novelraw Chapter 661: Reconnaissance
Chapter 661: Reconnaissance
After resting for a night in the somewhat simple but heavily fortified Explorer Camp in Darkmoon Town, the next day, under the summons of Master Ted, the team of six gathered at a corner of the camp.
In the early morning, the sky was dominated by the moon of Eilistraee, emitting a soft violet halo.
This light made the forest seem less eerie, instead shrouded in a layer of hazy and mysterious veil. The visibility was much better than when the dark red moon of Shar hung high, but the layers of shadow were consequently more complex and hard to discern.
"Today’s mission is adaptive reconnaissance. The route is along the eastern defense perimeter of Darkmoon Town, advancing about fifteen miles towards the Whispers Grove and then returning.
The goal is to familiarize ourselves with the basic environment, verify map annotations, and attempt to track some non-native demon activity signs. Remember, it’s reconnaissance, not combat. Unless encountering an active attack and unable to shake it off, avoid any form of conflict, especially contact with Dark Night Elves."
Master Ted repeatedly emphasized the mission’s focus before departure.
The team proceeded in single file out of a small gate on the east side of Darkmoon Town reserved for personnel passage. The heavy enchanted wooden gate slowly closed behind them, isolating the camp’s bustle and artificial light sources. In an instant, the pure pressure and atmosphere belonging to the primal forest of the Elf Plane came rushing in.
The ground beneath was no longer the compacted soil of the camp but a thick, soft, seemingly alive humus layer.
The violet moonlight of Eilistraee filtered through the sparse canopy of giant trees above, transforming into slanted beams of faintly violet light dust, illuminating the spores and particulates floating in the air.
The visible range was approximately twenty to thirty meters, beyond which dense trunks, hanging vines, and thin fog obscured any further view.
The sound environment became extremely peculiar; absolute silence did not exist, but all sounds were subdued by an invisible force and cloaked in a sticky quality.
The rustle of footsteps on thick fallen leaves turned muffled, the chirping of unknown insects reached as if through a veil of water, intermittent and distorted.
Even his own breathing and heartbeat, under intense concentrated listening, felt distant and unreal.
The forest’s vitality became increasingly apparent at close range, those faintly glowing mosses covered the bases of giant trees and large rocks, like patches of cold light carpets embedded in darkness.
Oddly-shaped luminous fungi were more abundant; some hung like small lanterns on low branches, some adhered like layered colored tiles on decaying wood, and there were large-capped mushrooms, with gills pulsing gentle glows, providing unstable but consistent light sources for surrounding areas.
The air was humid enough to wring water out of it, mixed with the strong scent of decaying leaves, the earthy reek, various fungi emitting sweet or peculiar aromas, and an indescribable, serene woody fragrance seemingly coming from the ancient trees themselves.
The flow of energy here became almost tangible. Duke could feel that the ubiquitous, leaning toward cold and serene shadow and natural attribute energy particles were not evenly distributed but flowed like water along certain invisible channels.
These channels might be related to the earth veins, tree root systems, especially possibly related to the distant Moon Wells.
The tip of Master Ted’s magic wand intermittently glowed, pointing to directions where energy flows were relatively smooth or converging, guiding the team’s progress.
Una moved silently ahead like a spirit cat; her sharp ears vibrated at high frequency, emerald eyes glinting with wild radiance under the violet moonlight, continuously scanning behind trunks, between vines, and on the ground for any unnatural traces.
Har followed at her rear side, eyes sharp like an eagle, focusing on signs of disturbed fallen leaves on the ground, unusual scrapes on tree bark, and evidence of trampling or damage to those luminous plants.
Duke walked in the middle of the team, having taken out a mental core to assist him in recording and analyzing everything around.
The subtle changes in light brightness in different areas and the angles of moonlight projection, the slight turns in energy flow, the differences in air scent composition, and the types and distribution patterns of those luminous plants.
He noticed that near some giant tree root energy convergence points, the glow of mosses was particularly bright, and even some small translucent ferns grew, their leaves naturally orienting toward the direction of the energy flow.
The man named Shadow Raven remained silent, but his body seemed to tense further beneath his gray cloak, with one hand lightly touching the long parcel cradled in his arms.
His gaze often lingered in those areas where light and shadow transition was most indistinct, and those dark gaps formed by intertwining branches above.
After traveling about three to four miles, subtle changes began to appear in the surroundings.
Trees were taller and denser, with canopies nearly completely obscuring the sky, allowing only sporadic light points to pass through tiny gaps, making internal forest lighting chiefly reliant on those self-illuminating plants, appearing even darker and more enigmatic.
The roots entwining the ground were thicker and more menacing, like slumbering black dragons.
The air was more humid and oppressive, the sweet floral scent grew richer, seemingly accompanied by a faintly menacing reek.
Duke and others progressed while familiarizing themselves with the surroundings, with reconnaissance and detection work continuing for approximately six hours.
Since there was no sunrise or sunset here, there was no obligation to return to Darkmoon Town before sunset.
On the Elf Plane, one only needed to pay attention to the energy tide patterns of the three moons.
Energy tides were a unique phenomenon of the Elf Plane, formed by the three moons orbiting along their own mysterious trajectories, and their inherently different Moon Power interacting with the plane’s earth veins and energy.
But these were just information gathered from exploration, with more detailed reasons yet to be deeply studied and investigated.
The day and night here were not determined by the sun but were divided into different moon phases based on which of the three moons’ glow dominated the sky.
During each phase, the overall energy inclination, demon activity level, and even plant statuses would undergo subtle yet notable changes.
When the silver-white Suren Moon hung high, its cold, sharp light occupied the dominant position, the period was called the Silver Moon phase.
At this time, the shadows within the forest were dispelled to the greatest extent, visibility was widest, but the light was most incisive, with certain purification and penetrative properties.
During this period, energy particles inclined toward moonlight and the light attribute were exceptionally active, shadow creatures and beings relying on shadows would instinctively hibernate or reduce activities, but certain moonlight-based demons and moon priests among dark night elves would become more powerful.