291 Missing Shell (1/2)
”You should give her to me, Nix.” Gil kept glancing over to where Soup was sunning herself. ”You're not going to eat her, right?”
Nix grinned while he cut a 10-foot length off of the rope he purchased in Bachoni. ”Guess that depends on how hungry I get.”
Most of the camp had stopped by in the last few minutes; by all accounts, Soup was an impressive companion. Nix carefully tied the rope length into a makeshift harness and then stood up. ”You coming Gil?”
Mortimus was talking with Jaro when Nix approached. Jaro's face was covered in bruises, but it didn't deter the big smile he was wearing.
Nix waited until Gil caught up before speaking. ”I know where Sinai is. Unfortunately, he passed away some time ago.”
Gil's face lit up. ”We're gonna find GrandPa?”
”Yes, but he's no longer alive, Gil.” Nix pulled out his otter aquatic. ”Soup and I are going into the lake; if you're equipped for underwater action, then you are welcome to come along.”
Gil nodded and stowed his armor before slipping into a green-colored aquatic suit. ”I'm in.”
Jaro shook his head slowly. ”Where did you get that, Nix?”
”Made it,” Nix admitted.
Otter Aquatic
Description: Enhanced
Underwater Gear that specializes
in speed and maneuverability.
Special Enhancement: Underwater
breathing.
+ 300 to Swim Ability.
Mortimus stared at the aquatic suit. ”Are those hard to make?”
Nix shrugged. ”No, I made it from an otter that Soup killed.”
”I'd like to take you back to Nescari when you finish, to meet Scarlett.”
Nix didn't have to ask who Scarlett was; everyone else referred to her as the Clan Matriarch or Clan Leader. ”
Gil and Nix walked along the banks of the river toward the lake; Soup swam happily alongside them.
”That was an excellent thing you did, Nix.” Gil hadn't taken his eyes off Soup for more than a few seconds since she was summoned.
”Quit staring at my girl. No matter what, I'm keeping her.” Nix laughed at Gil's expression.
”Damn it.” Gil kicked up some sand in frustration. ”Hey... How do you know Gramps is dead?”
”You'll see.” Nix entered the shallows of the lake and latched onto Soup's shell.
Gil's suit worked the same way as his; an air bubble settled over his head, making it possible to talk and breathe. The three descended quickly into the depths, occasionally an otter would investigate them, but they didn't try to attack the group.
After a few minutes, they arrived in the area where Nix had spotted the dome. Initially, he had thought it was a human-made structure, but after learning that there were Turtle Titans, Nix realized it was a gigantic shell.
Gil nodded to himself when he saw the dome. He had a peculiar way of swimming that Nix couldn't imitate, but the Titan moved through the water effortlessly. He placed a hand on the outside of the dome. ”Gray color... That fits since Grampa Sinai was black, his color would definitely fade after such a long time.”
Nix followed him as he continued to inspect the shell. They found deep grooves cut into both shoulder areas.
Gil ran a finger through the scars on the shell. ”This is Gramps, without a doubt. Some of his most famous battles left life-long scars.”
[Sinai, the Conqueror Quest has been updated. Report your findings to Scarlett in Nescari.]
Over the next hour, they removed rocks and debris that had built up around and in the shell.
”We'll have to break it loose before we drag it.” Nix had his back against a stone outcropping and was pushing the shell with both legs.
Gil nodded. ”Let's flip it over right away; it will be easier to drag that way.”
Nix slipped the harness over Soup and then secured the harness to one of the shoulders. ”We'll have to help her get it moving, Gil.”
It took nearly three hours to pull the shell into the shallows. When Nix broke the surface, he noticed that the Ground Pounders were already helping them. Mortimus disconnected Soup and was pulling the shell toward the shore.
Once it cleared the water, the real weight of the shell hit them, but with three dozen Titans assisting, they managed to pull it into the campsite.
”This river goes all the way to Nescari, although the trip is upstream,” Mortimus spoke from inside the shell. ”A few men on either side with ropes could stand on the banks and drag it without too much issue.”
”That's a lot of work, and it would take a few days at least.” Nix was examining a particularly deep puncture in the shell close to where the head would have been. ”Grandpa Sinai must have liked to fight.”
”He was very quarrelsome, for a turtle anyways.” Gil was feeding Soup from a can of otter meat that Nix had given him. ”How much bigger will she get?”
”Well, I would have guessed she'd stop between two and three meters.”
Gil patted her shell. ”She's already three meters, Nix.”
”Right... I gave her some dragon blood, so I don't really know.”
Mortimus's booming laugh sounded from inside the shell. ”Is dragon blood so common where you're from that you give it to turtles?”
Nix shrugged without commenting but decided against telling them about the Dragon Fir tree in Haven. ”Tell me about Menial. Not the rumors, he's not the son of Khione.”
Mortimer stood in the doorway where one of Sinai's legs would have been. ”He's not?”
Nix shook his head. ”Khione has been imprisoned for quite some time, so I doubt they are related. Most likely, he's borrowing her reputation based on rumors that he started.”
”He has a stronghold in Zintia; he holds some sort of power over the wolves of the land. They do his bidding and protect his fortress.” Mortimus exited the shell and gestured for Jaro.
Jaro had been absent for a large portion of the day. He'd taken a team of Ground Pounders to scavenge the pelts from the wolves that were slain the day before. ”Only about 85 useable pelts, Commander.”
Mortimus nodded in satisfaction. ”That enough to start, Nix?”
”Sure, with the ones I already have, that will last about an hour.” Nix smiled at the expression on the War Leaders' face. ”Two hundred thousand would be enough.”