Chapter 557 Whats going on up here? (1/2)
The council meeting was cut brutally short, the revelation of a possible city underground, so close to where the Colony is operating, warranted immediate investigation. If an enormous pile of Golgari pop out of a city, right on our doorstep, our home ground advantage will go for nothing. Not to mention they could flank us horrifically. I also need to be wary of the possible reinforcements that they call in. We need to move fast, uncomfortably fast.
To this end, I hurry to gather up my entourage for this whirlwind trip to the surface. I pick up Torrina and Corun before gathering my pets. Rather than bring them with me, I decide to send them in support of the scouting efforts. They'll be more useful there. If something does end up going south, they'll be able to help the ants escape with lives. There's only one problem with this plan.
[Nooooooo, I won't leave you, Master!]
[Crinis! I'm only going to the surface, I'll be back in less than a day! Will you get off me!?]
[I won't!]
[Don't make me order you!]
[Don't do it, Master! You'll get sucked through a portal, or challenged by a mega-monster, or slip and fall down a pit and land in the fifth strata, or an ancient will rise from the depths and swallow you, forcing you to live as a parasite in its gullet, or a great confluence of stars will smite you down the moment you set foot out of the tunnels! Take me with you!]
… All of those things sound completely ridiculous, but why is it I can't seem to say that none of them will happen? I have managed to put my claws in some unlikely, bad situations during my stay on Pangera.
[Alright, fine! You come with me. Tiny and Invidia, you guys go with Sloan to check out this underground city.]
[Yes!]
[I shallll peel away their secretssss.]
Crinis nearly cracks my carapace with her grip as she wriggles with joy at my concession. I suppose it does make sense to take a bodyguard with me wherever I go. It's certainly not likely that I run into trouble on the surface, but I'm starting to become allergic to taking chances. With that done, I depart on a brisk journey upwards to the surface nest. Corun and Torrina do an admirable job keeping up with my monstrous stamina but we do end up having to take a few breaks. It's during one of these that I notice something strange.
My Vestibule is still ablaze with energy from the plethora of ants that pick their way through the tunnels around me. Scouting, hunting, hatchlings on training expeditions, there's no shortage of reasons for the Colony to be active in this area. Yet I feel there's something else, something… slippery. A tiny presence that somehow slips out of my awareness when I'm not paying attention to it. A small cl.u.s.ter of muted lights that seem to hover nearby, fading in and out of existence. Since they turn up in the Vestibule, I have to a.s.sume they're related to the Colony in some way, but nonetheless, I'm put on edge by their strange elusiveness. For the rest of the journey, I try to identify or see whatever is causing this phenomenon, but I can't seem to get a grip on them.
Besides that, we reach the surface nest without incident. It's interesting to be surrounded by so many hatchlings in the tunnels. They're so tiny! It's hard to believe I was once so small and weak. I'm almost tall enough for them to crawl beneath me without having to lift myself up! As one would expect, there are more Brood Tenders here than anything else, supervising the pupae and guiding the hatchlings once they've emerged. It's nice to see that a sizeable garrison of more combat-oriented castes still maintain a very visible presence in order to protect the precious future of the Colony. Not to mention the huge number of carvers bustling about, carting materials, and working in the huge forging chambers we pa.s.s.