Chrysalis

“We aim to advance in ten minutes. Make sure your squads are ready.”

They had spent a week preparing for this expedition, training, theorising, testing. Bella and Ellie had worked overtime, stretching their knowledge of monster anatomy to the very limits, studying the cores of fifth stratum monsters with intense focus.

Solant’s broodmates acknowledged her instructions and rushed off to carry out her word, only Leonidant remaining behind.

“How confident are you?” the scout asked.

“That’s an unusually direct question.”

“These are unusual times.”

“Very true words.”

Solant reflected for a moment.

“We really have come a long way, haven’t we?” she said, cleaning her antennae carefully. “It wasn’t that long ago the only thing we had to worry about was Tunnel Ball and completing our training exercises.”

“The Eldest certainly changed that in a hurry.”

The giant ant had thrown Solant and her broodmates into the thick of the conflict at the earliest possible opportunity. It had been a brutal learning curve, for all of them, but they had grown so fast as a result of the change, it was difficult to view it as a bad thing.

“I believe the Eldest was wise to place us here,” Solant decided. “It’s been an excellent opportunity to develop ourselves and be of use to the family.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. How confident are you?”

Solant considered the question for a moment.

“About half,” she said finally. “It’s lower than I would like, but we need to start testing our ideas sooner rather than later. More certainty will be hard to come by without taking a few risks now.”

scout reassured her general. “I’m sure we’re going

nodded, “we can’t

to join the others organising the column. Solant left them to it. She needed to focus on the bigger picture, not spend her time fussing over the minor details before they set out. No matter how much she wanted to. The more she tried to look

their capabilities, but

are heading

approaching from the nest. Each looked visibly worried, antennae twitching

need to know sooner rather than later if we are on the right track,” Solant said. “I believe in the work that you and your caste members have completed to this point. Without proper assessment, we won’t be able to advance according to the timetable

thought we were working on solutions for

focusing down the tunnel, but somehow looking far beyond.

her place in the column and Solant turned to the

to depart. I’ll give you a full

hard!” Bella said. “I hope the pets

“I’m sure they will.”

up the pace as the thousands of ants slotted into line. A constant stream of scouts ran forward and back, alerting

grim,

out and down, closer to the fifth, but as reports rolled in, it seemed they would hardly need to travel at all to find what they

into their journey, the column ground to a

mages not to stretch themselves. If things go according to plan, we won’t be here long,” Solant instructed, and

eye along the troops as she passed. Was it a trick of the light, or did they

Sumant said, indicating forward with one

shorter and shorter as the wave went on. Now, barely a single kilometre from where

strands stretched every which way, forming a spider web of goop. It dripped from the ceiling,

the slime produced more of itself, spreading, pooling, growing thicker and more noxious by the hour. If nothing was done, it would creep all the way to the nest and then up through the fortress until it spilled out into the waters that surrounded the mountain. At that point, it would become someone else’s problem, the brathian most likely, who

come to that, of

“Any monster sightings?”

“None, thankfully.”

“Then we can deploy.”