Hunting Supplies

As soon as they arrived in the Krashak Plains, Hera asked Ariadne another question about the location of the Wendigo. Trying to figure out its skills was a waste of time since the monster wouldn't have a logical reason for what abilities it would get after eating. She was still following her battleship idea, asking if it was in, above, or below a certain row. But they wouldn't be going there right away. Instead, their first stop would be in the city. The building that was once the guild had been torn down a few months after tensions started to grow, and almost all humans who lived in this room had left with only a handful left behind amidst the 15 thousand or so inhabitants of the town. Despite that, the idea behind a guild building still existed. A place where people could go to take quests that revolved around supplies or specific items. And most importantly, for the task at hand, it would allow Hera and her group to gather information about the wendigo. They already had some information, but it was one thing to talk through text or through a video call another to have a conversation face to face.

The city didn't have an actual name; it was just referred to as Krashak Plains City, and just like the underground barrier, it was mostly made out of metal. But their first stop was one of the hotels in the city. Every team who was traveling around the MAZE to help solve the various problems they were having could request rooms, and the fees would be sent to the Alliance of MAZE Species when within reason. For now, the group went inside a mid-range hotel and took 2 rooms, 1 for the man and 1 for the women. They agreed that going to a luxurious place was too much, but they had no reason not to enjoy some comfort. More important than any of that, the group came here just to drop off their larger bags. Everyone had their small pouches with small amounts of items and materials for their various spells. Things like potions, bundles of wires, whetstones, or bandages. Aside from that, they had a single bag with clothes, personal hygiene products, and larger camping equipment. Trying to hunt a wendigo while carrying all that was just plain stupid, and it wasn't something they should do unless it was an emergency.

With all that out of the way, the group headed toward the building that had replaced the guild. It was called Alliance Center, and they were getting increasingly more common around the MAZE. Despite the problems caused by the humans, a place like the guild was needed, and this was the best way to replace it. For now, most of the bureaucracy was still being worked on, which removed a lot of the hassle for both customers and those working there. Another difference was the look of the building. The guild had a standardized pattern that every single chapter had to follow. The Alliance Center was supposed to be the complete opposite. Aside from the symbol of the Alliance, which was still being worked on, each city would construct it like they wanted, including as much of their own personality as possible. The only requirement was to have a counter to talk with the clerks, a training area, an infirmary, and a drop-off station for those bringing items to complete their quests.

Arriving there, there was already someone waiting for them, or at last, a clerk who had nothing to do but talk to them.

"Hey! Are you the… Rescue party? Emergency Group? I don't know what you are calling this," the man asked.

"Now that you mention it… I don't know either," Flint turned to the rest of the party, who also had the same issue.

"Maybe Alliance Handymans?" Hera suggested.

"Handyperson? To be more inclusive?" Skylar added.

"The Alliance Handyones?" Roan frowned, "No, that doesn't sound good."

"We will figure something out. But yeah, it's us," Flyin shrugged the ideas away, "Are you the contact? We heard someone escaped the wendigo. Is that you, too?"

"No, that's Merrik. I'll give him a call. Just a moment," the clerk pulled his tablet and made the call. The conversation took only a few moments before he turned back to the party, "He will be right over. It's been just two days since he came back, so he is still a bit shaken up. Especially since he lost his party there."

"Lost, lost, or lost they are dead?" Flint asked.

"Half and half from what I understand. But he can explain things better. Also… try not to ask that question like that. He has been going through a lot," the clerk asked.

"I think Vash and I can handle that conversation. It should be for the better. Some of us are not… people persons," Neria smiled at Flint and Roan, who was by his side.

"I won't complain," Roan shrugged while Flint just groaned and waved her off.

"Ok. While we wait. The Alliance also asked me to deliver something for you all. One moment," the clerk rushed to a room in the back. Around ten minutes passed when they heard loud clangs and the sound of glass shattering together with a yell, "SHIT!"

Neria stepped forward, about to head out to the back door, when the clerk came out, "This is not supposed to be a fucking mail service!" He gasped, trying to clean some orange chunky stains on his blue shirt. Under his arm, there was what looked to be a shoe box wrapped in brown paper. He placed the parcel on a table and turned to the party, "And seriously, who mails marinara sauce?! I don't care how many spells they use to preserve that thing. It just shouldn't be allowed."

Neria chuckled and pointed her coral staff with a large conch on top at the clerk, "May I?"

"May you what?"

"Clean you up. Or heal you if you got hurt."

"The only thing that hurts is my pocket. I'm sure someone is going to ask me to pay them for this. But yeah. I'll take the help, thanks," he sighed.

Neria smiled, and with a quick twist of the wrist, a small stream of water went flying off. It wrapped the man's chest, pulled all the sauce from his shirt, and then returned to the triton's hand, floating right above it, "Do you have a bathroom here? Or just a sink? I think this is not chunky enough to cause a clog. I can't do anything about the stain, though. But some baking soda and vinegar should work. Or cover it with greenvay salt and rub a sliced onion on it."

"Toilet is better," the clerk pointed to the left, "Third door on the left. You'll see the male and female. Just use whatever you want. There is no one else here. And thanks for the help. I think there is a store that sells that salt nearby."

Neria nodded and started walking. Vash moved closer to the elven clerk, "What is that thing? The parcel. Also, what is your name? I'm Vash. These are Hera, Skylar, Flint, and Roan, and the girl who cleaned you up is Neria."

"Oh. Right, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Azipre. But people just call me Azi. And these are your supplies," he let the group open the parcel and looked inside.

There were about a dozen health and mana potions, each all in small test tube-like vials together with an attachment to their belt where four vials could be kept safe for quick access. This attachment also created a protective barrier around them, but the spell wasn't that strong. Flint groaned and said he could make something safer. He noticed that underneath all that, there were a few sheets of what looked like copper. This was one of the materials he requested to improve his equipment. It was, in essence, a nod from his king. A way to let him know that his hard work would be recognized and properly awarded. There were only two more things inside. The first was a bag with five sets of bone earrings. Roan instantly understood what they were and grabbed the items. He just said that this was about the trigger phrases, but he didn't elaborate. Lastly, there was a letter. Or, more to the point, a receipt. After Hera realized that she still had one open space in her court, she tried finding a good blade for it, but due to the war, the best equipment was all being sent to the front lines. Typhera became aware of her request and offered to help by ordering a weapon. Hera said she would pay for it herself since she didn't want to abuse her position, and they came to an agreement. This receipt let her know that a crafter had taken her request and was making a double-sided spear with blades on both ends. The weapon should be completed in a week's time from now, and then, Hera could either go pick it up or request it to be delivered to her location.

Neria came back as they were checking everything, and she took one of each potion and dumped them inside the conch in her staff. Noticing the odd stares, she chuckled and explained, "One of the skills this staff has is to be able to replicate the effects of any liquids that are placed inside the conch for 7 days. Potions have a reduced effect, but even if they are just 1/3 as effective, I can make up for the quality with quantity. You just might really need to go to the bathroom later."

"Couldn't you turn the potion into a mist so we just have to breathe it in?" Daskka asked, and Hera passed the message along.

"I can, but the effect is reduced even more like that. Instead of 33% as effective, it drops to around 10. In that case, it's not worth the mana I would have to spend to make enough for a full potion. But in a pinch, or heal more people. Yeah, I can do that," Neria explained.

Before they could continue that conversation, Merrik arrived. Everyone introduced themselves, and they stepped back as Neria and Vash asked questions about the wendigo. It took a while, but they eventually managed to piece together his story.

Merrik was an assassin. His party went inside one of the tunnels to kill a nasty group of rabbits that were causing problems. However, they were ambushed by the wendigo. It chased after them for hours, stopping every attempt at escaping the tunnels. Eventually, the fighter of his party used a few skills to pin the monster to the wall and give the others a chance to escape. Merrik saw his friend getting his stomach pierced by the long back claws of the beast and just started running. Eventually, he was able to leave the underground, but at some point, he lost track of his other two party members. A hunter by the name of Clarisse and a mage named Brator. That happened three days ago.

The wendigo seemed to be able to dig its own tunnels and even move through the ground without disturbing it. It also had exceptional hearing and could make spider webs. In addition, its back legs were extremely powerful, and its mouth opened in a star pattern, revealing what almost looked like a garbage disposal, including rotating teeth. Merrik's fighter friend, Morgan, had a couple of skills that increased one attribute by a lot while lowering others, and he was someone who could control lighting with his sword. Clarisse was a trap maker, always using tripwires and other things to catch her prey while using some skills to remove her scent and reduce the noise as she moved. Lastly, Brator was an earth mage. He was trying to specialize in sand to help make air ducts inside the tunnels but wasn't quite there yet. Unfortunately, that was all he could say. During the fight, he didn't have a chance to take a good look at the monster.

The last thing he shared was the location where he found the wendigo for the first time. And with all that information, Hera and her new party knew where to start.