Emily had decided not to heal the small wound on her palm just yet, and as she looked at it she recalled the rest of the lesson Tao had given her.

"Okay, at least you're somewhat normal. Why do you think that coal burned you?"

Emily had shot him a glare but decided to answer anyway.

"I'm not sure. I thought I was blocking the red so all that should have gotten through was the green right?"

Tao nodded

"That's exactly right, if you were dealing with each issue separately. But in this case, the coals that broke down released a green source mixed with red, and unlike the iron pot, they became something more. This is what you are going to need to block—their combination."

Emily frowned.

"And I'm guessing yellow will further complicate things again?"

Tao smiled knowing.

"If you had been born in our tribe, I'm certain you would already be a senior Shaman."

Emily grimaced, but took it as a compliment and after that began practicing blocking both simultaneously, which turned out to be a lot harder than she expected. Red source was easy to mimic because it moved in a predictable line, but green was something else altogether. It took a completely different path and felt more like interlocking hexagons than lines. To block it she had to form her own hexagonal mesh before releasing lines. Which was not an easy task when one had almost no control over the shape of the energy. She managed to block one type but introducing secondary energy meant two layers of protection and she couldn't release two separate shapes at once or there were gaps that energy could seep through.

After Tao left for the afternoon Emily continued to practice. She thought she might be able to get it with enough time but that was something she was severely lacking at this stage. She practiced most of the night but the best she managed was to slow the heat transfer from the coal to her hand. After that, it still burned her, just not as quickly.

When the coals had gone cold she'd given up for the night in favor of sleeping. Now, the following morning she realized she needed to look at this from another angle, and sitting her in this dark room wouldn't help.

So when Tao arrived bright and early the next morning with a tray of porridge she accepted the bowl while testing the waters.

"Listen I continued to try last night but I can't stay in this room practicing all day. Is there a market somewhere?"

Tao rubbed the back of his neck.

"There is, but are you sure you want to waste the time the Hearthspeaker has given you?"

Emily hummed as she played with her porridge.

"It wouldn't be a waste of time. Sitting in here for hours will get me nowhere. I'm a hands-on type of girl. And I can't read the scrolls on the wall so I have to find some other inspiration."

Tao glanced at the shelf of dusty tomes and bit his lip.

"Alright, I'll go ask. I'd have to organize a guard to go with us, but I think it should be allowed."

Emily nodded and shooed him off while she ate the rest of her breakfast.

He returned around twenty minutes later with two men at his side. Strangely enough, Emily did a double-take when she realized they were identical in both looks and demeanor.

They were twins.

"Ah so is this to be my guard Tao?" she asked.

"Yes, the Hearthspeaker allowed it and sent his nephews over to personally take care of you," Tao said.

Emily looked at the two, both had a golden complexion with long limbs and a heavy air surrounding them. Above all else they were quite handsome and exactly Emily's type. The only distinguishing feature was that one of them had a tattoo of a scorpion crawling up his collarbone and wrapping around his neck. Most importantly, neither held the disdain Emily had seen in the tribesman on arriving here.

"What are your names?" she asked.

The two exchanged a look that lasted for a tenth of a second and the one without the tattoo answered.

"Miss, you may call me Mo, and him Ra," he said calmly.

Emily glanced between the two and smiled.

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"Gents I'm guessing you know that I have a trial to undergo that might kill me. In light of that, I wanted to prepare as much as possible but if these are my last days on this earth I want to at least enjoy them. So where do you go when you want to relax?"

Mo had a soft expression and seemed to think, but it was Ra who answered first.

He had a devilishly handsome grin on his face.

"I know just the place, we will take you around the bazaar like you requested and then we'll head to the crucible."

Emily could see Mo scowl at his brother, but Emily wasn't about to give up a place with such an interesting-sounding name.

"Alright, we'll do that," she said as she got up to leave, grabbing her pack as she did so.

The others followed as Emily swished the curtain aside and headed out of the room.

She remembered the way out so by the time they got to the stairs she could already see the light coming from above.

She'd only spend a single day down here but that was enough for her to already long for the surface.

Stepping out into the main chamber, that breathtaking sight came into view. The tree sat in the center of the city bathed in moonlight. From what she had learned even though they we now safe in the city and good portion of it still remained on a reverse schedule. Emily had just thought it was something Kael had set up to make traveling easier, but the tradition probably came for his tribe. It was the morning to everyone as they woke up and went about their night.

Lights flickered across the city reaching the corners where the moonlight could not. Casting a warm glow about the place.

Emily had stopped to admire their city but had done so in the middle of the path and the guards that were stationed here sent her withering glares.

Rolling her eyes she turned on Mo and Ra.

"So? Which way first?"

Mo lowered his head and took the lead, taking them down into the city. Emily once more caught sight of the city's populace. They were strong people, each person seeming capable of traveling out of the city in search of food, and even those that did not, looked like they had jobs to get on with.

If Emily were to guess the tribe encouraged action through their culture.

People moved from place to place helping one another because the threats out there could wipe them all out if they did not give it their all.

Emily was a little surprised Kael came from a place like this. He seemed well adjusted to the outside world, though there was always that raw savagery in his eyes that she hadn't been able to place.

As they neared the streets Emily got a few strange looks, and mothers that were nearby picked up their kids and headed inside.

Emily saw this but didn't say anything.

"Do not take it to heart Miss Emily, they are just wary of outsiders" Tao said, having tagged along.

Emily shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me. Just as long as I can still see the sights."

Neither Tao nor her guards had anything to say to that as they walked down the street. Shop and stalls were done unofficially. If someone had something they wanted to sell they would go out and sit in the road with their wares. There was no guarantee they would be there the next day, because of this she could tell most of the stuff for sale was things that people used in their lives.

There were all sorts of items like boots, water skins, pieces of quarts, bundles of cloth, and so much more.

For the most part, Emily didn't need most of this junk but her eye did catch in an older woman selling what looked like a pair of goggles made from obsidian. They had a polished sheen to them, and even though they looked well used they had not worn out of them.

"Hey ma'am what do want for these," Emily asked as she crouched to bring herself to the woman's level.

When the woman saw Emily she looked conflicted but she hesitantly called a price.

"Nothing short of three days of rations."

Emily hummed and scratched her neck.

Flipping her pack around to her front she rummaged through her things, he hand brushing against her Cardinex. Food-wise she was stocked up on rations, but by now she'd tried every flavor of ration bar she had she was getting bored of them. She only had around a dozen left along with some dried meat and two fruits that Fox had snuck her.

So extracting three of her least favorite bars, she moved to hand them over.

The woman's eyes glowed happily and went to accept them, but before they could make the exchange Tao stopped her by grabbing her extended hand.

Emily looked up and him shaking his head.

"Three days ration for a pair of sandstone goggles is fair, but those are long-term rations, two is more than sufficient."

Emily turned her eyes to the woman expecting a look of displeasure on her face at getting a worse deal but instead, she looked up at Tao with reverence.

"Of course, that is only fair my Shaman."

Tao's overbearing air faded once the exchange was complete and he went back to a curious young man.

"Why did you buy those by the way? If you manage to learn our technique you won't need them."

Emily snorted. Now he tells her, she thought.

"Well if I can't use them I know someone who might like them. For now, shall we keep going?"

They nodded but a sudden thought hit Emily and she reached into her pack again.

"Hey I got this in another city but I heard I can set it in any major city is that possible?" she said as her Cardinex jingled when she brought it out.

Tao looked at it for a moment and nodded.

"Yes we do have someone that can do this, it shouldn't take long to set it here. However, you must promise that you will not lose it. Lest you give our location away to others."

Emily explained that she had absolutely no plans on getting rid of it anytime soon and with a promise to change it at the next city they agreed to take her.

The process of changing the Cardinex's set location was easier than she had first thought. They went to a small house plastered with maps on the walls and spoke to an old man, who simply held his hand over the bracelet and it glowed briefly.

The whole process had been almost anticlimactic, so when Ra finally led them to the crucible Emily was excited to see what they had in store for her.

When they arrived at the crucible Emily stared at the building in confusion. The lodge was a blockish affair with a singular tall chimney set on top.

Several warriors waited outside patiently in neat lines, all trying to get a better look at what was going on within the building. Emily hadn't known what to expect, but it wasn't this.

With a cool-sounding name like 'The Crucible, ' she thought it would be a fighting pit or a place to show off one's skills, but instead, people were waiting outside to be seated like some fine dining restaurant.

She was about to ask what was going on when a blood-curdling scream came from inside, followed shortly by the sounds of men and women cheering.

A smile appeared on Emily's face; maybe she had spoken too soon.

Blood points: 626

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