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?”

previously drooped on the end of Shozzl’s eyestalks. Life,

Even now,

turned one stalk to monitor his partner. She

the device and sliding it within the

“I won’t,” Shozzl declared.

acid pool. He cursed. Of all the

report your lax attitude to the shaman,” he

the gas that emerged along with his words would have melted a human face in a tenth

bowels of the Blubbeast, perhaps you will find your spawn mother there. I’m certain

of the acid with a chilling shriek, eyestalks blazing red with her mindless anger, and Zluth raised

minutes later, his stomach roiled unpleasantly as he slithered through the

Zluth’s digestive tract groaned and contorted in pain as it was eaten away and reformed

muttered to

wasn’t unusual, the so-called ‘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

ten times its original length and burrowing himself into the ooze. Faster and more

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

bringing his eyes close to his own acidic flesh. He stuck to

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