Eventually they came to a large opening that led underground, it was surprisingly large enough that even Perses fit.
As they moved deeper underground, it got considerably cooler and more humid. The reason why quickly became apparent when Titan and Baby saw a massive reservoir of water that could have been mistaken for a small lake. Bordering the reservoir was a short wall and an open area with a single building and several animal pens. Despite Perses being able to enter the underground area, he was not going to be able to fit in one of the animal pens or the building.
“Water over here,” Taj said, drawing Baby and Titan’s attention from looking around to a large pool of water. Nenda was already lapping water from the pool, its snout almost fully immersed. Perses didn’t hesitate to join in drinking.
“Well, let us leave our companions to refresh themselves,” Taj said, dismounting from his warthog and motioning for Titan and Baby to join him.
Baby coasted to the ground on her wings and waited on Titan. While waiting on Titan, Baby finally got the chance to take a good look at Nenda. Thanks to Bye-bye’s hunting with Vision, she had seen plenty of warthogs. In her opinion, they were not cute like a pig. The warthogs she had seen so far were an ugly brown color with ugly brown bristles and bone white tusks that could do a considerable amount of damage if they got too close. Nenda was a reddish-brown color that was much more pleasing to her sensibilities. Nenda was also considerably larger than the warthogs Bye-bye hunted. She must have been three or four feet tall at the shoulders and twice as wide. It made Baby wonder if it was a different kind of warthog from what Bye-bye hunted or if she got to looking that way because of her being bound to a Beast Battle Rider. Nenda also appeared to have a number of accessories in addition to the saddle. Her tusks were capped with sharpened metal. The metal caps were sharpened on the inside edges like knives, but weren’t intricately carved or engraved, and Baby had no idea what kind of metal it was. She was sure that it, more than likely, increased Nenda’s ability to deal damage. A glance back at Perses made Baby wonder if Titan would eventually do something like that for his beast.
“Excuse me, Taj,” Baby said.
“Yes, ma’am?” Taj asked.
“Your Warthog, is it an unusual breed?” Baby asked, trying to be diplomatic.
“Noticed that, did you?” Taj asked, smiling proudly. “Long ago, a boon was granted to us by the God Orunmila, God of Wisdom, Divination, and Foresight. He knew my people would need a way to be strong. It is told by the elders that one day while mining, they came under attack by Giant Cave Slugs. Nasty little beasties. Anyway, our people prayed for guidance. The very next day, a family of Warthogs, larger than any seen before, found their way into one of our mines. They ate the slugs. They made a den in our mines. Eventually, we were able to domesticate them and now they are our most trusted companions. The treasure of our village. The Nyekundu Warthogs of the Meerkatmen Village.” He nodded to himself as he stared at Nenda.
“Interesting story,” Titan said as he dropped from the last rung of his rope ladder to the ground. The pair followed Taj inside the building, which turned out to be a barracks with ten cots, a small stove and a long table for meals.
“Tea?” Taj offered, walking past the table to the small potbelly stove with a kettle resting on the heated surface.
“Thank you,” Baby said politely.
“Please sit, it will be just a moment,” Taj said, gathering up a few clay mugs, a wooden box and the kettle. He set out the items and poured hot water into each of the mugs, then opened the little wooden box and took a pinch of what Baby assumed were tea leaves and dropped them into the water.
Baby usually preferred a strainer for her tea, but she wasn’t going to be rude. Not when Taj was making such an effort to be hospitable.
“While the tea steeps, let us chat,” Taj began. “You really know nothing about being a Beast Battle Rider, do you?”
“I know how to tame a beast to ride. I know how to care for one. I didn’t know anything else was really necessary,” Titan answered honestly. “And I know how to fight from one.”
“The first is obvious, the second . . . we will come back to that, and the third is yet to be seen,” Taj said. “So, how do you care for Perses?”
Baby tried to listen as Taj started explaining the importance of what Titan fed Perses, but she honestly got . . . bored of the topic about halfway through the conversation. There was nothing about what kind of food Perses was eating that appealed to Baby in anyway. How much fat and meat and fatty meat the giant blue bear ate was not something she cared to learn. So, with a polite “Excuse me,” Baby left the two to talk mounted combat while she wandered back to the surface.
After only five minutes back under the sun, Baby began questioning her decision to leave the nice cool underground, for the blazing hot sun of the savanna.
A child’s voice startled Baby by asking, “What are you?”
Baby’s head swiveled quickly to find a little Meerkatgirl staring up at her. The fact the
“I’m a Fairy,” Baby answered.
The little girl naturally followed up, asking, “What is a Fairy?”
“I am a Fae. I use magic to make people feel better,” Baby tried to answer.
The little girl looked at Baby skeptically before pointing to a bruise and a scrape on her arm then asked, “Really? Can you make me feel better?”
Baby smiled and nodded, casting a ‘Nature’s Blessing’ on the little girl. She wasn’t very hurt according to her health bar and the healing buff would keep the little girl safe from further harm, at least for a little while.
Skill: Nature's Blessing
Rank: Lesser
Level: 98
Experience: 67.11%
Description: A spell blessing a target with nature aligned healing.
Spell Healing: 100-102 per second
Spell Cast Speed: Instant
Duration: 10-minutes
Range: 20-yards
Spell Effect (Active): Heal a single target over time. Increases effect of ‘Nature’s Heal’ spells by 9.80%
Mana Cost: -590-MP
“Wow,” the little girl praised Baby. “That is so neat. I did not think you could do it,” she added then frowned. “Momma is going to be mad.”
That last comment caught Baby off guard. Why would a mother be angry that her daughter was healed? “What do you mean?” Baby asked. “Why would your mother be angry that I healed you?”
“It is part of Meerkatman training,” the little girl answered, puffing out her little chest like it was something to be proud of.
“Well, why don’t you take me to your mother, and I’ll talk to her, so you won’t get in trouble? How does that sound?” Baby offered.
The little girl nodded vigorously then turned and ran, leaving Baby to follow. It was only thanks to Baby’s wings that she was able to keep up.
“Momma, momma,” the little girl called out as she approached a group of three Meerkatwomen.
“Ayana,” one of the Meerkatwomen said, picking the little girl up when she got close.
“I am sorry momma, I just wanted to see the Fairy lady do magic,” the little girl said, her nameplate updating to
“Oh, child,” the woman said, hugging the little girl close after looking her up and down, no doubt seeing the healing buff Baby had left behind. “You do not need to worry about such things. But, seeing as you are all healed up, why not go play another round. More practice, yes?”
Ayana nodded, dropping from her mother’s arms and scampering toward a group of children who seemed to be playing a game of some kind.
Baby was interested to see the game but g
iven the stern look on Ayana’s mother’s face, Baby decided it was better she speak to her first.
“Hello,” Baby said, trying to be friendly. “I healed your daughter. I didn’t know it was for some kind of training,” she apologized before the mother could pounce on her, with words or physically.
The woman huffed. “Fine, I can see you are an outsider. But please, do not baby our children like that. To survive in the Endless Savanna as a smaller race, we must be strong and resilient. A little pain now may prevent maiming or even death later.”
“I understand,” Baby replied. However, just because she understood, didn’t mean she agreed. Letting children suffer just felt wrong to her. Baby was raised believing children should be protected as much as possible.
“No, you do not,” the mother said. “Lying to me does not endear you to me. I forgive you your ignorance in healing a scratch on my daughter, but pretending you understand what it means to live as we do, I cannot forgive.”
Baby frowned. She had never been called out like that before. Baby was always the peacemaker. Always trying to defuse a situation where she could . . . usually. Monsters couldn’t really be negotiated with . . . and bandits didn’t always surrender . . . and Gods . . . well . . . enough said about that.
“I wasn’t lying. I understand you want to protect your children. I may not understand why protecting your children means letting them get hurt, but I understand that you must have your reasons,” Baby said, trying to defend herself.
The Meerkatwoman narrowed her eyes. “Honesty, that is good,” she finally said. “Come, watch,” she said, walking toward where her daughter ran off to.
Baby followed obediently. She really didn’t want to upset the mother again after she seemed to have smoothed things over.
The children formed a loose circle with another child in the center.
Baby wanted to rush forward to heal the boy, but the mother held up a hand to stop her. It puzzled Baby for a moment before the boy retook his position in the center of the ring. She now saw the switch being passed between the children that made up the circle around him.
A few moments later, a little girl shot forward.
Then the other children cheered for the boy as he climbed back to his feet, grinning proudly and removing the blind fold, which he then held out to the girl that missed.
The girl pouted but traded the switch to the boy for the blindfold then dutifully tied it around her eyes. The boy then took up a spot in the ring and passed the switch along.
Baby watched again as another child shot forward to attack, only for the little girl to pirouette around the switch, and kick the attacker in the behind, getting cheers and laughs at the boy’s displeasure.
Baby was startled when the Meerkatwoman chuckled. “Boipelo’s daughter is special, even among the Meerkatmen Tribe. One day, she will be a great warrior. Only level 2 and already her ‘Threat Sense’ is so developed, although her combat skills are still rather undeveloped. I shall speak with her father about that later.”
“What is ‘Threat Sense’?” Baby asked.
“The Savanna is a dangerous place. Our people must learn early to sense that danger, learn to react to that danger. This game is used to teach our children to feel that danger coming. ‘Threat Sense’ is a ‘Perception’ subskill for most. But for the Meerkatmen Tribe, it is part of our nature, something inborn to us. But also, something we must work hard to develop as much as possible if we want to survive such dangers in the future,” the woman answered.
“Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I’m Babies Breath,” she introduced herself to the woman.
“Imani,” the woman replied, not looking away from the children.
“Nice to meet you,” Baby said, trying not to feel put out by the woman seeming to ignore her. “Would you mind telling me more about ‘Threat Sense’?”
“There are two types of threat. There is the threat you can see and the threat you cannot see,” Imani began, her eyes still fixed on the ring of children, waiting to see what her own child would do. “Your ‘Perception’ skill has qualifiers, correct? If you learn the subskill, your ‘Chance to See’ is your ability to see a previously unseen danger. It can help you avoid surprise attacks. It might even help you avoid a trap or two though it does not stack with ‘Spot Trap’ if you have that subskill already. Your ‘Chance to Identify’ will identify how much of a threat a person, beast, or monster sees you to be. The more of a threat you are, the more likely it is that you will be attacked,” Imani explained. “It is an extremely useful skill for anyone. For us, it is part of our way of life. Now, do you understand?”
Baby understood just how valuable the skill could be. And while she still didn’t like the idea of children hurting each other, she understood the necessity of it in such a harsh world.
“Do you want to try?” Imani asked, surprising Baby with the offer.
“Um . . . okay,” Baby answered hesitantly.
“Only one rule, no healing,” Imani added, smirking.
“Okay children,” Imani called, halting their game. “We have a guest. She does not know ‘Threat Sense’ yet so we are going to teach her. Miss Breath, to the center please.”
Baby swallowed nervously. She was not at all sure she made the right decision. Still, the skill sounded really useful and maybe she could teach it to her friends.
“The switch does not hurt too much,” the boy that Baby replaced in the center said as he handed her the blindfold.
Baby wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing as she stood in the artificial darkness thanks to the blindfold. Then she felt the sting of a switch on her left arm. It didn’t really hurt thanks to the muted effect of the game, but it stung as did the next two.
“Huh?” Baby asked when the blindfold was removed after the third switch attack. “What did I do?”
“Three strikes and you are out,” Ayana answered, offering Baby the switch and holding out a hand for the blindfold.
Baby made the trade, trying not to giggle at the old sport reference, though this was literally three strikes as opposed to the three swinging misses of the old sport’s strikes.
Taking up a place in line, Baby passed the switch, not feeling like striking a child. Instead, she tried to focus more on watching the girl in the center. She watched as the girl turned and rotated, the way she tilted her head as if she was straining to hear something. Baby found herself closing her own eyes and trying to hear what Ayana heard. The sound of dirt crunching, a strange sound accompanied it followed by a soft yelp of pain.
Baby felt someone elbow her, startling her from her listening. One of the children was offering her the switch. Baby passed it again, she felt she was on to something before the interruption. She closed her eyes again, just focusing on listening. Listening for the crunch of the dirt. Listening for the sound she now identified as the switch whipping through the air before hitting. She started putting direction to the sound.
This time when the switch came to her, Baby accepted it. She attacked, swinging slowly intentionally, trying to give the child a chance to dodge. Baby wanted to take her place in the center so she could try again.
Thankfully the child did duck, successfully avoiding the hit and trading with Baby. Baby was surprised when the child wasn’t Ayana. She had really lost track of how long she had been playing. A look at the sky showed the sun was in its descent. A look around showed that all the children were different from when she started. Imani and Ayana were nowhere to be seen.
&n
bsp; Still, Baby was determined to learn. She donned the blindfold and began to strain to hear. It was different from in the circle. She had gotten used to hearing the attacks come from in front of her and to her sides. She wasn’t ready for the attack from behind that gave her the first strike against her. It helped her understand why the kids turned in place. They were trying to limit the chances of an attack from behind. She tried to listen for the children moving, the passing of the switch, tried to face where she thought the switch was. Unfortunately, sometimes children shuffle unnecessarily. That cost her another strike. The third strike also connected, though she faced it head on, she just forgot to duck when she heard the sound of the switch cutting through the air. There was a sudden sting of not-quite pain and a -1-HP from the hit, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the new blinking system message that meant she either gained another point of Wisdom or she had finally learned the skill.
“Only one way to find out,” Baby muttered, as that was the third strike she was out of the center. It also meant she could check the system message without worry of being struck again.
You have learned the ‘Perception’ subskill ‘Threat Sense’
Skill: Perception
Rank: I
Level: 100
Experience: N/A
Description: The ability to perceive the world around you, often being able to see things others cannot.
Skill Range: 20.00 yards
Chance to See: 35.00%
Chance to Identify: 60.00%
Chance to Track: 60.00%
Subskills:
Threat Sense
World Tree Online- the Endless Savanna- 3rd Dive Page 38