The conversation broke away into smaller groups and Kotallo escaped the common room, going up the stairs to the control room where Gaia was hovering.
“Gaia.” Kotallo greeted her.
“Kotallo,” she smiled, “I wanted to thank you for your diligence and determination to assist Aloy in my rescue and the defeat of the Zeniths.”
“I swore I would give my life if it meant Aloy’s success.” Kotallo said strongly then softened. “I am glad that you are back.” He paused. “How are you?”
“I am currently running an extensive analysis of my matrix to make sure that the Zeniths did not embed any malicious software. So far I have not found anything and as such, I am well.”
He nodded. “I am pleased to hear it.”
Gaia studied him and it amazed Kotallo that a vision could react and respond like a living being. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I do not wish to trouble you.”
“I am not operating at my peak capacity, however, if I can, I would like to help.”
Kotallo swallowed. “Do you have a picture of Avad I could see?”
“Are you referring to the Sun-King Avad of the Carja?”
“Yes.”
Gaia blinked then waved her hand and an image of a man with olive skin, dark eyes and a little hair on his upper lip appeared on the dome’s surface. He was dressed in fanciful robes that would be useless to fight in and his chest was bare. On his head he wore a headdress of machine parts and more excessive adornments. Kotallo stepped close and peered at his face. There were lines of dark around his eyes and circles, much like Fashav had used on his face although they were in bold Tenakth blue lines while Avad’s were thin and black.
“So…” Kotallo looked at his hands. “Perhaps Erend is right.”
“Right, Kotallo?”
He turned to her. “I have worn the colours of the Tenakth since I was a child,” he looked down at himself, “Sky Clan colours and then the paint of a Marshal…it is hard to say what I look like. Our skin is our testimony, the legacy of our life,” he glanced at where his left arm should have been, “and when we die or part of us is lost…our stories are also lost.”
“You wish to preserve them?”
“Yes…before I lose anymore.” Kotallo lifted his eyes to her. “Is that possible?”
“While my primary functions are suspended while I perform diagnosis on my matrix, I have the functionality of scanning your body and recording the marks upon it. However, you will need to undress.”
“Ah…” Kotallo’s neck flamed with colour. “I had not thought of that.”
“Unless markings are around your loins, you could leave the loincloth on.” Kotallo glanced uneasily at the door. “I will lock it for the duration of the scan.”
“Thank you.” He shrugged out of his armour and then his upper tunic and boots. He had to pull at the straps on his armguard for it to fall away and he stood before Gaia in almost nothing at all. “Is this adequate?”
“Yes. Performing the scan.” Gaia tilted her head. “Done.”
“That was…quick.”
“Would you care to see it?” Gaia waved her hand to the dome’s surface and Kotallo saw himself upon it. Unlike recordings from a FOCUS, he was not in motion and as Gaia circled her wrist, the image of Kotallo turned, showing all the markings and inking upon his skin.
“Now they will never be lost.” Kotallo breathed, pulling his tunic on.
“However, unless you can tell me the story behind the inking, they will remain a mystery. For example, the marking that dominates your back,” Gaia paused the image of Kotallo with his back facing them, “seems uniquely significant.”
“It commemorates the day I threw open the gates of Barren Light and let the Tenakth through in order to drive the Carja out.” He sat on the ground to get his boots on.
“That is the end result…but what is the story?”
Kotallo paused. He had not thought to tell the tale.
“I am not a particularly good storyteller.” He mumbled, forcing his foot into the boot.
“Simply tell me what happened and I can keep the story linked with the marking.”
Kotallo sighed and leaned against the pole behind him. “My squad, Orphan Squad, had just suffered the loss of its second soldier. Only myself and Jayko were left and we were recalled to Memorial Grove where Chief Hekarro, along with Marshal Fashav, announced the plan to take Barren Light…”
He told the story, leaving nothing out and when it was done, he felt drained but lighter, no longer bearing full responsibility for the story.
“We can pick up the story of your markings at any time. There is no need to do it all at once.”
“Very well,” Kotallo stood up, “for I am weary of the sound of my own voice.” He bowed to her and went to leave. “Gaia…is there a place where I would find watered down acid?”
“Many machines carry acid tanks but these are full strength.”
“I would not wish to pollute a clean water source with acid…”
“May I ask what this pertains to?”
“Removing the paint upon my skin, the colours of being a Marshal,” Kotallo turned to her, “to know what I look like…and to be a blank slate to carry the colours of my new life.”
“The only place I can recall, from previous data from Poseidon, is a water treatment facility in the southeast of what you refer to as No Man’s Land. There is a lake populated with Tiderippers, a machine designed to filter water, removing the acid from it. They take it to the facility and it is treated, removing all harmful elements and disposing of it safely.” Gaia studied him. “This facility would have several large tanks easily capable of full body immersion in a variety of acidic strengths…however, I must caution you, Kotallo, that while the facility is not a cauldron and thus, not guarded by machines, it is not a place or design you would be familiar with.”
“I am not asking Aloy for help,” Kotallo said firmly, “and I ask you not to tell her.”
“I dislike keeping secrets when there is a chance you could be injured.” Gaia argued calmly.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I go, immerse myself and return…it is not a dangerous endeavour.” Kotallo argued.
“As long as you make sure to scan the tank to make sure the acidity strength is below fifteen percent and you wear goggles to protect your eyes.” Gaia showed him an image. “Oseram often wear such items when working with sparking metal.”
“And I know there is a camp on the edge of the lake.” Kotallo mused. “Thank you, Gaia.”
“One more thing, Kotallo,” he turned back to her, “I will keep your confidence until and unless there is reason for me to believe that your life is in danger. My limited state means I cannot adequately ascertain the treatment plant’s current state.”
“I understand.” Kotallo bowed. “Again, I am in your debt.”
As he took the stairs to the common room, he considered asking Aloy for help but before he could even begin to reason why he should or shouldn’t, he heard the sounds of arguing and saw Erend and Zo glaring at each other while Aloy was almost between them. Alva hovered back a ways and Beta was nowhere to be seen.
“What is happening?” Kotallo asked.
“Ah…well…Zo just accused Erend of propositioning her…” Alva grimaced. “And now he’s saying he didn’t and she’s angry and he’s saying she never listens and now Aloy is in the fray keeping the peace…” She sighed. “They seemed to get along better, especially after Varl’s death but now…”
“I am in no mind for their petty squabbles.” Kotallo muttered.
“Me either. I’m almost asleep on my feet but I have to get close to them in order to get to the bedroom…even if I could sleep with all their arguing…”
Kotallo had to agree, no matter how tired he was and began to wonder if he ought to interject some reason when Sylens made an appearance.
“Have you no concept of the enormity of the challenges you face yet you stand there and fight like a couple of adolescents? If you must continue to snarl at each other, do so where none of us can hear you!”
Aloy snapped at Sylens to mind his own business but she grabbed Zo and Erend by the scruff of their necks and hauled them into another room, closing the door.
Alva breathed out in relief. “I guess now we can sleep.”
“Indeed.”
But Kotallo did not intend to sleep for long. What with Gaia in her limited mode and everyone exhausted from the attack on the Zenith base, Kotallo knew there was no big mission to prepare for that he was abandoning. He slept as well as he could then when he woke and felt perfectly rested, he got up, gathered his things and slipped out of the sleeping quarters, past the snoring Erend and the silent Alva into the common room.
He slung his swag onto his back and headed for the eastern exit. The sun was just dawning and though its rays were bright, they were crisp and as sharp as a blade. He jogged down the slopes until he reached flat enough ground for mounts to begin to gather in herds. He found a Charger herd and overrode one, climbing onto its back, wishing he’d thought to bring his saddle.
He suffered his aching backside as he rode southwards, across the lush perimeter of Utaru fields now in full bloom and healthy harvest, onto the red rock and dusty plains of Cinnabar Sands, through the hills, past Stone’s Echo and down the slope to the Oseram camp. The sun had not yet reached its zenith when he leapt from the Charger’s back and the Oseram at the camp beheld him in terror.
“Please, honourable Tenakth…do not slay us…we have kept our distance from your borders.”
“I am not here to kill anyone.” Kotallo looked around. “The eyewear you use to do metal work…I want a pair.”
To say that the Oseram were surprised was a great understatement however they were distressed to refuse him.
“We simply don’t have any with us. However, there are more delvers on the other side of the lake,” the Oseram pointed, “there’s a large gathering of ruins and a Carja scholar and his investor have taken a score of our people to a campsite to gather artifacts. It is more than possible that they will have what you seek.”
“Then I will inquire of them.” Kotallo mounted his Charger and turned its head northward until the lake turned shallow enough for him to cross then headed south, following the lake’s edge. It was not long before he came across the Carja scholar and his cynical investor and they were as equally terrified of him as the Oseram were. But the scholar suddenly gasped and pointed at his face.
“You…you wear the same adornment as the Saviour of Meridian! As Aloy!”
“She is my commander.” Kotallo explained.
“Oh!” The scholar clasped his hands together. “Well, any friend of Aloy’s is a friend of ours.”
“While I wouldn’t go that far,” the investor muttered, “she did clear out the machines from the delve site and get our expedition back on track…though it still hasn’t produced a single shard.”
“Good heavens, must you always count the cost of lives in shards?”
They were also surprised by his request and while they, too, could not supply the goggles, they accompanied him to the delve site where a pair were offered that were decently sealed.
“They will suffice.” Kotallo nodded. “What are you asking for them?”
“Only a small request,” the Carja scholar looked at the Oseram who had provided the goggles, “and only if you’re going further south?”
“I am.”
“A lone delver thought he’d check out the south of the lake,” the Oseram woman explained, “he wanted to scour its perimeter, sure there was something more down there…it’s been two days and he’s not returned. If you find any sign of him…”
“I will return with news of your missing Oseram if I find him.” Kotallo vowed. “I have my own purpose for heading south, however, I will keep my eyes open.”
“Thank you, noble Tenakth.” She bowed and stepped back.
“A capital fellow.”
“And I thought he was thirsty and stopped to enjoy fine Carja blood.”
“Hush…can you not see that we were wrong about the Tenakth?”
“Not all of them…”
Kotallo left the bickering pair and the grateful Oseram behind as he rode further south, past Glinthawks and Snapmwas. He checked his FOCUS and started to head west, still following the lake when he spied a dash of colour against the rocks. He turned the Charger’s head and approached it.
An Oseram campsite tucked into a cave that looked onto a secluded watering hole at the back of a canyon and a Tideripper played in the water at the lake’s edge.
So…the lone delver had made it this far…
However, there was no sign of him.
Kotallo shook his head and continued his way. Soon he had to dismount the Charger and clamber around the edge of the lake on foot, the way too slippery and at some points, too deep for the machine to manage. Also, there were more Snapmaws and even another Glinthawk nest on an island in the lake and Kotallo needed to be able to make himself invisible to avoid their attention.
Finally he reached the curve of the lake where Gaia said the treatment facility was.
He was rather confused. It was just a large, very deep, lake with no less than two Tiderippers swimming around its depths. There were a couple of large pillars sticking out of the water, remnants of the old world and at the very back, a large wall he could see no way over. Kotallo grunted, frustrated at having come so far as it began to rain and storm clouds circled overhead. Determined not to give up until he knew for certain, he dove into the water and, keeping out of the sight of the machines, swam up to the wall.
Before he could study it in detail, there was a loud churning noise and suddenly he was sucked downwards, dragged by the violent pull of water as it dropped through a chasm that had simply opened up in the bottom of the lake. He flailed his arms, having had the presence of mind to attach his artificial arm before setting out. As he fell his metal fingers scraped along the interior wall. He curled them over, scratching hard on its surface until they suddenly caught and he gasped for air, no longer surrounded by water as it fell to the bottom of the chasm then flowed away.
Kotallo looked up and activated his FOCUS.
He was in a large shaft that had opened in the lake and sucked down at least a quarter of its contents before closing again. He braced against the wall and looked down. Using his FOCUS he climbed to the bottom and put his feet on solid ground. Not wanting to hang around for another onslaught of water, he followed the tunnel that was slippery from the recent dowsing. Finally he reached the end where there was a large tank of water, easily as big as the throne room in the Grove. Kotallo walked along its edge, studying it.
“The acidity is high but not enough for my purpose,” he mused, “this must be where it is stored before the acid is removed from it. That means there must be another tank with stronger…what is that?”
In the water, floating near the edge, was a body. Kotallo sighed as he stood over the bloated corpse.
“The Oseram…poor fool must have been sucked down when the shaft opened and either drowned or…” Kotallo scanned him. His neck was broken. “I suppose an Oseram dying for the delve they love is an honourable death…though I fail to understand it.” He stood up and tapped his FOCUS. “Gaia?” There was no answer. “Gaia?”
Nothing.
Kotallo sighed and looked around. “I must find that acid tank and then a way out. The diagram Gaia gave me for the facility seems to say…I go this way.”
To say the going was easy would have been an outright lie. While there were no machines or doors to break down or through, Kotallo struggled mightily with the unnatural surrounds of the facility. He hadn’t liked GEMINI and he definitely didn’t like the Zenith base or the ruins it had been built on top of. He kept getting turned around and needed to keep his FOCUS on almost all the time. It meant his progress was slow. Sometimes he thought he was going in the right direction only to reach a dead end and discover he’d been following the map on a level lower than he was supposed to be.
When he finally seemed to be getting close as he walked along a set of pipes that were slick with acid, he heard the unmistakable sound of a bowstring behind pulled. He immediately unhooked Silent Kill and lunged out of the tunnel, bringing the blade up against Aloy’s throat as she aimed the arrow at his heart.