wrong perception of how the ants were organized, Durik couldn’t sit
still.
Standing,
Durik caught the young Krall’s attention. “Yes, Durik of the Kale Gen? Do you
have something to add to this?”
“I
do,” he said as he lifted and opened the bag that had been sitting next to his
chair. “While I agree with much of your plan, I think your guess on how
they’ll act once the queen is dead is a bit off.”
“And
how do you believe they’ll act then,” Krall said, barely keeping his skepticism
in check.
“Well,”
Durik started as he pulled the queen’s singed head out of the bag, eliciting
gasps from all but the hardened warriors in the room, “as soon as Jerrig Queen
Slayer here killed her, the entire rest of the colony came after us with an
almost insane vengeance. They were so intent on catching and killing us, in
fact, that the only thing that stopped their progress was the Great River, swollen with the early spring runoff. And then the first fifty or so of their
hunters died trying to cross it in their fury.”
To
his credit, Krall dropped his incredulousness. He was as taken aback by the
dramatic display as was everyone else. After a moment, he spoke in more
earnest tones. “Well, I see. Tell me, in light of this new revelation what do
you think the ant colony will be doing now and how do you think we should take
it on?”
Durik
took a moment to calm himself and to think before speaking. “I am not sure how
the queen ant became the queen ant, but I’d imagine that nature has a way of
making new queen ants. Whatever process it is that they go through, that
process must be starting now. I think that the fury of the hunter ants and the
fact that we only saw one of their ant commanders on our tail seems to suggest
that the rest of the ant commanders are about the process of making another
queen. It’ll probably be one of them, I’d imagine.
“From
what we’ve seen, all the smaller ants only act in unison when they’ve got an
ant commander there to coordinate them. I don’t know how they communicate, but
it’s like as if the commander is speaking to their minds. Once that commander
is killed, the smaller ants mill about like they don’t know what to do.
“The
hunter ants, on the other hand, are independently intelligent. They go
scouting about and will fight on their own. Oh, and the queen’s warrior
guards, whatever may be left of them, will also act mostly independently. So,
really, the only ants you have to worry about are the hunters, perhaps a small
number of queen’s guards, and the ant commanders.
“Since
their ant commanders are probably tied up with the process of making a new
queen, now might be the time to go to the colony and take out their hunters.
Once their hunters are taken out, the colony is essentially blind. Then find
high, defensible places that overlook the colony, like their hilltops, and wait
for the rest to come. Once the ant commanders are in sight kill them
immediately with volleys of arrows. Then once there’s no more commanders left,
clean up the rest of the confused and disorganized workers.”
Krall
slowly nodded his agreement. “Durik of the Kale Gen, your vision in this
matter is rather clear. I will take your advice into consideration.” He then
turned his attention back to the council. “What forces will you commit, my
brothers in arms? What will you commit to secure our future?”
After
a short time Krall got the warrior contingent leaders to commit themselves and
fifty warriors each to his war party. The atmosphere in the hall was one of
courage and confidence that they would easily defeat the ant threat. After
deciding on a time for the warrior leaders and himself to meet the next day to
continue the planning, Krall stood in thought for a moment. Finally, content
with the results of his speech and the reaction to it, Krall turned the floor
over to his brother.
Acting
with all the
still.
Standing,
Durik caught the young Krall’s attention. “Yes, Durik of the Kale Gen? Do you
have something to add to this?”
“I
do,” he said as he lifted and opened the bag that had been sitting next to his
chair. “While I agree with much of your plan, I think your guess on how
they’ll act once the queen is dead is a bit off.”
“And
how do you believe they’ll act then,” Krall said, barely keeping his skepticism
in check.
“Well,”
Durik started as he pulled the queen’s singed head out of the bag, eliciting
gasps from all but the hardened warriors in the room, “as soon as Jerrig Queen
Slayer here killed her, the entire rest of the colony came after us with an
almost insane vengeance. They were so intent on catching and killing us, in
fact, that the only thing that stopped their progress was the Great River, swollen with the early spring runoff. And then the first fifty or so of their
hunters died trying to cross it in their fury.”
To
his credit, Krall dropped his incredulousness. He was as taken aback by the
dramatic display as was everyone else. After a moment, he spoke in more
earnest tones. “Well, I see. Tell me, in light of this new revelation what do
you think the ant colony will be doing now and how do you think we should take
it on?”
Durik
took a moment to calm himself and to think before speaking. “I am not sure how
the queen ant became the queen ant, but I’d imagine that nature has a way of
making new queen ants. Whatever process it is that they go through, that
process must be starting now. I think that the fury of the hunter ants and the
fact that we only saw one of their ant commanders on our tail seems to suggest
that the rest of the ant commanders are about the process of making another
queen. It’ll probably be one of them, I’d imagine.
“From
what we’ve seen, all the smaller ants only act in unison when they’ve got an
ant commander there to coordinate them. I don’t know how they communicate, but
it’s like as if the commander is speaking to their minds. Once that commander
is killed, the smaller ants mill about like they don’t know what to do.
“The
hunter ants, on the other hand, are independently intelligent. They go
scouting about and will fight on their own. Oh, and the queen’s warrior
guards, whatever may be left of them, will also act mostly independently. So,
really, the only ants you have to worry about are the hunters, perhaps a small
number of queen’s guards, and the ant commanders.
“Since
their ant commanders are probably tied up with the process of making a new
queen, now might be the time to go to the colony and take out their hunters.
Once their hunters are taken out, the colony is essentially blind. Then find
high, defensible places that overlook the colony, like their hilltops, and wait
for the rest to come. Once the ant commanders are in sight kill them
immediately with volleys of arrows. Then once there’s no more commanders left,
clean up the rest of the confused and disorganized workers.”
Krall
slowly nodded his agreement. “Durik of the Kale Gen, your vision in this
matter is rather clear. I will take your advice into consideration.” He then
turned his attention back to the council. “What forces will you commit, my
brothers in arms? What will you commit to secure our future?”
After
a short time Krall got the warrior contingent leaders to commit themselves and
fifty warriors each to his war party. The atmosphere in the hall was one of
courage and confidence that they would easily defeat the ant threat. After
deciding on a time for the warrior leaders and himself to meet the next day to
continue the planning, Krall stood in thought for a moment. Finally, content
with the results of his speech and the reaction to it, Krall turned the floor
over to his brother.
Acting
with all the
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