“What exactly is the danger here?” Max whispered as they hurried back to the Igra hotel. It was the only place they were likely to find Gus and Yang.

Ebba glanced around and waited until no one was near. “Tensions have been rising in the city for months. Certain Lunuk factions want a pure city, to drive out the aliens. Particularly the humans. You are in danger here without the protection of the governor.”

“One high leveled guy leaves and the whole city is going to fall into anarchy?”

“That is the worry, yes. Some would say it’s impossible, that Twelve Meditations is a civilized city. But my elders have told me that things have been getting worse since the city of Lady’s Lashes fell and the refugees came here. The Governor already broke up one riot, there could be more tonight.”

“Damn. So you’re saying that most Lunuk hate humans?”

“I had hoped to spare you this side of our people, but Lunuk xenophobia runs deep. The fourth hill is the only one that actively helps humans. The other factions are neutral at best and murderous at worst. We must find your friends and leave the city before nightfall.”

Max unconsciously sped up, James and Lily joining him an instant later. The road transitioned from dirt and wood into tiles made of metal boomerangs. They were in the Igra part of town now. Thankfully, it seemed like the armored people didn’t seem to have the same prejudice as the Lunuk.

It was lunchtime by the time they arrived at the stucco building with the metal roof. As they arrived, illusions started popping up atop raised platforms. It was the news guy. Max stopped to listen to the news.

“Gooooood Afternoon Spinworld. This is Ernie Pyle with another edition of Spinworld News. Coming to you live from an undisclosed location, delivering to every major city from the first layer down to the fourth.

First, financial news. The multi-layer alchemy company, Moonstone Mixtures, has folded. I investigated yesterday after they didn’t submit their earnings report, only to find that two of the founding members have died, and the other three disappeared. The founders had been stuck at level cap for a while and the presumption is that they have moved up to the fifth layer. If you are a clerk at one of their chain stores and are learning this for the first time, I would recommend emptying the till and running before the loan sharks come to repossess everything.

Next in the weather, the dungeon breaks on the third layer have all cleared up, but they’ve been replaced by breaks on the first layer. Too many to list. If you are on the first layer, I recommend not stepping a foot out of town unless you plan on running a dungeon or two. Stay safe out there and I’ll report back tomorrow with any changes.

In war news, the conflict at the city of Wild Plums has escalated. Estimates put the death toll at five thousand on both sides. The ruler of Abyssinia, King Yekuno, has arrived and challenged Governor Agata to single combat. The battle to the death would decide the war. It’s unclear if Governor Agata will accept.

On the fourth layer, The Ushuaia Hunter conference started today. Early morning presentations have conclusively shown that wild monster populations are no longer being equalized. This means some areas have enough Titans to threaten a town's destruction and it isn't being fixed by the Builders. The conference is still divided on the cause, but they know that layers three and four are being affected. I’ll keep you updated with the solution they come up with, if any.

In political news, the bad boy city of Bespin ....." There was a long pause before Ernie continued, “This just in. The governor of Twelve Meditations is missing and presumed dead after leaving to deal with a phase whale. Early reports are spotty, but foul play seems possible. I’ll let you know tomorrow if anything new is uncovered.”

“Broken eggshells,” Ebba cursed. “Why didn’t he wait until tomorrow? Let’s find your friends. A riot is pretty much guaranteed now.”

Max nodded and headed into the nearby hotel. To his relief, both Gus and Yang were inside, getting the story from James and Lily. Ebba urged everyone to quickly pack so they could leave right away.

Yang was done within moments and turned to Max, “Aren’t you going to grab your pack?”

He patted his side and said. “It’s in my belt. The dimensional storage is just big enough.”

“I thought it was cursed.”

“It is, but I can work around the drawbacks.” Max said and shrugged.

“Does that mean you can carry some of our heavy stuff, like armor and weapons?”

“Weight doesn’t matter, but size does. If you want to hand me your sword, I can carry it.”

She unbuckled her shortsword and handed it over. Gus and Lily handed over their metal hammers.

James did the same and said, “Cursed belt for the win!” and held up his hand.

Max obliged him and gave him a high five. The resulting smack was louder than expected, he had gotten slightly stronger from the stat point in Broaden. Once everyone was ready, Ebba led the way through the city. Her seven foot tall frame split the crowds with Max and crew following in her wake.

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The atmosphere in the city had changed. The Igra were hurried, trying to get home to friends and family. As they entered the human ring, the streets grew even more crowded. Everyone was out and about, talking about the implications of the news. There were dozens of opinions, but no solutions.

Ebba had to slow down even more when they were half a block from the southern city gates. They weren’t the only ones to have the idea to leave the city. An unruly crowd was assembled around the gate, shoving each other and yelling. It stretched to the left and right and didn’t seem to be moving.

The purple skinned Lunuk started shoving her way through, but stopped when Ebba saw the others couldn’t come with. The sounds of the crowd were oppressive now, full of angry yelling and undirected rage.

“What’s going on? Why aren’t we moving?” Max yelled up at Ebba, who had a better vantage point.

A heavily muscled man to his right yelled back, “They aren’t letting anyone out. Some bullshit about a herd of Acid Worms out there.” Max winced at the mental image. The man continued, “Even if there was a herd out there, we could fight them. It’s so dumb. The guards aren’t listening to us and more keep arriving.”

Ebba heard the exchange and turned around. She shoved her way back out of the crowd, pulling her humans along. She kept walking until they came across an alleyway. She ducked inside and waited until everyone could hear her.

“This isn’t good. I think the guards are trying to provoke a riot so they can brutally put it down,” Ebba said.

“What about the other city gates?” Max asked.

“Probably the same. My Elders sent me away because the xenophobic sentiment has been rising for months,” Ebba said.

“Any other way out of the city? Like a secret door only you know about?”

Ebba said, “No secret gates. Any break in the wall needs to be manned with guards, and you can’t keep that a secret.” She paused then continued. “Actually, there might be one gate we could use. The area around the anti-spinward gate is the nicest part of town. Merchants like to do business out of that gate. Humans are usually discouraged from passing through, but if you are part of my entourage, I think it might be fine.”

“Might be fine?”

Ebba shrugged. “It’s either that or we hole up until a new governor takes up the position. That could take days or weeks. It depends on who from the fourth floor wants to take a break and rule a city for a bit.”

Max ignored her statement about ruling an entire city being a vacation. He said, “Let’s try to get through the anti-spinward gate. If that’s not possible, then we can find a place to hide and ride out the unrest.”

Ebba agreed and turned and speed walked away. The rest of them had to do a half jog, half walk thing to keep up with her long legs. They continued along the outer rim of the city, never straying far from the sparkling green wall. When the road wasn’t too crowded, Ebba urged them into a run.

Thunder rolled across the city. Max’s anxiety rose when he realized there was no weather on Spinworld. He looked to the skies, but didn’t see anything. No natural or unnatural events. Ebba picked up the pace.

They left the old west styled neighborhood and entered one made of mud and wattle. The domed buildings were smooth and immaculately maintained, giving the neighborhood an upscale feeling. Occasionally they passed groups of Lunuk soldiers who gave the humans the stink eye. Max suspected they would be harassed if Ebba wasn’t leading them.

A half hour after they started running, they were stopped at the border to a new neighborhood. The buildings were made up of black stone blocks surrounded by vibrant green plants. Together they formed pyramids that straddled the line between organic and brutalist. Judging by the tailed people in the street, it was mostly a Paj neighborhood. The people that stopped them were Lunuk guards, heavily armed and armored.

“Halt. This neighborhood is restricted. You’ll have to turn back.” the guard on the left said.

“Honored guards, my destination isn’t this neighborhood, but the gate beyond. I’m a trader on my way out,” Ebba said respectfully.

The guard narrowed her eyes, “The Elders aren’t sending anyone out right now. It’s too volatile.”

“I wasn’t sent by my Elders, I have my own deadlines,” Ebba replied calmly.

“What about these humans? Are they with you?” the guard said, her voice tinged with disgust.

“Yes, these are my porters. You don’t expect me to carry all my goods myself, do you? They are tier one, but they get the job done,” Ebba said and folded both sets of arms.

The guard turned to her partner and they shared a look. A few finger twitches communicated something that the translation magic didn’t catch. She turned back and said, “You can pass through, but not unescorted. These are dangerous times.”

“Of course. I would be happy for an escort, and I understand everyone needs to get paid for their time,” said Ebba.

The guard’s fingers curled in a smile at the mention of a bribe. “Come on then. We’ll get you where you need to go. We have to hurry because we can’t leave our post unattended for long. Not today of all days.”

“Understood. I’ll follow and my porters will keep up if they know what’s good for them,” Ebba said.

They started jogging through the stone studded greenery, slipping through the dwindling foot traffic. The Lunuk’s long legs meant that the humans had to run to keep up. Thankfully, the trip wasn’t long. They came within sight of the anti-spinward gates within minutes.

Instead of heading right for them, they turned and entered a large rounded building. It was a red wood utilitarian building, Max guessed it was a warehouse. The only light came from slits near the ceiling.

“What are we doing here?” Ebba said as they walked into the darkened building.

“My clutchmate will take you the rest of the way, don’t worry.” the guard said. He raised his voice, “Kalle! You in here? We have some guests for you.”

A Lunuk stepped out of the darkness. He had been hiding behind a nearby crate. “Don’t do that to me. I could have attacked.”

The guard waved his concern away. “I have important guests for you to help out. I assume you heard the news and loaded all your important cards?”

Max tilted his head at the odd emphasis.

Kalle looked between the guard and the humans “Yeah, as soon as I heard the news. Should I use it?”

“Yep. Low levels. No one knows they are here.”

Ebba and Max realized something was wrong at the same time. Max took a step back and Ebba started fading away. They were both too slow.

“Sleep. Sleep,” Kalle said softly.

The sound reverberated through the room and drilled into Max’s skull. His vision narrowed and the room grew dim. He stumbled as he tried to run away. His mental defenses fought against the spell, but were quickly overwhelmed. He crumpled to the ground and the world disappeared.