Chương 176: Price of Hospitality

Liora hated this place. She absolutely hated it. Almost as much as she hated that underground clinic. The only reason this was better was that ants weren't watching every one of Liora's steps. Okay, that technically wasn't true. Liora and her companion were led to special guest chambers. Cee and Smokey got the largest one, relatively close to the surface where it was warmer. Caspian's chamber was deep underground, with a special water basin where he could rest in his merman form.

Liora wanted to stay outside the anthill, and the ants were kind enough to escort her outside. But by the love of everything that had feathers, it was so hot there. Even hotter than inside the dungeon.

"This is a real desert, you know. The dungeon was certainly hot, but it can't be compared to the real thing. By the way, the nights are colder too. Sometimes they can even go below zero," Renir said. Liora looked forlornly at the vast sky, but descended back into the anthill, where the ants led her to a spacious chamber that had a pleasant breeze passing through. It was really thoughtful of them, but Liora couldn't help but grumble about being underground. She also didn't like being separated from everyone else.

Oh, and about that not being watched thing. While technically there weren't any antkin dedicated to watching Liora, there were ants constantly passing by their chamber. She doubted that they cared much about her, but the fact that there was always someone nearby unnerved Liora.

"This is like being a hatchling all over again…" Liora muttered.

"A hatchling?" Renir asked.

"Yeah. I wasn't always an adult magpie, you know. I came from an egg as all birds do."

"W-Wasn't it weird? Becoming a helpless bird?" Renir sounded concerned.

"Oh, it was absolutely dreadful. It was right after being reborn, so double the confusion. I knew I was a human before, but I couldn't remember much. Suddenly having worms shoved into my face didn't help, and my magpie siblings were always yelling for more food. Worst of all, the nest was very small, and it only felt smaller the larger we grew. You have no idea how relieved I felt when I finally learned how to fly."

"Was it easy? Learning to fly, I mean." Liora thought back.

"It was… horrifying, but also the best thing I had ever experienced. That first time the breeze carried me upwards… That's when I knew that I would enjoy being a bird very much." There was a moment of silence, which made Liora realize it was a bit too sappy for her liking. She shook out her feathers and cleared her throat.

"In either case, I don't like being separated from Cee! Our chambers should have been closer. What if I want to talk to her?" Liora grumbled.

"It'll be fine. The antkin actually promised to show us that ancient ritual book tomorrow. I can't wait! It'll be great," Renir wiggled his little arms, clearly filled with excitement.

"I swear, they could take your mother, but so long as you had your magic book, you'd be happy," Liora shook her head. Renir went strangely silent for a moment, his arms lowering.

"I just want to regain my body," he muttered, turning away from her. It seems I touched a nerve. Did I really say something so bad? I feel like I've said worse things and he hadn't reacted at all.

"Go to sleep, Liora. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Liora felt a bit offended by his suddenly cold attitude. She hadn't really said anything that bad. And even if she had, should he at least explain what exactly he didn't like.

"You're so annoying," Liora grumbled, grabbing Renir and tucking him underneath herself.

"HEY! Stop it! I'm not an egg," Renir protested.

"Of course not! You're far more precious than any egg in the world. Now stop being a grump and enjoy my fluffy feathers!" Liora boasted.

"You know that I can't even tell the difference with this body, right?!" Renir continued grumbling underneath her and trying to get out, but she just tucked him firmly underneath herself and settled to sleep. At least now he was just regular mad. Liora didn't like when Renir became cold and distant. The next morning, Liora was woken up by a shrill ant voice.

"Wake up, guest! The day has begun, and we have a long and wonderful day of work ahead of us," the ant said. It was one of the scout ants with wings on her back.

"Huh, wha!" Liora opened her eyes, startled by the sudden noise.

"Oh… It's you. Good morning, uh…"

"My name is Lau'fi. Please remember it, dear guest," Lau'fi chastised. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Wait… Do you even remember my name?" Lau'fi's wings shuddered.

"I… I… I am ashamed to admit that your name has slipped my memory. I find this language rather vexing."

"That's alright, just don't be mad at me when I forget. I'm Liora, and my companion is called Renir." Lau'fi wiggled her antenna happily.

"Thank you for your understanding. Now, let us not waste time which could be spent working. We have a lot of things to accomplish. As guests, you obviously won't have to work as hard as us ants, but there's still much you have to accomplish during your stay here. For starters, let us deliver your companion to the mages, so they can study the book properly."

"Yes, I have been waiting for this!" Renir cheered.

"Excellent attitude!" Lau'fi announced, and they were off. The ant moved at lightning speed, passing by her sisters and chattering about the various chambers. Sleeping chambers, eating chambers, storage chambers, aphid chambers, mushroom chambers. It was a whole city. Much to Liora's chagrin, they were getting deeper underground. It felt awkward for Liora whenever a large incline appeared, so eventually she gave up and turned to her magpie form. At least it was small enough so she could fly in the tunnels.

"Wow, I didn't know you could grow small!" Lau'fi marveled at Liora's magpie form.

"It is how I originally looked. Before I evolved."

"Fascinating. Our ancestor queen was also descended from a regular monstrous ant. But thanks to her efforts, the colony grew and evolved until every ant in the colony became an antkin. We all work hard to carry on her legacy!"

"Wow, that's cool!" Liora said.

"That is truly fascinating! You must tell me more when you have a spare moment," Renir said excitedly. Liora couldn't help but wonder where all of his apprehension went.

"You may ask the mage ants about it. They have salvaged as much of our history as they could. They could tell you far more than a scout ant such as myself," Lau'fi said. Soon enough, they reached one of the deepest and darkest chambers in the colony. It was separated from the rest of the colony by a long tunnel. Barely any ants could be seen here, aside from a few of the smallest ones with large antennae. The mages.

"Welcome, welcome! We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, mage trapped in a gem," one of the mage ants greeted.

"We must get to work as soon as possible. There is so much we must learn and do today," another mage ant said.

"You are speaking my language. Let's get to it!" Renir said, motioning Liora to place him on the table. An old, giant book sat on it. By giant, Liora meant really giant. You could likely kill a man by just dropping it on his head.

"Wait… are you going to study all of that? It's going to take ages!" Liora grumbled.

"I'm sure it will take me no more than two weeks to identify the right ritual," Renir said, clearly giddy with excitement.

"Two weeks?! I can't spend two weeks underground," Liora squawked, then hurriedly added.

"You have a lovely anthill, really, but as a bird it's just…"

"Do not worry, Liora! We shall not be sitting with mage ants for two weeks. We have a different job to do." Lau'fi announced.

"Different job?" Liora blinked.

"Yes. Everyone must work for their stay. Now hurry. We must go. Every moment not spent working is a moment wasted," Lau'fi urged.

"Wait, you want me to leave Renir… alone?"

"He shall not be alone. He'll be with the mage ants."

"No, I get that, but… I can't leave his side," Liora said.

"Isn't that right, Renir?" To her dismay, Renir was already buried inside the book, discussing something eagerly with the mage ants.

"Renir!" She grumbled.

"Yes, yes! Do what you want!" He waved at her dismissively. Liora puffed up her feathers. How dare he?

"There is no reason to worry for his safety, Liora. This is the deepest part of the anthill. No enemy should ever be able to reach it. Not to mention that there is an escape tunnel should something happen," Lau'fi reassured. Liora didn't like this. She didn't like it one bit. But Renir didn't seem to care. Yesterday he had that cold attitude of his, and today this.

"Fine! Let's go, Lau'fi!" Liora announced loudly, hoping that Renir would hear her and react. He didn't, which made Liora even more mad.

"Oh, you're going to love our job. I know that as a creature with wings, you will understand my joy," Lau'fi urged Liora to follow.

"Our job involves wings?"

"Yes! Come, come! It is great fun." Liora flew after Lau'fi, who seemed to propel herself forward on excitement alone. They were heading higher and higher, towards the exit of the colony. Until finally they reached it. The desert. It was still early in the morning. First sun rays were peeking beyond the horizon. It was still cold, but not unbearably so. Lau'fi opened her wings and buzzed high up in the air while doing a twirl.

"Haha! I just love flying. Don't you, Liora?"

"Of course, I love flying. I basically invented it," Liora boasted and turned into her large form, to better keep up with the antkin. She also did a twirl as well as a few loops, just to show that a bird would always be a better flyer than an ant.

"Wow, I'm jealous! I wish I had wings as strong as yours. But there's no time to waste. It is time for us to scout!" Lau'fi said.

"Scout? For what purpose?"

"For food, for enemies, for any changes in the desert. We scouts check everything every day. I think with your help we might be able to scout even further," Lau'fi said. Looking down, Liora noticed that they weren't the only ones here. Many scouts ants were emerging from the holes in the sand and flying each in a different direction.

"Now, come, come! We have a lot of flying to do today!" Lau'fi urged. Liora nodded and followed. It frankly felt a bit odd. They had been pretty much going with the ants' flow ever since arriving. Liora wasn't even a scout, yet she was now scouting for the benefit of the ant colony. Then again, if Renir was buried in his books, then it wasn't like Liora could do anything about it. She didn't want to sit underground for two weeks, so scouting was a much preferable activity.

Still, it nagged at her how efficiently ants were using all of them. They would undoubtedly extract a lot of magical knowledge from Renir. Caspian's healing abilities would be put to good use. Cee's web weaving too. Although she wasn't sure how the ants could utilize Smokey. Liora was nervous. What if their goal was to split them up and overwhelm them? Maybe she was just overthinking it because their past encounters were decidedly unpleasant.

But there was a nagging feeling that she couldn't shake off, despite the pleasant breeze that ruffled her feathers.