Finally, the dappled sunlight shone through the thick, rolling clouds. Sprinkles of rain still fell, but the torrents of Biblical proportions were gone. Steam began to rise from the foliage as the midday sunlight, kept at bay by the cloud cover, beat down upon it and evaporated the residual water. Clotho, having spent a good hour traversing the dense jungle on foot, was relieved when she stretched her transparent wings and found them dry enough for sustained flight. Her Dungeon loomed above her, but even had it not been such a mammoth landmark, the essence of her soul imbued in her Heart would have guided her back to it. After a few experimental beats of her wings, she took to the air, searching for an empty hive chamber. On the way, she called out to any imps she caught a glimpse of to follow her.

She found a suitable room about halfway up the trunk, plastered against the blighted wood. Beetles swarmed around it, and six of her fifteen available Drone Imps were on hand to carry out her orders. Clotho tore an entrance into the cocoon-like structure and landed within, followed by her minions. The chamber was large, vacant but for a few fat wood beetles whose shells glistened in the dim light, and it was well-supported thanks to numerous support strands outside. Its position, structure, and connections to other parts of the hives allowed it to serve as a central hub, and the role that Clotho had in mind for it suited the theme well. After determining the chamber to be satisfactory, she removed the head biomancer's pendant from about her neck and pried it apart with her claws. Inside the iron casing was a bead of viridian amber, practically dripping with sheer life force. The power contained within the bead almost caused Clotho to salivate, and she experienced a strong urge to consume it, but her sense kicked in. Instead, she placed it in a groove on the underside of her left forearm's carapace.

The effect was instantaneous. The glow of the crystal, signifying the life energy contained within, drained into Clotho's forearm and scrambled the localized genetic material. Before her eyes, the shell covering both the forearm and the entire upper arm melted, churning with magic and making rather horrific crackling and squishing noises. It was an unpleasant experience, but Clotho kept a cool head, carefully exerting her control over the magic. If she failed, the energy could spread like a cancer, warping her entire body and killing her, or worse.

Luckily, she succeeded. Her will proved stronger than the entropy of the released life magic, and the material that constituted her arm reformed itself into an improved shape. Now the carapace took the appearance of armor, an ornate layout of vambrace, rerebrace, spaulder, and pauldron. In addition to provided Clotho with new defensive capabilities in combat, a needle-like protrusion extended from the front of the vambrace portion—an evil-looking stinger, literally dripping with corrupted life energy. Clotho had great plans for this biological weapon, schemes that would give her an unfair advantage in any situation: a venom that could nullify magic. Though uncultured at the moment, Clotho knew that with enough tinkering her fell concoction would have the ability to render even the magic of fellow Keepers useless for a limited time, forcing them to fight her on her own turf: physical combat. Before any of that, however, the poison would have to be concocted. Once perfected in a laboratory of some sort, it could be incorporated into Clotho's biological repertoire and used freely as her own body manufactured more.

Though the specialized toxins were beyond her reach at the moment, the Stinger remained a potent tool through which Clotho could exert her will. Extending the needle, the Swarm Keeper rammed it into the floor of the chamber, releasing a wave of her magic that formed into more summoning portals for imps and flooded the room with life energy. Once another ten had been summoned, Clotho addressed them all. “I have imbued this room with my corruption. You will construct here, using my life essence as a base, a Living Foundry where we can grow weapons for our horde. Like the ant cultivates mushrooms to provide food, you will cultivate organisms that produce our arms. The Myrmidons require spears and shields; I expect that them to be the first products of this Foundry.”

She paused for a moment before continuing. In the silence, the squelches and stretching of the corrupted life magic could be heard. “Higher in the tree, among the leaves, you will build an apothecary where new toxins may be developed.” Walking among the group of drones, she single out the largest, most vicious-looking individual and laid a clawed hand on its shelled shoulder. She remembered that it had been the first, and the quickest, to obey her orders when the frameworks for the Dungeon were first being made. “You will accompany me to my Heart. While in the future I can divine transformative serums to create a construct, that cannot be done without the laboratory. As such, you get your due promotion the hard way. Lucky you.”

[u]Status:[/u]
0/3 Drone Imp Construct
0/3 Living Foundry
0/6 Apothecary
Location: Dungeon
Dungeon: Jungle north of Saploya River, N16°W12° An incomplete and unfurnished yet 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. Currently has: Dungeon Heart, Myrmidon Spawner.
Forces: 25 Drone Imps, 48 Myrmidons