Part 4
The vast, underground cavern that laid under Aesir’s dungeon had about three and a half thousand different monsters contained inside.
The breadth and variety of these monsters tended to cluster together into various groups, according to their own priorities. Nested at the foot of the Northern Luminous Peaks, lay a rather sedentary group of Kobolds, the most degenerate group of monsters that contained traces of Draconic blood, while just above them, lay a wide expanse of jutted, rock formations that contained one of the few examples of an alpha species that was contained in the cavernous dungeon. Griffons. Although they only numbered half a dozen or so, they indisputably had laid their claim to the north stretches of the cavern, with other small groups of varying types clustering below them in sparse camps accordingly.
Meanwhile, on the far west end, laid the Fomorian, with his group of Giant sub-species that guarded the enchanted tree there. Arguably among the strongest of the groups, it was also the quietest, due to the relative intelligence of the inhabitants. Their overwhelming strength, and height made even the attacks of the Griffons mostly ineffective, while those to the south rarely bothered them, mostly sticking to themselves for fear of attack.
As for the south, there laid arguably a mixed group of nature-based beings, be it Treants, various groups of Fae beings, good or evil, and the more dangerous beings located inside the cavern, Manna’s personal Nymphs.
Now, while undeniably dangerous, the reasons why weren’t due to any particular level of threat or level of violence. Peter himself had only laid eyes on such creatures once, and got away by sheer luck, but even for the main mundane of Nymphs, for those who had no resistance to their abilities, they would unwittingly charm any man, woman or beast who came across them.
Although they were meant only to maintain the care of the cavern’s plants and animals, and as such traveled throughout the cavern, their main place of rest centered in the south. With such an ability, it meant that any unfortunate soul that was unlucky enough to see them without adequate protection would be trapped in an already dangerous area, completely oblivious of that due to a charm. This usually meant their subsequent death, since a being that was influenced directly by the Dryad of Aesir would undoubtedly have a variety of followers that would do their utmost to worship and protect such a creature.
Such protection differed from Nymph to Nymph, with most creatures lacking any opportunity to even approach them without some measure of luck and skill. Equally however, that meant that a spare few creatures in the dungeon hunted the Nymph. Due to their overwhelming quantity of pure mana from Aesir, they made an equally appetizing target.
And, it was precisely that trait that had drawn Drake towards such a notable individual.
Although he had spent only a brief time in the cavernous part of Aesir’s dungeon, Drake had noticed something quite unique in the layout of the area. Something that was only further confirmed once he had realized what that faint glow around Peter really meant. Or at least, how it could be used to improve both himself and Peter.
Light mana… Holy mana… Divine mana… just what exactly made up Peter’s source of mana was pointless to Drake. All that mattered, was there was a source of mana that was influenced directly by Aesir, even if it was through the Dryad.
Despite that interest however, it seemed he would have to take care of a certain individual first.
“If you keep following me like that, I might start getting the wrong idea,” Drake said in a playful tone.
Drake didn’t need to see the Grimal to know that something was following him in an extremely peculiar pattern. It was just as Peter described as well, a process of continual ‘warping’, as long as the creature itself stayed out of sight, it could reappear anywhere it wished. The Grimal was supposed to help keep watch over Peter, and help him cultivate his power, but it’s efforts over the past week had proved fruitless over the short-term. Hence, why it had chosen to follow Drake instead, at the very least to prevent him from indirectly harming Peter.
“Well, come on out,” Drake mocked. “While my control is shoddy at best, I would at least be capable of grabbing onto some part of you if I expanded my reach far enough out.”
Drake was speaking from the perspective of nothing more than an interested party, but the rough, Draconic language that emerged naturally from him was enough to put the Grimal on alert as soon as he spoke.
“Rather forceful, aren’t you?” The Grimal scoffed at him as it emerged from behind the trunk of a large tree. Although neither truly knew what the other said, the rough meaning was understood rather quickly, much to Drake’s pleasure.
[There we go… Now was that so hard?] Drake smiled to himself, as a telepathic message was quickly transmitted to the small Grimal, much to its shock.
[Telepathy… just what are you?]
[I’ll take that as rhetorical and get on with it.] He taunted.
[Why are you following me? The crystal I left with Peter would be able to help him immensely once he figures out to use his inner mana. The fact you didn’t tell him that yet though and let him go on a wild goose chase with the natural method for the humanoid races leads me to believe you have something else planned.]
[It’s best for him to discover that through trial and error. Surely you did the same.]
[That’s not the words of someone who actually cares about Peter’s physical or mental wellbeing.] He scoffed.
[I might be a little off thanks to my own transformation, but he’s a normal human inside. People can only take so much, before they crack. Even I would have had trouble…]
For all his rapid development, powerful instincts, and natural gifts, Drake was still extremely new to his own body. Though undeniably sinister with some of his actions, his goals and ideas had changed only slightly from his days as a human. He formed habits easily, even if they were to his detriment, and it was only through trial and error that he had survived to grow and progress, along with the help of a little imp…
For those that had never had to go through what he had, even with the occasional help of others? Such a process would inevitably begin to break them down under the stress, unless they fully acclimated to such a life.
Even when Drake first appeared, the relief hidden behind Peter’s shock was all too obvious to see. He had someone to help him, to speak to, to relate to. The Grimal could never truly be compared to someone like Yami, given the unconnected relationship between the Peter and the Grimal. As a result, how essential Drake was to Peter’s continued progression with his powers was severely understated.
[It is a result of the Great One’s plan. If you want to receive something, you either must earn it, or give something up in return. Otherwise, you’re no better than a beast, something without any balance in themselves. The opposite of what Aesir’s guardian must be.] The Grimal stated matter-of-factly.
[Ha, a beast? Do you see yourself? You’re no partner, and you’re barely even a mentor. If it makes him a beast to take something that I gave him freely, then to reach balance, I just need to take from someone else right? And since you’re just a nuisance that’s gotten in his way…]
Drake’s playful attitude and mischievous smile began to warp as soon Aesir was mentioned. The Myconid had acted and behaved in the same way. As if it was all apart of a greater plan… one which he was forced to go down. It was something he despised greatly, but was nevertheless forced to obey, due to Yami’s own circumstances.
[I was planning on some experimentation soon… why don’t you let me toy with you a bit? I reckon I can fix that annoying side of you with a bit of my own mana.] Drake threatened.
The upwelling of demonic mana that swelled up from within Drake began to spill out, and the Grimal quickly took the cue to run, quickly disappearing from the Drake’s rather limited range of detection.
“Tch. Coward.” He cursed.
The thought that such a creature would continue to sidetrack Peter was a source of some mild annoyance, but it was a problem that could quickly be fixed once he reached a certain solution.
Drake had been meticulously scanning the environment from the moment he left Peter. He hadn’t stopped doing so even while arguing with the Grimal, although the exact reason for it was a tad more complicated than simply ‘looking for a meal’. In short, he was finally going to attempt a thought that had crossed his mind many times but was never willing to due to how it would affect others around him. In a place like this however, and one which had already pissed him off plenty…
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“There should be no issues with finding a suitable one here,” he snickered.
Focusing himself on the surrounding environment, he wavered ever so slightly. He had been keeping track of several sources of the mana that Peter held, and they only now split from each other. Given that Peter had positioned himself on the far east wing of the cavern, in an attempt to separate himself from the most powerful of creatures, it made perfect sense that only now did specific signals begin to branch from one another. However…
“To the left is a highly pure source of Aesir’s mix of mana, while just ahead seems to be an almost overwhelming quantity of nature mana… The quantity alone puts even the mana well above the dungeon to shame.”
Dead ahead definitely seems to be very similar to Aesir’s, but it’s not the exact type. Nature mana… Peter mentioned some kind of tree. That wouldn’t be all that helpful, which just leaves…
“To the left.”
He was in luck. After all, such a powerful magical emission was hardly helpful towards keeping other’s away, if they were interested in you. However, he was among some of the very first ones in the dungeon. The idea of hiding your own presence would only be common for among the weakest in the dungeon, and that was only if one had the intelligence to attempt it. For those that had power, the best idea would be to broadcast it, to at least let others to know to stay away.
Drake quickly sped up his pace, breaking through the tree line at a blistering pace as he approached the closest source. The signal only became stronger, only, to Drake’s surprise, a small retinue of weaker sources began to make themselves known around the one he was closing in on.
He skid to a stop, before he began to slowly pick out the different signals. Three… maybe four… Dammit.
“She was so much better at this than me, I can’t even tell what they actually are,” he mumbled to himself.
He breathed out quickly, before bringing his focus back on the group. 150 to 155 yards in front of him, and only slightly to the left. One was the extremely pure source, while three others that seemed to be just sort of haphazardly wandering around that source, with extremely mixed mana signals at that.
Guards of some sort? He thought haphazardly. He gave a brief sigh and shook his head. It wouldn’t matter what it was. In any case, he first would need to get an idea of what he was fighting.
Approaching closer, he began to hear something. It was muddled, extremely so. As if only the faintest of sounds were escaping from within a bubble.
He suddenly craned his neck forward, most in confusion over what he realized he was hearing.
“Music?”
He had heard music. It was faint, and ethereal, softly playing and lilting on the wind as if to lull anyone that approached into a deep, restful sleep. The light, flute-like tune relaxed him immensely, and he felt himself begin to slowly lower to the ground, all the while with a blissful look plastered across his face. It was… serene.
“Aaaghh…!” He suddenly dropped to his knees, as a sudden pain overtook him.
The burning… the burning in his chest returned, just as strong as it was in the Myconid’s cavern. It boiled in his chest, as if struggling to find a way to escape. He collapsed to the ground as the feeling began to build and build…
“Dammit…!”
Just as he began to feel as him he was going to scream out in pain, the feeling suddenly receded. It was slow, but the deep burning began to subside as the seconds passed. Still…
That… That wasn’t a coincidence. He breathed out, his whole body shaking from the sudden stress of it all. It was too well timed.
It was strange, but the alluring music that was wafting through the air no longer held the same draw it did before. It was merely pleasant, rather than the overwhelming force it held only a few seconds earlier. It was only through letting out the faintest strands of his own demonic mana that he began to realize that a form of magic was mixed in with the song, making it one in the same.
“Haa…” He gave a brief sigh, as he shook his head at the first thought that came to mind. The Draconian. That burning pain had occurred ever since he had fully condensed his demonic mana core. Even before he first chained up the creature, he had some misgivings that becoming more powerful might give it some semblance of power. It was why he had been so much more focused on understanding his abilities, rather than gathering pure power. He was worried that it might make a sudden return.
Still, this was something he could push to the side for now. Given that it was merely a physical side effect, rather than his personality, it proved the Draconian had only the most limited of control.
“Heh,” Drake smiled before putting his full attention back on the small group ahead of him. Although it was purely conjecture, that music likely acted as a sort of barrier. He had noticed that various smaller signals dropped off as he approached closer to the barrier, but he had merely assumed it was due to the power the individual held. Now? Undoubtedly it was due to the danger that song put those who approached too close, and now he was free of that exact influence.
Approaching slowly, Drake began to close in again. As he did, the enchanting melody that was being played suddenly ceased altogether. Worried that he’d been caught, he briefly froze. The sounds of the surrounding forest stirred only slightly, no more than the average movement he would see normally.
Ha… worried for nothing.
Pushing forward, he carefully cleared aside a cluster of heavy tree limbs and brush, until he finally caught sight of a small clearing through the tree line. Dropping down, he moved forward one step at a time as he finally caught sight of the source of the pure, and pristine mana.
In the middle of a small clearing, stood an enchanting woman, with chest-nut colored hair, her body as smooth and as perfect as a sculpture. Despite this, she was on the petite side, with even her height barely reaching above the child-like Ella. Still, she moved as if she had an air of regality, as if she was imitating the still growing Dryad that followed behind Aesir. However, as for the three other signals that he had felt, what was surrounding her was… interesting.
“Satyrs… actual Satyrs,” he mumbled.
In front of him were three of the generic little goat-men that he would have expected Therion to be, at least based on his race. Almost a full foot shorter than his favorite demonic servant, with a head full of short, red hair, and dancing around what was an utterly breathtaking woman. Disregarding the woman, when he had learned that Therion was a Satyr, he had fully expected that Satyrs were a demonic race. After all, in some recent forms of story making, it was common enough to give some of the more common mythological creatures darker origins. This however… These were without a doubt Satyrs, even without the gift of the ‘Identify’ ability.
The standard, boisterous, and playful goat-men that had been in mythology since antiquity. That was what the trio that surrounded the woman was. Still, why did he feel as if something was wrong…?
Even now, with Drake situated only twenty or so yards away from them, the four of them hadn’t noticed him. It didn’t seem as if they were ever playing music, but even still, they were relaxed. They were simply enjoying themselves, as if there wasn’t a care in the world.
… I’m starting to have second thoughts. He thought reluctantly. It’s too… peaceful.
Despite what had occurred, he was hoping to stumble across a powerful monster. The process behind corruption was important, but to attack a group like this…? Drake liked to think of himself as ruthless, but even he felt guilty about stalking such a peaceful group with the intent to attack.
That musical barrier wasn’t badly intentioned, after all. It was just a way to keep other out.
A group that only wanted to be left alone, to their own devices, and enjoy life as they wished. Truthfully, it wasn’t too far off from Drake’s own ideals. It was why he had searched out such a powerful source of mana. In a place like this, it was common sense that they would be the most powerful, and just as commonly, it meant that they would gain that power through violence. He wouldn’t feel bad at all about corrupting such an individual, but to come across a group like this?
A long, lengthy sigh escaped him, before he began to slowly retreat. He had hoped to gain some understanding of Aesir’s mana, but it wasn’t as if he could just speak to them. If even Peter, with so little understanding of his own powers had such an intense aversion to demonic mana, who said that a woman who was made of the stuff couldn’t sense it inside of him? Then, given the sort of reaction that Peter had…
He would be seen as hostile almost immediately. A logical reaction given what he could do…
“Dammit,” he muttered.
Forget it. It would be best to find another source. It would weigh less on his conscience.
“Dammit…” He cursed as he began to withdraw from the small clearing, only for a loud, and sudden crashing to begin to his right. A deep throaty laugh emerged from the edge of the wood line as Drake began to back away from the small group, alerting the Nymph and her three protectors almost immediately.
“Huu… So disappointed,” the guttural voice said.
The thick tree line began to bend and break as a massive creature slowly emerged. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t human, however, the overall body type was consistent with the giant sub-species that made up the far west of the cavern.
“Days spent tracking, but only ran in circles. Till now.”
The beast finally emerged into the small clearing that contained the Nymph, only for her three guards to go wide-eyed with surprise, and the small Nymph to blanch at the sight of the creature. Of course, classifying the beast as a giant would be only the loosest of classifications
Certainly, it was large. Hovering between roughly 9 and 10 feet tall, it was larger than any other beast besides the Wyvern that Drake has seen, but the body shape was horribly off, much like the Hobgoblin’s almost ape-like state he had seen before. Standing on long, ungainly legs, the creature itself resembled a monster out of some nightmare.
With skin that perfectly matched the overgrowth of green leaves and underbrush of the surrounding environment, long, matted hair, and long hanging arms that ended in massive claws, the creature looked to be perfectly suited to a predatory position in the local ecosystem. Even the way it stood was hunched over in an unnatural manner, making it look as if it was prepared to pounce on the small group on the spot.
“A troll.” The young Nymph gasped, as she shook her head in confusion. “How did you enter? This is a sacred space.”
“Heh.” A cruel smile emerged from the fanged creature, as it slowly eyed the small group. “The annoying noise finally stopped, and from there…” A curved claw tapped its bulbous nose, “it was simple to find you.”
“The barrier fell?” The Nymph gasped in surprise, as she looked to the three Satyr guards around her. They had quickly assumed guarded positions around the Nymph, but none of them held any hope in their eyes. The innate ability trolls, namely their ungodly ability to regenerate, even to the point of their head re-growing in some circumstances, left those without the right resources with an almost endless fight.
“Kehehee…” The troll approached one step at a time, it’s eyes greedily shifting from the Nymph to the trio of Satyr’s guarding his prize.
Once the troll got a hand on any of them, they would be as good as dead. All of them knew that, especially the one with a hungry look in its beady eyes.
“Now… time for-”
A sudden weight registered on the Troll’s shoulder, much to its surprise. It was completely sure that this Nymph only had three guardians. A week or so of tracking where the small group had been had assured it of that much. What it didn’t expect however, was the sudden, and quite violent reaction that occurred soon after.
“Yo. Mind if I play with you a bit?”
It no sooner heard those words, when a horrifying sensation spread throughout it’s body, and left the creature screaming in agony.