Message #116367

[The Host]

Chapter Six: The Deserts of Bara Magna
Part Two: The Last Colony

As they passed through the Sea of Liquid Sand, Crotesius acted as the eyes of the small group. Caho led the way through the ever falling sand, with Scodonius driving right behind him in order to stay out of the sand's grasp. Crotesius had to be alert at all times, for if danger got too close to the vehicles and the agori had to stop and fight, one: the vehicles would sink, and two: in combat, three agori fighting against even a lone Seed would normally not stand a chance.

By the end of the first day the sand had begun to flow less steadily, and they were able to make quick stops on dry sand- islands scattered within the sea. Crotesius relaxed and Vaho talked with Scodonius about the vehicles' construction. Scodonius could offer a lot about the Kaxium, but little, next to nothing, about the Cendox.

The Kaxium had been built primarily for battle within the arena, but turned out to be much more useful as a transport vehicle, as Agori could pull wagons across the desert, and go safely in pairs. The large rear wheel acted as the main source of power, while the front wheel guided the Kaxium wherever it needed to go. The side car was built with adjustable wheel placement, so that the side car would follow wherever the main part went.

"We should head out again. We're almost out of this place," said Vaho, after a few minutes of rest on one of the islands. Scodonius nodded, and Crotesius put his helmet back on. The Cendox roared and launched itself into the sand, the Kaxium following it closely.


"Watch out!" In the distance, a red canine like figure bounded towards the vehicles. Crotesius, who had given the warning, pulled the Thornax launcher from it's holder and aimed it at the dog. Vaho steered slightly towards the dog so that Crotesius, who followed in the side car, could get a better shot. Scodonius swerved to follow Vaho when Crotesius cried out again.

"Don't go near it. It's got others following it!" Vaho could barely hear over the sound of the wind and the engine, but he turned away anyhow. Scodonius followed suit, and before lon the dog was out of sight. The vehicles drove on for a few hours more before finally stopping on a large island, which may have been mainland, although they were unsure. Vaho parked the Cendox horizontally against the Sea of Liquid Sand, blocking the harsher wind from hitting them. Scodonius reached under his seat and removed a large flag, which he stuck into the ground. On it, the symbol of Arena Magna. Crotesius lay down, and after he fell asleep, Vaho did the same. Scodonius kept watch.


Vaho awoke to hard breathing and panting, and when his eyes adjusted to the bright light of morning he immediately grabbed for his dagger. One of the canine figures stood over him, but just as he was about to attack, Scodonius' voice stopped him.

"Don't worry. This is Lu'dren, a Sand Wanderer from the Last Colony of Bara Magna."

"What?" Vaho hadn't heard of anything like this before.

"The Last Colony. A colony of agori that existed prior to the war. During the war strange beings apparently wiped them from the face of Bara Magna. But as Druen'Ga just told me, only ninety-five percent of them died. The others moved south to avoid conflict with the five tribes."

At this point, Crotesius walked in. Duren'Ga has left to retrieve the rest of his clan. We must leave now!"

"Why?" asked Vaho and Scodonius in unison, Vaho because he knew nothing of these people and Scodonius because he thought he knew of these people.

"The Last Colony aren't real agori. I saw one of them coming, and when Druen'Ga saw him, he stuck a sword into his side. The 'agori' stumbled, but then kept on walking. When I looked at the spot where he had been attacked, there were a couple of dead lines- wire that no longer functions. The attacked one had a hole in his side with a few wires sticking out. He tried to cover it up, but I saw before he noticed. They aren't what they seem."

Vaho looked at Scodonius. "I have no idea who these people are that you're talking about, other than what you've told me. But look, we've got Lu'dren with us. See what happens when he's hurt."

Crotesius was about to hit him when Scodonius held out his hand. "No. If you're right, and they are robots, then when they see that we've attacked Lu'dren they'll know that we know. Let's just leave now, take Lu'dren with us, and attack him later."

Vaho shook his head. "No. We hit him here and leave. If they come back and we're gone they'll follow. If we leave now, then we can stay on the run without carrying a dog with us."

Scodonius sighed. Crotesius smashed a rock from the ground onto the head of Lu'dren, and sure enough, wires prodruded. Crotesius immediately ran to the Kaxium, jumped in and put his helmet on. Scodonius did the same thing, and Vaho was already riding away on the Cendox. When Duren'Ga returned with armed soldiers, all he found was Lu'dren lying on the ground, wires protruding that rendered the dog useless.

"Didn't take them long to figure us out, did it?" Questioned Duren'Ga. "One of us slipped in the act." Duren'Ga turned and pointed at a robot in white armour, with a wounded side. "You didn't cover yourself. Kill him"

Five warriors marched over to the white armoured robot. He was dissassembled and thrown to the ground, extra wires used to reboot Lu'dren. "You five, go back to the Colony and alert our creator. We'll follow after the agori!"

The robots broke up. Most of them followed Duren'Ga, along with Lu'dren. The rest turned back to return to their home. Before leaving, Duren'Ga picked up a piece of paper from the ground. On it, a name was written clearly.

-Fendax

Flipping over the page, Duren'Ga read the writting that appeared there.

If you're reading this, Duren'Ga, then I'm still alive, and so are the three agori. This paper came out of the vehicles when your presence moved a bar within the vehicle just a tad. It will be useful to you, so keep reading.
They're headed south to an unknown destination, although they seek the Seed headquarters, or whatever thir main base is called. I trust you will follow them and eliminate them before they discover the secret of the Seed.
The spy of the Colony,
-Fenda'rex

Duren'Ga smiled. So, Fenda'rex was still alive. How, amusing. He marched south, following the tracks of the vehicles. His creator would be pleased to learn of this.