Ezra could... feel.. what she needed to do to create a Scout, versus a Burrower. She.. oozed.. the right pheremones, wanting to make one of each, to see what they were like; after all, she had at least three eggs. And could make more. Ideally, even if she could only control two, she could have others defending her home when the... attack happened.

As she focused on the first egg, creating a 'Scout', feeling the delicate wings forming inside the egg-sac, she frowned. "So... they'd wipe out a whole world for a low player count? That seems... a bit absurd. I'd think it would take an insane amount of effort to make something like this. Hell... how do they even do it? This... its bigger than earth. Floating islands, continents... they just made a bunch of people, even!"

~They baked in certain rules when they created this world. Basically, while most of the energy of the big bang here was released as normal, they somehow harnessed part of it, created a... sort of bubble of space and time that could be controlled, easily, from an outside point. Actually building the machine, and triggering the bang? Those were expensive. Anything they do from there, only costs time... and they can even slow down or speed it up at need, for this world. So, the game developers come here, a team of hundreds, along with some geneticists, geologists, physicists; I think the team to build this world was around three hundred and twelve. They spent, for them, decades building this place. Then released it, as a game.~

Ezra turned her attention to the second egg, once she was sure the first one was well on its way. This time, forming a burrower; a much less delicate, more bulbous, beetle-like creature. "So... there's a team of hundreds of people running this place? I guess that explains the need for a good player count."

~Most of the developers were only here for the beginning. Now, the team is only twelve; and the millions of players when things started, that made them billions of dollars? Have dwindled down into the tens of thousands.. The rest moved on to build a new universe, a new game; and many of the players went along. Honestly, the only hope this world has is if interest in the sort of magical fantasy world they could build here wanes before the player count does. Now that its here, they could wipe it all out, and build another Dungeons and Dragons clone in its place with a minimum of effort; eke out another surge of players for a few years. The refusal to use any native terran life-forms was a big contributor to the cost here.~

She gently opened the storage pouch in her torso; not wanting to think about what it really represented; and laid a glistening egg on the padded surface; reaching over to grab a handful of fruit, crushing it into a pulp. Within moments, the egg began to hatch; and from it emerged... a beautiful creature that looked somewhere between a wasp and a butterfly; with golden wings, a grey body, and an obvious sting. Somehow, the clumsy way it flapped the wings to dry them and approach the fruit pulp, the giant black eyes... it just seemed... adorable.

"....I think I'll call you... Flutters." She smiled. This thing was... cute. And it gave a trill of pleasure when she named it, looking up; and another trill when she gently rubbed a finger along its chin; before it turned, and started to eat. This... well. She was going to have a problem sacrificing a swarm of things this adorable and friendly. It was like a tame kitten with wings.

She looked around the burrow, frowning. According to 'the rules' she wasn't supposed to make serious preparations for the invasion. Only normal, day-to-day things. The ideal would be to make the homes and workplaces lived-in, more realistic. How much would that really add? Were these missions to wander around destroying villages really a big draw for players?

Maybe she could... hide the entrance? Set it up so that she could just... bury the cave opening when they showed up. That might work. Assuming she really wanted to stay along that live in this body. She absently patted Flutters when it made its first practice flight; settling on her shoulder. The burrower was taking longer; it had more mass, and would... eat the eggshell as it was born? Huh.

She started off by testing out her claws; finding that they were... more than adequate for shaping the soft stone of the burrow walls. Clicksha built things using.. saliva and stone? Making a sort of primitive concrete? It... wasn't among the racial skills of the Clicksha, so while it was something they could do, it wasn't something Ezra just instinctively knew; like spawning drones.

"...If they do shut this place down, how long would it be? I'd hate to come enjoy this place, only to have it die off on me immediately."

~They can't shut it down while any Lords are still around; or they'd have to refund the purchase price of Lordships. They can, however, stop new Lordships from being sold, and accelerate time back to how it was during construction so that from their perspective, the world just... fast-forwards to the death of the last Lord. When they stop selling Lordships, you'll know its about to be done. So, from the perspective of the people here, there's probably centuries, at least. To the outside world... I'd bet they pause sales in the next year or two, and offer promotions, transfers, to get people to go to a new game. Maybe offering the Lords a similar position in a new world, if they'll switch, to save time.~

She started grinding up rock, forming a pile of gravel and powdered stone... Flutters looking on in curiosity from its shoulder perch; when she could feel... the burrower eating its shell. She stopped; releasing the creature; a fairly slim, beetle-like creature with enormous eyes the size of a small dog; and walking back to the sleeping pad, setting a pile of crushed fruit and jerky down. The Burrower would need to grow, so it would eat like mad.

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It rubber her hand affectionately; and made a happy chirp before starting to dig in, devouring the food with abandon; using claws build for tearing through rock and dirt to splatter the fruit onto itself and the surrounding bedding as it gleefully crushed and devoured the fruit; before pausing, looking at a piece of jerky with curiosity. "Hah. Greedy little monster. What do you think we should call him, Flutters?" The scout tilted its head and looked at Ezra, then back down at the messy beetle.

~I would recommend Smasher, at this rate. Not sure how much of the fruit is going to be left for it to eat, and how much it's going to wear.~

"Hah. Smasher works."

For the next hour or two, she simply relaxed. Trying out the primitive clicks to speak with the two drones, she quickly learned that while she lacked any knowledge of making the slurry of saliva and rock that formed the concrete, Smasher knew it instinctively; and happily started working on shaping the entrance of the cave... making it more compact. Easier to hide. The material didn't quite look like the surrounding rock... but close enough. Flutters, meanwhile, was practicing its flight; moving faster, and with more agility, with each passing moment; the golden wings flapping rapidly as it danced through the air.

As it started to grow dark outside, she stretched; realizing that her muscles didn't seem to need to do so; it was just a holdover from her previous body, as she adjusted her robe; and clicked to the two drones.

Smasher immediately stepped up to her heel, chirping up at her happily; and she rewarded the burrower with another bit of jerky; taking a pouch-ful of pieces along with her as she walked out of the cave, heading towards the village square.

She could hear some singing; and smell something cooking. Whatever it was, it smelled like it would be good. She absently hummed to herself as she walked along, clicking to the drones; Flutters moving in a slow circle around her, clicking; she could understand it perfectly. The scout was telling her about blue people, and furry people, just on the other side of the nearby walls. Describing colors, what they were holding; it seemed to have been born good at its job.

The outermost circle of the village was smaller, single-story structures; all people's homes, seemingly abandoned hours before, now decorated, living things. Some still had residents inside, and magical lanterns and oil lamps were scattered about as the sky grew darker, and as Ezra reached the center, she could see.. a series of bonfires, with massive fish cooking over them; a low-level monster from her adventuring days, a Pouncer fish; one that could leap out of the water onto a victim.

Just how they'd been killed, she couldn't tell; traps, perhaps? But they were massive, hundreds of pounds... and between the three of them, would be plenty of meat for everyone, as Shan'rae; apparently a cook, as well as a mayor; was adding seasonings to them. Each was mounted to a spit over the fire, and three of the guards were actually turning the spits, happily chatting with nearby villagers.

Ezra frowned, watching Shan'rae for a bit. Back in her old life, she'd been fond of the looks of the Oshear girls and the Mollus; espeically the ones with the smooth, short fur. But now... none of the males looked attractive. But... none of the females did either.

Seeing some fliritng between the only guard not turning a spit, and the mayor, it seemed clear that those two races might be attracted. Obviously, they couldn't have kids, but the mechanics were still the same, race to race, and even this... weird... version of the Clicksha that had been formed in this world had obviously feminine and masculine bodies. As she approached the fire, an Oshear girl, her vibrant blue skin and dark hair looking like just a human teenage girl in make-up, wearing a light red dress walked up; and smiled down at Smasher.

"Aww. And who is this little cutie? Does he bite?"

Ezra laughed. "Only if I tell him to. He's Smasher. Mostly for his love of smashing fruit, rather than anything dangerous." The girl smiled, and reached down to pet the burrower right behind his eyes; unlike a real beetle, its rounded back was just an armored shell, not wings, but despite the armored solidity of it, it still seemed to enjoy the petting; and happily chirped, arching its back.

Flutters landed on Ezra's shoulder, giving a soft trill of jealousy; and Ezra started petting the scout as well. "And this is Flutters. Careful if you touch her especially the wings; very delicate, though she does like her chin rubbed."

"Oh." She looked at the scout closely. "So pretty! Like a golden butterfly! So she's a girl?" She gently ran a finger along Flutters's chin, and the scout let out a higher-pitched, happier note in response. "Not really. Both are just drones, but, well. Flutters is delicate and pretty. Despite the whole thing with Clicksha... males are fragile, delicate, while females are thick, burly... I still somehow associate a pretty butterfly with a girl."

The Oshear girl chuckled. "Classic bringing terran prejudices over. I'm Shan'Lar. We've decided that all of the Oshear here are going to be of the 'Shan' clan, and adopted that name. The other races can do it, too, if they want."

"Hmm. Well, I'm Ezra. Would that make it Shan'Ezra then? I honestly haven't been an Oshear before, I don't know their naming conventions."

Shan'Lar smiled. "Sure! You can be Shan'Ezra. Welcome to the clan. I'm a weaver; me and my 'Husband' will be running the shop over there." She nodded at a clothing store nearby, a hand-painted sign out front with an image of a robe over the front.

"Ahh. Myself, just a laborer. Apparently me and Smasher here will be building things and hauling things." Smasher chirped at the mention of its name, bouncing slightly.

"Well then. Why don't you come along, meet the others? Who knows, maybe we'll survive all this. And if we don't, well. We can eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow..."

Ezra walked forward after Shan'Lar; a few of the others casting admiring looks at Flutters perched on her shoulder; and the two joined the circle around the bonfire; a few starting to play flutes, the larger Levusu was actually playing an enormous drum with enough volume to carry over the entire island; and bottles of some sort of wine, trays of freshly cooked fish and various fruits were being passed around.

As she started introducing herself to the various villagers, and started to experiment with a few sips of the different flavors of wine, the night grew into a pleasant blur; the most fun Ezra had experienced in.... years, as she got to know the strangers she'd be, hopefully, spending quite a bit of time with going forward; with the two adorable drones serving as excellent conversation starters.