The Falcon's Quest

The Strangers

The first thing I felt was that my injuries still hurt, but not as much. I was also lying down on something soft. I opened my eyes to see the weird colored sky once more. Voices were also heard.

"...somewhere else. It's not safe here. Others will come looking too, probably more dangerous than the Clockworks."

"Ah still say we shoulda finished off them that was left.

"I thought it was a reasonable choice. Now at least they know that it's with us. Iron wouldn't dare come after us."

I turned my head to see the speakers finally, and what I saw was something else.

It was a group, standing in a circle a couple meters away. Although, to say that it was all people would be an understatement.

There was a knight. A man who was equipped with a metal chestplate, helmet, knee plates, greaves, and a shoulder guard on his right side. It was as though his armor set was incomplete. His helmet was plumed with a large blue feather, although it looks like it used to be bigger at one point. Under his chestplate looked to be a pale blue shirt, with some torn sleeves. His pants were a dark gray color. He also wore a blue cape, that was tattered at the end, with some leather boots. A scabbard hung on his belt, that also held some small packs, a canteen, and small axe. Something was slung over his chestplate, and held behind his cape. He also had a single leather glove on his right hand, his left wrist had some sort of bronze gauntlet strapped on. His face looked a bit older than me, with blue eyes, and some blondish hair under the helmet.

A cowboy stood by him. Complete with a worn brown hat, red shirt, leather vest, worn pants, and cowboy boots with spurs. He had some sort of small square device placed on the left side of his vest. His buckeled belt had two holsters on each side, carrying two revolvers, along with a rolled up lasso, canteen, knife, and ammunition packs. His face looked as though he might be my age, with some lengthy black hair, brown eyes, and some stubble on his face.

A young woman was also there, with some short red hair, brown eyes, and some freckles around her cheeks. She wore on a type of dark gray jumpsuit, with a tactical-looking black combat vest, with lots of pockets, and attached grenades. She also had some elbow and knee pads, and black boots. black backpack, and a belt that held a holstered pistol, munition packs, and some sort of holstered tool as well.

From the side I could see a dinosaur. A legitimate dinosaur. Standing there. It was about 8 feet tall, somewhat small for dinosaurs but slightly bigger than people. It resembled a small T-rex, but this one looked a bit thinner, and with longer forearms that had 3 clawed fingers. It stood on two legs with 3 clawed toes, and a clawed spur, all balanced with a thick tail. Its head had a long snout, and amber-colored eyes. Overall it was an olive green color, with stripes of dark gray from its head to the base of its tail, with dark gray patches also surrounding its eyes. All of its claws were black, and its skin showed signs of old wounds here and there. The dinosaur just stood there, listening intently to the others as they spoke. Did it understand them? Is it trained in some sort? How it was even present also presented a list of questions in my mind. Add it to the pile and move on...

Beside the dinosaur was a rather short man. He had on a brown poor-boy hat, with a headset of some sort on his left ear. His face looked as though he was the oldest of the group, showing some age. He also sported a handlebar moustache that matched his black hair under his hat, and eyes that were light gray. He wore a fancy-looking brown jacket, and a patterned green scarf around his neck. A complicated brown backpack was outfitted on him, with some straps that ran down over his shoulders and over his chest. Some munitions and other small packs rounded his whole belt, and a gun of some sort hung at one side, with a metallic tube that ran from the weapon to inside his backpack. He also wore some tan pants, gray gloves, a silver mechanical gauntlet, and what looked like brown rider boots.

Turned facing the other way, a horse was also present. It had a white coat over its whole body, with a gray mane and tail. It was outfitted with a saddle and a number of different kinds of bags and packs on its sides. A munitions belt hung on its neck, along with a gas mask that looked like it was for the horse. It was flicking its tail and shifting its hooves very nervously.

Also from behind, I could see a dog sitting. It looked to be a Jack Russel terrier breed, but with a type of armored vest and intricate collar with a red scarf tied on.

This group was certainly nothing you would see everyday. Well, as far as I knew. They were probably the ones that finished off the Clockworks, and that makes them still dangerous, whether or not they helped me. My sword was at my side on the ground. If I can just get it...I'll see what happens from then. I reached my hand slowly to grab its handle. Trying to pull the heavy sword with one hand proved too much. As I moved my body to reach with my other hand, I made a scuffing sound. I noticed one of the dog's ears pricked up, and turn its head towards me, as I froze in mid-reach.

"Hey, he's awake!"

It spoke.

________________________________" 'Settlers', or, people that have grown accustomed to this place, tend to travel in groups. Not only does it help gain security in numbers from the constant threats, but it also helps an individual keep social interaction as part of their survival needs. It can truely be a challenging task, to live in this world alone..."

-Brendan Soverity
Doctor for hire
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