KAI

Kai was feeling better. The nanobots cleaned the mud off his face and the dust out of his hair. His too thin features had a hint of weight to them. Todd was cooking three or four extra portions at every meal and kept feeding them to Kai at each break. The new recruit’s gait steadied. He managed to run all day without puking, tripping or passing out.

Even his leathers were in better shape, as Ellen got her hands on pieces of them and did quick fixes. She told him with a frown that he needed to bring them in for repair more often.

His stump was starting to respond to the multiple heals. The early itching was easily ignored under the misery of the run and his exhaustion at the end of the day. Now that he was almost fit enough to do the physical task, his attention turned back to the itch. He carefully rolled the sleeve back from his missing hand, after complaining that the chafing fabric only increased his torture. He kept his injury carefully covered before this as if hiding it would make it go away.

They were taking a break just outside Ellensburg. Ellensburg was the third closest square to Chicago. They picked it as their exit point because it was in almost the opposite direction of Londontown, where they came from. Alex came over to where Kai was eating his snack and sat down next to him.

“What is a wine glass?” Alex asked. Kai looked over at Alex, surprised at this question.

“Why do you want to know?” Kai asked.

“Grandmother sent me over to tell you about what we are going to do in Ellensburg. I’ve been wondering for a while what a wine glass is and I just thought this might be a chance to find out,” Alex commented.

“It’s a small bowl with a stem and foot on it. You drink fermented juices out of it.”

“That sounds like a goblet a metal worker can make,” Alex said.

“It is,” Kai responded, “but fermented juices taste better in glass. My Grandmother said wine was a type of fermented fruit juice common on Earth. She is the one who named them wine glasses. I can also make ‘tumblers’, which are tall cylindrical cups with no foot and mugs which are shorter cylinders with a handle. The mugs are a lot like tankards but they are meant for hot drinks. The handle keeps your hand away from the heat.”

“Hot drinks, huh?” Alex said, “Grandmother will like that better than wine glasses. She drinks a lot of tea and not much beer. Can you make anything else?”

“I can do some small things like glass buttons and marbles,” Kai said.

“Marbles?”

“Uh, they are little balls. I’m not certain if they are a real product. I used to play with them as a kid,” Kai admitted.

“Tell Grandmother about them. She has shown an interest in toys lately,” Alex remarked.

“What are we doing in Ellensburg?” Kai asked.

“Oh, yeah, guess I should cover that,” Alex replied. “We are going to use the transportation system. Our actual home square is pretty far from here and it is a lot faster to travel this way. If you want the technical details you need to read the User Manual. If I tried to explain it I would only confuse you more. The key thing is you have to be at least tier four to actually see it. Todd or Grandmother will drag all us lesser beings through. Just don’t panic when you go blind and walk in whatever direction they tell you or push you and you’ll be fine.”

“What about my bag?” Kai said after a moment or two of thought.

“Just wear it across your back like you have been. No one has ever lost anything going through and Companion carries that ax of his in his hand. I’ve noticed that Todd and Grandmother both sling their weapons, but it isn’t required,” Alex explained.

“Not many people know about the transportation system. We’ve been keeping it to ourselves for now, but I don’t think that will last. First thing Grandmother did after giving Joe his square was grant him access to the system. I think we're mostly keeping it quiet because it is just easier that way. Anyway we will enter the square under conceal. We will essentially be invisible and muted. It even masks the opening of doors or gates as we move through, as long as someone under the spell continues to touch it. Just don’t touch anyone or make any kind of attack and we will be completely undetectable,” he explained.

“All right,” Kai said hesitantly. Alex was trying hard to make this activity seem like nothing, but Grandmother sent him over here to explain it. That indicated it was a little more complex than Alex was admitting. He didn’t know what to think about that ‘gave Joe a square’ comment. He decided he would just let it slide.

“Hey, you survived the coliseum right, this is nothing,” Alex commented.

“Are you sure?” Kai asked.

“Absolutely,” Alex replied. “Tell me about your challenge. I have been dying to hear about it.”

“I lost,” Kai replied, not wanting to delve into the memories.

“The selkie say the walls come alive and try to kill you. What does that look like?” Alex asked.

“I thought you had an arena?” Kai replied, surprised at this odd comment. It was like Alex had never even been in the audience for a challenge.

“Oh we do, but Grandmother is still thinking about it. She really doesn’t like it when people die doing stupid things. She told everyone we could go try it if we want, but honestly no one is going to do it until she gives it a go or Todd does,” Alex explained. Kai was completely confused by that. He was always worried when people blindly followed a leader, but was not going to your death in the arena blinding following a leader?

“When you step to the center and touch any part of the skeleton or prize, a figure emerges from the wall.” Kai explained. He decided to just give a generic description of all the challenges he saw in his youth and not give any details of his own failure. “It is constructed of the same stone as the wall and is taller and thinner than a human. It has a blank stone face, but it can see clearly enough. It can be armed with any integrated weapon. If it comes out unarmed it is a pure magic fight, and that is the most dangerous,” Kai detailed.

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“What is the best weapon to use? A hammer to break the stone?” Alex asked.

“It may look like stone, but it isn’t exactly. Sometimes a blade will cut through it like butter, other times a hammer bounces off like it is made of steel. Usually it is immune to your strongest skill. As a sword fighter I would assume the golem that comes for you will truly be stone,” Kai replied.

“So is it better to fight it as a group?” Alex asked.

“It is easier because the group's strength is probably not your strength, but the rewards are less too,” Kai replied.

“Everyone ready?” Grandmother called.

“Remember just go where you're told and don’t attack anything,” Alex said, as he rose to his feet. Kai shoved the last bit of flatbread into his mouth and washed it down with water. The flask was never empty, but no one ever filled it. He got to his feet and very carefully slung his bag across his back, making sure no part of it touched his stump.

“Ready,” Kai admitted, falling in behind Grandmother. They took off at a near run. The slow speed up was a thing of the past. Kai was surprised when they kept to a sane speed. About five minutes later a cloaking spell was cast on him. He didn’t recognize the spell. The border of the icon in the corner of his vision was black, meaning he could not dismiss it.

The group slowed to a walk. Alex must have made the decision at the lead, since Kai heard no orders. As Kai rounded the next corner he saw why. They were approaching the back door of a square. The two guards were leaning against opposite walls in the hall. Alex approached at a calm walk. He swung the gate open and held it for Sarah. Sarah took the gate and Alex continued on into the back hallway. Grandmother took the gate from Sarah. When Kai reached the gate, Grandmother told him, “I’ll hold the gate, go ahead and wait with Alex and Sarah.”

Kai continued on into the hall. Alex and Sarah seemed to materialize out of thin air in front of him. They were both standing close against the wall so that if anyone came down the hall they wouldn’t easily run into them. Kai joined them, still confused at what was going on. Grandmother came up the hall next. She headed directly to a spot a little farther on than where the three of them waited. She disappeared into the wall.

Kai jerked in surprise. His two companions turned to look at him. They seemed more worried that he was going to do something rash than with the fact that an old woman could walk through walls. Companion arrived followed by Ellen and finally Todd. Todd followed Grandmother through the wall. A minute later, Grandmother stepped back out of the wall.

“Kai, come over here.” Kai glanced at Sarah on one side of him and Companion on the other. They both looked perfectly calm. When Kai approached Grandmother she put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t panic in the dark. It is just temporary, your sight will return on the other side.” With this last warning, and a surprising strength, she dragged him forward through the wall.

As promised, everything went black. He went willingly in the direction the pressure on his shoulder moved him. “Ok,” Grandmother said, “perfect, now just step forward.” She gave him a gentle push on his back. He stepped forward. Light flashed across his vision. The nudge came again and he took another step. Another hand caught his arm. Luckily it wasn’t his stub or the touch would have started the itching again.

“You're through, just step forward so you're out of the way,” Todd’s voice said. Grandmother said his sight would return on the other side. Except for that quick flash, he still saw nothing but darkness.

“I can’t see,” he said. There was a slight tremble in his voice.

“Yeah, it scared me too. Didn’t seem to bother Alex at all. Here let me guide you outside, but just wait in the hall until someone else comes through to escort you. My uncle is the head guardsman here and he always gets itchy when he sees a new face,” Todd said. The warrior guided him across a short distance and suddenly his vision returned. He found himself where he just was, in the hallway of the back entrance of a square. This hallway was empty. A different set of guards were looking at him down the passage. The cloaking spell on Kai was gone.

Todd stepped out of the wall behind him. “This is Kai,” he called down to the watching guards. “He’s with me.”

“We were expecting you back a couple days ago,” one of the guards called.

“Grandmother picked this one up and his running speed just isn’t up to Harry’s standards,” Todd called back. The guards laughed and turned their attention back to the wildspace. “If Harry arrives before Alex, just tell him you're waiting for Grandmother,” Todd said before disappearing back into the wall.

Kai stood close to the wall opposite where Todd disappeared. The sounds of an active square were drifting down the hall toward him. The guards were talking about buying a book now that ‘the girls’ were back. An older man turned the corner and entered the hallway from the square side. A frown appeared on his face when he spotted Kai. Kai thought this must be Harry. Alex stepped out of the wall.

“Harry,” Alex called in greeting, “have you met Kai, yet?”

“I just arrived,” the older man announced.

“Kai, this is Harry. He is head of the guards and watches over the square in Grandmother’s absence,” Alex said, introducing the old man. “Harry, this is Kai. Grandmother has promised him a tier three heal at least once a day for twelve days. She says that will regrow his hand. Kai is a yellow, so Companion and Ellen are taking turns.”

“Regrow a hand huh? That would have been nice to know,” Harry commented. “Welcome to Home Square. How did you lose your hand?” That was fast, Kai thought. It usually took people a while to work themselves up to that question.

“I lost a match in the arena,” Kai said.

“He means the coliseum. There is one in the north,” Alex added.

“Ah,” Harry said with a nod. “I see why she brought him.”

“That is only half of it, Kai here is a glass crafter,” Alex reported.

“You don’t say,” Harry responded.

Sarah stepped out of the wall. Neither Harry nor Alex even blinked, but the guards at the other end of the hall straightened up.

“Hey Sarah, do you think you’ll get the shop open today?” one of them called.

“Maybe later,” Sarah responded. “I have some unpacking to do.” She turned to look at the three men. “Why are we all standing around?”

“Todd told me to wait for an escort,” Kai reported.

“Alex, take Kai over to the inn, and get him something to eat,” Sarah said. She walked past all of them and headed up the public stairs to the housing levels above.

“I don’t know why you need an escort,” Alex said, rubbing his head. “Come along, I could use a beer. You can tell me more about the coliseum. At your tier you better stay away from the Stout, it might kill you. Grandmother wouldn’t approve.” Alex led the way down the hall and across the courtyard. Harry was close behind Alex with Kai following after.

“You’ll probably want to get a room. At least for a couple days,” Alex commented. “I’m going up to drop my stuff off in mine. I’ll be back down in a minute.” Kai watched Alex take the steps up two at a time, as he wondered how he was going to pay for a room, then he remembered Grandmother’s bonus.

He paid for a room and meals for two days. He almost paid for longer, but when he asked the innkeeper if she thought Grandmother would stay here for the next eight days, she told him, “They come and go so often I wouldn’t make any kind of bet on that. I wouldn’t be surprised if they rolled out of here tonight, or stayed for the next thirty six days. I hope they stay for a couple days at least, I’m running low on the Stout.”

His room was identical to any other inn room he ever stayed in. He was given one on the first floor of rooms, which was unusual. In Peking those rooms were reserved for royals and their knights.

Kai paused at the top of the stairs on his way back down into the common room. He could hear the high singing voice of the beastman… selkie. He appeared to be regaling the common room with a tale, since his singing was interrupted by exclamations from human voices saying things like, “No, really?”, “What happened after that?”, “They tried to steal a workshop anvil?”. Everyone sounded like they were in good spirits.

Kai glanced at his stump, wishing he could cover it up. It was a strange reddish-purple color. Just looking at it made it itch. With a deep breath, he walked down the stairs and into his new life.