Chapter 444
A part of me mentally noted the tone with which the ants invited me in. The formality, the gravitas with which they mentioned the “youngmother“ spoke of their near worship of the ant that I’d only been granted an audience with after months of deliberation. I turned and gestured for Joral and Sybil to accompany me as I strode forward to speak with my guest. That a part of me rankled at the treatment didn’t matter. My useless pride could silence itself for now, there was a relationship to forge. The Royals obviously disliked my insistence of having more of my people accompany me into the chamber that I would be speaking with their representative, but they backed down before too long. After all, if we three wouldn’t be allowed into the place that they had prepared under my feet while surrounded by thousands of their number, there was no possibility for dialogue. Explaining as much to the somewhat simple–minded ants was difficult, but once we succeeded at doing so, we descended.
It was strange as, after so long of living on the surface, I didn’t frequently use my thermal vision anymore. I was hardly ever in the dark these days, and when I was, it was under the light of stars and the moon which illuminated things clearly. At least, enough that with my superhumanly upgraded eyes, I could see clearly. Underground, there was nothing shedding any light, and as the last of the light from the suns up above faded to blackness, I blinked once and felt my perception shift. I relied more consciously on [Tremorsense] than before, and the overwhelming darkness shifted to cool blues while my two companions flared a hot red. The ants generated a small amount of warmth themselves, but were only a muted yellow instead of shedding any notable amount of heat. Between my two senses, I could feel the steps of hundreds of feet all around me, each stilling as I grew close, closer to this creature they treasured so highly.
Follow me.
The royal ants said nothing more as they led the way deeper into the colony, the guards and soldiers falling in around us as we went.
“We should send for more Keel to accompany us.” Sybil stated as she looked at the growing number of our escorts. “You are too important to risk here, and more bodies will permit you to escape with a greater surety.”
“That’s not going to happen.” I clacked my teeth together in emphasis. “We’ve already established that my magic is particularly effective against them, and you ought to remember how me using it in an enclosed space like this ends. I can control and guarantee our escape.”
“Joral, kindly forget what you are about to hear.”
“Of course, Zaaktifi.“
“Ashlani, you are being a prideful fool. I will not argue further, but note that I see this choice as foolish.”