Wu Hai and Khan Ni stopped near the corner of a corridor to listen for voices. Somewhere, approximately fifty meters away, there were the sounds of footsteps and conversation. In their search for Darkwing, the group had found a number of injured people and sent them back through the tunnels that the Twins had reinforced with metals. As they rescued more of the survivors, everyone was starting to frown, it was bizarre, they worked out the details from the few people early on but each survivor had their own tale to tell.
Someone had attacked Darkwing and the tunnels around him had collapsed. Maybe not in that order but Darkwing was being forced into the position of a scapegoat, at least according to the few guards who had laid down their weapons in surrender. None of the survivors knew why the attack had started but it was clear that someone had planned the collapse. The Damage was just too much to have happened from one person, no single attack from the Minaur people would do this and Darkwing was extremely disinterested in even being underground in the first place, he wouldn't force himself to be buried.
The ordeal was confusing to sift through, Wu Hai was lost in thought over the matter while he dug.
There was little else to do other than to act on the Spot's impulse to burrow. The Claws were perfect and made the work almost effortless. The debris was swept away by whomever was closest but Khan Ni did most of the cleanup.
Passing through a hallway, a group of Minaur children were so thankful to see someone. They a were rather curious but stinky bunch, many of them had soiled themselves during the cave in. After pointing down the tunnels, they ran out like they were scared mice. Khan Ni thought about assisting them to the surface but their entire lives had been spent underground, it was unlikely that they would survive, even underground.
"Children will always feel helpless in these sort of situations, watching their spirits shattered.. it is disheartening." The look of anguish in Khan Ni's eyes was growing with each new batch of survivors, the group had rescued so many children but their parents were no where to be seen. "Just what were these people thinking, digging tunnels like this? The Minaurs could learn a few things from the Humans.. At least your tombs don't normally collapse during a battle.. even the worst tomb has a damned wall." She kicked the metal plating gently and seemed to be disgusted with the outcome of their delve into Minaur City.
Khan Ni was right, the bare, mud carved walls were far too weak.
The further the group went into the collapse, the less they found survivors. The group took a sharp right around a corner, the shift in the soil had thinned the hallway to a narrow passage. They gave aide to those they found but kept looking for Darkwing, Wu Hai wouldn't stop looking, then and only then would they go get Jiao Jiao and leave. Even if the collapse was on purpose, the reverence that the Minaur had for the Jiao was enough to be sure that he was safe from danger.
"Brother, calm down.. Darkwing is able to move in shadow, I'm sure he's just looking for a way out too." Yu called it. Not long than that, they heard the sounds of bodies drawing closer, thick breathing and footsteps.
The sounds were getting closer and then finally the image of a Large, Ax wielding Minaur came into focus. Everyone sighed deeply, they were prepared to fight. Before they could react, another figure stepped out from behind him.
"Master!" Darkwing was agitated and his attitude showed it. "Master, I want out of this place and this is Genba. He wants to come. Allow this. Master." Darkwing was trying to be assertive but it was pointless, Wu Hai agreed instantly.
Their escape was much easier than arguing and equally important. Reaching the surface mattered more than who they led out. If Genba was a problem, they could always correct the situation later.
"Sure, lets get the hell out of here and then talk." Wu Hai turned around, the group made their way back to the crumbling bazaar square. The return trip took a lot less time, they were somewhat happy to be back where they had started. The metal lined tunnels made travel extremely safe.
A group of survivors huddled near an archway that had not been destroyed. Several larger guards were in the same crowd, they stood up and came forward.
Then, the Guards met the group with spears.
'What is the problem now?' Khan Ni kicked a rock at one of them and drew her bow.
An Older Minaur stepped forward and held up his hands. "Stop, stop.. Allow me to explain." The Elder took a deep breath, then pointed at Genba.
"Guards.. Kill them all!" Many of the guards could be seen sweating and laboring to stay focused, When they heard the order the guards lurched forward. The Elder kept his hand pointed until the others had passed.
Wu Hai didn't feel threatened, he felt annoyed.
The Elder laughed while the soldiers started to charge. "You'll never leave this place alive!" The Elder was whipped into a frenzy and soldiers charged under orders.
Lunacy was bound to happen to anyone who was underground for extended amounts of time. Only the Suns carried effect of revitalizing the soul and spirit. Most other means were not only artificial but short lived..
Khan Ni was excited, the Blackhoof were in front of her. The search for the members of the group was not short, they had also brought too much attention to themselves. It was difficult for the group to hide from the Blackhoof, the group's presence was easy to detect and even easier for the Blackhoof to avoid because of it.
"This Elder has no idea how much shit he had just stepped into." Yu clicked his tongue, he was ready to leave. "Maybe it's cause they hid themselves for so long or maybe they are just dumb.."
Mu looked at his brother, "They never had a chance."
Several thick walls were pulled up from the ground and came crashing inward, the Twins worked together and crushed the group of guards and the Elder that had been yelling in one motion.
A tense atmosphere was in the air, there were debris and rocks were falling everywhere. The clapping noise from the metal walls and then their toppling over had shaken the cavern again.
Several Elders stood at the edge of a corridor, they had Guards with them. They shouted again, "KILL THE INTRUDERS!"
A Guard fired a torch lit arrow, it hit a barrel near the corner.
Half a second later, another explosion shook the space around them. Smoke filled the air and rubble blasted in every direction. It was unlikely that the trade square could take much more of the vibration.
"What is going on?" Wu Hai passed through the rubble thanks to the black spot, it had sensed the lingering threat and shielded them all. A Stark expression came across his face while he looked at the swirling spot. The Black spot had never shared it opinion, neither by feeling or otherwise but it looked, at least from the outside, like it was angry.
Entirely convinced that the fight was orchestrated to kill them, the Group knew it was a threat.
Khan Ni was trying to help the people and they tried to bury her alive. Tried was the optimum word, the Blackhoof had killed unknown amounts of their own people to cover up the death of the group. Even in the moment, the Minaur soldiers on the opposite side of them were rushing into Khan Ni's hail of arrows.
"Are these people suicidal?" Yu asked Mu with a confused look on his face. They had just finished off a handful of their kind without so much of an effort.
"Seems like it. They've all gone crazy. Where do you think they have Jiao Jiao?" Mu directed the next question to Khan Ni while she notched another arrow.
Under the hail of Khan Ni's arrows, Wu Hai watched as some of the Guards were throwing their weapons to the side.
"I've had enough of this.." Darkwing looked at Genba and nodded.
Darkwing pumped electricity into the wall and heard muffled screams in the background. The group took the shock, Khan Ni got the worst of it but she had felt it before. Her body shook but she stood up quickly afterward.
The Minaur in the area were out cold, as the rubble came down, many of them were caught beneath it and there was nothing any of them could do.
Zao Wu Hai had been digging and the rest of the group had the cleanup handled. Looking around Wu Hai couldn't see the Jiao, he had Khan Ni call it.
"Jiao Jiao!" Khan Ni yelled once. A sharp whistle left her lips. 'Whirbbbble Whirbbbble cheep chirp cherp'
Every surviving Minaur heard the whistle, it spread across the city. The moment it left Khan Ni's mouth hundreds of ears perked up and then, a explosive crashing sound could be heard in the distance.
The ground shook, the rocks above the bazaar fell and crushed many of the still advancing Minaur.
Jiao Jiao had fully expanded, giving it such intense stature that anything nearby was pulverized. Crushing the Minaur people in front of it as it rushed to Khan Ni's side, a streak of beef paste could be seen in its wake. There was not a scratch on the Jiao, apparently the Minaur who had spoken up earlier was serious.
Jiao Jiao was very clean, looked refreshed and seemed to sparkle more than before.
Shrinking down to its usual tiny and misleading size, Jiao Jiao stood on Khan Ni's shoulders and glared at the incoming figures. Every single Minaur, Man, Woman, and child all laid down before the Jiao who had just wrecked the entire forward formation and caused the death of so many guards on it's entrance. They were praising their luck for having seeing it.
"Could this be any stranger?" Khan Ni was unsure of what to say, she had just called Jiao Jiao over. "Perhaps we should take this opportunity to get out of here.."
The group looked at each other and the prostrating Minaur in front of them. There was no longer resistance but acceptance of whatever fate came before them. They were compliant, obedient and unwilling to move without approval.
"Agreed!" Zao Wu Hai wanted the same thing, he moved behind the others and checked the compass.
"Lets go then!" Cheng Mu pointed in the direction they had come and all of them sprinted at full speed.
An hour later, they found themselves at the stairwell entrance.
"I hate being underground. No more underground." Darkwing was immeasurably annoyed at the outcome from their latest dive under the soil.
"Genba, You're still coming with us right? If that's the case, let's go now. We will probably never return here, I hope that is acceptable." Wu Hai gave the order and the group took to the skies.
Genba knew he was in for the ride of his life as he stepped onto the back of the Jiao with Khan Ni. To be in the proximity of a Deity was a gift he never thought possible. Genba made a wish then closed his eyes for a moment before Jiao Jiao finally took to the air.
Checking his compass once again, Wu Hai saw that the needle still pointed to the East and the flat ground of plains were still stretching as far as the eyes could see. "I think we should keep following the Compass. It's been pointing East for this whole time and has yet to jump."
Everyone was in agreement. Genba had lost everything, he reveled in the flight but there was a sadness in his eyes. Where ever the group decided to go would be better than the graveyard they had just escaped.