While Peppers and the System were busy analysing the debris from the skies, (and bringing a swift death to the remaining survivors) Jin received a call from Narris, the Drow who had been investigating the location of the second and final egg that the Southern Leader Saberteeth had stolen.
“Any updates?” Jin had learned to ditch the pleasantries when interacting with the Dark Elves since they did not like them and found them to be a waste of time, especially the younger ones.
He suspected that it might be Kraft’s indoctrination at work, but he believed if he asked too many questions about it, Kraft might want to make him experience what the Dark Elves had gone through. “If the monthly mind torture was not enough, just say so!” Jin assumed that would be what Kraft would say if he was there.
“Yes, the information from Tinda has proven to be useful. I’ve found the exact hideout location and discovered that the Nine Oceans Phoenix egg is not the only one there.” Narris said that and that made Jin furrow his brows.
“Elaborate.”
“Despite their seeming reliance on harvesting monster parts, they somehow have a highly advanced magic operated hatchery with lots of monster eggs and even pregnant monsters in the vicinity. However, it was not hard to find the Nine Oceans Phoenix’s egg because of its unnatural magic signature. Unsurprisingly they’ve hidden it at the deepest basement level of the building and it’s the most secured area.” Narris replied as it was no brainer that the Southerners would want the best protection for their prized egg.
“Can I assume you’ve rescued the egg already or are in the midst of doing so?” Jin asked but the dark elf’s tone indicated a negative.
“There is one final barrier I’ll have to bypass if I want to reach that egg and it looks very complicated. It will require some time for me to crack the barrier. It looks to be the work of multiple mages who have overlaid protective spells, reinforcing this particular barrier. While each layer of the barrier should be easy enough to crack, the stacks simply make it cumbersome for a stealthy entry. Also, time is of the essence…” Narris reported as she continued to be aware of her surroundings in case more guards started to come down and query why there were no reports. (That would be because she had knocked the surrounding guards out cold.)
“In other words, you want us to create a distraction? Or do you need more help in breaking the barriers down?”
“Preferably both. I figure that if they have such a troublesome barrier, there has to be some very troublesome anti theft mechanism within the room to deter thieves from escaping with their most prized possession. Worst case, they might rather see the egg destroyed than it falling into someone else’s hands.”
“If that’s the case… Narris, kill those two guards. We will replace them with our ‘guards’ and perform an act.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. I’ve noticed that a lot of them have an explosive attached to their necks. Sick bastards. If their heart rate stops completely it will trigger the explosion and it will alert the mage leader in charge. Going in with a portal is not possible as well. There are sensory traps everywhere and triggering one will cause the same thing to happen.”
“What kind of facility is that? Isn’t it just a hatchery?! At that rate, I could also use that place as a reference for my Phantom Thief Gentlebear Dungeon Instance!” Jin could not fathom how paranoid their leader was to put up so many safeguards. At this time, Peppers started to listen into the conversation since she heard the word magic again and again. Even Jin was a little taken aback by the troubles the Night Fox have with removing the barrier. (She was after all the star student of Kraft’s and thus there’s a certain calibre attached to such a title.)
“They probably had enough break-ins to warrant such an extensive array of traps and sensors.” Narris knew how sensitive mother monsters could be for their young and all these security setups would deter anyone to brute force their way through.
“If that’s the case…let me get our experts’ opinion,” Jin said and invited Shu and Sandy into the conversation and gave them a brief summary of the area.
“Even if we know all these, how can we help Narris?” Sandy queried.
“Yeah, won’t it better to brute force the way through? Do a quick and yet forceful spatial opening into the room and grab the egg before going off.” Shu commented and Sandy agreed.
“As Narris said, we don’t know what sort of defensive protocol that would activate. A self destruct mechanism is possible and if we fail to retrieve the egg we can forget about Nine Oceans Phoenix coming to our side.” Jin reiterated. “And must everything be brute force? If I wanted brute force, I would have called in the Mr Derpy instead.”
“Then? What do you want us to do?” Shu could not think of anything great.
“According to Narris, it’s in the basement, so no matter how sophisticated their tunnels are, they should be prone to wear and tear… which also means a way for both of you to get your act together.” Peppers who observed the conversation, said and that plan alone made the three in the conversation curious.
“Knowing Kraft, he taught you spycraft, right? Do you have the depths and location of where you are right now?” Peppers asked and Narris nodded her head which the System immediately extracted information from her head.
“Come to think of it, isn’t this some telecommunication magic, how could she ever communicate with us without activating some trap?” Shu asked out of the blue which caused Narris to chuckle
“Ask the System.” Narris’ answer was short and sweet while stating the obvious.
“Great, now that the System has the exact location, please teleport Shu at least a kilometre away from the hatchery and push the roots through. If you need Sandy to move the earth, you two can coordinate. Most importantly, once you reach the basement, use Sandy’s powers to slit an opening through the stones and with Narris’ detection skills, avoid the traps and take control of the two guards with your roots.” Peppers was the first to propose the plan, and Jin allowed her to lead.
“I see what you are getting at. You want me to use my roots as the puppet strings for those guards while Narris continues to decode the magic?” Shu concluded with delight. It had been some time since he performed something delicate.
“I will do what I can to help him.” Sandy got the rough picture of the whole situation and the Dark Elf nodded her head. A plan that has some tact in it which Narris did not expect the little girl whose head was only filled with explosions has more things to come up with.
“Great. And if everything goes to plan, we might actually have a show to watch. But remember, securing the Nine Oceans Phoenix’s egg is the number one priority.” Jin thanked them as the System had already teleported Shu and Sandy near the hideout.
