#so. I did reduce the difficulty back to very hard for the hunting trials bc I was dying almost instantly in the control trial and there was

[one-of-many-journeys]

Day 67

Longnotch

I left Longnotch in a light blizzard, heading north west to the Snowchant mountains. I passed a group of hunters training near the salt beds as they were attacked by Daemonic Watchers. I stayed to help take them down. Even after weeks, Hephaestus' infection clings to most of the machines in the area.

Lauvuk was surprised to see me back again, in her muted Banuk way. I could tell she wanted to see me best Aratak's time almost as much as I did.

First, I tried out my new Stormslinger, taking down Scrappers and Watchers, as well as a Ravager in record time to earn myself the top spot. I struggled a little with the volatility of the weapon, shock building up and kicking back as I fired, but the improvements Varga made rendered the trial an easy win.

This time, I bested Aratak's time with thirty seconds to spare. I used the same strategy as I had last time, but honed my speed against the Frostclaws by concentrating on their freeze units and chillwater sacs near-exclusively, keeping them anchored with rope to stop them from launching themselves at me. The modifications I've made to my weapons in the meantime gave me the edge I needed to succeed.

Heading back to Song's Edge, a pack of Scrappers attacked and knocked me from my mount. I stopped to take them out, otherwise they'd have been shooting laser blasts at me all the way across the flats.

The ruins of old vehicles by Hollow Hall. I found some datapoints in the area.

Moving south to Song's Edge. Furanhi and Hishavan had cleared out of their camp along with the other Carja outlanders. They left their shelter and furniture here too. Must have been in a hurry to leave once they found out about the rogue Banuk killers from Inatut.

Back in Song's Edge, I spectated a few sparring matches—posturing between members of different Weraks.

I met up with the group of huntresses I helped yesterday. I may have boasted about my new time for the Chieftain's Trial. Is it boasting if it's true? I decimated Aratak's record.

I spent the night in the village. Beginning the journey to Gaia Prime tomorrow.