The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [101] Take a Nap

Weeks had passed, and Bjorn had made frustratingly little progress. There were no signs of a mana tree, no glimmer of mana crystals, just an endless, merciless struggle for survival. The vast skyland, which had initially seemed like a blessing, had turned out to be a nightmare.

The Sanguine Traveler was far from the only threat. Unlike the mindless beasts that charged headlong into danger, the creatures here were smarter. Many of them displayed a disturbing level of intelligence, hunting with patience and strategy. Bjorn found himself having to run more than fight.

He learned to stay away from the deeper parts of the forest. His instincts screamed at him to avoid whatever slept within its shadowed depths. He knew the Sanguine Traveler had been trying to lead him there, like a hunter driving prey into the waiting jaws of something far worse. Bjorn hadn't rested properly in weeks. Every time he thought he had found a moment's peace, something emerged from the dark, forcing him to fight or flee. Unlike him, the monsters here didn't seem to need sleep.

With that knowledge, he roamed the edges of the island, always watchful, always hunted. The Chaos Lands had long since abandoned any natural order. There was no longer a day and night cycle anymore. The eerie glow of the aurora stretching across the sky and the distant hellish blaze of the burning skyland casting flickering shadows over the landscape.

He had been walking the perimeter of the skyland for two days now. If not for the treacherous terrain, he might have finished sooner. While much of the land was flat, a portion of an entire mountain had been ripped from the ground along with the rest of the floating landmass. Or rather, most of a mountain. The massive structure looked as if something had sliced it cleanly from the rest of the range, leaving jagged edges that jutted over the abyss.

Navigating the sides was a dangerous gamble, but Bjorn needed a complete map of the area. He refused to move blindly through this land, not when the monstrosity lurking in the forest could awaken at any moment. He wouldn't let himself be cornered. He wouldn't die here.

"Look there." Failsafe said.

Bjorn turned one of his heads and saw that there was a skyland that was close enough to be connected. The problem was it was also a few hundred feet down and he would have to climb to get there. The landmass had a lake in its center and another woodland.

"We'll come back to this. Let's see if anything else is connected." Bjorn said.

"Yeah, I agree. We should probably practice our climbing before doing something like that too. That is a deep drop." Failsafe said, his head looking over the edge. "Yeah. I'll look out for any place that maybe a good to practice first."

"Good idea." Bjorn said.

"Well good news though. We aren't dead add the world hasn't turned into an Infernal Plane hellscape."

Bjorn stopped walking. "Has it been thirty days already?"

"Yep, that means that the others are keeping us afloat on time." Failsafe said.

"Good," Bjorn said but his concern was evident as he continued trekking forward. "But that means we don't know how long we have. Tomorrow the facility could explode for all we know."

"True, but tomorrow we could come across whatever is hibernating in that forest and get eaten. Let's not focus on all the negatives."

Bjorn grunted but agreed, he needed to focus on survival and finding the supplies needed to create the Angel Core. The facility was now Tanisha's responsibility and he had to trust in her strength. The Chaos Lands were dangerous enough without also being distracted.

He pressed forward, his claws digging into the loose rock as he made his way along the mountainside. His heads swept across the terrain, scanning for threats. It was never safe here. Every shadow, every jagged outcrop, could be something waiting to kill him. It had been a few hours since he saw his last monster creeping along.