I really wanted to get home by the end of the day; the longer I took, the greater the chance I had of missing the note from THEROS! It was unlikely that their wolf would give up and return, but there was a greater chance of wondering what a wolf is doing outside a supposedly abandoned house with a note! That would not be good, and would put everyone at risk, especially the L7. It was at this time that I decided to jog part of the way. The bag was lighter than it had been when I set off because of the food I had eaten, and I was able to jog short distances in small bursts. If I kept this up, I would stand to reduce my time by at least an hour or so... I just hoped that would be enough. The last thing I wanted was to be running around in the dark, trying to hide from Creepers and guards AND trying to get home in one piece! After a few hours of jogging in bursts, and walking to catch my breath, and then jogging again, I came to the small crossing where the two islands partially joined with a sand bank. This would have been the difficult part for me yesterday, had I been able to take the boat back! Resting under a tree, I noticed that it would probably have been easier than expected because one part of the bank dipped into the water. It wasn't shallow enough to row the boat through, but easily shallow enough to drag it through with less effort. As I rested, I took the chance to take a look around; I was mainly keeping an eye open for guards, or worse. I had only seen one guard so far on the entire journey, and he was guarding my boat! I was just wondering how well equipped HoN Co. was to deal with a situation like this... I was technically an expensive threat... I had the capability to destroy any portal I came across, and yet they hadn't sent out any kind of search team to look for me! They seemed to have positioned a few guards in locations I was likely to return to, like the boat and my house. But surely even they would be smart enough to cover all the bases! It didn't matter anyway; I couldn't see anyone around, and I was more or less at the halfway point. Just a case of following the coast to the South until I found the stone beach, and then head East!
I crossed over to the other side, and then broke into a gentle jog again, continuing South this time. It would be another two hours before heading in a roughly South Easterly direction before heading South again towards the big cliffs, and the pool. I had taken to holding the map in my hands again, as opposed to putting it in my bag. I knew exactly where I was going as it was simply a case of following the edge of the waterline. From it, I could compare landmarks as I passed them, and admire the accuracy, and yet detailed complexity of the map in comparison to their real-life counterparts. Small pools of water visible on the map would also be recognisable without the map, just because of the way they were drawn! At one point I decided to go inland a bit rather than follow the coast. The edge of the coast had begun to crumble slightly, creating a dangerous rocky outcrop a few metres above a shallow part of the water. As much as I was in a hurry, I didn't want to injure myself for the sake of a few minutes! After traversing the outcrop, I returned to the original path. After two hours, I changed direction with the coastline, as it mad its way to the South East. It would be another two or so hours, depending on how much of it jogged, and then I would reach the cliffs and the huge waterfall!
Looking out across the water to the East, I can see that strange little island I had investigated weeks ago when searching for the house. I had ringed it on the map due to its curious little square beach it had on the far East side. As I had explored, it turned out to be a natural formation, rather than proof of someone living there. Now that I thought about it, if Jonas was part of the L7, it would have been stupid to so easily identify the location of his house on the map. I can only assume that others like me would make similar assumptions based on the layout of the land, and explore the most geographically odd locations first. Where better to hide a house like that then in the middle of nowhere! I continued in the same direction, following the water, seeing the reflection of the sun above. It was past midday already! I began to jog again, knowing that I couldn't risk wandering around outside during the night. Not only was it dangerous for my safety, but it made it easier for people to follow me without me knowing. It didn't mean anyone was following me now, but that was the only way I could assume the L7 were keeping tabs on me so well...
I've made it to the waterfall! It seems to be more and more beautiful every time I see it! It was a graceful piece of geological formation that could easily be altered to hide the location of a very big base! It gushed forth from the actual cliff I kept mentioning, and I began to wonder if it was possible that the L7 were holed up there... I doubted it mainly because of the close proximity to Jonas' house. But still...
I was nearly home; another four hours or so and I would be there... Well, three maybe if I hurried. The sun had already started to shift into the lower region of the Western sky, but because of the cliff obscuring the view, it was difficult to tell where exactly... It was still quite light however, so I assumed I had enough time. I didn't think jogging was necessary anymore; I only had to travel South until the stone beach, and then due East until I reached the house. From then, it was simply a case of waiting... I just hoped that THEROS didn't try to pull one over on me by saying there's another portal that needs destroying! I've earned the right to meet the person who is giving me these dangerous tasks... Come to think of it, I don't think they've ever thanked me... Well with at least six destroyed portals under my belt, I think I've earned an audience with my "task master"... As I neared the halfway point between the stone beach and the huge waterfall, the sky began to darken... I wasn't anywhere near home yet! Once again I had underestimated my progress! Beginning to jog again, I kept it up for a greater distance, all too aware of the perils of the night! Within half the usual time, I reached the stone beach; the sky was a murky blue, with the stars beginning to come out. Across the Western sky, the sun was mostly obscured by the horizon, and slipping away fast! It was going to be close. Just another half an hour to an hour or so to go!
I think I've made it! I can see a faint light in the distance... I didn't realise it, but the house seems to be more visible at night than I had first thought! Crossing over the crest of a hill, before me lay the boundary wall, with the house contained inside. I was nearly there! Just a few hundred metres to go... I jogged the rest of the way, with the sun slipping further and further away, the light ebbing with it... The sky had become cloudy which seemed to reduce the impact of the receeding light, but I was still not going to slow down! I was breathless and wincing in pain slightly at the intense pain flaring from my side, but I had made it! I had never been more happy to see this place! It had been sanctuary to me so man times. I would be sad to leave it for the presumed "safety" of the the L7 hideout... I chuckled slightly at how much that made it sound comical... Hobbling slightly from the pain an lack of breath, I made my way into the house. I needed a rest!
Phew! I'm so exhausted! I think I'll sleep like a baby tonight! Not a crying, whining one... I mean a baby that actually SLEEPS!!! The good thing about it was knowing that there was nothing of particular importance that needed doing urgently either... No more portals... Yet! Despite the sun going down, it was still really hot and muggy, and the entire day spent walking around out in the sun had really exhausted me. I think I'm going to have some milk before having a nice cool sleep down in the library. It always was cooler down there for some reason... Oh well... Goodnight!
Syeonyx signing off
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