Beneath Infinity

The First Meeting

Shards of weathered stone and sand tumbled after Jacob as he slid his way to the base of the rock outcrop, using the cracks as handholds and tree roots as ledges, swinging downwards with his new-found agility. He felt light and free in the armour - which was nowhere near as uncomfortable as he was sure it looked. The strange Ghost sat at the bottom of the cliff, waiting for them next to the shell of a house, roofless after numerous bombings. It was looking up at Jacob and his own Ghost as they scrambled their way towards it. Jacob's Ghost had contacted it while he was descending, explaining their situation, at which the strange Ghost, suprised but overjoyed at the prospect of another new Guardian, had happily confirmed that they could be given passage to the City. It watched them patiently. Jacob took the last twenty-or-so feet of the cliff in a single leap and landed, a little more gracefully than the last time, next to the new Ghost.

"Greetings, Guardian!" It said cheerfully. It's voice sounded male, unlike Jacob's own Ghost. Jacob found this odd, he was unsure as to why the Ghosts would require gender identities. Perhaps it was to make them more identifiable, or maybe they actually could reproduce? He resigned it to the back of his mind for later study.

"Hi there. My Ghost tells me you can offer us passage to the City?"

The Ghost chuckled, its electric blue body jiggling. It was significantly bigger than Jacob's own Ghost who hovered by his right ear.

"I have already offered you passage, Guardian, there is really no need even to ask. It is my pleasure."

"Thank you, that really is kind of you." Jacob relaxed further knowing his route to the City was guaranteed.

"Your Ghost tells me you are being hunted, however," the blue Ghost Continued. "That is certainly not beneficial. Can you provide more information so I can relay it to my Guardian?"

Jacob's Ghost spoke up:

"Yes, it's a scouting party from the Fallen House of Huntsmen. Only a few Vandals and perhaps a Captain as far as I could tell. They are on foot."

"Ah, that is fine then. I was worried for a minute that you would mention Pikes - or worse a Skiff. No matter, my Guardian will be able to deal with them if the need arises. Come, follow me."

Jacob was impressed with the confidence this little Ghost had in his Guardian. He wondered if his felt the same way. He looked over at her, watching her little silver body bobbing around, deep in conversation with the blue Ghost as they began to make their way towards the rail bridge as it jutted into the sky like the crimson spine of a great dead beast. She pestered the Ghost with questions about current life in the City; about political affairs she had missed during her journey; about the state of the Traveller and of the City's defences. He answered all of her questions with patience and sincerity, but Jacob could tell that she was beginning to wear him down after a good twenty minutes worth of rapid inquisition. She could seriously pester, and he didn't seem like the talkative type.

After another ten minutes of being unable to get a word in, Jacob seized his chance, cutting her off before she could ask another question:

"So, what are you doing out here?"

Jacob's Ghost gave him an irritated look, but refrained from speaking. The blue Ghost on the other hand was more than happy to answer a question that didn't relate to the current policies of the City libraries.

"Oh, we are simply scouting the area. My Guardian is documenting what little Fallen troop movement there is out here and I am collecting resources for the City. This place used to be a haven for Spinmetal farmers, I'm collecting what has grown since the collapse."

Spinmetal, Jacob gathered through the Ghost's further description, was a bubbly metal mesh which had been grown during the Golden age. It was very light and was useful in a multitude of construction situations making it very valuable to the City. The Ghost collected it through a technique known as TransMat - the digital transportation of matter stored in mobile cloud-based databanks. It was also how the Ghosts transported Guardian weapons, the blue Ghost explained, and also how Sparrows were dropped onto the planetary surface from orbiting spacecraft. Some Guardians could also TransMat themselves through a combat technique known as blinking. This intrigued Jacob. That was certainly something he had to try and learn.