Sales have gone well, or so I’m told, and by the time the market has finished and everything is getting packed up, the ‘night’ of the fourth stratum is falling. Now, in a stratum filled with water and light mana, it’s rainbows and sunshine pretty much non-stop down here, but it does wax and wane slightly. The upshot is that half the time it’s brighter, half the time it’s a bit more dim.

Aka, ‘night time’.

Standing… or flopping… on my platform, I watch as all the ants around me deconstruct their stalls with pride. And a little bit of relief. It’s been fun, this trading adventure, getting to see all these different places and interacting with people that a monster such as myself wouldn’t normally get a chance to speak with. I’ve enjoyed the trip, but it’s time to go home. I want to feel the walls of the nest close in around me. Have my family members crawling over my carapace and feel the will of the Colony thundering through the Vestibule.

Let’s not forget the grub tickling also. I’ve gone far too long without grub tickling.

As much as all of this merchant business is going to benefit the family, there are other important things to do. The cleansing of the fifth stratum is my top priority at the moment, followed by trying to find a way to get the endlessly painful Call ripped out of my guts. Quite honestly, ripping it out would be less painful than what I’m feeling right now. I assume. I don’t know what it would be like to remove the darn thing.

“All ready to go?” I ask Tungstant.

“Just about, yes,” she replies. “We were able to get rid of almost all of our stock, so there isn’t nearly as much for us to pack. Even the raw materials like ingots and wood have been sold to builders and craftsmen. We’ll be bringing only a tenth of what we left with.”

“A resounding success!” I congratulate her. “Well done, Tungstant. You’ve done incredible work to keep this whole thing running smoothly. The carvers have done the Colony proud.”

“Thank you, Eldest,” she preens, clacking her mandibles happily. “They’ve been working diligently to master all of the trades in this world, and I’m confident our skill will only improve going forward.”

“I’ve got no doubt about that.”

I mean, that’s the nature of the System. The more you do something, the better you get at it, but I think she’s referring to more than that. To truly excel, experimentation, lateral thinking, and creative application are all required, alongside relentless grind. My siblings have the endless grind aspect down to a fine art, but still need practice thinking outside the box. Only a few individuals, such as Smithant or Solant, have shown a complete disregard to conventional ways of ant thinking. Honestly, I hope their way of going about things spreads to the rest of the family.

I find Eran Thouris and extend a mind bridge towards her.

[Hello, hello. Are we heading straight to the ships from here?]

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

[Yes, we are. No need to stay any longer than necessary. Despite some… unexpected calamities along the way, our mission has been a success.]

Judging by the look on her face, it went very well.

[A lot of gold flowing into the coffers of the Conglomerate then, I take it?]

[More than expected,] she smirks, then switches to a scowl with startling speed. [Don’t forget you’re getting a fat percentage of those profits. What’s good for us is also good for you.]

[A fat percentage? I consider it barely adequate. We can renegotiate it if you wish.]

[I would rather not.]

[Thought so.]

When all is ready, I once again take my place at the head of the column as we make our way out of the city. Even now, people turn out to see us walk by, this strange collection of brathians and ants marching down the wide silver streets towards the dock.

A thought occurs to me.

“Did we ever find Beyn again?” I ask.

I don’t remember seeing the priest, or asking after him, since he ran off to the library. At the time, it seemed like a convenient way to get rid of him, but I think it would be poor form if we actually left him behind.

“He rejoined us during the market, Eldest. Did you want me to go and get him for you?” Tungstant tells me.

“What? Heck no! I mean, no thanks. I just wanted to make sure we didn’t leave anyone behind.”

“Not to worry, Eldest, we did a full headcount before we left the market.”

“Good thinking.”

Down through the broad streets we go, surrounded by silver that gleams under the light of the fourth. Eventually, we find our way down to the docks after getting through the checkpoints in the massive, massive wall that rings the city.

For once, I’m perfectly content to see my ship waiting for me. The wide tub. Ol’ reliable. It’ll be a while sitting on the boat before we get home, but I’m looking forward to getting underway.

There’s the usual pileup on the dock itself as we line up and try to get ourselves onto the boats in good order. It takes a while, but we get loaded on, and I find myself in my customary position, flat out on my belly, legs extended through the rails, watching as the wall begins to move away.

Hopefully Tiny, Crinis, Invidia and Sarah came out of their evolutions alright. I’ve missed the gang terribly. It’s been weird being out and about in the Dungeon without them. Really looking forward to getting the squad back together.

Nothing to worry about now except the journey home.

I settle down, letting my antennae flop forward as I prepare to go into torpor. I don’t doubt the brathian mages are keen to get home, and this ship is going to be absolutely flying through the water. Time to snooze.

Except… what is that?

…

What the heck is that?!

I weave together a mind bridge and snap it out to Eran.

[We have to go back.]

[What? Why? Is something wrong?]

[Something is very wrong. Turn this ship around. We need to go back.]

[But… but… we don’t have docking permissions. They won’t let us back inside the city!]

[Then I’ll go myself.]

I gather gravity mana into myself, weaving a well that I can use to lift myself off the ship.

All the while, I hear one of my siblings crying out to me through the Vestibule.

Don’t worry. I’m coming.