World Tree Online- the Endless Savanna- 3rd Dive
Page 45
“Bye-bye, we made it,” Baby said, fluttering down from the giant bear. “This is Taj, leader of the Meerkatmen Battle Riders. Taj, this is Bye-bye Jacko.”
The warthog huffed, seemingly irritated.
“Sorry, Nenda. Bye-bye, this is Nenda,” Baby said, motioning to the Warthog.
“Pleased to meet you,” Taj said, slipping from the back of his warthog.
“Pleased to meet you both,” I said. “We appreciate the help.”
“Well, a chance to put some hurt on Slavers, who could pass that up?” Taj asked cheerfully. “Besides, we owe it to Olaf. If it was not for him, the Meerkatmen Battle Riders would still be throwing sticks instead of these fine javelins,” he added, patting an oversized quiver hanging from the saddle that only showed the shafts of what I assumed were javelins.
“He’ll appreciate the help, we all will,” I said.
I spent the next half hour getting to know the Meerkatmen Battle Riders and their mounts, who each had their own personalities according to their riders.
It was at the end of that half an hour that Rose and a large number of Cheetahmen sprinted into the rally point. Really, it was just an easily identifiable rock formation northeast of the city.
“Thirty more Warriors,” Rose boasted, then halted when she looked from me to the single Rhinoman. “Um, Jack, you do know we needed a lot of back up, right?”
“It was the best Zemira could do,” I said, looking nervously at Tikka as she approached.
“Mr. Jacko, might I enquire as to why Gofi is here?” Tikka asked.
“Zemira couldn’t provide any direct help, and things can’t get much worse for Gofi. She . . . encouraged me to bring him along seeing as killing Slavers is a favorite past time of his,” I answered, trying to bring a little levity to the situation.
“I suppose the end justifies the means,” Tikka said, pursing her lips as if she just tasted something sour. “Very well, we will make the best of a bad situation. Where do we go now that we have all gathered?”
I looked to the northeast and saw the faint dust trail I had been watching for since we arrived in this spot.
Quest Alert: Rescue Operation 1 (Recommended Level 25-30) – Completed!
Your friends have been taken by the Bandaka Slavers. Unfortunately, their operation is much too large for just the three of you to take down. You’re going to need help if you want to have any chance at succeeding. Recruit any help you can find within the next 00:54:12.45. Meet up at the rally point northeast of the Bazaar before time runs out.
Reward: +25,000-Experience, Gofi of the Rhinomen, Tikka of the Cheetahmen and 29 Cheetahmen Warriors, Taj of the Meerkatmen Battle Riders and 7 Meerkatmen Battle Riders
Apparently, the quest decided we weren’t going to get any more allies. Looking again at the dust trail in the distance, I estimated they were still about an hour away from us.
“We’re going to go see to the Hunter’s Union expedition,” I said, pointing to the dust trail.
“And kill them all,” Gofi said.
“No!” I snapped. I might have agreed with him on some level, but right now, the priority was information. “We’re going to talk to them. I’m hoping I can get some information out of them. Killing them all will need to wait for another day.”
“Then let us go,” Tikka said, holding up a hand and moving swiftly forward in the direction of the expedition caravan.
Quest Alert: Rescue Operation 2 (Recommended Level 25-30)
You have gathered a sizable force to attack the Bandaka Slavers. Now it is time to confront those that betrayed you. Confront the Hunter’s Union and acquire the location of the Bandaka Slavers.
Reward: Experience, Slaver’s Location
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“Everyone, we’re moving out,” I shouted, accepting the quest. I activated my ‘Body Control’ subskill ‘Sprint’ and started moving.
It didn’t take long to reach the Caravan and when I did, I was . . . confused.
“Bye-bye, good, you caught up to us. Sorry about that before, I needed to make it look good,” Twill said, greeting me immediately. “And I see you brought back up, that is good. We are going to need it if we want to make those Slavers pay for taking our friends.”
“What the-?” Rose shouted. “Our friends? You mean the people you betrayed? Where do you get off calling them your friends? You basically sold them into slavery!”
“Calm down, let me explain,” Twill said. “There was no way we could fight them and win with our current numbers and compliment. We would have all ended up dead and that would have accomplished nothing.”
“You killed us!” Baby shouted angrily.
“I did,” Twill agreed unapologetically. “It was the only way to get you away from there safely. If I had killed all of you, Khan would have attacked. But, just killing the three of you and turning over the other three was enough to convince him to leave the caravan alone.”
“But you still sold our friends into slavery!” I protested.
“Temporarily,” Twill said, waving his hands in an attempt to calm my friends and me down. “I had people follow them. They should return shortly with a position for us to attack.”
“Us?” I asked, feeling confused.
“Yes, us,” Twill replied. “They had the advantage on us before. But now, with the forces you have assembled. We should be able to route them easily and recover your friends.”
“So, let me get this straight,” I started. “You killed us, to get us to safety instead of being forced to turn us over to the Bandaka Slavers? And now, you plan to help us?”
“Precisely,” Twill replied cheerfully.
“Bull,” Rose said. “We saw you. We saw how scared you were when confronting Khan.”
“Of course, I was scared. I had no idea what he wanted. For all I knew, he decided to branch out and start slaving anyone and everyone. Not to mention the thousands of Gold in grootslang materials we had with us. Once I knew what he wanted, I needed to come up with a plan that would satisfy him and give us a chance to take them out once and for all,” Twill answered, then added, “Without losing any of our wagons.”
“And you just . . . assume we will be able to rescue our friends?” Rose asked hotly.
Twill snorted. “You and your friends just took out two grootslang at once. If you can do that, I can only imagine what you will do to the Slavers for taking your friends. I just needed to make sure my people were not killed in an ill-advised battle. We are Hunters after all, not prey. We choose our battlegrounds to give us the best chance to eliminate our enemies. We do not fight in open fields where they can see us coming. We use ambush tactics and strike from the shadows. If we have done our jobs correctly, the prey never sees us coming . . . usually. Some monsters really cannot be snuck up on or killed with a single shot.”
Rose and Baby both looked absolutely dumbfounded.
I felt absolutely dumbfounded as well. I wanted to rage against Twill. I wanted to hate him and curse him and maybe even destroy him. But I couldn’t. What he did was cold, bordering on evil. But what he also did was . . . strategically sound. If his people could indeed follow the Slavers. If his people could really tell us where to find them. We had a real chance to rescue our friends and take out the Bandaka Slavers in one fell stroke.
I stayed silent for a minute mulling over everything I was told. “I don’t think I will ever forgive you for this if we fail to rescue my friends.”
“If you fail to rescue your friends, your forgiveness will be the least of my worries. You see, if you fail, it most likely means my death,” Twill said.
Now how could I argue with that?
“I’m going to have the caravan continue on to the camp. Along with me, ten of the Hunters will stay to help. Lodanis or Shukra should be back soon, and hopefully whoever it is will have a location for us,” Twill said.
“I don’t like you,” Rose stated, crossing her arms and glaring a
t Twill.
“You do not need to like me,” Twill replied. “After this is done, you will never need to see me again if you do not want to. But for now, let us try to get along and stay focused on saving our friends . . . your friends,” he corrected, seeing the glares from the three of us directed at him.
We waited hours for one of the two scouts to return. A bloody and wounded Lodanis was not what we expected.
“Baby, heal him,” I said urgently, running close to be able to cast my own ‘Embrace of the Goddess’ to help heal him.
An angry voice cut through the low light of the early evening, “There he is, kill-”
I looked to the source to see a
“Thank you,” Lodanis said, his HP bar nearly full. “I was not sure if I would make it to you before they killed me.”
“What about Shukra?” Twill asked.
“She . . . she has joined the Great Hunt,” Lodanis said, his voice full of sadness. “She gave her life to buy me time.”
“Her sacrifice will not go unavenged,” Twill promised. “Did you find where they went?”
“A fortress, not very big but well hidden in the Stone Teeth,” Lodanis said.
Quest Alert: Rescue Operation 2 (Recommended Level 25-30) – Completed!
You have gathered a sizable force to attack the Bandaka Slavers. Now it is time to confront those that betrayed you. Confront the Hunter’s Union and acquire the location of the Bandaka Slavers.
Reward: +25,000-Experience, Slaver’s Location: A Fortress hidden within the Stone Teeth
That was good.
Quest Alert: Rescue Operation 3 (Recommended Level 25-30)
You have gathered a sizable force to attack the Bandaka Slavers. You now have the location of the Bandaka Slaver’s base of operation. Find the hidden fortress.
Reward: Experience
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
That was even better. “What are the Stone Teeth?” I asked, mentally accepting the quest.
“An unnatural crater said to have been made when stars fell from the sky,” Twill answered. “And you know where it is inside the Teeth?”
It sounded like a meteor strike, maybe multiple strikes. If they were big enough, they could have done a lot of damage.
Lodanis nodded. “They will know we are coming when the three sent to chase me do not return.”
“Then we move quickly,” Twill said. “We need to reach the Teeth by sunrise. If you do not have ‘Dark Sight’ then I suggest you return home.”
“Hunter’s, you seem to forget that the Beastkin have many blessings from our animal ancestors,” Taj said. “We probably have better ‘Dark Sight’ than any of you.”
“I do . . . not,” Gofi said. “But I also cannot go home.”
“Perses and I got you covered. Anyone without a mount, hop on,” Titan said, jerking a thumb at the unfinished platform on Perses’s back.
I couldn’t stop the grin that came on my face.
“Taj, lead the way to the Teeth, everyone else, up on the platform,” I ordered, leaping easily up to the platform while everyone else lined up to climb up the rope ladder.
“Do you have a plan?” Titan asked, grinning and chuckling.
“Yeah, I have a plan . . . I have the start of a plan,” I said.
Chapter 26
The entrance to the Stone Teeth was slightly terrifying. If it was meteors, they must have come in at a very low angle and drilled through the earth and bounced multiple times like giant cosmic skipping stones. There were massive rock formations that curved up and around, creating a ribcage like effect, sometimes connecting to make a stone bridge overhang and sometime just a curved stone spike. And there were dozens of these artificially carved pathways, often overlapping and even drilling below one another.
“From here, we go on foot,” Twill said, being one of the first to drop from Perses’s back.
“Are you sure it was falling stars and not the Gods fighting?” I asked, looking to Twill. From Perses’s platform it looked like the meteors fell from different directions with the way the rock formations seemed to randomly crisscross.
“Falling stars, fighting Gods, who really cares?” Twill answered with a shrug.
Twill might have had a point. “How far in?” I asked, dropping from the platform to get a closer look.
“A few miles, it is really well hidden,” Lodanis said.
“Do you know anything about the fortress? Does it have some kind of historic value?” I asked, then asked as an afterthought, “How long to get there?”
Lodanis shook his head in the negative, “I have never heard of such a fortress before now. It will take us an hour or two to traverse the teeth.”
“Vision, if you’re out there, I could really use your eyes right now,” I said softly. Hoping the Spirit Wolf followed his master long enough to find her and then come back to tell Rose, Baby, or me where to find them.
“You are not mad?” Vision’s all too familiar voice asked.
I grinned. “Not if you followed them,” I said.
“I did,” Vision answered. “I followed just like boss said I should if anything like Root City happened again. And as soon as I knew where whoever was kidnapped was taken, I was to go get help.”
Micaela surprised me yet again.
“And just how long have you been following us?” Rose asked.
Vision’s ears lowered, then he mumbled, “A while.”
Rose just shook her head and laughed. She kneeled down next to Vision and gave him an encouraging scratch and a hug. “Don’t wait so long next time.”
“Hopefully, there won’t be a next time,” Baby said with a little extra sass in her voice.
“Vision, do they have a back door?” I asked.
“I saw one. The fortress sits against a steep cliff, but at the back of it, there is a large gate. I saw where a tunnel passed through it,” Vision answered.
“Did you see where it comes out?” I asked.
Vision shook his head. “Once I saw where boss was, I came to find you,” Vision answered.
“That’s okay,” I said, reassuring the wolf. “Okay, do you think you can find it? I mean the exit of that backdoor. Can you find where that tunnel comes out again?”
“I can find it,” Vision said.
“Good boy. Okay, other than the back door and front gate, were there any other ways in or out?” I asked. I knew I was putting a lot on the young wolf, but he had yet to let me down.
Vision shook his head. “I am sorry, I did not see one.”
“That’s okay. Vision, last question, where are Sooty and Nahid?”
“Sooty and Nahid are hiding near the fortress. I think they are trying to find a way to sneak in,” Vision answered.
“That’s great work, Vision. Can you do something for me? I need you to show Titan where the tunnel exits,” I said, shifting my gaze to Baby’s fiancé. “Titan, are you okay with following Vision to the back entrance?”
“Attacking from two sides, I like it,” Titan replied. “Count me in.”
“You don’t need to actually attack them,” I said. “Just stop them from escaping. I don’t care if that means collapsing their tunnel or just using Perses to hold the gate shut. I don’t want a single Slaver escaping.”
Titan cackled madly. “Oh yeah, count me in,” Titan said excitedly. “You hear that Perses? We also get to play.”
“Vision, come back once you’ve got Titan squared away,” I said. “I’m betting your boss is going to want to see her hero and give him the ultimate petting reward. And Titan, give Vision a few hours before you start causing trouble. That said, don’t let them leave with any slaves either.”
“You got it, Minion Number Two,” Vision said excitedly.
“Everyone, we go on foot from here,” Twill ordered, his gaze directed a
t the Hunters still on Perses platform.
As soon as the last Hunter climbed down, Vision vanished for a moment then reappeared. “This way, Titan,” he said, running south, avoiding the entrance to the Stone Teeth that laid directly in front of us.
“Can do. Good luck and have fun,” Titan said cheerfully, then pulling slightly on Perses’s reigns, he directed the giant blue bear to follow the Spirit Wolf.
“Lodanis, you’re up,” Rose said. “Lead the way.”
Lodanis nodded, walking into the nearest entrance of the Stone Teeth.
“You’ve hunted this area before, right?” Baby asked, flying along near the middle of the group. Her question seemed to be directed at Dougra, the Trapper that helped tank the grootslangs.
“Yeah, not much to hunt here though. Foul Hyenas mostly and they are not worth much. Sometimes you will get an alchemist put a bounty out on one for a sample of the diseases they carry,” Dougra answered, then his expression turned dark. “We have had a few Hunters go missing in here as well. It was assumed they ran into a pack of the beasts. Now, I would put money on it that the rotting Slavers killed them.”
“And today we are going to get some payback,” Twill interrupted, seeming to knock the dark look from Dougra’s face.
“Right you are, Huntmaster,” Dougra replied, smiling confidently.
There was other chatter after that but nothing that caught my attention.
Lodanis stopped us at the intersection of two of the paths carved through the rocks. The path crossing our current path was much deeper, more so on the other side where our current path seemed to start going back up. “We go left here, all the way to the end. There is another path there that slopes down deeply, that is where Shukra and I were spotted. Everyone needs to be careful from here.”
Everyone seemed to take that as the signal to arm themselves, me included. I equipped my spear and cast ‘Holy Imbuement’ and my other buffs just to be safe.