I was having a great day.
This morning I found a new deposit of mana rich clay for sigil painting by a pleasant little stream. The tree I found for lunch was full of perfectly ripened fruits. I even stumbled upon a nest of adorable little drake hatchlings.
If only their significantly less adorable mother hadn’t taken offense to my arrival.
A brisk jog through the jungle with death on your heels makes for excellent exercise. Diving between narrow gaps between trees, I was only barely able to keep ahead of the giant angry lizard.
Standing over twice my height, with jaws that could easily bite my head off, the mother drake was a frightening beast. As I darted under smaller branches and around brambles, she crashed straight through them without so much as a scratch on her scaly green hide.
It was a long way to Sanctuary Valley, so I was on my own. Each time I hazarded a look behind me, the enraged drake had gotten a bit closer. Despite my best efforts, the monster was gaining on me.
Blindly tearing through the foliage, I stumbled into a large clearing full of delicate orange flowers. The lack of trees to put between myself and the huge, bipedal lizard was a problem. The Clearing’s other occupant was an even bigger problem.
Most beasts which feed on ambient mana grow very strong and enduring, like my ill-tempered pursuer. The glowing blue serpent in the middle of the glade clearly took a different approach to utilizing mana.
Only about the length of my arm, the coiled snake could have been easy to miss. The glowing sigils flowing down its length and the crackling sound emanating from its mouth ensured otherwise.
I barely had time to dive to the side before the serpent struck not with its fangs, but with a bolt of lightning. The enormous reptile behind me was not so quick on her feet.
With a bellow to match the thunder’s roar, the beast voiced her agony. One of her arms twitched involuntarily as this new threat caught her attention.
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A moment’s distraction was all I needed to dive back into the trees. While a giant angry lizard is a fearsome threat, I liked my odds of tangling with the lightning-spitting snake even less.
Blinking away the after image of the lightning bolt, I sprinted back through the trees. The sounds of several more bolts and a crashing retreat echoed through the jungle behind me.
Evidently, both of the monsters survived, but I was happy as long as neither was after me. A small part of me was even glad that the little drakes wouldn’t be left motherless.
After what felt like ages, but was probably only a half-mark, I slowed to a stop. The fact that I had escaped unharmed was a wonderful addition to the day’s events. The fact that I had completely lost track of my location was slightly less wonderful.
With the light filtering through the canopy starting to dim, I hoped I wasn’t too far off course. Provided that I had run in roughly the right direction, I should be within a full-mark’s walk from the cliffs of Sanctuary Valley. I quickly set about scaling a nearby knotwood tree so that I could find my bearings from above the canopy.
The nice thing about climbing knotwood trees is that their twisted gnarled trunks provide plenty of handholds. The not so nice thing about climbing knotwood trees is just how ridiculously tall they are. I had to stop several times to rest amid the squawking birds and chattering monkeys whose homes I had invaded.
The sky was awash with color by the time I reached the top of the tree. Poking my head up through the canopy, I took a moment to appreciate the lovely colors of the sunset and catch my breath. Fortunately, the setting sun made it very easy to orient myself and locate the Myriad Cliffs to the southeast. Unfortunately, they were a lot further away than I expected they would be. I could hardly make out the heavily-warded cliff that marked the entrance to my home.
At some point during my panicked flight, I must have gotten turned around. There was no way I could possibly reach Sanctuary Valley before dark. Traveling after the sun had set was also not an option. Much worse things than drakes prowled the night.
I let out a quiet curse. While I may not have been the most popular person back in the valley, it was never a good thing to be caught out after dark. I needed to make shelter immediately. I shuddered at the thought of facing the horrors of the night without any protective wards.
Just as I was about to slip back down from the upper canopy, something to the west caught my eye. At first I thought it was a pair of birds and was ready to dismiss them as unimportant. As the figures drew closer, I realized just how wrong I was.