December 19, 108 PA - A Rough Road to Rejoin the Recovery Team

From Chronicles

DAY THREE - December 19, 108 PA

KINGSDALE

Jaxain nods at the operator who already took a crapload of his money, Jax smiles, "Alright, that should be it. Thanks for the help, man." He turns and starts off at a run towards the aerial photography place he visited a few days ago.

The operator in Kingsdale just waves Jaxain out, not bothering with pleasantries of departure.

Lucky Bill's is exactly where it was days ago, and also with the sidewalks having been rolled up exactly at sundown, as they did days ago.

Jaxain heads toward the bar where he met Squeaky at before. The man was well known there, and with any luck he can find some more information.

The bar across the street from Lucky Bill's Aerial Photography is still nice, a spot for the average Joe to get a drink without flashy lights, skimpy waitresses, food, loud music or any other distractions. A few guys are playing pool, there's a dart game in the works, and one of the large tables is surrounded by men who appear to be playing poker. Jaxain gets some looks and pleasant greetings for a stranger.

Jaxain is tired, but still does his best to return what greetings he can, as he heads over to the bartender. "Hey, how's it going?" he asks with a friendly nod. "You know how to get in touch with Squeaky at this time of night? Got some credits to throw his way."

The fat bartender, Horace answers Jaxain with a grin as he wipes down a glass with a used cloth. "Squeaky? He's over there, tryin' to drum up another poker hand." A finger is pointed to the more distant table, which is only partially occupied. It can be seen now that the man's back is essentially to the rest of the room. There are three other men with him, all drinking and apparently having a nice, relaxing time. A fresh deck of cards remains uncut before them.

Jaxain raises an eyebrow in surprise and gives the bartender a smile of thanks as he heads over towards the table in question. "Hey guys, how's it going?" he asks the table, before his tired gaze focuses in on Squeaky for a second. "Mind if I borrow Squeaky for a moment? Got a bit of business to discuss." He looks at the man in question, "If that's alright?"

Squeaky waves Jaxain to an empty seat. "Sit down, make it five at the table and we can talk while we play. Only way you're gonna get me to talk business after business is done for the day." He laughs lightly, as do the other men at the table. Not mocking, just laughs of agreement - when work's done... people want work to be done.

Jaxain wishes his life were that simple, but agrees nonetheless, "Alright, sounds good!" He knows a few basic rules, but is no master gambler. "Name's Jax, nice to meet y'all," he says to the group of guys as the cards are dealt. "Basically, need a lift to a town called Mixed Blessing out near where the Missouri and Osage meet."

There's a general murmur of recognition at the name of the town, as Squeaky starts to deal - fairly. This is a nice bar, no one cheats. Those who do get tossed out on their ass. "Yeah, I know it," one of the other men says, being the one to speak up first. "'bout a hundred and fifty miles north. Almost due north, right?" He looks to the man next to him, who simply nods, not looking up as he starts to fan his cards. "Kind of a weird destination. Usually a pass-through, not a stop."

Jaxain takes a look at his cards, nodding. "Yeah, that makes sense. It's a pass-through for me too, I guess, but I am meeting some friends there. Problem is... I gotta be there about 8 or 9 hours from now." He looks up at the group and smiles, "And I don't even know where it is." He chuckles.

One of the other men who has yet to speak pulls his cards into his chest and asks, "Got a map? I can mark it up for ya." Pause. "Gimme two." Two of his own cards slide onto the table.

Jaxain wags his head side to side, and puts a single card face down on the pile. "One." He says to the dealer, before he carefully puts his cards in front of him and takes out his map, passing it to the other man. "Almost due north, right?" He thinks about that for a moment, watching the other man as he takes Jax's map. He thinks for a moment.

It doesn't take long for the location of Mixed Blessing to be noted at the confluence of the two rivers, or for the single card to be flipped across the table. It would appear that this is no more than a relaxed, friendly game, as no money or even peanuts have been bet, though eventually someone's going to have to raise the pot. Squeaky notes, "If you're heading up there in that time, stay high. Got some nasties that like to do some jumpin' and flyin' if you're not careful."

Jaxain smiles, enjoying the game, and thanks the man for marking out his map. He takes a moment to look at it, then carefully packs it away again. He looks at Squeaky with a raised eyebrow, "Wow, really? Like what?" He asks, clearly interested.

The other fellow laughs lightly. "I don't know! Staying around to look at monsters isn't my thing. I just avoid shadows in the night."

Jaxain nods, laughing in turn at the humorous comment. "Those are some damn fine words of wisdom." He grins at Squeaky, looking back to his hand. He does his best to follow the flow of the game, reacting and responding as the other players do. "Are there any roads I can follow? I can't fly myself, yet, I'd have to hire someone. Either that, or I just hoof it and run like the wind." He grimaces at the thought of this option. "And hope I don't get lost."

One of the other men collects two cards, frowns lightly and looks over to Jaxain. "No, no roads, unless you want to go out by Whykin, on up to Devil's Gate and catch someone with a boat to go up the Missouri." The mention of running gains Jaxain some looks from the other man as if he's crazy. Perhaps why Squeaky asks, "Maybe you should order a beer or something. Clear your head. Can probably find someone for hire up by the landing strip, though. Make ya pay, I'm sure." He rubs his thumb and index finger together in the international, trans-temporal symbol of, 'open your wallet and your ass is going to be sore.'

Jaxain winks at the man who gives him a look, chuckling, "Actually I was gonna ask if you could give me a ride. Don't gotta land, I have a chute so I can just air-drop once we are close enough. Hard to find a good pilot you can trust." He smiles at the group. "But yeah, I'll head out to the strip if I gotta." He nods, looking back at his cards. "Not like I got much choice, really."

The men mumble to themselves - not hiding anything from Jaxain - but are all in agreement that they've done their part for the day, and all they want to do is enjoy a few brews, a couple of laughs then go back to whatever awaits them at home. The landing strip is their best suggestion beyond the attempted marathon run.

Jaxain lost the first few hands, but the he isn't here to win. "Alright, thanks guys." He says with a grin. "Next round's on me." he says, putting down his cards and heading to the bar. "I gotta date at the landing strip, wish me luck!" He smiles, and makes good on his promise, giving the bartender the money for a round for the card players who helped him out.

A quiet chorus of both thanks and goodbyes follow Jaxain out the door. It is now nearly midnight.

Jaxain runs BACK to the landing strip, with a marked up map in his pocket and some advice in his head, and tries to find some pilots who are up and around at this hour of night.

There are always pilots up. This is Kingsdale's landing strip. It really just depends on who and what you're looking for. That's the difficult part, because they're spread all over, and the strip is a huge place. Unless a person really knows the area, it'll come down to knowing what one wants, and then hunting for the treasure.

Jaxain not having skill or information on his side, Jax decides to try for luck. He approaches the first being he sees, and asks them simply, "Hey, looking for a ride a hundred or so miles up north. Know anyone who can leave in about an hour or less?"

Jaxain is asked, "What kinda ride are you looking for?" But is then immediately pointed east, down to the end near where the stables are located.

Jaxain smirks, realizing there are more types of 'rides' than expected at the 'air' strip. "Oh, flight, I need a pilot who can fly me." He grins, shaking his head at the misunderstanding. "Sorry."

The group of men standing who just answered his question shake their heads. "No, dumbass. What kind of ride? Hovercycle? Fixed wing? Rotary?"

Jaxain grimaces again, shaking his head. He's too tired to be doing this... But he presses on. "Oh, right! Ummm, I dunno. I need to get to Mixed Blessing in about 5 or 6 hours from now." He shrugs, "Whatever is cheap?" He shrugs, giving a self-deprecating grin.

There's a murmur among the men as they apparently try to figure out if they know the place or not. Eventually, one of them steps forward a half-step and shrugs. "I think I might be able to get you there. Hovercycle, so you can't take much gear. Need something else, probably should head back near the city, hit up one of the 'copter pilots."

Jaxain nods, reaching into his bag. "That's alright, I'm just bringing what I have on me right now," Jax says, already having dropped his swords and the salvage off with a friend. "How much?" He hands over the map, "I gotta map, it's right at the meeting of the rivers." He points.

The man smiles and makes a very obvious glance at his watch, staring at it a long time. "Well, it's one, now. I can get you up there, for, oh... call it four grand. Probably the going rate around here right now." His buddies chuckle around him.

Jaxain raises an eyebrow at the price and tilts his head to the side. "How about three and a half thou, and you don't even have to land." he offers, a pretty good bargain as landing is the most dangerous part. "I can drop off from a couplea hundred feet, no problem."

The man looks at his watch again. Glances at Jaxain. Watch. Jaxain. Looks over other people offering rides. Doesn't find any. "Tell ya what, full price, but the headphones for the in-flight movie are free."

Jaxain is obviously from a different culture than the people he has met lately, but just shrugs. Sure he might be able to find a better deal, but he suspects the fates are against him. "Ahh, what the heck, let's go. If it's a romantic comedy, I wanna refund." he quips, grinning.

The guy nods and introduces himself as, "Don't bother with names." It takes him about thirty minutes to tinker with his hovercycle before he seems happy with it. "Okay, c'mon. Never actually been up here, though I can read the map. Take second seat." He hops on and asks, "Anything I should know on the way?"

Jaxain takes a second glance at the map as well, hoping to double check the route. "Just to stay as high as you can. Apparently there are things in that part of the forest that go for low fliers." He comments, "But I suspect that’s typical of these parts." With that, he hops on the second seat.

OVER THE MISSOURI WILDERNESS NORTH OF KINGSDALE

The Man with No Name nods and fires up the cycle. It sputters for a while, but eventually gets off the ground, and after a short run to the east, he makes a left, heading north toward the intended destination.

Jaxain looks at his watch, checking the time, as they speed up and away. He doesn't want to distract the pilot, for now, and just keeps an eye on their flight path.

The first thirty miles or so pass uneventfully. The cycle remains intact, and the pilot seems to have no trouble staying on course - or at least, he doesn't give any indication of being off course. However, he doesn't have much to say, either. A few times it might be possible to make out the shapes of creatures jumping up into the sky.

Jaxain focuses his attention downwards... he turns on his optics system, trying to make out a bit more of what there is down there. The pilot is focused, as he should be, and Jax doesn't want to break his concentration. But what are those things??

The pilot bends to the left of the previous line of travel. More miles are eaten up, and the cycle sputters a few times, but still stays in the air. Thirty minutes pass. "So, what're you out here doin', anyway?"

Jaxain is somewhat glad to finally enter conversation; it's been a quiet hour. "Well, I don't know if you heard about those slaves who were brought to safety just now, but that was me. Got some buddies, we hunt slavers down. Don't think that kinda thing is right. Always give them a chance to surrender, though. No need to take a life that don't need to be took."

"Yeah, yeah. Didn't ask for your life story. Do-gooder." The pilot's quiet before admitting, "Don't like slavers neither." It's at about that point that the hover unit sputters and blasts out a great spray of light, and a huge *BANG*. "Shit!" The unnamed pilot starts off left again, over what is possibly a river, the cycle descending at a dangerous rate. "Goin' in!"

Jaxain raises an eyebrow as the hovercycle starts descending towards the river or forest, muttering a few quick spells and holding onto his gear as they descend. Other than that, he just stays quiet. Not much he can do now, his jet pack is dead weight on his back as he can't use it. "Huh." He says quietly, and with that he jumps up off the cycle when it is a few hundred feet up, aiming to land some two hundred feet to the north of the crash sight. And aiming to land on his feet.

Physics demands that all objects in a vacuum fall at the same speed. Jaxain's leap in a non-vacuum introduces air resistance that leaves him trailing the cycle's greater inertia. As the cycle is visible descending through the open, leafless canopy some eight-hundred feet distant, snow is blown up into his face partially obscuring his view. A combination of magic and natural abilities keeps him alive where most others would have died.

SOMEWHERE IN THE MISSOURI WILDERNESS

Sighing again, Jax looks around himself and then starts a quick march towards the crash site, hoping that his pilot might still be alive. The man might be a fool, taking out such a damaged vehicle, but still... he was a man.

Who's the fool? The fool, or the fool who follows him? The cycle can be seen in the distance. Flames rising around it, but not a bonfire yet. The pilot is in worse shape. Far worse shape. Apparently he got between the falling cycle and the ground prior to impact. The man isn't going to be helping anyone out except in the next life.

Jaxain checks the wreckage for any usable items, grimacing as he sees if the pilot had any gear stored on or around his person. Who knows where they ended up, and every last thing could come in handy in conditions like these.

The devastating nature of the crash precluded much surviving. Even the man's small sidearm is little more than slag.

Jaxain grunts and moves away from the crash site. He moves towards the river, checking his compass to see if he can divine which side of it he is on, which will make navigating towards the town he has to go to much much easier.

Considering the length of fall, speed, orientation and so on, finding the river proves impossible after nine minutes of searching for it. Perhaps there was no river, and it was only a glint off of an icy surface on snow. Right now, it's darkness in a monster-ridden wilderness with no apparent reason to head in any particular direction.

Jaxain sighs and pauses to rethink his strategy. So he just sets his eyes on his compass and heads south. If they were traveling north, if he keeps heading south he MUST pass the river at some point.

Under good conditions, good distance might be covered. But at night, trying to follow a compass and slogging through three feet of snow on the ground, Jaxain only makes ten miles before the hour rolls around past three in the morning. Other than minor streams, there are no rivers, just the continuing dense but barren forest. While nothing is seen, good senses indicate that he may not be the only being in the area.

Jaxain does a quick check of his weapons, making sure everything is in order, then crouches down and tries to get a better reading on what is out there with him. He turns on his optics system, scanning the surrounding wilderness, then checks his compass again. If he sees nothing, he will change his heading to east, and carry on that way until he hits a river. Or at least, he HOPES he will find a river in that direction. East.

There is a sense that something might be in the forest. But for now, it remains nearly pitch black, with roaring winds blowing the three feet of snow up into the air, adding another foot and a half of haze over top of the surface. The trees themselves, though denuded of leaves are close enough that it simply takes time to move around them, not to mention tripping over snow-obscured roots. Even simply trying to follow a compass isn't easy. It seems simple and obvious to many, but to those not trained, it remains somewhat of a mystery. Only four miles can be made in another hour, and no river to the east is found.

Well... nothing to do but carry on, and circles never did anyone any good. So east it is. Jax picks up the pace, as if there is something out there that wants to attack him.. well, what the hell that's what he was trained for. He tries his radio, a shot in the dark, "Jaxain to anyone, mayday call on a short range communicator. Is anyone out there?" Picking up the pace a bit, he just hopes he can hit SOME kind of landmark soon. Then again, he's spent months out in the wilderness before, and quite enjoys being out of the city. So it's not all THAT bad.

Eight miles is a good pace, but the forest remains dense and dark. Someone lost in the wilderness can hope that their luck will hold out, but it can't hold out forever. Fortunately, Jaxain receives some mental warning as two enormous cats, ten feet tall, fifteen feet long and with reptilian tails come charging out of the woods from two directions, possibly having been stalking the man for miles. Why they chose this point to act is left to them. They are supernaturally fast, almost blindingly so as they tear out of the darkness.

Super fast cats? Well, that COULD pose quite the problem. Again cursing his luck, Jax wishes he had only had a few more weeks before leaving on this mission so he could have fully learned how to use his jet pack. He has a number of options available, but he decides to take the best bet. Carpet of Adhesion. He places the two carpets in what he predicts to be the direct path of the cats, one after the other, and keeps a mental note of them for future reference. After all, even if he misses he can divide up the battlefield by placing the carpets at his back.

Thanks to quick reflexes, a carpet of adhesion is cast in the path of one of the cats just in time and in the right place that it gets stuck, but clearly not for very long. Its huge muscles tear away at the magically sticky surface, just barely out of swiping range at where Jaxain currently stands. The second cat, however, took a slightly different path than what it appeared to take, and slashes past the man, claws swinging in a hit-and-run type attack.

• SNIKKIT* goes the blades of the forearm weapon system as they spring in place as Jax shifts his weight. He moves about a foot to the left while bringing the blades in a sweeping motion in the same trajectory as the strike, aiming to force it aside just a tad so that it moves past him.

The gods must be smiling down on the forest. Somehow, the forearm blades are enough to just tack the animal off course, and its claws don't land. However, it continues on its course and is rapidly back in darkness. The nearby animal continues to swipe at Jaxain and pull at its bonds.

Jaxain realizes as the blow goes by that it was sheer luck that saved him, not skill or strength. Swallowing low in his throat, he mutters the words for Carpet of Adhesion again, directly in front of the animal that nearly killed him. He, in fact, take no chances and cast it twice, should the beast avoid the first one.

The carpet lands directly before the second feline.

Jaxain having successfully captured the second beast, Jax turns to the one nearest and takes a few steps backwards as he fires off a blast from his FIWS, judging to see how much damage it causes. If he simply flees... they will just track him down again.

The second beast, having turned to begin another attack finds itself hopelessly stuck, far worse than its comrade, two-hundred feet from the scene. Its roars of fury can be heard for miles. The cat within near-clawing distance of the marooned adventurer takes a blast to its body and cries out, wounded. But only for a moment before it continues to pull at its bonds and attempts to lean forward to bite at its attacker.

Jaxain is still without much choice... it's either die now, or take care of these critters now while he can. Because holy crap is he scared of them, having seen what they can do and how fast they move. Three more blasts from his weapon discharge, hoping to silence the beast near him.

The beast of a cat closest to Jaxain is hit three times with enormous energy blasts, but despite the huge impacts, it dies slowly, as if it might have had a little more in it had it only been free. Now it is only good for selling its pelt. In the distance, the other cat continues to roar.

Jaxain fires at the second cat, raising his weapon and sighting along it, until the beast is silent. Then he carries on his way, checking his compass frequently, and heading east. With any luck the roars of the incredibly deadly beast will have scared away any other predators, so he is hoping to have some relative peace in the rest of his journey.

The second cat being more distant can't put up any fight. The four energy blasts slam into it, and this time tear the animal apart.

Jaxain stops by the second beast as he is heading away, taking a few seconds to hack off a pair of it's longest teeth, and shoves them in one of his bags. Creatures like this deserve to have a trophy shown of them. That done, he carries on his way. East.

Another eight miles chug by, the forest having opened up slightly to allow for faster movement. It remains dark and difficult to see, but at least there is distance between the two vicious creatures and the snow-hiker. Chronometers read around four in the morning.

More or less running out of options, Jax decides to use the clearer land to his advantage. He takes a moment to securely strap on his belongings and make himself tougher than metal, because he is expecting to crash on the way down, and pours on the jet pack. His goal is to get a good glimpse of the world around him, and then with any luck get a better idea of where the heck he is.

Jaxain mutters the words to Armor of Ithan to make sure all his gear is adequately protected, then just goes up until he can see some kind of landmark. Then he will look at his compass to get an orientation, and try to land. But probably crash. No matter how high he goes, he won't crash as badly as he did from the hover-cycle, so he'll give up once he hits 10,000 feet. If he can't see anything from there, no point in trying.

The jet pack's thrusters ignite and throw its pilot a few hundred feet into the air, but too far out of control to possibly have a chance of seeing anything useful. Then, perhaps due to attempting to fly a powerful aerial unit without the proper training, it spirals out of the sky and toward the ground, impacting hard. Its jets sputter out and there are a few electrical sparks. The machine isn't dead, and neither is its pilot, but the 'pack isn't going to be thrusting along any time soon. A couple of hours with a mechanic will do it good. If one can be found.

Six miles pass, but it seems to become obvious that as the eastern horizon barely begins to orange over that once more, a sole adventurer in the harsh wilderness is not alone. In fact, not long since the ill-advised jet pack attempt were there distant signs. The snow is becoming deeper once more. There are now definitely figures to be seen, human-sized figures, more-or-less. Further details are impossible to determine because of the continuing darkness.

Already protected from thermals, Jax decides to try and surprise his stalkers. After all, maybe they aren't hostile? One can but hope. He walks ten paces to the right, then ten to the left and mutters the words to Invisibility and does a 12 foot leap from his footprints to another point, quickly arranging the snow around himself to hide his presence. He is also doing his best to remain unseen under cover, even though he is invisible to boot, as he watches his stalkers approach.

So far Jaxain has traversed several miles though the wilderness, and acquired a decent share of attention in the process. Now as numerous individuals seem to be closing on him he's changed his pace to try and be less noticeable. But it doesn’t seem to be working yet as the pursuers are much closer now and don’t seem fooled by the straying paths and jumps. They spread out to compensate for the measures as they close, making evasion more difficult. But also showing their numbers. Definitely more than five and less than twelve are still closing several within fifty feet.

Jaxain looks around himself wearily, a sinking feeling starts to descend into Jax's chest. He's seen too much fighting in the last while, and been betrayed a number of times, and all of it is combining to weigh heavily on his morale. Sure he could fight... but the numbers aren't good, and he doesn't want to unless forced into a corner. So he decides to try out a new spell, one he just learned from a master mage he knows... but who he no longer knows if he can trust. Regardless, he casts the spell and instantly fades into the shadow of the tree he is standing in, and races for the next shadow, visible only as a brief flash of color. Then he decides to take no chances, and casts invisibility on himself as well, so the flashes will also be gone. He is merged with the shadow, invisible, and protected from infrared by his Stealth Suit, which erases any trace of his heat signature. To add to that, he's doing his best to stay out of sight and taking long seventeen foot leaps now and then from random point to point to throw off his footprint trail.

Although the efforts taken are notable, and do draw pause from the closing and surrounding pursuers, they are all for naught as a little accidental jerk jostles the rotting tree causing snow to fall down around the hidden Jax. Gestures are clearly made in his direction from the mid left. There looks to be a total of ten pursuers. An invisible, sticky carpet springs into being and snares the fleeing man.

By the gods, will this madness never end! Well, maybe not. Jax has certainly had better luck in the past, but it is what it is. Well, first thing that has to go is the snow, that's not helping anything. And a little distraction might be a good idea. Jax does his best to hide in a shadow, even while caught in the carpet, as he struggles his way... slowly... out of it. Muttering a few choice magic words, he creates an intensely hot circle of flame in the area around the net, aiming to catch the trees, his pursuers, and everything else in the flame. At the least, it will melt the snow around him, making it easier for him to hide his true location.

The flames burn, more intense than most fire, but not vaporizing. The snow is certainly staring to melt but at waist high it's going to take a few minutes. When it does it will certainly be wet around here. One tree is caught in the ring and starts to crackle and burn. Won't be long before it gets engulfed. The pursuers pause at this change, looking uncertain. Though by the new fire light they do not go easy on the eyes, a face only a swamp monster could love.

Jaxain looks around him as the snow starts turning soggy, the heat spreading around in a wave to aid his purpose and cause more of a distraction. Then his gaze travels up to the creatures, and he freezes in place... horrified by what he has seen. He expected a helmeted head, not a monstrosity such as he is now viewing! Unable to act for the moment, Jax just stares in stupefaction.

In the pause of horror two arms go up throwing two objects towards Jaxain's circle. Grenades most likely, with any luck they will surely incapacitate him for easier handling.

Jaxain manages to turn as the Blinder goes off, but nothing can help him avoid the blast of the stun grenade... He turns, his luck poor and his situation desperate, and looks over at a bush off a dozen feet away from him, and reaches out with his mind to shake it, doing his best to mimic the movement of a stunned man hitting a bush. With any luck his pursuers will think he is over there and focus their attentions in that direction, as he makes his way out of the sticky carpet.

The flashes and bang goes off, there’s little doubt that the quarry is severely reeling from that. But as another bush shakes it raises the possibility of another adversary. It definitely raises the stakes as gestures and grenades go out to the bush to ensnare the phantom rescuer.

Jaxain is glad that his ruse is working, though it still leaves him in quite the pickle. He does his best to pretend he might be stunned as he works at freeing himself, still invisible, letting the circle of flame continue to cause a distraction and, basically, just hope for more time. He is also watching for an opportunity to use Magic net to great effect. If he can get three or so in a single net, or 5 or more in two, he will take the chance and cast the spell and then move onto more aggressive tactics. But, aside from that, he is just waiting for now. In another minute or so he can free himself, but with luck his captors don't know that.

In the wake of the assault on the second tree a net gets thrown out, metal woven wire and weights sailing through the snow to encase, nothing.. No shape of any sort shows the culprit who shook the bush. This causes some alarm in the alien chatter of the group. The carpet they threw around the bush dissolves as three close in on it to investigate closer.

Jaxain seeing his chance, Jax steadies his resolve and will, and casts Magic Net at the group of three, then rapidly turning and casting it again, if he is able, on another group of the creatures to help even the odds. His aim goes, given a choice, a those not carrying rifles as he will assume they are the mages and thus the biggest threats to his survival.

Two nets go out and manage to snare three of the creatures. Two that were investigating the bush and one among the other group. This doesn’t seem to go over well as the chatter gets very loud and fast followed by several gestures which result in a very similar net being cast over Jaxain's location. Maybe they should have done that in the first place.

Well, this is going nowhere fast. So Jax decides to try negotiation. "Listen guys, this is silly. Now way in HELL am I gonna let you capture me alive, and I'm not worth anything to anybody for ransom. Well, except maybe the Coalition, I suppose, but I can't really see you guys collecting on that. You bastards even understand American?"

"Even if you do insist on killing yourself, your gear looks quite expensive." A single gravely voice answers to the plea. "Though we certainly would rather get you alive. You are putting up a good fight, that will make you a good gladiator in the Federation." He continues, stepping through the flames as the carpet disappears to look over the catch.

Ahhh, what the hell. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Jax says as he mutters another incantation, hopping to the side in an attempt to avoid the area of the explosion as he detonates one of the E-Clips on the belt of the being who approached him. "Trust me, I am NOT worth you time. And if you keep on pissing me off, things will get worse and worse for you."

That was a big boom. Before anyone can react it carves a ten foot deep crater into the earth around their fearless leader. In its wake there is nothing left of him. Almost nothing left of Jax either with his main armor and equipment vaporized in the gambit. As is the net apparently. But now he has the remaining soldiers to contend with as two more grenades are thrown in his clear vicinity. Clearly they've realized Jax is right, he is not worth keeping alive.

His gambit worked, and probably better than he expected it too. He's lost his armor and weapons, but... he has his life. So he calls it a win for team Jax. He rolls out of the way of the grenades and blends seamlessly into a shadow. Then he proceeds to make his way further from the group, hidden in shadow and silent. With any luck, they will assume he was disintegrated in the explosion along with their leader. Hell, he almost was, so that sure adds to the realism...

Indeed that is the general belief, the grenades adding to that. And if it didn’t vaporize him, very likely he could do the same to the rest of them. So they quickly lose all interest and retreat back the way they came to leave Jax alone in the middle of the wilderness.

Now that the immediate danger is done with, Jax decides that anywhere is better than here. He moves off in what he thinks might be east for a time, searching for a BIG tree. Should he find one, he'd climb it and take a look around himself, trying to find a landmark of some kind.

The big tree is found close to a smaller river coming from the north east, it's actually the sixth one climbed, the earlier ones showing better woody prospects. This has taken up about an hour, but at the top of the final tree much can be seen two rivers are evident, one 50 miles north and another 50 miles east. A large lake sits to the northwest.

A few hours later and it is morning as Jax climbs another tree, again taking nearly an hour to find the best one in the vicinity for orientating. There he can see he has covered about 40 miles north east, and reached the closest point the two rivers seem to come together. Both are just over ten miles distant, northwest and southeast.

Jaxain nods, finally having himself oriented, and heads due north according to his compass. He can change directions as necessary, but the town should be pretty easy to spot next he climbs his chosen tree.

Due north the river is 20 miles away, taking Jax and hour and a half to find it. Only takes a few minutes to find a tree that shows smoke from the midday outpost though sitting another hour away. He finally arrives at 1:15 pm.