chapter three-hundred twenty-four

    the atmosphere in the antkin enclave is tense while they wait for the hunters to return. aranya, larx, and folarn stick around and try to ease everyone’s nerves, but they can only do so much. it’s a big risk they’re taking, and vital for them to succeed if they’re going to finally fill those bars and become dwellers.

    the castes all try to keep themselves busy, trying to kill time with tasks that aren’t too important, lest they cause a mess by working while so distracted. even the deans are nervous, each trying to distract themselves in their own ways. when the hunting party finally returns, relief washes over the entire enclave before a cheer follows behind.

    they have some kind of weird buffalo thing with a coat a lot shaggier than i would have expected from something living in a volcanic region. they eventually drop it off with other workers for them to start butchering, before the hunters are called to the deans to tell the tale of their hunt.

    they seem a bit embarrassed about how simple the hunt was, but i at least am glad things went smoothly. their explanation of the incredible body heat of the beast makes me wonder if the coat is actually a thermal conductor, letting the bison draw in the ambient heat and store it for later, probably to be used by the tail in some way.

    the gear did well, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. it sounds like the sleeping spores could be a lot more potent, though that’s going to be a fine line to ride between making them more effective and not making them so effective that friendly fire becomes a big problem. the boar spear needs the guard lowered another foot or so, though nik the engineering dean suggests utilizing the quick swap heads to be able to put on a longer blade for larger foes. they’ll probably test both options more in the future.

    more pouches are requested, too. there’s apparently a lot of potential things to gather, yet everyone was only able to bring back one sample each. they all look interesting to me, though a quick scan of my warehouse shows my bats have already brought back those samples and more from their own expeditions. i should add a couple molten gardens or something to the labyrinth, see if i can get the herbalists as obsessed as the miners and smiths with the area.

    did you know this story is from royal road? read the official version for free and support the author.

    “i’m so happy to have been able to help a third of lord thedeim’s enclaves along their path, and to see the new and unique challenges you faced and overcame. as your castes show, you all have a wide range of talents and skills, but the thirst for knowledge is one of many things you all share. please never lose that thirst. as lord thediem has shown, there is always something new to discover, some mystery to uncover, some new path to explore. i and the other enclaves are eager to have more friends to do all that and more with.”

    polite applause follows as she steps back, letting headmaster ed come forward. “the details of our time as lord thedeim’s magmyrm have faded, but the lessons we learned are ingrained in our souls. cooperation. curiosity. compassion. we could not have achieved this without working together, and i think our points of stagnation showed this. we struggled to find a way to organize our cooperation at the start, and at the end, we had to all work together, playing to our strengths, to be able to find a way to sustain ourselves and not starve.

    “our college is testament to our curiosity, our drive to figure out how things work and apply that knowledge to the betterment of all. ranching, engineering, enchanting, medicine, alchemy; each to discover new wonders, and the workers to apply it. once again, we wouldn’t accomplish any of this without each other.

    “and we must never forget our compassion. many would use vile methods to discover some secret, some new morsel of knowledge, excusing to themselves that they would help so many more with just that one sacrifice. a single ant may not matter to the colony, but we are not mere ants any longer.” he looks to the deans to see if they have anything to add, but they each smile and shake their head in turn, letting the headmaster attend the entire college, as is his duty.

    he reaches up to the tassel hanging from the scholarly hat, swapping it from one side to the other, with all the antkin doing the same. the bars wink out once they finish, and the headmaster smiles with his mandibles wide as he proclaims: “we are antkin! we are dwellers! we will ever seek out the new and use it to improve for all!”

    every new antkin cheers and throws their hats into the air, and i couldn’t be prouder of their well-earned graduation. some antkin pick up the hats, while others leave them be, more interested in mingling than in a souvenir. the other two enclaves soon join them and see about having a party fit for a college, too. there’s also a smattering of kobolds in the crowd, enjoying the atmosphere of triumph, and i even spot parm as he picks up one of the hats.

    i’m looking forward to the day he can toss his own into the air to celebrate his graduation, too.