Waypoint

The Isle Above part 3: Initialization

Mom and Dad,

I thought I had learned everything I needed to, to prepare myself for whatever trials I might face. I read of the various creatures we had studied, the various species of plants and herbs and their amazing intricacies and uses. I read as much as I could of the sparse few articles on the structures we might find on the surface world. Proclus and Goldry helped me as much as they can with the physicalities of your professions. In time I even learned to call them close friends,

Yet despite my efforts to prepare myself for whatever I might face down here, I was embarrassingly outmatched by the reality.

Lyra

"Miss Bellaquis?"A corp member approached her as she left the main building. He was similar in size to her, with brown hair tied back. "The name's Proclus. I was told you needed a tour?"

"I think it'll have to wait. The commander gave me my first assignment in the morning."

Proclus blinked in surprise. "Really, so soon? That's weird."

"Is it?"

"Newer recruits spend a couple days working inside the walls. Better we get to know the place before we head outside."

"How long were you kept inside?"

"Four days. They had me cleaning the rookery for three of them."

"We have a rookery?" Lyra's excitement showed through her loud whisper.

"See, that's why we need the tour. Look, let's just take a walk in the morning, I'll show you where everything is."

They continued to walk towards the barracks, long rectangular buildings divided into two rows of square rooms. One room held uniforms and cubbies for corp member bags, one such space had her own packs. The adjacent room held cots, bunk beds capable of housing 8 to a room. In their particular room sat 4 other corp members with two empty cots, the room lit with a few lanterns. Two of them seemed similar in their physical appearance, brown hair and eyes, tall and fit, their only difference being one was male and the other female. On another bunk sat a large well toned man, head shaven save for a length of hair that he had tied. Above him sat an older and stout man with a thick pair of spectacles. His age was by far the most notable feature, his facial hair gray and wiry.

"Lyra, I want you to meet your new squad." Proclus went on. "We have Wallace, Hota, and the Direnzi siblings. Gang, this is Lyra Bellaquis, our latest recruit." Four pairs of eyes landed on her, and the siblings stood up to introduce themselves, the boy being Caleb and the girl Cassie. The older man also hopped down to introduce himself, leaving only Hota laying on his bed, paying no heed.

"Good to meet ya. May I ask, what profession did you graduate into?" Wallace inquired, grasping her shoulders

"Uh, Scout, but with a primarity in Scribe."

"Ah, so we finally have our own! I'm the squad's crafter, Proclus our Investigator. The Direnzi siblings are the cartographers and navigators, and Hota here is our muscle."

"It's nice to meet you all!"

"So did you bring your own gear?" Caleb asked.

"When did you graduate?" Cassie probed.

"Uhh guys-" Proclus tried to interrupt, to no avail.

"How fast can you write?"

"Did you get any weapon training up there?"

"I don't think she-"

"Do ya feel prepared for your first mission?"

"Did they teach you how to use a medicinal kit?"

"Hey!" Proclus exclaimed, waving his arms to give Lyra space. "Look guys, this can wait until tomorrow. We need our rest, and she has a lot on her plate for the next few days. You want to ask her questions, wait until she has more time."

"It's alright Proclus." Lyra took a deep inhale." So, to answer: I brought my own gear, graduated just two days ago, fairly fast, I really only have proficiency with a crossbow, I'm not too sure but i'm excited, and yes!"

The siblings laughed excitedly and Wallace clapped his hands together.

"Alright, seriously though. We need our sleep for tomorrow. Lights out gang."

Lyra prepped her cot as the others lied down again. She took her own top bunk, Proclus sleeping in the bottom of the other empty bunk.

"So what exactly will we be looking at tomorrow?"

"It's quite the ghost story." Cassie grinned. "A previous squad was studying local fauna close to the mountains, and we saw a distress flare a few days ago."

"So what did they find?"

"We don't know." Wallace grunted as the lanterns were snuffed out.

"What do you mean? How do we know there were ruins then?"

"That's what a second party found." Proclus sighed, a frown on his face as the last of the light went out. "The first squad that was sent completely disappeared."