Moving along the branch, my siblings couldn't hold in their enthusiasm for our new friends. They were definitely excited. Some slid around the Spiked-shelled snails and try poking their shells. Others tried to communicate with them as they tried gesturing in our language and imitating their screeches.
The language barrier became more and more evident as we moved forward down the branch.
I had already expected that. Most of my siblings had only caught a glimpse, and nothing more. Whereas it seemed that the Spike-shelled snails had learned parts of our language already from 60.
I was optimistic.
I hoped that over the next few days, we would all be able to understand each other better just like how it only took 60 a few days to learn their language.
Speaking of 60, she seemed to take up the role of a teacher as she tried her hardest to bridge the gap in our languages with translations and teaching.
I'm glad I let her live.
Meanwhile, our defence team ran more training exercises under the direction of 11. Some of the Spike-shells saw them and seemed to join in as well.
'That's good.' I thought as I saw them practicing together. 'I'm glad they seem to be fitting in. We will become closer and closer as the days pass us by.' I thought as I focused on my black bar once more.
It was still decreasing, but slowly. 'It seems I have a few hours left before it reaches the next point.' I thought. As I had said before, there were vertical bars that seem to indicate different stages of hunger and it was moving closer and closer to the next stage.
I needed to eat soon.
...
Hours passed us by as we moved forward. Slowly, the wall that the adventuring team had described was approached came into view.
'A wall of white. Exactly, how Mistra described...' I thought as we approached.
"No! No! No!" I suddenly heard while I saw Mistra rush forward away from the other snail of the Adventuring team.
Swiftly, I rushed up and followed her as she slid up and paused.
"What's wrong?" I asked as I slid up behind her.
She paused as she looked forward and turned around briefly to face me.
"...It's different." She replied as she turned around forward again.
I slid up next her side. "What do you mean?"
"It's not supposed to be so... so dense. I mean there are more fibres than a few days ago" She replied as she pointed forward with her foot. "There weren't so many..."
I looked forward. Like she described to me two days before, there was a wall of white filaments that hung down from the branch above us. The filaments were quite thin, but unlike what she described, they now crossed over each other forming a thick barrier that completely blocked our path forward.
"Why are there so many? Last time we were here... we could see almost to the other side. Now... It looks like its completely cut off." She continued as her worry begun to grow. The way forward was our way to find more leaves and more food. Without food, we only had a few days to live. I said "we", but I was running out of time.
...
'That ain't good.' I thought as I started to worry a little bit more. Trying not to show my own panic, I slid forward to examine the filaments. In my head, I knew that if the observations of the adventuring team were correct, we would be able to force our way through the wall.
With a mucus-covered foot, I reached forward to touch a thin filament.
But I stopped just as I was about to touch it and turned around.
"Mistra, can you stand back a little?" I asked. "I'm just going to see if we can force our way through. In fact... EVERYONE!" I yelled out behind me. "SLIDE BACK A LITTLE. I'M GOING TO TEST THE WALL."
Once I saw that the snails had slid back, I touched a filament.
Snap. Like a string under tension, it sprung upward into the air.
"Interesting..." I said out loud.
'The filament isn't that strong, no, in fact, it seems quite weak... But it is quite sticky... We should be able to break these without much trouble with our mucus.' I concluded. 'Well, the thin ones at least.' I thought.
I thought that because I noticed that there were thicker filaments mixed in sporadically with the thinner ones. With closer inspection, the thicker filaments were actually just single strings. No, they were actually an agglomeration of many filaments - five times thicker and definitely stronger than the thinner filaments.
Reaching forward with my mucus covered foot once more, I touched it.
Before I could even react, I felt a pull. In a split second, it had broken through completely. Like it was somehow alive, the filaments snapped and wrapped around my foot as they broke. Similar to a hand, it gripped on tightly before the tension in them tried to pull me upward.
Luckily, I was heavy. It tugged upward but I was too heavy. Unable to hold my entire weight, the fibres snapped instead.
"Are you okay?" Mistra asked quickly as she saw the fibres still attached to my foot.
While, shaking the fibres off, I replied.
"Yes. I'm okay, but you wouldn't have if you touched it..."
'If another snail had touched that fibre, they would have been pulled upward for sure.' I thought as I looked upward. 'If you trip one, you'll trip more as you're pulled up...' I concluded.
'Also... these larger fibres seem like traps. But for what? They pull us above so are the things that created this wall above us?' I suggested as I looked around.
All the fibres ran from our branch towards the branch above, but I couldn't see any indication of something that was already caught or their creator.
'What was this whole thing built for?' I questioned myself. 'It was built for a reason... But what? All I know is that the creature that had built it is still here.'
Minutes passed.
Pacing back and forth along the wall, I thought about the possibility of using brute force and powering through the obstacle in front of us. There were more fibres that revealed themselves after the fibres I touched had snapped. It was going to be a slow process if we chose that solution. It was also going to be dangerous. Thick filaments were hidden within and only I could destroy them safely. I was also sure that if we started destroying the filaments, whatever that made them would notice almost immediately. I didn't want to risk it.
Thinking deeply, I searched my mind for a solution. But, my concentration was easily broken when I heard a cry from behind me.
"I... I have an idea of how to get through." the voice said.
I turned around to see who it was.
It was Sim - the snail that explained that he had a sixth sense for treasure. Without a way forward, I let him continue.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Let me show you... I feel it... a way forward," he replied.
Sim seemed to close his eyes and move forward towards the edge of the wall. I almost reached out behind him to stop him before he ran straight into the sticky wall, but he suddenly stopped and turned. Sliding along the white edge, he seemed to pace back and forth until he suddenly paused and opened his eyes once more.
"This way." he gestured as he slid along the wall.
I followed.
Minutes later, Sim stopped abruptly.
"Here," he said as he pointed forward at the wall of white. "This we can move forward from here. This is the entrance." He added.
I looked closer to the wall. He was right. Made of completely, thin strands, there appeared to be an empty crevice behind it.
Gently, I moved up and touched the thin filaments. Instantly, they launched themselves into the air above as they snapped revealing a path without any filaments.
"Let's go," I said to Sim and Sim only. I didn't want the others to follow.
"Wait!" I heard as we slid forward as Mistra and the adventuring team along with 7 and 11 approached me.
Like always, I had a feeling they wanted to come with us.
"It's too dangerous," I said as I moved forward a little more.
"But..." they all started to complain, but I ignored them.
"Just stay here," I said sternly. "We'll quickly find a path and come back to get you all... There are too many traps mixed into the filaments. One touch and you will all be pulled upward into more and more sticky filaments. I can't risk losing any of you. I only need Sim." I explained.
Reluctantly, the snails backed off.
I nodded and moved forward. Sim followed.
The moment I stepped passed the area of broken filaments, I heard a ding.
*Ding*
[User has entered mini-dungeon: Labyrinth of White] [Temporary] (Secret)
+ Warning suggested [Level: 10]
+ Objective: Reach the other side
+ 2 Side objectives (Hidden)
[Rewards will be awarded based on completion and number of objectives completed.]
...