The day was clear and mild as John continued walking on the trail that wound through the hilly landscape, dotted by the odd grove of trees. At least those that the Chariot Line Model did not consume. He even encountered dead trees whose size showed that they must have started growing long before the Chariot Line Model was ever invented. There were streams with simple bridges across them that were bound with blue cable. He passed through the various villages and hamlets that dotted the trail. Each of them had Chariot Line Models that had arisen from the ground. Its denizens also suffered from their attacks as well. They took notice of John and asked if it was the same up the trail, of which John verified.
John continued walking, hoping to travel as far along as he could and get into a village where he could spend the night within, and ideally all before sunset. Given that the wilderness had since become a more dangerous place than back in his day, and that the only mode of land travel was by feet, the land had to be peppered with hamlets and villages with inns to stay in.
It was late in the evening as he happened upon another Oseram hamlet. It was here that he decided that he would spend the night. And a good thing too because his legs were starting to ache. He hoped that he had enough shards for it.
He looked for a larger than usual building as he had learned while passing through the hamlets that Oseram inns also functioned as ealdorman meeting rooms, so it needed to be large as important stuff also went on in them. He found just such a building and did a brief scan to see the colored shapes of people inside sitting around at tables, along with a long bar in one area. He felt satisfied over having found the place and entered. The smell of scrappersap was heavy in the air. Oseram men and women sat around at wooden tables, talking, eating and drinking. Instead of a festive mood it was more somber, no doubt due to what had taken place.
John walked up to the innkeeper at a bar, a Black man with pitch-dark skin and a bald crown. He would have had a full beard but his chin was clean shaven, something that John had come to notice upon the many faces of Oseram men he had encountered.
"Is it possible to get a room for the night?" John asked.
"Sorry," the innkeeper answered in a gruff voice. "Ever since those machines popped up out of the ground and went on a rampage, my rooms have been taken over. And I doubt you'll have any luck with any of the other inns elsewhere in the townships. Care for a drink instead?"
"What can I get for ten shards?"
The innkeeper took out a small glass and filled it with a bit of scrappersap, then filled the rest with water.
"Thanks," John answered as he offers the ten shards. "And where are the latrines in here?" Remembering that that is what the Harguess called toilets when he had stayed with Gearo and her family.
"They're down that hallway," the innkeeper answered as he points to one side long enough for John to take notice.
John took a swig of the drink. Even watered down, the scrappersap was strong enough to cause him to wince and groan with a wry face.
"Did you just come from High Hopes?" the innkeeper asked.
"Yes," John answered. "But it was wiped out and I'm the only survivor."
"That's too bad," the innkeeper said, then left it at that as he walked away to tend to something else.
John thanked him and headed toward the latrines. Afterwards, he exited the tavern and searched for a place to pitch his tent. He could see that there were a number of tents about the place, given the destruction that the Chariot Line Model had caused. He searched for an ideal spot and pitched his tent. It was a small simple domed tent that was large enough for one person and their gear, or for two people without gear. The fabric was waterproof and the door was a vertical slit high off the ground to prevent insects from casually crawling in and an overflap to prevent rain, snow, or wind from entering. Inside, he rolled out his sleeping mat and laid upon it.
With little else to do, John tried to focus on going to sleep. It was difficult to do with Oseram still going about the place.
John awoke and checked the time on his focus to find that it was oh five hundred and fifty-four hours. He was able to fall asleep after all. Even though there was a chill in the air last night, his pilfered clothing was able to keep him warm after all. He decided to get up and get going. Once outside, he could see that the sky was clear as the stars and half moon showed. He packed up the tent and had some travel rations to eat. He hoped that the sky stayed clear until he reached Meridian, but understood that he needed to assume that he will be traveling in unagreeable weather.
Hefting his backpack onto his back, he looked in the direction he must take and sighed.
"And so went my journey through the Claim," John said. "Not a day went by that I didn't encounter more of those robots I thought I would never have to see ever again. I also passed more of Gaia's animal robots as they went about their work or simply paced about the landscape, especially the new models whose purpose was to hunt humans. And as always, the machine blinder hid me from them. I passed more Oseram on the trail and learned from them about the damage further ahead, and also told them the same things back up the trail. I passed through more hamlets and villages that had also suffered damage and loss. Whenever I rested for the night it was to pitch my tent because as it was, the inns in the various hamlets and villages were filled with the homeless. As I am sure you're also used to having to answer the call of nature out there on the trail with having to duck away from the road and into the forest and all. Though where I was traveling through, there wasn't much of that. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to be seen from a distance squatting down? And don't get me talking about the mess I had to clean off! Leaves only go so far in that task, you know. The weather also did not always cooperate as there were days when it not only snowed but rained as well, and at times with strong winds to boot. Fortunately, I made the right choice in the clothes that I took from High Hopes. The thing about the snow is that it would've been too warm for it to fall this far south at this time of the year back in my day."
"So was it warmer back in your day?" Aloy asked.
"Yes it was, and it was due to global warming. Though ironically it could cause extreme weather events that also included cold and snow earlier than expected as well. It fact, the earth was getting warmer by the decade because we were polluting it with carbon dioxide and it was feared that earth would become a hothouse where it only snowed in or near the polar regions, those being at the top and bottom of Earth respectively. That fear became irrelevant because the Faro Swarm had turned the world into a hothouse. But on with the story . . ."
John reached another village. Like the rest he had passed, there were more Chariot Line Models idling about. He next felt cause for concern when he noticed that a nearby Oseram man had done a double take at him and briskly strode toward John with an intent stare while fishing around in his pocket.
The man pulled something out and placed it onto the side of his face to show that it was a focus, much to John's surprise.
The man stopped before John, who could see that the man's focus gave off a yellow color.
"Where did you get your focus?" the man demanded in a low tone.
"I could ask you the same thing," John answered.
"Fine, mine was given to me. And yours?"
"Same here."
"And clearly not by the same people since ours are giving off a different color light."
"You're the first person I've met who has a focus! Am I the first person you've met to have one too?"
The man was silent for a moment as he stared back at John.
"There are others, aren't there?" John whispered as he leaned slightly toward the man's face.
"Yeah," the man said reluctantly. "But if you're gonna go look for them, know this: only one of them is a good person. The rest are scum. Though I doubt any of the scum are still alive."
"So who is this good person you met with their own focus?"
For a moment, the man did not answer as he stared back at John. He had a look of uncertainty, almost as if . . . he was hesitant to answer.
"A Nora girl," the man finally answered.
"Nora?" John asked.
"She's a member of a tribe called the Nora. They live to the east of the Sundom. It's strange that she has a focus because the Nora shun the ruins of the Metal World, along with its devices. They consider them cursed."
"What's her name?"
The man remains silent.
"I'm not gonna do her any harm," John insisted as held his hands aloft.
The man's look softens. "Aloy. Her name's Aloy."
"Aloy of the Nora. What does she look like?"
"Describe him," Aloy said.
"He had light skin, bald, brown eyes, and a mustache and sideburns," John answered. "He wore an armless vest and had a large circle tattooed on the side of his left upper arm."
"Olin."
"What?"
"His name's Olin."
"You know him?"
"Yes, but I'll tell you about him later. So how did Olin describe me?"
"As having a strong study face like an Oseram lass and red hair full of braids."
"Yeah, I guess that must be an accurate description of me."
"Have you ever looked in a mirror?"
"What's a mirror?"
"It's a sheet of glass with a super reflective surface for looking at yourself in."
"Oh, you mean a looking glass . . . No, I've never seen one before. But I've seen my reflection on the surfaces of metal that was shiny enough."
"Anyway, to continue . . ."
"I think I saw her mother too," Olin answered. "Or at least a woman who looked a lot like Aloy. It was up in Maker's End before a huge metal door."
"Describe the door," John asked.
"It's inside a cave with a huge platform leading up to it. The door is huge, round, and black with red beams of light in it. And fire to my soul, when I stepped up to it I heard that woman's voice from out of nowhere saying, 'hold for identiscan', whatever that means. Then a red beam of light shone over me. That's when I saw that woman's image, along with an image of a twisting ladder. The unseen woman next said, 'genetic profile not confirmed. Entry denied', whatever that means."
"But I knew what that meant," John stated. "It meant one of the facilities for Project: Zero Dawn."
"Did you think of going to Maker's End?" Aloy asked.
"You bet I did. I decided right then and there to go pay a visit to that place and find out what I could before going to go to Meridian. I then bid that Olin fellow a good day and left . . ."
John continued on his journey as he thought about this turn of events. So there were others out there with focuses in their possession! As for this place called Maker's End, it definitely sounded like a facility for Project: Zero Dawn. And of course Dr. Sobeck's image will be in it, since her DNA takes precedence due to her being the Alpha of Project: Zero Dawn. This Aloy of the Nora also piqued his curiosity since she also has a focus of her own and apparently bore a striking resemblance to Dr. Sobeck.
John passed through or stayed at various Oseram settlements. The smell of smoke from their forges, the repetitive clinking of their hammers from being attached to waterwheels, and their arguing began to typify the Oseram even more. Like the Harguess, they were a racially diverse lot yet seemingly all of the Oseram he had ever seen were mesomorphic, naturally large boned and muscled. More machines were encountered, both of Gaia and the now dormant Chariot Line Model alike. Oseram started scrapping those machines and this made John concerned as they might try to tinker with them and inadvertantly duplicate Ted Faro's technology.
"I took it upon myself to warn any Oseram I saw scrapping them," John said. "I was so concerned that I didn't care if I ended up giving away my origins. I just wanted to make them fearful of tinkering with those Faro machines."
"Yep, those Oseram really love to tinker with machines," Aloy said dryly. "I get the feeling that they'll be the ones to resurrect the Metal World, probably even the technology of the Faro machines. So what did you tell them?"
"That those machines ended the Metal World. Of course, they challenged me over how I would know that, so I asked them if they had ever seen such machines before, to which they answered no. I also pointed out that those machines just rose up out of the ground after being buried for so long and that if they go tinkering with them, this world will wind up like the Metal World and we will all go the way of the Old Ones. That always seemed to cause any Oseram to pause and think about that. So to continue . . . It was an overcast morning when I reached a town called Broken Hill and asked which way to the Sundom and was pointed south. I didn't have far to walk when I reached a large metal gate of bars built into a passage through a cliff. I knew that this had to be the border to the Claim as I was told that it was a large metal gate grating . . ."
John walked up to it and clasped the bars to look out beyond them. He could see a settlement off in the distance looking like a typical Oseram settlement. Beyond that John could see relatively flat rocky treeless land with a river cutting through it as far as his eyes could see. Along with more dormant Scarabs and Kopesh.
He opened the gate and walked through, closing it behind him. He found it strange that no one was guarding this gate and that it was not locked. It must have meant that the Oseram were confident that no one was going to invade. That thought made him remember those Red Raids that Gearo and her family had told him about.
John decided that he would rest for a lunch after reaching that settlement. There he will learn more about Meridian, and possibly this Aloy.
He walked down the trail and arrived at the settlement. He asked a local the name of the place and learned that it was called Pitchcliff. Satisfied with that answer, John looked for a place to sit and have a lunch of travel rations. He watched as the Oseram go about their business while he ate and took a drink of water. He caught snippets of their conversation . . .
" . . . There are so many of these damned Corruptors and Deathbringers . . . !"
" . . . How many of them are there . . . ?!"
" . . . I've heard they popped up as far away as the northern area of the Claim . . . !"
" . . . But what caused them to stop . . . ?!"
Upon finishing his lunch, John decided to figure out where this Maker's End was located before asking directions to Meridian. He looked around wondering who to ask and decided upon a man with a black heavy handlebar mustache and wearing furs with a leather hat looking like a crown that marked him as an ealdorman.
"Excuse me," John said to get the ealdorman's attention. "But do you know where I can find a place called Maker's End?"
The ealdorman looked John over. "Not from these parts, are ya? Must be from that Harguess tribe to the west, given your garment an' all."
"I came from High Hopes," John answered.
"High Hopes, eh? You've come far in order to go to Maker's End."
"So where is it?"
The ealdorman pointed toward the open land south. "Down that road is a fork in the road. Take the one on your right and stay on it because it'll take ya right into Shattered Kiln. It'll take a day ta get there though. It used ta be a bandit camp built upon a Metal World ruin until it was cleared out and now proper people live there. Then go past it and into the mountains where further in you'll encounter a bunch of ruined towers and palaces. That's Maker's End. It's high up in the mountains, so there'll be cold and snow. There used to be Shadow Carja up there, but I think they all got cleared out like the bandits."
John thanked the ealdorman and left Pitchcliff, heading down the road. To the south was land that stretched out further than his eyes could see that was once called the American Southwest. It was a land of reddish stony soil covered with sage, cacti, and other vegetation associated with the region. More Faro machines, silent and still were seen dotting the landscape, along with Gaia's machines as they traversed over its terrain. Another river ran south then curved through a canyon that could be seen off in the distance. He took the road going off to his right, making it west. He encountered machines called Shellwalkers that resembled giant fiddlercrabs as they stacked large octagonal tanks that they had on their backs. He was unsure of what their purpose was but kept on walking. His machine blinder kept him invisible to these crab-like machines. Come to think of it, that ealdorman was matter-of-fact in mentioning them, meaning that they were only a threat if you attacked them.
John walked with the mountains to his right and the river to his left. Beyond that river stretched the hilly landscape. He could see the animal robots that dotted the landscape in various places. Worse, were the Faro machines scattered throughout the landscape silent and still.
John trudged onward, keeping the mountains on his right and by evening approached a walled town as the road led directly into the place. Its wooden walls were blackened with equally blackened posts jutting out of them. The road led directly into that place and he entered. There were people walking about the place, Oseram and Carja alike. A merchant was nearby. The new community was clearly built upon a ruined concrete building with its large rusted steel girders protruding out bent and broken at various angles. Nostalgia overcame John as he stared at that ruined building.
"Never seen a ruin from the Metal World before, stranger?" A man quipped, snapping John out of his nostalgia.
"Um, is this Shattered Kiln?" John asked.
"Yes, it is," a woman with the man answered. "It used to be a bandit camp up until a Nora girl cleared out the bandits."
"A Nora girl? Describe her."
"A strong study face like an Oseram lass and red hair full of braids," Aloy quipped.
"Er, yeah," John agreed humorously. "Although she didn't use those words exactly. Kidding aside," as his tone turns serious while leaning forward, "did you really killed all the bandits in Shattered Kiln all by yourself?!"
"Actually, I had help from a guy named Nil. He was a strange guy. At one point he suggested that we try to kill each other, but I offered him a different suggestion. That he should go to Meridian and help defend it against the Shadow Carja for when they attack. He did show up and did do his part."
"Ah, okay. Anyway, to continue on . . ."