Chrysalis

[I thank you for your cooperation.]

[To you as well. I hope that your research is of some use to the Colony.]

[I wish the same. If you wish to view our published work, you can find it in the pheromone library. There are copies in every major nest.]

[Wonderful. I will read with interest.]

Torrina placed her pen away and shut the book in front of her as the interviewee, a tier six mage, amongst the first, turned and walked out of the room. With more ants reaching the sixth tier, it became more important than ever before to correlate their evolutionary options and choices. Granin in particular had been obsessed with it, almost as obsessed as the Colony itself, which was why the triad had been busy interviewing and documenting every tier six ant they could get to talk to them.

Which was all of them that they could reach. Once they realised the fruits of their research would be delivered to the Colony, they were only too happy to help.

If only her own colleagues had been as forthcoming with information, they would have been able to achieve so much more. The petty rivalries of the shaper circle seemed even more absurd to her now than they had when she was a student. Perhaps the day would come when social discord and competition would arise amongst the ants, forcing the siblings to struggle against each other, but as of yet, that day had not dawned.

A level of cooperation that bordered on the fanatical, that was the defining trait of the Colony in her eyes. In many ways, Anthony himself exemplified the trait. There was nothing he would not give of himself for his new family, even if he would never say as much.

She stood from behind the desk she had been provided, ensuring she didn't scrape the immaculately woven rug under the carved chair. Once again, only the best had been provided for her use, and she was careful not to damage any of it. Furniture such as this would have cost her a small fortune amongst the golgari.

As she stepped out of the "office", she found Corun emerging from his own room next door. The young shaper gave her a broad smile, the stones of his true skin grinding together as he did so.

"Another day done. Got everything you need?"

Torrina nodded.

"I don't have any more mages or core shapers to interview, if that's what you mean. I'm not sure if that will satisfy Granin though."

Corun pulled a face and laughed.

"I doubt it. I'm done with the soldiers, scouts and generals that are within reach as well. For the time being, we won't have any choice but to move on to something else. Hopefully, moving down to the fourth to see what Anthony is up to."

The two fell in alongside each other, the easy manner gained through years of association and friendship between them evident in their relaxed demeanour.

"I don't think he's going to need us for a while yet," she said. "He won't be close to evolving this early, he's only been tier six for what? A couple of months at the most. You can't expect the same sort of speed out of him that he had before."

"He's hunting big game down there," Corun replied. "From what I've heard, he's been munching on literally thousands of tier four and fives. Even if they're weak, that's still going to be a lot of experience. He might want to get some advice sooner than you think. The next evolution is going to be a big one."

"Damn right it is."

The two jumped and turned to find Granin, the granite-covered senior shaper looming behind them like a boulder. How he managed to move so quietly covered in such a crude stone, Torrina would never know.

"Hey there, boss," Corun greeted their elder and leader of the triad, "I'm guessing this means that you're done for the day as well."

Granin grunted.

"Unfortunately. Most of the tier sixes have been sent down to the fourth, apparently. The rest are on the front lines of the expansion war. We just can't find enough to interview to complete the evolution tree."

She could tell how upset he was at that prospect. In all the time she'd known him, she didn't think she'd seen the old man so enthused with his work, as she imagined he must have been in his younger days. He was obsessed and determined to burn the candle at both ends if it meant furthering his knowledge of this new monster type he had thrown his lot in with.

"Have you determined anything yet?" she asked him.

He flicked a glance at her.

"Not here," he said. "Let's get back to the rooms."

Corun and Torrina shared a look at his caution, but they were conditioned to follow the triad leader and so they did not question him, but instead followed as he led the way.

They followed the corridor around the outside of the hill towards the area where their rooms were located. Candelabras of gleaming metal held small cores that burned with beautiful, dim light, illuminating the intricate carvings, woven rug and tasteful embellishments that lined their path. But even such luxuries didn't compare to the view that she glimpsed through the occasional window as they passed.

Through a full metre of reinforced stone, she could see the vast open space of ash and smoke that was the skyline of the third stratum. The ominous red light bleeding from the outside into the corridor, infusing it with a macabre glow. Despite the opulence, it was impossible to forget where they were, or how high up. She'd been shocked at how quickly the builders had put together this truly titanic nest, the capital of the Colony in this stratum, for want of a better word.

From the floor of the stratum to almost reaching the bottom of the plate on which the demon city of Roklu sat, the great nest was kilometres high. The internals were still being worked on, the vast majority of the nest's volume not being utilised, but for now a segment close to the top had been allocated for the allies of the Colony to use. Barracks, training rooms and medical facilities for the troops, along with a separate area for Granin, Corun and her to conduct their research.

The engineers had been embarrassed when she'd asked them why they'd chosen to place their rooms and corridors as the external walls of the nest out of curiosity. They'd timidly told her of their thoughts on a new technique, muttered something about crumple zones and then assured her they'd done everything they could to ensure they were as safe as possible. She'd shrugged and told them she thought they would want the view for themselves but the ants had looked at her as if she were mad.

What care did they have for a grand vista? None at all. They wanted the dark and security of their cramped chambers and tunnels.

After walking down several flights of stairs they arrived at their private rooms, greeting the few humans and golgari they saw along the way before filing into Granin's chamber, the large shaper closing the door behind them.

"Why the secrecy?" she asked him, confused.

He flicked her a glance before he walked to his plush couch and took a seat with a sigh.

It had taken the ants awhile to grow used to the idea of furniture specifically for golgari; their true skins didn't allow for the same comforts as a human might welcome. Her people didn't like soft or fluffy things, and needed materials that were durable enough not to scrape or dent when exposed to the hard minerals that coated their bodies.

After some time, the ants had developed a soft, springy material that was firm enough not to be damaged by them, strong enough to hold their weight, and with enough give to provide comfort. It was quite a feat and Torrina wasn't sure she could live without the stuff anymore.

She and Corun sat as Granin leaned forward to discuss his thoughts.

"I have a few matters of concern. The first of which relates directly to Anthony himself."

He considered his words for a moment before he went on.

"I'm sure you're seeing the same thing that I'm seeing with the tier six ants, but tell me what you think is unusual about them. I want to see if you've picked up on it."

The two younger shapers glanced at each other before Corun spoke.

"They're strong. Very good evolution options, even at the basic level. Good stats and more than acceptable bonuses almost across the line. I've only encountered a few dud choices, which is rare."

"I concur," Torrina admitted. "No matter the ant, their skill levels or evolutionary energy, the choices provided by the System have generally been good."

"Exactly," Granin nodded, pleased. "And I think you are smart enough to make a few deductions as to why."

"Ants aren't supposed to make it this far up the tiers," Torrina said.

"Right. A tier six ant should be as rare as a golgari with diamond skin, basically non-existent, yet now there are hundreds. The Colony has made something common that the System considers rare, and thus they are benefiting from these powerful evolutions."

"This could still only be considered compensation for their weak starting position, don't you think?" Corun argued. "The Law of Evolutionary Propulsion applies particularly well to ants since they have such a poor initial state."

"Indeed, that is also the case," Granin agreed, "which is having a compounding effect. We have a monster type achieving heights that the Dungeon considers rare, and thus rewards, as well as them having weak starting positions, which accelerates the quality of their evolutions. Across every caste, their options have been good. It's almost unheard of."

An excited glimmer had sparked in the old man's eye as leaned forward.

"So you're particularly excited for what Anthony might get at tier seven, is that it?" Torrina asked.

"In part. Considering he's maxed his core at each step, and in fact gone a little beyond where he should have, his core should reach the bottom of Mythic grade during his next evolution."

Although they knew this already, the two nodded solemnly as they considered this. Going from a Rare core to a Mythic was a big deal for a monster. It meant they were on the road to being an Ancient. As far as she knew, there were only two classes of monster higher than Mythic, one of which being Ancient. Although researchers couldn't be sure exactly what grade of core those god-like beings possessed; nobody had ever seen one of their cores after all.

Mythic grade demons were exceptionally rare, since they almost never evolved with maxed cores, but on the fourth, they became more common. The tier eight Mythic monsters were the true powers of that stratum.

"His next one is going to be big, and we should prepare ourselves for what's coming," Granin stated.

She nodded.

"What else were you worried about?"

The triad leader grimaced.

"I got an annoying message delivered today," he grumbled. "I hate dealing with those damn Red Truth idiots."