It took a few days before the compass needle started pinging a little stronger, the pull of the force dragging on it was increasing. Shaking the compass didn't get the needle to move much, it wasn't the same as the day before. There was a noticeable difference, he could only push onward in his journey of discovery.
The Suns were beginning to set and Wu Hai needed to rest for the remainder of the day. Being with a Duck wasn't all bad, after landing, the Duck laid down and since they had been flying far from the clouds, it was plenty dry. Wu Hai re-rolled the dice until he had Fire in the combination.
Reading the last throw, Wu Hai was finally satisfied, 'Fire, Darkness, Shooting Star.' He had been waiting to come across the combination for what seemed like too long, he couldn't help himself but cheer inside. Immediately knowing how to control his abilities, he started a campfire and laid down next to the Duck.
The Duck didn't seem to mind and started to relax, it preened at its feathers while Wu Hai sat in meditation.
The sounds of various Insects rang in the night and toads croaked in the distance. Nothing eats for free but some animals are predators and some, are not. Wu Hai was hungry and after finding a large Shield Lizard, he let it roast on the fire while he sat next to the Duck.
Ducks were known to eat all sorts of things but he didn't expect it to want the Brown Leaf Shield Lizard. It was most likely due to its appearance but he couldn't let the massive bird choke down all the meat. Securing some for himself at first, he let the Duck have its fill of the rest. The Duck had terrible eating habits, it picked everything up with its beak and swallowed what was left of the Lizard whole.
Zao Wu Hai backed into the happy bird's feathers for warmth, the fire was burning and both of them were fast asleep.
In the morning, the Bird was making noises.
Apparently the Duck wanted to go do its business but he was physically tied to Wu Hai to prevent his escape in the night. Walking the Duck didn't take very long, it did its business, a lot of it.
Making sure not to step in the mess, Wu Hai wondered 'What would happen if this stuff fell from the sky?' Thinking about how disgusting it was, he passed on cooking a breakfast after losing his appetite momentarily and found some odd shaped fruits in the forest instead. He roasted them and he tossed a few to the Duck.
Once situated and fed, they were back in the air.
The morning was so humid that Wu Hai's balls were sticking to his pants, his clothes were in a miserable state and he quickly realized that flying through the clouds was a bad idea. It didn't take very long to find out that clouds were just masses of water, cold water, he had no choice but to land.
The Duck was annoyed, it was enjoying it's flight more than it had been enjoying most things lately. His new owner helped finally free it from the confines of gravity.
"It's a Swamp for as far as I can see." He spoke to himself while looking at the expanse in front of them.
Having flown over what looked like a swamp for nearly an hour, there was no nice place to land.
The Duck wasn't tired but the weather was awful. After finding a place to land, their walking path led directly into the muck. Wu Hai's boots were having a hard time staying above the mud, he made sure to keep the duck on alert and rode it across the swampland.
The Duck's body had been lightened and did not sink in the slush, which gave them an edge that others didn't have. Knowing that he was far from help and alone, Wu Hai kept his eyes alternating from the compass to the path and back again.
Some large crystalline looking Birds flew off from the distance, there was a whole flock of them. A glittering blue crystal flock crossed the fog, the birds looked like gemstones.
They were alarmed and making all sorts of screeches. The pitch was fairly high, and the tone was short.
It was the call to flee the area, sent out to its progeny and friends. Signals like that were reserved to warn the group of predators or danger.
Some scratching sounds and thuds could be heard, it sounded like something landed in the distance.
"Maybe a beast is hunting. I hope it doesn't like Duck." There wasn't enough room for Wu Hai to take off from this swamp.
Even if the Duck was able to get a running start, there was no straight away. The Duck was too fat and needed running space.
Wu Hai couldn't help but tap the Duck's head gently and argue with himself, he took notice of the fact that he hadn't even named the duck yet. Calling it Duck seemed like it didn't designate it properly, after a few moments he stopped.
"I will name you Doofus. It sounds silly but I feel its fitting since you're one Fat Bird. At least you're smart enough to figure things out, what do you think?" Patting the neck of the Duck, he called it's new name, Doofus.
The bird shook its head and then sped up in the mud a bit. Doofus picked up the pace and quickly the reached a large set of ruts on the ground.
The beast tracks had 2 front claws and 4 small pads on its feet. Wu Hai had seen tracks like it in the past, his Father had shown them the battle between beasts as a child. He knew it was likely a Chimaera and since it didn't fly after its prey, it was likely a juvenile. Young Chimera would often hunt by themselves. Unable to fly, they normally stuck to the trees and waited for Prey to arrive.
The one in front of Wu Hai and Doofus was an adult.
Having only one head, the teeth of the roaring Chimera were almost as long as Wu Hai's forearm. If he could get them, that would be for the best but none of that would matter if the Chimera got them instead. Killing a Chimera would be downright impossible since he was not experienced in close combat.
Chimera were not ranked low on the food chain, if it moved and breathed, it was prey.
Doing his best not to startle the Chimera before he could act, Wu Hai pulled the Cube from the bottom of the scabbard gently and placed it into his ring for safe keeping. Doofus' feet started to feel the strain of standing in the mud, Wu Hai raised his arm slowly and grabbed the hilt of the weapon to pull it from the sheath.
The Chimera took it as a threat and started to close the gap between them.
Unwilling to go down on his first fight and first adventure, Wu Hai channeled the Darkflame Shooting Star energy and forced it into the weapon. He could feel a faint vibration emanating from the shaft of the Crusher. Knowing he had no chance to defeat the Chimera, he took a swing and watched the Chimera crash against a Keen Tree dozens of meters away.
'Huh?' Wu Hai was sure that he was about to die, anyone standing nearby would have thought it comical. A child, swinging a weapon as large as himself and batting an adult chimaera far away was not only improbably but incredulous and something no one would forget if they saw it.
The Keen Tree shook its branches and grabbed the Chimera by the throat. Keen Trees were sentient plants, they preferred isolation and living beings that came into their purview were prey. Although they had no no eyes, nose, mouth or brain, the Keen Trees were like the Venus Fly Traps of Jigui's memories. Sections of the tree began to separate so that the Keen Tree could take the Chimera's nutrients.
Thrashing the Chimera and not releasing its beaten and battered corpse, the Keen Tree knocked one of it's teeth from the Chimera's Jaw.
A portion of the Chimera's head came crashing down, the Jawbone was still attached, it looked sturdy. If the Chimera's body had not been slammed repeatedly into rocks and the ground by the Keen Tree, Wu Hai might have been able to obtain a reasonable amount of its blood.
However, the Keen Tree flinging the Corpse around, had spread the blood all over the area. There was no retrieving any significant portion of it, if he had located some it would have been contaminated by the elements.
Making sure to remain out of the Keen Tree's range and interest, Doofus and Wu Hai looked the towering Treant as it dragged the rest of the Chimaera's remains under it's roots for fertilizer.
Thankful that he wasn't thrown at the Tree instead of the chimaera, Wu Hai took closer look at the swampland in the distance, they had a lot more area to pass and there were a lot of Keen Trees.
Not wanting to experience what the Chimera had, Wu Hai gathered the broken Jawbone into storage for safe keeping. He had to be extra cautious and gather everything possible. Collecting materials was necessary, his Master would scold him often about his carefree attitude in the past. 'Opportunity rarely knocks or announces itself,' The words were as true then as they were when he first heard them.
Wu Hai and Doofus backtracked out of the swamp until the Keen Trees were not in the way and made the long trip around them. There was no hurry in Wu Hai's journey, the self-imposed direction of his 'quest' was all due to the direction the compass led.
The Swamp was enormous and big things happen in big places. Chucking the Wooden Cube back into the scabbards slot, Wu Hai noticed a bunch more of the semicircular tracks that were as big as a bathtub, they were crushed into the mud.
Occasionally a crystal looking scale could be found.
If the Scales came from a Snake type Beast, that would mean that the Snake was especially large. The scales were nearly 16 centimeters in length, they could be found from time to time as the duo made their way through the swamp. The Scales were plentiful and increasing in number the further they went.