Meg tilts her head, moving from Inu to me. I feel mana brush against me, and it feels a little like someone waving their hand in my face, as if asking for attention. In return, I hesitate little, doing the same to her.
[Hive Queen, lv. 38]
Strong. Not unbeatable - well, definitely unbeatable where we are right now. But in a one on one? I bet I could kill her.
She gives me another tilt of her head, looking confused. She chitters at me, and already, I can feel the noises become clearer. Perhaps being around so many ants is helping? Probably that.
Richard moves to translate, but I hold up a hand. “I wanna hear it from her, this time,” I say. It feels personal.
The ant queen, Meg, looks at me, and chitters pleasantly. A few seconds pass, with her running through a dozen noises. Then, the translation finally kicks in properly. “You,” she purrs. Her voice is low, raspy, and there are almost rhythmic clicking sounds. She stares at me, and I stare back.
“You look at me like you hate talking. Then speak for your group. You feel my inspection, then audaciously poke back.” She gives me a long, long stare. “Do you want to die?”
I shrug. “Not particularly.”
Her eyes stay locked on me. Slowly, a pressure descends, the kind of regal authority one might expect from a monarch. I bear with it elegantly, simply staying upright. My mana fights it off for me. The pressure increases, and I still ignore it. Her mandibles click in surprise. “Strong.”
Slowly, a smile spreads on my face. If she tests me, I might not be able to kill a million ants… but can I kill enough to get out? I wonder.
“A suitable champion,” Meg announces.
Seems like I won’t have to test it. I look at the ant that brought me here. The worker looks at me and chitters her displeasure at my antics. I just smile, faintly. Maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to kill them all. “Sure,” I tell the hive queen.
“We are willing to work together. Our goals are, in some ways aligned, yes?” she asks.
Talking is getting exhausting again, so I turn to Inu and Thatch. They’re more patient. Opal loves talking, but they’re a bit blunt, and Sylves might try to trick her. She almost can’t help herself.
Inu nods, confirming for our group. “The tower asks that we cause change. We have… a gripe with a part of Espiree.”
Meg looks curious. “You would burn down the city.”
“No,” Thatch shakes his head. “No, we would not go that far. Our grudge is with the church of Respitia.”
The queen of ants chitters in amusement, resting her head on one of her clawed hands. “I see. Any reason?”
I see the way the others tense at that. Do we tell the ants? I am tempted to. But I don’t wanna stir up trouble. Ah, how bothersome. On one hand, I don’t want to hurt the critters, on the other hand, I’m curious if I could. So, I want to be honest and provoke them, but I also want to keep the peace.
People are troublesome. I am troublesome.
A small sigh leaves my lips. “The paladin, Philia, tried to kill me.”
“Why?” Meg asks.
“That’s a secret for later,” I tell her.
She nods understandingly. “Good. Most of my children aren’t much for talking, but it is good to be silent on some things. Now then, what is your goal with this in the tower?”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Richard replies. “Changing a biome, helping one species with a significant enough claim expand or achieve more safety in some variety,” she explains. “We were hoping to assist you in some variety of ways.”
Meg purrs in satisfaction. “There are… tasks that you may be suited for,” she agrees. “Generally suited and uniquely suited…”
We wait for a few moments, as Richard gestures for her to continue. “There is an errant batch of eggs. Stolen from me by human bounty hunters. We have been scouring the caves for them since. You smell of them, a little.”
I drop the special [Suppression] I’ve been keeping up. The queen recoils in disgust.
“A lot,” she amends. “How-”
“We killed some,” Dar says, simply. The queen eyes him in confusion, and Richard quickly translates.
Meg’s demeanour flips again, suddenly more pleased with us. “Ah,” she says. “That makes more sense. We shall cleanse it off you without trouble. I am glad you revealed this. Yes, a stolen clutch of eggs, up for auction in Espiree. A curiosity, companions to be used against us.”
I nod. That makes sense. Inu hesitates. “We may have some trouble getting into the city.”
The ant queen huffs. “You are newly integrated. They will not yet be good at differentiating members of your species.”
That… sounds incredibly silly, but it also makes sense. I can barely tell some bird species apart, yet to them it might be obvious. In fact, telling the sumeen apart was difficult for me. Same with the wulven. Richard is still the only hiy’ht I know, so I cannot speak for that but… If it’s the same for others?
Dar snorts. “Yes,” he confirms. “You all do not look too distinct to me.”
How strange. I smile, faintly.
“Ah,” Meg says, turning to me again. “You may still be recognizable. The wound,” she says, tapping the side of her head for emphasis.
Right. The bit of my skull that’s still sticking out under blistered, once-molten skin might give me away.
“You did mention multiple missions,” Inu tries.
Meg nods, just a little. “Yes. There are… other threats to our colony, too,” she says. “There is a strong crawler blocking a tunnel, tearing through the workers I send that way. Another cavern with valuable mushrooms in it is overtaken by centipedes which could use culling. Finally, there are retrieval missions for certain items that we lost.”
Inu nods. “Okay. Give us a moment to discuss what tasks we are suited for. Then we can split up, and deal with them. If they’re enough for us to be deemed worthy by the tower, then we shall happily accept it. If not, well.”
“Just one thing,” Bay interrupts. “Do you have… metal, something I can work with?” she asks.
I look at her, curious, and she gives me a sheepish look. “We do. Why?” Meg asks.
She gives a small smile. “I wanna try making some armor for you,” she says. “It seems like a fun tinkering challenge. If we could have some scraps in exchange, well…”
Meg purrs in agreement. “Very well. I shall have one of my children guide you there. Let us discuss.”
- - -
In the end, Opal, Thatch and Jess head for the city. They’re the most level headed and round out a solid team. Opal can blink in, Thatch can handle negotiation, and Jess is good backline support.
Norman and Amelie are on retrieval duty. The man can spot items, and Amelie’s puppets can collect them at little risk. If there is a drawn out battle, she thrives, so it should be fine.
Sylves and Bay move to the workshops. Our tailor volunteered to help with the armor and to create padding for the ants, in exchange for some raw materials. She should also be making me a nicer bit of clothing. Long sleeves here I come.
Dar and Inu head for the centipedes. They’re good fighters, and Inu especially seems to think that her [Resistance] might be strong against them. If they’re venomous, which they are, she’s our best bet.
And finally, Richard and I get to fight the cavern crawler. The large one, killing ants out there. I’m good at fighting single targets, after all, and Richard can all-round compensate for me. “What’s your class, actually?” I ask the hiy’ht.
“[Eater],” she replies. I tilt my head, and she elaborates. “I get to consume things, store them, and release them when needed. It’s an evolved form of the whole species bit where I eat fire.”
Huh. Neat. Wait. I hold out a hand to her, creating a long, solid mana needle. “Can you store that?” I ask.
She chitters for a moment, then sniffs the mana. “One way to find out,” she says with a shrug, then bites down on the construct I summoned.
I feel a pulse of mana from inside her, and the needle vanishes. “Huh,” I say.
“Neat,” Richard repeats.
“How… how many of those can you store?” I ask.
Richard, very slowly, breaks into a smile. “Many.”
That cavern crawler is in for a round of trouble.
is 40 Chapters ahead!!!
