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[h3]--Mountain of the Dragons--[/h3]

In centuries past, it wouldn't have been nigh-improbable for a boat to sail against the current, at least without the assistance of able-bodied men of extraordinary stamina, but with the advent of magitek, an ingenious marriage between magic and technology, it had become something no one would bat an eye upon. A ship braving against the natural flow of the river? Well, good, that meant the engines were working, nothing to write home about. [color=50c8ff][b]"Did you know that "Cijatung" is Pataliputran for "Water-Heart"?"[/b][/color] Was one of Srikandi's quips during their travel along the river, it seemed the silver-haired warrior enjoyed sharing trivia of Pataliputran culture, if that wasn't obvious enough by now. Maybe in another life, she'd have made an excellent tour guide?

It took the vessel a few hours to reach its final destination, the further it could go up the Cijatung river and from there, the party of four must travel by land. [color=50c8ff][b]"Make you sure you don't accidentally leave anything important behind, folks."[/b][/color] What was that about being a tour guide again? 

[b]"Hati-hati di luar sana, kawan! Gunung ini berbahaya." (“Careful out there, mate! This mountain is dangerous.”)[/b] The ship captain sent them off with a little cautionary advice.

The party finished disembarking and from there, Srikandi took a short moment to check the local map, charts detailing this mountain region, though it was far from perfect as there were plenty of areas and landmarks yet documented, but what's already there took monumental efforts of exceedingly courageous explorers, braving the harsh wilderness, hungry beasts, and territorial wyrms for the sake of collective knowledge. Not all of them survived, they were definitely one of those unsung heroes. 

[color=50c8ff][b]"We'll be heading to the Great Table, located... right here."[/b][/color] The dragon knight pointed to a specific spot on the map, at the base of the mountain chain... on the other side, so they had quite a journey ahead of them. Not necessary the distance as it was actually pretty close if they could just cut a straight path through the mountains, instead the greatest challenges lied with the terrain and its inhabitants, and she wasn't just referring to the dragons, there were plenty of creatures here that'd not see humans, elves, and orcs as anything other than prey. Well, Anki might be immune due to not having any delicious flesh, bones, or marrow to feast on, but it'd be folly to think she'd be perfectly safe, arrogance is the path to ruin.

[color=50c8ff][b]"Keep your wits up, everyone."[/b][/color] Since all of her comrades weren't newbies to adventuring, she didn't need to babysit them, they'd know what to do, yes, even Catherine as much as Srikandi hated to admit it.

..........
.....
...

Hours later, deeper into the mountains, as the sun was starting to set on the horizons, was when the party could sense the first signs of trouble. It had been a relatively smooth journey so far due to their combined skills and expertise, not many passive obstacles could hinder them, but it'd be unwise to think the quest would remain so until the end. 

[color=50c8ff][b]"..."[/b][/color] Srikandi raised a fist near the side of her head, signaling for the party to stop, then she spoke in a lower voice, [color=50c8ff][b]"Sssh... do you hear that...?"[/b][/color] Indeed, if they paid close attention, they could hear shuffles of leaves and grasses, made especially audible to those with keener senses, then combined with this gut feeling of being watched, pairs of eyes peering from behind the shadows of the foliage.

[@Medili] [@13org] [@Sanity43217]