Sleep was out of the question.

The Mercenaries' attack had come just before dawn, and Aloy couldn't think of trying to get any more rest before sunrise. So she set out on her journey back to Skulldriver's Camp, grateful for the knowledge that the walk out of the narrow valley and descent down the steep hillside above the camp would take hours. She needed the time to compose her conversation with Skulldriver, to try to determine his plans for The Bunker, to try to negotiate for the lives of the Bunker residents that she knew: the girl Laborer Cary, Second Class (and her faithful companion, the dog Sem); perhaps Cary's friend, if he could be identified and convinced to leave; the guard who helped Aloy escape. Well, in hindsight, not all that many people I really want to save! she thought. And, she remembered, she would have to negotiate with Skulldriver for the life of Cass and all of the survivor's in Cass's village.

But Aloy did not set out alone. Cass was with her. Before leaving the village, Aloy had searched Cass out among the ruins, only to find her stuffing food and drink into a small knapsack and saying a quick goodbye to her son. "I have to face that ass someday," Cass had explained. "I've lost half my people, my best sentries, my doctor and my chief scientist. We won't survive another attack, and I'll bet one is coming. Maybe I can convince that murderous bastard that my people deserve to live. I'll gladly trade my life for theirs, if it comes to that."

They walked in silence for the most part, each listening for possible sounds of a rampaging Machine or a fresh onslaught of Mercenaries, or just the random passing Bandit. Fortunately, the walk was reasonably quiet and peaceful, and Aloy relished the warmth of the morning sun on her back as the two trekked toward the west.

Occasional chatter broke the silence, such as the time that Cass asked, almost whispering so as not to shatter the silence, "You said back in the village that you think a General in The Bunker ordered the Mercenary attack. Do you know for sure the person responsible? Can we use that information against her? Or him?"

"It's a him, his name is Ormstead. But I can't think of a way we can use that information to our advantage. It happens that General Ormstead is in charge of the Bunker guards. I know at least one of his guards wants out, and she told me there are more… so maybe… if we could get the word to the guards…"

"Yes?" replied Cass. "Go on?"

"… If we could let all the guards know that there is a way out of The Bunker, maybe we could get just a few to leave. Even if they wouldn't help us, at least they wouldn't be in our way."

Cass stopped abruptly, causing Aloy to stop and turn back, and ask, "What'd I say?"

"You're saying 'we' and 'us' for this Bunker assault. What are you scheming?"

"Well come on, let's keep going, I'll tell you what I'm thinking…" The two continued their trek.

"I'm thinking," Aloy explained, "that if Skulldriver invades The Bunker, there are two likely outcomes: one, he succeeds and everyone in The Bunker gets killed, or two, he fails and everyone in his Camp gets killed. I don't have a lot of love for anyone in either place, and I think something bad's going to happen no matter what I try, so think it'd be best if we could minimize the killing, that's all."

"Okay, let me get this straight," Cass laughed sarcastically, "you and I are going to sneak into The Bunker, get all the good people out, then let Skulldriver loose on them. Is that your plan?"

"No, not at all!" Aloy joined Cass in laughter. She thought for a moment before continuing, "though I do like part of what you said: if we can get a few people out of The Bunker, I'd be willing to help Skulldriver with his plans. Provided he'll promise immunity for anyone who survives, and he'll give me access to all the books and holodisks we can find."

"You know," Cass replied, "that's a nutty plan. You're going to be negotiating with a lunatic, and then – even if that lunatic agrees – you're going to have to figure out how to get back in The Bunker, avoid the lunatics there, and get people out peacefully. Then you're going to have to hope the first lunatic wins. And hope it doesn't turn even more crazy in the process."

"It does seem a bit… um… farfetched, doesn't it?" Cass was right – the plan did sound nutty.

"Yep, and if I'd heard this yesterday I'd say you're the more dangerous lunatic and you need to be locked away. But now… knowing you, seeing what you can do, seeing your strength and will… I believe you just might pull this thing off."

After this exchange, they walked again in silence, until they reached the hillside where the walk changed to a descent. Aloy searched for the first good handhold, but before she could start down, Cass reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Listen," Cass said, "we need to talk about something."

Aloy could see the sincerity in Cass's eyes: there was something bugging her.

"Alright," Aloy replied, "let's sit and have a little water before we go on."

The two women sat atop the hill, looking down in the direction of the Skulldriver Camp – the village of Gorman – but were unable to see the village just yet. Aloy noted that she could see two stretches of what appeared to be trails or roads, running left to right in the valley far below and in the distance. Gorman should be just out of view to the right, next to the nearest of the two trails.

Cass took a long drink from a goatskin bag and passed it to Aloy. "I don't think I should go with you into the Camp."

Aloy was not surprised. "I understand," she said, "I knew you'd feel that way. If Skulldriver gets as irrational as you say he can, he probably won't want to see either of us. I'll go first and talk to him. If he doesn't attack me and I think he's willing to listen to you, I'll signal you. Okay?"

"That sounds good," Cass replied. "Look, I'm sorry for leaving you on your own here – "

"I hope you won't leave me entirely on my own! There are places on the hill where you can hide, so if Skulldriver goes completely lunatic on me you can protect my ass while I run away."

"Of course," Cass answered, "but I don't know how much good I'll be at long range with just a spear and a knife…"

"Can you shoot straight?"

"Yes, I think so… I haven't tried in years, but I used to be pretty good with bow and arrow."

"Great, then when we find a place for you to hang out, I'll leave you my bow and all my arrows. Some have special… abilities… so we'll review them before I talk to Skulldriver."

"It's a deal," Cass answered. "If you're ready I'm ready. Let's go!"

Aloy took a swig from Cass's water bag, capped it, and handed it back. Then she stood, adjusted the gear pack strapped over her shoulder, and began the long descent toward Gorman.

The descent was slow enough as the pair scoured for solid footing and secure handholds, but made even slower as they continually paused to listen for voices or watch for any telltale signs of life. It wouldn't be a good idea to meet a climbing Bandit unprepared, and they didn't want to find themselves suddenly dropping into Skulldriver's lair.

The sun was shining on the hillside as they got within earshot of the Camp. Aloy could hear voices, what sounded like casual conversation, as she peered over a ledge: below was the southernmost point of the Camp, Skulldriver's damaged orchard spreading out below her and to her right, toward the north. The voices belonged to a group of workers tending the trees, most of which were devoid of leaves or fruit, the closest devoid of limbs – thanks to Cass's team's raid on the Camp just two nights ago.

The handful of laborers were unarmed, and as far as Aloy could see there were no guards nearby: Skulldriver either wasn't worried about a daylight raid or he considered these lowly day workers unworthy of protection.

"This is a good spot," Aloy whispered as she removed her weapons sling and handed her bow and quiver to Cass. "If you lean over you can see the edge of the Camp. I'm going to talk to those people and see if I can get Skulldriver to come out here to meet me. It may take a little time, so don't give up on me!"

After a brief introduction to Aloy's bow and the assortment of Precision and Fire Arrows in her quiver, Cass settled into a thatch of tall grass that made a natural blind just feet from the edge of the orchard. Aloy moved a few feet to her left, and with a loud grunt and a solid thud, leapt to the solid soil marking the pathway encircling the orchard. She had no intention of appearing to be stalking the farmworkers. She kept her lance stowed in the wrap behind her back, hands empty.

Two nearby workers looked over at her, startled by the sounds she made, and froze in fear.

"Hello!" Aloy called out calmly. She started to say "remember me?" but stopped short when she realized that, first, she'd really met very few of the residents of Gorman, and two, even if she'd met these people two days ago, it was when she was pretending to be a threatening Bandit and not a firehaired (firescalped?) adventurer.

The workers appeared to be quite young, younger than Aloy, a boy and a girl. The nearest, the girl, spoke first. "H-Hello?" Aloy could sense the apprehension in the girl's voice.

"I'm a friend of Skulldriver," Aloy stated as she walked, as casually as she could, in the girl's direction. "I was here a few days ago. I brought some… friends of mine… to this Camp to get medical attention. Skulldriver asked me to do him a favor, and I'm just returning. Could one of you go and let him know I'm here?"

The second worker, barely in his teens, with dirty ragged clothes and dirt smudged on his face, scowled at Aloy in reply. "You want to tell him, go find him yourself."

By this time Aloy was within arm's reach of the girl. "Hi, I'm Aloy."

The girl looked frightened, but her glances toward the boy told Aloy that she didn't want to let him see her fear. "I'll get Skulldriver for you."

"Why's he gotta come to you?" the boy scowled as he approached the pair.

"Well… he doesn't, really, it's just that I'm sort of a stranger in Camp and I don't know how the guards will react if they see a stranger wandering around. But if Skulldriver comes here I can just wait for him."

"Yeah, alright," the boy replied, "but he's likely to throw you in a cage when he sees you. Or maybe he'll do something worse."

"Thanks for the warning, but I'll take my chances," Aloy said curtly as she turned to the girl. "Will you tell Skulldriver that Aloy – the Red Devil – is back?"

The girl glanced once again at the scowling boy, then, without answering, turned and started running down the open pathway next to the orchard. Aloy watched her disappear from sight, then turned back to the boy, who looked even more unhappy.

"Where'd you come from?" the boy asked.

"Hmmm…. do you mean, where was I born? Or where was I just a few minutes ago?"

"You're just like all the women around here, ya stupid bitch!"

"You know," Aloy said in a stern voice, "everything you just said is wrong: I'm not a bitch, I'm not stupid, and I guarantee you that I'm totally unlike any other woman around here. And I hope your mother doesn't hear you talk like that."

"I don't have a mother."

"Oh, I see… I'm sorry. Did she live here, in the Camp?"

"No, well maybe, actually I don't know. I was told she died when I was little and I was raised by a guy who worked here. So I only know this Camp."

"We have something in common," Aloy explained. "I didn't have a mother either. I was raised by a very brave man who taught me manners, including to respect my elders."

"Yeah? How old are you?"

"Twenty. You?"

The boy's dour expression softened just a bit. "You're twenty? Wow, I thought you were really old! I'm thirteen."

"You seem quite mature for a thirteen-year-old," Aloy lied: she thought he acted much more like a spoiled brat, but she had to pass the time somehow, so she decided to try a little kindness.

"Hey, I'm not that much younger than you, and I know a lot of stuff. Like, I know about sex and stuff."

This conversation, Aloy realized, was rapidly getting off track. "Good for you," she said, as she looked down the row of trees in the direction the girl had run. "I wonder if your friend found Skulldriver yet."

"She's not my friend! I hate her, she's just a silly girl!"

"So you know 'stuff,' do you? You know what happens to girls? They grow up to be women. Maybe if you were nicer to her now she'll like you when you're older.

"And here comes Skulldriver now!" Aloy was relieved to see the immense, hulking figure of the Camp leader appear from behind (and, she noticed, towering a bit taller than) the trees in the distance. The girl who had gone in search of him was beside him, almost in a sprint to keep up with the man almost three times her height.

The boy turned as Aloy spoke, saw Skulldriver, and dashed into the orchard at high speed.

As Skulldriver and the girl approached, Aloy noted a third person trailing behind them, also struggling to keep pace. It was Paintface.

Skulldriver waved a hand at Aloy as the trio neared her. "Hello, my dear! How nice to see you again. And you look much better now that you've dropped that silly Bandit disguise – it didn't fit you anyway. And you're cleaner, too!"

"Good to see you too, Skulldriver," Aloy replied as she glanced from the hulk of a man to the much smaller Paintface only now reaching them. "Hi, Paintface, I'm glad to see you're okay."

"Okay? Why wouldn't she be okay?" Skulldriver looked puzzled. "What were you expecting?"

"Oh, nothing, just making polite conversation," Aloy answered in a light voice: she half-expected Paintface to be either in mourning for the recent loss of her husband – if she yet understood – or in some torture chamber somewhere for failing her job as a Bandit. She noted that Paintface seemed to hesitate and glance at Skulldriver beside her before speaking.

"Why, I'm fine, as you can see, Red Devil," Paintface stuttered ever so slightly.

Skulldriver glanced at Paintface and then looked again at Aloy. Then he turned to his left, where the young girl stood, transfixed by Aloy's shimmering armor, and waved silently to dismiss her. The girl turned and walked into the orchard, disappearing from view in seconds. "Let's knock off that 'Red Devil' crap, okay? I know your name is Aloy, and I'm hoping you've got some good news for me."

"Good news?"

"Yes. Tell me you found the scoundrels who raided my orchard, and tell me they're all dead, and we'll hold a party tonight in your honor!"

"Yeah, well, it didn't go exactly like that…"

"What do you mean, not 'exactly'? Are the assholes dead or not?"

"Some of them," Aloy replied – referring in this case not to anything she'd done, but to the loss of life from the Mercenary attack. But Skulldriver didn't need to know that just yet.

"Some of them. Okay… was there a real skinny, tall, dark-haired woman among 'em? Looks kind of like she might keel over dead any minute? A real mouthy bitch, just askin' to be put out of her misery?"

"There was a tall woman in the group, yes," Aloy replied, "but she doesn't fit anything else you described. Great warrior, leader of a group of warriors."

"That sounds like her. I bet she was just laughin' at what she did to my almond trees, wasn't she?"

"I didn't see her laughing about it, no."

"Yeah, well, whatever," Skulldriver sneered. "Just as long as she's dead."

"About that…" Aloy trailed off as she heard a voice in the distance behind her.

"About that, you son of a goat, I am not dead." It was Cass, rising from the hill behind and above Aloy, approaching the group. "You want to try and finish it? Let's go, right here and now!"

Skulldriver's face turned red – at least Aloy thought so: between the hazy afternoon sun and the leader's scarred and damaged face, it was not easy to be sure that it was a reaction and not just the bright sunlight hitting his face. She was certain, though, that he was angry, appeared close to breaking into a rage, and the impression was confirmed when he pulled a sharp, long-bladed knife from the belt around his waist.

"I guess I gotta finish the job…" Skulldriver started walking slowly and deliberately toward Cass. Aloy reached behind her, grasped her lance, and pulled it above her head and out of its resting place in her pouch. She grasped the lance with both hands and stepped between Skulldriver and Cass, now only steps apart on the dirt trail.

"STOP!" Aloy shouted at Skulldriver. The ferocity in her voice clearly caught Skulldriver by surprise, as he took a quick step backward and looked down at the relatively slight figure of the Nora woman before him.

"Don't you interfere," Skulldriver scowled, "I've got nothing against you. If you wanna die too, wait yer turn and I'll get to ya."

"No one's dying here," Aloy responded, forcefully yet calmly. "Look, if you two want to finish your little lover's quarrel, that's your business, but do it some other time. We've got bigger issues to resolve."

That seemed to work: Skulldriver's interest was piqued. He lowered his right arm to his side, loosening his grip on the knife, as he spoke. "Issues? What kind of issues?"

"Let's start with survival. You've built a great village here, Jhonn…" she paused to let that sink in. Skulldriver took a moment to respond.

"No one's called me that name for months. Maybe years. Obviously Cassandra told you my name, but I'm not Jhonn anymore. I'm Skulldriver."

"It's time you went back to being a little more Jhonn the leader and less Skulldriver the monster."

"You know," Skulldriver spoke slowly and carefully, "if you weren't Aloy the Anointed, the Machine Tamer, the Bandit Slayer… whatever other shit you've got hanging on you… I'd slit yer throat for sayin' that."

"How about just Aloy of the Nora, or maybe Aloy, someone who really wants to make things better?"

"Alright, Aloy of the Nora, since yer so smart, what should Jhonn do now? And why?"

"What you do, I think we need to talk about. Why you do it is to make this village into a place where people like Paintface here, and the kids you have slaving in your orchard, and your son who had to go into exile to get away from you, can live in peace."

"Does that mean… is my boy alright? He's not dead or nothin'?"

"No thanks to you, no, he's not dead," Cass spoke up. "But there's a threat. Mercenaries. Aloy thinks someone in The Bunker hired them."

"Mercenaries? Like, hired killers? What'd they do?" Skulldriver asked.

"They were after me," Aloy interjected, "and I think they tracked me down to… I've got to tell him, Cass, he's got to know… to a small village, where I met Cassandra, and your son, and others who are trying to survive on their own. Mercenaries invaded before sunrise this morning and wiped out half the village. Cass set the village up to give people like her a place to live, and I drew killers there. And I think the leaders from The Bunker will try again."

"I don't understand," Skulldriver said. "Why would anyone in The Bunker want to kill you? Why'd they think they could kill you? There ain't many people that don't know about you, ya know, and how you seem to cheat death over and over again. I think some of 'em are startin' to think you got super powers, or you're some kinda religious figure or somethin'."

"I'm flattered people would think that," Aloy replied as she lowered her lance to her side. "But I'm pretty sure I'm human like you and everyone else. I've just been lucky.

"I'll be happy to tell you all about my tour of The Bunker and my… 'encounter'… with one of its leaders. But we have something we need to work out right now."

"Okay, go ahead."

"There are maybe a thirty people still alive in Cass's village, but some of them are hurt pretty badly and some are children. They need to be moved to a safer place. We want them to move here."

"Nope, not gonna happen," Skulldriver shook his head emphatically. "You know, you saw a couple nights ago when you came in here pretendin' to be a Bandit with a bunch of other Bandits – we let people move in, we've been doin' it for years, but we're runnin' short o' food for 'em. We can't take more freeloaders."

"They won't be freeloaders," Aloy promised.

"My people can fend for themselves. They have stores of food to bring in, they can plant crops and grow their own food, and they can even produce more than they can eat. They just need the protection of the walls of Gorman, and your elite guards, to help them survive."

"Jhonn…" Aloy began, "I'm asking you, begging you, to let them move here. Let them take a corner of your village, Cass will be their leader and you don't have to do anything but give them protection. They'll stay to themselves if you want, and they'll provide extra food for your village.

"And I promise, if you'll do that, I'll help you invade The Bunker."

Skulldriver perked up at that last comment. He tried to look indifferent, but Aloy knew she'd made an impact. "Not much of an offer, one underweight girl helping me and my army…"

Aloy snickered.

"…But then, you do know more about The Bunker than I do, so you might be useful."

"So it's a deal?" Aloy asked. "Can Cassandra return to her village and round up her people?"

"Wait, not so fast!" Cass interrupted. "I need some assurances. We can not go back to our old ways, you and I. You will not see your son unless I say it's okay, you will not overrule me at any time when it comes to my village, and you will not touch me, nor will you order any of your thugs to touch me, as long as we live in peace. Agreed?"

Skulldriver laughed before answering. "Huh, ya know, Cassandra, I kinda like you with a little backbone! You've changed a bunch since you slithered away. Yeah, okay, I agree to all that. You can run your little corner of the village and I won't interfere, 'slong as you don't try to take over any of mine."

Cass looked relieved, though Aloy knew she was also wary – Cass knew better than to trust this man completely. Hopefully, their mutual dislike and distrust would allow them to settle on a workable compromise in the future. If there is a future.

"Cass, you go back and get everyone to pack up. It's going to be tough for anyone too injured to climb down that hill, so you might have to look for a shallower way around.

"I'm going to stay here and find shelter for you and the villagers. Then Jhonn and I will start planning our attack on The Bunker."

Cass nodded silently and turned to start back up the hill behind her when Skulldriver spoke. "Hold it, hold it, don't go off on yer own. I'm gonna get ya a little help."

Skulldriver turned to face the orchard and yelled in a deep, threatening voice, "Hey, you kids, get yer asses over here!"

Cass and Aloy looked at one another, then toward the orchard. There, walking slowly, emerged the boy and girl who'd been tending the orchard when they first arrived.

"Have they been there this whole time? Could they hear us?" Cass asked.

"Yep, I'm sure of it," Skulldriver answered. "'Cause I know this type, they can't keep their noses outta other peoples' business. And since they ain't doin' their work, they might as well help you, Cass."

"Well, alright, I can use the help," Cass said, "I'll explain what's going on as we walk."

"Won't be necessary," Skulldriver chuckled, "I guarantee you they heard everything already. If you two weren't here I'd probably just lop off their heads for bein' snoops, 'cause I can count on 'em bein' snitches too. But I guess you need 'em alive more'n I need 'em dead."

Based on the outcome of the negotiations, Aloy suspected Skulldriver was not really serious: he didn't seem the type to wantonly slaughter kids for being nosy. She knew that Skulldriver's true nature lay somewhere between his gruff but ultimately kind exterior, and the horrific demon Cass had made him out to be. No one was as good as one's friends might say, or as bad as one's enemies say.

Overall, Aloy decided that the negotiations had gone as well as she could ever have hoped. If only things always went that smoothly.