As we hadn't started a fire, there was little in the way of clearing up after ourselves, and the only hint of our presence remaining were the small patches of now exposed grass peering out from the surrounding snow. It shouldn't be too much of an issue to worry about however as there were small patches of grass here and there, suggesting that there may be a few grazing animals close by. COLUS and UOPETA made off into the distance again, leaving a sizeable gap between them to ensure they didn't both get seen together. If one was spotted, at least the other could alert the rest of us. We had noticed since entering the frozen tundra around us that, not only had it grown colder, but the area around us was composed of a lot more hills than before. As we continued, COLUS came back to us, giving us the all clear, but there was no sign of UOPETA. Up until now, COLUS and UOPETA had returned more or less at the same time, but there was still no sign of UOPETA, even five minutes later.
"Where is UOPETA? Wasn't he with you, COLUS?"
"He was, but we broke off to either side of one of the larger hills. He moved off ahead a little faster than me, so maybe he's found something..."
Instinctively I put my hand on the barrel of the rifle that was currently slung over my shoulder. COLUS and UOPETA held two of them, with only me and Joe with rifles in the main group. It allowed us to scout ahead but protect the majority of us as a unit. COLUS went off ahead again to see if he could find UOPETA, but he was only a few steps ahead of us when UOPETA appeared at the top of the hill. He looked exactly how he had before when he had returned, but it was clear that something had happened. We caught up to UOPETA and COLUS and began to listen as UOPETA told us what he had found.
"I knew we were getting close. I thought I saw someone moving through the snow a few hours back, but I ignored it for the time being. When we broke off the last time, I spotted movement again, this time off to the North West. Using the rifle scope I managed to make out what it was. All I can say is I'm glad OROTHO, Amie and Syeonyx spent so much time on these rifles. They work brilliantly!"
He went on to say how he had spotted a HoN Co. guard, out in the middle of the snowy plains, alone, walking due East. He said that if we had slowed down we would likely have missed him, but there was always the possibility he would double-back and spot us as we continued on our way.
"I managed to take him out with a single dart. To ensure he didn't raise the alarm, I had to head over and take the dart out. That's why I was gone longer than expected."
"Did you see anyone else?"
UOPETA shook his head, going on to say that he found it odd the guard was there at all. We all knew we were getting close to the Western tip, but it didn't explain why they were out this far.
"Maybe HoN Co. have a bigger hold on the area than we initially though. Maybe they've expanded their operations..."
"I doubt it; SERVERE would have mentioned something to us if they had. That and the fact that I couldn't see any buildings or small structures anywhere nearby for some distance, even with the settling fog."
We wrapped up the talk and pushed onwards, feeling the temperature drop further as the sun began to grow heavy in the West, and the fog grew denser. We had been lucky so far as it hadn't begun snowing yet, but we still had a way to go before we reached the end. Climbing to the top of yet another large hill, we all paused, waiting for COLUS and UOPETA to return from their scouting before heading off again. It was an odd sight to behold; the sun, a giant ball of fiery orange starkly contrasting against the brilliant white of the snow. It was almost painful to open your eyes fully to some degree, as the snow began to reflect what little sunlight remained back into your eyes. Luckily the fog grew denser and denser, almost noticeably, as we continued waiting. COLUS and UOPETA returned by the time the bottom of the sun touched the horizon, and our shadows grew longer behind us as kept heading North West. After another scout ahead, COLUS and UOPETA returned in time for the last of the sunlight to ebb away.
"Right, I think we should set up a camp pretty quickly. It'll be getting much colder soon, and we need to find or make somewhere warm before we freeze to death. Over this hill is a little valley; it's secluded enough so that we're likely to get away with an open fire, although the fog should cover the rest for us."
We set off down to the bottom of the hill. I paused momentarily at the top to scan the bare surroundings, only to be met with white, in all directions. The fog was much denser at the tops of the hills, but as I looked out across to the West, I spotted a light, or what I thought was a light, before roiling pockets of fog covered it up. Maybe it was me imagining things... I joined the others at the bottom of the hill, where I helped to make a fire and settled down for the night. Still, I couldn't help think about what I thought I had just seen. A small, orange flicker of light in the far distance, just piercing the thick air, visible for just longer than it took me to blink... Then it was gone... Maybe it was a patch of snow off in the distance, snatching the very last rays of sun before it disappeared for another night...
Syeonyx signing off
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