107. Mapping: Ruku

When the others leave, Wiremu and I look for a good place to infiltrate the cave. Wiremu decides the landward entrance would be best. The Rat Pack have a small camp set up hidden in a hollow not far from the entrance. It may be useful to us, but I think we will be spending time following Tāoke, but we will be on the surface.

“I have been trying to convince Tāoke to learn my Mapping Skill, but he is not interested,” Wiremu said. “Maybe his brain is not wired that way, but he doesn’t care where he is or where he has been. He can always locate me, and that is enough. He just follows the scent if he wants anything else.”

“So, how will you do this?” I asked, very curious. I never had a mapping skill, but I doubt my bond, Opo, would have been interested either.

“When Tāoke gets somewhere, he will share his senses with me. I will need to force the Mapping Skill to use those Senses that are not mine, but it is on the verge of Journeyman level, so I am betting this will enable it to make the push through,” he replied.

“And your Map making Skill means you can draw it on paper? Is that something like a navigational chart?” I asked.

“More like a complicated Topographical map,” he replied. “You will see.”

Tāoke slipped off into the grass near the entrance. We waited, and then Wiremu pointed him out. Using Farsight with my Darksight, I saw him approach the rock on the opposite side to where the Seadog guards were. It looked very strange as it appeared that he had melted into the rock. The hole closed over him after he had passed through, and there was nothing left to see.

“Are you going to be able to do that as well?” I asked Wiremu.

“Eventually, yes,” he replied. “It takes a lot of energy, and I am going to be sharing a lot with Tāoke, so this is very much a joint effort. A stone wall about 0.2m thick, I can make a hole large enough for me to crawl through on my stomach and then replace it, but this burrowing through stone is going to have to wait till at least Journeyman level, for me.”

“I still get amazed at what people can do with their Skills,” I said. “Speaking of people and their Skills, what do you think of Rotte?”

“I am not sure. There are a lot of hidden secrets there.” Wiremu replied.

“She was looking at you on the way here, specifically at your shoulder where Tāoke usually stays. It seemed she could sense something was there but wasn’t sure. That indicates an unusual Sensing Skill of some sort. We were also followed here and are being watched now.” I said.

“Really? Why didn’t you say something? We could have been more careful with Tāoke.” he was alarmed and was trying to be careful in searching the area.

“My Sonar just re-picked up the watcher, and so I think it just found us again. It definitely followed us from the Quarry.” I was tracking it as carefully as I could, but Sonar was not as reliable in the bush with so many things interfering.

“It? So it is not a person?” Wiremu asked.

“No, but I am sure it is a bond, and I think it is Rotte’s bond. I am not sure because it is not a rat, and that would make it very, very unusual. It is a Vampire Bat. She would have to have a special class for bonding with Animals, maybe a Druid class? It is usually only Elves who have classes and skills for more than one bond.” This was a puzzle I wanted to work out.

“Why do you think it is Rotte’s bond?” Wiremu asked.

“Several small indications, the way it followed us here, yet she never looked at it. It is like she looked everywhere but never near it. She definitely knew where it was at all times. That was subtle body language. It would also explain the Skill of locating Tāoke on your shoulder.” I had a strong feeling about this. It might have been partly my Ocean Sense Skill.

“How would it explain that?” Wiremu was not convinced.

“Bats have an Echolocation Skill, which works like my Sonar but on a much higher frequency. If it is her bond, she probably also has the skill. Vampire Bats go one step further, being able to sense heat, particularly blood moving through the veins, so they know where to bite to feed. She may also have that Skill.”

“That would be a very powerful Skill,” Wiremu said. He had finally found the bat and turned and looked directly at it, making it obvious he knew it was there. The bat didn’t hesitate and flew away immediately. “We will have to keep an eye out for it.” he said, then added, “At least we know it won’t be around during the day. I don’t see how it can belong to Rotte, though. We will have to try to track down who it partners with. What about the other fellows that came with her?”

“They looked pretty much like simplistic muscle to me,” I said.

Wiremu grunted in agreement with that assessment. “Tāoke is coming out into the cave. I am going to have to concentrate.”

We moved further away into the bush, and Wiremu sat down and concentrated, which meant he basically did nothing for nearly an hour.

Then Wiremu said, “Tāoke and I are going to rest for an hour or so.”

This set the pattern for the rest of the day. One to two hours of work and then similar to rest. Wiremu must be sharing quite a bit of energy to get that tired. In some of the rest times, he would start making his map. We saw the bat once more before dawn, and it flew away as soon as it knew we had seen it. We moved locations several times during the day to keep pace with Tāoke.

Mid-afternoon, Wiremu suddenly said, “Yes, finally!”

“Mapping to Journeyman level?” I asked.

He nodded, “It is making the mapping so much easier now. Tāoke has also levelled his Granite manipulation, making it less energy intensive. Large parts of the cave are unoccupied, and Tāoke can just move normally.”

“How far through is he?” I asked.

“Maybe halfway? It depends on the side caves that need checking out. He is exploring one now. It seems to be heading up near the surface, but it is too small for people to use.” Wiremu said.

“So why is he checking it out? Sorry, dumb question. Because it might be good access for rats.” I answered my own question.

Wiremu nodded, “He has found some specific rat traps, and I am marking them on the map. So far, there is a small contingent of five camped near the landward entrance and a larger storage cave with boxes. I think most of them will be closer to the coastal entrance. I doubt the boxes will be able to be brought out this entrance as it is too narrow in places. Cargo travels by boat are my guess at this time, although we may find another entrance yet.”

“I am betting there is a way to get the cargo out by land.” I did have experience dealing with smugglers, and there is no doubt it was a smuggler's cave.

“I am also betting the Seadogs are getting restless. They are city people and use to the amenities and energy of a city. A couple of weeks hiding in a cave in the middle of nowhere has got to be getting to them.”

Dusk was getting close. “Tāoke and I are going to get some shut-eye for a few hours while he is in an area where he can’t be discovered.”

I nodded, “I will be fine for a long time yet. You are the ones that have been doing all the work. What do you want me to do about the bat, assuming it turns up again?”

“We don’t want to be killing allies' bonds, but we don’t want to be observed either. I guess we keep chasing it off, and Tabitha is the one who will best discover who it belongs to. She is good a piercing people Statuses and finding out classes and things.”

We found a small hollow, Wiremu pulled out a thin bedroll, and I pulled out some jerky to chew.

Four hours later, we were back at it. It was fully dark by then. Shortly after that, Wiremu led us to a seemingly random spot. “Tāoke is not far down here. I am thinking with a little effort, we could make a rat hole.”

I reached for my pack and grabbed the commando multi-tool, which included a small spade. “Show me where to dig.”

He pointed, and I started digging. I was only thigh-deep when I hit a rock. I cleared a space and then got out of the way for Wiremu. That is when the bat found us. I didn’t think it could see what Wiremu was doing, but I chased it off by throwing a small clump of dirt at it. I wanted to see what Wiremu was doing.

There wasn’t much to see. The rock just seemed to move, making a tunnel. Using my Sense Spiritual Skill was more interesting as I could see the spiritual energy he was using to shift the rock. He was using a substantial amount of energy. Compared to the amount I used to manipulate water, actually, there is no comparison. I can keep manipulating water for hours. He is going to run out of energy in minutes. Rock is very different, and I am pleased with having water.

After ten minutes, Wiremu took a break, and after another five minutes, there was a hole in the cave about the size of a rat.

“Is Tāoke coming out?” I asked.

“No, he is already nearly back at the main cave,” Wiremu said.

Then we disguised the new entrance, although I am sure the bat could lead people to where we were digging. Then we started the mapping routine again. Tāoke had to pause more frequently as there were more people around. It was mid-morning when he came to the main camp and storage cave. There was a large passageway leading off with cart tracks. It came out near the beach, and we found a disguised trail. It wasn’t difficult to find. We must remember that the Pack Rats are city people as well.

This will be the main attack route, although it is also the most heavily guarded and trapped. Somebody, probably me, will need to disable the boats, and we will block or fight at the land entrance. Block is more straightforward, and then we can concentrate our forces.

Wiremu and Tāoke finished their map, and we headed back to the quarry after letting the Pack Rats know about the other entrance so they could watch it.