Akira walked over to the large stone slab that was blocking the door behind them it was as sturdy and unmoving as a mountain.
Ding!
<table>
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<tr>
<td>
Quest update!
Find the secret exit and escape:
You are close to escaping the clutches of the Caidia empire. Find the secret exit to leave the pyramid.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“Well? What do we do now?” asked Maya.
“There should be a secret passage out of here,” said Akira looking around the room.
“Are you sure? The walls look solid and It looks like we''re stuck here with no way out,” said Maya getting worked up.
“Calm down,” said Mileena patting Maya on the back.
“She doesn''t like small enclosed areas,” explained Mileena as she turned to Akira and Varbu.
Everyone started to search the room carefully looking for anything that was suspicious and could be used in their escape.
The search was quick with the room being small but they were not able to find where the secret exit was hidden.
“Let''s take a break and think about this,” said Akira.
“I''m too tired to think,” said Maya.
“Should we set up camp for the night?” asked Varbu.
“I guess we can, it would probably be better to get some rest and search again with a clear mind,” said Akira.
“We need to wash up first. Turn around and don''t look. I''ll be watching you so you better not peek,” said Mileena.
“I don''t mind if you look at Mileena just don''t look at me,” said Maya.
Akira covered his face at the shamelessness of Maya and began muttering quietly to himself but Mileena was close enough to hear what he said.
“You know I can hear you!” said Mileena launching a kick at him.
He stumbled back knocking over several old rusted treasures that had been buried with the ancient king.
Akira wobbled on one foot for a second before regaining his balance and placing his foot back on the ground.
Click!
Looking down at the floor he saw an uneven stone tile under his foot become even with the rest of the floor.
A gust of moist wind could be felt coming from behind him but before he could see what was causing the moist wind he was again kicked by Mileena.
His arms flailed everywhere as he tried to regain his balance. He grabbed onto the closest thing near him which was Mileena, but instead of regaining his balance they both ended up falling back into a hole in the wall and disappeared.
“Ahhhhh!” Mileena''s cry of surprise could be heard getting farther and farther away.
“Wha...wha...what just happened!? What do we do!” shouted Maya.
“Nothing to worry about. It looks like they found the exit,” said Varbu smiling as he was used to the other two''s bickering by now.
Varbu saw that Maya was still staring at the hole not moving.
“Ladies first,” said Varbu pushing her forward into the hole. A second later he could hear her let out a shocked cry as she disappeared into the darkness.
Varbu jumped into the hole right after her without a second thought.
***
Akira and Mileena held onto each other as they shot down a steep slick stone slide picking up speed as they went. They did not let go for fear of spinning out of control and crashing into a wall which could be deadly.
When Akira thought their speed couldn''t get any faster the slide changed and started to curve up. They flew up the slide at an amazing speed and only a few seconds later shot out of a hole in the ground and flew several feet in the air before crashing unceremoniously into a large sand dune.
A few seconds later the screaming Maya was spat out from the ground and plopped down next to them face first into the soft sand. Varbu was the last to shoot out of the hole in the ground. He slammed into a nearby dune like a large stone that was flung from a catapult, sending up a plume of sand everywhere.
The sound of a sinkhole filling with sand could be heard as the hole they exited collapsed blocking the way back to the pyramid.
“Ptooie! Blegh... I''ve got sand so far up my nose!” complained Maya as she spat out sand from her mouth and tried to clear it from her nose.
Akira and Mileena quickly released each other and jumped apart before the others could see and comment on it.
Varbu pulled himself out of the large hole he had created in the sand dune and stood up lightly brushing the sand off.
Akira began to shake his body to try and get all of the sand out of his fur flinging it everywhere.
“Ackk... stop acting like a dog and just brush it off like a normal person,” complained Mileena as she had sand flung into her face and all over her body from Akira''s actions.
Akira transformed back into his human form and began brushing off the sand as if nothing had happened.
Varbu walked up onto one of the large dunes and looked around trying to figure out where they were.
Akira joined him a few seconds later. Not far away he could see waves washing up onto the shore.
“We''re already at the ocean? Did we really travel that far?” asked Varbu confused.
“Most likely it was those crazy stone slides,” said Akira.
“I freaking hate whoever made that pyramid,” said Mileena.
“I don''t know about you guys but that was too much excitement for me I need to get a few hours of sleep,” said Maya.
“I''ll keep watch since I''m not that tired,” said Akira.
“You better not do anything perverted while we sleep,” said Mileena her words stabbing into Akira.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Stop talking like your sister!” Akira shot back.
Half an hour later everyone was sleeping peacefully.
With the help from the moonlight Akira watching the two Nyantail sisters sleeping.
He could see Mileena had a bad sleeping posture since her arms and legs flung everywhere, while Maya who had been sleeping next to Mileena was now clinging onto her as if she were a stuffed animal.
''What a cute sight!'' thought Akira.
***
Doooonnnnggggg! Doooonnnnggggg! Doooonnnnggggg!
“Huh!? Whaaa?” Akira opened his eyes to see that dawn had arrived. He must have dozed off for a short time.
Somewhere nearby, the sound of a towns warning bell was being rung continuously.
“What''s going on?” asked Mileena rubbing the sleep out of her face.
It seemed everyone had been awoken by the loud noise of the bells.
Ding!
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Quest updated!
Help defend the small town Feeshpot:
Feeshpot is under attack. Help defend the town to receive a reward that will help you escape from Caidia.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“I''m guessing a nearby town is under attack. Let''s see if we can help,” said Akira running off to the sound of the ringing bells leaving behind the still half asleep Mileena, Varbu, and Maya.
“Wait for us!” shouted Mileena as she ran after Akira with Varbu and Maya following behind her.
***
“Can you see where the enemy is?” asked Mileena her head peeking over a sand dune not that far away from one of the wooden houses built near the beach.
The town was a small fishing town built near the beach and had no walls to protect it from any attacks so there was little to no practical way to defend it.
“No, I don''t hear any fighting either...” said Akira.
“Look Over there! There''s something coming out of the water!” said Maya pointing at the ocean.
They could see several humanoid bodies rise up out of the water.
Doooonnnnggggg! Doooonnnnggggg! Doooonnnnggggg!
“The seamen have come! The seamen have come! Run for your lives!” shouted a loud male voice from the bell tower.
“Looks like they could use some help,” said Akira.
Akira focused on the humanoids creatures that were now walking out of the water and onto the beach to find out their information.
[Sharkman lvl 32][Lobsterman lvl 31] [Crabman lvl 33] there was a large group of over twenty of them.
“We should have no problem taking care of them,” said Akira.
Clang! Bang! Somewhere in the town, the sound of a fight let them know that there was another group of seamen already attacking the townspeople.
Akira stood up and ran towards the beach with his shield out in front and his sword ready to strike at whatever was in front of him.
The group of seamen that were walking out of the water and toward the town turned their attention towards Akira who was running towards them.
They Quickly communicated with each other using odd snapping, clapping, and snarls using their claws and jaws.
Several arrows flew past Akira before he reached the Seamen hitting their targets in the head killing them.
Akira stopped a few feet away and used the skill [Sword Slash] to cut down two unarmored [Sharkmen] that took the brunt of the attack.
Due to the hard shells acting as armor dampening the attack, the [Lobstermen] and [Crabmen] only received a deep cut that caused a large amount of blood to gush out as they moved forward with loud snarly grunts escaping their mouths.
“Why''re you guys so crabby, lighten up,” said Akira as he blocked the claws from a [Crabman] with his shield.
The [Sharkmen] were able to use stone spears and swords to make up for that lack of claws. They had a thick outer skin but it was easier to cut than the hard shell of the crab and lobster.
With skilled ease Akira was able to dodge an attack from a [Sharkman] who had no weapon and had reached out with arms that were extremely thick and muscular, trying to rip Akira apart with its bare hands and teeth.
A quick stab to the head killed the [Sharkman].
Mileena and Varbu reached him several seconds later to join in on the fun.
The [Lobstermen] and [Crabmen] used their arms and claws to try to snap their enemies weapons, arms, and bodies in half but were failing to do anything.
Varbu took care of smashing the hard-shelled seamen allowing Mileena to deal the final blow while Akira and Maya took care of the rest of the [Sharkman].
In less than five minutes the invading seamen lay dead on the beach turning the sand and nearby water into a light-red color.
Akira could still hear the sound of fighting to the north of where they stood.
“This way!” said Akira not stopping to pick up any loot or catch their breath as he ran towards the sound of the fighting.
After passing an empty wooden house his view opened up showing a large stone lighthouse built near the town and was the place the townspeople had chosen to make their last stand.
Dozens of seamen were fighting and pushing to get into the lighthouse while a few of the defenders fought them off at the broken lighthouse door. Several archers shot arrows at the seamen from windows higher up in the lighthouse.
“Another enemy group has appeared! They look to be a mixture of human and demon race!” shouted a voice from a window in the lighthouse.
An arrow flew out from the window and shot towards Akira. It was easily blocked Akira using his shield.
“Don''t shoot! We have come to help,” shouted Akira hiding behind his shield.
Akira was not sure if it was because the archer didn''t want to waste arrows on them or they accepted his words but no more arrows were shot at them.
Some of the Seamen crowded around the door turned around when they felt danger coming from behind them and received a combination of arrows, sword and dagger stabs, along with blunt force attacks.
The seamen were caught in a pincer attack and were quickly defeated. Not a single seaman was able to escape to cause future problems.
“Is it over?” asked a voice from inside the lighthouse.
“I think so,” said a warrior standing near the door.
“We killed around twenty of them near the beach and I didn''t see anymore when we ran here to help you,” said Akira.
The head of an elderly man popped out of a window and looked around.
“Who are you people?” asked the old man after locating the outsiders that had helped them.
“We are just travelers passing by. We hear the bells ringing and decided to help out,” said Akira.
The old man looked at Akira and the other three for several seconds.
“Wait one second I''ll be right down.”
The old man hobbled out of the lighthouse with the help of a cane. Four guards walked forward with him to make sure he was protected from the unknown strangers.
“My name is Oledud, and I am the village chief. I thank you greatly for your help truly an honorable thing to do. Is there something I can help you with?”
Ding!
<table>
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+4 honor
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“We''re looking for transportation to cross the ocean,” said Akira.
“Ah...I''m terribly sorry but we do not have anyone that would be willing to sail so far,” said Oledud.
“Chief, what about Old Sal? Since I got Sal II built last year Old Sal has been just taking up a spot at the docks. If they want it I''m okay with selling her for a cheap price, as thanks for helping us,” said one of the guards.
“You sure about that?” asked Oledud.
“Yeah, but she might need a little fixing up since I haven''t done anything to her for over a year now,” said the guard sheepishly.
“So Fiman, you''re just trying to get rid of that old junker,” joked another guard.
“She Isn''t an old junker she still floats! I''ll sell her to you at the cheap price of 10 gold! It''s a good deal. When she was first built I had to pay nearly 65 gold for her,” said the Fiman.
“Can you show us the ship?” asked Akira.
“Chief?” the guard asked Oledud questioningly to see if he would let them go near the town''s ships.
Oledud gave a nod.
***
Akira and the others had checked the cog ship for any major defects and only found several small leaks here and there. But for the most part, it was still able to float and sail as Fiman had said.
He felt a burning pain in his stomach as he handed over ten gold to the guard.
“Thank you very much don''t worry Old Sal will treat you good as long as you also treat her with respect,” said the guard happily.
Akira decided that they would take a day to fix the leaks in the ship.
***
A scout for the Caidia military sat atop his horse on top of a sand dune far away from the town staring at it through a cheap collapsible telescope.
“Found them! I better let the captain know I found them. I can''t wait, no more crappy stale bread for me,” said the scout happily as he scribbled down a message on a piece of paper warning that the target was trying to escape by sea.
He reached into a birdcage and tied the message to a carrier pigeons leg before he opened the cage and send it flying to the captain.