Portal to Another World

The Lone Wanderer reunites with Ettel, Leonard, Logan, and Mari in the guild’s main hall. Ash and the towering cyclops woman enter from the council chamber as townspeople gather around the notice tables.

Judge steps onto the guild’s raised platform, Mason’s letter held beside a charcoal map. Conversation fades, leaving the scrape of chairs and the low crackle of the hearth.

Judge points to the western forest, the distant border roads, and several blank spaces beyond Honorhold. Clerks spread fresh parchment while Ash and the towering cyclops woman study the marked routes.

The Lone Wanderer bends over the charcoal map, tracing the western forest trail, the quarry road, and the border routes with one careful finger. The lines are old, but their shared direction is clear.

He follows the corridor across blank spaces and finds its junction: a neglected border road beyond the quarry, where the western routes converge before continuing toward the rival kingdom.

The result is solid, but the map’s oldest markings consume more time than expected. Their dates are too faded to establish which route was used first, leaving the convoy’s exact schedule uncertain.

Before Judge can answer, a silent hunter steps from the guild’s outer hall. His attention fixes on the western junction marked across the charcoal map.

The guild townspeople fall quiet around the notice tables. Ash straightens eagerly, while Ettel studies the hunter with the caution of someone measuring an unfamiliar ally.

Clerks mark two routes on the parchment. Ash gathers a field pack, while the Hunter checks his weapons in silence and turns toward the western gate.

The Lone Wanderer leaves Honorhold guild main hall behind and arrives at western junction.

The western junction lies beneath a dull sky, where cracked pre-collapse pavement divides between the quarry road, the forest track, and a neglected northern highway. Wind pushes grit across faded lane markings.

The Lone Wanderer reaches the junction first and spots fresh tire impressions crossing the dust, their tread sharply defined despite the weather. A snapped branch marks a concealed turnout overlooking all three roads.

He moves lightly to the turnout, avoiding loose stones and exposed gravel. From the ridge, he finds a concealed handcart below, its canvas-covered crates tucked beside an abandoned service shed.

The Lone Wanderer descends from the turnout with Ash, Ettel, and the silent hunter. They approach the concealed handcart without disturbing its fresh tracks or canvas-covered crates.

He studies the cache, the soil, and the shed’s broken foundation. Faint violet dust clings to a crate hinge, while a scorched circular mark stains the pavement beneath the cart.

The evidence is clear: portal magic was used at the western junction, and the armed group continued north along the neglected highway.

The Lone Wanderer opens the cart’s warped compartments and searches beneath the canvas. He finds a battered revolver, two loaded magazines, and a box of loose cartridges wrapped in oilcloth.

Inside the broken shed, he checks fallen shelves, a rusted locker, and a collapsed workbench. Beneath the boards, he recovers a short hunting shotgun, shells, and a cleaning kit.

He tests each weapon, confirms the ammunition is serviceable, and packs the revolver, shotgun, cartridges, shells, and cleaning kit among his gear. The cache is worth taking.

The careful search consumes several minutes. Dust shifts across the northern tracks, leaving the group certain of the direction but unable to determine whether three or four people passed.

The Lone Wanderer lifts the short hunting shotgun from his gear and offers it to Ettel, keeping the muzzle pointed safely toward the empty road.

He shows her the safety, loading port, and pump action, then demonstrates the proper stance and shoulder placement with practiced economy.

Ettel repeats each motion under his instruction. Her grip steadies, the action cycles cleanly, and she keeps the weapon controlled while sighting along the empty barrel.

The Lone Wanderer places the shotgun fully in Ettel’s hands and gives her the shells and cleaning kit. She now has the weapon and knows how to use it safely.

The Lone Wanderer follows the silent hunter north along the neglected highway, reading crushed weeds, displaced grit, and shallow boot impressions where the travelers left the pavement.

The trail winds through a drainage cut and beneath leaning concrete barriers. Fresh oil drops mark the route, while a torn strip of canvas hangs from a rusted fence.

The Hunter leads him beyond the barrier to a hollow overlooking the northern road. Below, four armed travelers crouch around a covered pre-collapse truck beside a dead generator.

Violet residue stains the truck bed and the cracked asphalt beside it. A folded route map lies on the hood, its marked line continuing toward the rival kingdom.

From the concealed ridge, the Lone Wanderer has a clear view of the travelers, their truck, and the portal residue. The hunter remains low beside him, waiting for his next move.

The Lone Wanderer rises from the ridge and descends toward the road with the silent hunter beside him. The four armed travelers turn sharply from the covered truck, hands moving toward their weapons.

The command carries across the hollow with calm authority. The silent hunter keeps his weapons ready, while the Wanderer’s rifle remains trained low, covering the travelers without provoking them.

Four rifles and sidearms clatter onto the cracked asphalt. The travelers raise their hands and step away from the truck, leaving the marked route map and covered cargo exposed.

The surrendered travelers remain beside the dead generator under the hunter’s watch. Their weapons lie out of reach, and the route map waits on the hood for examination.

The Lone Wanderer binds the four surrendered travelers with cord from the truck, tightening each restraint securely. The scraped palm stings as he pulls the final knot firm.

The admission confirms the convoy’s origin. As the travelers shift against their restraints, a folded dispatch slips from one coat and lands beside the truck’s wheel.

The Hunter retrieves the dispatch without opening it and holds it out for inspection. The group now has a tangible lead to the next scheduled rift.

The answer identifies the rival kingdom as the convoy’s employer and explains the working method. The four travelers exchange wary looks, realizing they have disclosed more than their orders allowed.

The Hunter’s offer gives the investigation a direct path, but the travelers’ admission carries a social cost: their employers will know the convoy was questioned, and the Lone Wanderer is now tied to that disclosure.

The Lone Wanderer separates the surrendered travelers from their weapons and directs Ash and Ettel to escort them back to Honorhold for questioning.

Ash gathers the travelers into a guarded file while Ettel secures the dispatch and their weapons. The road south opens before them, leading back toward Honorhold.

The Lone Wanderer turns north beside the silent hunter, following the armed group’s fading tracks toward the promised rift station and the crossing expected tonight.

The Lone Wanderer and the silent hunter follow the northern highway through broken concrete and waist-high weeds. The road climbs toward a low ridge marked by fresh tire tracks.

Beyond the ridge, they find the station beside a failing pre-collapse relay tower. Rusted equipment, a dead generator, and violet residue ring a scorched circle in the cracked pavement.

The Lone Wanderer crouches beside the relay housing, careful not to disturb the residue. A battered control panel still holds a faint charge, and a route marker points farther north.

Wind moves through the broken tower as the station’s weak charge flickers beneath the panel. The northern route, the rift equipment, and the next crossing point now lie within reach.

The Lone Wanderer settles beside the failing relay housing and waits. Wind combs the waist-high weeds while the weak charge pulses beneath the control panel.

Minutes pass in the broken tower’s shadow. The violet residue brightens across the scorched circle, and the relay’s dead indicators flicker one by one.

A vertical seam of violet light tears open beside the relay tower, filling the cracked pavement with wavering color. The rift stabilizes into a clear view of a dim northern staging ground.

The rift holds steady before them, its far side fully visible through the violet glow. A large convoy starts entering from the other side.

The rift widens, and a battered convoy rolls through: two pre-collapse trucks, a fuel trailer, and armed travelers riding in the open beds. Violet light flickers across their rusted panels.

The first truck clears the crossing before its driver notices the Lone Wanderer and the silent hunter blocking the relay road. The convoy brakes hard, tires grinding over cracked pavement.

For one breath, the Wanderer's resolve falters as rifles rise in the truck beds. The hesitation is visible, but he steadies his aim before anyone fires.

The convoy's armed travelers climb down with raised hands. The silent hunter collects their nearest weapons while the trucks, cargo, and open rift remain fully under the Wanderer's control.

The silent hunter keeps the surrendered travelers in a guarded line while the Lone Wanderer searches both trucks and the fuel trailer. He checks seats, tool compartments, cargo crates, and concealed spaces with methodical care.

The Lone Wanderer finds two battered rifles, three revolvers, boxes of cartridges, shotgun shells, and spare magazines packed beneath blankets and false panels. He removes every usable weapon and round, leaving the trucks disarmed.

The recovered weapons and ammunition join the Lone Wanderer’s gear. The Hunter secures the travelers for transport, while the answers and seized cargo establish the northern staging ground as the convoy’s next confirmed link.

The Lone Wanderer leaves northern rift station behind and arrives at Honorhold.

Honorhold’s western gate rises through late-afternoon dust and ringing bells. The two battered trucks roll in under guard, carrying the secured prisoners and seized cargo as townspeople gather along the stone road.

The Lone Wanderer handles the failing vehicles with remarkable precision, guiding both trucks through the crowded approach without striking a cart, wall, or bystander. The fuel trailer arrives intact behind them.

Honorhold gate guards surround the convoy and take custody of the four bound travelers. During the unloading, the Lone Wanderer spots a weathered route ledger beneath the driver’s seat, marked with three completed crossings and a final northern staging point.

The convoy settles into Honorhold’s guarded yard, its weapons stacked for inspection and its engines finally silent. The successful return gives Judge a complete prisoner escort, intact vehicles, and a new route record before nightfall.

The Lone Wanderer leaves Honorhold guarded yard behind and arrives at the guild.

The guild’s main hall receives them with warm lamplight, clattering dishes, and the sharp scent of oil from the weapon benches. Calimakal looks up as the Lone Wanderer and the silent hunter enter.

The Hunter crosses to the notice tables without answering. He studies the guild’s western and northern maps, then places one gloved finger on the road beyond the relay station.

A fresh charcoal mark now joins the map’s recorded crossings. Nearby guild members quiet their conversations, and Calimakal sets two untouched bowls on the nearest table.

The hunter remains beside the map, silent and ready, while the guild’s warm shelter gathers around the new northern lead.

Calimakal leaves two bowls steaming on the nearest table. The Lone Wanderer sits with the silent hunter, while the guild’s noise settles into a low background murmur.

The silent hunter lowers himself across the table and removes one glove before taking up his spoon. He studies the Wanderer for a long moment, then answers without evasion.

He gives the account plainly, with no boast in it. The answer places him as another outsider, though his route between worlds remains as mysterious as the Wanderer’s own arrival.

The Hunter returns to his meal, and the Lone Wanderer eats with him beneath the guild’s warm lamps. Across the hall, Calimakal quietly refills their cups.

The Hunter speaks without embellishment, his spoon resting beside the bowl. He describes Yharnam’s ruined streets, the beasts that populated them, and the sudden crossing that left him here.

The Lone Wanderer takes a stimpak from his gear and presses it to his scraped palm. A brief sting gives way to cool relief as the small wound closes.

The Hunter sets down his spoon and rises, reading the map again before leaving the guild. Leaving The Lone Wanderer by himself.

The Lone Wanderer crosses the guild hall toward the breakfast table, where Ettel, Leonard, Logan, and Mari are gathered again.

Before sitting, he presses a fresh stimpak against his scraped palm. The sting fades beneath cool medicine, leaving the skin closed and usable.

The hunter was already gone. Leaving the guild to investigate the next portal site.

The Lone Wanderer settles at the breakfast table with Ettel, Leonard, Logan, and Mari.

Calimakal brings out supper while Mari retells the day’s stranger moments with dramatic gestures. Leonard debates the convoy’s route, and Logan carefully records each useful detail.

The Lone Wanderer spends the evening with them, answering what he can and listening as the guild’s lamplight replaces the night beyond the windows. Laughter gradually overtakes the war maps.

The guild becomes full of adventurers and citizens. All chatting and eating as the night grows around the city.