Half an hour later, we reached the end of the large tunnel and came into a massive cavern. The walls disappeared into the darkness about forty meters on either side of the tunnel's exit. We could hear movement within the inky black. My Darkvision began to make out massive shapes near the cavern's center.

I began to see clearly what was ahead of us a few moments later, and I let the group know. “There are massive worms or larvae deeper in. There are also much smaller Gnits than the workers taking care of them. I don’t see anything bigger them then, and they don’t seem to care we’re here.”

“Is it something like a nest? If we can, we need to destroy it on the way out,” said Omaar.

“I agree, but if they don’t care about us, let’s get moving and find where they took our people,” replied Kiszmo.

I created the dimmer light orbs and began to mark our path as we skirted to our right. We came to another tunnel and decided to investigate. It was about as wide and tall as the queen’s guard, so we had to go through in a single file line. I at the front, and the Kobold in the back. The smell became worse as we moved on, and by the time I reached the edge of the massive pit, I wanted to vomit. Below was what I would call the hive’s garbage site filled with parts of Gnits and refuse. Above I could see the light coming from multiple holes at the surface. I informed the group, and we headed back the way we came.

The third tunnel we investigated seemed to have been a significant transit tunnel for the Gnit. We learned that fact the hard way when a warrior came around the tunnel and noticed us. It screeched an ear-piercing sound before Kiszo could dispatch it with an arrow. Moments later, the vibrations began to build before a horde of warriors came down the tunnel. Kiszo began releasing arrow after arrow while I made another earth construct to close the tunnel.

Releasing the construct, the ground shook before a slab of stone jutted out of the ground and crushed multiple Gnits on the ceiling, but not fast enough before a large wave of the insects passed above the rising wall. Jaa jumped in front of me, cutting across the first warrior ant and then the next before he was overrun. I released an Ice Lance, impaling two ants before his scream reached my ears. I turned as he fell backward, a flood of Gnits diving onto his body.

We began getting pushed back, Kiszo, Ommar, and the Kobold constantly lashing out to kill Gnits. The rest of the hive ran over their fellow’s bodies to get to us. I ran back and began to construct a smaller rising earth pillar construct. When it clicked, I released and made another, and another. Soon the tunnel in front of us looked like a massive stone prison. The Gnits began to pile up on the other side, crushing the ones beneath them.

“I don’t know how long that will hold. Maybe began to kill the ones in front, so they can’t get at the pillars?” I suggested.

“They got, Jaa. May he be remembered,” said Omaar.

The three began to kill the Gnits pushing against the stone pillars. I didn’t want the chance of anything I fought dissolving away, allowing others to get at the pillars. We were almost done when we heard a screech from behind us down the cave. We immediately began running back down the tunnel and the way we came from. Once we got back to the large tunnel that ran back town, I raised more pillars, and we finally relaxed.

“This is hopeless. There are only four of us, and hundreds, if not thousands of them. How can we find any of them” said Omaar.

“Nose,” said the Kobold tapping it.

“Can you smell them,” asked Kiszo.

“I can smell Kobold. Know it well. Smelled close, large tunnel.”

“Aright, we make one last attempt, then we all leave,” I said. They seemed to agree with me.

It took a few minutes to come up with the construct to delete a single pillar so we could get back through them. The Gnits hadn’t seemed to follow us back here. Maybe they don’t use smells like pheromones like our ants back home? How do they communicate then?

We walked past the large tunnel entrance, the Kobold pointing to a cave further up the sloping path. We made our way inside and into a large circular room. There were many of the smaller Gnits from the cave below. Even close, they didn’t seem to mind our presence and went about their work. The room held multiple white sacks or cocoons attached to the walls.

Kiszo went over and began to cut away an outer portion of the sack carefully. Inside we found a dead Kobold perfectly preserved. Omaar and the Kobold joined Kiszo and began to cut away each sack. All dead Kobolds until Kiszo cut into her forth. The Kobold gasped for breath and, upon seeing Kiszo, began to howl. Our Kobold ran over and clamped the sacked Kobold’s muzzle, but it was already too late. The smaller drones on the ground began to swarm the sack of the Kobolds and shot white liquid towards his face. Our Kobold pulled his arm back in time, and with I seconds, the howling Kolbold was shut up and recovered in the white substance.

The entire party went still, waiting to see if the larger and more deadly of the Gnits were going to come crashing down on us. After ten or so minutes, our Kobold went back over and cut the cocoon again. The howling Kobold now lay dead, more than likely from suffocation with his mouth filled with the white goo. What a shitty way to die. The rest of the cocoons opened to dead Kobolds. “I’m sorry for the loss of your people,” I said.

“Thank you. Fight Gnit since a pup. Used to death. One seeks, not here, we continue.”

“Who do you seek? Your mate?” I asked.

“No, mate. Seek next god of Kobold.’

“God of Kobold?”

“Yes! Gnit take. Must find!” The Kobold yelled before huffing, turning around, and walking out of the room.

The three of us looked at one another and followed silently. Once outside, we followed the sloping path up and around the massive cavern. We followed the Kobold as he sniffed the air in front of us. We followed him down a random tunnel and looked on in horror as we came to a room with many transparent massive eggs looked after by the tiny drones. The horror was from what was inside these eggs.

We could see half Kobold, half Gnits suspended inside the sacks of liquid. “Are the Gnits combining our people with their next brood? Is that what I saw during the monster wave? The first subjects of Beastkin merged with Gnits?” I asked.

“Sacrilege!” The Kobold shouted before thrusting his sword into the closest sack, releasing the water, and the abomination within. The body slid out of the sack and hit the ground unmoving. The drones began to swarm the body, seemingly cleaning and trying to nudge the body to move. When the corpse didn’t move, the drones began to drag the body out of the room.

“I believe they are dragging it to that pit from earlier. Let’s destroy these eggs. It doesn’t seem it will alert the rest of the hive,” I said.

Almost half of the eggs were opened when we heard a cry outside the room. We ran out of the room, avoiding the drones, our Kobold friend staying behind, probably to finish off the eggs.

I heard the scream again from higher up the path, and we took off running towards the sound. We turned down a larger tunnel opening and came face to face with a group of warriors. Ice, sword, and arrow cut them down as we kept running towards the screams. Moments later, another scream erupted from a small tunnel to our right, and we dashed through to find ourselves in what looked like a white prison. Along the tunnel were openings covered in the same material as the cocoons.

Kiszo tried to cut through the material, but it seemed many magnitudes more potent than the sacks from before. Using the stone construct from before, I reversed a large chunk of stone to descend, revealing what I thought was a female Kobold. Who like the other howled when seeing us. “Calm down. We came to help you!” I shouted.

The female Kobold snapped her mouth shut and looked at me. I shrugged and began to open the next cell, another Kobold I ignored and began on the third. This one sported a villager, but not one of ours. We collectively paled when they said they were from the village close by to ours, the very same one our villagers were heading to. Had we sent the villagers to their death? We would have to warn them as soon as we got back to the surface.

I opened the rest of the cells. Kiszo gave a few of the fighters small swords from her pack. We left the tunnel with twelve new followers and headed to the next tunnel to find more cells. I immediately went to work opening these cells. Happy to find some of our villagers mixed in with Kobolds and the other village.

The screeching started when I was halfway through the next set of cells. “We need you to close off the tunnel ahead of us, Zeal!” Shouted Kiszo.

I ran out of the smaller tunnel and began to raise stone pillars blocking the tunnel from where the wave of sounds was coming down the tunnel. Moments after raising the last pillar, a flood of Gnits crashed into them. Some of the new Gnits got through before I could fully close off the tunnel.

I didn’t care about the levels of oxygen now. I created a Tier 1 Fireball and let it go. A mass of chitin and ichor splattered over the cave. Omaar and Kiszo ran forward to eliminate the survivors. “I need the cores as fast as possible! I’m running low on mana!” I shouted before running back into the small tunnel to release the rest.

Finished with the third set of cells, I left the tunnel with the prisoners following me. Kiszo handed me a bag of gems. I removed a few and tied the rest to my corded belt. I opened another two tunnels of prisoners when the sounds of the Gnit started coming from our exit. I ran down the tunnel and began raising the pillars once more, sealing off our exit.

“What are we going to do now? I’ve checked the other two tunnels. Nothing but cells,” said Kiszo.

“I don’t know. Maybe we can make another line of pillars and allow them to come inside like a killing field?” I responded.

“How much mana do you have left?”

“I honestly don’t know. I’m beginning to feel low, but I’m using the cores to replenish as I go,’ I said as I grabbed a few more gems from the bag and popped them into my mouth. I felt better a moment later.

I went to work making an opening in every cell and telling everyone to head outside. Walking out into the tunnel, everyone began screaming when my light orbs went out. I made a few more, tossing them to the ceiling, and sat down to pop more cores. I was just getting relaxed when I heard a massive crack coming from the first wall of pillars, followed by yet more screams. “Zeal, we need more pillars and a way to get out of here,” yelled Omaar.

“I was just thinking about that!” I yelled as I scrambled to my feet and began raising another layer of pillars four meters in front of the old ones.

I had an Idea. I just didn’t know if it was possible. I began shoveling the remainder of the gems into my mouth as I closed my eyes and began to piece together a construct. I tried over and over, but nothing clicked. Opening my eyes, I shouted to the crowd. “Anyone know anything on how portals work?”

“I know a little! What are you trying to do?” shouted an older Beastkin.

“I want to open a temporary gate from here to the surface.”

“That’s a Tier 3 Void spell or higher pup. I haven’t heard of anyone with that kind of mana in ages. Even if you had enough mana to open it, it would drain you dry without anchors. I’m sorry, our best chance would be to tunnel to the surface.”

“Just explain what you know, please.”

“Had an uncle who could cast Tier 1 Void spells to make bottomless bags. He said the key was to imagine nothingness inside a shell of mana. The intent was to open the portal into an empty part of a pocket dimension to get it to work. That’s the best I got for you, I’m afraid.

I closed my eyes and pictured a sphere of mana, then removed the center of the marble, creating a vacuum. The sphere shattered just as I heard a massive crash. Opening my eyes, I watched as a massive spider-shaped Gnit bigger than I had ever seen began to ram into the first layer of pillars. The Gnit had what looked like oil oozing out of its joints. I closed my eyes and tried again. We didn’t have much time.