fartth

'You will come back? Really? After you become a knight?'

'It's a promise then. We'll wait for you to come home, showered in glory, and then we'll spread the word that our town is the home of the Justyna, the knight!'

My... home.

Careful.

Sorry.

I've never seen you in the village. Are you from outside?

I was born here. Then I went to Kawalerielki.

Kawalerielki! Are you a knight?

You must be! Your armor looks much better than the wooden stuff Hubert makes.

Can I see your crossbow?

Millen! Stop bothering people!

I'm sorry, the boy's been reading too many knight novels lately. The questions flow nonstop when he meets someone from out of town.

Wait, is it just me... or do you look familiar...?

Aunt Danka.

Justyna...? You're really back... oh, I suppose it's <i>Fartooth Knight</i> now.

We saw the news about your title. Everyone's happy for you.

You remember old Cole? He saves clippings of every headline about you on his wall.

He opens a bottle whenever you win a competition—probably just an excuse for him to drink more.

But...

The woman carefully scans Justyna, looking for something—perhaps expecting to see something.

Justyna is familiar with this look.

She has seen it many times in Kawalerielki, from opponents, spectators, reporters... countless eyes looking, searching, just to see—

You got sick... we heard about it on the news. Everyone in the village is worried.

It's under control.

Very good, very good.

What's that in your hand, Millen?

The knight's quiver.

Don't touch that!

Err, I mean... give it back to Fartooth Knight. It's very expensive.

It's dangerous, even if it won't hurt you.

I'm sorry, I should be more considerate.

Do you want to sit a spell, Fartooth Knight? We've all missed you. I'll just need to give them a heads-up... to prepare properly.

I...

What are you standing there for, Fartooth?

We have to count the Infected after the evacuation.

...Group Two, all accounted for.

(When did she count them? She was definitely daydreaming.)

Has anyone seen Zola? Where did she go?

Is something wrong, Mr. Farone?

I think Zola went out to take a look at the new camp, but she's not back yet.

Did anyone see her when we moved over from Residential Sector 9?

I wasn't paying attention... it was still dark, and I was leading the way for a villager with a bad leg...

Don't worry, we'll find her, but we need to narrow down the area. There are a lot of buildings between the two sectors.

Sona...

I may know where the girl went.

The day before...

Hello again, friends.

How many times has it been in the last six months?

This is the fourth.

It's been a long stay in this abandoned industrial area, all things considered. Three full months since the last evacuation.

I still remember that time the Armorless Union came knocking just a few days after we settled down. Since then, I've kept my stuff down to what I can fit in a couple of bags, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Sorry, folks. Sona's working to find a place you can stay for the long haul.

It's not your fault. It's all thanks to Pinus Sylvestris that we're still able to stay in Kawalerielki at all. Besides, where can a bunch of Infected go?

We got used to it when we wandered the edge of the nomadic plate. But Zola didn't like it, and even had a fight with Mr. Farone over it in the morning.

The General Chamber of Commerce crackdown is intensifying. Not just the commercial plates; the residential areas aren't safe anymore.

Armorless Union patrols have been spotted on the streets nearby. Not many, but it's a warning sign.

I say we pound 'em flat and show those empty suits this is Pinus Sylvestris turf.

And give them an excuse to blow up our factory while we're short-handed?

What do you think, Justyna?

...It's just an abandoned factory.

That's right! We'll find another place nearby—

...It's not home.

Their home was destroyed in a Catastrophe. They should move to a safer place, so that more may live.

Fartooth!

We don't have what it takes to butt heads with the GCC directly, not yet. Maybe someday we'll have our own plate, and every Infected in Kawalerielki will have a home to go back.

We are setting out first thing tomorrow morning. Ashley and I know the routes best, so we'll lead the pack. Iwona, you clear any obstacles. Justyna, you're on recon duty.

As for tonight—

I'll keep watch.

The abandoned factory is located in Residential Sector 9, underneath Commercial Sectors 5 and 11, on the edge of the nomadic plate, where energy is always at a premium.

Justyna has crossed paths with these refugees quite a few times since she joined Pinus Sylvestris. They laugh at their rotten luck; they have been on the move more than any other Infected group receiving protection.

Justyna does not know how long they have been away from home. Sona told her that one of the older members carried a bag of crop seeds for the last evacuation; this time, he has thrown it away.

But would their village have been their home, even if it was not destroyed by Catastrophe?

'Do you want to sit a spell, Fartooth Knight?'

Justyna hums a tune from her hometown, and the noisy, sorrowful winds of Kawalerielki hum with her.

Is that...?

...Zola?

Those people in black weren't here in this alley a few days ago...

No, I'll be late if I take any more detours. I'll have to...

What are you doing here?

Mmph—

Don't leave the camp at night. It's dangerous.

Justyna...

I'll take you back.

No, no! Rita's waiting for me!

Rita?

Don't tell Mr. Farone, please. He'll be mad if he finds out I'm friends with a kid from the residential district.

But Rita's a good girl, really. She doesn't care about my sickness, she says I'm good at drawing...

Why do we have to move all the time, Justyna?

I am the same as everybody else when I wrap myself up. Nobody found out I was sick when Rita took me into a shop.

I don't want to move again...

After the village got destroyed, we drifted around the wilderness, slowly running out of food.

We were only able to get into Kawalerielki because Mr. Farone found Sona.

But we're still drifting. We just do it underground now.

I can barely remember the berries that grew on the trees of the village. I used to love them so much...

We wouldn't be like this if the village was still around.

Is there anywhere the Infected can go at all...?

Was your home destroyed by Catastrophe too?

No, that village has not faced a single Catastrophe in its entire history.

Sounds nice... where is it? Is it pretty?

It sits in the north, where the forest meets the plains.