Chapter 52 –  Second Stop, Gladrock City (2)

The whole thing looked wastefully, and bizarre to Jamie. As he stood there, he shifted his weight to his other foot, and feeling the firmness of the surface, looked downwards.

He was standing on what looked, felt, and sounded like a wood, except it was remarkable sturdy. Jamie whirled around to look at Blackwing, and noticed that his claws weren't digging into the 'wood' below.

He took a couple of steps forward, and looked around. The surface they were on had three similar buildings ahead, and two to the other side. Behind, two buildings were on either side, and the surface extended downwards, out of sight, and that there were a few vans and trucks parked on the surface they were on. He looked around, and noticed that in the center of the surface they were on, was a raised black stage, with spikes jutting out from the border of the arena, and a gate in the middle. Overlooking it, was a brown, stag like creature crafted in a copperlike substance, that was standing tall on four legs, with one horn on it's head near it's antlers, and a small horn prodding out on either side of each of it's legs. It was standing behind the stage, overshadowing it, with it's gaze pointed towards the stage.

Jamie stared at the massive statue, until he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey."

Jamie whirled around, to see Emily making her way towards her, with Scott following behind her. A pup let out a growl and barked as she approached, while the other three started hiding behind Eve. She paused, giving a wry smile.

Jamie smiled, and starting walking forwards."Hey. Just looking at the statue. Do you think that is the Uarok that was mentioned by Nicholas?"

"Has to be. Unless they revere another stag like creature."

They walked towards the back of the last carriage, with their bonded beasts trailing behind them, and the pups trailing behind Eve, sniffing the ground as they walked. As they walked passed the second carriage, Jamie noticed a red road train entering the area, and a man with black hair in a crew cut, wearing the Hunter's Association uniform, talking with Ivan, Nicholas and Amelia at the end of the carriage, while Lennox and Taylor chatted with one another, looking at the approaching red road train.

Emily looked around, then remarked. "You know, for a place that's meant to have an awesome digger beast around, this place looks remarkably stable."

"Except for the heat."

"Except for that. I wonder what's causing it."

"You'll see it soon enough."

Emily and Jamie looked forwards to see Amelia, Nicholas and Ivan looking at them. Ivan continued.

"This is not the place they are located. We are just parking the truck here because of the room available."

As they got closer, one of the pups looked up from the ground it was sniffing, and upon noticing Nicholas, started howling, and backing away. The other pups, upon hearing the racket, looked up from the ground, and started behaving the same. Jamie paused in his footsteps, as Nicholas gave a wry smile at the pups behavior. Eve let out a huff, and lightly bit at Jamie's hand and walked away to a spot away from Jamie and Emily, then barked and lay down on the ground. The pups looked at Eve and started running towards her.

Ivan chuckled, watching the pups actions. "Amelia, it looks like you'll be staying behind with the truck."

"That's fine. But since your taking the trainees along, did you expect me to look after the young beasts while your all gone?."

Ivan shuddered. "And have them experience the same treatment the Purple Eye Eaglet that Johnathan left in your care experienced?

The man with the black crew cut and Nicholas started laughing, and Amelia rolled her eyes.

"There was circumstances behind that. It wasn't my fault."

Ivan shook his head, chuckling. "So you say. However I don't want to take the chance."

A flash of red and black light appeared around Ivan, and the Black Horn Wolf appeared around Ivan. Ivan's eyes glazed for a brief second, then the Black Horn Wolf let out a low howl and started moving towards Eve and the pups.

"Menace can look after the pups. Jamie, Emily, your taking all your beasts with you."

"What about the fawns?"

"Taylor has a beast that can help look after them."

Ivan's gaze turned towards Lennox and Taylor, who were greeting some of the occupants of the red road train that had stopped near them. Taylor went up to a slim, tall, female with red, short cut hair wearing a black shirt with 'Kiafving Roosters' in red and black letters next to an image of a basketball, and started hugging her.

"Danielle, it's been too long. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

Danielle pulled back and inspected Taylor. "You look like you have gotten a little slimmer then when we last met. And you have changed your hair color again."

Taylor smiled. "I think black suits me better then blonde..."

Lennox walked up to a muscular man with black hair in a slick back and a undercut, wearing the black Hunter's Association uniform. With him was a teenager and a man that looked in his early twenties. The teenager was wearing blue jeans and a red shirt with his black hair in a loose braid, the other man had his hair in a quiff, wearing a plain white shirt and pants.

"Wayne, it's good to see you."

"Hello friend. It's good to see you too."

After Lennox and Wayne exchanged handshakes, Lennox looked passed the teenager with similar black eyes to Wayne and focused on the man in white.

"I know your son, Roy, but who is this?"

The man in the white shirt walked up to Lennox, holding out his hand. "My name is Vincent, nice to meet you."

Lennox's eyes widened as he shook hands with Vincent.

"So your the...the one who's notes Wayne gave me on the theories of why lifeforms gained different energy affinities."

"aha...yes, that was me. I trust you..."

Amelia's eyes narrowed as her gaze fell on Wayne. "Of all the luck, we had to encounter that prick."

Ivan looked at the red road train, that was parked nearby, and let out a sigh. "Try not to stir any trouble."

"It's that prick that usually stirs the trouble, not me. I'll stay near the truck."

Amelia vanished, and Ivan shook his head, as Eve started walking towards Jamie while Menace started playing with the pups. Ivan looked towards man nearby with the crewcut.

"I think we will be heading off soon. It was good to see you again Tom."

"You too Ivan. I think my employer is about ready to head off too."

Tom vanished from Jamie's eyesight in a blink, and reappeared nearby, next to a white van, with three people surrounding it. Ivan, Nicholas, Jamie, Emily, Blackwing, Eve, and Scott started walking towards Taylor and Lennox while they were engaged in a hearty conversation with some of the occupants of the red road train. Ivan cleared his throat as he approached, disrupting their conversation.

"Lennox, Taylor, it's about time we headed to our destination."

>>>>

In a vast, lush forest with a cluster of massive trees with yellow spots decorating the branches and trunks of the tree, Yer'Zhul and his two honorguard leaped lightly from branch to branch soundlessly, occasionally pausing, crouching and looking around to make sure they weren't spotted, making their way to a mountain that towered above the trees in the distance. Eventually, they reached a tree with a twisted branch besides a flat side of the towering mountain, and crouched down on the massive branch, among the green foliage of the leaves for one hour, observing the surroundings, focusing their ears and noses for any odd scent or noise, focusing their mystical sense for any energy fluctuations in the area. Satisfied that their was no others in the surroundings, they jumped off the tree, and a low thud sounded as they landed on the ground, the noise barely being heard above the rustles of the leaves as the wind blew them.

They made their way slowly up to the grey side of the mountain, and Yer'Zhul coated his hand claws with a black light, and placed his hand claw on the barren grey wall, on a small barely noticeable indenture in it. He coated his right hand claw with a black light, and placed it on the small dent, sending his energy inwards with a brief pulse of energy.

After sending the pulse of energy, Yer'Zhul withdrew his right hand claw, and stood back a few paces from the wall, and waited patiently. After half a minute had passed, rumbling could be heard, and a rectangle block started moving forwards before stopping, and splitting in half, and each half moving to either side, to reveal a passage downwards, and four Gredidine holding spears with brown shafts, and black, glistening tips.