Odd behavior
Even if the crypts on the upper floor were well made and had the statues, the ones in here were on another level. Each tomb was like the entrance of a palace. Gold statues adorned the gates, and gem-encrusted doors were lining all the walls of the valley. Just a small flame was enough to make the light bounce off for a while, showing that most of the valley was covered in those decorations. This also helped the group to see monsters from far away. There were a number of spiders and scarabs around, but that wasn't much of an issue. The creatures around here didn't seem to be all that sharp. It was almost like they had just woken up from a long sleep.
"Are we getting close?" Blue asked.
"We should be. If we don't get any more surprises, we should get to the corner of the room after we turn left here. Then it should be just a straight path south," Shane explained.
"Are we expecting trouble?" Bonnie asked.
"We never expect trouble, but we should always be ready for it," Mylo replied.
"That's something we took a while to learn," Shane chuckled.
They continued walking for a few minutes, and they could already see the corner of the room. It was a small plaza with a naga sculpture in the middle. This was the first part of the graveyard that didn't have any actual tombs. Instead, the buildings here seemed to be focused on the people who would come. There was a small kitchen and what should be a house with two rooms, one small one with what they assumed to be a bed in the form of a sandpit and another larger one with an actual stone bed frame but no mattress of any sort of cloth. While they were searching the buildings, Hera noticed one weird thing, the monsters seemed to be gone and not just as if they weren't in the area. It was easy to see traces of the creatures, such as webs, tracks, and even noises, but the spiders and scarabs were nowhere to be seen. Because of that, the entire party started to feel on edge.
When they left the house, Shane raised her hand to stop everyone from going outside, "Hang on," she placed one hand on the ground and used her sonar to check the area, "We got company."
She pointed to the path the group just took, and they managed to see some movement, but they were still hidden by the shadows.
"Lena, can you do that light barrier thing? As wide as you can. Just for a moment," Hera asked.
"I think I can reach the other side of the plaza. Is that enough?"
"I hope so. Does it matter the amount of light we create here?" Hera nodded.
"Oh, I think I see where you are going with this. I'll make the barrier strong enough to hold off anything shy of sunlight," Helena prepared the spell and turned to Hera, "Ready?"
"Ready," with that, Helena created the shadow barrier, and Hera followed it up by sending a blinding flash right on the edge of the barrier. The explosion of light illuminated a massive area, revealing a couple dozen monsters. Mostly spiders and scarabs, but there were a few roly-poly in the middle. However, the things that caught everyone's eye weren't the numbers. Among the creatures, there were three monsters that looked very different. One was a bronze spider with multicolored eyes, almost like they were made out of jewels. The second was a golden scarab, smaller than most, but he seemed to be leading that group. The last thing that made the group worry was the massive silver roly-poly on the back of that group. It should easily be the size of a three-story building, and the creature wasn't even hidden on its shell. Hera also managed to use her [Observe] to see the names and levels of the monsters.
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Jeweled Hunter - Level 20 (Gem Affinity)
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Golden Scarab - Level 20 (Gold Affinity)
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Silver Giant - Level 25 (Precious Metal Affinity)
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"These affinities are getting ridiculous," Hera gasped.
"Tell me about it. When I made that spell, I didn't expect to find so many weird ones," Helena sighed.
"I don't think that monster that we can't beat is among them, but the big one on the back is making me worried," Shane replied.
"I'm more worried about the spider. I don't think that those eyes are just for show," Bonnie said.
"We can beat them," Mylo nodded.
"We can, big guy. But remember that we have people level 14 in the party," Shane replied.
"Oh, that's right… that might be trouble," Mylo frowned.
"They seem to be waiting for us to leave here, and most of them couldn't attack us inside this house," Alex said.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they can't just bulldoze this place. I'm sure that silver thing could bring this house down without even making an effort," Helena replied.
"So, what's the plan? They seem to be following us. Maybe they won't attack when we exit," Hera couldn't help but feel weirded out about the monster's actions. They were staying far enough away not to be seen by the group's light, and even now, they didn't seem to be rearing up for attack.
"I think so too, but we can't just let them follow us," Shane sighed.
"Are you worried they might steal the legacy?" Blue asked.
"What? No, I mean, monsters can get the legacy, but I'm worried they are waiting for something. Maybe they are preparing a trap somewhere or gathering more monsters to attack," Shane looked outside one more time. Helena's barrier was gone, but the monsters didn't seem to be moving. They were still there, waiting for something.
"The thing is, if we fight them here, we are at a disadvantage. They have more numbers, and this is too much of a wide space. It would be easy for them to surround us. If we could at least get in a tight corridor, we might be able to stop the big guy," Bonnie said.
"Give me a moment," Hera took a few steps back and pulled the thread of her Yarnball, "Where is the closest part of the valley that is too narrow for the silver giant that's outside to pass?"
She felt a huge chunk of her mana be drained, but the thread leaned over and pointed directly south. Opening her map, she saw a marker that should be in the same direction they were already going. There was no way to tell if the naga hero tomb would be before or after that narrow valley, but at least it meant that they had a chance. Just to be sure, Hera opened her status to check on her mana. Ever since she got her [Inspect] to level 2, she could open a smaller version of it where only her attributes showed. That helped a lot when she just wanted to check her mana.
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Hera Kingsley -- Role: Explorer Level: 18
Stats:
Strength: 49 Endurance: 49
Agility: 49 Charisma: 49
Intelligence: 49 Luck: 49
Mana: 1500/4890
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Using the dowsing rod ability of her relic cost a lot of mana, but she still had some to use in a pinch now. Thankfully, her maximum mana started increasing much faster ever since she got the [Reinforced Mana] skill.
"Ok, we might be able to do something if we head south. You guys heard my question?" Hera asked.
"Yeah, we did. So that was a positive response then?" Alex asked.
"Yep. If there wasn't any, the thread wouldn't even budge."
"Right. Let's keep heading south then, but we need to keep our guard up, and Mylo, stay on the back," Shane said as the group prepared to leave.
They already were feeling tense, but now, things were even worse. It was one thing to find the area weird, another to know that there was an army of monsters following them in the shadows. Thankfully, the creatures didn't change their apparent behavior when the group left the house. Hera and the others were free to move south while the monsters lurking in the dark. Knowing that this was going on only made the situation more apparent. The sounds they heard were not of monsters running away but of creatures shifting behind them. Hera focused on recovering her mana. If they had to fight, the last thing she wanted was to be tapped out. She also focused on trying to reassure Silah that everything would be ok. Even if the dwarf was on the same level as the Silver Giant, she wasn't used to fighting things on her level of strength. Since the flash, Silah stopped talking and was just walking by Hera while holding her hand.
Another half an hour passed when the valley started to become more narrow. At the same time, Shane noticed that the monsters were getting closer. The noise was also more frequent and restless.
"Guys, I think we are reaching the breaking point. Either the monsters know what we are doing, or they are done waiting," Shane tried to say that without sounding alarmed. There was no reason to believe that the monsters would understand what they were talking about, but her tone was another thing. However, as it was with any wild animal, they should be able to know when their prey shows fear.
"Do we have any idea how far the narrow part of the valley is?" Blue asked.
"If we consider how much smaller the path is turning and how rock formations usually work, it should be somewhere in the next 2 to 5 kilometers," Bonnie replied.
"So, we don't have a clue," Blue sighed.
"Is there anyone who doesn't feel confident in a 5-kilometer sprint?" Shane asked.
"I'm not sure about a full-on sprint, but a jog I can do it," Hera replied.
"That might not be enough," Alex replied.
"I can do a thing, but it the monsters will attack," Mylo said.
"If no one has any better ideas, that might be the best call," Shane said.
"Everything will be ok," Hera whispered to Silah.
"Yeah, I can run a lot," the dwarf gave a weak smile.
There was a long pause while everyone was waiting for someone else to give some suggestion, but nothing came up. Without any other options, Shane spoke up, "No other ideas? Then get ready. You'll know when to run."
"I'll count to 3, then we run. I'll use a spell to make everyone go faster. The monsters will run too, but they won't have the buff," Mylo explained, and everyone got ready, with Silah holding Hera's hand tightly.
"3…2…1… TIMBER!" Mylo's scream made Hera feel energized like she had a mix of a sugar high and a caffeine shot. Before she could even realize it, everyone was running at full speed. Looking to the side, she could see Silah even moving a bit faster than her. With that, Hera felt relieved. She was worried that her girlfriend would end up lagging behind since she was much shorter than the rest, but apparently, there was nothing to worry about.
Just as they started running, the monsters behind did the same. The creatures began to clack their mandibles and rush towards the humans. It was hard to tell if they were running because of the yell or just because the group started running.
As they dashed, Bonnie and Shane started firing spells to the horde of monsters on the back. Seeing that, Silah and Hera started making walls to hinder the monster's movement. Alex used her wind buff to move faster, and she helped Helena, who seemed to be lagging a bit behind the rest, to move. Mylo was still taking up the rear. He would tap his staff on the ground almost like it was a paddle of a rowboat. Each time he hit the floor, an illusory barrier made out of flowers appeared. These flowers would shatter like glass when in contact with the monsters, and the shard would fly off towards the creatures.
The group kept running as fast as they could while the denizens of the valley tried to reach them. Hera looked up, hoping that they would arrive at the narrow passage soon.