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?”

life came into the eyes that had previously drooped on the end

tree. Even now, she

his partner. She was getting a little too heated, and a little caution was

away the device and sliding

“I won’t,” Shozzl declared.

pool. He cursed. Of all the Krath he could have been partnered with for ranging, he got Shozzl, the most useless drip

will be forced to report your lax attitude to the shaman,” he

gas that emerged along with his words would have

will find your spawn mother there. I’m

acid with a chilling shriek, eyestalks blazing red with her mindless

his stomach roiled unpleasantly as he slithered

certainly cultivated a potent acid. Zluth’s digestive tract groaned and contorted in pain as it was eaten away and reformed itself, struggling to break

going on up here?” he muttered to

above were going absolutely berserk, which only happened when someone tampered with the blessed filth of the fifth. This in and of itself 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 wave. At the last second, they would allow it to overflow out into the waters and contaminate them thoroughly. A glorious, yet temporary triumph

closer to the disturbance, Zluth began to move more stealthily, elongating his body to ten times its original length and burrowing himself into the ooze. Faster and more agile than

the slime and even

his stalks, bringing his eyes close to his own acidic flesh. He stuck to the shadows and the deeper pools, cautiously advancing, wanting to

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