The sands were still kicking up from the desert winds when the group arrived in Hidden Ember late afternoon. The colorful holograms lining the buildings of the ancient ruins of Las Vegas were more faded than usual due to the sheer amount of dust. Judging by the small cyclones dotting the immediate region, Aloy figured they'd arrived just after a severe dust storm. Reintegrating AETHER did not stop the storms completely, but they were noticeably less severe than they had been months earlier.

Aloy could attest to that by the noticeable lack of sand that ended up in her mouth and eyes after the journey.

Now the five of them stood before the multi-storied structure where POSEIDON had hidden itself for decades. In the time since Aloy had left the Oseram showmen to their discovery, the settlement had grown and was now a bustling town, the large numbers of Oseram and Tenakth alike rivaling that of larger cities. With Regalla's rebellion gone, more Tenakth from the desert and lowlands seemed to have embarked on the trip to the Stillsands and Aloy spotted several of them doing trade with the Oseram. Tarps and tents lined the structure, with wooden-planked platforms extending all the way to the top of the building above stacks of crates full of food and drink. Even more descended under the structure and to the elevator—with all the machines cleared out it was the perfect place to build more accommodations for visitors, just as Morlund and his partners had dreamt of.

"Oh, my goodness! I bet this place looks incredible at night. Actually, I bet it looked amazing when it wasn't all covered in sand, too!" Alva had accompanied them for this trip, offering her help in figuring out the origin of the machine lure and where Korreh and the other Tenakth's kidnappers might have gone next. She had perked up when she overheard Aloy and Beta packing for the journey to Hidden Ember, and after expressing how much she wished she'd been able to see Stanley Chen's creation, Aloy had asked if she wanted to come along.

Sokorra was not quite as impressed, however. With one hand on her hip and the other on her sheathed weapon, she took in the sights and tensed up. "So, this is where the rest of the trespassers wandered off to. I'm surprised we're doing business with them, or even allowing them to stay here."

"I don't know—it looks like they've found a way to coexist," Seyka tried, and was promptly responded to with an unintelligible grumble.

"At least it's starting to cool down a bit," Alva continued, ignoring their exchange entirely. She wiped the fine layer of sweat that had formed above her brow. "I don't know how you guys live in this."

Sokorra shrugged. "We manage."

Meanwhile, Beta gaped at the ruined buildings and towering holograms. Aloy had to admit that despite the dire circumstances they had walked into, watching her sister experience the world for the first time was rewarding in itself. She noticed Beta had not washed off the face paint Sokorra had given her to celebrate her first machine kill. She wasn't sure if Beta was just being polite or if she enjoyed the badge of honor a Tenakth had given her, but she chose not to question Beta about it. For now. Beta hadn't expressed interest in becoming a machine-hunting warrior, but Aloy remembered when Seyka had trained with her and agreed that Beta should know how to defend herself. Just in case. Beta did have some redness on her forehead and Aloy made a mental note to find something to prevent her from getting sunburned further.

It had been a long trip and while Aloy wanted to find Delah and Boomer to show them the lure, she could see that the journey had been tiring for Beta in particular. Looking around, she couldn't see Delah or Boomer at their usual cart, though their cart did appear stocked as though it had been in continuous business since she'd last visited. Must have gone out to salvage parts. "Come on, let's get settled first." She took the stairs to the second floor, knowing Abadund would most likely be around somewhere so they could get some rooms. The others followed—slowly, as they took in the sights—their footsteps hollow on the planks leading up.

"Aloy!" Abadund always came off as a hybrid of opportunistic and nervousness around Aloy. "You're back! And…" His forced smile dropped and was replaced with his more authentic, wary one. "I—what happened this time? Did Morlund get himself stuck somewhere dark and watery again? Stormbird land on the rooftop tents? Glinthawks stole from the buffet again?"

"Did you say a Glinthawk stole—"

He threw up his arms. "The buffet! Yes! It was terrible!" He must have noticed the confused look on Aloy's face because he let out a defeated sigh, his shoulders slumping. "Well, enough of that I suppose. What brings you to our um, fair establishment? Erend's not here."

"I know," Aloy said. "I was wondering if there was a chance my friends and I could get some rooms. We're here to see Delah and Boomer…or someone that might be able to tell us about a Oseram-made device."

Abadund's expression was blank, as though he had misheard her, or his brain had not quite caught up to his hearing. "Some—some rooms…? Yes! Oh, of course. We have all sorts of accommodations, absolutely comfortable and convenient for fearless huntresses such as yourself," he announced, waving his hands as though he were personally putting on a show for them himself, "and of course your…" He trailed off when his gaze hovered on the other four, particularly their weapons, "other huntress friends." He whipped out a clipboard—from where, Aloy couldn't tell—and began flipping through pages of parchment. "Your 'associates' left early this morning, no doubt to procure an explosive device which will surely cause some catastrophic disruption later. I'm sure they'll be back soon. Now, let's see. How long will you be staying?"

"Um, just a few days…probably." She didn't know—that all depended on what kind of information she could get from Delah and Boomer. If they can even help.

"Wonderful." He scanned his clipboard again. "We have some lovely rooms just down the elevator or if you prefer, we also have our rooftop special. Fabulous view of the lightshow."

Beta spoke up. "Lightshow?"

Abadund gave a single nod before taking another look at Beta and doing a double take. "You. You look like—are you—"

Aloy quickly cut him off. "Sister. Now, what were you saying about a lightshow?"

"Oh!" He composed himself before continuing his sales pitch. "Yes, the um, the lightshow. It's pretty much what you saw once you cleared out the ah, disturbance that was here before. Huge hit with visitors." Then, at Beta. "Truly worth seeing at least once if you ask me."

Beta clasped her hands together. "That's the one with the projector relics you found, right? Can we see that, Aloy?" She then seemed hyper-aware that all attention was on her as she spoke again, much quieter this time. "I-if we have time, of course."

Sokorra spoke up, surprising everyone and making Abadund bite his lip with worry, as though he were sure she was going to take off his head or attack random patrons at any moment. "I'd like to see what this lightshow is about," she said, with a nod—the edge of her mouth curling in the slightest smile at Beta. "As long as we're waiting for these friends of yours anyway."

We're going to be here for a bit at least until we can get some answers. Might as well have some entertainment. "Uh, sure." Aloy turned to Abadund. "We'll take the roof."

"Excellent." He scribbled furiously. "There are a few tents and an assortment of other amenities there. You'll have that area to yourselves. I can also have some food brought up or just come down and get it here." He cleared his throat. "Glinthawk-free of course."

While he tallied up their total price, Aloy noticed Seyka peering out at the open field away from the building, where Morlund's "orb" sat. She could see Morlund fussing with it, no doubt performing some possibly unnecessary maintenance. The rather invigorating memory of their rides on the Sunwing together came to mind—and with it, an idea. It would be a lot more stable—slower than a Sunwing…and certainly calmer than a Waterwing.

"…shards. A most reasonable price considering you'll be getting our most exclusive view!" Abadund finished.

"Oh." Aloy hadn't actually heard the cost but reached for her shard pouch anyway.

A deep, steady voice interrupted her. "Abadund. Do I sense that you might be daring enough to demand shards from the fearless huntress who made this all possible?" From behind Abadund, Stemmur approached.

Flustered, Abadund rolled his eyes and scribbled something else on the parchment. "No, of course not. That would be ridiculous, even though we are technically running a business which you know, costs shards, but no." His forced smile returned, and Aloy wasn't sure whether to laugh or be concerned at the pain he seemed to be in over some shards when the business was clearly doing well. "Friends, good friends, and their…" He cleared his throat. "…well-armed companions stay for free. Please, enjoy!" He gave a short bow before scowling at Stemmur as he departed.

Stemmur gave a satisfied hum as he faced the group. "Welcome, weary travelers. The shard counter was indeed correct: the rooftop show is one not to be missed, especially tonight. It is good to see you, Aloy. And I see we have newcomers as well!"

After introducing everyone, Aloy announced that she was going to take their things to the roof. Alva offered to help, while Seyka volunteered to stay with a very curious Beta and a cautiously interested Sokorra as Stemmur began regaling them with tales in his usual flair of narrative showmanship.

It only took one trip to get everything to the roof, which true to Abadund's word was indeed a sizable section with what appeared to be very comfortable accommodations. A few tents with dark red and orange drapery were set up, with bedding already prepared. Other beds had been put out in case visitors wanted to fall asleep under the stars and lights. It was quite impressive what the three Oseram had been able to put together in such a short amount of time since she'd acquired POSEIDON.

"So," Alva started the moment they had set everything down, "how are things with you and Seyka?"

Aloy paused a moment. Alva's tone was far too casual to be believable. "Come on, Alva. Just say it. What do you want to know?"

"Ah. You got me." If Alva was surprised or upset at getting caught, she certainly didn't show it. "Look, if you're worried, Seyka didn't say anything to me. But…the two of you are not exactly subtle."

Of course. "You saw us at the Base?"

Alva grinned with excitement. "I did. But listen, if you don't want to talk about it, I completely understand! I'm just—I'm really happy for you. Especially after everything you've been through…together even."

The warmth that spread through her prompted Aloy to smile in return. Alva was her friend, and that her friends cared so much for her happiness was still new to Aloy, but it was also something she didn't know she needed until recently. "Thanks. And it's fine. Seyka is…well she's great. I, um, I'm not always good with words when it comes to this but I'm trying."

Alva took Aloy's hands in hers. "That's great! And listen, I'm not exactly an expert on any of this but if you ever need to talk about, just know that I'm here."

"Thanks, Alva. That means a lot." Should I tell her? She wanted to tell someone, even if it was just to validate what she was planning. "Actually, I was wondering what you thought of me taking Seyka up in that balloon over there." She pointed down at the field below. "Just to show her the view. I'm hoping it'll be a bit less traumatic than riding a Sunwing."

Alva's gaze gravitated to the balloon. Her eyes brightened even more. "That…is going to be so fun! Oh, and romantic. I bet she'll love it." She released Aloy's hand. "You'll have to let me know how it is afterward."

"Oh, well, I've been up on it before. The first time was, um, not so successful. And there was a Stormbird involved for some reason because there always is." And now I'm rambling. But it felt…nice to be able to confide in Alva about this. She wished she could have asked Varl for advice on this as well, though she had a feeling he might have suggested she get Seyka a stuffed animal just to get some friendly revenge.

"Thanks, Alva," she finally said after another awkward pause. "I should head down, I guess. See if Seyka wants to go."

"Of course. But Aloy? Don't tell her. Surprise her! It'll be more fun, I promise," Alva said. She gave a small wave and headed for the platform to the middle level, leaving Aloy alone.

"Okay," she said to herself. "One potentially terrifying balloon ride coming up."