374, 89th of the harvest season, around 11:00 AM, Wilderness outside Dreynas

  His vision was blurry, his body heavy. Rosario opened his eyes, the sun shone down through the trees he could smell meat being cooked. He sat up and heard a raspy voice say, “he's awake.” his eyes scanned the immediate vicinity, and they made contact with a tall yet proportioned woman of dark brown hair tied back and eyes of the color of a starless sky. Her ears were peculiar; they reminded him of the ones of the long-eared peoples, but were shorter, more human-like. His eyes wandered downward. She wore a long-sleeved form-fitting shirt with a holster apparatus wrapped around her torso. He noticed her firearms, which didn't appear to be the standard issue weapons, but secondly, it meant these people meant business. Rosario said to them, “Who are you people?” The woman in front of him was preparing to speak when someone else cut in, a deep voice belonging to the man standing over a small hotplate. He was a beast of a man, standing almost two heads taller than Rosario, his long hair fashioned into dreadlocks that were held back with a bandanna wrapped around his forehead. He wore a sleeveless shirt covered by a brown leather jacket with a fur-lined neck and hem. Rosario shakenly said, “Where is now?” The big man said to him, “First introductions, my name is Paulida, and that's Senarre. Say hi, Sen.” The woman raised her hand, fingers splayed out in acknowledgement of the call to greeting. She proceeded to turn around and crouch down at the hot plate, taking over for the one called Paulida.

  Paulida extended a hand out to Rosario.

  He took the hand, and Paulida pulled up like a child would a doll. Rosario said, squinting his eyes in the sunlight, “It was cloudy last I remember, so that means I've been out for a while, no ?” Paulida shook his head; his dreadlocks gently tapped at the fur on his jacket. “Who are you first, then you get answers.” Rosario scratched the back of his head. He could feel a soreness where he touched. “Ah, my name is Rosario, Rosario Lorea.” Paulida said to him, “Nice to meet you, Lorea. Now, I'm sure you want to know how you got here?” Rosario shook his head in affirmation, “We found you on a skiff we jacked from the Dreynas QGs; they had you in there unconscious.” Rosario looked side to side and then behind him, “Where's the skiff?” Paulida laughed slightly and said, “It ah sadly fallen victim to a destroyer's sealstone seekers; its wreckage is a couple of kilometers east.” Rosario walked over to the hotplate, Paulida trailing slightly behind him, standing over the woman in front of him, he said, “What's cookin'?” Senarre, without looking up and stirring the small pot with thick white liquid inside, said, “waterfowl and potato soup.”

  Rosario sat down and crossed his legs. “So now for the second part, where are we?” Paulida, sitting down to look Rosario as close to in the eyes as possible with his large stature, said, “We're about 30 kilometers from Dreynas, the city's gone to shit, QGs rounding up people, in the name of the late queen and Iselle putting down any and all resistance with expedited brutality.” Rosario said, “Did anyone make it out?” Paulida said, his face shifting into a frown, “Most of the ghettoes didn't, QGs had the air controlled tight until the skeleton key blew two destroyers out of the sky, a sight to behold that one, a dreadnought-class weapon cleaving unshielded airships to pieces, thanks to whoever was behind the trigger, four of the ghettoes were spared and more specifically we were able to coast out until we got shot down” Rosario now wearing a visibly puzzled expression asked “what happened to the skeleton key ?” Paulida said “no clue on our way out she and her escorts were flying off northwestward” Rosario turned over the information in his head he couldn't make the pieces line up The queen dead, the attacks on the ghettoes, the Lorea commanded ships and crew resisting and leaving for clan Lorea territories “nothings adding up” he whispered the one called Paulida said “what was that?” Rosario said “nothing just thinking” just then the one called Senarre called the two over that the soup was ready she handed a small metal cup full to Paulida and another to Rosario before producing a spoon from her bag as the trio began to eat Rosario said “where are you guys going” Paulida swallowed a mouthful of soup and said “elven outcast camp, bout 7km from here to resupply and then continue onto forge” Rosario recognized forge, the drydock city, the central hub for shipbuilding for the kingdom of Dreynas in his memories he remembered the smell of smog that hung heavy in the air the sky that was often obscured by thick gray clouds. Rosario said, “Why help me, why tell me where you're going, what do you gain from it?” Paulida ate another spoonful of soup and said, “Because it's the right thing to do..” he put down his bowl briefly and said, “At the outcast camp, we can get our bearings via the centralized B.O.A.R.D.” Rosario gently put the spoon to his mouth and ate from the small bowl of soup they handed him. When he put the food in his mouth, a battery of flavors filled his palate, the sensation of creamy soup bearing the flavor of potato and the fatty flavor of the waterfowl, with the undertones of vegetables in the endnotes, he must have changed his expression cause Senarre’s raspy sounding voice cut in with “its good right, its the big guys recipe” Paulida waved his hand in dismissal of the statement feigning a response of a “thank you” Rosario swallowed the soup in his mouth and said “can i come with you guys? The city is far and i don't know what im walking into there we can part ways after”. Paulida stood up and said, “Why not? What's one more person for a day's walk?” Rosario said, “Thank you,” as he finished speaking. Senarre produced a waterskin from her bag and took a sip. She looked to the sky and let out a satisfied “ahhh.” She then gestured the skin to Paulida, and he calmly waved it away. She then gestured it to Rosario, who figured it was filled with water; however, when he put the skin to his lips and tilted it up, his mouth was filled with a burning sensation he swallowed the liquid on reflex. He placed the bowl onto the floor and rolled forward on his hands and knees. He gagged briefly and said, “What the fuck was that?” Senarre had a mischievous smile on her face and said, “A gift from Uncle Tex.” Rosario was still on his hands and knees, tears beading on his eyes, “wha-” he coughed again, wiped his eyes, he threw himself back, sitting on his knees. Senarre laughed audibly this time and said, “I like this one.” Rosario regained his composure and said weakly, “Thanks.” Paulida stood up stowed the hotplate still lukewarm from the heating of the soup in his bag and said “now's about noon if we get moving now we can be at the outcast settlement before nightfall, that way we wont have to waste resources on setting up a camp for the night”

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  After a short while, the newly formed party was packed and ready to move. Rosario felt out of place as he didn't have a bag or any belongings he attempted to feel for the knife that would usually sit in its sheath in his belt. When he reached the area, he noticed it was gone. He asked Paulida if he had seen it, and he replied, “No, sorry, I didn't see anything like that on you when we pulled you from the wreck.” Paulida reached into his bag and pulled a game knife with the leather sheath and tossed it to Rosario. He reluctantly caught it and briefly thanked Paulida, who turned and said, “Good to have some sort of protection out here, no matter how small. If you choose to keep going with us, we can get you some proper kit at the settlement.” Paulida had started to walk in the direction indicated by his map, a large machete-style blade hung from the bag at his waist. Senarre walked past him, clearly brandishing one firearm on her upper thigh in a holster, and another’s outline was visible holstered on her lower back alongside the previous two weapons Rosario had seen on her beforehand. He noticed now that she was standing upright, she was tall, taller than most of the women he's ever seen. She stood at about his same height, which was in itself nothing to scoff at. He turned and scanned the clearing in which he had awoken a mere hour ago. He turned back to follow the two in front of him, his boots crunching on the dry leaves.