Between a Rock and a Carapace

103. Holy Ground

Beyn Antseeker, for that was now his name, trod forward with reverence. This was a sacred place, and one toward which he felt only the deepest respect. They were all around him now, and he did his best not to disturb their paths as they moved past him with purpose. They were always so sure of themselves. The Path was clear before their multifaceted eyes, and their many legs could not stray from it.

[Hurry your step, human. There is much work to be done.]

Ah!

[I apologise, holy one. I was distracted. Also, it is difficult for me to carry these with only one arm.]

It was true. Currently, Beyn was carrying ten unstrung bow staves in a delivery to the colony under his one good arm. There had been tremendous excitement amongst the faithful when the offer of the colony to enchant weapons for the village came. Such a thing was yet more evidence of the righteousness of their cause.

How could anyone continue to hold doubts as to the nature of this colony, to the sanctity of the Great One? Such an offer only put more fuel on the fires of faith, and Beyn had immediately held a public gathering to preach in the village square, praising this news to the heavens.

Enid had been quite annoyed with him at that, considering the transaction hadn’t been finalised and the craftsmen in particular hadn’t yet agreed to take part. Beyn scoffed at such meagre constraints. Such things would be swept away by the current of destiny that had seized them all in its waves!

She’d hit him after that, and he’d executed a tactical retreat. It was frustrating to Beyn that none in the village were closer to the ants, or the Great One, than Enid was, yet she held herself back from truly embracing the new Path. She’d never been particularly religious, and Beyn had many disagreements with her acting as her Priest, yet he believed that deep down, the faith burned strong within her.

How could it not? She’d witnessed the miracles of the colony from just as close as he!

[Are you sure I shouldn’t carry them for you?] His escort flexed her mandibles to demonstrate their willingness to help.

[I must decline,] Beyn hastened to say. [The agreement stated that we must deliver the material to you directly, and I do not intend to shirk my work.]

[That’s good, then.] The ant nodded its antennae and continued to lead the way toward the nest.

Even though this particular mage had no idea why the council agreed to let this human inside the nest, she would do her job and escort them properly. If he so much as looked at a brood chamber, he was getting chomped.

The Priest was quite aware that he was in danger. He knew a great deal about the colony, more than the ants suspected, in all likelihood. He couldn’t help it, he was endlessly curious about this manifestation of a miracle, as were his followers. Once the ants had begun to interact with the people of the village to learn what they knew of production, construction, and civilisation, the faithful had begun an earnest campaign to learn about them. There was nothing malicious in their hearts, they simply yearned to grow closer, to learn anything they could about the object of their reverence.

And so, when they were approached by the colony to share their knowledge, they did so gladly, and when they felt they could, the faithful politely, respectfully, and tactfully asked questions back. Most of the time, the ants refused to answer. They didn’t seem to particularly trust humans, and were, quite naturally, very insular.

It was to be expected. Divine monsters they may be, the nature of the colony was to be loyal to itself. Even so, every drab of information was hoarded, analysed, and ruminated on. Every utterance of an ant was taken as holy gospel, to be studied and dissected.

In this way, tidbits of information were accrued in order to paint a picture. A blurry picture, with giant gaps. But a picture nonetheless.

For instance, they learned it was the will of the Great One that directed the colony to interact so closely with the village. They also learned that the colony was actively making use of their newfound knowledge as much as possible. Enchanting, forging, building. Every day, the ants would come back with more detailed questions, as if they’d taken what they’d learned that day, tried to apply it through the night, then came back for more insights.

But the holy grail, the most coveted prize of all, besides further words with the Great One, was to have access to the nest. They craved it! Oh, how they craved it! Even though Beyn knew it was a pipe dream… As if the ants would ever let them inside their most precious abode! If there were ever to be a chance, it would be through the strengthening bonds of cooperation between the two communities. This exchange provided an in, and Beyn Antseeker was determined to seek with all his strength!

[Hold up there, human Beyn,] he was warned by his escort and he stopped.

After a few moments of silence, another, larger ant emerged from the ground to his right. He started. He hadn’t even noticed the opening, and yet a monster had just sprung from it.

[Greetings, human Beyn,] came another voice. [My name is Cobalt. Please follow me.]

A name? A named ant! They’d heard whispers of this select group of individuals, but there had been precious little information about them.

The ant—Cobalt—vanished once more beneath the ground, leaving the wary Priest little choice but to follow. It was awkward, he was unbalanced due to carrying his cargo under his one arm, and the low ceiling, clearly not made for creatures of his height, forced him to stoop.

But he persevered. Indeed, his heart was alight with joy! He would gladly walk over hot coals in order to get even a glimpse into the inner sanctum of these holy creatures! As he shuffled through the tunnels, it was clear he wasn’t being shown anything the ants were not prepared to allow him to see.

He saw no young, no sign of the Queen that had been sighted during the battle against Garralosh. Though he did witness something even more shocking. Chamber after chamber that had been shaped and purposed for crafting. Forges, complete with stone floors, magically operated bellows and ventilation. Enchanting chambers filled with cores and decorated with special, ant-comfortable stations in which the creatures could work.

[Your weapons will be enchanted here.] Cobalt stopped and indicated a chamber with his antennae. [Please leave the staves and bring another load at this time tomorrow. We’re confident we’ll have worked out the process after a week, maybe two.]

Not daring to speak, Beyn lay down his burden and bowed deeply to every ant he could see before he was escorted out. Though his face was calm, his heart burned with renewed fervour. He hadn’t dared to imagine they could come this far. What else could they be but divine?