Xtreme Saga - Book One: The War for Rig

Chapter 16 - Cold Hard Facts

The Elurrans, both Vergs and Frims, were under the impression that the Cult had no real established presence in the region at all, but this was far from the truth. The scouts from Kas had been correct. The Cult did have an enormous base hidden deep in the wastes of Elurra. Far into a remote part of the forest, there was a large clearing. The Cult of Ios had cleared away a huge section of trees and built an impressive facility. It was a large, grey building that blended in perfectly with the snow. Even though it was quite tall, Elurra's massive trees and the constant snow kept it perfectly hidden.

The base was well guarded. Troops patrolled the area around the building continuously. It was a limited number of soldiers, but there was no telling how many additional warriors they had inside. In a corner of the clearing, quite a ways from the main building, there was a large enclosed area with several people huddled together inside. It was unclear who these people were, or whey they were being held in these inhumane conditions, but all of them were clearly Rigans native to Elurra.

"The missing villagers are right there!" Mage exclaimed.

Mera and her allies from Levante spied the Cult base from within the tree line. The group had struggled to find the base with the limited information they received from Kas, but as the village had been destroyed soon after, it was all they had to go on.

"How can you be sure?" Corvo asked Mage.

"There's cousin Rilkon, right there," Mage replied. "I'd recognize him from the other side of Elurra."

"I thought you said your villagers don't use the Verge Network," Mera said.

"We don't. Never have," Summoner replied.

"Then why are all the prisoners using it right now?" Mera asked.

It was true. Levante's missing villagers were all sitting in the Cult's pen using the Verge Network. It was quite a surprise for Summoner and Corvo. At first, Summoner didn't want to admit that Mera's assessment was correct. But Corvo wasn't willing to shy away from facts just because they might be inconvenient.

"She's right. I can see it in their eyes. Everyone in that cage is currently using Verge," Corvo said.

"Maybe the Cult is forcing them to use it," Mage suggested.

"Why would they do that?" Mera asked.

"I couldn't begin to guess. But freeing our people is more important to me than finding out why they were taken," Corvo replied.

The warriors of Levante were there to save their missing villagers. Mera was there to help, but she also hoped to find out what the Cult of Ios was up to. Why had they kidnapped the villagers to begin with? Why were they forcing them to use the Verge Network? And how did this all factor into the destruction of Kas?

"There aren't that many guards on patrol," Summoner said. "I say we storm the base and rescue the prisoners directly."

"We don't know what they have inside that building," Mera said. "There could be way more troops. Giving away our position for an open confrontation seems like the wrong approach."

"I have to agree with the Verg on this one," Corvo said. "Stealth is our best course of action."

"Can Orb scan the building and tell us how many people are inside?" Mage asked.

Corvo reluctantly agreed with Mage's suggestion. The warrior didn't like relying on alien technology, nor the Verg who commanded it, but he had to admit that Orb had been instrumental in their discovery of what happened to Kas. Were it not for their ability to scan the area, that boy buried in the rubble never would have been found. Not while he was still alive anyway.