The sun was already rising above the horizon. Neither Aloy nor Avad had had much sleep this night, but they decided to keep going, hoping to reach Sunfall before dusk. Aloy had suggested to override one of the striders they came across, but Avad seemed hesitant, so they went on foot. Aloy had given up on trying to convince Avad to return to Meridian; she had to admit he might be right, after all if Avad's own guards had been willing to hand him over to the Shadow Carja, the city could be the last place he should be.

They came across a travelling merchant, Aloy bought some supplies, and also a blade for Avad. By the time they finally reached Sunfall, it was dusk; a red sky loomed above them as the final beams of sunlight illuminated the highest buildings of the settlement.

Avad and Aloy decided to wait until nightfall, before heading into the settlement to investigate. Avad sat down in the dry grass. Aloy sat down next to him and reached for her bag; taking out some food. "Here," she handed Avad a piece of bread. "I realise you're probably used to more, but it will have to do."

"I think I can endure it," Avad said, smiling at her.

Aloy ate her own food in silence, her eyes fixed on the settlement.

"It looks... quiet," Avad said, following her eyes.

"Yes," Aloy said, still chewing her food. "I think if we're going to find any Shadow Carja still living there, they will likely be hidden away in the old ruins, that's where I would be."

"You've been there before?"

"Yes, it's where Helis' men caught me."

A worried look flashed across Avad's face.

"I'll be more careful now," Aloy half-joked.

Avad suddenly jumped, a startled look on his face.

"What?" Aloy quickly got to her feet, fearing the worst.

"I... nothing," Avad said and he quickly sat down again.

Aloy frowned at him and was about to ask again but then she saw them, a small group of grazers, standing very close by. "They're harmless," Aloy said as she sat down again. "Since I reset Gaia, they do not attack people on sight any more, they're more likely to flee than anything else."

"I know that," Avad said and from his tone Aloy could tell he still felt uncomfortable.

"It's normal to still be hesitant around machines," she reassured him. "After years of living with them attacking people with no provocation, it's only natural."

"I know," Avad said, "but it's not just that..."

Aloy looked at him with curious eyes, but wasn't sure if she could ask him to elaborate.

Avad took a deep breath. "I... I never told you this, but I was attacked by a machine as a child," Avad paused and then laughed, "I suppose all of us have at some point."

Aloy didn't laugh. "What happened?"

Avad bit his lip. "My father," he said. Aloy remembered enough stories from the time Avad's father still ruled to understand the weight behind those words. She didn't press Avad, but gently put her hand on his.

Avad looked at her hand before gently taking it into his own. "My father... he wanted to train me you could say," Avad kept his eyes on their interlocked fingers. "I suppose it was tradition, for the young princes of our family to ride a trampler during one of our annual feast. But of course this tradition was from a time when the machines could be tamed. When everyone could ride them like you do. So my father took me and my brother to our estate outside of the city to learn how to ride a trampler. When we got there the machines had already attacked many of the servants who tended the estate. The man who had trained my father was there to train us, but he didn't even dare come near the machines. But my father was adamant that we would ride them, that his sons would not be the first to break the tradition. So he put us in the trampler's enclosure."

"Just you and your brother?" Aloy asked, appalled.

"Yes," Avad smiled weakly. "Kadaman was braver than I was; he tried to approach the machine. For a moment it looked like he might be able to ride it, but then it suddenly stormed right past him, right at me. Kadaman managed to distract it, he threw rocks against it, broke off a few components and as soon as the trampler turned I ran back to my father. And Kadaman got the full brunt of the machine. Nearly killed him," Avad's voice grew quiet.

"I'm sorry," Aloy said, "that sounds horrible."

"Sometimes I wonder, if I didn't fail to repay that debt to Kadaman, when I failed to stand up to my father the day he... he killed him."

"He was your father, it can't have been easy to stand up to him at all, you must have realised you would need to kill him, I don't think you can blame yourself for being hesitant to kill your father."

Avad looked up at Aloy's face. "Yes, but how many people would be alive today if I had acted sooner. How many of your people would have been spared?"

Aloy flinched at hearing him refer to the Nora as 'her people,' but said nothing of it. "Just think how many people you did save, and will save by changing Meridian for the best?"

Avad smiled and squeezed her hand at that.

They sat in silence for a while. Aloy looked at Sunfall; there were no people in view now and the night sky was dark, the stars shining bright against the deep indigo sky. "I think it's time," she said and Avad nodded.

They buried their bags in the sand, marked by an odd rock formation. Avad put the blade Aloy had gotten for him on his belt. They made their way to the settlement's gates, making sure to stick to the tall grass and shadows. They slipped in unnoticed, and took the lowest streets to make their way to the opening of the ruins. As the entrance to the ruins came into sight, Aloy noticed there were two guards there. This confirmed her suspicions, that the Shadow Carja were hold up in the ruins. There was no other reason the guards would be there. The settlement itself was deserted and with the Shadow Carja officially reintegrated into the other Carja there was no reason to expect any kind of attack.

"I say we go in and find out how many of them there are, if there are too many, we seek out allies before confronting them."

"If we know who we can trust," Avad said.

"Yes, that's why you have to stay hidden until we find out who is leading them, and how they're recruiting people who should be loyal to you."

Avad pursed his lips, "are you saying you believe Vanasha, you believe Marad is with them?"

"I don't know," Aloy admitted, "I don't know him well enough."

Avad looked like he was about to speak in protest, but Aloy had already started to make her way to the guards. She climbed on top of a small wall, to keep out of their line of sight. Avad followed her, but made sure to keep his distance so she could decide on a route first. Aloy's eyes followed the guards' movements, making sure they didn't notice the two figures on the wall. Slowly Aloy approached them, climbing on top of the rock the ruins were buried in, and waiting there until Avad had joined her.

When Avad had reached Aloy's position, she pointed at the man closest to Avad and Avad nodded in silent agreement. Avad took out his blade, and Aloy held on to her spear. Their eyes met, and on Aloy's cue, they jumped down from the rock and on top of the guards. Aloy killed her guard in one swift movement; before he could even realise what had happened her spear had pierced his heart. Next to her the body of the other guard dropped. Avad had killed him as efficiently as she could have. Aloy wondered idly what other training Avad's father had put him through.

"This door," Avad said, touching the smooth metal, "is it one of those you told me about? A door of the ancients?"

"Yes," Aloy said, "I suspect the Shadow Carja are using focuses of their own, because I know no other way to open these," she said as she equipped her own focus and the doors opened for her.

Inside the ruins were as she had left them many seasons ago, but now they were lit by numerous torches. Aloy and Avad slipped in, and hiding in the shadows as much as they could, slowly made their way through the ruins.

"There's no one here," Avad said. "Not even guards it seems."

"They must be deeper inside he ruins," Aloy said. "Maybe they feel safe here, because no one is meant to be able to open those doors." Aloy took the lead. "Just stay close to the walls, and in the shadows."

As they slowly made their way through the deserted corridors, Aloy started to here the faintest sounds; voices carried to them on the wind. There were people in here with them. The voices grew louder until they reached the end of the corridor, and Aloy could see two men standing on look-out for a closed door. Or they were meant to be on look out at least. The men looked bored, both sitting, slouched against the wall, their eyes closed, their weapons discarded on the floor; clearly they did not expect anyone to come here.

Aloy looked over at Avad, with a nod she told him all he had to know, and in unison they moved on the men. Without even thinking about it, Aloy shifted her weight to her toes, and closed in on the man closest to her. The man was dozing off, his head leaned back against the wall, his eyes closed, his breathing heavy. Aloy was close enough to touch as she raised her blade. In one swift movement, it was over. She took no pleasure in the kill itself, but she felt relief at having pulled it off in silence. Aloy turned to see if Avad was managing, but as she turned she bumped into the body now slumped against the door, hitting him hard enough for his head to flop to the side, throwing his helmet off.

The metal helmet landed with a loud clonk on the floor. The guard in front of Avad immediately woke up and at the sight of his dead friend started shouting. Avad cut him off quickly, and so efficiently that Aloy started to wonder what Avad's training had been exactly.

But there was no real time to react to any of it, because at that moment the doors flew open. The man Aloy had killed fell backwards into the room behind the doors. Half a dozen men gasped simultaneously. And then they saw Aloy and Avad.

One man ran straight for Aloy and hit her head on, knocking them both to the floor, he pinned her arms above her head, controlling both her wrists with one hand as he reached for his knife. Aloy struggled under the man's weight, trying to get free from his grip, trying to lift herself enough so she could bite him. Behind the man she could suddenly see Avad come into view, or his leg at least as he kicked the man square in the stomach, before being dragged off by two other men. Aloy took advantage of the opportunity Avad had given her and she pushed the man off her, scrambled back up on her feet, grabbing her spear and piercing the man's chest with her spear.

Aloy spun around to see where Avad was, but he seemed lost between the 5 men still left. Aloy's heart skipped a beat. Quickly she drew her bow and shot one of the men right between the eyes; killing him instantly. She quickly drew another arrow and managed to kill another man before the remaining three rushed her. Aloy took out her spear again, hitting the first man to reach her hard in the stomach, and the next over the head. It was enough to slow them, but not to stop them. She still couldn't see Avad.

Just as she was about to hit the third man with her spear, the first one recovered and struck her across the chest with his own spear, the tip of it just scraping along the exposed skin of her neck.

"Aaargh!" Aloy took a step back, dropped her spear and took out the small blade she always carried. She lashed out at the man closest to her, who jumped back to avoid being cut. Another man tried to grab her knife wielding arm, but she quickly lashed out at him, her blade leaving a red gash across his face. The man gasped in pain, covering his face with his hands, seemingly surprised by the blood.

The other two launched themselves at her. Aloy frantically waved her blade at them. But they pushed through, the knife cutting their arms but not enough to stop them from grabbing her. Aloy struggled against their grip but she could feel she wasn't strong enough to escape. But then, by some miracle one of them let her go. Aloy watched as the man suddenly collapsed, a red spot on his chest quickly spreading. He fell face first, and she could see an arrow sticking in his back. Aloy took advantage of this distraction and quickly picked up her spear and killed the other man.

Aloy could now see Avad lying on the ground, but she couldn't go to him yet. She knew there had to be one man left, and she frantically looked around the room to see him before he attacked, but then she spotted him, lying on the floor, a single arrow stuck in his head. And there, amidst all the bodies was Marad. Dressed in Shadow Carja armour.

"Marad!" Avad said as he got up from the floor.

"Avad," Aloy said, her relieve at seeing him get up on his own temporarily trumping her surprise.

Avad noticed the tone of her voice and looked at her with a mix of surprise and hope.

"I'm glad I found you both alive," Marad said.

Avad put his hand on Marad's shoulder. "I'm so glad to see you, when you were missing from your post, I feared the worst," Avad said.

"I should –," Marad started, but Aloy cut him off.

"Where were you?" she asked. She didn't want to be suspiscious of Marad, but remembered what Vanasha had said.

"Let me explain," Marad said, responding to the accusation behind Aloy's words.

"There's no need," Avad said, glaring at Aloy.

""Why are you wearing that?" Aloy pressed.

"First let us get out of here," Marad said. "There is another exit further into the ruins, we could use that."

Aloy nodded, though she wondered if she should let Marad lead them anywhere. "But first I have to know more about what's going on here. Who is leading the Shadow Carja and what do they want with Avad?"

"You will not find that information here," Marad said.

"Really?" Aloy asked, dubious.

"These ruins are only the place they house the new recruits. They train them in the old arena and once they're fully trained they are moved somewhere else."

"And you know this how?" Aloy asked.

"Aloy," Avad said.

"Because I let them recruit me," Marad said.

"Marad?" Avad started, doubt seeping into his voice.

"It seemed the best way to find out what was happening. I had seen changes in the behaviour of the guards, I knew something was going on, but I had no way of knowing what."

"So you join them without telling anyone what you were planning?" Aloy asked.

"They had to believe I was part of their cause," Marad said.

"When did this happen?" Avad asked.

"A while back but it was only recently that they invited me to train here. I convinced them I had to stay at the palace and only come here for training, because otherwise you would become suspicious."

"You couldn't have at least told someone they planned on taking Avad and his brother?" Aloy asked, incredulous.

"They did not tell me," Marad said, "I suppose they don't trust me yet."

Aloy looked at him with doubtful eyes. She looked over at Avad and he too no longer seemed as sure as he had been before.

"We should really leave," Marad said.

"All right," Aloy said, "lead the way."

As they made their way through the ruins, Aloy made sure to stay close to Avad, unsure whether it was because of the scare of seeing him disappear during the attack, or the fact that she wasn't sure if she should trust Marad. Avad himself seemed lost in thought.

"Here it is," Marad said as they approached a large door. "Your focus should open it."

Aloy equipped her focus and prepared to open the door.

"Is that?" Marad said. "Wait!"

But it was too late, the doors opened and two heavily armed guards were right behind it. Marad, Avad and Aloy immediately backed away from the door. One of the guards lifted a large weapon and as he was preparing it, Aloy recognised it as a firespitter.

Marad rushed the man without hesitation, knocking the firespitter out of his arms. Aloy rushed over and quickly picked it up, she was preparing the weapon, but before she was done the other man tried to rush her and so instead she used the large gun as a battering ram, knocking the man in the stomach. The man buckled over, coughing. Aloy didn't hesitate and hit him over the head, knocking the man to the ground.

Marad quickly cut down the other man and then turned to Aloy and Avad. "We should get Avad somewhere save," Marad said, "but not the palace, I–"

Avad yelped, and Aloy almost screamed as they watched Marad collapse to the ground, a blade still stuck in his back.

The guard who had struck Marad down, drew another blade, now prepared to attack again, but Avad drew his own blade faster and cut the man down before he could do so to them.

"Marad!" Avad sunk to his knees next to Marad.

"Listen," Marad said, his hand clasping Avad's arm, "I heard them talking through the door, something about the Hunter's Lodge." Marad groaned in pain, talking was clearly hurting him. "I don't think Meridian is safe for you," he said.

"I know," Avad said. Then he turned to Aloy, "Aloy," he pleaded with her, and she could hear how he was afraid he was to lose Marad.

Aloy tried to quickly think of what they could do, where they could go for help. "Marad, where do they patrol here?" Aloy asked. Avad looked bewildered.

"The arena," Marad said simply; he was in too much pain to question Aloy's motives.

"Aloy, we need to get him to a healer," Avad said.

"I know," she answered, biting her lip. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" Avad asked impatiently.

Aloy took a deep breath. "We leave him here," she said.

"We... what?" Avad asked, clearly trying to keep his calm.

"Think about it, if the Shadow Carja find him here, wounded between all the dead guards and recruits, they won't suspect him. He can stay here and find out more about the Shadow Carja and their plans."

Avad shook his head.

"And," Aloy continued," it's the fastest way to get him to a healer. All we have to do is get into sight of a patrol, they will sound the alarm, find Marad and get him help. If we take him with us to find a healer... I'm not sure he will make it."

"Aloy, we cannot just –"

"I agree," Marad said. "This is the best plan."

Avad shook his head, "I..."

"I know," Aloy said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Avad looked at her and then at Marad. "All right," he said and got to his feet.

They turned to leave but just before they did Aloy turned around, "Marad, I..."

"It's fine," Marad said.

Aloy nodded and then joined Avad.

They quickly made their way to the arena. Aloy could see two guards patrolling the edge, she drew her bow and shot an arrow just past the both of them. As predicted they spotted Aloy and Avad immediately and Aloy could see one of them run off to set off the alarm.

"Time to go," Aloy said, grabbing Avad's hand, they ran off together.

They didn't slow down until they reached the place they had buried their bags. The sun was rising, and Aloy felt exposed in the open and in the light. Avad and Aloy both agreed they needed to rest before they decided what to do next. The Hunter's lodge was their next clue, but Aloy wasn't sure if it was safe to bring Avad back into the city. If there were enough people there who the Shadow Carja had turned, the city would be one large trap.

They decided to set up a make shift camp just inside a small cave close to where they picked up their bags. Aloy was sitting against the wall, her knees drawn up to her face, arms wrapped around her legs. She kept thinking about heading back into the city and wondering whether that would be risking Avad's life unnecessarily. She thought back to how she had felt when Avad had disappeared during the fighting. Or back when she found the palace empty and how she had feared the worst. How she had felt when she believed him dead.

Avad walked over to Aloy and sat down next to her. "I assume we're headed for the Hunter's Lodge next?"

"Hmm," Aloy said, distracted by her own thoughts.

"That's all?" Avad asked.

Aloy looked at him quizically.

"I was expecting you to tell me not to come."

"I'm glad you're here," Aloy said before thinking.

Avad smiled.

"I'm not sure where you'd be safe, I mean," Aloy quickly added, hiding her face behind her knees. "At least here I could..." She was lost in thought again.

"I'll take that reason," Avad said.

"Hmm," Aloy said again, clearly not really paying attention.

"Aloy, is something wrong?" Avad asked.

Aloy shook her head.

"I only ask because you... well, seem distracted."

Aloy took a deep breath and shifted her weight. "I'm just still thinking about what happened in the ruins."

"With Marad?"

"No, I mean, yes," she shook her head and got up to her feet. "I'm just going to go out and find us some food," she said, trying to avoid the subject.

Avad got up as well. "Aloy," he said, catching her arm. He didn't speak, but his eyes searched her face as if hoping he could find the answer there.

Aloy shook her head, "It's nothing. It's..." She looked at Avad's face, his brown eyes looking back at her. For a moment she imagined how she would feel if Avad did die during their quest. He almost did after all. What would she regret... "It just... scared me, before, seeing you ambushed by all those men."

Avad seemed surprised at her sincerity. "You were worried?"

Aloy looked at Avad, his hand was still on her arm. "I think I just... after what happened in Meridian..."

"In Meridian?" Avad asked. "When they tried to kidnap me?"

Aloy took a deep breath. "When I realised they had reached you I thought... I thought I was too late," Aloy said, her voice almost inaudible.

Avad moved a little closer, his hand moving down her am to reach her hand. "You thought they had killed me?" he gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Not just that," Aloy said, her mouth dry. "I thought it was too late to..." her voice trailed off as she felt her courage leave her.

Avad seemed confused at first, but a small smile appeared on his face as the full meaning of her words dawned on him. Avad's hand lifted to her face, cupping her cheek.

Aloy felt her heart flutter. She leaned into his touch.

"Aloy," Avad said softly, as he leaned in a little closer.

Aloy met his eyes. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Avad was waiting for her to close the distance between them... but she couldn't.

"I... I have to go out. We need food." Aloy took a few steps back and Avad looked at her. She could see he wanted to speak, but didn't wait for him to do so.

"I..." Aloy didn't know what to say, she wanted to say she was sorry, but instead she quickly turned around and left the cave in a rush, wondering whether she had made the wrong choice in leaving.