The road felt wrong beneath my boots.
Not dangerous wrong. Just… different from before.
Changing from dirt to packed clay as we followed it south, each step taking us further from the Badlands and deeper into territory that felt almost… civilised. Grass brushed my boots. Trees actually cast shade instead of threats. The air smelled like dust, smoke, and something else I hadn't scented in months:
Cooking.
Not burning. Not melting. Actual ... cooking.
Cadence walked beside me in hologram form, hands clasped behind her back like a smug tour guide.
"If you stop staring at the grass," she said, "you will notice the road curves left soon."
"I'm appreciating nature."
"You are looking suspiciously at a shrub."
"It moved."
"The wind moved it."
"Was preparing for an attack."
Before she could correct my definition of plant aggression, Cadence straightened.
"Approaching travellers," she said.
Sure enough, three figures appeared ahead, pulling a two-wheeled cart loaded with crates and sacks. All humans. No armour. Practical clothes patched in too many places to count. One carried a long walking staff; another had goggles perched on their forehead; the third guided a horned beast hitched to the cart.
They spotted me, hesitated… then relaxed a fraction when they realised I wasn't sprinting at them screaming.
Good start.
We met in the middle of the road. The one with goggles nodded warily.
"Afternoon," he said.
"Is it afternoon?" I asked Cadence under my breath.
"Yes," she whispered. "Reply accordingly."
"Afternoon," I repeated.
He eyeballed me. "Not from around here, are you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
He glanced at my plating, my posture, my… general lack of normal human vibes."It's a little obvious, yeah."
His companion, a woman with braids and a stern jaw, pointed at my chest.
"Do you belong to the Hub?" she asked. "Never seen a model like you."
"Not from the Hub," I said quickly. "I'm from a ... very independent line."
That seemed to put them mildly at ease. Independent meant unaffiliated. Unaffiliated meant lower likelihood of trouble.
Lower.
The youngest traveller, a girl no older than sixteen, offered a small smile. "You heading toward Tollhaven?"
"Yeah," I said. "First time."
They exchanged looks. Sympathy looks.
Goggles sighed. "Well… it may be different that what you expect"
"Different ?" I said. "Please explain. Preferably slowly. Preferably with diagrams."
Cadence elbowed me. It was a hologram elbow, so it did nothing, but I felt emotionally elbowed.
The braided woman adjusted the strap of the cart. "Everything in Tollhaven runs on credit," she said. "Real credit. Not barter tokens, not favours, no trades."
"And credit is…?" I prompted.
She tapped her wrist.
A small metallic glint poked from under her skin."Your ID chip holds it. No chip, no transactions."
The girl chimed in. "The chip enables everything, pays for food, lodging, contracts, travel permits. You can't even use the public wells without one."
"So what happens if someone doesn't have a chip?" I asked.
Braids gave a grim little snort. "Then they're either passing through fast… or they're sleeping outside the walls."
Goggles leaned on his staff. "Tollhaven won't let you do any buying, selling, renting, or even joining a club without ID. Too many criminals, smugglers, Hub infiltrators. They run everything through the network to keep order."
"'Order' is a generous term," Braids said.
"Safer than most places," he shot back.
"Not as safe for people without chips."
They both glared at each other in a way that suggested this argument was older than the cart.
I raised a hand. "So… where does someone get one of these chips?"
All three travellers made the exact same face.
The "oh sweetheart, no" face.
The girl answered first. "You usually get one at birth, via registration at the Hub or one of its outposts"
"In short," Goggles said, "you get a chip if you belong."
"And if someone shows up from outside," the girl said, "alone, unregistered, no sponsor…?"
She didn't finish.
She didn't have to.
Cadence whispered dryly, "Your odds are slim to none."
I cleared my throat. "Suppose someone hypothetically lacked a chip. Hypothetically. Could they trade for one?"
"Not legally," Goggles said. "But… Tollhaven has a lot of unofficial markets. Some honest, some… not so much."
Braids frowned. "If you go looking in the wrong alley, you'll get a chip, all right. Might wake up with fewer organs though."
"Been there, done that, have multiple blood soaked t-shirts" I exclaimed.
Braids awkwardly chuckled.
I digressed slowly. "So… difficult, expensive, dangerous, and most likely illegal."
"Yes," Braids said. "Welcome to civilisation."
Cadence sounding almost triumphant. "I said the same thing!"
Goggles checked the sky. "We need to keep moving if we want to reach the ridge by nightfall."
Braids gave me a considering look. "If you're heading to Tollhaven, stick to the main road. And… don't let anyone scan you until you understand the rules."
The girl waved. "Good luck!"
They continued on, cart creaking as they left us behind.
I waited until they were out of earshot.
Then: "Cadence."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me civilisation was a bureaucratic nightmare."
"I did," she said. "Repeatedly."
"Yes but they said it with… tone."
"They said it with exhaustion," Cadence corrected. "The economic system of Tollhaven appears to be moderately predatory."
"Moderately?"
"Yes. Not aggressive predation. Bureaucratic predation. Less blood, more paperwork."
I groaned. "I hate paperwork."
"You cannot be hurt by paperwork."
"It can hurt my mental state"
"It already has."
I kicked a stone off the road, sending it bouncing down into the grass.
"So," I said, "I need a chip. And the legal way is impossible. And the illegal way might kill me."
"Yes."
"Fantastic."
"We will find a way," Cadence said calmly. "Someone in Tollhaven will want something. Everyone wants something. We simply need to identify the correct someone."
"And hope the price isn't horrifying."
Cadence paused. "It will almost certainly be horrifying."
"Great."
"On the bright side," she said, "your battery is still at 91%."
"Small victories."
"Statistically, sometimes those are the only kind."
The road bent ahead, dipping toward a valley glowing faintly with distant lanterns, the first hint of Tollhaven's outskirts.
Civilisation.
Rules.
Credits.
Networks.
People.
I felt something tighten low in my chest. Not fear. Not excitement.
Anticipation with a seasoning of dread.
"Cadence," I murmured.
"Yes?"
"I get the feeling our first encounter is going to be messy."
"Almost guaranteed."
"Good," I said. "Messy I can handle."