traps, even openly taunting us. All signs of intelligent

us somehow,” Drake said. “It’s possible they even have some sort of primitive

others looked at him as if he were insane, but Rillik

the Dungeon think of next?” he groused. “There’s thousands and thousands of the little buggers lighting up that mountain like a maypole, an ocean of gold to

silence for a