The Outpost – The Vex Rezicon

By: Patience Kapfer

After the depressing conclusion of the last episode of “The Outpost,” we resume with our heroes in Greyskin territory. Talon (Jessica Green) wakes up to the sound of Garret (Jake Stormoen) choking, only to find Janzo (Anand Desai-Barochia) holding Garret’s mouth open perplexedly explaining that Garret didn’t turn. Janzo is thoroughly confused, as he says that it can take upwards of six days for people to turn, but usually the vast majority of people would have been infected by now. Janzo is unsure if Garret will be okay if he doesn’t turn in two days or if he could still be infected and is very unsettled by this lack of knowledge. Janzo continues to insist that Garret needs to be chained just in case he turns, but Talon thinks Garret is of better use unchained in case they need to fight. The group continues traveling onward through the sweltering desert, until they find a lake and Garret and Talon rush into the water to cool off. However, Janzo realizes that something seems off about there being a water source but no Greyskin settlement and notices something very large swimming in the middle of the lake. As Janzo emphatically yells at them to get out of the water, the creature grabs Garret and pulls him under the water. Despite Janzo’s warnings, Talon dives in with her knife to save Garret. When Janzo thinks all hope is lost and they are both dead, Talon emerges from the water with Garret in her arms and Janzo rushes out to help pull them to shore.

As Garret is recovering from the attack, Janzo and Talon hear Greyskin drumbeats in the distance and realize they need to get on the road again. While they walk, Talon takes the time to ask Garret about himself and get to know him better. Garret tells Talon that he had a brother that was a few years older than him who was always getting into trouble. One day his brother stole a case of wine for them and was immediately caught, so their father sent him to the mines for a day or two to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, he was then surrounded by all the criminals that their father had arrested and hours into the first day in the mine Garret’s brother was beaten to death. Talon learns that’s the reason Garret enlisted in the Prime Order was to get back at his father, but was summoned back by Commander Calkussar to protect Gwynn. After we all learn more about Garret, the group continues along a path surrounded by rock and are ambushed by a group of Greyskins.

Talon awakes with them all tied to poles and the Greyskins planning to eat them. One Greyskin approaches Garret and sniffs him and then offers him some Colipsum. That’s when Janzo realizes that the Greyskin can smell the Plagueling venom in Garret’s blood. After Garret refuses their Colipsum, the Greyskin begins to torment Janzo in preparation of eating him. So, Talon does the only thing she has left to do – she summons her demon. She instructs the demon to cut her loose and then kill the Greyskins. As they make their escape, Talon looks back to see the demon being speared by the Greyskins and Talon feels that she sent him to his wrongful death. Cresting the hill, they see the temple where The Book of Names should be and Janzo and Garret work on convincing Talon she needs to get the book even if she doesn’t want to use it.

While Talon, Garret and Janzo continue on their way to find The Book of Names, Essa (Sonalii Castillo) makes her way into the temple where the book is said to be kept. At first, she doesn’t see anything other than skeletons littering the floor, so she begins prying open a triangular surface on the table. No matter how she moves her knife, the triangular space doesn’t move. But when she brings her knife up to inspect it, she finds it covered in a black substance. She decides to light the area on fire and when she does that a drawer in the table opens revealing The Book of Names. Essa removes the book and tears out a page as proof that she’s destroyed the book and lights the remainder of the book on fire.

Talon, Garret and Janzo enter the temple to find The Book of Names already burned to ashes. Janzo wonders aloud why someone would build a shrine to the book but then make it so fragile. Talon notices a piece of the binding is removable, so she opens the binding and finds a small piece of metal attached to a chain. Janzo realizes that the book might have been a decoy and maybe this is the Vex Rezicon. Garret asks the question we are all wondering, “How do we read it?”

Back at the Outpost, the Prime Order searches Gwynn’s (Imogen Waterhouse) chambers and find Gwynn’s ring and Dred (Philip Brodie) sends his men to find her. While the soldiers search for Gwynn, they also take every female at the Outpost and cut their hands to see what color blood they have. As the men do this, Gwynn and her handmaiden, Naya (Medalion Rahimi), watch from the sewers. Naya tells Gwynn this is what life is like in most of the Realm. Naya tells her she’s from the area of the Capital where the poorest of the poor live and under the rule of Gwynn’s father’s conditions had been bad, but under the Prime Order they were terrible. Naya offers to go get help and Gwynn suggests she find Danno (Charan Prabhakar) in hopes that he can help them somehow. Unfortunately, Naya never goes to get help. She is taken to talk with Dred about her previous correspondence with him, proving that she’s been working with the Prime Order this whole time. In exchange for Dred’s word that he will free her sister and mother, Naya tells him that Gwynn is hiding in the sewer.

As Gwynn hopefully awaits Naya’s return, she hears footsteps approaching. Luckily, or maybe unluckily for her, it’s Marshal Withers (Andrew Howard). Withers and Danno drag Gwynn away down into the mine, with her assuming they plan to kill her. However, Withers tells her he’s helping her escape. Withers takes Gwynn to Sill (Yolanda Stange) who will help her escape in exchange for gold and her freedom once Gwynn is in power. Gwynn agrees to go with Sill as the Prime Order can be heard searching for her nearby. She tries to convince Withers to come with them and they can discuss his position as Marshal along the way, but he refuses saying that the Outpost is his home and he must stay and fight. Withers and Danno return to the mine and pretend to look busy at work. As the soldiers approach, Withers tells them not to come any closer because they have been infected. At the mention of Plaguelings, the soldiers reverse course immediately and leave Withers and Danno.

Withers sneaks his most trusted men into the basement of the Nightshade and convenes with Elinor (Robyn Malcolm). He tells her he has a plan to take back the Nightshade and then take back the entire Outpost from the Prime Order. Withers and Danno sneak up into the bar and attack two Prime Order soldiers from behind in order to usher in the rest of their compatriots. They make their way upstairs and attack Prime Order soldiers as they go, only to find out that Dred moved into Calkussar’s house. After clearing the Nightshade, Withers and the townspeople meet and he gives them a pre-battle pep talk. The plan is to wait until the moon is high and then they take out the soldiers one by one. Unfortunately, Naya is part of the group that has been liberated. She sneaks away while Withers is talking and spoils all of Withers’ plans. As they exit into the streets planning to sneak up on the soldiers, they are already waiting for them and shoot Elinor and Withers with arrows before attacking the rest of the townspeople.