Chapter 32
The party woke up late in the morning. After normal morning rituals, the party followed Kiara's lead. She led them to a wide dirt trail leading up to the mountains, saying that this was the path laid out by the exploratory expedition. She even got hold of a copy of a map the expedition drew out. The trail had a lot of twists and turns, slowly getting narrower the higher it went. They came across several branching paths but Kiara kept to the path.
"Where do those go?" asked Botan as they avoided another branch.
"From what was told to me, a few dead ends, a few cave entrances," the chef informed her aloud so that the others could hear her, "They were explored of course and found nothing living there. Not sure about now. Eh, anyway, right now, we don't need to go to any of them. But, night time? Sure, we can. They should be safe places to sleep."
Eventually, the path started going across the range, with the trail narrowing enough to force them to travel in single file across the mountain range. At the same time, they came across multiple branches going off in different directions. Again, supposedly leading to dead ends and caverns. The wind was a lot more fierce up there as well as the danger of rock slides. Then, Kiara started talking about the animals and monsters living in the mountains. Territorial ones were the most troubling. Or at least that's how she talked about them.
"Ah, right, seems like the sun is going down," she stated, as the party took in the beautiful sunset, "The next branch should be… here."
She stuffed the map away and quickly led the party to a cave. It was a large one, enough to house them and Temma's horse with ease. As they set up camp for the night, they heard strange noises coming from further in.
"What was that?" asked Polka.
"I don't know..." murmured Nene, "Do we find out what's going on?"
"Hmm, it depends, I suppose," stated Temma, "Are the noises going to be disturbing our sleep?"
"I feel curious about it," said Leda suddenly, "I suddenly have the need to investigate."
The knight sighed and asked, "Are you sure about this?" Getting a nod from his friend, he muttered, "Right, and as usual, you won't let up until you find out."
"You know me too well," said the lightning genasi with a smile.
Shrugging, the knight took charge. Being that the ceiling was a little low, he was forced to leave Casa behind. After making sure that the reins were secure, they ventured in deeper into the cave. Polka helped with her driftglobe, lighting up the place so that everyone could see. It was surprising to a few of them that the cave went that far back. All manner of stalagmites and stalactites dotted the place, sometimes narrowing the cave in some places. After a while, a voice suddenly called out to them, "Stop."
"Eh? Who said that?" asked Civia aloud after the party stopped in their tracks.
"Leave now."
"Umm, so… Who is asking us to stop?" asked Nene with interest.
"No come. Go away."
"That kind of sounds like broken Common. Weird," said Civia, "That one sounded a little different too."
"Two somethings?" asked the fennec fox monk, "What are they, guards?"
"If they are guards… what are they guarding?" asked Kiara.
"Allow me to try," spoke up Leda as he stepped forward. Focussing his concentration, he reached out with his mind, "Did someone bring you here? Do you have a leader we can talk to?"
Silence. Then, the two voices spoke up in alternate sentences, "Speak with master? Do we bring them? We're guards, master's wishes. But they seek the master. I'll bring them. Yes, yes."
From behind a shadow of a large stalactite, a green, floating head with a large toothy mouth flew out, shocking and surprising them. It had four extra eyes attached to eye stalks growing out the side of the head.
"Follow," it rasped out before floating ahead of them. The party looked at each other for a moment and followed after it.
The cave was very straightforward and they ended up in a large, cavernous area. They could see one corner of the place illuminated by candlelight. As they were led closer, a few strange voices started addressing them.
"Saved by horse. Horse with horns."
"Fire, fire, bird. Dead and life."
"What in the world was that about?" questioned the bard as they got closer. The others were just as confused as the owners of the voices hid behind the stalactites.
A robed figure stood over a magic circle, which was glowing with flowing power. Another of those green floating heads was observing from above. Slowly, a medium-sized chunk of stone materialized in the center and the glow died down.
"Master, many guest want talk," the floating head rasped out.
The figure turned to face them and spoke, "Guests? I was not expecting guests."
"You!" shouted Aloe in surprise, "You're the guy that summoned me!"
The summoner narrowed his eyes and backed away in suspicion. "What!? How did you find me!?" he shouted as he glared at them, recognizing some of them, "Who sent you now!? I will not be disturbed when I am this close! Kill them! Kill them all!" His voice echoed through the cave.
"What!? Wait a minute!" exclaimed the succubus.
The ground then shuddered as the chunk of stone suddenly unfolded itself, becoming an earth elemental. She quickly clamped her mouth shut. The green head that led them joined its hovering brethren. Behind them, the third head made its appearance. Two more aberrations appeared, the owners of the voices. Strange, twisted humanoids with taloned feet and hands, brown spikes and protrusions running all over its back, and a singular green eye.
"My research will not be stopped!" declared the summoner as he teleported away.
"Damn it," swore the knight as they got ready for a fight, "To arms! Defend yourselves!"
Polka, being behind the front line, decided to take on the monsters at the back. One of those floating heads and the two muttering mini cyclops. At least that's how she sees it. As Botan and Civia tried shooting the floating head out of the air, she rushed towards the nearest muttering monster.
"Eat! Eat!" it shouted as an emerald beam suddenly shot out of its eye.
She tried cartwheeling around it and it almost missed, but it grazed against her side. She grit her teeth and swallowed down the cry of pain as she landed. She pushed herself forward and flew forward knee-first, her tattoos gleaming purple. The monster shrieked and covered its eye with both hands, her knee crashing against it. As she landed, she shifted her leg around into a sweep. As it jumped, she suddenly rose and landed a punch into its chest.
"Tch," she sounded as it landed on its feet, clutching its chest. It then suddenly turned and ran away.
"Hey! Get back here!" she shouted as she lashed out with a kick and caught it in the elbow.
"Never mind that!" called out Aloe as she landed nearby, green blood staining her claws, "Help the others!"
"Yosh!" she shouted in reply as she turned and ran like the wind, intent on joining Kiara, Nene, and Temma.
A flying kick that missed later, she landed next to the earth elemental and punched its leg, cracking it a little. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of Leda's eldritch blasts getting reflected back into his chest. She grimaced inwardly as the elemental shrugged off the bard's and the chef's attacks as it slammed its rocky fists into the knight. He blocked one with his glaive but failed to react in time to another slamming into his shoulder.
"Take this!" he roared as he fought back, his weapon chipping away at its natural armor. Then, he and the chef got their heads blasted by a multicolored beam fired by the eyestalks of the two floating heads. A translucent cloud of shifting colors covered their head and left them in a daze.
As shocked as she was, she continued to focus on the elemental, her rapid punches slowly chipping away at the rock. Her hands were getting a little sore though. Suddenly, Nene sang a high note. Her voice seemed to echo through the cave and even reverberate through her skull.
"Yikes, is she using magic to turn it up?" Polka groaned inwardly as her ears started to hurt a little. Suddenly, large chunks of the earth elemental crumbled and shattered to little pieces, falling off its animated body like rubble. It then started seeing the bard as a threat as it tried pummelling her instead of the knight.
Suddenly, Kiara stabbed her in the shoulder with her sword. "ARGH! Hey, what's the big idea!?" she shouted as the cloud dissipated over the chef's head.
"Oh, my gods! I'm so sorry!" yelped the chef as she leaped back in horror, "I thought I was hitting the rock."
"...It's fine… those heads must have messed with yours. I forgive you," the monk stated as Temma finished off the elemental.
"Thank you!" exclaimed the chef as she hugged her.
"OW!"
"Sorry!"
"Is everyone alright?" asked Nene aloud.
"We're fine here," said Leda while Civia waved.
"Worn out but nothing that some sleep could not remedy," stated Temma with a tired smile.
"Ah, some of us are injured but we'll live," replied Aloe with a smirk before saying seriously, "Although, those eye guys are still around." She then pointed to a cul-de-sac off to the side, "They went there."
"Any idea what they are?" asked Lamy as the party made their way over.
"Dunno," said the succubus with a shrug, "That summoner must have summoned them the same way he summoned me. They must be trapped here too."
"Then, maybe we can reason with them," stated the knight.
As they went nearer, they could hear them muttering non-stop.
"Hello?" called out Kiara.
"Fire bird? What fire bird want?"
"Will you stop calling me that?" asked the chef with a frown.
"Seen it! Seen it!" the speaker shouted.
"Now, now, we should calm down," stated Leda as he and Civia stepped forward, "Now, were you summoned here by your master?"
"Horn girl... but who you?"
"Hmm… in that case… let us talk mentally," stated the lightning genasi and fell silent.
The rest of the party looked on anxiously, keeping a firm grip on their weapons or foci. After a while, Leda announced, "Well, they have agreed to come with us."
"EH!?"
"Well, they, shall we say, are hungry for knowledge," he began to explain, "They want someone or maybe something that can cure them of their condition."
"They weren't like this before. It's… horrible," muttered Nene, pitying the tragic story that was being painted, "Both of them are searching for it?"
"Yes. And they are quite aware and have a sense of our capabilities," he continued, "After telling them about our quest, they became very interested."
"Oh? Why is that?" asked Kiara.
"One of them said something on spellcasters when I mentioned the cloud giant. Perhaps that was it," he mused and then he shrugged, "They might be useful to us… Anyway, let's get back to the entrance. I believe it's time to turn in for the night."
"I will say that I do not trust them," stated Temma as he looked at the aberrations, "I insist on maintaining the watch rotation while they keep their eyes on the entrance."
"I agree. They may have been people before but who knows how their mind has been twisted by their curse," agreed Lamy.
"Sure, we can do all those things," decided the chef, "Come on, we haven't even had our dinner yet. Let's go!"
The night passed without any complications. Those on watch didn't notice anything strange, other than the strange aberrations constantly taking turns looking back at them while they guarded the entrance. The morning was quite wet as it started raining the moment they left the cave to continue their journey. They didn't seem too bothered by the rain but the rest of the party felt quite cold when the wind picked up, except Kiara. The wind and rain soon stopped while the sun's rays grew stronger. It still felt very cold but that soon passed as well as the sun slowly moved to the highest point in the sky.
Suddenly, a shrill cry pierced the air, stopping the party in their tracks. They looked around, keeping their eyes open for sudden attacks. Another shrill cry and suddenly three griffons swooped down to attack them. They flew down and started harrying them.
"What the-!? Why are they attacking us!?" shouted Botan as she tried to fend off the swooping monsters, everyone joining in to try and fight back.
"Argh!" yelled Temma as he was knocked off Casa's saddle, who he had just gotten under control as the griffons spooked it. She was then grabbed by another griffon and they flew off.
"CASA!" the knight yelled as he scrambled to his feet and chased after them.
He skidded to a halt at the edge of the path and looked despairingly at his horse, who was struggling in the monster's claws. Spinning around, he walked up to Kiara and asked, "Are there any places on your map that show where they roost?"
"I don't know… let me see," muttered the chef as she scrutinized the large piece of parchment.
"You do know that it is unlikely that she would be alive if we do reach them, right?" asked Leda solemnly.
"...There is still a chance. A slim chance, I know, but… I must at least try," admitted the knight, "If I simply gave up like that… she has been with me since young, I have to try."
"Hmm, alright. Based on the direction of where they are flying… we may not make it in time," stated the chef, "We follow the path and take the right branch at the first junction. We should end up circling around a small plateau that could have housed their nesting site."
"Let's go," declared Temma resolutely as he went on ahead of the party.
"He seemed pretty torn up," muttered Polka.
"Well, since he must have grown up together with his horse since she was a foal," reasoned Botan as the party followed after him, "If anything, we should help him."
"We better pick up the pace," mused Nene. Turning to Aloe, she asked, "Can you fly on ahead? To make sure they are there?"
"Eyes in the sky again?" grumbled the succubus, "I guess… I could dry my wings faster, I suppose." Flicking her wings open, she took off and went on ahead.
It didn't take too long to reach the plateau. Temma picked up the pace the moment they reached the path circling upwards.
"Hey, wait! Slow down!" called out the lightning genasi but the knight threw caution to the wind and hurried on ahead.
"Damn it," swore the succubus as she met up with the rest of the party again, "We better chase after him. The griffons are already eating his horse. And there are actually four of them. Hurry!"
They quickly ran after him while taking care not to fall off the path. Unfortunately…
"NO! CASA!"
"Crap, he saw them," muttered Aloe as the rest caught up with him.
Four griffons surrounded the dead horse and were busy feasting on its flesh until the knight's cries drew their attention. A large nest made of sticks and branches was off to the far side, near to the edge. Two of the griffons looked larger than the other two and had duller plumage. All four of them screeched and screamed loudly as they moved to surround them. Meanwhile, the knight had fallen to his knees and was staring at the dead body of his mount, his glaive on the ground by his side.
"Er, Temma, snap out of it," stated Leda worriedly, "We're getting surrounded." It was then, the griffons surged forward and attacked.
AN: Hello again, readers. Welcome back. We finally get into our mountain adventure. After getting a little rundown of the place, we stop by a cave for another encounter. We have a summoner, the same one summoned Aloe into this world, and he has been up to similar stuff. The green heads are spectators, a type of beholder-kin, and the one-eyed creatures are nothics, supposedly wizards who chased immortality and screwed up, the backfire of the spell or ritual cursing them to become these creatures. And after that, we have the setup for the next chapter. It is unfortunate that Casa has now been eaten by griffons.
Next chapter, we watch them beat up some griffons and move on with it. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.