The aromatic smell of freshly brewed coffee tickled Ryan awake, gently teasing him from his comfortable cot. He stretched luxuriously, revelling in the sensation of muscles and joints free of the dull throbbing pain they had been subjected to the day before. Fury yawned when his movements nudged her from the comfortable perch on his thighs. Alexis was sitting next to his cot in a camp chair, one cup of coffee extended towards him and sipping from another. “Morning sunshine, had a good night’s rest?”
“Yeah. Needed that.” Ryan wasn’t the most eloquent morning person, in fact, he didn’t consider himself a morning person at all, notwithstanding the fact that he often got out of bed before or at the crack of dawn to go hunting. Didn’t mean he had to like it. Alexis wasn’t bothered by his grumpy tone. “We made some coffee, want it?” she asked with irritating cheer.
With a surly grunt he grabbed the cup and inhaled the divine aroma. The coffee was black and bitter, food for the soul. The comforting sounds of the camp getting ready for the day surrounded him as he slowly sipped his coffee. William was sizzling steaks on a griddle over the fire and keeping an eye on the potjie with miliepap ensuring that the porridge didn’t burn. They both finished their task near simultaneously, Ryan his coffee and William the breakfast. Ryan’s brother plated some breakfast and handed it off to him, continuing plating steak and pap for everyone.
Once William had served everyone he settled down next to Ryan with his own plate. “We’ll pack up after breakfast and head home via portal. John suggested you take some time to cultivate after while it’s still cool and then continue with the scout. We’ll have a team on standby for the nightshift after 18h00, same drill as yesterday. John also requested that you check in hourly with a short report.” with that William focused on inhaling breakfast leaving Ryan to mull over his schedule for the day. He assumed that he’d reach the plateau during the earlier part of the afternoon unless he’d moved way further off track yesterday than he reckoned. Considering the pace he could easily move at these days the 50 or so kilometres weren’t that far if he pushed himself.
The basic camp was quickly packed up after breakfast and the group departed through the portal without fuss, leaving Ryan to move around the kopje so he could remain in its shade while he cultivated. The day threatened to be a scorcher and Ryan considered skipping the cultivation to conserve his strength but decided it would be safer if he could replenish the energy channelling the portal had cost him. By now the process was near automatic, moving through his forms easily Ryan’s thoughts wandered, barely paying attention to the process.
Everything and nothing came to mind, his anxiety over the future, deliberations on humanity’s progress, the trilling of a bird he vaguely heard and how nice it would have been to be fishing now instead of scouting for a new home. With that he started moving, unaware that he was still drawing in energy, still cultivating as he started to increase his focus on the surroundings. Ryan didn’t realise that he wasn’t entirely in the present, the strange dichotomy between focusing on cultivation and scouting his surroundings leaving him in a dreamlike state. Until he stubbed his toe, stumbling over an innocent grey rock which rudely tore him out of the zen state. Consciously recalling the last few minutes Ryan, for the first time, clearly understood what his late fiancé had meant when saying that proper zen was being aware of nothing and everything. It was a sublime feeling but Ryan understood that he couldn’t afford to recapture it in this environment. He’d need his full attention on discovering possible threats and as great as the trance had been it was too risky to indulge further. To himself he made a note of the process, resolving to recapture the state as soon as he could safely do so.
“You’re back. Be glad that you have a benevolent sovereign that keeps watch when you zone out of reality.” Fury’s gently teasing note served as a further reminder that his action had been ill-advised.
“Sorry, that was pretty stupid off me. I’m good now.” he sent to the lioness returning his full attention on the surroundings. Ryan was jogging along the border of the herd’s path of destruction while Fury was darting ahead through the bush, scouting for threats. The veld was mostly flat with the occasional gentle ridge interrupting the monotony and covered in thick bush. A few grassy glades further diversified the otherwise uniform landscape. The Omaheke wasn’t the prettiest of landscapes but the recent rains had brought out the scant charm it possessed. Ryan ignored it all, moving at a fast pace and running Graviton Sphere with intense focus with the remainder of his concentration on the rest of his senses. This too was a near zen state, one he had previously touched on. Ryan had a feeling that if he persevered in the effort he’d create or unlock another Skill so he ignored the building headache threatening to disrupt his concentration.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
A subjective instant or objectively a few hours later the flat top of the Waterberg plateau rose out of the haze of the north-eastern horizon and Ryan stuck to the boundary between desolation and vibrant bush, it allowed for faster progress than heading through the thick bush and, provided it continued on its current course would head past the plateau a few kilometres to the south, likely intersecting the road heading to the Waterberg. It would be the safer avenue of approach. He continued with his steady jog, intermittently sipping water from his pouch, trying to recapture the zenlike state that the intense focus on his senses engendered, to no avail, it escaped him. A few minutes later he gave up on the effort and started chatting with Fury, both of them sharing their observations of their surroundings in a near continuous stream of thoughts, flawlessly coordinating their actions. Wildlife in the area was scarce, likely frightened off by the passing of the predators following the herd. Once they hit the tarred road heading toward the plateau Ryan increased their pace, not worried about being exposed on the open road, the pair engaging Refractive Shield as they moved along the road. Ryan kept an eye on their destination, sending off a report to Michelle as the two of them hit the turn-off to the state owned lodge, his first target. It wasn’t John’s primary choice but still needed to be checked out. Fury led Ryan to a small glade of the road and relieved to get off his feet for a while the pair snacked on some biltong and rested. Ryan’s energy pool was near full so he forewent cultivation, deciding instead to check on his Character Sheet. He’d levelled up after his experimental rampage earlier and allocated the points to Perception once it was clear he’d have to scout out a new base for the guild. He wasn’t to far off the next Level but didn’t expect to have opportunity to hit it during the scout as the plan was to get in and out of the area while causing as little disturbance as possible.
With that goal in mind Ryan moved into the thick bush, stealthily shadowing the road, stalking from cover to cover, neither of the pair making a sound. Fury was fully stealthed but Ryan had let Refractive Shield lapse remembering that it was eye-catching at closer range. Instead he relied on the long since internalised skill of moving through the bush unnoticed. Wildlife got more plentiful but the pair ghosted past, steadily approaching the lodge on the mountain slopes. The amount of wildlife led Ryan to believe that the lodge wasn’t occupied by a group of people but they still had to check it out.
Instead of directly heading to his target Ryan and Fury circumvented the lodge, choosing to head higher up the slope and approach it from above. It didn’t take to long to find a perch from which they could observe the lodge and it quickly became clear that the lodge was occupied. Not by people but the area was claimed by a sounder of massive warthogs. Ryan remembered that the hogs had always been part of the charm of the lodge, freely moving through the area and not frightened by the guests. The few he identified exceeding Level 15 hinted at the fate of the guests and staff of the lodge.
Ryan wasted no further time on the NWR lodge and headed further up the mountain, senses peeled for any threat. He’d decided to head directly to his next targets, heading over the plateau instead of taking the easier route around. It allowed him to scope out the plateau itself and approach from a higher elevation again. Ryan kept an eye out for any tracks and was happy to observe that wildlife was plentiful and varied. The absence of sign of baboons was puzzling but gratifying.
Scrambling through the thick bush and navigating the rocky terrain of the plateau in the cloying heat was however exhausting and the close confines had Ryan nervous in spite of his preternatural awareness thanks to his Graviton Sphere. Progress was slow and the two had to rest at regular intervals and recover. During one such pit-stop, resting in the shade of a ficus tree towering above a rocky tower, Ryan observed a confrontation that had him doubt the feasibility of the plateau as a new base of operations for the Guild.