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.]

moly, you can

[I can.]

a bit closer and see if you can sniff out anything

[Agreed…. Now, waffles.]

[Oh for -... fine.]

in the indicated direction as I explain to the giant eyeball of flame about the joys of breakfast 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 happy

of careful travel, Al pipes

[It’s them.]

it’s almost a shock to hear

[What? Are you sure?]

eyeball flares

[I am.]

that’s good news! We finally caught up

he’s been healed dozens of times over

almost certainly walking into

the third, away from my Colony, it had better be a trap. If they went to all this effort just to inconvenience me, that’d be annoying as heck. I fully expect, nay, demand a trap be

thought, is it a trap, if

He stares at me.

am unsure

an essential component of a trap, or is

so

been doing our best to restrain our mana signatures, Al and I sharing the burden of handling Tiny’s since the big ape can’t do it for

out like a sore thumb. I’m huge, for one, and

gravity domain in order to make us less conspicuous? Yes,

Will I?

thing down. We’d be swept away in a tidal