Chapter 82: The Approaching Curve

Chapter 82: The Approaching Curve

"Hey, what happened to the two scouts? Party list says that they died, anyone hear anything?" DicingDevil asked the group as he emerged through a bush leading towards the clearing.

"Der's HP just dropped straight to zero, no idea what happened to him," Grisier replied. "The Geomancer put up a bit of a fight, I heard a small scuffle in the building but he died about ten seconds after. Probably they were killed by the same creature. It must have been something strong."

"Really? We could see into the windows of that place on our journey, it looked empty. But the villagers refused to discuss it, perhaps there is something hidden there."

"Could be some kind of ghost," Gastlem said.

"Spooky. I mean, yes. It could be. Well, let's avoid it for now." DicingDevil laughed.

To his side, Akshel emerged, followed by the NPC named Margaret.

"Thank you," Margaret said, then quickly walked around the area to scan the mink dens. "These dens look spacious, I'm impressed. But it's difficult to see in this light! I'll come back in an hour, and see if the minks have managed to settle in. You will receive further rewards if they have."This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

Each member of the group received a healthy amount of EXP for the quest. Vladimir surged to level 26, and Konstantin to level 25. Crucis didn't gain a level, but was now 62% of the way to level 59.

"Please leave this area soon, or you will scare the mink away and they won't enter the dens you built," Margaret said, and she smiled and walked North-East on her way back to the village.

"Did anyone else notice anything else about the scouts' disappearance?" DicingDevil asked the group again.

"Nah, that's about it," Starfighter replied with a slight yawn.

"Oi, when did you get tired? You were still energetic when we left, even after digging the holes," Akshel teased.

"I have no idea. Grisier asked me and the kids to fetch a few herbs from the grass scattered around after the dig, but it wasn't that difficult."

"Could the herbs have some sort of sedative or sleep-inducing effect when inhaled? I'm also feeling a bit tired," Crucis said. He felt unnaturally lethargic as he tried to sit up straight.

"Um, some of these herbs are called 'hera aspira,' but I can't identify what they do with my current [Herbalism] skill level. They might be sleep-inducing. I was combing through these herbs, I'll place them in my inventory now," Grisier said sheepishly.

"Me and Akshel picked up some ice-cold water from the village well, so I'll leave a bucket here. All of you guys, throw some water on your face, so you'll be awake now." DicingDevil said, pointing to an iron bucket of cold water on the ground beside him.

"Akshel and I -" Akshel interjected.

"Shut up. Anyway, we also found traces of the group from the North, some quests to the North of the village were currently marked as in progress, and Akshel found fresh footprints on the path North."

"Ahem. Yeah, they seem to have gone North. One of the guys in the village warned us that there was a dangerous level 55 predator up North as well, which was a maneater and had started to hassle the village. It's called the [Injured Albatross Panther], its pelt is white with dark orange stripes, and it's a boss creature. But it's a bit further up than I think they've gone, doesn't mean it couldn't find them."

"It's a weird choice for them to go North, then," Gastlem said. "Did they miss the NPC's warning?"

"Maybe they're rushing to pick up the quests here. Hopefully we can find them before the panther does," DicingDevil said.

The group quickly tossed water onto their faces to recover from Grisier's herbs, then prepared to go North-East towards the village.

Akshel: yea, easy to lose balance and fall in

Crucis: might be easier to corral them to that side, so that they get trapped in the pit

DicingDevil: yes, if we try to surround them then they could still muscle past some of our low lvls

DicingDevil: or try to bolt through the western area and hope for us to get sidetracked by the pit + uneven terrain

DicingDevil: easier to just cut them off from the east, then trap them in the pit

Akshel: yea, we could fight them with higher ground and win easily

Crucis: yes, then it's over for them

Crucis: but they could still thin our numbers if they put up a fight for it

Gastlem: do you c how quickly they kill the otters? maybe are a high-damage build

Gastlem: could be risky

DicingDevil: esp since we don't want to make too much noise, i heard a few roars just north of them

DicingDevil: could be predator

Crucis: what if Grisier put some sleep herbs in the pit first?

DicingDevil: so we could shepherd the players in there, then capture them as they tire?

Crucis: yea

DicingDevil: sounds good

DicingDevil: i'll tell most of the team to circle round the east towards crucis' position, once gris is done with herbalism we'll move in to attack

DicingDevil: akshel and gastlem, make sure to cut off escape and force them towards the pit

Akshel: aye aye

Gastlem: o/

Crucis descended carefully from the tree, using some thick vines to anchor his feet. As he waited for the rest of the group, he could dimly make out Grisier crawling through the tall grass in the West before quickly disappearing into the pit. Grisier had quickly used [Water Buff], which increases the CON and STR of water-based or amphibious creatures slightly, to strengthen the otters emerging from the pool and keep the players distracted. Since this spell had little explicit animation and was rarely used, it was a fairly safe distraction against two non-Mages who would be unlikely to recognise it.

As Grisier finished his preparations, Crucis carefully crept closer to the two targets, as DicingDevil lined up six players near him in a loose semicircle to force the targets to run towards the pit. Since there was a pool on one side, and this was surrounded by dense vegetation, the amount of practical escape routes was limited. Once DicingDevil was satisfied that these were all closed off, the group moved quietly towards the pool, with weapons drawn.