As the party got closer to the breach, they noticed that there were no bodies left from the titanic battle. Presumably, the ghasts and other dungeon creatures had dragged them off to feed. When they reached the breach itself, Lanek froze in surprise. While not noticeable from a distance, the walls appeared to be repairing themselves. It was a slow process from the looks of things, but Lanek supposed that the dungeon had all the time in the world.
They slowed as they exited the city, all of them seeing the land to the north clearly for the first time. As with the east and west approaches to the city, the north was covered in trees. However, the trees did not extend unbroken or as far. The trio could spot breaks in the trees here and there, home to lakes and ponds. In addition, they could see a mountain pass directly to the north that had a road leading directly to the city and the breach in the walls.
Suddenly, it made sense as to why the gaunts targeted this spot. It must have been the northern gate at one point. They would have made this connection sooner had any remains of the gate still stood and if the explosions from the previous battles had not destroyed multiple city blocks and any signs that a road once led here from within the city.
“I wonder how long ago the gate was obliterated?” Liv said.
“No idea. Hell, for all we know the gate could have been destroyed centuries ago and it keeps getting attacked before the Depths can finish repairing it.” Lanek said.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if the gaunts just keep targeting this spot to keep an easy point of entry open.” Ograch opined.
After that, the group lapsed into silence so as to pay more attention to their surroundings. As always, Kazuma and Sanguineus both took off and ranged ahead on each flank, scouting for any potential threats. The trip north was relatively peaceful, aside from signs that gaunts had roamed the area. However, no gaunts seemed to be present at the moment.
Did they all die in the attack on the city? Or is something else driving them out of the area?
If something was driving the gaunts away, it wasn’t readily apparent. There were no villages or feral settlements. In fact, there didn’t seem to be any signs of danger as even the wildlife they spotted in the distance mostly consisted of herbivores. Sadly, despite the wildlife in the area, they found no bears or other potential mounts.
Eventually, the road they were following broke free from the forest and they found themselves walking through an open field leading to a mountain pass. At the entrance to the pass they found the landmark that Caelis had mentioned and recommended they use as a campsite if it still stood. On either side of the pass stood a pair of towers, still in relatively good condition. The two towers were connected by a wall that was roughly 50 meters wide with a central gatehouse, although the gate had long since been destroyed.
Caelis had mentioned that this fortification had been built even before the city had been founded. She wasn’t sure why, but she personally believed that it had been built to slow down any possible invasions from the south since that part of the continent had been a wild and dangerous place in the distant past.
They still had plenty of time before the sun went down, but they took a moment to select a tower and set up camp. The tower was empty of any furniture or even debris. Instead of camping out on the first floor, they ascended the stairs to the second level and put down their bedrolls and built a campfire, although they did not light it yet. The arrow slits on the walls would be more than enough to deal with the smoke when the time came and if that wasn’t enough ventilation, the second floor of the tower had a doorway that connected to the top of the wall. They checked the third floor and the battlements for any potential threats as well, but found nothing.
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Before they settled down to rest, the party decided to discuss their plans. “So, I think we should head north as much as we can tomorrow. We don’t have enough information currently to figure out the best approach.” Ograch suggested.
“That’s as good a plan as any.” Liv said. “Do you think Sanguineus or Kazuma would be willing to scout tonight?”
“I think they would be up for it, but I think I would rather keep them close for now. I don’t know if it is safe out there or if there are things out there strong enough to kill them. Besides, with their senses we could sleep without having to worry about keeping watch, they’ll let us know if anything gets close.” Lanek responded.
That night they experienced the first real cold Lanek had felt since being transported to Caelis. While they had debated the need for a fire, the freezing air in the mountain pass forced them to light a fire for their own safety. Although, Liv didn’t seem to be nearly as uncomfortable as the rest of the party.
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The next morning found the party venturing forth into the mountain pass, nervous as to what they might discover. It hadn’t helped that Ograch had felt the need to tell them of the people his tribe had sent into the mountains that had never returned or the sightings of monstrous creatures they spotted on the slopes when they had briefly managed to set up camp near the mountains some distance to the west.
Luckily, they didn’t run into the monstrous creatures they were expecting after hearing those tales, which made Liv wonder if the hobgoblin was messing with them. However, she quickly shook the thought from her head. It was better to remain cautious and a bit paranoid than to dismiss his warnings as a jest.
Lanek spied a grove in the distance. “Let’s head over there. I imagine that something would have taken shelter there and even if they didn’t, maybe [Wild Communion] will work on the trees there. I hope we can at least get a lead.”
With his companions’ agreement, Lanek picked up the pace and began jogging toward the grove, sending Sanguineus and Kazuma ahead. Just before they arrived, Lanek felt both Kazuma and Sanguineus return to his soul, causing him to come to an abrupt halt.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Liv asked, confused at his sudden stop.
“Kazuma and Sanguineus just returned to me. They aren’t hurt, but something has them spooked.” Lanek said as he reached out to his two soul-bound companions. He could feel their anxiety, but it wasn’t to the level of terror. After a moment, Lanek figured out why they had dismissed themselves, they had wanted to warn him of a presence before he reached the grove and this had been the only option that guaranteed a successful interception in time.
Lanek explained the situation to Ograch and Liv before they began approaching the grove much more slowly. They closed with the grove before Ograch waved them to a stop, gesturing toward the center of the grove and a large stone. Atop the stone, a large mass of feathers resided and appeared to be sunning itself. As they watched the figure twitched and the thing’s head turned to face away from them, toward a large boar that had wandered into the clearing.
Seeing the feathered head face it, the boar proved to be just as belligerent as the ones back on Earth and growled in challenge. Lanek was taken aback by its size, this boar was far larger than anything he had ever head of back home. The thing seemed to be as big as a grizzly bear and would make a perfect mount for Ograch in terms of size or ferocity. Unfortunately, they would never get to test that theory out as the feathered form clearly did not take kindly to the challenge and stood upright on its hind legs and began making a horrifying warbling growl at the boar.
Lanek instinctively started to back away, eyes wide as he took in the feathered form’s scaled legs that ended in clawed feet that had a very distinctive curved claw that stood upright on the second toe of each foot. This claw would be perfect for disemboweling prey or rivals. He swallowed even harder when its full size became apparent, standing at two meters in height and reaching about seven meters in length due to its long tail. Its front legs, or rather arms, extended down in front of it with claws clearly evolved for cutting and slashing.
“There’s no fucking way…” Lanek whispered to himself as the creature leaped at the giant boar, claws flashing and reptilian jaws snapping at its foe.