Inside the House of Stars (Zamunda, Part 1)

(I hope you have been enjoying my blog on Zafaria so far. I fear I can't make the rest of the worlds as detailed as this one but I feel Grace has a personal connection to this world. She's not really from anywhere, but I wanted to give some backstory like I did with Clever Agnes Thatcher in my Pirate101 blog. I promise that will be updated soon. [I am running out of time on that account too, but I don't plan on playing Pirate101 until I get the blog for Agnes updated up to where she is now.] For now, enjoy the next part.)

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"You need not be frightened here," said Mma Ramotswe gently. "We are your friends here. You need not be frightened." (Blue Shoes and Happiness)
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My fears were confirmed. "Man, this place was hit by a tornado," said Christina.

"Or war," whispered Grace. "I can't believe this has happened."

"Let's sneak in and show the writ," I said firmly. "We can't falter in the face of danger."

(The jackals are Death, so watch out for Death Ninja Pigs.)

Unfortunately, some jackals spotted us and viciously attacked. We took them down and discovered a staff. "Wait, didn't Rra Whitestripes mention a friend of his who had a staff like this?"

"Yeah," said Christina. "Let's go show it to him!"

Inyanga did indeed confirm that it was the Staff of Solomon. "I don't know where he was," I said.

"Perhaps..." said Inyanga. "Bandits captured him. There is a violent lion bandit called Amra Blackmane. He lives in a cave near the Water Hole, can you see if he has my friend?"

"I'll do it," I said. "I'd better go alone, that bandit might run if we go in all at once."

"Good luck, Mma," said Grace.

"Uh no, you forget I can turn you to ash before you can get close to me," I said.

"You use spells yourself, you hypocrite!" I cried as he summoned a Magma Colossus.

I got some help from Jabari Longspear, who was in the area. Medusa finished the lion off.

(Better bring Shatter, as Amra has a Thornpaw Raider with him who loves to spam Elemental and Spirit Shields. He is Fire so expect a lot of this. I think he has 6000-7000 HP, so you'll need to blade up a lot and pack a couple of Feints. Also, this is a solo battle - no allies allowed. I had to spend some Crowns on the Life Hench as he does a lot of damage.)

(Also, the first time Christina tried to fight him, he cast Efreet which left her with a very powerful weakness charm she couldn't get rid of and forced her to flee. Yeeeeah, bosses start using Rank 6 spell now, so be careful, will ya?)

(I hate having NPCs fade away while waiting for the stupid quest info to vanish. :( )

I didn't really need the staff, but I appreciate the sentiment. ^_^

And Inyanga tutored me a bit so I was able to know more. Thank you.

(First training point quest is done - the quests for training points in Zafaria are definitely harder than Ogden's in Celestia - you have to fight a boss solo for the first one!)

I reunited with my group and we found Sizani Sunrunner at the gates.

"We are friends, Mma," said Grace.

"Ah, Grace," said Sizani. "It is good to see you again. Last I saw you, you were but knee-high to an Olyphant child!" Grace blushed. "I wish I could greet you properly but we are at war."

"What's going on?" asked Christina.

"This place has been attacked," said Grace. "Look, jackal paw prints."

"Could you check them out?" asked Sizani.

I nodded. "Will do!"

(I didn't show it, but the jackals had two 'Rasik Pridefalls' as mooks. What the heck?)

We followed the tracks into a bush grove where we found two cowardly jackals like the ones we fought before. An Ice Wizard aided us in defeating them.

"Big noses?" I asked.

"The Greyhorn warriors," said Grace. "I know them well... they are mercenaries who do not care who they work for as long as they are paid." She pointed to a group of rhino-men.

"We need your help," said Sizani. "Can you defeat a few Greyhorns and free our men?"

I smiled. "Gladly! We'll teach them to mess with you!"

(Get used to fighting these guys ad nauseum, you'll have quite a few quests here requiring you to defeat them. They are Moon-elemental and have a Moon Shield that cuts Ice, Myth and Death damage by half.)

These rhino-men were powerful but the Ice Wizard aided us in thinning their numbers. We rescued the zebra warriors as well but the rhinos smartly put them in their paths so they could spot us and attack if we got too close.

Sizani opened the gates for us and let us in. Tensions were high. "What has happened?" asked Grace.

"The Olyphants have declared war on us," said Sizani.

"No," said Grace. "This is a tragedy!"

"Just like the lions went on a rampage against the zebras due to Morgie's messing with things," said Christina. "This sucks."

"Can we help?" I asked.

"Sure," said Sizani. "The Greyhorns have stolen our shields. Can you go and collect them?"

I wish I had kept my mouth shut. :(

(As I said, get used to fighting Greyhorns a LOT here. The quests for them is insane!)

However, as much as I love Chloe, this shield and sword I got from Amber is nifty as it casts Sprite on command. I like this pet. (Yep, finally got Spritely and Spell-Defy, took bad we got Ice Shot at adult, but it's not a total failure. I need healing pets now as the enemies get stronger, I'll accept Spritely for now but hopefully someone will breed a Fairy Friend and Unicorn onto a pet I have. Also, we get Sharpened Blade which will be helpful until we get to Azteca and get the Sun quest.)

After a few fights, we recovered the shields and put them in their proper place.

"You are a true warrior," said Sizani. "Now that we have the shields, we can rally our troops. Can you talk to the Igoka Defenders and arm them and train them to duel?"

"I'll let Grace get them together," I said. "She's a native here."

She did a pretty decent job convincing the zebra warriors to go to the barracks...

But they needed to be taught a lesson in humility. Do your WORST.

Oooookay, I deserved that. (These guys are Myth, so expect them to fire off an Earthquake round one - aka don't blade up until they waste their pips. I lost a few blades to that. :( )

You can just be defeated now.

"We will remember these lessons for a long time," they said, nursing their wounds.

"You're lucky we held back," said Grace, smiling.

"Well, we taught them something," I said with a grin.

"I have read this order from Bheki Blackhoof," said Sizani. "You are looking for a herd of Wizards, am I right?"

"Yes, Mma," said Grace. "I was supposed to guide them but..."

"The Umbra Queen got in the way," I interrupted. I knew Grace didn't want to recall her kidnapping.

"I see," said Sizani. "The Umbra Queen's legend returns. I know who can help, our king, Shaku Zebu. Talk to his magician, Tse-Tse Snaketail, he will help you."

Christina glared. "Any relation to Tik-Tik?"

"Oh, don't be so paranoid," I said, but I had my doubts as well.

(Forgot to talk to Sizani beforehand.)

I didn't like him already.

"Excuse me?" said Christina hotly.

Grace coughed. "Forgive my friends, Rra Snaketail. We are looking for a herd of Wizards and were told that Rra Zebu would help us."

"Ah, I see," said Tse-Tse. "Forgive my rudeness. I am sure our king, Shaku Zebu, would love to help you. Sadly, he is in the middle of a war council and cannot be disturbed. However, I have heard tales of your mighty powers, Wizards. It would honor our warriors if you fought by our side."

Grace fretted but I stepped in. "It would be an honor, Tse-Tse, we understand that this war was caused by the Elephant people. If we can drive them off, this war will end quickly."

"Good," said Tse-Tse. "Please show the Longdreamer Shamans and Greyhorns that you have strong medicine for this ill will, then I will see what I can do to help you with meeting our king."

I pulled the two aside. "I know it's harsh having to beat up some elephants, Grace, but we have little choice. We need to make sure the other students are safe. Besides, they declared the war."

"I don't trust that guy," said Christina. "He's rude and his name is similar to..."

"Let it rest," said Grace. "I understand we must defeat the invaders. I do not like this war and I do not know what caused it, but if we can intimidate the Olyphants we might be able to get breathing room to look for the remaining two students, Rra Sunchaser and the Prince."

"I think Morgie's kidnapped the prince and is framing the zebras to have this war," said Christina.

"And that only means one thing... but I wish it did not," murmured Grace.

"Then the sooner we end this war, the better," I said. "Let's beat up a few tough-skins!"

(First time I saw a Greyhorn use a Death spell EVER.)

 I tried to be positive, but we had to fight more rhinos...

And the elephant shamans, who were MYTH. GAAAAH!

(And I'm ending it here, as I had to defeat TEN EACH of both the Greyhorns and the Longdreamers. This is NOT going to be fun.)

[To Be Continued...]