perizou
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Chapter 553 - Flower Galore
🕑 Added 2022-11-11 13:00:08 +0000 UTCHera's Status
The fourth island was what you would call a paradisiac place. White sand beaches with a small forest in the middle surrounded by the bluest water Hera ever saw. Most of the trees were pink or purple, with what looked like apples and oranges with such a vibrant color that it made her mouth water. They considered stopping, but they could pick up some of them on the way back. The Empress was having a blast, using her gliding shoes. She was almost water skiing. As long as the part of the ground she was on wasn't too deep, her boots were working well. It would keep her just above the water level and allow her to have her fun.
Moving past the island, they continued following a path of reef that started to come out of the water. The fifth island was more elevated than the rest, and Hera could see a small volcano in the middle of it. Or at least a mountain with smoke coming from the top. When they started to get higher and higher, Hera had to deactivate her boots because the ground became too uneven, and Nimbus decided that the path was too narrow for him to move at high speeds. If someone were to fall, the Sentinel might not be fast enough to catch them while in his griffon form. The problem wasn't speed exactly, but maneuverability. Since they were already close to the island, no one complained about it.
The closer they got, the more of the island itself they could see. Unlike the others, this one didn't have a beach or a place where it would touch the water. The entire thing was sitting on top of a 10-meter-high plateau, and around the volcano, all they could find was incredibly lush and untamed vegetation. Just by glancing around, Hera could tell that this place had something different about it. Every other island was wild, yes, but it still looked well-maintained. Even the overgrown areas had some sort of pattern or order to everything. Here, things looked more like a free for all. Trees that shouldn't be growing near each other were fighting for a spot near the sun, bushes wrapped around the trunks of said trees as if they were trying to join the struggle. Some even managed to overpower the trees and now sat on the forest's canopy. Flowers were mixed in each area as if the roses, tulips, sunflowers, and marigolds were all trying to grow from the same seeds. It was utter and absolute chaos, a beautiful mess of mayhem.
"Is it weird that I find this very pretty?" Nimbus asked as he flew back after taking an aerial view of the area.
"I agree. It's weird but very pretty," Mylo nodded.
"Same here. I never saw something like that," Hera turned back to the God of Water statue in the center of the room.
From this angle, she thought she could see what could be a face, but it was very hard to tell. She turned back to the forest and tried to [Observe] everything. To her surprise, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Each flower had the name she was expecting, and even the trees and bushes looked like the right species they should be, even if their behavior was utterly wrong. Worried this might be part of the challenge or something, Hera sent out her blades and told them to touch things and see if anything would snap at them. This felt like a perfect place for a trap or some kind of plant-based hurdle to overcome.
"I understand your worry, but I must say that I disagree with that, Empress," Nimbus spoke as the court headed to the woods.
"Disagree with what?" Mylo asked. Hera explained what she was doing out loud so the fighter could also be in the loop, and he agreed with her suggestion wholeheartedly.
The Empress then turned to Nimbus, "And why do you disagree?"
"Because of what I saw from above. The entire forest looks like this, but they seem to be avoiding the volcano. Or at least, a part of it where I saw a door or some sort of structure that led inside."
"Inside what? The volcano?" Hera had a confused expression on her face.
"Yes. I know what it sounds like, but even when looking from a distance, I could see the tunnel heading inside and some red light coming from there," Nimbus continued.
"Did that light look natural? Or are we expecting to see someone there?" Mylo pulled his flower staff from his back, getting ready for a fight.
"It did look natural, but I cannot confirm if the place was empty. I could only see a few meters inside, but there was no noise from what I could tell. Not that that says much. Maybe I should try to learn that sensory net spell," Nimbus turned to Hera.
"That's an idea. I mean, you are a great scout, and it could help out a lot in various situations. I can try to teach you later," Hera smiled before turning back to the forest. Her court had just told her that everything was ok, and the vegetation didn't seem to be doing anything, "The coast seems clear. I still don't trust this place, but we might be able to reach that tunnel. Unless you saw something that looks more interesting."
"I didn't. That was the only thing out of the ordinary. Well.. for this place, at least," Nimbus replied.
Hera turned to Mylo, waiting to see if he had another suggestion, "That sounds like the right place," he agreed to the suggestion and waited for Nimbus to start moving.
"Ok. I'll go flying above while you two follow through the woods," Nimbus took to the skies to guide the two to the right place.
"Do you think we should open a path? Like cutting the grass and stuff to make it easier for the others later?" Hera turned to Mylo.
"Is that the only way? It feels like a shame to destroy this place," Mylo asked.
"Not really. I'm sure we can figure something else out. Let's follow Nimbus, for now, then," Hera started walking inside the jungle, being careful not to be caught by anything. She was still on high alert, and Daskka was around her neck looking towards the forest. Since the Empress was talking with Mylo, the Herald opted to stay quiet. She knew how annoying it was to have to pass along everything she said to the group, and Daskka was trying to avoid talking so much when Hera had company.
"Mum, be careful. Some of these plants seem to be poisonous," Daskka was staring at one of the bushes that wrapped itself around one of the trees.
"Poisonous? I don't have any intention of eating any of them," Hera looked up and stopped, "Oh..."
"Poison ivy doesn't care if you eat it or not," Daskka rolled her eyes, "Let me go ahead. I can tell if any plants hurt before you pass them," she jumped out of Hera's neck and assumed her giant mist snake form. If any attack hit her while in that form, she would feel it, but unlike Hera, the worst that would happen was her body being destroyed, and she would pop back to the necklace for a while.
"I don't like that idea. I don't want you to hurt yourself just to keep me safe," Hera frowned.
"It's a good thing that it's not up to you then. Tell Mylo to move after me or just waste my efforts. Your call," Daskka started moving through the woods, pushing some vegetation aside to ensure nothing was hiding in the area.
"What the hell? Why are you being like this?" Hera didn't expect that reaction. It was the first time Daskka was acting against what she told her.
Daskka kept going as she answered, "You're always saying things like 'don't do anything stupid,' and all sorts of other nonsense. You need to let people act their age once in a while!"
"You are two! What do you mean act their age?" Hera gasped as she followed the giant snake. Mylo didn't say anything and just followed her along, wondering what was going on.
"I can't hear you. Just follow me. Where to, bird brain?" Daskka turned to Nimbus,
"Don't give me that. We can always hear each other!" Hera yelled while trying to talk to Daskka as the Herald. The snake heard the yelling but ignored it completely and continued following Nimbus' directions. He wanted to retort the bird brain comment, but it felt like a bad moment to do so.
Hera walked inside the jungle, following Nimbus' instructions. She tried to stay quiet and pay attention to where she was walking, but her mind was still trying to figure out what had happened. She felt like she was talking to a teenager, but that wasn't possible. Daskka was just two years old, and despite everything, she was a construct. She wasn't supposed to have any hormones or things that would cause her mood to shift randomly like a person. If she was acting like that, it had to be a reason for it.
Hera took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, "Let's stop and talk about this. I don't like having to shout at you all the time."
"Mum, please. Let's just get to the tunnel. I want to help," Daskka said without stopping.
Defeated, Hera sighed, "Fine, but we are talking about this later."
Daskka didn't reply and just kept going. A few minutes passed with the giant snake having to change directions a couple of times because she found holes or plants that could be dangerous if touched. Nothing weird or magical, just typical plants that still could pose a danger. The worst of all, or at least the worst that they saw, was a sandbox tree filled with fruit that would explode like a grenade when it turned ripe. Hera thought that she could survive that attack without too much of an issue, but at the same time, that wasn't something she wanted to confirm.
"We should warn everyone about this," Mylo said.
"Yeah. If even this is here, it could have something worse," Hera nodded.
"Like what?" Mylo started looking around, worried about what could be hidden.
"There is the... manchineel tree, yeah, I think that's the name. It's super poisonous. It can make you blind and give you severe rashes. The suicide tree makes people kill themselves if they eat the fruits. Nightshade is also a problem. There is another one that touching it feels like being bitten by a deadly bug. You need to take steroids to cure that. Oh, and there are those things too," Hera pointed to the side, to a small tree branch where a set of white fruits with black dots emerged from red stems. By all effects, they looked like eyes.
"Is the tree going to grab my eyes?" Mylo took a step back.
"What? No. Those are called Doll's Eye. It's a fruit, but it's very poisonous. If you eat that, you will die and look like you have had a heart attack. The toxin affects the heart muscles specifically. It's a great thing for a sneaky murder," Hera gave Mylo a smile as a joke, but that made the fighter stop in his tracks.
"Why do you know that? Have you killed someone with that?"
"What? Of course not! I never...." Hera stopped before finishing the sentence, "The only time I had to kill someone, I did it with a weapon, not with poison, and it was self defense. I just like mystery movies, and that thing showed up in one that I watched recently. It was a victorian thing where the lady of the house wanted to get rid of the abusive husband."
Mylo felt bad about his question. Shane told him how much Hera struggled to cope with having killed someone, "I'm sorry. I didn't..."
"It's ok. Don't worry about it," Hera shook her head and saw Daskka leaving the forest.
"Here! We arrived," Daskka called them and moved towards the tunnel. Hera followed right after her, happy to be out of a jungle where she couldn't trust anything. Nimbus also came down from the sky and stood by the Empress' side.
Looking at the tunnel, Hera could see a long path heading inside the volcano. It wasn't a natural formation but something that was clearly built by someone. There were support beams and patterns on set intervals, and way in the back, Hera could see a set of stone metal doors that were open. Beyond it, she could see the reflection of a reddish-orange light bouncing off the doors.
"Are we going?" Hera turned to Mylo.
He nodded but tightened the grip on his staff before stepping forward, "Stay close, just in case."
Hera pulled her daggers from her waist, and Nimbus did the same with the tonfas. Daskka also moved closer, and got ready for a fight, even if, in theory, no monster should be around here. When they were all ready, everyone started walking deeper into the mountain.
Comments
Perizou
some of those are NASTY. My search history alone would probably put me in jail
Gail Burke
That's a fun chapter. Now I need to do research on some of those plants. I only knew a few of them.
