Extra 2: The Deliberations of the Hidden

Far up on a windswept mountainside, three Ohsraka sat huddled in a dilapidated cabin, surrounding a well fed fire.

The moons were low in the sky, dawn almost approaching, by all rights the humans should have been asleep, yet slumber only visited one.

Hurereh had woken once or twice during the day, saying little more than fever-muddled nonsense each time before falling back under the reals of unconsciousness.

The two remaining inhabitants spirits were not much higher, a combination of sleep-deprivation, stress and frequent arguments ruining any solace they could find in their current situation.

In comparison to their partner, Shreshka looked considerably more dishevelled, the magnitude of the fact that they were likely being hunted down by a army of super-human bounty hunters having finally hit them.

The Earliag would never admit to their “peacekeeping force” being anything more than normal people, but it was a open secret that near every one of the Keepers had power beyond what a human could achieve.

The members of the Gtririag had it all, enhanced strength, speed, longevity, if you could think of a way a person could be better, the Keepers were, with the pathway toward these abilities locked behind more secrets and misdirections than the former slave could hope to ever decipher.

And now they knew for certain that these blood thirsty bounty hunters were after their heads.

Less than four hours ago, the old man who lived in the shack down the mountainside, Erarrio, had made the trek to where they were hidden away, bearing bad news.

Retlafeh had been the one to receive him at the worn out door, yet the old mans voice was still clearly audible to all.

“I cant help you anymore” he started “No matter how much money you offer me, its not worth my life.”

Before the former slave could reply, he continued.

“Not ten minutes ago, two Gtririag were knocking on my door asking questions about the stolen carriage, about three slaves that the corpse aboard should have owned.”

“I promise you, I will make it worth your while if you let us stay”, Retlafeh answered, seemingly unaffected by the fate of their former captor.

“They threatened my granddaughter... if it was my life I would take your offer, but she is all I have left, and I cant lose her like I did her parents”

The whole cabin fell silent at that, remaining so until Errario said one final thing.

“You have till the morning to leave, if you aren't gone, I'm telling the Keepers”

Without another word, he left the shack and travelled back to his home.

And it was this dilemma that birthed their current two issues: how will they transport Hureheh and where will they go.

For the former question, their only option was the hardest one, they would have to carry the sick man wherever they went.

Even if he woke by the morning, as unlikely as that was, he would not be in condition to make a journey of any kind.

And so it was decided, when they had the resources they would create some kind of stretcher to assist in carrying Hureheh, until then they would have to carry him on their backs.

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Neither of them wanted to suggest leaving him behind, for fear they might decide to do so.

And so they found themselves at the harder issue, where should they go?

“Head toward Reshraka, our home is where it is safest, with the machine we could hide in the grass and they will never find us there” Retlafeh insisted, confident they would find greater protection in their home.

“And how would we sleep or find food on the road, and what's more the Keepers will expect us to head that way!” Shreshka argued, “It is best to head further inland, where it will be easier to traverse”.

At her words, a barely suppressed rage twisted across Retlafeh’s face, a severe contrast from the calm man Shreshka knew.

“Are we not followers of Orsha? Did they not command us to harden through struggle and not abandon our home!”

With equal ferocity, the woman returned “We abandoned our home the moment we sold it to the simple-landers!”

The argument fell silent at that, its heat ripped away by a truth colder than any mountain summit.

After a long moment, Shreshka spoke again.

“Orsha commands us to be tempered through struggle, that is true, yet they also tell us to be careful with what burdens we take, lest they break us before we can improve from them”

She took a pointed glance at the sleeping figure in the corner of the room, drawing Retlafeh’s attention to the man.

“After all, is not blind search for danger what got us in this situation in the first place?”

The three sat in silence for a long while, emotions conflicting on Retlafeh’s face before he finally seemed to come to a decision.

Yet just as he rose to announce his resolution, both man and woman’s attention was stolen by an unbelievable sight visible through the poorly made window.

The vast sea of grass, which just moments ago had been swaying under the light of the moons, was now a blazing orange inferno, columns of swirling embers framing its fiery light.

It did not take long for the flames to die out, fleeting as they were, but where they had been burned they left behind something debatably worse for their journey than any fire.

Wide open fields.

Retlafeh’s plan to head back to the desert unfound hinged on their ability to sneak through the grasses, unseen by patrols and untouched by the ticks.

Yet all that was left behind after the burning was wide open fields, from which one could see forever unobstructed.

They knew, of course, that the grasses would come back, it was not called phoenix grass for nothing, but the field would take time to regrow, even at its extraordinary pace.

Indeed, a burning such as this wasn't even a rare occurrence, happening a few times a year, but the Oracle had predicted that their last wildfire would be the last for the season, meaning that this fire was the result of human error.

“Did they start this for us? To scare us away or flush us out?” She worried.

In the back of her mind, Shreshka knew such a thing was illogical, that the Earliag would never go this far, even with the importance they place on making sure that their slaves never escape.

But logic was not present in her mind, fear forcing it away and exhaustion making sure it did not return.

“We're leaving.” Shreshka said forcefully, allowing little room for argument “We are heading south, now!”

Though there was little room to do so, Retlafeh did not protest and so the two gathered what little things they had and prepared to leave.

After little deliberation, they decided to leave the cold-creating machine behind, it was heavy and now that they had no way of crossing the fields, near entirely useless to them.

They would leave it in the cabin, so that perhaps the Keepers would be a little less eager to find them if they no longer had anything of value, and if the Gitriag did not find it, perhaps the old man could sell it as payment for his help.

They decided they would take turns carrying Hureheh until they could find easier transport.

It was undesirable to carry an ill man, bed rest being the greatest option for the dark-skinned human, but they had little choice, if they stayed where they were they would be taken and killed without a chance at redemption.

And so, with a lightly smouldering field in their wake, Shreshka doused the fire while Retlafeh slung Hureheh across his shoulders, careful not to irritate his wounds.

The first warnings of the sun were whispering on the horizon as they set out into the dark world.

Errario met them as they took their first steps out, likely to hear their decision, yet Shreshka left him with only a few words.

“Your payment is inside”, She said, before starting their long mountain climb, one that would hopefully lead to something they had not had in a long while.

Safety.