Braxton followed the chief into the lodge. The gemstone was on display like any trinket might be. Here it had no value except sentimental. The chief lifted it off the string that it dangled from the ceiling on. Then he tossed it end over end to the young man. Braxton wasn't even five and a half feet tall yet and was still a trim young man. Standing in the chiefs presence made him feel even smaller.
"Here you go. It seems like you are much smaller than Blaster was. And I thought he was little. So what weapons can you part with? You guys might be small but, I can say you make good weapons." The chief pressed.
"As you said, I am small. Smaller than most of my people here. I'm just young. I got tossed into a gate by force. This little gem can take me home. The thing is I'm starting to like it here. Getting food is easier than where I came from. By default my weapons are smaller too. I have a spear that I could throw into the pot. It has a steel tip but other than that it's probably to small for you." Braxton replied.
"Let's see it. I have a son. He's a little smaller than you but, he could use it for a while." The chief replied evenly.
"Well in that case, I have a bow and arrows too. That really is all I can afford to give up. I still have to make my way back. I doubt I'll be as lucky in finding a ride back." He said as he summoned the bow, arrows and spear leaving them on the ground.
"Blaster had a mount. My people are good with the plant eaters. We can train them and we trained a couple for him. When he left, one of the mounts was left. It still roams nearby grazing. There is a saddle for it too. It means little for us. It's too small for us to ride. It's name is Icca. This whistle will summon the creature. It will let you saddle and you can ride it back. It's pretty quick. It's a yellow spotted lizard. It eats small bugs, rats and plants. It keeps the vermin population under control. Call that a gift. If you find yourself out this way again, maybe you'll return the favor with another animal. Then we can trade blood. This trade is concluded yes?" The chief asked.
"It is finished and I say thank you." Braxton replied gleefully.
"Collect your blood and we will share a feast. You can leave tomorrow if you desire." The chief said invitingly.
"Sounds wonderful. Can I use your fire to prepare he blood?" Braxton inquired.
"Sure." The chief returned. Then added "If you're going to share my fire we should exchange names. I'm called Celious. You are?"
"Ace." Braxton replied.
Braxton wandered out and drew his blood from the tortoise. Then he returned and boiled the blood. He drank another vial of blood. This was his first beaker of humanoid blood. He was very curious to see the results of his one. In less than a month, he had already gained two skills. Both were useful and they came from creatures. Humanoid abilities fascinated him. The mention of magic abilities from the chief had him wondering if he might acquire something along those lines. It would still be a few hours before his body could process it. The more he processed the faster it seemed to be going.
He used the normal method. It provided him the chance for ability and skills at the same time. Maybe later he would refine his processing with the information in the journal. For now, those stat increases were too important.
To Braxton, this was like a video game and no one else had played it. Other than the turtle kill, he didn't even think anything of killing. He was free to do whatever he wanted to. Outside of the base camp military bullshit that is. He really wanted nothing to do with all that. Returning with this gem could get him off the radar of the Major. With a little luck he could start doing whatever he wanted, when he wanted and return home. There he could collect his money and maybe get a gate of his own.
The prospect of being able to come and go on his own terms was really something he wanted to do. The guy who nabbed him said something about another level. How he was able to come and go still confused him. That question needed answers but, he wasn't even close to looking into them now.
Keeping his identity under wraps still concerned him too. If he was found out, he might not be able to do what he wanted. The money form the reward could get him free and clear legally. He could make a fortune posting tips and tricks on how to level up and acquire skills in the world too. His father taught him one thing very well. How to make money. He could corner the market on information and sell the shit out of it. If he could stockpile weapons here, they would make quick easy sales to noobs. He had a head start too.
The feast was not bad at all. The whole village attended. There were over two hundred Hazuls running around. The turtle was the main course, but there were many other meats and vegetables on offer. It made sense why here people bought meat. They ate like there was no tomorrow. The feast ended when the last of the food was eaten.
They had whiskey that took some getting used to. It tasted good but, burned like holy fire going down. Braxton was given a bottle to take with him too. He hadn't seen any alcohol in the base camp. This would be another feather in his cap among the troops. If he could establish a trade route with his mount, it could be a way to make money in the blood furnace. Making contacts now was as good as sinking a goldmine and hitting the mother-load.
He went to sleep dreaming of making his own millions. The next morning he woke up and blew the whistle. The lizard arrived a few minutes later. It stood six feet tall and was similar in appearance to a kangaroo. The head and neck were thicker and it had flared winglike flaps on the sides of its neck. It was yellow with white spots and had soft scales. The saddle was left outside the chief's lodge and was easy to place on the creature. The saddle shifted. The design suggested the lizard might go on all fours when it wanted but, it waited to be saddled standing up its back legs.
Celious came out while he was saddling Icca. "My craftsmen told me the tortoise shell is too hard. They need tools to cut and shape it. If you run across a laser sword or chain sword in your travels we can trade you blood vials for it. We have more whiskey we could trade too, if that is something your people like."
"Can you get your hands on energy cells and power crystals?" Braxton inquired.
"Sure thing Ace. Those aren't easy to come by for us. The larger tribes nearer the old battleground have those things aplenty. We can get them from them though." Celious added.
"What old battleground?" Braxton questioned.
"The one where your people fought the Tritops. You haven't heard of this yet?" Celious looked at Braxton curiously.
"No, I've only just arrived. My people have been unable to contact our home world for many years. Can you tell me the story and location of the battle?" Braxton inquired with deep interest.
"That I can. Your people entered our world about two hundred miles to the north. It isn't exactly north and I don't have a specific location. The place is called Dragon's mine. Some refer to it as Crystal mine. The crystals in the mine are processed into energy crystals. The dragon's eye gems are also found from time to time there." Celious began.
"It was your people that discover the vein. The Tritops are naturally aggressive people with armor skin. Most creatures on the surface with red skin are aggressive predators. You would do well to remember this in your travels. Black and purple are also more aggressive species typically. The Tritops found out about the mine discovered by your people and attacked. Your people's weapons, while good, couldn't penetrate their armor. Most of your people were scattered. There are still many roaming these lands trying to scrape out a living for themselves." Celious finished.
Braxton thought about it for a few minutes then responded. "If any more of my people stop here try convincing them to stay. We have a small tribe about fifty miles from here. I can get a chain sword from my camp. If no one has claimed it yet. Then I can return. If you can find more mounts, my people would probably want them too. They would increase our range greatly. I can try and hunt more creatures too. If my plan works out, I shouldn't be as pressed for time as in am right now."
"Alright Ace. I will have my people try to train a few more and make saddles for them too. Hopefully, our tribes can have a long peaceful relationship." Celious responded kindly.
"If I run into any of the Tritops should I be concerned and how can I recognize them?" Braxton asked causally as he finished tightening the saddle and prepared to mount up.
"They have three horns coming off their foreheads and are about as tall as my people. If you see them, hope they don't see you. They have sworn to wipe humans out of this world. Your weapons aren't really effective against them, but one of their King's sons was killed. They have a weak spot in the center of their chests. Someone stabbed him. Then as he lay wounded on the ground they put a boomer into his chest and he exploded." Celious elaborated on the history.
"What's a boomer?" Braxton's confusion was etched on his face.
"It's a little hand tossed weapon that humans carry. They explode all over. Those work fairly well I guess, the Tritops are afraid of those." Celious responded.
"I guess, I'll have to ask someone else what those are." Braxton replied lackadaisically. He was sure Celious was talking about hand grenades, but didn't want to give away that. He still had five of them. Celious had already got some of his weapons and he didn't want to lose anymore.
Braxton said his farewells and headed back towards the base camp. He still had a few extra hours and the mount would provide him greater movement speed. Braxton was supposed to head northwest to scout that section. He wanted to explore a little more too, on his return trip. His camouflage wouldn't be of much use, but he ran it anyway. It would distort his image at the very least.
Icca moved pretty quick. After about an hour Braxton got the hang of how to steer the animal. Then he headed west, at a normal speed. "Alpha, how fast am I going now?" Braxton requested the data.
"Current speed is ten miles an hour." Alpha responded.
"That's pretty good." Braxton thought to himself. I could be back at base camp in a day easy at this rate. I have no idea how long the creature can go at this pace.
"Alpha, set a timer for seven hours. I don't want to over tax this new mount." Braxton commanded.
"Timer set. Countdown commenced." Alpha confirmed.
The surface was all red. The sky was all blue the clouds were white. They were everywhere but it never rained. The temperatures seemed to remain constant around 70 degrees. There were roots everywhere. They were various sizes. Braxton could tell they belonged to different types of plant life. He had no idea what might rest below the surface. There were tiny roots that looked and felt like grass. Then others were the size of small bushes.
Five hours into the trip he stumbled onto the remains a campfire. The campfire site had many foot prints surrounding it. There were two distinct types of prints. One looked like an oval with three claw like toes. They were over a foot long and eight to ten inches wide. The second one matched up with the blood lizard men. The pads of their feet were slightly larger than the palm of his hand. They had four long claw-like fingers on the front and one short thumb-like one on the back.
After a brief inspection of the site he could tell they left heading south. "Alpha, show me the green arrow and set my destination for base camp." Braxton ordered.
The green arrow was pointed almost directly in line with base camp. Braxton mounted back up and shifted direction to follow the trail. The campsite was littered with bones that had been broken open and the marrow had been removed. They were fresh bones and the fire pit was still putting off heat. Whatever had set this fire couldn't have been gone for too long.
He traveled for about an hour following the trail. Then he summoned the laser rifle. The scope on it was the best one he had. He used it to look ahead and scout the path as he traveled. Braxton could see a small band of red creatures a few miles ahead of himself.
He recognized the blood lizard men right off. They were wearing packs and looked heavily armed. The creatures wandering with them were much larger. They were between seven and eight feet tall and were powerfully built with thick armor plating. The tops of their heads looked flared like shields. He lizard men were between five and six feet. That was how he was able to guess the size of their traveling companions.
Icca was munching on some of the vegetation after pulling up the roots. Braxton pulled out one of his MRE's and heated it up. The wind was blowing west to east so he wasn't worried about the smell drifting to his prey. As he ate he scanned the landscapes. The party wasn't moving fast enough to get to far. He took the wind direction into account and decided the hills to the east would provide him cover to get ahead to the warband.
They had a lot of heavy weapons. He saw one of the large creatures carrying a pulse rocket launcher. If they were going for the base camp, it would be imperative get that weapon off the field before it became a problem.