Chrysalis

“Something strange is happening,” Zluth said, his voice burbling as if rising from the depths of a particularly thick bog.

“Oh?” Shozzl replied, not particularly interested.

Zluth continued to operate the array with his numerous, spindly limbs as he leaned closer to the readout.

“Many of our monsters are being lost under D-6. Too many.”

“Which mountain is D-6 again?”

“It’s next to D-5.”

“I know it’s next to D-5, you slimeless stooge. How does that help me?”

The fierce, primal anger that dwelt within all his kind boiled up in Zluth now, hissing within his slug flesh. He suppressed it. Those who surrendered to the rage too often soon found it became more difficult to resist. It was hard to find a role within the tribe when one had a nasty habit of biting off the heads of one’s partners. And those without a role were meat for the pits.

“D-5 is claimed by the tree, huccop,” he spat, a thick wave of mucus overflowing from his mouth. “Remember now?”

the eyes that had previously drooped on the end of

tree. Even now,

partner. She was getting a little too heated,

folding away the device and sliding it within the folds of

“I won’t,” Shozzl declared.

partner, once more allowing herself to sink back into the bubbling acid pool. He cursed. Of all the Krath he could have been partnered with for ranging, he got

to report your lax attitude to the shaman,” he said

that emerged along with his words would have melted a

of the Blubbeast, perhaps you will find your spawn

a chilling shriek, eyestalks blazing red with her mindless anger, and

slithered through the slime-soaked tunnels, rising up to the fourth

digestive tract groaned and contorted in pain as

muttered to himself, checking the readings

‘civilised’ races always beat back the slime, but as far as the Slee were aware, this mountain was empty except for those useless termites. Having collected useful samples already, they had hoped to clear out the bugs and nurse a ripe pit of filth within its cavernous halls during this wave. At the last second, they would allow it to overflow

ooze. Faster and more agile

felt it long before he saw it. Vibrations, travelling through the slime and even the rock below. There was a

pace and retracted his stalks, bringing his eyes close to his own acidic flesh. He stuck to the shadows and the deeper pools, cautiously advancing, wanting to see what it was that

was nothing… a group of fourth stratum monsters, spawned by the wave, had attacked the slime and triggered this rage. Except that didn’t explain why it was still going on. The monsters of the fifth were inherently superior to those of the fourth. When the two clashed, it was inevitable which side would