Outside the barrier the forces of nature were the engineers and architects. Towering Trees were not close to the magical wall but as the party moved through the dark green grass and around the rampant roots of the trees the could see that the canopy was reaching higher and higher with every few meters of travel. The sounds of nature were alive with birds chirping in the howling winds above, beasts barking and roaring in the echos of the vast forest, and most loud of all were the sounds of the runners underneath the party. They were already sensing the dangers around them but the leader of the party, carrying Greg and Lume, was more experienced in the forest and could remember a few of the routes it had taken through this very area.
Unlike the fields of Navire, the sunlight was scattered with barely a single beam reaching the floor. Whatever plant grew on the ground was desperate for the light above, trying to climb the trees around them or finding a new way to consume energy.
The head runner, bravely sprinting ahead was becoming worried. It slowed down catching the scent and sound of something sinister ahead. Forcing the party to stop, they al could begin to smell a foul odor of rotten meat, droppings, and spoiled milk. They'd crossed into the territory of a insidious creature and the forest was clearly showing the signs of decay around the monster.
"Ew what in the world is that smell?!" Greg asked, trying to cover up his nose.
The runners began to panic, turning around but in their attempt the foul odor became much stronger then a thumping and thundering in the ground caused them to scatter through the forest with their riders still on top of them.
Wallas, Greg, and Lume managed to stick together but unfortunately for them, they discovered the foul odor's source. Libra gave it a name, Malboroba. Its huge mouth had spike teeth inside. Its breath was visible with a purple and orange tint escaping like the steam of a boiling pan of water. Tentacles beard its eyes as well as its suction cups, making it hard to tell if it was looking at something or trying to grab it. But the Malboroba wasn't paying attention to the runners when they came around. It seemed they still had the element of---
It turned to look at them, then as the runners stopped to turn around the monster let out a wave of sound and sludge. The grotesque roar reached as far as the feat of the three. It seems they weren't going to escape easily since their runners fell underneath them, fainted from the terrible odor.
"EEP!" Greg said, he was unsure what to do, he'd never seen anything like that monster.
"We shall slay this foul beast!" ume said, getting out her harp.
"You are the one called Wallace? Tell me, can you see its weaknesses using your magical ability?" She asked, hoping to use her musical spells to cast an elemental storm over the creature.
(Weakness: Earth | Strength: Wind, however its health and power are a bit above the talents of you three party memebers. Normal final fantasy type battle will not end well, you need to be crafty in the forest in order to defeat the creature.)
Meanwhile the others sitting on the runners were still carried by their panicking runners. When they reached the edge of the creature's territory the smell vanished but they were already a great distance away from the last two runners. Ahead of them were some other form or runner, with four legs with hooves they were galloping around the area with large horns on their heads. They seemed to be unaware of the party since they were still eating grass. In total their were five roaming around the forest. This area seemed peaceful as the runners of the party where were calmer than in the territory of the foul beast.
The two hunters and the warrior were far behind, walking with a descent speed. They came upon the territory of the creature, smelling the foul odor for themselves.
"Heh. Looks like we're in some danger now." Kevess said, leaping over roots in order to gett a better view of the area. He managed to find a slime path on the ground, covering grass that seemed to die underneath the green sludge.
"Poisonous to the area, meaning its a foreigner to this forest. Malbo maybe. Nah this is a big one." The shadow hunter seemed wrapped up in his own assessment.
