Book 2, Chapter 43 (1/2)
Visitor
By the time night fell once more, the party could see the mountain lake in the distance. Both Richard and Flowsand turned to look up at the northwest, as a meteor streaked across the night sky to plunge to the earth. It was extremely dazzling, making everything else up there look dim, and the trail it left behind didn’t dissipate for a while.
Both of them had felt a ripple in spacetime, of the same kind that had spread when they’d stepped through the portal to this plane.
A thunderous clap echoed through the tranquil night sky as the meteor landed, and with his eyes still fixated upwards Richard felt many cryptic messages coming from it. This was a bellow of rage that caused lightning to disturb the quiet, and a commoner watching this would feel like the sky itself was falling down!
Was this the wrath of the gods? Flowsand and Richard exchanged glances, before the cleric spoke up, “It seems like there’s more invaders now. I wonder where they came from.”
Richard looked at the direction the meteor had landed in, calculating the location with the help of Precision and searching for it on the regional map. The corners of his lips curled upwards, “This is good news! Now we have more time, the gods of this plane won’t be purely focused on us!”
“That might not be true, my Lord. It’s better to be safe!” Olar said in trepidation.
Richard smiled in reply, “There’s no need to worry. No matter which party is heading here, they definitely will be stronger than a party like us who were just heading for a lesser plane. The gods will definitely be more wary of them than us.”
“They’ll just be high in level,” Waterflower said icily. Her prey in the death camps were normally two to three levels above her, some even four or five.
“Isn’t that better?” Richard laughed loudly, “If that’s the case, it won’t be much longer till we get another valuable planar coordinate.”
“Normally, only primary planes can open a passage to a secondary plane. The coordinates we get might very well be to a primary plane,” Flowsand spoke her mind.
“And wouldn’t that make those coordinates all the more valuable?” Richard asked indifferently. However, those who picked out the meaning in his words would feel blood surging through their veins.
……
By the time they returned to camp, the new hostages were placed in captivity alongside Sir Kojo’s family. There were close to fifty footsoldiers now, with several novice knights in the mix.
The atmosphere in the camp had been extremely delicate. There were only two soldiers left on duty, sitting by the campfire with their weapons by their sides. There were two raptors as well, laid down somewhere in the vicinity. There were no lights coming from the tents, and it was extremely silent, but once Richard returned many flaps opened to reveal that these soldiers hadn’t slept. The strung-up atmosphere that seemed ready to break at a moment’s notice completely relaxed.