Binary

Chapter Two: The Road to Estraya

Rain sat on the roof of the Spitfire carriage and looked out into the distance. His green eyes were fixed on a small point on the horizon: Summit Castle. The seat of power in the Desert Zone. He knew the building was surrounded by deep ravines, a tall mess of towers and turrets, connected by a narrow land bridge to the surrounding cliffs.

Somewhere in that castle, was Lady Fiona Argus, who had placed a massive bounty on Rain's head, dead or alive, and whose taxes Rain had stolen for almost six years now.

"Not dropping by the castle, huh?" Rain called up to Naru, who was driving the carriage, "are you worried she might not agree with Arien's decision to grant me a pardon?"

"What?" called back Naru, glancing nervously at him, before pulling her red hood up over her black hair, "please don't talk to me! I mean, I'm trying to focus on the road..."

Rain frowned. All the Spitfires, except Arien, had been avoiding him and dodging conversations with him in the two days since they had left Edgestone. He returned his attention to the distant castle on the horizon, but it was already disappearing from view.

The landscape was changing. The short, gnarly pinion and juniper trees that had grown in clumps around the Desert Zone had become more common and had started crowding the roads. There was grass between them now. Not necessarily the lush carpet that he had heard about from merchants or read about in stories, but small patches of tall, raggedy, yellow clumps. There was sagebrush everywhere.

After a few hours, the road began making a gradual descent into a massive stone canyon. The path was winding its way down into it, and Rain could tell from the lush greenery that was growing in the bottom that a river was flowing through the canyon.

Rain felt the wagon give a shake as Arien climbed up the side to sit on the roof with him. They sat in silence for a minute.

"Arien," said Rain, "I need to ask you something."

She looked at him.

"I'll answer if I can."

"Have you ever gunned down a human?"

Behind them, Naru snapped the reigns on the horses and pulled her hood further around her face.

"No."

Rain watched the dust being kicked up by the wheels as the wagon rolled along.

"There was a guy that joined our gang a few weeks ago," Rain said, "our boss brought him in from the Forest Zone, near the Animas Border. He joined up because something had happened to his old gang up in the mountains."

Rain's eyes flicked up to her.

"He said Gunners came through one day and wiped them all out."

Arien nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on the dust trails the wagon was leaving.

"It's possible," she said slowly, "Gunners defend Humanity. Even against itself. It's not uncommon for Gunners to clear out bandit hideouts when they're in the area."

"If you ask me, it made him a little unhinged," Rain said, "he was always convinced someone was going to find us, it made him real mean and paranoid."

And now he runs the place, Rain thought, sticking knives in the backs of everyone that doesn't agree with him. He stopped his hands from sliding to the stitches on his side.

"Sometimes seeing the might of a Gunner breaks people," said Arien, "If you're asking me to apologize or condemn the actions of the Clans, I won't. Those Gunners were defending the people he and his gang were terrorizing."

She looked at him, and he returned her fiery gaze.

"He was no friend of mine," said Rain. Arien watched him for a minute.