act7mini

You're scared of everything upon the barrens, shivering, like livestock awaiting slaughter.

Here. Pick these up.

Wh... What are these? A shovel and pick... and a beast trap?

What do you mean by this?

Why give these tools to us?

You want to join the Rusthammers? Then prove yourselves.

What?

Prove you belong to the wastes. Prove you aren't livestock incapable of surviving beyond their pen.

We are warriors. We are the wasteland's conquerors. We look after each other. We share everything of ours.

But we will not care for unbearably weak trash.

See that gorge over there? It's a kind place to be, the kindest all around here.

In the gorge is everything you need.

Survive for a month here.

If even that's beyond you, then head straight back where you came as soon as you can.

Survive? For a month? In a place like this?

You've got to be fricking kidding me.

Surviving on the barrenlands with just these?

If you just wanted to watch us die, why make it so complicated? Wouldn't it be so much easier to do it right here?

You're just going to laugh at us as we die on the barrens? Is this some sick hobby of yours?

Or is persecuting the Infected one of your joys, too?

And I thought you weren't like the other bandits... you bunch of...

...Hahahaha.

Infected? Infected??

Hahahaha...

Persecute the Infected? Hahahahahahahaha...

Boone!

Come on over, take a look at this moron.

While the grand Rusthammer man laughs wildly, a hunched-over man appears from behind the crag, the Originium crystals terrifyingly ugly on his skin. The man's forceful gaze pierces through his untamed hair, sizing up the person before him.

Look, look, look, Boone.

Do you see? These are your 'Infected comrades.'

Bullshit. I have no comrades this weak.

Y-You're Reunion too...

Here, nobody cares whether you're Infected or not. Nobody cares what kind of special rank you have.

Nobody fricking cares.

Man, woman, old, young, Sarkaz...

Reunion? Fallen noble? As long as you embrace the wilderness, cut away from the poison blood of civilization, we are all equal.

Just one month, was it...

Illa?

That's right. If you can hold out for one month, that'll show you're part of the wastes, that you've broken free of civilization's fetters.

Once the time comes, you'll be a part of the barrenlands, and our Rusthammer brothers and sisters will welcome you.

Alright... it's a deal.

Not a bad attitude. I have great faith in you.

I wish you good luck, young lady.

Illa, are you serious?

We... don't have much choice, do we?

No. We still have rations. We can go back, go back to that vagrant village, think of another way.

Don't mess with me! We never had that much in supplies! You haven't eaten for two days, I've noticed that!

I...

We're comrades in arms, aren't we? Comrades have to look after each other, right?

These Rusthammers... they're able to survive here... perhaps we can do the same.

...I suppose.

Lend a hand. We'll find a place to set up camp first.

Fifteen days later

...Why isn't it moving...

Shh! Don't make a sound. It took the bait.

And I feel it's about to run.

Calmly... wait for it... wait...

It moved!

Just a bit more... just a bit more...

We caught it! We caught it! Hahahaha!

Oh, wonderful! Wonderful!

Hahahaha! Alright.

Illa, pass me the knife.

Here it is.

There really were burdenbeasts here. This is my first time seeing one wild.

With all this meat, we can smoke it, dry it in the cave, and it'll keep for a while...

At least for the next long while, we won't have to eat dried sandworm.

I'm not sure if that wandering village is still around.

What made you think of it suddenly?

Even if we smoked this meat, we wouldn't finish it. Maybe we could trade it with those wasteland wanderers for some supplies.

Like a couple seeds or something...

Has anything happened with those mossoats?

Listen to you. Have you never planted anything before in your life?

...I haven't. I was born in the city.

Heheh. My little city friend, food is hardly that easy to grow. You'll want to properly learn.

Who's a little friend... You're barely older than me.

Whatever, I'm dropping it.

Those wanderers barely ever stop in one place, but there should be a few settlements below the mountain to the east. If we have the chance, we can go take a look.

Come over here, let's take all this back in.

Alright.

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

Still half a month to go...

I hope those Rusthammers mean what they say.

But I feel like now, it doesn't matter whether we have them or not.

I've been feeling more and more like we can survive.

I've actually wondered the whole time... Why would there be a cave like this in a gorge? It doesn't seem naturally formed, either...

I'm betting this was an ancient mine.

A mine? In this completely desolate area? Was it the Kazimierz?

Can't say it's either Kazimierz or Ursus for sure.

Can't even be sure if it's a country we're familiar with.

Before, when I was in the army, someone told me all these ancient stories.

They said that centuries ago, millennia ago, Ursus wasn't yet Ursus, Kazimierz wasn't yet Kazimierz, and so many countries were emerging across the land, growing, becoming strong.

And in the end, once again because of war or Catastrophe or some other reason, they were destroyed, and fell to pieces.

Catastrophes repeatedly swept the earth, any trace of these countries' existence cleaned up along with them. Everything we can find was left underground, just like this mine, for example. They say loads of other places all have ancient remnants like this.

So that means...

These places weren't always barrenlands, but were once towns and cities where people lived?

Maybe.

If... If we keep living in here, and get more and more people like us, we might just be able to set up a small town or something...

This gorge goes south to north. It could hold plenty of people.

And then I'd be Mayor Illa! And you'd be Deputy Mayor Gareth!