"Ma’am?" the young wolfkin asked, worried he had said something wrong when I suddenly fell silent, lost in thought.

"Oh, sorry, Timmy. So, this Deckard, he's really strong, isn’t he?"

"One of the strongest seekers in Castiana," beamed my guide, nodding as he motioned for us to take the street to the right. "They say he's even one of the strongest in the Sahal."

'Damn! Why did Lieutenant Blaine want me to meet this guy?' Naturally, the only answer to my inner question was the man's gaze giving me chills at the back of my neck. While annoying, not a complaint. Actually, it was kind of reassuring that he was still there somewhere, watching my ass. Ever since that weird shit at City Hall, I couldn't shake the bad feeling. And no, it wasn't the blatant "coincidence" that got me to have a lesson with this Deckard.

'Seriously, what was Blaine, or Raiden for that matter, up to?'

Well, whatever the reason was, I was sure I would find out in a few hours when I met the man, a matter I tried not to think about too much. The unease would kill me. He was powerful, obviously famous, while I was just a regular mutant chick who... 'Shit! Why the bloody fuck didn't I ask?'

"Err, Timmy?"

"Yes, ma’am?"

"Where should one go after reserving time with an instructor?"

"Oh, you did? What's the lesson? Sword fighting? Or with a shield?"

"Just to have my fighting skills evaluated."

"That makes sense," Timmy muttered, nodding approvingly. "By whom? Is it Rezso? He's a wolfkin like me. Or did you get lucky and get a spot with Nile Tenderfire? She teaches a lot of new seekers."

Cursing myself for asking, I raced my brain to come up with an answer. Seeing the young wolfkin's enthusiasm, knowledge of instructors and all regarding seekers, I couldn't tell him I was supposed to be taught by Deckard. That would be like telling Ria that I was actually Wierin.

'Some random name? John Rambo?' No, I dismissed that idea immediately. He'd know I was making it up. Well, since I had no idea how tight the relationships between the various Terr'den races were, I decided to go with the safest option, Nila Tenderfire.

"Well, I guess you can say I was lucky..."

"Sorry to interrupt," a woman approaching us on the street cut me off. "You see, my employer sent me to pick up a supply, and I got a little lost. But then I saw you. You're a city guide, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. However, I am currently in the service of..."

"I know," the woman cut him off, her eyes meeting mine. "I don't mean to take up your precious time, miss. If you could just point me in the direction of Gem Lane - I would be most grateful."

"W-well," the young wolfkin said, hesitating to answer, only giving one when I nodded that it was okay. "You're going in the wrong direction. You need to turn back and take a right at the third intersection, then a left at the next, and that's it."

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"Oh, thank you so much," the woman breathed in relief, petting Timmy on the head. "I knew I wouldn't make the mistake of asking a city guide."

"What a weirdo," muttered the young wolfkin when the woman was out of earshot, fixing his hair.

"Why do you say that?" I couldn't help but be curious since he had been quite respectful so far, and she seemed like a regular woman - if only a little rude.

"Everyone knows where to find Gem Lane - it's the place to get good but cheap cores to power magic tools. Besides, she smelled funny. And did you see her boots?"

"No, but I wish I had a pair," I said more to myself, daydreaming of footwear.

"Quite expensive ones. I mean, if she could afford those, why didn't she buy the same laces, right?" the young wolfkin went on, stopping short only when he realized I had mentioned my need for shoes. "There is a shoe shop nearby. They sell cheap but good quality shoes. I'll take you there, ma’am."

"That's nice of you, but no, not now."

"Why not? It won't take more than ten minutes."

Finding something cheaper than the 32 silver shoes I currently had my sights on was indeed tempting, but we hadn't even made it to Imperial Square, where the library was supposed to be. For all I knew, it could still have been quite a walk.

"Maybe on the way back."

"But..."

"Timmy, I want to see the library first."

Raising my voice at him gave me the creeps, but his apparent persistence in prolonging his service didn't sit well with me even more.

"S-sorry, ma’am," the young wolf said, shaking his head as if to shake something off. "I don't know what I was..."

"That's all right. Just take me there. In the meantime, you can tell me about this Nila Tenderfire."

Life returned to his eyes. "Ah, she's amazing. Did you know...?"

─◇─◇─◇─

The rest of the walk to the Imperial Library wasn't short, but it was still not long enough for him to tell me all about this apparently brilliant instructor. Of course, I took everything with a grain of salt - there's a reason they say you should never meet your heroes - but even if only half of what the young wolfkin said was true, Nila Tendefire deserved respect. Shortly after acquiring her array, she was forced to join the defense of her town at the end of the Mind Wars. This set off her career as a mercenary, which she did until she ended up as a seeker in Castiana. And not just any seeker; she and her company were currently on floor 154, just a few floors up from the deepest ever reached in Fallen's cry.

And why was I actually listening if Tenderfire wasn't supposed to be my instructor? Because this Deckard guy was supposed to be a seeker like her and apparently no less famous, if not more. Hearing about her helped me get a better picture of seekers, if only a little.

"Here we are, ma’am. Imperial Square. That's the library," the young wolfkin said, pointing to a much smaller building than I had expected. When I heard about the IMPERIAL library, a picture of a magnificent building with towers of several wings came to my mind. However, what I was looking at was a not-too-distinctive building sandwiched between others on one side of the square. With a ground floor and three floors above ground, like most buildings in Castiana. Not even the stone walls were anything out of the ordinary. The only thing that stood out was a large wooden door in the middle with a few steps leading up to it and the lack of windows on the first three floors.

Frankly, more than a library, it gave the impression of an impregnable bank or prison.

"Is it really the library? I mean, I see the sign, but..." The modern ones I knew were full of windows that let in light so you could see the pages clearly and not hurt your eyes while reading.

"It sure is, ma’am. I'm a Castiana guide; I wouldn't mislead you."

"Oh, I didn't mean to doubt you, Timmy. It's just... well, I pictured it differently. Anyway, thank you. It Is way further than I expected, but if you show me the landmarks to navigate by again on the way back, I think I'll have no trouble finding it. Okay, let's go back to City Hall." In the worst-case scenario, as much as I hated to think about it, I could ask someone for directions like that woman.

'Speaking of her, why couldn't I get her out of my mind? Was it her or something Timmy said?'