“Thank you for finding me, Andy. As much as I may have grown fond of the penguins, I do prefer the void house to an infinite arctic.” Andrew took a bite of grilled mushrooms as he ate.
They had found a pile of them when they woke up. They did not find Zoz. It appeared he had left again after dropping off their food.
“Yeah, do you honestly think I’d just leave you behind?” Andy looked at his older self. He actually wasn’t sure what the older man believed about most of them. They were so different these days that it was hard for him to imagine himself ever being as disconnected.
“I don’t know. While my technological genius may be growing, I am falling behind many of you in other ways.” Andrew responded.
“Yeah, so you don’t leave people behind just because they aren’t as capable. Consider the idea on top of that that we are basically weird twin brothers as well. I’m sure as hell not leaving family behind just because they can be giant pains in the ass at times.” Andy shook his head at the taller man.
“As I said, thank you. So what’s next?” Andrew asked, returning to his usual neutral tone.
“We wait for Zoz. I’ll need his help to pierce into another primal area. As for who is next? Bill, most likely. I can feel him almost as easily as you. After that, it’s going to get hard. I can probably find Ralth, maybe even Libby or Twonger, but I have no real connection at all to the other two. Hopefully, Zoz has something in mind when it comes to that.” Andy explained what he had been dwelling on since Andrew’s rescue.
“I do not, but I am confident something will provide us a way. While you ate, I’ve lured another nightmare to the cavern. I will need some of your refined mana again, Andy. Once I absorb its power, we can begin the search for your next ally.” Zoz had walked in as they were talking. He had started speaking while in the form of a fox and ended in the form of the deer they were more used to.
“Here.” Andy channeled some of his mana into Zoz’s form.
“What is that I smell in here? Is there some creature awake fully of tasty mana? How did you get here, little creature? Let me help put you back to sleep. All I ask is a small taste, nothing much.” A voice came from the cavern entrance.
Zoz blocked the view before Andy had a chance to see just what it was. “No, I think not a nightmare. Zoz defends these creatures, and that means you must die. Send my regards to your brethren should you find them in another life.”
Zoz flashed forward and drove his antlers through what Andy could only see as shadows. A bright light flashed, and Zoz emerged back into the cave with fresh electricity sparking about his antlers. He threw the shadowy form that remained of the nightmare onto the fire.
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“Now, Andy, it is time. Meditate as you did before and try to find another of your allies. The smoke from this nightmare form should help you find the strings. Let me know once you are ready, and I shall open the path forward.” Zoz instructed.
“Got it. Here I come, Bill. Try to keep yourself alive, buddy.” Andy said before sitting down to focus on his furry friend.
After several hours of focusing on the mana strings he singled one out that felt like Bill. Strangely, it also felt like a warm bath. He had no idea what that meant, but he hoped it didn’t mean someone was cooking the poor capybara.
“Zoz, I think I found him, and I can’t tell if he’s in trouble or not,” Andy said, a slight panic in his voice.
“Okay, focus on the string and pull it. I’ll do the rest.” Zoz said.
Andy listened and gave it a gentle tug. He watched Zoz follow up by releasing all the stored energy in his antlers down the string as a new hole popped into existence in the center of the cave. The deer quickly put his antlers in to hold it open.
“Alright, get going,” Zoz ordered.
Surprisingly, Andrew stood to join Andy, and he decided to let him. He was glad to see the man a little more caring after the penguins. They both climbed through only to find themselves in a much lusher environment.
Giant trees surrounded them, and in the distance, Andy could make out creatures that reminded him of a cross between a buffalo and a rhino. So, all the wildlife didn’t just come from Earth. He would have been more surprised if it had.
“BILL CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Andy shouted, similar to his first action in searching for Andrew. Unlike last time, he actually heard a response.
“Andy, is that you?! I’m over here!” The voice yelled back.
Both men ran through the woods after the source of the voice and quickly found it, lounging half-submerged in a hot spring. Sitting at the edge of the springs was a large leaf with several roast potatoes on it.
“I see you’ve been living well,” Andrew said upon seeing all this.
“Yeah, I thought about searching for you, but after wandering for a while, I gave up and decided just to wait it out. I had started to give up hope after the first months, honestly.” Bill said.
“Months?! From my perspective, I’ve only been here a few days at most.” Andy said in shock.
“Really? I was in the Arctic region for weeks. It seems time isn’t consistent here. That could be a large problem if anyone is too far out of sync. Less so than Ralth, I would think, but I don’t know about any of the other’s lifespans.” Andrew commented.
“Yeah, something to worry about, something new as always. Come on, Bill, we’ve gotta get back. I think we need to move faster on this search.” Andy had grown even more worried about those still missing.
“Alright, coming. I understand.” Bill hopped out of the spring, grabbed his possessions, and they quickly made their way back to the cavern.
“Zoz, Bill, Bill Zoz.” Andy said once they were back through.
“Nice to meet you…Wait, does anyone else hear Ralth?” Bill asked suddenly.