We were now in the jungles that lay south of both Kendo and Kaito territory with Kobo and Sumba. According to information from both prides, the terrain is extremely vehicle-unfriendly and thus a perfect environment for ambushes. After about ten minutes of searching through the jungle for any signs of animal life, we ended up right in front of a small, walled-off encampment. The gate was already open and we went through it. After heading through the gate, we immediately saw several lions wearing strange clothes with rifles on their waists instead of swords hiding in the shadows while two lions stood out in the open. They also wore strange clothes, but I recognized the pattern on them as camouflage. One of the lions had turquoise fur while the other had grayish fur.
"Who might you be? The name is Jeremiah and the gray-furred guy here is Guilford." the turquoise-furred lion said to us.
"I am Kobo, leader of the Kendo in name only." Kobo said to Jeremiah.
"King of the Kaito, name is Sumba. And these friends are Sonic Jr., Shadow Jr., and Argentum." Sumba said to Jeremiah.
"Pleased to meet you, friends. Guilford and I belong to the Gottwald Pride, which lives in this jungle. We still do not trust either of you as people from both Kaito and Kendo have intruded upon our territory, mostly the Kendo. We kept two of the last intruders alive so that we can discuss how both of your prides can reset our relationship to neutral."
Jeremiah led us to the two prisoners, who were locked in rather decent quarters instead of bleak-looking dungeon cells. Kobo immediately identified them as Curtis and Sean, two members of the last hunting party sent by Kirona, deceased queen of the Kendo. When asked about the other members, Jeremiah said that Guilford had killed the other members since the hunting party was technically a group of trespassers.
"I wonder why your pride is called the Gottwald Pride?" Sumba asked Jeremiah.
"The pride was named after my great-grandfather, Griffith Gottwald. He was the one who had successfully driven the Chimeras out of not only North Island, but he pursued them until they were driven off the planet. In any case, since Kirona is dead, you guys will probably become one pride. However, for that to happen, legal paperwork must be signed." Jeremiah said to Sumba.
Suddenly we received an urgent message telling us to head back to the Northlands from a radio transmission. We told Jeremiah, Guilford, Kobo and Sumba that we were needed elsewhere and left for the Northlands.
