Chapter twenty one

     The moment we crossed the barrier, we found ourselves in mud that would have been at least waist high if we weren't in the bubble. The reason I knew this was that Morgana hadn't reentered the bubble so I could see exactly how deep it was as she sunk into the foul smelling brown muck. I knew that this was waiting for us when we crossed and I could have warned her about it but I wasn't particularly happy with her at the moment so I didn't bother.

     I looked away from Morgana who was struggling to extricate herself from the mud she had fallen into and I started to look around. The first thing that caught my eye was the strange sky above us. The sky was pink, not only that but the sun shinning down was an eerie shade of ghostly green and I could vaguely see two large planets next to each other, the one on the left had rings around it while the one on the right looked like something bad taken a large bite out of it.

     Below the alien sky was an equally alien landscape. We were in the middle of a swamp filled with shallow stagnant water and mud. Skeletal looking trees spread their thin emaciated roots into the stinky water trying to get as much sustenance from them. A closer look revealed that these skeletal trees weren't trees at all but rather large white fungal growths that had mushroom like caps on top instead of branches and leaves.

     I could see ripples on the surface of the shallow swamp water as things lurking underneath started to move when they felt our arrival. Finally one of the creatures hiding beneath the water decided to show itself.

     The thing looked like a giant cow sized Iguana with five tails. It's muddy color made it inconspicuous in the mud but I could still see it clearly thanks to my ability. I stared at it and it stared right back with its beady little eyes.

     Jules grabbed my arm and asked,"What the hell is that?"

     "The Ameera call it the slumber king lizard."

     "Why do they call it that? Does it sleep a lot?"

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     As if the lizard had heard her and had taken offense, its scales started to bristle like a cats fur. They started to stand up and fall forming waves traveling down its spine until it reached the creatures five tails. The five tails then started to vibrate and created deep notes similar to the sound of a cello being struck violently by a bow.

     Jules suddenly started to sway when she heard the deep hypnotic sound. She tottered helplessly until she couldn't stand anymore and she fell on her butt. The same thing happened to Morgana, she stopped struggling in the mud and fell face first into it. I fared a little better than the two because I had already prepared for the beast's hypnotic attack. I had earplugs in my ears that were creating vibrations carefully modulated to null the lizard's attack.

     I quickly created a monomolecular blade and decapitated the lizard and used a lasso to fish Morgana out of the mud. As soon as the lizard's hypnotic sound vanished, Jules woke up and she sprung up from the ground while Morgana started spluttering as she tried to get the foul mud that had entered her mouth.

    She was still spitting mud out when she said, "I thought you said you scouted this area out?"

     "I did."

     "Then why didn't you stop that thing before it attacked us or tell is how to avoid its attacks?"

     "Because I wanted you two to be less complacent. I may not always be around and you two might get in trouble one day, in case that day comes I want you two to be ready. I let the lizard attack so that you can learn that there are things that can kill you very easily and also to show you that things aren't always straightforward. I want you to always be on your toes and to always think outside of the box. I want you to find ways to protect not only your bodies but also your minds. Things are only going to get more dangerous from here on out but my words wouldn't have been enough to convince you so I let you have a little taste of what is to come. You are welcome Morgana."