Chapter 51 - The Road to Karlsfjord

By the light of the Devourer and the stars above, Jarth led Søren, Neeka, and Sehro along a winding game trail. Based on the tracks along the trail and debris left behind, it appeared the Scrappers had been using it for some time. Søren kept the camera drone flying overhead. It had a simple auto-follow command that kept it at a specified height above and behind the target.

"So, the Scrapper camps have been popping up often enough that Bastion and Haven have started sending patrols along the roads," Jarth explained. "Something has them riled up. It's caused those damn Scrappers to boil out of the Wastelands like locusts. Most of 'em are found in the Greenstone Hills region, but a few have been found in the Shimmer Plains to the west. Some of the Lizard tribes out that way have left their homes and taken up refuge in both Bastion and Haven."

Søren disguised another sigh with a large yawn, blaming it on being awake all night with a barely intelligible mumble. Jarth never seemed to run out of breath, despite the rapid pace they had set towards the road.

"You said before, that Haven is a week northeast of Karlsfjord and Bastion is a week a little bit south and more to the west. Is Karlsfjord the only town between them?" Søren asked.

"Yeah. Used to be more," Jarth answered, "Scrappers, raiders, occasional waves of Hordelings... they've all increased in recent years and have driven many to leave their farms and homesteads for safety behind thick walls. Might be a few stubborn folks out there, unwilling to leave what's theirs. Karlsfjord probably would have fallen if we didn't have stone walls and the Elders hadn't reached a trade deal with Bastion and Haven to patrol the roads in exchange for food."

The path continued to wind its way between the hills. The Scrappers recent use of it had made it simple to follow, even in the pale light of the Devourer. After an hour of travel, much of it filled with Jarth's constant chatter, they reached the road.

"Karlsfjord is another hours travel southwest. You good or do you want to set up camp somewhere?" Jarth asked.

Søren glanced back at Neeka and Sehro.

Søren > What do you think?

Neeka > I think we need a break from Jarth. How can one person have so much to say?

Søren > lol. Yeah. He does like to talk. :D

Sehro > What is lol?

Søren > Ah, I haven't introduced you all to internet lingo and emojis. lol = laughing out loud

Neeka > Why not just laugh loudly?

Søren > Uh, it's... it's just a thing. Or well, it was. Back on Earth. Anyway...

Neeka > Break.

Sehro > Concur.

Søren > Break it is.

"Let's take half a day to rest, Jarth. We can set up a quick camp over that way, behind that small rise," Søren said, gesturing to a forty foot rise in the ground. A ridge that ran alongside the road for a quarter mile or more. "Wouldn't be surprised if we evidence of Scrappers setting up ambushes over that way."

"Awesome!" Jarth said with a chipper tone in his voice.

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"You're awfully upbeat for someone that was nearly killed by the Scrappers," Søren noted, slightly furrowing his brow.

"Well, I look at it this way," Jarth started. "I'm alive. I'm healthy, thanks to you and your healing, and all the Scrappers that did this, are worm food. Won't be a threat to me or mine ever again. Plus I'm gonna get a ridiculous amount of rep and tokens for bringing you guys to Karlsfjord. I bet I'll be able to get a new bow and a quiver full of arrows with how much I'll get."

"Wait, tokens? Rep?" Neeka asked from behind Jarth and Søren. Sehro peered over her shoulder at the two humans in front of Neeka.

"Yeah, reputation. The crystal obelisk in Karlsford lit up a few weeks ago and we've been doing quests to earn town reputation and faction tokens since then. The mushrooms I was gathering, it was a fetch quest worth ten tokens and fifty rep. I'm really close to getting Honored with Karlsfjord and Friendly with the Merchants of Karlsfjord. They could have chosen a cooler name though. Like the Circle of Coin or something," Jarth shrugged. "The Elders hated the obelisk at first; tried to keep people away. Didn't work. We rioted. Was a blast. Though Dran got his face busted up and Temeira had her arm broken."

Søren tried to say something, but Jarth plowed on as if Søren hadn't said anything. Neeka and Sehro shared a look between them, but kept silent.

"I helped them do some quests around town to clean up trash from the streets and got them each a Potion of Healing. Almost as good as your healing Skill, Søren. Once the Elders gave in, they discovered they could add quests to the obelisk, well, anyone could, but you had to provide any rewards yourself or use tokens to select something from the quest maker. It's been amazing. I think it might even help us stay independent of Bastion and Haven. Keep the Scrappers out of the area."

"Jarth!" Søren said sharply. "What do you mean the crystal obelisk lit up?"

"Oh that. The town was built around a pillar of blue crystal. No one knew what it did until recently. Something made it light up and anyone that touched it gained access to what everyone is calling the Interface. Some of the older folks remember stories about something like it, but no one remembered much at all until the town Librarian found a book hidden away in her office. It was written by her grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's... I forget. It was old. Talked about the Collective and the Chorus and the crystals going dark."

The four of them reached the other side of the road and made their way up the small rise. The other side was covered in short scrub grasses and brush with a few scattered stunted trees here and there. The climb up the sandy rise was enough to finally take the wind out of Jarth's sail.

"That is a good spot," Neeka said, pointing out a clear area beneath on of the trees. It would be cramped for Søren and Jarth, but Neeka and Sehro would have no problems standing under the boughs of the tree. "It will keep the sun off us when it rises soon."

"I'll keep the drone on overwatch," Søren said, checking the status of the drone. "It's good for um, damn... almost two days of flight without recharging. The solar cells on top will keep it aloft indefinitely. Good design." He tapped through the drone's control interface on the dataslate the drone was slaved to and set up a pattern for patrol, avoidance rules, and an alarm to wake them should anything threatening approached their campsite.

"I will keep watch as well," Sehro said. "Who wants second watch?" Søren lifted his hand up and went back to exploring parts of the drone interface he had ignored previously.

"That's settled. Jarth, get some rest. You might feel good now, but when things catch up to you, you'll crash hard," Neeka said to the young man from Karlsfjord.

He nodded, his hair still caked with some dirt and blood from the events of the night. Neeka handed him a canteen of water and a spare shirt to clean up with.

"Thank you. I'll get cleaned up and settle down to rest," he said, a wane smile on his face. "Want me to take a watch too?"

"No, just rest and clean up. We've got Søren's drone to help."

"Uh, thanks again. You guys really did help me out a lot. I'll do whatever it takes to repay you."

"Just help us get to Karlsfjord and inside safely. We'll call it even," Neeka suggested. She turned away from any further conversation before Jarth could open his mouth. The former captive finally stilled, sat down with the canteen and shirt in hand. Sehro disappeared into a thicket of grasses, using his camouflage skill to hide from any potential observers while Søren had finally put away the dataslate and blacked out the faceplate of his [Guardian Helmet (Copper VI)] after laying down on the hard ground beneath the tree.