Chapter 164
Tempest cursed herself.
Why hadn’t she stayed in the stronghold.
While she was there, she hadn’t realized how much cooler it was. Sure, it was still hot, but somehow the topography of the mountains surrounding them had cooled off the air.
She missed it...so much at that very moment.
They walked side by side, two by two.
Gerax and Aliq were in the front while she and Rynax were behind.
Tempest could barely put one foot in front of the other, and she hadn’t uttered a word for at least the last thirty minutes.
Gerax and Aliq, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped talking since they rounded the first corner.
She was right when she thought that the two of them would get along. Once Gerax figured out that Aliq had so much knowledge about the land of Skoq, the questions never stopped coming out of his mouth.
She waited for Aliq to get annoyed or to start shortening his answers, but that never came.
It was as if they didn’t even realize that it was boiling out here.
"You are going to need to take a rest soon." Rynax said from beside her.
"I’m fine, I can keep on going." Tempest mumbled through her parched and cracked lips.
"Yeah, you’re fine now, and I’d like to keep it that way if possible. Like you said earlier, I’m here to protect you...even if that means protecting you from yourself."
She wanted to be mad at him, but she was grateful that he was still willing to do the job that she asked him on this journey to do. She knew how pigheaded she could be sometimes, and passing out because of heat exhaustion would really put a kink in her plans to be able to get back to the stronghold before Dron made it there.
According to Aliq, the settlement was less than a day and a half from the stronghold, and that was going the long way with fewer dangers.
Tempest didn’t intend to spend more than a couple of hours at the settlement. She just wanted to see with her own eyes that there were other humans on the planet. Then she would go back and wait for Dron.
Yeah, all she had to do was stay on schedule. Taking breaks was part of that schedule.
"Guys!" Tempest called out, trying to make her voice carry a little. It didn’t work.
"Men!" Rynax barked. It had the effect Tempest was trying to create.
Both Gerax and Aliq turned around with bright eyes.
She nearly started laughing. It looks like Gerax found himself a friend.
"I just want to sit for a moment, maybe drink some water. Get out of the sun." Tempest looked up at the bright sun that seemed to be directly above them. Maybe it would’ve been better for them to take this trip at night. It would be more dangerous, but at least they wouldn’t have to deal so much with this heat.
"Sure, there is a small hunter’s den not too far from here. You think you can make it there?" Aliq asked.
"How far?" Tempest raised an eyebrow. Not far from here could mean two hours. She didn’t think she could make it that long. Rynax was right; she did need to rest.
"Right there." Aliq pointed, and Tempest followed with her eyes. She blinked a few times, trying to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, but they weren’t. Just a few hundred feet ahead of them was a cave opening, and painted on the side was what looked like one of those dragon things Rynax had shown her before.
It was a beautiful piece from what she could see this far back, and she was surprised she hadn’t noticed it before. She wondered what other things she had missed just keeping her head down and walking straight ahead.
"Yeah, let’s go." Tempest could feel a bit of energy come back into her step. She knew they couldn’t stay in the den for very long, but at least it meant she could get some shade.
It took them less than five minutes to get to the hunter’s den, but before Tempest could take a step in, Rynax put his hand out to stop her.
"Wait. Let me check it out first. It could be one of those traps."
Aliq scoffed, "Don’t be ridiculous. This hunter’s den is controlled by us. Why would there be a trap in here."
"I don’t see any guards? How can you be sure no one else has come in here while you were away?" Rynax snapped back at the man.
"I’m getting real tired of you two bickering. I swear you’re like a married couple." Tempest crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t in the best of moods, and the arguing was really getting on her nerves.
The two of them questioned each other at every turn. Every step that Aliq suggest they make Rynax suggested an alternative.
It was as if they just couldn’t help going at each other’s throats. They mutually agreed that there were no hard feelings from the fight they had, but Tempest didn’t believe that for one minute. There was definitely some bad blood between them. She just hoped they would get it all out of their system before long. She didn’t think she could go another day with this.
Rynax grumbled but didn’t say anything more; he simply walked ahead, leaving Tempest on the outside of the small cave opening. She could see inside clearly. There must be some cracks in the ceiling that were letting light in. She watched Rynax walk from corner to corner. Front to back. Before coming back outside to tell Tempest that it was safe.
She could have done that on her own.
She walked into the small den, but before she could just pick a spot to collapse on, she realized that the den they were in was completely stocked. There were water bags. Furs and animal hide. Tools. Things they would need to make a fire.
"I thought you said people didn’t come this way very often?" Tempest turned to look at Aliq. So far he’d been completely honest with her at least that is what she thought. This looked like people came through here on a daily basis.
"We come this way to hunt. At night, there are wild vorruks that come out. They can be volatile, but they are easy to catch. There has been an uptick in population, so many of our hunters come this way. We just don’t go as far as the human colony. You’ll notice the closer we get, the less stocked the hunting dens will become." Aliq shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head as if he were waiting on any follow-up questions that Tempest might have had.
Of course she did.
"There are many dens like this?"
"On our way to the human colony, I believe there are at least seven more. As I said, though, the ones closest to them aren’t as well stocked. If you need to take anything from here, you should feel free to do so."
"Water? Is there water here?" Tempest asked. She had more than enough. She still had at least six skins worth, but she’d already gone through two in the short time that they’d been away from the stronghold. She was drinking faster than she thought she would be.
It would be better for her to fill up now if she could.
"Yes, right over here." Aliq waved her to the left of the den, where he lifted a small flat rock off a ledge. Tempest looked into the space and realized that there was a small well there. The water seemed to be coming straight from the rocks.
She turned to look at Gerax. "This is okay for me to drink, right?"
"Hmm?" Gerax turned from what he was doing, examining another piece of art on the wall, "Yes, it’s fine. Probably purer than anything you’ve had."
Mountain water.
Tempest still wasn’t sure where it was coming from in a land as dry as Skoq, but she was grateful for it. She grabbed one of her empty skins and dunked it into the water. The flask quickly filled up, and she dunked the second one. Before she could close the second, she decided to take a swig of it.
"Oh wow!" Tempest exclaimed before she put the skin back to her mouth and began guzzling it down.
Gerax was right. This was so pure. In fact, it tasted better than some of the water she would spend six dollars a bottle for on earth. Not only that, but she swore she could feel her energy coming back as if the water was full of electrolytes or something like that. It was indeed very refreshing.
Once she was finished with that, she walked over to where Gerax was standing. Rynax had put himself in the corner with a sour look on his face. Tempest didn’t know why he was sulking, but she didn’t feel the need to ask.
Gerax, on the other hand, was even more excited than he had been when they were walking through the narrow canyon moments before.
"Hey, what you got going on?" Tempest asked as she watched him using his wrist device to scan an item he’d picked up.
"This craftsmanship is remarkable. I mean, I know of people back on Thraqe who wouldn’t have been able to pull something like this off."
Tempest looked at the object in Gerax’s hand. It looked like a small ball. She couldn’t see what was so special about it.
"What is it?"
Aliq stepped up to the side of her. "That’s a trap for brivs."
Tempest turned to look at him, "Brivs? What’s that?"
"It’s a small animal. Not much meat on their bones, but the oil they store in their body is used in certain tonics and medications."
"Really? Which medications? What are the effects?" Gerax asked quickly.
Once again they were deep in education mode while Tempest still didn’t really know what a briv was, besides a small animal.
Then she wondered if she were able to look it up on her wrist device. The device had information about so many different things, but she didn’t know it was only for what could be found on Thraqe. Taking a chance, she activated her device and put in the word Briv as best as she could think to spell it.
An image of a small animal popped up on the holographic screen. It looked like a weasel or a ferret. Aliq was right when he said they didn’t carry much meat on their bones. The poor animal looked anorexic. She could make out the skeleton through the image.
"So how does the ball work? Do they play with it or something?"
Aliq grimaced, "Something like that." He cradled the small ball in his hand, "You see this compartment here. The food goes inside. Brivs have an excellent sense of smell, so no matter where the ball is placed, they can find it. Once the Briv interacts with the ball, though..." Aliq fiddled with the side of the ball, shaking it around as an animal would do.
Tempest actually jumped back when the ball popped open, and a small collar attached itself to Aliq’s arm. It seemed inhumane. Why would anyone do this to a helpless animal? Before she could get too angry, she tried to remind herself that she was in a hunter’s den. That was what they did. Hunt the animals.
"Jeez, it looks like it would hurt the animal. That’s sad." Tempest pouted a little.
"The usual model is made not to kill but incapacitate until the hunter is able to get the oil from the animal, though some hunters have made adjustments to the device to completely behead the animal." Aliq shrugged one shoulder. Tempest could see from his expression that he wasn’t necessarily proud of that.
Tempest sighed and continued looking at items with Gerax. Every one of them had some interesting purpose. It was all very educational. Soon enough, Tempest found her thoughts straying. She could no longer pay attention to all the, according to Gerax, interesting ways the hunters managed to bring food to the strong hold.
She thought about going to sit with Rynax but didn’t want to confuse him by allowing there to be any alone time shared between the two of them. She needed to keep her distance. Instead, she walked over to the other side of the small den and sat.
It was comfortable. Far more comfortable than she thought it should be. When she looked down, she realized that she was sitting on a bunch of furs. It would make a great bed.
Tempest reached down to feel the fabric. It didn’t feel any different from the furs she had felt before, but when she touched the underside of one of them, she nearly had to pull her hand away because of the chill. It wasn’t hot at all but cold.
"What is this?" She pulled the fur out from under her. She wrapped it around her skin, and the coolness seeped into her. It felt absolutely wonderful.
"It’s a Lyxkin pelt."
"Does it always block heat like this, or am I delirious."
Aliq walked over to where she was sitting; Gerax followed closely behind. Rynax even looked up from where he was sitting.
"Well, the Lyxkin live higher up in the mountains, much closer to the sun, they need a way to keep an appropriate body temperature . Their skin has evolved to be able to keep out much of the heat."
"Will it work for me?" Tempest was already testing out her theory.
It wasn’t all the walking that was draining Tempest it was the heat. If she had a way to keep the heat out, she would be able to get much farther without having to stop as frequently.
"I don’t see why not, though it’s not usually what it’s meant for." Aliq examined the piece that Tempest had in her hand.
"What is it used for?" Tempest asked.
"To preserve meats that have been taken from animals. Sometimes the hunters can’t haul all they catch at one time, so they lay it under the Lyxkin fur to keep it from cooking in the sun."
Tempest nodded her head. It was a good use for the pelt, but now she would put it to different use. She would use it to keep herself from cooking out in the sun.
The minute she wrapped it around her body, she felt so much better. She felt ready to battle the journey once again.
They’d been in the den for only twenty minutes, but that was enough time. She was ready to go.
"Come on, let’s keep going. I want to get there at a decent time." Tempest walked in the direction of the exit, and everyone followed behind. Rynax moving a little slower than before.
Tempest used the pelt as a cloak of sorts, draping it over her head so it covered much of her body. She nearly jumped in excitement when she stepped out into the sun, and it felt as if the temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees. This was absolutely perfect for her.
She would find a way to secure it to her neck at a different time, but at least she had this.
With the water she’d drunk and the coolness of the lyxkin pelt over her body, Tempest was moving much faster than before.
Somehow she managed to get in front of the group of them.
She was able to look around easily now. The hood of her makeshift cape blocked the sun’s rays from her vision.
She was looking around, but she wasn’t looking in front of her like she should have been.
Not until it was too late.
It wasn’t until the thick, rope-like tentacle wrapped around her ankle that she realized that she was in a lot of trouble.
The rope tightened on her ankle.
One second she was looking straight ahead, prepared for the journey ahead of her and the next she was being dragged face down into the abyss.
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⏸ PAUSE■ STOP