It didn't take long for the group to use up their pent up energy. Flying very quickly, they had been looking for somewhere to refresh themselves. Although the Twins could fly, they still used up some energy, similarly to when they would run. Their flying had gotten much better.
It was unanimous, all of them were insisting that they continue on their journey, the group didn't do any meandering while they were exploring and only ate a bit while the Fliers rested themselves.
The Tolos were the first to get tired, then the twins were forced to drag them to keep pace. Occasionally the group would stop mid-air to check direction, Wu Hai would take a quick look at his compass and they'd set off again.
Nightfall was hours away and from the air, Wu Hai figured that the group would take at least seven hours to get past the mountains. If they were forced to fly through the darkness, they could become targets in the sky. The auras they each emitted could catch the attention of a Beast or worse, many.
A few hours into the flight the Twins saw a small town in the distance. It didn't have any signs on the buildings and most of the doors were boarded shut. The Town had seen better days, there were banners in the square and the bodies of different races on the walls.
The scene did not seem friendly, they didn't land. Choosing to avoid the place completely, the Twins warned the group, went back into the air and continued their journey.
Everyone was showing their own signs of struggle during the search for a good place to bed down but everywhere they had looked was less than ideal. The Mountains were a place for water to catch in the clouds, vapor locked against the side of the mountain the clouds turned to moisture which then turned to droplets along every surface. Along the mountain ridges there were very few caves and all had been occupied by less than friendly residents.
A steep scar across the rock face offered some wind resistance was their only hope of shelter from the wind and water. As the second Sun was setting and the night temperatures dropped, Wu Hai pulled the Darkflame Dagger out and fed his energy into it's handle. A Fire was bright in the Mountains no matter where you burned it but the Blackfire of the Dagger was less intense and uniquely covert.
The faint flickers of light could be seen rushing into the night and there were noises from beasts in the area. Keeping Guard while they rested again, howls could be heard in the night.
A crashing of trees in the distance and ear splitting boom got everyone's attention. There was an extremely loud yet muffled noise far into the Mountains.
'The distance of the crashing is getting closer, perhaps we're drawing with the fire.' Choosing to put it out, Yu doused the fire quickly while Mu covered the Darkflame Dagger with mud. The Brothers were aware of wild beasts during the night, they themselves had fought off many in their years in the plains.
The noise was getting louder, and closer. It was difficult to hear its location accurately with the echo of the surrounding rock. Khan Ni was on her guard but still had a look of pity on her face, they would be forced to kill and she was still unwilling to kill a wandering forest creature in the night.
Everyone was on alert.
A rushing from the trees, the purple glow from a Rushroom could be seen. It swayed and moved rapidly through the trees, headed in their direction.
A Gnome came crashing into the camp, he leapt out of the trees and stumbled over a log.
Gnomes were notorious for being crafty and known to be thieves. Clutching their belongings, the group wondered what the gnome would do next.
The Tolos didn't appreciate his presence at all, they gave off a terrified screaming noise and ripped at their reins to escape.
It was a stare down, everyone was worried and ready for combat.
The Twins spread their wings to intimidate the Gnome but the noise in the forest continued. It grew in volume and the trees that the gnome had touched on his way were knocked down, broken at the trunk like they had been knocked over.
Pushing the Purple Rushroom into his mouth, the Gnome sprinted through the camp and disappeared into the forest.
A Large Fungal Elemental was running in the direction of the Gnome. Knocking down trees to make its path, it was missing a large section of its carapace near the center of its legs.
Missing a piece of itself, the Mushroom Giant was howling in anger and crashed into the party's camp with a clear disregard for its surroundings. It batted away the group, almost stepping on the Tolos and ran right through the spot where the gnome had been.
Darkwing was especially annoyed. Slipping into the shadows to escape, Darkwing popped out near Wu Hai. "Master, Can I eat it?"
Wu Hai was caught off guard with the question but answered quickly, "No. Look, it's running after its junk. You wouldn't like that either, I bet you'd chase someone that cut your things off too.."
The Twins were trying not to laugh at the situation, Khan Ni grimaced at the thought that was going through her mind.
Putting themselves into action again, the Twins took to the sky and Khan Ni followed from behind with the Jiao.
Without the purple glow of the Rushroom, it was difficult to track the Gnome from above. The cloud cover kept the area dark and it was already covered with trees. Eventually all of them chose to follow the Elemental into the forest. They wanted to get ahead of the Gnome and pay him back for luring a dangerous and primal creature into their camp.
"Khan Ni, you know that Gnome already ate the .. ahem... cough cough.. " Wu Hai pointed out the obvious problem.
"Don't worry, Rushroom's can't easily be chewed. They can only be ground up using special materials to aide in the grinding. Gnome teeth and saliva are not enough to break them down and I doubt he would swallow it. Its used for a variety of purposes but all of them require just a little bit of the essence. Too much and well, your body will swell and you will leak blood from all holes." Khan Ni's explanation was rather gruesome, she left no detail out.
Continuing her statement she said "Its likely that he just put it into his mouth to hide the light. All we need to do is find him, he won't keep it in his mouth for long."
Climbing over a rock, the Gnome pulled the Rushroom from its mouth. The salty taste was not palatable, tucking it into his clothes the purple glow returned, visible from the ends of the broken rocks. There was only one path ahead of the Gnome, it was going to be hard for it to escape.
The Fungal Lord was hot on his trail, able to track a disconnected part of itself, it followed behind the gnome very closely. If it wasn't for the camp getting in its way, the gnome might have been caught already. The trail of spores and devastation was easy to follow from the air and eventually everyone in the group could see the purple glow from the Rushroom in the distance.
Employing every means it had, the gnome wanted to live and escape with his prize. He threw flares and lit the forest on fire as he ran. When the fire didn't undermine the Fungal Lord's pursuit, the gnome tried dropping sticky bombs and trip wires.
Leaping from tree to tree before they were knocked down again and again, the Gnome was starting to get tired and losing it's footing every time the Elemental battered at the trees.
The distraction and battle was all the momentum that the Twins needed to get ahead of the explosions and traps that the Gnome kept throwing out. If they were on the ground, both of them wondered if they would have been able to keep up. The Gnome was very crafty and agile but since it was on foot, the Twins had a clear advantage.
Standing in the Gnome's way with their weapons drawn, the Cheng Brothers stood ready to bash its head in but he threw a smoke grenade and kept charging to move past them. The Cheng Brothers were not afraid. They threw up walls that were nearly sixty feet high, they far outstretched tree height and the gnome was trapped, surrounded by a solid wall. In a matter of moments, they had blocked off the exit and the Elemental was still hot on his tail.
The Fungal lord could see the gnome again and had him cornered against the wall when he caught up. Noticing the two Qilinkin flying above the Gnome, the Fungal Elemental felt threatened and gave a loud howl. It swatted at the Cheng brothers who were trying to help it.
They got out of the way and continued to close off area and entrap the gnome. They had created the chance, now the rest was up to the Elemental.
Khan Ni watched from atop the wall, the Gnome was about to receive an attack, stealing from Elementals was already a terrible idea. Angering the spirits of nature, she believed that the gnome had brought the situation on himself.
It was one thing to take from something from an elemental, its another to cut off a piece, a delicate piece at that. Elementals couldn't bear children but Fungus Elementals could reproduce by spores.
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