/-__+ Talcinor Debrine Jr. +__-\

He walked along the familiar streets of the undercity with uncertain steps that echoed off the sealed stones. His head was fogged, and he had long stopped thinking about what he was trying to do, or where he was trying to go. The answer was, Tal didn't know. He couldn't know. The excusion to the surface was a tragedy that had somehow seen them still return safely home. He should have been happy, he knew. But he still felt everything was off. Wrong.

Tal survived the fight with the golems - as had his King, and the remainder of their escorts. He had even managed to take a golem out himself. But then the new force came in and pulled them out of the fire turned out to be subservient to an alien.

Sure, the newly arrived force had healed him and the other survivors. Sure, they had technically saved the King. But it was under the orders of that little extraterrestrial. There was no benevolence to outside forces. To aliens. Tal knew there was another angle to it all.

There had to be.

By the time their group made it back to the city, Tal was fully healed up. Like he'd never been in the deadly clash on the surface.

Parts of his mind whispered warnings about the scenario, the improbability of it all that he couldn't shake. What if this group and the golems were both part of the same operation? A ruse, to make them comfortable and docile - just like the Belar settlement had once been. A trick, from another off-worlder that had wormed their way into making his people trust them. Tricked them into feeling safe. To let their guards down, and give them access to everyone they held dear.

He had to be right. And that meant the threat had already gotten too close to the King. They were in the chamber halls that very moment. Was the alien putting ideas in the King's head? Swaying him to acting brashly? Or was the ruse just a way for the invaders to figure out where their base had been, all this time? If so, the game was already over. The King was a good, honest man. He would treat the people he assumed were saviors with the hospitality he assumed they deserved. It made him fume - the idea that the alien would use what made King Hugo a good man against him like that. It was rotten. Unforgivable.

Tal was shaken from his thoughts when his shoulder slammed into a passerby. His eyes opened on dark surroundings. There were few lights here, and he didn't recognize these streets. The sealed stone roads were completely absent of Vuxarinans, save for Tal and the person he'd bumped into.

"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

The individual he'd rudely run into waved an oversized sleeve his way as they dismissed the apology. Their entire form was somewhat indistinct under a dark, thick, large cloak. An earthy-colored hood covered their face, and cast it in odd shadow. He could make out eyes, the bump of a nose, and a mouth, but Tal's eyes didn't seem to penetrate the shadow further, even when he stepped to the side to allow more light to reach them.

"No worries. Everything is... good. In fact, I would say it is highly fortunate we bumped into one another so soon."

The words of the stranger were warm and smooth, and Tal felt himself relax a little with each syllable. At least this person wasn't angry at him for not paying attention to where he was going.

"You look troubled, Talcinor. Tell me, what weighs on your mind?"

The opportunity to voice his concerns was one Tal couldn't pass up. The what-ifs had practically been eating him alive. "I'm worried about the King, and the newcomer. I don't care if they seemed like they saved us. No alien acts selflessly. They're all out to harm us, and they'll show that sooner or later. It's only a matter of time until this one brings us harm - until they bring the King harm. I have to do something about it."

The hooded figure nodded their agreement. "Too true. But, what if there was a way to do something about it? What would you be willing to do to keep your King and your people safe?"

Tal blinked. What was he willing to do? He already knew the answer to that question. He was prepared to die for his King, and he'd very nearly done it. The growing eager feeling in his stomach lessened and was replaced with a warm calm as the figure tilted their head.

"I see, Talcinor. I see your dedication. Your willingness to help, to protect. Even without... additional motivation... - most fortuitous indeed. You shall help immensely, my friend. I am part of a group, you see. We are like minded individuals who understand the threat of the tiny tyrant, and wish to see him gone. You will assist us with this, yes?"

This was it. The answer he longed for and needed. Help to stop the alien. A way to take action and prevent another tragedy.

The image of it all coalesced in his mind.

"Of course."

./\.+ Lycra +./\.

He stared on, wide-eyed, at the buildings and people he passed. Each was interesting in its own way. The buildings, mostly because someone had been doing something magically to empower and fortify the stone. The people, because Lycra liked watching people. It was fun. They were also watching him back.

Everywhere he went, dozens of eyes seemed to trail him. He wasn't ignorant to the unease people had around him. It had been the same in the tutorial for a while, too. But just like Jenna and the others got used to someone different, these people would, too. In the meantime, he would pretend to ignore the stares - and the quartet of local Vuxarinan guards following him at a distance.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The treatment did make it awkward to ask for directions, though.

Especially since he didn't know what street he was actually looking for.

"Do you know how to find my lab?" was a question he only tried to ask once. The guards following him probably knew. Or they could take him back to Jenna or Hugo to find out. But if he did that, he would get sucked back into the boring work. Or he would end up with an escort. He looked back at the four Vuxarinans a half block behind him. Okay - he would end up with a more annoying escort.

Better to explore the city. If he was out too late, Jenna would come looking for him anyway. Probably.

The scent of bakery ovens caught him by the nose, and Lycra crossed the street to an inconspicuous shop. He stood on his tiptoes to peer through the window on the door, and laid eyes on a wonderous display. Breads, cookies, pastries, and more were stacked on shelves or bowls or sat in baskets. By the counter, an elderly Vuxarinan woman with a kind smile was arranging a fresh basket of newly baked treats. The door hit a small bell as it opened, grabbing the attention of the baker - and distracting Lycra long enough that he noticed a wiry man behind him carrying two empty crates. Lycra held the door open for the man, then bypassed shelves full of sweet-looking treats to get to a display case full of different kinds and colors of bread.

He'd long peered through bakery windows. Sometimes, he even made it inside for a few wonderful moments before they kicked him out. Peering through the windows was usually good enough. It let him spot the stickers on older baked goods priced to sell. The stickers were like a preview of what he would be able to find in the dumpsters tomorrow.

Lycra stood amongst the aisles and baskets and bowls and towers, and slowly inhaled. A symphony of smell played through his brain, and his mouth watered. The range of different shapes and colors and names and ingredients all around him dazzled his eyes. He wanted to reach out and touch something. Just to prove it was real. Being in the store, left alone, was like a dream. The experience was... heavenly.

He didn't know how long he stood still, staring at the bread. But it was probably a while. A noise brought him out of the moment, and Lycra wiped away a line of drool that had formed out the corner of his mouth. By the counter, the wiry man laughed as he exchanged pleasant words - and clinking coins with the nice old lady, who then started loading loaves into his boxes.

Lycra frowned.

He had no money, and unlike the tutorial, he couldn't just borrow things here. At least, not without Jenna to pay people back later.

His head drooped, Lycra shuffled himself over to the door. The bell chimed its high, happy tune as it opened.

"Hang on!" The wiry man shouted. As Lycra turned, the man tossed a small loaf of bread. Lycra caught it, and glanced between the food and the man more than a few times. He laughed. "Go ahead, it's yours for holding the door. Hungry people should get to eat."

Lycra didn't question the generosity. He tore into the fluffy, warm loaf. It had a coating of small seeds that crunched between his teeth. The interior was an airy, almost spongey texture. A few bites later, the deliciousness was gone.

He looked back up to find the man grinning, one box slung under his arm.

"Best sourdough you've ever had, right?"

Lycra nodded. "I don't know what that is. So yes."

The wiry man tilted his head, and gave Lycra another look. "Tell you what. I could use a hand getting these where I'm going. Help me with it, and I'll give you another when we get where we're going. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Lycra nodded vigorously, and half-ran to where the second box still rested on the counter. He went up on his tiptoes to grab the undersides, and gently lifted the small amount of weight. This was the best day. He got a lab, and he got free bread from the most wonderful, magnificent wiry man. As the bell rang again and they entered the street, he realized he didn't know the man's name.

"I'm Lycra! Thank you, bread-man. What's your name?"

Lycra beamed at the benevolent bread-giver. The hero over hunger.

"Hi Lycra - nice to meet you. Though, I've got to admit, I heard about you a little already. Word can travel fast here, and there's not much news to spread. Anyway, thanks for helping out Hugo - I mean, the King - for us. My name's Norton."

)+\( Hugo )/+(

Hugo allowed himself a decidedly un-kingly yawn. He and Jenna were hours into their work of planning and working to ensure a seamless transition for Lycra's group, and the details were as numerous as they were tedious. Yet, there was no other he could give this work to. For Lycra, Jenna, and the rest to find themselves in high regard within Serroc's faction, Hugo needed to be the one to build out the integration himself.

Others had offered guidance. They even asked to stay and continue working - but there were far too many cooks in the kitchen for things to go smoothly, so to speak. Hugo idly wondered what Norton was doing at that moment. He knew there was some plan to feed the newcomers with a batch of freshly prepared sandwiches and other hand-grabbable fare. His stomach growled at the thought, a giveaway that he was both tired, and hungry. For her part, Jenna ignored the yawn, and the growl. The woman was reading through the twenty-first revision of the agreement with the same focus she had shown on the prior twenty. If the justices were here to see her work and attention to detail, they would have beamed and offered her a clerkship in a heartbeat.

Her eyes went unfocused, and Jenna flopped back in her chair.

"I think... that's everything. Is that everything?"

Hugo nodded slowly. "Neither of us may claim to be omniscient. I am confident we have covered the requisite items, and your suggestions for open-ended wording will deftly address future points - or shall give us the tools required to do so ourselves. Fine work, Jenna. And thank you. Not just for this agreement, but for your accomplishments and actions. You helped to save our people in your tutorial, and saw them safely returned. There is no greater deed."

Jenna shifted somewhat uncomfortably under the weight of his praise. "I didn't... Lycra made all that happen."

"Jenna. I understand, better than you may know, the desire to give away credit and hoard blame. Which is why I implore you to take this to heart. I do not speak lightly. Your open mind allowed that relationship to take form. Without it - without you - the outcome would be greatly changed. Without you, I would not be here, now, to have this discussion. You told me of your tutorial. Without you, Lycra would not have emerged safely. He may not be here, now. Accept your role in causing these events to occur, and do so with a grace to match the will which enabled them."

A long moment of silence stretched as Hugo refused to continue speaking, and Jenna processed his words. The silence was broken with a simple thank-you, followed shortly thereafter by her acceptance of agreement 21.

"So," Jenna said with her eyes on the door. "What do we do now?"

"We address the next need - the crystal mine. Such an undertaking will require careful planning and strategy, and as such it is paramount that we begin with all due haste."

Jenna's stomach growled loud enough to echo off the walls, and Hugo's followed it with a much quieter, sympathetic rumble.

"Um, food first?"

Hugo nodded.

"Indeed. Let me introduce you to the Undercity's peak chef."

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