It didn't take them long to reach the maintenance hut. Tucked in between the jungle and at the end of a wider road stood a large building, more resembling a storage hall than a hut. The building showed an almost round structure, with straight walls in between structural pillars. On top, a tent-like roof increased the height of the building by a third. The whole structure was painted in jungle colors, nearly blending into the surrounding nature.
The road led to a huge gate with seemingly no mechanism to open it from the outside. A smaller path ran alongside the hut.
"It seems the goblins wanted to make this building less interesting to potential dinosaurs wandering around. Surprising forethought. There are a lot of old tracks on the path," Gortak said.
"The door where the card might work is probably at the end of that path," Tilani said.
"Probably," he said. "Stay vigilant. We shouldn't give the gnome an opening to surprise us."
In response, Tilani drew her sword and shield. The group crept along the building until they reached a large, reinforced door. On it's right side a metallic panel sat inside the wall. They saw a card sized slit above a slowly shimmering blue rune.
"Ka'la, can you check for any magical booby traps? Who knows what the goblins considered necessary as security measures," Gortak whispered.
"Will do." Ka'la raised her arms towards the panel, muttered arcane words under her breath, igniting a soft bluish shimmer around her hands. Her face became strained with concentration before relaxing again.
"Dere are no strong magical currents. It seems to be a simple mechanism," she said.
Gortak drew out the card from inside his armor. "Alright then, let's see if this works."
He inserted the card. The blue rune increased it's wafting, a quiet zipping sound emanating from the panel. Then, it changed to red, the crystal in the middle turned a solid red and a distant voice spoke, "Access denied."
"Darn It! Would've been too easy," Gortak said, punching one fist into his palm.
"What do we do now? Shall we try entering by force?" Tilani asked.
"If this attempt had not already alarmed him, force will. But I brought two shots of explosive ammunition. Although, I'm unsure this will be enough for this door," Gortak said.
"Da mechanism is small and closed, magically speaking. Possibly nobody inside knows about us," Ka'la said.
"Then I'd argue to look for another card first, before we try anything rash. Getting this door open seems not that easy. We would've to expend quite some resources with a big chance of being attacked right away. The arrows might come in handy against anything bigger than a gnome," Tilani said.
"The roller coaster mountain is to the south again, but close. Let's move then." Gortak knelt down to Drisk. "Keep a lookout to the rear, if anything is trying to sneak up on us." Drisk yawned in response and pushed his head into Gortak's side, before moving to the back.
They took the direct path through the jungle towards the mountain and had to move down a ridge. Upon coming closer they could see big openings in the volcano-like mountain, connected by railroads fastened to the side. Based on the map the main entry was on the other side, but they were sure to find some opening in the back as well.
After a short while of searching along the foot of the mountain they in fact found an open maintenance hatch. Here in the back, away from the eyes of paying customers, the goblins seemed to have skimped on further expenses. The opening was pretty much a hole in the mountain, crates lining the walls and a small railroad for transporting goods snaked through the tunnel. Behind a door they came upon a huge hall, resembling a natural cave.
Above their heads the roller coaster track wound itself through the cave. Different dinosaur habitats were depicted on the main floor as well as on various levels.
"Uh, can we take a ride?" Ka'la asked.
"We aren't here for fun. Also, aren't you the one usually opting for the safe route?" Tilani answered.
"Hey mon, tis not for fun. We ought to have the best view of the cave from there. Maybe even an attendant dropped his card for us to spot."
"Yeah, sure, very likely."
"What's the harm? Let's check out if it even runs," Gortak said. Tilani peered incredulously at him.
"I didn't expect that from you!"
"Yeah well, you got to try out new things, I guess," Gortak said, moving towards the starting point of the ride.
Ka'la shrugged facing Tilani and followed Gortak, grinning.
"I hope I can omit this part from my report to my Order," Tilani sighed.
The ride started inside a small hut. Multiple carts were waiting for them. They found the controls in a side room and after pulling on a couple of levers a huge sputtering metal contraption began rumbling to life.
"Jump in. I can start a cart from here, I think," Gortak said.
Ka'la got in and sat down at the front. Tilani glanced around the cart, checking the build, striking it with the butt of her sword occasionally. With some muttering she got onto the cart choosing a seat in the middle. Gortak pulled a lever and hurried into the cart before it picked up speed. With a lurch forward the cart got onto the proper track and descended gently into a dark tunnel. Music began to play, drums and flutes awakened a feel of epic adventure. A deep voice narrated, "Before time began, ferocious dinosaurs walked the land."
The tunnel opened into a larger cavern representing a lush jungle. Small two-legged dinosaurs peeked curiously at the group from behind trees. The narration continued explaining the various sights and interesting details of each scenery. In between sets the cart continued to roll through shadowed tunnels before changing into a steep incline.
"Ah, now we are coming up onto the fun parts," Ka'la said, grinning.
Their ride accelerated, the explanations and side seeing seemingly at an end.
"Yeah, the one were we probably fall to our death because of goblin negligence," Tilani said. She gripped the rail in front of her seat tightly.
"Come on, this looks perfectly safe and new…"
Just this moment the cart turned, resulting in an ear-splitting tearing sound and they dropped into free fall.
"Ahh, hold on to the vines!" Gortak shouted. Gortak jumped, gripping a vine, sliding along a slick wall and managed to slow down his fall. Ka'la missed to hold on, but called forth her magic counteracting her fall.
Tilani snorted. "The Light gives me strength!" she growled. She landed with a thunderous thumb in a kneeling position, bright light coming off of her body.
"Yep, fun to be had." She shook her head at the slowly descending Ka'la. Gortak climbed down, while Drisk jumped off the falling cart just before it slammed onto the ground, the walls of the cave amplifying the noise.
"Ah, look! Even more fun," Tilani said, drawing her sword and pointing towards the wall of the cavern.
A Stegosaurus had been crowded into an inescapable situation by a group of 8 Velociraptors. Some raptors got distracted by the ruckus of the falling cart and decided to investigate the group. The Stegosaurus, fear in his eyes, decided to use this distraction for an attack. It roared and charged towards one raptor slamming it to the ground and trampling over it.
"Is that a seat strapped on da Stegosaurus? Even looks like someone is still sitting on it," Ka'la asked.
"Yes, you're right. This might be a park attendant. Doesn't look very alive, though," Tilani said.
"Can we help dat dino then?"
"We won some attention already. Let's focus on these raptors first," Gortak said. He drew his rifle and sent Drisk attacking with a whistle.
"Fine by me. Let's spill some Blood!" Tilani shouted, a bright rune of light pulsed on her shield as she rushed forward. Ka'la sent a Frostbolt flying at the nearest raptor, slowing the beast down. Gortak decided to aim at that beast as well and with a successful hit the raptor went down slowly, still quite rigid from the cold.
Another raptor charged at the oncoming Tilani and jumped, it's big claws outstretched trying to rake the slender elf. With a slight sight step, she let the raptor slide along her shield, while pulling her sword over it's ridge. It connected with the raptors neck producing a deep gash. It fell into a heap and lay still.
The largest raptor in the middle of its pack looked in their direction. With only a second of consideration it held its head up high, emanating a hissing sound that ended in a gurgling noise. The bulk of the pack immediately changed their attention towards the group. Only two raptors remained defensively occupying the Stegosaurus.
They fanned out, swarming the attackers.
"Make sure they don't get around us! Defend your sides and stay in a line! Mage, use the terrain around us to your advantage," Gortak shouted.
"Right with ya, mon!" Ka'la concentrated on the right side. Green light lept around her hands and with a word of power she pointed towards a raptor on the far side of the pack. Vines and roots shot out of the ground slamming into the surprised raptor, pinning it to the wall and clogging the way around this side. She repeated the spell to their left, but the clever beast there was not as easily surprised anymore. It jumped nimbly away from the oncoming earth, but the effect of blocking the raptors still remained.
The alpha raptor began running, pushing past a pack mate. It had locked onto Ka'la recognizing her as a major threat. Tilani's finely tuned instincts as a protector activated. While engaged in a fight with another raptor, she decided to neglect her own safety and ran in front of the unsuspecting mage. The smaller raptor used this opening to rake at her side. A short outcry was the only thing she allowed, gritting her teeth. It was enough to disrupt the alpha beast from it's trajectory. Its force slammed into her shield, reeling her back. Nimbly, she dissuaded the energy with a spin and directed her sword into her previous attacker.
"Ka'la, watch out!" Tilani shouted.
The troll saw her incoming predicament. She raised her arms rigidly, shouting. Just in time, a shockwave of ice erupted around her, pinning the big raptor in place. She looked around quickly and moved to a better position behind Tilani, casting another frost bolt.
"Focus on the Alpha! We might scatter them, when it goes down!" Gortak shouted.
And focus they did. Ka'la channeled her attack spell rotation she had learned in the last months of her training. Gortak took aim for the beasts head, using a special imbued shot and let loose. The force smacked into one eye and let the head reel to the side. Tilani let a golden hammer of light fall onto the raptor sealing it's demise.
As anticipated the other raptors stirred undecided for a moment, looking back and forth, before slowly moving back.
"Well, that went quite well. I can't wait to show that gnome what we're capable of," Tilani said, before going down to a knee, letting her shield fall to the ground.
"Tilani! Ya' bleeding!" Ka'la cried out, rushing to her side.
"Just a scratch. I take care of this. Make sure to check out the passenger on the side of the Stegadon. And don't get yourself trampled."
"Ah, right," Ka'la said.
"She is right, the dinosaur is still spooked and dangerous. I'll try to calm it down. Keep behind me and have some freezing spell ready, just in case," Gortak said, putting away his rifle. He approached the Stegadon with open hands, steady and calm, soothing sounds coming from his mouth.
The Stegadon puffed, trampling on its last victimized raptor. It moved right and left with its front paws, eyes wide looking for a way out of the cave.
The hunter applied his years of experience interacting with beasts, able to calm down the agitated dinosaur. Its wounds were minor so far, but it felt very uncomfortable inside the confines of this cave. Usually spending it's time outside in the wilderness, munching through the vegetation with his herd surrounding it. Gortak knew of this and eased it's fears, directing it out of the cave.
Without turning away from the creature, he said to his companions, "Follow us, but keep behind us at a distance. I will check out the dead rider for a card upon leaving the cave. Keep quiet and no sudden moves. But keep an eye out for attacks."
Tilani was still on her knee, holding a brightly glowing hand to her side, her face deep in concentration. She relaxed, the glow dissipating and got up after collecting her shield from the ground.
"Are ya alright, Tilani?" Ka'la whispered to her.
"I'll be fine. Feels a bit stiff, but fully functional. We should consider a rest as soon as we get out of here, though. You look strained as well, after slinging all these spells," Tilani whispered.
"Ya, dat be better. I doubt da gnome will just surrender."
"Unlikely, indeed."
The two followed Gortak out of the cave. No sign of the raptors or other dangers. Outside, the Stegosaurus visibly relaxed and chewed on the first leaves it could find. Gortak padded its side, continuing to appease the hulking but usually docile beast. He arrived at the harness attached to two of the protruding plates on the back of the dinosaur and released it's buckles. It slid off with the corpse of a female orcish park attendant, nearly unrecognizable in her state by now. He carried the remains away from the Stegosaurus and started searching through the rags of the clothing.
"I got a card," he said. "Aka'magosh. Rest in peace," he whispered at the dead orc.
He got up and joined the others, card in his big hand.
"Good, that worked at least. Are you going to leave that corpse like that, for the beasts to feed upon?" Tilani asked.
"It's the way of things. Who am I to deny nature nourishment?"
"Fine, just asking. Is this a good place to rest before going back to the hut?"
"It should suffice. Up that ridge, better to defend." Gortak's voice betrayed a hint of sorrow.