The clouds above raced by, pushed by the light and constant gusts of wind.

Mercifully, the sun had moved behind the tower, giving the tired caravan some much-needed shade as they rested up against the rocky wall beside the mountain pass.

As any good doctor would, Kenneth did a checkup on all of them, making sure everyone would recover with a bit of rest and water, while Nokstella made sure to keep close by.

“Shouldn’t you also rest, black healer?” Ikkie questioned, Uccha by his side and Nokfeka leaning up against a nearby wall.

“Kenneth is fine, he responded, feeling Nokstella hiding behind his leg. “And to answer your question, when I’m done. Gotta make sure no one else dies of heat stroke.”

“What are you? And what is the story behind you travelling with that child and folk from the Aki capital with a royal who seems keen on protecting you no less?” Nokfeka asked.

“None… of concern, Nok,” Trafka spoke in the tower tongue as he got back on his feet and made his way over to Kenneth, giant hammer in one hand and shield in the other.

“We here trade… no more, Solk said in the tower tongue with a strained smile of exhaustion. “Show wears… Sleecies and… more.”

“Better go see if the meat is worth anything,” Nokfeka said, walking over toward the wagons with Solk leading the way.

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence as Trafka brandished his hammer in front of Uccha and Ikkie.

Uccha’s mandibles jittered, but Ikkie was quick to place a reassuring hand on their shoulder. “I get that I should not ask about the same as Nokfeka did, but I am keen to know what you were going to say before we all heard the Sleecie scout. I believe you said something about healing “differently”.

“I’ve noticed the merchant’s men wear something white and red--"

“It is none of your concern,” Trafka growled.

“I think it is, Ikkie replied. “Kenneth offered us his service as a healer, and I wish to know more about it. Besides, we have so few healers here, so a trade-in service might be needed if you and the merchant's men need to recover quickly from their wounds without having to trade those wagons and Qsiosija.”

Trafka glared at Ikkie, who only had a hollow and calm gaze.

“Okay, calm down! Kenneth said, stepping in front of Trafka, breaking his line of sight. “Ikkie was it. You got a good eye; those bandages are used for my kind of healing, and I’m certain we can come to some sort of agreement regarding trading services.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, but first, I’d like to know what makes your healing… “different”?” Ikkie inquired.

He was about to answer when Trafka grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him to the side, almost making Kenneth stumble with Nokstella behind him.

He leaned in close and scratched his claw against his breastplate, “Keep your mouth shut, black healer. These are all backstabbing traitors. For now, your capabilities are a well-kept secret. Understood.”

“I’m not an idiot, but neither are they, Kenneth replied. “Listen, I’m not just going to tell a stranger everyone of my secrets, but my healing takes time… time your patience won’t allow, so before I have to leave, I’ll make sure everyone gets back on their feet.”

Kenneth ripped himself from Trafka's grip and walked back over to Ikkie, “Apologies for the delay, but in summary, my kind of healing is not a born talent but a practised skill I’ve spent over a decade learning. It uses resources such as thread and needle and also, unfortunately, lacks the quickness in your kind of healing.

”Most of my patients need a long time to recover since they only heal naturally.”

Uccha looked at the wounded men and commented, “They are all alive after Sleecies attack and journey here too, so healing inferior, but not worthless.”

“It would appear so, Ikkie agreed. “And impressive it was done to so many. Even though it is worse than the normal kind, I’m certain it can be of some use.”

At that moment, Nokfeka exited a wagon and walked back over to Uccha and Ikkie.

“Anything of worth?” Uccha asked.

Nokfeka carefully held an eyeball, rolling it between two of her flat fingers before tossing it into her mouth and swallowing it whole, “Meat’s fresh enough, and they do have other things I wouldn’t be against trading for, like that barrel of floor juice.”

“So… make trade ?” Solk asked.

“No, Ikkie responded. “For that, you must talk with the heads of the city. We are only here to see who wishes to enter our home and guide them. For now, you and your men can rest, and later, we can guide you to the guild--"

“No… I trade now,” Solk insisted.

“Hm… I see; if that is what you want, we can head there now, Ikkie said as he gestured for Solk to follow. “I do hope you will join soon, too, Kenneth; there’s always someone who needs healing.”

“I can go with you now if possible,” Kenneth replied while picking up Nokstella.

“What this…?” Solk questioned.

“Hmph… the black healer made a deal to heal traitors here for a healer of theirs to heal your men,” Trafka explained.

Taken aback, Solk got in close, whispering something Kenneth couldn’t quite hear, but from the context, Kenneth guessed he was asking about what happened while he’d showed off his wares to Nokfeka.

Afterwards, he looked a bit calmer, but before leaving, he went over and picked up Kolu while barking a few orders to his men, bringing along half of the least wounded for what Kenneth guessed was protection.

Ikkie, Uccha, and Nokfeka led the way, following along the crescent moon cliff until they reached a set of elongated stony steps seemingly carved into the side by the forest of pillars leading downward.

Scarily, the stairs had no guard railing, only a line of thick, sturdy rope running through iron hoops nailed into the wall.

With shaky legs, Solk, his men, Trafka, and Kenneth, slowly followed along, their hands tightly gripping the rope as though their lives depended on it. However, it was clear that their three guides were used to heights, as they easily descended the steps, their hands not even near the rope.

It went without saying that Nokstella terrifyingly clung to Kenneth, pushing her face against his chest to avoid looking down, but on the other hand, Kolu was in amazement, watching everything wide eyes as his tail wagged in excitement.

As they got halfway down, Uccha used her four legs to turn around with ease and continued to descend, walking backwards while looking up at everyone, their black eyes lingering on everyone and their uneasy expressions before making a sound similar to a chuckle.

On the next cliff, the architecture was like that Kenneth had seen from above, but different, looking experimental and a bit strange, almost like whoever built these structures was inexperienced or uncertain as to how to incorporate them all together.

Certain buildings were square at the bottom with a pyramid shape on top, which lacked the tip. Instead, they had a solitary pillar sticking high up, similar in appearance to a chimney.

Others were, as though, sunken into the ground.

One that caught Kenneth’s eye was a square building looking about half a meter tall with pillars of increasing height, beginning at only a step tall at one of the house's corners and going in both directions around the building to the tallest one at the opposite side which looked to be about three meters.

Honestly, most of the designs looked like how a child would crudely draw a house.

It was certainly a strange sight to behold up close, but even stranger were the people.

Aki, Nok, and Sil were just around, some just talking to one another and having a laugh, others working together rebuilding damaged parts of a house, carrying barrels of different shapes, and some immersed in games they were playing.

It was… It was so mundane that Kenneth couldn’t help but find it strange since he’d only really gotten used to Aki at the outpost, where most were racist with their hatred aimed toward Nok and Sil.

Though, as some comfort of familiarity, Kenneth noticed a lot looking in his direction. However, it felt more like it was on the group as a whole rather than him specifically; if anything, it seemed like Trafka were getting more stares than him.

“Don’t mind the stares, Ikkie spoke in the Aki tongue. “Everyone is just a bit cautious around the unmarked and royals.”

“Hmph… they… be worried, Trafka said in the tower tongue, his voice icy cold with a hint of rage. “If… my way… every Aki… face the king’s… judgment for… betrayal.”

Solk glared back at him with an expression that read shut up, “Apologies for… brash words, he… tired and bad… jester.”

“Oh… not to worry, we have heard worse, and even if the one of house Krosk wished to make good on those words, he would quickly find out how we punish criminals here, Ikkie said in a threatening tone while Nokfeka glanced back, staring Trafka down. “But it might interest the one of house Krosk to know that not every marked one here is actually a traitor.

“Mostly everyone you see around here was born here and chose to stay instead of joining your war; others who make their way here have just been marked by friend or enemy regardless of their crime or have grown tired of the endless bloodshed… my mate certainly did when she decided to travel with me here.”

“Lies… all of it. You probably tricked that woman. Perhaps I should liberate her and bring her with us,” Trafka said, much to the frustration of Solk and discomfort of Kenneth as they reached the next staircase down.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Before they descended and before Solk could try to smooth things over, Ikkie lightly smirked and spoke in the tower tongue, “What do you say, my love? Do you wish for these men to liberate you?”

“…Do you even have to ask me such a foolish question,” Uccha replied as she descended the steps.

Trafka’s face suddenly twisted itself in an expression of shock and disgust, much to the amusement of Nokfeka and confusion for anyone who didn’t understand the tower tongue.

After that, Trafka kept his mouth shut, grinding his teeth in frustration every time a marked Aki would look at him.

The entire group descended about five crescent moon-shaped cliffs, the architecture progressively becoming seemingly, as far as Kenneth could tell, more certain of itself with far better implementation of all three architectural styles.

And nowhere better could that been seen than their destination.

It was a large and tall structure seemingly built into the mountain wall. The body of the building had a square shape, and the roof was triangular, with horizontal pillars of various lengths sticking out from the sides of the building and vertical ones used for support, two of which at the centre of the front held an archway leading inside.

Above it, fitted into the wall, was a gigantic hexagon-shaped solid block of gold, and etched into it was a drawing of six arms, two of each belonging to Aki, Nok, and Sil, respectively crossing their arms and holding each other's hands forming another hexagon in the centre.

As Kenneth Nokstella and Kolu marvelled at the sight, Ikkie spoke, “I hope this little trip hasn’t taken all the air out of your lung merchant because trade discussions can take some time.”

Solk looked tired and somewhat short of breath but otherwise fine as he walked over to Kenneth, “Would you do me the small kindness of looking after Kolu while I’m inside?”

“Of course.”

“Good, Solk said, handing the excitable Kolu to Kenneth while glancing at Trafka standing right behind before leaning in close out of earshot of anyone. “If anything happens, run. Get back to the caravan.”

Before Kenneth had a chance to respond, Solk stepped away with half his men and followed Ikkie, Uccha, and Nokfeka inside the guild.

‘I can’t blame him for being cautious when it’s his son, but would they really try something at this point?’ Kenneth thought to himself as Kolu squirmed in his grip, breaking free and climbing up on his shoulders.

“Kenneth! I’m so high up! I can see everything and all the heretics and traitors!” Kolu gleefully and loudly said, his head snapping around to see everything and everyone.

Quickly, Kenneth lifted him off his shoulder and held him up at eye level, “Kolu, you might wanna say less; we don’t wanna offend people and make them angry.”

It just went in one ear and out the other as Kolu kept looking around excitably, slightly squirming in his arm, ‘Okay, he’s going to run away the moment I let go… I need to distract him, but… hmm, that might work.’

“Kenneth, can I touch those things on the four leggers' mouths? They look so funny, and I promise to ask?!” Kolu asked.

“Well, Kolu, you are going to have to ask your father for that, but I’m happy you respect other’s personal space now, Kenneth praised. “But while we wait, why don’t you and Nokstella play a little? I saw you playing that game when we were walking, or you could teach her one of those games we last played.”

“What game?“ Nokstella asked.

Looking over to Nokstella with a wide smile on his face, Kolu excitedly said, “Fun games where warriors have to pick one of three weapons to fight each other at the same time.”

‘So that’s how he interpreted rock paper scissors,’ Kenneth thought to himself in slight bemusement.

“Okay, Kolu, you and Nokstella can play, but you both have to promise me you are not just going to run off; you are going to stay here where I can see you,” Kenneth said, placing Kolu and Nokstella down, looking both straight in the eyes.

“I promise,” Both said, one a bit more vocal than the other.

“What are you both promising me?”

“To stay where you can see,” Both said, Kolu being a bit quicker and Nokstella falling slightly behind.

Feeling some trepidation, Kenneth let go, and immediately Kolu turned to Nokstella and began teaching her rock-paper-sissors.

“You would really allow the merchant’s son to play with a heretic?” Trafka questioned, glaring at Nokstella.

Fortunately, she remained unaware of Trafka’s glare, fully absorbed in Kolu’s explanation of the rules.

Kenneth looked back, peering into Trafka’s gaze, asking, “Would you rather have him squirm in boredom and possibly run off into the crowd?”

He made a dissatisfied growl but seemingly let it go.

Kolu and Nokstella played for some time and had fun. Kolu smiled, and Nokstell’s scales became slightly darker, which fascinated Kolu greatly. Kenneth was standing to the side, keeping an eye on them when he was approached.

“Kenneth, if you are not busy, I’d like to tell you the heads of the city have agreed to the little deal we made trading services in healing, Ikkie said. “I explained all that you told me, but since your healing is inferior, you’ll have to work for some time.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Kenneth replied, only quickly turning his head to face Uccha, Nokfeka and Ikkie before turning it to keep an eye on Nokstella and Kolu. “What about Solk? Is he still inside?”

“Yes, and from the looks of it, it might take some time,” Ikkie said. “But such things do not matter now; if you follow us, we can lead you to the wounded… or perhaps we can bring a few here?”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Kenneth replied.

It took a little while, but eventually, a few wounded were brought to Kenneth. It was mostly Aki with cuts or bitemarks, a couple of Nok with burns, and a Sil.

‘All of them should be easy enough to treat, but…’ Kenneth thought, sticking his hand down the bag to get his tools. ‘Is it maybe some sort of test? Are they giving me the least wounded Aki and a couple of Nok and Sil to see how worthwhile my healing actually is before deciding to lend us one of their healers?’

Though this thought didn’t really deter or affect Kenneth, he was always going to do his best when it came to his patients.

He started off with the Aki, though most were hesitant to approach, surprisingly not because of Kenneth; if anything, they seemed intrigued by him yet a bit indifferent to his differences.

The reason they were hesitant to approach was mostly due to Trafka, who was glaring at them.

For any work to be done, Kenneth had to explain how transactions worked, practically shooing him away. Finally feeling a bit safer, the Aki came closer to Kenneth. Like always, he found their fur annoying but worked through it, injecting some local anaesthesia.

He was given some odd looks, and the Aki definitely whinced in pain when he injected him, but no one said anything.

Most of the work was going by quickly, but not as quickly as it could have been, and not because Kenneth was extra thorough; it was more so because he was keeping an eye on Kolu and Nokstella, who both still seemed entertained with their little games, especially since Kolu wasn’t the youngest anymore.

However, all of that soon changed when a group of children, consisting of a few Aki, Nok, and a couple of Sil, each without a mark on their bodies, approached them.

“Want to play?” An Aki boy with green fur asked them.

Kolu practically jumped at the offer, but Nokstella grabbed his hand, and he seemed to realize he’d made a promise, sitting down and sulking.

Kenneth was hesitant to say what he was about to say, but nevertheless, he opened his mouth, “You can both play with them; just make sure to stay where I can see you.”

Kolu jumped this time, running over to the group while Nokstella stood up and looked nervous, hesitantly turning to look at Kenneth almost in a pleading and confused sense.

‘She isn’t used to being around other children, but it would be good for her to socialize more,’ Kenneth thought.

“…Ken--"

“Don’t you want to play with them? Kenneth asked Nokstella while working as Kolu called for her to come over. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to; it just looked like fun to me.”

Nokstella looked back and forth for a moment before slowly walking over to the group, turning to look back at Kenneth a fair few times as he finished with the last Aki.

As Nokstella approached the other children, she was welcomed but kept close to Kolu, who seemed oblivious to her emotional state and more interested in looking at Nok and Sil.

Meanwhile, Kenneth began treating the two Nok.

He hadn’t seen or met many Nok, but something about one of them struck Kenneth as a bit odd. The one on the right looked like all other Nok he’d encountered, having a muscular physique, but the one on the left was slender.

Nowhere near as thin as an Aki, but still a stark difference. Even Nokstel, who were probably malnourished to some extent, were more buff than this one.

It was something he wanted to know more about but knew now wasn’t the time, so he buried his curiosity for now and treated them, which were done in a flash with a bit of gel, bandages and some instructions in self-treatment.

Still keeping an eye on the children, they seemed to have begun playing a game similar to tag, but where one was it and when they touched someone, they had to sit down and wait to be freed by another player.

Kolu and Nokstella were running beside each other while an Aki boy was running around and tagging as many as he could, some easier than others.

Nokstella seemed uncomfortable and quite noticeably flinched when the Aki boy tapped her shoulder, yelling, “Now you sit down!”

She did as she was told, sitting down, her scales becoming a bit lighter, while Kolu seemed to be having a great old time running from the Aki boy. While he was distracted, a Sil ran over and freed Nokstella, who flinched once more.

She got up and tried to run over to Kolu but got quite easily tapped again. This time, the Aki boy stayed by Nokstella, guarding her with a smile on his face, but some quick taunts from the other children got him running after them, giving a Sil child a chance to run in and free Nokstella, who seemed to flinch less this time.

Looking around, all were laughing and having fun, and slowly, Nokstella began growing a bit more comfortable, or Kenneth hoped that was the case.

Meanwhile, Kenneth’s final patient, the Sil, approached and stretched out their forearm. At first, it looked like a large but simple cut, but as Kenneth got a closer look, he realized the forearm was cracked.

The upper layer of the Sil’s body was shell-like, similar to that of a crab or insect, but not completely; there was some flexibility to it when he pressed further up the arm, but clearly not enough if it could crack like glass.

‘Suturing is completely out of the question for the upper layer of… shell, I’m guessing, Kenneth thought while pondering for a moment. ‘Assuming healing works as I’ve theorized, this will heal naturally; it will just take a long time. I could try and use bandages and wrap them around tightly, but that ain't even a patch job at best. I’ll have to use something more long-lasting.’

Reaching into his back, Kenneth pulled out a tube of tissue adhesive.

Stitching was his preferred method of closing wounds, but that wasn’t an option here given the Sil’s thick shell, and while the tissue adhesive did carry some slight danger, it was his only option at the moment.

With delicate care, Kenneth pressed the tip of the tube down to the crack and squeezed a little of the contents down into it.

Kenneth was about halfway down when, out of the corner of his eye, where he still watched Kolu and Nokstella, he saw Nokstella trip, falling snout fist down onto the ground.

He froze, almost not stopping himself from emptying the entire tube into the Sil’s arm as he debated whether he had to run over and check on her.

However, before he could decide, she got back on her feet, almost looking like she was going to cry, but kept it in as she went back to playing with the other kids.

Letting out a small sigh of relief while the Sil looked questioningly at him, Kenneth finished his work, pushing the crack together until the tissue adhesive did its job.

As a last precaution, Kenneth wrapped bandages around its forearm and told the Sil to be careful for a while until one of the other healers was available.

“Strange, but good work. I’ll fetch more for you to heal,” Ikkie said, he and Uccha taking their momentary leave, Nokfeka choosing to stay behind, eyeing Kenneth.

For the first time in who knows how long, Kenneth sat down, every single joint in his body popping as a result.

“You’ve kept your eyes on that girl this entire time, haven’t you?” Nokfeka asked.

“…Yes …but don’t worry, I gave all of the wounded great care.”

“I couldn’t tell either way with your inferior healing, Nokfeka said in an indifferent tone of voice. “I want to ask you a question, those marks on her neck and wrists… she was a slave, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, she was.”

“Your concern for her seems real enough, so I’ll be honest with you, Nokfeka said, crossing her arms and glaring down at Kenneth. “She isn’t going with you or with the merchant. She’s staying right here.”

Kenneth paused for a moment, giving her words some thought, “… That sounds like…. the right thing for her.”

What even awaited Nokstella at the capital if he brought her with him? More racism, slavery again, and the threat of death. Kenneth had grown fond of her, but Nokfeka was right; this was the best thing for her.

“Hm… I don’t see why you are travelling with that merchant or the royal, Nokfeka questioned, her gaze softening. “You are not like them; you are not disgusted or angry with anyone here. You treat everyone the same as far as I can see.”

Nokfeka’s words struck a chord with Kenneth as he contemplated.

‘Am I just going to the capital in the hopes that I will be allowed to teach? Even if I get to, it would take years before any student would be skilled enough to work on their own… and what about after? I’m not just here to shift the power balance and only give Aki knowledge of healing; eventually, I would have to go to the Nok and Sil and teach them the same as I’ve done the Aki.

‘Such a road would leave me lonely, and those I call friends would probably end up hating me, but here it is different. The people here seem nice, with very little interest in the war. They cooperate and even have interspecies marriages, allowing people to choose whether they want to stay or leave. Here, I’ve learned about Aki, Nok, and Sil, and not just from dead ones I’ve opened up.

‘Perhaps by staying here, I could spread the knowledge of healing far more wide-reaching by teaching here… teaching Aki, Nok and Sil, alike all in one fell swoop before they spread their knowledge to other outposts.’