D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kamiko — (Morning Day 7)

“… so any ideas what that could mean old man?” asked Meg, ignoring the fact that Kamiko was back on her shoulders already.

“Hmm… I’d guess that the compass is trying to take us to the centre of the forest. I’ve tried ta find it myself a time or too but I always ended up missing it. Either ending up on the wrong end of the forest instead, or getting turned around. I had assumed it would’ve been more subtle then that… but at the same time I didn’t notice the change. I wonder how it’s being done?

I didn’t notice the transitions and hadn’t realised we’d been turned around at all,” confessed Bower with a bit of a sad shrug.

“Well what good are you as a guide then?” grumbled Meg. “Isn’t it your job to be able to help us with stuff like this?”

“That it is… but even I have never made it to the centre. Now, you might ask why not send someone else? That’s because there isn’t anyone. I’m the best and most knowledgeable hunter still alive in the area. Now I know things are changing I can try to keep an eye out… but if they’ve already slipped something like that by me I expect then can do it again,” said Bower.

Meg clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Why did we invite you along this far then? You could’ve stayed back with Kat and Lily if you’re going to be useless…”

Bower shrugged, not taking any offence at Meg’s words, “I still know this forest better then anyone else. I can tell you about all the monsters, most of the bubbles, and I know a good number of the plants around here. I just haven’t gone to the centre,”

“Well it seems pretty clear that’s where we’re headed… so can you provide any useful information about it?” asked Meg.

Bower nodded, “I CAN actually. A wind mage that could fly was interested enough in the answer to try and find out what was there around a decade back. His name was Ted. What did he find there? Nothing, or at least, nothing they could see. The mist gets a lot thicker once you get to the centre, and upon trying to make his way through it the wind mage was thrown back.

“Ted was a pretty powerful mage and one of the most skilled wizards I’ve ever met… yet he couldn’t enter that place. He made a few attempts to, worked on it for about three years. Ted developed a couple of spells just for trying to make his way into the depths here and yet nothing worked. He tried going in from above for the most part but he did also try to make it inside from the forest.

I helped him out of course but you already know how that went,”

“So it’s a solid wall of fog?” asked Kamiko.

Bower nodded, “It does seem that way. Not sure how solid or just how thick it is… then there’s the blowback. Didn’t matter what Ted did he always got send back the same amount, didn’t matter if he was wearing armour, had a bunch of shields up or what else he tried,”

Meg rattled her fingers a bit, making a similar sound to the cracking of knuckles and said “We’ll just have to power through then. Maybe apply some demonic fire. Honestly none of that info is particularly helpful. Guess I’ll have to do the work myself. As soon as I see the wall I should know its weaknesses,”

Soon after that declaration was made the group packed up and got ready to leave. They had a quick bite to eat but nothing substantial. Everyone wanted to get on the move and get to the bottom of this.

So much so that after thirty minutes after they left, Meg handed the compass over to Kamiko. “Now, I DO want that back you here? You only get to keep it as long as your on my shoulders alright?” insisted Meg.

“That’s fine, I don’t plan to leave!” said Kamiko with a smile completely missing the point.

Meg sighed, “Right just… let me know whenever it moves,”

“It moved,” said Kamiko.

“What?” growled Meg.

Kamiko flinched slightly but answered “Um… it uh… it moved. Pretty much as soon as you handed it over to me it started moving and we’re now… about ninety degrees left of where we want to be,”

Meg’s lips thinned into a line as she took in a deep breath to avoid yelling at Kamiko for something that really wasn’t her fault. Meg knew she was a bit of an asshole but she did have lines. “Right. Ok. That’s not great but it’s fine. Bower did you feel anything?” asked Meg.

Bower shook his head, “Not at all. I have two ideas as to why. The first is that the centre is what’s moving. I don’t remember Ted every saying anything about that, but I could see it being possible, especially when you’re approaching from the ground and the mist blocks your sight a decent amount.

“My second idea is that the mist is moving large chunks of area around. We don’t feel anything because the transition is smooth and the change is too far out for me to detect. I can easily sense bubble from about a hundred metres away, and sometimes sense them from twice that… but I got nothing here. So maybe it’s five hundred metres? A kilometre? Could be something else but those are my two guesses,”

Meg clicked her tongue. “Well I have my own idea I’d like to test but we can only do so while on the move. Unless anyone has anything that needs to be done now I’d like to keep moving,”

Nobody did, and as such the group got to moving once again. Kamiko kept her eyes on the compass and Meg was even nice enough to start dodging obstacles that would hit Kamiko had she not been aware of them. Mostly tree branches that hung at around her head level.

Despite Kamiko’s vigil, she saw no sign of the compass moving other then a slight wobble from Meg’s footsteps but that wasn’t the dial resetting so much as it was the dial being nudged. It was a delicate instrument after all.

After another thirty minutes of walking though, Meg signalled for a break. Everyone was a bit confused… but as soon as they stopped moving Kamiko watched the compass spin rapidly around. They were no longer on course. “It moved,” said Kamiko.

Meg nodded, “I suspected as much. It’s nice having that confirmed. It looks like we’re going to need to buckle down and head for the centre without taking any breaks. I’m not sure if we get set back any amount when we stop but I wouldn’t be surprised. Bower, how far away from the centre are we and what are your thoughts on this?”

Bower glanced at the trees around him but they didn’t really give him any answer. “Think one of you can throw me upwards and out of the mists? Might be able to give ya a better answer with that,”

“I will simply jump,” stated Hunter. “I can find you all well enough and I am not at risk of injuring myself on the landing,”

“Ha, I’m not that fragile but I won’t stop you lass,” retorted Bower.

Hunter nodded and ‘kicked’ off the ground by curling her lower body around on itself and using it a bit like a giant sprint. Kamiko watched as Hunter disappeared into the mists above them and couldn’t help shaking a little with worry. It was unfounded as Hunter soon fell back to the ground.

“I could see the tip of the mist dome. It was a touch hard to make out but I am confident I saw it. I would guess we are approximately a day and a half out from the centre without taking into account bubbles,” relayed Hunter.

“Well old man? You think you can keep up for that long?” asked Meg.

“Likely but you are missing the large picture here. If we set off and get stuck in a bubble… they can move the world around us as much as they want. We’re going to have to start avoiding them if we really want to get to the centre. I’m not sure why the forest is being so… intentionally difficult. Anyway, my point is we’re going to need to avoid the bubbles and that’s going to eat into our time.

We might only be a day and a half away as the crow flies but we’re likely closer to two and a half or three days of effort in truth. Perhaps even longer if the forest starts taking more delaying measures and I’m not sure I can remain vigilant for so long,” explained Bower.

Meg frowned at the new information but didn’t say anything as she just took in in. Bower made a good point. An annoying one, but a good point.