To his relief, Cabre’s frantic waving and jumping had been enough to catch the cart driver's attention. With the screeching of breaks, sand settled to the ground as the cart jolted to a halt.

“What can I do ya for? I’m in a bit of a hurry.” A scruffy voice asked.

Cabre paused. The woman who sat in the driver seat had fierce windblown blonde hair that was cut short and was built like she could punch a full-grown sand crawler in the snout and get away with it. A bandana covered the lower half of her face, surely to keep the sand from obstructing her breathing, and goggles covered her eyes. From the top of the left side of her forehead, presumably traveling over her eye and disappearing under her face covering, was a massive scar. 

“I… Uh.”

Was this really the right person to be asking for help? He shook the thought away. He needed to get into Foolshope and this was his best shot. He straightened himself and gave the intimidating woman a confident look.

“I need to get into the city.” He replied.

The woman raised a brow and leaned out the window, peeking over towards the gate.

“Without them seeing me.” He narrowed his eyes.

She slowly turned to him, leaning back against her seat. She took a moment to fiddle with the carrier’s console before looking back to him.

“What’s so important in Foolshope?” She lifted her goggles onto her forehead.

Carbe could see now that the scar did, in fact, run right over her eye. He wasn’t sure, but he guessed the sight on her left side was impaired. It showed all the same emotion, however. Her gaze was a curious one, her brows raised and her golden brown eyes studying him. He shifted uncomfortably under her watch, shifting his weight from one side to the other.

“Seeing a friend.” He lied, looking away.

The woman tilted her head to the side, giving him a look of disbelief.

“Seeing a friend, huh?” She repeated.

Cabre turned back to her with a glare, crossing his arms over his chest.

“My business is my business.” He argued.

She raised her arms into the air in defeat.

“If you say so.” She conceded.

Without another word, she opened the door of the vehicle and pulled her large frame into the wasteland. Cabre did his best to stand tall next to her and despite his height, he felt small in comparison. He followed as she led him to the bed of the carrier, pushing aside bags of goods and supplies.

“If you can fit there, I’ll get you in.” She concluded.

Cabre peeked around her arm to look where she pointed. Among the sacks of whatever she had packed in the carrier, she’d made a hollow just barely big enough for him to curl up into. She stepped aside as he crawled in, stumbling over the bags to back his way to the back where the nook sat.

“I’ll put your bag in the front.” She offered a hand.

Though hesitant, Cabre pulled his rucksack from his shoulders and handed it over to her. He was more likely to fit into his hiding place without his bag taking up more space anyway. Once he’d curled up as tight as he could, the woman gently piled the bags on top of him before walking back to the front of the carrier. Cabre felt a gentle thunk as what he could only imagine was his rucksack, hit the floor of the passenger seat, and a firmer clunk as his ride slammed her door shut. The frame of the carrier rattled as the engine sputtered, struggling and whining as the woman turned the key. With a few firm smacks to the vehicle's frame, the engine roared to life and the gentle hum of energy hung in the air. Before long they were off, headed for the city gate.

Not even a minute passed before the vehicle lurched to a stop. Cabre felt the crude carrier strain and tilt under the woman's weight as she leaned an arm against the window frame. He held his breath, trying to make out the conversation between the guard and his smuggler. A moment of silence passed before he heard the muffled clattering of the portcullis being raised and the carrier sputtered through, into the city.
“Good luck, finding this ‘friend’ of yours.” The woman said, raising her hands as she scrunched her fingers in air quotes.

“Thanks.” He replied simply.

Cabre hopped out of the carrier bed and grabbed his bag from the front, taking a moment to observe his surroundings. He could tell the city was big, but the shopping district he found himself in was a quaint place. There were a few small shops around with an overall welcoming atmosphere about. Few people came and went, but they seemed cheery. He tapped his finger idly against the strap of his bag. Now that he was here, he realized he hadn’t thought of a plan to actually find the Celestial.

“Uh…” He turned back to the woman.

She paused, dropping the last bag of supplies onto the pile she’d made next to one of the shops. Putting her hands on her hips, she raised a brow and turned to Cabre.

“You wouldn’t happen to know any places to get information on people around here, would you?” Cabre gave her a serious look.

The woman’s gaze scanned the area before she took a step closer, setting a firm hand on Cabre’s shoulder.

“You can get yourself into some serious trouble askin’ about the wrong people around here.” She started. “Better to find yourself a good vantage point and just… give yourself some time to take in the city.”

She gave him a firm pat on the shoulder before turning back towards her stack of supply bags. She lifted one hand to wave goodbye as she lifted the top bag once again, heading for the closest shop.

“Best of luck.” She said before stepping inside.

Cabre furrowed his brows and turned to walk out of the small shopping district. How was that supposed to help him? He sighed and let out a frustrated groan as he made his way through town. As he followed the winding roads, letting whim guide him, he noticed the buildings getting bigger. The people about also seemed more… eloquent so to say. They were dressed nicer and every single one of them looked to be in a rush. The warm and welcoming atmosphere from the small shopping district had dissipated into a more stress-ridden heavy air. As he looked around, a crowd of people passed around him, a few individuals nudging him out of the way with their shoulders.

“Hey, watch it!” Someone shouted, shooting a glare at Cabre.

Once they’d passed, Cabre glared in return, wrinkling his nose at them.

“And I thought some of the people back at camp were bad.” He huffed.

To avoid more unsavory interactions, he stepped to the edge of the street, looking around at the tall buildings that surrounded him. Then, he paused to think. Maybe that lady was on to something when she told him to find a vantage point. Scoping out an unfamiliar area was one of his expertise, why hadn’t he thought of it before. Disappointed in himself, he smacked an open palm onto his forehead as he made his way into a back alley. He took his time, looking over each of the buildings, hoping to find one with promising holds. None of them looked great but that had a base of sandstone bricks and metal sheets the rest of the way up seemed the most promising.

Just as he was about to start climbing the metal portion, he looked to the side. In the next alley over, one of the buildings had a maintenance ladder built, rising all the way to the top. Of course. He never saw the easiest path first. Yvonne made good and well to make fun of him every time it happened while she was around. “Hah! I swear you need your eyes checked. It’s a wonder you made it this far without me.” He could already hear her laughing about it. He let out a sigh, chuckling as he shook his head before climbing back to the ground. He made his way across the other alley and hoisted himself up the ladder with ease. He gently placed his pack on the ground beside him, taking care not to make too much noise in case there were people below him. He pulled his multi-purpose scope from it and looked around the city. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There closer to him, there were fancily dressed people coming in and out of buildings. Further away, in the few places he could see between the buildings. There were more casually dressed people. Some were chatting in pavilions while kids ran around rough-housing. Others were stopped by open shops, inspecting goods. He frowned at his findings. At this rate, he’d end up back at Camp Primary empty-handed. Then his eye caught something and he let out a nearly silent grumble of frustration. A few blocks away, in between the separation of the welcoming shops and the larger buildings, was a clock tower. It towered over all the other buildings in Foolshope.

The perfect vantage point.

Then, the woman’s words seeped into his mind again… “time to take in the city”. Very funny. He shoved his scope into his bag, tossed it onto his back, and slid down the ladder, walking down the street to the clock tower.