RISE UP DEAD MAN

PIT STOP

"So... This our destination?" I asked in muted awe.

"For now, this here's just a pit stop that's usually fer' mercenaries and bounty hunters, but there are the occasional traders and travellers," Gari explained before she began walking forward.

Following her, I noticed that the rest of the idle trucks were all lined up with the other mercenaries climbing out, grumbling in annoyance for some reason.

When we reached another truck, Gari lifted that massive spear of hers out the back with a single hand. So that's where her spear was...

As I think to myself, I grunt as Gari pats me on the back, the force nearly making me trip against the truck.

"So... why's everyone so upset?"

"The trucks need to go through a screening without anybody inside the back-even if they're for transporting people."

"Don't ask why we can't wait inside the trucks and go straight to the top cause I'll just tell ya now: it's mainly about safety and anti-raiding measures. They want to prevent bandits from infiltrating and track everyone's movements." Hmm, sounds like some anti-trojan horse thing that's going on here.

"Wait, "get off at the top"? Is there some sort of-"

An incredibly loud wail reverberates through the snowfall. My gun's already out, but Gari rests a hand on top of it.

I look at her questioningly as the deep, aggressive sound repeats like a broken gramophone before... Something happened to the landship.

The dark edges of the landship lit up in a dotted red line of lights as an entire section of the centre started to unfold outward towards us.

After a few moments of rumbling, I realised that the wall that just folded out was an insanely large ramp. Big enough to fit a small town on top of it.

...

It's going to take a while for me to get used to all this otherworldly shit...

~⁕~

As Gari said earlier, we didn't take the ramp all the way up. I would've passed out from exhaustion on the way up if that were true... We're actually taking a side elevator that's right beside the ramp, leaving the drivers behind to drive the trucks and other miscellaneous vehicles up, of course.

Elevators aren't exactly a new thing to me. Sure, they're a bit uncommon in the bayou hunting grounds and I've definitely come across a few before. I've just never taken them just in case someone's waiting at the top. Either with a shotgun or a stick of dynamite.

The constant rising motion is strange, to say the least. I distract myself by drawing my eyes to the steady movement of the metallic wall that passes by.

Oh yeah, this elevator is probably the size of two of Ferrok's trucks, capable of carrying the load of about two or three dozen people.

My rough hands rest upon the frosty guardrail, my eyes looking down at the winter wasteland below.

It was like my first time trying to snipe from the top of Ironworks with one of those Sparks rifles. The whole sniping thing really wasn't for me, though.

As nervous as I am because of the rising height, there is some kind of excitement-

"Yer like a kid, y'know?" Gari please allow me this moment.

As I glare at Gari, somebody brushes up against me.

I fight the urge to take my gun out, especially how problematic it would be since not everyone here is part of Ferrok's group.