“The good news is I’ve already found him, so if you can just open the portal to the destination of the big string coming from me, it should get us to the correct place,” Andy informed Zoz of the bridge he had been able to form while they were bringing the husks back to the caverns.
“Good. That will speed things up, and perhaps, with his help, you can begin the hunt for the last four members of your group.” Zoz replied.
“That’s the plan. He’s a lot more knowledgeable on the wider planes than we are.” Bill smiled as he spoke.
“Well then, let us begin. I believe I can see the string Andy is referring to. Ah yes, I’m sure I can now.” Zoz’s antlers ignited in blue electricity before as the air ripped apart yet again. Unlike the previous times, instead of some landscape devoid of their quarry, they were greeted by the smiling face of Ralth.
“Hello, my friends. Is it safe for me to just jump across?” The man looked ecstatic to see them.
“Yeah, get yourself over here. Bill was worried he’d have to tell the boys he had lost you.” Andy answered.
Ralth carefully climbed through the hole. It was a tight fit, leading Andrew and Andy to have to grab and yank him through at one point, causing him to yank free and crash to the ground on top of the other two. Bill burst into laughter.
“Ralth, how long were you stuck there? Time seems to work differently in every area. Also, eat this.” Bill shoved a plate of mushrooms into the large man’s hands as soon as he pulled himself from the pile.
“I have been subsiding on ambient mana for what felt like a year. I have no idea how accurate that is, though, as I was deep in meditation for the vast majority of it.” Ralth gobbled down the food he was handed and turned to Andy. “We must work quickly, and I have no idea how long the field will last. We need to find the last four. Andy, have you felt anyone else across the mana flows? With that anchor embedded in you, I imagine you are seeing the world in a very different way.”
“I see mana threads connecting everything, but I don’t see anything that stands out right now, at least.” He answered.
“Ah, the trick to it isn’t to look. It is to feel. Sit down and close your eyes.” Andy did as Ralth instructed. “Feel the pulsating flow from what you’ve tied to your core. Follow that out into the deeper abyss.”
“Okay, I think I feel something… Wait, yes, intense anger and fear. It’s hard to zero in on. It’s moving very fast.” Before he could continue, two blasts of energy ricocheted off the cavern walls, knocking Andy out of his trance.
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“What the hell was that?” Andrew yelled.
“We have a problem. An elder nightmare has located us. I was concerned this would happen before we were ready.” Zoz’s voice came loudly from somewhere outside the caves.
“Hah, you dare call me a nightmare? Will you still say that once I destroy your little project here?” A voice responded from in the distance.
“Bill, Ralth, with me. We need to help Zoz, or I doubt we are ever getting out of here.” Andy ordered the pair, having regained his footing following the surprise assault.
They raced out of the cave in search of the voice. Andy was sure they all spotted at the same time as it was impossible to miss. There was a fifty-foot tree creature swinging its branches menacingly at Zoz. Andy saw Ralth raise his arms out of the corner of his eye, but before the man had a chance to channel anything, he was hit in the chest by a blast of energy from the creature’s mouth.
“Bill, help Ralth. I have no idea what will happen to us in regards to the loop if we die in here. So try to keep him alive.” Andy yelled as he charged towards the tree, rage starting to overtake him. “Hey, that’s my friend you just tried to kill, and I’m growing pretty partial to Zoz too. So tell me, how easy is it to swing your branches now?”
The creature's arms sagged towards the ground as black spheres formed around both of them. Andy was surprised to find this easier than he expected. He could feel more mana surging into his core from the thread he had tied off in it. Considering the circumstances, he welcomed the change for once. He was going to need everything he had to take this thing down.
Andy pulled more mana from his core and pushed it below his feet, reversing the gravity and propelling himself into the air towards the creature's head. He overshot and crashed into the tree branches behind it. He rethought the idea of trying brand-new tactics in life-or-death situations and opted for something a little more practiced. The creature turned its head and opened its mouth, ready to fire another blast directly at him.
This was the moment he had been waiting and created another black ball inside the mouth of the creature. He ramped up the gravity of it as much as he could, causing the creature’s jaw to slam shut just as the energy was about to escape it. Instead, it fired a giant blast directly into its own mouth.
Andy could only watch as the creature destroyed itself.
“Good job my friend. I am grateful for your help. I would not have been able to defeat such a powerful nightmare on my own. Now come down from there so we can examine your friends and resume your search.” Zoz called out to Andy.
Once back on the ground, Andy ran back to Bill and Ralth, only to find Ralth sitting up and drinking some more mushroom broth. He looked mostly intact.
“Sorry for the scare. It looked a lot worse than it was, but it really managed to knock the wind out of me. Are we ready to get back to searching for the others now?”
“Yes, we are. I believe we should be nightmare-free now for a considerable time.” Zoz answered.
“Good.” Ralth gave Zoz an odd look before heading back into the cave with Andy and Bill.