A few days later, Sprigganson Settlement.
Blue Planet stood beside Pops on the porch of his manor, watching people pass by on their way to their next task. Everyone was in a generally better mood than they had been before the rescue, but it was still muted.
An oppressive cloud hung over everyone's heads, many of the lumberjacks muttering to their friends about the recent news that'd been broken to them.
"I can't believe all of E-Rantel was consumed by the undead," Pops said in a tone of disbelief and sorrow, "All those people, all those lives…"
Blue Planet hummed. "Yeah, I found out from a friend of mine. Whole city's gone under now. There are survivors apparently, but I'm not sure how many or where they'll go."
"…Perhaps I can convene a council, get the other supervisors together to come up with a plan and try to take as many of those people as we can. Some of them are our friends, our family. We can't just leave them to fend for themselves."
"But your settlement is so small. Can you really afford to take on so many displaced people? Even if you get everything back in order, that'll be a heavy strain on your resources."
Pops turned to him, giving him a gentle smile. "My people have always been an adaptable and hardy bunch. We'll make do, and we have the dryads to help out as well. It's not set in stone yet, and there's still a lot to consider, a lot to plan, but I'm sure we'll think of something."
For your sake, I sure hope so, Blue Planet thought, retreating into his inner thoughts for the moment.
He'd never been to E-Rantel, but from what he'd heard from Momonga, Ariel, Ra Ra Rasputin, and CZ, it was a fortress city, something that could easily house tens of thousands of people. Even if a majority of the population was consumed, that was still hundreds of refugees to take on and shelter.
Re-Estize, the capital of the kingdom E-Rantel was ruled over, would likely take on the majority of the refugees, but to get to them they'd have to deal with the problem of the undead, and that was an entire other can of worms to worry about.
It was likely the people related to the workers stationed in the Sprigganson Settlement would try to make the trek, and the workers of the settlement would desperately try to bring over whatever family and friends they could.
While they had sustained heavy losses on the part of the non-magical people that lived there by virtue of the wendigos, the Sprigganson Settlement felt bustling enough with the surviving men that managed it. Adding any more would likely put an immense load on their limited amount of resources. That wasn't even considering the fact that without E-Rantel, the druids and lumberjacks would not receive any more traders or supply shipments to replenish their stores.
Did Re-Estize know about E-Rantel's arrangement with the druids? Would they even care to help out such a remote and out-of-the-way place? What would happen to the ecology of the Forest of Tob, which would have to sacrifice more of its own resources to support the increasing population?
Already, Blue Planet was imagining some hapless citizen from the city going out to hunt and getting mauled by whatever predator was lurking out in the trees. Or, perhaps, a remnant of the wendigos that attacked the settlement previously would make a comeback to take advantage of the chaos.
All of these concerns swirled in his mind, and Blue Planet gripped the railing of the porch to steady himself. He came back to his senses when he heard a sharp crack and splinters between his fingers.
"Everything alright, Blue Planet?" Pops asked, noticing that the seilenoi inadvertently destroyed the railing beneath his grip.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry about your porch," Blue Planet muttered, "It's just I was thinking about everything that would have to happen now that the city's destroyed. Your intentions are noble, really, they are, but that's a big undertaking."
"Eh, we'll manage. Like I said though, it's not set in stone. We'll figure something out," Pops waved off.
"I hope you do. I promise I'll do what I can on my end to help you guys out too. You guys don't deserve to rebuild on your own."
"Blue Planet, you already saved my people and I. You and your friends brought back my grandson, my future daughter-in-law, and my missing Dryad-Born. Which brings me to the matter of your payment."
Blue Planet tried to object, but he found his goodwill was pushed back with the infamous stubbornness that came with old age.
"You don't worry too much about us. We'll make sure to take care of things, and if it all does really become very dire, we will seek you out. You're our patron's teachers after all, and we should start giving back more. That's why I'm giving you this."
Pops reached into the folds of his robes, and pulled out the diary of Grover. The leather that bound it was almost as cracked and worn as Pops's skin, though the diary's appearance was more cosmetic than anything else.
"No, you couldn't… This is your sacred text though! Grover left this behind for you guys! I-We couldn't-," Blue Planet started, holding up his hands in protest.
Due to his own shock, Pops was able to manipulate his hands so that he was holding it, the cover with the tree facing upwards towards both of them.
"We have our own translated copies now, and whatever we need we can always get from you or another one of your companions. I like to think of this as my group's purpose of holding onto this book for the one who truly deserved it, and who better to deserve it than the one who taught the writer everything he knows," Pops said kindly.
Whatever argument Blue Planet had died off in his throat, unable to rebuke such an earnest answer from the elderly man. Gingerly, he took the diary, still holding it with both hands.
Unsure what to say, he managed a quiet "Thank you". A swell of emotions rose up in his chest, and the memory of his discovery of what happened to Grover leaped back up to the forefront of his mind.
Should I tell them the truth? All these years, his ancestors always thought some monster ate Grover, and they carried on the wishes and teachings of a dead child, trying to adhere to what he taught them. Would it be fair of me to keep this to myself? Would it be fair to tell them at all?
He tried to place himself in their shoes, tried to envision being a follower of Grover, devoting years of his life to vague, half-remembered traditions that were used to preserve the sanctity of nature.
In a way, it was difficult, not because he couldn't do it, but because when he tried, it always felt like he was observing from a bird's eye view. His love for all living things was vast, and it encompassed the whole, but from a perch so high, could he really take care of every single ant on the ground?
Maybe that was a result of becoming a real-life heteromorph. He wanted to preserve the people of the Sprigganson Settlement, because out of all the living creatures in the forest, the druids and lumberjacks were more than mere ants.
They were his favorite creatures by far. He owed it to them to make sure they lived full, happy lives, under his careful eyes of course.
"You know, Blue Planet, now that we are settling back into things, I've had much more time to think about some of the backed up work we had here in the settlement," Pops said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Oh yeah? I'm sure you'll have a full plate, trying to get everything back to the way it was," he responded politely. He placed the diary in his inventory, keeping it safe from the outside world.
"Certainly, but I did have a thought, and it's very important that this issue be resolved beforehand, to prevent more problems down the road. It's something we can't take care of until Steffens gets back, if he's still alive, under normal circumstances."
There was a pregnant pause, loaded with an unspoken plea. It took Blue Planet a moment, but he recalled that Steffens was the settlement's resident beast master. The memory of a dark, dank barn and the shattered remains of a single egg came along with the name.
"The forest wyverns," he deduced, "I just realized they're still out there, running around. None of the dryads said anything?"
"That's exactly why I'm asking you. Some of the sentries reported seeing ruts and littered scales in the area. Normally, they would be able to handle it, but an enraged forest wyvern is no easy thing to bring down, and a mated pair no less."
Blue Planet smiled wryly. "You need someone that can't easily be hurt. Someone strong enough to take down both of them at the same time."
"I'm sorry. I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't have absolute faith in your abilities. Your love of nature is as great as ours, if not exceeding it entirely. Not to mention I've seen what kind of magic you can use. It easily puts all of ours to shame," Pops grinned back sheepishly.
They shared a laugh, and Blue Planet considered the request. He personally didn't mind helping out Pops with this last adventure before he returned to Nazarick, but while he was a Druid, he wasn't a beast master per se.
He could definitely speak to the animals, or at least read their emotions, and try to calm them down that way. While the dryads would've had problems trying to reign in enraged forest wyverns, he thought he could handle it just fine.
However, Pops specifically mentioned that these wyverns were rescues. They only obeyed the authority of whoever raised them, which would happen to be Steffens. While he could forcibly reign in the animals through mental domination, he didn't want to do that and accidently cause damage to their minds.
If the wyverns were to adhere to a "might makes right" mentality, however…
I think I have the perfect person in mind to help with this. I just hope he doesn't end up getting too into it and accidently hurting the creatures.
"Well, I could definitely speak to the animals, but I wouldn't be able to subjugate them like you're hoping for," Blue Planet said, "But I do know somebody who could do it way more easily than me."
He held up two fingers to his temple, drawing a curious look from Pops while he did so. When he returned to Nazarick, he'd learn that using [message] didn't actually require that he speak aloud. He could speak directly with just his mind.
It beeped twice to signal the connection went through, a gruff, familiar tone coming through. "I swear to god, Ankoro, if it's you again to ask about whether my 'carpets match my drapes', I'm gonna throttle you and throw you out-"
"Uh, it's Blue Planet, actually. Are you busy right now? It cool I ask a favor real quick?"
"Blue? Hey man, what's up? Sorry about that, pretend I never mentioned anything. What did you need?"
As concisely as he could, he explained the situation to his guildmate. Despite all his bluster, Mekongawa proved a good listener. He was so completely silent the entire way through that Blue Planet half-believed he already hung up.
"And that's the short of it," Blue Planet finished, "So what do you say? I know you're probably tired from running around, but if you could just do this one thing for me-"
"Say no more," Beast King Mekongawa said, his voice right beside him. Blue Planet jumped, the bells in his horns jingling from his shock and brief scare.
"Hey, watch it! Those horns of yours look sharp, ya know. I like my eyes intact, so let's keep it that way!" the chimera beast master snipped, pushing away the points of Blue Planet's antlers.
When he turned to face his guildmate, he noticed the [Gate] to his right, just barely out of his peripheral vision. The obsidian doorway was otherwise hard to miss, and many of the lumberjacks that were passing by had fallen flat on their bottoms from trying to move away from its sudden appearance.
Of course, now all their attention was drawn directly to the massive player in front of them, who towered over Blue Planet at nearly three meters, just short of the dragons Nearata and Connaisdiam.
Pops, just like when he first met the heteromorphs of Ainz Ooal Gown, didn't so much as bat an eye at the Beast King's appearance. At best, he raised an eyebrow at the mosaic of animal parts that made up the chimera.
There was a twinkle of awe in the patriarch's eye at the fashionable gold jewelry that Mekongawa wore, fashioned in the likeness of ancient Egyptian pharaohs. While history wasn't Blue Planet's forte, he still appreciated the taste of his guildmate
"My word," Pops started, "You seem to bring more and more interesting friends of yours at the drop of a hat. You sure there isn't anyone else I shouldn't meet?"
"Anyone else? Little man, you're not gonna need anybody else!" Mekongawa scoffed, "Who you see before you is the new Wise King of the Forest! I am the apex of the food chain! I am alpha around here, the absolute strongest! You need some pissy little shit to sit down and pay attention, then you come and get me!"
The chimera began to flex his muscles, fur and scales rippling with raw strength. The quills that made up the back portion of his mane stood up on end, and he spread his wings to their fullest, nearly clipping some hapless lumberjacks.
Goat hooves dug into the ground and the hissing snout of his cobra tail reared up and flared it's hood. As a final touch of his proud display of dominance, his chest began to glow with inner fire, tracing its way up his neck and making his amber eyes stand out.
All in all, it was the most ludicrous and unnecessary display of boasting Blue Planet ever witnessed. It was definitely the way Mekongawa acted back in his Yggdrasil days.
Perhaps getting carried away by his pride, some of the men clapped for him, and a few brave men even cheered. They kept a healthy distance away from him all the same.
Pops got a knowing look in his eye. "I see, so Blue Planet has gotten me only the best then. Granted, you must be something truly special to usurp the old Wise King of the Forest, but looking at you now, I have no doubt you could've done it."
"You're looking at a professional here! I'll get you back your little wyverns, but I'm gonna have my fun first too. So when do we head out?" Mekongawa asked impatiently, crossing his adamantine arms and tapping a hoof.
"I honestly wasn't expecting you to show up so quickly, man. We haven't started prepping yet," Blue Planet said, shaking his head. "I wanted to start scouting a bit first, maybe get a feel for their patrol routes and figure out nesting sites. I still need to collect tracks, dropping samples, investigate potential ecology rivals, and more before we even begin thinking about bringing them back."
"And I still need to pack some rations for the trip as well," Pops declared, causing both guildmates to look at him in surprise.
"Are you sure you want to do that? I understand it's been a few days since the rescue, but there's no shame in just staying home and resting some more. At your age, especially after all the strenuous stuff, you could need it," Blue Planet advised.
Pops barked a laugh. "You're right that I'm old, but I'm far from weak. At least give me a chance to get some jerky and a wineskin of water. I shouldn't take any longer than a few minutes."
The seilenoi looked back to his guildmate to try and gain some help in conceiving the patriarch not to accompany him, but instead, Mekongawa nodded approvingly, flashing his fangs in a gruesome smile.
"I like your grit, old man! Just don't blame me if things get wild out there, or if those wyverns eat you. I don't intend to hold back."
"Mekongawa… ," Blue Planet warned, only to be cut off by the ever present grin of his friend.
"Relax, I got this. I'll make sure they make it home alive! You got healing magic. Anything breaks, you can fix it!" The beastmaster cheekily replied. He remained standing in the pathway of the lumberjacks, only moving when a large group of them needed to pass through.
Anytime they stopped to gawk at Mekongawa, he responded by flexing his muscles or showing off one of the unique aspects of his anatomy, like his horns, wings, tail, or hooves.
Ever the showman. I guess it runs in the family.
Pops must've been reading his thoughts, as when he came back, he walked right up to the beastmaster and asked, "You wouldn't happen to be related to Ankoro Mocchi Mochi at all, would you? I think you'd know her since you both share a mutual friend in Blue Planet."
" 'Course I do! She's my older sister. You got sharper senses than I thought for someone so small and feeble!" Mekongawa praised, which earned him a glare from the seilenoi Druid.
Either taking it in stride or not caring enough to notice the jabs, Pops grunted in agreement. "You both have the same type of smile, and both of you seem to be much larger than life, which can be quite literal in your case."
"Heh. I like your little disciple more and more already, Blue. If you're good to go, then let's set off already! I'm itching for a good fight!"
Mekongawa crouched, spreading his wings and preparing to take to the skies. With a mighty heave, he jumped up, his wings catching the wind and propelling him even higher. While he didn't crack the ground, the wave of dust got everyone coughing and running to avoid the worst of it.
Pops covered his eyes, his robe flapping in the air gales created. "Your friend certainly knows how to impress, Blue Planet!"
"More like over-do it!" Blue Planet said, "Just don't let anything he says get to you. I don't know if you noticed, but he tends to make friends by mocking them sometimes."
"Then he'd fit right in with our group! No man ever makes friends without a few fist fights and jests!"
Both of them began to walk towards the central gate, a few nosey lumberjacks trailing after them. The hulking form of Mekongawa shadowed them, the boom of his wings like boulders striking the earth.
When they arrived at the gate, there were two druids who happened to be going out the same way. They waved to each other as the gates were slowly but steadily opened, having been reinforced following the wendigos' attack.
Once outside, Blue Planet saw a few direct teams of lumberjacks and druids working in tandem to move the spiked wall they erected several meters out, to try and make sure all the buildings that had been left outside were on the inside of the village borders.
"Still gonna keep up the walls huh? Can't say I blame you, though I figured you'd make them smaller at least," Blue Planet commented.
Pops shrugged. "If I knew one hundred percent that the vermin that kidnapped us were all gone, I'd replace it all with a picket fence. No, better to just extend it outwards somewhat so everything is protected."
At the edge of the forest line, Mekongawa dropped down to meet them. "As much as I'd like to just fly over the canopy, I'm not gonna leave you both behind. I'll just stick close to the ground for now. Got something that smells like them?"
"Ah, we might, but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable touching it. It seems disrespectful somehow."
"You might- Oh! Do you mean the, ah, egg remains in the barn? I thought you guys had cleared that out already," Blue Planet remembered. Envisioning the egg, shattered and left alone in the dark, brought a pang of sadness at the loss of potential life.
"No, if only because we feared the parents might come back and kill us in their grief. Once we figured out where the wyverns were, then we planned to clean out the barn and move out to wrangle them back home."
The elderly man pointed back in the direction of the barn. "Given our current task, I'd recommend getting the egg and bringing it to the Wise King here. It is one of the few things left that has any scent of the wyverns."
Taking his advice to heart, Blue Planet called upon some of his player enhanced speed, making it to the entrance of said barn. He startled a few of the cows that were released back to pasture following the defeat of the wendigos.
When last he came here with his friends and Pops, the barn possessed an eerie, mysterious aura on account of not being maintained in over a month, and the fact that highly aggressive forest wyverns may have been lurking inside of it.
Now, when he pushed open the doors and let some light through, it felt melancholic. The stagnant air reminded him of some of the dilapidated houses that existed outside the arcologies in Europe.
There was only a faint trace of warmth here, of familial love. That flame of life had died out once the egg shattered, and the parents left.
Speaking of which…
"Sorry little guy, gonna need your help to bring your parents home," Blue Planet spoke to the egg remains, standing before the nest in the wyvern's former stall.
Expectedly, the egg said nothing back, staying inert and cold. He knelt down, reaching for the largest shard he could find. It felt fragile in his fingers, more so with his strength.
Once he was satisfied he found a suitable piece, he called upon his player's speed again, making it back to Pops and Mekongawa in the blink of an eye. At least, to an outside view it would appear that way.
Mekongawa's nose crinkled. "Is that it, or is that just what you're willing to mess with?"
"I'd rather not have to take the whole egg shell. We can have it cleaned up later," Blue Planet said, offering the shard.
With a shrug, the chimera player took it in his massive paws. "Works for me. There's a certain kind of bad juju when it comes to dead kids, human, animal, or otherwise.
It was fascinating for Blue Planet to watch his friend sniff the piece of shell, the whiskers of his nose twitching with each little breath in. Every so often, the larger heteromorph would look up and in a random direction deeper in the forest, and then go back to sniffing the shell shard.
As a beastmaster, Beast King Mekongawa possessed a host of abilities that helped him to track down and tame the animals he sought after. Taming in Yggdrasil could be achieved in a variety of ways, from capturing the animal and slowly building a bond of trust, or forcibly fighting it and asserting your dominance in a way that the game recognized a violent taming attempt was being made.
In the case of Mekongawa, he was a tamer of the latter method, relying on his fists to show higher level tameables who was the more powerful of the two. If Blue Planet recalled correctly, it was how he tamed his two most favored pets, the Nemean Lions.
To make his method more effective, levels in brawler classes were taken, to give him the strength needed to take down fearsome beasts without the technical skill that a beast tamer like Aura Bella Fiora would have.
They did share some skills, like [Beast Killing], which increased damage against hostile monsters, and [Sky Eye], which granted the user enhanced vision to watch a scene from afar. Where the two diverged heavily was their combat prowess, with Aura being better suited to group combat and Mekongawa easily able to fight solo if need be.
"Damn, this thing is old! I can hardly catch a scent off it, but I think I got a lead now," Mekongawa declared, his eyes focused on a particular direction in the forest.
"Okay, that's good. I suppose we should be off then. You're good to go Pops?" Blue Planet asked the resident human.
"I'll be fine," the older man confirmed, "I walked just fine when we went to rescue everyone. Another walk shouldn't be too much work."
"I heard about that. You're gonna have to share with me your tales of valor," Mekongawa said, leading the way into the forest.
"I would be more than happy to, Wise King!"
Thankfully, the gigantic heteromorph had the tact not to leave them behind, barreling on all fours like how Momonga described in their false fight while searching for the Old Wise King of the Forest. His bulk was dense enough that he was still clipping tree trunks with his wings, but he seemed to bear through it.
It was strange, to think something so catastrophic was happening at nearly the same time as Blue Planet's and his friends' own adventure. It didn't surprise him, since both events shared the same green-eyed individual in common.
Whether there were two of them or whether it was able to split itself into multiple pieces or even if it was able to travel fast enough between hosts he couldn't guess. There were many unknowables to account for and take into consideration.
The guild of Ainz Ooal Gown was cautious that way, but at the same time, it understood the necessity of active exploration and cataloging of new information for its own advantages.
Punitto Moe did not punish them with the newspaper when they all returned back to Nazarick, but he was alarmed to learn someone already knew of Ainz Ooal Gown before they already arrived.
Green-eyes… What did it have to do with Bellriver too? He quickly brushed it off as only a taunt, but it unnerved him the more he thought about it. If isolationist druids who followed in the footsteps of a dead child playing the role of a treant knew about them, then who else out there was aware they existed?
Somehow there was a data leak, and the existence of other players in the new world they were in only confirmed it. It was the only way Blue Planet could think the green-eyed entity knew enough about them to brag about Bellriver, if it even held any weight.
I'm starting to feel like Momonga with all this constant inner-monologuing. Still, I can't bear the thought of that bastard somehow messing with Bellriver, especially since we barely got him back.
There was a roar of frustration in front of him, Blue Planet stopping and holding up a hand for Pops to slow down too, who was trailing behind him. Mekongawa snarled, his massive hand gripping the side of a tree as his wings clipped it again.
"Goddamn it! These trees are too narrow! If I have to stub my wingtips again on our way to this place, I'm gonna freaking lose it!" He shouted.
His biceps bulged, claws digging into the bark and tearing out a chunk of the trunk. Unsatisfied, Mekongawa got a better grip on the tree, wrapping his massive paw on a good portion of the trunk and uprooting the tree single-handedly, roots and all.
"Eat shit you damn trees!" He bellowed, throwing the trunk like a discus. The leaves of the canopy were roughly torn off as it bowled over several other oaks, clearing a path that more easily accommodated his size.
"Seriously man? Did you really have to rip out the whole thing? Right in front of me of all people? That was seriously not cool," Blur Planet muttered darkly.
Pops balked at the destroyed oaks. "Ah! Wise King, I understand this forest is technically your entire domain, but please be more gentle! Those trees can take many years to properly mature, and without saplings to take their place-"
"Right, sorry, I just got a bit frustrated. Walking through here really reminds me of my own size," Mekongawa chuckled. His brow furrowed. "In all seriousness, I can't keep moving through like this without accidentally damaging a few things. Blue here can fix it up if he needs to."
"Would you prefer to fly over the canopy? It might be easier for you."
"Nah. If I did, I wouldn't be able to see and lead you guys where I'm going. I'll just… move the trees if I need to. And then you guys can use whatever magic you got and move 'em back in place."
To prove his point, Mekongawa braced a hand against an unharmed tree and began to push. There was a great groan as the tree relented to his effort, and was slightly uprooted on one side. Mekongawa proceeded to do this once he passed the section of destroyed trees, with Blue Planet relying on a [Mend] spell to revert the trees back to their original form.
As the seilenoi Druid passed his guildmate, he punched him in the shoulder. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get his message across. Mekongawa gave an apologetic smile.
"Able to just casually uproot entire oaks! One day, you're gonna have to tell me where you find your friends, Blue Planet," Pops half-jokingly said.
"Where he found me? Ha! My sister and I are the ones who found Ainz Ooal Gown. We joined 'cause we wanted to, not because they just let us in!" Mekongawa bragged, "Back in our heyday, we didn't just let anybody stalk on in. You had to prove yourself and show how strong and powerful you really were!"
Hardly all of the truth, but it was enough to convince Pops, looking more and more dazzled by the minute. It was hard to believe someone so rowdy and rugged like Mekongawa could be so charming, but somehow he pulled it off.
As to how the chimera and his sister Ankoro made it into Ainz Ooal Gown, they had pretty much just joined up with the guild of their own accord, which was the truthful part of Mekongawa's statement.
Where the truth ended was that Ainz Ooal Gown didn't really require any sort of special feats to join. So far as he remembered, all a potential member had to be was to be an adult, a part of the workforce, and a heteromorph of some kind. That was it.
A few of their members did come into the guild by being invited into it, like the original nine and some of the twenty-seven in their golden age. There were lots of applicants who tried to get into the guild for one reason or another, which was handled by the inclusion of a third, hidden criteria to join.
Almost everyone in Ainz Ooal Gown already had to be in favor of letting the potential member join, and that could be complicated if the guild seekers came in groups. Mekongawa and Ankoro came as a duo, but their antics and ability to get on well with the current guildmates assured them a seat at Ainz Ooal Gown's table.
Blue Planet could hardly recall those early days, only that there was a general sense of chaos from having to interview and meet with so many potentials. Many were rejected because it came to light they were only there to further their own goals, or were spies sent by rival guilds.
He was thankful Ainz Ooal Gown became what it is now. Especially since it got him to meet Bellriver.
"Hey old man. These trees do get a bit wider as we get deeper into the forest, right?" Mekongawa asked, slowing down to allow the smaller human to catch up.
"Of course! You're definitely large, but you're not the physically biggest creature to live in the Forest of Tob. One animal that comes to mind are the basilisks, and elder wyverns have even been known to come and live here every so often.
"So the trees get moved around a lot anyways. Me doing my own thing for now isn't really doing much to the Forest as a whole."
"To be honest, likely not. The edge of the forest has a high density since only smaller creatures usually come out, but I just hate having to see trees get knocked around and torn up."
"A sentiment we both share," Blue Planet jumped in, "I know what it's like to try and take care of something and watch something or someone else come along and mess it up. Sometimes though, you just have to learn to bear with it if there was no other way."
While he said this, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the map he and his friends used when they first arrived to the Forest. He'd started filling in some of it, marking important areas like the Community Grove and the Sprigganson Settlement.
He was slowly drawing in smaller landmarks, like a cluster of spiked rocks shaped in a circle, or small meadows he came across while exploring the unique biosystem. In another notebook, there were sketches of some of the wildlife he observed out in the field.
Do we have a camera back in Nazarick? I'd have to check the treasury to be sure. Actually, if I'm in my game avatar, and I have a feature like [Message] activated on a whim, could I do a snapshot with my eyes?
It was an absurd idea, but now he was curious. Blue Planet slowly looked up and at a random tree among the many hundreds in the forest. He wasn't sure how to proceed, and he received no feelings that indicated he knew how to do it instinctually.
Squinting his eyes and then blinking quickly, he imagined the sound of a camera shutter in his mind. Nothing happened.
"Uh, your eyesight getting bad? Why are you squinting like that for?" Mekongawa asked, looking over his shoulder at him with a concerned glance.
"Oh, it was nothing. Just thought I saw something interesting I couldn't make out. Must've just been my imagination," Blue Planet quickly covered for himself.
Pops unintentionally helped. "It's possible you may have seen a burrow grub crawling up the back of a tree. I'd watch your head if I was you, since they have a habit of dragging parts of prey up trees and then taking the rest back to their burrows."
Blue Planet wrote a side note of the information on his map. "These things must be enormous! I know some species of felines did the same thing, but I didn't think a type of larva could too! What did the adult molt look like?"
"The largest grow to the size of a man, but they average about half that. They also don't molt into a different shape. They just look like regular grubs their whole life. Disgusting critters, those ones."
"Oh," Blue Planet said, disappointed.
For the rest of their trip, Mekongawa continued to lead them along, his frustration from earlier ebbing away as the distance between trees did in fact get larger. Every-so-often the chimera beast master halted to sniff the air, slightly changing direction each time to accommodate for the wind.
"I thought we'd see something more interesting along the way." Mekongawa huffed, "I think the only exciting thing was some owlbears back the way we came, and they just ran away!"
"They might be scared by your presence. As the new Wise King, you exhibit a very intimidating aura to lesser creatures," Pops offered.
"Guess that makes you a cut above the rest, old man. I don't think I've so much as seen you wince at me since I got here."
"Why would I? If you're anything like your sister, you're a trustworthy and extraordinarily kind man- ah, individual. I pay respect where it's due, but scared? Hardly. Amazed? Definitely."
This took Mekongawa off guard, his prideful front disappearing a moment at the elderly patriarch's earnest answer. Blue Planet hid a smile by ducking his head to "peer" more closely at the map he was filling out.
"I see," the chimera said after chewing on those words. "Don't think flattery will get you anywhere more, however. You want to earn my full respect, you'll have to prove yourself in a fight where I can see you, not just from some stories."
"I understand. You'll find this old dog still has some fangs."
At one point, the trio did come across a basilisk, sunning itself on a massive cluster of boulders. Its eight legs hung lazily, and the serpentine body and tail took up a majority of the rocky surface.
If Blue Planet had to take a guess, it reached a length of approximately four meters. A brilliantly green hide and red spikes and horn made for a beautiful set of scales, with the underbelly being more beige in coloration.
The eyes swiveled around on their own axis, reminding the seilenoi Druid of some of the cloned chameleons he'd work with back in his laboratory. A prehensile tongue dangled limply from the animal's mouth as it panted.
One of those eyes landed on the pair of guildmates and their human companion, immediately zeroing in on the much larger player by comparison. It's jaws snapped shut, the creature wriggling over to stand on its eight legs.
Each foot ended in three claws, slicing through the dirt effortlessly. The basilisk hissed, venom dripping between its fangs.
"Hell yeah! Finally some decent action before the main event!" Mekongawa whooped, cracking his knuckles.
"I'm sure you don't need to worry much, but be careful of its eyes! It can petrify and root you in place! Its blood is also highly poisonous!" Pops called out from behind Blue Planet, who automatically stepped in front of his charge without thinking.
Mekongawa scoffed. "Ha! You mean this thing? I've wrestled way, way worse. I've been looking forward to the entré our whole trip, but this appetizer will keep me sated until then.
As if recognizing the imminent challenge in his words, the basilisk roared shrilly. It stood up on its two back legs, trying to make itself look bigger than it really was. This also gave it an extra six arms to grapple with.
Both parties rushed at each other, Mekongawa easily grabbing the basilisk by the throat. The oversized reptile gasped and writhed in his grasp, the strength he emitted casually enough made it seek mercy.
"Don't tap out on me yet you damn gecko!" Mekongawa roared, slamming it down into the earth with such force the pebbles flew into the air. The basilisk gurgled, and wrapped its body around the lower half of the chimera's body.
A surprisingly intelligent and tactical move, especially as Blue Planet saw the Basilisk's scales constrict and try to squeeze Mekongawa's legs. It was a move meant to buckle the legs and cause the bulky player to fall.
No such thing happened, and Mekongawa laughed with excitement. "There you go! Come on, show me some other tricks of yours! Let me see your fangs, your claws! Show me your blood!"
Blue Planet watched him let go of the basilisk's throat, the beastmaster's hands reaching to grab the thickest portion of the basilisk's serpentine body. He lifted the creature above his head, his wings flaring out to help him keep balance.
The basilisk flailed, its recently freed head lashing out to bite Mekongawa's shoulder to inject some of the venom Blue Planet saw earlier. The teeth broke, a mixture of blood and venom spilling out and spraying the surrounding area.
"Alright, that's enough out of you, now I'm bored!" With a mighty heave, Mekongawa tossed the basilisk into a nearby cluster of trees, bowling over a dozen or so oaks.
Loose scales snagged on the tree remains, and Blue Planet watched the wounded reptile scramble back to its feet and zoom off into the forest. A trail of blood and saliva trailed after it, the sound of the animal's pathetic whimpering reaching Blue Planet's ears.
"I'm surprised you held back as much as you did," he commented, watching his friend stroll back to them with extra swagger in his step.
"If I can't kill the wyverns, then I'm going to make it a habit that I don't kill anything else on this trip," Mekongawa said, "That being said though, I'll find Suratan after this. I need to rough house a bit."
Having gotten his bloodlust out of his system for the moment, the trio continued along their set path, only pausing when they needed to use the restroom or to give Pops a needed break for his legs.
Blue Planet found the walk through nature invigorating, and his artistry was handy in allowing him to sketch every manner of creature and plant he came across. It was an opportunity he lacked the first time around in the forest, so he took full advantage of it.
Soon, however, he realized that the portion of the forest they were heading into began to look familiar, a sense of dread filling him the further he walked. It was strange, as he could almost feel the icy touch of the wendigos' stare upon his back.
Only that wasn't the case, because the area they were walking into was cleansed, and the magic Blue Planet unleashed only a few days ago was still going strong. He knew this because he saw the remainders of damage grown over from the abundance of life released from [Lord of the Forest].
Pops recognized the area too. "Ah, Wise King, is this really where we must go for the wyverns? I didn't think I'd be back here so early. The land is cleaner, but the memories…"
"Yeah, I heard about your guys' fight with Linnormr or whatever his name was from Blue Planet here. I didn't know we'd come here," Mekongawa said, stopping in his tracks to observe the battleground.
Originally, a great number of trees and plant life were sapped of all their vitality, left gray and dusty in the wake of alien infection. Grass greener than anything natural grew over those previous sores, covering parts of the earth where the wendigo birthing-pods used to be.
New trees grew straight out of the torn trunks of old ones, and a variety of wild flowers and vines carpeted the ground in a dazzling display of colors that could make a rainbow jealous.
The oaks in particular that once surrounded Zy'tl Q'ae, the former Grover Sprigganson, had grown back in force. Nothing too surprising, given the ability of one of Blue Planet's tenth tier spells.
A green sheen covered everyone there, making the Druid seilenoi in particular feel invigorated and well-rested. He breathed in the fresh air, finding pleasure in the small act from all the smells of earth and blooming flowers.
"You know, if I had to pick a place to go and recover, maybe even hide out, this wouldn't be a bad place to do it," Blue Planet said, reaching down to pluck a dandelion.
Mekongawa huffed. "Yeah, I suppose. Why not just dissipate the magic after you left though? Doesn't it take up more of your mana to keep it sustained?"
"I did, technically. I just think the initial spell grew so much anyways and in such a magical place that now it's sustained itself," Blue Planet answered, "At least, that's my theory. I don't feel my mana ticking away, and I don't think anything else in the area is strong enough to pull off a similar spell."
"If that is the case, then you did a truly wonderful thing, Blue Planet. It's almost as if the memory of the horrid monsters and everything they did to hurt us has been permanently washed away. They'll never come back here again," Pops said.
The Druid shrugged. "Maybe. First, though, let's go into the grove where Linnormr was. I want to see the old body."
His friends acquiesced to his request, allowing him to take the lead and go directly into the grove. Blue Planet twirled the dandelion between his fingers, setting it in the crook of some bark on an oak he passed.
The moment the stem touched the trunk, the green sheen shone just a bit brighter at the connection, and the flower was fused to the larger tree.
"Huh, that's neat," Mekongawa said.
"It just grew right back, and into a tree no less," Pops agreed.
Making sure to write that down for later, Blue Planet instead set his attention on the inside of the grove, paying careful attention to his surroundings. If anything, it seemed extravagantly lush on the inside, becoming downright humid from the plants.
Zy'tl Q'ae's corpse was right where it was last time, transformed into a gigantic tree that Blue Planet couldn't identify immediately. It still reached so high as to puncture the canopy and extend beyond it, dwarfing the size of colossal beings like Gargantua, the fourth floor guardian.
There were several features that mingled together in this particular tree reminiscent of other tree species. The size easily outclassed redwood and sequoia trees, and a smooth bark that closely resembled birch.
Pine needles and spade-shaped leaves were commonplace among the branches, but when the seilenoi player took a closer look, he noticed pinecones and acorns dangling as well. If his eyes didn't deceive him, he thought he saw some strangely shaped fruit higher up than he could reach.
Where once there was Zy'tl Q'ae's eyes were only faint impressions, and the previously cavernous mouth became a nook, free of any jagged teeth. It was here that Blue Planet found the object of their mission, peacefully napping and curled around an object between themsleves.
"That didn't take much to find them," Mekongawa commented, "Figured they'd be out hunting or something. This is pretty convenient."
"Convenient is good. If they're both here, then we don't need to go running around the forest searching for the other one because we only found one, or have to leave because neither of them was here," Pops said.
Blue Planet crouched down to a squatter's position to get a better look at the wyverns. "Which means we need to move quickly before they decide to wake up. I don't think these things could hurt us, but I'm more concerned about you Pops. You're way more fragile than either of us, stubbornness or not."
Unable to help himself, he pulled out his notebook and started sketching the mated pair of wyverns. Looking at such magnificent creatures spurred his imagination, and he took care to get every detail of their biology right.
They were a beautiful shade of forest green, perfect for blending in among the leaves of the forest canopy, with a lighter underbelly of smooth scales trailing from the bottom of their chin to the tip of their tails.
Being wyverns, they possessed only winged forearms and legs as limbs. At the crux of the wings where the wyverns would fold their wings to use them as makeshift legs, he saw three articulated claws that could grasp onto the side of trees.
Their heads bore viper-like traits, triangular in shape and a set of thin horns that bristled out around the neck. An indent at the front of the mouth indicated a forked tongue would poke out as a sensory organ, much like an ordinary snake's tongue.
The tail was long and whip-like, prehensile and more for offense than balance, though Blue Planet had no doubt it could serve both purposes just fine. The claws of the feet were the same as the claws on the wings, three fingered and razor sharp.
Overall, the wyverns were a sleek, streamlined predator, little to no sexual dimorphism between the male and female. Since the two were mated and continued to remain mated even after the destruction of their egg, this meant that forest wyverns were a monogamous species.
Which was all well and good, since from his angle he could see the object the wyverns slept around, and the answer to why the wyverns weren't hunting in the middle of the day revealed itself to him.
"Looks like your wyverns did more than just settle here. They've pretty much made it home, and the chick will be born in the safest place in the forest," Blue Planet pointed out.
Pops threw him a confused glance, but followed his finger and finally saw what he saw: a shining, fully intact egg. The moment the older man saw this, Blue Planet thought he might start weeping tears of joy.
"Oh! They laid another egg! I didn't think they'd be able to recover so fast, since Steffens always told me- no, it must be the magic of this place. Ander and Rayna feel safe enough here to make a new nest with a new egg."
Blue Planet stood back up. "Which means capturing these things just got significantly harder. If these animals follow the sort of instincts animals back where I come from do, then both parents are going to give us hell to protect that egg. They're not coming back willingly."
"Ha! Leave that to me then. I'll get this sorted," Mekongawa boasted, pushing past Blue Planet and Pops to stare down the wyverns.
They heard his approach as he got deeper into the grove, as one of the wyverns groggily raised its head and blinked its eyes. The pupil was a slit, which narrowed in alarm and rage at the oncoming chimera.
Its mate was the second one to wake up, and it hissed viciously. A pair of fangs flicked out like knives, yellow venom oozing out. Both got out, hissing in unison and stalking outside of their home.
"Oh? They both want a piece of this? Willing to take me on, not knowing what I'm capable of? I feel almost sad that I'm so overpowered," the beastmaster taunted.
To prove his point, he puffed out his chest and roared deeply, a sound so jarring and primal it made Blue Planet's bones rattle. Several birds that were hiding in the branches above immediately took off, and the distressed cries of animals in the far distance sounded off like trumpets.
With another breath, the inside of Mekongawa's mouth lit up, and a jet of flame spewed forward. The chimera aimed upwards at the ring of the grove, setting the tops of the trees on fire like they were dry kindling.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Blue Planet rushed forward, ready to clamp Mekongawa's jaws shut if he needed to. "We're supposed to catch these wyverns, not burn the whole damn forest down!"
"Relax! It'll be fine. Your magic is already doing its thing, look," his friend said once he cut off the stream of fire and pointed.
Looking up, Blue Planet could see the green sheen smothering the flames, dampening their burning effect. What was already consumed was growing back at an astonishing rate. The fire that remained still smoldered, smoking and spreading itself in a blistering shield.
"That tiny little flower was able to fuse itself as a result of the healing magic in this grove. I figured even with my fire, the remaining magic you used would just fix it right back up, but leave just enough fire so these beasties can't just fly away. That means more fighting!" Mekongawa said.
Having had the strategy explained to him, the Druid's anger dissipated somewhat. "Fine, but please don't get carried away. I think you've just about scared the wyverns out of their wits anyways."
True to his word, the bravado of the wyverns vanished. They were still on edge, but rather than parental rage, they stared at Mekongawa with wariness. One of the wyverns kept looking back and forth between the egg in the nest and the still on-fire canopy.
Mekongawa crouched down to all fours, his eyes blazing. "I have you right where I want you, so here I come!"
The earth shattered from the force he exerted, clearing the distance between him and a Wyvern of his choice. Rather than outright grapple it, he slammed a fist into the ground, sending a shockwave out that made the ground rumble with a miniature earthquake.
As expected, it sent his target flying, the poor creature squawking as it tried to right itself in the air. It landed against the wall, bouncing off with a harsh thump before managing to shakily hover.
A strangled hiss of animalistic fury caught Mekongawa's attention, and he turned around right in time for the second Wyvern to latch onto his torso and start trying to tear into his chest.
Blue Planet and Pops watched him laugh jovially, prying the animal off like a newborn kitten. "You remind me of Sasha and Neagan! So feisty, but so fragile! I wish I could be rougher, but oh well."
This angered the wyverns even more, the airborne Wyvern dive-bombing into the chimera and latching onto his back. It wrapped its tail around its neck, or at least tried to, before yelping and whipping the tail away from Mekongawa's spines.
Seeing its mate fail to land a potential killing blow, and failing to do anything itself, the Wyvern on his chest dropped down and wrapped a tail around one of the cloven hooves of Blue Planet's guildmate.
Following suit, the second Wyvern mimicked its partner's actions and started pulling in an opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Pops and Blue Planet spectated the struggle, both somewhat amused and concerned at the fight going on. Pops turned to the taller heteromorph, a question at the ready.
"Is this… how he usually does this? I appreciate him not hurting the wyverns but he, well, this is all so different than I was expecting!"
Blue Planet chuckled. "Back where we come from, this was how he tamed his Nemean lions. I figured given he was an actual specialized beastmaster, he'd have more luck with this than me."
"So you mean to say every animal he's tamed has always been done through violence?!"
"To be fair, I wasn't there when he tamed his first two pets, and he usually just intimidates whatever he needs with his skills and abilities. If we're here to keep an eye on him, it'll be fine."
Truth be told, Blue Planet had fully expected Mekongawa to simply use his skill [King of the Beasts] and forcibly subjugate the wyverns. It created a special glow around his eyes, and required him to make direct eye contact with his target to be as effective as possible.
Since most of Mekongawa's classes and a few of his racials were combat oriented, it left little wiggle room for other methods of taming. He could use items, certainly, but the chimera player never bothered, citing that it "took the fun out of things".
Violent beast taming was hardly a novel concept, but it required that the player be willing to risk their avatars to actually get the pets they want, and unless they were very strong, they were limited in what they could feasibly tame through that method.
The seilenoi personally thought it was more Mekongawa's attempt to hybridize a brawler and beast taming play style, which worked only due to his persistence and careful selection of gear, weapons, skills, and abilities, as well as a calculated investment in the proper classes.
Needless to say, it was moments like these that it paid off, as Mekongawa was slowly dragging the wyverns by their tails to him with an amused twinkle in his eye.
"Alright, alright, I had my fun. Time to go home now, before I get annoyed," he said, holding one Wyvern under each arm. The image was reminiscent of some photos Blue Planet saw once of old world farmers, who would sometimes carry their chickens in the same way.
The wyverns were less than enthused, thrashing wildly in his grip but finding no purchase for escape. Mekongawa faced Blue Planet and Pops, cheekily smiling.
"Don't forget their egg please! I don't want to bring them back home just to have them run back here for the nest," the older man reminded gently.
"Oh right, give me a second," the chimera beastmaster said. He looked behind him back at the nest, walking backwards until he was just at the mouth of the tree's entrance. His cobra tail slithered towards the nest, dislocating its jaws and gently grabbing the egg.
Tilting its head back, the tail held the egg upright and in a stable position. It stopped moving entirely, focusing on balance and proper grip strength.
"That's the only egg right? There isn't another one just hiding in the nest somewhere?" Blue Planet asked.
Pops shook his head. "No. Forest wyverns only lay one egg at a time, and both parents protect it with their lives. Even with Steffens, he would've had a very hard time trying to get them back home to the settlement. We need to be extra careful now, as we don't want to drop the egg."
"I got it, I got it," Mekongawa reassured, "You leave all of this to me! These little shits aren't getting out of my grip no matter what, so I'll hold them while your men clean out the barn."
"Damn, I forgot about that. At least we got this out of the way," Blue Planet said, taking the lead this time. "You know, there's a sort of beauty in seeing new life blossoming in a place like this. Given everything that happened a few days ago, I'd say this is a good omen."
"You think so? I couldn't agree more. Especially given these wyverns are some of our more precious inhabitants of the settlement. Should Steffens make it home, it would do good to have something familiar amidst all the change," Pops said.
"Isn't this just an egg? Ah, whatever. I'll let you guys have this moment," Mekongawa mumbled, readjusting his grip on all three previous creatures.
With that, the trio made their way back along the path to the Sprigganson Settlement. Blue Planet felt that, with the threat of the wendigos abated for the time being, the trip served as a relaxing hike to watch the wildlife.
He couldn't have thought of a better way to end off his time here in the Forest of Tob.
Arwintar of the Baharuth Empire, Throne Room of Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix
Jircniv couldn't think of a less boring way to begin his day, but alas, he was content to bear through it if only to humor his administration and hear of the achievements of the empire.
A number of nobles stood before him while he sat on the imperial throne, his royal scepter in hand for just such an occasion. The familiar touch of his Medallion of Mental Protection around his neck soothed him, as did the Ring of Unicorn on his finger, which protected him from various poisons and allowed him to detect them.
The four Imperial Knights, his strongest warriors and personal protection, were present as well, standing behind and to either side of his throne, watching the nobles speak to Jircniv about their proposition.
As an added degree of protection, Fluder was there as well, though that was more due to the closeness the emperor and imperial mage shared with one another. He stood closer to the throne than even the Imperial Knights did.
"Your majesty, regardless of your youth and managerial ability, we still think it is in your best interest to secure yourself an heir. We have taken every preventative measure we can think of to ensure your safety and the continued running of the empire, all but that method," head scribe, Loune Vermillion, was saying.
"Your prime will only last so long, your highness," added Sern Pantrikair, one of Jircniv's most trusted generals, "Your martial training ensures you are in peak physical condition. Combine that with your natural charisma and intellectual ability, any woman of noble birth would be happy to have you."
Bairiv Shaustos, a court physician, stroked his long beard, which startlingly mirrored Fluder's own. "What of that one diplomat, Ri Kista Kabelia from the Karnassus City-State Alliance? She seems a shrewd, intriguing woman with a wit as sharp as your own, your majesty."
"Surely you jest, Bairiv," said Sern, "She is only a diplomat, though her connections to Karnassus are worth looking into. Perhaps a noble from there would be more suited to one of such a status as our beloved emperor."
"Gentlemen, please," Jircniv finally began, after listening to his counsel speak on the matter for some time by now. "I have heard all your concerns well and good, but do you not think this could not be saved for a later date? Our annual war with Re-Estize is in a few short months, surely we must place more emphasis on that."
"Precisely the reason why you must have an heir, your majesty!" Loune interjected, "I understand your rarity on the battlefield, but after your close encounter with Gazef Stronoff during the last war, surely you can appreciate the gravity of our request."
"That was merely me extending him an invitation to join our court. One such as myself cannot pass off the torch so easily and so quickly into my own reign. On the subject of the war, I did want to bring up our current arrangements with the dwarves of the Azerlisia mountains. Loune, you have the current shipment manifest, I presume."
Jircniv maneuvered the conversation expertly towards a subject that was more to his goals and away from the subject of heir rearing. His counsel appeared ready to object to the change in conversation, but held their tongues.
Loune Vermillion, sensing that his emperor had quietly closed off that portion of the discussion, walked up to the throne and pulled a scroll out from the folds of his scribe robes.
It was the most recent shipping manifest from the Imperial Trading Company, which managed most of the imports and exports of the empire. Around this time of year when the annual war was being prepared for, Jircniv always insisted on being able to read the manifest for himself, wishing to see what sort of supplies his armies would acquire for the upcoming conflict.
All manner of goods moved through the Imperial Trading Company: exotic goods, food, medicine, luxury accommodations, and raw materials. However, what Jircniv was especially interested in were the records of weapons and equipment for his soldiers.
The reasoning for this was because of a special trade agreement that his empire had created with the dwarves of the Azerlisia mountains, who forged superb and even downright unrivaled pieces of gear.
Stories passed down through generations told of a special craft the dwarves practiced centuries ago, known as Runecraft, which was their equivalent to the more common enchantments that mages applied to gear.
Jircniv knew very little of the process beyond that the runes that gave the art its name had to all be carved by hand, and a small number of dwarves were able to utilize it. Runecraft was rare in the modern day, though there was a Runecraft sword that belonged to the previous emperor stored away in the Royal Treasury.
He never expected to find any note of Runecraft in the manifest from the dwarves, given it was considered outdated to some and extremely rare, but he could usually count on some of their fabled armaments among the figures in the scroll.
The seal on the scroll was broken, his head scribe unfurling it. He cleared his throat to speak with a clear, concise voice.
"Imperial Trading Company shipping log. As of this month's collection of imports, the items are as follows: ten thousand tuns of West Baharuth Private Collection Mead, thirty tons of assorted raw metals and materials, one hundred thousand Baharuth made steel plate armor, one hundred thousand adventurer grade steel weaponry and equipment, three tons of luxury goods-"
"That's all well and good, but I wish to hear of our imports from the dwarves. What is our yield looking like this year?" Jircniv asked, not betraying his impatience but imparting a sense of urgency.
Loune caught on, his eyes zipping through a myriad of other goods listed in the shipping logs. Eventually, he stopped entirely and said nothing more.
Something was wrong, as Loune's eyes started back up at the top of the list and went back down. He did this a total of three times, looking up after the third with a panicked expression.
"Ah, sir, I'm not sure how to really explain this, but it would appear our imports from the dwarves are… missing," he said, tucking his chin into his chest with a frown.
Jircniv raised an eyebrow. "Pardon? You mean to tell me there is absolutely nothing whatsoever about any of the goods from the dwarves we usually receive? Nothing whatsoever?"
"That is correct, your majesty."
For a moment, Jircniv was dumbfounded, unsure really what to think. In the past, it wasn't uncommon for the dwarves' aid to be slightly diminished due to their constant skirmishes with the Quagoa, a Demi-human race that also inhabited the Azerlisia Mountains.
Usually, those skirmishes wouldn't last long, and the amount of equipment would return to their regular numbers.
Only now, there was not a single piece of dwarf made armor or weapons. Not one scrap. He at first entertained the idea that there might have been a mistake in the shipping manifest, but how in the world could so much gear be so easily overlooked?
No… something else was going on, and it would need to be addressed near immediately before the annual war.
He suspected that the Quagoa may have gotten the upper-hand over their Dwarven foes in recent months, and the dwarves had been unable to send out a message detailing their plight.
At this time, he didn't think he would be able to spare the men to aid his allies, due to the majority of Baharuth's armies being on active duty to train and prepare for their clash with the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Unfortunately, it was likely he'd have to settle for an alternative.
"If the dwarves are unable to grant us any aid like they have in the past, then it is possible they are in peril," Jircniv said in a declarative tone.
"You believe they may have been bested by the Quagoa, your majesty?" General Sern asked.
"I am almost certain of it, but the part of me that is uncertain advises that we cannot divert precious men and resources to send an army to check up on the dwarves. With the annual war coming up, we must muster all we can to be ready. That is why I wish to assemble a small task force to travel to the Azerlisia Mountains and make their way to the Dwarven capital. I want a detailed report on what's going on and how we can address the issue after the war."
Jircniv turned to look at Loune. "I want you to begin writing the orders and have them sent out to whatever men Sern feels are most fit for a reconnaissance and intelligence mission. Those orders should also contain a list of individuals they need to determine whether or not they are still alive."
Both men nodded and bowed. The emperor then turned to Fluder. "I want a magician or two to accompany them, someone specialized in healing magic and data collection. This may be nothing, but I'd prefer to be better safe than sorry."
"Of course, I'll have someone picked out by the end of the day. If I need to have someone relocated from their studies or assignment, it will be done," Fluder said, only inclining his head.
Unlike other people, Jircniv never made it a point to enforce the Imperial mage to adhere to the proper social traditions that befitted dealing with an emperor. The wizened, eccentric man raised him from boyhood to who he was now, being more of a father than his blood father ever was.
And, in turn, he felt like a proper son to his mentor and caretaker. He knew the elderly man better than anyone else, and could notice the slightest of changes in behavior and mood in the elderly man. Out of all the people present in the throne room, he trusted Fluder the most.
Finally, he turned to his four Imperial Knights. "Ordinarily, I would have you four accompany the team to the mountains, but since their mission is not combat but rather to ascertain the dwarves' situation, I would have you remain here with me for the time being."
He anticipated that Baziwood Peshmel would ask for their own orders, likely wanting to accompany the team he sent out, so he answered the unspoken questions first.
His knights looked like they wanted to suggest otherwise, but they, like the other members of his court previously, kept their mouths shut and obeyed.
Resting his chin in his hand, Jircniv contemplated the situation, realizing that an uneasy sensation washed over him.
It is most likely nothing, but the dwarves have never missed a year of supplies, not in all my time as emperor. I would prefer to be overreacting to this, but if my experience ruling an empire has taught me anything, it is that you cannot take chances on matters such as these.
"You are all dismissed. General Sern, once you have picked out your men of choice, I want them ready to depart in a week's time," Jircniv said.
Everyone departed as told, even Fluder, who cited that he was eager to return to the Imperial Academy and return to his students. Soon enough, it was only him on the throne.
He gazed out at the double doors that led to the spacious room, lost in thought and hoping that the clenching in his gut was a passing feeling, and not an omen of something wicked to come.