I'm not too heavily impacted by this. Xelu is much worse looking. Still it'd be a horrible way to go..... I'd better get out of here. The massive amount of monsters makes me nervous. I sneak rather slowly until we are a distance away, then I sprint full force back to the nest. The spiderlings open up a small hole for me to slip through.
I don't know if there is a limit on the amount of creatures that will come out of that nest. I'd rather not find out. Seeing as Kess and Xelu have abilities that can potentially produce infinite amount of spiderlings, I have a good guess though.....
We should bunker down and increase war potential. I can make several plans as well in case the nest is compromised. First of all, increase numbers. In total, there are close to about 500 spiderlings. We have a few sludge pools and metal mounds producing them inside but to reach a significant influx we would need at least 30-40 of them. The problem is spacing.
The sludge pools take up a portion of flooring while the mounds take up a portion of the room. The sludge pools take up less space overall but, eldritch spiderlings wouldn't be the best defenders..... Should we make spawning rooms? Just clean out massive areas width-wise but only as tall as the mounds need.
I could take a chance and build the spawners up on top of the cliff.... No, I already take enough chances. Some of those creatures can climb from the looks of them as well. Speaking of which it may be a good idea to hide the flesh nest better. I'll have Kess cover it with rocks and dirt to make it look like a mound on top of a cliff. Just have to make it look more natural somehow. Perhaps make some decoy mounds in other parts of the cliff? I go to the main room which has Kess and Xelu watching over the drow.
"Kess, we've got work ahead of us" Gin
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After filling Kess in on the plan she starts working on hiding Xelu's nest better. I regret making it but, it can't be undone easily. Destroy it? We'd have to tear the outside flesh away to just get to the vein webbing. On top of that it would be a waste. I start sketching up plans for spawning rooms. I can't leave Xelu to watch over the drow by herself so, I draw the plans up at the same time.
Thinking over several issues, one that sticks out is rock waste. We probably can't just dump it outside anymore..... Scratch that I'll just have Kess eat all of it. I don't understand what happens to all the stuff she eats. Thanks to closed circuit we don't need to consume anything but, what happens if we still do? After watching Kess I surmised that nothing happens. She gained weight but overtime she slowly lost some. After her evolution most of it was gone until she went to the larder.
Perhaps waste gets recycled into the world or something. With that issue handled next is an old issue. Subterranean creatures. They may not be able to break through the thick layers of metal webbing in the rooms. The only rooms in danger are the ones in the outermost part of the nest as well. Station some spiderlings there in case that does happen. It may be more of an issue when building new rooms though.
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Most issues have been resolved or are planned to be resolved. Now that Kess is done with hiding Xelu's nest, It's time to close up all holes other than a few air shafts. A thin film of metal webbing is filling those up allowing some air to flow through. Only a liquid creature like Set could squeeze down one.
I just hope this is enough.
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Vivec POV
We have lost all contact with the scouts. To lose all communication is strange though. We have over a dozen messengers going to and from the encampment at all times so, for that to stop.... They are most likely all dead. Don't need confirmation. It is fine to treat them as if they were.
Replacements shouldn't be to hard to find. The real shame is that Sigrid was among them. She handled quite a few troublesome groups. Now that she is gone they may cause problems.... Lets just use them on the frontline when we send out an extermination force. Say that Sigrid requested them to work there.
There is the chance that the settlement will fall but, what would that matter? I can escape at anytime and still be treated well anywhere else. Superior blood would be welcomed in any drow settlement. I may need to shuffle things around to gain control again but, it's all just a matter of time.
"Ivan, gather up a extermination force, it seems that those three are dead." Vivec
"Shit, why do I have to clean up after those trash." Ivan
He calls them trash but, he is the same. At least they had drive and charisma. He would be utter garbage if not for his strength. He will probably fail in the fight to come. It is best to plan out an escape now.
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Well this is unfortunate. I was completely wrong. No spiders in sight. Just abominations with humanoid body parts. Most are actually weak. The quantity more than makes up for that though. We weren't able to set up a force before they started banging on the walls. Fleeing may be.... Difficult....
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We gave up the outer walls. The filth can buy us some time to organise ourselves. Ivan is still alive surprisingly. Bastard used his subordinates as shields. I may have done the same but, not so obviously. Now there is tension between him and his troops. I'm not too worried. I still have a tunnel built that runs several kilometers away.
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I sneaked away while the others were fighting. This tunnel should lead towards a cave not to far from another settlement. Hmmm?..... Oh.... this is the end. I see a weird snake lizard with a drow head as well as a centipede with one as well. How are they in the middle of the tunnel though?.... Those are..... Felix and Fellia. Kind of ironic. These abominations must be wretched. Between these two, a slug slithers up to me. I'd rather not so, I take a knife from my side and-
*Sqliddsssshhh