Thirty minutes into their walk, Chuck came to a stop. "I need to rest a little. My body is still getting used to being like it is, so it is taking me more effort to keep moving. Plus, it would give me a chance to review a little to make sure I'm understanding everything."

"Makes sense to me," Whyth answered. Marl nodded, and they all found a spot along the path to sit.

"I struggle to believe that it's been only a couple of hours, give or take, since I showed up in Crawtna. I think this is the first time I've had to sit and let things sink in."

Marl sipped from his bottle and mumbled his agreement. Whyth traced a line in the dirt with a stick, then looked up.

"Never thought things would turn out like they did. Sorry, I pulled you into this."

"Whyth, stop apologizing. I'd be dead back home." Chuck leaned back against a tree trunk. "For review, high-level, the Structure limits how much magic, health, and abilities I can have per level, but as I gain levels, I should get more of each. But, since my class is unique, I won't know where I am on gaining a new level until the Structure lets me know. That limit is why the Fire-Flight went away. I tried to activate it again but can't. Instead, I got a message that I must have Control Fire for Fire-Flight to be available and that Spatial Leap can't be deactivated for a few more hours. So, it's not gone. I just don't have room for it along with the others at this level."

Whyth pointed a long finger into the air. "Correct on all accounts. Also, something I've rolled around in my head. I think you'd be better off with Spatial Leap, at least until we can test out the range. Need to choose anything that comes your way that helps hand-to-hand fighting. Siibtis is a huge skill to have at the ready."

"Tis at that. It already recharged you and gave you more MP, which benefited all three of us." Marl flashed a smile full of pointed teeth.

"Don't have to tell me. Pleasant surprise to get the extra boost along with recharge. The next one of my questions is, what is the Structure? How did it start? Who maintains it?"

Marl chuckled. "You don't seem to understand the concept of 'one' more question. The Structure is too much to tackle now. I can give you a little info. Whyth can fill in anything he thinks you need to know, and you'll have to dig a little when we get to town, Enthii, and you have time. There's a small library and several historians, bards, and researchers you can talk with about it."

"Okay, if you could give me enough so I have a foundation to keep figuring things out, I'd appreciate it.”

Marl stood up and paced. "First, the Structure is a framework that puts restraints on all of us. It seems to keep someone or a group from gaining too much of an upper hand, though the Bythnahr seem to be trying to thwart that control. As a side note, the Structure seems to reward those who come up with a way around it—it might negate your advantage, but you'd get some boon to compensate. Any questions or input before I move on to the next point?"

A few seconds of silence passed before Marl started up again. "How did it start? Lots of opinions and ideas, but I don't know of anyone sane who claims to have THE answer. The basic concept that is most accepted is some group or governing body put it into place to prevent war or abuse, or to control a population. From that initial purpose, it's grown and pulled more worlds and people groups into the system."

"It takes over systems not already in the Structure?" Chuck asked.

Whyth jumped in with an answer. "It does. Can take years, and by that I mean one to a few hundred, for a world or people to get pulled in. It hasn’t happened in nearly four hundred years. Based on what I've been told, it seems to seek subjects that are, by the Structure's definitions, in need of rescuing."

"And before you ask, those definitions are vague guesses on anyone's part," Marl added. "On to the who question—if you haven't guessed it yet, we don't know. Again, many opinions, but there is less consensus on the who than the why. My personal best guess is some sort of magic user group started it, and it is probably operating on its own now."

"I agree with Marl," Whyth said. "According to the archive, the best term I can find to explain it to you would be it's a self-sufficient AI system. Hope I got that right."

"Right enough for me to understand," Chuck replied. "I can relate the Structure to some games I used to play back home, so with that foundation and your information, I think I have a solid footing. Or at least not totally in freefall. Guess we should get moving again." Chuck rolled forward and stood up.

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Whyth started walking down the path, talking over his shoulder. "Game thing is a common...uh...commonality among everyone and seems to be universally helpful in understanding and communicating the Structure. Plenty of debate on if the Structure seeds worlds with the games first or if it’s modeled after something that is universal."

"A question not structure related. I got attacked two times in a short period of time. Why hasn't the Bythnahr attacked again? I'm not complaining, mind you."

"I was going to ask the same question. Whyth?" Marl asked.

"The Jumper deaths both released a lot of magic. Best guess is that flooded this area, so it’s hard to track magic signatures. Chuck's been magically quiet long enough to make that even more difficult. Structure limitations could be at play. The Bythies coordinating the attack may have hit a limit."

Shrugging, Marl replied, "Seems reasonable to me."

"I'm not sure I know enough to figure out reasonable or not." Chuck added.

###

Soon as they made it to Enthii, Whyth split off to go find Vassyn, Marl took Chuck and headed to a public park to wait for Whyth.

Chuck's head twisted and turned, his gaze bouncing all over the buildings and people. He'd been expecting a medieval-looking town. The adobe and cob buildings were a jolt to his expectations. Right angles gave way to gentle curves. Most of the colors were variations on washed mud and earth, but since Crawtna's mud came in reds, oranges, greens, and browns, the town avoided drab and dull. Each building a unique piece in a town-sized mosaic.

"I must confess, I expected a less refined town. Paved streets, streetlights, bicycle-ish vehicles, and many other things I didn't expect.”

Marl's forehead wrinkled. "Why wouldn't you expect a town to have town things? Do yours on your world lack?"

"No, no, not at all." Chuck shook his head. He felt warmth grow in the area he thought was his cheeks and ears. Does my blush show up? "To be honest, I expected Enthii to be...um...more backward than my world. In most of the stories and games where magic happens, the world seems to be based on an older, less technical time."

"Hmm, I know of a few technical things we don't have or need. Some are because it doesn't work here, some are because magic handles things—but we're not, as you called it, 'backward'. In fact..."

"Hey, Lumpy, she asked you a question." A large, blue and cream fur-covered creature thrust his finger at Chuck. Next to the muscular beast stood a lithe, pale woman who snarled at Marl and Chuck.

"Uh, sorry, I was talking to my friend and heard nothing." Chuck bobbed his head.

The diminutive woman curled her lip. "I asked what a Bythy lackey was doing in Enthii?"

"Bythy lackey? You have me confused with someone else or..."

"Calling Rahmys a liar, are ya?"

Chuck decided the furry one of the duo looked like a bipedal cross between a badger, fox, and meerkat, long and lanky, with muscles on top of muscles.

"No, not a liar, misinformed."

Marl stepped in front of Chuck. "We're not looking for any trouble, and we are no friends of the Bythnahr."

A barked laugh twisted Rahmys' snarl to a feral grin. "Hear that Graff, guess theys no Bythy friend because they said so." She slid around Marl and poked Chuck in his stomach. "You got the look of something they'd try to create and make such a disgip of the whole..."

Chuck watched Rahmys mouth drop open and heard the two grunts she got out as his body shifted. Concentrating on her form, he tried to duplicate hers. In a matter of several seconds, he stepped back a rough, lopsided copy of the woman. Both Rahmys and Graff stood staring, a few more grunts the only noises they made.

"They didn't make me. In fact, they've attacked me twice since I came to this world..."

"Again? Aknarka! You probably pulled them in for a third time." Spittle flew out of his Marl's mouth as he spun to face Chuck. "Let's hope that was low enough, and there is enough magic here to mask what you just did." Marl jumped up on a bench and began frantically searching the sky.

Rahmys cocked her head. "That's not something I've ever seen before." She called up to Marl, "If I understood correctly, you're saying we could get a visit from some of the Bythnahrian troops?"

Without taking his eye off the sky, Marl replied. "Exactly what I'm saying. We've been attacked by jumpers and a swarm of baruva so far. We were coming here to see if Vassyn could dampen his magic so they couldn't track him. He appeared in Crawtna in a blaze of magic a few hours ago."

"Vassyn won't help you," Rahmys said.

Marl looked down at the woman. "How would you know?"

"Easy, deaduns can't help you."

Jumping down to the ground, Marl sputtered, "Dea...dead, you said dead?"

"Technically, I said deaduns, but same idea."

"When? How?"

"Two days ago. Suspect an attack from the Bythnahr. His insides were all on the outside when I found him."

"You found him?" Chuck asked.

"I am, or was, his assistant. Graff here is a friend who is watching over me for the foreseeable future. Not sure if I'm on their list or not."

Chuck pointed at Rahmys, "Assistant? Could you do the spell to dampen my broadcasting magic?"

"Maybe. Not sure if I should or not. I'll buy you're not one of theirs, but I still don't know who you are."

"Hi, Rahmys." Whyth joined the group. "Just found out about what happened. You doing okay? Marl, what happened? You don't look happy?"

Rahmys flipped her long lavender hair over her shoulder. "You? With them?" She pointed at Marl and Chuck.

"Yeah, I'm the reason Chuck is here. We are looking for help with our cause. Didn't find what I was looking for but may have stumbled on something as good or better."

Chuck looked from Whyth to Rahmys and back again. "Our cause? We're on the same team?"

"Would seem so, Lumpy, would seem so." Graff shook his head and smiled, then flicked a sharp, narrow blade into the air, his eyes darting around the area.

"We best be getting then. Follow me." Rahmys trotted down the street. The rest of the group followed behind.