Chrysalis

Zluth could hardly believe what his eyestalks were seeing. Just to be certain, he extended them up from the pool of muca-sludge he’d currently flattened his body into a little further. The same sight met his gaze.

The ants from above… had descended?

And not just descended… they were… attempting to taint the fifth!

It was so absurd it almost made him want to laugh. It was so infuriating it almost caused his slug flesh to boil. How dare they? HOW DARE THEY?!

No, no. It wasn’t time to let the rage run loose, this was a time for cunning, stealth and schemes. As much as he wanted to scrape these filthy insects to shreds with his radula and gulp them down, he needed to be patient. After observing, he would report back to the tribe and they could plan together how to deal with this… incursion.

The thought of the joy the tribe would soon experience as they tore these invaders apart… it was almost enough to slake the endless rage that burned within his kind.

Zluth controlled himself, applying his iron will and pulling in any sign of his mana, holding himself tight and small. When he was convinced his own energy signature was indistinguishable from that which surrounded him, he began to move. Compressed flat, his slug body was only a few inches thick, and he undulated over the ground like a sinister puddle. Amongst the mould, slime and sludge that coated every surface in the fifth, he was impossible to see.

After covering a dozen metres, he extended his eyes once more to take in the surroundings.

pretty ranks. A neat and clean army, polished and prepared for the task at hand. It was so much

It offended his senses on a fundamental level. The primitive Dungeon spawn were already drawn to it, seeking to eradicate the unwelcome mana in which they could not live. With little effort, Zluth could direct many, many more spawn towards this tunnel, burying the insects in a tide of mucus and bubbling

Dungeon. To the Krath, it was their greatest defence, and their most valuable weapon. Time had proven over and over again just how difficult it was for outsiders to

and undulated across the surface until he came to rest in a patch of bright red mould. With a thought, he excreted a layer of slime to coat himself, matching the colour of his surroundings

Road. If you see it

see a giant, giant

the Krath retracted his stalks and remained perfectly motionless, hoping he hadn’t been seen. He knew that ant, he’d seen it before! He pulled all sense

way to trace the movement of the massive creature was through the vibrations in the mould beneath him. After a minute, the ant moved away, travelling closer to the area of foul mana. Heading back for a breather, perhaps? No matter the reason, it relieved the pressure on the hidden Krath, and once

rose from his mass, taking a

monster, that one, a prime candidate for the pits. As

Those disgusting, jelly-like pets were here, being fed a constant stream of potent fifth stratum mana through enchanted channels of some sort. Hidden deep in the middle of the

his home… it was… sacrilegious. It was the virulent mana of the fifth that would overflow and coat the entire Dungeon in its filth. They would be the ones to change Pangera, not the other way

entire tribe would put aside their bickering and backstabbing once they heard of this.

the stalk and began to flow over the

slight tremor in the air,