((Do we have rations or similar? He's talking about campsites, after all.))
"What's the plant life like, then? Is the fauna hostile? Have you gotten samples of anything analyzed?
And, if you don't mind me asking, why won't you be coming with us all the way? Just the obvious?"
(You can assume you have food if you want to eat. Food and water have never really been a big thing in this since it's not really the focus, but you can assume you have some rations and water in that bag of yours. Though you'll have to eat it fast...)
"Never seen any thing I'd call a plant outside of the Dead Forest. And those trees ain't hostile. I'm not even sure if they're alive. Hell, I'm not sure anything in there is really alive by our standards.
And I'm not coming with you because my desire to live is greater then my curiosity."
Milno stares at the map before turning to the man.
"So the path is actually simple. And why are you parting ways with us at the Dead Forest? Do you think the Lighteater will want to finish the job it started?" he asks, nodding towards the man's destroyed arm.
"I've been through that abyss for years. Spent weeks in there. I have no desire to stay any longer then I have to. And the walk from here to there should be more then enough time to get you all acquainted with the realities of that place. "
Thank you. But - I don't see any weapons on you. A psychokinetic amp, I suppose?
Neither you appear to have a gas mask. Is the atmosphere there breathable, then?
((Also, if I happened to overhear that response of Steve:))
Then shouldn't a relay or a pair of those installed at the entrance - probably on the both sides, then connected to each other by mundane cables - increase that communication range of yours, Steve?
"I don't have weapons. And the atmosphere in there is breathable, somewhat. The oxygen is thin, too little for most people, the like summit of a mountain. I'm used to it, but you better wear that helmet of yours."
The man cuts into your conversation with Steve.
"Won't work." He shakes his head, "You're still thinking about it in this world's terms. That will get you killed. Things don't work the same way in there. You'll see what I mean."
((I took one from Niks dead body. No respect for the dead and what-not.))
Thomas turns towards the man.
"What's the environment like in there? Is it cold?"
"The plains are near freezing, and the Dead forest is even colder. It gets worse the farther you go."
Can I see that map? I'd like to make a copy of it on my wrist computer, and I can keep it updated from there. It may be, well, no offence, crude, but it's what we have. As for the denizens, the Lighteater, as you call it, seems harmless enough, so long as it isn't aggravated, but what else do we know about it? Is it attracted to light, as the name might suggest? Is it sentient? And as for the pitted lands, how big around are the pits? How closely grouped together? Is there radio distortion within any part of the anomaly? Anything that could scramble electronic equipment?
(The map is in an earlier post. Mason has it)
"Everything in there is attracted to light. I don't know if it's sentient, but it's no stupid animal. Pits and all the spaces in between them vary. The path takes you through them safely. Shouldn't be a problem. And yeah, radios won't work at any distance over about 100 meters. "