Finding the best spot for an engagement was a difficult challenge. The primary problem was that we couldn't make the guardian appear. So far, we hadn't even tried to venture deeper into the mountains using other paths, simply because I hadn't been willing to risk another encounter until we were better prepared to face the thing. It was possible, though I considered it highly unlikely, that the guardian only guarded that specific valley we had travelled through or, even less likely, that there were numerous such guardians, each protecting a different area. However, that would mean there were dozens, maybe even hundreds, of these impossibly powerful creatures hidden in these mountains, a prospect I couldn't help but dislike. One such monster was enough; I had no desire for hundreds of them. Even if the EXP would be glorious, that is, assuming we managed to slay even one of them.

After some consideration and a lot of scouting through scrying constructs, I decided that a valley somewhat similar to the one where we had encountered the guardian originally was our best bet. It gave us plenty of space to avoid it absolutely lethal attacks, it had some areas where Luna would hopefully be able to set up some arboral constructs to give us a bit of shelter in case things didn't work out as hoped, and there was even a small lake of liquid water we might be able to use.

Why that lake was there, I had no idea, or rather, how it was there. All the other water in the area was frozen into glacial ice or had fallen as snow, but here, this relatively small lake, maybe thirty metres across and twice that in width, was sitting there, calm and placid. It might be extraordinarily salty, though I hadn't gone down to try, it would be interesting to find out. Regardless, it was there and gave me access to a relatively sturdy medium to channel my magic through, which the guardian couldn't control. I had one or two nightmares featuring my usual tactics against it, using Ice to create cover or digging through earth and rock to escape, only for the guardian to show that it could play that game, too. Having my own constructs wrap around and crush me in an unforgiving fist of Ice or getting buried alive were thoroughly unpleasant experiences, even if they happened in dreams. Or maybe especially then, I luckily had never actually experienced these things, just in my nightmares.

Hopefully, our current preparation will be enough to give the guardian nightmares, not force us to suffer through our nightmares in turn.

We arrived shortly after sunset in the valley we had chosen, staying far enough down the hill to avoid alerting the guardian early. There were still a few more preparations to make, like the bombs Lia wanted to bury near one of the walls, allowing her to set off a small landslide to cover our retreat, or the numerous trees Luna wanted to grow, giving us elevated positions, just in case. Both of them had cooked up other tricks, too, and those needed to be prepared, as well. Sure, none of them would be used if everything went well, but with the foe we were facing, that wasn't something to be assumed.

Then, there was the lake I wanted to check out, though its position further up the valley, almost at the glacial ice, meant it would be the last thing we did, just in case my investigation triggered the guardian. Or the lake itself was home to some other enemy, lying in wait in the strange water up here. Which, quite frankly, would suck, but it wasn't impossible. There might be multiple guardians, each dedicated to their own elements in these mountains. The one we had seen, dedicated to the rocks and ice, channelling the numerous land animals in the area, maybe some sort of giant eagle, with wind and, again, ice, channelling the Wind Hawks and Rocs I had seen and, lastly, something to channel Water, living in that pond. Or maybe Ice and Fire, giving us this liquid water despite the ostensibly freezing temperatures the lake was regularly exposed to. It was a somewhat scary thought, but better to have the idea, be vigilant due to it and not get caught up in a trap of some kind.

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Due to that idea, it was with cautious steps and an entirely focused mind that I approached the lake, my body cloaked in darkness and wrapped in wind, muffling my footsteps to the point that I barely touched the ground, my silhouette concealed in the shadows of twilight.

Further back, Lia and Luna were sitting on their trees, prepared in advance, and Sasha and Silva had their perches, allowing them to move in any direction with little notice. Further cover had been grown, too, in addition to a few more surprises, hopefully giving us every advantage possible. And necessary, given the size and power of the guardian.

My first interaction with the water was a cautious one, a simple rock, thrown underhand from some distance away at a high arc, dropping into the placid lake and disturbing its surface. If there was anything living inside, I hoped the disturbance would cause a reaction, allowing me to retreat before it could attack me. Hel, the distance and my concealment should prevent whatever might be within the lake from spotting me, but cautious vigilance was the current watchword, not reckless confidence.

The water ripped from the stone and, after a bit of time, settled back down, as if the stone had never disturbed it. There was nothing indicating anything living inside, which, somehow, unsettled me a little more. The anticipation was taking a toll on me, the wait almost worse than any battle could be.

My next step was to conjure a bit of Ice, form it into the shape of a squirrel, add a few drops of blood and use that as bait. The blood, with additional Astral Power infused into it, should give a faint trace of life, simulating a small, living critter fairly well, hopefully providing the stimulation a possible predator in the water might need. And, if there were no reaction, the ice would allow me to take a sample from the lake, letting me get a better feeling of it.

Again, nothing jumped out of the water as my squirrel hopped onto the shore, nor when it touched the water, drawing some of it into an empty space within the construct. To keep contamination down, I had my squirrel immediately return to my body, allowing me to analyse the water with my magical and mundane senses.

The result was almost humorous in its simplicity. The lake was just about saturated with salt, making it less water and more a salty brine, dense enough to have most living beings float on top. It certainly explained why the water remained liquid; it was simply too salty to freeze, though it didn't explain where the salt came from. Or why it didn't join the run-off further down into the valley, slowly desaturating the pool as water from the glacier replaced the water currently in it, but that was something I could investigate later.

With part of the conundrum solved, I cautiously tried a few more things, soon deciding that the water was truly just that, water. Well, incredibly salty water, with enough salt to pickle fish if any were dumb enough to make their way here, but that was nothing immediately important. The water was harmless and might be useful in the battle ahead. While I couldn't manipulate it magically as easily as I could use normal water, the difference was largely in the efficiency, making me briefly wonder about ocean water. Was the difference there just too small to notice, or was ocean water somehow considered a natural state while this completely saturated solution was not? Another thing to look into later, for now, we had a battle to fight.

With that cleared up, I continued my way forward, my wings partially manifested on my back, giving me an additional way to move quickly, even if I had to forgo the tail; it made walking a little too difficult. I also forewent stealth, walking forward openly, making sure the guardian would sense my approach if it was in the area.

A faint rumble in the ground beneath told me everything I needed to know, and moments later, the guardian came crashing out of the glacier ahead, using both rock and ice to form its body. Its shape hadn't changed in the slightest; it was still as large and powerful as it had been during the last encounter. Just like back then, it remained an incredibly intimidating foe.

Another of the guardian's stunning roars echoed through the mountains, causing some birds to take flight and animals to take cover. The battle between a titan and its challengers was on.

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