As they neared the landing site, their sensors picked up on significant cave systems branching out from the canyons.
"Well, that’s going to make exploring a bit of a hassle," Alistair muttered.
Riseth, however, saw it differently. "You’ve just had a few bad experiences with underground systems. They can be incredibly beautiful, full of wonders—entire biospheres could be thriving down there." She brightened at the thought. "I think we should definitely check it out. There’s a large cavern in the jungle nearby that connects to the canyon, and according to the sensors, it even has multiple entrances within the jungle. There are bound to be some interesting beasts there," she said, clearly excited by the prospect of exploring.
Her excitement was contagious. "Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go check it out," Alistair agreed, joining her after he released King to his usual scouting while she stored the Artemis.
They had landed above the jungle since there was no suitable landing site anywhere near the canyons and jungle—the terrain was too rough and overgrown. As he glanced around, Alistair paused when he noticed a flock of macaws perched above them. Some had extra eyes, while others sported unusual colorations like purple and red. One of them was a striking mix of all the colors of the rainbow, arranged in a stylized pattern. Riseth stopped beside him, looking up at the birds.
"They’re beautiful," she remarked, squinting a little. "Wait, don’t you have these on Earth?"
"Yeah, we do. It just caught me off guard, seeing them on an alien planet," Alistair replied.
"Do you want to introduce them to Lacustrine?" Riseth asked.
"No, they'd probably just end up as prey for the griffins we’re planning to introduce," Alistair said with a chuckle. "That would be a shame. But maybe we could introduce them to Nautilus. They might not bring much beyond nostalgia for us humans, but that’s still something."
"They’re beautiful, and that alone counts for something," Riseth pointed out. "Nessyra mentioned there’s growing interest in developing resorts and other infrastructure on Nautilus, for people to relax and enjoy the beaches. A flock of these would add to the charm."
Alistair considered the options and decided to capture the flock. Macaws were quite intelligent and could make for decent pets or be released again in the future. After securing them and a few other flocks they encountered while navigating the dense jungle, they came across a massive, overgrown rift in the ground, leading to one of the many caverns extending underground. As they descended, they discovered a small biosphere within—a serene pool of water at its center, surrounded by vines and other flora that thrived in the sunlight filtering through the cave's entrance. Further in, they found beds of colorful, slightly bioluminescent mushrooms.
The most intriguing discovery, however, was a vine bearing fruit that resembled a lightbulb in both shape and function, glowing brightly enough to allow the jungle’s vegetation to flourish far beyond the cave entrance. A quick Identify showed him that it was a [Olae] vine.
"Now, this is a vine I can see a lot of uses for, even if it doesn’t hold much value in alchemy," Alistair remarked, lifting the plant and inspecting the glowing fruit.
Riseth eyed the vine with interest. "We had stories about plants like this. It's a shame to disturb this cave, but we need to bring some of these back. They'd be popular among the people of Neshan, and since we lack a steady source of light crystals, this could be a good substitute."
Alistair scratched his beard thoughtfully while Riseth began harvesting the vines. "Braxik wasn’t keen on introducing vines, but maybe he can work with our specialists to breed a strain that reduces maintenance and other issues," he mused.
"They’ll figure something out," Riseth replied with a shrug, storing the last of the vines as Alistair finished collecting the different mushrooms with a casual use of his telekinesis.
After realizing that the chamber didn’t connect to the larger network of caves, they made their way out and headed toward the main canyon nearby. Along the way, they encountered various insects and beasts, but none seemed particularly interesting or promising until they stumbled upon a small swarm of cat-sized, ant-like creatures. These creatures absorbed energy from everything they consumed, filling their gasters, which expanded and took on different colors depending on the type of plant or material. It was clear the ants were refining the energy they consumed within their gasters, so Alistair and Riseth decided to follow the swarm to see what they did with the refined material.
The trail led them deep into the jungle, where they discovered a massive mound enveloping several trees. The ants disappeared into the mound, making it difficult to discern their activities, as the soil was so dense with magic that any attempt to sense beyond a shallow depth was futile.
"Any type of refinement process could be a winner, unless the ants waste all the energy on multiplying themselves. That would just lead to a lot of ants without making a significant impact on the planet's environment," Riseth observed.
Alistair hummed thoughtfully. The magically dense soil suggested that the ants weren’t wasting all their energy on mere reproduction. He considered the idea of destroying the hive, collecting both the soil and the ants—which his Identify labeled as [Dosholea - lvl 60] and digging deeper to see what they might uncover underground. The ants themselves posed no threat to them, and if they wanted to make use of these creatures, capturing the queen would likely be necessary.
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"Shall we dig?" Alistair asked.
"Let’s dig," Riseth replied with a nod and expectation and greed gleaming in her eyes.
Alistair chuckled. He loved that little glint in her eyes when they found something potentially valuable. He began to unearth the hive, using his Telekinesis to carefully scoop out sections of the dense, magic-infused soil. As he worked, he stored both the ants and the soil for later study.
As they dug deeper, they uncovered a vast underground structure, its tunnels reinforced by a shimmering resin produced by the Dosholea ants. The resin was energy-conductive, promoting the flow of magic throughout the hive while strengthening the tunnels.
The most significant discovery was the hive queen’s chamber, buried deep underground and encased in a crystallized cocoon made of the same resin as the tunnels. Alistair had to crack open the cocoon to subdue the queen, who, at level 106 and about the size of a bison, looked imposing. However, like most hive queens, she specialized in nurturing and strengthening her hive rather than combat, so subduing her took little effort. One of their up-and-coming beastmasters would likely take her on, making hive control much easier, though her high grade would mean it might take some time before anyone was capable of bonding with her.
Inside the cocoon, they found a treasure trove of crystallized resin chunks, which, unlike the rest, contained concentrated concepts, functioning similarly to essence crystals and gems. While none of the concepts immediately intrigued Alistair, he knew they could potentially direct the types of concepts these creatures refined. Additionally, the soil surrounding the hive promised to be excellent for farming, which just added to the ant's potential value.
"It's the big payout!" Riseth cheered, hugging Alistair’s side and planting an excited kiss on his cheek.
Alistair grinned, lifting her off the ground for a moment as she let out a delighted squeal. This was exactly the kind of discovery they’d been hoping for on this planet, and he had a feeling there were more surprises waiting for them. His hunch was confirmed when they descended into the overgrown canyon and entered an expansive underground network.
The cave system was breathtakingly vast, illuminated by the vibrant glow of Olae vines. The plants and fungi inside were arranged in a wild, colorful display that made the place feel almost otherworldly. The air was thick with the earthy, wet scent of the jungle, mixed with a hint of something spicy—something that might have worried Alistair before the trial but now only intrigued him.
"I told you, these places can be beautiful," Riseth said, letting her gaze wander.
Alistair, however, was focused on a large three-toed imprint in the soft cavern floor, leading deeper into the tunnel network. The size of the print suggested the presence of a beast as large, if not larger, than King.
"What do you think? Big subterranean lizard? Maybe some kind of drake or lindwurm?" Alistair speculated.
Riseth knelt down, touching the soil around the print. "Whatever it is, it's big and really heavy. It's also bipedal from what I can tell. There's no sign of a tail or body dragging along, so it's probably not a lindwurm. Maybe some kind of heavily armored dinosaur or draconian beast?" she suggested.
Alistair pondered the suggestion as he inspected the tunnels. Something about them felt off. The tunnels didn’t appear to be formed by natural erosion or water flow, nor did they seem like the result of simple burrowing. There was an unnatural quality to them—uneven and twisting, with frequent jagged protrusions jutting out from the walls. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what had caused it, and even Riseth seemed uncertain. Deciding to investigate further, they followed the massive footprints, descending deeper into the earth, using the sporadic glow of Olae vines to light their way.
As they followed the large tracks, they descended deeper and deeper underground. Alistair became increasingly certain that some of these tunnels had either been created or expanded by the creature they were tracking.
Riseth paused, tracing her fingers over a particularly jagged section of the tunnel wall. "I think this beast isn’t just burrowing; it’s eating the rock," she observed, noting the large, uneven chunks torn from the rock face. "This looks like a huge maw took a bite out of it."
Alistair stepped closer, inspecting the rough surface. "I think you’re right. It could be refining the rock and ore within it. That would be another incredible find."
"Unless it’s just digesting all the rock and leaving it as waste," Riseth added with a smirk.
"Could still be valuable," Alistair countered. "For all we know, processed rock waste might become our first major material export."
"We’d have to work on the name, though," Riseth laughed. "Calling it ‘processed rock poop’ wouldn’t make for a great sales pitch."
Alistair grinned. "We don’t have to mention it’s monster waste. We’ll just give it a fancier name."
Their banter was interrupted by the sound of loud grinding echoes through the cave system. Wordlessly, they picked up speed, descending the tunnel until they reached an enormous underground chamber. The ceiling stretched at least a hundred meters above them, dimly lit by the glowing fruit of the Olae vines. The floor was a patchwork of packed dirt, rocky surfaces, moss, and beds of fungi—many of which had been trampled by massive draconic bipedal beasts that were currently clashing in what appeared to be a territorial battle.
The creatures were heavily armored, their bodies covered in layers of metal-like material in varying colors. Alistair and Riseth exchanged a glance—they had hit the jackpot again. These beasts clearly refined the material they consumed to enhance their armor.
As they watched the two massive Brenga beasts battle, they quickly agreed these creatures wouldn’t be suitable for Lacustrine or Nautilus. The planets' abundant aquifers could easily drown the beasts, and they didn’t seem particularly bright. The last thing they wanted was these creatures chewing through their home worlds. However, they could potentially introduce them to other worlds—perhaps even Riddickulus—since these Brenga, at levels 150 and 155, respectively, would likely have a great matchup against the native wendigos and could make use of the now barren rocky nature of the planet without suffering much from the lack of natural treasures besides the rock and ore the wendigoes hadn't been able to consume.
"We should wait and see if they truly consume the rock," Riseth suggested through their Akashic link.
Alistair nodded, though he was fairly confident their theory was correct. He could sense the magical process occurring within the beasts even as they fought. However, he didn’t notice any immediate changes to their armor, aside from the occasional crack when they struck each other with their club-like tails.
Interestingly, despite their massive, unhinged jaws, the Brenga didn’t bite each other during their confrontation. Instead, they resorted to threatening displays—opening their maws wide, grunting, and roaring in an attempt to intimidate.
Alistair was certain their crafters would be thrilled at the idea of working with the Brenga's metal-like hides, melting them down and combining them with other crafting materials. His thoughts were interrupted when the larger of the two beasts drove off the smaller one with a loud, victorious roar. Alistair and Riseth exchanged a quick glance, nodding in silent agreement, and each began following one of the two Brenga as they separated.