Chrysalis

After further hours of roaming back and forth, trying to get a sniff of our prey whilst fending off the endless tide of demons, we finally get another hint.

It’s Al who manages to catch a glimpse, and he lets us know with his usual even demeanour.

[I found something,] he says.

[Oh yeah? Like what?]

[I believe I have detected a trace of almost pure ash mana. It is… unusual.]

[Get at the point, man, enough of your waffling!]

[What are… waffles?]

[Argh! Damn your endless curiosity! What is so unusual about this ash mana?]

He glares at me, which is quite the intimidating glare, I might add, and I know that the question of breakfast foods has only been delayed, not resolved. Nevertheless, he continues.

[Its purity.]

I swear to gandalf, I’m about to flatten this damn eyeball into a pancake. Perhaps he senses my rising ire, because he elaborates without further prompting.

[I suspect it has come from Pyrixan. Only she, that I’m aware of, could manifest such a powerful and concentrated form of that mana.]

[Goody.]

Is it nice to know we got a hint of our enemies? Yes, of course, but I’d rather it didn’t come in the form of manifested destruction in the form of concentrated ash mana.

[Where are they?] I sigh.

[I found the trail at the edge of my awareness. Several kilometres that way.]

can

[I can.]

see if you can sniff out anything

[Agreed…. Now, waffles.]

[Oh for -... fine.]

baking. I’ve been told that waffles are great with syrup; personally, I never had the chance to try it, but these are the little details Al is all too

ten minutes of careful travel,

[It’s them.]

around, it’s almost a shock to hear him

[What? Are you sure?]

eyeball flares

[I am.]

caught up to them! How about that,

me an eager thumbs up, Crinis flops a limp tentacle and Invidia simply flutters his wings as he holds his little body aloft, glaring into the distance. That serves as a timely reminder that we aren’t in peak shape. Tiny might be eager to battle, but he’s been healed dozens of times over the last

almost certainly walking into a

be a trap. If they went to all this effort just to

Al, I just had a thought, is it a

He stares at me.

am unsure what

is the element of surprise an essential component of a trap, or is it a trap

looks confused, so

Tiny’s since the big ape can’t do it for himself. As we draw closer and closer to the spot Al has detected our fearsome trio,

hard to spot us if someone wanted to. Amongst the seething ocean of demons, we stick out like a sore thumb. I’m huge, for one,

I bring down the gravity domain in order

Will I?

in heck I’m bringing that thing down. We’d be swept away in a tidal wave of nibbling demon larvae. No way,