Abey's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed for the first time a series of small grassy hills fast approaching in the distance, directly in line with the team's trajectory.
A short time later Abey could felt the ground beneath her running feet begin to gently slope upward. The tops of the grass shoots covering the plane had seemed to remain level, so it wasn't immediately noticeable to the eye that the terrain had changed.
"I've finally figured out where the Course began!" Carlo yelled loudly to the rest of the team. "We were on the ancient shore of the Dalas inland sea , the Laten inland sea, next to the Government Seat City is all that remains of an ocean that split the entire continent in half. Do you see the hills in front of us?" He pointed as they all continued running. "Those are the giant ripples formed on the ocean floor when this was all underwater. The hills stretch for marks in the direction we're going. Everyone watch your footing, some of the drop-offs can be sharp."
Carlo's analysis had been correct, thought Abey. It was easy for her to see that the transition from running along the flat plane to running up and down the ancient ocean floor had dramatically slowed the teams running pace to a jog, half their former speed.
At the top of one of the seemingly infinite hills Abey spotted Carra far in the distance, topping a grassy hill and looking back in time to see the team for a brief moment before they ran down into the shallow valley separating the hills. He waved a hand signal indicating they should increase their speed, as he disappeared from sight.
"Everyone, we need to pick up the pace so we can catch up to Carra!" Geric yelled as he began sprinting in the direction Carra had last been seen.
After a short burst of speed that Abey guessed carried the team across four marks of ground, the Retros team caught up with Carra, thus reuniting the entire team for the first time in several houras. "How far ahead are the other Academies?" Geric quickly asked Carra as the team fell into an evenly matched jog that would conserve energy over the uneven surface.
"I've only seen Edphol, and I just lost sight of them after I left Michael behind to rejoin the team." Carra begain as he placed a protein pill in his mouth. It was clear that he had expended a good deal of energy as the lead Scout for the team. "It seemed to me that they somehow anticipated the change in surface topography and powered forward, using a crisscross running pattern up the hills that I'd never seen before . I believe they're going to attempt to reach the first Course check point and move on before the other teams have completed this section of the Challenge." Carra said to Geric and Carlo as they jogged side by side.
"I agree." Carlo said, his eyes scanning the undulating hills ahead. "I'm reluctant to do the same maneuver without knowing what the next challenge will be." Carlo stopped speaking a moment to carefully chose his words before continuing. "I'm not comfortable expending more energy than we must, before knowing the requirements of the next Challenge."
Abey watched a hint of frustration cause Carlo's eyes to narrow as he spoke once more. "We're dealing with Edphol Academy, in one of the leading positions, which is no surprise." He began. "That's the Academy for potential elite Rangers so they've probably memorized every landmark and rock formation and have already anticipated every Challenge on the Course before we get there." Carlo said while attempting to appear dismissive toward Edphol Academy.
Abey had never wanted to achieve the upper ranks of the Rangers, and very few Phoersians chose to reach that high. Her brother Orim had been different. Once he had graduated from Retros Junior Academy, with top honors, he had been offered several apprenticeships in various fields, but had chosen to continue his education at the Edphol Senior Academy, to broaden his skills and hopefully become an elite Ranger in the Federation.
Orim's choice of joining the Edphol "Ranger" Academy, as it was known throughout the Federation, had been a shock to her. Strangely her parents appeared to support his choice, and she had never understood why.
For Abey there was no confusion, she always knew Orim would attend Senior Academy. Her issues was that he left Retros Senior Academy for Edphol's, there family had all attended Retros since its founding, continuing that tradition seemed important. When she had confronted him about his choice he simply smiled and tussled her hair, becuase he knew she hated when he did that.
Before she knew it, Orim had been accepted at Edphol Academy and moved out of their home to planet Paternos, in the Gianwhal star system, before classes had even began.
