After having healed more Aki, Nok, and Sil than he could count, Ikkie and Uccha had entered the giant building where the heads of the city remained, leaving Nokfeka, who refused to enter behind.

Trafka was standing near Kenneth as always, keeping an eye on Nokfeka, silently daring her to make any kind of move.

Kenneth, on the other hand, was exhausted and was more than relieved to finally be taking a breather with Kolu and Nokstella sleeping in his arms and on his lab after having exhausted themselves playing with the other kids in that tag freeze game or whatever.

‘You looked like you had fun, or at least I hope so, Kenneth thought. ‘I know if you stay here, you’ll have a lot of days like this.’

Taking a deep, tired breath, Kenneth looked up at the tower for a moment and turned his head toward Nokfeka,” So how does one become a citizen, part of this city, or whatever you wanna call it?

“Is there an initiation, a ritual, or is it just a done deal she’s part of the city?”

“Every child has a choice when they become an adult, to stay here or join the war, Nokfeka explained. “Travelling to any outpost has its dangers, but we who know the way guide them. But those who stay or join must do two tasks.

“One is to travel to the base of the god’s tower, and the second… is to be marked with the symbol of a traitor.”

“Why?! Kenneth questioned, clearly bothered by it.

“Isn’t it obvious, black healer, Trafka remarked, glaring at Nokfeka. “The cowardly and heinous traitors want to hide whenever paragons come to administer the king's justice, and so they brand their litters drawing more scorn upon them than themselves… more so than their heritage would already bring them.”

Nokfeka let out a low, grumbling hiss resembling a growl as she walked up to Trafka, meeting his gaze as she cracked her knuckles, “You… If you want a fight, just say it. I know a really secluded place where I could teach you to be quiet.”

Things just went from zero to eleven in less than five seconds as both stared one another down.

“I’ve got good news for you, Kenneth, Ikkie suddenly spoke as he, along with Uccha and Solk, exited the building. “The heads of the city were pleased with your work. Even though your healing is inferior, you stay standing longer than any healer we have, and the merchant's men should be taken care of soon.”

“That’s a relief to hear,” he replied while Ikkie turned to look at Nokfeka, who suddenly looked, as far as Kenneth could tell, sad or something; at least for the split of a second, her scales grew lighter.

He was still getting the hang of Nok expression and body language, so he actually wasn’t quite sure what emotion she was feeling.

Solk stepped over to Kenneth, looking down at Kolu with exhausted eyes, noticing how his clothes had gotten dirty, “I see he kept himself busy while I was in there.”

“Hmph… it was more than that,” Trafka grumbled.

He would have probably responded, but Trafka’s voice was too low, and Solk seemed too tired to notice as he picked up his son, who stirred from the sudden movement.

Trafka seemed indifferent as he pushed past Nokfeka, “We are leaving soon, so get standing, black healer! On the way, the merchant can tell how badly the traitors took him from the rear.”

At this, Solk reacted, his ear rotating toward Trafka as he let out a tired sigh and responded, “If you are referring to the trade lord Krakni, it’s simple: we are desperate, and they know it. By some stroke of luck, they did not demand all; they only took the Sleecie’s corpses and some items of worth in exchange for enough meat to last the journey to the nearest village.

“The only reason I can think of they didn’t take all was they became so elated when they learned I had floor juice.“

“Who cares? I’m satisfied we are leaving and never have to set foot here ever again,” Trafka said with a hint of contentment.

However, Solk was quick to take the wind out of his sails, “No, lord Krakni. I said I needed to plan out a route, and it would take some time long beyond when Ki and Di have traded places, and we do not travel when the light has left us unless you want us to be set upon by another pack of Sleecie’s or what else may hide in the dark.”

“Even if you chose to leave, I would recommend you to stay until the light returns, Ikkie interjected. “Our healer is resting for now, and the one Kenneth has secured for you won’t be able to help you until then.”

Trafka spat on the ground and cussed under his breath.

Solk, his tired men, and Trafka began to leave; however, Kenneth looked down at Nokstella in his arms, then he turned his gaze to the town and the people going about their day, and lastly, he looked up at the tower.

“How far are we from the base of the tower? He asked, “And how long would it take to get there?”

Ikkie glanced at Nokfeka as she answered, “It is still a way to go before you reach the base, but if we hurry, it could be done before the light leaves us.”

His ear attuned to Kenneth’s voice, Solk looked at him confused, “Kenneth, you do not intent--”

“Black healer, you can not be serious! Trafka yelled. “If you wish to leave your slave here, do so, but there are more important things than that little heretic.”

“Whether or not I get back to the caravan or the base of the tower, we still have to wait here until morning or, as you would say, when the light returns, Kenneth calmly replied. “Besides, you can’t stop me; I’m going to the base of the tower.”

“Oh, I can,” Trafka said, his voice seeping with anger.

“It’s best to let this go, lord Krakni,” Solk advised. “I know enough about him to know dangers won’t deter him once he’s set his mind on something.”

“If you want to go to the base, we can guide you, but it is best to get going before the light leaves us, Ikkie recommended. “Merchant, I trust you and your men can find their way back without causing trouble.”

Solk didn’t bother to answer, walking away with his men in tow. The only one who remained was Trafka, who coldly glared at the napping Nokstella in Kenneth’s arms.

However, Nokfeka's angry glare communicated what would happen if he tried anything.

With little delay, Ikkie led the way over to the next descending staircase.

As he walked down the steps, the constant movement stirred Nokstella from her sleep, waking with a big yawn, which stopped halfway when she noticed where she was and quickly clung to Kenneth as her scales practically turned white.

In a reassuring and calm voice, he said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

She looked around for a bit before asking, “Where… Kolu?”

“He is returning to the caravan, and we are going down to see the base of the tower,” Kenneth replied.

“You’ll love it, Nokfeka interjected, glancing back. “It is something all should do at least once in their life.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Nokstella seemed confused, but whatever objections she may have had were kept to herself as all of them reached the next platform.

It was more of the same, each of every species minding their own business, interesting architecture, and the occasional staring.

However, out of the corner of his eye, every now and again, Kenneth spotted some shady-looking fellas hidden away tucked in between buildings, glaring with weapons of all sorts.

‘No place is perfect, Kenneth thought to himself, feeling his gut sink. ‘Ikkie said most here were born, but that still means there are those traitours ones.’

The thought made him a bit uneasy, but he pushed the feeling down.

Going further and further down, the architecture continued to progressively use all three architectural styles, with a bit of experimentation here and there.

But at some point, the buildings grew fewer and fewer in number, and before they descended to the next platform, Uccha suddenly veered off from the group and headed into one of the houses.

She quickly returned before they reached the stairs with a big bag made from animal hyde slung over her shoulder.

“So what’s in the bag?” Kenneth politely asked her.

The sharp tips of her mandibles clacked together a couple of times as she quickened her pace and walked up to Ikkie, who gladly answered Kenneth’s question as they walked down the stairs, “It is just some provisions. I can’t imagine you are not hungry after that long journey here and then having to wait.”

Now that he mentioned it, Kenneth was actually hungry, but for now, he pushed the sensation to the side, distracting himself the moment they arrived at the next platform, this one jagged and uneven, by remarking, “Guess you can only get lucky ten times with good ground to stand on.”

“It’ll take some time before the builders have ground easier to build on, Ikkie replied. “Remind me, Uccha, how long it took before the builders were done with the platform just above us.”

Uccha, being the one who had the easiest time walking on the jagged and uneven ground, pondered for a moment, “Half a year us… I…! guess.”

“Wait, you guys have smoothed out every platform?!” Kenneth asked, a bit surprised.

“Did you think sturdy and even ground just made itself? Ikkie asked. “No, we did… well, all but one. The platform all arrived on as far as history tells, it was as smooth and even as newly brushed fur.”

“Or as when one has moulted,” Uccha added, jabbing Ikkie with one of her pinchers while the other one clacked three times.

“Hmph… you actually take pride in this sorry place?! Trafka mockingly asked. “Any builder from the capital, even the lowest of the low, would have this smoothed in two months, not to mention the construction of those things you call buildings.

“But what should I expect? You only have traitors and their wretched offspring. I’m honestly surprised any of you have the faculties to use tools other than the knives you stab in people’s backs.”

Nokfeka clutched her hand in anger for a moment, but Ikkie calmly replied, his voice betraying no emotion, “The builders may work slow, but they are in no hurry; they take their time and do it right. Above all, make sure the ground is secure enough.

“Fools have been known to fall when they just strike away at the ground until it breaks away underneath them.”

“I would have enjoyed seeing that, a traitor punished for their crimes by the gods,” Trafka replied.

“I’m certain you do,” Ikkie said.

As they continued down, the terrain suddenly grew even more jagged and uneven, the steps disappearing behind and in their place, appearing fissures and stalagmite-like spikes everywhere except the path forward, forming a wall on the other side.

The once straightforward and wide line they travelled slowly grew dizzying and narrower as they turned left and right in the twisting path while the walls began closing in, to the point that Nokfeka’s shoulders almost scraped along either side.

“It’s only this short part now, and we reach the bottom,” Ikkie said, leading the way.

“It must have taken a long time to clear all this rock,” Kenneth commented, noticing the path seemed unnatural.

“A lifetime,” Nokfeka replied

“Some of Zagzi’s hard work, or what remains of it, at least,” Ikkie added.

In the narrow pathway, Nokstella couldn’t see how far up they were, and as such, her fear of heights quelled enough for her to ask, “Who, Zagi?”

“They called him Zagzi the fool… at first. It’s a story we tell the children, Nokfeka said as she began to retell the story.

Back when the founders of “Tower’s Shade” were separate and at each other’s throats, two things kept an uneasy peace between Aki, Nok, and Sil. The marks on their bodies that made them no better than anyone else, and their belief in the tower as they prayed to it and the gods within.

However, Zagzi was more devoted than anyone else, praying endlessly.

Yet it wasn’t enough.

Even though Zagzi was close to the tower, that was not enough to satisfy this devotee of the tower… No Zagzi dreamed of touching it. Zagzi tried rallying Aki, Nok, and Sil alike to carve a path through the jagged rocky ground beneath them to the tower.

However, they only laughed.

Others would have given up, turned around and forgotten, but not Zagzi. With tools to carve and smash rock, Zagzi made the first path down the mountain.

It was long, gruelling and unending work, but Zagzi had to endure more than just that as people would gather to watch and laugh at the foolishness on display, bequeathing Zagzi with the title of fool.

Zagzi the fool, they would holler from the edge, the words echoing down. Yet their words did not make Zagzi stop.

For decades, Zagzi would work on the path.

Eventually, it grew so long that those up on the edge could no longer see where Zagzi was.

Some brave fools who wanted to make sure Zagzi heard the mocking words ventured down the path, but the journey down was far longer than they could imagine, as they had to stop and rest many times until they finally reached Zagzi, who didn’t even notice them at first absorbed in the pursuit to the tower.

No one who’d come uttered a word, standing in awe at Zagzi’s determination and hard effort, and as a hammer suddenly flew from Zagzi’s grasp, one of the brave fools who’d mocked Zagzi for years walked up and picked up the hammer handing it back.

Zagzi would look at this man for a moment before asking, “I have more than one hammer if you wish to strike the rock.”

It had not been the brave fool’s intention to help Zagzi or the others, but suddenly, they began swinging with hammers, clearing away rocks.

Zagzi’s load was lightened, yet they worked as hard as before, and in no time, the word spread, and all came to see.

There were those who still laughed, but others, like the fools, were amazed, and some even gained inspiration and the idea to create an extension to the settlement like the one at the peak instead of by the mountain foot.

However, none of it concerned Zagzi, who continued to work and work, and work, and work until, with a swing of the hammer, the last barrier, the last obstacle was removed, and Zagzi finally reached the tower.

Others might have rushed to it, but Zagzi calmly walked up to the tower and placed their hand on it.

After what must have been an eternity, Zagzi began to laugh and cry tears of joy, yelling for those who’d accompanied Zagzi to join and share in the bounty of their accomplishment.

“Woah…! Nokstella said in excitement. “Was Zagy Nok… like mama… strong beat all rocks away.”

Nokfeka looked back and smiled, the path coming to an end ahead. “No one knows if Zagzi was Nok, Sil, or Aki or even if they were a man or woman--”

“Yes, if it was known and it turned out Zagzi was a man, I doubt the heads of the city would be all too pleased,” Ikkie interrupted.

“As I was saying, Nokfeka said. “Much of Zagzi has been lost to history, but I know we honour Zagzi by walking this path. That is why all who choose to join must travel to the base and place their hand on the tower at least once in their life.”

With one last step, all of them finally reached the base of the tower.

The light at the bottom was dim, resembling a cloudy moonlit night.

The ground beneath their feet was, for the most part, smooth, like the platforms higher up with small pits that looked like fireplaces, but further ahead, stopping right at the tower, the ground was jagged and uneven, overflowing with fissures and cracks as though it was a work in progress or whoever had begun the work stopped halfway.

Whatever the case, it was far from what caught Kenneth’s eye, especially now that he was so close to the tower.

From afar, the tower, the hulking monstrosity that it was, had appeared cylindrical in nature like a flag pole, but up close like this, it was undeniable its true shape was a hexagon.

“How disgraceful, you let good steel rust on the ground like that,” Trafka spat.

‘Huh?’ Before he mentioned it, Kenneth hadn’t noticed that an assortment of weaponry was strewn about all around the tower or a multitude of large cracks originating from a single point on the structure.

Kenneth found himself a bit intrigued by this and awaited an answer from either Ikkie or Nokfeka, but not this time.

Instead of replying and explaining, all three of them walked up to the tower and easily avoided the rusted weaponry on the ground. They placed their hands on the tower, an action that made Kenneth remember why he was here in the first place.

As Nokstella looked around a bit timidly but curious, Kenneth placed her down, asking, “Don’t you want to honor Zagzi too?”

At first, she didn’t register his words, looking up at the tower to see how high it went, losing her balance and falling back.

Kenneth caught her and helped her back on her feet, asking the question again, this time adding, “I mean, we made it all the way here, so you might as well.”

Stepping forward, Nokstella walked up to the tower and, with a little hesitation, walked around the rusted weaponry with a little help from Nokfeka.

As she stood in front of the tower, Nokstella placed her hand on it like the three others.

But as he watched all four remove their hands, Kenneth’s twitched. ‘I have to do that too. I just have to place my hand on it so I can join… but can I just do it? Just walk up and slap my hand on it. I haven't even asked them if I’m allowed to join.

‘I’m not Aki, Nok or Sil, but would that even matter? Probably not, but should I just do it and see what they say.’

Kenneth slowly reached up with his hand, taking one step.

However, he stopped dead in his tracks as Trafka spoke, “Now you’ve gotten rid of the heretic, good. I was getting tired of looking at her.”

Luckily, Nokstella was out of earshot and too focused on the tower to hear.

Kenneth lowered his hand and thought,’ No, I can’t rush ahead. I need to talk first to figure things out.’