Raze ~ 26!

~ Twenty-six ~

An odd sight graced the forest that morning. Two Wolfman Scouts slowly and carefully picked their way through the forest, and a few feet behind them trailed a party of their racial enemy, humans. Now, no one was around to see this odd sight, and the Scouts went out of their way to make sure that remained the case. The enemies here were far too powerful for two standard Scouts, but they used their enhanced senses to great effect in avoiding conflict and choosing the best path forward.

As The O’Baba had mentioned, the place of power was nearby. After only an hour of creeping through the woods, huge, gray, stone walls appeared between the trees. If they had been walking at a normal pace in a straight line, it would have likely only taken fifteen minutes or so to arrive. The walls themselves seemed to be pulsing with a faint light, and just as the group arrived, they found why this place was considered so dangerous. The Scouts brought them to a tree, and after carefully ensuring that the tree wasn't an Ent, the group was helped up to an overwatch position.

“This is a cathedral!” Joe’s voice was almost too loud, and in an instant, a poisoned arrow was at this throat. He wasn't overly concerned, as he had maximized his Exquisite Shell, but he was somewhat embarrassed over his outburst and quieted down. The wait stretched, ten minutes. Fifteen. Thirty. Then the front doors swung open, and a formation of people marched out. They were all humming the same tune, and it was catchy. Joe, still embarrassed over his previous outburst, stopped himself just before joining in but noted with horror that everyone else including the Scouts were humming along at a much lower decibel. 

“Guys! Stop it!” Joe demanded, taking their attention and getting glared at. Then they noticed that they were humming, and Joe was pretty sure they tried to stop. But they didn’t.

The walls of the building flashed more brightly, and a roar from the forest directly challenged the light and music show. The understory began to wave as a creature moved toward the formation of maybe two hundred people, and the humming began to reach a crescendo. A Rosebeast burst from the leafy ferns that coated the ground, and after a moment to orient itself, it charged directly at the huge group of unarmed people. 

Joe wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t the Rosebeast tearing the group apart with ease. The level twenty-ish beast hit the second ranks of the formation with a spray of blood… which came from the first ranks. Then the people piled on the Rosebeast, all of them still smiling and humming. Alexis nudged Joe and whispered, “Average level of those people is five. I don't see anyone above seven.”

“What in the abyss?” Joe looked back at the fight, the slaughter, just as the Rosebeast shook itself and sent a wave of thorns flying from the vines that encircled its body. Another dozen humans fell to the thorns and poison, but the wave of bodies started to cover the Rosebeast, punching, kicking, and biting between smiles. The two hundred were reduced to one hundred. Fifty. Twenty. Five. Two. Then the Rosebeast finally fell, the last of its roses torn away.

The two remaining humans began to glow with golden light, hyper leveling from the experience of killing such a powerful creature and only splitting it between two people. Joe had no doubt that they gained bonuses, skill levels, and all sorts of goodies for fighting barehanded and unarmored. The two people stood, resumed humming, and returned to the cathedral. 

As much as Joe wanted to discuss what he had just seen with his group, he knew that they were currently here to learn about the fighters and the challenges that they would need to face. The doors swung open, and a few people stood waiting for the returning fighters. From what Joe could see, the open area was full of people. He had no idea how so many low-leveled people had gotten here, but he had a sinking suspicion that just perhaps some of them had thought they were going off to become farmers. 

“Intrusive Scan,” Joe muttered when he saw a musclebound, glowing figure welcoming back the survivors. He held the contact for three second before the figure became aware of his scan and slammed the doors to block the hostile, intrusive information gathering. That was fine with Joe, as the information he had already gained was enough to make him wince.

Brayden_W, Hierophant of the Burning Mind.

Highest stat: Intelligence

Ongoing effects: Burning Mind. Unification. Mana-well Shielding. Empowered by Many. Enemy of the Forest. Hypnotism Aura. Amphitheater Amplification. Arcane Double Damage…

The list of active effects continued for another two lines, but they had vanished before Joe got a chance to read them when the Hierophant slammed the door. “Yikes. This is… yeah, this is going to be really hard, you guys. Listen to some of these effects that guy has.”

As Joe explained the names of the effects, the expressions around him turned defeated. To Joe’s delight, he got a notification as soon as he stopped speaking.

Skill increase: Intrusive Scan (Novice IV). Hey. You shouldn't have been able to scan him. Just saying. He critically failed at blocking it. Big ol’ boost because of that. Tootles!

Weird message aside, Joe was happy to see some progress on the skill even if he didn't know what would happen as it got stronger. Maybe people would be less likely to notice it happening? Bard interrupted his thoughts, “Ya think tha’ hypno-aura is why we were humming tha’ garbage tune?”

“Likely, and the way the wall is pulsing with light is probably from the effect of the ‘Amphitheater Amplification’. I bet the building is boosting his ability,” Alexis stated after a moment. “Joe, have you ever gotten bonuses from being in a temple or anything?”

Joe was taken off guard by the sudden shift in conversation but couldn’t think of a proper answer. “You know what? I bet I would if I ever spent any time in one. Usually, I’m on the go way too much to accumulate bonuses, but I know a lot of clerics tend to stay in one place. There has to be a reason. I’ll try it out sometime.”

“Right, I think we are going to need a plan of attack,” Poppy spoke out to the others. They agreed and started very quietly discussing their options. Twenty minutes later, they had narrowed it down to a pretty standard distraction snatch-and-grab.

“I think that if we can take over the building, that is, convert it to Tatum, we will be able to take away the majority of the active effects that the Hierophant is getting.” Joe was not entirely sure of his plan, but it was their best option right now. “Plus, we would get a few of the temple guardian-golem things. For the life of me, I can't remember what they are called right now. Oh, Juggernauts! I have a major issue with this plan, though. There is no way that I have enough mana to convert this place on my own. A roadside shrine drains me dry right now.”

“What if we were all joining you?” Alexis asked him. 

“No, think about it.” Joe shook his head sharply. “We need someone defending us, and the only way that we are able to get here is to go to the Wolfmen. We can't exactly bring other people with us to do a proper raid, right?”

“Good.” Bard harrumphed. “Didn’t relish the idea of being a battery, anyway. Not what I signed up for.”

“Wait! A battery!” Joe’s eyes sparkled, and he opened his mouth to say more. Right then, the walls of the building flashed again, and the doors began to creak open. Joe shut his mouth but indicated that they would talk later. The humming started up, and soon, the scene from before played out. Two hundred people walked out, a Beast charged, and the two sides fought.

“None of the survivors from the last group are here,” Alexis pointed out. Joe hadn't even thought to look for them. “Back to the highest level being seven.”

This time, combat ended very differently. All of the humans were wiped out, and the Beast advanced on the building. The doors opened again, and Alexis pointed out two people in the crowd of about fifty that exited. “There’s our survivors.”

Still, the group was unarmed, but now, the average level was twelve, and the Beast was weakened. A dozen humans died, but the rest shared the experience and grew stronger. Then they reentered the building, and the doors closed again. The Scout with them spoke in a harsh whisper, “It is time to leave. Every two hours, they flood out of the place of power and seek anything in the area. They are thorough.”

They descended from the tree and made their way to the edge of the forest. Originally, they were going to go back into the Wolfman area, but the team had convinced the Wolfmen that they needed access to many things that weren't available in the current area. After the slow walk to the exit, one of the Scouts passed Joe a small object that fit on his wrist like a watch. The Scout spoke then, staring at Joe with hard, deadly eyes, “This will bring your party to our area if you return. I do not want to let you go, but The O’Baba has spoken. Do not…”

The other Scout gripped his partner’s arm and pulled him into the woods, where they vanished. Joe started walking, knowing that if they were in the same situation… well, he might not listen to someone else. He’d fight anyone that might hurt his family. It was late evening when they got to the small shrine on the side of the dirt road, but from there, a single step pulled the entire team all the way back to the Pathfinder’s Hall at the low cost of the majority of their mana and stamina. 

As much as they all wanted to relax and come down from the constant stress of being in such a deadly area, the two-week time limit was nagging at all of them. Joe took a moment to fully explain the rest of his thought process for the attempt they would make on the place of power.

“Guys, I found an… I’m not sure if it’s an enchantment or spell. Whatever. It converts a Core into a Mana Battery. I need someone to go out and find the highest-grade Core they can find, use the guild if needed. You know what? Make Jess do that. Ah… I’ll talk to her about the tasks we need completed actually, just so that I can answer any questions right away.” Joe paused, thinking about what he should say. 

“Right, so. Here is the plan. Please, please tell me if you come up with a better idea.” Joe looked around, meeting all their eyes. “This is what I need each of you to do.”