I look around the entry of Xylphys, a little surprised by how well-decorated everything is. The gate itself is an impressive twenty, maybe twenty-five feet tall and built of wrought-iron, and although the slight shimmer covering the metal interests me, what lies before me is quite a bit more interesting.

The ground was a stunningly even matrix of perfectly cut rectangular stones, carefully laid next to each other with precise measurements. It was almost disorienting to walk on after the miles of grass and tree roots that I'd grown used to, but at the same time it was a new experience, and one I could learn from. Humans were more ingenious than I'd previously thought them to be.

Along the side of the main street, a variety of brightly colored booths occupied the road, although none of them blocked the entrances to the cheerful shops packed into the walls. The stores seemed to have been built by different architects, as they ranged from brick to gray stone to solid steel. Aside from that, they leaned rather dangerously over the boardwalk, as though they could fall over at any moment.

What I was most interested in was the immense difference in foods laid out on the street vendors' counters. Food was something I could use, especially for void improvement. Not at all because it tasted good, although when I spotted a chicken hanging from a hook I knew I was going to be spending some money.

[Humans? How much of the money would you be satisfied with?]

Baby grins hugely. "It wouldn't hurt too much to spend some of it."

Walking up to the booth with the chicken, I start looking the food over. It all looks browned and crispy, as though it had been lit on fire after it died, and although it's covered with dark specks, I can only assume that they're meant to be there for some reason.

The vendor crawls out from underneath the counter, talking as he did. "No, that won't work. Meat transportation has to be done carefully, or else..." He trails off as he sees me, his eyes widening.

I appraise the man carefully. He's fat, a little sweaty, with small eyes sunk into chubby cheeks. I wasn't sure how he'd managed to survive very long without physical conditioning.

His eyes flicking between me and the titanic Katrina behind me, he stutters for a moment. "Uhhh, hello, Captain. Um - if you don't mind my asking-"

She cuts him off, not smiling. "That's the spawn of Noah. Treat him respectfully."

Coming from the person who still wants to kill me, it sounds a little forced, but the message carries and the man's face pales.

[How much is the chicken?]

His face twists in a strange approximation of a pleasant grin as he unhooks the chicken. "Ah, yes, the chicken. Don't worry about the price - this one's on the house!" He laughs in an uncomfortably strained way as he places it on the counter in front of me.

[Oh. Thank you.]

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I grab the chicken in my mandibles and crush it easily, the grease exploding outwards in the process. The vendor looks very nervous now. Tilting my head back, I opened my mouth and allow the chicken to drop in.

The taste is unbelievable. My mouth is completely overwhelmed by the explosion of meaty, crispy chickeny goodness. Those blacks specks were clearly vital to the survival of this entire city. How could they not be?

My subspace tears its way open, startling everyone nearby and causing Katrina's spear to practically leap from her back.

A bag falls out, and I nudge it open, carefully grab a single fat gold coin, and place it on the vendor's counter.

The street falls silent for a moment, and then redoubles in volume. The vendor's eyes were almost as large as the coin at this point as he examined it, his mouth hanging open. "This is... isn't this..."

[It's worth it. Now, what else is sold here?]

A few frenzied minutes later, I had completely filled my normal stomach several times, having converted all of it into void energy. I could get used to this.

Walking along the street, we come to a four-way intersection. There are a lot of people here, sitting around the edge of the circle on various objects. They're all dressed in armor and have a variety of weaponry on display, but none of it is being used. Instead, they're all staring hungrily at the booth set in the center of the intersection.

There is no line. The booth had been built in a circular shape so as to allow customers from all sides, and the owner must have kept her equipment somewhere else, because there was no food in the glass cases. A tree grows directly from the center, reaching up into the air with gnarled limbs.

I can't see the owner. The only creature inside the booth is a small robin, napping on one of the lower branches.

Katrina walks straight up to the counter, and the atmosphere tenses instantly. "Hello, Aunt T. How's business?"

The robin flutters over to us, landing on a smaller perch and tilting its head at us. "It's terrible. I ran out of the really good stuff yesterday. Now I've only got the crap left! I can't cook my dogs with this!"

It sees me and poofs, its feathers exploding outward. "What in Noah's name is that?"

Katrina winces. "Well, that's the thing. It's the project Noah said he was working on."

I walk forward, getting a better look at the fat robin. [How do dogs taste?]

The robin's beady black eyes blink. "Telepathy? How'd the crazy - ahh, never mind. If you're here to get a hot dog, now's not the time. I've only got one left in the basement."

Baby tries to step in. "Uhh, Aunty, we're really trying to make a good impression on the-"

She cuts him off. "I don't give out hot dogs for free. You know the price."

I examine her a little more carefully. [What's the price?]

The robin tweets her annoyance at me. "Ten dragon gold. It's been too long since someone purchased a hot dog that wasn't royalty."

I pull the bag out and check the contents. There's still plenty of gold inside. Placing it on the counter, I ask, [Can I buy it with this?]

Ten coins lazily float out of the bag, and the robin inspects them narrowly, before chirping happily. "Well, call me an egg and boil me alive, this is real dragon gold. You've got yourself a hot dog." She turns around and flaps into a small hole in the tree, diving down into it.

The people assorted around the edge suddenly stand in unison, their weapons grasped in their hands. Baby, Alice, and Katrina all turned around, the captain's spear gripped in her hands tightly. "All right, Null. We'll hold them off until you finish."

[Why would you need to-]

All of the humans charge at the same time, screaming like madmen and yelling offers at me at the same time. I can't make out any of the words over the ruckus, but I'm distracted by T's return. She flaps towards me, a single tube of meat between two slices of white bread following her.

The humans go into a full frenzy, and I can see Katrina whacking them with the butt-end of her spear. Every time she makes contact they go hurtling away, only to rush back in, mouths foaming and eyes crazy.

The robin chirrups pleasantly. "Yeah, you might want to eat this quick."

Ignoring the chaos behind me, I carefully gripped the hot dog and slid it into my mouth.