Iona didn’t wait for Fenrir to land. She leapt off his back as soon as we were over the village, using [Flight of the Valkyries] to accelerate her downward velocity. I pulled a face as she landed, sinking up to her knees in the hard-packed dirt.

She almost blurred to my sight as she pulled herself out of the ground and started running around, moving into position to catch half a falling house one moment - [Grasp of the Moon] was stupid - and freezing a burning house with [Blizzard Shot] the next.

Iona’s [Vow] was insane to watch in action.

“Auri. Go.” I pointed to the village where a few buildings were still smoldering, sending up the black smoke.

“Brrrrrpt!” She shot off like a burning arrow, fires dying in her wake. I finally leapt off Fenrir myself, having identified which part of the village injured people were being brought to, a task easier to accomplish from the sky than on the ground.

The clear line of sight made a no-damage [Nova Lance] [Imbued] with [Dance with the Heavens] the ideal choice here. There were only a few people, and I quickly played my beam over them.

My heart fell as only half of them regrew limbs and had gaping wounds close. The rest were already dead.

I landed softly near them, and started firing off questions.

“Is there anyone else hurt? What happened? How can we help?” I rapidly asked in high elvish.

I got a look like I was an idiot by one of the older women, who looked like she ate nails for breakfast.

“Yes, there are. Now, either help or get out of the way!” She curtly reprimanded me.

There was something in her tone that had me hopping to it. It wasn’t the time or the place to protest that I’d just pulled a half-dozen people from the brink of death, that I was here to help. Arguing, protesting, trying to explain or justify myself wasn’t getting stuff done.

Tying [Dance with the Heavens] to [Cosmic Presence] did get things done. The village population was small enough that I could afford the inefficiencies, and instantly healing anyone who got near, anyone who was still alive but trapped was worth the meager penalty.

Fenrir delicately landed outside of the village, trying not to crush any fields or crops that hadn’t already been devastated. My senses let me combine a few flashes I saw of him along with the noises I was hearing to figure out that he was sniffing around, searching, hunting.

I didn’t believe for a second he’d seen the ruined village and decided to go hunting. Especially not when there were thunderclouds on the horizon. I split off a mental process to try and figure out what he’d found and follow it myself, while the rest of me was focused on the here and now.

Iona was taking charge, and I let her. She knew people better than I did, and a single strong unified voice worked better than several people working at cross purposes. Kind of like how Kallisto used to help me out when I was a Sentinel!

It quickly became clear that the Pekari had, for whatever strange reasons the golems had, attacked this village. It was all the villagers were talking about. They were famous for how capricious they were and the complete mystery that was their motives.

“Dawn.” Iona glanced at me, holding up an entire roof on her own. Villagers swarmed around her, quickly setting up beams, the local carpenter using a [Repair] variant to fix everything at superhuman speeds.

“Nobody left hiding, no bodies under buildings.” I tersely reported. “Is there a reason we’re not going now?” I asked.

I didn’t need to expand, Iona knew what I was saying.

“The Pekari historically take prisoners, and for whatever reason, keep them. In horrifying condition, sure, but they live. They’re sheltered and fed, for a generous definition of fed. They’ll last a few more hours or days while we fix things here. Now come on, there’s a fallen tree on the north side of the village, can you handle it?”

I wasn’t sure I completely agreed, but I didn’t know how much of that was my itching to go out and do something, versus stay here and trying to lend a helping hand. [Nova Lance] was useful, letting me sear and cut through a fallen tree, turning it into logs. The wood was too valuable to simply burn away.

I was able to hear and smell Fenrir finding a trail and following it deeper into the forest. Then again, a blind toddler could’ve followed the trail. The Pekari were not exactly subtle when it came to smashing through trees and dragging their victims back. Fenrir had stopped moving a few miles from the village, and I bet we’d find the entrance to their tunnels there.

Going alone, with just Auri though, without Iona? That was just asking for disaster to strike, and Iona was the resident expert on how things worked. Pekari were a global low-level scourge, and the whole thing just confused me. How were they global, with such an aggressive stance and attacking low levels like this? How had an Immortal not gotten annoyed by them and wiped them all out?

I’d read like hell in the School’s hidden library, reading volume after volume. I’d stashed multiple books in my [Hoard], only to speed read them in parallel while I was sleeping. I hadn’t managed to read them all, instead picking up books that I thought would be interesting or would help me level. One book I’d seen but always had something more interesting to read was The Secret of the Pekari. It kept ending up on my longlist of books to read, and I had just kept finding other things to read.

Right now I regretted not looking through it.

Things moved along quickly enough, and finally, finally, Iona was ready.

“Let’s go.” She said as her flowing armor covered her body. She was skipping her glaive entirely, only wielding her axe. The long polearm was suboptimal underground, without the room to properly swing it.

“Brrrpt!!” Auri charged off, and I scooped her up as I casually jogged by.

“Communication!” Iona said. “Tell me what you know of the Pekari. I’ve fought them a dozen times, I know you’ve read about them, but let’s not assume. Could get us killed if I think you know something you don’t.”

Perfectly reasonable.

“Combat related. Three tiers of Pekari. Basic, advanced, elite. In a small raid like this we’re only expecting to see basic, and maybe a advanced or two. Starting at basic, we’ve got Octopuses, Poppers, and Clankers. Octopuses we can ignore, they’re just the builders. Clankers and Poppers are both elvenoid, taking on the rough form of whatever nation they’re in. Clankers also tend to use the melee weapons and tactics of the location they’re in, while Poppers are always the same, firing metal slugs. They use the same metal base, although Clankers are easier to disable. Just wreck a few joints and we’re good. Poppers we need to be careful about. Still deadly even when disabled, they just can’t move.”

Iona frowned a bit.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Trappers?” She prodded.

“They’re not advanced?” I asked. “They’re rare.”

“Ehhhh… I suppose you could call them advance if you’re using frequency. They tend to appear with other basics when they show up, so I think they’re a basic.”

“Either way. Trappers. Rare, non-lethal. Throw metal wire nets to try and tangle or catch people, then drag them off. In a fight, I think Auri and I should go after any Poppers, while you keep the Clankers at bay, then move to Clanker cleanup?”

“Valid. At the same time, I was able to single-handedly take care of a Pekari nest 200 levels ago. It took me three days of carefully working through them and their traps, but I managed it. Pride and hubris comes a few minutes before death, so I don’t dare say it’ll be easy to let my guard down, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pekari… failed to live up to the myths and legends we’ve read about them.”

“Advanced Pekari. Skitter, Crusher, Creaker, Dragonfly, Fireworm.” I waited for Iona to add anything I’d missed, but she motioned for me to continue on.

“Skitters. What Poppers should be if they were smart. Slug slinger on four spider legs, able to cling to the walls and ceilings. Fast skirmishers, they shoot a few slugs from a distance then skitter away.”

“Crusher. Fills the hallway with a solid wall of spiked wheels, spinning chains, whirling blades, the works. Big, heavy, practically unstoppable, fortunately rare.”

Iona nodded.

“I tried to stop one once. It… did not go well. Alruna had to intervene and cut what was left of me out.” She flexed. “Maybe I’ll get my chance again.”

I gave her a Look.

“I can’t heal meat paste back to life. Plus, don’t you still have unfinished business with me and a tavern?”

Iona flashed me that cocky grin of hers.

“Just wait and see!”

I rolled my eyes.

“Brrrpt?”

“Good question. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t melt a Crusher, although the bigger issue would be getting past it once we’re done.”

“Brrrpt!!!” Auri had a target and a goal.

“Dibs.” Iona claimed.

“BRPT!”

I smacked both of them.

“Let’s not play games with the deadly golems. Creakers. Basically never seen underground, oversized mobile ballista, firing siege bolts. Am I nuts for saying that Skitters sound deadlier?”

Iona shook her head.

“You’re not. Creakers are basically city-wall exclusive. Something about their shots are particularly good against wards and stone.”

“Almost makes me think that they should be high tier, not mid tier, but I’m speaking as an armchair analyst and not somebody who’s actually seen them, so I’ll shut up now. Dragonflies. Tiny fliers, with a stinger that’s mildly venomous. Hang on, how have you handled them in the past? They’re like, custom-designed to kill you.”

Iona tapped her armor.

“No gaps, but yes. They’re amazing at killing lightly armored targets. And… mildly venomous?? What kind of poisons have you been researching?”

“I mean, my scale might be off, but it takes a few minutes after stinging a target for them to die. Hooked-nosed sea snake venom. How the Pekari are getting so much, I have no idea, but ehhh… minutes. Not seconds, and people occasionally survive a single sting. No big deal, and like. I’m always running healing through myself. I wouldn’t dare say my biology would resist the combination of neurotoxins and myotoxins, but they’d need to penetrate my skin first, then instantly get flushed out.”

I shrugged.

“They’re frankly no threat to me or Auri, you’re sealed in your armor like a turtle, your vitality is high enough and I’m on hand, they honestly don’t seem like a threat to us.”

“Famous last words.” Iona warned.

I nodded.

“I’m taking this seriously, but proper threat evaluation is important as well. A Skitter and a swarm of Dragonflies? The Skitter’s the threat.”

“A fair point.” Iona conceded. “Fireworms?”

“BRRRRRRRPT! Brpt brpt BRPT BRPT!!!!” Auri had quite a few unkind words about them. Mostly that they had nothing to do with fire, they were taking the good name for themselves and it was all WRONG, and they were sneaky cowards that tunneled around, before popping out of floors and walls to fire a buckshot of metal at point-blank range.

I swear Auri only researched them due to their name.

“Excellent.” Iona complimented Auri’s knowledge.

“We’re unlikely to see anything high tier.” I concluded. “The only commonly known one are Hummers. If we hear a loud humming noise, we get out.”

“We get out as fast as we can.” Iona agreed.

Hummers could collapse the entire Pekari nest, and anyone still poking around would get buried under tons of dirt and rock. I was practically a cockroach, and with my extensive modifications and built-in runes I might be able to survive… but nobody else would, and if I was entirely immobilized, I would eventually die.

It took no time to cross over the trampled flat vegetation, smeared with blood, to where Fenrir was standing guard protectively over an incredibly obvious entrance. It was raised, with different color stones, etched with the word Pekari in a dozen different scripts, surrounding a staircase leading down. Multiple overlapping trails of blood left no question at all to what had happened. All it was missing was a flashing sign saying BAD GUYS HERE.

“The Pekari seem kinda…” I trailed off, not wanting to say it and jinx things, but…

“Stupid?” Iona suggested, filling in the void with the word I’d been thinking of.

I nodded, stepping into the tunnel.

“Yeah. Like. Why? Just… the smallest measure of not plastering their name everywhere, or closing their tunnels when they’re done, or skipping the Poppers and going straight to the Skitters, or… anything really. I’m just so confused.” I told Iona.

She nodded.

“You’re not the first, you won’t be the last, and to be honest, I don’t know. I do know that we can’t underestimate them. They’re in there, they’re dangerous, they’re lethal, they will kill you, and you can’t rely on System notifications to know when one’s out of operation. Alruna almost died when she turned her back on a Popper she thought she’d taken out. Two of its tubes were still active, got her six times in the back before I smashed it again.” Iona said the last part with evident pride. Saving her mentor as a squire clearly had left warm and fuzzy memories, nevermind the memory being filled with gore and violence.

“Kill them extra dead, got it.” I said as I finished going down the stairs, ending up in an unusually tall and wide hallway, all made out of bricks in a distinct style. [The World Around Me] let me know there were additional passages on either side of me, hidden by the walls. It was pitch dark down here, but Auri was a permanent light source. As she came down the stairs, the faint light of her flames was enough for me to see like it was broad daylight. My ears twitched as the sound of the outside was muffled just a hair, and I could hear what was going on just a bit better.

Far off, deeper in the tunnels, people were yelling. A steady pop pop pop could be heard, along with the familiar twang of a crossbow.

“People fighting deeper in. I heard a crossbow, and I can see why they’re called poppers.” I told Iona. I wasn’t charging in, not yet. I didn’t know if anyone was hurt, and going in alone was a good way to add another body to the pile. “Also, there’s another passage next to this one. What do we do?”

“Take it slow, unless we know they need help. Careful for traps. Ignore the side passage for now, the villagers are going to be on the main path.”

Why the Pekari had such predictable patterns I’d never know. The bloody trail was making me nervous - people didn’t have that much blood in them.

“Brrrpt?” Auri asked.

“Ehhh… don’t go too far, but you should be safe flying through the tunnels, yes.” Iona replied.

“Brrpt!”

We moved through the tunnel at a brisk walk. I’d read a lot at the School, and some of it was just due to random ‘hey, I think that’d be neat to know more about!’ One such book had been a primer on traps and trap-finding. Hurray for [The Very Hungry Bookwyrm]! Hurray for [Astral Archives]! I was by no means an expert, but I’d walked through traps with the dwarves before. It took a lot to hurt me, and even if I failed to stop a trap, I’d probably be fine.

Traps were a concern, but [The World Around Me] was broken. I could easily spot pressure plates through the floor and snapped tripwires. I couldn’t always see the attack mechanism - darts coming out of the far wall, for example, was outside of [The World Around Me] - but avoiding all the triggers was good enough. The halls were littered with ruined Pekari, metal limbs torn asunder, metallic gears scattered across the hall. Clankers with broken spears, Poppers with their tubes smashed, even a rare Trapper or Octopus here and there.

That, and most of the traps were disarmed.

“Hold up.” I threw my arm out, halting Iona. “Pitfall trap here. Looking for the release mechanism.”

Iona quirked up a single eyebrow.

“Really? We can all fly.”

I smacked my forehead.

“Derp. Right. Let’s go, be careful.” We could figure out how to disable the trap with people on the way back - if it wasn’t already disabled. All of the traps I’d seen so far had signs of someone else coming through before us.

We cautiously picked our way across the pitfall trap, and to my surprise, it never activated.

“Weird.” I paused at the end, looking back at the trap.

“It’s not the time or the place to get distracted.” Iona reminded me. “It might’ve already been disabled by the other people you’re hearing.” We kept walking.

“Octopuses in the walls.” I said a minute later. They were called octopuses for the obvious reason that they looked like one, a metal ball with six tentacly legs coming off it, one in each direction.

… Maybe less obvious. Why weren’t they called Hexapuses?? Whatever.

It gave the little construction golems unparalleled movement and efficiency, able to squeeze into tight places and do… whatever it was Pekari did. They were harmless, only building the various structures that the Pekari used.

Then again, looking at it from that angle, they were also the most dangerous.

“Ignore them, unless it looks like they’re up to something.” Iona said.

“They’re golems, do they ever look like they’re not up to something?” I asked.

Iona paused.

“Fair point.”

“Brrrrpt!”

“We’re almost to the other group.” I said. The sounds of fighting had stopped, and a bunch of banging had started.

“What can you tell me about them?”

I cocked my head and listened.

“Three- no, wait, four of them, one’s real quiet or not moving much. Two wearing metal boots, the other two have leather boots. All sound roughly like adult elvenoids.”

Iona put her hands up to her mouth and shouted.

“Hello down there!”

A moment later a voice called back.

“Hello! Here to help with the Pekari?” A man’s voice echoed back.

“Yes! Mind if we approach?” Iona asked. I fractionally tilted my head at her.

“Would you want armed high level people you don’t know approaching you without warning in a dark tunnel?” She murmured to me.

I gave a tiny nod of understanding. We soon met the other group.

Four humans, all between level 210 and 302. On the younger side. Two men and two women.

“Paris.” The [Warrior - 302] of the group said, giving us a wide smile and a happy nod. His hands were a little full with a banged-up tower shield, and interestingly, he was using an intact leg of a clanker as a club, instead of the spear on his back or the sword on his hip. He was sensibly armored, although there was no rhyme or reason to what he had, a messy patchwork. An expensive breastplate that looked like it should belong to some [Lord] was matched by a leather cap, shining boots and beaten bracers. “B-Rank adventurer, leader of the Sterling Six team. I’d shake your hand, but mine are a little full!” He chuckled like he’d told the best joke ever. I wanted to roll my eyes.

Also. Adventurers. Ewwwwww.

I mentally shook myself. I was biased. I knew I was biased. I’d just gotten a first hand look at the adventurer’s POV in Osengard. While a lawless, rule-breaking bunch, maybe, just maybe, sometimes they had a reason. Plus, this wasn’t Remus anymore! Maybe, just maybe, they’d successfully reformed themselves. What little knowledge I’d gotten about them via osmosis implied that most were hired and retained by a local [Noble], which surely moderated their actions somewhat. Right?

And! AND! They were in the Pekari nest, grinding their way through the metal golems to save the villagers. That was worth something in my book.

Not all adventurers were the same, and tarring them all with the same brush was a bad idea. I’d give the Sterling Six a fair chance.

Time to put my best foot forward! Although there was one weird thing about what they’d said.

“Hi! I’m Dawn! Nice to meet you all! Although why the Sterling Six, when there’s only four of you?” I asked.

With horror I realized why there were four of them while their name was the Sterling Six just as the words left my mouth.

Iona slightly slapped the back of my head.

“Iona.” My girlfriend stepped forward, hooking her axe onto her belt and showing empty hands. Still armored like a [Knight], and she was deadlier than any weapon, but the gesture was there. “Sorry about my friend, she’s a little obtuse at times. Valkyrie. We were passing through when we spotted the smoke, and here we are.”

“Brrrpt! Brrrpt?”

My jaw dropped open at Auri’s comment, and I switched to English to scold her.

“No! They can’t just rename themselves to the Lucky Leftovers! No!”

Iona steadfastly pretended not to hear either of us.

We continued a brisk round of introductions.

“Hadriana! Nice ta meetcha all! I’m a [Ruin Trapfinder], so if I tell ya not to step on a spot, don’t!” Hadriana was the first [Trapfinder] I’d ever met, and was ironically the most heavily armored of the lot - except for her hands. Her hands were completely bare. All the better to disarm traps? She was missing a finger and a knuckle, and unless that was a genetic defect - in her line of work, I doubted it - I could fix that right up.

“Antonius.” The dude just stared past us. He was the lightest of the bunch, wearing only a simple brown tunic and was bald. He held a crossbow pointing down, and his knuckles were bruised and bleeding.

“Zoe. Fire [Mage]. Would like to trade notes with your bird at some point.” The red-haired teen said as she eyed Auri hungrily, the lowest level of the bunch. Sensibly ensconced in mismatched armor like the rest, I could smell blood coming from a nasty puncture on her leg.

“Brrpt!” Auri was back on my head, and she made flaming letters appear above her.

Hello! I’m Auri! The prettiest thing you’ll ever see!

“As you might’ve guessed, I’m a healer. Mind if I patch you all up?”

People basically never said no to free healing, and a moment after I’d briefly touched everyone, we were fighting fit.

“We’re all here to kill Pekari and rescue people. Let’s go.” Iona said.

Quietly, in Creation, Iona subvocalized a few words to me, knowing that I’d be able to hear them and the adventurers wouldn’t.

“Careful. Hadriana is a [Burglar], but more importantly, Paris has the [Murder] skill.”

A cold chill went through me at that.

Like they’d been waiting for us, I heard the distant sound of Pekari clanking through the tunnels towards us.