Ep 1.5 - Vantage Points (Closed)

[Feldspar]

The pavement curved around the corner of the building. It led through the parking lot; there were neat-swept sidewalks.

In front of him some distance away were the two hikers he'd seen come out of the store, and behind them...

Was the falls.

White water plummeted straight down off the top of the tall cliff. Even from where he stood, Max could probably make out that this waterfall was huge; nearly two hundred meters from top to bottom. It flung itself past ferns and trees, past huge expanses of mottled stone. Branching lines of pale froth drew images like constantly changing lightning along the edges before they were naturally pulled back by gravity into the cascade of water.

Broadleaf Maples lined the edges, growing steadily from between the moss-covered boulders. It was green, everything around it was green and growing in the damp air. There was a slight sheen to all the leaves; they were saturated constantly in mist.

The water appeared to fall twice before it came to a swirling, misty pool. Then it tumbled down the hillside once more.

Across that pool was stretched a bridge. It was an elegant creation about forty five feet long.

In architectural terms, it was a parabolic open spandrel barrel arch span. It appeared to be solid concrete, but reinforced by steel most likely. Topping each of the spandrel colums was a transition between the structural deck and open balustrade railing.

It fit the space well, like the lodge down below. From an older time though, none of the flashy glass and bright steel. No tiny row houses painted pastel in neat rows. This was a building and bridge built to withstand time, but it was also one done with obvious pride and care in the design.

There were orange cones and yellow safety tape marking a big gaping hole in it though;the damage the couple had been talking about earlier.

The trail pointers guided him on, and another sign pointed to the Wahkeena trail head at the base of the falls. Several rising switchbacks could be seen through the trees, lined with split rail fencing.

Spray flecked into the air the closer he got to that sign. A woman walking a Labarador appeared out of the brush lined trail. The dog had a soggy tennis ball tucked into his mouth and on seeing Max, he wagged a friendly hello, straining on his leash to reach him.

"Come on, leave him alone," the woman chided the dog as she tugged on the lead. "Not everyone we meet wants to play ball with you." A polite smile was flashed Max's way. "Morning!"

[Deleted]

Of all the sights he had seen thus far, it was the bridge that had caught Max's attention the longest.

He had lingered back to examine it before continuing up the trail, his hands in his pockets. While the mist of the falls swirled in the air and dampened the clothing of his holomatter avatar he had stood off the path and studied it critically. Like the lodge it looked old, green with moss in places, but was a clean, simple design. He liked simple designs. Simple, efficient, and lasting. They were, in his mind, the truest testament to ingenuity that architecture could provide.

It was a shame about the damage. But it looked hardy. With a little help and reconstruction, it would endure.

Max was still thinking absently about it when the dog first appeared on the trail.

The motion it made as it tugged on the end of its leash startled him. Max's thoughts returned sharply to the present as he stopped and unconsciously backed up a step, his forearm raised. For an instant his expression darkened as he remembered a great beast lunging across the snow, intent on the attack -

And then he felt foolish.

It was just a dog. An ordinary black dog, being walked by a smiling woman.

Max relaxed.

"Morning," he said. He awkwardly lowered his arm and eyed the dog. "It's okay. I'm used to - dogs. Don't worry about it."

[Feldspar]

The dog, being a Labrador (Labradork?) Retriever had absolutely no clue that Max raising his arm was body language meaning that it shouldn't probably approach. That would have been the sensible dog thing to consider but... nope.

Cheerfully ignoring everything, it leaned into the flat collar the moment Max lowered his arm without even seeming to quite comprehend that he had raised it in the first place. Wagging until it bent nearly in half, it hauled its owner over closer - even though the poor woman was digging her hiking shoes into the trail and leaving a furrow in the pine duff and dirt.

It was pretty obvious that as far as dog intelligence that this dog wasn't the brightest bulb in the basket.

It was a very happy basket though, and it smiled up at Max through a mouthful of disgusting tennis ball, slimed with drool. The long tongue hung out the side. It spat the ball out at his feet and made some inarticulate noise, the tail thrashing at the air. It had a broad head and feet the size of tea-plates and it grinned up at him with doggish joy, whuffling the air.

Apparently the dog was having the best day ever. Of course the next person he met would also be the best day ever. Probably the person after that too. In fact the whole world was full of people and people were awesome. Not as awesome as ball but still pretty awesome.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry that he startled you," was the woman's immediate response on seeing Max's reaction. She appeared to be middle aged as humans went, and also seemed incredibly apologetic about her big black beast. "Rudy, knock it off, come on, don't be a pest."

She looked down at the dog. "He's friendly, honest. He's just big and dumb."

[Deleted]

Max nodded warily. It really didn't seem all that bright.

But happy.

And strong. It had all but dragged the woman off her feet in its effort to examine him more closely. Max looked down at it with a frown. He'd never encountered a dog that was affable before. Those he had met on Cybertron had been either data cassettes - there to provide additional protection or processing power to their carriers - or war beasts, designed and forged for combat. Their specs didn't leave always leave room for personality.

He didn't know what humans used their dogs for. Walking, apparently.

"He looks it," said Max. "Friendly, I mean. Rudy, is it?"

Moving slowly, one eye on the dog, he bent and picked up the tennis ball. And immediately regretted it. Max shifted his fingers in disgust, trying to find a place on the ball that wasn't coated in slime. He raised his brow at the dog.

"You want this?" he said.

[Feldspar]

At Max's mention of his name, the dog's tail thrashed from side to side, displaying his delight at hearing it. It about bent itself into a circle with joy and then danced around for a second, the big broad mouth grinning widely. The brown eyes crinkled and squinted, the ears lifted and came forward to frame him between them. It danced on the ground, hopping from one paw to another with unrestrained eagerness.

"Yep, Rudy," the woman said, and exhaled slightly that the tension seemed to have passed. She must have just surprised him on the way down. Then again, her dog tended to be a force of nature in his own right; a box of rocks but the happiest box of rocks that ever walked the planet. Well if boxes of rocks went anywhere under their own power.

"Sorry for startling you like that, he just likes everyone. Well, and anyone. He's really friendly."

This was said in the embarrassed way of someone who knew their dog was a freight train. A happy, friendly freight train but still one that would knock you over out of sheer exuberance and then go 'ooops' as it ran by and knocked you over again.

The dog's eyes rounded. They reflected Max in the shiny, bright curve; the mech would be able to see his avatar; jeans, flannel shirt, the scruff of his beard... and the ball held out in his hand like it was the dog version of the Matrix. Maybe it was.

That ball was quite slimy. In fact, there was not a square dry inch to set his fingers on. It was warm. It was... squishy. And wet. Oh was it wet. There were some pine needles stuck to it but the dog didn't seem to notice or care. Rudy thunked his big bottom square on the ground and looked up at Max, and then promptly decided to pull out his big bag of tricks.

He reached up a paw in an attempt to shake Max's hand in trade for the precious.

[Deleted]

For a an instant Max stared blankly at the dog. It wanted something of him. So why was it holding up its –

Oh.

The answer clicked. It did want the ball, and it was silently asking him for it in the way it had been trained to do. Max relaxed. Commands and training. These were things he understood clearly enough.

He eyed the dog with some amusement.

“Yeah, I thought so,” he said. FeelIng a little foolish, he crouched onto one knee in front of the dog and took its paw.

Shook it stoically, without smiling.

“Here,” he said, and held out the tennis ball. “You’re more than welcome to have this back.”

[Feldspar]

The Labrador looked at him, wide mouthed and smiling. The tongue flopped out of the corner over the white teeth, the eyes were shiny. It panted out what appeared to be a laugh.

Rudy practically quivered with delight as Max crouched and reached out a hand; apparently the mech had passed his crash course in dog-speak with flying colors. The tail was blurring so fast behind the dog that it swept an area on the trail clean. Pine needles and tiny Cedar cones went flying off into the green plants that thickly lined both sides.

The dog's foot was heavy. Rudy's pawpads were thick and rough; the dog's toes spread in Max's palm and the big nails curled around his fingers. It didn't claw him, and really, the nails weren't sharp, they were rounded at the tips. Well, this human likely walked her dog quite a bit.

The animal was warm and he rocked politely over one hip, not shoving weight against Max's hand. Rudy exercised every diplomatic skill he had; don't get grabby. Sit. Stay. He waited, fixated on that green orb.

When Max held it out to him, he reached out and carefully glomped the ball out of his hand. Not a tooth touched, just a whuffle of warm breath - and a sneaky little lick to the palm of his avatar's hand. If he noticed the lack of scent or something strange about Max, he sure didn't react in the slightest.

Once Rudy had the ball again, he waited for Max to stand back up before he leapt to his feet and wagged himself sideways, happy as could be. He lifted his head and pranced a few steps forward, ready to head down the trail to find his next ball sharing victim.

The woman laughed. "Thanks," she said to Max as the dog started to pull her down the trail towards the parking lot. "Rudy, heel. Rudy -- ah, I guess we're going."

"You made his whole day," she called over her shoulder as the dog cheerfully bounded ahead of her, straining at the leash. "Well, until he meets the next person. Then they'll make it too. Have a nice hike, it's beautiful up there today!"

Then they were gone, and the only sound was the thunder and rush of the falls tumbling down. Ahead of him, the trail was wide open, leading up to a fairly quick rise and the first of many switchbacks.

[Deleted]

"Thanks," said Max.

He stepped back to give the woman room to pass. When she walked past him he gave her a nod of his head and a quick smile. The dog seemed to take up the most space as it eagerly tugged at the leash and wagged, leading the way down the trail.

Max stood and watched them until they had disappeared around a bend. Even then he still heard the thud of the dog's paws as it romped along the path. It took a long time for the sound to fade into the distance. It had been a friendly animal, he reflected. Maybe not that smart. But polite, well-trained. And good-natured.

With a grimace he wiped his palm against the thigh of his jeans. And damp.

Before long the forest was quiet again. Max listened to the rustle of the branches and the distant roar of the falls. A fine mist still hung in the air between the trees, growing thinner as he walked the trail. Ahead of him the landscape rose, climbing swiftly. He found himself wondering how high it would go, what elevation the next set of coordinates would lead him.

Well, only one way to find out. Max thumbed back the strap of his knapsack and turned and resumed his hike up the trail.

[Feldspar]

The trail led Max upwards, taking him up past the deep bowl where the bottom part of the falls plummeted into before roaring off down the second part of the falls. Cool droplets swirled up and caught the light, flicking rainbows across the gap.

Overhead, the maple trees kept most of the sunlight the ground, but it in places it dappled and shimmered. The cloud cover was slowly burning off; blue peeped through the branches here and there.

As he walked on, it switched back and forth up the side of the cliff, rising steadily. It was groomed neatly, this path, walked on by hundreds of thousands of hikers; no dangerous rocks to scuff into your boots and send you tumbling. The split rail fencing was set and taken care of. It was a welcome handhold to steady yourself on or lean on if needed.

It would take him a good half an hour to hike up to the top of the falls. There was a curved viewpoint with low stone walls, and a solid barrier between observers and the water; a wood and iron curve. The boards up here were slippery with blow-back water from the falls. There was so much moisture in the air it shimmered and twisted upwards from the spill.

He'd run into no one else, the trail was quiet. There were no other humans he passed this morning. The only things that Max would hear were birds, chattering and chirping, bouncing along through the treetops and the brush that lined the drop.

The trail curved out from the observation point, and headed either east or west. There was an old sign post that pointed out that to the east it was .5 miles to Benson Lake, 1 mile to Wahkeena Falls, and to the west it was .8 miles to Many Water Falls.

Either way he decided to go, the coordinates that the courier had written on the brochure seemed to be smack dab almost center in the trail.

[Deleted]

His avatar walked the trail with steady, untiring strides. His only company was the birds in the trees, and the flicking sunlight that fell through the leaves. All was quiet. Even the humans, fellow hikers, seemed to have fallen behind him.

When Max reached the observation point he stopped and rested for a moment in order to get his bearings. The mist in the air seemed to sparkle where the light shone through it. He studied it, his gaze cast upwards, before turning and leaning over to look down at the falls. Water hammered beneath him, falling and spilling with ceaseless grace.

Max stared at the waterfall in silence, his expression somber. It was an impressive sight, elegant despite its raw and unruly wildness. Nature's architecture.

He turned back and walked to the sign post. A query to his navigational computer told him that the trail looped, and that the coordinates sat roughly at the midway point. So whether he went east or west along the trail mattered little; either would get him to his destination in the end.

Max scratched his chin and frowned. So. Which was would it be.

Hm. Benson Lake. The damaged bridge had been given the same name. He had admired the simple, sturdy bridge, appreciated it. Perhaps it would be interesting to see the lake as well.

A shrug settled his backpack a little more securely over his shoulder as Max set out down the east trail, mist swirling in his wake.

[Feldspar]

Half an hour passed - well, in human time. In the time he was used to perhaps it was nothing. Humans traveled slow, one foot after another. No wheels, no wings. No treads to chew up the miles. Around him the view was so different from this level, as if he was lying on his chest and observing the world go by.

The trees surrounded the path. Their bark wasn't just flat grey, or brown as it seemed from a distance or just at a passing glance. Surrounding Max was a mixture of colors; pale splotches and deep reds, golden flecked with warm rust. There were deep green patches of moss and lichen spotting up the wide trunks. A tiny squirrel chittered at him and bounced across the path; it would be nearly invisible among the trees. Tufted ears flicked and bobbed, the tail rippked behind it- and then it was gone.

The path sloped downwards again, gradually. It led over a small creek pouring over green-touched stones. If he stopped on the narrow wooden bridge and looked down, there were shadows there; trout lazily drifting in the cold water, flicking a tail just to realign themselves upstream every once in a while.

Around the corner, though, the lake appeared as a bright blue shimmer through the trees. The trail moved on, meandering around large tan boulders and small, twisted sharp-needled pines. It opened up, walking along the edge.

Mountains, large and grey, all around him. High rolling places, pale bands intermingling with short scrub. It was the bottom of a - a canyon? No, a bowl where Max was at a low point among those rising hills. The lake was still, the surface reflected the landscape like glass. Not those soft bands and curves of the Grand Canyon; not like the stone back where he was parked. These were different geological forces at work, lava and landslide from long ago, cut by wind and water.

The trail continued east, following the curve of the lake back up into the forest.

[Deleted]

Down and over the little creek, walking on quiet feet - and then, the lake, flat and glassy and blue, a mirror of the sky. The grey mountains reflected perfectly on the water, as clear and sharp as those on the horizon.

Max walked slowly down the trail, his eyes on the water. The only lake he had seen up close before was Lake Mead, and that had been at night. Since then he had had no reason to return to the landing site of his dropship, hidden deep beneath the waves. Ha. For a little time two Fortresses had laid under the surface of that lake. He had been amused to discover that.

It wasn’t often he saw this much water in one place. Nevada was a dry state for the most part, and the majority of his patrols kept him near the Autobot base. It made sense – keep the heavy firepower close to home, if it was needed defensively in a pinch. And his tank mode did favour the open ground and hills. But it also meant that he rarely had the opportunity to visit foreign landscapes like these, where trees grew tall and green and deep water spread between the rocky shores of steep mountains.

He didn’t begrudge it. He worked where he was needed. And he wasn’t on this planet to go sightseeing. But even he could silently admit that he was missing out on something – something he was catching a glimpse of now.

It... wasn’t bad.

The trail continued to the east. Max collected his thoughts and focused his scanners with a frown. Using his avatar as a designator, he targeted his sensors on its location and scanned the trail ahead, searching for signs of the next cache. They didn't work well, his tank form in range but far below him now. But maybe he could pick up a trace reading.

[Feldspar]

It was a steady hike. The terrain meandered through soft curves and deep switchbacks that took him down, then up again.

Waterfalls along the route. All different types; thin trickles of white that rushed out of narrow gaps in the stones and rocks and plummeted down back into Multnomah creek, cascading slow lacy ones that foamed into wide tiers. Each made a different sound, a rushing roar like busy traffic on the intersate or a gurbling burbling noise. Nothing mechanical, nothing a constant drone. There was an order and a sense to a mechanical sound; this was utterly different, constantly changing, low and high noises, murmuring and chirping.

Trail markers, green and white marked the quarter miles. Signboards by each of the waterfalls, giving each a name.

Many Water Falls. Dutchman Falls. Weisendanger Falls.

Along the creek, as there was so many places in the Gorge... there were water ouzel - American Dippers- bobbing their legs and diving beneath the fast-flowing water. The cold water was so clear that Max would be able to make out their wings; they moved as if they were in the air, only in the stream.

As he continued to hike towards the location, the waterfalls faded into long stretches of creek laced with high sword ferns. He passed pools so clear he could make out every single rounded rock on the bottom, all the different tones of grey, from soft ruddy to near blue. The trail was surrounded by verdant green. Deep wide maple leaves, narrow pine scraps, salal and huckleberries.

His sensors would lead him unerringly towards that place, those coordinates scribbled on that brochure.

It started up a fairly steep part, and Max would climb about six hundred feet in less than half a mile. There were multiple switchbacks carrying him upwards again. And oddly, the path became lined with human made rock walls. Max's sharp eye for detail would see a tiny Lego brick cemented into the walls; the red plastic faded, but still bright against the cool grey.

A dirt trail brought him quickly into Wahkeena Canyon. It was a very narrow canyon, just wide enough for the creek and the trail. Every step was up, but the creek danced and shimmered beside him, throwing light and bright gold among the trees. Two more switchbacks and then...

A waterfall, sweeping down in a deep fan form falls right next to the trail. Right on the left side was an old wooden bench, worn smooth by hundreds of thousands of human hands and bodies. It overlooked the vista, surrounded by emerald green leaves.

Fairy Falls.

The coordinates indicated somewhere close. Max's sensors would get the tiniest ping; difficult and wavering. This wasn't as easy as the other cache, the forest disrupted his sensors a bit.

However, because it was so out of place, his sensors would ping off of metal under the far end of a log, right across the trail from the bench.

[Deleted]

Only the orderly rock walls served to remind Max he was on a man-made trail. The landscape was so empty of all but its abundant wildlife that he nearly forgot he was walking a path tromped down by hundreds of human footsteps.

It was quiet - and at the same time so full of tiny sounds. Birds, rushing water. Buzzing insects. The rustle of leaves. The crunch of his own tread. Alien sounds, familiar only for as long as he had been on Earth. Unsettling, and yet oddly calming at the same time. Max shook his head. The long hike was lulling him into a trace.

He rounded a bend in the path. The trail swept out ahead of him. What he saw there brought him to a halt.

This waterfall wasn't like the others he had seen. This one was smaller, and yet it tumbled down a staircase of rock in an elaborate lace of white water. Pebbles and fallen logs lay strewn at its foot. The green brush closed in around it, giving the small glen a sense of mystery and seclusion.

Max gazed about himself in wonder. His eyes fell upon the damp wooden benches nearby. The ping on his sensors came a moment later, and he frowned. So, this was it. This was where the cache was hidden. It seemed appropriate somehow.

He followed the scan to a log off the trail. After a wary look around himself Max crouched down. With one hand he gently pressed back the foliage and leaves and searched for any sign of a container, disturbed earth - anything that might indicate where a treasure had been concealed.

[Feldspar]

Compared to the cache buried up in Vantage, this one wasn't difficult to spot. No digging, no scruffing. Delicate leaves of Miner's Lettuce bent and sprang back, their pale pink blossoms bobbing as he touched them. Wet swordfern fronds scatttered droplets along his avatar's arms as he pushed them aside and peered under the log.

An old metal ammo box.

It was pressed down into a shallow depression under the log, leaves and dirt mounded up in front of it to hide it from casual eyes. Solid corners, heavy metal, and thick protective paint in a soft shade of miltary green. There were worn letters on one side indicating the military company it had once belonged to, long long ago.

On the other there was a plastic-coated bright green label on one side that seemed out of place with the old click latches and thick rivets.

The contents rattled softly inside. There was the tiniest ping of metal on metal, like there were the same coins or markers within that he'd found at the other cache. The box itself was heavy, so it didn't give Max the easiest indication of what else might be inside.