Being inside the Compound of Eyes was like looking out through another being's perspective, except in this case, rather than a single image there were hundreds. The surface of the 'screens' resembled mirrors, but rather than silver protected by glass there were millions and millions of pigment cells glazed over by a transparent membrane, such as that found in an insect's wing. Attempting to focus one more than one was a dizzying prospect; there was so much constant movement that a broad view of the screens was not unlike a wild hallucination. Scutra and Baudrii had been kept waiting in this chamber for ten minutes now after being summoned by Clotho, and in that time they had been able to become acquainted with the experience of scrying. At least, Baudrii had; Scutra constantly fretted and twitched, uneasy and unable to stand still.

At last, the Swarm Keeper entered. She looked upon her two subordinates with masked distaste. Hardly the lieutenants of an invading army. Luckily, compensating for her lack of forces formed a substantial part of her plan. “Construct and Adjunct,” she began, pacing to stand between them and the chamber's anterior. “It is time we made our mark on the world, our first real conquest. Most conquerors would understandably start out small, raiding little villages and hamlets and the like before attempting to overrun the nearest city.” She crossed her arms. “I am not most conquerors. Even if my ambition were less, there are no smaller settlements to be had in this environment. For survival in the jungle, the humans of this region established a single bastion that swelled to vast proportions over the years. It is Virens of which I speak. Before ascending to my current state I lived there, and you were once one of them, Baudrii. We know the city well, but it is current surveillance that will give us the edge.”

Abruptly, she spun around, wings now facing her underlings. Before her stretched the wall of hexagonal screens, each relaying the field of vision of a single Macula. Roughly half of them were of her own Dungeon, but the other half were scattered throughout Virens. They perched on streetlights, awnings, and rooftops, hid beneath eaves and benches and in lumber piles, and generally infiltrated all of it. “Our first step to capturing Virens is the elimination of its supply lines. While in the city last night I obtained some information. At noon today a barge is scheduled to bring in a shipment of grain and other commodities from the plains to the north.” Her yellow gaze hardened on her imp construct. “Scutra, this is your chance to prove yourself as anything more than a bug-eyed brewer. Lead a party of imps to the Saploya river and have them barricade it with their webbing. Once it has gotten snared or otherwise stopped, you will board it with a squadron of Myrmidons, kill any aggressors, capture whoever is left, loot anything of value, then scuttle the boat. Understood?”

Though the imp construct deep both resentment toward his mistress and her new Adjunct, so much stronger and more capable than he merely by nature, his desire to please her won out. “Yes, mistress. I will depart immediately.” Suddenly filled with energy, he kept his word and barged out of the Compound of Eyes without hesitation. Earnestness was good—there was no time to lose. Still, Clotho suspected he would ultimately fail in his leadership role, and rather than lead the charge he could very well simply stand out of harm's way. She wasn't ignorant to his emotions, either; though cunning and savage like all imps, he was also treacherous and untrustworthy by nature. Once Scutra was out of earshot, she addressed Baudrii, who had been standing still and silent the whole time, a vast, gleaming paladin of chitin. “In the meantime I will send Antlions beneath Virens to undermine its structures, which I will then oversee. For this I do not need you, so I am sending you after Scutra's party. Should the whole operation go wrong, you are to intercede and destroy the boat. Then, kill Scutra. Flight should give you the drop on them both.” A razor-toothed grin flashed in the faint light cast from the screens. “I've grown bored of him. I can always appoint another brewmaster, one without the cowardice and weakness of imps. Maybe another human. After all, you turned out well. Take a Macula with you so I can see it all. Now get lost.”

A few minutes later, Clotho stood alone in front of a pit in the ground surrounding the King Tree. The area was totally shaded; before today, the sunlight penetrated the leaves of the great tree and dappled the earth below. Now, the dungeon's construction was nearly complete, and the tree was almost totally enveloped in it. Though the grand, elevated hive was glorious to behold, Clotho's current interest lay with the creatures that lived beneath the ground. With a keening cry she summoned the Antlions from their expansive underground tunnels. They now numbered almost two dozen, and more were spawning quickly thanks to her growth serum. She issued their orders and watched them go, moving slowly but unstoppably over the leaf litter like living tanks. Before long they would resort to tunneling beneath the surface rather than attempting to navigate the dense jungle above I, and in doing so would approach Virens undetected.

Afterward, Clotho paid a visit to the lair of the Myrmidons. There she effectively ended their predominant practice of remaining in the nest at the King Tree's base and only emerging when a threat appeared. From now on, they would patrol the entirety of the dungeon like proper soldiers. Until now they had been relying on the roots and tubules of the King Tree for nourishment, but she explained that they would find edible fungi throughout the tree to eat, which the imps had been cultivating in their spare time. With that settled, Clotho returned to the Compound of Eyes.

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Location: Dungeon
Dungeon: Jungle north of Saploya River, N16°W12° An nearly complete, vast hive spanning the length, width, and height of a massive, ancient tree in the jungle. The hive itself is constructed of a magically-created liquid that expands and hardens into a stiff, paperlike substance upon exposure to air. The main body of the hive is suspended by countless support struts that reach for hundreds of feet in every direction. The Dungeon Heart is situated at the very top of the tree. Bugs called Macula infest it, functioning as living security cameras and alarms. Currently has: Dungeon Heart, Myrmidon Spawner. Living Foundry, Apothecary, Macula infestation, Compound of Eyes
Forces: 29 Drone Imps, 82 Myrmidons, 23 Antlions, imp construct Scutra, Adjunct Baudrii
[/hider]