"So, Anne," I said, eying the rows of ants on both sides of the massive dragon scale. "It seems that your armored ants have control from the eastern side, while the red fire ants hold control of the west. What's your brilliant plan for breaking this stalemate?"

Anne's antennae twitched. "My dear dragon, was that comment about my 'brilliant plan' intended as sarcasm?"

"Not at all," I said, suddenly nervous. "I didn't mean for my praise to come across as anything but sincere."

"I'm not one to decline a sincere attempt at flattery," said Anne, "but may I ask that you reserve judgment on my plan until after I've shared it? While I am normally one to enjoy adulation, this is a time when I require your honest assessment. If you see a problem with my plan, you ought not hesitate to share your criticism."

"Understood," I said. "You'll get my honest assessment."

"Splendid," said Anne, turning to Octavia. "Now, as I understand it, your respective abilities present distinct challenges. Octavia, your webs are excellent when used defensively, and they're useful for securing territory that we've already gained, but their offensive capability is limited."

"You could say that," said Octavia. "Like Drew said, I'm an ambush predator. I'm not ashamed of that."

"Nor should you be," said Anne. "And Drew, it occurs to me that between the two of you, your abilities are the most offensively capable. Your malodorous breath is deadly to ants – friendly and enemy alike – and that alone suffices to send them scattering whenever you unleash an attack. The issue is that the effects are not persistent: your breath dissipates in under a minute."

"Right on both counts."

"Well," said Anne. "I do believe that means that between the two of you, we have completed two halves of a puzzle, have we not?"

I nodded. "I see what you're saying."

"I don't," said Octavia. "Please explain."

I gestured toward the dragon scale at the center of the crater. "I clear out the area, and your webs secure it. My breath attack dissipates, but it's still more than enough time for you to lay down some webs, right?"

"Maybe," said Octavia. "But that still leaves the problem of how to actually transport the massive dragon scale after we've cut the fire ants off from it. I don't think that the three of us can muster the strength to carry that thing, which means we're reliant on Anne's ants to do the job. How are they supposed to do their job if everything's all webbed up?"

"My dear Octavia," said Anne. "I presume that you possess enough intelligence and finesse to be selective with your webbing. The fire ants control the west side of the crater, while we control the east. Simply surround half of the dragon scale with your webs, and you will deny access from their side while providing a route for my armored ants to do their job."

"I can do you one better," said Octavia. "After all, if I surround the scale from the north and south, that would still give your ants the ability to carry it, and also protect their flanks."

"Perfection," said Anne, her antennae twitching in delight. "Just leave a big enough radius around the dragon scale, won't you? Say…this much." Anne spun around, sketching a rough circle with a radius of several feet. "This amount of space would be sufficient. The radius of Drew's breath attack extends at least that far, doesn't it?"

"Yes," I said. "Further than that, even. Say…about this far." I walked several feet, dragging my claw along the ground to add my own lines to Anne's sketch.

"Perfect," said Anne. "Octavia, I would suggest that you begin preparing your webs now."

I cleared my throat. "There's, um, just one problem."

"And what would that be?" said Anne.

"Well, if I'm toxifying the air around the scale to prevent the ants from getting close…that will keep the ants away, but it will also hurt Octavia. So, I should be the one to lay down the web, since I have immunity to my own breath attacks."

"No," said Octavia. "We're being frank, right? I've seen how clumsy you are when it comes to dealing with my webs. It's like Anne said: this is going to take finesse, and that's something you don't have."

I sighed. "I can't argue that. How do we lay down the webs when my gas cloud is in effect?"

"I'll do it," said Octavia. "The only reason the ants can't survive in the gas cloud is that their health is so low. They die from damage-over-time in a matter of seconds. I can survive longer."

"But you'll get hurt."

Octavia nodded. "It will put a big dent in my health pool, and I might need several days to recover afterward, depending on how long I spend in the gas cloud. And it will be extremely painful. But I know what your noxious breath is like. I can handle it for a minute, maybe longer."

"Excellent," said Anne. "Drew, shall we proceed?"

I grimaced. "If Octavia is fine with it, then I'm fine with it."

Anne frowned. "You sound fine, but less than enthusiastic. Do you perceive any shortcomings in the strategy I've devised?"

"This plan involves Octavia losing a significant amount of health," I said. "The best case is that she spends some time resting it off after this is all over and done with. The worst case is that things go wrong, and then she's damaged for whatever catastrophe follows."

"I understand your concern for your friend," said Anne. "But she will have an army to protect her."

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Octavia looked up from the web she was spinning. "And if that fails, I'll have my own sludge burst to defend myself, if needed. I've had days to stockpile since the last time I used it."

"Okay," I said. "Like I said, if Octavia agrees, then I agree."

"Wonderful," said Anne.

Several minutes later, Octavia had prepared several web sheets to serve as improvised carpeting. She had an interesting way of carrying her weight with four of her legs while her two front legs and two rear legs.

"Before we begin," said Anne, "I believe that we should determine who will take the role of leader for the duration of this little operation."

Octavia and I exchanged a glance. "What exactly do you mean by that?" I asked.

"There are many situations when I am happy to treat you as my peers," said Anne. "That's why I asked for your honest assessment of my battle plan. However, once our maneuver is underway, timing will be of the essence. There will be no time for debate or negotiation. We need to be unified, and that means following the direction of one mind, not three. I need to know that when I tell you to do something, you'll do it immediately, without question."

"Just like one of your ants," said Octavia.

"Yes," said Anne. "Though unfortunately, unlike my ants, I cannot control you directly, so we have to resort to verbal communication. I need you to defer to my judgment."

"And why automatically trust should we trust that you know best?" said Octavia.

"I may not always know best," said Anne. "Perhaps you, left to your own devices, might devise a plot that would be twenty percent more optimal than what I come up with in the heat of the moment. But an imperfect plan that is carried out expediently is better than a perfect plan that never makes it past committee in a context where seconds matter. My orders may not be perfect, but I think it is reasonable to surmise that I am better suited to the role of leader than either of you."

"And why is that?" I said.

"In a matter of speaking, I am already in a leadership role," said Anne, gesturing toward her armored ants. "I have a more finely tuned perception of the battlefield. This strategy is my creation. The ants we are battling also happen to be my creation, so we are operating in my realm of mastery. And, lest you forget, it was I who first arrived at this crater and discovered this dragon scale."

"So you have first dibs?" said Octavia.

"I merely intended to remind you that I have spent approximately twice as much time in this crater as you. Consider the very reason that I arrived here in the first place: it was my scouts who discovered the dragon scale. Thus, I reasonably concluded that I possess a greater familiarity with the layout of the crater. I do not think that there is any dispute that it makes the most sense for me to be at the top of the hierarchy."

"In this specific context," I added.

"Yes," said Anne. "I assumed that much was implied. My plan, my battlefield, my command."

"Fine," said Octavia. "We've gotten this far. Let's make it happen."

Anne began directing us, parting her ant formation in the center so that Octavia and I could get near the front lines, with Octavia's webs still in tow.

Elder Dragon Scale aura buff: +50% to all offensive abilities

With each step we took toward the dragon spell, I felt the intensity of its buff amplify. As we got closer, I realized that the massive scale was actually vibrating.

"I can actually feel the ground moving around it," I shouted over the sound of the chittering ants.

Anne nodded. "Are you ready to commence our strike?"

"Ready," I said.

"Ready," said Octavia.

The front rank of Anne's army broke, and I dashed up to the dragon scale until I was close enough to touch it. The red fire ants suddenly surged forward, filling the empty space left by Anne's retreating black ants. They had nearly surrounded the scale by the time I got close enough to touch it.

Elder Dragon Scale aura buff: +100% to all offensive abilities

I opened my mouth. As the noxious breath spilled forth, I could almost feel myself brimming with power. I watched as my expanding gas cloud enveloped the fire ants. And before they could begin fleeing, they began dropping.

Fire ant defeated! 1% exp gained toward class ascension Fire ant defeated! 1% exp gained toward class ascension Fire ant defeated! 1% exp gained toward class ascension [...] Fire ant defeated! 1% exp gained toward class ascension Exp progress toward class ascension: 70%

A moment later, over a dozen fire ants lay dead, and I yelped in delight. My breath had been meant merely to deter the ants; I hadn't expected to kill them before they fled. An unexpected development, but a welcome one.

"Now!" called Anne.

Octavia clamored forward, hefting her pre-assembled webs. She approach from the east side, and wrapped her way around the north, pushing her way into the noxious gas cloud, but suddenly dropped her web and scurried back, sputtering and coughing.

"I'm sorry," she wheezed, stepping out of the gas cloud on the eastern side, flanked by Anne's defensively postured ants to the north and south.

I looked forward as the gas cloud began dissipating. "What happened?" I said, suddenly aware that my lingering gas cloud was the only thing standing between us and the rows of ants.

"I took more damage than I expected. I can't–" she coughed again. "I can't go back in."

I looked at the dead fire ants on the west side, and suddenly the realization hit me. "The dragon scale buff increased the damage over time. It killed them before they could flee."

"Yes, and?"

I tapped the dragon scale with my snout again, feeling its power surge through me. "It made my breath attack too powerful and damaging. When Octavia went into the cloud–"

"Drew!" Anne commanded. "Use another breath attack! Hold the front line!"

I stepped up to the dragon scale again, pressing my two front claws against it. Now, everyone was giving me a wide berth as I exhaled [noxious breath]. The green gas engulfed me, placing a protective cloud around me and the dragon scale, separating me from the fire ants – and from Octavia and Anne.

"Done," I shouted back at Anne, as Octavia regained her footing. "We've got a minute to figure out what to do next. Anne, got a plan?"

Class: Baby Dragon Level: 10 (max reached for current class) Exp progress toward class ascension: 70% HP: 29/30 SP: 16/18 Claws: level 1 Scales: level 4 Mouth: level 10 Wings: level 0 (wingless) (max reached for current class) Traits: Carnivore, Kin sensitive, Carrion feeder Learned abilities: Sprinting, Noxious Breath, Poison Breath, Paralyzing Breath, Harden Scales, Roar, Speech Possible Learnable Abilities (Mouth): Hot Breath, Cold Breath, Poison Fangs, Petrifying Breath Possible Learnable Abilities (Scales): Abrasion, Camouflage Unavailable Abilities (Prerequisites not yet met): Sweltering breath, Chilling Breath, Venom Fangs Active Quests: 'Locate an embercore' / 'A plea for help' / 'Emergency excavation request'