For the first 24 hours they were constantly on the move... repelling down the monstrous vertical shaft that was their 'road' to the lost Cthrain city. Muscles bulged and sweat poured from wrinkled, tired brows as they descended... their pace was frighteningly fast for some, and maddeningly slow for others. The first day passed without incident... and without any indication that they were getting any closer to the bottom. As far as they could tell, there WAS no bottom. Even Rath's keen eyes couldn't detect the rocky floor that must have been many miles below them.

"Dear gods," said Sutton as he paused to look down. The light from Krycek's floating light-globes illiminated the shaft for a long distance... yet there was no sign of an end. "How deep IS this thing?"

"Very," replied Dokan. The old man was sliding past Sutton on an adjacent rope.

"Yeah... this part ain't bad. What bothers me is how we're supposed to get UP."

"The same way we went down," said Dokan as he moved out of earshot. "Only in reverse!"

Dokan hated to admit it to himself, but he was having fun. As one of the greatest thieves and escape-artists on Iffrean he had done his share or rock-climbing and high-altitude acrobatics. True, his strength and endurance wasn't what it used to be, but he was still the physical equal of most men one-third his age. And mentally... well... Dokan could only smile when he thought of it. While the other climbers used regular rope and climbing spikes, Dokan was using a thin metal cord run through a system of pulleys he'd designed himself. The cord was three times as strong as rope... nearly unbreakable under the current usage. The smaller diameter meant that it would tangle and bind more easily, but for someone with Dokan's skill, that wasn't even a factor. Alone, he could descend this wall at three times the rate he was moving now. And if he'd been twenty-five years younger, he'd probably be at the bottom already. But, along with the slower reflexes of age came patience and wisdom. Wisdom told him that, if he REALLY wanted to get to the bottom, he'd simply construct a parachute or glider and let gravity do its work. Patience told him that there really wasn't any hurry... the bottom would still be there when they reached it.

Dokan looked above him at the other climbers. Thonia and Lara, the group's only two females, were bringing up the rear. Just below them was Krycek... the mage was using his spells to reduce the weight of the group's heavy equipment, making it easier for the workmen below him to maneuver it down the wall. It took a lot of effort for the mage to climb AND use magic... both at a demanding, unceasing pace. Krycek didn't complain once, he kept going along with the others, never once slowing down or asking for a break. That earned him Dokan's respect. Not trust... but respect.

Krycek was a sharp contrast to most of Princeton Park's crew. The band of ruffians complained constantly... so much so that Dokan slowed his own pace in order to remain out of earshot.

"Okay, that's it," said Slick... a dark-haired man in his early thirties. Dokan had recognized him for what he was almost instantly: a petty con-man. It was the end of the first day's climb, and Slick looked like he'd just escaped from some sadistic torture-master's playroom. "We've been climbing for DAYS!"

"Twenty-four hours," said Dokan. He paused to check his pocketwatch. "Exactly."

"We need rest, damn ye!" added Red. A short, burly cut-throat who had the extreme lack-of-forsight to bring his heavy war-axe on a grueling climb.

"We keep moving!" said Princeton Park. Park was near the bottom of the group. He was obviously tired, but his face had a frenzied, driven look that told Dokan that the man was going to be trouble on this trip. Big trouble. He was far too eager for his own good. "Keep moving... we can climb for another twelve hours before we rest!"

"Speak for YOURSELF down there!" Sutton yelled from further up. "YOU ain't handling all this equipment."

"I loaned you my mage, what else do you WANT!"

"These men do indeed need rest," said the Rune Missionary. The dark-skinned mountain of a man was climbing just beneath the workers. "To push them further would invite accidents and injury."

"And just WHERE do you plan on getting this rest?" said Princeton. He waved his free hand around at the rock walls. "Did we pass a bed-and-breakfast somewhere that I missed?"

The men... most of them, anyway... turned to Dokan. He looked into their eyes and made a decision.

"We rest here," he said.

"HOW!?"

"I will show you..."

Dokan climbed back up to the equipment and began to unpack more ropes and climbing spikes. He showed everyone how to secure themselves to the rock and hang freely in their harnesses. It took another two hours for everyone... and the equipment... to get properly secured. Then they hung there... clinging to the massive rock wall like insects. When they awoke, everyone's muscles were cramped and sore and painful... but they were reasonably well rested.

The climb continued.

The second day brought a steady drop in temperature. The air got colder and colder as they descended. For most of the day, the heat of the men's own exertions kept them warm. Finally they had to break out the furs. Soon afterwards, the cold began to have detrimental effects on the climb. Finger, toes and hands grew numb. Seerig, one of Thonia's slaves, lost his grip and fell. His rope trailed behind him, still attached to a spike several yards above. It would have stopped his fall, but it would have also slammed him into the rock wall hard enough to kill him. Fortunately it never came to that. The Rune Missionary reached out and snatched the man out of mid air. He pulled the slave to him and held him until Seerig regained his balance The slave started climbing again. He never said a word...and neither did Thonia. They all acted as if the incident never happened.

They rested gain after another twenty hours, then continued their descent.

The third day brought an unexpected change. The temperature, which had continued to drop during the first half of the day, began to gradually rise during the second. Dokan Maxwell was the second person to notice.

"Getting warmer," said Rath... one of Princeton Park's crew. The enigmatic mercenary was looking down as if he'd seen something. There was nothing there... both the top AND bottom of the shaft were completely out of sight.

"You're right," said Dokan. "A degree or two in the past hour."

"What's it mean?" said Sutton.

"It means we're close to something," Princeton answered. "Probably a lava-flow."

"Lava?" said Slick. "As in VOLCANO?! THAT kinda lava?"

"Yes," said Princeton. "Probably below us, with the heat rising straight up this shaft."

"Oh, GREAT!" said Slick.

"The fact that we have not all burnt to cinders means that we are still a great distance away," said Dokan. "Wouldn't you agree, Dr. Park?"

"Almost halfway to the bottom, I'd say."

"ALMOST!?" Sutton yelled. "Almost HALFWAY!? You can't expect us to keep going like we've been for THREE MORE DAYS!"

"This expedition has been greatly simplified, Mr. Sutton," said Dokan. "Obviously, the lava marks the end of our descent."

"OBVIOUSLY!"

"And we have seen no caves or tunnels off of this main shaft. Therefore, either we will find our lost passage to the Cthrain city in the next three days, or we will reach the lava and begin to climb back up toward Montfort."

"And we're wasting time!" said Princeton.

They continued downward. Dokan increased his pace and moved down the very bottom of the group, where Cole and Hendrix, two of the more trustworthy cut-throats... if there was such a thing... were securing the spikes and hooks into the rock. Princeton Park gave Dokan a dirty look as the old man slid past... but Dokan ignored him.

"Do you two gentlemen need any help?" said Dokan.

"We got it," said Cole.

"You've got a lot of responsibility," said Dokan. "Securing these ropes and spikes for the others to use. If you get tired..."

"We ain't tired," said Cole.

Dokan knew they were lying. He could see Hendrix's hand shaking as he drove in the next spike. He could also see something else.

"What is that?" he pointed at a spot on the wall several yards below them. It looked like a shadow... but, of course, there was nothing there to CAST a shadow.

"We'll see when we get down there, won't we?" said Cole. Dokan nodded, and decided to stick with them for now. He didn't want anyone falling to their deaths because of an improperly-set spike. AND he wanted to see what was on the wall.

It only took a few moments to reach.

"A hole," Dokan mused. The dark spot was a hole in the rock slightly smaller in diameter than a man's fist.

"The real question is, what made it?"

"It's just a hole, man" Cole said with a shrug. "And a pretty convenient one at that." Cole drove the next climbing spike into the preexisting hole, yanked on it to make sure it was secure, and moved down. Dokan moved with him.

"Hey," said Hendrix. It was the first time Dokan had heard the small, suspiscious-looking man speak. Hendrix was pointing to another circular hole, roughly the same size as the first.

In fact, it was EXACTLY the same size as the first.

"Very curious..." said Dokan.

"And STILL very convenient," said Cole. He was about to drive his next spike in when Dokan grabbed his arm.

"Hold for a moment."

"What's going ON down there!" Princeton Park shouted. He'd obviously seen Dokan halt the climbers progress. "We don't' want to HANG here all year!"

"THATS for sure," added Sutton.

"I think we may have a problem," said Dokan. Dokan's cane was tucked into his pack, he pulled it out and stuck the end into the hole. The entire cane disappeared down to the handle, which was too large to pass through. Dokan yanked his staff back and examined it.

"Okay," said Cole. "So its a DEEP hole."

"WHAT is the problem!" Princeton shouted. He'd just lowered himself to where Dokan, Hendrix and Cole were hanging. Rath was right behind him.

"Old man don't like holes," said Cole. Beside him, Hendrix chuckled.

"The problem is that a hole this deep into the rock is BOUND to affect the structural integrity of this wall. It could collapse and take us with it."

"You're gettin' senile old man," said Cole. "This is solid rock. It'd take DOZENS of these things to weaken it enough to be dangerous. All WE'VE found is two!"

"Three," said Rath. The merc pointed to his left, where there was another hole. Then he pointed slightly below and to the right of the third hole- "Four. Five. Six." He indicated several more shadows a slight distance away- "Seven. Eight." Then he started pointing out others that only HIS sharp eyes could see- "...nineteen... twenty...twenty-one..."

"Okay, I get the picture," said Cole.

"Are these things dangerous?" said Princeton.

"Not yet," Cole replied. "But there DO seem to be more and more of them further down."

"What I'd like to know is what made them," said Dokan. "They're circular... and deep... with no apparent pattern. Perhaps a pattern will emerge later, but by then the wall may be so filled with holes that it would be unclimbable."

"Until THEN, we can use 'em as hand and foot-holds," said Cole. "They'll make for an easier climb."

"I'm not sticking my fingers in any strange holes!" Princeton objected.

"Maybe that's your problem, Doc." said Cole. Again, Hendrix chuckled.

"Let me have a look at this." Rath slid further down on his rope and got eye-level with the hole. He pressed his face against the stone and peered in.

"Careful," said Princeton. "I saw a man loose an eye like that once."

"I'll just grow a new one," Rath replied. "I can't see anything. Nothing that gives off any heat, anyway."

"Happy now?" said Cole.

Dokan nodded.

"We may proceed," he said. "With caution."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," said Cole. It's a long way down.

The five of them, Princeton, Rath, Dokan, Cole and Hendrix, stayed together at the bottom of the group as the descent began again. They moved just as fast as they had before, but both Rath and Dokan eyed the numerous holes with obvious suspicion. Dokan didn't like them. He had no idea what they were... whether they were caused by some curious geological force or by something living. He suspected the latter, but, other than the holes themselves, there was no evidence that there was anything alive down here but the climbers. But by the time evidence presented itself, it may be too late.

Over the next few hours the holes grew more and more prevalent. Their number doubled in the first hour, and then doubled again during the second. After that, the number of holes seemed to increase exponentially... every square yard of rock had at least one hole in it for as far as they eye could see. Soon that number increased to two holes... then three... then seven and eight...

"I'm a lot less comfortable with this than I was before," said Dokan.

"Stop worrying," said Cole. "I'm testing these holes as I come to 'em. None have given way yet. The wall is still solid."

"I wasn't referring to the weakening of the wall."

"...whatever..."

Dokan turned to Rath.

"I take it that your hearing is as good as your eyesight?"

"Yeah," said Rath.

"If you hear anything... anything at all..."

"You'll be one of the first to know."

The next hour brought even more holes... and something new. Rath and Dokan saw it at the same time, although Rath undoubtedly had a better view of it with his enhanced vision.

"Look at that one," said Dokan. He pointed to a spot on the wall far around to their right. It was another hole, similar to the several hundred others that surrounded them. Only this one was bigger. Much bigger. The hole was large enough for a grown man to stick his entire head through.

"That's a big one, all right," said Cole. "Probably as deep as the others."

"Looks like a miniature cave," said Princeton.

"We should get a closer look-"

"No, absolutely not" Princeton snapped. "We climb... straight down, just like we've been doing. No time for detours and sightseeing."

"There's nothing in it," said Rath. He was squinting at the larger hole. Then he looked up at Dokan. "I don't hear anything either. Yet."

"Lets go, let's go!" Princeton waved his free arm frantically.

They kept going, against Dokan's better judgement. The holes increased in number, and over the next hour Dokan got ample opportunity to study the larger holes up close as the party climbed past more and more of them. They revealed just as much as the smaller ones.... absolutely nothing. Toward the end of the third day the holes had become so numerous that the wall looked less like rock and more like a gray sponge. But it was not Dokan's growing reservations about their surroundings that brought the group to a halt, it was the sudden sound of cracking rock, followed by a shout from above.

"LOOK OUT!" yelled Zackery.

Dokan didn't look. He just moved. The old thief planted his feet on the rock and pushed away. He swung out into the air just as Rath was shoving Princeton Park violently to one side.

"HEY!" Princeton protested... not realizing that Rath had just saved his life-

WHOOOOSSHH!!

A large bundle of equipment had broken free. It, along with a sizeable portion of the wall to which it had been attached, roared down past the climbers. It struck the wall and knocked even more rock free... creating a shower of stone that quickly vanished below them. If Dokan hadn't moved, it would have taken him along with it. The same would have happened to Princeton if Rath hadn't shoved him aside. Rath barely managed to twist to one side and avoid the falling load of equipment and debris. The arc of Dokan's swing carried him back toward the mercenary. Dokan hugged the rock and quickly steadied himself.

"Are you all right?" he asked Rath. Rath nodded.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" said Princeton. Rath's shove had caused Dr. Park to become entangled in his own harness. For several seconds, he twisted around in the air as if his limbs were being moved by some drunken puppeteer.

"What did we loose?" Dokan called.

"Half our water!" Sutton yelled in response. "And most of our digging equipment! The rock just gave way!"

"Krycek!" yelled Park. "You couldn't CATCH that thing!?"

"Two days ago, perhaps," said the mage. "But not now. Magic has limits... even mine." It was true, even the light from Krycek's floating globes was much dimmer than it had been when they started. ALL the men were tired... Dokan doubted that he could keep up this pace for much longer. Lara, Rath, and the Amazon could probably out-last him. Everyone else... even the Rune Missionary... looked ready to drop within the hour.

"I think now would be a good time to rest again," said Dokan.

"I'm not gonna HANG here another night!" protested Slick.

"We have no other alternative."

"I say we FIND one," said Rath. He leaned closer to Dokan... "I hear something."

"Something like what?"

"I don't know... crackling... crunching. Very faint. It started just after that equipment fell...almost like it stirred up something down there."

"Probably more rock giving way," said Cole.

"Maybe," said Rath. "But I don't think so."

Dokan tried to hear what sound Rath was referring to, but he couldn't. He could only hear the mumbling of the men.

"Whatever it is, must still be far away. I can't hear it."

"I still don't suggest hanging here in the open," said Rath.

"Well what do you expect us to DO?" said Princeton.

"Krycek, do you think you can manage a little more light... we need to see what's below us."

A second after Dokan made his request, a large ball of light floated down past the climbers. The abysmal darkness below them vanished, revealing more of the shaft's hole-riddled walls.

"More of the same," said Cole.

"No... there..." Dokan pointed. About 100 yards below them was a large dark place on the wall. A cave... roughly circular just like all the other, smaller holes. The rock just above it was cracked from where the falling bundle of equipment had struck. A large portion of the rock had fallen away to reveal the cave's entrance.

"Will that do, Mr. Rath?"

"Won't know till we get there."

"GENTLEMEN!" Dokan shouted up to the others. "There is shelter nearby... 100 yards! If it's suitable, we can rest for as long as we need!"

"Not TOO long," Princeton mumbled.

"LEAD THE WAY!" Sutton called.

The 'cave' was on the opposite side of the shaft from where the climbers were, so in addition to another hundred yards of climbing, the men had to painstakingly make their way laterally around the shaft's wall. That proved tricky, especially with added burden of their extreme fatigue. Yet, they made it without loosing a man or any more equipment.

The cave's entrance was over seven feet in diameter, and the tunnel beyond went far into the gloomy darkness. Not that the men cared... most of them dropped as soon as their feet touched solid ground.

"Oh, THANK THE GODS!" Voefeld sighed. He stretched out on the ground and pressed his lips to the rocky floor. Thonia and her slaves hauled the remaining equipment into the cave, while Rath scouted the immediate area. Those men who didn't fall asleep immediately had to light torches in order to see... Krycek's globes faded and vanished before they could make it inside. The mage sat down, leaned his back against the wall, and went into some kind of meditative state that only Dokan could differentiate from actual sleep.

While the men rested and chewed on their rations, Dokan grabbed a torch and wandered further into the cave in search of Rath. He found him after only a few minutes. Rath was standing alone, gazing into the long stretch of darkness before him.

"Anything?" said Dokan.

"No. Can't see or hear anything. The noises I heard earlier are gone."

The two men stood silently for a few moments.

"We should still be cautious," said Rath. "Get someone to take first watch while I scout more of this cave. When I return I'll take second watch."

"You don't need sleep?"

"Of course I do. But this is more important."

"I'll take first watch myself," said Dokan.

"Don't fall asleep," Rath replied. "Something might come creeping out of this cave... and it might not be me."

"Don't worry. You aren't the only one who has a bad feeling about this."

Rath walked forward and was soon gone from the light of Dokan's torch. Dokan waited until he couldn't hear the mercenary's footsteps any longer, then rejoined the others.

"Interesting fellow, no?" said Krycek. The mage's eyes were still closed as he worked to restore his mental energy. Everyone else was sound asleep.

"Very," Dokan replied.

"Almost as interesting as you."

"How so?"

"How'd you know this cave was here?"

"I didn't. We got lucky."

"I don't believe in luck," said Krycek. "Fate, perhaps. But not luck."

"That's funny," Dokan replied. "I don't believe in fate."

"Mmmm..." Krycek didn't say anything else. Dokan wondered what the mage was thinking. He ALSO wondered why Krycek was here. He didn't seem the type to sell his skills for money, and it was clear that he didn't REALLY take any orders from Princeton Park. Krycek was here for his own reasons.

"'Mmmm', Indeed," Dokan whispered. He picked his way through the sleeping figures toward where Lara was laying. The small girl was curled up in a sleeping bag... sound asleep. Not PRETENDING to be asleep... but ACTUALLY asleep. Dokan decided not to bother her.

Rath returned to the camp exactly two hours later. Dokan was still awake, as he had promised.

"Anything?"

"No," replied Rath. The mercenary sat down and said nothing more.

"I suggest Krycek or the Missionary for third watch," said Dokan. Rath nodded.

Dokan stretched out on the rock floor rested. He slowed his mind and body down as much as he could without actually going to sleep. His eyes were tightly closed, yet he was well aware of the sounds around him... mostly the snoring of the others. He didn't hear Rath move during the entire two-hour shift. Krycek took the next watch, and the Missionary took the one that followed.

The men rested for sixteen hours, most of which they spent asleep. The hard climb had worn them out. Dokan knew that they wouldn't be able keep nearly the same pace on the way up. IF they went up the same way...

"Which direction does this cave lead?" he asked Rath as their respite neared its seventeenth hour.

"Flat for a while, then down."

"Hmmm..." said Princeton, who had entered the conversation despite the fact that no one was speaking to him. "Hoping to use this cave for a more comfortable descent?"

"No," Dokan replied. "Actually I was hoping that it would lead back up towards the surface."

"Giving up so soon, old man?"

"No, Dr. Park, I am merely taking note of things that may be useful during our return trip. Our ascent will be considerably harder than what we've experienced so far."

"We'll worry about that when we get to it," said Princeton. "We've rested long enough... we should start climbing again. Now."

"This cavern deserves further exploration," said Krycek... also a new addition to the 'private' conversation between Rath and Dokan. "We should find out where it goes."

"We may not like what we find at the other end," said Rath.

"But it IS going in the same direction we are," added Dokan. "Down. The 'other end' may be our intended destination... via a longer but less grueling route. Or possibly the ONLY route... we do not know that there ARE any more caves further down the shaft."

"This could be the road to the Cthrain city," said Krycek. "We won't know until we explore it."

Princeton considered for a moment, then agreed.

"GET YOUR HAND OUTTA MY POCKET!" came a shout from the camp. Zackery, one of Dokan's men, had drawn his sword and was glaring menacingly at Red.

"My hand wasn't IN your pocket, boy!" said Red. "I don't pick pockets; If I wanted your money I'd just cleave your skull down the middle and take it off or your rotting corpse!"

Meanwhile, Hendrix was sneaking back over to his sleeping bag... with Zackery's money pouch held tightly in his grasp.

Dokan sighed and shook his head.

"If they're rested enough to cause trouble, they're rested enough to continue."

While Rath separated Zackery and Red, Dokan made his way through the camp, telling each man of their plan to abandon the shaft and explore the cave they were in. Most were glad to hear it. As he was speaking to Cole and Hendrix, Dokan managed to secretly remove Zackery's money pouch from Hendrix's possessions. A few minutes later, after just having spoken to Dokan, Zackery found his missing pouch tucked into the bottom of his backpack.

"How'd this get THERE?!" he mused. Dokan chuckled and continued rousing the rest of the men.

They were underway within the hour. They kept the torches lit in an effort to conserve Krycek's magic, although the mage seemed more rested than any of the others. Rath took the lead, with Dokan, Princeton, and Krycek just a few steps behind. The rest of the party followed at a small distance.

"This is as far as I scouted before," said Rath after about an hour. He pointed to the small pile of loose rock that he'd used to mark the spot. "You can wait while I scout further-"

"No," said Princeton. "We've no time for that... we continue on together."

"Have it your way."

They marched onward as a group. The cave had taken on a slight downward angle, which increased as they went further along its length. Near the middle of the day, the cave became level again. The diameter gradually increased to around twenty feet, and the rock became rougher and more uneven... often dangerously sharp in places. There was something else as well... something that Dokan was the first to notice.

"Hmmm..." he paused and knelt down to grab a handful of small sharp stones from the floor. The cave's floor was littered with them.

"What?" said Princeton. "Never seen rocks before?"

"Not loose stones like these... not since we entered this cave. Until now, everything had been solid..."

"Your point? I assume you DO have one..."

"Such a change in the rock would not occur spontaneously. Something caused it." He examined the rocks, then handed one of them to Princeton... and another to Krycek. Rath walked on ahead of them. "Look at the surfaces. They look like they've been chipped away."

"A cave-in," said Princeton. "A seismic event could have fractured the walls and-"

"I don't see any cracks in these walls," said Dokan.

Princeton sighed and tossed the stone away.

"The NEXT thing you know, you'll be spouting some creepy cliche... like: 'I don't think we're alone in this cave' or some other nonsense."

"I don't think we're alone in this cave," said Rath as he returned to the group. "I heard something."

By now, the remainder of the party had caught up.

"We camping already?" said Slick with a hopeful smile.

"Shhhh...." Dokan waved at them to be quiet. He listened. At first he heard nothing... and then: "I hear it too."

"Ohhh, great," said Slick. "Now everybody's HEARING things..." The con-man leaned against the wall. Several of the others joined him in an impromptu break from the day's march. Those that didn't found themselves being shoved aside as Thonia the Amazon made her way toward the front of the group.

"Something moves," she announced. The huntress had her harpoon-staff held ready; she squinted into the darkness ahead as if she had Rath's supernatural eyesight.

"Thank you VERY much, but we've already established that for ourselves," said Princeton. Fortunately for him, Thonia ignored his sarcasm.

"Krycek, could you shed some illumination on this section of the cave?"

As Krycek created a light-globe, a sudden scream erupted from the group.

"AAA! AAAAA! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

Slick staggered away from the wall and began hopping around on one foot; he was screaming as if someone were burning him with hot coals. A few of the men chuckled, thinking that Slick was merely the victim of a painful and unexpected leg cramp.

Then they saw the blood.

A long spurt of it burst from Slick's right ankle and splattered onto the stone floor. Slick clamped his hand down over the wound and screamed even louder. More blood seeped out between his fingers... the leg of his pants was soaked within seconds.

"AAAA!! HELP ME! HELLLP MEEEE!!!"

Slick collapsed and began ripping at his pants leg. By now, several of the other men had grabbed him and were holding him still while the Rune Missionary knelt beside him.

"What afflicts you?"

"MYLEG! MYLEG!!MYLEG!!!MYLEG!!!!!!"

The Missionary reached for the area of the spurting blood... then something moved beneath the cloth of Slick's pants. A small lump shifted around... moving up from the ankle to the shin around to the other. Sutton produced a sharp workman's knife and sliced the cloth away.

"WHOOA!"

"What the hell!?!"

"KILL IT! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFFF!"

There was a large beetle crawling across the shredded skin of Slick's leg. The gray insect was slightly smaller than a man's fist, with a pair of huge jagged pincers.

-click-

The pincers snapped at Sutton's fingers as he yanked the cloth back. The bug paused for a moment... almost as if it were watching the astonished onlookers. Slick's blood dripped from its pincers... the bug had bitten off a piece of the man's ankle. Then it leaned forward and prepared to sink its huge pointed jaws into the flesh of Slick's shin.

The Rune Missionary knocked the bug away with his staff. The men watched it bounce off of the wall... hit the floor... and immediately begin crawling right back toward Slick!

"Ohhh NO ya don't!" said Red. The short thief brought his heavy boot down on top of the bug. There was no satisfying 'crunch,' however. "eh?"

-click-

"AAAAH!!" Now it was Red who was hopping around... with the gray beetle hanging off of his boot. The bug's jaws had pierced the hardened leather as if it were mere silk... and were now digging into the delicate flesh beyond. "HEY! HEEEY!!!" Before anyone could help him, Red snatched his boot off... along with a tiny chunk of his own foot and threw it on the ground. He grabbed his battle-axe-

"No wait!" said Princeton. "We need to study-"

CRUNCH!

A tiny spark leapt from the axe's blade as it cleaved the offending insect in half.

"Study it NOW," grunted Red. Cole brought him a rag, which Red used to wrap his bleeding foot. "Damn thing is hard as a rock! And it tried to take my LEG off!"

The Rune Missionary was finished applying his healing magic to Slick's leg. Slick stood... the large hole that the insect had made in his ankle was now gone. The Missionary seemed slightly weaker for his efforts, but that didn't stop him from going to heal Red.

Dokan, Krycek and Princeton stood over the dead bug as if expecting the two halves to snap back together and become a living insect again.

"Did you see the spark?" said Dokan.

"Yes," said Krycek. "The exoskeleton must be incredibly hard."

"Due to it's diet, no doubt," said Princeton. He reached down and picked up the dead thing. He ran his finger across the beetle's back. "Yes... hard as stone. And rather, heavy, too."

"What kind of insect is it?" said Dokan.

"How the hell should I know? I'm a historian... not an entomologist."

"You mentioned diet..."

"Rocks," said Princeton. "There's obviously very little for insects to eat down here... so they must be able to derive some kind of sustenance from the rocks."

"But why did it take a chunk out of ME!" Slick interjected.

"The answer to that is obvious," said Princeton. He proceeded to study the bug further without explaining the 'obvious' answer.

"Calcium," said Dokan. "It lives on the minerals in these rocks... it was apparently unable to distinguish its normal diet from the calcium contained in your skeleton."

"It wanted me BONES!?!"

"Yes," said Princeton. Slicked began to look ill.

"It went for the ankle and the shin," Krycek added. "Both are places where the bone is close to the surface."

"Thank you for making that clear," said Sutton. "I think we'll all sleep better knowing that bit of information."

"Look there, where Slick was standing-" Dokan knelt by the wall pointed to a small circular hole in the rock. The hole was identical to the small ones they'd encountered during their climb down. It was at ankle-level; the insect had been hiding in it when Slick conveniently placed his foot within striking distance. "We climbed past hundreds of these things," said Dokan. "Thousands..."

"Ain't no way in hell one bug made them all," said Sutton. He began to look around nervously. So did Dokan. Dokan examined the walls with all the intensity of a mage casting a difficult and potentially fatal spell. He took his cane and struck the stone in a few places. Then he paused and pointed at something.

"There..."

"What?" said Princeton. "I don't see anything."

"Neither do I," added Rath.

"That's because you aren't intended to see it," said Dokan. "The insect that Red killed... did you notice the color?"

"Gray."

"Like the rock," said Krycek.

Dokan raised his cane and jabbed at a spot on the wall. The spot looked like any other... but as soon as the end of Dokan's cane touched it, a tiny piece of 'stone' rotated and-

-click-

-latched onto the end of the cane with its pincers. The beetle had been hiding in its hole just as the other had been... using its own body to seal the opening, making it almost invisible. The bug wrapped its legs around the cane and began to crawl rapidly up its length toward Dokan's fingers.

"I'll be damned," said Sutton.

Dokan made a quick motion with the cane... the insect flew off and struck a nearby wall. Two more beetles emerged from hidden holes and joined the first as it crawled down toward the floor. Three became six... then sixteen as more and more insects began to emerge. Soon the entire wall alive with insects, with more appearing every second... emerging from the hidden holes that had been there all along. Each hole yieled dozens of bugs... and there were literally thousands of holes.

"...uhhhh..." said Sutton. "This ain't good."

Then the bugs started coming out of the opposite wall as well. The two matching streams of ravenous insects poured down onto the floor and merged into one living, hungry flood immediately rushed toward the stunned party. The cave echoed with the loud CLICKing of thousands of pincers...

"Uh-ohhhh..."

"Everyone get back!"

"They've cut us off!" said Princeton. It was true, the bugs were between the party and the cave's exit. The party had no choice but to retreat further into the cave. As the others ran, Zackery and Vithor drew their swords and faced the charging swarm... but Dokan stopped them both with a hand on each man's shoulder.

"RUN, you fools! They are INSECTS, you cannot fight them with swords!"

"Indeed! This is the realm of magic!" Krycek stepped in front of the two swordsman and thrust both clenched fists at the bugs. "Conicum Infernix Infernae!"

FWOOOM!


A large cone of red-hot fire appeared in front of Krycek and roared down the length of the cave. The edges of the cone touched the walls as it traveled filling every inch of the passage with flames. The cone quickly vanished in the distance... leaving thousands of angry and mostly unharmed insects behind.

"They are resistant to fire!" said Dokan.

"DAMN!"

Dokan and Krycek could hear the insects behind them as they ran. They could also see more of the beetles emerging from the walls alongside them... and falling from the ceiling!

"Watch your heads!" Dokan shouted as they caught up with the rest of the party.

"AAA! WE'RE DOOMED!" replied Princeton. He was running with both arms folded over the top of his head in an attempt to protect his skull. "They're too many of them! They're too fast!"

"Save your breath for runnin, man!" replied Sutton. "FASTER! FASTER!"

They ran faster. For an instant it seemed as if they were leaving the insects behind. The beetles WERE fast, but they weren't nearly as fast as a speeding human. But the party quickly learned that fresh insect-holes lined the walls and ceiling... and even the floor! No matter how fast they ran, there were always more bugs right behind them. As soon as they passed a section of cave, thousands of hungry beetles would burst free and join the chase. It was like trying outrun a rolling avalanche that only got faster and larger as it traveled. The sound of insects scurrying across the rock became a dull roar behind them.... a roar that grew louder and closer with frightening speed.

Then there was a development that was totally unexpected... except to Dokan and a few others. Beetles began rising up from hiding places in the floor and trying to latch on to the speeding runners as they passed. The party was now under assault from either side, from above, AND from below.

"ARRRRG!" Cole screamed. A beetle had clamped onto his ankle... the sudden pain caused him to fall... at which point dozens of insects burst from the floor and scrambled toward him. Zackery was nearby, he turned and sliced at one beetle with his sword. Red, Vithor, Drayn , and Borris surrounded the downed man and hacked at the approaching bugs while the Rune Missionary yanked Zackery to his feet. There was no time to heal... the missionary pulled the beetle off of Zack's foot, threw the man over his shoulder and took off with him. The others fell in behind, carefully watching the floor for more surprise attacks.

They were running blind... racing further into the cave without the slightest idea of what could lay ahead of them. Dokan didn't like it.

"We are running a race we cannot win!" he yelled to Krycek, who was running beside him.

"If these weren't mere insects chasing us, I'd swear we were being HERDED!" said Krycek.

"And we cannot keep up this insane pace for very long."

"I may be able to buy us some time..."

Krycek began gesturing as he ran. Sparks and crackling arcs of energy leapt between his fingers... then he stopped running and quickly turned to face the oncoming horde. Dokan stopped as well-

"Plasticae Viscous Planum!" Kryeck shouted. Twin globes of scarlet energy encircled his hands. The mage gestured at the floor. A heavy pinkish goo materialized along the surface of the rock, coating it in an inch-thick layer of colored sludge. Krycek swept his hands upward, pointing along the walls and then at the ceiling.... wherever he pointed, more goo sprang up to coat the rock. Soon the entire passage was covered in pink slime.

The insects arrived a second later... a huge, hideous wave of pincers and rock-hard exoskeletons. They swarmed along the passage like a raging flood... a flood that fizzled out as soon as it hit Krycek's pink goo. The first row of insects touched the edge the slime and became stuck... unable to pull their legs free of the strange substance. More insects climbed over them, and then they TOO found themselves immobilized. Not even their powerful jaws could cut them free. Wave after wave of the bugs sank into the slime. Some were completely submerged in it... they struggled for a while, but their squirming soon ceased when their air ran out. Others were only caught by the legs or pincers. Some insects crippled themselves in their efforts to pull free... they achieved freedom only by leaving their trapped appendages behind. But in the end, there were more insects than there was pink goo. As more beetles arrived, they marched over the trapped bodies of their brothers... using the corpses stepping stones.

Krycek smiled and cast the spell again. He deposited a new layer of pink syrup on top of the previous one... right on top of the approaching insects. But there were still hundreds more. Krycek prepared to cast the spell a third time... but it wasn't necessary. The remaining insects halted at the edge of the affected area... paused for a moment... then turned and retreated.

"That takes care of the pursuers," said Dokan. "But what about- hmmm...." Dokan was about to point out the hordes of insects that were pouring from the walls BEHIND them... but there were none. The holes in the walls were silent... no insects emerged to terrorize them or to follow the party.

"Interesting," said Krycek. "But my spell won't last long. We should rejoin the others before the adhesive fades."

Dokan couldn't agree more, but it was more than the fading of Krycek's spell that worried him.

"These insects are intelligent," he said as the two of them ran to catch up to the rest.

"Unlikely... they could have overwhelmed us easily if they'd been smart enough to swarm into the cave AHEAD of the group. But they didn't."

"Because they wanted to chase us into the caves."

"To what end?"

Dokan shrugged.

"HOLD!" came a booming female voice. Thonia the huntress appeared ahead of them. She had her boomerang clasped in one hand, and her harpoon-spear in the other. She didn't look very happy, but then, 'not very happy' was Thonia's normal state.

"Don't tell me you were going to fight the insects," said Krycek.

"The young one entreated me to return and rescue her slaves," said Thonia.

"Slaves?"

"I'll explain later," said Dokan.

"The insects?" said Thonia.

"Krycek's magic drove them away... but they may return."

Thonia leered at Krycek as if the mage were an unusually fragrant pile of mule dung.

"Magic," she spat... literally. "Ptui!"

"Magic may have just saved our lives," said Krycek.

"Better to die," said Thonia. "Come... I will return you to the young one."

Thonia 'led' Dokan and Krycek to the others. The party hadn't stopped moving, but they had slowed their run down to a fast jog. Dokan brought them to a halt when he arrived.

"You should have more faith in me," he said to Lara. "Mistress." He winked at her.

"Where are the bugs?" said Sutton. He looked around at the thousands of holes in the walls, floor and ceiling. They were all devoid of hungry insects. The passage was unusually quiet and still. "Are we safe?"

"Not hardly," said Dokan. "I imagine we'd meet with considerable resistance should we try to go back the way we came."

"But we can't stay here," Rath replied.

"So this is what it looks like inside an ant-hill, eh?" said Red.

"But these ants are intelligent," said Dokan.

"Possibly," Krycek corrected.

"So now what?" said Sutton. "We just wander around until those things catch us?"

"We go in the only direction available to us," said Princeton. "This passage is still sloping downward... and that's where we're going. Down."

Dokan didn't want to agree with Park, but the annoying doctor was right. The insects had left them only one choice... to continue on their current path and hope there wasn't something even nastier waiting for them at the end. And, of course, there WOULD be.

They walked for about ten more minutes without encountering a single insect, although the preponderance of holes in the walls lead to a squirming uneasiness that spread through the party like a rash. Men frisked themselves and searched their clothing every few minutes to insure that no six-legged hitchhikers had latched onto them when no one was looking. Were the situation not so serious, Dokan would have laughed.

Dokan was walking near the rear of the group. Thonia and Rath... an unlikely pair that had avoided each other as much as possible until now... were at point. Both were using their highly-trained senses to detect trouble ahead of them. Dokan was secretly doing the same for group's backside.

Thonia raised her hand above her and made a fist.

"Hold!" she said. Her voice was deep and loud for a woman, even for a woman or her size. The group halted. Kryeck sent a light-globe further into the passage ahead even before anyone could ask. It revealed nothing... but even all the way in the back, Dokan could see something was wrong.

"Watch our rear," he whispered to Zackery and Vithor. He made his way to the front.

"You see it?" said Rath.

"Yes," Dokan replied with a nod. Princeton Park trotted up behind him and squinted at the passage ahead.

"It's a cave," he said. "With walls full of holes. We've seen it before."

"No we haven't," said Rath.

Dokan turned to the party's mage.

"Krycek, could you-"

"I have just the thing."

Krycek made a motion with his hands-

"Illuminatae Aream Cumuli"

A large glowing fog rose from the floor ahead of them. The thick mist filled the passage for a few seconds, and then quickly dissipated.

"Oh," said Princeton.

Like the morning dew, the glowing mist had deposited tiny glowing droplets of moisture on everything in front of them. Thin streams of it ran down the rock and pooled on the floor. And quite a bit of it clung to the complex network of near-invisible webbing that crisscrossed the passage. The glowing moisture made the thin strands visible even to those who weren't trained to spot such things.

"If we had kept running, we would have ran right into it," said Dokan.

"It's just a spider's web," said Princeton. He picked a palm-sized rock from the floor and tossed it into the web. He obviously expected the heavy stone to tear the delicate strands down as it would a NORMAL web, but instead, the stone stuck to them and hung in mid-air. The web showed no signs of sagging or tearing as it held the stone fast. A singular gasp slithered through the party.

"Incredibly strong," said Dokan. "Coated with a powerful adhesive."

"Let's see HOW powerful, eh?" said Slick "Thurg! Tear that web down!" The strong, silent, and large cut-throat drew his bastard sword and advanced on the web.

"I wouldn't suggest that," cautioned Dokan.

Slick shrugged and said nothing. Neither did anyone else. Thurg swung his sword in a downward arc... a few of the web's strands broke with an audible-

K-ting!

Then the man's sword became entangled in the remaining web. He tried to pull it free, but even with his considerable strength, Thurg was unable to dislodge it. His efforts DID, however, shake the entire web... rousing its creators.

At first glance they appeared to be large spiders... but they had only six legs. They were roughly the same size and shape as the beetles the group had encountered before, but with a few differences. The pincers were much smaller, and the legs were long and hairy, like those of a spider. The abdomen was elongated... ending in a tiny cluster of spinerettes from which the webbing was extruded. Six of them emerged from the shadows and traversed the sticky web with ease, converging on the unsuspecting Thurg.

"Back, everyone," said Dokan.

"Thurg! Back!" Slick yelled. Thurg continued yanking at his weapon, apparently unwilling to leave it behind.

"Come ON!" Rath grabbed Thurg around the waist and tried to drag him away.

Another spider tilted up on its front legs and pointed its a abdomen at the ceiling-

ffftht!

A strand of near-invisible silk shot upward and stuck to the rock. The spider pushed off from the web and swung through the air, heading right toward the side of Rath's face.

The Rune Missionary swung the bladed end of his staff and sliced the beetle's web cleanly in too. The insect fell to the floor, where Red's axe dispatched it. Rath and the Missionary yanked Thurg... and his sword... away just before the spiders could reach them. Thurg grunted in defiance and shoved Rath aside. He reached for the missionary-

whoosh-whoosh-WHOOSH-KRUNCH!

Thonia's bladed boomerang missed Thurg's head by a fraction of an inch as it flew across the cave and dispatched a spider-beetle that had been climbing down the wall. Thurg turned to see what the noise was; Red and Slick grabbed him and pulled him away from the web before he stirred up any more trouble.

But it was too late.

More spider-beetles were emerging... dozens of them began scurrying across the web from all directions. Some secured themselves to the ceiling and tried to drop down onto the party. Everyone backed away-

"This is NOT a good thing," said Sutton.

"We'll have to find another way down-"

"Oh for goodness sake," said Princeton. "They're just BUGS!" The doctor reached into his backpack... which for some reason was significantly smaller and lighter than everyone else's... and pulled out a tightly-bound pouch with a long string hanging out of one end. He lit the string with his torch...

sssssssssssSSSS!!

The string began to hiss and sparkle as the fire consumed it.

Before anyone could stop him or question him further, Princeton tossed the pouch into the web, where it stuck fast and continued to sizzle.

"Princeton, what did you just DO!" Dokan demanded.

"I'm clearing our path so that we can continue. It's just a little black powder-"

"BACK! EVERYONE BACK NOWWW!!!!!"

Everyone turned and ran back the way they'd come. Not five seconds later-

KRA-BOOOOM!!

The entire passage shook violently. Rocks both large and small fell from the ceiling and pelted the party. The rumbling from the powerful explosion continued for several seconds... then it was supplanted by a wave of hissing and clicking as thousands of insects stirred behind the walls. A few of the normal beetles appeared... peering out from their holes but not venturing out into the cave. They simply watched the party for a moment, then withdrew back to wherever they had come. The noises settled down after a few more seconds.

"Strange..." said Dokan.

"Yes, yes," said Princeton. "Let us continue our journey, shall we?"

Princeton lead the party back to where the web had blocked their path... the place was unrecognizable. All that remained of the web was a few tattered strands hanging from the walls. About two dozen spider-beetles lay scattered around on the floor. Most were dead. Some were merely stunned. Those that showed signs of life were crushed, chopped, or otherwise dispatched by the party. Just beyond the webbed area was a pile of rubble that hadn't been there before. The walls of the passage... already weakened by the thousands of beetle-holes running through them... were completely demolished. They had collapsed, dumping tons of rubble into their path.

"Oh that's just GREAT!" said Sutton. "I AIN'T DIGGING THROUGH THAT!"

"No need," said Dokan. He pointed to a spot just short of the rubble. There was large crack in the floor... more than large enough for a man to fit through. The men gathered around it, and Krycek sent a light-globe into the hole. Beyond it was another, slightly smaller cave that had been running parallel to their current passage. "With a little effort we can widen this and continue on our way."

"Assuming Princeton's explosion didn't collapse THAT tunnel as well," added Krycek.

"One way to find out," said Rath. He jumped down into the hole, then called back up. "Looks clear!"

"Is it safe?" said Slick.

"For me? Sure. For you... probably not."

"A joke?" said Slick. "He's making jokes, now? THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"

"Thank you, Mr. Raathruiné" said Princeton. He was the next to hop down into the lower passage. The others joined him. "Now isn't this cozy?"

The walls of the new, smaller cave didn't have nearly as many holes... which was a small measure of comfort for some of the men. They walked for another twenty minutes without encountering any spider-beetles or pincer-beetles.

What they DID encounter was something quite a bit worse.

"Shhh..." said Rath. He brought to group to a halt. "I hear something."

Beside him, Thonia nodded. Dokan heard it too. A distant buzzing noise... which was rapidly becoming less and less 'distant.' But which direction was it coming from... ahead or behind?

Both.

"Males who do not wish to die should lie flat on the floor and remain out of my way," Thonia announced.

"What's going on?" said Slick.

...zzzz...

"What's that noise?"

...zzzZZZ..."

"Bugs! Both directions!" Rath shouted. "EVERYONE HIT THE FLOOR!"

...ZZZZZ....

Half of he men dropped to the ground. Some of the more adventurous types drew weapons and looked around frantically.

"I SAID GET DOWN-"

KA-THUD!

The thing hit Rath in the back like a cannonball. Rath flew across the cave and struck the wall hard.

"ARRGH!" He grunted as he tried to dislodge the thing that was digging its huge pincer into his spine. The bug looked like a big cockroach... a GIANT cockroach, as long as a man's forearm from elbow to fingertip. It was a darker shade of gray than the other beetles... and it was much nastier. It had long multi-jointed legs with sharp protrusions that looked like serrated daggers. All six of them were buried down to the second joint in Rath's back. The insects wings slid back under their wing-covers, which covered the bugs entire back like plate armor.

The single bug was ripping at Rath's flesh like a pack of rabid wolves. Blood and chunks of clothing flew everywhere, splattering everything nearby. Rath grabbed the bug, but he lacked the leverage... or the strength... to pull it free.
The Rune Missionary moved towards him...

"NO!" Rath shouted. "WATCH YOURSELVES!"

The words had hardly left Rath's mouth when

...ZZZZZZZ...

Two more of the bugs zoomed past from the other direction. Each one targeted one of the party-members. Both Zackery and the Rune Missionary ducked just in time to avoid getting a face full of giant flying carnivorous cockroach. The bugs flew away... then turned around and came back. Along with three friends. Five giant bugs zoomed back and forth in the air above the party... swooping down at whatever target presented it self.

"RRRRAAA!!" Thurg swung his bastard sword as hard as he could. He caught one flying roach-beetle across the midsection, knocking the thing off course but failing to kill it. The bug spun out of control and hit the floor. Red chopped it with his axe... but the heavy weapon just bounced off of the bug's back.

"They're as hard as rocks!" shouted Drayn, one of Park's mercenaries. He'd joined Red in trying to dispatch the bug... they both had to duck every few seconds to avoid the bug's airborne brothers.

"Only because you are WEAK!" said Thonia. She ducked as a roach zoomed over her head, then dropped her spear, sprang up and grabbed the speeding insect with her gauntlet-covered hands. The thing squirmed violently. Thonia grabbed one of the bug's huge pincers in each hand and pulled them apart-

KRAK!

The bug's head split right down the middle. Another roach flew towards her

...zzzZZZZzzzTHUD!"

She used the dead bug's corpse to swat the living one out of the air.

...zzzz...

Three more bugs joined the assault.

Meanwhile, Rath had gotten to his feet and was slamming himself backwards against the wall as hard as he could, still trying to dislodge the bug that was systematically ripping out his spine. He threw himself against the wall repeatedly... but the insect didn't even notice. One of the OTHER insects did, though.

zzzZZZZTTT! THUMP!

Now Rath had a giant cockroach on his chest as well as his back. Pincers ripped into his throat... Rath fell...

KRUNCK!

Red got in a lucky blow and severed one beetle's head from its body. But he didn't see the other two bugs zooming towards him-

fffFFFFZZZAAPT- KRATHOOM!!!

Everyone... those fighting and those cowering on the floor... wondered why there was suddenly lightning streaking across the cave. Those who dared to look saw that the Rune Missionary had had enough... he stood in the middle of the cave, holding his twisted staff in both hands. The staff still glowed from the bolt of power it had just released... a bolt that had just turned two flying insects into about fourteen smoking fragments. Everyone in front of the missionary dropped to the floor. The missionary fired a rapid barrage of lightning-strikes... each one was a perfect hit, taking out two or even three beetles as a time until no more insects approached from that direction. He spun to continue the assault, but Rath's struggles caught his attention. The mercenary was rolling around on the ground, still sandwiched between two ravenous insects.

"...Aarrg dammit!"

The Rune Missionary raised his staff and pointed the sharp end down at Rath.

"Hold still," he said.

"huh? What-"

"You will heal?"

"Yes-"

KRUNCH!

The Missionary drove the staff straight down, impaling the first bug... then Rath... then the second bug with one blow. Rath and the insects squirmed and convulsed... but Rath was still moving long after the insects had grown still.

"You can take it out now," Rath grunted. The missionary yanked the weapon out. "UNGH!" Rath shoved the dead insects away and got up. His wounds had already began to heal...

Thonia adapted the missionary's assault for her own use. She grabbed her spear and used the blunt end to swat a bug out of the air. When it hit the ground, she impaled it through the back. She ripped the weapon free... the barbed point carried much of the bug's innards with it as it came out.

"That's IT!" said Dokan... who had decided to leave the fighting to those most suited for it. He was crouching on the floor... watching and studying. "Their armor protects against slashing and crushing... but not impaling! You must pierce them with a straight thrust!"

The fighters changed their tactics. Instead of hacking at the bugs, they swatted them down and pierced them with the tips of their swords. Rester, the archer, dropped his sword entirely and quickly loaded his crossbow. He began shooting the bugs out of the air with mechanical precision. Just thirty seconds after the attack began, it ended.

Giant cockroach-corpses littered the floor, but none of the party had been injured... except for Rath.

"I'll be fine in a minute," he said.

"Apologies for injuring you," said the missionary. "I can aid the healing-"

"I doubt that," said Rath. He took a few deep breaths and then stood up straight. "Okay, let's go."

The flying beetles returned a while later... and then several more times after that. The attacks came regularly; six or seven bugs would fly in from either direction. Their arrival was always preceded by the unmistakable buzzing of their giant wings. The party fought them off with arrows, swords, and lightning-bolts, but the effort was rapidly draining their endurance.

"They're wearing us down," said Dokan. "And we certainly won't be able to camp with these things flying around. We have to find our way out of this cave soon."

"We're still going down," said Krycek. "We're heading the right way."

Dokan made his way toward Lara. The young girl had come to him so that he could teach her... but instead, he'd dragged her into this. He felt a twinge of guilt.

"How are you holding up," he said.

"I don't like bugs," she said.

"I don't think anyone will, after this."

"We're walking into a trap," she said nonchalantly. "You know that, right?"

"Of course," said Dokan. "They've been herding us in this direction all along... although I think they intended for us to stay in the other tunnel. These latest attacks are probably meant to slow us down while they make other arrangments."

"What do you suppose they want?"

"I don't know. PEOPLE are easy to understand... but insects?" Dokan shrugged.

"They're bugs," said Sutton. "They wanna EAT."

"Noo," Dokan replied. "I think they want something else."

"All they're gettin' from ME is the sharp end of this here!" said Drayn. The mercenary raised his sword.

"Yeah!" Zackery grunted in agreement.

"You are overconfident from our previous encounters," said Dokan. "Until we are free of these caves, I suggest you-"

Lara tugged on Dokan's sleeve to get his attention. She pointed at the Rune Missionary... at his feet.

Dokan watched the missionary walk for a few seconds-

"EVERYONE STOP!" Dokan shouted.

"Oh, what NOW?!!" Princeton groaned.

"Do you mind if I borrow this?" Dokan reached for Drayn's sword, then used the weapon to tap the floor in various places.

"What are you doing?" said Princeton. He was obviously annoyed.

"I am tapping the floor with this sword," said Dokan.

"Why?"

"There has been a distinct change in the sounds of our footsteps... the floor of this cave may have been weakened."

"Nonsense," said Princeton. "This floor is as solid as it has ever been." Princeton illustrated the point by stomping his foot on the rock.

"Please don't do that," said Dokan.

Thonia knelt down and ran her hand across the stone.

"There are cracks," she said. "Covered with dust so that we cannot see."

"I'd say this proves my theory about the intelligence of the insects."

"It's ROCK!" Princeton yelled. "ROCKS have cracks! CAVES have DUST all over them! This proves NOTHING!"

"We're standing in the middle of a trap," said Dokan.

"NO! WE! ARE! NOT!" Princeton punctuated each word with a hardy stomp of his foot. At the final word, the entire floor gave way.

The party dropped into the gaping chasm that opened up beneath them. Grown men screamed like little girls... and the one little girl remained uncommonly silent as they tumbled into the darkness. Dokan rolled in the air and prepared to land on his feet-

-but their descent stopped suddenly. Dokan knew he hadn't hit the ground... but he'd hit SOMETHING. So had everyone else. He heard grunts and yelps and groans all around him. Their impacts jostled whatever it was they'd landed in... Dokan felt himself bouncing up and down as if suspended in a giant... spider web.

"Oh dear," said Dokan. Dokan's suspicions were confirmed when Krycek's light globe floated down from above. The party was suspended over a large pit. He could barely make out the silky strands that crisscrossed the entire the chasm, and the sharp, jagged rocks that lined the floor fifteen feet below. The hole through which they'd fallen was at least thirty feet up. If the web hadn't caught them, the rocks have killed them. Several torches and weapons had slipped through the web and were laying on the floor below. "Well, Princeton, you've done it again."

"What?" said Princeton. "What did I do?"

"Need I remind you of what happens when something disturbs a spider's nest?"

Several of the spider-beetles were already heading towards the party. Dokan could see them, but most of the others could not. Dokan tried to sit up, but he couldn't. The adhesive of the web held him tight.

"Can anyone move?" said Dokan.

"No."

"Nope."

"I'm stuck good."

"I an unable to move."

"Krycek? Your magic?"

"I am bound... I cannot work my magic."

"Lara?"

"I'm already-"

"Stay where you are... I'll handle this."

"What?" said Sutton. "You can move? GET US OUT OF HERE, MAN!"

"I am working on it," said Dokan. He eyed the approaching spider beetles. They only had a few seconds. Dokan twisted himself as far to one side as he could. He moved his shoulder up, then back suddenly- "UNGH!" he grunted as the joint slid out of place. He eased his dislocated shoulder out of his sleeve and began to carefully slip out of his clothing. It was the clothes that were stuck to the web, not the body inside them was not. He'd completely freed himself in less than six seconds, then snapped his dislocated shoulder back into place.

Some of the others tried to follow his lead, but without his training and flexibility, all they managed to do was get themselves hopelessly tangled. Their struggles shook the web, which summoned several more spider-beetles. The first few insects were almost upon them.

Dokan watched them... he watched where the bugs placed there feet... he traced the threads that they used... studied them for a moment

Then he stood up, balanced himself on the balls of his feet, and started walking along the web... without getting stuck.

"Hey, how're you doing that!" said Slick.

"There are certain threads that have no adhesive," said Dokan as he made his way toward Krycek. "The spiders use them to travel without getting trapped.. and I am doing the same. Now please be silent and try not to shake the web. Thank you very much."

Dokan reached Krycek and knelt beside him.

"I assume you have a way of freeing us once I cut you loose."

"There's a knife in my pocket," replied Krycek.

Dokan took the knife and cut through the strands holding Krycek's arms. It took a lot of effort to cut the incredibly tough web, but the blade was sharp and Dokan was stronger than most men his age...

"Heeey, there's something crawling on my LEG!" Slick cried. "HEEELLLP"

Dokan cut the last strand. He turned, aimed carefully, and threw the blade at Slick... or rather at the spider-beetle that was crawling up his leg. Both the dagger and the beetle fell to ground below.

Krycek immediately began gesturing.

"This will be rather uncomfortable for you, Dokan."

"I've been uncomfortable before."

"Frigidum Frigidarum!"

Suddenly the pit grew cold... very, very cold. The temperature dropped twenty degrees in an instant, and it continued to fall rapidly. With his naked skin exposed to the extreme cold, Dokan couldn't help but shiver. He grabbed ahold to Krycek to steady himself. As the air temperature sank below freezing, the adhesive mucous on the web's strands froze solid. The strands themselves grew slightly brittle as the moisture within them turned to ice. They weren't brittle enough for everyone to free themselves, but the stronger members of the party... Thonia and the Rune Missionary... were able to pull free.

"Free the others!" Dokan shouted.

The missionary tried to crawl over to the nearest trapped person, but his balance wasn't quite up to the task. The web shook and bounced as his teetering weight destabilized it. Thonia didn't even try. She ripped a large hole in the web and jumped down to the rocky floor below, leaving the others to fend for themselves.

"DAMN YOU, WOMAN!" Dokan cursed.

Thonia drew her boomerang from her belt. She twisted hard at the waist as she threw it, putting all her strength behind the weapon.

whooshWhoosh-KTANG-CRACK!

The bladed weapon sliced through one of the net's main support strands, which secured the entire mass to the walls. It went on to strike the wall near where another support strand was anchored. The rock cracked and came free of the wall. Now, with two if its main supports gone, the web began to sag and pull free of its remaining anchors. The entire mass... including the party and their equipment... came crashing down. Dokan leapt free at the last minute... he executed a graceful forward flip and landed not far away from Thonia. The others hit the floor with much less grace and a lot more pain. Fortunately the fall was only fifteen feet.

Thonia then began hunting down the spider-beetles that were trying to wiggle their way free of the web. She impaled them with her spear as Dokan and the missionary freed the others.

"Get the equipment and lets get out of here!" said Sutton.

"That way-" Dokan pointed to a large crack in the wall. He didn't know where it led, but it was the only exit from the pit. He grabbed his clothes, put them back on, and was one of the last people to squeeze through the crack and enter the corridor beyond. This passage was similar to the others... rough rock walls riddled with thousands of holes. The passage led off to either side. Dokan paused for a moment, then pointed right.

"That way leads down."

They'd taken no more than two steps when something began coming towards them... a large, man-sized shape moving in the shadows. Krycek sent his light globe further into the tunnel ahead-

"Ohh, I wish you hadn't done that," said Slick.

These new beetles were the most frightening of all... They larger than a man, with bodies shaped much like the cockroach-beetles, only with modified joints and legs that allowed them to walk upright. Their appendages had sharp blades running along their length. The heads were large, with tiny eyes and large antennae that quivered grotesquely in the dusty air of the cavern. Pincers opened and closed greedily... making loud CLICKing noises.

There were seven of them.

The party backed away from the approaching horror-

"Behind us!" Dokan heard Lara shout. More bugs were approaching the party's rear flank. Lots more.

"I guess now we know why these caves were so big," said Dokan.

The party's two magic-users were the first to respond.

"Plasticae Viscous Planum!" Krycek shouted. He cast the same spell he'd used before, coating the passage behind the party with thick viscous goo. The beetles plowed into it and became stuck... but these larger bugs were more than strong enough to pull themselves free. Krycek's spell only slowed them down for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, the Rune Missionary twirled his staff around and aimed the pointed end at the line of man-beetles before him. He let loose with blistering white stream of lightning that struck one beetle square in the chest. The bug kept coming for a few more steps... then its limbs and antennae began to flutter uncontrollably. The bug exploded, splattering the cave walls, the Rune Missionary, and the other bugs with white mucous. But the assault had taken so long that the other bugs were now much closer. The missionary only had time to destroy two more before they were too close to risk another lightning bolt. Undaunted, The missionary clasped the staff tightly and charged the nearest beetle.

KRUCK!

"EEEEEEE-!"

He impaled the beast through the center of its chest... the pointed staff exploded out through the bug's back. The missionary kept charging, powerful legs propelling him forward like a runaway carriage. He impaled another insect with the same thrust that had pierced the first one. With two dying bugs squirming on the end of his staff, the missionary yanked his weapon free and prepared to charge again. The man-beetles surged forward to meet him-

-and were thrown back violently by Thonia's assault. The amazon's spear sank deep into one bug's chest. She lifted the insect up and ran forward, impaling two more. She ripped the weapon free, tearing the bug's bodies open in the process, and joined the Missionary in a forward charge that drove the insects back. The bug's bladed legs were simply too short to reach them as they struck with staff and spear.

While Thonia and the missionary had the front passage covered, the bugs behind them were massing in tremendous numbers

"TO BATTLE!" Drayn shouted over the squeal of the bugs. Mercenaries and adventurers drew their weapons. There were far too bugs for them to overcome, but they had to keep the party from being overrun from behind. Drayn, Borris, Williams, Zackery and Vithor stood shoulder to shoulder... a solid line of skilled swordsmen separating the party from the swarm of carnivorous bugs. The insects rushed them, coming in continuous waves of slashing arms and legs. The men blocked with their swords, and, when an opportunity presented itself, made lunges and jabs... piercing the bug's thick carapaces with the points of their swords. The insect's bodies began to pile up... but those that followed simply stepped over them and kept coming.

"EEEE!"

KRUK! CRUNCH!

"EEEEEEE!"

"They're STILL COMING!"

"TOO MANY!" shouted Borris.

"MOVE FORWARD!" Thonia replied. She and the missionary pushed forward, impaling the insects as they charged... and kicking the squirming corpses aside as they passed. "FOLLOW US!"

"Hurry!" added Drayn. "We can't hold them forever back here!"

The party fell in beside them Thonia and started moving down the passage.

"Note that there are more of them behind us than in front," Dokan said to Krycek. "We are being herded... again."

"Whatever lies at the end of this... I hope we reach it soon," said the mage. "These things are beginning to ANNOY me!"

Krycek turned and cast a spell... a bolt of energy struck the roof of the cave several yards behind the party. The approaching bugs found themselves caught in a storm or rocks and boulders as a portion of the roof collapsed. It only slowed them down a little.

"Not as effective as I'd hoped," said Krycek.

"They're running away!" Sutton Woodbridge yelled. He pointed past Thonia and the missionary... the bugs at the front of the party had suddenly ceased their attack and withdrawn. Krycek increased the brightness of his light globe to see what lay before them-

"I think we have arrived," said Dokan.

The passage had reached its end. The cave ran straight into a huge chamber thirty yards ahead. The man-beetles had retreated inside it.

"There's something moving in there," said Rath. "Something big."

"And the scent...," said Dokan. A thick, musky smell wafted out of the chamber ahead.

"Going in there is probably a bad idea," said Rath.

"We don't have a choice. Not even an amazon can fight her way through that-"

Dokan pointed to the corridor behind them, where dozens of giant insects fought with the party's rear guard. Behind those insects were dozens more... and behind them were even MORE...

"Well," said Rath. "Let's get this over with."

With the way before them now clear, the party charged. The mercenaries held the bugs back for a few more seconds, then they too turned and ran, intending to form another line of defense right outside the entrance to the chamber.

The chamber was a giant circular lair carved out of solid rock. The walls were, of course, riddled with thousands of holes of various sizes. There was a large sunken area in the center, where a an insect of monstrous proportions presided over its court of millions of oblong, glowing, milky-white eggs. The queen-beetle looked almost nothing like the other insects... looked more like the bastard mating of a scorpion and a preying mantis... with all the more grotesque features of each parent. The bug's forward half was long and thin; it sat upright with it's cylindrical head towering more than twenty feet above the party. It's spindly arms... each with a sharp, serrated edge... were folded in a prayer-like position. The queen had not one, but TWO long segmented tails, each ending in a sharp barbed stinger. The abdomen was swollen and distended. It seemed to glow slightly, most likely from the thousands of eggs still inside it.

The queen was not alone. Dozens of man-beetles wandered protectively among the eggs. Roach-beetles buzzed overhead.

When the party entered the cavern, the queen turned its large body toward them and leaned forward... eyeing them with great interest. Or hunger. The two huge compound eyes reflected hundreds of tiny images of the party staring up at it. Giant pincers opened and closed slowly.

"Ohhhhh, boy," said Slick.

"Look, here-" Drayn pointed to the corridor behind them. The wave of man-beetles that had chased them into the cavern had halted their charge. The beetles were still there... standing in the corridor... waiting...

"Standing guard," said Dokan. "Making sure we don't leave." Dokan looked up at the bug. He stepped forward. "WELL!" he shouted. "YOU WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO BRING US HERE... SO WHAT NOW?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm speaking to the giant bug, Mr. Sutton," said Dokan.

"Just don't piss it off, okay?"

The queen responded... but not with words or sounds. It shifted its position slightly and extended one of one of its arms. It pointed. First at Thonia... then at the Rune Missionary... then at Rath. It folded its arm again and wiggled its long antenna.

"What the hell did THAT mean?"

"I don't think she was talking to us," said Dokan. "She was giving orders... to them..."

The man-beetles in the chamber all began to converge on the party.. or rather, on those that the queen had pointed out. Above them, the roach-beetles began to buzz loudly. Three of the man-beetles were carrying eggs. Three eggs... each three feet long and one foot in diameter. They were larger than the other eggs, and their glow had an eerie greenish tint. The egg's shells were soft and leathery. Something inside them was moving.

"This ain't good," said Sutton. "Whatever it is... it ain't good."

"I think certain members of this party are about to become part of the reproductive cycle of these creatures," said Dokan. "The three strongest... the three most suitable hosts for the production of more queens..."

"Well now that we've solved THAT little mystery-" said Krycek. "Ventarum Conicum Velocitis!"

Krycek gestured to the center of the chamber, and a huge whirlwind appeared... right in the middle of the egg-filled nest. Stiff wind roared like a thing alive... picking up the small delicate eggs and sending them hurtling into the stone walls, where they smashed and cracked apart like... well... eggs. Before the bugs could react, over half the eggs in the chamber were oozing down the walls in a thick, slimy mess.

The queen screeched in rage... her twin scorpion tails waved frantically in the air. Roach-beetles soared down at the party, only to be blasted to cinders by successive bolts from the Rune Missionary's staff. The man-beetles attacked. Those in the corridor rushed forward, but were rebuffed by the mercenaries who had already lined up to fend them off. The beetles already in the chamber rushed at the party-

Thonia raised her spear and pointed it at the queen. She twisted the spear's shaft-

*click*
Ka-CHINK!

The harpoon tip shot out of its housing-

SPLUTCH!

And sank deep into one of the queen's compound eyes. Dripping ooze from her punctured eye, the leaned back queen spread her wings. At first it seemed as she were going to attempt flight... but then she began rubbing the wings together rapidly, creating a high-pitched sound that filled the cavern

EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-

"ARRRRGH!!"

Everyone clamped their hands to their ears, trying to protect themselves from the sonic assault. The sound was like red-hot spikes being driven into their skulls.

EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-

Weapons fell to the ground... men dropped to their knees. Krycek's whirlwind spell spun out of control and finally fizzled out. As hard as he tried, he could not concentrate enough to cast another spell.

EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-EEE-

The insects, unaffected by their queen's cry, closed in on the immobilized party. Rath rose to fight them, but he could barely move with the pain ripping at his skull. Thonia grunted and got on one knee. She gathered enough strength for one throw... the boomerang whistled through the air and sliced across the queen's left wing. The blade bit deep... and the infernal noise ceased as the queen's wing fell away from her body.

The queen roared in anger and pain. Men pushed themselves to their feet and regained their weapons just as the insects reached them. Thonia caught her returning boomerang and slid it into its place on her belt. Then she shoved her hands into her custom-made gauntlets and launched herself at the nearest man-beetle. She collided with the bug and bore it down to the ground. She popped the spikes on her gauntlet and repeatedly drove her fist into the thing's upper chest even while it slashed her with its legs. The bug squealed and squirmed as its chest turned into a gooey mess. The amazon leapt back, spun under a slash from another bug. She grabbed the bug, picked it up, and body-slammed it down on top of the one she'd just killed. She drove her spiked fist into its back with a loud CRUNCH. A third man-beetle reached for her, but Rath slammed into it from behind and threw it off balance. They both fell... Rath rolled away just in time to avoid Thonia's fist-

CRACK!

-the punch split the bug's head wide open.

"Thanks for waiting until I got out of the way!" Rath spat. Thonia ignored him, choosing instead to find more bugs to kill. She had no shortage of targets... more insects were arriving by the second. Beetles poured out of the holes in the walls and scurried toward them. Spider-Beetles descended from the ceiling on invisible strands. Roach beetles emerged from the walls. Man beetles lumbered down the other corridors that lead into the chamber. Most of the men were too busy fighting to notice. The Rune Missionary used his staff to blast the beetles from a distance. Rath and Thonia took on the bugs that got past him. Sutton and the other workmen grabbed whatever weapons they had and defended themselves. Princeton's outlaws hacked, jabbed, and chopped at anything that got close... and they seemed to be enjoying it. Princeton Park himself lay on the floor, closed his eyes, and curled into a tight little ball. It was hard to tell with all the noise, but it sounded as if Park was calling for his mother.

Dokan and Lara were halfway across the room.

"Watch your step," said Dokan. A man-beetle loomed up ahead of him. Dokan raised his cane, twisted the handle, and pulled the shaft away to reveal a long, thin sword. Dokan spun and slashed... both of the bug's antennae fell away. Two quick jabs punctured both of the thing's tiny eyes. Dokan kicked the beetle's legs from under it and continued on his way.

"I thought you said that the only weapon a thief needed was a sharp mind," said Lara.

"Extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures," said Dokan.

"Do you mind if I ask what we're doing?"

"The queen is the only insect in this room that matters. She is the key to ending this. Unfortunately the others are too busy fighting to do anything about it, and will quickly be overwhelmed."

"So what are WE going to do?"

"When the situation is unfavorable... you alter the situation."

They were approaching the queen. The other insects were too busy attacking the party to pay them much attention... but that was about to change. Dokan produced two of Princeton Park's black-powder bombs. He'd 'borrowed' them earlier to prevent Park from doing any further damage with them. He lit them both with a flint... he tossed one into the middle of the egg-pit... and threw the other at the queen's swollen abdomen. "Cover your ears, child."

The following double-explosion rocked the entire cavern. When the dust cleared, almost all of the queen's eggs were destroyed. The queen's abdomen was an oozing mess. The bomb had ripped her wide open... mucous and half-formed eggs spilled out into the pit.

The queen wasn't too happy about that.

She reared back and roared... and suddenly every insect in the cavern had only one objective: Destroy Dokan Maxwell.
They abandoned their attack on the rest of the party and converged on Dokan.

"NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO ATTACK THE QUEEN!" Dokan yelled. His voice was barely audible over the squealing and clicking of the angry insects. In the next instant, a bolt of lightning lit up the cave... The Rune Missionary had turned his staff against the queen, bathing her head and chest in a blistering assault. Sweat poured from the dark man's brow as he tried to fry the giant insect. Rester fired arrows at her. Most of them bounced off, but a few struck soft flesh and sank in. Thonia pulled another harpoon-tip from her pack of equipment. She jammed it into her spear and locked it into place. Then she took aim and fired... the barbed point pierced the queen's neck. Krycek cast the spell he'd cast earlier... a bolt of energy struck the ceiling and knocked a section of it loose. Boulder-sized stones fell down on the besieged queen, battering her like huge fists of stone. He sent another blast at the queen herself, opening up a deep, scorched gash along her flank.

"She's tough!" said Krycek. "We're hitting her hard and she's still going! That damned exoskeleton is as hard as rock!"

The queen's scorpion stingers shot forward and down at the party. Everyone scattered. Thonia leapt to one side, and the missionary dodged to the other. Both stingers missed, but they came around again... and again. Thonia and the missionary backed away... the angry queen came after them. Her front section shot forward suddenly, and her pincers closed around Thonia's waist. The amazon grabbed the pincers and tried to force them back before they could snap her in half... her huge muscles bulged with the strain.

"UNNNGH!!!"

One of the stingers arced down towards her, but the missionary stepped in to block it with his staff. He spun the weapon around and sliced at the stinger with the bladed end, severing the huge barb from the tail. Gore and venom spurted everywhere, but the queen refused to let go of Thonia. The huge pincers exerted more and more force on her comparatively small body. Even the Rune Missionary's added muscle could only delay the inevitable... only when Rath and Sutton joined in did the insects jaw begin to part.

Meanwhile, Dokan and Lara were facing certain death... thousands of insects were swarming toward them. Dokan had two powder-bombs left. He lit one and threw it at the insects

BOOM!

Insects and various pieces of insects flew everywhere. Dokan wasted no time... he ran through the hole he'd created in the swarm. Lara was right behind him. The insects were right behind HER. He already had the final bomb lit as he approached the queen. The others were pulling Thonia free... just as she slid out of the way, Dokan tossed the tiny bundle of explosives right into the queen's open mouth.

"RUN!" he shouted. But there wasn't anywhere TO run. The other insects had reached them... thousands of them-

Then there was an explosion. It started off muffled... but it quickly grew to an enormous BOOM... followed by the splattering of slime and mucous hitting the walls. The other insects stopped in their tracks, as if a switch had been turned off. Instead of attacking, they began wandering around aimlessly. Then the floor began to shake. Everyone turned around to look. The queen's head was gone, and her body was flailing around in its death throes. Her powerful limbs smashed into the walls... her thorax and abdomen flopped up and down with enough force to send cracks running across the floor. Large chunks of rock began to fall from the ceiling.

"We have to get OUT of here!" Dokan shouted. He pointed to a nearby tunnel and immediately started running. Everyone else followed. Just as they left, the entire lair collapsed in on itself, burying the queen and her now-mindless brood beneath tons of rock.

---

"You sure you don't need any help with that-"

"Do not touch me," said Thonia. Dokan backed way and let Thonia bind her own wounds. She and a few others had picked up quite a few in their fight with the insects. It was a simple matter for the missionary to heal most of them... but Thonia refused any magical assistance. She also wouldn't let anyone help her treat the deep cuts and bruises that the queen's pincers had left along her waist. She had her own salves and bandages, and wouldn't let anyone near her.

"Suit yourself," said Dokan. "But remember... it took a team effort to get you out of that thing's jaws."

Thonia was clearly ignoring him, so Dokan left her alone.

It'd been hours since the battle with the queen, and the party hadn't been attacked by a single insect. They SAW quite a few wandering around in the tunnels, but without a the queen, they were as docile as kittens. But by general consensus, the insects they encountered were killed anyway... just in case.

"How did you know the other bugs wouldn't keep fighting," said Lara. The girl had appeared beside Dokan; she'd almost taken him by surprise. Almost.

"Because I know insects," said Dokan. "And I know simple biology. Remember what I told you in the library. The diameter of your knowledge prescribe the circumference of you actions. These insects were much too small to be intelligent on their own... their brains just weren't big enough."

"How smart do you think she was?"

"Hard to say," Dokan replied with a shrug. Then he smiled. "Obviously not smarter than us, eh?"

Lara nodded.

"One thing does still bother me, though," said Dokan. "The queen's normal eggs would apparently hatch on their own. But the eggs that contained another QUEEN required a host... some other organism. That's why it wanted us.... to produce more queens."

"So?"

"So... where did THAT queen come from? The fact that a queen existed means that there must be some OTHER forms of life down here for the species to use as hosts. What are THEY like... and how long do we have before we run into them?"

[To Be Continued]