Howard leaves the moment, the conversation ends, running to Gobi to relay the message as well as get everyone else to prepare to leave. In less than an hour, everyone was prepared to leave for the Krepost. Knowing that we needed to make haste, everyone wore wooden armor instead of the golem stone armor and wielded the smaller shields instead of the larger bulkier shield. Bagging was also kept to a minimum with only a handful of vegetables, a small water bag, and 2 potions per person.
Kaede sat on top of the Zivotinja leading the way, while everyone marched behind at a quick pace. The whole path had been carved out with vines as a substitute fence, following the path we arrived at the Krepost behind midday. However, everyone was slightly tired and breathing heavily.
I signal for everyone to rest whilst I meet up with Stellar and Celine who had stayed behind at the Krepost when Kingston left for the Pillar of Light. Bringing Rebecca and Kaede with me, we sat at the table on the second floor of the Krepost. Celine had dark circles below her red eyes while Stellar was constantly fidgeting with a goblin knife.
"Stellar can you stop fidgeting with the knife? You might hurt yourself by accident." - Ian
"Right, right. Sorry, I haven't been very focused. Umm, well. I see there is someone new here. Hello, my name is Stellar. " - Stellar
"Nice to meet you, I'm Rebecca, Ian's partner." - Rebecca
"Hi! I'm Celine." - Celine
"Do you want to tell me what has been happening here since Kingston left and when Kaede came back with the bad news?" - Ian
"Sigh… Well, the night battle against the Fishmen and the Banshees was fine. Celine's tamed monsters were able to deal with the Banshees and the rest of us were able to deal with the Fishmen with the help of the Krepost. However, throughout the whole time, we were expecting Kingston and the others to launch a surprise attack at the flank since they were to deal with a Pillar of Light.
We were able to fight off the horde of monsters and kill everything eventually, but they still didn't come back. Just as we were able to send out scouts to figure out the situation, Kaede was seen running toward us. In tears and shaken she told us the situation, but we weren't sure what to do. I told Kaede to go back to HavenFall and get your help on the situation.
From then to now, we have sent various scouts in different directions in hopes of finding any leads. I know that the tunnel doesn't have an exit, but I thought maybe there would be another door that connected to the same place. After hours of searching and with nothing to show for it, I was losing hope…" - Stellar
"Stellar… It's not your fault. I'm sure Kingston has everyone sorted out, and they are safe." - Celine
"I know, I know, it's just I can't believe that 7 of them disappeared just like that." - Stellar
"Well, we are going after them. Stellar and Celine, I need both of you to stay here once more and keep the Krepost safe. I'll be bringing Luna, Kaede, Rebecca, Howard, and Gewari with me to get Kingston and the others back safe. I also brought along some reinforcement for you with a small batch of potions that Lucina made. I would have brought more potions but there was only so much we had prepared." - Ian
"Are you sure just the 6 of you will be enough? Even when it was 8 of them, only Kaede came back." - Celine
"I think just us 6 will be fine. The tunnel should be empty at the moment until the Pillar of Light reactivates, which means we won't be fighting many monsters along the way." - Ian
"What about when you reach the door?" - Stellar
"According to Kaede, they were in front of the door one second, and then they disappeared. I think someone grabbed them and pulled them through the door. Whatever it is, even if we had more people, it would just result in more losses." - Rebecca
"Following on what Rebecca just said, with an elite group we would have less to worry about and more space to move about during fights. Especially for Luna, Gewari, and me who prefer more space when fighting, with fewer people around, we can bring out more of our potential." - Ian
"Alright. I understand, there is still some loot from the night if you want to look at it. I'm going to get some rest before any more fighting happens." - Stellar
Stellar leaves the table first, heading downstairs to go to the resting quarters. The resting quarters were small makeshift houses near the Krepost, with just a couple of beds and chairs for furniture. Celine walks to a small box in the corner of the room bringing it to the table. Peering inside the box, I see a dirty bronze bracelet, a black choker with jagged edges, and a piece of parchment.
"These are what we acquired throughout the whole time we were fighting against the different monsters. Kingston was unsure about who should have it, so we were going to deliver it back to HavenFall but now that you are here, you can sort it out." - Celine
"Thank you, Celine. Let me have a look first." - Ian
[ Inferior Strength Bracelet
Strength: 2
An accessory crafted by an unknown blacksmith. It was meant to allow the user to inhibit god-like strength however became a failure as the blacksmith was still green behind the ears. ]
[ Widow's Grasp (Female only)
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 5
Once adorned by a widow, now travels in search of a wearer. This choker allows another female to acquire the strengths of its past users, an aristocrat, a duchess, a thief, and a markswoman. This choker will take the highest stat from the user if the user ever gives or loses the item. ]
[ Spell Paper (One Time Use)
Skill: Summon Banshee
A piece of paper that has been enchanted with a spell. Each Spell Paper is unique and may contain different spells. The Spell Paper can only be used once before it is destroyed. ]
Summon Banshee - Summons a Banshee to serve the summoner for 30 minutes. The Banshee cannot betray the summoner and must follow all orders.
"Hmm… Give Howard the bracelet and Gewari the choker. I'll hold onto the Spell Paper for when we need it. Was there anything else you need to mention to me, Celine?" - Ian
"Umm… I don't know. Is there anything you need to know?" - Celine
"How long until the Zivotinjas are ready to become proper cavalry? Kaede seemed to ride them pretty well so if they are ready, I would like you to train some demi-humans here." - Ian
"Oh! The Zivotinja that Kaede rode was the leader of the Dazzle and also the first Zivotinja that I tamed. It was able to grow used to Kaede after she helped me feed the Zivotinja, and eventually, it allowed her to ride it. The rest of the Zivotinja are still in the process of adjusting to life here, but I can tell some of them are ready to allow us to ride them.
The only problem I can see is that unless the rider is skilled they will most likely fall off the Zivotinjas when they are riding them. The backs of the Zivotinja are very uncomfortable and when they are galloping fast it becomes harder and harder to hold onto them. We need some sort of seat on the back of Zivotinja. Once we achieve something like that, then we will be able to have the cavalry that you speak of, Ian." - Celine
"Alright, I think old man Hus is working on something for that in between making armor and weapons, so it should come through sooner or later." - Ian
"Thank you, Ian. The rest of the monsters are having a nice time here even though they are fighting because they are growing stronger faster than when they were out in the wild. When do you think you are leaving?" - Celine
"As soon as possible. I'm giving everyone a little break since running here from HavenFall took most of the day, so after the sun reaches its peak, I'll set off." - Ian
"Babe, midday will come soon, so there isn't much break." - Rebecca
"That's fine. A little break is better than no break." - Ian
"Right, well, Ian I'll be with the monsters if you need me." - Celine
Celine leaves as well, leaving just me and Rebecca in the top floor of the Krepost. While I have been with Rebecca for a while now in the game, this is the first time I had been alone with her. Leaning back in the chair, I put my arm around her holding her tight. Before the game ends for the night, I hold her tight letting my lips touch hers.
"I'll see you out of the game okay babe?" - Ian
"Okay, see you soon." - Rebecca
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