Chapter 92: Realisations
It had taken hours to dress the kills and move the bounty through the occasional Portal that Ryan had to supply. Everyone chipped in and, from the ecstatic look on Carina’s face the meat was so plentiful that any worries they might have had with respect to their supplies could safely be set aside. Leah was gleefully inspecting the tough buffalo skins and Ryan could vividly picture the new armour sets she’d be creating for the Guild. It was then that Ryan realised that it had been quite a while since they had such a massive influx of materials and that the regular kills the combat teams had been making were only enough to cover the immediate demands. The truly massive amount of resources this one slaughter had gained them would tide them over for the immediate future.
Ryan hadn’t truly internalised the realisation that more than 30 member’s of Exsolutus were dependent on a regular supply of food that the lack of proper scavenging opportunities after they left the Capital initially had put such a strain on their supplies. It truly put the efforts of the non-combat members, who were growing food, crafting gear, finding solutions to thorny problems, handling personal conflicts, taking care of supplies, handling logistics and generally supporting the Guild in a quiet and unassuming way, mostly, into perspective. It was a humbling thought. Ryan knew that he could have made it on its own, but, he had to admit, he wouldn’t be in the same position of strength. Safety and guaranteed support went a long way in this new world.
Sure, he might be higher levelled, but he doubted he’d be as confident and secure as he felt now. Forever on guard, forced to attending on every necessity himself, harried for time and just surviving. Now, with the backing of their Guild, the combat members were slowly starting to thrive. And, with their growing strength, the security of the rest of the Guild could be eventually guaranteed. Every single one of their members was actively contributing to the health and safety of them all and, Ryan realised, he had been partially oblivious to it all. In fact, he hadn’t ever thanked anyone for all that were doing so that the Guild, and its members, could thrive.
Ryan knew that his contributions, be it scouting or bringing home some kills, made an appreciable difference, but, he admitted to himself, he was only one cog in the machine that ensured their communal wellbeing. He might have been an important cog thanks to the utility of Shift and Portal, but he wasn’t irreplaceable either. But that was ok, Ryan thought. He knew he was valued but if he were to die the rest of the Guild would still be in a position to thrive. His brother would mourn but then move forward and do his best to free their parents and Victoria from stasis.
And with that, Ryan finally accepted, that he wasn’t in this alone. Reassured that the Guild would never cease moving forward to achieve the stated aim of the majority of its members. Exsolutus, unbound by restrictions and aiming to free their brethren from stasis, would forever move forward in pursuit of that aim. Which, incidentally, had been enshrined in the Guild’s charter. A fact Ryan only remembered once Carina’s reminder of its existence caused him to read the entire thing.
These realisations kept his thought occupied while he followed Fury to their destination. He knew that meandering thoughts weren’t conducive to his sense of awareness while he stalked through the thick bush but his instincts told him that the immediate area was more or less safe for the time being. The major players, the baboons, the snake, the buffalo and the leopard had been eliminated and it would take time for new threats to percolate over the surrounding ridges to occupy the unclaimed territory. Time which the Guild couldn’t afford to give them. Exsolutus, after this latest raid, had, save for the eagles, eliminated all major sources of experience in the immediate surroundings of their valley and comprehensively scouted it for threats. The area was as safe as it could be.
This posed a different problem. The combat members urgently needed to gain more levels. Time was ticking and they needed to get ready to face Ou Baas. Ryan in particular needed to catch up to the stronger members in level because he was behind the curve in that sole aspect. While it was probably a foregone conclusion he had volunteered to scout the further reaches of the plateau as result. Miguel and Carsten would head to the plains tomorrow and find possible targets of opportunity there but Ryan had decided to get a head-start on his part and headed off after the buffalos had been processed.
Being on his own in the bush had always matched his temperament and this new excursion, in the company of Fury, had given him some time to think and resolve some of his inner conflicts. Still, once the two of them crossed over the ridge ahead he’d need to fully focus on his surroundings again. It was terra incognita, and Ryan expected to run across a variety of high-level threats while he scouted the area. In particular, he hoped to find some of the elusive Rhino whose old sign in the previously scouted area had been the only indication of their continued survival. If he could find them and if they were at a reasonable level, the armoured juggernauts would probably be a perfect training opportunity to prepare the combat group for their fight against Ou Baas.
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With that last thought Ryan returned his focus fully on his surroundings. He was facing a craggy sandstone wall, covered in roots and vines, and bleached a mottled colour of grey by the unceasing onslaught of eons of African sunlight. It was an effective barrier, the small secondary escarpment kept the immediate escarpment around their valley secluded. It was not impenetrable because it was riven through by the occasional ravine or gorge where the seasonal waters of the higher plateau found their tumbling way to the escarpment surrounding their valley and eventually through the valley to the plains below. Still, it would take a determined effort to surpass or circumvent so discouraged casual entry into the Guild’s territory.
It wasn’t an obstacle for Ryan. Instead of Shifting to the top he decided to exercise his climbing skills and quietly scaled the near vertical wall in seconds. At first his effortless ascent surprised him, but quickly recalling that he was beyond any previous human limitations now, that surprise faded into another instance of coming to term with his ability. It was strange, he thought after he scanned the area for immediate threats, how little moments like these could more forcibly impress the fact of his superhuman ability on his psyche than his ability to comprehend spacetime and step through space. Most often, when faced with obstacles that he’d previously would have found difficult to overcome, he’d be forced to accept his new self. And, judging from the trajectory of his growth, he’d be repeatedly facing little moments like these for the foreseeable future.
His thoughts were really drifting, Ryan realised, his meandering interrupted again as Fury scaled the ridge moments after his ascent. With not a little bit of effort he returned to the task at hand and surveyed the area ahead. The bush was thick and dense and he couldn’t see a thing beyond the next twenty metres. Predator’s Awareness told him there were no larger moving bodies in a bigger radius but it couldn’t account for smaller or stationary threats as he still had trouble resolving anything smaller than about a dozen kilograms and, unless a mass was moving, he only had the vaguest impressions of possible shapes. The varied density of materials made any effort identifying his surroundings with the part of Predator’s Awareness that incorporated Graviton Perception a stab in the dark. Still, larger moving masses were beyond obvious by the disturbance he felt.
The dense crown of a massive Ficus towering over the dense bush surrounding it drew Ryan’s eye immediately. It was about two hundred metres away and the only elevated feature Ryan could spot from his current position. It’d make a prime observation post to scan the entire area so Ryan smoothly threaded into the thick bush heading straight to it. The pair ghosted through the bush and while they moved with the primary objective of stealth their pace wasn’t anything that could be called slow. So, a scant minute later, Ryan laid eyes on the trunk of the tree. It was a few metres in diameter, a twisting, twining attempt to reach the heavens. The smooth white bark was defaced by the tribulations of time but the sight was majestic nonetheless. By no means could the tree be called beautiful but its massive size was testament to its steadfast perseverance in the face off all challenges.
So, doing what he had set out to do, Ryan climbed the tree. It was an easy, smooth ascent, with plentiful handholds and free of any burrs or thorns. In scant moments he reached the highest branch he felt could safely support his weight and easily balanced along its path to the outer crown. When he emerged into the open a breath-taking view presented itself. Raised a dozen metres or more above the thick bush Ryan couldn’t help at the vista of dense thick vegetation surrounding him as far as he could see. Here and there rocky crags of sandstone boulders rose from the bush like islands from the sea and in the distance the area was hemmed in by barriers of the same sandstone in turn interspersed with thriving green valleys. The whole area was slowly moving to the tune of the ever-prevalent wind and felt untouched, virgin, never despoiled by humanity’s hand. Intellectually Ryan knew that this was false, this area had been well trod by human feet on a variety of hiking trails even if it had never been faced by man’s incessant need to build permanent structures. Still, the feeling resonated with him and engendered an unreal sense of wonder.
It didn’t stop him from taking out the binoculars which William had thoughtfully retrieved from the base before Ryan left on his scout. Once he had cleaned the lenses to his satisfaction, he started scanning the area. The thick bush made things difficult, but it didn’t take too long before he found signs of massive denizens frequenting the area. A variety of paths, not immediately apparent, delineated by smashed vegetation, threaded through the dense vegetation. It looked like he’d find the missing Rhinos soon.