Heading East

The city they passed through.

The party decided it was best to head east towards a settlement that had been marked on the map they looted from the Gratus guards. Jaxon's pain had subsided so he drove while Sakiran taught Carl how to use a compass to go east reliably. To her surprise, Carl was quick to understand the use of a compass. As it approached darkness, they learned how to activate the headlights and continued through the mountain range, coming to an abandoned city from the old age.

In the dead of night, it was Carl's turn to drive. He stopped as he realised the city was deathly quiet, and drew the APC to a halt. He came to Sakiran as she finished her meditation, and asked her to look outside with him. She did and Carl fired arrows with lights on them. She saw a blue light blink out in a storefront, and ran ahead to investigate as Carl awakened the rest of the party. She found nothing and questioned her senses as they headed back to the APC.

They continued on without incident for another day of travel, following the path at the bottom of the mountain range and they saw a blockade set up by humans. Flea attempted diplomacy, but they shouted back that they didn't want any trouble. After Carl shouted to them, they fired a shot at him that had missed. The party engaged in combat with the Wylder blockaders, realising after the combat that they were shoddily armed and just trying to survive. During the engagement, Carl seemed much more bloodthirsty and threatened to coat his arrows in the blood of one of the Wylders. Sakiran heard this and seemed to be inspired, cutting down another Wylder and tearing out his throat. Jaxon ran snipers further afield down after noticing them and was concerned that he had taken his first life so callously.

Flea took stock of the supplies that they had hoarded, finding many firearms that had been hastily cobbled together and a sword and armour with some insignia on them. Carl noticed that Jaxon looked concerned at these two items and asked if he was alright. Jaxon shook himself and picked them up, not revealing why he had been shaken.

The party, led by Flea, continued onto the settlement and discovered it was the village of Longridge. He and Jaxon opened dialogue with those who had gathered around them, persuading them that they were not there to collect another food tithe and gave supplies to them generously. However, they saw Sakiran, now in fur cloak and looking dour and bestial, round the corner of the APC and lean against it. Villagers urged their children inside and looked in fear at what they saw as a beast, while the chieftain of the tribe asked why the pair had a beast with them.

Just then, Carl also popped his head out and asked where they were. The chieftain was deeply unsettled and accosted Jaxon and Flea, who quickly told them that he was their slave and they were on a secret Gratus mission to put him under control again. Sakiran's cries of cowardice were ignored, as they believed elves were beneath them. Not being able to find anything to destroy, she went back into the APC. Jaxon urged Carl back into the APC, telling him they would be back shortly.

Carl sat opposite her, where she had taken off her bloodstained hide armour and was cutting a harness down to size so she could wear it. He tried to make conversation, saying that she doesn't talk much. Finally, she said one word: "Zairan". Carl asked what this was, wondering why she had said a word instead of explaining herself.

She explained that it was her husband, recalling how Carl had said it didn't look like she would ever love anyone in the vault. She explained he was gone, and realising that Carl didn't understand, how she had killed him. Carl smiled and said that that was a silly thing to do. She explained he was extremely ill. He asked if he could have gotten better, but she shook her head and fell silent. He said that he had a husband too and that he loved his husband and his children. She also mentioned her son, Ranabi, and gave Carl some of her pine tree resin and told her how he'd given it to her as a gift and she enjoyed chewing it as a bad habit. He said it made him numb, and she made a guttural noise that sounded like a laugh. She also told him that Ranabi was a pacifistic child and she didn't understand him.

Carl commended him, telling her that not all people on this world fight. If they did, the world would be a much worse place. He also expressed fear about his "bad voice", which made him do what he believed were evil things and asked if she believed they were evil. Sakiran shook her head and fell silent again. Carl told her that it would be nice to have the APC become a home instead of a beast, as she called it. He then headed out to see where Jaxon and Flea were.

While they had their conversation, Jaxon and Flea had bartered with the chieftain for many goods, including some paint and alcohol as well as lubrication for guns and protective coating against wear and tear. They also gained important information about the area around them, including the ruins of an old age Titan mechanical being and the location of a Wylders camp who would be more welcoming towards Sakiran and Carl. Jaxon was disgusted by the appearance of an orc being kept as a slave and decided it best to head to the APC just as Carl came upon them.

His "bad voice" inspired him to scare the shopkeeper into treating the orc slave better, while Flea sensed conflict brewing and made both the slave and shopkeeper sleep. They headed back to the APC to find the insides of it covered in fur and made more comfortable. She had hung teeth on the ceiling that made a small clack as they rocked gently. She looked sheepish and got back to carving a small wooden bat, with phagebone next to her.

The party decided it best not to question this, and informed her of the Titan wreckage. She explained what it was and expressed a desire to see it. Jaxon climbed into the driver's seat and got ready to head towards the wreckage site.