Adventure of Xionshi höd 2

Xionshi höd awakens beneath a pale, unfamiliar sky. Tall grass ripples across rolling hills, broken by dark trees and distant stone ridges. No structures, signals, or machines answer his scans.

His visor populates with warning glyphs, then stutters. The malfunctioning augment flashes fragments: RELOCATION, VECTOR UNKNOWN, CAUSALITY UNRESOLVED. Each line collapses into static.

Diagnostic pulses crawl through his cybernetics. The chest plate stays responsive, but the augment refuses a stable timestamp or any trace of the event that brought him here.

From beyond a low rise comes the creak of wooden wheels, followed by hoofbeats and several voices carried on the wind. The travelers are still hidden from sight.

A narrow track winds toward the rise. Nearby grass offers concealment, while the open ground provides a clear view of whoever approaches. Nothing else moves in the landscape.

The hoofbeats draw closer, steady and unhurried. Xionshi höd remains alone between the cover and the track as the unseen travelers near.

Xionshi höd slips into the treeline, placing each footfall beneath the wind and the creak of the approaching cart. Shadow and layered foliage conceal his silhouette.

The cart rises over the track’s crest: a broad wooden vehicle drawn by two compact, six-legged animals wearing simple harnesses. Three travelers ride aboard.

The driver tightens the reins. A passenger lifts a long metal instrument from beneath a canvas sheet, its lens sweeping the treeline with a faint blue glow.