Chapter 427: Sound Lures

Chapter 427: Sound Lures

Back on Earth, Dallion had seen dozens of traveling videos, each stressing the beauty of this or that vista. Some of the times they were even telling the truth. Nothing, however, had prepared him for the sight before him now. Even the awakened realms, as beautiful as they were, could compare to the real thing. If the Moons had created the world, they had pulled all the stops.

The crowds of the trees formed a sea almost up to the clouds. The green canopy extended over five hundred feet above the ground, disappearing east beyond the horizon. No wonder that the empire hadnt expanded in that direction, leaving the forest for lumber instead. Looking back, Dallion was almost able to see the village hed set off from, positioned at the edge of the plain that continued eastwards to Nerosal and beyond. The city itself wasnt visible, although Dallion could guess its approximate location thanks to a few mountains in the distance.

Anything? he asked.

Lots of trees, Gleam replied. No giant hole, if thats what youre asking.

Dallion never expected to be one. What he was really hoping to find was a patch deprived of forest. From his position he could see several such in the close vicinity, though none of them were large enough to hold a dragon, at least according to the size Nil had given him.

Lux?

The firebird chirped. It didnt seem to have found anything of particular interest, either. This was a case in which Dallion wished he had the ability to see through the eyes of his familiars. Things would have been much faster, then.Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

What about those mountains? Dallion asked, looking to the west.

Technically, they were more hills than mountains, rising a puny several hundred feet above the forest line.

No idea, Gleam replied. Havent been there.

Why not?

They arent holes. They are the exact opposite of a hole, in fact.

Gleam thats why I said to look at things that are different. A dragon can still hide there.

Fine, the shardfly replied with the annoyance of a sister pestered by a much younger brother.

Dallion watched as the whip blade split the air, making its way to the spot in question. Unlike Luxs method of travel, this took about half a minute. Meanwhile, the firebird kept jumping from empty spot to empty spot almost instantaneously. That was definitely an interesting way to check every meadow. It was as if the familiar had found a way to brute-force searching.

What do you know? Seems you were somewhat right, Gleam said after a while, still reluctant to admit Dallions success.

You found it?

I found a lot of crumbled rock patches. No idea when exactly the creature was here, but it definitely passed through at some point. Want me to fetch you?

No need, Dallion said quickly. Ill walk. Just show me where you are exactly.

The mountain in question was merely a few miles away. It was a huge clump of rocks dropped therepotentially the result of meteor spells or some other destructive magicpartially covered with vegetation in time. Definitely a suitable place for something large to make its lair there.

Both of you come back now, Dallion said as he started his climb down the tree.

No, but I can tell you how long they have been on this spot, Nil replied. More than a week, less than a month.

That doesnt give me much to go by.

I can also tell you that theyve returned to the spot at least once.

How can you tell that?

Look at the zones of damage. They spread from the point of contact, forming a circle. The longer the crackling remains, the larger the circle gets.

Circles within circles. Dallion was able to see it clearly now. That meant that the creatures had remained here for a while, then left, and returned later for a short while. At the moment that gave Dallion everything he needed. Leaving his backpack and most of his gear, he then returned to the forest.

Dont you think thats a bit reckless, dear boy? Nil asked.

Gleam will keep an eye out.

Thats not the point

Theres no chance that the avians will come here without a reason. The only way to get them is to use bait. If any of them find my backpack appetizing enough, all the better.

Youre relying that they still have a desire to eat at all.

They were hungry enough to attack a village. And since I doubt that they have a sense of smell, sound must be whats attracting them.

Please dont tell me youre planning to capture an animal to use as bait

Youre half right. Ill catch something, but it wont be the bait.

Hunting normal creatures proved to be elementary. After spending half a year hunting dangerous and exotic beasts, this felt like a walk in the park. In less than an hour, Dallion had caught five different representatives of the local fauna, but his goal wasnt to use them as dead or living bait. Rather, all he did was use his music skills to copy the sounds they made.

Thanks to his perception level, and Harps guidance, Dallion used his harpsisword to link to the creature, then match the exact sound sequence they used to make their cry. The process required him to enter the awakened realms more than once. Achieving such a feat, at least initially, was impossible without guiding markers. Even with them, it was no easy task. Dallion not only had to pull the right strings at the right time as a harp, but he also had to deliberately force several different sounds to clash together. The closest way to describe it was to simultaneously play twenty different chords on twenty different guitars, while at the same time using just one. It required perfect perception, extreme speed, and a good grasp of music skills.

To match the cry of the first captured creaturea rather large and colorful birdDallion had to spend half a day in the awakened realms, not to mention increase his music skills three times in the process. Even then, the result was somewhat lacking.

Following Harps advice, Dallion increased his skill several more times before trying again. That time, the outcome was considerably better, allowing him to move on to the next species.

When he was done, Dallion was able to mimic the sounds of two birds, a fox-like creature with flexible ribs, something the appearance of a tapir, and the local hare variant. In the process, his music skills had reached fifty-two. And while Dallion would have preferred to be able to milk something more appetizing, such as a cow, he returned to the spot on the mountain and started playing.

Sounds of a menagerie of creatures filled the air, far louder than any specimen could achieve. Under normal circumstances, this wouldnt have fooled anyone at all. However, as Dallion suspected from the Stars brief attempt to turn him into a chainling, cracklings didnt perceive subtle differences in the real world.

In the late afternoon, several hours before sunset, a small flock became visible in the air.