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Chapter 1.23 A
Mentions
Name | Text |
---|---|
Liscor
|
These were Antinium. The Free Antinium of Liscor’s Hive. They worked far below Liscor in the sprawling Hive. And this was their entire world. |
Liscor
|
These were Antinium. The Free Antinium of Liscor’s Hive. They worked far below Liscor in the sprawling Hive. And this was their entire world. |
Liscor
|
Very bad. Aberrations appeared when you asked an Antinium questions. The citizens of Liscor had long known to ignore them and only give basic instructions. Workers just performed tasks like sweeping, building, and hauling things. Only one Antinium had a name, and that was Senior Guardsman Klbkch, and everyone knew him from the war. |
Klbkch
|
Very bad. Aberrations appeared when you asked an Antinium questions. The citizens of Liscor had long known to ignore them and only give basic instructions. Workers just performed tasks like sweeping, building, and hauling things. Only one Antinium had a name, and that was Senior Guardsman Klbkch, and everyone knew him from the war. |
Klbkch
|
These Workers had no names. They had no purpose, either. They only did what they knew must be done. Because the Queen, or Prognugator Klbkch, had ordered them to. |
Klbkch
|
Only Prognugator Klbkch went above regularly. He chose Workers to perform duties above. Soldiers were not allowed above. Above was a strange place for Workers, filled with non-Antinium people and rules you must obey about streets, but you followed orders. |
Free Hive
|
Not that any Worker here had lived long enough to remember the beginning, ten years ago when the Free Hive had been founded here. Only Klbkch had been there. He and the Free Queen. |
Klbkch
|
Not that any Worker here had lived long enough to remember the beginning, ten years ago when the Free Hive had been founded here. Only Klbkch had been there. He and the Free Queen. |
Xevccha
|
Not that any Worker here had lived long enough to remember the beginning, ten years ago when the Free Hive had been founded here. Only Klbkch had been there. He and the Free Queen. |
Klbkch
|
That made sense to him. He actually understood it as the Human girl played with the Drakes and even Prognugator Klbkch. |
Klbkch
|
—But that was not right. Antinium did not, should not make sound. One began to hurry off to find a Soldier or Klbkch. When either arrived, this Worker would die. Then silence and normality would resume. This is what would happen. |
Klbkch
|
Known to them all. The Worker who had been clicking trembled, and the other one stared as Klbkch walked forwards. |
[Guard]
|
He wore no armor of a [Guard] down here. Only a loincloth—unnecessary since they were all the same body, chitinous armor, not flesh. But what marked him apart from the others were the two swords which hung at his sides, the belt of magical items. |
Klbkch
|
The Queen. Oh, the Queen—and Klbkch was the only one who spoke to her. Her reply came more as thought than word. It was exhausted, like the last vestiges of energy that came after the mania of a day without sleep, without rest. She seldom slept but managed the Hive, kept the monsters at bay. |
Klbkch
|
“Yes. The plan must be completed quickly, Klbkch.” |
Klbkch
|
The Workers didn’t know what this meant, but the survivors stood there as Klbkch nodded. |
Klbkch
|
The four survivors from the original dig group and sixteen new Workers instantly stepped forwards and followed Klbkch. He gave them no orders; they simply followed him through the Hive. |
Klbkch
|
Stop. If Klbkch heard, he would kill the Worker. But the Worker continued as they wound their way up through the Hive, through secret tunnels no one knew about, that were not supposed to exist. |
Klbkch
|
Klbkch made the Workers spring to attention. They followed, keeping low, as he led them past Liscor’s walls. They should not be here. They knew that—Antinium were not allowed outside the city—but Klbkch was watching the walls cautiously. |
Liscor
|
Klbkch made the Workers spring to attention. They followed, keeping low, as he led them past Liscor’s walls. They should not be here. They knew that—Antinium were not allowed outside the city—but Klbkch was watching the walls cautiously. |
Klbkch
|
Klbkch made the Workers spring to attention. They followed, keeping low, as he led them past Liscor’s walls. They should not be here. They knew that—Antinium were not allowed outside the city—but Klbkch was watching the walls cautiously. |
Klbkch
|
He was not Senior Guardsman Klbkch here. So he led twenty Workers to a plot of land by a hill, far enough from the city that the Workers were able to feel the soft, foreign grass below their feet, stare at the sky, even flinch as something passed overhead, squeaking. |
Klbkch
|
Klbkch came to a halt by a strange area along one vast hillside. Higher than most. He pointed, and the Workers saw an area of disturbed grass covered over to look from afar like regular hillside. It was, in fact, the opening to a tunnel. |
Klbkch
|
It was open. It was so tall that they had to create dirt footholds just to climb up and dig it out, then haul more soil and dead bodies away. Not all the bodies were Workers. Klbkch stood outside, watching the moons move as the Workers hollowed the tunnel. |
Klbkch
|
Every second, the Worker who swept waited for something to come through the door. Klbkch had drawn his blades; he was waiting too. He stood in the doorway, dividing darkness and moonlight with his blades—and it seemed like that was the only thing that gave the silent shadows pause as they lengthened. The Workers knew this truce might be broken at any minute, in the next second. |
Klbkch
|
Hours passed as the Workers dug, frantically, and then Klbkch glanced inside the hollowed complex and spoke. |
Klbkch
|
All the Workers froze. This would what? The door was now unearthed, and a large, hollow space existed in the hill, hidden by the grassy embankment above. Klbkch eyed the tunnel, then gave the strangest order yet. |
Klbkch
|
In the darkness before dawn, the entire structure that six teams of Workers had dug out finally fell, and an entire hillside cascaded down as they ran to join Klbkch. Twenty Workers stared at the hillside, now visibly crumpled inwards from a distance. |
Klbkch
|
Klbkch eyed the debris and ruins of their work. The Workers did not understand; they saw a bit of that foreign door poking out of the hillside, but it was blocked again by dirt. And now… |
Klbkch
|
When had that happened? But he said nothing, lest Klbkch think he was Aberration. And the Prognugator seemed pleased by this. |
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