[Me? Get you killed? Of course not!]

[Anthony… I’d ask what you think would happen to me if I were caught conversing with monsters in secret, but you probably didn’t think about it at all, did you?]

Guilty.

[I’m cutting the link.]

[Wait! Give me a couple of minutes to talk and I’ll prevent Isaac from running up to meet you.]

Silence on the other end for a few long seconds.

[He doesn’t know I’m here, does he?]

[He’s already on his way.]

Judging by the speed he’s moving, he’s on foot rather than on his cavalry partner. I doubt she’d be willing to carry him just so he could talk to an old friend. For whatever reason, I get the sense Morrelia doesn’t want to talk to him, though, so I can leverage this to my advantage.

[Did you know he had flowers delivered to the Legion fort addressed to me?]

[Uh, no. How would I know that? Were they nice flowers?]

[That’s not the point!]

What is the point of sending flowers over? I mean, I guess they’re nice to look at and smell? I suppose? Whatever, I don’t have much time and I don’t want to spend it talking about Isaac and his odd behaviour.

[Look, I just wanted to talk more about why you’re here.]

She immediately grows more serious.

[The Legion is here for you, Anthony,] she sighs. [They won’t sit idly by and let you descend any further. They do not want to let the Ancients have what they want.]

[I know that much. Even if nobody seems to know exactly what the Ancients want another member for. I don’t suppose you have any idea?]

[I don’t. I’m not even sure the Legion does. Possibly they do, but it’s also plausible they found out what the Ancients want and oppose it on principle.]

I can almost hear the wry smile in her tone.

[We aren’t great fans of the Ancients in the Legion.]

[What, you think I am? Monsters who get the Call are threats? What about the poor monster? Wasn’t Garralosh basically driven mad by it?!]

[You’d know better than I would on that front. I suspect Garralosh was more than a little mad even before she got the Call. Don’t you?]

Sadly enough, I agree. I didn’t get anything like a complete look through her mind, but she was a crazy croc, no question.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

[Well, it sucks. Unequivocally. Completely. Not a fan. And it’s super irritating that I don’t even know why.]

If the Legion doesn’t know, then I have only one more option. Looks like Rassan’tep might be getting his meet and greet after all. I have questions, dammit!

[I did want to say this, though, while I have you. I spoke to the brathians about the Legion’s concerns, and they don’t seem all that fussed. They said they tested the Colony against outside influence and we passed with flying colours. It also appears as though they don’t take your concerns about the cataclysm recurring quite that seriously.]

[The opinion of your brathian allies isn’t shared by the leadership of the Legion. I’m sorry, Anthony, I don’t think anything is going to be able to shift their views on this. The hunt for monsters experiencing the Call has gone on for over a millennium, and threats like the Colony have always been something that they take seriously.]

Nards. Well, it was worth a shot. I guess it was never going to be this easy to diffuse the Legion threat, but an ant can get their hopes up.

[Alrighty. Thanks for the chat, anyways. Take care of yourself, Morrelia, and come visit Enid if you get a chance, she’ll be delighted to see you.]

A moment of hesitation.

[I would love to.]

The contact breaks as her helmet settles fully into place and I turn to walk into the nest.

“Whoa there, Isaac. Where are you going?”

“To meet with my destiny.”

The man is striding forward, a huge grin on his face, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s taken the time to wax his moustache. Clearly he’s in a good mood. I hate to do it to him.

“Your pheromone language control is complete garbage, man. How long have you been able to speak through scent? Time for an extended lesson. Let’s go.”

“Wait. What the plops? Why are you picking me up? Great One? HEY! ANTHONY!?”

~~~

The next day, we are out and moving once again, this time heading in totally the opposite direction. Away from the water, away from the bustling docks, we move in a long, flawless column toward the mountain.

Today we are booked in for our second showing. This time, those arkesh who were keen on making a purchase and possibly engaging in a distribution contract on behalf of their ka’armodo will be allowed to do so. Or, more likely, the ka’armodo will direct them to do it via mind magic.

Once again, I find myself at the head of the column, taking long, slow steps so everyone else can keep up with me. This trip confirms for me that I’m really not all that fond of sand. Something of my weight, with such relatively small ‘feet’, isn’t designed to walk on sand! My legs sink in more than a metre before finally gaining purchase and it’s exhausting trying to get enough strength to push myself forward.

Eventually, I overcome the problem by creating a personal gravity well and lifting myself upwards and forwards just enough to make travel easier. This is probably why the ka’armodo have such wide, flat feet.

We see a lot more of the wizard-lizards as we move up the mountain. Huge towers of sandstone rise up the slope as it starts to climb, and there are ka’armodo everywhere. However, we aren’t here for those towers. Oh no. We are going inside the mountain, and I’m super keen to see what it’s like in there.

What sort of tunnels have they formed? I’m picturing lots of magma pools and hot rocks for the lizards to lounge on, that sort of thing. Eventually, sand gives way to a wide, flat road and I gratefully step onto it. The path starts to cut directly into the mountain, and soon I’m embraced by stone. Ah, so nice to be properly underground again.

Comfy, heated rock on all sides, feels just like the Colony’s mountain.

But then, shockingly quickly, I’m once again no longer surrounded. In fact, it’s shockingly open in here!

Eyes, boggling, I can’t help but clack my mandibles in awe. Those crazy lizard-wizards actually did it.

Desert Basin. It’s not because they sand-ified the whole island. It’s because they hollowed out the inside of the mountain! What the heck!?