229. Sensible: Wiremu.

I jumped off the wall and hit the ground running, yelling at Rodion, “Follow me! We’ll find their nest!”

Rodion had all ten dogs with him, and we set off at a fast pace to the south. My Hunters Mark only had an 8km range at this level, and the birds would fly much faster than we could run through the jungle. Tāoke was still in the city somewhere, so it was just the ten dogs and us.

After four hours of running at breakneck speed through the jungle, I sensed the two bonds turn to a more westerly course. I changed direction to where I could cut across the angle but was frustrated an hour later when I hit a fast-flowing river we couldn’t cross. We followed it upstream, looking for a crossing, as the bonds disappeared from the Hunter's Mark range. Hopefully, there will not be another course change.

It took us fifteen minutes to fall a tree that was hanging over the river so we could cross using the stone axes I created. Even then, one of the dogs had to be fished out of the water. We set off at a more moderate pace on the line the birds had been flying. The Mapping Skill was invaluable in keeping us on track in the heavy bush. We passed the point where I lost them from my mark and carried on in the same direction till nightfall. We caught some small game and rested for a few hours as it cooked over heated rock. I wanted to carry on, but Rodion had Nightsight instead of Darksight, so he was hampered by an overcast sky and heavy canopy. Nightsight enhances light, so you need a small amount. I created glowing rocks for him, but our pace was significantly slowed. We stopped a few hours before dawn and got some sleep.

We had a cold breakfast, and I climbed a tree to look around. The climb to the canopy was easy. The thinner branches near the top couldn’t bear my weight. I had to strengthen them with Granite Spikes. I couldn’t see much to the west, but I think there was an escarpment to the southwest. Climbing that should get me a better view. I spent some time searching the sky and the ridge for signs of life but concluded no Avions were visible and no birds were acting unnaturally. We set off to the southwest.

It was after lunch when we came to the base of the escarpment. I created handholds in the rock for Rodion and myself to climb, but the dogs stayed below for now. From the top of the bluff, I could see we were on one side of a massive valley. I had a good view over the valley and saw glimpses of a river in the trees. It may have been several different rivers. This gave my Mapping Skill an overview, and Skog was in the valley and upstream of where we are now. What I couldn’t see was what was behind us. While I went looking for another tree, Rodion made some vine ropes and went down and carried his dogs up. It took him three trips. I found a monster tree about ten minutes of trekking from the edge of the bluff and climbed it. The land to the west of the river valley was steep jungle-covered hills. It is certainly the sort of territory I would use to hide in, especially if I could fly.

The question was, how were we going to find them? The area was huge. We could wander for months and not find them. Do I sit in the tree and watch the sky for them moving around? I could easily miss them, especially if they flew above the cloud cover. I reviewed my Sensing Skills. The only one that came close was Sense Treasure, which was early Journeyman Level. To a certain extent, I could designate what the treasure was. The Treasure couldn’t be living, so I could not use it to hunt for monsters or people. What the Skill did do at this level was integrate well with my Sensing and Mapping Skills. From a high vantage point, with Telescopic Sight, a number of possible treasure positions started populating my map. A weak sense indicated lower value and also less precision in the position. Lesser value treasures were only able to be sensed closer. The further away the treasure, the less accurate the position as well, being indicated on my map as a circle or oval, sometimes kilometres in area. This position would refine as we go closer, or the skill level.

I figured the hideout of the outlaws would also hold their treasure. Maybe they popped into town and deposited it in one of the Treasuries, but I am betting there is a stash for working capital and another for emergencies. When I narrowed my treasure down to the metal, the number of possible places was reduced. I needed to level the skill to narrow it down to a single metal, like gold, but I didn’t need to for this.

I was pretty sure we were close, and I was looking for places that would be easily accessible for flyers. That narrowed it down to two places, and my bet was at the top of that hill there. It looked like a half-day hike to the base of the hill so that we would get there at around nightfall. That was not bad timing.

I met Rodion, and we set off at a brisk pace. The side of the hill we approached at dusk started as a cliff. We picked a direction and started working our way around, looking for an easier way up, especially for the dogs. Half an hour later, the dogs found a body. The decomposing remains were human at one point. The clothes were of good quality and looked like recent fashion from Kirghiz. I am pretty sure it was male. There were only rotting strips of flesh on his face and evidence of scavengers having feasted. I checked the pockets, but they were empty. He had been dead a couple of weeks or more. We were about to move on when I used Sense Treasure, and his belt lit up like Kelda’s Wings of Fire.

“Wait up,” I said to Rodion and bent down to examine the belt. The stench up close was not pleasant. The belt had clever pockets in it, so I cut the leather and pulled it away from him. It was a very sturdy belt with two layers of leather sewn together. I picked the stitching apart and pulled out five coins and a metal badge. The coins weren’t gold or even platinum. They were Cargonite. Five Cargonite coins would probably buy the Duke's mansion in Skog or a moderate house in the suburbs of Kirghiz.

The badge had a house coat of arms that I recognised. It was similar to Tabitha’s identification as Countess Auditor. I turned it over and said to Rodion, “Looks like we have found the King’s missing Marquess.” Marquess Oslo was engraved on the back.

“Do you reckon he fled here, and they just killed him?” Rodion asked.

“That is the most likely scenario.” I flicked him two of the coins “for your retirement fund.” I said.

“Wow, are you sure? That is more money than I ever expected to have.”

“Of course, I am sure. There have to be some benefits to following us around.”

“I would have said my Pack was more than enough, but, you know, we are mercenaries, so we are always looking for more benefits.”

“That’s the spirit!”

The cliff turned into a very steep slope, which would have been more difficult to climb than the cliff, except for some discrete granite steps that appeared. The dogs followed us up with Rodion, making sure they kept quiet. Near the top, the bush had been cleared in a way that was not obvious from the ground. My Stealth was the highest, so Rodion and the dogs stayed back while I explored.

The cleared area had three areas with decking at different levels on the slope. Landing pads. There were wooden huts just on the edge of the trees up the slope from the pads. The hill was a gentle slop here near the top, and there were well-worn paths through the trees. There were three larger wooden structures on the edge of the upper landing pad, like barns.

I crept close to the nearest barn, and it smelled like griffon. There was movement in the barn, and at least one griffon was at home. The barn looked big enough to house three, but I could only hear one heartbeat.

I crept past, and the next barn was smaller, with various bird smells. Possibly, some of the other larger bonds were housed there. It seemed empty at the moment. The furthest barn was the same size as the griffon barn and had an acrid smell. I am betting the wyvern stayed here. It was not home at the moment.

The buildings behind the barns were obviously built for people. They all had larger and wider doors than a human would have, and all of them had a second-story deck open to the sky. Built for Avions to accommodate wings.

I figured I would start with the house directly behind the Wyvern barn. Nest? Roost? I don’t know what you would call it. This one probably belonged to its bond, which I assume was the boss. It only had a simple lock. I have to assume the wyvern was threatening enough. It was comfortable but not overly luxurious. There were signs of two people living here, so I am guessing he or she had a mate. Nobody was home. My Treasure Sense was telling me the second story had something worth looking at. When I got to the top, the balcony was only a short hop, if you had wings, from the roof of the wyvern barn, and I could see roof access. That makes sense. I found the safe but left it for now and continued exploring.

The bandit group was about fifty-strong when we were attacked in Kirghiz. From the buildings here, it looks like it would comfortably house thirty or so. They probably have other bases. This looks like a permanent base and usually houses the wyvern and griffons, meaning this is the boss's residence and his or her key people. There were only five people here at the moment, and two of those were low-level camp workers. They were not slaves, I checked. Well, they may be slaves, but they did not have the Slave Class.

Of the other three, one was bonded to the griffon, another had a parrot bond, and the third had a bond that was not here at the moment. All five were Avions.

It was close to midnight when I got back to Rodion and described it to him. Then I said, “You know the base will never be any less defended than it is now.”

Rodion grinned at me and said, “That does not sound like a sensible idea.”

I grinned back, “No, it’s not.”