Unless she's really fast, she's either going to have to jump over the wall again or talk someone into opening it.

Yeah, she'll make the ask.

The same asshole who oversaw the first part of her Brave run is apparently temporarily War Chief now, and he also apparently doesn't want them opening the gate for anyone, even someone leaving - let alone her.

Guess she'll have to grapple down off the wall. Hope she doesn't pull any of it down behind her...

She doesn't! Though she does leave behind an angry, sputtering whats-his-name asshole.

Nice!

Okay, first she wants to see if there's any Strider herds that weren't disturbed by the corrupter, and try out her new toy.

The herd farthest from Mother's Heart is still there - they'd clearly been spooked, because they've pressed themselves into the farthest reaches of the Embrace, their Watchers a tight patrol around them. But they've calmed down since, slowly started to spread out again, and Aloy knows this herd because it's also the one closest to where she grew up. She's gotten about as familiar as it's possible to get with their patterns, and their Watchers have pretty set patrol routes when they do retreat to this area. All the Striders she'd expect to see are there, though, all uninjured, though they're missing a Watcher.

Poor babies. But there's a gap she can exploit, and she'll be gentle, she promises.

She's able to get one of the Striders that's wandered off from the others. It freezes a bit, blue cords growing around its joints - especially the neck - and intensifying its natural glow. It shakes its head when her Focus indicates the override is done, then calmly turns towards her. 

(The other machines don't seem to have noticed, yet, but that might only be a matter of time.)

Coooool. She hops up onto its back and kicks in her heels.

This draws the attention of the other machines! Fortunately for her, though, it takes them a few crucial seconds to log her as a potential hostile and then get past warning calls - and by then, she's already racing out of the alarm range of even the most aggressive Watcher. 

She is become the wiiiiiiiind!

Strider goes ZOOM!

Wheee wait shit how does she steer-

Well, the Strider seems to understand what roads are at least? But she's going to need to play around for more. (Though it's not too difficult - using her hands to press on the side of the neck opposite the direction she wants to turn does result in the Strider turning, and she could probably figure out something with her knees if she could get the coordination right, or something with her Focus with enough practice...)

Well, maybe she can work something out on the way up to- Rost's house.

Some fiddling reveals that the Strider can be sent map data and also a target location; exactly how advanced its pathfinding capabilities are will require more experimentation, though.

It'll also require more map data. Not like she's ever been outside the Embrace. For any significant length of time. Which is going to change in the near future, so... everything works out?

Is Aloy trying to distract herself from the part where she's almost home and still doesn't know what she's going to do at Rost's grave? Maybe a little.

Unfortunately one drawback of riding a Strider is that it gets close to Rost's grave far more quickly than she would have on foot. 

...Yeah.

She pulls the Strider to a stop outside the gates and swings down.

It's a nice place for it, anyway.

Whoever built the grave seems to have cared for Rost, too.

Another mystery he's leaving behind.

"Hey old man," she says. "It's- I-"

"Thanks. For everything."

"I'll live up to your expectations."

Only the low wind replies. 

"I'm leaving the Embrace, after this. But you can't yell at me, since the Matriarchs made me a Seeker first. They took me inside the mountain, too, and- whatever lives there spoke to me. Almost recognized me. Guess that's what you meant."

"Still wish you would have told me more yourself. Your secrets-"

"All they ever did was hurt and hurt and hurt. And now you're gone and you won't ever say anything again. Well, I'm gonna go, and I'm gonna find the attackers, and I'm gonna find the man who killed you, and I'm gonna find the fix to the Alpha Registry, and I'm gonna get the answers. And then I'm gonna come back and tell you all about it, because-"

"Because that's what I want to do, even if it's not what you did."

"Goodbye, Rost." And scrubbing an arm across her face, she goes back to where she left the Strider and makes for the gates.

The way is clear, at least - 

But she hears combat outside of the damaged gates. There's a gap big enough for her Strider, if she's careful with how she steers it - but she can't see from here what's going on with the fight.