THE NORMAL ROUTINE: he got something to eat, washed himself, prepared for another outing. This time, he remembered to grab the grenade refills for his teammates. He knew they would appreciate his thought. Especially, once the Slipstream came out, and they were back in the bunker complex.

  Before he left, Sigma-Prime hailed him.

  "I am all itching to leave," he told her.

  "I can see. The chamber is ready. You have your grenades. Is there anything we can do for you before you leave?" she asked.

  Zan thought it over, but nothing came to mind. "Nope! I guess I should ask about the progress on the automotron clean-up, though, right? Still plenty to do, I imagine?"

  "Actually, the cleaning is going extraordinarily well and is nearly done. the initiates are well intentioned and work hard for the cause. I am cheered to see such motivation and dedication to the cause."

  "That's good to hear. What is the next step?" he asked.

  "It will take an extra-long time to process the golems and break down the spiritual residue. I will provide you with updates on this issue as milestones are reached," she informed him.

  "Alright. Good to hear. We will cross this bridge again once the golems are fully broken down. Keep me in the loop, yeah, but otherwise, I will be busy with the bunker... Honestly, you know what I can't believe? The list my Expanse contact gave me, Luxley? There are three other locations on the list. If each location proves as troublesome as Guygale, we'll be lucky to mount a half-decent defense by the time the Expanse mobilizes against us," he told the Warden.

  Done with his thought, Simulacrum stepped in to say, "Do not be so sure, Zan. These sites are beyond ancient. By now, they would have melted into the natural landscape of the land. Concerning Guygale, remember, the bunker was obscured by layers of sediment which the locals mistook for a natural formation. The next site could be devoid of any settlement. Or it could be so deeply tied to the settlement that it is one-in-the-same with the settlement. We simply do not know. Neither do we know the disposition of the theoretical settlement to the bunker location. As such, there is just as much potential for the bunker to be an easy unearthing as it is for the bunker to be difficult, as it is in Guygale."

  "I guess that is true, Screen Master. I will hope for an easy mark on the next location," he said, finishing his preparations and moving toward the Backroads chamber.

  "As will I and Sigma-Prime. Safe journeys, Zan."

  He was back inside the white stone chamber and ready to tackle whatever disturbance was in the Backroads. He felt the chamber load in the spiritual energy he required for the transportation. As was typical, once it reached its zenith, there was a flash of light, and he found himself again in the wavy, indeterminate roads of the ill-defined place he knew as the Backroads.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  And this time? It was fine.

  Meaning, back to normal. 'Good? I guess. Bleak and gray are better than colorful and wild... right? It is normal to me, anyway.'

  With no supplies to carry on his back and no disturbing voice whispering his name in his ear, he let himself linger. He took a good appraisal of the Backroads. He wandered along the paths and scouted out what changed and what remained the same. As he thought, the pathways had changed. Not by much, admittedly, but still by more than he would have reckoned. 'Looks like some paths just switched where they were? Why? And better yet how?'

  His investigation yielded nothing of substance aside from confirmation about the changed routes. He made a note to himself to come back when time wasn't of such an issue. He knew he needed to totally map this place out. Of course, how he would do that when the place could change on him was another matter altogether.

  Once he confirmed and had memorized in relation to the other portals which one led to Luxley, he moved himself to the Guygale portal. His memory was not yet sharp on where all the lodestone portals led out, but he also could not linger in this place. Already, his skin felt frozen over. He had no doubt if he remained here much longer his skin would break. He found Luxley's portal and then quickly moshed on over to the portal leading out to Guygale. He looked back and wondered, for the umpteenth time, lately, 'What is this place? What is it really?'

  When he emerged from the Backroads portal, his earpiece lit up with messages.

  "Zan? Zan? Zan? You there? I am repeating this over and over until you get back to us. Zan? Zan? You there? Come on--" Jiehong was saying before he said, "Yeah, brother? What's up? I just came from the Backroads and am on my way back."

  "Zan! Finally," he received from his brother. "Golems have been spotted. Nothing major. But a few here and there while the hunting parties are out."

  "On my way."

  His heart fluttered; though he was happy there wasn't a large automotron force bearing down on them, the fact that there were no golems in the area, golems which were harassing the village's hunters, meant trouble was on the horizon. He rushed back to camp on his bike, peddling as hard as possible over the foliage thick terrain.

  "You're back -- yay!" Whiskey said, seeing him by way of greeting.

  "I am. So, tell me everything."

  Whiskey told him everything. Which was not much, and which amounted to only slightly more information than he was told through his earpiece moments ago. "So, let me get this straight: this lead hunter, physical trainer guy, Charlie Chest, was leading the patrol when he saw some automotrons. Once they made themselves known, the automotrons fled. No more reports since then. Is that correct?" he summarized.

  "That's correct," Whiskey told him. Jiehong was at the village doing something, hopefully, bartering for basic goods.

  "That's not good. What do you think it means?" he asked.

  "I have no idea. Maybe scouts? Bad scouts? I doubt the automotrons have much, if any, in the way of stealth. Heck, even if they did have a sense of stealth, it's not like they could hide themselves too well with their rigid frames."

  "True... it could be a warning. Or maybe straight up intimidation. Like, 'oh, we attacked your camp and are now keeping you on your toes,' right?"

  "Perhaps... I really don't know, Zan, but-- wait, look, to the sky!"