Chapter 107 – Underwhelming

(Ikarus) "Is this... really the place dryad?"

"Yes, those little thieving bastards are inside there!"

(Ariza) "It's just an inn though"

(Zeki) "Brother's right, are you sure you've got the right place cow?"

"Stop doubting me, it's definitely the right place!"

(Petra) "..."

Off one of the main roads that connects the capital to the rest of the continent is an inn we've flown across many times before; the thieves obviously must be inside here but this place looks pretty peaceful for how she described the bandits. Sure, there is a guy out front with an axe but he's only chopping wood with it, must be these bandits are acting peaceful and staying the night here I presume?

Regardless of all four of us birds and our slight confusion, we enter the travellers' tavern and find the place pretty packed, some of the tables are filled with caravanners, others just civilians and a couple groups of mercenaries as well. None really fit the look of bandits or thieves but the dryad clearly thinks that someone in this place is the culprit.

"There they are! Those are the bastards who stole the vigil, get them!"

What the pissed off dryad is pointing at is a family consisting of a husband, wife and a small child. Is she actually being serious?

(Petra) "*Sigh*... seriously?"

(Ariza) "Uh huh, we're not doing that"

(Zeki) "I mean... I like killing anyone and all but even I'm not feeling up for it today"

(Ikarus) "*Sighhh*"

"I don't care if they're just a family, an entire portion of the forest could be destroyed if they're allowed to continue their fiendish ways! I've been tracking these lot for weeks and now vengeance is here, please punish them!"

Thinking back, this isn't the first time this dryad has gotten the wrong impression of someone, just look at how our first introductions went, those splinters were really a bother for a second or two. Once again, something she's saying isn't quite adding up so it might be best for her to stop talking.

"Can you just shut it for a second please?..."

The dryad pouts from me telling her to shut it and Zeki clearly looks a little envious from me doing such a thing, I guess he's jealous that I can actually make her stop talking. Anyways, we need to talk to the family now, they do look a little startled from all the dryad screaming abuse towards them, also getting a few weird looks from other people as well inside this place.

"... It looks like you two have taken something that doesn't belong to you, would you mind if we could have it back?"

Despite my asking, both of the parents have faces of pure confusion, things are never that easy it seems.

"I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you're on about"

"Yeah, my wife and I are a little confused what you adventurers are looking for"

Sighhh, they're even telling the truth, was this dryad mistaken then?

Thankfully enough, the child is literally just banging some rocks together at the table so he couldn't care about his parents being hounded by us. I can already tell this dryad has wasted several days from our lives but let's just get this dealt with now.

"It's a marble sized rock that you fuckers decided to steal from that ruin you stayed at days ago!"

Jesus Christ, there's literally a kid dryad, language. Eve I know not to swear in front of them despite me being awkward as fuck in front of kids.

"Oh, do you mean this thing?"

"We thought it would make a good toy for Jacob for when he stops putting things in his mouth. Honey, we should probably give it back if it's hers"

The woman shows a white looking marble... or is it a gem? It matters little what it is, the dryad clearly looks happy from seeing it and basically swipes it from her grasp.

"Yes!... it's a good thing we're so forgiving for your crimes otherwise my friends would've kicked your arses!"

(Petra) "*Sigh*"

"*Scoff*, stupid cow"

(Ariza) "At least we resolved this peacefully... I guess"

All of us have reactions of annoyance, Petra with her trademark facepalm, Zeki scoffs at her and even Ariza can't help but look a little irked. I'm just trying to contain my anger at something that could've literally been dealt with by herself in a second and yet, I've had to fly at full speed to get over here just for this to happen!?

'Sighhh... I'm seriously about to blow a fuse...'

__________

"Ah... I'm so happy I've found this; sister would never have forgiven me for losing her precious gem once again"

'Keep it in Ikarus... don't explode with anger'

All of us have no words to say to the smiling dryad after that quest has been completed if you can even call it that. Her happy reaction isn't making it any easier to remain calm and collected, at least we get a reward from this but knowing the dryad, there's probably something wrong with the holy grail as well.

I still can't contain my anger so maybe if I ask a little more, then that might calm it? Replace it with curiosity or something else... even though that probably won't work.

"Hey dryad, how does that thing even work? Have trees already started dying since it's been gone or something?"

Unfortunately, her response only makes things worse.

"He-he-he... it kinda is just a worthless gem really, I doubt you'd have helped if I told you the full truth... also, sister wouldn't destroy the forest that we both protect thinking about it, whoopsie"

'Wait a second... shouldn't I have detected that lie?'

[<Aesa has warned -user- ability -eye of wisdom- isn't perfect. Point being, if target forced themselves to believe in such potential consequences, then -user- wouldn't be fully able to detect the meaning behind the words or potential lies>}

'Wait... you mean she actually got so worked up, she actually believed the entire forest could be destroyed over a pointless fucking gem!? Why am I even fucking asking that? You agree with my irritation, right?'

[<Affirmative, target -Ria- has still deceived -user- and fellow phoenixes, whether she did it on purpose or not is irrelevant>]

I do remember detecting that something wasn't right when she first mentioned about it, I'm also guessing her sister whoever that is could've destroyed a part of the forest as punishment but the dryad just changed her mind on that... Fuck this, even Aesa agrees with me being pissed this time around.

"Hey dryad... you understand I've just flown days for you to fucking drag us out here to do that!?"

I'm sorry but is she seriously taking the piss? I'm clearly not the only one feeling this way as well.

(Petra) "Dryad... you understand we have better things to do?"

(Zeki) "Ria... you really test my patience"

(Ariza) "You could've just done this yourself!"

"E-Erm... s-sorry?..."

Obviously, the smiling anger from Petra combined with me and Zeki's visible anger has caused the dryad some discomfort and is making her stutter... it's a damn shame she'll just revive if killed but we can still make it painful at least... Oh, we can even have Ariza making sure she stays alive to enjoy it...

"... -I-It's fine though! You still get the holy grail, r-right?... When I'm over there next and I can r-remember where I hid it"

Is this dryad trying to piss us off even further? She's even partially lied about that as well, all this so that another tree spirit won't be pissed at her? If that's who her sister is.

"Petra... remember that thing you did to the princess?"

"Of course, I'm liking the suggestion Ikarus"

"Damn orangey, I heard about that... your mind is wicked and I'm all for it"

(Ariza) "I'll... just look away then"

For the record, I'm clearly not serious like last time around... although she has crossed a line for something which is apparently just a dumb gem. There does need to be a suitable punishment inflicted on this dryad but none of us are that cruel... at least, I think that's the case.

"Nooo! A-Ahem... w-what about another quest!? An e-epic fight against b-bandits not too far from here? There's l-loads of them as well!"

Clearly the threat of being mercilessly killed again is playing on her mind... now I can't trust her even when my ability is telling me that's the truth.

(Petra) "This area is clean, dryad. Most the empire is at this point"

"Yeah, we even saw the area from above on orangey's back, further lies won't save you cow"

"Uh huh"

"..."

I'm actually the mute one this time around, I guess I'm the only person who can tell there wasn't a hint of a lie in what she just then but I'll still allow her to continue on since I'm still not sure.

"T-That's because they're u-underground! I could f-feel loads of them under a bunch of t-tree roots the other day scarpering about doing h-heaven knows what!"

Once again, the stuttering terrified dryad tells the truth... unless she's able to believe her own lies on the spot. In all honesty, getting some more EXP is pretty appealing and the others won't exactly say no to some more bandit hunting...

(Ikarus) "*Sigh*... point us in the right direction and go find our reward while we're handling it then, you better not be exaggerating or lying again"

"I-I'm not, promise!"

__________

"Got to give these bandits some credit, they really are determined to live an outlaw's life"

"Heh, true Ikarus, they really have put in the work"

"Is it really okay to admire such nasty people though?"

"Of course it is brother! Although... I don't think older sis and orangey were actually admiring them though"

After pointing out where an entrance to this underground hideaway is, we enter leaving the dryad to go fetch our reward and traverse the endless tiny tunnels that seem to go under this part of the forest. Traversing through these small and tight tunnels is giving me slight claustrophobia but it's manageable right now. I'm also getting vibes what life would be like a soldier fighting off an American invasion right now as well, pretty sure some of their enemies used to make tunnels like this to fend off those pesky oil hunters... even if the wars I'm thinking about weren't about oil, oh well.

At the very least, Ria was definitely right about this place, already seen signs up on the surface around the little hidden opening of some banditry, mostly just some rags and weapons with a little blood as well. Blood is normally a good sign if you're trying to find people like this after all, obviously not for the victims.

You can see why the empire haven't found these lot yet though. If it wasn't for Ria pointing it out, this wooden hatch would've remained unseen under all the shrubbery and foliage for ages, even Petra couldn't have detected this since it's that well-hidden. Any people willing to hide in tunnels likes rats must have some reason to hide, at least this journey shouldn't be a complete write off if EXP is involved.

I will be pissed if they just turn out to be regular citizens but let's be real, extremely doubtful a group of civilians would want to live down in this shithole... okay, I'm starting to get claustrophobic now, it's not helping Petra's in front and the other two are behind me.

Thankfully, we've only been in here for a few minutes or so and now we can see the opening of a large area up ahead. Slowly and quietly approaching the opening, all four of us find ourselves up on a ledge looking down a little distance away at a group of people. Whispering to each other, we speak trying to be quiet, this place is definitely a little odd just looking down at what's going on.

"Is this... a cult of some sorts?"

"I'm unsure Ikarus, never seen anything like this"

"Uh huh, it might be"

(Zeki) "Who da fuck are they worshiping?"

Off in the distance appears to be several dozen bandit looking fellows all praying and worshiping to a shrine of a humanoid looking creature. The statue itself appears to be made of a shiny metal dripping a blood red and this creature even has horns, is this what the rumoured demon species look like? Should probably focus more on the upcoming battle rather than that, defintely want to get this done quick if possible.

"Petra, I'm guessing it's fine to attack on sight?"

Well, it should be seeing that they've brought corpses down here and have done weird ritualistic things to them, there's one cut up on a table over there. If any of us were squeamish, then I could imagine this place would be too much. You can even see the knifes an-... I'm looking away from that, it's pretty brutal and gorey.

"They're definitely not friendly Ikarus... Zeki, remember try to limit getting the killing blow"

"Hey older sis! You do realize I need to level up too? So freaking close to the next one but I'll try and delay it then"

"I'll stay up here so retreat if you need healing anybody"

It could be a good idea how to strategize against this room of thirty people or so but in all honesty, there's nothing more suitable for the tried and trusty flamethrower right now. I could use something like my star blaze but in all honesty, the idea of running into a group of people like a headless chicken no longer has that much appeal, I guess Petra's training methods have taught me to be a little more careful in approaching a situation.

Us attacking three phoenixes slowly creep down the stairs from this ledge towards the group still kneeling and praying to that demon looking statue, it really does feel intimidating but that's only the demon itself. As for everyone else, their auras all feel pretty weak so this should be a piece of cake, I'm not taking anything for granted especially when my leg got broken from a fucking goblin. This is going to be as efficient and boring as I can make it, leave no survivors and take no chances with this many people.

Now in a suitable position, it appears the praying has finally ended leaving our timing to be terrible, all of them get up and realize there's others in the cave after turning around.

"Trespassers! Kill the non-believers!"

"How dare you break into our inner sanctum?"

"Skin and gut them like a fish!"

"Fear death and scream for mercy!"

Well, there's definitely no room for misinterpreting this situation now, it's time to go to work on these cultists. All of us stop crouching and prepare but it seems only me and Zeki are actually taking the initiative stepping foward of the other two, I guess Petra will join in a second. Frankly, I could status check them but they don't seem all that powerful and I really don't want thirty or so boxes popping up all at once since all these lot are in sight, it would be like a load of pop up ads all at once.

Nearly in sync, me and Zeki put out our arms and start to spray our hellfire all across the angry and fiendish cult members, you'd think that maybe some would try and avoid the fire but nearly all charge head first into our combining reddish-orange flames. There really is some beauty in this... shut it bloodthirsty Ikarus! Death isn't something to be enjoyed.

Keeping this up for a short while, there's only so much fire can do against a group of suicidal cultists that just keep charging towards you. At some point, the charred bodies in front of the attackers start to become meat shields... that really isn't a nice thought.

"Our sacrifices will only make us stronger!"

"Death to the scum!"

Now the attackers charging at me have closed the distance, this would be a good time to duel wield my fire and dagger but I did say I'd rather end this fight quickly. Point is, I know what I'm doing.

'Aesa, activate star blaze'

[<Confirmed>]

Backing off just a little gives me more than enough time for this to charge this inside while my magic helps keeps the distance as well. Pretty sure Zeki's not struggling in the slightest over there too, we are basically flaming people in an enclosed area but enough about him. Petra's choosing not to fight this time I guess, maybe she sees three of us a little overkill?

Now my fireball covering ability is starting to surround me, I slack off a little allowing the cultists to get closer and like the idiots they are, try to run and attack me when their blades cannot get this far into the expanding fireball. I swear to God, six of them ran into this, how stupid can you be to actually run head first into a huge fireball? Also, it's a good thing all of us are resistant to fire otherwise this attack couldn't have been used down here.

By the sounds of it, the battle is now over as well, visibility always sucks inside this thing but I did want to get this fight done as quick as possible though. Mostly just down to the underwhelming nature of the quest we were sent on by the dryad so I kinda want to get back to the island now.

"Heh, your fire is starting to die down Ikarus, you'll be able to see again"

(Ikarus) "Ah, good good"

"Yeah orangey, you can't see shit inside this thing!"

(Ariza) "Uh, you two are still inside that"

Maybe it would've been good for Petra to say she wasn't getting involved but it's not like I can always rely on her, it kinda makes for good practice as well since you can never expect what might happen in a fight. Her basically doing nothing worked out pretty well, I seriously doubt she'd do that if there was a huge risk though. Despite all this, I might still put on an act and pout over her not getting involved, that does seem like something I would do despite me actually understanding her motive. Pretty sure Petra likes me pouting as well...

Now that my ability has completely gone, everyone can finally see each other again.

"I swear, didn't we do something like this this to the japs in the tunnels back in the epic war? Of course, we were also saving your sorry asses as well, isn't that right orangey?"

After finishing off the underground cult, Zeki has to come out with something like that. He really is terrible even bringing something like that up though, I get the comparison with the flamethrowers but have some compassion... even if these lot were strange cultists and some of the war things you could argue might've been deserved. I actually remember a little from a war documentary or two for some reason and let's just say, my war crimes have nothing on those.

Now, Ariza's rejoined us and it's time for looting portion of this 'adventure', we normally talk while doing this sort of thing but I can already tell with how things are, loot is going to be lacking down here.

"*Sighhh*... you understand that there was to it than you lot just coming over across the pond and kicking ass Mr obnoxious?"

"Don't care, the first two years showed how terrible you lot were and needed good ol'Murica to bail you out"

(Petra) "*Sigh*"

(Ariza) "You never learn when to shut up Zeki, remember a little from that history and Ikarus is right"

"No, you two obviously learnt the wrong version of history, the entire world would've been speaking a different language if it wasn-... oh, looks like I levelled up from that"

He almost acts like the stage wasn't already turning due to some terrible decision making and a navy that still managed to rule the waves... screw this, I'm not stooping to his level and I don't even care. Anyways, Zeki getting a level up is a good reminder.

'Statussssss'

[Name: Ikarus | Species: Phoenix | Level: 199]

[Health 40,000*/40,000*]

[Stamina 16,402*/20,000*]

[Magicka 27,992*/40,000*]

[You currently have 24500 unassigned points]

'Seventeen levels gained... heh, looks like I'm definitely buying some more shit soon, at least that'll make the journey back a little more enjoyable. Hey Aesa, you know how many I killed there?'

I'm curious if they were decently levelled or just that I got a load of them. Sure, they seemed pretty weak but most weak people seem pretty similar now. I guess I've gotten that powerful, anyone under let's say the fifty range seems like an ant... except for that dwarven leader but that kid was hiding something.

[<Aesa is unsure. If -user- had done a status check beforehand, then we would've been able to know if targets were powerful or not>]

'Don't need to be snarky about it... ah well, the trip back is going to be a right blast, I wonder if that's going to be literal or not...'