By the time Kotallo and the Banuk reached the coordinates of the campfire Gaia had directed them to, it was almost dark. He was very aware, as the small group around the fire stood, that he and the Banuk made for an intimidating sight.

“Utaru,” he said, slowing his Charger to a walk and stopping before they got too close, “I am Kotallo of the Tenakth and I come on behalf of Aloy.”

“A Tenakth?” A disbelieving voice spoke, peeling away from the others.

“And Banuk.”

“I’ve never heard of your tribe,” he admitted, “but you know of Aloy…”

“Are you Yef?”

His eyes widened. “You know my name?” Kotallo dismounted and moved into the light of the fire. “I guess…I have little choice but to trust you.”

“Consider this,” Kotallo urged, “your people would hardly recruit a Tenakth and three Banuk to drag you back to Plainsong…especially not on the backs of machines.”

“True…the only person I’ve ever seen do that was Aloy.” Yef nodded and held out his hand. “You’re welcome by our fire, Kotallo…and those who travel with you.”

“Who are your companions?”

“Olavia,” he pointed to a woman with dark curls and big green eyes, “Roush and Bani.”

“Well met.” Kotallo gestured to his companions. “Tunk, Naltuk and Ikrie.”

“Please, come…” Yef waved them close. “We have food to share and Bani is an excellent cook.”

“Thank you.” Kotallo left the Charger where it was, Yef eyeing it cautiously. “It won’t attack.”

“Will it defend us against the Clawstriders?” Ovaria asked timidly. “There’s always one or two just south of us.”

“Should we move?” Naltuk asked.

“It’s the campfire’s proximity to the Clawstriders that makes its ideal for us to stop at.” Yef insisted. “Not many others will risk it.”

“The Chargers will alert us.” Kotallo assured them. “Sit and eat.”

Olavia held out a large portion of bread and Kotallo tore a chunk away, passing it to the others so they could do the same. He chuckled as the Banuk tasted bread for the first time.

“I’m never going back to the Cut.” Ikrie sighed. “Not now…that is so good.”

“Fresh fruit and vegetables.” Roush offered. “Now that the landgods are healed, we have food to spare.”

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“In the Cut we have always scraped and scrounged for almost everything.” Naltuk admitted.

“Your landgods…they’re machines?”

“Plowhorns.” Kotallo explained.

“And they…work for you?” Ikrie was sceptical.

“They till the ground and sow the seeds. They taught the Utaru the art of agriculture and farming.” Roush smiled. “We owe so much to them. Here, try this wine I made from grapes.”

Kotallo accepted the wineskin and put it to his lips. It was fragrant, heady and delicious. “How is it made?”

“By putting grapes into a large vat and crushing them beneath our feet.”

Tunk, Ikrie and Naltuk all froze, unwilling to try the brew. Kotallo chuckled. “More for me, then.”

“Too much and you won’t be able to stand.” Yef beamed. “You’ll sleep well, though.”

Kotallo eyed him curiously. “Your name was the only one I was told…which tells me you’re known to either Aloy or Zo.”

“Aloy,” Yef nodded, “she tracked some remnant of Shadow Carja that escaped into the west.”

Ikrie sat up. “Seriously?”

“They kidnapped a number of my people, including me and put us to work in an old world ruin.” Yef shuddered. “They starved us then whipped us when we couldn’t do the work they wanted. Aloy arrived and I watched her from a scaffolding as she picked them off, one by one, including the machines. Then she set the others free and killed the leader.” Yef licked his lips. “I made a promise to her that I’d look after the prisoners and get them home…but when word spread about how Zo and Aloy had healed the landgods…that they needed more help for something bigger than I could imagine…well, I knew I needed to volunteer.”

“We all did.” Bani agreed.

“The Chorus did not approve.” Roush muttered. “That’s when Yef sent word through the traders that we would ‘head north’ to Riverhymn and hope that we could sneak around Plainsong and reach the sanctuary of the landgods.”

“I still feel disrespectful about it.” Olavia whispered.

“About defying the Chorus?”

“About going into the sanctuary.” She wrung her fingers together nervously. “It is a sacred place.”

“The base is up the mountain,” Kotallo assured her, “it’s not in the landgods sacred cave…but it is above it.”

“Well…I guess that’s something.” She smiled nervously again. “I’m going to get some sleep…if I can.”

“We all should.” Yef nodded. “It’s a fair step from here to the sacred cave, even if we’re not going inside.”

“Especially since we’ll be taking a wide route around Plainsong’s borders.” Kotallo agreed. “Is there any way for us to approach the cave from the east without being seen?”

“No,” Yef shook his head, “I used to tend the fields in the east…when I wasn’t shirking my duties. Plainsong’s borders go right up to the foothills. And the entrance to the sacred cave is from the north.”

“Isn’t there a former rebel outpost near there?” Kotallo tapped his FOCUS and brought up the map, swiping through the air. He knew he must look insane to the Utaru but he was studying the imagery. “High Turning…a Tenakth outpost.” He mused. “It would almost be the same distance crossing into Desert Clan territory through High Turning and going south, approaching the base from the west. And there would be no chance of being spotted by Utaru.”

“We’ll be chasing daylight.” Ikrie warned, having brought up the same map.

“Any Charger sites nearby?” Naltuk wondered.

“No regular sites but they do tend to graze in herds in this area.”

“We’ll keep our eyes open and pick up a couple of mounts for you all to ride in the morning.” Kotallo announced. “If we need to, we’ll double up on ours.”

“Hrm,” Ikrie looked at Naltuk, “that won’t be awkward.”

He gulped and looked aside.

Kotallo rolled his eyes and swigged the wine again. He wondered if he should force Naltuk to drink some. It would either put him out of his misery for the night or give him the courage to say what he was thinking.

He reminded himself that, by tomorrow, he would be back at base…

…and then he remembered Aloy would be there…

…and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.