Marius accelerated away from the oil rig, maintaining height, and figuring that he should clear even the tallest of ships on their path but still be low enough to avoid most commercial radar. They had a good seven hundred kilometres to go on their present course, following the scattered chain of tiny islands that made up the Kuril chain, before they hit the isthmus that their next target was located upon.
In the back, Tads and Aswon had a quick discussion, working out how best to protect the tilt-wing from external threats.
"I called upon a spirit last night, so we have some magical concealment at least as far as the island – then I'll stop, as agreed as it's likely to be more noticeable to a magical guard than helpful to us. Otherwise, I was going to use my shielding to try and protect the craft – though I'm wondering if I should instead be trying my new technique?"
"It's got to be worth a go, I think. I'm still not entirely sure what it is though – can you explain?"
"I think so. You know normally, that either shielding or spell defence work great on spells and magical powers cast by mages and shamans, but don't really work against critters and spirits at all – that their magic is just from a different source?"
"Yes… things like a ghost's ability to strike terror into the heart of people it faces, or sap away their life force."
"Well, the technique that Elk showed me counters that, at least I think it does. The signs were…not entirely clear. But I'm pretty sure that it does anyway. But – while I'm using the technique, it uses up all my concentration, which means I can't use my power for either spell defence or shielding. I've got to choose what type of shields to use…"
"Well, that's just going to get very confusing. Calling them both shielding, I mean. You need to think of a better term for the new one, whatever it ends up doing."
"Oh. Um… I don't know. It just seems to resist the effects of the spirits powers. Or at least I think it will."
"Right – so resistance it is, then."
"I suppose that works. Resistance against spirits but does nothing against mages. Shielding against mages but not against spirits, so long as the target is in sight of me. And spell defence for spells but not spirit powers, but I don't need to see anything."
"Well, if you want to do your new technique then, in case we run across any spirits or ghosts or things like that, and I'll protect the craft. My shielding isn't as powerful as yours, but I can't do your other thing at all. So, I can protect the hull against some magical spells, and you cover us against spirits. Should be good. Kai… Kai? What are you doing?"
"Putting on a wet-suit. Why?"
"Well, that's my question. Planning on going for a swim?"
"No – not unless we crash. But just in case."
"You do know that we're high enough that you'll probably smash into the water like landing on concrete don't you?"
"Ahh, but that's why I'm going to put on a parachute over the top?"
"You're a nutter, Kai…" Kai just grinned at Aswon, and struggled to pull the parachute harness up and over the wetsuit, struggling a little with the reduced mobility. Once he was clipped in though he waddled over to his seat before finding out he couldn't sit down properly with the bulky parachute on his back as it forced his body forward until only the last few centimetres of his buttocks made contact with the seat. Carefully he stretched his legs out, trying to wedge himself into position and made a show of 'relaxing' though the tension in his legs certainly didn't seem particularly relaxed.
"So – where are we landing to refuel? Any ideas, Hunter?"
"I'm looking at the map. The land we're going to be flying over is pretty rough – there's volcanos and mountains all over the place, and not much flat land at all. Probably explains why it's so undeveloped, apart from being Yakut territory. I've got a couple of spots that look promising through, a good hundred kilometres or more short of the target zone. Hopefully when we get a bit closer, we can tie into the sensors and get a better look… the maps we've got are really pretty shocking for any kind of detail.
The tilt-wing gave a little shudder, a faint vibration that shook them for a brief moment before passing for several seconds, then returning a little stronger.
"We ok, Marius?" Kai called forward.
"Ja. Just bad weather. According to the sensors we've got some low cloud and rain storms ahead."
"Checking…" Shimazu flipped the viewing prism forward, then had a look ahead of them using his astral sight. "We've got a storm ahead, looks like it's generating some magical effects as well. Or the other way around. Give me a mo…" His voice tailed off as he concentrated, panning the viewing prism left and right to try and see the extents of the storm. "I think it's a natural storm that just happens to be generating some power, not the other way around. But we still want to be careful. If we've got any concealment spells or masks up on the vehicle, it might be wise to stop them, in case they get hit or attract some effects from the clouds.
"How bad is it? I mean how powerful is the background static?"
"Like a bad bit of a typical city? Like… some of the polluted bits of Hong Kong we saw. Dirty and taxing, without being really corrupt and dangerous."
"Right, sort of makes sense. Dangerous to natural creatures, I would expect, perhaps, that might be generating the noise. Anyway – if we've got nothing magical externally, I'd suggest that we climb a little and get right inside the clouds. We can use the static as cover against anything watching for us. It's probably not going to be any rougher than flying underneath it anyway and getting rained on, rather than being in the rain cloud…"
They felt the tilt-wing pitch up a little as Marius gained altitude, aiming to fly into the huge black cloud that stretched all the way across the horizon. The weather radar installed in the nose of the aircraft painted a pale-yellow swatch over a full hundred and eighty degree arc of the monitor, showing unbroken coverage ahead of them. As they flew into the black cloud, the aircraft vibrated again, then started to shudder in a chaotic and random fashion, occasionally rising and falling several metres as they hit different pockets of air inside the cloud's structure.
The storm stretched on and on, part of a massive weather system that sprawled across the Asiatic continent and far out to sea, fed by the last vestiges of summer warmth from the south hitting frigid arctic air pushing down from the north.
The crossing from water to land was uneventful, the electronic sensors mapping out the land beneath them as they crossed the shore and started to climb the shoulders of a series of volcanic spurs that marked the southern end of the isthmus. Hidden in the clouds from prying eyes, there was no electronic surveillance to evade or spoof, and they headed north at cruising speed, climbing ever higher as they crossed the fractured and rugged landscape.
The first snows of the year had been already, depositing a thin layer of ice over the landscape that had remained in all by the coastal areas, blanketing the landscape in a thin sheen of white. Evergreens thrust through the ice and blanketed the lower slopes, while the uppers were barren of all but the hardiest of scrub and bushes. The tilt-wing wound its way through valleys and gorges, using the higher peaks as cover while keeping enough altitude to avoid being a target to anything below, slowly making their way up the spine of the landscape and following the crenelated landscape.
"I have found a suitable landing spot. Circling around now, please confirm no magical threats." Marius called after a while, and they felt the craft start a slow and steady bank to starboard as he orbited his chosen spot. Shimazu checked all around them, looking carefully for any sign of magical critters or threats, watching spirits, traps or other magical phenomenon.
"Looks clear, Marius, should be safe to put down. We're going to be a little exposed, though, from what I can see."
"Ja. But we also have good sight lines in all directions." He pulled out of the bank and reefed hard the other way, flying in a tight figure eight to reverse course and head for the centre of his landing spot. At some point in the past a major eruption had blown out a chunk of material and sent massive flows of lava and rock down the slopes, broadening the knife edge ridge that led from one volcanic mound to another. Rich soil fed with the nutrients expelled from deep underground had turned the previously harsh landscape into a fertile highland moor, covered with dense bracken and bushes in a smooth undulating flow.
As the tilt-wing landed, they sank into the soft moss and plants, their wheels driving down into the soft peaty soil almost to their tops and the plants rising up to level with the doors. Around each of the engines a huge swath of plants were battered down into a blast wave by the beating propellors, yet as the downdraft receded they started to spring back into place, supported by their neighbours.
As soon as Marius called that they were down on the deck the side door opened and Aswon, Shimazu and Hunter emerged, armed to the teeth and on alert. They split up, moving to take circling positions around the tilt-wing and looking out into the darkness, straining to hear over the noise of the slowing rotors and peering into the inky darkness. Rain lashed at their faces, driving into them at a thirty degree angle and no matter which way they faced the swirling wind seemed determined to dash them in the face with huge, cold, wet, raindrops.
Tads heard Kai grunting and struggling as he peeled off the parachute and wetsuit to put some more sensible clothes on, then sighed and returned to the viewing system, looking out and scanning around the craft to supplement the magical watch.
"Everyone outside – be careful." The team started to tense at the words before they realised that Aswon's tone was conversational, not a call to action. "I'd estimate the temperature out here is only just above freezing, but with this wind blowing the effective temperature will be below zero. Add in the rain and you have the potential for trouble." He glanced back over his shoulder as he heard a noise, and saw Vadim struggling with the first barrel, sliding it down the tail ramp and rolling over the thick heather towards the fuel port. "Try and keep your outer shell sealed as much as possible and keep your core dry. Move your feet little and often, and make sure you're not standing in water or letting your circulation drop off. Keep breathing under control, short and light breaths. A scarf over the nose and mouth will stop you losing too much heat or having problems with ice formations."
He continued to talk, walking them through the dangers of hyperthermia and cold-induced fatigue, warning them about various other perils such as grabbing hold of metal items without thinking about it, and just how painful having the skin ripped off was after it had flash-frozen to something. From his tone of voice, they got the impression that he wasn't speaking from a purely theoretical point of view with some of his warnings.
It took Kai and Vadim twenty minutes to refuel the tilt-wing, working furiously on the hand-pumps. The activity there at least kept them warm and focussed and standing in the lee of the aircraft they were somewhat sheltered from the wind. The three guards were further out and got the full force of the weather, finding themselves feeling pretty miserable in even this short a time. As they completed the refuelling process, they caught a few faint glimpses of light on the horizon as the first signs of dawn started to appear.
Taking off, they left behind an area of battered and flattened vegetation behind them that with luck would recover swiftly and leave no trace of their being there – or at least no real useful evidence of just what had happened. As they climbed higher and continued north, Tads felt the vestiges of night slip away and turn into a new day and her control over her spirits fade away as they returned to the magical realm. Outside was just grey and miserable with visibility limited to about one hundred metres by the thick clouds and driving rain. She called upon the spirits of the storm, bringing the power together into a manifest body and binding it to her, asking each in turn to guard and protect a member of the team. As usual, her last spirit was more powerful, but instead of asking it to guard and conceal the craft, she waited, letting the spirit return to the astral realm and await her summons.
With her magical defences replenished and an agreeable lack of headache, she turned to see what she'd missed and found Aswon working through the team trying to educate them on how to dress in harsh weather, and finding some resistance from people who assumed that after several decades of managing not to die in a rainstorm that they knew what they were talking about. She hurried over to add her voice in support, backing up Aswon's descriptions with her own experience gained while living in a semi-nomadic tribe up near the arctic circle. It only took one tale about finding a crashed car and an entire family frozen to death despite having modern clothing and coats for them to begin to pay attention.
"Alright, you're still sceptical, I can tell. Shimazu – how long were we outside for?"
"About twenty-five, maybe thirty minutes. Not that long."
"Right – not long at all. But have a look at my nose, will you? Tell me what you see?" Aswon turned towards Shimazu and waved for the others to have a look, too. "Remember, that magma elemental thing got really close to me? And it blistered and burnt on the end… well look what twenty five minutes worth of exposure to cold biting wet air has done to it…" They examined Aswon's nose, realising that the blister had probably frozen in the biting wind, the fluid inside expanding as it neared freezing and breaking through the skin, the dripping down the nose and acting as a heat sink. Ice had formed despite Aswon's precautions, rapidly cooling the skin and causing it to crack and split, further exposing blood vessels and tissue. The cold had numbed the pain sensations, but now they were sheltered from the wind and rain and in a slightly warmer environment, it had thawed and was throbbing and causing considerable discomfort. "Take this as an object lesson. While we're this far north, and heading further out, get used to checking yourself and each other out. You may not realise you're injured, and unless you get treated quickly, you're going to run into problems."
The sobering practical show of exposure settled the team down a little, and Shimazu and Kai took some time to quickly go through their med-kits, making sure that the supplies were reorganised to enable them to deal with cold related injuries more quickly. Aswon and Tads sat with each team member one at a time in turn, going through their clothing and ensuring they were properly utilising their layers and knew how to regulate their temperatures well.
As they flew closer to the target site, Hunter pushed up his map onto the screens in the troop bay, calling out to the team over the comms system.
"Unusual site here, and sorry about the maps – this is the best quality I've got. Area is back of beyond, so everything is low resolution and out of date, but we haven't got much choice. So, we're looking at a shield volcano and a stratovolcano, pretty much on top of each other. Geology is all messed up and the two cones have intermingled and are now part of the same massive structure."
"Now, the co-ordinates here are the drop site, and this shows the one thousand metre limit around that." A circle appeared around the central dot, mostly encompassing incredibly steep sides rock faces and harsh terrain. "As you can see, it's not welcoming. The next issue is the height – the top of the peak is over the maximum height for the chopper, so we need to land lower down. And the best landing sites I've found are here, and here…" Two highlights were added to the map, one on the north east side of the volcano, on a bulge of land where two ridges met and combined, the other on the southern side at the bottom of a steep looking valley. "Either one is going to involve some careful flying to land successfully, and some hard walking and climbing to get to position."
"If we land on the northern side, we will be protected from at least some of the prevailing winds by the bulk of the volcano. I would favour that site at this time." Marius called out, having glanced at the map and superimposed the weather radar picture over the top.
"I'd go the other way, for strangely the same reason. Tougher to land on, but the wind will be blowing past us, so if the volcano is spewing anything out into the atmosphere, it'll be away from us, not towards us and the engines."
"I will do a circuit around the volcano and examine both sites."
They flew around the volcano, for all the good it did them. With the clouds and the rain, visibility was that low that Marius almost had to land to gain any insight into the merits of each location, and after flying around the north side and then back to the south, he settled for just aiming to land at the southern location, clearly feeling that there wasn't much in it and it certainly wasn't worth doing another circuit.
"I'm not seeing any signs of life on the volcano – at least no metahuman life." Shimazu reported, continuing to scan around them using the optics.
"I'm not surprised. No professional climber worth his salt would be out in this kind of slop – too dangerous, and it's not like you're going to get anything from the view. And we're too remote to see any amateurs, I think." Hunter checked the map again and then sat back in disgust. All he could see was a bunch of pixels if he zoomed in close enough to be of potential use, and a massive block of contour lines if he zoomed out enough for the image to be sharper. Neither were particularly useful or helpful.
"I am going to come in at a steep angle, and slide us backwards – using the rotor downwash to try and clear any loose snow and ice from the landing site."
"As soon as I can see the ground, I'll try to flatten it out a little, Marius." Tads moved over to replace Shimazu on the optics, getting ready to transform the rock beneath them into something a little smoother and flatter, as soon as she could see it. The static from the storm didn't help at all, and she was wary about putting too much effort into the spell, worried about the potentially nasty levels of backlash that she might suffer. As Marius blew the snow away and exposed the rock, she channelled mana slowly through her hands, symbolically smoothing out the mountain a little and watching as the ground rushed up to meet her – at least from her point of view. With his normal skill, Marius placed them down on the cleared area dead centre, counterbalancing the gusting wind perfectly.
"According to the GPS, we're about two thousand metres away from the co-ordinates horizontally, and about six hundred vertically. We have the valley to the north west which looks like the smoothest climb, and should get us most of the way up, though it's going to get really steep at the end – we're probably going to need to climb."
"Ok, thanks, Hunter." Kai looked around the back, then made a decision. "Ok, I'm thinking Hunter, Aswon and Shimazu – you three should go. Magical support, long range, short range, melee skills, magical weapons, astral sight… you should cover all of the bases we need."
"I'll stay here physically, and travel with them astrally, I can provide some warning and easy scouting for them, and possibly support them magically as well."
"Ok, thanks, Tads. Vadim, you're staying here with myself and Marius to cover us magically, ok?" The Russian soldier nodded to him in agreement, and Kai headed over to one of the door guns and started checking it over. "Stay on comms, guys, and let us know how things are going."
"We will, Kai." Aswon said, before turning towards Tads. "You know that there is more risk by travelling astrally with us. You may be seen, and you're much more vulnerable to magical attack."
"I am, Aswon, true. But I'm also not as good at climbing as you three are, and I think I'd hold you back or slow you down if I was there physically. Overall, I think it's less risky…"
Aswon didn't argue, instead checking over his gear, fastening his layers and getting ready by the door. As soon as the others were ready too, he slid the door open admitting the howling wind and driving rain. He jumped down to the rocky ground below, then cleared the way for the next person, moving quickly away from the tilt-wing, spear held ready to start testing the depth of the snow as they headed into the steep sided valley that sloped up the mountain.
Marius ran a quick check of the sensors, spending a few seconds on each of the communications bands commonly used and probing all of his passive systems carefully, but found nothing. Far in the distance and high above there were a few commercial jets, cruising at twenty thousand metres with their radar transponders squawking their identity codes, but otherwise the area was electronically barren, with nothing to see or hear. Tads projected out of her body and spent a few seconds dashing in completely the opposite direction before arcing around, travelling a few hundred kilometres north and then approaching the volcano from the other side to their landing spot, scouting out the area. She didn't spot any spirits or magical entities, but through the static and awful weather, she wasn't sure just what she'd been expecting. Reversing her route, just in case she was being followed, she dived back through the wards on the tilt-wing to briefly enter her body and report, then projected again and followed the ground team at a much more sedate pace.
They headed up the valley, Aswon leading the way and probing with the haft of his spear, Shimazu following a few metres behind and Hunter bringing up the rear, scanning left and right of the path with his cybernetic vision. They moved slowly, taking a pace and then breathing deeply before moving on another step. The experience gained on the Iranian plateau had taught them that physical exertion would likely hasten the symptoms of altitude sickness, and a six hundred metre climb certainly qualified, and they were considerably higher here than they had been previously.
They were about half-way up the valley when Aswon caught a flash of movement ahead of him, barely seen in the dawn light. A white blur burst from the snow and bushes to his right, running directly across his path. Dropping into a crouch with his spear ready, he tensed to fight whatever creature it was – but then relaxed suddenly as the rabbit burst up into the air as it leapt from some concealed boulder laying beneath the snow. It was pretty large, probably massing several kilos, and long legs propelled it forwards in a hopping gait. It caught sight of Aswon and veered suddenly away, eyes bulging wildly and leapt high into the air. As it reached the zenith of its jump, the back legs flashed out behind it, slamming together.
BOOOM!
Aswon wasn't sure how it had created the thunderclap, but it was clearly from the creature. The rain drops evaporated as the sonic blast hit them, and for a fleeting instant he saw the sphere of force as it expanded outwards, driving the water out of the air. A split second later snow exploded up and around, obscuring his vision as the explosive force impacted the ground. The rabbit disappeared from view behind the wave of snow thrown up into the air, and by the time the snow had started to settle, there were no sign of it except a small indentation in the ground where it had presumably burrowed into the compacted snow and ice.
Aswon was just recovering from his crouch when he caught sight of another blur of movement to his right, and he glanced over expecting to see another of the strange rabbits. Instead a large white leopard burst out of the bushes, apparently following the trail the first creature had left. Its large head swung his way and fangs bared, while huge green eyes fixed upon the tribesman. Muscles tensed and the creature leapt forwards in a pounce, crossing the intervening ground in a heartbeat. Its acceleration surprised Aswon, reminding him of the cannon goats they had encountered back in the oil fields, but he had no time for more than that fleeting thought. The prodigious leap had propelled the cat past the tip of his spear, and all he could do was try to parry with the haft and avoid being raked by the huge scimitar claws that extended from each paw.
He sidestepped as best he could, and it allowed him to avoid most of the impact, but not all. The wickedly sharp claws raked at his armour, snagging and catching at his arms as they tried to find purchase, and forty kilos of angry, hissing, feral hunter scrabbled at him, trying to sink into his arm with claws and fangs.
A moment later, Shimazu had closed upon his position, his sword flashing out in a powerful upwards swing that neatly sliced through the extended neck and sent the head flying upwards while the body spasmed and fell to the ground. The ripsaw howl of the cat was cut off midway through, echoing around the valley.
Tads had just enough time to call out a warning as flashes of life appeared all around them before half a dozen more of the rabbits leapt into the air. This time they saw a little more of what was happening, as the skin deformed around the back legs, forming huge cups that clashed together creating pockets of air that were compressed tightly together. A series of thunderclaps rang out, and all around them snow exploded up into the air and shockwaves roamed back and forth, starting snow slides all around them.
A second snow leopard burst from the bushes, flying in an arc towards Shimazu's flank while his sword was still pulling down from the decapitating strike. Caught out of position, he was turning, his movements feeling slow as his accelerated reflexes spiked up from the combat. He could feel that he wasn't going to get around in time, and saw the sets of claws arcing down towards him ready to slice open his face, when a burst of gunfire rang out from behind him. One after another, explosive rifle rounds slammed into the cat, burrowing through the fur and detonating inside the ribcage. It was probably dead after the first few rounds hit, but Hunter wasn't taking any chances and had fired a long burst, splitting the creature open from shoulder to base of the tail. The body slammed down into the ground, blood splattering widely and creating a scene from a horror trid-show, crimson daubed all over the white snow in splatters while bones and bits of muscle rained down from the sky.
A few more thunderclaps sounded as the rabbits continued to bolt away from them, creating more little slides of snow and making the team look around frantically in case of a bigger slide. Slowly the noise faded away, the echoes dissipating as they bounced back and forth between the rocks.
"You ok, Aswon?"
"Yeah, fine thanks, Hunter. Gods, they move fast on the pounce."
"Yes, very quick. They have to be magically enhanced, I think. Certainly they seemed to move as fast as I could." Shimazu added. He checked over the corpse of the first leopard. "I think this one might be worth saving." He glanced up and around until he spied the astral form of Tads looking down at them. "You want to see if you can get any useful materials from this? It should have been a clean kill?" She nodded, and he started to pull off his backpack, looking for something to put the body into.
"Don't think the second one is going to be any good. Probably worth trying to cover it over though, to stop it being obvious we were here." Aswon dragged the partially exploded corpse towards a slight depression before starting to kick snow over it to try and conceal it. While Hunter stood guard, he shoveled snow two-handed over the blood splatters, trying to hide those too.
"Look out! Airborne targets, left side high!" Tads called out in alarm as three large shapes appeared out of the rain clouds, angling down towards them. Their size was hard to make out, the wings being a pale grey apart from the leading edge which was jet black, with angled lines radiating down the feathers. Reminiscent of the 'dazzle' camouflage from times past, the combination of stripes and movement made them hard to assess clearly.
One of the birds appeared to be aiming down at the partially buried corpse, while the other two swooped down towards the team, aiming towards Aswon and Shimazu. Hunter took a side-step and was raising his rifle, trying to get his Smartlink to lock onto the fast moving shape while the other two readied their weapons.
Swooping down at nearly fifty kilometres per hour, the volcano buzzards sliced through the air, advancing on the team members quickly. Aswon saw the legs starting to rotate forward, each leg ending in four long toes with a sickle-scythe talon on the end, ready to slam into him and clench down like a fist. What he wasn't expecting though was for the bird to open its mouth as if to scream at him, and for the cone of fire to erupt towards him. Roiling flames of red and yellow ripped towards him and he desperately threw himself to one side to try and dodge out of the way. The snow and uneven ground slowed him, though, and he realised that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the way of the flamethrower-like attack, and he flinched, preparing for the incoming pain.
A pulse of power flashed through the spear, and scales appeared, flowing up his arms. In the blink of an eye, the glowing red scales wrapped around his limbs, flowing over his back, chest, head. As the fiery conflagration hit, the flames lapped around him, deflected or absorbed by the red scales. Heat washed over him, but it was bearable – as if he was standing in front of the oven checking his meal rather than being roasted by a jet of flame.
'Huh… this is new?' he thought. His reflexes took over though as the buzzard appeared through the flames, following through with an attack that clearly expected him to be on fire and stunned, vulnerable and weak. The spear flashed forward and penetrated the body, tearing a huge gouge out of the bird and sending blood spraying down to the snow below. It screamed in pain and banked sharply, the metre-long wings flapping furiously as it sought to get away from him.
The second buzzard also unleashed a fiery bolt upon its target, and Shimazu found himself taking the full force of the blast. He had enough time to shield his face behind his arms though, and the heavy armour he wore took the brunt of the attack. His clothes smouldered and char marks appeared all over the surface of the fabric, but he was essentially unharmed and ready to strike. Once more the blade sliced out, and another creature fell to his blade, as neatly decapitated as the leopard had been.
The third bird flew down low, and as it passed over the leopard that had been gunned down, the talons shot out and grabbed it. Wings struggling, the bird half-carried, half-dragged its prize across the snowy surface, leaving a trail of blood and leaking organs behind it. Hunter ignored it, instead swinging around to target the wounded one trying to escape from Aswon's spear, and finished it off with another long burst from his assault rifle.
Further down the mountain, the sounds of explosions, thunderclaps and automatic gunfire reached the tilt-wing, distorted by the reflections from the rocks of the valley walls and somewhat ameliorated, Marius none the less recognised the sounds of combat.
"Are you alright up there? Do you need support?"
"Negative, under control. Exploding rabbits, fire-breathing birds. All dealt with. We're all fine here. How are you?"
"Situation all quiet. Standing by." Marius checked his sensors again, then sat back in his chair and stretched. Aswon didn't sound too stressed, so it couldn't be that bad…
The ground team spent a few more minutes gathering the corpse of the beheaded buzzard and packing it alongside the leopard, then trying to cover over the fresh blood stains and gore to hopefully prevent drawing the attention of any more scavengers. With that completed, they paused for a moment, taking a quick drink from their water pouches while their pulses returned to something more normal and they gathered breath before continuing their hike up the slope of the volcano.
The rest of the climb passed without incident or interruption, though it was hard work regardless. The miserable conditions didn't help, and they paused several times to check each other over for the first signs of exposure or mountain sickness. Aswon had his gecko powers active, letting him move over the surfaces with some degree of surety, while Hunter had his climbing claws extended, using them to bite and grasp at the rocky surfaces. Shimazu bounced from one rock to another, his leaps sending him over the most difficult of terrain and his powers letting him walk over the ice and snow without sinking into the surface.
After forty minutes of hard climbing they reached a sturdy looking cairn, built from some sizeable boulders and slabs of rocks. It looked like a waypoint or navigation marker rather than a shine or offering point, and after checking the GPS to ensure they were close enough, they secreted the token deep inside on of the cracks in its construction. Short of an eruption, it was hard to conceive of anything moving or covering that up!
The journey back was equally as taxing, perhaps a little more so. Coming down the slope they could see just as little, but knew that there was little below them to arrest any fall, and coming down the slope they had to constantly watch for slips on the surface where their passage up had compressed snow into little sheets of ice that had quickly frozen in the frigid temperatures.
It was well past eight in the morning, and closer to nine when they made it back to the tilt-wing, climbing aboard and collapsing into seats with a look of relief. Kai passed around some bottles of energy drink to help them rehydrate and recharge, while Marius got them pre-flighted and ready to take off.
"Hey, did you guys notice on the way back down?"
"Notice what, Hunter?" Aswon asked, before taking another gulp of his drink.
"Those critters… all the bodies were gone. Including all the bits. I guess something has a nice breakfast this morning!"
"Huh. Makes sense I guess. Food has to be pretty scarce up here, and blood is a good source of energy. Can't go wasting it…"
The engines started to ramp up, and a moment later they felt the craft wobble from side to side as Marius shook the craft with the controls, dislodging ice and snow from the wings and shaking the wheels loose from the drifts that had settled around them. When he was happy that they were free, they slowly lifted off, turning sharply away from the mountain and then angling down to the south east, dropping towards thicker air before he slowly angled further towards the east, and their next stop – the smuggler base identified as "The Battle Barge".
