Compass

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* YouTube

"**Compass**" is the ninth episode of *Nomad of Nowhere*. It premiered to Rooster Teeth FIRST members on August 31, 2018 and was released to the public on September 7, 2018.

## Synopsis

The chase is on! Nomad and Skout do their best to lose Toro's Champion, but he's always hot on their heels somehow. Toth begins to employ some morally gray tactics to get information on her search. Nomad must decide if he should keep running.

## Summary

The Nomad and Skout run from Governor Toro's champion in the desert. The desert heat overwhelms Skout, and she tells the Nomad she is unsure of how much further she can travel. As he is the wanted one, the Nomad suggests they part ways, but Skout refuses, intent on bringing him in to Don Paragon and showing that she is not a screw-up.

The Nomad enchants a rope to help them scale a large rock face, but the champion continues chasing them. Skout suggests heading into nearby mines to evade him.

Toth comes across the train station the Nomad and Skout just left. The wrecked train approaches, and the passengers disembark. Toth begins to forcefully ask questions to the group and is initially rebuffed, but she eventually learns that Toro's champion chased the Nomad into the desert, along with a girl.

Skout and The Nomad arrive at an abandoned camp outside the mines where Skout collapses from exhaustion. The Nomad attempts to retrieve water from a nearby pump, but he is unsuccessful. As he searches, Skout repairs the pump, and collapses after pumping out a small amount of water. The Nomad returns with a canteen, and the two rest as Skout drinks and reminisces about her childhood, then ending up at the Oasis and eventually becoming Toth's spittoon girl.

The champion interrupts, having caught up with them. After introducing himself, he attacks the pair and forces them into a well, then cutting the rope they hang from and sending them into the cavern below.

Nomad and Skout are separated and begin searching for a way out. Skout comes across the champion, who found his way down into the caverns and is consulting a compass, which points to anything possessing magic. It indicates the rope the Nomad enchanted earlier so the champion destroys the rope and resumes his search.

The Nomad explores and comes across a minecart track and turntable inside the mines. The champion ambushes him, intent on beating him into submission, soon chasing him into the chasm below the turntable. As he prepares to finish off the Nomad, Skout, having found her way to the minecart tracks, pushes a cart into the champion and sends him falling into the chasm.

As Skout celebrates her victory, Red Manuel ambushes her and the Nomad, having followed the champion in hopes of stealing the Nomad from him. He admits his surprise at Skout finishing the man off, but he demands she surrender the Nomad to him.

Skout defends the Nomad, claiming he has done nothing wrong and has been trying to help people, saying that turning him in to Don Paragon would be a terrible mistake. Red Manuel acts moved by her speech, but he laughs as he reveals his true plan of killing Skout and apprehending the Nomad. He laughs at the fact that his original lie is now an established truth and shoots at Skout. Before the bullet gets to her, the Nomad pushes her out of the way. The bullet strikes the Nomad in the chest. He collapses beside Skout, who is shocked by what just happened.

## Transcript

The episode starts off with Nomad and Skout running through the hot desert. Skout was getting tried from the heat of the desert.

SKOUT: It's so...hot!

SKOUT: Oh, thank goodness! A place to rest and...

SKOUT: I really dislike these billboards.

* neigh\*

SKOUT: How in the world is he still chasing us?...Sorry, I just don't know how much farther I can make it.

SKOUT: What he's really after is you, so you're saying you want me to leave?

SKOUT: Why? So you can give \*both\* of us the slip? No, thank you!

SKOUT: Oh...you're trying to protect me. Well that don't make a lick of sense, seeing as I'm still technically trying to catch you! All I know is if the champion catches up to you, it'll be bad news for us both. So it looks like you're stuck with me for the time being. We'll just have to sort out whatever happens later, later.

* neigh\*

SKOUT: Ha ha! Good luck getting up now buster!

SKOUT: Argh?! No! I din't mean it! Come on, we got to lose this fellow!

Hmm?

CLERK: Well, howdy traveler! You running from your problems?

TOTH: What did you just say to me?

CLERK: I said, you running from your pro-

They look awful! What happened?

That there is entropy, my friend. The slow decay of life catches up with us all eventually.

Huh, it looks more like a train crash to me...

Ehh, possibly. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Can anyone tell me what happened to this train?

It was lunacy! The Nomad was aboard!

Yeah, I've seen them too!

I didn't seen him but I wished it did cuz then I'd have something to say right now.

I promise all of you, I'll bring him to justice!

But to do that, I need to know where he went after he crashed your train.

Crash the train? No! Was the Nomad that done saved us!

Yeah, I seen him do it. He took out those bandits!

I didn't seen him do it but-

Look clearly you're all confused by your injuries.

I don't care what you think you saw, I just need to know, where, he, went!

Why do you want to know?

Yeah, maybe I didn't seen him after all.

It doesn't matter why! He's a criminal and I'm going to bring him in!

T-The only criminals I seen were those bandits and that big burly fellow who crashed the Train!

Did the big burly fellow \*catch\* the Nomad?

Uhh, Cap? Maybe we should ease up a bit

N-No, he chased them off.

TOTH: THEM?!

Yes! The Nomad and the girl!

Ough, ough! You're hurting me!

Toth? This feels a bit south of our normal moral compass

TOTH: What girl?

SKOUT: I think-ugh, I think we can lose him somewhere in these mines...and get out of this blazing sun!

SKOUT: If Pa could see me now... I grew up fixing stuff like this with him. I always found a way to mess it all up. I was just a burden. Even after I was taken in at the Oasis... But despite all my blunders, Toth gave me a chance! Made me her spittoon girl. Don't sound very glamorous, I know, but she always treated me right... Until I got in her way. She wasn't always so angry. I wonder, if she saw you here helping me, helping those people on the train, if it would make a difference. Why are you helping me? You could have run off the moment we got here! Come to think of it this whole time, where you been running to?

You know, I've been wondering the same thing.

SKOUT: How does he keep finding us?

CHAMPION: We haven't been properly introduced. You should always know the man you're fighting. I'm the champion of the Colosseum. Do you know what that means? It means I'm undefeated in the most dangerous arena in the world! So you can run all you want, Nomad, but at some point, that road is going to run out, and then, it'll just be you and me. And after that, probably just me. You should also know that the same trick never works twice on me.

SKOUT: Good job, Skout, you went and tumbled down the deepest hole you could find. Hello?! Nomad! Can you hear me?! Nomad?! I don't know if you can hear me, but supposing you can, just try to follow my voice, okay?

SKOUT: The rope! Did you find a way out of here buddy?

Hmm, you're magical but \*not\* who I'm looking for!

That's better.

This is getting old, Nomad. Where I come from the runners don't last long. It's kill or be killed in Toro's arena. It's the same out here, too. You just don't realize it yet! I was hoping the legends meant you were a true warrior. Not a coward! I'm not going to let you call for help. Like I said, you and me! You have to fight!

Ugh, no matter where you hide, I'm always going to know where you are!

SKOUT: Yeah? But you dont' know where \*I am\*!

Ugh!

AAAAAAARGH!

SKOUT: I...I did it... I did it! Sand and shade, I did it! Did you see that? I had a snappy one-liner and everything! I beat the champion! Does that make me the champion now? I mean, well, obviously I couldn't have done it without you. Now let's get out of here! Bounty hunters, dandy lines, champions, carnies. Where all others have failed, who would have thought the spittoon girl would be the one to apprehend the dreaded Nomad?

RED MANUEL: Certainly not Red Manuel.

SKOUT: Red Manuel? Wha...what are you doing here?

RED MANUEL: There was no way that the idiota Toth was ever going to catch the Nomad, so I followed someone clearly better suited for the job. Only to find the champion vanquished and you claiming his prize. My prize.

SKOUT: Red, you don't understand!

RED MANUEL: No, you don't understand! I'm tired of playing second fiddle to do some Y'dala imbecile! Which is why today will be Red Manuel's day. Not yours. So step aside.

SKOUT: You're not bringing him in! Nobody is.

RED MANUEL: Excuse me?

SKOUT: He haven't done nothing to nobody, but we've been tearing up half of Nowhere to hand him over to a fellow who's happy to let us all drink sand, lest we give him exactly what he wants. And all he ever wants is more. I just can't go that way no more... Nowhere could do with another friendly face. And not the kind you see on billboards, a real one.

RED MANUEL: Wow! Skout! This is a huge weight off Red Manuel's chest! And here I thought I was going to have to make up some story about how you betrayed the Don and then...you did it! What fortune eh? This saves me a lot of trouble. Adios, spittoon girl.

## Character Appearances

* Nomad
* Skout
* The Champion
* Toth
* Santi
* Jethro
* Null
* Red Manuel