Clotho hovered as she listened, silent as a grave save for the soft beat of her wings.  Though by now very familiar with the unnatural, she had not put any credence into tales of beings that were kin to the planet's core, the 'dwellers in the deep'.  To meet one would certainly go down as an interesting point in her day.  It did raise some questions, however, one of which being: [i]If he's such a living brain trust, doesn't he realize that pride is a weakness?[/i]  That query, like the rest, went unspoken as the pair neared the cavern that Clotho had chosen as her staging area.

Upon entering the lively place and finding it suitably abuzz with activity, the swarm queen was immediately surrounded by bugs, some rattling off reports in an insect language, some waiting for orders, and a few expressing affection.  Dealing with them the best she could, and making sure they knew not to try and attack Xahillion, she found herself faced with her Kobold partner.  [color=9F8170]
“Ah, Twitch.  Things are going smoothly.  As I predicted, scouting parties curious to the new occurrences came down to snoop around.  They were taken care of, partially by me and partially by Xahillion here, and false positives sent back to whoever leads them.  I must confess, at this point I am very confident in my swarm's ability to reduce this outpost to dust, particularly with our new ally's help.”[/color]  She indicated the tentacled newcomer.  [color=9F8170]”Xahillion wishes to prove his worth to the Master by rendering us aid, you see.  Regardless, we are ready for the grand battle between humans and dwarves to commence.  Any news on your front?  Something from the other team perhaps?”[/color]