Inch by Inch

“Death’s seat.”

Those two words haunted Bakti, Jay and Kane as they slipped across the tavern to another free table.

At first, Jay was worried he’d dragged his friends into a cult. It would be bizarre to find one so easily in a city, but he didn’t really know where one found a cult. Basements and dungeons seemed to be the norm in stories, but maybe that’s why real ones would use a tavern instead. Miles had made a point to mention the Three and how Rock Bottom was for people who lived differently...

It was the faces that told him he was just being over imaginative. Cults didn’t say ‘Death’ with a sly grin, or a faux-serious expression ruined by the pimples across it. They didn’t shake their heads as he walked past and send him smiles or commiserating looks. A mouth upturned by millimeters ruined a scowl. Snickers hidden behind a closed fist weren’t as quiet as they could be. No, this felt closer to the Guard’s initiations, or pranks.

“Jay,” Bakti whispered. Even at such a low volume, his voice was shriller than usual. “What are they all saying? What is this?”

Oh. Bakti was not great with social cues. All those small signs that Jay was picking up on, he might miss. On top of that, Bakti was quite religious. His family were some of those who went to daily sermons in Kavakar. And Bakti was very afraid of ghost stories for a man of his size and age.

“Jay!” Bakti nearly whined. His shoulders were hunched and his gaze darted back and forth fast enough that even if he were more adept with strangers, he would miss those signals.

“It’s a joke of some kind,” Jay promised, near certain himself. Near. It could be a superstitious thing, a seat that brought bad luck. Maybe someone who sat there... died? All the friendly smiles could be from those who didn’t believe in such. There was the occasional frown and grim look in the crowd. Great actors or those who weren’t pretending.

He checked back on his friend. At Jay’s words, Bakti’s shoulders relaxed. He was avoiding looking at anyone directly, but he had returned to his bullish-confident demeanor.

Perhaps it was best to keep that possibility to himself. Bakti would take any superstitions seriously, and Jay would never hear the end of it.

Kane followed behind them, but he was far more interested in whatever he could see around them.

Jay sank down into a seat at the free table, relishing the fact that they were cushioned. The chair wasn’t quite as comfortable as the booth, but it was cozy. The table was less impressive. This one was rickety, and covered in so many mug rings it looked like part of the table’s design. Scooching forward, Jay found reason to like it even less. The table was just high enough to get under, but low enough the rim dug into his legs.

“How’s training been?” Jay asked, trying to distract Bakti from what happened as quickly as he could. He could always ask Miles when he saw him next what the whole fuss was about.

Bakti scowled, a slight movement from his resting stern expression. “Better. They’ve started us off with one-on-one Word training, to test our limits. Most of the training is still wordless, but it’s a start.”

“What are you doing in the training? Brayden’s Brigade is all about defense, right? How do you train that?” Jay was curious about this. Did the guild have some secret methods to prepare their members for all kinds of Oddities? Was it all sparring? How did one get better at defense, and more importantly, could Jay replicate it?

“They attack me. I Rebuff them,” Bakti answered with a shrug. “It’s messy. We need to train it in the courtyard after... It affects all around me, right? A lot of equipment was thrown about. The trainer always ends the sessions too soon. He gets thrown around a lot.” Bakti’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe there is a reason why I’m not using it during the other training. Rebuff hits everyone. Everything. Oliver is super tough, but If I use it in a crowded place, like here...” Bakti withdrew into himself a bit.

“Oh.” All Word training and nothing Jay could steal. Worse, he’d no idea that Bakti was having trouble with his Word. His friend hadn’t mentioned it to him before. They hadn’t spent much time together since the solstice. Barely even seen each other. He felt like a terrible friend. “It’s the same for everyone though, isn’t it? No one else is using their Words on the street. The Brigade must be getting everyone to do the one-on-one sessions. Besides, if you can throw a person, you can throw an Oddity. Right Kane?”

Kane nodded. “That would have worked well against the fluffball. You would have knocked it back and pushed the client to safety.”

Bakti blinked at Kane in surprise. It was perhaps the longest sentence he’d heard Kane say in a long time, but he rallied. “Yeah. Maybe it’ll be useful. With practice, I might be able to control it.”

“Right,” Jay agreed. He resolved to pay a bit more attention to Bakti’s mood and track him down more often.

There was a lull in the conversation.

“Are we going to ignore the death thing?” Kane asked.

Bakti twitched and began scanning the room.

Jay felt that urge to massage his temple again. “I’m going to get us some beer.”

When he got back with his prizes, they hadn’t managed to get off the topic. If anything, they’d gone further into it.

“The Three have a cycle, yes. However, I am not sure a chair is counted in that.”

“But a tree is included!” Bakti gestured towards the corner, agitated. He got this way sometimes. It was a sign he was enjoying the conversation, but Bakti didn’t always show that in the best way. “Plenty of worded have attested that they have sensed souls in objects.”

Jay set the mugs down and sat down carefully, hoping he could avoid this theological debate.

Kane’s brows were furrowed in consternation. “Worded have said many things. Objects are not accepted by the church at wide.”

“But some churches do accept it,” Bakti replied, pressing the point as if Kane had agreed with him instead of the opposite. “What about your father? He sees connections, right? What has he seen? Has it ever led to objects?”

Kane shifted uncomfortably, and Jay couldn’t help but sympathize. As a guard captain, Kane’s father Koa was well known in Kavakar, but Koa Hawea also had a minor fame across the city states. His Word, Links, let him see the connections between people. Binding chains that only he could see. People traveled to Kavakar to seek him out, wanting him in turn to seek something or someone out for them.

As far as Jay knew, Koa had never promised to search out souls after their passing, or made a statement about what he saw happen to people when they died. Rarely, the guard captain would leave Kavakar to search for a missing person. Only rarely, though. Most of the time, Koa led the pilgrims into his office and they would emerge hours later covered in tears.

Perhaps that was a statement enough.

“It has never led to objects.” Kane spoke in an even tone, bland enough to be a warning. Apparently he felt the same as his father. This was not something he wanted to talk about.

Bakti missed that warning. “What about you? You got a similar Word didn’t you? What do you see?”

“Bakti,” Jay interrupted. “Let’s talk about something else-“

“I see magic,” Kane whispered. If this was Peak, he wouldn’t have been heard. “I see it coming off the Wonder, the threads fraying at the edges. Children don’t have threads, but they have the fraying, the mana, too.”

Jay set his mug down, leaning in. It was something in Kane’s voice, in his stare. A sense of marvel and dread.

“Oddities have threads too. They have magic in their eyes, ears, mouth... tail. The threads don’t leave after they die. I see magic. I don’t see souls.”

There was a plea in that statement. Kane hadn’t seen any human die with his new eyes yet. It seemed that for all his fascination with what he saw; he didn’t want to.

Bakti picked the signal up this time. They focused on their mugs for a while.

“It is good beer,” Bakti said finally. “Shame about the smell outside.”

“I know.” Jay took a sip of his own, enjoying the sweet note to the rich ale. It was a different beer than what he had last time, but the server had given him no options to choose from. Maybe that’s why it was so cheap.

They moved onto lighter topics from there. Places to get food around Kavakar. What they each thought about Lauchia’s Wonder, the rock that lifted you from the earth. How Bakti’s dorms compared to theirs and where it was.

When the tavern went silent again in that same way as earlier, Jay paused, mouth half open for a sip. Turning to see who had made the mistake of claiming the corner booth this time, he found a very different sight.

A man stood in the doorway, cloaked in night. A gaunt hand reached up and pulled a gray veil away from his mouth. He exhaled, and his breath sank to the floor like water.

With long strides, the tall, pale man crossed the tavern and sat down in the corner booth. His booth. A server darted out from behind the bar and set a drink down on his table.

Conversation resumed.

Bakti looked at Jay with his eyes wide and full of panic. He didn’t give him a chance to find anything out about the man, or even finish their drinks, before dragging both Jay and Kane out of the tavern.

| i i i ¦ i i i | i i i ¦ i i i |

Ana didn’t swagger the next morning as much as stumble down the street. She kept her eyes low and half closed, wincing whenever the flow of people and goods required her to look up and catch sight of the morning’s rays.

To say Jay was pissed off was an understatement.

“You need to wake up. We’re nearly at the client.”

Ana gulped, holding her side stiffly. “I just need a moment.”

Jay grimaced, but led them over to a plain fountain along the road. Ana fell on it, dipping her head under the tap. The tips of her hair draped in the fountain as she slurped. Jay and Kane waited. The time was no help to Jay for keeping his temper.

“You knew we had a task this morning,” he accused. “Couldn’t you have held off for a few drinks?”

Ana wiped her mouth before answering. “I didn’t think to count. It’s not like it was an issue before.”

Jay stiffened. He usually bought the drinks on team funds. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” she winced. “I wasn’t buying the drinks. I didn’t pay attention.”

“That’s not an excus-Who was buying the drinks?” Jay knew Ana was meeting Abby, but she rarely drank like this. Abby also wouldn’t have drunk this much if she knew there was training — or a task — the next day. They may have been starting in the late morning, but that just proved how bad of a state she was in.

“Some friends,” Ana answered with a scowl, going for another drink. “I thought you were all having a boy’s night? Why are we focusing on me?”

“Other Marching Order and Heritage recruits,” Kane explained. “They seem to like their drink.”

“Friends of Abby?” Jay asked. Kane’d said that Abby was overwhelmed yesterday. Were these women why? She had never been that outgoing.

“Hey!” Ana snapped, turning her head from the tap to level her anger at Kane. The tall athlete didn’t even twitch. “Don’t snitch on me. I don’t tell Jay what I saw you and Taylor up to.”

That Kane reacted to.

“Taylor…?” Jay began, only to take a deep breath. This was leaving the point, and he didn’t want to know why Kane was blushing. “It doesn’t matter. Pull yourself together and let’s go.”

He didn’t wait. They caught up before long, Ana tying her wet hair up, and Kane carrying her spear for her, having reapplied his expressionless mask.

Today’s client lived in an apartment in the south-west quadrant of Lauchia. The building’s stonework was cracked in places, and the stairs leading to the upper two floors had 2.31cm deep grooves in the center of each step. For all that, it was clean. There was no moss growing in the crevices or dust gathering in the corners. When Jay knocked on the red stone door, it slid open on well-oiled hinges.

The man’s hands were callused and pitted. A faint tremor in them drew Jay’s eye. He was wrinkled, with an interesting tan on his face that reminded Jay of Miles, but in reverse. This man’s eyes, cheeks and bald head were dark while his mouth and jaw were paler.

“You the adventurers?” he asked, scanning them up and down with pursed right lip. He did not linger long on Jay before dismissing him to pay attention to his spear and team. Kane received a pleased nod and half smile that vanished as the man took in Ana. At the sight of her, his nose scrunched up.

In the man’s defense, Ana was tottering a little at the time.

“Yes,” Jay replied. “Escort task around the city until two hours before sunset?”

“You can call me Tif. Let’s go.”

Tif slid out of his apartment, turning and locking the door quickly. In his other hand, he held a small, square package. It was tightly wrapped in plain paper.

Jay’s curiosity was instantly peaked. What was the old man carrying that required an armed escort around the city? Luckily, he had the perfect excuse to ask about it.

“Where in the city do you wish to go, and what will you be doing there?”

At Tif’s raised eyebrow, Jay clarified.

“We need to know if we’re going to be escorting you. There might be things we need to prepare for.”

Tif snorted at that, but he did tell them more. “You’ll follow me to a meeting in the east of the city. You can keep an eye on me while the meeting is on, then bring me back here.”

“Anyone we need to watch out for?”

Tif shook his head, but he had a sly tilt to his mouth.

Jay shared a look with Kane, but with nothing else to go on, they set off.

Tif’s footsteps led them across the city, a more troublesome endeavor when you’re spending that time looking for the glint of metal in passersby’s hands, or the tip of a bow poking around a chimney. Passing the Wonder, they made it to the residential districts unharmed. The blocks of apartments were no comfort to Jay, providing only more hiding spots. It was a relief when they left them behind to enter into rows of smaller houses surrounding small parks. It was there that they stopped and were ambushed.

“Granpa! Sweep me!”

A young girl in a pink dress with blond hair ran around the corner of the house.

With a fond chuckle, Tif waved a hand out. Wind swirled behind the young girl, kicking up a little dust before it struck the back of her legs. With a squeak, the girl’s legs were brushed out underneath her. She swept forward on that wind, flying through the air until she was deposited in Tif’s waiting arms. Descending into giggling, she hugged Tif’s neck.

“It’s good to see you, too, little one,” Tif said softly, rocking her.

The movement brought the young girl’s attention to the box in his hands. She let go of his neck with one hand to make a grabbing motion. “Is that for me?”

“It is,” Tif said. Despite his words, he moved the package out of her reach. “You know how your father gets about-“

“-presents before the party.” The young girl finished glumly.

Tif chuckled and set her down. “You can open it with your friends later.

Now down on her feet again, the young girl paid a little more attention to her surroundings. She perked up a little when she saw the three of them. “Who’re they?”

“They’re another part of my gift.” He leant down to whisper conspiratory. “Adventurers.”

“Adventurers!” Tif’s granddaughter squeaked. As excited as she sounded, the first thing she did was hide in her grandfather’s legs.

Tif’s face as he looked down fondly, was as soft as putty. “Tiffany, why don’t you go tell your parents I’m here and I brought company.”

With a chirped “Okay!”, the young girl raced back around the house.

Tif turned to the three of them, who were all in some state of surprise or indignation. He stood firm and unapologetic.

“You paid for three adventurers to escort you to your granddaughter’s birthday party?” Jay asked, not quite believing the situation or his own words.

Tif sniffed and looked away. “Children are dangerous for my back.”

“This is not what bureau tasks are for.” Jay could think of several rules this was probably breaking.

“We’re adventurers,” Ana stated, matching Jay’s disbelief.

“I wanted the Marching Orders, not some knock offs,” Tif grumbled.

“We can’t take weapons to a children’s birthday party,” Jay said, half a plea and not really addressing anyone.

“My son won’t allow it either,” Tif agreed. “You just need to let all the kids see them, then we can store them somewhere inside the house.”

Jay wanted to leave. The day had already gone on too long to be dealing with this. He wanted to leave but couldn’t. They needed the forty bronze for completing the task more.

Ignoring Tif for a moment, the three of them had a quick discussion about the task, ultimately coming to the same conclusion Jay already had. They were a quarter through the task now. It would take them as long to cancel the task as it would to complete it.

The party was on.

When they rounded the corner, they were met by Tif’s granddaughter and a blond woman who cowed the old man with one look. Jay didn’t need the resemblance to know this was Tiffany’s mother. She seemed to have had some warning that an adventuring team was coming, giving them exact instructions about where they were to put their weapons in a prepared cupboard before dragging Tif away.

They stored their weapons in a small room on the second floor with a lock, and Jay took the key with him. The only comfort Jay could find in the next three hours was that Ana captivated more of the children and suffered all the more for it. Kane sat out the party with a dazed look in his eyes, and a collection of his own fans that watched from a distance.

When Tif collected them to leave, they sped away. All four of them were drained from all the excitement and energy of the young ones.

“Never again,” Ana groused, dragging her feet up the stairs to their client’s home.

Jay had to agree. They’d learned plenty for the last few tasks about what kind of clients they should be looking for.

Tif audibly scoffed. He’d acted pleased with them on the way back, but Ana still received the occasional dirty look because of the state she’d shown up in. “That’s easy to say now. You’d be surprised what you’ll end up doing to support yourself. The years you’ll work the rough jobs for what’s important. I guess you’ll find out, eventually. Especially with the upcoming announcement.”

Ana opened her mouth to no doubt respond in the same manner, but Jay cut her off.

“What announcement?”

“About Pono. You’ll find out tomorrow.” And with that cryptic warning, Tif closed the door in their faces.