((Editor’s Note: The following Letter to the Press, found in one of our mailboxes, comes from Void Traveler Seetan of the secretive Scarab Tribe. Not only does it share information about the Fragments they possess (and are willing to barter with), this letter notes a curious exchange between the Old Man and the Tin Man, witnessed by Void.))
The Scarabs have come to you, wordsworth, with our thoughts and tales of recent events.
We scoured the wastes in search of the fragments. Long and hard we searched and relentlessly toiled until we were fighting weakness from heat and pains in our bodies from trekking through the sands. Some of us rested while some had given up all hope of finding one.
In the end, Karu Seetan returned home bearing a fragment found while scavenging for necessary equipment. We were unsure what to do so we kept it hidden deep underground in our vault and spoke no more of it until we learned more of the puzzle set before us.
I, Void, kept my ear to the ground and kept a sharp, keen eye on all the comings and goings of the wastelanders. I noticed peace for a change but not by all. Some still resented us although we held no ill will at that time.
I heard an old man was in the area, maybe looking for the pieces and I suddenly realized he had been standing near me, a few days earlier, at the volcano of the fort. At that time, I was unaware of his relevance so I merely nodded thinking him but a journeyman of the wastes.
Later that day at the salvage machine, my attention was drawn to the Tin Man. He stood atop the bunker holding a flame throwing rifle. Suddenly, he raised it and directed it towards the old tracks…yelling noises at us in a manner suggesting that we must attack. When I turned, I saw the same old man walking along the tracks. It was then I realized that this old man must hold some type of power or threat to the Tin Man. I told the Tin Man that I would not attack, not until the old man made himself and his intentions known to me. The Tin Man grunted in disgust. But alas, once more, I missed my chance to speak with the old man! He had disappeared by the time I ran to find him.
SuzeLaRousse Milo had joined our tribe shortly before the rumors of a glint of orange began. She found the first fragment and later another. She told me that she would hold on to them until she was sure what she must do with them. Today, Suze shoved them in my pocket with a sly grin and an eerie glint in her eye, oh she is so glaringly bright to my eyes, her beauty is blinding, and yet at times terrifying to me. She walked the wastes much, pondering her decision and talking to all around her about the crystals and yet she came back to me and freely handed them over.
I have realized that there are connections with the fragments and the salvager machine that has been unearthed near our Burrow in Fissure…and, as you already know, the first larger fragment has been made. When all have been crafted, these fragments will power up the new machine. But many choices will have to be made before that machine starts growling back to life.
For one scavenger to hold all fragments is not a good balance and must not be this way.
The Scarabs hold three pieces, one of the fractured fragments and two of the splintered fragments.
Now, mister scribe, the message from the Scarabs is this: we will help others make the fractured fragment but only in trade for a splintered piece.
Until then we will remain underground or in the shadows until we are called upon by those that wish to proceed with the bonding of the fragments. We will gladly rise to this new era if that is what it is. But it is through a sharing of stones that a true and fair decision can be made and we realize this very well.
One fracture for one splinter or we are at a stale mate.
On a last and final note I would like if possible to have council with the old man of the tent to know more of the true nature of his intentions.
Signed: Void Traveler Seetan