Verlon had a fitful rest. He would twitch awake at every minor movement from his companion, who seemed not to notice as he sat on the edge of the crater sharpening his sword. That combined with the constant loud noises made it difficult to fall back asleep. The rest he got, however, was good and he awoke invigorated as the other man approached.

He rubbed his eyes and brushed his frizzy hair out of his eyes. The sun’s light shone through the steam, illuminating the entire place. The red glow of the trees vanished at some point during the night, as did the pulsating veins.

“Ah! Good morning, my friend.” Stefen said as he stopped his half-outstretched arm.

“Morning.” He stood and ate some of his rations as the two went about their morning routines. Soon, however, it came time to depart. “Well… it’s been a pleasure.”

“Indeed, indeed.” Stefen paused for a moment before speaking again. “Hey… listen, why don't we uh, travel together? We are both heading to the Graviton Highlands, right? Safety in numbers and all of that.”

Verlon took a drink of his Endless Flask, as he looked out towards the steamy tree line. Stefen had been rather helpful so far, and it would be nice to travel with someone for a change. “Hmm… We can, through the Steamglade. I'm headed to the Floating Mesa though. Headed in the same direction?”

Maybe he should join a fireteam of his own. Being part of a team would expand his horizons, allowing him to do more than just scouting runs. And yet, he didn’t want to. He would have to split part of the funds if he joined a team and he would have to find a team okay with his constant stops to write in his journal. Not many Seekers doubled as scouts, if even just to make some extra coins like him. Not that he was complaining. The more scouts outside the walls, the more his profit margin would be cut into.

“I’m afraid not… My fireteam should be waiting at the Mechanus Outpost. I think it’s in the opposite direction.”

The young man pulled out his journal and flipped through the worn pages until he arrived at a map of the contamination zones. The map was unfortunately only filled in through the Graviton Highlands since he couldn’t get access to records about the tier-four contamination zones. The Floating Mesa was inside of the tier three zone a quarter of the way in and to the west, closer to the Shadow Ocean. The Mechanus Outpost sat on the dividing line between three zones. Two of them were tier two: Steamglade and the Cracked Swamp to its south, and the southern edge of the tier three zone: Graviton Highlands.

It appeared that Stefen had gotten lost quite badly as it would take a couple days of travel just to reach the outpost. “You’ve got a far walk.”

“That bad? I only wandered about the Steamglade for a few days though…” Stefen sighed as he dragged a hand across his face. “Too bad I lost my navigation equipment. If only I still had a compass.”

He took one last look at the Fallen on the other side of the crater. Of course, he inspected its body to see if it had anything useful during his watch, but it didn't, which was quite annoying. At least other beasts had useful parts of their body. The Fallen couldn’t compare in that regard, for better or worse.

Verlon was tempted to bury the corpse, but it would take too much time to dig a wide enough hole, and some other beast would just dig it up again, so it was a wasted effort. He sighed deeply before hopping over the dirt wall and moving north. Stefen was quick to follow, though he remained silent as they entered the whistling tree line.

The trip was about as expected. Nothing attacked them, which was nice. Probably because they avoided any and all conflict. It just wasn’t worth fighting a beast near trees that could blast a hole through your chest the next moment. Since nothing got in their way, they made a rather good pace.

The weather was about as annoying as always, though it - and the ambient steam - cleared up the further they headed north. Eventually, around mid-afternoon based on his pocket watch, the steam cleared up entirely as rough winds blew through the trees.

Almost as if displaced by the wind, the forest of the Steamglade lost its density and color slowly returned to the land. First, it was just a single blade of yellowish grass. Then two, then hundreds as the saturation returned. Soon the entire land turned green once more, though the grass turned equal parts moss-covered rocks as they exited the Steamglade.

They continued on, climbing up a vibrantly green hill. Blue skies were on the horizon and he could see the tips of mountains just over the edge. Occasionally, while the wind blew in their direction, his Mire-counter would tick twice as fast before returning to its normal rate, signifying their proximity to the Graviton Highlands.

His stamina was half worn out as they finally crested the hill. The Graviton Highlands lay before him in all their splendor. They were… it was breathtaking, really. He had a hard time putting into perspective just how beautiful the tier-three zone was compared to the past two.

Vibrant colors danced along every surface of the land. Large hills, siphoned off from the rest of the land by cliffs of rock, hung over the countless valleys in between the ice-capped mountains. The mountains themselves were true mountains, unlike the rock spires of the Craggy Chasms. They stood over the land, basking in the sun as their rock surfaces shaded their surroundings. Trees were far and few between, only clustered about giant boulders that would take a giant to push. The constant winds of the Graviton Highlands ensured trees were only in the few pockets of protection.

Lockes sat about the place as rivers flowed freely around the bends and curves of the land, carving out ravines of dark rock. The gathered water sparkled with the light of the sun, casting light even around the shaded areas. The waters looked as pure as could be with the occasional chunk of ice floating through them.

The true appeal, and why the tier three contamination zone was named “Graviton”, came in the form of the anti-gravitational fields scattered about. Shadows covered larger areas than the mountains could, cast by gargantuan floating chunks of land. Some floated at high altitudes, their landscapes impossible to see from so far below. Some floated at low altitudes, boulders hanging alongside them as if they were imperial guards. Massive vines, almost like something out of a children’s book, snaked between the boulders and the islands. Occasionally, the vine would reach all the way down to the ground, offering green bridges towards the sky.

The entire place looked picturesque as if it was pulled right out of a painting. Such a place, however, was not the utopia it seemed at first glance. The danger was everywhere as beasts stalked the land. Stormhounds were one such danger, though Gravitc Wyrms posed far more danger. That wasn’t even mentioning the Gargantus, monolithic beasts that looked like hills as they snacked on the rich moss of the land.

The saving grace of the zone lay in its lack of danger regarding the environment and plant life. The flying rocks that gave the zone its name were stable and very rarely dropped from their orbit. The biggest danger in the land was for those inexperienced in navigating the occasional cliffs and drop-offs. The plants weren’t too bad, as long as he avoided the obviously poisonous ones and the occasional copse of trees. Razoroot and razor pines were the two types of trees in the Graviton Highlands and were quite nasty.

The Graviton Highlands was also the go-to location for treasure hunting Seekers. Due to its massive size - the tier three contamination zone covering several times more area than the first two zones combined - there were countless stretches of unexplored lands. Add on the unusually high amount of ruins scattered about and it was a recipe for treasure. He never had the pleasure of finding such a ruin, at least an unraided one, but he still hoped for one just like the rest of the Seekers who passed through.

The chances were high he would eventually find one. Scholars suspected the Graviton Highlands were the ancient civilization’s capital providence due to the noticeably higher ruin rate. Theorizing about such things sat above his pay grade, though he often speculated the same thing. It was the only logical reason for such an inconsistency, though this opinion came with limited knowledge. He still wasn’t sure about the zones higher ranks could access, so maybe the quantity of ruins directly corresponded to the miasma rates. If such a thing were true, sections of purple-tier zones must be massive cities.

Even if he found one though, there was a low chance he could successfully raid a ruin by his lonesome. There was a reason higher-rank Seekers joined fireteams, and it was due to the increased danger of not only the contamination zones but also the ruins that lay within. The occasional trap was to be expected back in the ruins of the last two zones. Here, and further in, he had heard tales of constructs prowling about their creator’s homes as eternal guardians. Such a thing was frightening, to say the least.

The higher miasma rates also promoted the idea of treasure. Sure there was more danger thanks to the miasma, but also more harvestable plant and animal life. Most animals had something nice to be harvested from their corpses, such as Gravitic Wyrm's anti-gravity pearls. There were some plants in the graviton highlands that even had near mystical power such as increasing a person's strength or durability. One such plant was part of the reason he had accepted his particular contract.

“Always quite beautiful, ay?” Stefen said from the side as he took a deep breath of the surprisingly refreshing air.

“Yeah.” He would love for his sister to see this kind of place. She always loved nature, even if she had never left the city. If it wasn’t for all of the danger in coming out here, he would bring her along. Maybe he should look at a tourist service? He should have enough money after this contract. They were quite reliable out to at least the tier-three contamination zones. But they were so damned expensive…

Speaking of Robin, he quite missed her these days. She was his only family after all, and even just a couple days' distance made him worry about her. She could take care of herself, of course, just as she had the past times he had been gone. It's just... well, he was her older brother. He couldn't help but worry. But, seeking was a job that needed to be done so he could get a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.

“You mind if I check your map?” Stefen walked over closer as he dropped his MP18 onto its sling. He still faintly smelled of ozone from the encounter with the Fallen. It wasn't as though there was a spot to bathe and Verlon was sure he also smelled fiercely even after his attempts to clean up.

He reached into his satchel and pulled out his leather-bound journal. He then flipped to a bookmarked page and handed it over. “Just be careful.”

Stefen took the offered journal and looked at it for a long moment. On occasion, he would look up and down before turning to a different angle and repeating the process. After a while, he handed it back over. “Thank you.”

“You uh, you confident about making it to the Mechanus Outpost?” He asked. He rather liked the bruiser and it would be a shame if he died out here.

Stefen laughed in an over-exaggerated conceitful manner. “Why of course! You are talking to the Stefen Lockheart, the greatest Seeker this side of the empire!” His smile lost some of its mirth as he stuck out his hand. “In truth, I’m not too worried. I'll be walking along the boundary line and- well, you know how skittish beasts are around the boundary. It's been a pleasure, Verlon.”

He accepted the handshake. The bruiser's grip was stronger than his own, probably through years of swinging a longsword if he had to guess. “Likewise.”

“And hey, if you’re ever in my area, we should meet up. It’s rare that I actually enjoy the company of someone in Endenheim.”

Verlon opened a new page and wrote ‘Stefen Lockheart’ at the top. “Of course. Preshen?”

“Damn, I really have gone far off track.” He shook his head. “No, my fireteam is based in Drahtstadt.”

Drahtstadt was several times bigger than Preshen. It was also the closest place a person could find a train to wrap around the Iron Mountains and to the imperial capital. "If I’m ever there, I’ll try to look you up.”

“Until then.” Stefen gave him one last nod before heading off towards the southeast. Verlon watched him for a time before returning to his own mission. The sooner he got down, the sooner he could get back home. Unfortunately, he still had a ways to go to visit the Floating Mesa.