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"... You must achieve what you seek within that time, we'll stall for as long as we can."
"This is the time I can provide you as that was the total time we've calculated to be the best to perform." Kuddan added as he looked at the map
"Wait… But how? I thought that…"
Amidst his words, Dale tried to speak, but he was quickly shot down:
"Calm down young one, everything has its time and place…"
"First, we have to talk about how that came to be and how we determined that the 'Devil' is in an unapproachable state." Kuddan replied as he turned to Tina
"We've been aware of its existence for a long time, years at that, however, at first, we only imagined it to be one of the many other abominations that crossed the wall, just one more that would eventually rise and fall as the forest would eventually balance itself out."
"If not, then it would be up to us to do so… "
"Many like that appeared over the decades, and we thought this one would be like those that came before... We were wrong."
"We were... Arrogant, shortsighted… We grew soft after we lost many of our hardened warriors with the fall of the Wall…"
Muddan shook his head.
"Many good Souls were lost during those days… And for many dawns, the sun did not shine in the woods as the smoke bloated the skies…"
"But even with their loss, thanks to the wall next to us, we remained protected… So much so we forgot what existed outside."
"And when we realized something was wrong, we lost our first city to a sudden influx of monsters."
"Many Souls were lost, but not as many as it could've been since the creatures of the forest were more preoccupied with running away rather than razing our settlement to the ground."
"We've been preparing ever since, our retaliation… And we almost succeeded in defeating it many moons ago…"
"But it went into the defensive, making our efforts go to waste."
"It has developed into a pupal stage, or better put, it forced itself into one in order to survive."
"And neither of our strongest warriors was able to break into its thick carapace, because after it went into its pupal form, we took a few days to rest and regroup, but by the time everyone had recovered, the strength of the husk surrounding it became unshakable."
"Not to say the thick energies surrounding it, limiting our operations… Just staying near it was daunting, its thick Hex power corrupted the beasts within the forest, prompting them to go Berserk, slaying each other within its influence…"
"And then, from their flesh, it devoured, growing stronger."
"When we realized even our fallen were being fed to this abomination's unending lust, we gathered all of our forces into depriving it of a nutrition source…"
"But that didn't last long."
"With each day that passes, the beast destabilizes the forest further as it saps its strength from within… And a few days ago, you must've all felt it…"
/Silence…/
"It is about to wake, and it has gone into a frenzy."
"This must be due to its premature transformation, it is likely famished and weak due to not possessing the necessary nutrients to progress its lifecycle."
"..."
Dale processed this information silently, his eyes sharpening as ideas formed in his mind.
"... Meanwhile, Muddan arrived at North, sent by us to seek whatever help he could find…"
"Forward a few days, you're all here."
"..."
'It seems they'll win regardless… But there is more to this scenario.' Dale thought silently as he listened to Kuddan's story
He was starting to envision what everything was about…
If he let things be, it was likely that the Karkavan would indeed succeed in their endeavors of defeating the beast and returning stability to the forest.
However, given their current state and conditions, it was probable that they would reach an all-time low after doing so.
Dale pictured in his mind that the Karkavan were an essential key piece of many of his Quests' progress, from the rise of the Southern Corps to Resko's Golden Age.
By allying together, Resko would acquire something it desperately need, a base of operation within the forest.
This could lead to further progress in many areas they are currently incapable of filling due to many things from lack of personnel to resources.
If he allowed them to defeat the Devil alone, he would be potentially crippling a part of his own future as the Karkavan might be either unwilling to maintain a relationship to just unable to do so.
The Karkavan would live, but they needed to do so without losing their strength and most importantly, their faith in them.
However, Dale had yet to understand an underlining piece of this mystery.
What caused the Karkavan to become this… Weak?
He may be seeing things wrong, but it felt that the Karkavan should've been way more capable, coordinated, and overall powerful to deal with this situation.
He could be overestimating things, or the Devil was just 'that' strong, but weren't all Karkavan born with exceptional strength, the desire to seek more power, and many professors willing to teach them how to wield and gather more of it?
Together with great artisans and a plethora of natural materials, and the Artifacts left behind from the generations before... The Karkavan were essentially better Humans…
In comparison, Tina's confidence in being able to deal with things with only she, Testros, and Dale made him frown...
Was she really that confident they could win? Was it all an afront?...
Thankfully, the Karkavan made an appearance, perhaps they were meant to be there.
They are a Key part of this Questline and the source of many more.
Yet, despite his faith in them, Dale had yet to see any Karkavan that could put as much pressure on him as Testros and Tina could, aside from Kuddan, but he was a super old sage Karkavan on their own terms…
Where was the Spirit of the Species that once had many warriors dominate the battlefield of the Southern Corps?
Where were the descents of Executioner Hyfor, the Karkavan warrior that had a pair of Half-Fable Earrings made in his name?
If the strength of the Karkavan somewhat equals the strength of his Burial Artifact, then seemingly by the fact there were dozens of such items laying around, it was safe to say their potential was boundless.
Dale even felt there was more to be unraveled about them, things they kept secret despite their extremely welcoming appearance…
Were there truly no Legends within the Karkavan? And if there were some, where did they all go?
"Cough… Our fight with the beast has been undergoing for many… Many weeks."
Meanwhile, Kuddan continued with his narration, taking a slight break to drink some water from a strangely shaped jug.
"... It could awake at any time, but it shouldn't do so anytime soon…"
"This is the time I can give you… But not everything I have to offer."
"As I said before, the distance between us and the Old Trunk is… Extensive."
"Reaching there by foot within the time we have is… Unlikely."
"As such, I recommend alternatives, and albeit I cannot guarantee their safety I can guarantee their speed."
"One day... Cough... You'll arrive within one day…"
"But if you lose the transport, you'll have to make the way back on foot and risk not reaching the destination on time."
"You'll have to promise me that you'll put everyone on the line to protect it."
Kuddan smiled.
"You must know what I'm thinking about, right?"
...
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Notes
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