Despite the distance there was enough force behind it to knock him off his feet.

The first few seconds after the Elder Insects hit the ground, a visible sphere of distorted air and force expanded from the point of impact. Causing the trees to whip around in a frenzy, smaller bug carcasses to splinter and shoot out like debris from an explosion, and the earth to explode.

The reinforced nature of the dungeon's rock beneath the layer of soil forced the earth to dislodge from bedrock and kick up in a huge cloud. The shifting plate of matter moved almost horizontally, and producing a obduction like effect. Jagged shards of earth, different in composition, forced themselves above ground. The rest of the force pushed mounds of rock away into what looked like a giant flattened circle of debris surrounding the pile of Elder Insects trying to recover from the shock of the fall.

Rocks of the ravine shook in place a little, before some the noise droned his thoughts out.

...

A few minutes passed before he could check up on his partner.

Ensuring that nothing was broken, and both of them were lucky enough to not have busted their eardrums. He signaled Kaino to recover some of the supplies which they placed in the tunnel further bellow.

Once the winds died down following the collision and the chunks of raining bug gore had all landed, there was some hesitation on what the main course of action both of them should take would be.

It was assumed that when scouts were caught in any stage of the Western Fungal Tide that they would die, or at least be injured enough that they had to report back to the Watch immediately. But with their quick reaction, the only issue they would have right now was the destroyed environment around them hindering the completion of their scouting mission.

It would be safe until the next tide.

Was it really though?

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Kaino signaled the recovery of the materials back to him, and he sent a confirmation signal back.

Maybe it would be better for them to head back now and report the mission as incomplete. Something none of the other scouts have had a problem doing in the last few months, since the establishment of the Watch.

But his team had the chance to finally gather some information, about the beasts had taken up residence in and around the cavern of the Maw.

...

The Elder Insects woke up from their stunned state and gently separated themselves from one another in an attempt to enter the cavernous tunnel to the deeper sections of the dungeon.

Both Galen and Kaino were taking dense notes on small notepads, with the intent of creating a full profile on the contents of this stage of the tide.

Luckily the had taken the chance to hang back and observe the recovery process of the giant Elder Insects, because Galen noticed a medium swarm of rat sized insects stealthily descend from the Mouth of the dungeon. They latched onto the under-shell of the giants and arranging themselves in a looping pattern. One which he was only barely able to copy into his notebook before the mysterious insects shriveled up and died, falling to the floor of the dungeon.

This sparked his curiosity, and he made a mental note to tell Kaino about the bugs. As they had not established a signal for this. He also formed a plan to retrieve some of the bug carcasses'. It was risky to head down there and be exposed to the next tide, but if they grabbed enough of the dead bodies maybe their team could return with a discovery of some merit.

These thoughts raced through his head before both of them saw some very visible changes among the Elder Insects.

The most injured one among them was also the largest, having taken the brunt of the fall. Breaking a few of its legs in the fall. But most if not all of the giants only sufferd from minor internal injuries, or light bruising.

A vibrant green light flashed over the shell of these giants and the hue of life seemed to fill these bugs.

If they had been a little weak before, they seemed to be bursting with life at the moment.

In the corner of his eye he saw the fractured legs of the leader flash yellow, then green. Snaping back into place almost immediately.

His eyes squinted, Did it just Heal?

How?

He looked back at his notebook, examining the looping symbol.

Was it those bugs?

If he had been interested in the rat sized bugs for his inability to recognize them earlier, then he was now starting to make a deeper connection between them and the strange phenomenon happening in front of him.

He paused for a moment before looking at his partner.

She wasn't looking at the bugs however, her eyes were focused on the ring of rock on the periphery of the impact site.

It was covered in a faint green light, and was slowly shifting back towards the center of the pit.