Braxton had yet to go east. It was a total unknown for him. North would get people close to the Tritops. For now that was something he wanted to stay clear of.
"Blaster have you been east of this place?" Braxton asked.
"Yeah, I've been every direction from this place." Blaster stated plainly.
"Do you think we can find a good starting area a few hundred miles that way?" Braxton inquired.
"Yeah, I seem to recall a box canyon out there. Most of the creatures were pretty weak." Blaster said as if he was trying to remember exactly where it was.
"Do you have a mapping function?" Braxton questioned.
"It went tits up years ago. I remember it well enough." Blaster replied.
"Lead on then." Braxton motioned for him to go.
"How many of these gates do we have to setup?" Blackjack asked.
"Nine more. I hope you don't mind if I leave you two at this gate. Guard it while the company sets up a camp to protect it. You can start selling blood and such. You're skilled at processing it so the noobs might even hire you for that alone. I'll give you recipes for better processing methods too." Braxton informed him.
"It's all the same to me. This area is all new to me. I didn't even know this planet had mountains of any note." He said pointing ahead of them.
"I've been there. The rams on that mountain are vicious. I call them Horned Devils. Got gored by one pretty bad. If it wasn't for the nanites I'd be dead now. A lot of my stories end that way though." Blaster said casually.
"I guess no one can say you didn't live life to the fullest." Vixen teased.
The party traveled three days. Blaster led them unerringly to the site he had mentioned. The alcove was open facing the mountain. The top of the mountain was snow capped. The clouds occasionally blanketed the top. It created a spectacular view. The game was plentiful too and there were many root forests.
"You sure picked a nice spot! I never would've figured you for the sentimental type." Vixen sat in her saddle staring up at the Mountain View.
"I almost gave it all up here. It's a place I'll never forget. I got here at night in the middle of a sandstorm. I'd almost given up all hope. When I woke up and saw that mountain standing all alone so majestically. It gave me he strength to soldier on." Blaster seemed to be speaking to the wind as he said this. He had gone off somewhere all alone in his mind.
"So this is the shithole you've got in mind to stick us in?" White Sparrow asked with a big grin on her face.
"I think we can muddle through it." Blackjack chimed in. Then quickly added "I think we may need a night to ourselves here before we switch on the gate though. You can set it up then bugger off."
"Sounds romantic." Braxton said with a grin of his own.
They setup the portal and waited to leave until the next day. The party shrunk yet again. It was down to just the three companions again. They continued heading east past the mountain. It was unexpected to find a place so wonderful looking on this planet. It had a beauty all its own but, this spot was almost a marriage of this place and earth.
Braxton wanted to find another two sites looking on the mountain. They traveled a few days looking before the found another suitable site. This one was a small shallow cave. There were cave paintings all over the inside. They depicted many different animals. The cave seemed to have been inhabited for a long time. It was currently empty and there was plenty of wildlife. The trio only hunted enough to eat. It was only seventy miles away from the other camp.
Blaster opted to stay at this site for a while. He had picked up a girlfriend in the real world and wanted to spend more time with her.
Braxton and Vixen moved north around the mountain another two days. They found a plateau overlooking a hilly region below. Braxton activated his Scout Vision and scanned the area below. This place was teaming with wildlife and he couldn't see any other settlements. There was a natural ramp leading up to the top of it too. The plateau rose five hundred feet above the surrounding area.
The valley below the summit was roughly one thousand feet below. It was a sheer drop off. Without a glide suit or climbing gear, reaching the bottom from here would be near impossible. The sky off in the distance told Braxton another desert area would be found in the north. He could feel something about this place was special. The feeling was so strong he asked Vixen "Do you feel something different here or is it just me? It feels like I'm being drawn down into that place below."
"I feel it too. It's almost an actual need." Vixen looked him in directly in the eye as she said it.
"It isn't that strong for me but I feel it calling to me. Maybe it's the entrance to another level. Come on let's see if we can get a look at the base of the canyon from the side." Braxton reached for her hand and they walked back away from the ledge.
"What do you mean a different level?" Vixen asked sweetly.
"When I got kidnapped, the guy said if I make it to the hellmouth level I would see him again." Braxton started. He continued telling her the events of his initial meeting. They walked for awhile letting their mounts eat.
Vixen froze as they reached the bottom of the ramp. The hairs on Braxton's neck started to tingle. He hadn't seen anything but he could tell Vixen had. She had this reaction before the first time they travel together. This time was different, she didn't move at all. She only stared intently. It was as if she saw something then lost it. She didn't seem scared, only focused.
It was dusk. They should've stayed on top and made camp. The pull of the valley had them off their game. Braxton zoomed in a little trying to pick up on something. He couldn't see anything that looked out of place. He only saw rocks. He drew his Regal laser rifle. The night vision would offer him another possible point of view.
Braxton activated the night vision. It was still a little bright out for it. He was getting glare off the ground. It seemed to be radiating heat almost as if it was alive. It kinda creeped him out. "Let's back up a bit. Keep your eyes fixed on whatever it was you thought you saw. I'll guide you back. Okay?" Braxton checked to see if she was good with the move.
"Slowly." Vixen stated icily. At some point she had drawn her sword. She was holding it tightly in one hand. The huge blade didn't even seem to bother her holding it in one hand.
They started moving back up the hill. After about ten steps she pointed at the ground. "Look there. See where the dust was disturbed?"
Braxton summoned his scope again. He saw wisps of dust cloud settling back down. He switched to night vision again. Again he saw what looked like the ground emitting a heat signature. It seemed more focused now but, it covered a large area. It was a little brighter in one area. The shape of the brighter area was odd. It looked semi triangular but, a wide one and the backside was more like he waves on a kris style sword. It spanned about twenty feet across and looked like some sort of glider.
Whatever it might be it was still a good forty to fifty feet away. "I'm going to try something. I've been carrying a club around for a while. You never know when you might need to club a women and drag her into your cave. Anyway, I'll toss it out there and see what happens." Braxton joked lightly, trying to ease the tension.
"Okay, sounds like a better plan than we've been using." Vixen replied calmly.
"If what I'm seeing in my scope is right it's big. It might not be thick though." Braxton warned.
He summoned the club and made a couple test tosses. He was looking for some way that felt comfortable. On the third one he released, the club landed a little short. The sand and earth seemed to lurch forward and cover it. Then they heard a snap and a squeal. The sand seemed to lift up and the broken club was spit out from under it forward.
"Fuck!" Braxton said under his breathe.
"It is big. Any bright ideas?" Vixen asked in a whisper.
"If I had any more grenades, I would have one. To bad I gave them all to you guys before we crossed the desert." Braxton whispered in response.
The creature had lowered back down on the ground again. Vixen switched hands with the sword then summoned a grenade pulled the pin. She tossed it in front of the creature. Again the creature lurched forward and covered the tossed item. A few second passed then...
Boom. The sound seemed like it was underwater. The creature seemed to blow up like a balloon then deflated. The sand seemed to shift around for a while then went still again.
"I'm not sure if it's alive or dead. That thing is ugly looking." Braxton said cautiously quiet.
"Well only one way to find out. Take my sword and poke it. Here you go." She said handing the weapon over to him.
"I love you too." Braxton said taking the weapon.
"If you survive, I'll treat you extra special after diner. If you die I'll avenge you. It's a win win." Vixen snickered.
Braxton stop for a second and gave her a "Go fuck yourself" look. Then went to poke the bear. He moved forward with the blade guiding the path in front of himself. If the creature decided it wanted to lurch forward at him again, he intended to give it a mouthful of sword to taste.
"Remind me to grab flares before we come back next time. I hate trying to fight in the dark." Braxton called back over his shoulder.
The creature didn't lurch forward as he approached. It didn't seem to move at all this time. When he poked it though, it moved in a flash. A tail whipped forward and almost pierced his skull. It lashed out again and again. Braxton stumbled on the sand trying to move rapidly. The tail missed by mere inches each time. After dodging in a panic he got back to his feet. He swung the sword with reckless abandon and struck the creature with a heavy blow. The body seemed to be dead but, the tail seemed to have a mind of its own.
Braxton jumped on the creatures back and countered the expect tail lash with an upward slash. He deflected the attack but, the sword was dull. It failed to cut the thin appendage cleanly. Braxton jumped off the back of the thing after a few steps. The tail seemed to lose sight of him and settled back down again. Braxton took aim and swung hard. He landed a blow at the base of the tail. The cut cleanly severed the tail from the body and both remained still. He climbed back on top of the body and render a piercing stab on the center mass. "Fuck you! You dirty son-of-a-bitch!" He cursed the beast.
His muscles were aching and his body was trembling from the strenuous effort. He was experiencing adrenaline overload. "I need to practice more. My body changed so much so fast my coordination is off." Braxton stated as fact.
"Yeah. Let's sort this body out, process the blood and go home for a break. We got three good sites for people to explore." Vixen responded.
They drug the body up to the top in pieces. Each of them took a piece and they had the mounts drag up the body. It looked like a Manta Ray once they got a fire going and had a chance to get a good look at it. It took them two days to process the whole thing. They got twenty vials of blood off it and split them equally. The two of them decided to call it a Devil Ray. It's skin was reddish in color marking it as an aggressive species.
They fed vast quantities of the meat to their mounts. These ones were blue lizards. They were friendly and their bonds were growing stronger with each feeding. Vixen's was spoiled and begged for her food often.
They setup the gate in the middle of the plateau and returned home.