Zectas Volume V: The Sequestered Seminary of Sawtorn (23 page)

Red flowers which looked like trumpets lined the famous mountain range. Their sweet scent added to the grandeur of these highlands. Overlooking the vale from above, the beauty of the serene mountains that bordered Veneficatl Valley came at a price. One wrong move and it could spell death for anyone who traveled on its perilous steep roads.
Yet, Sierra's smiling face conveyed the sense of belonging instead of fear. As she breathed in the view from above, it reminded her of the time when she and her mother would take treks up the mountain.
Looking back to observe her army following her, she smiled at them. She thought that they also shared her sentiments.
'I knew taking this route was a great idea,' she thought to herself, thinking that her men would build fond memories of the tall mountains.
Currently, thousands of mounted Druids, Acolytes, and Mercenaries were huddled together on it now, as they hurried to cross it.
To protect themselves from the cold, everyone of Sierra's army clutched on to their fur-cloaks tightly. The chilly winds blew hard against the shivering travelers on this precipitous pathway, and did its best to hinder their advance.
"Brr. Why do we have to be here? Look at my skin! It's turning blue," complained Ardu, riding on top of his own ruby bear. His breath was clearly seen through the cold air, "I was getting used to the warm weather in the Kitsune Forests too."
The young man, who could fully Transmogrify into a brown Werebear asked the female ruby rider beside him. "Do you even know where we're headed?"
"No clue. All I heard was that we were going to meet up with Mamelon's group," replied Vrai, while she strongly rubbed her shoulders to warm them up.
The two youthful Zectian leaders followed some distance after the red-haired HighElf. They were positioned in the middle of her ten-thousand strong army. They could not see her clearly through the crowd, but her ruby bear helped them spot her.
As a symbol of leadership, it was only Sierra, Phen, Rear, Ardu, and Vrai who were given the ruby bear mounts.
Suddenly, two other ruby bear riders were riding against the flow of the army, and one of them quietly called out their attention.
"Shh!" said Rear, with one finger covering her mouth. "They say that the red mountains dislike noisy travelers. They don't need to hear your complaints."
Sierra's Werewolf Lieutenants, Phen and Rear were headed for the tail of their army. They were instructed to oversee a safe passage through the red ridges.
"If you're cold, just Transmogrify a portion of your arms," said Rear, and pointed to Phen's arm which displayed a thick gray Werewolf fur.
"Um. We still can't do partial Transmogrifications," sheepishly answered Ardu. "But don't worry, we're not skimping out on our daily exercises," he quickly added.
"Alright," said Rear with a disappointed tone. "But I don't want to hear anymore complaints about this mission. The two of you should know better than to question Sierra's command."
Ardu fell silent and shamefully lowered his head.
"I wonder just what kind of mission this is," blurted out Vrai. She turned to Phen and Rear, who merely shrugged at her. "I mean, just what kind of mission would require our ten-thousand strong army and Mamelon's manpower of five-thousand?"
Phen and Rear did not respond and went straight to the tail of their formation. Sierra's army silently continued their travel through the red mountains for the next three hours, until they reached the plains of Veneficatl Valley.
Sierra spread out her arms, and signaled her army of Druids and Mercenaries to fan themselves to her sides. At once, her lieutenants led the front and commanded their own divisions. A total of five groups were formed.
"We'll set up camp here," loudly ordered Sierra for everybody to hear. "Vrai and Ardu, you two are in charge of our food. Phen and Rear, secure the grounds. Mamelon should arrive sometime before noon."
"Let's go, Rear Scout Team!" ordered Rear, and took her platoon of 2,500 Mercenaries and 70 Druids to the eastern and northern side of their basecamp.
Whereas, Phen silently signaled his own group of 2,500 Mercenaries and 30 Druids to the southern and western area. He had lesser Druids in his team, as only those that could understand his silent commands worked well with him.
Ardu and Vrai immediately began delegating their assigned work. Half of their Mercenaries were tasked to set up walls, traps, and early warning devices, while the rest were divided into two more groups. One were tasked to put up tents and the others were assigned to cook a meal that could fill more than ten-thousand people.
As they worked on their assignments, they nibbled on bison jerkies to sate their hunger.
Meanwhile, Sierra was staring into a map of the valley. Her gazed drifted to the rising sun, where a supposed cave filled with Darius' promise awaited them.
At eleven in the morning, Mamelon and her group of more than five-thousand people arrived from the west. They had come from the opposite side of the red mountain ranges.
Sierra stood in front of their basecamp to welcome them.
"Sorry, we took so long," called out Mamelon from on top of her bronze jackal. "We ran into some trouble along the way." She said strongly and grumpily looked at Virer and Courant, the Flame Knight and Electro Knight, who rode directly behind her.
"I told you, Cheri had me questing for fairy trumpets!" reasoned out Virer. He stuck out red flowers which went well with his crimson full plate armor. "That's why I had to collect over three dozens of those red flowers growing on the mountainside."
"And Aime asked me to get her a pair of copper goat horns, indigenous to the red mountains," added Courant. He displayed two yellowish-horns which blended magnificently with his bronze armor. "Who would have guessed that the copper goats would cause a rockslide?"
Courant shrugged, raising the horns over his head.
WAPAK
The two horns were suddenly hit by aqueous spikes, and knocked out of Courant's hands.
"What the— I had to go to a lot of trouble to get that!" exclaimed the Electro Knight, dismounting to pick up the horns.
"Alright that's enough, Guys." replied a smiling Sierra, diffusing the tension between Mamelon's second-in-commands. "Anyway, you're just in time for an early lunch. Ardu and Vrai may be lacking on their Transmogrify training, but they've greatly leveled up their cooking!"
"I told you, Two, not to get involved with those Zectians," reprimanded Mamelon.
"Hey! We don't tell you to stop fawning over Ilad, do we?" pointed out Virer. "Besides, doing quests for Cheri really pumps up our Intimacy, and I really need those numbers to be high. You know, in order for me to—"
"Too much information, Virer!" said Mamelon, stopping her friend from explaining further.
Sierra laughed. She missed being with other Sonstwelters. Sure, Phen, Rear, even Ardu and Vrai were also fun, but something was missing when she was with other Sonstwelters.
As they headed to where the food was, Mamelon called out to Sierra.
"So, our lowest ranked Mercenary is now at level 102," began the Aqua Knight. "But I have to tell you something, that I feel should be said face to face."
Sierra's eyebrow crossed. "Go on," she said, intrigued.
"My men have increased their levels, but we suffered a terrible tragedy. Because of it, I only have 4,325 Mercenaries left."
"What? How could lose so many men? What happened?" asked Sierra.
"We were ambushed by Duke Burmistrz's men," somberly said Mamelon. "We were suppose to be in a safe area, and were hunting dirus wolves to capture, but Macher and his Cavalry Knights suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked us."
Sierra tightly squeezed her fists at the mention of Macher's name.
"He had about 3,000 Cavalry Knights with him, all of them riding dirus wolves," said Mamelon. "That's why we met them there, because they were also hunting for more mounts."
"How long ago?" asked Sierra.
"About three weeks now," said Mamelon.
"He's already grown his private army by that much, huh?" said Sierra. "We can assume that his numbers will only grow even more."
"Sierra, there's one more thing," said Mamelon. "When Macher came to attack us, the reason many of the Avendre were unable to escape was because Sagen and his guild joined up with Macher."
"Sagen? That name sounds so familiar," said Sierra. "Who is that again?"
"He was the guy that went against Ilad on the Swordsman to Knight Tournament," answered a peeved Mamelon. "He even tried to eliminate us during the Mounted Race. But something must have happened to him, because he never got to finish that race."
Sierra grinned. She remembered how she and Smoke's private army ambushed them before they could ambush Smoke.
"Really? I guess he never learned his lesson," said Sierra. Her knuckles cracked as she tightened her fist.
"Yeah, but he got a lot stronger," said Mamelon, disturbed.
She paused, as she let out a deep sigh.
"Luckily for us, most of us had already gathered mounts for the Avendre Mercenaries," further explained Mamelon. "Most of the Mercenaries rode by threes, but the bronze jackals and aardwolves could easily carry their weight."
Mamelon paused before going on. "And the main reason we escaped, was because of those who were left behind. The Avendre Mercenaries' sacrificed themselves and made sure to hold off Macher and his men."
Sierra fell silent, pissed at the fact of Macher's treachery and Sagen's return.
"But don't worry," added Mamelon. "We've learned our lesson. Macher and his men won't get another chance like that again."
"That's good," said Sierra, forcing a smile. "Good job, on keeping the casualties low."
Sierra then turned to Mamelon's surviving Avendre Mercenaries. "After seeing their comrades sacrificed themselves, these hardened men should be really helpful in this quest," said Sierra.
"Yeah, what exactly is this quest, anyway?" asked Mamelon.
"Well, Smoke asked Darius on how we could improve ourselves for the coming war," began Sierra. "He told him that there were certain relics that could prove helpful to us."
Mamelon nodded as she followed Sierra's lead and sat down on the prepared table for them.
"But Darius told me that acquiring the relic alone isn't the only prize," said Sierra. "He said that when we do clear the dungeon, the second reward will appear on its own."
"Um, one thing I don't get is why we're just doing this now?" asked Mamelon with a confused look. "Why didn't you and Smoke do this before he left?"
"Let's just say that clearing this dungeon wasn't possible for us until now," explained Sierra. "I also don't know the exact details except for the location of the relic."
"And... where is it?" asked Courant.
"Right over there," said Sierra, pointing to the east. "It's about two kilometers away."
"Then, why did you build the base so far away?" asked Virer.
"It's a precautionary measure," answered Mamelon in Sierra's place. She then turned to Sierra. "Is the dungeon really that dangerous?"
"I have no idea," replied Sierra, and shook her head. "But even with my new Job and our collectively increased levels, Darius said that we might only have a 30% chance of completing it."
 

* * * * * * 

Knowing how hard the battle ahead was, Sierra decided to leave five-hundred Mercenaries in their basecamp. These were the ones who were still lacking on improving their offensive capabilities. As such, she decided for them to shift their specialty.
She told them to focus on First Aid and Healing Potion creation. She also left ten Acolytes with them to supervise their progress into becoming Medical Mercenaries.
After they considered the terrain inside the cave, Sierra suggested that they all leave their mounts behind.
Finalizing the final adjustments, Sierra, Mamelon, and their respective armies were stationed outside the cave's entrance.
"So, our Mercs will come in after your druids, right?" Mamelon asked Sierra.
"Right, they'll join in after we've confirm—" began Sierra, but was interrupted by one of her Druid scouts.
"Gargantuan Goblins! Gargantuan Goblins!" cried out the Scout.
Six monsters with heights of three-meters chased after him. These rough black skinned goblins were the final transformation of the gobble goblins.
"Avendre, form the scattered boulders formation!" briskly ordered Sierra.
At once, Sierra's Mercenaries formed groups of ten. Loud clanky sounds were heard, as they lagged their long metallic-spears and black tower-shields into a tight formation. Then, their shields interlocked with one another, forming a rectangular metallic-box with their long spears protruding. Their bulky equipment made them slow. Yet, after two months of repetitive exercises, it took them less than three seconds to get in formation. Each group were approximately ten-meters from the next one.
With purpose, the Druids began casting their Thorns ability on all of the Mercenaries. A flash of white thorns momentarily appeared which covered their boulder-like formation. Next, they pointed their wooden-ferules towards the Gargantuan Goblins and cursed them with the Contrition status. These gigantic monsters would receive increased damage for the next five minutes.
Whereas, Sierra began to cast Archon's Blessing on herself. She was quick to respond, but she was still curious to see Gargantuan Goblins here in the Veneficatl. Especially inside the cave that Darius recommended.
CLASH
Her thoughts were refocused on the battle at hand, as the two fastest Gargantuan Goblins smashed their fists into the huddled Avendre. Despite this, the goblins' monstrous strength, the Avendres' shields held firm. Only the life bars of the goblins were shown as they took the return damage.
Then, the Avendre facing the two monsters extended their long spears even farther. They attacked the goblins close to them, and pierced their rough skin.
"That's quite impressive," said Mamelon, complementing the clear growth of Sierra's men. "But I trained my men to take the initiative," proudly added the Aqua Knight. "Engage them with Wedged River!"
Together with the Elemental Knights, Mamelon's Avendre Mercenaries charged the Gargantuan Goblins. They were equipped with two-handed great swords and swung them as if they were made of paper.
The four Gargantuan Goblins were each swarmed by a thousand of Mamelon's Mercenaries. Using a wedged line formation, each one of the Avendre struck their great swords at the monster's limbs. Yet, after delivering the blow, they continued to run past the goblin, which allowed the person behind them to execute their own attack.
After taking four simultaneous attacks, the targeted Gargantuan Goblin could not recover in time to launch its counterattack. All the monster could do was take on a defensive pose, as another set of blades sliced through its rough skin.
The Avendre who finished their attacks quickly scrambled to the back of the wedge formation. There, they were healed by the Shamans, in case they were injured during their strike while waiting for their turn to repeat the same process again. Like a rushing river, which smashed anything that blocked its path.
In less than fifteen-minutes, Sierra and Mamelon's men killed all six Gargantuan Goblins.
"Do you remember how much we struggled to fight against them before?" Mamelon said to Sierra.
"I do, but what bothers me is why these monsters are here," she replied.
Sierra then turned to her Werewolf Lieutenants. "Phen, Rear, Transmogrify and enter the cave. I need you to scout it, but don't go farther than five-hundred-meters into it."
Phen nodded. Straightaway, he transformed himself into a gray Werewolf.
"Understood," replied Rear and followed suit, transforming herself into a black Werewolf.
These two Werewolves had grown larger than their former selves. Now, they could almost stand toe to toe with Ardu and Vrai's Werebear forms.
While Phen and Rear left for the caves, the injury reports came in. No one was seriously hurt, but their healers did their rounds anyway.
Five minutes passed before Phen and Rear returned. Sierra called for Mamelon, so they could hear the scouting reports together.
Then, the two Werewolves returned to their Druid forms.
"The main entrance branches out into nine different passageways," began Rear. "We tried entering one of them, but encountered no monsters after five-hundred-meters."
"How big are the passageways?" asked Sierra.
"About three-meters wide and four-meters tall," replied Rear. "They were fairly large tunnels."
"Are there any sources of light?" asked Mamelon.
"Now that you mention it, there was none," said Rear. "But it didn't really bother us since we could see in the dark when we're transformed," she explained.
"We'll need torches," said Mamelon. "We can have the Flame Knights light up their lances, but that consumes a lot of mana."
"No, wait. I can have my Druids use their staves," said Sierra, and took her ferule. She raised it above her head, as its tip illuminated with a bright light.
"So, we'll divide our men, then?" asked Mamelon.
"Correct, but how many do you trust to take the lead?" asked Sierra.
"They're a bunch of numbskulls, but I trust Virer and Courant with my life," replied Mamelon.
"With Myself, You, Courant, Virer, Phen, Rear, Ardu, and Vrai that leaves us with one more person to explore the tunnels," said Sierra. "Mamelon, don't you have anyone else from your side?"
The voluptuous Aqua Knight massaged her temples with her fingers. "Well, there is Earat and Louche, but I wouldn't trust them to lead an expedition by themselves. The last time they went on one, they got cornered by aardwolves."
"Guess I better call Hazard," said Sierra. "You said he was ready, right?" she turned to Phen.
The male Druid silently nodded in response.
"Please call him here," ordered Sierra.
"Who's Hazard?" asked Mamelon, confused.
"He's an Avendre Mercenary, who has some history with Smoke," replied Sierra. "He was stubborn and wanted to prove how wrong Smoke was, but he turned around after Smoke saved him from being killed by a tree ent."
Sierra smirked. "Now, he's proven to be quite dependable. Also, this should be a perfect opportunity for him to step up."
A strapping young Zectian with black hair walked up together with Phen. Hazard had significantly grown in the last few months both physically and mentally. Like his cousin Jeter Peon, who died during their defense of Centzo City, Hazard was now an Avendre Commander.
"General Sierra, you called for me?" asked Hazard.
"Yes, I'd like you to lead an entire division by yourself."
"An entire division of Avendre Mercenaries?" confirmed Hazard.
Sierra shook her head. "No, there will be Druids and Acolytes under you as well."
Seconds later, Sierra gathered Mamelon, Virer, Courant, Phen, Rear, Ardu, Vrai, and Hazard to discuss how they will storm the cave.
After a full hour of discussion and brainstorming, Sierra and her comrades had came to a consensus.
"Alright, does anyone have anything else to bring up before we enter the dungeon?" asked Sierra.
Both Courant and Virer's hands went straight up the air.
"Um. If you don't mind, can we delay the siege for tomorrow?" asked Courant. "Or about twelve hours at least."
Virer strongly nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah, yeah, same here," said Virer. "Twelve hours from now would be perfect."
"What is it now?" asked Mamelon, annoyed.
Courant and Virer pulled both Sierra and Mamelon away from the Zectians.
"You see, we have to do exams today," explained Courant. "And the two of us really need to take it if we want to maintain this college gig."
'So, they're still in college,' surmised Sierra.
Mamelon let out a deep sigh before she turned to Virer and Courant. "Fine, let's make it five in the morning. But the two of you better make it back on time."
Biting her lower lip, Sierra was not pleased with the idea of changing the schedule. Tomorrow was Smoke's tournament. She had planned on visiting him at his house before fighting Sawtorn's top Mages.
"Sierra, are you okay with that?" Mamelon asked her, snapping Sierra back to her senses. "Sorry if I overstepped, but it should also give our Zectians a good night's rest before venturing in."
"That's fine," replied Sierra. She realized that Smoke would have easily done the same.
'Besides, I could just watch a rerun of it from his POV,' realized Sierra, as Smoke had invited her to join him on his next video edit.
"Thanks for understanding guys," said Courant.
"Don't worry, we'll be here on time," assured Virer.
The two Elemental Knights bowed down and logged out for the day.
"So, are you a college student too?" Sierra asked Mamelon.
"Oh, no. I'm already working," replied Mamelon.
"Then, it's just Courant and Virer who are still students?" asked Sierra.
"No, those two just recently became college instructors," replied Mamelon.
Sierra's mouth opened wide in disbelief.
"I know, right? I wouldn't believe it myself if I didn't know them in real life," said Mamelon. "Although, they rarely go to their lectures. They were given a final warning from their superiors for not attending their own classes."