Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Swamp (I)

The third floor was somewhat similar to the first. Just like that one, it had a wide variety of mana beings, and mimicked a wild scenery. Even Goldmi could once again use her connection to a fake nature.

However, there were also important differences. There were no large herds, and the environment was much more hostile. In fact, they all were protected by a Wind Aura, as it was the most efficient against the thousands of small insects that surrounded them.

The goshawk sometimes Plummeted, wrapped in her own wind, to annihilate all the insects in her path. In the swamp, her role as scout wasn't that important, so she was a little bored.

The good news was that, as the wind killed them, the experience accumulated. The bad news was that it was hardly noticeable. Many thousands had to be annihilated to be compared to a single being of the same level.

Another negative factor was the wet land. The mud their boots sank into was slippery, when they didn't have to wade directly into the water, or deal with quicksand.

Luckily, the Blood Hounds that preceded them discovered these quicksands first, so it wasn't a serious problem. They didn't always discover the Swamp Snakes lurking in the waters, though, nor the Swamp Leeches.

The latter weren't very dangerous by themselves, but they were very annoying. They hid within stagnant waters, and sank their powerful teeth into unsuspecting adventurers who came within range. It was painful to take them off, although the side effect was worse.

Part of the blood they absorbed was spilled into the waters, thus attracting much more dangerous beings with keen noses. In any case, they weren't worried, since they were prepared, like any self-respecting adventurer. Their boots were too hard to be pierced by said leeches, and they reached almost to their knees.

As for the lynx, she was riding on her elf sister when they were in the water, Shrunken. She hadn't even looked at the vampiress when Gjaki had offered herself, while saying the feline was cute. The lynx and the vampiress coordinated very well in combat, but the feline didn't like that her combat partner always wanted to put strange dresses on her.

She could easily deal with the leeches by wrapping herself in fire, but for that she had to get out of the water. In addition, the attack of those beings was continuous, it wasn't something that she wanted to deal with all the time. Therefore, a little lynx disguised as a panther watched the situation from the archer's shoulder, ready to jump when necessary.

Eldi had to admit that he also found her adorable, but didn't say it out loud. He knew of the feline's pride, and didn't want to hurt her feelings, something Gjaki didn't seem to mind. Rather, it even seemed that it amused her. In that, she seemed to be in cahoots with the albino bird.

Goldmi raised her leg to discover half a dozen leeches attacking her boot. Before she could do anything about it, a Fireball erupted from the feline, and killed them all. Luckily, the boot was resistant to that level of heat.

The elf smiled. She knew that her sister was frustrated, and that was one of her ways to vent.

At first, Gjaki also wanted the lynx to burn hers, but the lynx ignored her. The vampiress had wanted to hug her in the form of a Shrunken panther, and the lynx had been indignant with her. Not that it was the first time.

So, Gjaki got rid of them herself. Sometimes with the daggers, sometimes with the whip, sometimes with the fingernails, sometimes with a Darkball. She even tried Advanced Telekinesis to send them against each other.

It had been comical when she had sent a Bat at one of the leeches. It had been a long and fierce fight, which the winged being had lost miserably while they were laughing. In fact, the little beings summoned with Marabunta had been much more effective.

As for Eldi, he had initially tried Burn Yourself, Freeze Yourself and Electrocute Yourself. The latter was useful to detach them from the boots, but little else. Ice was efficient at immobilizing them, but fire was much better at killing them. However, those spells used too much mana, as they had to be applied individually.

Gravity was useless, as they held onto the boot too tightly, and a Fireball on the raised boot ended up being the most mana efficient. If he didn't want to waste mana, Colander with the spear was very effective.

Also, he had tried to dissect one of those leeches, but had been somewhat disappointing. The mana being had disappeared between his fingers after opening it, frustrating his desire to study it.

"This looks like a good place. There're quite a few presences," Goldmi reported.

They all nodded, and took positions.

Goldmi floated up a tree, accompanied by her sister, who regained her original size on a branch. The feline took the opportunity to Chew a giant insect in the shape of a branch, which was almost invisible if it weren't for the keen senses of the feline, and some luck. It wasn't really dangerous, just free experience. Her other sister was hovering over them, ready.

Eldi Climbed other tree, helped by Weightlessness to make it easier. Once there, he wielded the hammer, and added Burning Touch to it. The beings of the swamp had some weakness to that element.

Gjaki simply stood in the swamp, the water halfway up to her knees. She moved a bit to stand between Goldmi and Eldi, and opened a vial of low-level blood, the least valuable she had.

With the help of Blood Control, she distributed it to the water and waited. If the leeches could attract the dangerous predators by sucking the blood of the adventurers, it could also be done manually. Obviously, no one more suitable for it than a vampire, someone who controls the blood.

It didn't take long for numerous presences to begin to approach. Although it wasn't very deep, they could barely be seen in that dirty water. The slight ripples they produced as they moved were almost invisible, much less conspicuous than the walking of adventurers in the water.

However, the companions were waiting for it. They were attentive to the slightest movement, especially Gjaki. After all, she was the bait.