I stayed out a little longer than I needed to in my scouting. I’d tracked down what seemed to be an island hog of some kind, munching happily on the abundant tropical fruit that had fallen to the jungle floor. The black and white pig hadn’t heard me coming before I sniped it with my bow.
As I prepped my kill for transport, the thoughts of my core ring wandered while my outer was busy.
Hunting like this…it honestly made me a bit nostalgic. I had done so much with Fade when he was much younger, just after we had met. The wolf-puppy was still learning how to hunt in those days, and I had to teach him to stalk his prey at the time. Those were some…very fond memories, frankly. Not every second of every day during the war had been filled with misery.
There had been plenty of good.
I shook the odd pang of longing off, and right then and there, made a snap decision.
When all of this was done, it was time for me to go and visit Fade like I’d promised I would. Even if Grey had yet to call for us to come to the Academy, I’m sure I could convince Bella to ferry me closer to the Thunderheart’s territory.
I was curious to see how he had grown under Taran’s tutelage, in the months since I’d left him there. Our reunion in the Concord had been far too brief.
Business done and decisions made, I collapsed my bow and slid it back into its canister. Hauling the dead pig over one shoulder, I didn’t bother to take to the treetops like I would have in the past. This area seemed very safe to me, as I hadn't seen any indications of recent monster presence. There were some clear paths through the jungle that I thought must have been made by the Oni, but they didn’t look like they had been trodden recently.
I had no reason to be wary right now.
Well, except for the ever-present sense that I was unwelcome here. That hadn’t gone away, and the sensation was like a thorn scratching incessantly between my shoulder blades.
Doing my best to ignore it, I made for camp.
……………………………..
Hours later, I settled down with my portion of roast pig with the rest of my companions. The sun had fully set by now, and my kill had finished roasting over the fire I’d lit in Renaulds face. Said Gnoll looked to have long since forgotten the slight, and was happily ripping apart his own pork.
I had long since grown immune to the sight of his sloppy eating habits, so I instead turned to the rest of my friends to ask a question. Something that I…honestly should have asked earlier, but we had been a tad occupied.
I finished chewing, swallowed, and voiced it. “What’s with the Aether on this island?” I asked aloud. “Why does it feel like it wants us gone?”
I was startled at the blank looks the others gave me at that. Liora and Bella ceased their own low conversation to gaze at me in confusion, while Venix just stared at me.
However, Azarus had the most experience with my…peculiarities at this point. He set his plate down and frowned. “What are ya talkin’ about, Nate? I don’t know about the others,” He said, looking around. “But I don’t feel nothin’.”
My brow furrowing, I copied him, setting my plate down on the log I was sitting on. “What are you talking about? There’s this…itch to the air. I have this…sense that something on the island doesn’t want us-” I cut myself off before continuing more slowly. “Or…me, I supposed, to be here.”
“I don’t feel anything like that, Nathan,” Liora said quietly, studying me.
Frown deepening, I looked over at Venix. He was the highest-level person here, and as such had the sharpest senses. If anyone could feel what I felt, it would be him.
The Antium man shook his head. “This is not my first time upon Goryuen, and I have never sensed what you speak of, Hart.”
Renauld ceased his scarfing long enough to look up at me. “That’s not ominous at all.”
“Do ye have a bearin’ on this…feelin’, Nate?” Bella asked me, ignoring the Gnolls snark.
I did the same. I tilted my head in thought and ultimately pointed…
Upwards.
My companions followed my finger to the night sky, lit by a crescent Elys. “It…feels like it’s coming from above the island, for some reason,” I said slowly. “But not like, up in the atmosphere or beyond? I’d know if it was Elys or another Great spirit-”
I think.
“-so it’s not them,” I continued. “But there is definitely something watching us. And it doesn’t feel at all friendly. Could it be…Tatsugan?”
“No,” Venix said simply and decisively. “The capabilities of the wyrm are mighty, but well known. They do not include prescience.”
Silence descended on our campfire, then, as I think we all wondered in unison…
Just what was watching us.
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Ultimately, there was nothing we could do about it now, and so the conversation died. We finished our meal in almost paranoid silence, before setting up for bed. Venix flat out said he would take all watch periods going forward, shutting down any volunteers. With that settled, we all retreated into the tent to leave him next to the fire.
As I lay down in my bedroll not far from Bella, the scent of her sea-salted hair drifting my way, I found it difficult to sleep. Not because of any anxiety, or even trepidation about our expedition in the morning.
More because that sensation of being watched never left me.
I sighed silently and tried to bear with it.
To little success.
……………………………….
Thankfully, I barely needed sleep these days, even if it was nice. Honestly, the same was true for the rest of my companions as well. This one night of rest had mostly been so we would be at one hundred percent going into the jungle and could last for the next few days with no extended rest. So, I wasn’t too wiped out in the morning when the green period rolled along and dispelled our sleep.
Nobody was much in the mood for small talk, so we had a brief breakfast of travel rations after breaking down our camp. Venix insisted on taking point on our formation for trekking through the jungle that loomed ahead. Renauld was placed square in the center as our most vulnerable member, with Azarus and his shield to his right and Bella to his left. Liora volunteered to act as a scout and range in front of us, occasionally checking back in to report her findings.
That just left me. As what seemed to be usual, I brought up the rear. This happened so much to me that I wasn’t even fazed about it anymore. I personally took it as a vote of confidence that my friends trusted me to watch their backs.
After making sure we had all of our supplies secured in our packs, we got underway. Venix was wary of traveling the already existing paths through the Goryuen jungles in case we ran into traveling Oni. I was confident we could take them, certainly, but why risk trouble when you could avoid it? The monsters and their Level Aether would come in due time. The Antium man instead drew one of the jungle clearing blades he had recommended we all purchase before leaving Hinaga and set to work clearing a new path through the brush for our use.
He was sparse in his cuts as our group ventured into the dense undercarriage of Goryuen. Venix wasn’t interested in forging a long-lasting path. Instead, he’d told us that night that he intended only to cut the bare minimum, to minimize our profile through the jungle. There was more out here than just Oni, after all, and the more noise we made, the more likely we were to attract them.
Conversation was kept to a minimum as we carefully threaded our way along the route Venix was forging for us. The sounds of the Goryuen wildlife echoed through the hot, muggy air instead. Birdsong was plentiful, drifting down to us from the treetops far, far above us. Vines hung in uncountable numbers from overhead, curling and threading their way around and through the branches. Insects were thick both all around us in the air, and upon the surfaces of the ground and jungle vegetation all around us.
There was plenty of wildlife both visible and hidden, as well. The first time I saw one of the small, infant-sized monkeys that seemed to call Goryuen home, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. They watched us pass from the branches above, always traveling in packs of their own. Their fur was strangely emerald in color, but they didn’t seem to be very Mystical beyond that. Observe told me that these were Pygmy Primeralds, and seemed to be actual animals. Not monsters, and not even Mystic Beasts. Just plain old oddly colored monkeys.
I liked them like that just fine.
Venix’s cutting also scared away plenty of ground animals as well. More than a few island hogs, so similar to the one I had hunted the night before, were startled out of the brush by his blade. None of them actually attacked us, streaking away further into the jungle and squealing in disgruntlement.
Every once in a while, I would see odd-looking, squat little birds zip across the jungle floor as well. I only occasionally caught sight of them, and never long enough to throw out an Observe. But I would swear on my Mother’s soul that they looked like banana’s of all things, complete with bright yellow plumage. I nearly laughed out loud the first time I saw what looked to be a downturned banana flash into the gnarled hollow of a nearby tree, threading its way around my feet.
Occasionally, and I mean very occasionally, I would see something larger watching us from those same hollows. Large, slit, luminous yellow eyes peered out of the darkness at us, as large as the keystone at the head of staff slung over my back. The first time I had seen one of those, I wondered if they were a monster stalking us. I hadn’t even felt the thing with the passive blood sense from Lifeblood Sense. I was so startled I had even raised my staff and pointed the keystone at it in preparation. But at the first sign of movement from me, the gaze had vanished, the tip of a long, furry crimson tail lashing briefly out of the hollow. I hadn’t even had time to Observe the creature.
I wasn't the only one to see whatever that was. Venix had stopped to watch it warily as well, halting the group.
When whatever that thing was had vanished, Renauld asked the question we were all thinking. “What was that?” He voiced in a whisper, as if afraid his voice would bring it back.
Venix kept his gaze trained in that direction, scanning carefully for a moment before answering. “The underkings of the isle,” He said eventually said, in a low tone. “Mystic Beasts that stalk and prowl this land, unafraid of anything, even the Oni. They disdain the presence of outsiders, but won’t attack unless you deliberately provoke or offend them,” He glanced back at us briefly. “However, they have a short temper, so don’t try them. Observe tells us that they are called the Children of Shurenga. I…didn’t expect to encounter one of them so quickly.”
“Who, or what, is Shurenga?” Azarus asked quietly.
The Antium samurai slowly shook his head. “Nobody knows. It seems...they know we're here, now.”
The broad leaves of the jungle up and around swayed in the wind in the silence that followed. Something about their rustling…it almost sounded…playful somehow.
Knowing.
Deep inside of myself, something pulsed slowly in response, startling me badly enough to tense. The movement drew Bella’s attention, causing her to look at me with a furrowed brow. “What’s wrong?” She asked quietly.
I slowly shook my head. “It’s nothing,” I said nearly automatically, while my core did the actual investigating. After a moment, it found the unexpected source.
The pulse had come from Bloodroot Resilience, a passive Talent that enhanced my Vitality. Supposedly, it connected me in some way to the ‘unseen earth’, whatever that meant. It…didn’t typically react to anything. Talents didn’t ‘pulse’ like that, by and large.
The last time I had felt something like that had been just after I'd gotten the Talent, back in Elderwyck.
I did my best to put the odd behavior out of my mind and gave her a small smile. “Let’s keep going.”
Bella studied me for a moment and then nodded, falling back into formation. I did the same, and as Venix warily resumed leading us, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Something about the rustling of those leaves…it had reminded me of something. A voice I had heard, months and months ago now in the strange and alien realm known as the Concord. A voice revered by the temple where I had begun learning true Magic.
Anima.