Vol 1 Chapter 103 (1/2)
Published
at 18th of September 2018 08:17:46 PM
Chapter 103: 103
The sun rose over the wasteland, its harsh light dispelling the shadows that clung to the rey haze never burned away
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The raveFronant surface and belched fetid gas into the airThe colorless landscape was like a black and white photo, a sketch of some dead expanse rife with secrets
A hundred or so men dressed as soldiers were lit by the pale sun, each equipped with protective masks to protect them from the toxic fue beast called the trench its final resting place
The wasteland lizard’s corpse had been attacked by soIts belly was torn open and what innards had not been eaten were strewn aroundThe acidic waters had already begun to dissolve the beast’s corpse, and in twenty four hours it would be no more than a skeleton
The formation of this caustic landscape was simpleFirst, the valley’s natural shape prevented the wasteland’s sandy winds fro terrainfed by soround water source, but one that had been contaminated by some ancient pollutantWhatever it was h to dissolve fleshThird, that fetid water was continuously being pumped to the surface where it made the dead earth an uninhabitablesun, but the pollutants remained until year after year this noxious expanse was created
It was dangerous, a land of poison and decay
Although the mercenaries were experienced that experience was earned in the sandy desertsNone of them had ever experienced a place such as this and didn’t knohat to expectThey were taking a risk, venturing into the unknown
“Judging by the tracks the kid couldn’t have gotten far”
The mercenaries knew little, but they did know this was not the typical habitat for a wasteland lizardSomeone had to have impelled the creature to enter, and a skilled bounty hunter could read the signs, well enough to know that Cloudhawk had passed by not long ago
“Seen enough or what?” One of the un, muttered in irritation“This kid’s life is worth a fortune, but there’s a buncha critters out here who’d like to take a bite out of him tooIf his corpse falls in this water and we’re left with nothin’ but bone, we lose out payday”
Everyone shared his worry
There was no time to lose, they had to follow Cloudhawk’s trailAs experienced hunters they could tell where the boy was headed by the direction of his footprints, and could even tell he was injuredHe was thirsty, hungry, and woundedEasy pickings once they found him
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Yet the revelations did not please the bounty hunters
In his weakened state and wandering these dangerous marches, the kid was in dire straitsHe could be snatched up and eaten by some monster, fall into an acid pit or slip into the bottomless marshesThey could lose his corpse for any number of reasons and thus the bounty
As theever ure in their pathHe was clad in a tattered grey cloak that fluttered against his frail frameA black staff was strapped to his waist, and in his hands he clutched a crude rifleThe kid stood in the
“We found hiht it’d be so easy? The mercenaries beamed with joy
Cloudhawk’s face was covered in that white e and ferocious s in this morbid backdrop
The kid was quickHe saw them at the same time they spotted him, and he pointed his rifle their wayThe mercenary veterans scattered – seasoned killers like them would not be so easily defeated
Cloudhawk’s shot hit nothing but airHe gave up the fight and struggle deeper into the bog
The area was covered init look as though it were aliveAny unfortunate creature that wandered into the bog was quickly sed up and dragged to the depthsCloudhawkdriftwood and other detritus, dancing along the surface to increase the distance between hi!
The s, not with their target fleeingThey ran after him as quickly as they could
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Cloudhawk looked like he was deftly bounding over the bog, but in truth it was no so easyOne of the mercenaries storated beneath his feetIt’d probably been there too long and ile by the caustic waters, and thus the mercenary slipped into the muck
“Ah-ah-ah-ahhhh!”
His shrill cries were dulled by the heavy airIn a er looked hu and the flesh bubbled sickeningly, sloughing off in sizzling chunks