The group continued to venture in the desert terrain, until they reached a small canyon.

« Let's head towards the canyon. That way we'll be safer from any damn flying beast that roams these parts. » Hosea proposed.

With that, the wagons moved inside, with all members of the expedition carefully scanning the surrounding area for any threats. There was a general sense of silence amongst the group, all focused to the eventuality of an attack. Eden was the first to struck a conversation.

« So Arthur….20 years? You sure? » she asked the outlaw.

« Yep. As I said before. Ever since I was a boy. » Arthur responded.

« About 13 years old, maybe a little older. A wilder delinquent you never did see. But he learned fast. » Hosea added.

« Not as fast as Marston, apparently. » Arthur commented.

« What's with you and John? You certainly didn't seem too cheery about saving him from the Jagras. » Eden commented.

Arthur just sighed annoyed. « It's a long story. »

Realizing she would not get any answers from Arthur, Eden decided to change the subject, turning towards Charles. « So what about you, Charles? We never got to talk much, did we? What's your story? »

« Not exactly an happy one. But I've managed. » was Charles response. He then sighed, as he begun his tale. « My father was a coloured man. They told me he lived with our people for a while, a number of free men did, but… when we were forced to move from our lands, the three of us fled. I was too young to really remember much. All life I've been on the run. A couple years later, some soldiers captured my mother, took her somewhere. We never saw her again. We drifted around… He was a very sad man and the drink had a mean hold on him. Around thirteen… I just took off on my own. »

Eden remained silent after hearing his tale. « I…My condolences, Charles. I-I didn't mean- »

« It's okay. As I said, I've managed. » was Charles response.

« Still, I'm sorry if I sound all self-righteous and all but….what is wrong with you people? » Eden then asked horrified.

« Plenty, my huntress. Is it any wonder some folks decide to stray from this path of depredance and horror? » Dutch asked rhetorically.

« Pardon me for saying this but….I do assume that without animals being monsters….in your world, people had to suffice. » a scholar commented.

« Not exactly wrong, my friend. I do suppose this is some sort of divine equalizer to maintain some decree of similarities between different worlds. » Hosea commented.

« If I could change the subject….could any of you make sure that we're heading towards the right direction? This canyon, whilst not exceedely tall, may not allow to give us a good sense of direction as where the slag is located. » another scholar asked.

« That depends… are we still heading to our west, in search of fortune and repose in virgin forests, as we planned? No. Are we heading in the correct direction on our research of a beast which sizes could be best described as biblical? Yes, I believe so. » Hosea responded.

« Perhaps we can no longer head west, because we have found a new home already. Is it wrong to give this world, and the people that inhabit, a chance? » Dutch asked rhetorically.

« I didn't mean it like that. It's just….it's still a lot to take on. » Hosea responded.

« I don't blame you for that. Monsters sure can't breathe fire from where we're from. At least that I know of. Still, if we keep our heads low, and work with these gentlemen, we can do more than survive. We can thrive! » Dutch said.

« Thrive, huh? Perhaps you're not wrong. Still, I'm sorry, old friend. But it will take a bit for me to adjust. » Hosea responded.

« Have faith, Hosea. We'll survive. We've dealt with worse alone. » Arthur encouraged his mentor.

« Will have to have faith in these folks too. Sorry if I don't seem to trust to your fullest. » Hosea turned to the scholars.

« It is quite the conundrum you ended up in, gentlemen. I wonder what sort of natural event was powerful enough to strand your people here. » a scholar noted.

« What? You don't know? Aren't you supposed to be the experts in the field of nature? » Micah teased the scholars.

« We still have much to learn, Mr. Bell. Perhaps one day we'll found the answer to this riddle. For now, forgive our selfishness, but we have more concerning issue at hand. » a scholar shot back.

« No kidding. That slag! How big you think it is? Five meters? 10? » Arthur commented at the size of the slag they found.

« You're not far off, if our calculations are correct. I was aware Zorah Magdaros was an enormous beast, but I'm also in shock over how gargantuan it really is… » a scholar added.

« Yes, it certainly seems to exceed the measurements in all the Guild's writings. » another scholar noted.

« How old you think he is? Decades old? Centuries old? » Charles asked.

« Most Elder Dragons can live for several centuries. They have enormous life spans, and I would not be surprised if Zorah Magdaros could also reach that age. » a scholar explained.

« Probably saw you folks coming from an age of hunters and gatherers and turning into the fine gentlemen of today. » Arthur chuckled at the scholar explanation.

Suddenly, however, a group of herbivores emerged from a narrow corridor of the canyon. They had a body structure similar to Aptonoth. They had many characteristics of tortoises, such as head shape and a protective shell. Their tails had a developed mace-like structure on the end that was covered with sharp spikes.

The were stampeding in the canyon, before grouping together to form a circle, spiked tails pointed outside, ready to take on any threat.

« And what may these things be? » Javier asked as he prepared his rifle.

« These are Apceros. The desert equivalent of Aptonoth. » Eden explained.

« Something seems to have made them agitated. » Charles noted.

« You reckon it's a damn Rathian? » Arthur asked worried.

« Don't think so. Rathian are less skilful at flying than their mates, the Rathalos, but they still attack from the air. Most of their prey never notice the attack, and yet this herd is still agitated. » Eden explained.

« Anything else that roams this desert that could kill these fine creatures? » Dutch asked.

« I've heard that Anjanath do occasionally travel in these areas occasionally. Best moving quickly, I don't think your rifles are going to do much against such apex predators. » a scholar proposed.

« Crystal. » Arthur said, reining his horses to go faster.

With the fear of an incoming attack looming in the air, the group managed to reach the slag quickly. « There it is! The slag! What a magnificent specimen! » a scholar exclaimed excited.

« Yeah, it's something, all right. » Arthur commented.

« All right, you fine scientific minds handle Zorah's little gift. We'll stay on guard. Just in case something big is coming. » Dutch said, as he prepared his revolvers.

« All right then, gentlemen. Let's get to work. » a scholar said, as they begun to inspect the slag, while the Dutch gang remained on guard duty.

After a while, the scholars had collected enough samples, and loaded them on the wagon. « I'd say we're good to go. » one of them told the gang.

« Good. Don't know why, but this place is giving me a bad feeling. » Charles commented, as the group moved on.

But after a while….

As the group traversed the desert, one of the wagon's wheel fell off, causing all who were aboard to stumble and loose balance.

« Woah! »

« Jesus! »

« Jumping Jaggi's! What happened!? » a scholar asked worried.

« Ah, shit. Okay… let's take a look. » Hosea said, as he got off the wagon.

« You all right, folks? » Bill asked.

« Does it look alright? » Arthur asked sarcastically.

« What happened? » Javier then asked.

« I broke the goddamn wheel. » Arthur responded.

« Alright. Let's get it fixed. » Hosea then said.

« You need help? » Dutch asked.

« I reckon we can handle it. You boys make sure nothing tries to sneak on us. » was Hosea response, before turning to Eden, Charles and Arthur. « Alright. Eden and Charles, you two and me hold the thing up while you try and put the wheel back on, Arthur. »

« You still strong enough to hold up a wagon? » Arthur teased the elderly man.

« Shut up. » was Hosea response.

« I'm just saying. »

« Well say less. Pick the wheel up! »

As the three held the wagon up, Arthur managed to put the wheel back in the original place. And with that, the wagon was fixed.

« See….you ain't so useless after all. » Arthur sarcastically commented.

« Not quite. » Hosea shot back.

But before the group could resume it's journey, they heard a sound. A roar of some kind.

Then, all of a sudden, crashing against a large termite mound was a large beast. It was a large, bipedal monster. It had a large crown structure atop its skull, which housed its nostrils. Its body was covered in rigid plates. It possesses a pair of small red eyes.

« Jumping Jaggis! It's a Barroth! » one of the scholars exclaimed in panic.

« Everyone! Move, move, move! » Dutch commanded, as he reined his horse to gallop, whilst also firing a few shots at the creature.

« Arthur! Keep the wagon moving, we'll try to slow the bastard down! » Hosea said, as he picked up an elephant gun. As they ran, the group continued to shoot at the Barroth, with small degrees of success thanks to the latter strong armour.

Desperate to escape the rampaging beast, they rode towards a canyon, but still, the monster gave chase.

« Damn it, bastard is persistent! » Dutch exclaimed, firing his revolvers at the Barroth.

But as they rode, they failed to notice conveniently placed boulders on the edges of the canyon. Once the group passed them, a loud voice was heard, before the large boulders felt down on the canyon, hitting the Barroth at full strength.

The animal cried in pain at the force of the impact, but it wasn't over for him yet. Several yells and war cries came from the edges of the canyon, as a group of people fired arrows and bullets at the injured animal.

The Dutch gang and the scholars looked confused at the scene. « What the hell…. » was all Arthur could say.

After a while, however, Hosea got off the wagon. « Questions for later. Come on, let's help these folks so that bastard can't cause any more harm for us! »

With that said, the members of the gang, alongside Eden, fired mercilessly on the injured Barroth. The mighty beast, already injured, collapsed on the ground lifeless.

The gang went closer to make sure the animal was dead, but as they did, they felt the stares of the people above the canyon. Both the gang and the new people pointed their weapons at each others in suspicion, but after a while, both sides begun to hold their guns back.

« What you think? » Dutch asked Charles.

« If they wanted trouble, they wouldn't had bothered saving us. » was Charles response.

With that information, Dutch turned towards their rescuers. « Easy there, gentlemen. We mean you no harm. »

A man came forward, probably their leader. « Neither do we. We were just trying to hunt that beast. It will feed our tribe for weeks. Months, even. »

« And you can keep it. That I assure you. » Dutch said.

« Uhm….pardon me, but are you by any chance natives of these lands? » a scholar asked curious.

« No. They're just like us. Wapiti Indians, native of the Hearthlands of New Hanover. » Hosea explained.

The leader hummed after hearing that the gang was also from his world. « In hindsight, the clothes were a giveaway. »

« The name is Dutch van der Linde. These here are my boys, alongside Eden, a native of this world, and some scholars. We came here looking for clues regarding a massive, magma spewing monstrosity. » Dutch introduced himself.

« Chief Rains Fall of the Wapiti tribe. Are there by chance any more people like you that were stranded in this land as well? » the leader, Rains Fall asked.

« So far we're the only ones. Unless you gentlemen had a chance to meet any folks like us? » Dutch responded.

Rains Fall simply nodded. « There are, actually. There's a small town that has been stranded here as well. Valentine, if I'm correct. Good place where to trade. » Rains Fall explained.

The gang was shocked by the revelation. « You sure? The whole town? » Arthur asked incredulous.

« It's not too far from here. There's a river in the east. Go north and you'll find it. » Rains Fall explained.

« Maybe not now. It's getting late, we must head to camp. Unload these poor folks and plan our next move. You stay safe folks. This is a dangerous world, even more than our own. » Dutch said, as he and the gang moved away.

The Wapiti saluted the gang, as they descended on the base of the canyon to butcher the large Barroth.

« Sooooo…..you guys knew those people? » Eden asked.

« Not personally. But I've heard of them. Poor bastards….we really screwed them over back at home. » Hosea responded.

« Oh….goodie…. » Eden commented slightly disgusted.

Hosea sighed at her response. « These Indians got sold a very raw deal. They lived in the Hearthlands, good farming and grazing country, they lost it all. Stolen clean away from them it was, every blade of grass. Killed or herded up to the reservations in the middle of nowhere. »

« And how's that different from anywhere else back in the States? » Charles asked.

« Well, maybe it's not. I just heard some of the army out here was particularly, uh… unpleasant about it. » was Hosea response.

Eden was shocked to hear any of this. « Unpleasant? How do you steal land from people pleasantly?! » she asked slightly angry.

Hosea sighed once more. « I fear I was perhaps trying to simplify something more complicated for your benefit. »

« Come on, Hosea. Don't blame it on the girl! » Dutch shot back slightly annoyed.

« Yeah, this here's a conman, Eden, born and bred. Just 'cause it sounds fancy don't mean he knows a damn thing about what he's talking about. » Arthur added.

Eden simply sighed. « So what about this Valentine place? Has any of you ever been there? » she decided to change the subject.

« I've been through a couple of times. It's a small livestock town, no more than 100 souls in it. Cowboys, outlaws, working girls. » Hosea explained.

« I assume it's something akin of a small frontier village. » a scholar presumed.

« Yes, something along those lines. » Hosea responded.

After a while, the group finally reached the camp. « All right, gentlemen. You scientific minds try to figure something out from that rock, we'll work something out for dinner. » Dutch said.

Xxxxxxx

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review so I can learn your opinion. I'm willing to accept suggestions, so stay tuned.

See you on the next chapter!