"Alpha review stats." Braxton ordered.
Braxton Ace age fifteen.
Strength 6
Agility 5
Vitality 9
Constitution 10
Intelligence 6
Skills: Combat Camouflage (Mirage 10%), Knifehand thrust, Skullcrusher heel stomp, Shadowstep 10 feet, Burrow 5 feet, Antitoxin level 1, Scout Vision, Thick Skin level 1
Storage capacity 100
"Alpha, has the last batch of blood finished absorbing? If so, replay message. Update preferences to show the last message on my UI dashboard when I'm sleeping in the future." Braxton ordered.
The message popped up on his UI: Tritops blood absorbed 10:14pm Strenth increased +1.
"Thank you Alpha." Braxton stated.
"Review stats on Antitoxin skill and Thick skin." Braxton ordered.
Antitoxin skill - provides minor resistance to toxic substances. Substances include plants, venom and radiation.
Thick Skin - provides minor resistance to physical attacks. Personal armor upgrade, effects are cumulative with Combat Armor suit.
"Nice. I think I'll prepare a sample of the scorpion blood. The Antitoxin skill might protect me." Braxton thought to himself.
He set about the preparation immediately. While he was working, he drank one of the bird blood vials from the night before. "Unknown blood source processing. Would you like to create a name for this blood source?" Alpha questioned.
"Call it Blasted Bird BBQ." Braxton said grinning ear to ear.
"Data input." Alpha responded flatly.
"If I return to the streets back home, I'm likely to get locked in the loony bin for talking to myself." Braxton thought to himself.
He cut himself a small slice of meat off the scorpion. Then cooked it alongside the boiling blood. Braxton was becoming more used to the environmental conditions of this place. He was able to tolerate the heavy air more and more each day. When he first arrived breathing it in had been oppressive. After absorbing the blood it seemed to be making changes to his physical body too.
This particular morning his muscles were aching, much the way they would if he had spent hours in the gym the day before. As he went about stretching, he thought he noticed an increase of his muscle mass. He couldn't say for sure if it was that or just his imagination. The combat suit covered all his flesh. It didn't seem any tighter either. If he was growing the armor must be adjusting to fit.
Braxton left his camp early in the morning. Icca was grazing and he wanted it to get its fill. The lizard mount seemed to be protecting his sleeping area from small creatures at night. It wasn't an affectionate companion but, it was better than traveling alone. It was most certainly better than walking.
Braxton reached the Hazul village an hour later. He rode up to Celious' hut without any issues. Many of the inhabitants actually seemed happy to seem him.
"I wasn't expecting you back quite this fast. We don't have too much ready yet. What do you have for us?" Celious inquired.
Braxton dropped the four scorpion and two bird creatures in a heap. Then he pulled out a canister. "I used one of these to kill the scorpions. I'm not sure if the meat is safe to eat or not. Or if the blood is tainted for that matter. The birds died of different causes. They should be fine to eat." Braxton informed him.
"It'll be fine. The blood might not be but, the meat is fine for my people. Is this it?" Celious inquired.
"No, the rest should be handled inside if that's ok with you." Braxton requested.
"Sure Ace, come on in." Celious said invitingly. He didn't follow immediately. He shouted a few commands to the people moving in to collect the corpses. Then he followed along.
Braxton placed the weapons he had brought for trade on the ground. The Power Axe, mace and chain sword were laid out in a row. When Celious saw them he picked up each in turn. He inspected and admired each one. "Nice selection! What are you looking for in return?"
"I'll take whatever whiskey you can spare. If you've got mounts ready to go, I'd like a couple. Then a couple blood vials. I would've had more but, the Tritops were carrying pulse rockets and they blew up. That destroyed six nice melee weapons and all the rockets. If it's not to much trouble, I'd like to know where other tribes are. I'm laying the groundwork of places my people can return home from. If we can setup gates to our world in some towns it would be helpful." Braxton replied.
"That is a big request. I can get word to our Queen but, I can't say she would be inclined to agree to the request. I would be willing to allow you to setup a gate here for your own usage. You can use Blaster's old lodge. Consider it your home away from camp. You've proven to be a good friend of my village and a good provider." Celious said in a fatherly manner.
"Thanks, I will take the offer. What about the mounts?" Braxton inquired.
"We have one but, it isn't broke in yet. It was easier when Blaster was here to ride it. It takes time. Consider it something we will owe you. I can spare 9 or 10 jars of whiskey. I'll have to check. I've got 7 blood vials you can have." Celious replied evenly.
"Can you direct me to other villages?" Braxton pressed.
"There is one northwest and one west I know about. The northwest town is about one hundred and fifty miles away. The one south of it is a little further. The two are fairly close together. If you find one getting to the other isn't hard." Celious responded.
Braxton took a second to place a marker in the rough area inside his UI for each area. "Sounds like a good place to start. I don't know your language though. Can you help me learn it?" Braxton requested.
"I would be honored to teach you my tongue." Celious stated proudly.
Learning the language took a while. Braxton stayed in the village for two weeks. With Alpha recording the language it made the learning process much easier. He also talked with other villagers in their native tongue everyday. He hunted everyday too and provided many carcasses for meals. His ability to travel further faster with his mount. His ability carry heavy loads made him a much welcomed addition to the village.
More than one of the mothers with daughters began eyeing him as a provider for their families. Braxton wondered how such an arrangement would even be possible. He declined all such conversations as politely as he could. It wasn't that the females were wholly unattractive. Some were actually cute but, the insectial body addition kinda creeped him out.
He told Celious "The reason I don't want to choose a mate from your village is, I don't want to bring my peoples issues with he Tritops to your doorstep." Thankfully that put an end to those attempts.
With a firm grasp on the Hazul language, Braxton was ready to be on the trail again. The delay he felt had been a necessary one. He also learned that he could collect more blood from each creature. In the village he saw them making huge vats of blood at one time. Then filling a bunch of vials. He was annoyed with himself for not realizing that on his own.