One day people would no longer do this; they would no longer go out to the lands for the planting, and they would buy their food in stores, as people did in town. But what a loss for the country that would be; what friendship, and solidarity, and feeling for the land would be sacrificed if that were to happen. (Morality for Beautiful Girls, Family Business)
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"This is my home," said Grace. "This is where my daddy raised me when I was a child. I used to play amongst the cattle he drove to Stone Town... be respectful."
"Sure thing, Grace," said Christina, smirking. "We're not crazy. We know that the tribes here are..."
"They were not always cruel," sighed Grace. "When I was young my daddy bartered with the Lion Tribes and I would rest under the cool shade of the acacia trees. Now... things have changed. Camp Mgobo, the home of the zebras who live here, is just ahead. We can find Mma Redband there."
But Grace suddenly started talking to a mole who I knew was related to Harley, a gardening mole. I was jealous that this guy was growing Evil Magma Peas by the bushel! I was going to ask him for some when Christina dragged me to a weird guy.
"You must be Tik-Tik Snaketongue, the one the guard told us about," said Christina. "I am Christina and this is Sierra. We are looking for Msizi Redband."
"I see," said the guy. I saw that he was a zebra-man wearing a lion's mask. I got suspicious at once. "It was obvious. You are trying to catch the Wizard City class."
"Yes, we are also from Wizard City," I said, tight-lipped.
"Msizi is young and a bit naive," said the zebra in disguise. "She means well but can get in over her head. I hope she didn't lead those students into danger."
"We'll be the judge of that," I said tersely. "Do you know where we can find her?"
"Msizi's hut is right over here," he said, pointing to a hut nearby. "Look inside and see if there are any clues to her whereabouts. Tell me what you find."
We went in and found Grace there, pale. "Are you okay?"
I looked around and cringed. "A struggle was here. I feel Msizi's in danger."
"Where is she?" snarled Grace. "Tell me!"
"Ah let me see," said Tik-Tik. "I remember now, she was first going to take the students to see the Thornpaw tribe. The Thornpaws are quite unpredictable and violent. You should be all right, but you will have to show a display of strength and defeat a few."
"Lies!" said Grace, who fled.
We tracked her down. "What is wrong with you?" cried Christina.
"He is lying," said Grace. "The Thorrnpaw are peaceful, they..."
"This isn't your world," said Christina. "Things have changed."
"Much like ages ago," whispered Grace.
"Tell me more," I said, eager to learn more about her world's history.
She sighed. "Before the land was peaceful, but then Morganthe was born. When she was born, those who witnessed the birth saw her give an evil grin, then start wailing. They prayed that this demon child would die in her sleep, they knew that was an omen of doom for Zafaria. Ever since her birth, Zafaria grew cold and dark. When she was a child, the land grew filled with shadow and people no longer were kind to each other. They only thought of themselves. She disappeared when she became our age... and then..." She shook her head. "The darkness remained, and people only looked out for themselves. It was a sad time."
"I'm sorry," said Christina. "You have been through a lot."
"I will not lay hands on the tribes," said Grace. "If you must defeat them, do it yourself. I will go and speak to the Thornpaw leader, my daddy traded with him when he was young, there is a way." She flew off and I shook my head sadly.
"Do you think she's crazy?" asked Christina.
"Well, she goes her way, we go ours," I said. "I don't like having to fight the tribes either, but if they attack us, we must defend ourselves. Let's go."
I felt bad but we had to show our strength... and boy did I show my strength after a critical hit took ot their shields. (The Thornpaw Hunters are Balance and WILL spam Shields.)
"Why are you attacking us?" demanded one of the hunters.
"Wait!" Grace arrived. "Please forgive my friends. They meant no harm. Let us speak to your Chief."
We bowed. "Sorry."
"You have the friendship of Rainchild, so we forgive you for attacking our people," said Chief Olemeeli. "She told us about these 'students', but we have not seen them. However, one of our warriors captured one who dresses like you do."
"That's one of the students," said Grace. "We will succor you in exchange for the student."
"Very well," said Olemeeli. "If you can find several well stones and fix our well, we will give you this 'student.'"
"That's my job," I grumbled. "Sheesh, just because I can work a forge doesn't mean I'm an automatic handywoman. Well, let's get this over with."
Grace helped me with the well - she told about how her father drew from it to water the cattle he drove down the Savannah. "The Thornpaws are a peaceful lot, only using their weapons for food."
"It's our fault," I said. "We shouldn't have..."
"It is good," said Grace. "We've fixed the well. Let's tell the chief about it."
He let us release the student, who was one of the boys. "Help me out of this place!" he cried.
"Okay okay, keep your hat on," I grumbled, flipping the bar and opening the cage. He stepped out.
"I'm Edwin Trollstrider," said the boy. "Are the other students lost too?"
"We're looking for them," I said. "Trip's cancelled, you need to get back to Ravenwood."
"Okay," he said. "I don't know what happened to the rest of the group. The guide, Msizi Redband, brought us out here from Baobab with Professor Sunchaser. I saw a neat little cave I wanted to investigate, but when I came back out everyone was gone. I tried to head back but I got lost and stumbled into these Thornpaw defending their tents. I guess I surprised him." He chuckled.
I wanted to reprimand him for not sticking with the group but I decided not to - he was lucky; I had a feeling the others were not so lucky. "Can you make it back okay?"
"If you point me in the right direction," he said. "I think I can make it back to Baobab and then Wizard City. I'm getting out of here!"
"We are so sorry that your experience here was bad," said Grace. "I..."
"It's okay, Grace," said Edwin. "I recognize you from class, you're in my class with Professor Balestorm. I think your home is pretty cool, it's just not for me." He shrugged.
We escorted him back to Camp Mgobo and parted ways and Grace's photo filled out with his image. "That's two students down, four to go," I said. "And the Prince and Umilio. We'll find them."
"At least he didn't get captured by bugs like Grace or..." She gasped. "I'm so sorry, Grace! I didn't..."
"It is all right, Mma," Grace said with a sad smile. "I do not think I will forget the ordeal I had but at least my secretary is reunited with her family."
"I understand that, Chief," I said, bowing again. "We are sorry we attacked you. We were told that our students had been visiting your tribe."
"I do not know who told you that we had anything to do your group," said Olemeeli. "Except... that one, of course."
"Tik-Tik Snaketongue?" asked Christina.
"Who is that? I do not know him," said the chief. "He has steered you wrong."
"Yeah, I had a hunch," I said. "We'll leave you in peace."
"You are a true friend to the Thornpaws," said Olemeeli. He bowed at us.
"Oh?" I said with a sneer. "You really wanted us to be eaten, didn't you, liar?"
"Forgive me, I am so sorry you had to go through that with the Thornpaws," said Tik-Tik. "Selfish brutes, unlike my people, the Striped Mane tribe."
"Yeah, and I'm Queen of the Universe," snarled Christina.
"I just realized my mistake," said Tik-Tik. "Msizi didn't take the students to see the Thornpaws, she took them to see the Darkmane tribe. Go to them and demand to see their chief. Show them no mercy and give none!"
I turned to Grace. She nodded. "I do not like hurting them but Rra Olemeeli said they were preying on the herds. We must find out why."
We did so but also grabbed some acacia branches and Christina built a mouse-trap from it. We placed it at Olemeeli's tent and he rewarded us well. (Side-quest, but it's on the way. Christina hit Level 71 a short while ago.)
(Three guesses what element the Darkmane Raiders are!)
(Three guesses what they are weak to! No, you can't guess, it should be obvious. :p)
(Although Christina took the second battle with a lucky Critical. @_@)
"Argh! Enough!" cried one of the raiders.
"We must speak to Rra Kakura," demanded Grace angrily. "You are to stop stealing the herds!"
"You want to speak to Chief Kakura?" said the raider. "Why didn't you say so? Forgive us, Mma, we did not know it was you."
"You have a clout around her," I said.
"My daddy traded much with the chiefs," she said with a sad sigh. "Let us go see what is wrong."
Grace approached and bowed. "Jambo, Rra Kakura, it is is, Grace the rainchild. You remember my daddy, Obed, no?"
"Ah, I do," said the lion chief. "He traded much with us back when the Savannah was green and times were better. It was a sad day when he turned late."
"These are my friends, Sierra and Christina," she said. "We apologize for harming your people."
"No, it is our fault," said Kakura. "I am sorry if my warriors mistook you for a threat. We have had better days and all strangers look like enemies. We apologize to your late father for any harm done."
"It is all right, Rra," said Grace, smiling. "But why are you stealing the herds? In the past you traded with others and shared."
Kakura grunted and shook his mane. "None of the tribes have had much food or water these days, so we battle over what little resources are to be had. Worse, not only will the striped Iklaw not share, but they us away from Baobab. We fight with them for than ever."
"That's horrible!" I said.
"It is sad, the Iklaw zebras were never like this," said Grace, hanging her head. "Whatever the Umbra Queen has done, it has affected the land and its people. It is like..."
I touched her shoulder. "We'll make it right, Grace. I swear on my honor as a master of Myth."
She hugged me. "Thank you, Mma." She turned to Kakura. "We will deal with the Iklaw."
"Good," said Kakura. "You are as strong and stubborn as your father, rainchild. In the last skirmish, the Iklaw stole many of our spears. It is hard for my people to defend themselves. I'll tell you this. If you could defeat some of the Iklaw and recover our spears, then I might have time for you."
"Too bad we were going to ask about..." I began.
"Hey guys," said Christina.
"Look what I found!"
It was another of the students. "Excuse me, miss..."
"Eden Windforest," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, can you talk to me later?"
"Well, she seems okay," I said.
"Let us help Rra Kakura," said Grace. "Perhaps he can tell us why she is here if we get back those spears. I want to end the fighting."
I nodded. "Let's go."
We found a teleport... thing near the village. It was great as we could warp back to Camp Mgobo if we needed to go back to Baobab. I wondered why the tribes didn't use it but I guess that only wizards can understand how it works.
Then we got back the spears. (I don't think I need to tell you how this went down. Yep, these guys are Storm too. Sierra had a much easier time in this part, though Grace didn't mind tagging along for the ride even if she didn't get to attack. The only threat was a lucky Wild Bolt. Oh, and expect both the Raiders and Iklaw Warriors to spam the global bubble. The drop rate of the spears is 33%, so expect a lot of battles.)
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| Christina: "****ing Wild Bolt!!!" :( |
"Thank you, now can we talk?" I asked.
"While you were away," said the Chief. "Those sneaky Thornpaws came and stole our biltong."
"Bil-what?" I asked.
Grace explained. "It is a type of food we eat here in Zafaria. It is made from meat cured with spices and vinegar. It is the mainstay of diet here." She turned to Kakura. "We'll go fetch the biltong."
"But..." said Christina.
"If we don't, they'll starve!" I said. "Our worries are nothing to theirs." I sighed. The tribes here had much more to worry about that we Wizards did. I felt a little guilty - I had a nice house with a stocked larder and safe from invasion, but these people didn't have those luxuries. It would be best to help.
"I will have to ask Rra Olemeeli to discipline those rogues who stole your food," said Grace.
(Guess what we have to defeat again? Again, Sierra shines as Balance is weak to Myth, although a bit less so than Storm. This screenshot is hilarious, the Thornpaw looks like she's having a seizure. Of course, we have Spirit Shields to deal with...)
"Forgive me, Rra," said Grace. "Do you mind if my friend tried the biltong? I want them to know how our food tastes."
"Of cuorse, we have plenty," said Kakura. We took a piece of the meat and chewed on it. It was like beef jerky, only spicy and acidic. It was amazing! Yum!
"You see, my world is a great place, but these crises make it hard," said Grace.
"Now that we can defend ourselves and our food stores have been restored," said Kakura. "I can sit with you. You are seeking a pride of young Wizards, yes? We have one of your pride-mates her in our camp, Eden Windforest."
"We spoke with her," said Grace. "It seems she is treated well."
"Yes, she is a valued guest," said Kakura. "The guide led the pride through here but they kept a respectable distance, all but one. Eden was braver than the others and came into our camp. When the others left, she asked if she could stay."
"I wonder..." I said. "Could we speak with her?"
"Yes, she is by our barren garden," said Kakura. "Be my guest."
"Jambo, Mma Windforest," said Grace. "I see you are well."
"Oh, it's you, Grace," said Eden. "I saw you around Ravenwood a while back. You're the one who is pretending to be a detective, right?"
"She is a detective, get it right!" snapped Christina.
"I can defend myself," laughed Grace.
"I see you are okay," I said. "Did you enjoy the trip?"
"Oh yes," said Eden, nodding. "Msizi Redband led us through here. She had a lot of interesting things to tell us."
"So why did you break from the group?" I asked.
"Because I was heartbroken when I saw these poor people," said Eden sadly. "I decided to stay behind and help them with their garden."
"I thought lions were carnivores, but I guess these people are different," I said to Grace. I turned to Eden. "It's okay, we'll try to help."
"I can't get anything to grow here, though," said Eden. "The soil is too bad."
Grace pulled a finger through the dirt. "This soil usually is fertile... I fear the darkness has tainted it." She turned to me. "I know someone who can help, he is in Camp Mgobo."
"Really?" asked Eden. "But the Iklaws don't like to share."
"We will make them see reason," said Grace. "I know the guard, Bheki Blackhoof. He will not refuse our request, or if he does, we will find out why. You stay here."
"Okay," said Eden. "If you get some seeds, I can make them grow."
"Looks like someone is destined to be a great gardener," chuckled Christina. I glared.
"We will need your gardening expertise," Grace told me. I suddenly felt special.
Turned out that Bheki Blackhoof had problems of his own - the fence had collapsed and he needed wood to fix it. Luckily, I had spotted some sticks near the patrolling rogue warriors.
But then Bheki told us about the Thornpaws blocking the road with a watchtower. We fixed it.
"For being students of magic," mumbled Christina as we used rope to pull up the tower. "We sure spend a lot of time fixing broken wells and fences."
"That's what I said, Grandma!" groaned Christina.
"It is okay, we can now take a shortcut to the Darkmane camp," said Grace. (Yep, you cut down on travel time once this tower is fixed. Until then, you had to take the long way around. I like how the Narrator[aka Grandmother Raven] gives humorous anecdotes when you do stuff like this. ^_^)
"Thanks," I said.
"What has happened here?" asked Grace. "This land was not like this when I was young."
"Ah, in times of peace we are happy to trade with the Savannah tribes," said Bheki. "But there is a long history of war between us. Their last good ruler, King Mansa, was killed. Now monstrous Lions who wear evil flames like blankets prowl the region."
"No," said Grace in horror, her face paling.
"My warriors fled those evil spirits," said Bheki. "Could you fight them and discover where they live and scout the region?"
"Gladly," I said. "But we will ask for something in return when we get back. Let's go, girls."
Oh my. This was not good.
"This is evil magic," whispered Grace. "I had hoped never to see this after my daddy told of this..."
[To be continued...]
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