The north exit of the orc city was light on merchants and heavy on military. As we approached the outer gate, we saw units of orc city military as well as mercenary bands training together. Makeshift archery ranges, scrapping yards, and soldier tents filled every foot of empty space here.

Despite the dangers of the shadelands, there was a decent amount of foot traffic leaving and exiting the city gates.

Jungle awaited us outside the northern entrance, just as it had been to the south. As we traveled north, the vegetation lost color. Dead plants became more common. The weather greyed and the fog grew thicker.

Eventually, there was little vegetation left, save for mushrooms and assorted things, like peculiar thorny berried bushes that exhausted steam and long, curvaceous trees that swayed with the breeze. The ground had turned from green and brown to purple and blue.

“Hold on,” El said. She approached a large log. There were mushrooms and teal leafed herbs inside of it. She laid down and scraped out all the herbs. Six or so.

“Alice,” said Nessy. “It’s time.”

Alice nodded and handed me her bag. “I should only need a few days,” she said to Nessy, then turned to me. “I will find you.” Alice rolled up her sleeves and ran. Her bat wings gracefully formed and she was out of sight within seconds.

“We’re going to take this nice and easy until we have our map,” Nessy said. “You were here, when, Hamburger? A year ago?”

“There abouts.”

“Should we go up through Claris?”

“I like Antares.”

“Isn't that an ant town?” asked El.

“More like an ant city now,” said Hamburger.

“They're industrious little buggers,” said Nessy.

The Shadelands was a strange land. On one hand, you had frost covered pines and slow fall snow. Unimaginably light, like tiny feathers. But then you had rising warm breezes from volcanic mounds, which I later learned are called spigots, and smoldering bushes with white luminescent berries.

Walking along our particular path, you might think you were inside. Above you, sprawling thorny branches, interconnecting like mesh to form a woven sort of lattice across the whole of the sky.

“There's one,” said El.

Ahead of us was an ant.

“I'll get us a room,” Nessy said. She walked ahead while we waited behind.

I took a better look at the ant up ahead. He was about my height, stood up right on two legs, had large black eyes, and two arcing antennas. He had on glossy grey spiky armor, most prominent of all was his shoulder pads, and he held a sword and shield.

“She’s talking to a soldier to get a room?” I asked.

“Heh,” Hanburgered grunted. “Meet one, you meet ‘em all, kid.” He stomped his feet, trying to get a sticky mushroom off the bottom.

“Hive mind,” said El.

There was a distant thud. Somewhere ahead of us. We all were startled by it. Nessy paused her conversation with the ant and looked back at us. She finished up and ran back over.

“Remind me not to small talk with an ant next time. Anyway, we got a room.

We followed Nessy to meet up with the ant, who was waiting up ahead.

The ant town, or city, had no wall, though they had a sort of natural fortification having built their city along a steep ridge. It was by no means a large settlement geographically speaking, nor was it a tall city either, as the tallest building couldn’t have been more than three or four floors high. But, as I would later learn, the ants built quite extensively down. And that’s where the real society was. However, the subterranean was off limits to the non-ant.

As we entered the elevated plain, the ant escorting us abruptly departed and a new ant, this one wearing cloth garments, took his place. There were many ants busing about, but none looked up or reacted to us. As we passed a long row of ants, they paused to let us pass, and our cloth-wearing guide ant departed with another from that row of ants filling his spot.

In the process of our slow, silent arrival and delivery to the reception stump, as it was called, we were handed off at least seven times by different ants passing by. It was perhaps the strangest thing I’d seen that day.

As we entered the reception stump, four burly ants exited. The reception stump was an abandoned and repurposed Animists' Guild building — again, later learned — that was used by the ants to accommodate visitors. It had the appearance of a very large and stubby tree, but completely hollowed out with a roof made out of some sort of nesting material the ants used in their construction.

The interior was divided into quarters; a reception area, two guest rooms, and a split section providing a bathroom to the two respective rooms.

At the reception desk was an ant, who, upon our arrival, showed all three of us to room two. After we entered, the ant left us, closing our door behind him.

The bed there was neatly made, the room itself with all its fixtures were spit spot clean, and there was a small kitchen in the corner.

“What's the rate?” El asked Nessy. “Or even, the currency?”

“No currency, just barter. I gave em your herbs,” said Nessy.

“How many?”

“All of ‘em.”

“That was 30 silver worth, you idiot.”

“Wow, sassy today, El. I could get used to it.”

“It's been a long day.”

“Like I said, we'll talk about it in the morning.”

I looked over to find Hamburger. He was asleep in the bed.

El and Nessy ended up coaxing Hamburger onto the cold, stone floor and commandeering the bed. I was left to my own devices. I wasn't as tired as the others were, which I credited to my peaceful sleep the night before. And so, on a whim, I decided to leave the room.

The receptionist ant was a different ant than before. The prior one had only grey antennas, whereas this one had black. He watched me as I exited the guest room, and followed me with his gaze as I approached him.

“Hi,” I whispered, as it was quite late.

There was no response.

“The room is great.”

Nada. I suppose I had heard they weren't ones for small talk.

“Anyway, is anything still open?”

“Things do not close.”

“Great, what things are here?”

“The things available to you are the surface market and the surface stables.”

“The market, please.”

“Two copper deposit, please.”

“Nevermind. Is there anyone in that room?”

I got no answer.

“Can I go underground?”

The ant just stared at me.

“I'm sorry, it's just that I'm unable to sleep.”

“I could administer a sedative.”

“Oh no,” I took a step back, “that won't be— No.”

“Very well, enjoy your evening.”

“Well, which way to the market then?”

The ant nodded and then looked towards the door. After a moment, the door opened. It was another ant.

“I'll take you,” the ant said. Intriguingly, this ant seemed feminine.

I nodded to her, then slowly turned back to the receptionist. “Thank,” I turned back to the girl ant, “you.”

“You’re,” he said behind me.

“Welcome,” she finished.

“Does that mean you’re connected to the queen?” I asked the girl.

“There is no queen,” they both said in unison.

“Well then, who decides which of you to speak from, and what to say?”

“We do,” she said.

“This is awfully confusing.”

“Well you needn’t understand. To the market?”

“Why take us in?”

“We find it necessary for our survival to maintain relations.”

I followed her out the door and through the town towards the center. The town was no less busy than it had been before, which was remarkably busy. There was little noise, and certainly no chatter, across the whole of the city as far as I could tell. It was just tiny footsteps in unison.

I knew that it was creepy somewhere inside of me. But there was a calm here. I cannot explain it.

“You have no leader?”

“We do,” she said.

“Could I meet them?”

“It is deep underground.”

“Well, what is it?”

She turned and looked at me, then turned away. I found this to be quite remarkable. I know I only just met these ants, but that glance was something.

“Will you tell me? Or have you decided not to?”

“I’m not inclined to tell you.”

“What if I offer you information in exchange?”

“What information of value to us do you have to offer?”

“I can tell you about the jungle lands to the south, and the misty, hilly lands beyond. I have been to Edith and walked amongst vampires. I’ve sailed the sea and met the locals at the highman sea port. I’ve even been to the world renowned Stone Keep. I’ve been on a goblin train and I’ve walked within a goblin city, although it was quite brief. I’ve befriended a troll, I think. And I’ve been to the darklands.”

She stopped walking. The city became silent. I looked around and saw that every ant had stopped walking. And they were all looking at me. I felt a surge of panic. My instinct was to conceal it. I must maintain composure. Confidence. Strength.

Suddenly everything resumed as if it never stopped at all, and it was only me now that was frozen in time. My escort had her head turned, looking back at me as she continued walking. She then slowed her walk, turned, and wanted for me to catch up.

“What was that?” I asked.

“You startled me.”

“I promise you I am no threat.”

“You are alive.”

I wasn’t sure how she meant that. Did it mean I would have already been killed if they thought I was a threat or that I am a threat because I am not dead?

It seemed like a good time not to press my luck. But I never worried too much about good timing.

“Would you like to exchange information or not?” I asked.

“I’m considering it. Would you still like to visit the market?”

“Sure.”

I continued following her. Comically, we were only about 10 steps away from the market as it were. It consisted of four stalls and one merchant. One stall contained what looked like food. The second stall contained cloth, leather, and blankets. The third was empty. And the fourth contained parchments, books, scrolls.

“Hm,” I muttered, approaching the fourth stall. “May I?” I turned to my escort.

But she had left. It was only me and the merchant ant now, who looked like just about any other ant.

The merchant ant nodded.

I picked up a book entitled “Frost and Other Such Things”. I flipped through the pages. It was a book entirely about frost.

“What is this?” I asked, holding up the book.

“I don’t know,” said the ant. Not the best salesman.

“Well how am I to pay for any of this?” I asked.

“Quests.”

I had absolutely no intention to buy any of this stuff, the least of which a book about frost and ‘other such things’. I don’t even know how to interpret what ‘a book on frost’ actually means, and I was far too bored with the idea to read any more than a few words at a time within it.

But I wanted to understand this quest-barter system. And perhaps it would give me a better idea of what to expect for whatever Nessy had in store for us tomorrow.

“Okay,” I nodded. “What must I do for this book?”

“Bring thirty-two specks of epiphany from storage to intake.”

“What is epiphany?”

“For our purposes, it is energy in mineral form.”

I placed the book back and picked up another one. This one was entitled “The Darkness Between the Stars”. I flipped it open. But the pages were blank. All of them. There wasn’t a word here except for the title.

“Why is this one blank?”

“I don’t know.”

“What is the quest for this one?”

“Why?” the ant asked.

Now, perhaps it may not be clear to you why the ant’s simple question was so astonishing to me. These ants, as I hope I’ve conveyed, are not inquisitive creatures. In living amongst them just for this short time, I naturally began to treat them almost like you might a robot or computer. Logical, non-individual. There was never the quirkiness or curiosity you’d expect in conversation. Until that one simple question. And it had me floored.

“Not for sale,” the ant added.

“Then why is it here?”

No answer. You know, I might adopt this trait of theirs. Just ignore difficult questions. That must be nice.

“I'm offended,” I said.

“I apologize.”

“Why take me here, to this market, and show me items for sale, then wait for me to express interest in an item, and then tell me it's not for sale? Do you realize how insulting that is?”

Yep, he was silent.

The silence treatment did nothing to satiate my frustration. If anything, it fed the flames and drove me further.

“Tell me the price.” I tucked the book under my arm.

“Enter the catacombs, descend, and stop the anomaly,” the merchant ant replied.

“What does that mean?”

“Which part?”

“All of it? I mean— first of all, is this quest dangerous?”

“Not any more than that book.”

“Not sure if to be less or more worried by that.”

“Prudent to always carry a little worry.”

“Dude,” chuckled. Oh I lost my mind long ago. “What is the anomaly?”

“An ant.”

“Oh. Is he dangerous?”

“Yes.”

I scoffed then thought for a moment. “Dangerous to me?”

“Probably not.”

“Oh, you're infuriating.” I couldn't help but smile. These fucking guys. “So where is it?”

“Follow me,” a voice from behind me.

I rolled my eyes and followed the new ant, taking the book with me.

I was taken across the city to a corner that sat a bit higher than the surrounding area.

“Enter the catacombs, descend, and stop the anomaly,” the ant said.

I shook my head. Seemed like as good as an adventure as any. I really needed someone that wasn’t there to stop me. I wanted this damn book. I wanted to complete my own quest. I’ll go slow. I’ll be careful. And if anything seemed even the slightest bit dangerous, I’ll turn back.

“If I enter and decide to change my mind, I can turn around and exit. Yes?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and then I walked in.