The sound of the alarm echoed throughout the hangar. A crowd had already formed around one of the platforms. Everybody was waiting, talking loudly among themselves. They were excited, smiling, and laughing, an atmosphere unlike the usual gloomy boredom of the hangars.

A few minutes passed and the red light finally started blinking above gate 12. The engineers rushed to open the huge metallic doors. The ground moved at a very fast speed bellow them, or rather, they were the ones moving. Everybody was aboard a land carrier, a gargantuan vehicle capable of accommodating an entire city. A few hundred meters away, the dozens of huge wheels from another land carrier entered the view and behind it, another, and another. This was the Danube Karawan, a roaming civilization that built its cities on gigantic moving vehicles.

Everybody leaned over the railing, trying to see below the carrier.

“I see them!” Somebody exclaimed.

“Yeah, there they are!”

One after another, they all saw a small vehicle rushing at its top speed through the broken terrain left in the wake of the land carrier. Once it reached a designated position right under the hangar gate, four chains descended slowly and attached themselves to the vehicle. The operation looked extremely complex but being able to dock was one of the basic requirements for any driver, especially a Scout driver.

The vehicle was lifted and brought inside, then the gates were closed. Dozens of armed guards rushed to form a protective circle around the vehicle, pushing the crowd away. Looking at the vehicle, the excitement dwindled. Huge claw marks scarred the armored exterior, all glass windows and the windshield were shattered, and bloodstains covered the front. The warzone that the vehicle must’ve endured was hard to imagine for the average person.

Despite that, the crowd immediately switched gears and burst into cheers as the doors opened. Two girls dragged themselves from between the twisted metallic parts. The first was a short girl with a gloomy expression. Her long brown hair covered some of her faces, giving her a scary appearance. She quietly walked away, paying no mind to the dozens of fans cheering at her.

“Nuk! Wait for me!”

The other girl took a little longer to get out. She was the literal opposite of the first girl. Short, blonde hair held together in a messy ponytail and a radiant smile plastered on her face. She approached the crowd and started high-fiving people left and right.

“Ellie! You’re my goddess!”

“Congratulations Ellie!”

A man managed to escape from the vehicle. He had a slim and tall build, and his face radiated confidence. He raised his palm towards the crowd and waved.

“Make sure you watch my report tonight!” He said, then hid his palms inside his pockets and walked away. The crowd was over the moon. Loud cheering and whistling echoed throughout the hangar and some individuals have started fighting with the guards as they tried to break through the cordon.

“Captain Holt...”

Holt turned towards the car after hearing his last teammate call him. It was the driver, Warden, a huge man with hulking muscles, trapped inside the armored vehicle. The sight was almost comical, but Holt acted quickly and ordered the people around him to help. Engineers and guards brought equipment to disassemble the door.

After freeing Warden, the team was escorted away from the crowd, into a private line cart. Before they could be free, they had to give their report to Kral Vacek, the leader of the Danube Karawan. The Kral was the highest military authority, entrusted with Ruler’s Authority, and ancient artifact in form of a machine arm, capable of commanding all the land carriers.

“Are you going to report everything to Kral Vacek?” Asked Ellie. She sat crouched on the floor, in between Nuk’s legs, as the former played around with her hair.

“Yes.” Holt responded. Unlike the cheerful expression from earlier, Ellie had a deep frown and scarry eyes. She was tired from the long mission.

“Damn those guards... Couldn’t they have cleared the crowd before we landed?”

Warden and Holt looked out the window, trying to avoid Ellie’s gaze.

“There, there. Bad thoughts be gone.” Said Nuk, gently petting Ellie’s head. Instantly, the murderous aura was dispelled, replaced with a cute pouting face.

In just over 20 minutes, the group arrived at their destination. Despite landing on The Drowned, a large carrier on the leftmost outskirts of the Karawan, they had to travel to The Vanguard, the forwardmost land carrier. Because the distance between carriers never changed, the people built a network of lines and cables that allowed for the quick transfer of people and materials.

The carriers on the outer reaches of the Karawan were smaller in size, only able to hold from several thousand to a hundred thousand people, while the super and mega carriers found in the center of the Karawan were gargantuan machines, hundreds of meters tall with millions of inhabitants.

“We’re here. I’m doing all the talk.” Said Holt while looking at Ellie. She looked away with her arms crossed.

The elevator stopped and the door opened into a large room with windows on all sides. This was the Kral’s Tower, overlooking The Vanguard, the land carriers, and the path ahead of the Karawan. Inside, dozens of people were aggregating data received from the command decks of all the other carriers. A holographic table projected a map showing the entire Karawan as dots on a plane. Thousands of dots were moving in unison along a route titled, The Path of the Karawan.

“Kral Vacek, the Fist Scout Team has arrived.” After a moment of silence, the guard escorting them received a response through his in-ear communication device. “The Kral will see you in his office.”

The office was a small room with no windows raised in the middle of the hall. From the outside, it looked like a black box. Inside, the floor seemingly disappeared, the room stretching down, all the way to the bottommost floor of the carrier. Shelves and furniture were plastered all over the walls, creating an impossible design that only Kral Vacek would be able to make use of.

The team walked as one, boarding a floating platform that quickly descended. As they approached the bottom, a large creature came into view. Dozens of long, machine legs sprouted from unseen places under its robe, allowing it complete freedom of movement in this vertical environment.

“Kral Vacek, First Scout Team reports!”

The creature slowly rotated its body towards them. Two glowing blue eyes peered from under the robe.

“Holt, Ellie, Warden, Nuk, I’ve been eagerly expecting you.”

“I’ve written a detailed report of the entire mission and submitted it to your secretary.”

Nuk hid behind Warden, unable to bear the Kral’s gaze. Ellie noticed and stepped in front of her, shooting a hateful look towards the spider-like leader of humans.

“The mission was a complete success. We’ve been able to accurately pinpoint the coordinates of the infamous wilder city, Aaleph. The “seat of the devourer” is located deep in the Blacksteel Forest, 220 kilometers east of the Great City of Pest.”

The Kral was unmoved by the good news. He silently waited for Holt to reach the bad news.

“There is also a situation brewing that could concern us. There is an increase in organized wilder activity in areas previously believed clear. They seem to be gathering a large force in preparation for a raid on the outpost we have over there.”

News like this reached them daily. All human nations and even private entities had outposts deep in the Blacksteel forest facilitating resource extraction and the protection of trade routes. This time, something was different.

“There is a rumor that an Elder Lord is commanding this force.”

Wilders were feral beings related to humans on a distant level. They possessed traces of intelligence similar to those present in human beings, but on a much more primitive level. Wilders of the Blacksteel forest lived in tribes, in harmony with the forest, while at the same time practicing raids and hunts of humans as a sport or tribal tradition. Because of their lack of advanced technology, a well-armed contingent can easily hold them back, but on some occasions, special wilders emerge. Old beings that had managed to survive well past adulthood and had become elders of their tribes. These elders are larger, stronger, and smarter than any of the younglings and usually lead tribes from the comfort of their huts. Among the elder wilders, lords are a step above. Even older and wiser, these creatures have eluded death for hundreds of years, turning into absolute monsters, even among their kind. They are revered as protector deities by their fellow wilders and honored with sacrifices and great influence.

“What is the name of this Elder Lord?” Asked the Kral. His eyes were darting around the room in a crazed dance.

“We don’t know yet.”

“Hm. Mhm. You can go.”

The platform started floating away towards the exit. Looking back, the Kral was motionless for a few moments, then returned to his usual crawling around. After leaving the office, Ellie stepped in front of Holt, cutting his escape route.

Despite her short stature compared to his, Ellie seemed to look down with a hateful gaze.

“You should’ve asked the Kral to use disposables for this mission. I’m tired after the last mission.”

“The Elder Lord is so deep in wilder territory that no other team would be capable of providing us with the information we need. You have to understand, Ellie.”

Holt met Ellie’s gaze and the two stared each other down for a while. The intensity of the exchange caused the people working around them to stop and watch.

Without any warning, Nuk grabbed Ellie’s cheeks and forcefully turned her head close to her face. Nuk’s blank expression easily defused the angry Ellie. The two walked away, leaving Holt and Warden behind. Seeing the girls board the elevator, Warden patted Holt on the back, trying to encourage him.

“It’s fine, Nuk’s got this...”

He abruptly stopped after noticing Holt’s stiff pose. He was frozen in place. It seemed that starring down the most powerful scout of the Danube Karawan was too much, even for the captain.