TNB - Dark Hunter Base

It should be understood that it goes against a Toa's nature to sneak. Toa, by tradition, operate in broad daylight, so that the Matoran we protect can see us defending them and trust in us. So it was a little uncomfortable for some of us to be sneaking onto the shoreline of the island of Odina.

Not that we had much choice. Odina is the home base of the Dark Hunters, heavily defended and notoriously difficult to invade. Even six Toa Nuva could not count on victory on these shores.

We had approached from the north, intending to go over the mountains and attack the fortress by surprise. There were fewer guards in this region, since the natural barriers made it difficult to pass. A formidable blue and white Dark Hunter that Tahu recognized as Minion was the only sentry visible. Before we could decide how best to handle this, Kopaka had flash frozen him in mid-step.

"Now we're on a deadline," joked Onua. "We have to finish our mission before the spring thaw."

Pohatu led the way as we climbed into the mountains. None of us spoke. Our minds were on the job up ahead – invading a massive fortress filled with enemies to retrieve the Staff of Artakha.

Lewa climbed up on a rock, leapt off, and used his Mask of Levitation to hover in the air and scout. I was about to warn him about being spotted when an energy web dropped from the sky and entangled him. It was rapidly followed by a stream of acid that just barely missed the falling Toa.

I glanced up. A winged creature was swooping down toward us, more energy webs already flying from his chest-mounted launcher. Tahu threw a shield around us and the webs bounced off. Kopaka iced the creature's wings and Onua threw his Mask of Strength behind a blow that knocked it out.

"Two down," smiled Lewa. "And only 200 to go!"

Nobody laughed.

[...]

Approaching the fortress of the Dark Hunters on Odina is much like sticking one's face into a nest of fireflyers ... hungry fireflyers ... ANGRY, hungry fireflyers.

Although my fellow Toa Nuva and I had chosen the least guarded approach to the fortress, we still had to deal with our share of sentries and wandering Dark Hunters. The trick was to knock them out before they could raise an alarm – something that is much easier to do when you have Lewa along. A Toa of Air can create a quick vacuum around an enemy, and with no air, the sound of his shouts can't travel.

After making our way as quickly as we dared to the fortress, we stood at the rear stone wall. Pohatu made a stone hand emerge from the blocks to grab the lone guard and squeeze him into unconsciousness. Then another use of his power opened a way for us to get inside.

The inside of the fortress was a maze. Worse, we had no real idea where the Staff of Artakha might be hidden. We might be searching for days. I whispered this to Tahu, and he shook his head.

"The staff is valuable," he said quietly. "The Dark Hunters will keep it with their treasures, which means not far from The Shadowed One's throne. We find him, we find the staff."


- Toa Nuva Blog, Entry 3 and Entry 4