Apparently, we didn't need the vines. The vines were for show, or at least for non-magical access to the winding slope that ran around the World Tree. We entertained Eliza and climbed up the vines to a large ledge that stuck out from the trunk.
Just like a winding road that was carved into a mountain by humans, there was a similar wooden path that appeared sculpted into the surface of the tree trunk. We could walk easily on the gradually inclining slope, though we would have to walk in ascending circles up Yggdrasil. It would take a while, but it was better than directly climbing up the World Tree vertically using mountain gear and equipment.
Even as we strolled up the spiraling road around Yggdrasil, I couldn't help but marvel at our surroundings. If not for the rich brown bark of the World Tree and the vibrant life teeming both inside and on the surface, I would have thought we were ascending a mountain. In addition to huge clumps of leaves, a myriad of plant life had grown all over the tree, ranging from mushrooms to all manner of foliage such as shrubs, flowers, ferns, grass and even trees.
Trees growing on a titanic tree. How…interesting.
It wasn't just plant life. I could see the more harmless spirit beasts inhabiting the vegetation that had grown deep into the World Tree. Eliza would often hold up a hand and shake her head, informing us that those were harmless and weren't the aggressive spirit beasts that launched attacks on the elven enclaves with increasing frequency.
They ranged from monkeys, some sporting orange fur, some a deep brown. I saw a pack of Silent Sloths sleeping idly on a thick branch, guarded by their final evolved forms, Vigorous Sloths. The latter had snow white fur covering dark muscles, with a streak of red on their heads and cruel claws. At the center was a massive Slack King, who resembled a lazy King Kong lying on his side and snoring. His muscles bulged, and I estimated that he was a size of a small house. Despite being Mystic ranked, his strength was probably equal to that of an Earth ranked spirit beast, but because he spent most of his time sleeping and ran out of energy very quickly, he was only categorized as Mystic ranked.
Birds flew about the branches, having made nests here and there. There were the rainbow-colored Birds of Paradise, their long-feathered tails trailing underneath them like a comet's contrail whenever they took flight. I was half expecting phoenixes, but there wouldn't be any in Yggdrasil. There were Howling Hawks, Emerald Eagles and Purple Parrots fluttering about, as well as Cunning Canaries that made their nests and sang a soothing melody for passers-by to enjoy as they trekked underneath their flocks. Black Ravens scattered, casting long shadows that belied their small sizes.
There were also bug type spirit beasts that scuttled among the ferns, moss and tall grass growing all over the surface of Yggdrasil, and I caught sight of a Herculean Stag Beetle. It was the size of an adult, with a massive horn sticking out of its head, and had blue armored carapace. If I wasn't mistaken, its species fed on the sap of trees. There were also large Stinger Bees that hovered from flower to flower, spreading pollen about, and fluttering Free Butterflies.
No wonder the elves were so concerned. They normally coexisted with harmless spirit beasts and were close to nature, so the aggressively attacking spirit beasts were out of the ordinary. At least to them. I understood why they were uneasy with the current situation.
"Be careful," Eliza warned as she ducked under a branch and continued up the slope. She held a hand up for a halt and peered intensely at the route ahead of us, which was currently concealed behind a tangle of trees. "It's not unknown for spirit beasts to attack even this low on Yggdrasil."
"You mean they usually attack at the top of the World Tree?" Myria asked. The elf ranger nodded.
"That's right. The stronger spirit beasts live in the higher regions. The higher we climb, the denser the mana, and thus the spirit beasts up there tend to develop more powerful abilities."
"What kind of spirit beasts can we expect to face?" I asked, always all business.
"It depends," Eliza replied vaguely. "They vary a lot. It can be anything from a hock of Howling Griffons to Striking Scorpions to Titanic Tarantulas. There are even reported sightings of dragons and Gargantuan Serpents in the upper reaches, but we will be heading to one of the lower elf enclaves first before proceeding that far ahead."
She smiled humorlessly. "If you can't even survive a battle against spirit beasts that inhabit the lower levels, then we can forget about climbing to the upper reaches of Yggdrasil."
"Howling Griffons and Striking Scorpions?" I raised an eyebrow. I was pretty sure I had heard those names somewhere before. Weren't they used for certain warrior castes or chapters in the 41st millennium?
"The sylphs are mostly found in the highest levels of Yggdrasil," Sylvie whispered to me. "Elemental spirits like them prefer to live in the regions with the densest mana. Sylphs, in particular, prefer high places where the winds are at their strongest and purest, so that they can soak up the mana. If we want to find them, we have no choice but to keep climbing."
"Yeah, but we can't ignore the lower enclaves," I replied. Sylvie shook her head.
"I'm not suggesting that we do. Let's help as many elves as we can and progress from one level to the next. But I'm just making sure you know that we need to reach the topmost levels of Yggdrasil if your goal is to find sylphs."
"Oh, yeah. I understand. Thanks."
"The first elven enclave we're heading to is Murkwood," Eliza said. Despite having sharp, pointy ears, she didn't appear to have overheard my conversation with Sylvie. She scowled, though I sensed her irritation was directed elsewhere instead of us. What a refreshing change from her usual contempt of humans such as us. "It's one of the less…desirable places to live in Yggdrasil, but it's still infinitely better than any of your human habitats."
That last clause was completely unnecessary. Jeez, but elves were a bitch to get along with.
As it turned out, she wasn't exaggerating. Even though elven enclaves were generally paradise when compared to the dull, gritty urban cities of human civilizations (if you love nature and an idyllic lifestyle, anyway), Murkwood was…well, murky. It was cast in perpetual shadow, nestled beneath a gigantic branch. There was a hollowed concave somewhere in the trunk that was filled out with a gray bog, making it look like a swamp.
Mangrove trees had grown over the small swamp, and it appeared that a small village lined the coast. I wondered why there would be elves living in here when there were more choicy enclaves above. Even at this level, there was another bigger and brighter village on the opposite side of the trunk, soaking in the sunlight and built along the length of a thick, sturdy branch.
Then I saw the elves fishing in the swamps, riding blue mudskippers the size of dolphins. They carried what looked like spears, which they thrust into the murky waters to impale large fish or crustaceans before hauling them out. One of the elves in the rear flung a net to capture a score of fish and clams from the mangrove, pulling up quite the catch.
"The fish and fresh seafood here are Murkwood's specialties," Eliza explained indifferently. "They fetch high prices at the markets both in the elvish enclaves throughout the World Tree and at the trading post below."
Somehow, I wasn't surprised. Even though I was watching from a distance and couldn't make out the details despite magnifying the view on my lenses, I was aware that such rare seafood would be considered delicacies. After all, you normally wouldn't be able to find fish, clams and other creatures so rich in spiritual qi (or mana) elsewhere in the world, and they didn't seem like any of the regular fish or marine life I had seen. Probably native species unique to Yggdrasil.
"But at the same time, it's this very swampy properties that makes them vulnerable to spirit beast raids," Eliza said. It would be perfectly coincidental if a horde of spirit beasts descended upon the fishing and hunting elves in the swamp at that very moment to emphasize her point, but apparently, reality wasn't that accommodating.
"They look fine," Morten Pedersen said, peering at them from where we were. He turned to Eliza, puzzled. "Are you suggesting we wait here for a while until they get attacked, or is there a pattern or usual time when Murkwood is assaulted by spirit beasts?"
Eliza's eyes narrowed, as if she wasn't pleased about being questioned. That arrogance, so typical of elves, I suppose, but I decided not to say anything about it. We had a job to do, and I didn't want to waste time arguing with our guide.
I suspected all elves acted similarly, so it wasn't as if we could return to the garrison and ask for a new guide.
"No, I stopped by here first because I received reports that they were under attack, but…" Eliza suppressed her irritation, looking puzzled. "But they are fishing like nothing happened."
She held up a hand and gestured for us to stay where we were. "I'll go ahead and check out what's going on. It might be a false report, or perhaps they had already dealt with the threat before we reached Murkwood. Wait here for me."
"Okay."
She nimbly climbed up the underhanging branches and leaped gracefully to the edge of the swamp. Holding vines, she swung her way to the mangrove trees and landed on a thick branch overseeing the swamp. Cupping her hands over her mouth, she whistled, a melodic note that cut through the humid, almost steaming atmosphere.
One of the giant mudskipper riders turned his head and held up a hand. Pulling the reins of his fish steed, he urged it around and glided toward Eliza. They conversed, but I couldn't make out their words from this distance. Their voices were lost in the dense foliage of the mangrove swamp. I could see Eliza's expression, though, which turned from bewilderment to relief and some annoyance. She nodded, bowed politely, and spun away. The mudskipper rider waved or saluted – I couldn't tell – before turning his steed about and streaking toward the rest of his group.
Elves on mudskippers. I never imagined such a sight. And even though they were swimming around in a swamp, the elvish riders still appeared clean and pretty. I guess it was an elf thing.
"False alarm," Eliza said after making her way to our position. She pursed her lips, visibly annoyed at the waste of time. "One of the riders had sent the report when he spotted something large moving in the swamp, but it never surfaced and disappeared shortly after. He was probably seeing things, which isn't unusual given the thick bog. Anything can be made out to seem like a monster if you can't see it clearly."
"They didn't send another report after that?" Pedersen asked, his brow furrowed. "Like, letting us know that it was a false alarm?"
"It appeared that they did, but we didn't manage to receive the updated message in time." Eliza sighed. "No matter. We proceed."
"Or we can stick around for a bit longer, in case that thing the rider saw comes back," I suggested. Eliza glared at me, her hands on her hips.
"We don't have time to waste. There are other enclaves that need help even as we speak. If you want to rest, wait until you actually finish a battle and save one of the enclaves first…"
She never got to finish her sentence. There was a panicked shout from the mudskipper riders in the swamp. They were desperately turning their swamp steeds about and racing back to the shore, even as there was an enormous eruption of grayish water into the air. Like a geyser, the swamp water spurted high into the air, only to be replaced by a colossal silhouette.
"Yeah," I told a stupefied Eliza. "I meant to say that we should eliminate that spirit beast first before moving on to the next enclave."