Redo! Last Chance for a Dying World!

The night passed quickly and without incident. Both parties were up and stretching before the darkness of the night was broken.

"Geez, it's like four in the morning. Why do we have to do this so early?" Harris complained.

"Quit yer complaining," Hulk responded. "Geth's book said the Orcs have lousy eyesight. It'll be better to catch the ones outside the Dungeon when the sun starts glaring."

"You guys, be careful. Remember not to rush things, even if you're doing well," Geth reminded them.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the ones who should be careful. Don't let those mutts give ya a hard time," Hulk waved over his shoulder as his party followed him into the woods.

Geth didn't buff them before they left. He'd been worried that they would get too reliant on it, causing them to make mistakes when it wore off.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Peter questioned.

"They'll be fine," Geth assured him. "Hulk's a wise man. And they may not look it, but the two brothers are dependable when things get serious."

'He's here,' Albus informed him.

Geth glanced at the Grimoire and found that one of his Detect Runes had sent an alert. He looked at the brush in the eastern direction.

The others noticed his stare and turned to look as well. The brush started to shake.

The leaves that were rustling gently at first soon began to shake violently. A loud howl sounded from somewhere close by.

"Shit!"

Everyone's hands quickly moved to their weapons. Blaze and Geth were the only two who remained calm.

Geth spoke loudly, "Quit trying to scare everyone and get out here!"

The rustling stopped. After a brief moment of silence, laughter could be heard from the other side of the bushes.

"Aww, man! You should have seen the looks on everyone's faces!"

The leaves rustled again, and a man pushed his way into the clearing. He was a tall, lanky, dark-skinned man with black hair and a clean face.

He was wearing a bright purple robe with a yellow hat and golden staff. Most of his accessories and equipment had a similar color scheme.

"It's been a while, Geth! How are you?"

Geth looked over the other man, "We've been doing well, happy to see that you're safe."

The two men met each other and shook hands. He waved the rest of the party over.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet one of my friends..." Geth paused when he was about to say the man's name.

"I go by Felix! I... uh... kind of took the naming a little lightly," He scratched the back of his head and showed a goofy grin.

Geth laughed, "I see that you still aren't taking things seriously. What if Filthy here had sent an arrow your way?"

"I would have been fine," Felix argued. "Besides, it was worth it."

"Nice to see you, Felix!" Zolis walked up and punched him in the arm. "That's for playing games!"

"Oww! What the hell, girl!"

Geth put his staff between the two, "Alright, we can exchange pleasantries later. Did you learn anything about the layout of the Dungeon?"

Felix sighed, "Yeah. It's going to be a bitch just to get in. Three groups of three Direwolves constantly circle the cave's entrance.

Another five groups are steadily rotating in and out of the cave constantly. There's also one Sub-Boss that sleeps just inside the entrance."

"What are their Levels looking like?" Jack asked.

Felix glanced at the young man, "Who's the pipsqueak?"

Jack's right eye twitched. Geth shook his head and spoke up.

"Answer Jack's question."

"Fine. Each group has one stronger Direwolf that's Level 45 or higher. The other two are usually somewhere around 40.

The wolves that make runs out into the wild are stronger. Sometimes the leader of those groups can be as high as Level 60, while the other two are consistently over 50."

Geth's face turned into a frown, "This isn't going to be easy."

He looked around at the Levels of everyone around him. Aside from him, only Filthy and Zolis had passed Level 40.

"It seems like the Direwolves really deserve their Tier 4 rating. They must have been extremely diligent in their hunting," Geth stated.

"All of you need to get stronger before we push this Dungeon. Our gear makes up for some of the difference, but the difference between the first and second Class is tremendous."

Rift looked up at him, "Then what should we do?"

"Felix, how often do the hunting groups leave?" Geth asked.

Felix tapped a finger to his chin, "Mmm, I would say that one leaves every couple of hours, starting an hour from now. None return until the sun begins to go down."

"Then we need to catch and kill them some distance from the Dungeon," Geth announced.

"That's still dangerous! Their howls can be heard for miles!" Zolis cried.

Felix stood up proudly, "You can leave that to me! Most of my spells are based on illusions and entrapment! Muffling a bit of sound isn't a problem."

Rift instantly became curious, "Is that how you made that howling noise? And made the leaves shake so hard?"

"Sure is!"

Geth spoke up, "Sorry to interrupt, but we have more pressing issues. Felix, can you lead us ahead of where each patrol usually goes?"

"I can."

"Good, I'll set up Runes to detect their arrival, and we can plan our move. Rift, you're the lowest Level, so you'll get the final hits on the first group.

We'll go from the lowest Level and work our way up until all of you are 40 or higher. If any of you want to back out now, this is your last chance."

The mood became serious as everyone prepared for what was coming. They were about to work their way into a Dungeon full of creatures that were much higher Levels than them.

"Then let's head out," Geth used his Invocation to speed everyone up.. "Felix, lead the way."