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

--- Kat ---

Kat coughed and looked awkwardly to the side as everyone was staring at her. Well, Lily was nice enough not to be glaring, but that might just be because she was a sleep. "Ok… so I know this looks bad but I genuinely didn't see this from the sky," said Kat.

"How did you miss this lass?" asked Bower in a shocked tone. "I get that you two cats went rather high… BUT IT'S A GIANT CIRCLE!"

Now Bower was correct. After following the tracks for a while they ended up at a rather large cutout. It was as if somebody had cut out a perfect sphere of earth. Which, considering their current guesses as to where the drake was? That's almost certainly exactly what happened. It's so obviously unnatural and Kat was feeling a bit silly for missing it at all.

"I genuinely have no idea how I missed it. Maybe I was too high and it blended in, maybe the angle was wrong and the trees were able to block large chunks, but I'm going over my memories right now and I can't see anything like this in them," said Kat.

"It's clearly not recent," said Hunter. The grass is already attempting to reclaim some of the edges. "Though it does make me wonder about my previous guess of the tracks being three days old. It seems like the drake was locked away perhaps five days ago? It seems this dust is messing with the ground a lot more than I thought it was…"

"Um… so we're all in agreement that the drake WAS here and now it's not?" asked Kamiko.

"Yes I believe so," stated Hunter.

Experience more on мѵʟ

"So… where is it now and how do we follow it?" asked Kamiko.

"I believe it is likely in a bubble. As for how we follow it? I hope our guide has a good idea," stated Hunter.

"Not really," said Bower. "See… as far as I know there's NEVER been a bubble outside of the mist. Obviously the fact that mist WAS here makes it more complicated… but even then the fact that it's been at least two days? That's already weird. Nothing about this is normal. I'm not even sure if there IS a way in.

If the drake was intentionally locked away it might stay that way for a bit yet. Is there any risk in just leaving it where it is?"

"I… do not know," said Hunter with a frown. "The deciding factor will be if the drake is capable of siphoning away spatial energy while it is trapped away. If it is… then we need to get in their and kill it as quickly as possible. If not? Then leaving it would be perfect as it burns through its reserves keeping it alive,"

"Hmm… I see. Well, if someone wants ta run and check if the mist is in the same spot as it was yesterday? While they do that I'll stay here and see if I can feel out way inside. I doubt it but I can make the attempt,"

"I can go check… but how will I know if the mist has moved?" asked Kat.

"Eh… hmm… probably best just ta put a stick or something right on the line and then watch it for a bit? It's not like its normal mist that fluctuates. It has a clear cutoff point. If that point is moving? Then either the mist is recovering, or its getting worse. If it's getting worse?

Then I suppose we'll need ta attack," said Bower.

"But what if the mist is burning energy just keeping the drake locked away?" asked Kamiko who panicked once everyone turned to her. "Um… I mean… well… these bubbles normally form and fail quite quickly right? So… wouldn't keeping run around take extra energy or something?"

Bower rubbed his chin for a few moments. "I can't rightly say Pinky. It's not something that's ever come up before… and I ain't sure what it would mean now. The mist has always seemed to be in endless supply. If you take some out forcefully it generates more just as quick even before the stuff you took dissipates. I'll think on it while your out testing things.

If the mist isn't moving anymore it doesn't matter,"

Kat nodded and said, "Ok. Um… Kamiko can you take care of Lily while I'm running? I'm just going to rush full speed here and back so it's probably safer to leave her with the group,"

"Um… sure?" said Kamiko uncertain even as the bag containing Lily was handing over at Kat took off sprinting.

Without needing to worry about the tracks or the rest of the group Kat made good time to the edge of the mist. From there she picked up a large stick, drew a line that perfectly matched the edge of the mist and then jabbed the stick into the ground on the same edge just for good measure. Kat did NOT like the fact that she could quickly see evidence of the mists retreat.

It was small, the mist hadn't even left the line completely just yet… but it had been five minutes at the absolute most. *Not good. The drake is either still eating the mist or the mist is burning a fair bit of energy to keep it here.* Kat focused a bit more on the link with Lily and determined her girlfriend was still asleep. *Right. Guess I'll just start running. No sense waking Lily up.

By the time I explain everything I'll be halfway back.*

When Kat burst out of the tree line a few minutes later, Hunter was poking around the outside of the circle, Bower was wandering around in the middle with his eyes closed and Kamiko was resting against a tree. "The mist is definitely moving," announced Kat.

Hunter stopped what she was doing and slithered over, and Kamiko winced. Bower? Bower didn't react at all. Hunter seeing this, detoured to shake him out of his stupor. He was halfway to pulling out his crossbow when he opened his eyes. Glancing around, he picked out Kat before looking back at Hunter.

"Sorry lass. I wasn't quite ready for that I guess. Didn't think I was in so deep… anyway what's the news?"

"It's moving," said Kat, causing Bower to turn back to her. "Not particularly fast. Only because I've got great eyesight could I tell so quickly. Even to me it's not visibly moving… but the fact that it DID move across the mark I made in the ground was proof enough,"

"Well, I was trying to find any way to get in… quite the opposite of what I'm normally sensing… but it feels like… like there's something else. Even in the centre of the crater it feels like the bubble is 'far away' or 'another layer away' if I had to make any analogy. Perhaps it's two bubbles stacked together? Or unlike normal the bubble was taken 'away' from the dimension?

Perhaps as far as possible?"

"If it the mist is capable of doing that much… why not take the drake even further away and just leave it to the void or something?" asked Kat.

"I am unsure," stated Hunter. "The mist may not realise the true scope of the problem, or perhaps it can't. It may all be automated after all. Additionally, it's possible that the drake could find its way back with the energy its already ingested. Sure its one thing to really move around in the nothingness between space… but if its just retracing its steps? That can be a lot easier.

In truth though? It's very hard to say while we are missing several key details,"

"So… um… do we have a way in?" asked Kamiko.

"Perhaps…" said Hunter slowly. With a sigh she pulled a single bullet from her ring and suddenly a pulse seemed to go out. Just standing near it Kat could feel the power radiating outwards. Hunter quickly returned the bullet to her ring before explaining. "That is my most powerful bullet.

"They are horrendously expensive to buy, and while I do normally keep one on me, you could buy a very nice house for less then what it costs to make just one of those. It's called a 'Space Shattering Bullet' and it can destroy just about anything I get a good shot on.

"Now, I'm not going to quibble over the price. The one I just showed you was provided to me as part of the mission… but I only have two. So if we use one to break into the bubble? It means we won't be able to use it to kill the drake,"

"Why not? You said you had two right?" asked Kamiko, confused at the question. To her it was obvious, you get in with one, use the other to injure and then mission done.

"Because if I use one to get in, and one to kill or perhaps only injure the drake? How are we going to get back out?," returned Hunter.