The Migration, Part Two

Rowan led the migrating swarm to the safe route they had discovered last time. After a brief rest, the army set off.

The little Black Armored Beetles were no use for this part, so Rowan picked out some of the larger Worker Ants and spread them around the Mother Nest. Each one bit down on a corner, and then all the insects heaved together, lifting the Mother Nest and inching it toward the Cliff.

Rowan walked at the front, essentially bracing the Mother Nest from below with his body. Seven or eight ants around it kept it steady, preventing it from losing its balance.

The other insects gradually caught up as the Mother Nest made its way down to the Cliff.

The Swarm moved slowly along the Cliff. Rowan used his mandibles and Digging Leg to brace the Mother Nest, bearing its enormous weight. Even his large frame and thick limbs were struggling under the strain.

As if things weren't bad enough, just as the Swarm reached the middle of the Cliff, the gentle breeze began to strengthen. The migrating army started to lose members.

As the wind picked up, some ants had the pupae or larvae in their mouths blown away. Others simply lost their grip on the Cliff and plunged down, vanishing in an instant.

Rowan had no time to worry about the other insects; he was in grave danger himself. Two of the ants biting the Mother Nest had been blown away. Three others still had their mandibles clamped tightly around it, but their bodies were swinging in the wind.

With several ants losing their grip, the Mother Nest's center of gravity shifted. The three remaining ants and Rowan couldn't keep it steady in the gale.

The Mother Nest tipped over Rowan's head and fell behind him. He clamped his jaws around it, trying to hold it back, but failed. The force of its fall knocked him off the Cliff, and it dragged him down with it.

As they fell, the strong wind blew them off course. Fortunately, Rowan and the Mother Nest were heavy, and the drop was only about twenty meters. By the time they landed in the grass below, they hadn't strayed far from their intended destination.

The grass cushioned their fall, and the Mother Nest was sturdy, so it wasn't damaged. Rowan had survived several falls before, so he was fine too.

Five Worker Ants were still clinging to the Mother Nest as it fell with them. They were lighter, and although they were a little dazed from the impact, they hadn't suffered any serious injuries.

Rowan led them in digging a hole. First, they buried the Mother Nest, then began marking the base of the Cliff with pheromones to guide the Swarm.

Unfortunately, by nightfall they had gathered only a few dozen insects: two little Black Armored Beetles, one Excavator Ant, and the rest ordinary Worker Ants, along with a small number of larvae and pupae.

With no other choice, they spent the night where they were. They gathered insects for another full day, finding a few dozen more. Together with those from the previous day, they had only a little over a hundred.

The trek along the Cliff had been a disaster. After a week crossing the desert, they had lost only a little over a hundred insects. But here at the Cliff, in the space of a brief while, they had lost several hundred.

There was no point continuing the search. Fortunately, the Mother Nest was unharmed. After resting another night, Rowan led the surviving insects in digging it up, and they set off for their new nest.

The Swarm's dwindling numbers weren't entirely a bad thing. Most of the survivors were robust adults, with only a small number of larvae and pupae. Rowan dragged the Mother Nest at the front, with little Black Armored Beetles and several ants beneath it. Without so many stragglers slowing them down, the group moved noticeably faster, and was also much smaller.

He had worried that there were too many insects. Once they crossed several Ant Nests and reached the area between them, it would be hard to stay hidden. Now, that was no longer a concern.

The new nest wasn't far from the Cliff, only about three or four hundred meters away. The streamlined migration party reached it in very little time.

Along the way, they ran into several Scout Worker Ants from some unknown nest. After enjoying a demonstration of Rowan's talents, they gave up their lives and became a welcome meal for the hungry group.

Once they arrived, Rowan assigned two Excavator Ants to start digging. One had been found on the first day, and the other on the second. The Worker Ants helped by carrying the excavated soil out of the tunnel.

Rowan, meanwhile, went out and circled the site of the New Insect Nest, spreading pheromones under different identities. He marked the area as off-limits to reduce the chances of Scout Ants coming near and disturbing the insects at work.

With Rowan helping, the New Insect Nest was dug out much faster. Back when he was alone and dragging a Mother Nest, he had still managed to slowly dig out an old home. Now he was several times bigger and had dozens of strong helpers.

A mound of soil gradually built up at the entrance, made up of dirt carried out from the tunnels. Perhaps because the site was close to a water source, the soil was very damp, and the underground environment was humid.

Rowan remembered that when he had infiltrated several nearby nests, many places inside were covered with fine sand and wood shavings. He had also seen many ants carrying moldy wood shavings out of their nests.

He hadn't understood why at the time. Now that he was doing the work himself, he immediately saw the benefit. He marveled that although ants had little intelligence, the long passage of time had taught them some ways to survive, which they had gradually passed down.

These practices were the crystallized wisdom of ages. Rowan had been an insect for only a short time, so absorbing the knowledge accumulated over so long was the best way to build up his experience.

The pheromone perimeter worked very well. Not a single Scout Worker Ant came near by evening.

By then, the insects had dug a small chamber seven or eight meters underground. They didn't want to stop there, but any deeper and water began seeping through the soil, which was also too unstable and at risk of collapsing.

Even the nest at its current depth would need extensive reinforcement later, or it would pose plenty of safety risks.

The New Insect Nest wasn't finished and couldn't be occupied yet, so Rowan dug a temporary chamber a little over a meter underground and moved the Mother Nest inside.

If danger struck, they could bury the Mother Nest and scatter in different directions to draw attention away, ensuring its safety.

The odds of an attack were low, but they still needed to take the proper safety precautions.

He went out and put on a display of his talents, bringing back some spectators as a meal for the others. He also fed some to the Mother Nest.

The simple nest should be finished tomorrow. Once it had been reinforced a little, they could move in for the time being. The Mother Nest would then resume production, and the Swarm would need plenty of insects for all the work ahead: reinforcing and expanding the nest, as well as digging transport tunnels to connect the various Ant Nests.