Once he calmed down properly and thought about it a bit more, Jonny realized that the first mana well might actually still have been an option. A very last resort option, but an option. Getting all the way to the center of the mana well was out of the question, but if they could camp out on top of the cave entrance, it might be doable. There was no shelter there, and it was quite exposed, and if whatever lived in the cave woke up, they would just die, but if they had no other options, Igrette would at least be able to stabilize herself there.Still, it was firmly at the bottom of his list. He didn’t want to be anywhere near whatever that thing in the cave was. He checked in on Igrette who was still feverish, but alive and actively healing herself, then traveled along the ridge toward the mana well that they had passed on the way there. It took almost three hours to reach it, though not because he was too far away. He ended up picking up a stalker in the form of a second layer white-furred fox. Igrette had said that these foxes would not attack unless they were certain of victory, and they hadn’t had any issues, but Jonny must have looked like very viable prey. He had to move slowly, and stare it down whenever it got too close for a while before it finally gave up.He did not actually make it all the way to this mana well. He didn’t even get close. The mana was hardly any denser than the average when he was forced to hide behind a tree as he heard a group of magic beasts approaching. Luckily for him, it was a herd of glass deer, and while he was pretty sure they noticed him, they were far enough away from the mana well not to get overly aggressive, and they let him back away in peace. The deer didn’t look any more powerful than the ones that he and Igrette (...)