Kyto was so excited at seeing Tiddles form on the island that he stumbled, losing his balance on the back of the Manataeliak, and fell sideways into the pool's clear waters. He was fully clothed and carrying his backpack, and he struggled to fight to keep his head above the water. He could not maintain his buoyancy and began to sink, floundering and kicking his legs. Panicking, he sank lower, knowing that he would drown if he could not remove the backpack. He struggled to try and shake the backpack off, but the weight dragged down on his shoulders, preventing him from freeing his arms. That was when the massive form of the Manataeliak appeared underneath him. His feet touched the solid form of its back, and it slowly began to bring him back towards the surface. As his prone body lying on the back of the Manataeliak was carried back to the surface and his head broke, he gasped for fresh air.

Tiddles stood with one paw raised, looking out into the water where Kyto had floundered like a fish on land. "Kyto!" he called.

Kyto turned, struggling to catch his breath, and smiled at his friend, coughing and spluttering as he tried to reply. The Manataeliak continued towards the island until it could not get any closer and then turned, allowing Kyto to step off into the shallow water surrounding it. He dropped down and ran over to Tiddles, throwing his arms around the big beast's neck.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Here," Tiddles replied sarcastically.

"Why did you not return?"

"I was attacked crossing the river by a Wild One, in the simplest terms, a huge snake that tried to crush me. I escaped using my Elemental Blast, and then these nice Manataeliak brought me here where I could rest due to my injuries."

"You are hurt?"

"Crush damage. My foreleg is severely injured, and my joint has been deformed."

"Shit!" Kyto immediately pulled up the party menu and offered Tiddles an invite.

Tiddles accepted it as his display triggered, and his health bar appeared on Kyto's display. The immediate relief that Kyto felt having his friend back in a party was intense. He had not realised how much he had missed seeing the details of his friend on his display.

The attack had left Tiddles with nearly a third of his health lost; it was not so much the health loss that had prevented Tiddles, it was the reduced mobility. He had forced his injured body to the island under the guidance of Marhosi. Kyto immediately began pushing his healing strands into him. He felt his strands link with the elemental core burning brightly inside Tiddles, and their combined energies began to heal him. It did not take long before Tiddles reached full health again. The boosts in Kyto's healing skills and pool size were easily noticeable now when he healed. The mana impact was so small compared to before.

Kyto dropped his backpack off and quickly began to sift through its contents. He removed the food he had brought, and thankfully, it had been wrapped in small bags, keeping the rations dry. Everything else in the backpack was drenched and now weighed a tonne.

"The portal has closed," Kyto said, looking at Tiddles as he continued rummaging.

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah. We are stuck here, and the quest triggered for me."

"Mine did when I came through. We have no choice but to try and complete it now.

"Had you found anything before you were injured?"

"Not yet, no. I had smelt burning and was making my way towards the scent when I was attacked."

"Burning? In a forest."

"That attracted me, and to my knowledge, only Risen and Geblex use fire."

"Do you know where we are?" Kyto asked.

"No idea. I have never seen anything like this before. All the flora and fauna are different, and the Wild Ones are none I have seen before. I need to introduce you, by the way." Tiddles turned and looked towards a large Manataeliak waiting close to the island.

"Introduce me?"

"Yes. This here is Marhosi. He is the leader of the aggregation."

"You can speak to him?"

"I assume it is because of the potion. I may be able to communicate with any sentient beings with speech."

"That is amazing if you can." Kyto turned and looked at Marhosi. "Thank you for your help. I never would have found Tiddles without it."

"We protect those weaker than the river," Marhosi replied.

"He said they protect those who are useless swimmers."

Marhosi trumpeted, and if Kyto did not know better, it smiled. Frowned at Tiddles. "No, he did not!"

"And now you know what it feels like not to have your words translated," Tiddles said, grinning.

Kyto grumbled in response. Their interaction's immediate camaraderie and normality had soothed Kyto, and he forgot his fears while they spoke.

"Marhosi. Have you seen anything unusual around the forest recently?" Kyto asked.

Tiddles relayed the message. "He has not seen anything directly, but there have been some strange happenings by the old pyramids."

"Pyramids? We are in a forest; what pyramids are there around here?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Tiddles replied. "Marhosi said that the pyramids are ancient and stretch back centuries ago; they are not actual structures anymore, just areas where they once existed."

"Are they close to here?"

"Marhosi says by river three days."

"Three days by the river? How far by forest?"

"He says that it will take at least eight days through the forest."

"That is a long time to travel to a location that may not even be where we need to go."

"Apart from the fire I smelt burning, we have no other leads to consider."

"I know. I wish we had a way to scout. At least we have the map to see where we have been so we won't get lost."

"I am such a fool!"

"Why?"

"I left my scent by the portal. I had completely forgotten about the map. The Codex updates are amazing, though all the different Wild Ones are now listed."

"I agree then you are a fool about the map, but I do not have a huge list of Wild Ones, just the ones I have seen so far," Kyto smiled.

"Oh, hang on a second. I am sure there was something here." Tiddles's eyes glazed over as he examined his display. "Here you go."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Kyto's display triggered.

Will you accept the Chosen Tiddles Codex content update? Yes/No

Kyto accepted Yes, and his Codex began blinking. When he opened it, he had pages and pages of Wild Ones that Tiddles had met before. It was amazing, including drawings and details. Kyto did the reverse, the only addition for Tiddles being the Camenanic.

"How much light do we have left? I can't tell where the sun is with the height and overhang of the canopy."

"I think a few hours yet." Marhosi trumpeted, and Tiddles replied. "Three hours or thereabouts."

"Not enough time to set off today, then, and I do not fancy spending our first night in the open forest until we know more about what is out there."

The humidity of the rainforest made Kyto thirsty. He had gradually been drinking his canteen, which was now running low, "I need to find fresh water."

"There is a small pool on the other side of the island. It seems to be fed from the main pool."

"I will need to light a fire and boil the water. I have no idea what might be in the water here that could affect me, but I know your stomach is stronger than mine."

"Could you not just drink the water and heal yourself if you fall ill?"

"I could, but I would prefer not to have to constantly be healing due to poisoning myself."

"I thought you told me before you had toxicology and could tell about poisons?"

"I did before the upgrade. I have not even considered it since. I am guessing I would still have an idea, but I just do not know. I have not forgotten anything I knew before; I have not advanced my knowledge since."

"Maybe try and see what happens. It is freshwater, after all."

"I may, but not now. While we can, let's do it this way."

They moved over to the copse of trees in the middle of the island, and Kyto began to break off some of the lower branches of the trees. They were all moist and damp with the humidity in the air, and it would be difficult to start a fire. He had built fires hundreds of times while scavenging in worse conditions, so he began whittling and finding the drier fibres he could work with. It took him a good hour, but eventually, he had a small fire set inside a ring of stones from the river's edge. Removing his trusty pot from his bag, he filled it with water from the pool that Tiddles had shown him and allowed it to boil over the fire.

"I am going to have to do this often, and if the wood is like this everywhere, it is going to take a long time."

"As I said, you should drink it and see what happens."

Kyto had only managed to boil a pan so far, and it was not enough to fully fill the canteen. He looked at the small pool and bent down, sniffing the water. Tiddles looked at him quizzically.

"You could just have asked me! I cannot smell anything unusual in the water."

"Okay." Kyto dipped his cupped palm into the water. It felt refreshing against the humidity of the forest air. He cautiously drank from his palm. The water tasted like any water that he had drunk previously. "I will give it a while and see if it affects my stomach."

"I am sure you would get a notification if it did."

"Can you still smell the fire that you followed?"

"I have not been able to smell it since I got here. I also need to think about getting us some food. You have some rations, but I need to eat something."

Kyto started to empty the contents of his backpack. He had not brought much but knew he could use the Ring of Self-repair to help with his equipment. Looking down at his drenched form, he had an idea. He took out all the damp items and started putting them on.

"What are you doing?" Tiddles asked.

"Sorting the clothes out, and I will repack, as there is no point in carrying everything with me," Kyto replied, smiling as he continued to pull on everything he had brought. Standing in all the clothes in the middle of the humid forest, Kyto started to feel the oppressive heat immediately, and as soon as the last item was on, he triggered the ring. The bright light appeared surrounding him, and in moments, everything he was wearing was back in pristine, dry condition, including his boots and the backpack he had placed on his back. He was unsure if he could have just left the clothes in the backpack but wanted to be sure. As soon as the light faded, Kyto removed all the outer layers and piled them neatly at the tree's base.

"I love this ring," Kyto said, grinning.

"Do you have any ideas where we may be? I know it is a forest, but not recognising anything or the Wild Ones is a little strange."

"It could be anywhere where there are rainforests. That is what these areas are called. I have read books before where they are mentioned, and most recently when I was at the house with Tabs. There were several books that I had started to read that were more geography-based rather than engineering-based books. No skills were triggered from reading them, so I do not know how accurate the details were. I know there are places of old pre-Falling called the Amazon and Congo. I do not know which this area would be. They are thousands of miles from New Talisia."

"Thousands of miles? You think the portal sent us that far?"

"It has to have. There can be no other explanation for it."

The friends sat discussing their options and how to proceed.

"So what do we do then? This quest is so vague, no directions, no details, no information apart from finding this Jabari."

"We know we have 30 days or less to find it; If we use the information from Marhosi, then we can at least have something to aim for. I am guessing he can point us in the right direction at least."

"The sooner we get started, the better, although it would have been nice to be able to use this island as our base."

Kyto looked across the width of the pond. The water was still, but it was wide, and Kyto knew that he would struggle to swim it easily. "I am going to leave the clothes behind that I do not need with me here. So we can come back and collect them at some point."

"Did you bring the power crystal?" Tiddles suddenly asked.

Kyto panicked, remembering it had been in his inner jacket pocket. He dug through the pocket of the discarded jacket and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it. "Here."

"At least if we find any runes, we may be able to see if it is a portal with that."

"I think we should stay here tonight and start in the morning. If Marhosi says there are only a few hours of light left, then we do not want to be in the middle of the forest when it gets dark." Kyto shuddered slightly at the thought.

"I am apparently a small size for a predator here!"

"Small? How large are they, then?"

"I have no idea. Marhosi mentioned it, but the size of the Anaconda that attacked me reminded me of the serpent in the Dungeon."

"That large?"

"Possibly, I could not tell; I was too busy trying to swim to the shore while Marhosi and his kind prevented it from approaching me."

The pair sat quietly for a moment, and Kyto could hear the sounds of various Wild Ones in the surrounding forest. "I wonder what's out there?"

"I am sure we will find out soon enough. I need to eat, though, so I could do with going hunting. How much food did you bring?"

"Not much enough for a day and a half. I never expected the portal to close, so I have not brought much. I will have to forage and find what I can eat."

"I am sure I can grab plenty of Wild Ones."

"I hope so. I do not fancy starving to death in the middle of the forest. Considering I do not know what is or is not poisonous. The only bonus this time is that I should be able to heal myself if I do fall sick."

The pair sat talking. Kyto started picking at some of the food he had brought, and the time passed. As it did and the sun began to fade, the forest seemed to start coming to life. They sat listening to the increased sound of insects and Wild Ones that had appeared. Tiddles could hear movement across the pond and turned, looking toward the far side.

"Shhh, something is coming to the pond," Tiddles said.

The pair sat in the small tree cluster, and Kyto followed Tiddles's gaze as he heard something large moving in the forest. Kyto recognised the Wild One that appeared at the poolside but had never seen one before. It was a massive form of a creature standing nearly six feet tall at the shoulder, and its snout and tusks appeared before its large head pushed through and lowered to drink from the clear water of the pond. His display triggered.

Pokasti - Mammalian

A Pokasti is a monstrous relative of pigs. Many pig species were lost during the Falling, but this beast thrived. It is omnivorous and will not hesitate to attack weaker Wild Ones for food.

The Wild One was huge. Although its body was relatively narrow for its size, its tusks were at least two feet long and would easily tear into anything it attacked. "That would make a nice meal," Tiddles said.

"It is bigger than you?"

"It may be, but you remember the size of Stompers. This is nothing in comparison."

"Did you read the Codex? It doesn't mind eating meat."

"So do Spylore and I used to snack on them."

"I suppose, although I am not sure we really need that much meat if you did take it down."

"It just looks like an after-dinner snack," Tiddles smiled.

"That would feed me for the month."

As the Pokasti drank, they could hear a high-pitched buzzing sound. Mosquitos started to arrive at the pool's edge. These were not your everyday small annoying mosquito but were a foot long with a huge proboscis designed to suck blood. The Pokasti squealed as it noticed the five giant insects begin to approach it. It rocked its head from side to side threateningly. Kyto watched as the insects seemed to move as one and circled the huge Wild One. The Pokasti swung its head and lethal-looking tusks towards one that approached its head as another dove for its back. Landing, it immediately stabbed its proboscis into its flesh. The Pokasti squealed loudly and spun back into the forest with the insect still on its back. The other four followed.

"I know you said you were supposed to be small compared to the predators, but what do you think I feel like? Everything here is gigantic. I have never seen mosquitos that size before." Kyto said.

"Apart from the Anaconda and the Camenanic, we are unaware of any other predators yet."

"I am starting to wonder how large they may be and what types there are."

The light had started to fade quickly, and Kyto called his familiar to provide light on the island. The familiar supported the flickering flames from the small fire Kyto had kept burning.

"I hope those mosquitos don't come back."

"Marhosi said we would be safe on the island, so I doubt they come over here. I do not fancy being asleep and one of those things biting me."

"I hope not!"

"I am going to get something to eat. I will be back soon."

"Don't be long," Kyto said. He watched Tiddles swim to the forest edge and disappear into the treeline. Then, he followed the dot on his display as it moved away.