---
No one flinched at the word throne. They were ants. They did not flinch at words.
Vorak raised the Mandible Stone enough for the four to see it and then set it down again. "With this I will know what he is. All I need is a drop of his blood. I will talk to him myself when I arrive. Until then, I refuse to be bored."
Mardek's grin widened a degree. Oru's antennae angled as if a good scent had drifted upwind.
"I am dividing the fun. Skall. Oru. Yavri. Mardek. You will each take one thousand ant. Leave the heavy units. Leave the supply wagons. Travel fast. Reach that mountain and conquer it within twenty days. Do not waste your men on sand that will never remember their names. Take it from behind. Take it from underneath. Take it from the sky by climbing a cliff I do not see on this map, I do not care. Take the mountain under your control. Bring me the white hair and put his face against the ground under my boot."
