The Other Huntress (Kotallo/OC)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Scalding Spear

Sand burned in Orea's throat, her mouth dry as the dunes around her. Moving on from Fenrise, the trio had continued eastward, crossing into Desert Clan territory two days ago. In all honesty, while the humidity of the jungle had been stifling, Orea was beginning to prefer it compared to the scorching heat. The Base was only a few days away, but those few days were going to be long.

"I see something up ahead!" Aloy bellowed, pointing toward what appeared to be the top of a spire, metal glinting in the distance. "Might be some sort of settlement. Want to make a stop?"

"Yeah, let's go." A short supply run wouldn't hurt, especially given the lack of ample game in the region. "It's on our way regardless." Trudging through mountains of sand, they made for the village. As they marched, the spire grew larger and larger until it was a great silver beacon in the sky.

Could this be Scalding Spear? Kotallo had told the huntress about the Desert Clan's capital: the seat of power for the clan and the central source of water for the entire desert. To Orea, it seemed, Scalding Spear was yet again another Tenakth settlement built within the bones of the Old Ones. Besides the spire itself, the city was surrounded by several circles of strange slabs of steel and glass, forming a perimeter around the settlement.

"Huh. Never seen these before," Aloy shrugged. "Wonder what they were used for?"

"Maybe they were some kind of power source used in the city?" Leaving the mystery of the panels behind, Orea, Aloy, and Roger made their way to the jagged gates of Scalding Spear. The gate's sentries halted them only momentarily, letting them pass into the beating heart of the Desert Clan; although they remained somewhat wary of Roger, their eyes stuck on the machine as it passed. Not that Orea faulted them for their reaction: a Nora huntress traveling with a tame Burrower for a pet was pretty odd. "Well, this is quite the place."

Indeed, Scalding Spear was befitting the moniker of 'capital,' hundreds of Tenakth mulling about wooden platforms curving around a central fighting pit. Most of the city's huts were painted with streaks of red, and unlike the magenta and cyan of the Sky Clan or the blue and crimson of the Lowland Clan, the Tenakth of the Desert Clan were decked in sharp black, yellow, and red. It certainly gave them an undeniable air of ferocity, Orea would admit that much.

"Well, let's see what they've got to sell." Quickly locating the vendor stalls lining the back wall of the settlement, the sisters perused carefully through the merchants' wares. Purchasing everything from new weapons and ammunition to herbs and potions, Orea and Aloy found themselves with a fair amount of time to kill: their order would take a few hours before it was ready.

"I'm gonna go see if this place has an inker," Orea decided. Her Seeker mark had faded slightly over the past few days, all thanks to the rasping desert wind.

"Sounds good. I'm going to check out that melee pit." Splitting off like branches on a tree, Orea climbed to the upper levels of Scalding Spear, Roger trotting along at her heels. Captivated by the distinct aroma of ink, she found herself on an open terrace overlooking the whole of the city. Great vats of color bubbled and gurgled, ready to mark the faces of Tenakth and Nora alike.

"How can I help you?" A Tenakth asked. Covered head-to-toe in ink, the man was a living mural of red, black, and yellow: an inker if Orea had ever seen one.

"My markings could use a touch-up. The desert hasn't been kind to them, I'm afraid."

"Sure thing," the Tenakth nodded, dipping a brush into one of the vats. "The name's Zokkah. You're one of Hekarro's Champions right?" Wow. Seems our names have spread all the way to the desert. I don't know whether to be flattered or embarrassed. Or both.