Advent Of A Gunslinger

The airship continued to float over the desert landscape. Just as Vido predicted, the dry air combined with the dust storms made it lethal for anyone to travel by land. The airship would serve as a much better alternative. One in which Axel didn’t have to worry about suffocation from heat exhaustion.

The flight itself would take about four hours total. Which would land Axel where he needed to be right around noon. Just early enough for him to execute what he had planned.

In the meantime, both he and Vido decided to pass their time by playing cards at a table located on the main deck in view of the flight controls. It wasn’t long before Axel sought to sate his curiosity with an inquiry.

“Your ma spoke of you like you’ve been doin’ this for a while,” he said as he looked up from his hand of cards, “Mind tellin’ me how long that is exactly?”

“I’ve been a guide for about ten years now, sir,” Vido explained, drawing another card, “I started off small. Giving people tours of Griffonstone where I lived with my mom and dad. Before long, everyone was super fond of my style and I wanted to expand. And...I’m sure you’re aware of the issues that plagued Griffonstone. What with the region falling heavily to poverty and stuff…”

Of course Axel was aware. Griffonstone was easily the second most tragic place to live after Klugetown itself. Though it mostly depended on what one was able to accomplish despite the problems…

“Which is why you and your mother both relocated to a region where you could potentially find more business.” Axel spoke his thoughts based on what he just heard. “Is that right?”

Vido replied, “That’s correct, sir. It was a bit difficult at first, but mom and I managed to bounce back from it. Also…” He slammed his cards down on the table, revealing a hand that was full of aces, “I win. Fold it, sir!”

“Argh…” Axel placed down his cards and revealed a hand that had nothing but fives and a Queen. “You got me. I’m surprised that you know this game so well. How old are you?”

“Twenty-four,” he replied proudly as he stood up from the table, “You could say that I’m young and proud, sir.”

“Yeah, I could say that,” Axel retorted dryly, “Never would have expected someone out here at such a ripe age. Keep your wits about you, alright?”

Vido would scoff at the lecture with a dismissive wave of his claw. “Oh please! I know what I’m doing. Besides, we’re about to come across a super sick dunas de arena!”

It took Axel a second to comprehend what he had just been told. “...Duna--what?”

Vido would then push Axel towards the right window of the airship. At that point, they had started to float over some of the Bone Dry Desert’s sand dunes.

Which left the hippogriff stallion less than impressed. “...It’s just sand.”

“Not just any ol’ sand!” Vido protested with a wide smile on his face as he started to give him the run-down, “These dunes are home to a crazy, almost unnatural phenomenon. Ever wonder why it’s called the Bone Dry Desert?”

Still as stoic as ever, Axel would reply, “...No. But I have a feeling you’re gonna tell me regardle--”

Before he could finish that sentence, Vido would continue. “It’s because of the ancient, magical, skeletal structures that are buried beneath the sand. When heated up by the sun’s rays, the sand gets reflected off so brightly that you’d swear that there was a gold mine beneath us!”

“Well now,” the gunslinger spoke up with a hint of faint interest in his voice, “I’d like to see that…”

“Oh, you’re about to!” Vido proclaimed, and took a look at his watch. “In about three….two…”

As he previously stated, when they would both look outside, they would see the sand way down below on the ground shine like gold bars. From one end of the horizon to the other, everything would be swathed in the beautiful, shiny yellow hue.

Rather unexpectedly, this actually managed to impress Axel. The stallion leaned upon the railing that was right next to the window as he gazed down. “Huh…” His eyes widened ever so slightly which conveyed the sense that he was impressed. “Hot damn, that’s actually one helluva sight.”

“I know right?!” Vido cheered. “Yes! I knew I could manage to get even the most hardened of gunslingers to appreciate the beauty of nature. Score one for hombre Vido.” With bated excitement, the griffon loomed over his passenger’s shoulder, “There’s a whole lot more I can show you. We have about two hours left before we arrive.”

“Welp, wouldn’t pay to be rude to Mrs. Magpie by not treatin’ her son right.” He thought about it for a second, and settled on allowing the griffon to show him more. “Guess I ain’t got much else to do. Take it away, hombre.”

“Yes!” Vido pumped his fist excitedly, but quickly settled himself down and cleared his throat. “Ahem. I mean, good. Let’s keep it going…”

Over the course of the next hour or so, Vido would show Axel various points of interests and different natural formations. Highlights would include a beach near the ocean that constantly had coconuts fall from the trees, littering the sand with them. As well as a formation of mountains that contained rare minerals that held untapped power. Of course there were also the various cloud formations that caused the extremely dry weather conditions. Such clouds were practically nonexistent above the world’s equator.

“Wow,” Axel made a comment once the tour was more or less finished, “You sure know your stuff.”

“Thank you, sir. I take pride in having knowledge on all sorts of subjects. Your weapons for instance...I couldn’t help but notice the pristine nickel-plating of your six-shooters. That’s a rare style that isn’t exactly around anymore.”

Vido had referred to Axel’s signature weapons that were placed in his thigh holsters. The stallion raised an eyebrow, unconvinced that the griffon would know very much about his family’s possessions. “Is that so? Before I return that nugget of conversation to your side of the field, tell me somethin’, kiddo.”

“No problem, sir. What would you like to know?”

“You...don’t strike me as the type to handle weaponry,” he gave his honest opinion, “You got some experience with ‘em?”

“Guess I may as well show him.” “Yeah you could kind of say that I do. One sec…” Vido reached into his pilot’s jacket, and pulled out what looked like an explosive canister. He then rolled up one of the sleeves on his jacket to expose a gauntlet that he had placed on his right wrist. “This was my old man’s grenade launcher.”

Axel peered at it with a curious stare. “Seems a bit crude...but very easy to conceal. Not bad.”

“Thank you,” Vido responded and started to give a demonstration. He would pantomime the placement of the canister on the wrist launcher. “I’d place it here, and with a press of a button, my little projectile goes flying with enough accurate velocity to fly as straight as a bullet for a good hundred yards or so, señor!”

“That sounds mighty fine. Would love to see it in action, but this ain’t a weapon’s tour.” “Sounds excitin’,” Axel admitted, “But I gotta focus on gettin’ where I need to go. How much longer?”

Vido hovered over to the airship’s controls in order to get a reading. “Let’s see...ah, we should arrive in half an hour. Now keep in mind, Mr. Remington, Klugetown is a very hostile locale and will shoot down any unknown aircraft that gets too close. I’m going to set us down about a mile away, and you should be able to make it there with little difficulty. Do you have enough water to stay hydrated?”

Axel showed him a canteen that he had stored within his leather jacket. “Right here.”

“Alrighty...and what are you gonna do once you get down there?”

The gunslinger would check both of his revolvers by taking them out of their holsters for a quick spin. “Get to Klugetown--get info on how to find Abyssinia, and go to Panthera.”

“...I see. Pretty risky, sir. That place isn’t on any map I’ve ever seen--and trust me, I know my maps. That’s gonna be a tall order...wh-what makes you think they’ll cooperate?”

As soon as Axel had finished his weapon check, he sheathed both of his guns. “I never said I was askin’ ‘em. I’m takin’ whatever info I can get. That’s that.”

Not unlike his mother from earlier, the griffon was a bit worried for the hippogriff. Given that he was part-pony, the risk of being captured for body parts was still there. As a result, he felt compelled to join him. “...I can help you. As a griffon, they won’t mess with me. Our body parts aren’t of any use to them. They take ponies because--”

“What they do with someone else’s bodies ain’t none’uh my business,” Axel remarked, “All I’m worried about is my family. And that should be your priority also. You need to turn right back around and go to your ma to show her that you’re safe.” He turned to the window where he could see Klugetown’s various junk buildings over the horizon. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

“But sir, I--!”

There was no stopping him. He refused to let someone get mixed up in what he was dealing with. “...Don’t sass me, son. I don’t need you riskin’ your neck for someone ya barely know. This is a family matter, ya hear?”

Vido caught the hint, and decided to give up early. Ultimately, the situation would be much less complicated to navigate that way. “...Understood sir. Preparing to land now.”

“At long last,” he thought to himself as the ship started to make its descent, “Time to reap.”