It took onlyseconds for the bat to catch one of the mothra then another, almostimmediately all the remaining mothra headed into the safety of theFireberry bush tangle where the bat couldn’t fly. However as soonas some got close to the centre pole there was a small arc ofenergy like a small lightning bolt and two of the mothra fell tothe ground stunned.
The lizardappeared and headed down the pole for a snack, but the fox wasfaster darting under the bush to steal the two mothra. It managedto get one but as it closed in on the other the lizard zapped itwith a small lightning bolt. The fox yelped and scurried off.
The lizardcasually walked over ate the other mothra then shot off anotherlightning bolt stunning another couple of mothras that fell to theground. It seemed a no win situation for the mothras. If theystayed in the Fireberry bush the lizard would get them if theyventured out the bat would get them. Suddenly the red light givenoff by one started pulsing and then others joined in.
When all theremaining mothras were pulsing in synchrony one started to getbrighter and the others dimmer until there was only one verybrightly glowing mothra visible. It waited until the lizard washappily chewing up another mothra lying stunned on the ground thenflew straight at the lizard exploding in a ball of flame an armspan wide. When the smoke had cleared a charred dead lizard lay atthe base of the bush that didn’t seem harmed by the fire atall.
‘An interestingdefence mechanism wouldn’t you say.’ said Terrin to Aquitain.
‘One absorbedmagic energy from all the others then sacrificed itself for thebenefit of the others. Not many creatures would do that. Makes youthink doesn’t it?’
Some of theElendari cheered while others just sat amazed. How could suchharmless looking little radiants create a fireball that wouldincinerate their enemy? The excited conversation continued forseveral minutes until some noticed that something else washappening and the audience hushed to watch.
While theystayed in the bush they were safe but the bat was still flyingaround outside watching and waiting for any mothra to stray awayfrom the bush. This seemed to be annoying the mothra as theycongregated in a tight cloud as if having a conference. A minute ortwo later the light emanating from each individual mothra changedcolour from red to blue. They then began pulsing in rhythm and thecloud moved out of the protection of the Fireberry bush.
This is whatthe bat was waiting for. It headed straight for the cloud but as itapproached it got a very nasty surprise. A small lightning boltarced from the cloud of mothra directly at the bat stunning it andit fell to the ground. The fox didn’t wait, it raced over for ameal of bat and the cloud of mothra broke up and flew aroundseparately having eliminated the two most dangerous predators.
‘Now that’sinteresting.’ said Llalorax to the others.
‘I never knewthat mothras could change the type of energy they used from fire tolightning. I always assumed that the red mothra were a differentspecies from the blue ones.’
‘Maybe theylearnt the trick from the Zapper lizard.’ suggested Mirandathoughtfully.
‘No. They’renot that intelligent.’ replied Llalorax.
‘They lookedpretty smart to me.’ argued Yllandril.
Back on thedragon’s head Aquitain and Terrin were discussing the samething.
‘They switchedenergy forms. I wonder how they did that?’ queried Aquitain nowquite interested.
‘They have aform of group knowledge.’ said Terrin.
‘Individuallynone of them can do anything out of the ordinary but when the groupis threatened they can combine their small intellects to act withsurprising cunning and pool their meagre amounts of magic togetherto provide a useful deterrent.’
The westernLord appeared and began addressing the audience again.
‘As you cansee, the mothra have some interesting defence mechanisms. If youare careful you can sample this delicacy and thrill at its unusualnew taste. We are going to dim the lights and release a hundredmothra.
On your tablesyou will find small candles which when lit will attract the mothra.I suggest you sit very still and wait until a mothra flies to yourcandle. Any small immobilization or stun effect should allow you tocatch it. For those interested in something less mobile theservants will be bringing a selection of pastries soaked in some ofthe famous northern honey which has a mild aphrodisiacproperty.’
While theguests tried catching and eating mothra, Aquitain was curious aboutwhere they might fit in the scheme of nature.
‘I would havethought that they were fey but I’ve always been told that feycreatures rarely use the elements preferring illusions, charms andsimilar types of magic.’
‘You’re quitecorrect. These creatures seem to be a hybrid between fey andelementals. Their bodies are made of a fleshy material but theirskins are covered with fine mineral scales giving them the insectlike exterior. They eat plant food like fey to grow but they canabsorb magic essence into their bodies like an elemental.’
‘If you lookedclosely you would see they are like small female newmans but theyreproduce like elementals. When there is an abundance ofFireberries, they fly to the ground; their body shape melts into aball, which divides into two and then reforms into two smallermothra.’
‘I would havethought that a hybrid between a fey and an elemental wasimpossible. How could such a thing happen?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Now that is adifficult question, one that I can’t answer.’ replied Terrin.
‘Don’t worryTerrin. I don’t mind a few impossible things running around in mydream. It makes it more fun.’
Terrin wasquite again and definitely worried. How was he going to getAquitain out of this stupid idea that he was in a dream.
After abouthalf the mothra had been consumed by guests they finally realizedthat something was wrong and all congregated into a cloud near theceiling and began pulsing blue.
Rather thanrisk any damage to the palace or guests, the young duty wizardquickly opened some skylights and created a light over thempointing the way out for the remaining mothra who took the hint andleft.
This provedquite unpopular as many of the guests wanted to see how the mothrawould retaliate. Some had already cast protections upon themselvesin preparation
