Journey Into The Forbidden West (Part 2) by EE Nalley

September 23th, 3040

Dang, it took that long for the rest of the crew to be brought down. I hope Karhn is still around when they need to make the return trip. Chainscrape is a mining town, oh boy. Be wary of drunk men and those looking for a fight while there. The Red Raids, any culture that does human sacrifice will be one I can never understand. Barren Light might be needed, but can they ever clean the taint off?

Carja Magistrate ruling over Oseram, so colonialism still exists, rats. Travis is right, half a mile through jungle vegetation, so many ambush spots, not to mention the potential for hidden traps. Nakoa, Olara, Doc, and Furahni as a reaction force. I pity anyone who attacks their group now. Buck, save the references for people who will get them. The last few hundred feet to town, and Buck says there is contact.

Yikes, men in trouble trying to ford a stream while two Watcher-type machines stalk them, getting ready to attack. Travis and Buck take down the Watchers fast, then Travis orders Nakoa to get everyone into Chainscrape, and Buck with him. Members of the Vanguard, the Sun King won't be happy that some of his people were injured. Captain Erend is banged up good.

Oh, good grief. Shut the gates before Travis, Buck, Captain Erend, and the other man could get inside. The words of the Captain of the Vanguard of the Sun King carry a lot of weight. Javad, I don't like him, probably his order to close the gates. Javad the Willing, Magistrate of the Daunt. Sucking up to Travis because he is a hero of a big battle and an Ancient, don't trust Javad, Travis, he is scheming. *sigh* Just has to show off his position of power.

I hope Tracy can do more than just patch up Erend. Uh oh, Nakoa sounds upset. A fighting ring, good idea, let them vent their issues in a controlled setting. Odurg runs a tight pit. Shutting down the fight ring to use it to corral the Striders, I see at least one idiot trying to steal a Strider and ending up hurt or dead. Huh, they have Blaze for the Striders to drink directly.

In the Tavern, Tracy's Focus had already revealed Erend's ribs were only cracked, not broken and she'd wrapped his chest in a nanite infused smart cast that would allow him to move gently, but go rigid if he attempted a movement that might compound the injury.

That is the kind of medical tech I wish we had now. Thick, meaty stew, yum.

“We're only fighting if you make it one, Husband,” she informed him quietly. “I have grievance and you well know it.”

Travis, listen to her without any sarcasm or sass. Overly cautious with Nakoa because she is pregnant, I understand why, but in her culture, it is common for women to keep doing even dangerous work until later into the pregnancy, would be my guess.

“I am pregnant, not ill,” she declared firmly. “I am a Nora Brave, and I'm not even showing yet. Doc tells me there were many women from your time who would be pregnant longer than I am now and not know it. They lived their lives and went about their work without being carried about on a litter!”

Travis, be careful with your words right now. Nakoa is a woman with a strong will and stubborn, it some of the reasons Travis fell for her. Now, whose voice interrupts their conversation and asks such a thing of Nakoa?

Petra, it has been a while since we last saw her. Came here to help with the rebuilding of Barren Light. I wondered what brought her out this way. Nakoa! There is teasing your husband, and then there is going just a bit over the line. Ulvund, the Bristlebacks are your problem; they won't stay contained to one area for long. Buying into every claim worth something, blaming the Carja for the Bristlebacks, Ulvund is a piece of work. Trying to bully Javad into a concession decree, I don't like the Carja ruling over the Oseram, but that is too far.

“That's the key to everything. This is Carja land, even though we Oseram outnumber them twenty to one, the Sun King can revoke our mining and timber claims on a whim. Avad doesn't seem to be the type to play dirty with the claims, he's too interested in peace and making up for his father and the Red Raids. But he could. And that freezes up the bank roll back in the Claim to put real money into these operations in the Daunt. A concession, on the other hand, would make Oseram law the defining factor. Everybody in The Claim would be falling over themselves to invest here and Ulvund has stakes in everything. More than enough shards to buy himself the title of Ealdorman!”

Okay, Ulvund with stakes in everything, with that title, that would be worse for the Oseram than the Sun King ruling over them.

“Oh,” remarked Travis as he lifted his tankard, “The new world is just like the old. How refreshing.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And not always in a good way.

Aww, Erend needs to heal fast so he and Petra can get more acquainted. Darn it, Javad wants to know what else the Focus can see. The talk about Ulvund, I should have known Javad would want them to find out how the Bristlebacks got into the Daunt. 'Studious' Vuadis and Erend are stuck here until the Bristlebacks are taken care of, so no Embassy until then.

September 24th, 3040

Waking up just before the sunrise, Travis gets a restful sleep to do that. Hey, better to armor some places and leave yourself mobile than weigh yourself down so much you can't avoid an attack. Especially against any of the machines. Milduf Boarbroiler, such interesting names in this future. The tale of the AmSci tribe keeps spreading.

Coffee will once again be the source of a trading war in this future.

“Oh, that's easy,” he said. “They came down the hills by the quarry. It's between us and Barren Light, you can't miss it. Out the west gate and straight on and you'll come to it. Or, what's left of it. The Bristlebacks were incensed when they attacked, killed or destroyed everything and everyone.”

Hhm, I would think they came through undiscovered tunnels connected to the quarry, but with their size, it might not be possible. Transport machines, and these are angry, what happened to rile them up?

Riding early enough so the sun hasn't made everything hot. A quarry of red sandstone. Could someone have made a tunnel or path for them to deliberately come through? That big and shaped somewhat like a boar or wild pig; are we sure they didn't just crash through the sandstone to get there? They came out of a mine and might have been underground, uh-oh. So, no Cauldrons close enough to be the source of the Bristlebacks, shoot, no easy answer.

Travis, don't poke the mama bear your wife is becoming. New diggings in the tunnels, an office for the Crimson Deeps Mine.

“These are Oseram gliphs. It's a bill of lading from The Claim stating a complete train of Blaze was delivered here!”

Travis frowned as he picked up a second paper which was in Carja that the Focus could read. “How much is that?”

“A wagon is six barrels of Blaze, it's ten wagons to the train.”

This sounds like Ulvund gave Blaze, somehow tainted, to the Bristlebacks, to make them rampage. Oh, used as an explosive, what was Ulvund up to down here? A Bristleback destroyed by a cave-in, this just gets harder to figure out.

Talk to the guards to find out what Javad is. His office is a table in the tavern; at least he didn't insist on having his own office building built. Stampeding Bristleback coming from the mine, a blocked tunnel, the mine was condemned and not worth it.

“That Ulvend's blasting opened up a passage to the other side?” Nakoa demanded, planting her fists on her hips. “That's exactly what I think.”

The Carja Magistrate whispered, almost to himself. “Perhaps...yes, perhaps...” His dark eyes came back up the Ancient and the Nora standing before him. “If this is true...we need confirmation. An inquiry, so through, so irrefutable...”

I hope they get the proof to take down Ulvund, that guy is bad news for everyone. The opening on the other side would be a start, more work for Travis, Nakoa, and their crew. Huh, I thought Erend said they couldn't leave for the Embassy until the situation with the Bristlebacks was dealt with. I guess with Travis and crew there, he changed his mind.

Varl left with Erend and his group, trying to catch up with Aloy. Yikes, they have a lot of repairs to do for Barren Light to be restored. Carja Archers on the attack, and a woman in armor that stands out, leading a group of at least a dozen others, all astride machines. Who are they? Nakoa thinks the Embassy is a trap and rides to Varl's aid before Travis can say anything. Welp, weapons free and charge, and it had been a relatively peaceful trip so far.

Some of the mystery group are among the dead found inside Barren Light, along with Carja soldiers, and Studious Vuadis. Whoever is behind this attack will pay. Aloy is pissed and strikes down one of the enemy warriors.

“No!” she shouted. “It was an honorable challenge you gave to Grudda, and with your victory over him you have earned your life!” She raised her hands and addressed the riders near her. “Comrades! Mark this day! Today you have decimated the Marshals! Slaughtered the Carja! So begins our war on Hekkaro!”

Foolish move, declaring war and announcing who you are before your enemies after one battle. The cowards run after a slaughter, calling it a victory; they sicken me.

Good thing Aloy is there, some of her allies are from the same tribe as those who attacked, at least based on their painted faces. Quick thinking by Travis and Tracy allowed the man who lost part of his arm after being pinned under a Bristleback to be saved. Field surgery kit, machine part made hot to cauterize the wound. That man's pain tolerance is amazing. Tracy, with her medical training from the past, is a miracle worker in this future.

“I am Kotallo,” he replied. “Marshal of the Tenakth, Warrior of the Sky Clan. If I live, it will be in victory from your skill. If I die, it will have been from wounds taken in battle. Ask what you will, and I will grant it to you.”

“I don't need anything from you, but you getting well,” she told him. “You've lost a lot of blood. You'll need to rest and drink plenty of water.”

Good man, and good doctor. Safe passage through the land of the Tenakth just for doing the right thing. A dagger to show they are a trusted ally. All that traveling, and Varl is now stuck with Errand in Barren Light due to a leg injury.

Ouch, Lawan gets promoted in the worst way possible. Hard to lose a good Commander who will fight and die by their men's side. They aren't in the realm of the Utaru, oh boy.

“This? No, this is No Man's Land, unclaimed by the Carja, the Tenakth or the Utaru.” He pointed towards the mountains north and west on the other side of the river. “The Utaru lands are that way, on the other side of the river. There are a range of mountains on the other side of this plateau. The Tenakth claim the passes through them and those lands on the other side.”

Boy, gaining the ability to override the Striders was one of the best things to ever happen to them. All that traveling on foot would be a nightmare. Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, so more dangerous terrain to pass through on their quest.

Lawan bowed his head. “That is no enemy. That is the body of Unyielding Fashav, the Sun King's Cousin.”

Welp, that group who attacked today just made the Sun King and many others their enemies.