there's some weird things goin on in these here plains

      The forest darkened again soon after they left. The areas the shadows hadn't made it to yet, were crawling with tiny spiders, as though the ground was moving, itself. Oolah, who disliked spiders more than Van, blazed a trail with explosive sling bullets, while Van made sure there was nothing overhead for them to fall on them from. With all the explosions, they hardly noticed the stampede until it was visible. Soon it was like an earthquake. An impossible number of grazing wildlife was bearing down on them. Oolah said, "We'll never outrun it," then added, "and most of those trees, maybe all of them, will not be worth the climbing. Created for us platform!"

     There was still a few minutes to spare. Van looked around, eyeing all the trees, some already downed, some still standing. Choosing A large trunk, he chopped the ends of then rip cut it, splitting it in half. It took a minute to coax the Erlokas onto it, the stampede heading ever closer, then followed them. Van created ebon chains to lift up the tree, while helping Oolah keep the Erlokas calm and in place. Soon the stampede thundered under them as he moved their makeshift swing over them, high enough to avoid the worst of the dust. It turned out being much larger then Van had imagined. This was lighter then his makeshift passenger platforms, but normally he could take breaks. His relic had been growing closer, his power growing, yet still he felt it starting to wane. Beads of sweat broke out on his head. It did not go unnoticed, as the log swing begin shake and occasionally sway, Oolah climbed over the Erlokas (having been on the other side of them), and quietly, without saying a word, wiped the sweat off his brow, kissed his cheek, then placed her hands over his. Closing his eyes he tried finding more strength within himself, dredging up every last once of it. He'd slowly drop a few feet, only to gain back only one. Soon, they would get hit by some of the taller creatures. 

     "I can see the end, just a little longer." Oolah whispered. Van was grinding his teeth, his eyes shut tight and streaming. He'd grown pale and was shaking.  He was on the verge of passing out... Did Oolah say something? Oolah... he couldn't let this happen to her. He tried rallying again, only managing to stop the tree trunk that had been inching downward. Then the explosions started, startling his eyes open. Smiling, he lowered them to the ground as slow as he could, still giving them a rough landing. They had grown close enough to the rear of the herd for Oolah to blow up the remaining charging grazers. At first when she attacked the center, it was almost replaced immediately by those on the sides, so she had to cut a wider swath, throwing off her original calculations. Hers was not an effort not much less then Vans, some of the grazers almost hitting them as they tumbled and skidded to a halt, careening wildly and crashing into each other. Finally, the crisis was over. "Hungry?" Oolah asked, before sitting down roughly.

      Drained as they were they made camp right there, hoping predators wouldn't be moving in too soon. At first they took turns resting and watching. The fire was small, and they didn't bother with a tent, mostly just leaning on the Erlokas making it easier for them to issue warnings. Luckily, they never did. They awoke to the arrival of the carrion birds, even before it was light. It was close enough to morning, however, and Oolah restarted the fire and cooked some breakfast. Van longed for eggs, for biscuits and gravy. Still, something about Oolahs cooking made him perfectly satisfied. Then, picking their way over the remnants of yesterdays saving explosions, they continued on their way. Morning had dawned and as they scanned the plains wondered at the near complete absence of predators. It was around midday they started seeing some, victims of the stampede, as well as grazers. By nightfall their number had grown, and were numbered and placed similarly to how you'd see them alive. They camped, and early the next morning, after a short distance was travelled, they were gone again. Once again the plain grew empty and mysterious, yet somehow disturbing in it's silence and stillness.

     That night, the Erlokas woke them, and they felt the rumble immediately. another stampede? So soon?  "We'll go sideways this time!" Exclaimed Van, creating a platform a foot beneath the camp, lifting it all up, smoldering campfire and all. "Let's hope this one isn't as wide as the other one was long!" It had been almost morning when they were roused from sleep so they were still fleeing when dawn arrived. That's when they noticed, this time it was predators, all of them. Luckily the stampede was indeed, longer then the other was wider, and before long Van safely landed them.

     "Oolah?" asked Van, "Do you think the cause of these stampedes might be involved with what we're here for?"

     "I couldn't say," she answered him, "none of this seems natural."

      "What about the trail?" asked Van.

     "Oh, we lost that days ago." laughed Oolah, "but given it's patterns and last known directions, If we go that way, I will reattain it."

     "Hope there's no more stampedes." commented Van. "It did liven things up a bit."

     The plains never did become normal again. It was around midday when they saw a dark line on the horizon. Getting closer revealed it was another massive herd. However, this one was not like the others, far from them, actually. Predators and grazer alike were there, but as if there was some great madness had fallen upon them all. Everything was attacking everything. Even the usually docile grazers charged and tried to gore opponents with whatever ill made yet, massive weapons they could bring to bear. 

      Oolah and Van started their way around, giving the grand melee a wide berth, occasionally slaughtering something that seemed to take issue with their nearby presence enough to come after them. Oolah led the way, trying to keep their course at least roughly in the direction they wanted to go.