Once we exit the doors, we go in a direction opposite that of the carriage. Hm, so if we aren’t going to the carriage, that leaves me with three main possibilities. We could simply be taking a short detour to do something before we go to the carriage, such as grabbing supplies for a slightly longer trip; we could be going to a different vehicle for whatever reason; or we could be going to a secondary building that’s close to this one, perhaps a laboratory or something similar.

There are no more guards leading us around or opening doors for us, so I assume our ‘audience with the king’ or whatever that was is over. I tried my best to interpret the inflections and faces of the people speaking, but when you do that, it leaves you open to a serious vulnerability.

If the people there - the ‘king’, Itor, and Magna - were completely faking their expressions and voice inflections, they could essentially get me to think whatever they want incredibly easily while having a completely different discussion.

For example, that conversation they had seemed to be about deciding exactly what to do with me, where the ‘king’ was confused by my appearance for a few minutes before deciding rather abruptly on a plan of action.

That seems to suggest that he was making an empathetic decision. I mean, if he had no care whatsoever as to whether or not I suffered, why bring me there at all? Why not just throw me in a cell while they discussed further?

And I think that if he didn’t care, there wouldn’t be so much inner conflict as to what to do with me. If I were simply a lab rat, they would just put me through tests and experiments, nothing else. But if my purpose is something else, there could be many options that are in conflict with each other that need to be chosen between.

So, that conversation that seemed to happen suggests that I am currently safe and have no reason to escape.

But, what if they actually were simply discussing, for example, how long they should wait before cutting me open? Or which jail cell to keep me in. Or whatever. They could have scripted the inflections and pauses to make me think something else.

So while my first instinct is to be comforted by the conversation, it actually barely gives me anything to go off of at all.

We round a corner as I think and I see why we went a different direction than from when we came. A much larger, much fancier carriage is being prepared, presumably for us. It has four of the “Skeld'' things leashed to it instead of the previous two, and the carriage portion is measurably larger, this time with an actual door attached to it, instead of having you simply crawl in from the back.

The reason for this new way of entering is evident; attached to the back of the carriage portion is what seems to be a storage area. It’s fully connected to the carriage portion, but the domed canvas roof changes in material as this storage portion begins, clearly showing the dividing line.

Various people are loading crates and some other storage apparatuses into the back storage half as we approach the carriage. Magna says something to Itor, and this time, she climbs into the driver’s seat, while Itor opens the door for me to get in the seating area.

The seating area itself is much nicer than the previous carriage as well. Like before, it has two benches on opposite walls of the carriage, but this time, the benches are cushioned, and the canvas roof covering the seating area blocks out the sun noticeably more.

The canvas covering the storage area seems to be the type that covered the previous carriage. Unlike Magna did before, Itor sits opposite to me and doesn’t restrain me while we’re seated. He does, however, lock the door behind him as he climbs in.

The storage area next to us quickly fills up with boxes as the workers finish loading the cart, but unfortunately they’re all closed and none of them are clear, giving me little to no information as to what could be inside.

Once the workers leave, Itor and Magna begin to speak to each other. Noticeably, they’re speaking to each other for the first time since they left the throne room, and I noticed Magna glance around before she said anything to Itor. Whatever we’re doing right now is clearly a secret.

I have a feeling that Itor and Magna are pretty high-ranking, considering the fact that they could get an audience with the king guy that quickly, and there was nobody standing nearby to prevent them from attacking him.

Well, either that, or my entire “king” theory is totally wrong, and that guy was just a leader of their research team or whatever. I wonder what’s being kept secret, the mission we’re just now about to depart on? Or my existence as a whole.

Itor suddenly gets up and walks a couple steps over, so he’s standing in the storage area. He rummages around for a second, then opens up a crate, revealing that it’s full of cloth material. He pulls something out - a robe similar to the ones he and Magna are wearing.

He walks back over and gives it to me. I assume he wants me to put it on. I honestly appreciate the gesture. While it’s warmer than it was yesterday before I got taken here, it’s still pretty chilly when you have no clothes on. I pull the robe over my head, putting it on like you would a hoodie.

It falls over my body, leaving a surprising amount of room for free movement underneath. I wonder if that’s a conscious design choice in these robes? Or maybe it’s just a side effect of my not wearing any undergarments. The inside is lined with empty pockets, but I don’t see any on the outside. I wonder what they’re supposed to hold?

It’s a good sign that Itor finally gave me some clothes, other than the whole being a bit chilly thing. It means he sees me - at least a little bit - as a person.

I don’t think it’s a fake gesture. If they wanted to buy my trust with gifts, they would have opened with it right when I awoke instead of waiting so long.

I examine the crates that were loaded into the cart more carefully. I can see a few things that were left uncovered - namely, what seems to be a few sleeping bags, and a couple tarps. In addition, I can see lots of containers that aren’t box-shaped, but rather seem to be bottles of liquid. There are enough for the three of us to drink for a few days.

Considering that, and the fact that there’s easily enough room in these crates for a weeks-worth of food, I have a feeling that we’re going on a decent-length journey, and most likely one that takes us out into the wilderness. If we’re doing that, it’s pretty curious that we aren’t taking any guards with us.

The lack of guards could just be because we’re going into a relatively safe part of the wild, but even then you’d think they would err on the side of caution here. From all signs I’ve seen so far, I’m a very important individual, or, at least, they don’t want me to die or escape.

If that’s the case, it really does come off as strange that they wouldn’t have any guards travel with us. Maybe my existence is just so classified that letting even one other person in on the secret is too big a risk? I did see Magna glance around before her brief discussion about the meeting, so I know they in some way want to keep quiet about me.

And it’s not just about keeping me safe from harm, too. Obviously there could be robbers or wild animals, but the wilderness would be the optimal area to escape to in my situation. I would stand out quite a bit in regular civilization, and the wilderness is much easier to hide in.

I know Magna and Itor could beat me in a straight fight, but can they really be trusted to fight off all threats as well as keep me with them? There’s probably some angle here that I’m just not seeing.

Either way, though, I’m honestly incredibly excited to see the outside world. This is going to give me a huge amount of information about the world around me.

I wasn’t thinking I’d get to see the outside until I escaped or gained freedom some other way, honestly. I’ll have to consider my more minute options once I get a decent look at the wilderness areas of this country. For now, all I need to do is wait and observe.