The group used Life Vision to advance in the darkness while Ryka used Earth Vision to perceive threats coming from too deep in the ground for the other mystical senses to see.
Their advance was slow but not for the presence of obstacles or hostile creatures. After the experience in the Garden, they took their time casting life-sensing and array-detecting spells at regular intervals.
Also, they looked at moss, rodents, and small bugs with suspicion, expecting them to turn into plant monsters and attack them at any moment. For several kilometers, the only enemy was the shadows in their minds and their advance proceeded smoothly.
'Gods above and below!' Strider cursed via the mind link, the only method of communication they used to avoid making any noise. 'If only we had flown instead of wasting time and mana, we would have gotten here in minutes.
