Epic Of The Demonic Sage

"That's right." Lucius agreed. "The reason why we've chosen to set up a camp here instead of going down is because it's quite clear that the area is unstable due to the Plow Worm's activities."

"All the holes and the tunnels they're making..." Kiana watched the area before her and eyed the Plow Worm that disappeared back into the mountain.

One could only imagine what it would be like for a Plow Worm to suddenly just chase after them.

Kiana was confident about her Sting Sniper gift, but then wondered how her gift would rate against the thick skin of the Plow Worms.

She wouldn't be able to stop it if she tried.

That fact made Kiana a little uneasy until she remembered that it was Asher who was going to take care of the Rune Beast.

'I've seen what Asher did before with the Bore Shrew and to those criminals, and now he's going to do it to a Plow Worm. These things are quite massive, and I'm not confident with my skill even with Gellor and his team here, but if it's Asher… I'm sure that things will go well in the end.' Kiana thought to herself and refocused on Asher.

"In the case of the miners, it makes sense that one would need to let the area settle down for awhile, even if it leads to the certain collapse of the land." Lucius said.

"Are we going to do that?" Kiana asked. "I don't think we have enough supplies to wait for that long, Asher. If you'd like, it's possible that some of Gellor's people could go back and retrieve more supplies, but I thought that this was going to be a quick mission?"

"We're not going to wait for that long, rest assured." Lucius said. "We're fully capable of taking advantage of the situation right here and right now. I will just be needing some time to observe the schedule of the Plow Worms in order to ensure the success of our mission. You are free to assist me, though I will be taking most of the note-taking myself. But it would be great to have another pair of eyes."

"Of course, Asher." Kiana reassured him.

As for Gellor and the rest of the team, Lucius didn't give them any explicit orders to observe the Plow Worms themselves, but after finishing setting up the camp, the team didn't actually have much to do either.

Gellor and his team were situated at a rather appropriate distance away from Lord Asher and Kiana to give them privacy, but also was close enough to protect them in case anything happened or they were given a new set of orders.

"What do you think will happen next?" Ariana asked as she sat down on the ground and looked over at the area. "Aren't we going to go down to check the area ourselves?"

"That's not a good idea, Ariana. Many miners have sometimes rushed into a Plow Worm's territory out of their greed and find themselves falling into the sinkhole and not even realizing, it was how they were going to die." Barty chided her.

"I think Lord Asher is just admiring the scenery at the moment." Albus said.

"Don't make jokes like that. It's not funny." Finch frowned. "There's a clear reason why we're here and it's certainly not just to enjoy the view."

"Sorry, I was just trying to lighten up the mood." Albus groaned and turned away from Finch. "Help me out, Gellor."

"At the moment, I think they're currently observing the situation before us." Gellor guessed, noticing how Lord Asher was making notes on a journal. "However, we all need to be ready at a second's notice, sinkholes or not. We'll probably end up needing to go there. It's related to Lord Asher's plan no doubt."

"…the thing with the Bergan's Band?" Ariana raised a brow. "This isn't about collecting rune crystals?"

"It's all connected. I think." Gellor said.

"Well, we're going to figure it out sooner or later." Finch said. "And since we've agreed to help, all we'll be doing is waiting for Lord Asher's next command."

"We know that, Finch. You don't have to remind us every second. I'm just trying not to get bored with sitting around here and realizing that the next most interesting thing is when the Plow Worm's going to come up again." Albus said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'd say that it's most likely they'll resurface in perhaps three to four hours." Barty said.

"Oh, is this going to be another bet?" Ariana perked up a little. "I'd say it'll take longer than that. Half a day."

"Please don't make too much of a ruckus this time." Gellor sighed, but then eyed the area below them. "I'd say just about an hour and a half, in my opinion."

"Gellor, are you serious?" Finch narrowed her eyes at the captain, but little did she know that this was the exact question that Lucius had in mind.

"How much time has passed, Kiana?" Lucius asked.

"It's about two and a half hours, Asher." Kiana said as she brought in his supper. "The last time was about only two hours though, when they've last resurfaced."

"Indeed. Based on the previous instances, we can safely assume that the general schedule of these Plow Worms is around two to three hours." Lucius said. "They dig and then rise to the surface to defecate, which is substantial information, but not enough."

"We'll be starting a fire soon," Kiana said as she took in the now setting sun. "What other information do we need, Asher?"

"Preferably their sleeping schedule and how they sleep. It's their most vulnerable moment, which is what we need to record along with other details." Lucius said. "But even with the data that we gather today, we might still need to look for discrepancies."

"I see. Hopefully, we'll get to see it soon." Kiana said.

"We will, and based on my presumptions, it'll be the best chance to act."