#aloy

The system led me to another exit, a little further west along the cliff wall. I called my Charger across and rode through the Old World ruins on the road to the High Turning.

I reached the shrine by the ravine at dusk. No machines here except for Do, just a tricky spot of climbing separating us. The Plowhorn itself was tangled up in the vines of multiple metal flowers.

I soon found the culprit: a Dreadwing carcass had slammed into the cliff, a couple more undisturbed Adamantine Wreath capsules clutched in its claws. That explained a great deal. The machines, in their wayward scavenging, must have taken a liking to the prototypes stocked back at the Greenhouse and begun hauling them off to their scrap piles, dropping them all over the place and inadvertently activating them. At least they only had a finite supply.

Destroying the two open flowers, and scavenging from the caves and cliff-sides along the way, I reached the upper ledge were Do had fallen.

For the third time, I sent through the reboot code and let it work its magic. Do woke up with a deep blue glow, rumbling with new movement. It'd be a rough path back to Plainsong for the machine, but with Gaia's help, the last of the missing Land Gods would make it.

On my way back south through the early night, I spotted rebel machine-riders in the distance fighting off a herd of Bristlebacks. They were headed for the High Turning, likely planning to reclaim their old fortress from its current Utaru keepers. I rode right for them, using a force-loaded arrow to send their single mounted Bristleback tumbling toward the river, then grappled to it to drive in my spear. The machine went down quick; then to the rider. I fought them face on then chucked down a smoke bomb to confuse the field. The un-overridden Bristlebacks balked at the smoke, and with the rebels now focused on me, they lost interest in the brawl and retreated to their grazing grounds on the other side of the river.

I kept quiet then, striking from the shadows to finish off the remaining few rebels. I took a few good hits from the last of them, who I fought head to head, and by the time the battle was through it was late. The Apex Bristlebacks had, unfortunately, made short work of my Charger in my absence. I was clear out of a mount to get me back to Plainsong.

I turned instead to the fortress the rebels had been approaching, just a short walk up the western road.

The Utaru warriors guarding the High Turning had been keeping an eye on the encroaching rebels with concern, preparing their weaponry and taking up positions on the battlements in case they made an approach by night. Good thing their preparations were for nothing. We couldn’t spot any further signs of activity in the forests, nor from the arid valley to the west. The fortress would stay safe a while longer. This passage is of such high strategic value—can’t be an easy place to defend. The Utaru stationed out here are probably the toughest I’ve ever encountered. Apart from Zo.

I patched up my shallow wounds and settled down under one of the shelters, still partially collapsed since the rebels' original incursion, which had wrested the settlement from Desert Clan hands. The Utaru hadn’t bothered restoring the old structures, though hopefully once the clan has the strength to return here, spreading their soldiers further afield, it’ll go back to its old splendour.