As the rest of the
Daqinren made their way down, bit by bit, it soon became apparent that things were not as they seemed. Like the first ones down, the descent through the mist was slow. Abnormally slow, but as Xian lit up her light, the advanced sensor bearers saw something she didn't. The 'fog' refused to burn off, and shone like infinitely fine gossamer threads to their networked minds. Their passage through them 'broke' the threads, only for them to reform in their wake.
To
Reina, it tasted like silk.
Having eschewed the higher earthly plateaus, they all landed on the fungi-tops with a bounce, the Archangel following along. Given one of the bat-scouts sent up to that area for a better vantage vanished in a blip of pain, their choice was likely the best one. It was not entirely reassuring though. Underneath the canopy they stood on, something sensed their presence, and the clopping sound of hoof-like feet could be heard retreating. It sounded ominously familiar, as though they had heard it before.
Looking through the others' sensors, Wen could see how space and time faintly shivered and fluttered from the wake of said something fleeing. It had '
mana', but seemed that everything else it passed or left behind did too. The sensors perceived the flight like a shimmering ripple in the water, bouncing off of surface after creature after growing thing and so forth, all of which made their own little ripples. It all muddled into incoherence, but there was some calm elsewhere though.
Having landed with the vanguard, Reina could see that the 'motes' of light all varied in color and source. Strange, crab sized insects scuttled about, signaling for company, while others waved a lure meant for the unaware. Fungi cast their faint, inscrutable glow across the hollow, just enough for the Daqinren to see. Looking around Wen's scrutiny of the nearby lake and its shore had his eyes settle on a peculiar sight. A mushroom-like top had apparently broken off to float on the water, and resting on it was a lamb-like creature which mewled every so often. The shroom-top was too far from the shore for it to swim, and for the Daqinren, they would have to wade up to their waists to reach it.
Reina caught the faintest whiff of
Aos'Si, somewhere past the lake that their fungi-forest bordered, and perhaps into the mouth of the distant cave. The question was how to get there. Safely.
"I wouldn't say you have to hop from mushroom to mushroom that often," Hoshiko replied at their virtual beach.
"If we stay up here in the canopy, you can stretch out and reach things way better than the rest of us," the tiger princess pointed out. Hearing her sister-in-law though, Hoshiko
leaned in very close and asked,
"You have recordings? You can rewind and play them, right?" she smiled. Hoshiko was sure Jun had brain cells to use, but she just couldn't prove it yet.
"I apologize, I say 'fear not' out of habit," the towering archangel replied to Reina. "Your guess is correct in that The Dragon itself is a source of befuddlement. It not only hoards massive amounts of mana, but can hold
Nodes of
Odhrom'nimloth in one place to continue gorging," Lucifer elaborated. "This sheer quantity is troublesome, as where there is mana, there is
magic, exponentially increasing the possibilities going forward." The avian alien bent at the waist so that the two were at roughly eye level "We should be very concerned, as my predictive abilities - and therefore my ability to protect you all - are hampered." It pointed at Reina's chest. "Fortunately, even without me, you have some degree of protection."
As she said this, they all became acutely aware of the wax seal and parchment that Lady Nimue had placed upon them. Like something in the back of their minds, it had presence.
"I know I shouldn't," Hoshiko began aloud, eyeing the baby creature stuck in the lake. "But I wanna shoot it so it's not miserable."
