Jes looked stunning, the dark emerald top contrasted nicely with her light purple skin, showing a bit more cleavage than Davin was mentally prepared for, her normal hood and mantle replaced by a sleeveless shirt that reminded him of a waistcoat. The more noticeable sway in her hips drew his eyes down her curvy form, and it took his breath away, most rational thoughts left him at that point and he felt like a kid again going on his first date, his heart started to race and he felt his cheeks begin to warm…

"Oi!"

The smack to his side that followed that exclamation pulled Davin back to the conversation that he and Gale had been having. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I was distracted, what did you say?" Shaking his head, struggling to pull himself back to reality.

"We can pick it up later mate, it looks like you’ve got a busy day ahead of you, so you go ahead and focus on that." The shit-eating grin that was plastered on Gale's face sent a chill down Davin's spine.

"Are you ready?" The smile that Jes made left Davin dumbstruck yet again, all he could do was dumbly nod. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up, "Let's go show you the city."

The two of them headed out of the rogues' training grounds, and Davin got his second real look at the city, and this time, it wasn't a part of a high-speed foot chase. As they left, Davin saw how the hall stayed so well hidden, the squat building was surrounded by a large facade that Davin would have called an apartment complex, it looked like all of the other buildings, and the fact that there were so many of them really hit home for the sheer size of the city. Their walk took them towards a familiar building, seeing 'The Hall' just off in the distance made him think about the path that he followed and how he could be so close, he could have sworn that he was chasing Gale for nearly an hour, and they were only a handful of blocks away from where he started in this world.

"I didn't think that we were that close to 'The Hall'." The annoyance was clear in his voice.

"Mhmm, we have paths that go all over the area and they all loop back to here, just from the other side, since most don’t have a chance to get familiar with the area before the first test." Pointing to the now tale-tale signs that the trainers used as their markers.

Sighing and then shrugging, he gave up on that train of thought and started looking around. "How big is the city? I can see how high it goes, and I'm guessing it goes lower." Looked around him and all of the people that were milling about.

"I think it's around 3 miles? It slowly expands, as more people come to settle into the city, well and the afterlife as a whole, more souls making more energy and all that." Jes watched the skyline as they walked.

"Soul energy? Like we're what powers this place?" A surprised look on Davin's face.

"Yes and no, since belief is was built this place, it makes sense that as you add more believers there would be more belief to go around." Leading the way, they stop at a small cart and she orders a pair of beverages, passing one to Davin. "This is one of my favorites, I hope you like it."

Davin took a small sip of the warm beverage instant nostalgia beats him, far more bitter than he ever had in his life, and missing milk, but that was clearly a chocolate drink. "Is that chocolate?" Not being able to stop the question from coming from his lips.

"Oh! You know it? Isn't it great? It always boosts my spirits, I tried buying and making my own, but I can't get it to work…" Her disappointment was clear…

"Chocolate isn't so hard, could use some milk and sugar though, but I'm guessing that the caffeine in this is more than I'm used to from my chocolates."

The look of shock on her face as she came to a dead stop in their walk, "You know how to make chocolate?" An excited squee, "when we have some time, you'll have to show me!"

Davin chuckled at her reaction, thinking about all of the things that he knew how to do with chocolate. "I've been cooking for as long as I can remember, so if you think of anything you want, I just need a kitchen and some supplies."

"I'm not too bad in a kitchen myself." She bumped him as they kept walking.

"So, where to next?" The two of them worked their way through the city, the mismatched city showing its colors as they made their way.

"I need some new traps, some new puzzles, and some other odds and ends, so we should hit the smiths first." Sticking out her fingers as she worked through her mental checklist.

The buildings all held signs of what they come from, knowing what he does about the other patrons, some of their natures clearer than others, some more disturbing than others, but he seemed to be the only one that was bothered by them. Their walk took them out to the edge of the bastion, the walls that went from top to bottom had openings that you could go out on, and he got to witness what this world had to offer him.

"Look!" As Jes pointed off to the distance, "You can see the other edge." The two of them sat close as they looked over the expanse, the shifting chaotic colors off in the distance looking like a fireworks display mixed with a rainbow. "I miss going out there some days, but I really wasn't made for the Wilds."

"The Wilds?" Davin asked.

She shrugged, "What most of us call outside the city since it's not held together by the same amount of belief, it is basically unchecked energy." she finished her drink. "I don't know how some people decided to make towns out there."

"Huh, weirdly that makes it far more of an exciting prospect for me." As he finished, "my world was fully explored by the time I was born, so for me being able to explore an ever-shifting world is just exciting."

With that Jes looked at him, and stared, "You want to go out there and explore? But it's dangerous."

"Weirdly, that is part of the appeal, unless you were in some fields of work, or in some more dangerous places in the world, you could go your entire life without ever being in a dangerous situation. There are always exceptions, but for example, the other day was one of the first times I held a real weapon, and some of those I'd never seen in person." An exasperated sigh escaped his lips.

Jes nodded, "I get that, I was like that too once, and I get the itch every now and again, so I may join you on some of your adventures once you're ready for it."

"I'll take your company on an adventure any time." Smiling widely and she smiled back.

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"We're close, let's go, have lots to do today." She pulled him up and held his arm as she pulled him along to their next destination.

Having never been to a real smith in his life, the overwhelming sounds and stench were like a punch into his face, the smell of hot metals, chemicals, and char, the sulfur fumes permeating in it all. With the staccato of sounds being both rhythmic and cacophonous, the ring of metal being worked, the hiss of quenching, and the metronomic sound of the bellows, all of it was surprising, since this world was so different than the one he came from so the fact that they looked as though they were doing things, as close as he could remember, in the classic sense. With his hands over his ears, he yelled, trying to get Jes's attention, she kept walking and went into the small building that was surrounded by the multitude of forges, when they passed the threshold the silence that surrounded him was disconcerting, as his ears adjusted to the newfound silence he was hit by a new voice shouting.

"Jessabelle! What brings you here today, and with a friend?" The iconic accent that Davin was expecting to come from this man was nowhere to be found, instead, it was proper with hints of French and Southern English, Jes leaned in and gave the wide man a big hug. "How are those knives I made for you treating you?"

"Fantastically, not had much reason to use them, but this is Davin, he's the newest rogue we've been training." She stood up, and waved Davin over, "Come introduce yourself to the best smith in the Rainbow Bastion."

As Davin approached, the height differences between them became more pronounced, Davin standing more than head and shoulders over the man, but in comparison, he was the width of Jes and Davin if they stood side by side, and from what Davin could tell, it was all muscle… "Hi, as Jes said, I'm Davin, been here about ten days, so I'm still pretty fresh in the grand scheme of things, it's nice to meet you." Putting his hand out, offering it to the man.

The broad man grabbed Davin's hand with his own, shaking it vigorously. "Nice to meet you, I am Ruination Construction, and yes I know the two are opposite, but that fits me, since you are a friend of Jessabelle here, you can go ahead and call me Rune, so, what can I do for you two today?"

Jes pulled out a few sheets of paper, handing them to Rune, which he started examining with gusto. "Oh ho, a new trap design? You have not brought me one of these in an age." He quickly moved over to a nearby table and spread the pieces out. "These are fantastic! Non-lethal and effective."

"Davin helped a lot, he told me about traps that they have in his world, and it inspired quite a few." Jes nodded over to Davin who was distracted by all of the odds and ends that were hung in the room around him.

Whispering to Jes, "He seems like he's never seen some of this stuff before." Them both watching as Davin looked around, touching some of the tools that were hanging.

"He hasn't, from what he's said, their world was advanced enough that most things like a smithy would be a novelty at best, things all made by machines and designers.

"Machines making things? What kind of horrible world is that?" Disgust was clear on Rune's face.

Jes let out a small chuckle, "Not everything, Davin says he can make just about anything, he did crafting as a hobby, he called everything else 'mass production'." Smiling to herself as Davin seemed absorbed in some of the small works that were in cases on the wall.

Looking back and forth between Davin and Jes, "Well, I'll get to work on these new designs, you kids go have some fun." Chuckling to himself, "Stop staring, you'll give the boy a complex."

Jes's cheeks flushed at that, looking away briefly before walking over to Davin. "Are you still looking? Or are you ready to go? There were still a few places that I wanted to visit." Jes tucked her arm into the crook at his elbow.

Jumping slightly as he was pulled back into the world from his wandering mind, "Huh?! What was that?" Blushing slightly as he fully processed the situation with Jes latched into his arm. "We can head out, where are you going to get new puzzles?"

"There is a clockmaker that does some side jobs for me, and makes quite a few puzzles in his free time, I want to see if he's made any new ones, and there is a great view of the city from there."

The path they followed through the city took them along the outer edge, long stairways moving between the different levels of the city, still being able to see the other sides edge, Davin saw that the area outside of the city was just as diverse as it was inside, being able to see huge forests, swamps, desserts, and even the frozen tundra. His excitement for the potential of exploring it all climbed again, and he felt a call, not a real call but the kind you feel for a vacation or for your bed when you're tired, just that there was something out there and it pulled his spirit, and he wants to answer, he wants to find it for himself.

A shiver ran down Davin's spine, having to shake the energy from his arms and legs, this caught Jes off guard, since she was still holding his arm. "Are you okay?" The concern is clear in her voice.

"Yeah, just a surge of wanderlust, seeing it all really adds to the perspective…" Davin still staring off into the distance.

Jes let out a small chuckle, squeezing his arm to her side. "Only if you promise to come back from time to time and come see me."

"You can always come too?" Davin returned the squeeze.

"I could, just not yet, still have work to do, but I'll make sure I keep a place for you." The blush that lit both their faces was clear.

"In the rogues' training hall?" Davin thought about the apartments that seemed to be all over the city.

"For now, if I need to find different arrangements, we can worry about that later." The sly smile on Jes's face made Davin's heart flutter.

At what Davin felt was the tallest point in the city, he finally saw it all, the prismatic glow that the city gave on as the light touched it. Watching the colors shift as the buildings slowly drifted in the lower layers, reminded him of watching the rainbows created on the floor from window prisms at his grandparents' house. "Wow, this is nothing like what I was expecting." His jaw slightly hung slack as he stared wide-eyed over the city.

Jes leaned into him as she stared out over the city, "It's the best view I've found in the city, sun up and sunset are the best times to see it, but under the light of a full moon it has an eerie glow about it, but it's still beautiful." They stood like that for a while, just watching the colors move and sway.

The ring of the small bell as they entered the shop brought Davin back, now, he was staring at some of the most complex pieces of clockwork he'd ever seen, and he knew without having to look that every single one was completely mechanical, handcrafted, and one of a kind. "You really have to stop taking me places that make it feel like my brain is breaking, you're going to overwhelm me." Laughing at his joke, while the fear of how fragile things could be, he slowly pulled his arms closer to his body.

Jes looked around, shrugged, and moved closer to the counter. "It's been long enough for me that the shock value has been worn off, but it's cute to see you react like that." She let a short laugh and leaned onto the counter. "Fizz! Fiizz! I know you're back there, the door was unlocked."

"I hear you, I hear you, you know you don’t need to yell, my hearing is far better than yours, now what do you want?!" A small man came out from a door that Davin hadn't noticed, while he was likely the smallest man that he'd ever seen he also had one of the most elegant mustaches he'd ever seen. "You only come to me when you think you can get something out of me…." He locked eyes with Davin, "Oh, hmmm, not seen a human here in ages, you must be new, I'd have heard about you otherwise."

Davin was left speechless, but at the same time, there was a part of him that was still stuck in a state of shock about the world that he was in. "Uh, Yeah, I'm Davin." He held out his hand to shake.

The small man eyed the hand suspiciously before reaching out to take it. "I'm Fizzle Clockwork, nice to meet you, kid"

Davin Felt mildly hurt by being called kid, but the time scale here made all of that kind of irrelevant. "Jes says you make puzzles? I was curious what you had on hand."

"Ha puzzles? Is that all you think I'm good for?" Fizz sounded offended.

"No, you also make jewelry, and you know how I'm a sucker for shiny things." The rye smile on Jes's face was clearly teasing. "Part of it is puzzles, but also Davin comes from a much more advanced world, so I was curious if you'd be able to make use of some of the ideas that he may have."

"Do what?" Davin was surprised by the statement. "My world didn’t have magic either, so we had to improvise, but I never learned the advanced technologies. It wasn't my thing."

"Hmm, well. If you do remember, ill be happy to help where I can, as for you." Looking over at Jes, as she made a blatant attempt to look anywhere else. "I do have a new puzzle, but it's nothing serious, I'd consider it one of my easier ones at this point."

"Ooh, Gimmie!" She held out her hands in a grabbing motion.

"I swear, you are like a child, one shiny toy and you lose your mind." Grumbling as he pulled a small wire puzzle from his pocket and tossed it to her grasping hands.

The maniacal laughter that rang from Jes as she started making her way out of the shop, Davin stood there confused as he stared as the door closed behind her. "Uh, huh, well that’s a thing… It was a pleasure meeting you Fizz, I hope our next encounter is slightly less…. 'Jes'." He nodded at Fizz and followed Jes back to the city.