It took nearly two days for the group to make it back to Falkirk, and once again the guards made Nadia lower her hood, earning stares from Jonas and Georgie, while Jake and Rodney seemed to take her appearance in stride. Soon after, they’d made it back to the Hunter’s Hall where Jake was preparing to deliver the Iron Bear carcass.
“Are there any parts that won’t be sold?” She asked as they waited for a clerk to come collect it.
“Hmm… Might be able to get the paws. It’s the meat, organs, bones, fur and Essence Core that the Hall wants.” Jake replied after consideration.
Paws alright, Felix?
Acceptable material.
Okay then. She thought. “If they don’t need the paws, mind if I take them?” “Yeah, once it’s dismantled, you can take any leftovers you like.”
Not long afterwards the clerk had come by, and a crew of disassemblers had begun work on the carcass, carefully extracting the various valuable materials from its body.
“Here’s your pay. I put in an extra 10 silvers out of my own share.” Jake said. “Even if this was our first job together, you looked out for my crew and that ain’t nothing.” He passed her a leather pouch full of coins and shook her hand.
“Me and the boys are gonna take a few days off before we get back out there. If you’re still in town and needing work, you can leave a message for me at the Hall.”
With that, Jake waved and, after stopping to say a few words to the disassemblers, pointing at Nadia, he left, followed by Jonas and Georgie.
Rodney was still nearby, his expression shifting rapidly as he wrestled with some internal debate, before finally shaking his head, and walking up to Nadia.
“Hey there Nat, I uh…” The slender trapper began sweating, looking as though he might pass out in a moment due to awkwardness. “I was uh, wondering if you’d care to grab a drink? I know you’re new in Falkirk, and I could show you around on the way.” His voice trailed off, barely more than a mumble by the end of it.
“Sure. Soon as I grab the paws from these guys, I could use a drink.” She said. “Hmm… You’ve seen my tree shelter. Is it worth paying for an inn in this town, or would I be better off bunking outside the walls, you think?” She asked idly.
“That setup you’ve got is something else, that’s for sure.” Rodney said with a chuckle. “That being said… You should be careful of who you show those gadgets you carry around. That thing you used to fix up Jake, and your weapon… Greed is an ugly thing.”
“You’re not wrong.” She replied, thinking back to the temple and what happened with the Oman Clan.
Rodney spent a few minutes telling her various tidbits about the town until one of the disassemblers brought over the bear’s two surprisingly heavy paws in an oilcloth sack, passing them to Nadia. Finished there, she and Rodney made their way through the streets in search of a tavern.
~
Rodney and Nadia sat in a relatively quiet corner booth of one of Falkirk’s better inns, taking a much needed break with a large clay mug in front of each of them.
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Rodney began hesitantly. “What brings a lady like you to Falkirk?”
Nadia looked at Rodney over her mug, debating on what to say, and also chewing on how he’d phrased the question. “Lady?” She asked. “I’m looking for someone that I’ve lost. Beyond that… I suppose you could call me an explorer.”
“Well, now I don’t mean anything by it… it’s just… I figured you’d either have to be a Lady, or one of them Adepts at least, which amounts to the same thing anyways.” He said, uncertainty flashing across his face. “An explorer though? Certainly not the most ladylike profession, I’ll admit.”
“Adept?” Nadia asked, curious. “What’s that? Might use a different word, where I’m from.”
“Oh, you know. The folks that hold Artificia. Living artifacts.” He said, giving Nadia a chill. “Not too common those, but you hear stories about them now and then. My grandad used to tell me stories about an Adept from before even his time. Rölf the Worldbreaker. They said Artificium was a giant blade, bigger than a man, and he could hew mountains with a single sweep.”
His eyes took on a faraway quality as he told her of the legendary Adept’s fantastical feats. “My grandad loved telling stories like that. What’s not to like, right?”
“You may have a point there,” She replied with a chuckle.
The two finished their drinks while Rodney told her more stories, and they left the inn, making their way through the muddy streets as the sun began to set.
“So, what’s next for you, Nat?” Rodney asked as they prepared to part ways.
“There’s someone I need to find, so I may not remain in Falkirk for long… I actually had a thought on a possible lead during the hunt with you guys though.” She replied. “Nothing solid, but it’s a start. Jake offered to bring me in on another hunt in a few days, so if I’m still in town, we’ll see each other then.”
With a handshake, the two parted and Nadia made her way to the gate having decided her survival shelter was in fact more comfortable than the inns available in Falkirk.
~
Nat made her way a few hundred metres within the jungle, wanting to be far enough in that she wouldn’t be spotted from town before she pulled out the bag containing the Iron Bear paws.
Each paw weighed in at several kilogrammes, as the bears’ skin and flesh were extremely dense.
Alright, Felix. Eat up. She said, taking one paw in each hand. Indigo light flashed, and the paws seemed to melt away, flowing into her suit.
Form Acquired: Heavy Battle Suit
Attachment Acquired: Ironclaw Brawlers
Ironclaw Brawlers
+2 Physique
Impact Transfer - Release energy stored by Impact Absorption upon contact.
Impact Dampening - Absorb and store up to 30% of the kinetic force of received impacts up to saturation limit. Saturation limit based on available mass.
Her suit shifted in a way it hadn’t before, becoming more rigid as its new form was a heavy suit of power armour, as if her Evo Suit had been enhanced with a powered exoskeleton and centimetres thick armoured plating.
Mounted to each arm, the Ironclaw Brawlers looked like a pair of over-sized mechanical fists, with three vicious claws positioned at the knuckles to puncture and rip anything that they struck and a series of pistons set into the wrists, allowing a single hit to produce multiple strikes like a jackhammer.
She took a few experimental steps and found that despite its massive bulk, she felt almost none of the weight, but did notice that its manoeuvrability suffered due to inertia.
Well, I guess it’s built more to take hits than to avoid them. She thought to herself as she took a moment to appreciate it. If I’d had this when I’d met the Bone Stalker, I doubt that would have been such a close call.
She threw a few experimental punches with the Ironclaw Brawlers, and found that thankfully the battle suit had quite large mechanical feet that helped prevent her from overbalancing while striking.
Satisfied with the new form, she shifted back to the Evo Suit before finding herself a perch for the night.
~
The following morning, Nadia began her trek back to the Puddle Jumper, hopeful that Tracker’s Instincts would give her some clue as to the commander’s whereabouts.
She followed close to her original route, passing close to the former village of the Oman Clan, noting that a group seemed to have come through and ransacked it following the clan’s departure, but from what she could tell, they were no longer in the area.
Overhead, the survey drone circled keeping her updated on any movement, although she found herself relying on the tool less than she would have expected, as again, Tracker’s Instincts helped her maintain her orientation in addition to the early warning it provided her.
After a day and a half of travel, Nadia was back at the Puddle Jumper, relieved to see that nothing had tripped the proximity sensors since she had left, and indeed, the hatch was still closed.
After powering the hatch with her Evo Suit once more, she made her way inside, hoping to pick up on anything that might lead to the commander.
When she passed by the storage area holding the damaged survival equipment she’d left behind, Nadia paused, figuring Felix might be able to make use of some of the broken parts.
Hey, Felix. Does it matter if something is broken when you absorb it?
Outcome varies, depending on complexity.
Ok. Try this. Nadia sent to him after grabbing a damaged survival generator.
Attachment Acquired: Auxiliary Generator
Auxiliary Generator
+1 Magic
Generator - Passively increases storage and production of magic power.
Overload - Massively increase magic power production for a brief period before Generator must shut down temporarily.
That seems useful. Nadia thought, reaching for a survival shelter next.
Attachment Acquired: Deployable Habitat
Deployable Habitat
Deploy - Deploys a habitable structure that benefits from abilities, attachments and attributes provided by Felix. Configuration may vary.
Internal Storage - Allows for the storage and transport of items not exceeding an overall volume of 2m³.
She had Felix absorb a broken drone as she made her way through the ship, but unfortunately it didn’t lead to anything directly, and so she moved on to the armoury.
She still carried her survival gauntlet and rifle with her, but it had been too risky to have Felix absorb either of them if she didn’t have backups on hand. Now that she was back aboard, there was an additional rifle that she could use to avoid the risk, as well as additional gauntlets.
Attachment Acquired: Wavecaster Armament
Wavecaster Armament
Reconfigure - The Wavecaster can be reconfigured to take on the shape and function of projectile weapons absorbed by Felix.
Current forms:
- Viper Modular Rifle
- Survival Gauntlet
Having gained what she could from the supplies on board, Nadia made her way to the cockpit, pushing all of her focus into Tracker’s Instincts. As she held her concentration, she soon saw two paths illuminated on her HUD leading from the cockpit. One was her own path, indicated in yellow, and the other must have been John’s, indicated in red.
She followed the red path, sealing up the Puddle Jumper once more as she left, and saw that it led towards the temple, as she’d suspected.
She made her way back towards the temple, where the path turned, entering the same tunnel where she’d found Felix. She passed the alcove where she’d found him, following the trail as it led her down into the darkness.
John… If you’re alive, I’m going to find you.
