A cloud of dust followed the pounding hooves of four Striders as they turned right where the road divided after leaving Dawn’s Sentinel, the Carja wall and gate that guarded the northern pass from the Sacred Lands to the Sundom. Kotallo led the way, following the path northward until they reached a river. Rather than find a bridge, he ploughed his way across, water splashing up and wetting his calves and feet. He heard the others following him, Ikrie laughing.

“First time I’ve ever gotten wet and not felt myself freezing seconds later!”

“It’s almost refreshing!” Naltuk agreed.

On the other side, avoiding several clusters of Snapmaws and one particularly tenacious Stormbird that chased them as far as Free Heap before turning back, they kept to the left of the river, following it around to the left, across the breadth of the top of the Sundom.

They paused at the mouth of a valley where two Thunderjaws patrolled and Grazers grazed with Longlegs chattering to each other nervously. While the presence of the machines might have given them cause to be concerned, Kotallo wanted the Banuk to start to utilise their FOCUS skills.

Naltuk was delighted to see the ribbons of blue light through the machines.

Ikrie praised the FOCUS’ ability to find weaknesses.

It was hard to know what Tunk saw but Kotallo noticed he was listening intently and copying their motions. After the machine scanning tutorial, Kotallo assigned food gathering to Naltuk and Tunk while he and Ikrie collected wood.

“We’re not camping here, right?” Ikrie asked.

“No. There is a cabin another two hours ride along the river.”

“The occupant won’t mind if we turn up out of the blue?”

“It’s abandoned.” Kotallo explained, binding the wood into bundles. “But I know there are many machines in the vicinity which will make supply gathering difficult.”

“Good to know.” Ikrie wiped her brow. “I am so hot! I can’t handle this heat anymore.”

She removed her leather cowl and fur adorned hood, stripping the layers. Her skin was heavily freckled but unlike Aloy’s which were warm and subtle, Ikrie’s were ashen and soft but there were many of them. Her eyes were the hue of machine steel blue and her lips were pale. Her hair was ashen and tied into dreadlocks.

“There are parts of my skin that haven’t seen the sun in years…” She muttered, shedding the heavy outer layers, revealing a slender midriff, leaving her trousers tucked into her boots. Even her freckled arms were exposed to the air. “I swear some of my clothes feel like skin.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I understand that.” Kotallo nodded. “We’ll be crossing mountains to the west so you’ll want to hang onto those but if you arrange them on your Strider, you’ll be far more comfortable.”

“Thanks.” Ikrie did as he told her.

Kotallo watched her work, efficiently but with an air of loss…

“You came from the Hunting Grounds?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I thought Banuk warriors joined wreaks.”

Ikrie shook her head. “It wasn’t for me.”

“I see.”

“No, you don’t,” Ikrie looked at him and smiled, pain in her eyes, “but thank you for not pressing the issue.” Kotallo nodded. Ikrie sighed. “I would have been happy enough at the Hunting Grounds but when I heard the message from Aloy…well, when conviction strikes, you follow where it leads.”

“Indeed.” Kotallo agreed.

“We’ve got fish, some rabbits and a turkey.” Naltuk announced as they came close. “Tunk was so quiet he just reached out from the bushes and grabbed it…whoa…”

Naltuk’s jaw dropped at the sight of Ikrie.

“What? I was hot.” Ikrie said sharply, grabbed the fish from him and turned away to descale them.

Kotallo watched as Tunk, with a wry grin, reached out and pushed Naltuk’s jaw shut.

“We shouldn’t linger here.” Kotallo announced.

Because the map of the Sundom was a composite of all Aloy’s travels, Kotallo continued to push the riders hard even as dusk fell and they were only able to see the next step in front of them. He knew of the cabin after studying the map and, after they dodged even more Snapmaws, Glinthawks, Longlegs and Chargers, they rode into the shallow chasm that went nowhere but had a reinforced fence at the back with a cabin tucked securely behind it.

There were cobwebs in the corners, candles scattered about and some random oddments that had Kotallo’s companions intrigued.

“These are Banuk belongings,” Ikrie commented, “I’ll bet every single one of my freckles on it.”

“Not just Banuk,” Naltuk picked up several pierces, studying them, “a shaman’s belongings. They just…left them behind?”

“A shaman? Out here?” Kotallo asked.

“Ugh,” Naltuk grimaced, holding up a pouch that dripped with a slick fluid, “not just any shaman.” He looked at Tunk who made a sign that looked like he was warding off bad spirits. “My thoughts exactly.”

“Is that machine fluid?” Ikrie asked, swiping her fingers through it and rubbing them together. “In a water pouch? What were they doing? Drinking it?” She said it laughingly but sobered up at Naltuk’s grimace and Tunk’s nod. “No…seriously?”

“There was one Banuk shaman left out on the ice after being caught sucking on machine corpses, trying to understand their dreams by tasting their blood.” Naltuk shuddered. “He survived and even though he was welcomed back to the tribe, he just…kept walking, out of the Cut…and disappeared.”

“You think it’s him?” Ikrie’s voice was quiet, almost eerie as if this particular Banuk was the stuff of nightmares.

“I don’t think anyone else was so foolish to drink machine blood.” Naltuk winced. “I’m gonna take this…and this…and all of it outside.”

Tunk lent his strength and soon they had the cabin cleared of the offensive, stench riddled brews. Thankfully cooking meat drove away some of the smell and though the cabin had an air of creepiness about it now, their foursome didn’t feel overwhelmed by it.

Because they could operate their FOCUSES in the dark, Kotallo spent an hour that evening instructing them on learning the language of the glyphs. Fortunately the FOCUS programming used symbols as well as words but their understanding would greatly increase by being able to read.

“Those glyphs are my name?” Naltuk asked.

“N. A. L. T. U. K.” Kotallo recited. “I see them over your head when I look at you.”

“And these individual glyphs go together in many different ways to form larger glyphs, words, that can form sentences that we can read?” Ikrie marvelled.

“Yes. Let us start with the alphabet…A. B. C…”