Army of the North Pt. 1

Summary: Upon arrival, Aloy and Vale discover that the kingdoms are ready to go to war…

The serenity of the forest around them is a welcoming change compared to the desert they had to endure for the last week. Aloy let her hair fly in the breeze and took in the forestry scent, so glad to be back in her natural element. The stiffness of the Kestrel armour and the grit of sand that had compiled against her skin prompted her to stop on the side of the road and change into her Nora gear, which allowed more of a breeze to filter through her clothes and over her skin. That and she just plain stank of sweat. The first river they came across she would jump right in.

The first man-made structure they came across was a wooden building deep in the trees, surrounded at the back by cliffs of rock and streams of water that cascaded down through the cracks. The water flowed into a small creek that crossed in front of the building, requiring a bridge to be built as an entranceway. The large front porch had some tables where people sat with drinks and food and enjoyed the nature outside. Aloy notices the the glares that some of the people throw their way as they walk up to the front doors.

"Look at them fierce warriors…"

"I recognize the guy, but who's the girl?"

"Is that… him?"

Some of the people sitting at the table look like warriors themselves. One of them has a bow and their armour is grey crafted steel. His companion also wears armour, machine plating that fits over his chest and shoulders, but the leathers underneath have a unique purple trim on them. It looks totally foreign to Aloy but fascinating at the same time.

She can still hear a low murmur of whispers come from them as they walk by. "People like to talk around here," she says.

"Hate to disappoint you, but people talk as much here as they do in the Sundom," Vale replies and opens the door. "Rumours fly faster than a spilt mug."

Inside the building is a little lodge, with decorative features all over the place. More tables are set up with chairs and mugs ready to serve. There are plants hanging from wooden support columns and light filters in through the windows on the roof, giving the place a homey, forestry sort of atmosphere to it, just like the real world outside. But what amazes her the most is the trophy of some kind of machine mounted up on a pedestal in the middle of the lodge. All the armour plating is gone, leaving only the synthetic hide and metal wire skin underneath it, but it looks like nothing she's ever since before.

"Who's the big guy?"

"They call it a Shadow Jumper. A very rare machine, and even fewer survive an encounter with it. This place was founded at the kill site of one a few seasons ago," Vale explains. There's even a mural in front of the podium. Aloy scans a quick freeze-frame of the glyphs so she can read it later and follows Vale to the front counter. He flags down the bartender and gets them some drinks, but he seems to tip the bartender much more than is seemingly appropriate.

The bartender also seems to think this is odd, because he gives him a strange look.

"We're going to the Central Kingdom and heading north. Anything new in the area?" he asks. It's an even more stranger question that Aloy doesn't understand. But somehow the bartender gets it, because his reaction of realization is clear on his face.

"Oh, mustn't have been in the area very long, cause news is spreading fast. But if you're willing to pay…" the man says and leans in. "Central's been teaming up with the South to bolster their defences. There's a lot of concern about how the North is behaving, lately. In fact, some people are saying that there's an army of ten thousand hiding in the mountains somewhere."

Aloy's eyes widen and Vale's jaw actually drops.

"Ten thousand?" Aloy asks. "Where do they get an army of ten thousand?"

"Not sure, but I bet it has the warlords in Central quiverin' in their pants right now," the man finishes and leaves to attend other customers. Vale picks up his drink; his calm stature has returned in light of the troubling news, but Aloy still has a dozen more questions she wants to ask.

"Why would they be preparing an army in the middle of the Derangement? It doesn't make sense," she protests.

"I'm not sure. There's more to the story, I'm sure," Vale take a sip of his drink and sighs. The brew smells suspiciously like a pint. "That makes things complicated."

"Why's that?"

"The ruins of the Spire are in the Northern territory. If the Northern Kingdom is getting ready to fight, they'll likely have patrols set up along the roads. And if they spot anything, they'll use it as an excuse to attack," Vale looks up at her. "Relations with the North have always been difficult. They're power in court ruling was cut in half after their last king declared themselves independent. But now his son rules and he wants back in."

"And the other kingdoms won't let him," Aloy guesses.

"Exactly. And he's become jealous of the Central and South's flourishing relationship," he takes another drink of his brew. "And you know how jealously affects the hearts of men with power."

She nods solemnly, and suddenly that pint in front of her is looking appetizing. "So what does that mean for us?"

"We have to be careful, more so than we are with the machines. I doubt we'll make any headway on this trip if we can't get to the Spire in hostile territory."

"So… you want us to fight our way in?" she asks incredulously, but thankfully Vale shakes his head.

"No. That's why I said we need to see the Tallneck first. If we can figure out a way to send signals between the machines occupying the north and the Tallneck, we should also be able to track human patrols through those machines and create a map out of that."

Aloy gazes at the man in stunned silence. The plan makes perfect sense, in theory. The could track human activity through the machines and gather all that data through the Tallneck's information, and use that information to avoid confrontation with Northern foot troops. It was no different than how she tracked machine sites and villages. They had already gotten pretty good at avoiding most machines, aside from the assassin machines that hunted them outright. This would only add an extra layer of difficulty.

"That's… brilliant, Vale," she praises. The man smiles and looks down at his drink to hide it.

"Thanks. I mean it makes sense, after everything you showed me. Come to think of it, a lot of other things are starting to make sense too." With his mug empty, he turns away from the counter. "Should we get going? It's another day's ride to the Central Kingdom."

Aloy nods and stares at the other full cup of brew in front of her. She scoops it up and takes a long, large swig of it, fast enough that she didn't have to think about the taste too much as it washes over her tongue, but she can feel the alcohol burning in her stomach as soon as it hits. She chugs the entire thing down, slams it on the counter and turns towards the door. "Let's go."

Vale stares her in utter amazement, then at the empty mug, and then back at her… and then repeats this a few times.

"Alright…" he concludes, and they head for the road.

… … …

Walking up to the gates of the Central Kingdom's city was almost like walking into a fort. Stone watchtowers are set up along the road amongst the trees surrounding the city. It seems like a tactical choice. Aloy never noticed the towers until she spotted their bases within a dozen feet through the thick foliage. The branches stretch over the road and block the top of the towers from view. Any foe of the city wouldn't expect a counterattack until it was too late.

Soldiers in grey and red armour watch them approach from the high towers, armed with bows and spears. They wear helmets as well, like the Carja soldiers in Meridian, but these helms are simple and round, with a small golden crest framed at the top. Aloy can hear their whispers of astonishment as they pass by on their machine mounts, but she tries to pay them no mind.

Most of the city itself is blocked by the high walls bordering it, but Aloy can see the tallest structures even from their approaching angle. Buildings built out of stone and wood, mostly in square or hexagonal shapes with pointed roofs of some kind of red brick.

"What kind of tribe lives here?" she asks, voice full of enthusiasm that she didn't expect out of herself.

"The Gamakath, mostly. They occupy most of the region and control the kingdom here, but you'll see more envoys from other tribes inside," Vale answers, and Aloy can't help but feel fascinated. Who were the Gamakath? What did they do? She was on the verge of discovering a new culture and she couldn't wait to learn about it.

There's a large draw bridge that hangs over a drop in the land right before the city walls. Red banners fly high in the wind and – as they dismount from their rides just before the bridge – someone shouts orders from high up on the wall. A squad of Gamakath soldiers run out across the bridge. Aloy thinks they're just a regular patrol unit going out and admires the strict form the soldier display.

Until they stop and point their spears at them.

Vale's immediately on the defensive as they step back, reaching for the handle of his hammer, but the men are quick to surround them. "What is this?"

"Drop your weapons!" one of the men demands.

"I will not. What is the reason for this?" Vale growls. Aloy raises her hands, away from her weapons to show she has no intent of attacking. Six guards circle them with their backs towards the side of the bridge. Aloy steps closer to him.

"Maybe we should listen to them, Vale. We didn't come all this way just to get arrested."

Vale's hand still rests on his weapon, ready to fight. He seems to contemplate her words for a moment and then relaxes. "What is the reason for this, soldier?" he asks more firmly.

"You have been labelled as an associate of the Northern army. Surrender your weapons and we will escort you to the high wardens for judgement."

"What?" Aloy exclaims. She looks at the man next to him in hopes of some explanation to this absurd accusation, but she doesn't find any resolution in Vale's expression. In fact, she's disappointed to learn that Vale hardly seems phased by the news, giving roots to the soldier's claim. "Is it true?"

"I defected. Years ago," he answers quickly. "Why is this a concern now? Who put out the warrant?"

The soldiers freeze and look at each other. It's not a question that seems like it could startle a guard, yet the men hesitate to answer.

"Who?!" Vale shouts, making the men jump.

"Lord Dalax has called an investigation—"

"Dalax? Let me talk to him, and I'll show him exactly who's side I'm on," Vale dares, and it forces Aloy to grab him by the arm. His tone suggests he'll do a lot more than talk and they didn't need this kind of trouble right now.

"That's not a good idea, Vale," she warns. And then another voice shouts at them.

"Soldiers! Weapons down, that's a command!" The voice comes from the entrance to the city. A man in unique armour approaches them, accompanied by three other guards, all in similar gear like the soldiers around them, but sturdier and heavier and suggests a different level of rank. The soldiers surrounding them step back and allow their commander to approach, and when he spots Vale, he stops and plants his large weapon on the ground. It's nothing like Aloy has seen before; it might be a modified spear, but a long barrel is tied to the shaft with black machine wire and a large component is mounted in the middle. It looked like a variant of Vale's hammer – a dual elemental weapon but the elements were unknown.

The man exhales deeply. "You got a lot of nerve showing up here. I'm surprised you weren't captured by local bandits. Your bounty is high enough that anyone would want stake a fight against you."

Vale glares at the man. "Fabian. What's going on? I thought I was recognized as an ally."

"You were… until his lord decided otherwise. I don't know if you've kept your ears open, but the North have become more and more aggressive lately, and so all of their former allies are being looked into and investigated. The price on you is high because—"

Vale cuts him off before he finishes. "I've been away for two months. It's kind of hard to keep track of events when I'm in another kingdom."

"Then it's time you got caught up. Besides, I think Chesser will want to talk to you anyway," Fabian replies and lifts his weapon off the ground. "So if you come with me, peacefully, we'll sort this all out," he then gazes at the other soldiers, looking every one of them in the eye as if relaying some sort of secret message. "Back to your posts, men."

As the soldiers break ranks and disperse, Aloy grabs Vale by the arm again. "Vale, what the hell was that about?" she says in a low tone. "Were you part of the North Kingdom's army?"

He sighs, but his posture is stiff and defensive. "Can we not do this now? I promise I'll explain later after everything cools down."

"You mean after you've removed this bounty on your head? I thought you were a mercenary, not a criminal!"

That seems to shake the man out of his senses. His posture sulks and he looks like he's been verbally assaulted. "I'm not a criminal," he says firmly, and then adds, "not anymore. I promise. I still want to help you, but I have to figure this out or else things will just get more difficult for us."

He then pulls away and heads for the city. Aloy watches him go, utterly baffled by everything that's just transpired. It then occurs to her that this is what Vale meant when he said his relationship with people in his home land was difficult. It was why he was afraid of going back. Aloy thinks; he's never elaborated about his family or his friend, or even his cohorts and acquaintances. She was getting an impression that there was so much more to Vale than she realized and how much she didn't know about him. It made her angry, to let down her guard around him so easily when she hardly knew his intentions – his true intentions. And to think she was actually starting to… !

But what could she about it now? She had to put her feelings aside and play along… and watch her back. Aloy runs after him and enters the city.

The community is a lively place, similar to Meridian in a way. People are busily moving up and down the streets, most of them towards the centre of town. They had entered the residential side of the kingdom, so there are many homes here, built like squares with two or three floors to them to house many families. The road is lush, short grass, but the wide path between homes is well-beaten into a brown colour with the occasional stone buried in the ground to cover up a pothole. Between the many homes is a watchtower or two, with guards posted on the streets and watching the people go by. Some of them acted out their duty, helping citizens and sorting out disputes on the streets.

When they cross onto another street, Aloy could see a large, long building where soldiers walk in and out of. The same red banners fly on wooden pillars at the entrance to the building. Fabian, his accompanying soldiers and Vale walk into the structure without a moments pause, but Aloy is still observing everything, looking like a confused tourist as she whips her head around this way and that, trying to take in every new detail. It was like walking into Meridian the first time, but she couldn't get distracted now. There would be time to explore later.

There's a wide open hall in the middle of the building where soldiers are seen lying about, on taking a break from duties or switching shifts with another crew. Some of them stop their idle chat to gaze at her as she walks by. She tries to pay them no mind, but like the citizens of Meridian, the Central Kingdom's people like to mutter their thoughts a little too loudly.

"You lost outsider?" one of them says. Aloy pays them no mind and puts herself closer to Vale's side, although that too is starting to feel like an uncomfortable spot in light of the last few minutes.

Finally, Fabian shows them into a room around the corner of the hall. Inside this room, a large round table is set in the middle with many papers laid across it, maps of the land and little wooden figures. A single man hovers over a map on the wall, the largest depiction of land that she can see; it even labels the Great Ocean. It's a map of all three kingdoms.

"Chesser, look who's come to see you!" Fabian announces in a sarcastically cheerful tone. The man turns around. He looks strangely young – his medium-length blonde hair is slicked back and shaven on either side of his head, and his attire consists of purple robes with a unique yellow trim. There's barely any armour on him except for his boots, which have grey metal plates fitted on them. His eyes narrow at Vale in a disappointed glare.

"This is the worst time for you to show up," he mumbles. Vale huffs.

"Good to see you too," he looks back at Aloy and waves his arm to the man before them. "Aloy, this is Chesser, the army strategist and counsel advisor. Chesser, this is Aloy."

Chesser's glare doesn't change. "You realize if Dalax finds out you're here, he'll have you arrested."

"The soldiers already tried that at the gates," Fabian replies. "I stopped them. I thought you two might want to talk. It's been a while."

"It has," Chesser approaches the table and gazes down at the maps, running his fingers across the parchment. "Fabian, tell the bounty board to drop Vale's price."

"That all you got?"

"For now. I'll summon you when I need you again."

"Consider it done," Fabian takes his fist and pounds it lightly against his chest twice, the same gesture that Vale had shown Aloy when she had gone hunting with Talanah. Chesser returns the motion quickly and the man exits the room.

"Thanks for that," Vale says, but the man shakes his head.

"Don't thank me just yet. I only did that because it would inconvenience my resources."

"What do you mean?"

The man rises to his full height and folds his hands behind his back. "You're a former soldier of the Northern army. I'm sure you have some knowledge about their patrols and tactics that would be very beneficial to us. Their army is amassing, Vale, and I need to milk every resource dry to prepare for them."

"Why do you make it sound so dire? You've won plenty of battles against the North," Vale asks. The man sighs and plants his hands on the table.

"They have control over machines."

So Friday completely got away from me yesterday so I apologize for the late update, but writing has come back up to full speed. Interesting things developing in the new land, aren't they?