As Elmer walked into the bowling alley, he was very aware of the neat and disciplined steps of the five individuals behind him. They moved with the determined precision of soldiers trying to impress a superior officer. And that realization just caused Commissioner Arrietti to sweat even more copiously; were these five truly trying to impress him…? It simply made the group increasingly enigmatic!

Considering how quickly they had scared a restless and transplanted population into submission, it was something of a joke that they were seeking his approval. And what would happen when they realized exactly the sort of man that Elmer was? Would they turn some of their fearsome methods on him to punish him for misleading them…?

Still, I’m a realist, Commissioner Arrietti told himself brusquely as he rolled his shoulders. No need to assume there is a sinister undercurrent to this situation; I will simply ask.

Coughing lightly as they went to stand in line for shoes, Elmer turned and looked at Heiffal. He was very aware how much of the talk in the alley died as everyone turned to stare at the new arrivals. “I don’t mean to pry… but I’m very curious about how you… ah… inspired such change in the individuals you visited. Perhaps I might change the police’s methods, should they be… appropriate.”

Heiffal nodded seriously. “Mmm… it is nothing special. This is somewhat embarrassing to admit but… everyone in my company is… well, we all… in the past… we experienced very bloody ends. With this second chance… it has been difficult to adjust.”

Wait, what…?

Scratching the back of his head, Heiffal continued. “That traumatic event… well, if not for Commander Ghosthound, I’m not sure how we would have managed to avoid repeating it. The company has developed some visualization exercises and mantras to maintain our mental health, and we simply demonstrated those with our visits.”

Elmer’s expression froze on his face. The word choice is a little strange...but isn’t Heiffal basically admitting that his entire company is composed of reformed convicts?!?! And violent convicts at that… barely avoided repeating it… bloody end… second chances… and they were formed into a group by the Ghosthound himself… c-c-certainly they would have common ground with the criminals, but...

“H-hey Commissioner Arrietti. Did you forget your s-s-shoes today?”

Elmer pivoted away from the five individuals who had just outed themselves as former bloody criminals and looked at Sally, who worked the counter at the bowling alley. Her eyes were so wide that it was immediately clear that she had heard rumors about the Visitors and recognized them. And she likely had overheard some of what was just said.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Elmer forced a smile. “No, but these five haven’t bowled before. So they will all require shoes…, ah, Heiffal, do you know your shoe size…?”

“Shoe size?” Heiffal seemed to ponder that. Then he lifted his leg up and put his heel on the counter without his torso swaying even the slightest bit. It was like there were no bones at all in his hips. “My foot is this size, thank you.”

Both Elmer and Sally stared at the sandaled foot rather numbly for almost a second. Sharp claws peaked over the edge of the footwear. The sandals were done in an almost ancient roman style, wrapping up the leg to the knee. The leather was clearly worn from heavy use and frayed at the edges. And there were several black and maroon stains on the sides of the material that looked frighteningly like dried blood…

“Ahem,” Heiffal said lightly, giving his four subordinates a pointed glance. They dutifully stepped forward and brought their right foot up to the counter for inspection without a word of complaint. Only one of the five had feet that looked remotely human. Heiffal and two others were clearly a furry paw. The second in command Shifloo had hooves.

“I… I can make some shoes for you right away,” Sally said rather meekly. She produced some canvas and thread and held them up like talismans to protect herself. “I have a pretty high-Level cobbler Skill…”

Heiffal nodded seriously. “It is a good thing for a young one to develop trade Skills.”

While Sally began to frantically work, Shifloo turned to Elmer. “Why does this activity require its own footwear? Is the environment dangerous?”

Elmer was considering how best to respond when another voice cut across from behind the group.

“No, the footwear is so lane isn’t damaged by us; the surface polished and waxed to an extremely high degree so the ball thrown down the lane proceeds very smoothly.” Commissioner Arrietti wheeled around to find Naffur and Vye walking up to them. Naffur smiled at Heiffal, but Commissioner Arrietti didn’t miss the sour expression on Vye’s face as she considered the Visitors. “Heiffal, I need to thank you for sending a few of your men to assist in the Order Ducis’ training. They’ve been invaluable for helping notice areas we’ve been lacking recently.”

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“It is nothing,” Heiffal said with a nod. “We are both subordinates to Commander Ghosthound. It’s only natural that we work together. After all, your strength might save my life someday.”

“And now you are bowling? You are certainly adjusting to life on Earth well,” Naffur continued. His heavy-lidded eyes slid to Elmer.

...adjusting to life on Earth…? Elmer’s mind once again stuttered to a stop.

“This is all due to how welcoming the people of Kharon are,” Heiffal said modestly. “Commissioner Arrietti generously offered to teach us bowling and we were glad to have such an experienced man guide us.”

Naffur grinned. “Is that so? Well certainly, no one is better at bowling than our Commissioner.”

After providing for all the newcomer’s footwear, the group proceeded to the lanes. The five individuals experimented with moving on the slick surface of the lanes while Elmer nervously explained the rules to them. Much of his continued ability to resist the urge to flee these strangers was due to the fact Naffur and Vye joined their lane and agreed to be part of the bowling teams.

So team One was Elmer, Vye, Heiffal, and one of the other Visitors. They faced Naffur, Shifloo, and the two remaining Visitors.

At there very least, my team should come out on top… with two people from… Earth… Elmer’s mouth twisted. When he had finished going through the rules, Shifloo snorted decisively and folded her arms across her chest. “Is this game truly that entertaining? I will go first.”

Elmer had wanted to allow them to witness a few people throw the ball down the lane before the Visitors went, but the bowling alley had cleared out as all of the previous players went over to the bar to watch from afar. They sipped their beer nervously and muttered quietly to each other as Shifloo strutted forward.

Elmer glanced at Naffur, who was glancing at Vye, who was glaring at Shifloo. So everyone simply allowed Shifloo to step up and select a ball.

Once she had chosen her weapon, Shifloo strode confidently forward to the top of her lane. She swung her arm backward and twisted her torso in preparation to viciously whip the ball forward in a sidearm throw, but as her hand tightened on the bowling ball, there was an audible crack. As her hand began to travel forward, the ball splintered into a dozen chunks that skittered harmlessly down the lane. Shifloo looked blankly at her dust-covered hand.

Vye piped up. “Destroying the bowling ball counts as voiding your frame. You start with a zero.”

Shaking his head, Heiffal stepped forward as Sally hurried over with a broom and dustpan. “You were too hasty, Shifloo. This is obviously a game of control. Allow me to make an attempt.”

When the lane had been cleared, Heiffal stepped confidentiality forward. While he was selecting a ball, Elmer made sure to stress the correct way to roll the bowling ball down the lane, quite reasonably worried that these former criminals weren’t quite getting the point of the game. But Elmer was gratified to see that Heiffal had perfect form as he took five steps forward and threw out his leg as he released the ball.

...the only problem was that the ball seemed to be shot out of a cannon as it left his hand. A sonic boom from the roll rocked Elmer back on his heels. When the ball hit the pins, rather than knocking them away, the ball simply annihilated them and impacted the heavy iron plate built behind the lane for just this reason. That heavily reinforced plate of metal audibly groaned as it was heavily dented by the throw.

Everyone sat very still for almost a second. Bits of the pins rained down on the surrounding area.

Heiffal’s pleased expression remained until Vye spoke again. “Destroying the pins also counts as voiding the frame. Another zero.”

Shifloo snickered and Sally had to rush over again with the broom and dustpan.

Finally, Vye stepped up. As the first person to bowl that had actually played the game before, she made a good showing of it; Elmer was even more impressed as she threw her ball down the lane and a shimmering image seemed to transport them to a different place. The lane became a thick jungle, the ball a gleaming path forward through the unknown.

Truly, the Order Ducis as developing their image well… ah, if only my image was that strong...

When the ball hit the pins, the illusion disappeared. She had knocked down nine pins. Without much fanfare, Vye picked up another ball and threw it. The image was much stronger this time, drawing the shimmering path directly to the last pin. With a reassuring click, Vye picked up the spare.

“Your image could use some additional refinement. But I suppose it is fine for this game,” Shifloo sniffed. Vye ignored her and returned to her seat.

The other individuals all went up for their turns and things generally ended up one of two ways. Naffur experienced moderate success. The Visitors destroyed some part of the bowling alley.

Finally, it was Elmer’s turn. He pulled out his personal ball and stood at the top of the lane. After taking several steadying breaths, he calmly walked forward. His form was perfect, and before the ball even left his fingers, he knew how this would end. The ball spun lazily down the lane, at almost the last moment the spin of the ball catching on the surface of the lane and bringing the ball back to smash the lead pin from the side.

The pins cleanly toppled over.

A strike. Elmer allowed himself a rare smile of pleasure.

Which was swiftly ruined by talk coming from behind him.

Heiffal’s voice carried well in the bowling alley that had largely ceased operating due to the arrival of the Visitors. “Truly, Commissioner Arrietti is a master at bowling. Notice how his image was so delicate that it was almost impossible to detect? One cannot simply hope to wield an image that weak in a natural way. Such a gentle touch requires years of training…”

What years of training! I just like to bowl! Elmer wanted to cry.