It takes very little time for the Colony to get the stuff together. A bit more than an hour, I’m not going to lie, but not by much. Within thirty minutes, the goods start to flow through the gate, along with many of the Colony’s best carvers. Even Smithant shows up! The only thing that could drag her away from her forge is the possibility of learning new techniques from across the fourth.

The other thing that flows through the gate is reinforcements. Many, many reinforcements. It turns out that the Council members I spoke to, mostly via the Nave, were extremely supportive of the prospect of a diplomatic mission to the rest of the stratum, but with so many close allies undergoing evolution within the nest, they didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

Over the next few days, they plan to bring in tons of ants. Soldiers, generals, mages, carvers, the works. Within forty eight hours, the nest will be locked up tighter than Fort Knox if it were placed within another Fort Knox which was itself within a safe. The possibility of a repeat of my own evolution, awakening to find hunters attacking to try and claim my sweet, sweet mythic scalp, will not be allowed to take place.

Which is a relief.

Another problem quickly rears its head when it’s decided that some of the human allies of the Colony should be brought along as well. Enid, obviously, is the first name put forward, and she graciously accepts, but after that, we run into trouble. Big trouble.

[I AM MORE THAN WILLING TO BRAVE THE DANGERS OF THE UNENLIGHTENED IN ORDER TO SPREAD THE WORD OF YOUR LIGHT, GREAT ONE!]

[LOUD! Always with the loud! Dial it back a notch before you smack my brain with a hammer, would you?]

[I apologise… most humbly… GREAT—Great One. I am in control of myself.]

Somehow… I kind of doubt that. Despite his words, the guy is visibly trembling still, just from being around me. I look at the other humans, waiting for someone to step forward and take him away to a hospital or something, but for some reason, it never happens. Actually, I think there’s a few people there that I recognise…. I’ll have to have a few words with them later.

“Why are we thinking of bringing this guy along?” I complain to Victor. “If he meets with other humans, he’s just going to weird them out.”

The general rubs her antennae together.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Eldest. I generally can’t tell the humans apart very well, and certainly don’t know when they’re… ‘weirded out’. The other humans put him forward as their representative, so we included him.”

Of course they did. They’re his followers.

“Fine. Just please tell me we have some normal—other people coming as well.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“There’s a detachment of the ant cavalry being deployed for the first time. We thought it would be a good idea to show just how closely we can cooperate with others.”

“Isn’t Isaac in charge of that group?”

“Captain Bird, you mean?”

“He’s a captain now? Sure. It's fine. I wouldn’t call him sensible, but he’s better than Beyn.”

I point at the two familiar figures.

“I want those two included as well.”

Victor shrugs and passes on the message to a runner who dashes off to inform the organisers.

In the meantime, I reach out to the two golden statues within my Nave.

[Hello again, you two. Yes, it’s me, I’m right in front of you, hello.]

I wave at them. The girl looks a bit stunned. The guy just sort of nods.

[We’re going on a trip. Beyn is coming, and so are you. Congratulations. Pack your stuff.]

So much stuff to get ready! I excuse myself from the crowd and try to grab a moment of privacy so I can check in with my personal babysitters.

“Protectant. We are heading out of the nest and travelling across the stratum. This is going to be stressful as heck for you lot. Anyone who isn’t tier six is going to have to remain behind, I’m afraid.”

It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to them directly, which is that they prefer things, but on this occasion, it’s important we hash things out.

“Do I have to reveal myself?” comes a plaintive scent.

“Yes, you have to reveal yourself. I know where you are, but I feel like I’m talking to a wall. It’s ridiculous.”

Begrudgingly, my bodyguard appears from thin air.

“We’ve all evolved to tier six already,” she assures me, still constantly scanning for threats, her antennae never ceasing to move. “However, I strongly advise against this excursion. It’s dangerous for you to leave the nest.”

“You mean… right now?”

“No, I mean at any time, ever.”

“I’m not sitting around inside in the nest for the rest of my life! Forget it! After this trip, we have to get ready for our next major adventure, which is invading the fifth and kicking slugs in the bum! If they have them! Surely they do…. Anyway. You’ve all evolved. That’s good. I won’t have to worry about you so much.”

After talking to Protectant, I make sure to track Odin down again. He was trying to sneak back to Sarah’s evolution chamber, the weirdo. Ignoring his protests, I bundle him up and get him thrown in with the bespoke furniture. People may not like having Assassin Demons around, but I’m not leaving him behind. The guy needs to find himself a new hobby.

In the end, the ant delegation is much larger than I thought it would be, almost ten thousand individuals including humans, golgari, huge baggage trains and many, many guards. And me. The fact that we managed to pull the damn thing together so quickly is frankly baffling.

In fact, the brathian are baffled. They expected it to take a week to get ready and have now been caught flat-footed. The scrubs! After apologising, they ask for a day to get their own expedition ready, and invite me to come and hang out down in the Lake with them, along with some of our delegates.

I’m quite curious as to how they make their living down in the sparkling blue waters of the fourth, but I don’t really see how I’m supposed to get down there. Ants can float on top of water. At least, ants who are way lighter than me can float on top of water. What I’m not sure of, is if there are any ants who can swim. My feeling is no.

They assure me it’s possible, though, so what the hey, I might as well take them up on their offer. If worse comes to worst, I’ll move the water with gravity and float my way out. Gracefully.