Andrew only dared to practice his mana projection for the first couple hours of the day. They were quickly closing in on their destination, and would need all the eyes they could get on the forest and plains around them. They weren't sure exactly how far the other camp was and couldn't estimate how much ground their hunters would cover. Thankfully they didn't run into any as they traveled, and a few hours into the day Isaac called them to a halt from where he led. He pointed out an unremarkable stone outcropping that jutted out from the cliff edge to their south.

"This is where I turned in towards the forest last time." He said, tracing a line from the stone to the tree line to the north. "I met the hunter after about an hour of walking or so, I figure we head along the tree line until we find a trail or see someone."

"Sounds good to me. Negotiation team grab your stuff and get ready, the rest of you, head back a little ways and into the forest. We'll head back along the tree line, so keep an eye out for us." Andrew said, heading around the lead wagon to grab his shield and a small pack of supplies. The others followed suit and a few moments later the five of them were striking out for the tree line, eyes alert.

They walked along the forest's edge for two hours before a series of staccato cracks rang out from the forest ahead of them, startling a flock of birds. Andrew and the others dropped halfway into a crouch before realizing the shots were still far from them. No signs or sounds of impact nearby, so far as he could tell. The shared a silent look, then continued forward, weapons readied. Andrew saw something move in the forest ahead and froze.

Isaac raised a hand, whispering to Andrew. "Different guy, up ahead, he hasn't seen us yet."

"What's he doing?" Andrew shifted around a tree to get a better view of the figure. It looked to be a skinny, shirtless young man. His back was to them, a mullet of oily brown hair curling around his neck. He appeared to be mid-piss, blissfully unaware of their presence. Andrew shared a nod with Isaac and they waited, not wanting to surprise him in a vulnerable moment. He didn't appear armed, but they couldn't see much of him. When he was done he turned to walk away, deeper into the forest towards the gunshots. Andrew came out from behind the tree, raised a hand and called out.

"Hey there! Hold up a minute."

The skinny teen jumped about a foot and spun around, surprise and relief flashing across his face before it was replaced with a guarded suspicion. "Oh man, sneakin up on me like that, I damn near shit my pants. Where'd y'all come from?" His tone was friendly, but his body was still half-turned and ready to bolt off deeper into the forest at a moment's warning.

"Sorry about that, we didn't mean to surprise you. My name is Andrew, we're coming from the north, across those mountains." Andrew said, pointing with his spear. "I apologize for the weapons, I don't have a good way to holster this yet. We escaped from a Hobgoblin work camp and are just out here looking for literally anyone else."

The relief returned with a big smile and he shifted to fully face them, "Oh good, that’s great. I'm Kyle. There's actually a bunch of us camped just a few minutes from here. I'm about to head that way, y'all should come with me. We've got shelter and fresh food and good company. There's plenty enough for all y'all to get a good bite in, though it looks like you ain't done half bad on that yourselves so far." He said with a chuckle, in a friendly sort of way. He looked like he could use a few good meals himself.

"That's very generous of you. I think we'll take you up on that. This is Shelby, Isaac, Carter, and Nate. It's good to meet a friendly face out here." Andrew said, gesturing to each before reaching out to shake the youth's hand. He didn't look too much younger than himself, though it felt like a long, long time since he was a teenager. Even more so in recent days.

"Well, right this way then, the mayor'll be glad to see ya." Kyle said, turning and waving hand for them to follow as he started off deeper into the forest. "So what's a hobgoblin then? Somethin like those lil green monsters who come by every now an then?"

Andrew hurried forward to keep pace with him as they walked. " Yeah, something like that. They're way bigger, and stronger than the average human by a good bit. They're a lot smarter than the goblins too I think, and they've got cities and things, supposedly. It's good to hear you haven't been running into any out here."

"Yeah, nope, none of that, just some oversized critters, and the goblins. Joe's team brought back a big three-headed snake one time, that was pretty fuckin' cool. You shoulda seen the size of it, bigger than a school bus and took just about every bullet they had on em to take it down. They caught it sleepin, but I would've run away the second I set eyes on that thing I'll tell you what." He laughed, opening his hands wide for dramatic effect and nearly tripping over a root in the process.

"Wow you guys have guns out here too? Don't you have to be careful about using up all the bullets?"

"Nah. I mean, kinda yeah, but it's alright. Ol' Jack Ryan's god gifted catalyst lets him make as many as we need, though he needs a lil extra mana every now and then. It's kinda crazy how He prepared us for all this ya know, sendin video games and such to us so we'd be ready for everything happening now. Just goes to show how it's all connected, we'll never know God's plans for us, but he's there, and he's takin care of us." Kyle's pace increased as he spoke with obvious enthusiasm, all signs of suspicion dead and gone. "Man, George'll be so happy to see you guys, he's always havin us keep a lookout for new folks. Said he's been expecting a big group of newcomers for a while now, y'all must be the first of them."

Andrew could hear the distant hum of an active camp and could see the forest thinning out ahead of them. He could see several buildings through the trees ahead, and as they cleared the treeline he was shocked by the size and quality of the camp in front of him. The clearing was dotted with dozen's of tree stumps, and Andrew could see where many more had already been pulled up and out of the ground. Eight long log cabins lined either side of a rough dirt road leading to a small plaza with a wooden stage and tall wooden flagpole. A tall cross stood in front of the house nearest to the stage, and many of the buildings had flat fenced balconies grafted onto the rooftops. Behind the stage was a pile of logs and a large shallow rectangular pit which looked like the foundation for another, much larger building. A U.S. flag patterned long sleeve shirt was nailed to the top of the flag pole by the sleeves, and it flapped wildly in the wind. People were everywhere, mostly wearing jeans and leather trousers. Many of the men were shirtless or wearing simple leather vests, and Andrew saw a few women wearing blouses made from crocheted or knitted plant fibers, though most wore worn modern clothing. Quite a few people wore holstered pistols and three of the rooftop balconies were occupied by serious looking men armed with rifles. Two of those serious looking men were looking right at them, and they weren't getting any less serious as they gripped their modern rifles just a little tighter. Andrew wasn't incredibly familiar with firearms, but they looked like the kind of automatic assault rifles he had seen plenty often before in video games.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Kyle waved his hand at one of them, and the guard relaxed, taking a hand from the barrel of his rifle and motioning them to stop as he called out to them. "Hey Kyle! The boss is gonna want us to keep them at the edge of camp till he gets a chance to talk to em, keep them there for a moment!" Then he turned and called down to someone behind the building that Andrew couldn't see. They stopped and Kyle turned towards him, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry, the mayor likes to meet everyone new before they come in. He's a real good judge of character, part of his gift. He says it lets him see the evil in people's hearts, but I think that might be kinda B.S. if I'm honest, haven't ever seen him turn anyone away. He's a good man." Kyle said, tone slightly hushed.

Andrew was about to ask for more details when a figure came striding around the building and purposefully towards them. They were gathering a lot of attention now, and Andrew could see most people's attention was on them now, though only one person was actively approaching them. He was a tall man sporting styled black hair dusted with grey and a bit of day old scruff on his cheeks. He was wearing a clean white dress shirt tucked into a pair of worn jeans and had a pair of guns strapped to his waist. A revolver on his right, a modern pistol on his left. A simple silver cross hung from his neck and a kind smile grew on his face as he approached, waving a calming hand back at the rooftop gunman.

"I just knew today was goin to be a good one. It's been too long since we've had any new arrivals. My name is George Devaldi, and it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to New Eden." He said extending a hand to shake as he approached.

Andrew took his hand and shook it, trying to match the firm, confident grip as he replied, "That's very kind of you. I'm Andrew Neilson, and these are some friends of mine. You guys look pretty on top of things over here."

"Thank you, you're too kind. This land has blessed us with many gifts, and I would be a terrible host if I didn't share those with people in need, such as yourself. Perhaps inside over a warm meal, if I may be so bold? You look like you've had a long day."