Master Of None

”Sister, can you smell that?” Onyx had been careful to keep a good eye around them. But between him and Midnight, he knew they could sense more by smelling the air.

”In the wind.” Midnight was still having a rough time communicating. She was keeping the ability to speak mentally with Onyx but she was trying to form her thoughts in to human language. It was a strange way to go about things but Onyx was impressed.

Onyx had an advantage over everyone. He had no idea how to speak since he was unable to do so out loud in general. He could only hope that as he got older he would have the chance. But since Midnight was going so far to think she was speaking in languages in her head, he had to pride her. Normally he would get a gist of what she wanted to say just sharing the telepathy with her.

”It’s not blood, but it is similar with a rotten smell.” The smell was familiar and the two had smelled it between many monsters. It wasn’t the same as undead but it was similar to what they had smelled around undead. It made them both go on higher alert while they were scouting the area.

Since the two had sped up their movement by moving through the shadows of rocks and the hills, they were able to travel without being seen by anything that might be looking. The issue with this was that they had also come across evidence that a few monsters lived near here still even though the wyverns’ young hunted here for food.

The bones of a few flying spiders’ wings were here and there meaning that something had dragged them from the lower forest. However, when Midnight had found larger bones the size of a wolf, she wondered if there were the clay wolves she had been warned about.

Walker and the others had been very communicative, ”Sister, if they are the clay wolves, we will have to watch out for underground dens.” Onyx also remembered the worries that the others had. He always listened to what they had to say.

While the two archangels had been glad to share the dangers of the area, Walker had read and memorized the books about monster species of the mountains and rocky areas. The clay wolf was a fairly common monster that would get in to groups of five or six. The reason they survived was the fact that they would cover themselves in clay to help them easily slip in to underground spaces between rocks.

The further boost from their earth affinity allowed them to carve out perfect places to hide for weeks at a time. They also dragged prey underground to hide it from others. This made them an annoyance to wyverns that fed themselves here. They stole food from them and escaped. Not that it was always the case. The wyverns often ate them as well.

Midnight stopped stepping without care. The perks of being a dragon were everywhere when it came to senses. Since she had trained since she met the party and became family, she had been able to focus on her senses. When it came to Mna, she had learned a lot from Walker. Remey had shown her sense of smell when it came to herbs. Su had focused on the feel of physical combat and healing. And Gil had been the key to her finding her eyesight improving.

Without anyone noticing, Midnight had learned from all of them. That didn’t even factor in what else she had learned from the various people that she met. But that wasn’t the focus here, she could spot the small place of the earth that had been shuffled here and there. ”You found six clay wolves here? Do we take them out?” Onyx wasn’t sure what Midnight was thinking.

”More bait.” Onyx felt that Midnight was being greedy. But she was right, it would be more bait. ”Wait for brother.” knowing that Midnight was willing to wait meant that she had taken the fact that she couldn’t finish their current quest in to account.

Not to mention that carrying around six clay wolves would need Onyx to take on a larger form. It would also attract any and all monsters around. the scent of defeated wolves dripping blood on the ground would be tough to hide. They were better off letting Walker hide it away in his storage after they defeated them. Plus, Walker could use earth magic to defeat the unsuspecting wolves in the blink of an eye.

The two pushed away from the area without alerting the clay wolf. It was easy for Midnight and Onyx to memorize the location. Neother worried about Gil who had also pushed up to the rockier areas closer to the solid rock mountain. They were focused on the large spikes of stone that jutted out.

Here and there were some blackened crystals. The land of Sigil was already full of areas like this. They were not strictly mana crystals but normal growth of crystals due to the minerals in the ground. They seemed to appear in certain areas with densely packed minerals and changed the terrain.

Since the mountain had so many nutrients, it made sense that crystals would appear here. Onyx didn’t hesitate to break off a few smaller ones to hide in his mouth. That way he could give them to Walker when they got back. He wanted to know what they were specifically since they had a black and gray tinge to them. Surely they had to be related to iron but that was just a guess.

The rockier the area became, the more that the two realized they were on a very tough to climb mountain. Just being able to get over one large piece of rock was a triumph that led to another. The way that the rocks were piled here and there proved that when the earth shifted more mountains came to be. It was as if two mountains had been smashed together to make this singular mountain. But every mountain that came together like this had somehow formed a long chain of mountains to divide the territory of the Ruize empire. An amazing feat of nature.

”There, sister, that is what we need.” The space that Onyx looked in to was the one between the two mountains. An ideal space where the mountains had clashed and left a natural tear in the earth. Rocks were jutting out from either side creating a very tough place for any monster to crawl. But if tempted by food, it would be a natural trap for every monster that went in.

”If we lure them here then they will be stuck for a while. Brother said they are very hungry so they won’t fear the tight space.” Onyx was proud and Midnight’s sudden huff of approval made him even happier. He knew that Midnight was praising him for spotting it before her. The two had found their goal when it came to the quest, now they just had to scout the area a little more. It also left Gil to still work on his quest.

”Those two won’t believe me if I told them I found a better spot.” Gil was standing near a large pit. One that had clearly been carved out here on purpose. But he had already figured out what happened. He just wanted to brag when he told the others he had found the best spot.

While Midnight and Gil had been scouting through the shadows of rocks and hills, Gil had been checking the hills and tracking something interesting.

With his sharp eyes and hunter’s instincts, he had followed the scrapings on rocks that were clear markings of territory. Most of the time, Gil would avoid predators like this. Yet, he had been briefed on what monsters loved in the area. This had allowed him to make some assumptions as to what he had found.

The sleeping beast was not one that would normally be found near Genesis. It was one that was unique to Sigil as far as he knew. A solitary monster that would cut out large chunks of stone to show off strength. That when hunting left marks on every rock to attract females to itself. A mountain lion.

This wasn’t just a maned lion that lived in the plains. This was a slim beast of a monster that used the stones it cut apart to create its own armor. A smart monster that could go head to head with other monsters. Its tough claws were enough to cut through stone while it was able to even bite through tough ores too. A monster that he was told to avoid since it would fight with the young wyverns to defend territory. The perfect place to lay bait and cause a fight that would distract multiple wyverns.

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