After the Knights had finished eating, they decided to take turns keeping watch. Shakil was paired with Milius, and Sirius with Ariana; to Milius’s great surprise, Sirius didn't object to this sorting. Feeling slightly suspicious, Milius stepped out into the cold night air, Shakil at his heel, and trained his eyes on the ground below.

They looked out for several hours, every now and then the moon disappearing behind a patch of grey cloud, and plunging them into darkness. Finally, they switched posts with Ariana and Sirius (who had been most reluctant to leave the comfort of the wooden floor). Milius settled himself on the floor, Palpatunde at his side. His glistening armour dissolved, leaving him in nothing but his blue-and-yellow robes. A pleasing draft wafted in, his eyes closed, and he drifted off….

He dreamed that he was standing inside a vast, high-ceilinged chamber, not dissimilar to the one they had been in earlier. Unlike the previous chamber, however, which was lit by countless lanterns that reflected off the cracked and faded walls, this chamber was dark, cold, unwelcoming. The walls and floor were in perfect condition, as though nothing, man or beast, had been in it since it had been made.

Though he was dreaming, Milius felt strangely … aware. He could feel the cold of the room, the ground beneath his feet, and … something else. Something calling out to him…. As if they had suddenly developed minds of their own, his legs began to move of their own accord. He navigated through several chambers perfectly, headed into one that was lit by a dimly-glowing green crystal, then stopped on a large, grooved circle of floor, and felt himself moving down — the floor was descending, like some sort of lift. After a few moments the platform began to slow, and he stopped in what was easily the darkest room he had been in so far.

Though the room was pitch-black, he had no trouble noticing that he was not alone. An enormous shape loomed ahead of him, staring down at him through large, gleaming, pure-white eyes. Whatever it was, it seemed to be in pain. Milius could make out the glint of heavy golden chains binding almost every part of its body, and a spike larger than his whole body protruding from its chest.

His chest tightened. He broke into a run; he wanted to help it — he needed to help it. He was getting closer and closer — just a few feet more —

His eyes suddenly flew open: a bulky figure was standing over him, shaking him vigorously.

“Finally!” Shakil breathed. “Get up, you need to see this.”

Cursing, Milius rose. He had almost reached the creature, almost seen it. Couldn't Shakil have waited two more seconds? He grabbed Palpatunde and followed Shakil outside; he could think about it later, after all, it was only a dream. Or was it? It had felt so real….

Reaching the edge of the wooden platform, Milius looked down. Sirius, Ariana, and Parluck were on the ground, talking to … Milius rubbed his eyes furiously. Were those…? He gave Shakil a bewildered, slightly horrified, look, then followed him down.

They were!

Enormous, golden, talking ants. An entire group.

“What is going on?” Milius cried. As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't spoken. The frontmost ant, the largest, fiercest-looking one, fixed its three crimson eyes upon him; it seemed to be the chief. It, like the others, had two-foot-long, gleaming mandibles, which looked as sharp as Palpatunde, and large, beehive-shaped abdomens with massive stingers.

“Ah, all the Knights are gathered now,” it said in an oily voice. “Good — now you can all go.”

“We told you,” Sirius said in an exasperated voice. “We can't. If we leave now, we won't have anywhere else to go!”

“Well, that is as humans say — or at least, that one human that we ate some years ago — your beeswax!”

“Ugh!” said an ant behind him, disgusted. It sounded female. “Father, please don't.”

“You don't like bees?” Ariana asked timidly. The ants clacked their mandibles fiercely.

“Do not speak of those winged beasts!” an ant from the back said indignantly.

“Think they're better than us because they can fly!” another sneered.

“Joke's on them!” another shouted. “At least we can use our stingers without dying!” The ants threw back their awful heads and roared with laughter, a terrible sound, quite similar to the screeching of the Jewel Curse, Milius thought.

“I'm sorry,” he said, leaning toward Sirius and speaking in a low voice, “but what exactly is happening?:

“Cuz, meet the Honey Troopers,” Sirius said, gesturing at the ants. “They came to chase us out of the forest.”

“What? Why?” Milius said.

“Because you people attract trouble wherever you go,” the chief said; he was the only one who had not been laughing, and the rest of the ants settled as he spoke. “Knights of old have always been this way. My family lives im a peaceful part of the forest —”

“You just said you ate someone a few years ago,” Milius said incredulously.

“— and we want to preserve that peace," it continued, as though it had not heard him. “If you stay here, you will undoubtedly attract the unwanted attention of the creatures that live on that side of the forest,” it added, turning its head to the west. “And we cannot — no — we will not allow that.”

“Just another day,” Sirius said desperately. “That's all we need! We don't want to stay here any more than you want us to.”

“That may indeed be true, my young Knight,” the chief said regretfully, “but we have no choice. Leave now, or I'm afraid we will have to attack.” Its words said that this was something it would like to avoid, but the hungry gleam in its eyes suggested otherwise.

“You're actually threatening us?” Sirius said, unsheathing and raising Vulcatrix.

“I wouldn’ do that if I were you, Burl —” Parluck began.

“Shut up!” Sirius hissed, tossing the goblin aside.

“Sirius, don't!” Shakil said, striding forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. Then he turned to the chief, and said, “Fine, we'll leave. But we don't know the way.”

“Not a problem,” the chief said, sounding disappointed. “My daughter, Vagor, will lead you.”

The female that Milius had heard speak earlier scuttled forward. “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said. She was much smaller, and less fierce-looking than most of the others, but still terrifying, because she reached roughly the height of Milius’s waist and was about his width. “Well, let's go!” she trilled.

“A moment, my dear, “ the chief said. He fixed his three terrible eyes upon Parluck, and his tone became icy. “Be warned, goblin, that your kind is not welcome in these parts. You were lucky to be with the Dragonknights today, but make no mistake, if we ever cross paths again….” It clicked its mandibles, giving a sound like a knife scraping stone. Parluck gulped.

They trotted off, Vagor in the lead, and as they walked, Milius heard an ant behind them say, quite clearly, “There goes dinner.” They moved for what felt like hours. The only sounds were Vagor’s (rather off-key) humming and the whisper of her many legs scuttling across grass and fallen leaves. The Knights and Parluck kept a good distance away from her, but she didn't seem to notice.

As subtly as he could, he placed a hand on Sirius’s shoulders, and slowed him down. “So, you two friends now?” he asked, pointing at Shakil.

“What, me and — and Bloom?” Sirius said. “No it's not — it's not really —” To Milius’s surprise, Sirius began to blush furiously.

“So, Vagor,” Milius said, deciding to let Sirius be, “your father said this is supposed to be a nice part of the woods. What other creatures live here?”

“Oh, you know — dragons, manticores, harpies, the like. When my father said peaceful, he didn't mean that the creatures here wouldn't attack you. Just that some of them would have a polite conversation with you before they rip you apart,” she said conversationally.

She looked round, and Milius could have sworn he saw a smile flicker across her face as she saw their looks of horror.