Chapter 52:

Titus tensed next to her, and Alice flinched as she stared at the level 45 ant Queen. She reached her hand out and grasped Titus's bicep, gently holding him back. "Titus," Alice whispered in a voice reticent to disturb the monster before them, "Mana isn't going there."

Imperceptibly, his muscles relaxed, and he turned to look at her. "What?" he whispered.

"Mana is not flowing to the Queen."

"Where is it going then?" Titus asked, his voice soft and at a lower pitch than hers but just as quiet.

Alice pointed, not really knowing how to describe it. Slowly, they began edging around the edges of the chamber. They weren't exactly sure what they were looking for, but they stayed as far away from the massive queen ant as they could. Alice felt sick to her stomach as she watched it unload an egg several times a minute. The eggs were swiftly carried out of the room by a constant stream of worker ants. Those ants that weren't tending to the brood were cleaning the Queen. Every bit of her had ants swarming over her every couple of seconds, and it looked almost like the roiling skin of tiny little ants as they groomed every bit of her.

There were guards stationed all throughout the chamber, and Alice held her breath as they started edging their way past them. A quarter of the way in, she nervously dabbed more of the pheromones all over her. The ants didn't really react as they moved past, no more than a twitch of an antenna, as if they were sensing something moving near them, but there was no aggression. Once they made it a decent way around the room, they could see another tunnel leading from the egg-laying chamber. Alice was certain that the mana was flowing there. She tapped Titus's forearm to get his attention and pointed. He started moving towards it with no further communication, and she followed.

It was a hair-raising traversal, but the Queen never once stopped its routine of steadily producing more ant monsters. It felt that all their worry was for naught as they slipped out and past the heavy guards on the other side. There were only a few more twisting passageways until Alice thought she found where the mana was headed. There was the dim glow of computer lights and the hum of massive fans. Alice had no idea how the building was getting enough air to cool off and not cook the ants, but before them lay the supercomputer center. It was hollowed out in its own section, given dozens of feet on every side from the ants as if their nest was built around it instead of on top of it.

But unfortunately, that wasn't it. In between the edge of the nest and the supercomputer center, there was a forest—a forest of mushrooms. Ants dumped chewed-up bits of stuff into massive piles where mushrooms grew. Other ants nibbled at the mushrooms and brought those into the nest.

"They have a mushroom farm," Alice whispered in awe, seeing the massive ecosystem stretched out before her.

"I think they're using the heat from the supercomputer center to help grow it," Titus said, nowhere near as much awe in his voice as Alice thought was appropriate for the undertaking. "But there's a problem," he said, pointing.

Alice squinted, focusing on what he was looking at. [Fungus Wartling. Level 30.]

"I don't think the pheromones are going to hide us from that," she said. It was just the top of a mushroom, and the ants nibbled at it, taking it away. But Alice wondered, Is that just the ants' source of food? Why are they letting the ants eat them? "Titus?"

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Titus shook his head. "I don't understand, but those are fungus monsters," he said, pointing to several other mounds. "I'm not sure if the ants are intentionally growing them or if it's some sort of symbiotic relationship. Or maybe the ants don't even know they're there. But these fungi are fed by the ants and then grow. And by the looks of it, they're much stronger than the ants. Only the Queen is higher-leveled. And those are just the Wartlings. What about a Fungus Wart or a Fungus Wart King?" Titus said, pointing to a few of the larger mounds.

Alice squinted. They were level 35 and level 40, respectively.

"I don't really understand. Do you think we can sneak past them?" Alice asked.

"Maybe. Maybe if they scent just like the ants do, we won't seem any different. Or maybe they're dormant and won't notice us," Titus said hopefully.

"Do you know if mushrooms smell?" Alice asked, and Titus rolled his eyes.

"I've never met a mushroom that I couldn't smell," he said, and Alice grumbled. Apparently, now is the time for jokes.

"Let's at least circle around and see if there's a better way in. I don't see the entrance on this side anyway," Titus said.

Alice wordlessly nodded her agreement, and they started yet again scooting around the edge of the chamber, carefully watching what was going on. They had to pick their way through the abandoned and partially-destroyed streets. However, several of the buildings were demolished by the ants, taken apart for scraps and building materials that the nest used elsewhere, or fungus heaps grew in their place. It still made for tricky navigation.

The walls weren't smooth, continuous shapes; rather, they were jagged and irregular, forcing them to dodge through the ants several times rather than just stick to the edges. The ants still paid them no mind, so they made it around to the other side of the building, where they could see the entrance.

No problem. The entrance was partially blocked by a fungus mound, but it looked like one of the doors would open, assuming it wasn't locked. Alice brought up the possibility, and Titus produced a long wire. "Building's built to fire code, right?" he asked.

Alice shrugged. "I assume so."

"Yeah, well, usually those sorts of codes introduce all sorts of security vulnerabilities," he said with a smile. "Give me ten seconds, and I can get us in."

She nodded. "Hopefully, we have the time."

"Okay. Slow or normal speed?"

"Normal speed. I don't think speed is going to disrupt the ants. And the fungus will see us if they see us."

They began to walk forward confidently as if they belonged. They almost made it to the doors when the fungus pile shifted near them. It was one of the Fungus Wartlings, and it was the closest one to the door. It moved, and a few ants fell off of it, scurrying around trying to figure out what was going on.

"Alice," Titus started, running for the door, but the fungus moved, unfolding into a weird man-like shape that was at least 15 feet tall. A thunderous step crushed an ant as it moved closer to them, blocking their path. Titus pulled out his spear, and Alice didn't hesitate to cast [Curse of Sloth] on the thing, slowing down its ponderous movements even further. The ants, though, were not nearly as calm as the two humans. Several of the ants had been squished, and the ones that had been shaken off were already alerted. It took a couple of seconds for them to communicate, but soon, the ants were running back into the nest, leaving trails.

The available ants were rushing forward in a swarm. The target of their interest was the Fungus Wartling in front of them. Titus held out his arm, blocking Alice's path as ants rushed past them.

"Maybe they'll do our job for us," he said with a hopeful note in his voice.