GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 1

V12 - Chapter 147 Rory Past

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--- Schwarz Forest, Roldom Valley, Mount Tube ---

It took two hours to get to the base of Mount Tube for Vanguard-7. The other two teams are busy helping Yao people evacuate from their village while they look for their missing war party.

"This is your lands, Yao, where would they go," He asks.

Yao walks ahead and then kneels. She looks at the ground and studies it. "They have been here."

Frost walks over and looks down at where Yao is looking. "I see nothing. How can you tell?"

Yao looks at Frost annoyed. She slaps him on the leg. "You are standing on a footprint you Tawff."

"Hey!" Frost said as he backed away.

"What is a Tawff?" Andrew asked as he looked over.

Lelei looks at Andrew. "You know how you call people ass, relating to your backsides. Well it is related to when a Tawff urinates on its pray to-."

Rory reaches out and grabs Lelei's staff. "Don't continue that please. I don't think they can handle it."

He can hear some of his Rangers have this gagging or this disgust look after hearing that. Everyone picturing what Lelei was saying or filling in the gap after Rory cut her off. Even he felt his stomach turn hearing that, wondering why an animal would do something like that and decided he doesn't want to know.

"Thank you, Rory," Alicia said.

"That's fucking disgusting," Sofia said. "This planet is fucked up."

Tuka walks over and looks at what Yao was looking at. "I can confirm. I see dozens of footprints leading inside. But I also see these strange layouts on the ground."

He looks at Tuka confused. "Explain Tuka."

"I don't know," Tuka said. "These are not tracks or patterns I am accustomed to."

"I do," Yao said. "These are not footprints, but the dirt has been moved around from the air, a flier that was low to the ground."

"Dragons?" He replies.

"No," Yao replies. "We have many different flying animals that come here to mate. They like how isolated this valley is, so they come here. Hmm." She then looks towards another direction. "It seems a second group went this way."

He looks to the direction Yao is looking at. "Why would they split up?"

Yao stands up as she brushes her hands off. "The Elbe Fiefdom sometimes conducted raids in the valley. They have a fortress east of here. If attacked, we use it to hide in Mount Tube for safety. There are other entrances so they could have used them to flank the dragons, assuming they are in the mountain."

"Hmm," He looks around as his gut is telling him something is wrong. He can see there is a missing piece to the puzzle but can't find any clues on what that puzzle might be. "Randy, take your team and follow the new tracks. Everyone else with me."

He watches Sergeant Major Randy Dodson take his team back to the JLTVS and take one of them. Everyone else, Harvy Frost, Alicia Moore, Andrew Steele, Lelei La Lalena, Tuka Luna Marceau, and Yao Haa Dushi. They start to gather their gear and ready to move out.

"Now everyone rolls out," He said and then looks, Rory Mercury. "Rory. I need you to stay back and watch our six. I don't want us getting flanked from the rear."

"Yes sir," Rory said in a nervous tone.

Rory is the most powerful Human he has ever met. There is almost no one he wants by his side when going into battle and she has become a close friend. It is rare to see her get scared by something. The only time he has ever seen her genuinely afraid was when they are going underground(1).