Chrysalis

Hartos looked around and was satisfied with what he saw. The mercenaries had managed to penetrate the mountain in good order, and despite the intensifying attacks from the ants, they had maintained their formation.

He couldn’t help but sneer. Those fools who’d refused to join him would be crying bloody tears when they saw the haul he returned with. Thousands and thousands of ants surrounded them already, and soon enough they’d be dead, just waiting for their cores to be extracted.

But it didn’t hurt to be careful.

“Artis!” he barked.

“What?” his long-time crewmember replied, sounding harried.

“I need you for a second.”

“Make it quick,” she snapped, “this shield doesn’t maintain itself.”

He frowned, both at her tone and the implication of her words.

“Are we really being pressured that hard?”

The mage glared at him.

“Of course we are! Look around you, the bugs are endless! No matter how much firepower we pump out, they keep coming.”

“But you can hold?”

“Yes, we can hold. It’s just very difficult work!”

He nodded.

“Good. I want you to check and make sure the mythic is still asleep. We don’t want to be in here when the damn thing wakes up.”

“That’s the truth,” the mage muttered.

She fumbled about in her robes and removed the array from one of her dozens of pockets. She stared at it intensely for a few moments.

“Well?” Hartos demanded.

“There’s tens of thousands of monsters in this mountain, wait a damned second.”

He turned his eyes back to the struggle along the perimeter as the mage continued to study the device.

she said finally. “It’s

“You’re sure.”

hard to get clear readings with so many cores between the mythic and us, but a signal that strong is hard to miss. I’m sure. Now can I get back

“Go for it.”

mind dwell on the best case scenario. If they managed to dig in deep enough

a little deeper and we can set up a perimeter.

roared back as they redoubled their efforts. The fighting was thick along the edge of the shields as the insects continued to press in on them from all sides, but so long as the mages

the full weight of their numbers, it didn’t matter where they fought them, on the surface or in the heart of the nest. In fact, the nest was better, since that’s where

could to support the more

make a

around, he noted how tense he

I’m ready,” he

steadied him with a firm grip on

is still sleeping and we’re holding off the insects just fine. We’ll start pulling them

firmed and he took a deep breath to settle his

to it,”

Listen to your crew leaders and keep your eyes on the prize!

the giant soldiers were intimidating beasts, especially when they came in large numbers. They were everywhere, climbing over the roof, on the walls, even walking on the shield itself or lunging up from beneath. Along with the rising heat the deeper they went, it was an oppressive, suffocating way to

coming with more?” Drake asked as he flung another slash through the shield. “They could hit us with ten

Hartos chuckled.

a monster’s mind. These ants may be smarter than the average, but that doesn’t make them as clever as you and me. Perhaps they’re protecting something and don’t want to leave their posts, or they’re fighting other monsters, or a hundred other reasons. Besides, even if more came, it

called from amongst a

get to work then,” Hartos

a breath to bellow his orders to the hundreds of gathered mercenaries, but before he said a word, the world turned

the only thing

thoughts of mandibles scraping and scratching at

his arms, trying to grab hold of

rang out around him as the entire

ground heavily. Drake crashed into the stone floor, landing on his

Hartos bellowed from somewhere nearby. “Sound off! Get the shields up!

undercurrent of tension that sent a chill through the young

the light?!” Hartos

their surroundings into stark relief. Drake almost sagged back to the ground in relief when he didn’t see any ants nearby. His mind had conjured a thousand ravenous mouths ready to descend on him and the

later, he realised how strange that was. Where were they? They’d been everywhere around them only

Something shifted behind him.

no,” he heard someone