Rather than walking head first into a blizzard, the group elected to wait for the storm to pass, Gratin keeping the group warm with his magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three hours later and the surrounding landscape had become a perfectly level white plain, the snow burying the aircraft and the rocks it had crashed into. It could easily be mistaken for barren landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least it was until the jet of green flame burst from the ground, melting the snow and sending the metal door of the aircraft tumbling through the air where it eventually found itself embedded into a snowdrift many feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swearing as he scrambled up the freshly carved tunnel in the ice and snow, Doug was first to emerge. He took in the sight of the risen sun, the empty snow field and the vague shape of buildings far off in the distance before swearing once more, shivering and finally turning to help Kate up the slope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cF-fucking bright out here,\u201d he told her, \u201cf-freezing t-too. What t-time did you say it was?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTh-three in the morning. We\u2019re on t-the pole here though. Days get weird,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTh-that so?\u201d Doug started rubbing his sides in a bid to keep warm. Kate wasn\u2019t faring much better, her teeth chattering and her lips starting to turn blue from the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe lady is quite right!\u201d this came from the Major who had managed to find a thick coat and a cane, the latter of which he was using to help pull himself up, \u201cI reckon that about this late in the year we\u2019ll be lucky to see more than, oh, four hours twilight a day? It may have been mid-autumn back on Centrissal but here it\u2019s practically summer! No night time in summer on the South Pole!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell th-that\u2019s not ideal\u2026\u201d Doug muttered, glancing around once more. In the distance, what Doug had thought was a collection of snow covered twigs got up and began to waddle away, one of the denizens of the tundra not too dissimilar in appearance to a hedgehog on the hunt for food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s \u201cArchibald\u201d? He\u2019s taking his time\u2026\u201d Kate drew his attention back to the group. Gratin was still in the ship, Kate and the Major peering down the slope to try to see where he had gotten to. Doug shuffled over, joining them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome on Archie! We need to get outta the cold!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gratin was hesitating at the threshold of the ship. All he could sense beyond its walls was a void of frigid temperatures, his companions the only heat sources for miles bar the occasional critter looking for breakfast. He took a deep breath, started to hover as he crossed the threshold and took to the skies, landing awkwardly next to his friends, the ground being much lower than he expected as he sunk into the snow. He took a moment to gasp in shock, a shiver cascading up from where his sandals had become buried. He tried walking a step to escape, Gratin struggling to find his footing as he pushed forward through the snow bank, stumbling as his feet failed to find solid ground. Doug managed to catch him as he fell, keeping him upright as the mage grasped the bionic limb he was now leaning across.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cY-You alri-right there A-Archie?\u201d Doug asked between chattering teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI s-strongly dislike this p-place,\u201d Gratin stated dully, aware that Kate was approaching from his other side. She helped Gratin stand under his own power, the three mercenaries huddling together in the freezing winds of Polaris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cB-b-bit of a ch-change from th-the desert, y-yeah,\u201d Doug conceded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn-anything y-you can do about th-the c-cold?\u201d Kate asked Gratin, her coat doing little to protect against the frigid wind. Seeing how badly Kate was coping prompted Doug to embrace her from behind, sharing with her what little body heat he could offer. The red head snuggled in to him, this hardly the time to raise objections over Doug\u2019s lack of boundaries. Gratin grunted, concentrating as he too leaned in closer to his friends, placing a hand on Doug\u2019s shoulder to steady himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a pulse, a field of warmth expanding around them. Cold wind still passed through it, battling against the rising temperature that Gratin was emitting but the snow at their feet was beginning to melt as it heated up. It took the edge off the biting cold at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTh-thanks,\u201d Kate muttered, flashing a smile in the mage\u2019s direction. He nodded to her before turning his head towards the Major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI suggest you enter the radius as well. I would hate for you to catch your death out here,\u201d said the mage kindly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, would be a reeeaaal shame that\u2026\u201d muttered Doug, earning an elbow to the ribs from Kate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPlay nice,\u201d she warned in a whisper as The Major hurried over as fast as he could despite the snow bank. Once the group was all assembled in the radius of the spell, they began to make their way towards the town they could spy on the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took the better part of an hour to reach the settlement due to sheer amount of snow they had to plough through to get there. They were greeted by wooden structures and log cabins circling a town square, a large concrete cube towering over the rest of the buildings from its position several streets away, a neon sign advertising the structure as a testing facility for a car company known as Caracal Tech. The streets were empty bar the road sweepers and robotic workers clearing up after the blizzard, the droids having piled most of the snow from the square up at the edge of town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Square itself was a notice board that housed a map and several laminated posters advertising jobs, adverts and the like. It was the final notice that saw Doug deftly tearing it away from the board and showing his mates whilst The Major was too busy inspecting their surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlright, Red, you were right. We have to be real careful out here\u2026\u201d he whispered as he showed the sheet to Kate. It was a wanted poster, each mercenary displayed on it with their full names written below; Douglas McCracken, Katherine Amelia O\u2019Donnell aka Blaise and Gratin, presumed alias. Doug and Kate\u2019s pictures were the ones taken by the tiny robot back in the warehouse when they had first received the Salmanic job. They weren\u2019t exactly flattering, both mercenaries having been taken by surprise. Kate\u2019s had an expression of shock and annoyance, her nose wrinkled, eyes wide and mouth open mid-yell. Doug\u2019s image looked furious to the point that he looked as though he were about to attack the photographer and, to be fair, that had been more or less what he had attempted to do when the photo was taken. The third photo was almost unrecognisable as the droid had been unable to take a clear photo of the mage at the time. Instead, the authorities or perhaps Salmanic themselves had been forced to find an image of Gratin through other means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The photo depicted a Darkworlder man roughly in his forties that was sitting in student accommodation in the Tserulian monastery; the man sitting in a beanbag chair, a shelf full of candles and crystals behind him with a mural of Tserulia herself hung up on the wall \u2013 a dark skinned woman adorned with silks and an elaborate headdress, her eyes aglow with flame. The man was mid-way through eating a cheese burger, his dark face covered in ketchup and crumbs as he stared up at the photographer with large bluish-green eyes so vibrant they were practically glowing. The detail Doug and Kate honed in on, however, was the large afro that the man sported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doug began to snort as he tried to hold in the laughter, Kate turning to double check that the jawline of the man in the photo matched that of Gratin. It did indeed, Kate covering her mouth as the amusement of Gratin\u2019s old hairstyle became over powering, both she and Doug beginning to roar with laughter at the image, the two clinging to each other for support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do not see what is so funny,\u201d Gratin blandly stated, a deadpan expression on his features. This somehow made the whole thing funnier, the two humans struggling to regain their composure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cS-sorry. It\u2019s just we really didn\u2019t expect the hair!\u201d Kate weakly apologised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be honest, mate, it looked good on you! It\u2019s almost a shame you started shaving your head!\u201d added Doug between laughs. Gratin focused on the notice, grabbing it from Doug\u2019s hand. It ignited into green flame the moment it was out of Doug\u2019s grasp, the paper turning to ash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou were drawing attention to us. It may be wise to collect yourselves,\u201d he stated, the two humans\u2019 laughter slowly subsiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can be a real buzzkill sometimes, Archie,\u201d moaned Doug. Kate patted him on the shoulder as she turned her attention to the map. It depicted Polaris as a whole, the gunslinger trying to get her bearings, ignoring the two bickering men behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It looked as though Polaris was made up of dozens of townships, each one housing the staff of a corporation that each township was centred around. This town was built around the Caracal Tech facility, the building in question developing all manner of vehicles and the fuel that powered them. They even held some military contracts, the town map labelling a separate building specially designated for such projects. Kate started looking at the other townships for a logo that matched the one that the G-men had sported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou said yourself that we needed to be careful, Meatbag. Laughing at a picture like a goon is hardly following that advice,\u201d Gratin was saying, which was only serving to press Doug\u2019s buttons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOi, who\u2019re you calling a goon, Bubble Bonce?\u201d Gratin\u2019s jaw clenched as it often did when he found Doug\u2019s antics especially tiresome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCall me that again and we\u2019ll see what you look like completely bald\u2026\u201d the Mage threatened. Doug responded by leaning in close so that he was inches away from Gratin\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBubble Bonce,\u201d he repeated in menacing tones. Gratin raised a hand and was about to click his fingers when Kate drew their attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAha! Found it!\u201d she exclaimed, oblivious to what was transpiring behind her, \u201cwe\u2019re down here in area 311B \u2013 Frozen bluffs and if you look all the way over here at 151D \u2013 Canyon Forest, their building is this little pentagon down in the canyon. Doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s too far away,\u201d she tapped her finger on the little green \u201cG\u201d entwined with a double helix that had been stuck over the pentagon in question before turning to look at the boys. Her pleased expression was wiped clean when she realised that in the moment Gratin had become distracted by her, Doug had put him in a headlock and was now giving him a noogie, Gratin in turn preparing to give Doug a hotfoot for the indignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…I can\u2019t take you idiots anywhere, can I?\u201d she asked in exasperation, giving the men pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe started it,\u201d they said in unison, each pointing at the other. Kate merely gave them a stern look, causing Doug to reluctantly let go of the mage who in turn set about straightening out his mask and robes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry Love…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy apologies Mistress\u2026\u201d the boys sheepishly said, avoiding her gaze. Kate rolled her eyes and checked their surroundings for anyone that may have noticed the commotion. It was still only four in the morning so the only people out were the sweeper droids and one or two people heading to or from work, the various tests and experiments the laboratories of Polaris took part in taking place at all hours of the day. No one was paying attention to them, not even the Major who was busy admiring the shopfronts. Specifically, a dive bar on the far side of the Square. He licked his lips and turned towards his passengers without taking his eyes off of the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI say, after tonight’s adventures I don\u2019t suppose you chaps fancy a tipple?\u201d he called, attracting the attention of Doug, who quickly realised what the Major was staring at. The bar was called The Neon Arachnid and it looked as though it had seen better days. The three story building in question had one of the windows boarded up, the door had been reinforced with sheet metal and the sign above the door was barely hanging in place, one side having come completely loose from its housing. It appeared to still be open, music playing within. There was also a sign in one of the windows advertising rooms to rent upstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaven\u2019t you had enough for one day?\u201d asked an exasperated Doug. The Major gave him a dirty look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPart of experiencing the local culture involves drinking with the locals. If you wish to show your lady a good time, this establishment is as good a place to start as any. I was asking if you\u2019d like to join me to be polite,\u201d the old man explained. Doug grunted but it was Kate that replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cActually, Mr Morrison, I think we\u2019d like to go for a stroll for now. Stretch our legs after a long flight. You go ahead and we\u2019ll be sure to find you if and when we need you,\u201d she smiled sweetly at him. He tipped his hat to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn that case, good travels my dear. I shall see you later,\u201d and with that, he disappeared into the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not actually gonna use him to get home, are we?\u201d asked an aggravated Doug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat, I\u2019m afraid, depends on how easily we can get a flight out of here at short notice. Come on, I want to find some supplies and some clothes better suited for the environment. Gratin can\u2019t play heater for us forever\u2026\u201d She nodded towards a shop on the left side of the Square that looked a likely candidate for such items and began leading the way over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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