The second layer

We met up with Daniel, as planned. As soon as we entered the meeting point, I felt something was off, but I couldn't quite place it.

The information he had was the locations that each of the plagues would start out at. we agreed to each handle 5 of them. Daniel chose the Red Cap, the Intrusion, the Plague Doctor, the Grotesque, and the Archangel. Except for the Intrusion, he has personal history with each of them. As for me and Crow, we'll be taking on the Burning Bride, the Black Dog, the Manufactured Newborn, the Cold Boy, and the Nightlanders.

As we were talking, the subject of Daniel's future self came up. Yes, it's true. The paradox I mentioned in one of my previous posts was another Daniel, from the future. That's why Daniel has 2 destinies. One of them will defeat the Fears, and the other will martyr themselves.

Then the other Daniel actually showed up, and while he was talking to Daniel, I realized why things felt off. I was feeling mana. I focused on the second layer of reality, and I was suddenly there. And I accidentally brought Crow with me. Whoops.

Anyway, it looked crazy. Dark, with gnarled trees. Imagine the spookiest forest you've ever seen in a movie. Now, imagine that, times a thousand, with a few added Lovecraftian monsters running around.

"Where are we?" Crow asked.
"The second layer," I said. "This is where the mana is."
"Great," crow sighed. "So where is this man?"
"Maybe you can send your birds to scout the area," I suggested.
"Yeah, maybe- oh crap!" He said.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm human..." he said.
"What?" I asked
"The birds are gone," he said. "Even Alexander! They're not inside me anymore! I'm not a Nest!"
"Oh shit...," I said. "Looks like we'll have to find it ourselves."

So we started wandering, occasionally having to hide from crazy looking monsters. After a while, Crow stopped me to ask a question.

"Hey dude, remember when you first started your blog, and you lied to that doctor about your name?" he asked.
"I vaguely recall," I said. "Why?"
"What was the name you used?" he asked.
"Marshall Smith," I said. "I use that alias every now and then."
"So are you the one who carved it into this tree?" he asked.
"Say what now?" I asked him.
"Take a look," he replied. Sure enough, the name Marshall Smith had been carved into a tree.
"Well, that's odd," I said.
"Gee, ya think?" he replied.

We heard something, so we had to cut that conversation short.

Anyway, a long time and several monster related near death experiences, we found it. A large chasm, with multi colored smoke billowing out of it. Mana. This was it.

"Thhis what we're looking for?" Crow asked.
"Yes," I said.
"So... now what?" he asked.
"I don't know...," I said. "I guess I... jump in or something?"
"Only one way to find out," he said, shoving me over the edge.

It felt weird. The flow of mana was so strong I was suspended in mid air. It soaked into my skin, into my muscles and bones. I felt so much stronger. I loved it. I wanted more. I wanted as much as my body could handle.

"Uh, dude, I think you've been in there long enough," Crow said.
"Shut up," I snapped at him. "I haven't had enough yet."
"Hey, you remember EAT's warning, right?" he said. "Your body can't handle too much of this! You need to get out of there."
"I can take more!" I said. "I can take it all!"
"Okay, that's it!" he said, bringing out his whip and pulling me out.

That made me mad. I channeled the mana through my body, allowing it to take the form of a fireball, which I hurled at him. He dodged it, and the rocks behind him blew up. It was incredible. I tried again, but this time, I conjured a lightning bolt. Instead of dodging it, he took the attack head on and fired it right back at me. I was knocked backwards into a tree. That snapped me out of my power-hungry trance.

"That's neat," Crow replied. "I don't have the birds anymore, but it looks like my Emissary power has been enhanced."
"Uh, sorry about that," I said. "Sort of lost my cool."



We were trapped there a little longer, but we eventually found a place where the barrier between layers was thin enough to get back. We contacted Daniel, and it looks like we still have time to deal with the plagues.