บท 97: Setback
Staring at the massive snake blocking the way, Axio looked forlorn.
One could say that he was in thought spot, stuck between a rock and a hard place, having a little issue, that he had encountered a mild roadbloack, perhaps even, that he was in such deep shit that he could feel the feces tickling the top of his head.
Despite this minor setback, he wasn't going to give up, not only had his instincts told him so, Nartak's reaction clearly demonstrated that something of importance was hidden inside of this decorated cavern.
And if this was his typical reaction to anyone looking into it the wrong way, then it was a no brainer why none of the ocean's folks had ever managed to find their king, if that was where he was holed up.
Was Nartak keeping him prisoner? No, that made no sense, he wouldn't just be hanging so far away from it usually if it was the case but why not point out where his friend was to the people?
The Bloated Hadal Serpent was supposed to want the best for them, and he demonstrated his will by allowing himself to rot away to protect them and constantly dealing with the sea creatures, presumably for years worth of time, decades or even longer even.
Unless the snake was just as deep in the loop as some of the citizens, which he didn't appear to be, he would have felt the passage of time, once again, something was weird here.
Axiolypito supposed that Nartak was guarding the king from something, perhapshe feared the people wouldn't appreciate to see his face after so long? When he was supposed to be the one to keep them safe?
Whatever the reason may be, Axio needed to find a way to get rid of Nartak, the snake was faster than him in water, was cautious and always landed his tail swipes, which sent the wretch flying in the distance, not to mention that he refused to move any move than necessary, not even giving Axio a chance.
If he truly wanted to get inside this cave, he would have to find a way to get Nartak to move from there and also, somehow get him to not manage or, be unable, to rush back to it.
The wretch's awfully small but very much wrinkled brain went into overdrive.
First idea: Try size manipulation.
An utter failure, the serpent most likely had some sort of skill allowing him to easily locate anything odd, it was just the same thing as before but smaller.
Second idea: Use illusions to try and confuse him and force to investigate.
A complete waste of time, Nartak wasn't fooled for even a second, as expected of such a creature but still highly annoying for Axio to see one of his few functioning abilities fail so miserably.
Third idea: Utilise monster bait and monster flare.
Monster bait seemed to interest Nartak for an instant but his powerful will shook the pull in the next moment, Nartak was definitely classified as a monster though, not a magical beast or whatnot.
Monster flare also had the same effect for a split second but the real idea was to get a bunch of sea monsters to come and occupy the snake while Axio slipped by...
It didn't work in the least, the hadal serpent crushed them all without moving from his spot, he was the apex down there and by a longshot, the marine monsters wouldn't even have showed up in the area without the flare getting the better of them.
This left Axio with only his fourth idea, it had been the first to pop up in his mind actually but being a bit reliant on luck and needing the intervention of things Axiolypito had no control over, it wasn't the most steady.
Not to mention, an essential part needed for it to even work was completely missing on the wretch's part.
Still, he didn't have any better idea come up to get rid of the nuisance, as such, Axio swam up and away under the watchful gaze of Nartak, who was expecting another ploy but was actually left completely by himself.
The wretch was moving all the way back up to go visit a pal.
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"He was there?!" yelled out Superstes, acting uncharacteristically jumpy and emotional as she looked all around as if looking for a physical proof.
"Where?!" she then asked, actually meaning to say: 'Where is he now?' but unknowingly skipping the unnecessary words for a faster answer.
In response, Sir Solitar simply pointed down at the gigantic hole in the ground, which was now completely sealed off.
"Alright, let's go-" she said very seriously but was stopped by Solitar from jumping and sliding down into the chasm, grabbing her by the neck like a misbehaving cat and placed further away from the pit.
Her three teammates and the two accompanying mages, Feuman, Cinla, Lolianth and Blouvier and her assistant Mart, respectively, thought that he was going to tell her something along the lines of:
"It's too dangerous"
"You are not ready yet"
"You need more training"
Whatever stuff old masters would say while stroking their beards and looking somewhat wise.
"Let me tell you a story before you go in" Sir Solitar didn't have a beard, at least that could be seen, he wasn't an old master at all, he just taught stuff and sometime did some explaining, the decision making was left entirely in the hands of Superstes.
If she still wanted to go after what he had to say was told, then she could, even if that would make him a bit sad, but just a little bit, Solitar had had to see many of his closest friends lose their minds or die, he had little space left for anyone in his heart.
"Let me explain to you what an old friend had told me before he disappeared" he began ominously.
"A formidable hunter of monster's without equal" he added, reminiscing the past for a few moments before continuing.
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