Chapter 560 Strange new surrounds (1/2)

[I don't know what I was expecting, but it sure wasn't this.]

Jim, the large and ever floppy worm, slithered through the tunnels beside the hulking, menacing form of his friend, Sarah. The two former humans had achieved their goal, a long cherished one for the worm, of escaping from their gilded cage amongst the Golgari. When Anthony had first arrived amongst them, they hadn't known what to make of him, but he'd done it, pulled off the seemingly impossible escape, and brought them back to his home.

And what a home it turned out to be. Vaulted chambers, beautiful carvings, a surprisingly stunning array of statues, most of which were dedicated to Anthony, all lovingly crafted in intricate detail, were just some of the startling features of the ant nest.

[Are you getting more comfortable being around all of these ants?] Sarah asked, sounding concerned.

[It's still a struggle, if I'm being honest,] he admitted, [my coils can't help but s.h.i.+ver whenever they crawl over me. Gyah!]

It just so happened, at that moment a host of ants skittered out of a side tunnel and made their way over the big worm's body. He stilled his body and tried not to writhe too much as their claws pinched his skin. If he reacted badly and actually hurt one of the colony members, who knows what would happen to him. In the outer tunnels of the nest, there was far less traffic, so the two of them had found their way out here in order to stretch their legs and coils, take in some air and try to decide what they should do next.

The heavy traffic found in the inner sections of the nest was noticeably lighter here, but that didn't mean Jim didn't tense up every now and again as their hosts made their way over him as they went about their business.

[We're certainly safe here,] Sarah said, a little hesitantly, [I haven't even seen a monster other than the ants since we got here. And the defences around the nest were certainly impressive.]

Jim wiggled non-committedly.

[Is that really what you want? To hide behind the protection that someone else is willing to offer you? Aren't you just putting yourself back in the cage you escaped from?]

Sarah was silent for a moment and Jim hastened to console her.

[Ah! I'm not judging you or anything, I know that it's hard for you to fight and that you'd rather not. I just don't want to see you go back into your sh.e.l.l and give up your independence, just after you got it back.]

She absorbed that and considered her own feelings before she responded.

[You might be right, Jim. I guess, I still feel scared. I'm relieved to get away from the Golgari after what they forced me to do, but I don't know if I'm ready to go back into the Dungeon…]

[We could do it together,] he encouraged her, [just in little bits. Go out for ten minutes a day, build up immunity to it over time. We could head out with the - GYAHAHA!!]

The ants crawled across him, paying no mind to his sudden freeze.

[I'm not sure if I should be offended by that,] he muttered, [anyway. We could head out with the Queen. I saw her go out a few hours ago with a big escort of ants. I asked around and apparently she goes out hunting every day to get her own food. That'd be a safe way to go about it.]

The giant bear, with its bristled fur and muscle packed frame looked down at the worm, a little surprised.

[You've been talking to the ants? I didn't think you'd want to do that.]

[Because I'm afraid of them?!]

[No. Because you didn't want to rely on them.]

Jim deflated a little as the sudden anger he'd felt drained away.

[Oh. I thought - GYOOO!... I figured we couldn't exactly wait for Anthony to get back before we start working things out. He sort of vanished on us as soon as he got back…]

[He has a lot of things to worry about now that he's back here,] Sarah chided him. [We can't expect him to hang around and wait on us hand and foot.]

[I get it,] Jim huffed, [what with the war coming, he's got a lot on his plate.]

The big worm froze, realising too late what he'd said.

[Jim?] Sarah asked slowly. [What war are you talking about?]

Jim sighed and slapped himself in his mind. He wasn't really keeping it a secret, but he hadn't told her when he'd found out and then hadn't been sure what he should say.

[I spoke to a few of the ants with names, though I wasn't able to get a hold of them for long. Vibrant in particular was… fast. From what I gather, the Colony doesn't expect the Golgari to let them go after what they did, killing their people and stealing their property.]

[You mean … us?]