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"What was that?!", I asked.
"W- What happened…?!", Ike had the same question.
"Let's go check it out", Spruce nodded at us, and we nodded back, making our way through the crowd of people in the corridor.
Everyone was confused, and that made some people freeze in place, some run away, and some, like us, went to check out the source of the explosion. When we got to the entrance hall, however, what we saw sent us into an even deeper state of confusion, for in the middle of hundreds of students, holding a big ladle and accompanied by a dozen clan members, there was Spoon of the Deathbead Clan.
Spoon was walking around with a frown on his face, and making sure the Bear Mountain students kept their heads down with his clan members. I was about to call for him, when I was yanked from the door threshold, and had my mouth covered by someone's hand, right in time for me to see the Deathbead Clan member whacking someone in the head with his two meters tall ladle, splashing blood on the ground and sending the poor victim unconscious.
"Shh!", It was Mari and her men who pulled me and my friends to the shadows and away from the entrance hall. "Don't let them see you."
"What's happening?", I wanted to ask why Spoon was there, but I contained myself.
"Bandits, darling... We've heard about them causing trouble to the west, and approaching one of our portals, but that has never been a problem, since they wouldn't be able to get into this place anyway."
"Yes… That should be the case…! Why haven't they been teleported away from the Bear Mountain when they tried to get in? Why have the Gods allowed them to enter this place?", Ike started to sweat and gesticulate frenetically, his eyes going wide.
"We don't know… This shouldn't be possible normally. Even if they knew any special magic to resist the teleportation defense, they would need a laughably enormous quantity of raw magical power to be able to protect themselves against it", We followed Mari to behind one of the wooden sculptures that lined both sides of that corridor, and hid in its shadow.
Oh, no. Didn't that mean…?
I exchanged a glance with Ike and Spruce, and from the looks on their face, they seemed to have thought the exact same thing as I: the Deathbead Clan had used the dragon horn to overcome the protections of the Bear Mountain.
"But… Why?", I asked more to myself than anyone else.
Still, Mari had an answer for that: "They're probably trying to get to the treasury. I've seen them carrying baskets and chests towards the Bear Mountain's skull, it's the only explanation: the skull holds an untold number of treasures and enchanted items of all kinds, from things that allow the users to project illusions at great distances, to powerful weapons…" They were trying to rob the Bear Mountain? But why, wasn't the dragon horn already valuable enough? "We can't allow these things to fall into the wrong hands! Coyote, help us."
"Leader!", the man with the Mohican protested, tightening his fists. "This man is not trustful; you should know that."
"I remember him saving our lives, and helping us to deal with a criminal before, love", she frowned at the man. Turning back to me, she asked: "Will you help us again, Coyote?"
I tightened my fists and frowned. I needed to know what was going on, I needed to find out why my friends were attacking the school, making hostages, and hurting the students!
"Yes!"
"We're going to help too", Ike and Spruce said in unison.
Guided by Spruce, we stealthily walked down the corridors, avoiding the Deathbead Clan members patrolling the school and taking hostages, showing no compassion for those who resisted and beating them unconscious, until we got to the base of the skull of the Bear Mountain. The spine had been converted into a grandiose staircase and supporting columns, which were being guarded by two of the people wearing leathery clothes with lots of pockets.
"Tch, we won't be able to go through these two undetected", Spruce came off a wooden bench that was hiding us from the enemy guards, and reported, clicking his tongue.
"Silence, there's someone else coming", the man with a mohican alerted, and we all kept very still.
A bulking man walked down the stairs with a large chest in his hands, and followed by two more guards, he walked away from the skull. It was Twelve-Ax, executing completely seriously whatever their objective in that place was.
"What do we do? Do we follow him? Do we beat the guards and secure the treasury?", I asked. "What are the teachers doing now?", I almost screamed in frustration.
"They are being kept in check in their vertebrae towers: if they move, the bandits promise to kill the students… That's why the council members sent us, apprentices who volunteer to keep the order around", Smiling Mari pulled a green pendent of a rat. "We have to deal with this by ourselves."
"…But he's right. We can't decide between following the enemies and discovering where they're taking the stolen treasures, and securing the treasury", for the first time since I remember, the man with a mohican agreed with me. "That's why we should do both. Please, leader, allow me to stay behind and secure this position."
"Aspen… Don't dare to lose, honey!", Mari nodded seriously to her underling, and the rest of us sneaked after the bulky man.
Twelve-Ax looked over his shoulder and hurried once the commotions back at the treasury started, but he didn't seem to notice the rest of us, dragging ourselves beneath the soft fur that covered the ground.
Our hiding spot met its end only at the entrance hall, when the threshold cut through the carpet. Once again hiding behind the wooden statues, were found ourselves separated from Twelve-Ax, who was already entering the portal room, by Spoon and a large of Deathbead clan members.
"What the hell are the teachers and Council Members doing…?!", I asked, frowning.
"The invaders have taken the students as hostage, so they are locked on their towers and unable to come down and face the enemies…", Mari answered, looking hurt.
"W- What do we do now? There's no way we can pass through that many people…!", Ike whispered, biting his nails.
"If we can't sneak past them, then we won't", Mari said, taking a pair of copper axes from her waist and frowning. "I'll distract them, you guys blend in with the other students, and follow that man with the box! We absolutely can't allow the Bear Mountain treasures to leave this place", She concluded, and was about to dash from our hiding spot right toward Spoon, when Ike stopped her with his hand.
"Wait. Let me do it", he was sweating profusely, and his hands were shaking, but his eyes were carved in stone.
"…Are you sure?"
"Yeah. You know what we're doing here, you're the leader for this whole operation, we can't have you left behind to fight a nobody. That's my task", he turned to the girl with green hair ad added: "I-I know at least a little bit about fighting wars you know?"
"…Very well, darling. We're counting on you!"
Then, Ike ran.
"What?!", the Deathbead clan's cook raised his ladle up, and blocked the incoming ax strike from a furious Mari, and suddenly every Deathbead in the room had their eyes fixed on the swordsman, whose pose changed completely, no longer awkward, but moving with expert precision.
"Let's go! We can't waste this opportunity, honey", Crouched, Mary dashed for the crowd of hostages and I followed her, both of us hiding in between the apprentices, all the while we moved towards the portal room.
The awkward swordsman was skillful enough to fight against the whole bunch of Deathbead clan members by himself and for long enough that the rest of us managed to reach the portal room just in time to see the bulky Twelve-Ax hitting the big drum-thing with its special stick, and teleporting the chest away.
"So, it was you…", The bulky man took his huge ax from his back and frowned at us. "But I won't let you go through this portal."
Mari was stepping forward, taking a pair of axes from her waist, when Spruce stepped forward, putting himself between the two of them.
"Let me deal with this."
"You? Do you really think you can win against your master after just a little training? Hahaha! You really have the spirit of a Deathbed! What do you say? It's not too late yet."
"I don't know what is there in between you, but you have some explanations to give. So, don't die sweet little guy!", Mari said, as the two of us ran to the left of Twelve-Ax, and Spruce ran to his right.
"I'll deal with you quickly, and then I'll split your friends in two, Spruce!", the bulky man screamed, swinging his ax wide. I couldn't see what happened next, but I could hear it very well: "What?!"
"Quick, Coyote! The portal must be still configured to the right position, just hit the drum with the stick!", Mari pointed to the long and intricately carved stick.
We grabbed it, barely raising the huge thing from the ground, and swung it against the drum, and with a boom, we found ourselves on some familiar riverbanks. But instead of waterpanthers, there was a huge stone hammer coming right for my head.
"Beware!", Mari pushed me away, and the stone head of the weapon hit the ground, scattering sand everywhere. "Hey, that could have hurt, pretty."
"Shut up, bitch", Lola snarled at Mari.
In the distance, a shadowy figure ran with unnatural speed, carrying a chest with itself.
"Coyote, if I remember correctly, you can move quite fast with that shield technique."
"Yes…"
"Then, go. I'll take care of things here", Mari raised both her axes, and stared into the eyes of the girl with pigtails.
I closed my hands into fists, gritted my teeth, and agreed: "Yes!"
And so, I created the shield and explosion beneath my feet, and launched myself forward with incredible speed, bypassing Lola and leaving everyone behind while I pursued the mysterious figure across the desert.