Chapter 132: Cheep!? 130

Cheep!? 

Chapter 130

All around Skye and Niko bioluminescent plants gently waved back and forth in an unfelt breeze. Blue, green, and purple light shimmered across the surfaces of broad trunks and extensive root systems that dwarfed any other trees that Niko had come to know. The air was heavy with humidity, and an earthy scent like a massive compost heap entered his nostrils with every breath. It was relatively cool, and Niko could hear the tell-tale ‘drip’ of water droplets as they landed upon various surfaces around. A spot of water landed just on the tip of his beak, and Niko blinked at it for a moment before tilting his head back and trying to catch one.

Skye made a small noise of amusement at that, before Niko embarrassedly went back to examining their surroundings. Whereas the titanwoods themselves had been suitably large above, down here they may as well have been sheer cliffs. The wood was absolutely covered in other growths, and Niko figured that they might at least be able to climb the creeping vines, clustering fungus, and bark therein. The moisture might make it slick and somewhat hazardous, but he had confidence that Skye at least would be able to figure a way up. 

Then again, as his eyes followed the tree upwards, he realized that he might have been hasty in his estimate. The towers of wood extended upwards in a spectacle of dancing light and fog, before vanishing from his sight altogether. Perhaps they were many hundreds of meters down? That kind of climb wouldn’t be easy, and not likely feasible for Niko at all. He wasn’t precisely built for it, after all.

“Do you see anything?” Skye asked with her thoughts, not daring to speak aloud at the moment. 

Niko panned around once more, but having already done so, he still saw nothing especially out of place around them. If there was something, it was hiding their essence signature very well. “Nothing, but we’re definitely in a tier four area here. We’ll have to be very careful.” 

Skye nodded grimly at that, the small trace of levity they’d had evaporated. If all of the Wyldwalkers were together, they might have been able to deal with a tier four, but the two of them were under no illusions of how difficult a fight with a tier four would be on their own. Doable, perhaps, but they had no knowledge of the ecosystem within the sunless layers of the titanwoods.

“Safe to say we need to find a way up. Should we start climbing?” Niko asked, pointing at a nearby tree with his beak, “Plenty of handholds, and it looks like I should be able to hook my claws in fairly well.” 

Skye looked around as well, humming thoughtfully before commenting, “We should be able to. We have a little bit of climbing gear, too, but it’s going to be risky with how heavy you are.” She then pointed out a few free flowing water sources, “Let’s check the water, first, and see if we can drink it.” 

Niko nodded, suddenly hoping that it was indeed potable. Otherwise, they were going to need to find a source of water first. They had supplies, but even so, only so much water to work with. 

Skye knelt down next to a stream, taking an empty flask from a potion she’d drank before and filled it with water. Then, she took a small vial from her waist-bag with a stopper, and dripped a few yellow drops into the water.

In a few seconds, the water turned a golden color with Skye watching on. A few seconds longer, and it gradually changed into a dark blue coloration. “Clean, but let me check a few other things.”

Niko nodded, watching her pull out two other small vials and do the same. Both times, the color changed to yellow, before shifting into a dark blue. Satisfied, Skye poured the flask out and replaced her testing kit in her pouch, “Water’s clean, no parasites or microbes detected. Should be safe for us to drink.” 

The Phorus, relieved, knelt his head down and started to drink. It was cool and tasted somehow purer than much of what he’d drank previously. “Huh… Good water.” 

Skye knelt down, filling up an empty waterskin before trying it herself. She nodded appreciatively, mirroring his comment back to him. For the next few minutes, they took the time to restock, all the while doing their best to remain vigilant of their surroundings. 

Niko eyed the mushrooms and other plants all around them, “Think any of these are edible?” 

She barely had to glance at them before she replied,“Some of them. Not all, though, a few of those definitely aren’t edible. Nothing super dangerous that I can see, though.” 

“That’s good… At least we won’t have any issues with food and water then.” Niko stretched his limbs, feeling the weight of the packs on his body. He eyed the tree once more, feeling a little trepidation now that he was thinking of actually climbing the surface.

“We could look around for another way up first?” Skye offered, noting the expression on Niko’s face.

“Maybe… Yeah, a quick look around.” Niko murmured, “I’m not sure how far up that goes, but even with what climbing gear we have, I don’t know how good of a plan that is.”

The two rose up from the creek before prowling across the uneven, plant covered terrain. Hearty, thick moss cushioned their steps, making for a silent journey, but also one with hazardous footing. In some places, the ground was slick, and in others, Niko realized that there were pockets that led between roots, down into tangled systems below. With his Aether Sight and Skye’s woodland senses, neither were at much risk if they were paying attention, but it slowed their progress even further. The last thing either wanted was to fall into a pit in the ground.

The wondrous feeling of the place never left them as they continued on, and in fact only seemed to intensify as they traversed the terrain. Plentiful water sources abounded, and a light rain continually poured upon them, leading Niko to preen through his feathers occasionally when he had the opportunity. They passed by some plants that were thicker than he’d expected to see, fronds, flowers, and other types that curled in on themselves as they approached. Jolts of bioluminescence sometimes rolled outwards in waves from certain types of plants, which after the first few times, the two left well alone. As beautiful as the display was, they weren’t interested in telegraphing their location to any would-be predators in the fog.

Some of the plants were heavy with fruit, as well, and Niko couldn’t help but finally comment on them as he passed yet another sign of vibrant life, “There’s so much food and stuff down here… But where are all the animals?” 

That, above all, was the big question Niko had, and Skye shared in it as the two grew increasingly aware of this new environment. Occasionally, they would hear a distant noise, a skitter of movement, a dull roar and cacophony, but everything was so far away that they couldn’t make much out. 

Then, though, they began to hear another sound, a low groaning that set both of them on edge.

“Skye.” Niko stated, straining his ears to catch what he was detecting.

“I hear it.” Skye replied aloud, voice tight as she looked around.

The plant life around them shivered, and their gentle movements up until then vanished. Wherever they could, the vegetation began to curl in on themselves, leaving only those that couldn’t move much at all to light the area. Crackling sounds rang out as he realized that some of the plants were literally boring into the trees they were attached to, his Aether Sight giving him ample view of the strangeness. 

“Something bad is about to happen.” Niko declared, feeling his guts screaming out in alarm, and his instincts telling him to move. He locked onto that feeling, the connection to Skye in his mind quivering from his subconscious. 

“Niko?” The half-elf asked with obvious worry, taking a step back towards him as she sensed his growing distress.

It took him only another second before he felt the inexplicable need from his core telling him to get to higher ground. 

That was more than enough incentive.

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“Climb! Now!” Niko cawed aloud, virtually throwing himself at a nearby tree. He didn’t consciously know why, but that didn’t matter to him at all right then. The omnipresent groaning sound had only increased in the thirty seconds since the plants had begun to shiver. 

“What’s going on?” Skye questioned, but to her credit climbed no slower than Niko, her hands scrambling up the trunk while using the plants to aid her. Both of them used their patterns, Niko carving his feet into the trees, doing little damage to them aside from carving some centimeters into the bark.

“I don’t know for sure, but my guts are telling me to go higher!” Niko called in his mind this time, finding that he was clambering up the titanwood fairly well, but Skye wasn’t losing out to him at all. Her Wyldform encased her in wood, and with it she seemed to be even more adroit than he was. 

The weight of his pack wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as Niko had feared, but he still felt the burn in his muscles with every movement, his arms especially were unused to such activities. He made a mental note to include climbing in his training routines from now on.

As they moved through the fog above, they began to hear much more noise, muffled as it was, but only growing clearer the more they ascended. A cacophony of growls, howls, screeches, and other sounds entered their ears, underlined by that constantly intensifying groaning sound. Niko strained his eyes, peering upwards to see what they were getting themselves into.

And sucked in his breath in shock at what he saw.

Hundreds of creatures, if not thousands, clung to the tree trunks overhead, those closest to them being the lowest tier. Still, they were all tier three beasts at the least, and Niko looked up past them, to what was yet more near-obscuring fog. Before he lost sight entirely, he saw waves of progressively more powerful monsters and beasts, low and mid tier fours. Niko swallowed past a suddenly dry mouth, but even so his body never stopped climbing.

Skye hissed out, “What the hells is all this!?” But she, too, didn’t stop. Niko could feel across their connection that even her subconscious was screaming in alarm now. They rose to just before the edge of the tier three monsters and other beasts, some of which eyed them with restrained hostility and snarled and hissed. Yet, none of them struck forwards, and Niko wasn’t certain why that was.

Then the groaning sound reached a crescendo, and then went quiet. All of the noise around them stopped as a collective anxiousness took hold, waiting for something to happen.

An earth shaking rumble shook out then, and a roar louder than anything else Niko had ever heard filled his ears. The monsters around the pair at the edge ignored him, trying to squeeze upwards and against the tree even tighter. Niko did too, eyeing the upper areas with trepidation. Not everything stayed in place, and Niko watched as some kind of spider-like creature was suddenly pushed out of position. It scrabbled for a grip, but fell away, Niko’s eyes following its trajectory as it fell.

He realized it was falling in their direction, and without thinking, Niko snapped out with his beak and grabbed onto a flailing limb. It damn near pulled him off of the tree, but his Strider pattern surged with essence, digging in deep and keeping him anchored. His neck muscles strained, but he kept a hold of it just long enough for the creature to slam back into the tree below him. Its legs clacked hard into the bark, digging in before Niko let go. Multifaceted, insectoid eyes glimmered in what he felt was alarm and relief, before long, fuzzy antennae rapidly touched the tree and itself, seemingly surprised it was alive.

It looked at Niko, but whatever its expression was, he couldn’t tell. The long faced insect looked even more alien to him than the hornets had, but he could almost guess that it was grateful. At least, he hoped that’s what its four dancing antennae meant. Niko gave it a short caw, “You’re welcome.” 

The thing’s motions stuttered at that, but whatever else might have come of the interaction was cut short as the two had to grab on tightly to the wood beneath them. The roaring sound became all consuming, and Niko felt his ears ache with the volume. Shaking filled the forest, and even the titanwood beneath him shuddered. The Phorus looked in the distance, his eyes piercing as much of the heavy essence as he could.

And immediately paled.

“Pluck me! Skye, dig in more!” Niko screamed, feeling his own essence go into overdrive as it burned through his body. He dug into the bark with his talons, shearing through the outer layers with a combination of his Strider and his Sharp Strike patterns. Skye, unquestioningly, did the same, tearing into the bark alongside him. Surprisingly, the spider thing did the same, essence flaring as it struck in spots close to Niko and Skye, stripping out batches of bark. Around them, other beasts and monsters noticed, and some of them began to work on their own. A stocky creature that only vaguely resembled any mammal that Niko had seen moved in with them, breathing heavily and grunting as its every strike turned some of the wood brittle.

“You, hit here!” Niko cawed at it sharply, gesturing in front of his face. The thing grunted, understanding him only because of his linguistic gift from Alterra. It hit the location Niko mentioned, and he carved out deep swathes with every pulse. The multi-legged arachnoid caught the large slabs behind it, cradling them with its legs, and in less than a minute, they had what could generously be called a hiding hole. 

Unceremoniously, the four creatures piled in, and the arachnid placed its back against the rest of the group, pushing the slabs of wood against their backs, as if to cover them. 

“Here.” Skye reached forward, pressing her hands against the edge of their hovel, pouring her essence out like a raging stream. Niko tracked her essence with his eyes, watching as the titanwood reclaimed the fragmented bits that the spider held in place. It fidgeted anxiously as the sight, but kept the pieces in place, as fresh growth filled in the cracks, reinforced, and reinvigorated.

Just in time for something to slam into the other side of the tree like a freight train. 

Niko couldn’t help but let out a low, pitiful groan at the impact, alongside the others. A cracking sound resounded out, and a spray of water cut through an imperfectly sealed crack, less like a leak, and more like a firemans hose. Instantly the lot of them were covered in wetness, and Niko grit his teeth as the stream pummeled him, somehow missing the arachnid entirely.

It sealed back up, but already half of their shelter had filled with water.  “Got it!” Skye called out, pressing her hands directly against the shield now. Beside her, multiple sets of limbs, paws, and talons pressed against the seal as well, desperate and terrified that it might simply blast inwards at them and smash them.

Because outside, Niko saw, was an unrelenting tide of water, smashing through the underbrush, a tsunami on land. Niko had no idea how that was happening, but it did perfectly explain why nothing was on the ground earlier.

Niko couldn’t hear anything except the rushing water, the scrape of wood and crunching impacts of matter within the stream. The group shivered as the temperature dropped, and Niko flinched as a crack formed in the barrier. A finger-thick stream of water cut through, and struck the arachnid in the face. It screeched in pain, greenish ichor suddenly running from a ruptured eye before Skye sealed the thing.

The spider thing thrashed, panicked as it was, and Niko had to loudly shout, “Stop moving or you’ll break the wall!” 

That got it to restrain its movements, though it didn’t hear Niko, per se, the meaning carried through his essence just the same. The Phorus fetched a small healing potion from his pack, not much more than a simple painkiller and basic first-aid, but plenty of the current situation. He cracked the neck of the flask, reached up with his neck, and said, “Don’t move, this will help.” 

The arachnoid flinched at the contact of the liquid on its ruined eye and damaged face, but then sagged slightly as the effects went to work. It wouldn’t replace the eye, but it would help. The body would have to do the rest on its own.

For the next minute, no other catastrophic breaks occurred, and the four of them listened as the water gradually calmed, moving from a torrent to a stream. 

“Water’s still high.” Niko commented, “Better settle in, might be here for a bit.” 

The mammal, arachnid, bird, and humanoid all quietly settled in, listening and not daring to move too much, save for to adjust to a somewhat more comfortable position. 

As the minutes dragged on, the tension flagged even further, and in the wake of the adrenaline, Niko almost thought that he could hear the sound of light snoring from beside him.

‘Oh, there is actually snoring.’ Niko blinked, noting that the mammal had its eyes closed and chest gently rising and falling. He looked to Skye, who shrugged, and settled in, propping her feet up against the arachnid’s abdomen. If it cared, it showed utterly no indication of it, and in fact had gone suspiciously still itself.

‘Huh… this’ll definitely be a story for the others…’ Niko chuckled inwardly, before getting comfy himself, fluffing his feathers out and adjusting to push one of the packs so it wasn’t poking a rib quite as much. After all, there wasn’t much more to do than wait…

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