Stout wooden walls rose up around a bustling city surrounded by rolling plains, backdropped by a forested mountain range. A steady stream of people either walking or riding on horses and in carriages flowed in and out of the city gates, where guards stood maintaining order and checking those coming in. Flanking the entrance atop the walls, two red flags flapped in the wind, each one with an insignia of a stylized white dragon head.

From the cover of the trees far in the distance, Levin and Mei stood on a cliff overlooking the city, as Cho eavesdropped on the city from high in the sky. He was picking up some great information listening in on the dense city center.

"How does it look?" Mei asked.

“We’re in the right place – this is Inuvik City. And all the people coming for Inuvik Academy are converging here,” Levin said.

Levin felt for the pouch hanging from his side as he looked out, checking for the hundredth time already that it still hung there. Because within that pouch was his ticket into the Academy – ten silver coins, the amount he had seen peasants from all over the countryside scrounging up.

The looted money purse actually held very few silver coins – it was mostly gold, and a blue metal he didn’t recognize. Cho’s eyes hadn’t spotted anyone using the blue coins yet, so he had to assume they were a currency for mages. Hopefully they would be very valuable.

“Good luck, then. I’ll find somewhere around here to camp out,” Mei said.

"See you later, then. Be sure to stay within Cho’s range," Levin said as he began to descend towards the city in the distance.

They had stopped on the border where the rough and forested mountain range sharply dropped down into domesticated flatland and gently rolling hills. It was within this pleasant landscape that Levin’s destination sat upon like a king, and the walls of the city its crown. A river cut through the land, delivering its nourishing waters right through the center of the city – a perfect trail for Levin to follow until he reached the main road.

“I should have had Mei drop me off down there,” Levin thought as he slowly and cautiously made his way towards the river at the base.

But when he turned back to look, Mei was already gone. For just a moment, Levin felt a stab of panic shoot through his chest, a flash of pain. But he forced himself to breathe, to shrug his shoulders as though he didn’t care and keep marching forward on his own legs. Mei had carried him far enough already.

Instead he examined his surroundings. The terrain here was fairly steep, but in the distance he could see a flat road full of people traveling to or from the city. A few miles away, the banks of the river he was following came close to the main road, and Levin looked forward to not trekking through more wildlands.

Then he looked behind him, following the curving river with his eyes up to its source. And received quite a shock – the mountain the river flowed from had been carved near the top, a huge chunk of the mountain simply removed. And in its place, Levin could see a curved stone wall with the tops of several tall and skinny towers poking out behind it.

Levin was tempted to fly Cho over to it, but decided to be cautious. That place was clearly a step above even Inuvik City, which was already two steps above every other village Levin had seen. It would be safer to keep Cho here, gathering information and filling out his vocabulary, than to dive towards someone’s seat of power.

So he just kept walking towards the city. After another hour, Levin finally drew up alongside the main road and hopped onto it. It was only a dirt path, beaten in by travelers, but he was glad to be on it. His feet felt sore, but Levin’s excitement, building with each step, drowned out the pain. Finally, his goal felt so close.

He could see others passing in and out of the gate, a fortified, guarded structure with armed, uniformed men inspecting both the leavers and comers. Those exiting the city barely got a look from the guards, but neither did Levin pay them much attention. His concentration was on the process of admission.

It was easier to examine it through Cho’s eyes, designed as they were for exceptional sight and hearing from high above. There, the procedure became clear to him; it cost money to enter. For each person that went through, a few coins would be handed to the guardsmen who would then store it away.

“Simple enough,” Levin thought, clutching his ill-begotten coin purse. He was certainly rich enough to enter a city.

He couldn’t help but feel nervous and out of place with the crowd of people that was steadily growing denser as he approached the city. But he tried to stay rational – right now, he just looked like a normal peasant. Whatever had caused the people of this dimension to attack on sight, it must have been the Gate that brought about the unwanted attention. It’s not like they could smell the alternate-dimension on him, right?

As he entered the shade of the walls, one of the guards stepped forward, blocking his path.

"Where are you from, traveler?" he said with a gruff voice. The chainmail adorning his body and the blade hanging from his waist clanked as he moved, muffled somewhat by a thick leather tunic bearing a white dragon head prominently emblazoned on the chest, matching the flags above.

“How the hell do I answer that question?” Levin thought to himself, caught off guard. The coin purse in his hands was already halfway opened. “Is he still going to let me in if I don’t answer?”

“I’m not from around here,” Levin said.

The guard frowned. Levin’s heartbeat began to quicken, and his palms began to moisten. He really didn’t want to get into another incident so soon.

"I didn't ask where you aren't from, vagrant,” the guard growled, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. “Unless you’re trying to tell me you came from outside Trurok.”

The guard seemed to smirk a little, an expression that Levin wasn’t sure how to read. “What’s Trurok?” Levin thought to himself. “The name of this land?” Unfortunately, Cho’s eavesdropping hadn’t picked up on that word yet. So Levin had to take a guess.

“That’s right,” he said. “I’m not from Trurok.”

The guard burst out laughing, a raucous noise that immediately caused Levin to flinch and blush.

“Hey Ap!” he shouted between outbursts, drawing the attention of another nearby guard. “This guy thinks he came from outside Trurok!”

Immediately, all eyes turned to Levin, including the guard named Ap who stared back bewilderedly from behind his beard. Levin was paralyzed under the pressure, his muscles frozen as he desperately tried to find the words that could turn the situation to his favor. But, how could he when he still knew nothing?

The guard antagonizing Levin went quiet, as though realizing he had been laughing at something serious. But the hard yet subdued tone he used after drawing his face close to Levin’s sent shivers down his spine.

“If you can't be honest, you can't enter Inuvik," he said, grip on the handle of his sword tightening. “And we don’t take kindly to your folk here.”

Levin tried desperately to maintain a placid demeanor even as he fell apart inside, a hopeless dread rising up as he continued to flounder for words. But before he could come up with a response, a voice as soft as silk echoed out from the crowd behind him.

"He's with me." A woman with deep azure hair held in a messy bun sat atop a black steed, looking down at Levin and the guard.

As the guard looked up at the woman, she flashed a silver medallion decorated with two intertwining streams of water. Upon seeing the crest imprinted in the metal, the guard's eyes went wide in surprise as he quickly retreated from his aggressive stance and bowed deeply.

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"Of course two members of the Chensu family may enter the city," the guard said in a much nicer tone as he rose from his bow. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Allow me to waive the gate fee for the both of you."

”Thank you,” she said, smiling at the guard.

The onlookers parted and went back to their business as she moved forward on her horse, and Levin felt nearly as grateful for that as getting entrance to the city. He followed behind her through the shaded wooden arch, staying quiet for fear the guards may discover they aren’t together if he asked something as foolish as “Who are you?”

They walked together into the city, passing through an open-air market filled with the clamor of vendors trying to attract the throngs of traffic passing through and near the front of the city. Compared to the small agricultural villages Levin had seen through the eyes of Cho during the days of travel, this place was a thriving metropolis ruling over the rural, sprawling farmland.

When they had walked a little ways, Levin’s rescuer twisted atop her horse to look back at him, flashing a warm smile from behind a weary countenance. From her simple traveling garb, Levin would never have guessed she held enough status to cow a guard into submission, but there was something that surprised him even more.

“She’s young!” Levin thought. “She doesn’t look a day over sixteen. Then again, I suppose the same applies to me.”

“Thanks,” Levin said. “You saved me back there. My name’s Levin.”

She giggled, putting a hand up to cover her mouth. “I’m Kirima. You should have thought more about how you look!”

Levin glanced down at his body. He still wore the same high-tech nanofiber weave that had been given to all members of the Expedition Team, the tough and stretchy material adhering tightly to the shape of his body. True, they stood out compared to the loose and rough linen fabrics he saw on those around. However, a layer of dirt and grime had been caked on from the time spent traveling, which Levin thought made him look about the same as any other traveler.

“What’s wrong with them?” he asked.

“It’s because you look like a bandit!” she exclaimed with a renewed round of giggles.

"The guard thought those clothes were too nice for you. And it looks like you're trying to hide them with dirt, which made him think you stole them from someone wealthy," Kirima explained as she led Levin through the city.

Levin followed along, smiling wryly as he wondered what Kirima or the guards would think if they could clearly see his clothes, and just how foreign they really are. As Kirima continued to giggle at him, Levin couldn’t help but laugh along at the absurdity of it all.

“And what will you do if it turns out I am a bandit?” Levin said, returning her smile.

“Of course I can tell you aren’t a bandit!” Kirima said. “You’re a mage, right?”

"What?" Levin said. Immediately, his guard went up and he eyed his savior with suspicion, a paranoia born of his experiences the past few days. Levin was trying to avoid any more attention, especially misplaced attention like this.

“No, I’m not,” he answered sharply.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Kirima answered hurriedly. “It’s just, I saw into your coin pouch…”

“It did come from a mage,” Levin thought to himself. “Did the blue coins give it away?”

“Are you here to enter Inuvik Academy, then?” Kirima asked.

This young woman before him seemed so innocent in her questioning that Levin felt a pang of guilt for distrusting her so strongly. But even so, he was scared at how quickly she had figured him out, and even more so at the idea of answering truthfully. There was still so little he knew about this world, and it felt as though any little thing could reveal that he didn’t belong.

“That’s right,” Levin said. He decided to be honest.

“Me too!” Kirima beamed in response. But just as quick as her face had lit up, she turned as red as a beet, and quickly covered her mouth as she turned away from Levin atop her horse, hiding her face.

Levin’s mouth hung agape in confusion as he looked at her back, unsure what to think of her strange reaction. But there was one thing he was sure of – he was glad he had answered honestly. This blushing teenager before him couldn’t possibly be a threat.

Levin picked up his pace, walking in front of Kirima’s horse and turning to the side to look her in the eye again. Noticing his stare, Kirima met his eyes, letting out another bright, cheerful laugh.

“Haha… You must think I’m quite strange,” she said, still colored a deep red.

“Nothing about you makes any sense to me,” Levin thought, but he didn’t imagine saying that aloud would help her embarrassment.

“Am I supposed to?” he asked instead.

“Well, since I’m from the Chensu family…” she trailed off, before suddenly realizing. “You’ve never heard of us, have you?”

“I’m new to Trurok,” Levin slowly said, choosing his words carefully.

“Oh! Then were you telling the truth at the gate? Did you actually come from beyond Trurok?” Kirima asked.

Levin wasn’t sure if this information could get him in trouble. But, he had already decided to be honest. And he knew far too little to tell a convincing lie.

“That’s right, I’m not from Trurok,” Levin said. “You must think that’s impossible.”

“No, I don’t! Crossing the Nalep Desert isn’t as hard as everyone thinks,” Kirima said. “But since even Blackbolt Silla can’t get across without his Cloud promotion, it makes sense that most people would find it impossible.”

Silla. Kirima had just said quite a bit that Levin didn’t understand, but that was one word he knew he recognized. And a quick search through his memories with his Y-Link reminded him exactly where that name had appeared; I demand you surrender yourselves to our Lord Silla, the words spoken to them by Tulimak before Mei smashed him into the side of a mountain.

Levin’s throat clammed up, but he forced the words out anyways. He had to know. “Who is Silla?”

“Oh! Of course you wouldn’t know, if you just got here. Blackbolt Silla is the leader of the Lightning Corp, which is the most powerful group of mages in Trurok. Which makes him the strongest mage here,” Kirima said.

“Then he’s not a part of Inuvik Academy?” Levin asked.

“No. Inuvik Academy has more members, but Silla controls most of the land in Trurok,” Kirima said.

Levin had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, he was losing the opportunity to try and infiltrate Silla’s organization. But on the other hand, that was a truly awful idea. So Levin sighed in relief, reassured that his attempt to take the Academy’s entrance exam tomorrow would not end with him coming face-to-face with the enemies who had tried to burn him alive.

“Thank you,” Levin said.

“Of course! I hope we both pass tomorrow!” Kirima said.

She waved goodbye to Levin, turning down a different path. “Goodbye!” she called out, and Levin waved back as she vanished down into the bustle of the city. Levin’s smile stayed on his face as he continued down his own way, beginning to navigate through the city to a simple inn he had picked out ahead of time with Cho.

The sun was starting to approach the horizon, and Levin decided not to spend any time looking around the city in person as he came upon a wide street lined with inns, restaurants, and bars. He entered one with a hanging sign shaped like a purple lotus, once more feeling for his coin purse as he pushed open the door.

A bell rang as Levin entered. He found himself in a simple building, with plain, windowless walls and wooden floors that creaked underfoot as he entered. Inside, there was only a hallway leading to rows of doors, along with a counter by the entrance. Levin walked up to the entrance.

A moment later, an elderly woman hobbled out, supported by a cane.

“Five copper for the night. Two for the bath. Three for breakfast. We don’t do other meals,” she croaked out.

Levin peeked into Tulimak’s coin purse, but couldn’t find any copper coins. It was full of gold and blue, with a few bits of silver here and there.

“All three,” Levin said, pulling out a silver.

She snatched the coin from his hand, then headed down the hall. Levin followed behind, and he soon found himself in a small room with a bed and nightstand.

“Bath’s out back,” the innkeeper said before hobbling away.

He had quite a plain room compared to Earth’s standards, but Levin was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed for the first time in a week. And he was looking forward to being able to clean the grime from his body.

Unfortunately, the “bath” was disappointing. The entire thing was just a bucket and water pump next to some stone tiling. But, at least he could rinse off.

Levin returned to his room after getting as clean as he could, quickly forgetting the underwhelming bath. He laid down on top of rough but thick wool blankets, and the wood of the bed frame groaned in response.

And then the exhaustion caught up to him. Now that he had a real place to sleep, it felt like he had been awake ever since leaving Al-Abadi’s station. His whole body ached, especially his sore legs, but the bed offered blessed relief.

And for the first time since that fateful day, Levin’s eyes were dry as he slept. He missed Andrew deeply, and didn’t think he would stop mourning his friend anytime soon, but the sadness and guilt no longer overwhelmed him.

Because tomorrow, Levin’s new journey will finally begin.