"This trip will take a few days at least. Marquis is staying. Don't think we could get him to leave the ship if we tied him and dragged him out," Iisska shook his head, "You two are gonna give me an ulcer... You three, I mean. Anyway, I'll ask him to talk to you even though I really hope you can't hear anything. But if you can, get up off your lazy ass. This place is getting too quiet."

He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, opened the door to Zen's room and stepped out.

"Talk to you when we get back."

Then he closed the door behind him and left the comatose man behind. He stopped by his room on the way out of the ship to pick up his old, tattered duffle bag and jacket which now had yet another patch on it. He rolled his shoulder out while strapping the bag onto his back. The wound had sealed itself nicely, but was still sore.

Outside it was dawn. The sun had just barely begun to peak out over the horizon. The western horizon as they had learned recently from Cynthia. The sky was a hazy shade of purple and pink and a crisp chill still hung in the air. Beads of moisture were starting to form on the surface of the Harpoon and along the foliage. The crew were finishing preparations for the trek to the city and had bags full of camping supplies and food. Iisska had finally managed to get his head back in working order the afternoon before and had stayed up well into the night jerry-rigging a harness for Kobel which attached to the wagon Cheshik had assembled. As long as the huge animal was kept under control he was able to pull it behind him rather easily. At the moment he was even managing to get a last nap while strapped into the ensemble. Inside the cart they loaded their trade goods. Heavy awkward things that would be difficult to carry all that way.

The sun was about halfway out of the horizon when Cynthia began to insist that they make their way to the road. They wanted to make as much progress as possible before dark.

"Sterling," Iisska approached the droid, "I need a favor. Talk to Zen while we're gone. At least a little bit. I hear that's what you're supposed to do with people in a coma... And eh, maybe it doesn't work the same way with T.I. but... Never mind. We'll see you in a few days."

The crew said brief goodbyes to Marquis and headed out into the forest toward the road which would be a few miles away according to Cynthia.

It was slow going at first. With no proper road and barely a trail to walk on Kobel struggled with the horrible contraption he found himself in and made sure everybody knew of his displeasure by nibbling and drooling on anyone who got too close to his head. Nothing to cause injury. Just quiet protests and an omen of things to come should they ever think of doing this again. Going around tight corners, jagged rocks and weaving between trees had become nearly impossible for him. But several hours later the forest began to thin and they came to a wide, well traveled, dirt path that cut its way through the trees.

From here they followed the road south out of the mountains though by the time the sun set and they were setting up their first camp out of sight of the main thoroughfare, the peaks were still looming upward far in the distance. Cheshik had set up a small fire and had started cooking up a quick dinner. 

"You said you think we'll be reaching the city by tomorrow?" Quin asked Cynthia.

"Yes." she said, nodding and smiling. "At the pace we set today, we should reach the city around noon tomorrow, provided we begin traveling again at dawn."

"Which we will," Quin nodded, "Good. It will be a nice change of scenery to be somewhere with different people and more... civilization."

"Cheshik not good company for you anymore?" Cheshik said, a little sad. 

"That is not what I meant, Cheshik. I just meant that seeing different faces... Mm. Forget I said anything."

"Oh, my face isn't good now?" Nyrette said with a bowl of soup in hand.

"We are not civilized either?" Cheshik added. "Look at Iisska, he is pinnacle of civilization." He gestured at the Togruta, whom was scarfing down a bowl of soup. He lowered the bowl just as his name was mentioned and his chin was covered, a noodle or two hung from his mouth.

"Yeah! I'm th-sho shivilizhed!" he remembered to swallow but only after spraying bits of food everywhere, "I'm so civilized I make you look like a dirty caveman. Speaking of caveman I'm sick of looking at your ugly face too. That one gross hair that grows too low on your fore--"

"Don't you finish that sentence," Quin snapped, "Nyrette your face is beautiful, Cheshik you're a gentleman and a scholar, Cynthia you're... Nice... I'm just saying I've maybe been going a bit stir crazy since we landed."

"What about me?" Iisska asked.

"What about you?" Quin glared at him.

"Stir crazy?" He questioned her. He handed her the ladle for the soup. "Here, stir soup. Should stop craziness."

"Oh...oh Cheshik." Cynthia said, shaking her head. "Even I understood that and I'm still wondering what thuuljek means...what does that mean, Iisska?" She asked him.

Iisska stopped eating and went wide eyed. Then went into spasms as he had just sucked most of his soup into his lungs. Horrible hacking and gagging noises filled the forest and he struggled to catch his breath, writhing on the ground in regurgitated noodles. Then he heaved himself back onto his rock seat.

"NOTHING! It doesn't mean nothing! It's a... ah... filler word?" he choked.

"Wait. 'It doesn't mean nothing'? That means it...means something, right?" Cynthia pressed.

"Judging by the context and frequency in which he uses it in conjunction with the modifier "ljek" which usually pertains to a matron in Togruta society I'm making a rough guess at, 'your mother's cunt,'" Quin chimed in, "Am I wrong?"

"YOU SHUT UP!" Iisska yelled at her.

"Iisska. For shame. You use such vile language in front of young, impressionable, ladies such as us?!" Nyrette said, having been enjoying the show. "Your tongue is covered in dung and you should strive to clean it up."

"Pfft, I have no idea what imp--ffssable means and young? You're kidding, right? And when you translate it like that it sounds..." he shuddered, "Fine. Maybe I'll stop saying that one."

"Yes. And chance of that happening is same as you not staring at Cynthia's backside." Cheshik quipped, stroking snickers' head feathers.

Iisska went pale, "I-- N-- No! I wouldn't do that! You're! You're wrong! Stop lying, Cheshik! I didn't... I didn't-- wasn't looking at your backside," he stuttered.

All at once, Nyrette, Quin, and Cheshik all rang out. "Liar." Meanwhile, Cynthia barely had a clue what they were talking about.

"Fuck all of you! With something... big and stabby and--" Iisska stood up.

"Like your penis?" Cheshik said, giggling.

"IT'S NOT STABBY!"

"Oh, so you finally admit that it's big? Congrats on the first step to confidence!" Nyrette said.

"Eh, I've seen bigger," Quin mumbled.

"You have been in shower with Iisska too?" Cheshik said.

"Wut" Nyrette said, worried. "Is there something I need to know, Pike?"

"No... Iisska tends to get naked when he gets drunk... Cheshik?" Quin raised an eye brow, "Have you two...?"

"NO!" Iisska screamed at them "I WOULD NEVER! I LIKE GIRLS. NOT SPIKY KNOBBY DOUBLE DICK!"

"Woah!" Nyrette said. "Just how much time have you two been spending together?!"

"What? Trying to build confidence to impress opposite sex. Requires training." Cheshik said.

"I can't believe I'm part of this conversation." Cynthia sighed.

"You should get used to that," Quin said.

"Wait a second," Iisska paused, "You? Training? ... Opposite sex!? Just what are you getting at?"

"As Nyrette and Quin say before. 'Iisska needs to get laid.'" He laughed.

Iisska stared Cheshik down in silence for an amount of time that became uncomfortable. He pursed his lips, turned around and walked away.

"I am going to Hell, aren't I Quin?" Cheshik said, finishing his soup.

"I think everybody here is going to Hell, Cheshik," she sighed.

[hr]

The next morning, they packed up at the crack of dawn as they had done the morning before and set back out. There was idle chit-chat and happy conversation floating around to pass the time. Iisska, however, did not get involved as he was giving everyone the silent treatment. That was until they reached the top of a steady incline a few hours after lunch. There he stopped and uttered a humble, "Woah."

Out in the distance, in a low valley sprawled a grid of ruins and in the center was a city. It was far away but a couple details could be made out. In the middle of that  rose a tall, slender tower. It was wiry and spider-like with several shorter, newer structures branching off of it and did not look like it belonged there at all.

"Is that it?" Quin asked.

"That is it," Cynthia responded.

"Finally," she sighed, "This trip was starting to run a bit long."

Soon there were piles of stones and rows of brick along the road. They turned into overgrown foundations and in a smattering of places there was even a wall or two still standing. They were covered in moss and graffiti, but it was obvious this was once part of a larger settlement. Small houses and fields stretched out from the city proper. They ran into a small group of farmers on the road once they were closer to the front entrance and the guard tower there. Though they tried to great them politely, the farmers ran screaming.

"This is going to be interesting," Quin said.

She went on edge immediately after that and kept looking around and checking her six. There was something wrong here. She didn't feel that they were safe.

The guard tower and outpost standing between the city and them now seemed like it had been thrown together from a junk pile and looked very strange. The whole city seemed strange now that Quin could get a better look at it. Sections were constructed from rusting and crumbling massive steel plate, struts and beams. Newer looking stone, brick and wood had been added to form the structures in the city. People could be seen along the walkways of the dirty streets. All of them dressed in a rather primitive manner.

At the outpost they were approached by three guards. All of them wore the kind of armor Delebor had stored in his armory. Clunky, metal and heavy. These men looked like they meant business.

Quin shrank back but stood firm.

"I don't like this," she whispered to Nyrette.

"Stop right there! Move and we'll cut you down where you stand!" The first guard yelled at them.