The Other Huntress (Kotallo/OC)

Chapter Five: Barren Light

Sorry about the wait between chapters! Life was very busy for me this past week, but, thank you guys so much for your patience, and here you go!

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On Charger-back, the ride to Barren Light lasted little more than a day, Orea and Aloy speeding across the Daunt, appearing to passerbys as little more than a sudden flash of red and black. As the sun began its ascent into the sky the follow morning, Orea finally beheld the fortress of Barren Light.

She'd heard from Petra of the Tenakth attack on Barren Light a few years ago, the tribe somehow razing the fortress from the inside, but the effects of such an assault were truly clear up close. Barren Light was little more than a half-cracked egg; entire walls of the fort had crumbled upon the Tenakth's blades, leaving only the barest of skeletons behind. Scaffolding and construction platforms had been raised on all sides, forming the outline of new towers yet to be built, new stone yet to be placed. Encircling the fort was an Oseram camp, made up of the miners and workers fueling the reconstruction efforts. To its left, the river flowed past Barren Light and into the West, disappearing out of sight.

"When Petra said the Tenakth tore this place apart, she really meant tore apart," Orea whistled, half-impressed and half-apprehensive. These Tenakth were clearly skilled warriors; what exactly were Aloy and she walking into?

"No wonder Ulvund wants his concession decree so badly; this operation must bring in a lot of shards," Aloy added. "Let's get this Embassy started." However, before the two could enter the outer gate, they overheard a commotion coming from just beyond Barren Light, toward the canyon. A single Carja guard was dragging a body across the grass, muttering under his breath. Looks like we're taking a little detour.

"We should check that out," Aloy proposed.

"Yep." Orea steered her Charger away from the fort, hopping off to dart toward the guard, Aloy at her side.

"What happened here?" Aloy asked.

"What do-what do you care?" the guard grunted, out of breath.

"Don't you?" Orea asked, feeling her brows rise.

"As it happens-no!" the guard declared, gathering up the dead man's foot. "You know, I was already having a Sun-scorched day, and now two idiots choose my shift to try and climb the mountain!" Well this guy's a breath of fresh air. "Wouldn't be so bad if this one weren't so heavy."

"Wait-two idiots?" Aloy inquired, gaze on the mountain.

"Did I stutter? Yeah, two! Heard another one shouting, up top. Seems like they got caught between sharp claws and a sharper fall." A scream suddenly fell from the mountain, terrified and very much in danger.

"Someone's in trouble!" Orea cried, taking an unconscious step toward the sound. The guard only shrugged. "Aren't you gonna do something?!"

"Pftt, self-inflicted," the guard guffawed, apparently not able to summon a single ounce of sympathy into his heart. "Besides, I've got my hands full with this one."

"You're seriously not going to help?" Aloy demanded, as incredulous as Orea. 

"You seriously are?" 

Orea scoffed, shaking her head. Clearly they weren't going to get any help from 'Lieutenant Sunshine'. Looks like it's up to us, as per usual.

"Let's go," she groaned, the two taking off and climbing up the rock face as quickly as they could. Orea was grateful for the fresh mountain air as they climbed; nothing served as a better wake-up call than the wilds. The sisters slid to a stop as the mountain trail broke off, a busted bridge cutting off the other side of the cliff.