For the next couple of weeks, Jen and Ethel worked to map the cave system with the squirrels' help. Cal continued his training with Onelder, and Ethel joined in sporadically.
Albert and Frank had offered to work as sparring partners with Stan in his quest to learn how to fight with a sword. It could be going better, but Frank was able to hold a practice sword they had made pretty strongly, and Albert could dodge surprisingly fast for a capybara.
At the end of their first month on Pluto found the group sitting together, sharing dinner. Jen had laid the maps out on the ground. “So, as you can see, these tunnels are very extensive, and it will take quite some time for the squirrels to map the entirety of them that exist under the surface, but the good news is they have already found some points of interest.” She pointed to a couple of the large red Xs she had marked on the map. “These are areas the squirrels are not willing to risk going. They can’t really explain why, but some sort of generational danger warning has them believing the areas to be of extreme danger to them. Now, the green circles those are other areas like this. Wooded caverns with other living creatures. At each point, the squirrels were able to make contact with other squirrels living there, increasing our surveillance. It turns out they are unhappy with the invaders as well.”
“Yes, it seems several entire cavern groves no longer exist, thanks to Gryalth,” Ethel added.
“Do you think those are tied to the danger places?” Stan had just finished his apple stew before speaking.
“No, they are willing to tell us where those were. They are marked with black lines. I get the feeling the danger zones are more ancient Merlin magic or possibly abyssal beasts. Now, these two places are the real interesting ones.” She pointed to the two large green Xs. “These are pools of water the squirrels try to avoid, not out of fear, but because of something they call awakenings.”
“Mana pools!” Cal cut her off in his excitement at more natural mana sources.
“Yes, I thought that would end up being our first target. Since we’ve found them nice and early in the loop, we could hit them up right now, see if we can do any bonding, and then continue our training. This does leave the burning question of who, though.” Jen continued after Cal’s outburst.
“You and Albert,” Cal said without pause. He had already considered, and while initially, his father and Jen were the plan, things had changed. “Dad has the sword, so no reason to overburden him right now. Ethel and I already have mana spirits, and all the offense intended, I just don’t trust you enough yet, Onelder. Lastly, this is just me guessing, so yell at me if I’m wrong. We have no idea what effects a mana pool would have on Frank, and testing in an uncontrolled environment isn’t the best idea.”
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“I agree, Cal. No mana pools for Frank just yet. Albert and Jen are the best ideas.” Ethel nodded her head at Cal.
“Huh, so I’ve been in a mana pool many times in my life, the same one that gave Ethel her powers, but I never gained anything from it. I’m willing to try, but it may not work on me. Have any of the animals, other than Bill’s odd way of doing so, gained any magic yet?” Albert's concern broke through the excitement in his voice.
“The frog got his abilities somehow, and from what I learned on Mars, animals were the primary magic users of Earth for a long time. So I say we test it!” Cal smiled at Albert. “Ready to become a wizard.”
“Okay, I don’t want to split us up, even if it could be faster. Let’s start with the nearest pool.” Jen pointed to one of the pools on the map. “I’m guessing it’s about two days away through the tunnels. Let’s get packed up and head out in the morning. We can decide once we see it which of us wants to go for a swim.”
“Any close danger spots to this pool?” Stan asked.
“No, the further one, though. We will have to pass through two. The passages aren’t big enough for us unless Cal wants to alter the caverns.” Jen looked at Cal, waiting for his answer.
“I’d rather test one of the danger spots before we start really screwing with the structure of the caves.”
“Agreed, everyone. Finish your dinner and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we find a mana pool.” Jen took the last bite of her food after she finished speaking.
Cal spent the first few hours trying to sleep, then gave up and started pacing instead. The plan he had been considering was getting more and more likely now. Two more mana spirits meant they could increase the space of their void dimension again, and this meant more room for construction, construction that wouldn’t just disappear when the time loop reset. Now that he knew about Gryalth bases on Pluto, he was more sure than ever that they would need their own shipyards. The real problem would be manpower. When they returned, it was time for a long conversation with Andrew.
His brain was stuck on this all night, and when the group woke up, they found Cal had already prepared breakfast and packed up most of their gear.
“Morning everyone, in the excitement I couldn’t sleep. Who wants eggs?” Cal started passing out scrambled eggs to his groggy friends and family. “Hey, so I’ve got a request for Jen and Albert. Can you try to make sure you end up with mana spirits? It’s important you get your own realms so we can expand the void house more.”
“Sure, but why?” Jen said.
“You saw what was above us. I had already been considering this for awhile, but if we are going to go into direct massive conflict with the Gryalth, we will need magical battleships.” Several jaws dropped at his statement despite the smile he kept on his face as he said.