Chapter 176 - One Path Ahead

Char Char stared defiantly into Reid’s eyes, reading the subtle cues in his reaction to her words. The experienced, grizzled Hunter was not expecting her sharp challenge, but he also wasn’t intimidated by her. His eyes narrowed, chest puffing out subconsciously as he opened his mouth for a rebuttal.

“Lyssa,” Char Char turned away from Reid, interrupting him as she addressed the cultist, “How close are we to where you think Hakuya is?”

“Just beyond this stream.” Medusa replied, looking in that direction, “There is a glade where I sensed the corruption.”

“Sensed it?” Char Char contemplated the word used by Medusa as her eyes flitted to the Devileye plant. The bloodshot eye was bobbing around idly, not focusing on any particular place, “You… can sense things in the forest?”

“I am attuned to the energies of Life.” Medusa placed a hand on her chest, “Of course I can.”

“Then… What do you sense over there?” Char Char asked.

Medusa closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated.

During this time Char Char didn’t look back at Reid. The Hunter, who was previously about to angrily rebut the young girl’s words, found it now awkward to bring the conversation back to that topic.

A sour look darkened his face as he came to realization that he’d been played by the seventeen year old girl. However, there was nothing he could do about it.

In the end, Char Char was right. He certainly wasn’t happy about having the  truth of Hakuya’s situation hidden from him, but he wasn’t going to drop the job for it. Perhaps he would have, if it was just another job, but truthfully he was worried about Hakuya.

“Something’s strange.” Medusa said, her eyes still closed as she continued to concentrate, “I can’t get a good grasp of the energies like before.”

“What does that mean?” Char Char asked.

“I’m not sure. I need to take a closer look.” Medusa opened her eyes finally, looking across the creek. She had a confused look on her face as she left the Keeper’s Gaze and waded into the slow, shallow stream.

Char Char and Reid watched her until she was halfway, feeling that something had changed in the woman’s disposition. Char Char’s fists clenched together lightly as she made up her mind and took a decisive step to follow Medusa.

After a few paces Char Char turned around to Reid, “Are you coming?”

“…” Reid didn’t respond, but followed after her.

~

The soft, loamy banks of the stream were clear of vegetation on either side, indicating that the flowing water used form a deeper creek. Today, though, only a shallow flow of water bubbled across the soft, moist ground. Char Char followed Medusa across the stream, finding that the water only went halfway up her calves at its deepest level.

As she passed the halfway point the air suddenly grew thicker and more humid. The sweet scent of pollen wafted into her nose as if she had held her face up to a flower and deeply inhaled.

The change in atmosphere was so distinct Char Char stopped walking and looked around. It was as if she had passed through an invisible barrier.

She felt a firm pressure on her back as Reid pushed her from behind, jolting her out of her daze.

“Keep moving.” He said gruffly.

“Did you feel-“

“Yes.” Reid replied, his eyes scanned the forest ahead as he was on full alert, “I hope that sword at your waist isn’t just for decoration.”

On the other side of the stream Medusa had already reached the grass past the creek bed and was picking up her pace. Char Char and Reid made their way up the muddy bank, but halfway across the bank their feet began sinking into the mud.

Char Char had to fight harder and harder to lift her feet as the ground made loud sucking noises. At first she didn’t pay it too much attention, until on the next step a loud slurping sound engulfed her foot.

Her spiritual intuition triggered as her sixth sense outlined several shadowy, eel-like forms lazily moving about several meters below. They moved strangely, scrunching up into thick fat balls, then extending forward, piercing through the mud like stabbing fingers.

Char Char took a laboured step in the oozing mud, feeling herself quickly sinking down as the eels below stopped their idle movement and suddenly grew still. A knot rose in Char Char’s gut as she yanked up on her left foot, forcefully pulling it out of the mud with a grunt, but as soon as she stumbled forward her foot sank deep within the mud again.

“Reid—” Char Char blurted out. The mud around her began tremble and shake like jelly as bubbles emerged from below and popped across the surface.

“Calm down.” Reid said beside her. Char Char looked over to see that he, too, had sunken into the mud, “The more you struggle, the more excited they’ll get.”

“What are they?” Char Char, looking down as she stopped struggling. She sank another inch, but the ground beneath her feet felt more stable as she stopped moving.

“Gutfish.” Reid replied, “They are blind and deaf. They live in swamps and under shallow water, secreting liquids that soften the ground above them. Animals that walk on the mud get stuck and start struggling. The more they fight against the mud, the thinner it gets, until they sink completely in the mud and suffocate.”

“After that, the gutfish devour their prey at their leisure.”

As they stood without moving Char Char sensed the gutfish below relax and continue slinking lazily about. She relaxed a little, asking, “Are you using your powers to calm them down?”

“There’s no need.” Reid shrugged, calmly lifting his boot out of the mud. He took extra care to step calmly onto the ground, which remained firm under his foot. “Just walk slowly and they won’t be attracted.”

Char Char followed Reid’s example, and before long they made it to the solid ground on the opposite bank.

“We’re in dangerous territory now.” Reid said calmly, “The aether is dense on this side of the creek. Almost as concentrated as some of the wild-lands across the sea.”

“What does that mean?” Char Char asked.

“Your friend spoke about reviving her homeland. I wouldn’t be surprised if this pocket of the forest is the closest thing to that dream so far.” Reid scanned the area with quiet eyes, “Strangely enough, I feel more at home in an environment like this.”

“Where’s Lyssa?” Char Char didn’t see the robed woman anywhere.

“Just beyond the trees. Something seemed not right with her.” Reid muttered with a frown, sniffing sharply, “Also, it’s faint, but I can smell his scent.”

“His…” Char Char hesitated for a moment before her eyes widened. A hopeful smile formed on her face as she softly exclaimed, “You mean- Hakuya!”

Her smile quickly faded as she saw the dark look in Reid’s eyes.

“There’s something else mixed in. I can’t put my nose on it, but it doesn’t smell good.” Reid said quietly, looking off into the underbrush.

“We’re going in, right?” Char Char asked, though without her previous enthusiasm. The longer she stayed on this side of the creek, the more uneasy she felt. Her spiritual intuition was tingling. There wasn’t a single source of danger, it was as if the very air was electrified.

The thought of leaving, though, never entered Char Char’s mind. “He needs our help. We can’t just leave him.”

Reid sniffed the air again. His thoughts were hidden as he weighed their options. In the end he scowled and muttered, “You’re the boss. Let’s pray that your maiden hasn’t led us to our deaths.”

They ventured slowly ahead, following the trail that Medusa had left. The vegetation was thick and suffocating. Black-leafed bushes with thorny branches pressed in on all sides. Heavy vines with heart shaped flowers dripped with thick viscous sap.

There was only one way ahead, a narrow person-sized trail that could only have been formed by Medusa’s Exalted powers. Reid was taller than the woman and had to remain crouched as he slowly led the way down the winding path. Char Char was able to walk behind him without trouble, though she took care not to brush the path’s bramble-filled sides.

The forest canopy was so dense above that barely any light filtered down onto them. Only a dull, faint glow tinged with green permeated through the leaves above, reflecting off the misty, humid air that hung thickly in an ethereal fog.

Unseen beyond the dense foliage that pressed around them, countless creatures lurked, keenly aware of the presence of the two Exalted. They kept their distance, chirping and clicking in strange tones.

As they continued forward Char Char heard the foliage rustling behind them. She looked back to see the brambles wind their way across the trail, erasing the path from which they came. She wanted to call out to Reid ahead and let him know, but seeing his steady, wide back, she knew that he was just as aware of their surroundings as she was, if not more so.

There was only one way to go.

“We’re close.” Reid said in a hushed tone as he glanced over his shoulder at Char Char.

“Lyssa is just ahead.” Char Char said, seeing the fuzzy shapes through the thicket with her sixth sense. The shape of the cleric’s long sword outlined itself as well, hanging from the waist of an immobile, standing figure. “And I think Hakuya is there, too.”

“The air is heavy with his scent.” Reid nodded, “That, and blood.”

“Lots of blood.”