Once the twin suns were above the tree line in the pale sky, the migration of thirsty beasts began. Scuffles between predators and prey occurred in several places, some broke their fast with a decent meal, others went hungry as their hunt failed. Troy and Velana were still away from their tree-camp, hiding from the sharp senses of vicious beasts, while the others quietly watched from the high branches as numerous beasts made their way to the lake.Just as it seemed that the majority of herds and packs had pa.s.sed by the base of the tree, a distant and rhythmic thudding sound could be heard. Pike leapt into the highest peaks of the branches, which swayed beneath him as he did so and looked out around the tree line. The lake had quickly become surrounded as far as his eyes could see, which unfortunately did not count the furthest most edges nor where the waters began to stretch beyond a thick cl.u.s.ter of more trees and vegetation. Just as the day prior, the herds were cautious and the predators sought opportunities as they lapped at the liquid in the shallow sides.
The rhythmic thudding had become louder as he scanned the area, the varied-shaped ears of numerous beasts flickered and a general nervousness seemed to set in, not only amongst the herbivores, but the hunters as well. Pike glanced over his shoulder, risking raising his body above the leafy canopy, to witness a flock of birds suddenly take to the skies, squawking angrily at whatever had disturbed them. He estimated that whatever that was happened to be a mile away, but from the numerous sudden flights, it was heading towards the lake quite quickly. He jumped down to the branches in which his team members awaited.
"There"s something large heading this way," Pike mentioned, to which they all nodded, tense due to the increasing volume of the thuds. The large beats against the earth had not increased in pace, Pike judged its speed was due to its ma.s.s, after all a giant might only need take one step to a mortal taking a thousand.
The shadows caused by the thick canopy suddenly condensed further until an archway was created and Troy stepped out of it; this was one of the abilities he knew thanks to his root. "I didn"t bother making any more traps," he sighed as he glanced towards the direction that his teammates were looking in. "Thought they might be destroyed before they came into effect."
"What should we do?" Caelus queried. "Do you think it would be possible to kill... whatever it is?"
The tree began to shake along with each loud thud. The tremors were small at first, but Pike could tell from his slightly enhanced senses that they were worsening. "I think we should hope it doesn"t eat meat," he sighed, half jokingly. There was already a boss in the lake, what was the chances of them coming across one on land as well.
"Velana is not back yet," Roman mentioned, adding to their trepidation.
"She"d experienced," Pike rea.s.sured them, "she"ll know to keep a distance from its path and hide." His eyes met Roman"s before he instructed; "Would you check the barrier for any weaknesses, please." Roman nodded then scuttled between thuds to the various places he"d set up the paper talismans. Sure enough, one was close to peeling off thanks to the vibrations. Leon gave out Hidden Fog Pills, which while he doubted they would be strong enough to hide their scent from the colossus coming their way, it still provided a minute sense of security.
The tree felt as if it"s roots would be shaken from the earth beneath, each thud created a quake that had them all holding onto its branches for dear life. Even Pike with his advanced cultivation could not keep his balance without aid. Troy held Leon"s sleeve with one hand while Roman had been instructed to grab the corner of his tunic, thus he could whisk both away into the shadows if necessary. And just as they thought they could take it no more, a ma.s.sive, leathery beast came into view. It was the strangest thing Leon had ever seen.
At first glance, it could be considered a giant pachyderm, it"s skin was a rough green-grey, it"s legs were thick and body was broad. However, it had six legs carrying its giant frame, which was so heavy each step caused a rippling tremor. It had a large scooping round jaw that made up the majority of its face, so much so that its large eyes protruded from the sides of its skull and have a moving muscle behind its optics which could alter its view from forward to side giving it greater coverage of view. And from the edges of its mouth hung two long tendrils, which at first seemed a bit like an unnecessary "decoration" upon its face, until they swung upwards and Leon came to realise that the tendrils resembled trunks. The beast actually had two noses!
It swayed slightly as it continued forward. Saplings snapped beneath its weight, less st.u.r.dy trees were pushed until partially unrooted as it barged past them. Any inhabitants of these trees leapt away or flew into the air as they were able, escaping the monumental beast"s destruction. It brushed pa.s.sed their tree-camp, causing the lower branches to creak and either give way or snap, but the tree itself remained rooted. Leon shrank back as its eye scanned over their entire party as it pa.s.sed. It blinked but did not pause before finally reaching the lake, where it entered the shallows and even into deeper waters that it might be low enough to drink, its neck unable to bow low enough.
Pike let out an audible sigh before gesturing them over. They moved to his side quietly, hardly breathing, still unsure of the ma.s.sive creature"s intentions. "That is a Earth Terror, but despite its name, it"s actually a herbivore of sorts. Really can"t count small rodents, bugs and such scooped up in the bushes and shrubs it eats. Unless we get in its path or attack it, it won"t do anything to us. Still be wary, one that size must be at an extremely high stage of cultivation, yet it still lives! There"s no chance for us to bring it down, so forget confronting it!"
In fact, although Pike knew that there were Earth Terrors living on the larger isles, they should only be the size of an adolescent Griffin (roughly the size of an elephant). No one had ever recorded one that was this beast"s size! That said, it did not mean that it was the top of the food chain. Its skin was thick not impenetrable, its greatest weapon was that ma.s.sive jaw that was as tough as cast iron and its six heavy legs, but it was not agile. A smaller terror might have speed on its side, but this one seemed to rely on its bulk. If a large pack of strong predators wanted to, they could likely bring it down at some cost.
"Let"s move away, just to be on the safe side," Pike decided and chose to head "east" away from the beast but still close to the lake water. Their luck was to precarious here, what with the water guardian and now an advanced Earth Terror, better move on and find a new camp. They left a prearranged sign for Velana to let her know where they were heading, but knew that her fox as well as her own tracking skills would allow her to find them even without.