[i]The next day...[/i] 

A small rock tumbled down the slope, clattering against the stones. Lucius, Selencia, and some of the survivors gazed up to the source, and whilst my head didn't move, my gaze flicked in that direction. Emmaline had not bothered herself to turn, trying to leap over a small crevasse and balancing, using her hefty front side as a ballast. Luckily, it seemed to be some odd, vaguely reptilian critter scampering out of a hiding place. 

The sun beat down on us, which I was not very keen on. The valley was far too wide open, and though some of it was covered in the dense foliage of the planet's subtropical forest, much of it was bare rock raised high above on both sides. Anyone with a weapon that could lob a projectile could hit us and we would be at a severe disadvantage. I felt my team was prepared in most situations, but it was times like this I could ascertain just where I had missed on my conditioning of them. Emmaline and Selencia were both unused to the field, and Lucius had the iron confidence of a post-human, unaccustomed to finding the flaw in letting a potential sniper know you might have spotted their location. I walked casually, but careful eyes could see I moved from shadow to shadow when I could, always keeping the sun at my back and keeping whatever foliage there was between me and a potential vantage point for a rifleman. Clara moved much the way I did, but I felt it was more for her role of protection than camouflage on her part. 

"How much further?" Emmaline called, and she cursed when she nearly stumbled. The blonde took off a shoe and hopped while she shook out a loose pebble. 

"Don't yell," I said back as quietly as I could while reaching her ears. "Just a few more miles."

I did not want to be harsh. We would talk about it later, and her bright eyes showed she understood the need for discretion so she buttoned her lip and hustled over to my position at the fore. 

"I thought we needn't worry here?" She asked me more softly. I felt she merely wanted to make conversation, but I wouldn't begrudge her that. It allowed me a small distraction from the heat. 

"We shouldn't, but in my line of work it always pays to be careful." I told her, then smirked as our shoulders brushed. "Our line of work." 

She flashed a smile. "I fear I'm much better in urban subterfuge, Lord Drakos." 

We turned a corner, and were met by a sight that stilled the reply on my tongue. Emmaline gave a very dry "Oh," when she looked up. Before us, the path ended in a wall of stones and boulders that stacked up above us like a feudal world's wall. By my thoughts, it piled up slightly taller than Lucius, which made it well over 4 meters in height. It seemed recently fallen, as well, if the scratch marks and the lack of sediment were any indication. 

"Well that is problematic," Emmaline said dryly, crossing her arms under her chest. Behind us, I heard Lucius Raj trudging up to our position. I heard his intake of breath, and he was so powerfully built I even felt a small breeze from the action. Selencia walked up to our position and eyed the obstacle with her keen eye. 

"I can go through it, but it might take some time." Raj said. I glanced at Emmaline to see if the prospect worried her, and she shrugged. I felt for the hilt of my power sword, knowing it was fully capable of carving through ceramite, and so mere stone would be easy. However, I felt unless I were cutting through a completely stable surface, I could easily be crushed. An ignominious end to my career that, by most Inquisitorial standards, had just begun.