As Alain and his companion Nokum-Akkum walked through Bastok Market's shortly after leaving the President's offices above the Metalworks he could not help but think about the possibility that the Shadowlord still somehow lived. If they had somehow failed to kill him then how did they manage to survive the battle? They had injuries, at least he thought they did, the memories were blurred.
His Tarutaru companion seemed less concerned despite seemingly suffering from the same amnesia of the events in the Northlands. Nokum-Akkum was small in stature, but his huge personality made up for that and he often preferred to charge head strong into any given situation rather than think about it first. It was those qualities and his aggression in battle that made him such a perfect Warrior. Such a way of thinking had its downsides though, such as not taking interest in whatever strange thing had happened while they fought the Shadowlord.
It was not common for Tarutaru to become professions that demanded such physical exuberance or power and they preferred instead to focus on mental power and Light or Dark Magic. In his travels Alain had seen many Tarutaru Black Mages unleash frighteningly strong magic spells, but in comparison to the fierceness Nokum-Akkum had on the battlefield it was nothing.
His train of thought was abruptly broken as an axe was tossed up and down in front of him, very nearly missing the tip of his nose. He recoiled in surprise and swore as he looked down and saw Nokum-Akkum juggling his single handed axes.
"You almost took my nose off!"
The Tarutaru bent backwards and peered up at him, "Don'taru walk behind me then!"
Ahead of them both lay the central square of Bastok Markets where many miners, fishers, and crafters peddled their goods. It was a good place to disappear into a crowd and escape notoriety. Shoppers searching the large selection of bazaars were always to busy looking for a deal to care who was walking past them. The same could not be said for walking the more lonely streets of the port or mines.
As they past by the huge white fountain in the direct middle of the square Alain glanced at it as it periodically shot squirts of water up in a pattern until the very peak poured downwards over all the lower sections and began over again. At the edge children sat and would stick their hands out over the water collected at the base of the fountain to feel the squirting jet streams patter off them.
It was while looking in that direction that he spotted Naji rushing through the crowds on the opposite side of the street with two musketeers close behind. Calling Nokum-Akkum back to him he quickly turned and ran to meet him a short distance back the way they came.
"Alain, Nokum-Akkum, am I glad to see you two?" Naji exclaimed, out of breath from running a great distance. "Look, I can't stop, I have to go get some more help and tell…"
He paused as he ran out of breath and gasped a few times.
"What happened?"
"In Oldton…I don't know what is going on but there are alarms sounding every where in there… and the Moblins and Bugbears have gone insane! They are attacking anyone still inside the caverns. I've evacuated all the miners, but we couldn't find that ambassador! Look…if you can come with us I'd really appreciate it, you know how to get there, right? I have to go, this can't wait!"
With that the Hume shot off with his two companion's right behind him.
The Moblins and to a certain extent even the Bugbears had always been quite passive with adventurers and miners wandering around the caverns collectively known as Oldton Movalpolos and only seemed to turn aggressive if anyone wandered into the areas known as Newton. To hear that all of them had suddenly turned violent towards anyone in the caverns was shocking. There had to be some reason for the sudden violence and although he had been in there a few times he had never heard any kind of alarm on any occasion.
He looked around his feet expecting to see his companion, but Nokum-Akkum was already gone. He sighed and ran down the street heading to the residential area. He had to be quick in collecting his equipment if he was going to catch up with the head strong Tarutaru.
Along the grey rocky landscape of North Gustaberg Nokum-Akkum sprinted at top speed. He did not bother going to fetch the rest of his equipment from home, all he needed was his axes that he carried everywhere with him. He prided himself on his evasive abilities. The horrible blue Bastokan Aketon he had worn to the meeting with President Karst would not last very long in a brawl whether he was hit or not, but he did not care about that.
North Gustaberg was relatively safe for the most part as it was patrolled regularly by musketeers to keep the Quadev and Goblin population down. Sheep grazed where they could find grass while lizards enjoyed staying near the hot springs in South Gustaberg, occasionally wandering further out in search of food. It was the place where many young people keen to start a career in the musketeers received their training and where freelance adventurers in training hunted the animals for hides, skins, and furs to sell at market.
There were a few entrances into the caverns inhabited by the Moblins, but the easiest and closest was a short distance northeast of one of Bastok's main gates. It being so close to the city gates was what made Bastok so cautious about the Moblins, so the news that they had suddenly become completely aggressive would cause a lot of fuss.
On his way to Oldton he passed a fledgling adventurer, a Hume female who (despite her young age) was already a lot taller than him. She was not a musketeer in training as her wears were simple fabric and her sword not a standard issue long sword favoured by the musketeer light infantry. He paused after running past and hopped back a bit to look again as she bent over to collect the hide of a lizard she had slain to sell at market to crafters. Grinning, he called to her and waved. The girl turned and waved back.
"You look eager to be someplace, what's going on?" She asked innocently. "A load of musketeers went by here not long ago in a real hurry, but they didn't stop to tell me anything."
"There's trouble-wouble in Oldton! I'm heading there now!" He moved off and called back as he broke into a sprint, "There's going to be a fightaru!"
He heard her sweet laugh as he shot up a steep dusty slope.
Had he have ran into a male adventurer he probably would not have been so forthcoming with information. Adventurers had a habit of trying to steal jobs out from under each other (particularly the professional thieves). He had learned that the hard way in his early days. Mention in a tavern about some well paid job to deliver goods or hunt some items and you can be sure any freelance adventurers within earshot will jump at the chance to beat you to the goal. Alain would tell him he was just far too cynical about the competition, but he just did not like them. Despite such harsh feelings and dislike of sharing information to other adventurers, he still had a soft spot for foreign ladies. He grinned from ear-to-ear as he carried on across the gravel ridden path.
It was not long before he saw the entrance into the caverns that he planned to use. At its black opening two worried looking musketeers stood with weapons brandished and shields against their sides. They stood just within the darkness of the cavern, but were still easily spotted by his keen eye. They stood decisively in the way of Oldton to stop anyone entering.
On the far side of the entrance up a small mound were a group of people in miner's garb and a few adventurers wearing scale body armour. Most of them seemed injured and wore bloodied bandages and slings. Those amongst the group of injured with knowledge of White Magic did their best to heal the wounds, stopping blood flowing freely and sealing open cuts. The magic would also alleviate pain and bring numbness to sooth the injured recipient.
A guard raised his shield, "Stop right there. By order of Mythril Musketeer Naji no one is permitted to enter Oldton Movalpolos due to a state of emergency being declared."
Nokum-Akkum glared up at the Hume, "Naji sentaru me on ahead! Get out the way so I can do my stuff!"
The Hume starred at the Tarutaru, visibly shocked by his words, before looking to his companion who seemed as equally surprised. They looked as though they could not make up their mind whether to be angry or show respect as the aketon he wore was not something just anyone would wear.
"This isn't the kind of situation an adventurer can handle," the other Hume said. "Look there; there is adventurers there with far superior equipment to you that were beaten in battle by the rampaging creatures."
He grinned and their annoyance grew.
Suddenly from the darkness of the entrance to Oldton a huge bulbous orange skinned arm reached out and completely wrapped itself around the body of one of the knights who was taken completely by surprise. He had little time to utter anything beyond a shocked exclamation as he was pulled backwards as easily as if he were a doll into the darkness.
His fellow musketeer quickly rushed in after him with sword and shield at the ready. Nokum-Akkum called to the wounded adventurers not to come after them and then followed with an axe in each hand leaping every few steps into the darkness trying to catch up.
Adjusting to the darkness did not take him long, Tarutaru eyes adapted quickly. The musky smell of dust heavy air filled his nostrils as he sprinted downwards and he could already hear the wailing of a siren coming from further down. In just a short time the gravel ground became covered in wooden tracks used for dragging mining carts up and down through Oldton. The sword and shield of the musketeer that had been attacked lay strewn on the ground obviously dropped as the Hume was dragged deeper and deeper in. He passed by one cart that had been completely knocked from the tracks and crushed against the side of the cave, a tell tale sign of what had grabbed the musketeer.
The small cave opened up into a huge room filled with wooden structures made and maintained largely by the Beastman population. Dim lamps hung from edges where shaky railings stood as the only preventive tool against falling into the bleak abyss below. Large bats flew around the tops of the caves, disturbed by what was going on.
The musketeer that had been grabbed lay on the wooden floor and was not moving. Nokum-Akkum did not know any sort of White Magic and knew there was nothing he could do to help him now, the creature that attacked them had crushed his stomach. He carried on over the wooden floorboards in search of the fiend responsible and the second musketeer.
Around a thick natural rock formation the wooden floor twisted tightly in a circle shape. Collections of grates, urns, Moblin backpacks, and mining equipment lay strewn in all directions. He heard the sounds of battle as he reached the corner and knew he had found the second musketeer.
The fiend was a Bugbear, a huge monstrous beast covered in heavy breathing apparatus. Its bright orange skin was covered in brown and grey blotches and his muscles were gigantic. Compared to Nokum-Akkum it was at least four times his height and far larger in mass.
The musketeer was doing his best to avoid the Bugbear's powerful swings rather than attempt to block them, which was wise on his part. Unfortunately with each missed swing the monster grew angrier and with the anger came an increase in the ferocity and frequency of the swings. Eventually the musketeer stumbled after having a swing of his sword parried by the Bugbear's plated gauntlet and knew he could not avoid the next attack.
Letting his sword drop from his hand he pushed forwards with an open palm pointing it directly at the Bugbear and yelled out "Flash". Nokum-Akkum stopped rushing forwards and looked away just in time as from the musketeers hand grew a blinding white light. There was a moment of silence followed by a deep thud and yell of pain.
Nokum-Akkum darted forwards anyway, but he knew there was nothing he could do. The second musketeer was struck in the side by the left fist of the Bugbear. Despite being able to raise his shield in time to take the brunt of the damage the momentum of the strike knocked him sideways with such force that he rolled towards and over the edge of the wooden platform. His cries became hollow echoes as he vanished into the darkness below.
The spell he had cast was meant to blind an opponent to disorientate them and momentarily remove their sight. However, the breathing apparatus the Bugbear used came fitted with a mask covering its entire head. Its large eyes were protected by a darkened glass that absorbed bright light and protected him against the spells effects, leaving the musketeer completely open.
A fist slammed down into the wooden floor smashing straight through it as the Bugbear tried to hit the agile Tarutaru. Nokum-Akkum side stepped the attack before jumping onto the arm of the fiend and running up it. As he reached the top he forward flipped over the Bugbear's head slashing sideways with each axe as he went.
Twisting after landing safely on the far side, he saw the two tubes attached to either side of the Bugbear's mask slice open and flail wildly as gas escaped. The Bugbear's hands swung around in the air and it struck in every direction before eventually coming to a stop half hunched over. The Tarutaru squeaked as the body of his defeated foe collapsed backwards towards him.
The wooden platform gave way with a creak as the Bugbear's body fell against it and a hole opened as it fell through the floor and out of sight. It let out a gurgled roar as it went. There was just enough strength left on either side of the hole to stop the whole platform giving in and collapsing altogether. Nokum-Akkum carefully positioned himself before leaping over the hole the defeated Bugbear made and headed back around the rocks.
He skidded to a halt as another mass of orange bulk awaited him right around the tight corner. He peered upwards at another Bugbear that had heard the cries of its brethren. It raised its fist up ready to slam it down on the Tarutaru.
Around the Bugbear's body appeared a shining yellow light that seemed to form two circles that crossed over one another and tightened themselves around it, pinning its arms to its side. Tilting his head to one side, Nokum-Akkum blew a raspberry at the person he knew was behind the second Bugbear. A black blade swept around and caught the Bugbear's head as it struggled to break free cutting deep into it and toppling it enough to force it off the edge.
"Don'taru even think thataru Stun counts as saving me, Alain!" the Tarutaru muttered.
Resting his Great Sword on his shoulder Alain looked at Nokum-Akkum and shook his head, "Never using your head, are you?"
"I had to go in to try and savey-wave those musketeers…I didn'taru manage to do thataru though…"
Naji and a large group of armed musketeers were close behind him. Naji ordered them to secure the entrance and to block off the way Nokum-Akkum had taken by breaking the platform completely. That left only one other way out of the large chamber other than the path back to the surface.
A loud siren continued to ring through the caverns from some unknown origin. Alain had never heard anything like it in there, but it could not bode well. The Bugbears were the most violent of Movalpolos' inhabitants, but they had never initiated battles with musketeers in Oldton before. It was possibly the siren that had brought about the increased aggression in them, but he could see no cause for it.
From the other path into the cavern appeared two Moblin, one in fabric apparatus and another in metal, with weapons drawn and growling. Four of the musketeers met them on the centre of the platform they had come from and began to fight. From his side Naji drew a long sword and called the rest into action to help.
"Whataru will Naji do now?" his friend asked him.
Alain spoke as he watched the musketeers easily disposed of the two aggressive Moblin with Naji's help, "He'll probably order a retreat, and maybe seal the entrance as well to prevent further conflict…"
"Isn'taru the San d'Orian ambassador still missing around here someplace?"
He nodded.
"Well! Thataru is just no good! I'm going to find him!"
With that, Nokum-Akkum shot off in the direction the two Moblin had come, running straight through the legs of two of the musketeers as he went. Alain drew his weapon once more and ran after his friend as he vanished into another cavern.
In the middle of the next platform beyond a short tunnel another fight broke out. He found Nokum-Akkum disposing of a number of Moblin that seemed to be led by one covered in blood red armour. Picking the one brandishing a small sword as his target, Alain rushed into battle immediately battering the flimsy weapon away from the surprised Moblin before remove its head in a clean strike. He turned to see another of the Moblin that had come towards him be run through by a short sword. Naji and three musketeers were by their side.
"The rest will guard the entrance so we have an escape route secured," the Mythril Musketeer explained, "Let's find this Elvaan and get out of here!"
The continued seeing off the groups of Moblin, Goblin, and Bugbear they encountered as they followed the weaving path further into the huge room. They met with increasing numbers of enemies and more could be seen across the way seemingly on the way over to them with weapons already drawn.
While he ran through another opponent and Nokum-Akkum threw one of his axes directly into the skull of a Goblin, Naji ran between them straight at another Bugbear. As he reached the fiend he pulled his long sword up into the air and it glowed with purple light as specs of energy seemed to be born around it and absorbed into its metal.
"Vorpal Blade!"
Naji's movements became a blur as he unleashed a series of four slashes empowered by energy surrounding his weapon. The last strike ended with three shockwaves of power bursting from the Bugbear as its skin ruptured and its diced body collapsed as air escaped through its torn breathing apparatus sending torn fabric in all directions.
Amazing, he's really improved, Alain thought to himself.
The Moblin's they had moved past to take out the more dangerous Bugbear had been disposed of by the musketeers leaving them with a moments rest before the next wave would make its way around to them.
Out the corner of his eye Alain saw something. It was black and moving fast. It definitely was not a Moblin, Goblin, or Bugbear as it was far to fast. Whatever it was it was shooting across the platform where he had seen a large group of monsters pass through to find their way to them. Turning fully he was amazed to see that it was a person, a Hume by the looks of things, dressed in strange black fabrics he had never seen before.
From where the figure had appeared came a huge amount of enemies all seemingly intent on catching the mysterious person. By this point the others had noticed as well and were all watching from across the dark void separating the two separate paths.
The figure cloaked in black stopped on the spot and let five of the Moblin encircle him. As they closed in to strike he dropped to on knee before spinning on the spot sweeping around with one outstretch leg sending a pulse of power out from around him knocking the creatures off the path and over the edge.
A Bugbear bore down on the figure and raised its huge fist. Slamming down with all its might the creature grunted with confusion as its fist struck the raised wrist of the clocked person and did not flinch. The beast pulled back with its other fist and tried again, but the persons other wrist easily held back the force without so much as a shunt.
Now furious, the Bugbear pulled back and flexed its arms as dust blew out the sides of its mask. It slammed down with both fists simultaneously and smashed the wooden platform completely. The figure vanished or moved, faster than Alain could keep up with. Had the person cast Warp or some other magic? The Bugbear raised its fists against and looked at the underside expecting to see crushed remains. It peered at the base of its hands for a few seconds apparently very confused.
The figure cloaked in black appeared at its side. As it twisted to face them, the person's concealed fist battered into the fat orange belly of the beast catapulting it meters off the edge with such force that the helpless creature smashed into the stone wall of the cavern some distance away before slipping from it and down out of sight.
What is he!
The hooded figure turned to face them and Alain readied his weapon, not sure what to expect. The figure seemed to look down below them and pointed with a concealed arm. Alain walked closer to the edge and looked down. Below them was a series of struts, boards, and other supports. He gasped as he saw a body laying on one of the thin boards – it was an Elvaan. He looked back up to find that the figure dressed in black was gone.
"It's the ambassador!" Naji exclaimed. "There must be a rope around here somewhere, search quickly before more enemies arrive!"
Two of the musketeers back tracked into the chamber before where much of the mining equipment brought in by Bastoken's lay in the hope of finding a sturdy and long enough rope to lower one of them down in order to rescue the ambassador. More enemies continued to attack them in the meantime, but were easily disposed of by Alain, Naji, and Nokum-Akkum.
Eventually the two musketeers returned with two more from the group Naji had left at the entrance with two thick ropes in hand. They carefully positioned themselves so the lightest of them (Nokum-Akkum) could be lowered down. Once down there he secured a rope around the unconscious Elvaan before being easily pulled back up. Making sure the rope did not cut itself on the each of the platform they heaved the much heavier Elvaan slowly up to them.
"Good job it wasn'taru a Galkan ambassador!" Nokum-Akkum muttered as he did his best to help pull.
The musketeers took the ambassador in their arms and fled the chamber with them close behind.
As they ran back into the first chamber and then into the thin stretch of cave which wound back up to the surface Alain was sure something was different. He realized it as they ran; the strange alarms had stopped. He was not sure when, whether it was when they had rescued the ambassador or when the strange figure they saw easily disposed of the creatures in hand-to-hand combat vanish without a trace.
Something was not right and he knew he had to get to the bottom of it before leaving on the President's secret mission. Hopefully the Elvaan ambassador would have some answers.
