The wave approaches its climax, and usually at this point, the Colony would be completely overwhelmed with literally thousands of monsters spawning and rushing at our territory, but for some reason, things are a little more relaxed this time around.

For one, fifth stratum monsters aren’t coming up and trying to melt our faces off and terraform the tunnels with comically toxic goop, which is nice. I mean, we still get them spawning, but that’s not as much of a problem. Then there’s the distinct lack of sixth stratum monsters. Other than the one I fought, the Colony only ran into a handful of them, none of which seemed to be operating at full strength. It’s a curious state of affairs, but one that is certainly to our benefit.

Whatever the cause, I’m not going to complain. The Colony is absolutely raking in the Biomass and cores, luring and annihilating mythic-beast monsters of the fourth as fast as the lousy things can pop out of the ground. Which is fast. I’ve been keeping to my tunnel and training for the most part, trusting that someone will come and get me if I’m needed, but when my surprise guests arrive, I hadn’t seen anyone for days.

Hanging from the roof and practising my spellwork, I’m more than a little surprised when a large, shaggy head pokes into my tunnel, followed by a large, shaggy body.

[Sarah! What the heck are you doing down here?]

[Ah! You’re on the roof.]

[Don’t tell me you didn’t see me just because I’m upside down. I’m enormous.]

[I just didn’t expect it is all.] She hesitates a moment before asking, [Do you have time to talk? I know you’ve been busy, during the wave and all.]

[I’m surprisingly free, to be honest, and I’d love a chat! I can get some tea and cake delivered if you’ll give me a second.]

[That sounds nice. You should bring some for Odin as well.]

[He’s here?]

I look around, but I don’t see him anywhere.

[I think he’s shy.]

The lithe form of the demon leaps out from behind a pillar, twisting and flipping in the air to land beside the massive bear.

[I am not shy,] he says defensively after joining the conversation. [I am being stealthy. A true assassin should always seek to conceal their movements.]

[And does a true assassin enjoy cake and tea?]

[... They do.]

[Great.]

In short order, the three of us are hunched around a flat rock I conjured up, sipping tea and nibbling on oversized baked treats. Sarah, the Asura Bear, neatly slices her cake with her claws, then pokes a digit carefully through a piece and brings it up to her muzzle, chewing thoughtfully.

[It really didn’t take long for the Colony to discover jam filling, did it?]

[Tell me about it. They’ve been going nuts for jam over the last few weeks. When someone thought about sweetening it with extra sugar, all was lost.]

We chat back and forth for a while, as Odin watches us, his eyes burning with a dark purpose. Or maybe he has gas. I don’t know.

[How are things in the third?] I ask.

The giant bear huffs.

[It’s chaos,] she says shortly. [Pretty much as bad as you’d expect. Thankfully, the Colony has things mostly under control. The wave is making it too difficult for the ka’armodo to try and cause trouble, and the incidents of rogue demons are dropping precipitously, for which I’m grateful.]

She shudders.

[The demons turning on each other. More than they usually do… it’s been terrible. I’m glad it seems to be stopping.]

I carefully avoid thinking about my Nave, and the demons who’ve popped in there. I especially don’t think about all the Will I was collecting from demons last time I was up there.

[That is good. I thought you were putting down roots up there. What brings you to the fourth stratum?]

The big bear shifts uncomfortably, then lowers herself down to lap at her tea, giving herself time to think. She leans back with a sigh.

[I think… it might be time for me to evolve,] she says finally and I immediately perk up.

[Oho! Really? That’s exciting stuff! Crinis, Tiny and Invidia will be evolving soon as well, you might as well do it at the same time as them!]

She nods, reluctantly.

[Yes, I’d heard that might be happening. I thought if I was going to evolve, then I should consult with Granin and the others beforehand. Since they’re coming down here to advise those three, I should be here and talk to them at the same time.]

[You came down a whole stratum because you didn’t want to make your own appointment?]

It seems ridiculous.

[I just didn’t want to bother anyone,] she defends herself, clearly flustered. [Besides, I’ve never come down this far and I wanted to see what it was like.]

[I definitely recommend you head up to the walls and take in the view,] I encourage her, [it’s really something. The shining waters of the lake, the towering mountains reaching up toward the ceiling above. There’s clouds, and islands. I mean, floating islands. It’s crazy.]

[I went straight up there. You’re right, it’s incredible.]

I turn to Odin.

[And what brings you here, little guy?]

[Excuse me?]

[Ah. Didn’t mean to be rude. What brings you here, Odin?]

Compared to Sarah and I, he’s a midget! The guy is clearly built for speed and stealth, not my fault he’s so small.

[I am here to support the creature of perfection that I– I’m here to support Sarah.]

[Nice. Well, when you evolve, don’t forget my message for Arconidem.]

He flinches.

[I hoped you’d forgotten about that.]

[Fat chance.]

[Well, welcome aboard, you two. I hope your evolutions work out great. While you’re here, you may as well help out with the defence, stock up on Biomass and all that good stuff! Also, let me know if you need some cores. I’m sure the Colony has a supply tucked away that you can draw from.]

[I wouldn’t want to impose.]

[Nonsense, Sarah. You’re part of the family! In fact, I might be able to scrounge together a mythic core for your evolution.]

[Oh. I have one of those.]

[You what?]

[We found a demon rampaging on the plains a few weeks ago. It… I… well. I have a mythic core.]

[Nice!]