Chapter 170 - Exploration - II (1/2)
Balthazar was very worried about his cousin's skills and he needed him to learn the required skill set to survive on his own. If Robert was going to be his man in the elder council, he needed Robert to be capable of surviving and successfully adapting to exigent situations which he expected would arise soon.
Moreover, he had learned that Robert was in the same situation as him, in danger of his life from the same group of people and it is best that he stayed alive to be as useful to him as possible. He also needed Robert to present himself strongly at the council so that any spies would be more concerned about Robert inheriting Winston's mantle than Bolena which would probably reduce the focus of his enemies from her.
The both of them kept mapping the forest and they moved through the forest. Due to the higher gravity they found that they required to use more strength than usual to move around and that they would become hungry faster. They already started filling up their bag with fruits as the had previously discussed and were thinking of finding an isolated area to sit down and eat.
”I am getting hungry Bel. Why don't we have a small bite before going further ahead,” asked Robert as the reached a small stream in the forest. The trees were sparse around the stream. It a few metres wide and looked just a couple of metres deep.
”Hold on to that thought for a minute or two,” said Balthazar as he saw the stream. ”It is good if we have some preparations before we do something like that. But do fill up the bottles first,” he continued as he removed the bottle from the case and threw it to Robert.
”What are you thinking of?” asked Robert as he looked at Balthazar who was checking the area around it while got up a tree on the bank started mapping the area again.
”Just making sure that there are no dangers in the vicinity,” said Balthazar getting down the tree.
”Don't worry. We didn't see anything the whole way here. Only a few small ferret-like animals which you said would attract predators and would take quite a bit of time to cook,” said Robert.
”Ya. I agree with that, which makes me think that we have been on the outskirts of the forest all this time. Now, I see different signs,” said Balthazar pointing across the bank.
”What is there?” asked Robert as he tensed up thinking that his cousin saw a beast and they might be attacked. ”I can't see anything. Even the sensors don't detect anything. Nothing is being displayed on the HUD of my display either,” said Robert as he checked the display on his helmet too.
”There is no animal or beast on the banks right now,” said Balthazar. ”You don't need to have any worry about beasts attacking you right now but have a look at the trees on the other side of the bank.”
Robert immediately followed looked at the direction his cousin was pointing and noticed that there are some claw marks scratched onto the bark of the trees on the other side of the stream. It was a common method for large beasts like bears to mark their territory.
”Wow! How did you see about that?” asked Robert. ”It is so far away from here.”
”I was looking for it, genius. A stream with no animals close by at dawn. The forest on the other side is quite thick and no animals drinking water at a stream on that side. It was clear that there is some big predator and it is quite close by,” said Balthazar pointing to a small mound at the other side of the stream. It was concealed behind a group of thick trees with its outer surface covered completely by grass and would be hard to find if one wasn't looking for such structures.
”There is probably a cave or something there where it lives. The sonar mapping pointed out a hollow region. It is best that we handle that as soon as we get to the other side. So, we attack it and use its cave for resting and even eating. The good thing is that most of the beasts seem to be afraid of it and will be afraid of its killers. At least, we won't have them attacking us immediately and we can set up a decent camp at its cave,” continued Balthazar explaining his plan.
”Good finally, we get to kill a beast or two. I hope it is something on the list,” said Robert getting excited by Balthazar's proposal. ”What do you think it is?”
”I am going through the list of beasts on the planet and their descriptions right now,” said Balthazar as he kept scrolling images down on his HUD. ”I can tell a few things about the beast though. The marks are quite high about 9 feet above ground and close to a large bough. So, we can expect it to be quite big or one that could move on top of the trees. That is why, I have been so careful and didn't start to suggest we move there yet. It is easier to for it to ambush if it is capable of moving on treetops.”
”So, any beasts with those features in our list?” asked Robert.
”Ya. Narrowed it down to two beasts. The first one is a Nandi. It is usually about 8 feet tall and for the gravity of the planet it is going to could be as strong as a 10-15 feet tall one on Asklepian. It has a scaly tough skin and lives near water. Both skin and bones are made into accessories sold at a high price to collectors,” said Balthazar.
”Yes, we are bound to get a good rating after we capture it,” said Robert gleefully.
”Ya. Fat chance of capturing it alive. Aim to kill. There is another possibility. A Staterasimian. It is like a small gorilla which has scabrous skin. It would be moving on the treetops and can ambush,” said Balthazar.
”How do we proceed then?”