We gathered up here to rest a little after another tough fight. A hippo-turtle decided to run into the middle of a battle against a posse of crocs. It got messy real fast. Fortunately we were able to lock down the hippo long enough to finish off the crocs before turning onto the hippo and devouring it.
A little battered and with bulging stomachs, I decided we should retreat to heal up and digest before moving on.
So here we’ve been for the last few hours, watching the comings and goings of the nearby monsters. It’s curious that after we clear out the crocs, the local marsh monsters begin to come out of their shells. Their activity increases and what I would consider ‘normal’ monster behaviour begins to re-emerge. It only gives more weight to my theory that the Expanse, and indeed all local monster activity, is being suppressed somehow by the crocs as part of their occupation.
If I can learn how they do it, I’d be most interested in exploring the applications of such methods…
Gwehehehehe.
First, there’s more crocs for eating—I mean fighting… Also eating.
If Garralosh truly wanted to conquer the upper levels of the Dungeon, they shouldn’t have made their offspring so tasty! It’s a flaw in design and not one I’ll replicate. I’ve never eaten an ant, but I feel fairly confident we’d taste like garbage.
Not that I think a monster would care about how I tasted considering how Biomass-rich my body would be.
Gah! Stop thinking about yourself getting eaten, Anthony! Positive thoughts.
Isn’t it a positive thought though? I wouldn’t want the monster that eats me to have a negative experience… or would I?
Bah! I hope they choke!
[“Are we all ready to go?”] I ask my gang, not willing to dwell on these pointless thoughts.
[FIGHT!] Tiny growls.
“Ready-ready!” Vibrant beams.
[I am prepared for battle, Master,] Crinis replies, dignified.
All right then.
[“Let’s move out.”]
We cautiously descend the tree and begin to make our way even deeper into the Expanse. Here in the middle, we are completely surrounded by the dense vegetation. I can’t even see the walls from where we are. This means vigilance needs to be high.
Tiny is under the strictest of instructions not to go running off like a moron. We definitely can’t risk it now!
113. Woodstuffs
What the heck is this stuff?
After venturing forth, and emerging victorious from a skirmish, we came across something curious so I halted the group for a careful inspection.
We’re looking at one of the mangrove-style trees that emerge straight out of the muddy waters. Its tangled knot of roots sinks beneath the water line like so many straws. Supported atop this mess of roots, the tree rises, twisted and tall, opening into a grand canopy. It isn’t the top of the tree that’s garnered our attention, it’s the bottom. Specifically, the roots.
They’re glowing. Not all the roots, mind you, just some of them. Half perhaps. But there is a glow happening. The roots in question are shimmering with a soft browny, bluey sort of light, the kind of colour that soothes and mollifies the tired mind.
Curiously I venture close enough to give them a traditional ant investigation, which consists of thwappity thwapping the offending wood with my antennae until I get a good sniff. To my more ordinary senses, they seem just like glowing wood.
Flipping on my Mana Sense skill, I get a very different picture. When I reach out with my magically attuned mind, I can detect water Mana, blue and clear, infused within the wood alongside another Mana type, slow-moving and earthy in a way I can only imagine is earth Mana.
This wood is infused with not one, but two types of Mana? Is it due to sitting in the muddy waters of the Expanse, a place saturated with Mana at the best of times and at present completely overflowing with the stuff?
Perhaps this is an example of the kind of rare materials Enid mentioned? I wonder if the humans can make something out of this stuff. I’ll have to take a sample up with us when we return, not to mention keep an eye out for any more sources.
Before leaving, I give the wood one last thwappity with my antennae, the nimble sense organs flipping about rapidly as if they had a mind of their own before I feel satisfied.
[“Looks like some sort of Mana infused wood,”] I report back to my group when I join them a few metres away from the tree.
“Oooooh,” Vibrant coos. “Sooooo, what does it do?”
“I’m completely certain,” I reply firmly, “that I have no clue. We’ll have to wait until we get to the surface and ask if the humans know anything about it.”
“Aww. I was hoping we could do something cool with it.”
Personally, I was hoping the same. To preserve my dignity as the senior ant, I refuse to let my disappointment show.
“Nothing to get too fussed over, Vibrant,” I tell the soldier. “Let’s go find some monsters to crush.”
“Kay!” she cheers, punching the air with one foreleg.
I wait a moment as Crinis lifts herself up on a few tentacles and returns to her customary place on my back. Since she has a walking skill it wouldn’t hurt to have her wander about on her own. There isn’t strictly any reason why she has to be on my back. Perhaps I’ve gotten so used to having little creatures riding around on me, I’ve grown too comfortable with it. Since she can fold up into a little ink-black tennis ball, it doesn’t do any harm to have her there.
[See anything, Tiny?] I ask the ape as he pushes through the growth in front of me.
[Crocs. Big,] he grunts, pointing.
Hmm? I skitter forward, mandibles clacking with curiosity. What did he see?
When I make my way around my sizeable ape friend, I follow his arm with my eyes. It takes a moment before I spot exactly what he’s pointing at, but once I do…
Holy mackerel! BIG!
In the distance, perhaps only one hundred metres from us, is a gigantic croc. I wasn’t able to see it at first since it was resting in the water, most of its body submerged. When the water rippled, I was able to pinpoint the long snout resting just above the waterline and then traced it back to the tail resting on the shore fifteen metres away.
I mean, really?
I can tell from here this thing is a freakin’ beast. Perhaps this is our first sighting of the legendary, so far mythical, tier four offspring of Garralosh? I study the floating beast. Yes, I’m confident this is just too large to be a double-croc. We have a new species here.
[Don’t even think about it.]
I hear a shuffle next to me.
[Wha?]
[Don’t play dumb, Tiny. You plant your big ape butt right here in the dirt until I say you can fight. Got it?]
[Grrrr…]
[I’m not kidding here, buddy. Sit down and chill for a second. We don’t know many crocs there are out there.]
Without turning my head, I can see him shift and look directly at me as if I were crazy.
[Is that meant to be the fun part?] I ask.
He nods vigorously.
Save me from this muscle head!
With one antenna, I firmly point to the ground next to me. [SIT.]
[Hmph…] he sulks and sits with a THUMP.
And of course the croc in the distance twitches in response to the sound before turning to face our direction.
[Dammit, Tiny… was that on purpose?]
The massive ape looks innocently at me. Wide-eyed as a newly born baby giant ape.
If he didn’t have the Cunning of brick forged out of smaller bricks that were themselves made of the distilled energy of pure stupid, I’d believe he might be capable of such an act of duplicity. I think he just got lucky.