At that moment, he felt the danger in his hands. The weapon fired indiscriminately, making him gradually lose control, fearing he might hurt himself or even Aloy. For now, the cannon was achieving its goal, but the fear of injuring the Nora made him think it would be more sensible to stop shooting and continue in close combat. It was right at that moment when he felt the warm touch of Aloy's hands on his.
"It's easier than it looks." she exclaimed, raising her voice over the noise of the weapon "This is not a sword; don't try to hold it up, support it on your hip, but don't press it against you, or you'll hurt yourself."
"Understood!" he responded with a bit more determination.
With Aloy's help, they shot at the approaching group. They were getting closer. Since their armors were really resistant, they had to insist a lot with the shots to pierce their outfits.
"How do you see it now?"
"Much better, I think I could handle it alone." he responded more confidently.
"I'll help you with a few arrows." she explained, reaching for her quiver and taking out some precise extractor arrows. She strung one in her hunting bow and shot at one of the Oseram. The arrow hit the bandit, and seconds later, it made a sound explosion, causing parts of his armor to fly through the air. This way, he became much more vulnerable. Only half of the men remained. One of them loaded his explosive bow. The hunter thought it would be best to divert attention to herself so that Avad could shoot calmly since with the weapon it would be very difficult for him to dodge an attack. Aloy shot the bandit, embedding the arrow in his protections. Then, the man shot the explosives, which she skillfully dodged with a somersault. She ran towards his feet, shooting arrows successively, and finished him off with the spear when he stumbled and fell to the ground.
Avad's weapon stopped sounding, indicating that he had run out of bullets. Fortunately, only two remained. Aloy decided to share and let him handle one. She gained momentum to hit him forcefully using the shining spear, and then gave him a half-moon slash, taking advantage of the fall's inertia to unleash the resonator's energy and make him fall to the ground. It wasn't necessary to use the energy charge because his life ended earlier due to a critical hit. Then, she turned to Avad to see how he was doing.
"Those were some good hits." he praised her, impressed, while shaking the blood off his sword with an elegant movement.
"You can see the quality of my weapon." she responded, placing the spear on her back. Avad smiled.
"So, are we going to… Devil's Thirst to spend the night?" he asked afterward.
"First, let's free the prisoners and search the camp. It shouldn't take us much time."
"Ah, the prisoners, of course. I follow you." he said. The night had already covered the area with its darkness, so they could see by the torchlight of the outpost. Outside the camp, only an infinite blackness filled with snowflakes could be seen. Unable to distinguish anything beyond a few steps, Avad felt at the mercy of the threat. His concern disappeared when she took his hand.
"Don't worry, as soon as we free them and make sure everything is fine, we'll leave here and find a safe place to spend the night. There's no one else out there; we're already safe." she said to reassure him, seeing how puzzled he looked out of the camp. Having said that, they ran inside the construction to thoroughly search it, eliminate any potential threats, and free the prisoners. Most of the weapons had been destroyed by the explosion, although fortunately, the prisoners were too far away to have been affected by the fire.
"Are you injured?" Aloy asked while, with the help of the king, she untied the ropes that immobilized them inside the cage. They lowered their heads while shaking them, surprised that she addressed them "You're outcasts, right? I'm not like the other Nora, don't worry about that rule; you can talk to me." there were a total of four men and one woman. They looked somewhat dehydrated but barely had any wounds.
"Thank you." one of them said "Thank you for freeing us and talking to us."
"You must be Aloy." another added.
"Are you Aloy?" the woman asked. Rumors about her had even reached the outcasts.
"Yes, it's me. Now you're safe. Make use of any remaining resources; we saw some food on our way here that survived the fire from the explosion. You can use this place as a refuge until you find a better one."
"Thank you so much." another man said, bowing "You've given us a second chance that we won't waste."
"It's my duty. Make use of any weaponry that might have survived to protect yourselves and survive outside. We must leave; we're on a journey and a bit pressed for time, but I wish you the best."
"May the All-Mother protect you."
After the brief conversation, they returned to where they had left their mounts and rode at a gallop towards Devil's Thirst.
—
Finally, they reached the ruins of the Ancients after a good stretch of riding at a brisk pace. The debris was covered in snow, and some machines were wandering around, but luckily, they were the kind that could be considered "peaceful," like grazers and the occasional strider. There was also a tallneck majestically walking around a large area of the zone. Avad watched it with a smile, recalling the first and only time he had been near one. They moved through the area on foot silently. Although Aloy had confirmed that there were no humans around, the machines peacefully patrolling could alert stronger ones, and her intention was for him to enjoy his land, not to be frightened. With the conquest of the bandit camp, he had had enough action for the day. Fortunately, a stream passed through the debris, and there were some salmon swimming in its waters. With the help of her bow, the Nora easily caught a couple of fish for the ideal dinner. Avad followed her closely with caution, never taking his eyes off her movements. It was evident that she knew the area well as she walked confidently among the buildings of the metal world. Suddenly, she stopped.
"Here it is." she announced, standing on the tallest structure there. "Some time ago, I found an observatory at the top of this tower. We don't need to go all the way up, but we'll have to climb a bit. I told you there's no one around here, but it's a precaution... besides, the machines won't reach us up there, and it's a safe spot. I admit that the climb is quite challenging. It has a couple of jumps that feel like you're leaping into the void, so if it's okay with you, I'll go up first since I know the place, and I'll toss you a rope when I'm up there."
He nodded. Then Aloy began to climb the remains of what was once a majestic building. She took a running start and jumped, grabbing onto the first handhold. With great strength in her arms, she pulled her body up to the concrete base. Aloy had been entirely honest; just watching her climb was making him nervous. It truly seemed like she could plunge to her death at any moment. Even one time, she closed her eyes due to the risk of the jump.
"I'm up!" she proclaimed from above, simultaneously tossing down a rope. "Tie yourself to it, and I'll pull you up."
The monarch secured the rope around his waist and held onto it firmly. Aloy, in turn, looped it around one of the columns to make pulling easier. With strength, she began to haul him up. When he was very close, she grabbed his hand and gave him the final boost until he could sit next to her on the floor of one of the building's levels. Upon arrival, he sighed.
"By the Sun, I have a hard time understanding how you can make those jumps with complete confidence... I'm being sincere when I say I was anxious watching you from down there."
"I've been training my whole life; Rost taught me how to do it, and thanks to that, I won the proving. I'm quite used to doing these kinds of things, but I understand if you're a bit nervous. It's risky." she replied, smiling to reassure him as she rummaged in her backpack. "Hungry for dinner?"
"Yes!" he answered eagerly. Then Aloy stacked a few sticks and quickly lit a small fire. He was impressed at how quickly she did it; it was clear she had practice, given all the time she spent in the wild.
"Tell me," she said while preparing the fish, "so far, how do you find the journey?"
"For someone with your experience, what I'm about to say will sound silly, but... I love the snow; it's so incredible... And the landscapes, the weather, everything is so new to me." he replied, marveling. "I've also really enjoyed fighting by your side."
"And there's still so much more for you to see." she replied, smiling, pleased that he was enjoying her land so much. They didn't take too long to finish dinner, and then they prepared to spend the night, trying to shelter from the cold as much as possible. Avad wrapped himself in his cloak and then covered himself along with Aloy under a warm blanket she had brought as a precaution, knowing he wouldn't have the same cold tolerance. Although the walls of the ruins blocked a lot of the wind, the cold of the night enveloped the entire area. Huddled together, they fell asleep within minutes, spending the night in this way.