They have found him already?

That’s what I was told, Princess. The soldier scented.

How long had it been? A few hours at best and they had already found him? The city was not a small place! The tunnels stretched for miles and miles underground; the chambers numbered in the thousands. How had they been so swift?

Suddenly there was a commotion and it got our attention. I followed the messenger’s sight and found myself looking at the Princess rushing at the guards like someone possessed, shoving away any that tried to stop her. However, it was not a time to be in awe. The soldiers were already on the edge, and her aggression was only going to light up their fuse. The scent of alarm was already rising in some places.

I had to personally explain the situation to those distressed young soldiers and make them false promises: We are not yet at war; the decision is still pending; there is no confirmation from the higher-ups. Only then did they calm down and agree to not pursue the matter.

She was long gone before I managed to get away from the soldiers, nowhere to be seen when I hurried after her. The best I managed was following her on the paths she took. It caused me great distress to forcefully demand directions from cursing workers, but I did it out of duty and dread for her. Thankfully, my lame leg didn’t start acting in the middle of the chase, or managing even that much would have been difficult, if not impossible.

I knew the path to the mushroom farm but was scared of missing her on the way up, reaching the destination, and not finding her there. However, my worry was needless. She seemed to know her way around from the paths she had taken. Morning is the busiest time of the day and she had taken to a sparsely used route.

The explorers weren’t to be believed. They were odd in every way, shape, and form. This could all be a ruse set up by them to separate us or use her as bait to maybe flush out the perpetrator —a bit farfetched I know, but I didn’t want to assume safety where there was none. They were incapable of empathy; using princess as bait would be nothing new to them.

Princess had really taken charge of the situation with her bigger reach and larger frame. I had some relief in the elevator shafts and straight routes, but cutting corners was a hassle, much so while running. My lame leg simply dragged on the ground when walking, nothing bad, but woefully tangled with the other ones when running.

I was late to reach the farm. The body had already been moved by the time I got there. The workers needed to work and the farm couldn’t be closed for a single death. The whole population depended on the farms produce. The savory white mushrooms filled the bellies of more than half the city every day; there was a reason the farm extended from fifteenth to the twentieth floor.

A worker my height and build was waiting for me outside the farm. The explorers had asked her to lead me to them —which she decided against after one look at me. My notoriety preceded me. Half-angry and half-exhausted, I begged the worker to show me the way. She shoved me in a direction and yelled at me for missing such an obvious trail leading toward the excess chambers; like I would have known it different from the half dozen other trails that lead toward a different direction if she hadn’t specifically told me to follow it.

I followed the trail, blaming Princess for leaving me behind and cursing the explorers for my situation. I found them occupying an excess chamber that must have been recently emptied, for it still carried the sweet scent of the mushrooms.

The long-legged one was at the entrance. Not guarding, simply standing there —waiting for me. Youse took your sweet time. She commented as I passed her. She was chewing on a freshly cut piece of mushroom. Yeah, She said enjoying the sweet succulent thing. We still have some inside. If youse have the guts to eat them. That alone uplifted my mood.

Princess was inside, standing by the left wall and staring at the ceiling, whether dazed or thinking I couldn’t figure. I considered the worst for a second, but her antenna noticed me and they were enough indication of her health for me to revaluate my thoughts. So she was safe; to me, it only meant they hadn’t acted yet. No need to drop vigilance.

The giant was standing over the ant’s carcass; the nurse beside him was busy dutifully probing the body. The other two were standing past the corpse and toward the far right corner, both in a hushed conversation.

The ant was releasing death pheromones, and the chamber was slowly soaking in it. The intensity of the foul odor said he was dead for at least a good few hours. As for his condition — oh, it was so bad. No-one stopped me from taking a look or bothered to warn me before I did. The carcass stank strongly from up close. The foul odor made me scrunch down my antennae.

But odor wasn’t the worst thing about it. The body horrifyingly looked to have been left out in the sun to dry. His chest had sunken in and abdomen stretched as if someone had sucked it out from the abdomen. There were puncture wounds on his chest and he was missing an antenna and his left eye. Only his exoskeleton was keeping him together; the rest of him was already falling apart.

How had he degraded from a healthy individual to the macabre remains? A dizzy look told me the others didn’t have an idea.

I pulled myself away from it. My head swam as the death odor was suddenly too influential and personal. I heaved up and ran out of the room. My desire to eat mushrooms gone, along with my hunger.

Going so soon? Aren’t youse going to hear our precious 44’s report? When that didn’t stop me, the long-legged one tried again, this time she went straight for my heart. Are youse leaving your princess behind, wok?

I stopped and stared. She continued eating the mushroom-like I had imagined her last words. There was a call from the inside a minute later. She picked the block of mushroom and dared me to follow her. I did.

The nurse was done checking the carcass and was ready to report. Princess was still by the wall, using it as support, but no longer dazed. Her eyes were sharp again, though mandibles clenched. She waved an antenna at me when I showed worry. I expected an apology but there was none. She still wasn’t in the right state of mind, or so it seemed.

Their royal captain and his first mate had turned up by 44’s side, infrared eyes on the carcass.

So what’s the story, 44? Captain asked.

44th, the nurse, started her report with a nod.

The carcass has no signs of being dragged or lifted. Her antennae followed the words and pointed at the relatively clean chest and abdomen of the ant. Those were the only places it could have been held from. She continued. Mandibles would have left marks, but there are none. The puncture wounds are the right size for a stinger, but there is no discoloration of his wounds or skin. He didn’t die from being poisoned. The rest of him seems like the work of a predator. His insides were most likely sucked clean. I shuddered at the revelation; Princess’s antennae waved above her head. The captain stirred and the lanky soldier moved a bit closer to him. My hypothesis is that a hidden predator must have found it wandering, administered it venom and sucked it dry from the abdom—

What is this nonsense? Princess abruptly interrupted. You are calling his death a mere coincidence? She directly addressed the captain.

Of course, we aren’t, Princess. The captain explained. 44th here is not recounting what had happened. She’s giving a theory based on the evidence she has found on what might have happened. There is a difference. We will find an answer if there is one to be found. We have to sift through every possibility to find the right path. This is how we do things. You asked for our help, now have some patience.

Princess complied.

Once the nurse completed her report the explorers started going back and forth through various possibilities. They put the ant in three different situations and drew the outcomes. In the first situation, the termites ambushed the ant and his legion, killed, and ate them. In the second situation, the termites were bringing the ant to us. In the third and the most absurd situation, the ant ambushed the termites. They had a back and forth with each possibility, eliminating the ones that lead nowhere. In the end, they drew the conclusion to visit the far-city, Door-Darshan-Ji.

However, they remained inconclusive to the reason behind the ant’s death. And it angered Princess Tinbuji when they decided that it didn’t matter how or why it had been killed since they had already decided to visit the far-city at a later date. Princess protested against their decision.

His death should be making us doubt the very reason behind his presence in the mountains where he was found; not be shoved off as nothing but a false alarm! Princess clenched her mandibles, but the action only worked to set her off. I’m telling you all, his death is a warning of what’s to come. I’ll get to the bottom of this if you are not going to help. She stormed off — out of the chamber and away. I stared at the explorers for a sign of compliance and went right after her upon finding none.