Chapter 22

The ruins of Azawe had become so familiar to the party that some of them joked of the ruined city being their second home. Of course, this was just a nod to their familiarity to the layout of the city which they had become greatly acquainted with, but it led to some of the members coming up with new suggestions of moving to new spots to battle against new enemies, after all, they need to test their mettle against newer enemies. Moreover, the situation at the ruins has become a little more dangerous than before. 

From the news that Conrad and Kadungon had gathered from the new Auxiliaries that arrived, the Djinn and another gnoll clan have begun migrating into the ruins, bringing with them conquest and warfare in their path as they clashed with the city gnolls who had established themselves as the overlords of the city. While this meant that the gnolls in charge were now distracted, it didn't necessarily guarantee a safe passage for adventurers as they now had to contend with new enemies who entered the already turbulent region. 

"Gnolls fighting against each other? I can't believe that I always thought they had each other's back." Conrad was in disbelief when he heard the news, sipping a cup of tea as he was seated by the campfire with his teammates, somewhere on the outskirts of Manda. "The gnolls aren't as unified as we'd like to think, they're just like humans, they kill each other just as we do the same too for land and various reasons." Diacrao's cold response made Conrad sigh, who looked inside his empty cup as he plunged his head down in disappointment.

"Do we know where do they even come from?" Chiasoka asked as she scooped a boiling tea from the wooden bowl with a ladle and poured it into Conrad's cup carefully, ensuring the boiling liquid does not spill over to Conrad's hand. The rogue thanked the mage, and with a grin, he chugged the hot tea, disregarding the heat, much to the mage's surprise.

"Rumors had it that they left their ancestral homelands in the Northern Plains crossed the Doazzu River and went southwards, where they conquered the other gnoll tribes along the way and had goals to capture the city. From what I heard, these guys are hardcore and had a better military organization than the tribes that they subjugated, but the gnolls of Azawe can hold them on equal footing, at least at the moment." Kadungon explained the situation, relaying the information that he gathered from locals and other auxiliaries who had experience in this topic. In recent times, Kadungon hanged out at the tavern and made an attempt to talk to the locals more, which worked to his favour considering his gregarious, helpful and friendly nature allowed him to befriend people easily, and in return for doing favours, they often treat him and even share information with varying degrees of importance and benefits. 

"Huh, I wonder why they even left, got any idea Kadungon?" Aitana followed up the answer with a question, to which Kadungon had an answer too. "I might have some idea, based on what I've been told by an elder, the Northern Plains isn't a particularly well-inhabited place, and aside from that gnoll clan, which we'll call the Plains Clan, only a few nomadic pastoralists and horseman known as the Kumfarana who wander around from time to time, but that's about it. The Plains Clan might be migrating downwards because it could be because they are looking for fertile lands to settle down, but given their warlike nature, they choose war over talking peacefully with their brethren." 

"Huh, that makes sense, I was assuming if they were chased out or the sorts, so wait, is the Northern Plains controlled by any polities, or are they independent from any control?" Conrad now pitched in the questions as he too is curious about the Northern Plains, instead of the gnolls.

"It is controlled by the Xeyrian Empire, albeit, their control are only nominal at best as they exert no real authority in the plains. Aside from a fort established at the borderlands, they really don't have much influence, nor do they generally care about this place to begin with, as the lack of trade meant that there wasn't much importance in the region. There was an attempt to colonize the region by creating a few trading colonies, but the civil war had put a halt on that dream, and I doubt they would be interested in sparing their resources to expand into the Northern Plains. Sure, the Northern Zawu Coast may be a good place to set up a port, but it is dangerous as golems, gnolls, and kobolds who inhabit that region may pose a serious threat to the safety of the town and draw unnecessary manpower for probably little gain."

"Sounds like a no mans land over there, I bet it might be a pretty good hunting grounds for the Auxiliaries like us, maybe it could be a good place for us to explore?" Zemfina suggested a potential location that could be their new hunting grounds.

"Uh well, It's best we don't go there, considering that it is still dominated by the Plains Clan, and not to mention that there are roaming golems and outlaws, too much of a danger for little gains for us too. The Auxiliaries also prefer to stay away from such region." The warrior reminded them of the danger of the Northern Plains, suggesting that they should instead look for somewhere close by.

"Boo! We ain't no cowards!" Conrad taunted.

"Unless you want to be flattened into the soil, we should look somewhere else, Conrad, I suggest we look towards the Bogro Mountain ranges, I've heard that there are mines situated inside, inhabited by bandits, and the mythical Zhuda's." Diacrao placed his suggestion.

"Zhuda?"

"Giorgio told me they are mythical creatures who live inside the abandoned mines of the Bogro Mountains, taking over whatever Zanziyin settlements thrive in the labyrinth and being the new overseers of these mines, digging deeper and expanding their settlements. How do they look? Your guess is as good as mine, but they are humanoid and certainly more organized than the gnolls. So We gotta be careful with what we are up against." His description certainly gave pause to some of the members who have been accustomed with the gnolls that they have fought for a few months, or was it a few weeks? how long has it been since they were already in this world? the thought puzzled Diacrao, but, it was pointless to ponder on such trivial issues now.

"Sounds risky...but we can't afford to stay in the same shell, I am up to explore the Bogro mountain ranges, anyone who agree with this idea?" Everyone raised their hands, except for Zemfina and Kadungon, who seemed a little hesistant.

"What's up, Zemfi and Kadu?" hoping to get their input, Aitana asked the duo.

"I think we should really consider a different location aside from the mines, we do not know what lurks inside it, and sure, while other Auxiliaries might've hunted there, we aren't too sure what difficulties and danger lurks within the labyrinth. We are also willingly walking inside a beehive." Zemfina shared her view on the matter at hand.

"And I don't think we might be strong enough to face an enemy that is more organized than the gnolls, I think we should really improve on our skills and get better equipment before we continue our expedition inside the mines. And what if we get stuck in the labyrinth? We will not be able to go back, or yell for help, we will be alone. I suggest we do some research of these locations before considering this as our hunting grounds." Kadungon added.

"Of course we will do it guys, we won't go in blind you know! I understand your fears, but we have to plan everything before we do something right, isn't that our modus operandi?" Chiasoka assured Zemfina and Kadungon about their preparations before venturing into the unknown.

"Modest Opuh what now?" the confused Conrad was confused at the term that Chiasoka used.

"Oh! Well, I don't know where I got that from, but I know that it's another term to mean method...but I don't know where it's from originally." Chiasoka explained, now puzzled of the word that she mentioned.

"Alright Chia, thanks, I think we can do it." Zemfina, assured, raised her hands, followed by Kadungon. "Now I guess we have to train further and get our equipment. I think we can also use a better diet to cook when we are far away from any towns, villages, or civilization as a matter of that fact, thankfully, I've been taught some ways of getting food and cooking, but I can't be doing all the cooking alone." She informed everyone.

"I can do the cleaning does that count?" Conrad jested. "But we can also learn some scavenging along the way and help with some food preparation, not to mention that we can also benefit with some herbalism."

"I can make some potions! I am learning some few herbalism in my free time." Chiasoka pulled out a few potions that she had been experimenting in recent times. "Although, they are still experimental! But it seems to work as expected!"

"Great, well then, I suggest that we keep training and gather some information about the mines, for now, let's hunt some gnolls around the forest and wrap things up for today. Is everyone ready to move?" Aitana got up as she prepared her staff.

"Yeap, we are, let's clean this spot up and pack our things first." Diacrao got up too as he put out the campfire by pouring a bucket of water. The rest of the party started wrapping and packing their equipment and items before heading to the gnoll forest for their usual hunt.

Diacrao personally was anxious about the mines, but he was also equally excited to test his mettle against a new enemy in a new location. Of course, they have yet to learn more about the mines of the Bogro mountains, and it's inhabitants.