***

This time I stuck to her matching her pace, even though it burned through my endurance as if I had suddenly gained a leak in the abdomen. I couldn’t let her go off like that again. It was less stressful to keep up with her than chasing her through the web of endless tunnels without any direction.

I was slowly coming to the decision that my lame leg needed to go. It would have recovered already if it could. But now, it was only making my life harder. Seeing the Princess taking a lead again, I decided to think about it later —following her came first and I was getting tired. At least she didn’t go on another round around the city. She only barged into the farm. It wasn’t a crime to go in there; though the workers there didn’t like outside presence much. But it would be a crime to damage the produce or harm the workers. I confronted her before she could do any of those things.

What are we doing here?

We? She asked in temper.

Yes, we. You and I: We. I’m your royal guard, remember? I told her. Being told off brought her temper down a degree or two, and irritated her.

We, she said, and for some reason collected the chemicals before they could spread out, and tasted them. It was unusual behavior, but it calmed her down. She had been under a lot of stress lately, and I didn’t want to add to it by pointing out the unusual. So I ignored her until she was ready to hold a conversation again.

We are going to see visit the murder scene. She finally scented.

Did the explorers say how they found him?

They said a worker found the corpse and told the soldiers. Since it was in such a highly regulated place, it was quickly removed. The soldiers put the carcass in the empty chamber but forgot about it thanks to all the excitement.

I let out amusement. It made no sense. And they happened to be at the right place at the right time to ask the right soldier if he had seen anything unusual?

Well, —She was certainly surprised, but continued nonetheless— they didn’t put it out like that, they said—

I had had enough of them. Are we going to confirm their claim? I interrupted Princess, but she didn’t seem to mind; instead, she became curious.

I gave it to her straight. I don’t believe them.

She was started and asked for an explanation. The weight behind my comment had upset her. She had been eager to ask for their help, and I, someone who should have been supporting her as her guard, was against her decision. That’s what I meant when I said, ‘I don’t believe them. Of course, it would tick her off. However, she remained in control and calmly gave me a chance to explain myself; something I respected.

We had a back and forth argument Like the explorers. I presented the facts and claims, and she judged them.

They are cunning and cruel.

So am I. She said. It’s a part of the job.

They don’t act like the other residents. I don’t think they care much about the city.

That doesn’t make sense. They are the explorers. They find the food that we eat. I believe that’s more than enough to earn them some freedom.

I couldn’t tell her about the premonitions, but I had one more thing to share that I had noticed about them.

I believe, they specifically scouted information on you before the meeting and made up a story about preparations, which you love so much, to leave a good first impression.

Finally, I had something that interested her. She asked me to continue. I did.

I also believe being outside the city all the time has changed them somehow —not physically, but mentally. Everyone was affected when the wave of emotions hit us at the tower, but they weren’t. That shouldn’t have happened.

She waited for me to continue, then shook her head upon realizing I had said my piece. That’s just another conjunction, another theory. We don’t have time for theories. She told me. For all we know, he could have been a means of destruction, a conduit of horror none has ever seen, the kind only told in stories… She started thinking. Her antennae calmed, straightened, lowered to the ground. Something had grasped her attention —something about a story. I expected her to come up with a solution, but at the end of her contemplation, she had nothing.

That doesn’t matter. She scented out loud, and then to me. It’s not enough.

I know. I said. That is why I advise you Princess; please don’t take their words on the face value. They must have found something that they are hiding from us. We should investigate ourselves.

What do you think I’m—we are doing here? Turns out she was planning to have the facts checked anyways. She didn’t need my meddling after all.

No. It’s good to know that you have my back. She patted my head and went forward to ask for help. She said that, to me. I would have been elated if I hadn’t seen her bring ignored by a worker carting excess mushroom to the chambers. Her confusion was a surprising thing to behold. It was tidbits of life like these that helped me see who she really was inside the hard and sharp exterior.

These workers are perfectionists and workaholics, princess. Don’t waste time stopping someone hard at work; they will ignore you again.

These farmers were a closely-knit bunch. They had been together since their times as egg caretakers. Never forced into community service, or made to work outside. They were some of the best caretakers of their generation and had spent their entire life taking care of us since the before our births. And they were bloody good at it. If the explorers deserved some freedom, then they deserved to have some ego, too.

I wanted to lead by example, but a figure purposefully darted toward us from the chambers and started screaming through scent communication after stopping at a very personal distance.

You two can’t just barge in here like that. Did you even get disinfected? Come with me. She was a nurse and she only let us go after proper and thorough cleansing. Annoying as the process was, the nurse was more help than not. She not only narrated us her account of the aftermath but also provided us a worker to guide us to our destination. Her account didn’t amount to much, but the guide was a lot of help.

The little worker was hesitant at first but navigated for us without complaint. She took us to the outer ring of the farm where workers were planting mushroom buds and fertilizing the beds. Their actions were precise and practiced.

They were but a small part of the workforce that was navigating around us, entering and leaving the deeper rings with white sweet bits clenched in their mandibles.

How many workers actually work here? Princess asked out of bafflement.

There are as many as fifty to two hundred caretakers no a floor at one time, princess.

That was a huge population of workers just managing the farm, but even ten times that number would have been justified because they produced food for a well over a hundred times that number every day. It was a thankless job, but they did it with passion.

We found the one worker among the thousands we were looking for. She was trimming the young mushrooms that hadn’t molded to the square shape yet. She wasn’t alone at work. There were three others helping her. A full-grown mushroom can easily grow to the size of a medium-sized chamber and damage the walls of its confinement in most cases. Such a mushroom would take anywhere from twenty to fifty workers to take care of. The one she was working upon was still only a few head tall; hence uneatable, its excess used to make fertilizer.

334448 (3rd generation, eighth lay, 3444th worker) our guide called and the worker turned. They want to talk to you about the carcass you found.

Princess interrupted our guide and told the 3444th worker her objective. We want you to take us to the place where you found the corpse.

I have a lot of work to do. 3444th worker complained to our guide. I’m busy. She didn’t even address us.

It was no joke when Princess pulled her down from the mushroom, picked her up in the mandibles, and lectured her.

You don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. Stop wasting time and just come.

She led us across the farm in silence, which was pretty funny at the time. We couldn’t get anything out of her after the incident; I just hoped the few hushed scents that wouldn’t lead to unnecessary rumors.

The outer rings had grids a good few heads large and grew one mushroom each. There were pathways between two consecutive grids that made it easy to bypass the whole outer section of the farm. Further in, the mushrooms grew big and dense, but none touched the other directly. At the inner ring, they almost touched the ceiling. Some even had workers trimming the edges to give them the regional square shape, piling the excess on the ground for easier pickings later.

There was no straight path to the center from the inner ring. We had to go around and encompass most of the sections, before cutting back toward our destination.

The air there was thick with mushroom spores there. 3444th worker was accustomed to it, but we had problems. It clogged our breathing pores and made it difficult to scent anything in the air. It was only thanks to the scent trials laid on the ground that we knew we were on the right path.

3444th worker asked if we wanted to continue. Princess pressed forward, and I blindly followed.

A few minutes later she announced us there. The center wasn’t a group of mushrooms, but a single one that had grown to the ceiling. Its head encompassed the whole farm! It was the only one that hadn’t been shaped. Its white trunk was oval and thicker than four regular mushrooms combined. It was an overwhelming but beautiful thing. The fins underneath its giant grey head were stark red and continuously showered us with tiny spore that made it impossible to sense anything of use —giving credit to the worker's warnings.

There was no clue to be found there. Still, Princess tried. She started vibrated her antennae at a higher and higher frequency. 3444th worker tried to stop her. Don’t —you will clog your antennae! But Princess didn’t listen and the consequences were dire.

Princess complained about flashes of floating antennae, screaming ants and whatnots, as the 3444th worker dragged her behind us. She released a scent of emergency the moment we reached the outer ring and the caretakers gathered. The princess was scrubbed, her antennae passed from many mouths, cleaned as best as they could. I forcibly fed her water as instructed, while the others took her care for five minutes straight; only then did her condition see improvement.

She was quick to get on her feet after the hallucinations stopped but stumbled after a single step. I helped her find balance and held her straight as she fine-tuned her antennae.

It’s a no sense zone, princess. Don’t you Ever do something like that again! We don’t want more trouble on our hands. 3444th worker told off. Soon they left us to our own, which was probably for the best.

I bon’t beel blean. Princess scented, and spent a good few minutes cleaning her antennae some more. I followed her in the practice; and it turns out, I really needed a good rub and scrub, too. Oh, how my antennae vibrated with happiness at the cleanliness of the air around.

I sensed chemicals that I hadn’t been able to smell before or had forgotten were always around. One example was the lingering scent of fungus around me. It was no wonder the soldiers stared at me most times.

It’s surprising how easily my senses had dulled and I had adapted to the condition, forgetting so much.

Princess interrupted my session; her straight antennae said she was conflicted. I found something. She scented.

I wasn’t expected that either.

What? I excitedly asked. To which she fully delivered.

The wooden scent of a termite,