Theb-Saar watched the old and broken portal, placing his hand on it, "I-I can't believe there is another portal here."
Taffial gulped, "Y-yes."
Najarin noticed the same cable-like structure that came from the crystal, "I think the source of energy is the crystal we found in the other room."
"We can conclude that," the Mipedian King agreed.
Frafdo grumbled, "You know for sure it is the same portal as the one on Earth? I mean, why one here and one at the top of the mountain?"
The creatures were pensive.
"Maybe it's not," Takinom concluded, raising her shoulders, "Maybe it is used to travel around Perim."
Taffial snapped his finger, "That makes sense. If they can get around Perim quickly, then this method of traveling would save time and allow for easier transportations. Maybe they needed it to get something here and return to their city…unless this is all that is left of the city here," he crossed his arms and already started preparing many theories about what had happened. They would need more research before he could come up with real results.
"How did that technology get lost?" Frafdo wondered. Something that impressive couldn't just be gone out of the blue. Something had to have happened long ago.
Najarin had a bit of an idea as to why there was one portal at the top of the mountain, "I think there might be a reason for the portal at the top of the mountain."
"What is it?" Takinom asked.
"I think it might have something to do with the Eye of the Maelstrom. It is surely connected to the Cothica. If it is connected to the Cothica… then maybe that's why a portal is up there. They tried to reach the Cothica…still, this is only just a possibility. It could have been for something else entirely."
The red Mipedian raised his finger, "For that, they needed motivation. I don't think it was war. Now, I have a question on my own. How did we believe the Eye of the Maelstrom is connected to the Cothica? There is a reason for it, but I never heard what it might be."
The old High Muge sighed, "I have no answer to this. I've lived for a very long time, but I didn't explore Perim in its entirety. There are many secrets like this one."
Taffial watched the hieroglyph, "I need to understand what those mean. That way we might get some answers. But I have nothing to compare it…this will have to wait," he sighed in disappointment.
"We should keep searching for answers. There might be more here," Theb-Saar said as he turned back.
The others followed. They couldn't do anything else in the room for now. Taffial took notes of what they needed to bring for next time, because there would be a next time.
Chapter 91: The Sea Expedition
Maxxor and Chaor waited for the ship to be ready before leaving for the expedition. In that time the two often sent glares at each other. There were many more creatures with them than for the temple, as they would take much more time to go to the island and return to Chaotic.
If they found anything to repair the portal, one of them would use the Telebracers to teleport away with the item, but only if they found one.
Progress was quickly made as a Danian joined them for the expedition, "Everything is going smoothly I see. I was certain we would waste time. You aren't as coordinated as Danians after all."
"And your tribe aren't much of swimmers… right Tassanil?" Chaor asked with a mocking grin.
Tassanil was a maroon Danian with pale green eyes, a silver mane, and dark purple antennas. He walked on four legs and had one pair of arms. He wore a dark purple loincloth, "You know little of the Danians, Chaor. I am an aquatic Danian and I can survive on my own. You on the other hand…. your tribe is one that is divided, isn't it?" He countered with a nasty remark on his own.
The red Underworlder grunted, wanting dearly to give the Danian a piece of his mind.
"Not now you two," Maxxor warned them.
"It is an honor to see each other again, Maxxor. Last time was under less…" he thought more and it was melancholic. Still, they both met under some painful circumstances, "Since we visited Tangath Toborn's grave," he had some good memories of the Overworlder.
"Indeed," he nodded back at the Danian.
Chaor calmed down as the name of the creature was said. He disliked Overworlders in general, but he wouldn't show any disrespect to Tangath Toborn, "Yes."
"Last time without bickering. Anyway, we should be ready soon," the ruler of the Overworld saw a few creatures waving at each other.
"Once the portal is fixed, I am curious about who Sarah is. I never met her in person, just heard everything about being chosen as our guide to the Cothica," Tassanil admitted as he scratched his chin.
"She can be troublesome if you annoy her," Maxxor commented from what Tom had told him. He then focused on his mission. Tom was in danger and as long as they couldn't help him, the situation wouldn't get any better.
"All ready Maxxor!" One of the creatures said.
The group went towards the ship with the others. Once they were in, they quickly noticed Mudeenu was at the side, watching the water. Not only that, they saw two other Mipedians with him.
"Too much water for your tribe?" Chaor asked in a mocking tone.
Mudeenu turned around and saw he had a greenish look on his face. He then turned back to the green-blue water and coughed a few times.
"Seasickness!" The ruler of the Underworld yelled before laughing loudly, "We- We haven't even set sail yet!"
Tiaane approached them, "You better watch what you say Chaor. Our tribe has never seen the sea and have never sailed in our existence. Try living in the desert for the rest of your life."
Chaor heard the challenge, but he didn't say anything to rise to it. The creature was no fool. He had no chance of surviving on his own like that.
"And that was quite childish of you Chaor," Tassanil remarked as he went at the front of the ship.
The blue eyes of the Underworlder went to Maxxor who simply raised his shoulders and walked away.
"D-damn," another creature commented.
Chaor turned around and saw Ultradur doing the same as Mudeenu at the other side of the ship. He sighed at his soldier's incompetence.
"We haven't set sail yet," Tiaane concluded as he received the ire of the red creature.
Ultradur was a silver Underworlder with pale blue eyes, two horns pointing backward, a metallic right arm with a blade on it and two left arms. He wore a purple tunic and purple pants with many black belts holding it together. He looked a little greenish. He had never been on a boat in his life.
The Mipedian chuckled as he went to check on the prince.
Mudeenu sighed, "This…this is the worst. After the M'arrillians," he commented. He turned towards the muge, "H-how?"
"I don't know," Tiaane replied frankly. He didn't know why it wasn't bothering him.
Chaor left them. He didn't want more mockery from the muge, despite knowing that he had asked for it. He couldn't believe that going towards Maxxor would calm him down.
"Many are seasick already," Maxxor commented with a deadpan gaze.
"Not going to show your tribe's superiority," the Underworlder challenged him.
"No. There is no reason to show off and there is too much in my mind anyway. They are safe on the Cothica for now, but it can turn ugly at any second," the ruler of the Overworld admitted.
"Kazzy is tough. He will get through this," Chaor grinned. Still, he was extremely worried in the inside. Still couldn't believe his Kazzy saw him as a father figure. He wasn't the best example for a child after all, "We are going there to make sure it's not too much for them."
"We can only trust the humans of the Cothica," Maxxor concluded.
"It's the Cothica," Chaor said loudly, "They surely have ways to slow them down."
Tiaane joined them as they went on, "Or find a way to fight back. They just need their minds to be protected. They won't get every human that easily."
"What makes you think of that?" Chaor asked.
"During one of my visits, I overheard some of them talking about the Cothica. It's a big world and it is separated by a large sea. There are also many of them and spread out around their entire world," he concluded with a small smile.
"They are not far from them," the underworlder reminded the Mipedian.
"I know. Even so, the Cothica won't fall that easily. With everything they did in Chaotic, we shouldn't underestimate them."
That reassured the two creatures a little. However, they wondered if Tiaane was simply saying that to reassure himself.
"Ready to go!" A creature told them.
Maxxor gazed at the group. He could already foresee the state of Mudeenu and Ultradur worsening very soon, "Let's go. We don't have time to waste."
The ship set sail and was leaving for unknown land. It wasn't long before they heard one of the creatures expressing their sea sickness loudly. They ignored it.
Chaor frowned for a few seconds. It turned into a smirk as he noticed, "This land could have been used to strike the Overworld."
"And now it won't since we all know where it is," Maxxor replied.
They watched the endless sea for a few minutes in silence. They barely had anything to say to each other. It wasn't like during the race. They were still at war against the M'arrillians, but they were out of their reach.
Thinking of Kazzy's safety Chaor said, "Think that Mipedian King found anything?"
Maxxor waited for another creature to throw up loudly before he gave his answer, "I have a feeling they might have found something. Najarin is with them and Theb-Saar is taking this mission as seriously as ours."
"I hope they find what we need. We can turn back if that is the case," Chaor grumbled as he adjusted the earpiece for their communications with Chaotic. It felt uncomfortable and wondered how humans could endure such thing. He saw many of them with those and some were around the ears and not inside. He turned around and walked away. He would rather have some other scenery than the endless blue ocean. It was a disturbing color for someone who didn't see the sky that often or for that long. He gazed at Ultradur who had finished throwing up whatever was still inside of him. He ignored the creature and went towards the back.
He gazed at the ocean, "Anything to report Nauthilax?"
The Underworld surfaced long enough to give his report, "Nothing. We just barely left. Nothing other than that a few creatures are throwing up in the water," he grumbled as he gazed at the water.
"What is it?" Chaor demanded, picking up on the uneasy silence.
"I do not trust those two M'arrillians with us. They can plan anything to prevent us from reaching the Cothica. That way, they could help the others over there," Nauthilax said, expressing his thoughts.
"Even if that is their plan, they will fail," Chaor's eyes shined a little brighter, "because no one will stop us from reaching the Cothica."
Nauthilax nodded and returned to the water. There were the Overworlders who he had fought before and the two M'arrillians he distrusted. He still couldn't believe some of them came to help them. Right now, all he wanted to do was get rid of them, but he couldn't without explicit orders and Chaor was just above the surface. The other problem was that he still remembered when he had been mind controlled by the M'arrillians. The thought of being a puppet, a slave, infuriated him. Still, they had a mission.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Preparing For The Journey.
With everything done, Sarah and Peyton's family prepared to join Tom and Kaz at the farm. As they were getting ready to go, they received some bad news.