After some well needed rest the squad continued on their search for the trolls while they all inwardly hoped that the imps were still in one piece and not in the belly of their captors.
They continued through the bone plains that Gale had nicknamed the "The Bony shore", a name which was quite stupid and uncalled for judging from the fact that there wasn't any waterbody in the vicinity or even any sign of the place ever once holding any sort of water.
Their journey was strangely quiet and the only traces of life in the plain were the gigantic footprints left in the ground by trolls and much larger ones that belonged to the ancient creatures that had left the gargantuan skeletons in the land.
"Interesting, I wonder what could have killed of all these creatures? Okuagu asked no one in particular for he for one wondered whether the creatures came before the labyrinth or if it was the other way around.
"It might have been the heart, after all such a creature would need a huge supply of souls in order to maintain a labyrinth of this nature"
Diamond replied for she knew that labyrinths were only traps that were left by sentient beings in order to eat the souls of those that ventured into them.
This of course was also strengthened by something that neither of the squads knew. The fact that the souls of beings that die in the labyrinth strengthen it and thus enable the heart to advance in rank and power. After what seemed to be like forever Okuagu gestured for them to stop in their tracks.
"Their hideout is just up ahead" Okuagu said pointing to a leviathan skeleton that was surrounded by many bone stakes that had fresh mutilated heads hanging on them. "So they are just returning from a hunt? Gale asked on noting the many heads that still had blood dripping from them. "Most likely, I will try to ascertain their position and those of the imps" replied Boaruss who had placed his two palms on the ground as his eyes took on a golden hue.
Boaruss new sensory ability (a skill he had learned during his earlier battle with the trolls) enabled him to locate organisms and objects so long that they made contact with the ground regardless of them being in the open or in a building as the case may be. As of now his skill's range could cover an area of up to a hundred meters though it was limited to the surface of the earth and could only track creatures that were three feet beneath it. unlike Okuagu's heat signature Boaruss's earth scan could only reveal to him a blurry shape of the organisms according to the weight and aura they exuded on the earth.
"There are three trolls in the hideout and I can also sense the presence of ten creatures that are huddled together in the far end of the hideout".
"Those must be the imps" whispered Gale for they were currently approaching the hideout. Diamond on hearing the number of the imps frowned "I can't believe that they are only ten, I mean that old imp did say it was a good number of his people that were captured" "It means that either some imps are kept in a place that is farther than Boaruss's earth scan's range or the trolls have eaten most of them and have simply kept the rest for another day" Rose pointed out.
The rest of the group agreed with Rose's explanation as they got ready to put her plan in motion.Okuagu, Lee and Boaruss gave the rest of the group a nod before they broke into a sprint towards the hideout all the while shouting loudly.
The rest of the squad members proceeded towards the back of the hideout in order to rescue the imps while the other three distracted the trolls.
To the surprise of the three guys the trolls in the hideout didn't even flinch as they approached.
Okuagu took a look at them with heat signature before he cursed on noticing that their bodies were cold and didn't release any amount of heat at all. "The trolls are dead" Okuagu said to Boaruss and Lee who had already come to the same conclusion.
"What do you think killed them? Boaruss asked Okuagu that was currently sniffing the air. "That" replied Lee as he pointed at a cloaked figure with a white skull for a face, that stepped out of the eye socket of the leviathan; grinning as it licked its lips on noticing the new food assembled in front of it.