It turned out the temple was a pyramid. A majestic pyramid with some kind of structure on top. It was covered in strange runes and vines. The vines were vibrating with a strange sound that Ariel could not place. But she did not like it.
“I still can’t believe you couldn’t make the greenery part for us”. Kessler were standing next to her panting. He was leaning up against a tree. “What use is a nature witch if you can’t make life easier when transversing a jungle?”
“Well, this is the Other Side. Nature here is like an echo. You don’t really know what you’ll get until it hits you back”. Ariel shrugged. “But I can tell you, that the tree you’re leaning up against is sending out som bad vibes and that in our world it’s poisonous”.
Kessler jumped and she laughed at his expression. “Just kidding, Kessler. It’s not poisonous. But it does send out strange vibes like everything else around here, so you should be careful. And I did pave a safe pathway, right?”
“Yeah, a pathway. I think that is quite the right word. We needed a freaking road for the spider to get through! Do you know how sore my arm are right now? I can barely lift it!”
“Hey, I offered to burn it. I got down voted remember?” Probably a good thing anyway. She hated a vengeful Nature.
“Fire, spider, fire, spider. I don’t really see the big difference. It’t not like we are incognito or in stealth mode”.
“My spider is silent”, said Stone.
“Your spider is big like a small house. If the vibrations don’t give us away, then I’m sure everything that has eyes will notice us a mile away”.
“Will we enter today?” Ariel asked.
“No”, said Stone and followed her gaze. “Today we will scout the area and see if we can find an entrance. Tomorrow – if it is safe – we will enter”.
Kessler sighed audible. “The radius of this thing”. He groaned.
“You can scout and find a camp for us, Kessler. I think you deserve a rest. Who would have thought a scrawny mage had so many swings in his arms. Leave the scouting to me”.
“I can help scouting. I need a quiet place to sit though. Isolated. I can’t be disturbed”.
Stone raised an eyebrow.
“I kinda feel useless here. You asked me – no you court ordered me for my very overrated weather prediction skills”. Ariel rolled her eyes at the stupidity of that sentence. “The weather here has been nothing but predictable. But I am a witch. I do have other skills that may be of use. Even though everything is strange here I should be able to follow the vines or the stones around the pyramid”.
“Hmm. Isolated you say? I don’t like you being alone, but it would save time if we approached it form several angles. Bring somebody with you. I need at least visual contact”.
“I volunteer!” Kessler said eagerly. “I’ve never seen a witch work. And I wouldn’t have to move. How else will you scout?”
“With these. Watch”. Stone smiled fondly and from a front pocket took out two small drones. They were no bigger than small birds. He stood a little away from them.
Kessler gaped and Ariel herself stared fascinated at the small mechanical devices as they came alive in Stone’s hand. Neither of them missed the melodic incantation that escaped Stones lips almost like a low whistle before he threw them high in the air.
They fluttered a bit like birds except they took off in a steep angle, one in each direction. Small lights blinked like eyes until they were too far away.
“Did you notice that?” Kessler asked her very quietly.
Ariel only nodded.
“I thought they were a myth”.
“Mancery”, she breathed. “He’s a manipulator”.
“By the Lord. What do they expect to find inside?”
“Regretting your decision to go on an adventure, Kessler?”
“Oh no. Now I’m bursting with curiosity. You?”
“The moment you talked me into it”.
“We probably shouldn’t mention this to the others”.
“I agree”.
“Lets go find you a secluded place. You have something to prove now”. Kessler grinned, his usual spirits back. “See whose magic is stronger, faster and better”.
“It’s not magic. It’s manipulation”.
“If that makes you feel any better…”
It did not.