8 - First Crack

It was still early enough in the day, and Joe had been cooped up on a ship for two weeks. Even though he had no idea how complicated the quest might actually turn out to be, he was feeling the need to burn off some energy. Joe decided to at least go check out the area and see how tough these creatures were.

On his way through the center of town, he purchased a heavy throwing axe he liked the feel of. Then, he grabbed a couple of bottles of water and some rations from the general store. He also picked up a change of clothes, something lighter for this warmer climate. Lastly, to make sure Ford Prefect wouldn't yell at him, he snagged a towel as well. The dim-bag made it easy to be ready to go at a moment's notice since it could easily hold everything he owned, with room to spare.

Joe had not noticed the town's fortification much after passing through the wall by the harbor. The city had been built at the top of sea cliffs that some elementalist had turned into fortified walls. From inside the city, facing the sea, the walls were only waist high, though they dropped down twenty feet to the shoreline below.

Yet now, Joe was heading away from the ocean, and the fortifications in this direction rose twenty-five feet into the air. Made of large blocks of quarried pale stone, they presented what looked like a formidable defense from any inland threats. The gates were made of heavily dressed logs reinforced by black metal bands. When Joe reached them, he saw that the thick forest had been cleared back for at least fifty yards from the walls.

As it was mid-morning, the gates were open. Joe waved to the guards as he jogged out and received a similar gesture in return. The road forked just outside town, but a signpost clearly marked which route led to Mount Serabuk to the south and west of Fort Coral. Joe let [Hunter's Pursuit] take over and dove into a fast run, just shy of a full sprint. [Efferous Endurance] took care of the exertion, allowing Joe to enjoy the freedom that came from feeling his body in motion.

He slowed when he came to one of the landmarks Kendell had mentioned. It was a ramshackle farmhouse in a large clearing, sitting beside a dense swath of forest. According to the guild attendant, it belonged to a crotchety old recluse named Corran Loigen. Joe was told to give it a wide berth and be exceptionally respectful should its occupant be beside the trail.

There was no person in sight, but an old dog on the porch lifted his head to study Joe. The animal was huge, wolfhound-sized. And she was beautiful. Her lines were similar but more refined than a wolfhound's, giving her an almost elegant look.

Joe was not sure how he knew, but he was absolutely certain of her gender without even looking. It was part scent as well, something to do with the wildness, or [Pack Master], or both, reading cues from her that even his dog-centric brain would have missed.

"Hey, sweetheart. Just passing by. Sorry to wake you."

Suddenly, she was there, right in front of him. She hadn't moved; she had just blinked from the porch to the spot beside his feet. Her big head pressed into his hand, and Joe instinctively set to giving her a good scritching. He crouched down and let his hand find where she needed a good rubbing, being exceptionally careful of his new nails.

"Wow, you're gorgeous …" Joe didn't know her name and wondered what [Identify] would do here.

Padu: -: Fey (Cú Sídhe), -, -

"Padu," he finished. At the sound of her name, the old girl pushed her head hard against his chest before lifting it up to give him the most delicate of kisses, especially for such a large lady. "Is your master around? I wouldn't mind paying my respects if that would be ok."

Joe wasn't expecting an answer, and yet, somehow, he got one. She didn't do anything as obvious as shake her head, but when she sat back on her haunches and regarded him, he knew she was saying 'No, Corran Loigen's not here.'

Your skill [Pack Master] has increased to rank 3

Joe could also feel the presence of wildness, helping him read her body language. He was kind of stunned. If he had had this level of insight with all his dogs, training would have been so much easier. But then again, Padu was no ordinary dog.

"Ok. Then maybe on the way back. I gotta get going, Hon, but I'll be back. It was very nice to meet you."

He received another head-push hug from her; she clearly was too well-mannered for paws on his shoulders. After one more good rubdown, suddenly, she was gone again. Joe looked to the house to find her circling her spot before she lay back down on the sun-warmed boards of her porch.

He gave her a wave and then resumed his jog for the forest in the distance. The trail here was still wide enough for wagons coming from either direction to pass each other, even when it entered the tree line. He was grateful for the branches overhead, blocking the bright sun and giving some much-welcome shade.

About fifteen minutes of walking later, Joe came upon the first sign of a badboon attack. A broken wagon lay smashed in a heap by the side of the trail. Joe crept up to it. After a quick look, he was able to tell that it had occurred days ago and that the wreck had been dragged off the road. The vehicle had been thoroughly smashed apart. The wheels, axles, and even the wagon bed were broken. Joe's nose picked up the scent of blood, but there was not enough of it to suggest the wagoneers had been killed in the attack. He hoped they had been able to retreat. The other alternative was that the apes had carried them off into the jungle.

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Joe let his nose dissect the area further. Underneath all the rich scents of vegetation and loam, he found a gamey aroma. It had an acrid smell to it that Joe was sure he could pinpoint now that he had picked it out of the myriad of other smells that filled the air around him.

Your skill [Tracker] has increased to rank 6.

With the animal odor firmly fixed in his attention, Joe paced the area, scenting for where the traces were the strongest. He was amazed at how natural this seemed to him. It was not much different than listening to see which way a sound was coming from. Just like with hearing, Joe tuned out all but the one thing he was looking for. The scent was strongest coming from further up the road.

Joe drew out [Haybreaker] and crept forward. It only took a few minutes before he began to hear the hoots and barks coming from the forest ahead. He snuck his way up to a large trunk and peered around it to see several of the apes around a large pool of water.

Badboon Bowler: Level 4: Beast (Ape), Skirmisher, Strength

Individually, they wouldn't be a problem, but those numbers were disheartening. Joe could see almost a dozen of the large beasts by the water, and he could hear more answering from the branches overhead. That was a lot of badboons.

The creatures were darker than Earth baboons: more the blackish color of mountain gorillas. They were also closer in height to gorillas, though these apes were leaner in their torsos, more like their namesakes. Their faces and huge canine teeth were very baboon-like, yet when it came to their arms, they were back to gorilla-like. Their shoulders and upper arms were very heavily developed. Joe amused himself for a second imagining the badboons doing arm-day workouts.

After a minute, Joe witnessed the reason for their heavily muscled limbs. All around the clearing, Joe had seen large nuts. At first, he thought they were coconuts, but on closer inspection, it turned out they were more like cantaloupe-sized hazelnuts. A badboon scooped up one of the large seeds and hurled it against a nearby tree. The nut hit like a gunshot, splintering the bark and shaking the entire tree. Surprisingly, the tremendous throw only cracked the missile's shell. The ape grabbed a rock and hammered on the crack until it broke open enough for it to get at the meat inside.

The accurate aim and force behind that throw worried Joe. It was bad enough that he was completely outnumbered. It would be much worse if he had to contend with cannonball-like nuts being blasted at him from the trees.

Joe layered on his buffs and picked a target. He had seen Hah'roo and Kaid start combats from concealment. While he had an ambusher skill, he had not worked on [Whisperstep] for quite a while. He hoped it was ranked up enough. He slipped through the forest with soundless steps, moving from the tree he was using for cover to one that had a badboon sitting right beside it. When he got there, he bulked up his arms with [Morphic Form], before stepping out and swinging at the back of the beast's neck, activating [Swift Strike].

You have injured the Badboon Bowler for 167 points of damage.

You have {Incapacitated} the Badboon Bowler.

The sound of vertebrae shattering made Joe wince a little, but he did not let it stop him. According to Kendell's reports, these monsters had been assaulting people on this trail for several days now. They had killed at least eight travellers and had gone out of their way to attack any children they encountered.

Before he barely even registered it coming, [Heavy Hand] smacked a hurled nut away from crashing into his face. Unfortunately, that meant the skill was on its brief cooldown, and so couldn't prevent a second flung projectile from smashing into his ear.

You have failed to resist the Bowler Badboon's [Nut Shot]. You are {Stunned}.

Another hurled hunk nailed him in the shoulder, spinning him around and making his arm go completely numb. Joe dropped [Haybreaker] and tumbled backwards onto the leaf-strewn forest soil.

You have failed to resist the Bowler Badboon's [Nut Shot]. You are {Impaired}.

The only plus side to his twirling fall was that it landed him back behind the tree he had been hiding against. This gave him a modicum of cover. The trunk shuddered under the barrage of following [Nut Shots], but only one more managed to clip him, that one in his exposed leg.

Joe tried to clear his head, but the world kept skewing out of focus. His eyes blurred, turning everything into smears of green with jumping brown blobs and streaking black spots. He knew he had the skills to help himself, but the swirling vertigo scrambled every thought before he could grab it. The blobs were moving, and more explosions of pain erupted across his body.

Just as his head started to clear, it was hit again, though this time, some skill seemed to lessen the disorientating impact. He was able to curl himself into a ball and just use the one skill that was pure instinct for him. Throughout the endless bombardment, Joe just kept healing.

The moment the stun wore off, his thoughts snapped back into clarity. He checked his health pool and saw it was in no danger of depletion. Even so, he was going to be one massive bruise from head to toe. Thanks to the boost from [Vanguard's Diadem], the pain was manageable.

What he really needed was a way to protect his head. Flaring [Stun Block] would help, but that was not something he could push on indefinitely.

Before Joe could think of a solution, a howl filled the air, followed by a second and then a third. The hooting cacophony broke into shrieks of panic as the army of badboons fled. Even Joe, on hearing the third sounding, felt a shiver of fear run down his back, and that was through his [Undaunted] trait and the fact that those barks had not been aimed at him.

Joe uncurled with a loud groan and saw the apes fleeing as fast as their bounding gait could take them. Looking around, his eyes fell on Padu, standing in the clearing, staring at the retreat of brutish bowlers. She turned her regal gaze to him and seemed to nod.

"I owe you one, my lady. I think I need to come up with an actual plan for this quest."

Joe managed to drag himself up onto his feet. The thought of bending over to pick up Haybreaker was just too much, so he sent his [Forceful Fist] to do it for him. When he had the truncheon stowed, Joe hobbled back the way he had come from. Padu slid up to his side as they headed back toward her house and Fort Coral.

"Tomorrow," he huffed. "We'll try this again tomorrow."

Looking at the serene hound beside him, he added, "Don't tell Hah'roo. The last thing I need is her gloating about how I could have been lying on the beach instead of suffering through an avalanche of nut shots."

He couldn't be sure, but Padu's huff felt an awful lot like a laugh.

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