She knew that wasn't the case, it just felt that way to her. Although, one thing that also was difficult for her was breathing. She wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like she couldn't get enough air much of the time. Whenever she mentioned about it to Jenn, the girl would put her hands on Embris' head, making her somehow feel warm all over her body. Afterwards, she'd be able to breathe again for a time without trouble.
Embris wasn't sure what it was, nor did she expect that she'd be able to get an actual answer out of Jenn, but she couldn't deny that Jenn was very helpful with that. Especially since she tended only to need that help once or twice a day. Depending on how much she exerted herself on this expedition.
Embris hoped that whoever had given Jenn the directions knew where they were going. As right now it hardly seemed like there was anything of any real worth out here.
Occasionally she heard Jenn mumbling to herself, sounding rather displeased, but she hoped it wasn't in relation to where they were going but rather because of Gishia. Embris couldn't see how that would be good if it was about where they were going, or if maybe they'd somehow gotten lost. Not that she didn't see how easy it would be to get lost in these mountains, where even the sun would sometimes disappear behind some mountains from their view as they walked.
However, as they stopped for a break on the fourth day, Jenn seemed to stop mumbling whatever it was she had been mumbling to herself and her eyes got brighter until a smile spread across her face, making Embris wonder if Jenn's melancholic attitude had been more from this rather than Gishia's continual advances.
"Right down in the valley," Jenn declared, sounding more relieved than anything else. "That's where we should find it."
Embris wasn't sure what 'it' was, but she didn't feel like asking right then. She hoped that Jenn would explain soon enough, but she didn't feel very confident in that matter. Especially with how Jenn didn't seem very inclined to say anything more, but rather was moving ahead of everyone, despite the fact that Embris had used her authority to make sure everyone knew they weren't supposed to go past the front line. Otherwise she could only imagine that wolf coming for them before they had a chance to react.
However, she had a feeling Jenn wouldn't listen to anything that was said, if she was even able to hear them with how fast she was moving. So, Embris could only sigh as she started following after Jenn. Just like the rest of the expedition party.
When they finally caught up to Jenn, Embris felt like she no longer had to ask what 'it' was. Instead, she could see something in the air before her. Something that reminded her of the gate she'd passed through to get to this world. She wasn't sure what it was, but she could see why Jenn was so interested in getting here.
"What is that?" Tchisa asked, her words almost inaudible. Embris waited to hear what Jenn said, but when Tchisa continued as if she had, Embris couldn't help but feel like something was off. That there was something going on that she wasn't aware of.
"A gate? But we can actually see this one," Tchisa protested softly.
Jenn merely shrugged, but still didn't say anything. At least not where Embris could hear. She knew that Jenn had magic, but wasn't sure if she was using it to talk with Tchisa, and if she was, like it felt like right then, Embris couldn't help but wonder what else they were saying that none of the rest of them might know.
"Wait, you want me to go through that? What if there's something like that wolf we saw through there?"
Jenn's smile continued for a minute, but then faded away. Much like a morning mist did when the sun came up. "Yeah, they could do that, couldn't they?" Jenn asked, though Embris had a feeling it was rhetorical.
Jenn then sighed. Embris wasn't sure what Jenn was about to do or anything, but then she looked around them. At their surroundings, at the ground surrounding the gate, and even at the sky, as if that would hold the answers to what she might be looking for.
"Okay, we should set up camp here then. Once we have that secured, I'll show you what's on the other side of that gate and why this is a better place than it appears to you," Jenn said, as if she was the one really in charge.
Although, Embris couldn't help but wonder if she was talking more to Tchisa right then or to everyone. Which would in turn make it where she wasn't acting like she was in charge, but rather giving a suggestion.
If so, Embris couldn't help but wonder why she was saying this out loud now rather than using the method where she appeared to be talking directly with Tchisa, where the rest of them couldn't hear. Except, when no one reacted, Tchisa called out, "You heard her! Get to setting up camp!"
Embris could only smile to herself as she turned to do her part in setting up camp. She hadn't been sure what to expect on this expedition, but this certainly wasn't one of them. Maybe she'd been told what the purpose of this expedition was, but if so she didn't remember.
It didn't take long before the tents were set up and a few campfires were going. Although, the fires had been the first thing they'd worked on, with the hope that the smoke would deter the wolf from attacking them if it was in the area. Which Embris hoped would be the case. She didn't want to either be the one who became a snack for the wolf or to have someone die because of an oversight on her part from dealing with the wolf.
Though, one thing Embris did notice about the camp was that Jenn made sure that all of them kept to one side of the gate. She didn't offer an explanation, but Embris had a feeling there was one. One that Jenn didn't seem inclined to share.
Or at least not with everyone. Embris hoped that she might be an exception if she asked.
So, she walked over to Jenn, where she was sitting on the ground, looking like she was miles away, though she quickly came out of her thoughts when Embris tapped her on her shoulder. Which told Embris that Gishia wouldn't have found Jenn easy prey even then, if she'd tried to make a move then.
"Any reason you had the camp only set up on one side of the gate?" Embris asked.
"Well, if we can't go through, we shouldn't set it up on both sides," Jenn replied.
Embris blinked at that response. She wasn't sure what to make of it until she realized what Jenn was likely meaning about 'both' sides of the gate.
"Uh, not what I meant," Embris clarified. "I meant on this side of the gate, why we only set up camp on this side of it. Where there's plenty of open space over there that we could have easily used for our camp."
Jenn looked where Embris had indicated, and nodded. "Yeah, it's because we don't know if there's going to be a storm on the other side of the gate."
"A storm?" Embris echoed, feeling like she was missing something.
"It'll be easier for you to understand my explanation after you've seen it," Jenn replied ambiguously.
Not that Embris minded. She just wished that she didn't have to worry about the wolf and potentially other predators in these mountains. She hoped there wouldn't be, but with what little she knew about this world, she wouldn't be surprised that there was more to learn.
"Though, if you want to join us, it looks like the camp has been secured," Jenn remarked before Embris could think of anything else to say.
Embris blinked. She actually hadn't thought about going through the gate herself. If anything, she thought that she'd stay back and keep an eye on things on this side to make sure that they were going smoothly. Especially since she didn't want to go through only to find that something had happened on this side of the gate when she wasn't there.
"Just assign someone to be in charge of this side and I'm sure it'll be fine," Jenn added absently as she stood up. "Unless you really don't want to know what's on the other side."
Embris couldn't say that she didn't want to know. Whatever it was had to be something that would interest her, she was confident about that. What held her back mostly was because she didn't want to do the job she'd been given poorly. She'd been assigned to make sure that the security of the expedition was as good as it could be, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do that if she herself wasn't there personally to make sure that it was that way.
However, in the end, when Tchisa had set up a small group of those who'd accompanied them to this point, Embris found that she was willing to go through the gate. Even though she had concerns about how focused Gishia was.
Gishia wasn't happy about not going, but Tchisa had stated flatly that she didn't need anyone distracted on the others side in response to Gishia's complaint. Although, Gishia seemed to take it that she'd be 'distracting' to Jenn. Though, while true, Embris suspected it'd be for a completely different reason than Gishia seemed to have in her mind.
As Embris stepped through the gate, as the last person going through, she wasn't sure what she should expect. She had a feeling anything could be on the other side of the gate and part of her worried that it'd be worse than the mountains were. With her difficulty breathing and the cold being her primary problems with the mountains.
Yet, when she saw what was on the other side, she couldn't believe her eyes. Not only was it so different from everything that she'd imagined, but she could easily see herself being rather comfortable here. Plus, she couldn't imagine any kind of storm here that Jenn could possibly be concerned about.
"This is incredible!" Tchisa was saying when Embris stepped through the gate. "I wasn't sure what to expect coming through that gate, but this is beyond anything I could have imagined."
"Glad you like it," Jenn replied with a smile, looking like she was thoroughly enjoying Tchisa's excitement.
"What kind of storm would make you uneasy in a place like this?" Embris asked, feeling like she was missing an important detail in this paradise they were in.
Jenn looked around, but seemed like she didn't like what she saw, or didn't see. "There's nothing for me to point to, but I assure you, we're by the ocean. There's going to be other dangers that you're not used to."
"As long as we don't go in the water, we won't have to worry about any megalodons," Tchisa remarked as she started walking towards the trees. "And as long as nothing like that wolf has come through here, we won't need to worry about anything like that, either."
Embris couldn't help but agree with that statement. Though she wasn't sure what else they might find here. After all, something so much like a paradise here had to have its own dangers. Its own dark side that could strike without warning, even if she was on guard for something to happen.
Embris followed the others into the trees, not sure what she should be looking for. Just that while she wanted to believe this was a true paradise, something inside her was refusing to back down. Was screaming at Embris that something wasn't right.
She hoped she was being paranoid, but that didn't help her settle her nerves any.
"What kind of trees are these?" Tchisa asked, as she began shaking one that was long and tall with green orb-like things growing on it.
"I think that might be a coconut tree," Jenn remarked after a quick glance at the tree. "Though, it's not a hardwood, the coconuts on it can be useful for food."
Tchisa nodded, her grin only getting bigger as they continued on. Embris kept following the others, doing her best to keep from getting left behind as they explored, but she was also finding it hard to enjoy herself as everyone else seemed to be doing. She wasn't sure why that was, just that it was a fact.
There was so much to take in that Embris felt her senses reeling from the experience. Not just the potential dangers that didn't seem to be materializing, but also the sights and sounds felt like it was just on the verge of overwhelming her entirely. Even as she knew that she seemed to be the only one having such difficulty with what was before all of them.
Eventually, they had to return to the gate, as the sun was setting. It felt like they spent more time looking at the various trees, potential food sources, or even some of a the beaches. Embris wasn't sure if there was anything else to see on the land before on this world, but she doubted that they'd seen everything. Although, Jenn did emphasize that this was an island. That on the next day, they'd be able to walk around it to see just how big or small it really was.
"Then after that, I'll show you the cave in the center of the island," she said ambiguously. "It has something I haven't seen anywhere else and I'm sure you'll be impressed by it too."
"Why didn't you show it to us already?" Yaelish asked, sounding more amused than anything else.
"And ruin the surprise?" Jenn asked, as if what Yaelish had said had been rather offensive. "Not a chance."
Embris couldn't help but feel like what Jenn was saying made it sound like she'd been there before rather than having heard about it from the Blue Rose like she'd first asserted when they started out. Embris wasn't sure if there was anything of any substance behind her suspicion, but she couldn't dismiss it entirely. All she could be certain of was that there was something that Jenn seemed to be hiding and she couldn't say if it was good or bad.
No matter how much Embris wanted to think about that matter before she confronted Jenn about it, when they went through the gate, they were all shocked to see how dark it had become and all thoughts about what Jenn might be hiding flew out of her mind. It took everyone a few minutes to even have their eyes adjust to the sudden change in light that some nearly knocked others over as they came through the gate.
For Embris, the worst part of it was the fact that it was so much colder in the mountains than on that island. It was something that she'd much rather have stayed on that land Jenn insisted was an island, as at least she wouldn't feel so cold.
Not to mention that there didn't seem to be any dangers like she had been worried about when they'd first gone through that gate.
_
"This is what I saved from yesterday," Jenn said, unable to contain her excitement. She wasn't sure why, but she was almost certain that Tchisa would love seeing the invisible material in there, that you could feel, but wouldn't be able to see. She hadn't been able to come up with an explanation about it, but she knew it wasn't something you could just find anywhere.
"Are you sure this is going to be impressive?" Yaelish asked, sounding a little skeptical, though her expression said she was also afraid of Jenn taking it the wrong way.
"Yeah, this doesn't seem that big in relation to the rest of the island that you showed us around," Embris added. "What could be so impressive that it wouldn't take up that much space?"
"Oh, you'll see," Jenn assured Embris, trying to keep from giggling, though she was pretty sure a few escaped her best efforts. "I myself haven't seen anything like it and I doubt any of you have either."
"Just get on with it," Tchisa said impatiently. "I'm sure it'll be impressive, but dragging this out isn't going to help your case any."
While she knew that the others weren't sharing her enthusiasm, she didn't let that dampen her spirits. Which, in a way, was actually a relief to her. As Yaelish and a few others knew that she was the Blue Rose and tended to take things she was interested in almost as an order or something. Yet here, they weren't sharing the same level of enthusiasm as she was.
Maybe it was because of how tired they were, from not having gotten much sleep from how late they'd returned from this island, but Jenn pushed that thought aside quickly. She was confident that everyone's attitude would change once they saw what was contained in the cave.
While she also couldn't help but feel this was the time for her to go into the cave, she didn't pay that thought much mind. She didn't know where it was coming from or why, but it was a little annoying to her. Especially when she wanted to concentrate on what others would react to what she knew had to still be contained in this cave.
Yet, she also didn't set a slow pace into the cave. She wasn't as interested in savoring the moment, partly because no one else was nearly as excited as she was, but also because she was wanting to see what everyone's reaction to the phenomena would be.
The only problem turned out to be that no one seemed to find her standing in the air to be that spectacular. The merely stared at her as she climbed the invisible substance.
As she waited to see what everyone's response would be, she couldn't help but feel her excitement deflate a little. No one seemed to be as surprised or had the same kind of wonder that she'd had when she first saw it, but that didn't mean they were left staring at her.
Instead, Tchisa had approached and was tapping it with her fingers. Like she was appraising it and testing it for something. As if there was something she knew about this substance that Jenn didn't.
"Do you realize what this is?" Tchisa asked after a few minutes, making Jenn feel like her heart was about to plummet to her feet.
"Uh, no?" she asked, feeling like she might have misjudged how big this substance was.
"This is aluthium," Tchisa said, her voice taking on the wonder that Jenn had originally been hoping for. "Considering how far down this goes, this is worth far more than anything I've ever imagined."
Jenn felt a weak smile start to form on her face. "So, it's good?"
Tchisa stopped, her face becoming serious in the torchlight as she looked at Jenn. "This is beyond anything I could have imagined. This will be able to fund all your projects once we can get someone who has experience working with aluthium here."
Jenn let out a breath of relief. While it didn't seem to go over like she had hoped, at least it showed that it was worth the hype. If only because of a different reason than she'd been hoping for.