Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 16: The Final Recovery

The final remains found weren't much further than the previous two, only about an hour away. They found themselves at a natural stone deposit that rested above the sand, Marlina had taken a broken part of the deposit to use as a makeshift headstone. Attempting to stay within the shadow of the deposit while the sun would rise, it seems this set of remains was not here in the wastes as long as the other two due to their clothes still being intact. Male, in his twenties, the clothing being Urushian, specifically from the Earth territories. He also was missing his right hand. From the polishing tools found and after a close look at the deposit, they were a jeweler to excavating gems. Since Elek found dozens of small holes in the bone, he inspected the stone. There was a part of the deposit that seemed to have a hollowed core beneath a large crack, opened with Earth abilities, filled with mammalian quills, Elek carefully picked up one at easy access to not prick himself.

"What do you think happened to him?" Marlina asked.

"If I had a guess, it's possible that this stone was home to a group of recently birthed dralzi which this man had disturbed, and was paralyzed by their poisonous quills when defending themselves. Then claimed his hand as a meal before escaping to a safer home." Elek taking a twig, he reached deeper into the stone where he found a completely decomposed hand under the pile of quills. "I would also guess you found him resting on the rock, pulling him away and relieving him of his hand?" Her nod was all that was needed to confirm his suspicions.

Finally loading the last set of remains and now a well-wrapped cylinder of dralzi quills, they would rest a moment, feeding the braxl in preparation for the long journey back. Since Elek would like to return before nightfall, he intended to cover as much ground for the several-hour journey. To prevent overheating and wear the braxl down, he planned a brief rest in a cave between the locations of the first and second remains. As he jotted down new notes on his map about the locations of the remains, Marlina sat beside him and gradually figured out his scribbles for notes. In just these past few days, Marlina had learned so much about the desert from Elek. Metal or not, there seemed to be fatal dangers for even someone as resilient as her. Now she regrets dismissing the offer for a copy of that newsletter before coming here.

"You wouldn't happen to have the Lodestar Chronicle with you? I would hate to keep bothering you with questions all the time."

At first, her inquiry seemed random, but it then made sense to him why she'd ask if she intended to trek across the rest of the desert to the Colonies. From what she'd experienced and how the remains they were going to haul had met their fates out here, it wouldn't hurt for her to be more knowledgeable. She may not be human, but that doesn't mean she can't save another who is less resilient than her if she comes across them. At this point, Aurea would ensure Marlina doesn't cross the desert on foot again and arrange for her to travel with the twins the next time they deliver to the Colonies.

"I have the most recent issue, we attempt to keep the most up-to-date information on our person when we travel the wastes. I do wonder, do you think that someone might be looking for you?"

"What do you mean?"

He wasn't sure how disclosing his true thoughts about her would affect her, but it was clear that she wasn't human and had to come from somewhere. However, the seed that she possesses seems to be the only link between her and her creator. "I being someone from the Colonies, who is known to dabble with all kinds of things, you remind me of an artificial construct that Colonials create as a personal attendant. Artificial life that is used as a tool for whoever created it."

There was a grimace to Marlina's expression. Being called something with 'artificial life' reminded her how people that she had served only saw her as too. That she was less than a human and just some tool, despite her lifelike behaviors.