>>5328861“We’ll go on Knights for endurance’s sake. Cloaked, of course.” You announce, a troupe of scoutlings slipping silently from your hive and flitting off (just as silently ) to survey No-Man’s Land while another platoon emerges to gird the two girls before you, their newly-equipped carapaces shimmering in the Crucible’s wan light. “We’ll stay low, stay silent, and stay safe. This is just a scouting mission, for now.”
“Hear you loud n’ clear, chief.” Rath smirks as she fires off a two-handed salute before jerking one of her left thumbs over her shoulder. “So just to be clear, what’s the deal with that guy?”
Glancing over her head and in the direction of the smoldering digit, you find the Vagrant where you’d last seen him—the amalgam still cross-legged on a distant outcropping, still sipping his tea in a manner so measured and human as to be unnerving.
“Honestly? No idea, but I figure extending an olive branch wouldn’t be a bad idea.” You say, a quartet of basic constructs buzzing from the holes along your spine to go greet, escorted by a traditional FuzzBuzz envoy. “If he’s interested in communicating, then our scouts will still have made some western headway so we won’t lose too much ground.”
Your scouts and envoys headed in opposite directions, you shift your attention to Amara, who’s striding up to you and positively beaming with pride.
“Hey, kiddo…you show those girls a thing or two about fencing?” Rath grins, and your little one fixes the other girl with a smile.
“No, I taught ‘em about swords! I dunno nothin’ about fences.”
“Well I’m sure they appreciated it, sweetie.” Gina says, kneeling down as Rath tries to keep her laughter under control. “Now that you’re here, we can tell you what we’re planning to do next…”
The whole ‘stay silent’ aspect of the mission briefing is one you’ll have to keep reminding Amara about, since when GG pet slip that you’d be flying over No-Man’s Land she squealed with such joy that you were sure West Prime could’ve heard her. After briefly bidding what you hope to be a short-lived goodbye to Dorian, Julia, and the others, you quickly outfit Amara with a similarly cloaked exoshell just as your FuzzBuzz makes contact with the enigmatic Amalgam.
Up-close, you find him hunched over a worn set-up, an array of mismatched plates and cups surrounding a dented tea kettle, held over an open flame atop a rickety grate. He’s shrouded in a heavy leather cloak, the flesh still bright scarlet and betraying little of the being’s actual appearance aside from an angular frame and an array of spines that prop up the cloak along his back, though whether they’re part of his body or the Relics he’s rumored to be collecting is left to your imagination.
“Hello there.” You begin, watching as the Vagrant slips a gnarled hand from one ragged sleeve, beckoning your ambassador closer.
(Continued)
