Antelligent Design

73. Reunite with the Family

By the time we come within reach of the colony’s scent trails, I’ve managed to Level External Mana Manipulation twice.

We’re completely exhausted. Tiny stumbles with every step. The poor guy is the heaviest of all of us by quite the margin, and the hard running wore him down. Stamina has levelled for me at least, but only the once, proving just what kind of ridiculous effort is required to get that Skill to Level up.

Crinis declined to evolve on the journey, preferring to use the time riding on my back to contemplate her Skills, Biomass spending and the direction she wants to take in her all-important evolution. When I could spare it, I turned my own thoughts to the possible upcoming evolution. I had no idea how the colony would be able to bring down a monster like Garralosh. If I was to do my bit, then I needed to be as strong as I could be. Though not impossible, getting six Levels in a short amount of time would be difficult without any higher tier monsters to chomp on.

The first scent trail I come upon tingles against my antennae as the pheromones register on my sense of smell.

“Biomass source in this direction has been exhausted. >:)”

More scent-mojis!

Looks like the colony has been raiding toward the north in search of surface monsters to fuel the colony’s growth. They must have been successful if they managed to wipe them out. Hopefully, the workforce is ready to begin to hunt in the Dungeon, if they haven’t already. Vibrant has been taking her personal posse of workers down there for a while now, but the full-time raids need to start en masse.

Morrelia and I discussed briefly how much time it would take for Garralosh to arrive at the village. She gave us a week. Maybe a little more. It’s both a heap of time and precious little.

We slow our pace a little this close to the finish line. The scent trails becomes thicker and more frequent until we start to run into small patrols of workers.

“Hello, eldest!” they greet me. “Work hard!”

I’m always working hard, dammit!

“How are things with the colony?” I call to them as we passed by.

“Busy!” one says.

Wise guy.

It’s a colony of ants. Of course, things are busy!

Morrelia must have noticed something about the interaction because she reaches out to me over the Mind Bridge. [Do you talk to each other?]

Ugh. Letting the humans know more about the colony could be a risk. It’d also be a sign of trust. It’s not as if they could overhear what we say to each other, so I don’t really see the harm in it… Perhaps I’ve just grown to trust Morrelia a little more over our time together. Which is possibly what she wanted out of this expedition.

[We do. We can talk to each other using our pheromones. It was pretty basic at first, but has grown more complex lately. We can talk pretty much as well as humans can.]

Better, if you include the development of the scent-moji.

[What did they say?] she asks curiously.

[I asked how things are with the colony and she told me it’s ‘busy.’]

Morrelia stares at me for a moment before throwing back her head and laughing.

[It’s a colony of ants!] she chortles. [Of course, they’re busy!]

Exactly!

Fifteen minutes later, we parted ways, Morrelia to head to the village and myself toward the colony. The workers were thicker now, bustling here and there, and it wasn’t long before the anthill rose in the distance.

What in the name of great googly-moogly!

It’s HUGE.

The anthill had tripled in size. High as a hill and just as wide, with a strong palisade around the outside formed of wooden posts and… was that a moat?

Small openings dotted the surface of the massive hill, with ants constantly poking in and out as they went about their various tasks. Burlier looking soldier ants patrol the hill, antennae twitching this direction and that as they keep their senses sharp for invasion.

What the heck has been going on in my absence? All this dirt must have come from somewhere. Which means the excavation below ground should be spectacular. It appears that scout wasn’t joking when she said things had been busy.

[Tiny, make yourself comfortable and get some rest. You earned it, buddy.]

The weary bat-faced gorilla flops to the ground the moment I’ve finished speaking, exhausted to the bone. I’m not even five metres away before he starts snoring.

Slacker.

I would also love to throw myself down and nap, but I have serious business to take care of before I’ll get the chance. There will be precious little time to rest over the next few days, what with the impending doom marching south to kill all of us.

There are several crude bridges made from logs laid next to each other at intervals around the colony, and I hustle over the closest one with Crinis still riding on my back. My footing would seem treacherous and uneven to a human, but to the ants, it’s like a broad highway, my claws grip into the wood with ease and I pass over the waters swiftly.

Then up, up and up we go, climbing the side of the hill and ignoring the smaller entrances to reach the main entrance at the top. I want to get the broadest sense of the changes and I’m less likely to get lost coming through the main entrance. Scent trails are thick here. Scouting paths, hunting paths, even resource collection paths have been laid out, all trailing away from the hill.

The problem I have with the anthill is that my Tunnel Map doesn’t work as well above ground, it only maps out Dungeon tunnels. The portion of the nest beneath the surface level is neatly outlined in my mental map, but the rest… nothing.

Fortunately, scent trails have been used almost like the coloured lines in a hospital to guide workers the right way.

“Queen’s chamber.”

“Day brood chambers.”

“Farms.”

“Lecture theatre.”

“Artisan workshop.”

“Healing chambers.”

“Mage training area.”

So organised! Looks like someone finally took charge and put some thought into the nest layout and the sorts of spaces we might need. Thank goodness, because it was never going to be me. I’ve been coming to know myself more and more recently, and I’m happy to admit that this sort of detailed planning is not exactly my forte.

Clutching onto the wall, I make my way down into the depths of the nest, the sheer number of workers rushing around catching me by surprise. It feels as if the colony has doubled in size, which is absurd. I’m sure the numbers aren’t that high, but there are surely a heck of a lot more than last time if this level of activity is anything to go by.

[Crinis, pass me the core.]

The little blob on my back wordlessly passes the core she’d been clutching in one tentacle for the ride and I grasp it in my mandibles.

I can’t wait to show mother what I’ve brought her.