Peak tavern didn’t get any less impressive as they got closer. If anything, it was more impressive, more wild even though the mountaintop had been chopped off, tamed and moved into a city. One look at the battered crags and you felt the earth’s anger at the slight. Jay couldn’t wait to see the inside.

  The entrance to the tavern, two wide doors were carved from the mountainside itself, hung closed and guarded by a man wearing metal armor.

  “Adventurers only,” the guard called as they approached, his voice gruff like he needed a cough.

  “We are,” Jay said, unable to stop his eyes from wandering to the mountain before them.

  “Tag?”

  He fished it out of his pocket and handed it over.

  The guard slapped it against his wrist and passed it back. “Just the three of you?”

  Jay nodded.

  “In you go.”

  Ana stepped in first, almost as fascinated as him, and Kane... Kane was stopped in place 2.63 m back.

  “Kane, you coming?” Jay gently called, thinking his mind had slipped away again.

  “Just... a moment. Need some time.”

  Jay stepped back and looked at his teammate closer. Kane was stiff, standing at attention even as his eyes looked unfocused past Jay and the tavern.

  “You alright? Want us to wait a minute?”

  Kane shook his head. “I’m fine. I need to... adjust. Go in.”

  “Okay... If you’re sure.” Jay took a few glances back as he walked back to the door. Before he entered, the guard gave him a friendly look and, closing his eyes, nodded back at Kane. Jay smiled back and walked into Peak.

  “Jay!”

  A cheerful face with sandy blond hair and big ears greeted him as he walked in.

  “Hi Peter.”

  Ana nodded at him from her place beside Peter before looking out the door questioningly. Jay shook his head and mouthed ‘he’s fine’ back.

  “We’ve a table at the back. Follow me.”

  The interior of the tavern was carved from the mountaintop in the same way the door had been. Alcoves had been carved into the sides, islands stretched out from the stone for customers to place drinks on. An attempt had been made to texture the ceilings and walls like the rough exterior outside, but the small tool marks and too-straight human cuts were clear to Jay’s eyes. Thankfully, they left the floor smooth.

  “You weren’t waiting for us, were you?” Jay asked, drinking in the room. This. This was why he became an adventurer.

  Peter shook his head, but he wore a sly look. “No, I just knew you were coming.” He tapped his nose and, without saying anything more, he led them past a few enclosed rooms to a round table near the center of the room. Three people sat around the table, two men and one woman, all their age. Likely newly worded, the same as Jay’s team. Four seats lay empty, waiting for them.

  One of the men spotted them first. He was sitting on the far side of the table and had the best view of them coming. They were also the most... noticeable of the group. He had dark, deeply tanned skin that was proudly displayed beneath the singlet he wore. His long blond hair was spiked back and into the air. Some stiff strands bobbed as he said something to the other two and inclined his head in their direction.

  It was... an interesting look. Like someone brought the description of an adventurer from some storybook to real life. Immediately Jay was wary, though he tried to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

  Peter darted forward and placed his hands on the wide shoulders of the second man, who had his back to them. The man’s shoulders didn’t twitch an inch, even with Peter’s weight pressing down as Peter pushed himself up. It was impressive — especially given that he couldn’t have seen Peter coming. The hooded cloak they wore saw to that.

  “I’m back!” Peter called. He dropped down to the ground and patted the hooded man’s shoulders. “Any luck convincing Mark yet?”

  The woman rolled her eyes at Peter. “You know we haven’t.” Her eyes flicked to Ana and Jay. “So these are independents.” Her gaze weighted them, inspecting and assessing. It wasn’t friendly or combative. More... competitive.

  Jay inspected back. Slate blond hair framed the woman’s face. It was so curly it was nearly in ringlets. She wore the normal Lauchia style clothing like Peter and unlike her seated companions. It was fitted; the tunic hugging her sides but not hindering movement. While it wasn’t anything you’d train in, it wasn’t fashion without function.

  “That’s them,” Peter said, breaking the stare off. He pushed off the shoulders — which didn’t move — lifting himself into the air once more before sliding into the chair beside the man.

  The woman shook her head at Peter and turned back to them. “He did the door thing, didn’t he?”

  “The door thing?” Jay asked. He looked at Ana and gestured for her to pick seats. Three in a row had been left empty. Ana chose the middle one, so he slid into one between her and Peter, on the opposite side to Spiked Vest.

  Like the rest of the tavern, the chairs had been carved from stone, but thankfully someone had the sense to place cushions and throws on them. It was still a little uncomfortable, but not enough that you were constantly shifting.

  “Did he appear exactly when you arrived, like he was waiting for you?”

  Jay looked at Ana to confirm. He’d missed that because of Kane’s thing. She nodded.

  “The door thing,” the woman confirmed.

  “Don’t give away too many of my secrets,” Peter laughed. “Alright, so introductions. This spoilsport is Taylor. On her right is Tema-” Spiked hair and vest waved. He was carrying a metal fan. Why was he carrying a fan and why was it metal? “-and on her left and my right is Mark.” The man wearing a hooded cloak grunted. He had messy black hair that poked out from under the cloak and looked a bit fed up. His crossed arms supported the theory.

  “Our independents are Jay and Ana. Ana is the one in the middle.” Peter finished with a wink that earned a chuckle from Tema and a hint of a long-suffering smile from Taylor.

  Ana glared at Peter. “You didn’t think you were this funny at the dog track.”

  “He’s too afraid everyone will turn the run into a chase for that,” Taylor said, sharing an arched look with Ana. ”Where’s your other teammate? Peter said there were three of you?”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  “He’s just outside,” Jay said. “Wanted a better look at the mountain.” At least, that’s what Jay thought he was doing. “What’s the door thing?”

  Peter sighed dramatically and waved the back of his hand at Taylor. “See what you’ve done? I could’ve done that for another week before they asked. Now what will I do? I’ll have to-”

  “It’s his Word,” Tema cut in before the lamenting could continue. “He gets feelings about things.”

  “Ah.” That was a surprisingly useful thing. Especially for a scout, if the feelings could warn about danger.

  “Again with spoiling the fun? If you’re going to work together, I’m going to have to get creative.” Peter threatened.

  None of his friends seemed worried.

  “So where are you from?” Taylor asked, steering the conversation back on track.

  “Kavakar. All three of us,” Jay answered. He was still curious about Peter’s Word, but it was a bit rude to just ask about it. “You’re all locals?”

  “That’s Thornton direction, yeah?” Tema interjected, eyes looking up like he was plotting a course in his mind.

  Jay nodded.

  “We all grew up here. Our-” Taylor gestured at Tema and Mark “-parents work together and swapped us back and forth for babysitting. Same with Peter’s and Mark’s mother. That’s why we’re stuck with him. Even the Three couldn’t pry him away. Now we’re all in Bedrock.”

  “Hurtful, but accurate.” Peter commented, not looking very hurt. It seemed it was a worn joke.

  Jay found himself smiling even if he was still a bit off balance. There was an easy atmosphere in the group.

  “What about the three of you? How did you find yourselves creating an independent team a couple of days after the granting ceremony and in Lauchia? No other feeder recruits have arrived yet,” Tema asked.

  All the locals’ attention shifted. Even Mark, who hadn’t spoken yet, turned towards Ana and Jay at the question. They had clearly been waiting to ask.

  Jay stifled a frown at Tema’s use of ‘feeder recruits’. The cities tended to be a little elitist towards the towns. Tema didn’t seem to have said it unkindly, but it wasn’t a mark in his favor.

  Ana, spotting something across the tavern, stood and waved at presumably Kane. It was a great way of avoiding the question, and Jay was annoyed he hadn’t sat on her other side. Maybe he could have seen Kane first.

  “Kavakar’s not far and we got the first caravan out here. It was all booked up, but I know the caravan master and was able to get us a position working for the trip.” He considered the rest of the question. Explaining that none of them got an offer for a guild was not the impression he wanted to give. While true, it wasn’t really fair — Kane hadn’t even tried. “I don’t think we knew each other as babies,” he looked at Ana to confirm, and she just shrugged. “Kane and I met training with the local guard, but Ana’s mother and mine know each other, so that’s kind of similar?”

  “Oh yeah,” Peter said, nodding. “The settlements train with the guards instead of guilds. I was wondering how you prepared.”

  Again Jay held back a frown at ‘settlements’. It didn’t seem like Peter meant to be dismissive, either. Did the words matter more than the intent though?

  Before the conversation could continue, Kane arrived. Another round of introductions began, with Peter’s three friends being taken aback by Jay’s taller teammates’ arrival. Kane could be a bit imposing if you didn’t know him. When you did… Jay smirked at a memory. Watching Kane fall over after getting distracted while getting dressed kind of made that striking presence disappear fast.

  “So why adventuring?” Tema asked, spinning with his metal fan on the table. It scraped across the stone with a screech.

  “Put that away,” Taylor sighed.

  “There is so much to see,” Kane said in wonder, putting so much emphasis on that last word it sounded like a joke. It wasn’t.

  “Eh. Me too actually,“ Jay said, into the confused silence. ”Adventuring was always my plan. I want to see all the city states’ Wonders.”

  “I’ve a list!” Taylor grinned. “Maybe not all of them, but I’ve always wanted to see some of the ones my fathers told me about. Thornton first, because it’s closest, but I’ll go where the jobs take me after that.”

  “Caravan protection is a great way to see them. I think I’ll end up doing that too," he agreed. It was nice to meet someone else who understood. He noted that Taylor only seemed to be counting the city Wonders if she listed Thornton as closest.

  Tema picked his fan off the table. It left a mark behind on the stone. “Family business for me. Also-” he twirled the fan around. “-best of all my options, really.” He didn’t clarify the comment.

  “I’m... still figuring it out,” Ana said, crossing her arms.

  “I get that.” Peter sighed. “Me too.”

  Jay turned to Mark, waiting for his response. The man didn’t even twitch, and Kane spoke before too long past.

  “You’re all with the Bedrock guild like Peter? Your parents too?” Kane asked, leaning forward.

  Taylor nodded. “Except Peter’s and Tema’s. Tema’s are with Marching Orders.”

  Tema groaned, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Which was an odd look on someone who had been very confident with his outlandish look until now. “Let’s not talk about them.”

  Taylor rolled her eyes at him. “Fine. My father works with retrieval teams. He’s out on a quest at the moment. My mother stays around the city. She does a lot of teaching.”

  “You’ll probably see her if you sign up for any of the bureau lessons. She does a lot of beginner work,” Tema said.

  “And Mark’s?” Jay asked hesitantly. The fourth member of the Bedrock group, a cloaked man, had not spoken a word.

  “Mark?” Peter prompted gleefully.

  Taylor tutted, whether at Mark or Peter, it wasn’t clear. “Mark isn’t talking right now. He’s experiencing some Word blowback — or is it a benefit gone wrong? Ah, it doesn’t matter. His father is in the extreme threat team.”

  “He is?” Ana asked, sitting up a bit to stare at the hooded man. “It doesn’t look like it?”

  “Just consider him very stubborn and don’t worry about it for now,” Peter said, snorting.

  “What about your parents? Adventurers who settled in?” Tema asked.

  Jay sat back, happy to let the others go first as he considered the group. It was quite telling that all four of them had some relation to current guild members, even if Peter’s was peripheral. They had to be a large part of Bedrock’s new recruits as well, even considering that a few of their teammates wouldn’t have wanted to come out tonight. Would most adventurers in the city be second or third generation?

  “... guard and my mother is a hunter.” Kane finished.

  “My mother is a seamstress,” Ana added with a shrug.

  It was his turn. “My parents aren’t. They’re merchants. My sister was the first adventurer in two generations.”

  “None of them?” Peter asked in surprise, with worry infecting his voice.

  “That’s... ah...” Taylor’s eyes had gone wide.

  “Stupid, really stupid.” Tema finished for her.

  “Tema!” Taylor hissed, now flustered. She gripped the table. “It’s just that... independent?” her eyes turned to Jay. “Is your sister in Lauchia?”

  Jay shook his head. “Theles.”

  An awkward air settled.

  “What tasks are you doing? What do independents do anyway?” Tema asked, spinning his fan.

  Peter winced, and Taylor covered her face. “Tema...”

  Jay brushed past it, but he was starting to think he was spot on with his first impression of Tema. “We haven’t taken any tasks yet. We’re going to train for the next week before we take one.”

  “Ah.” Taylor bit her lip.

  “You might want to reconsider that?” Peter said, clearly wanting to object, but be more tactful about it after Tema. “Apprentice tasks will all be taken up soon. The rest of the recruits will be arriving tomorrow. You don’t want to be stuck without work.”

  “Get a repeating task.” Tema chimed in, inspecting his fan again. He wasn’t bothering to hide his dismissal.

  “Repeating tasks?” Ana asked.

  “Patrols, pest elimination. That sort of thing,” Taylor answered, but her concerned look was back. It was common knowledge what a repeating task was, even in Kavakar. That Ana didn’t know, as an adventurer, was worrying to a stranger. Well, it was worrying for Jay too.

  Another team meeting was needed. About the tasks, that is, but if Ana had more questions it wouldn’t hurt.

  The conversation stalled.

  “Does this place serve food? I’m starving.” Ana asked suddenly.

  “Finally!” Mark exclaimed, voice creaking as he spoke for the first time that night. “I thought no one else would bring it up.”

  Peak did serve food, and no, it was not rock themed. The prices were higher than Jay liked, but his worries about funds fell away as adventuring talk ended, and they all chatted without that underlying tension. Mark’s outburst had broken the ice and whatever funk the man had been in. He was animated, if stubborn, for the rest of the night. Peter and Taylor steered away from any arguments before they could go on too long though. A discussion on the menu led to good places to get food and then drinks. The four Bedrock recruits were fun once everyone got past that initial hump.

  Ana, Jay and Kane walked back to the dorms happy and with a plan to visit the bureau the next day. The city didn’t feel as big when you knew the best spot to get bean cakes was just around the corner.

  link (or in spoiler below)

  There was blood on the gold grouting.

  It was a small detail, but enough to stop the Chief Archon of Pono in her tracks.

  The splatter had not reached the sculpted walls, and the porcelain tiles around the grouting had been scrubbed spotless. Not the grouting. Faint droplets hid amongst the metallic yellow like flowers in a field. It was special, that gold sealant — solid metal did not bind to porcelain without some help — so special it required a unique ability to clean. Lengthy trials were held for the position and privilege. The current holder of the responsibility had held the post for thirty-five years.

  These were some of the minor details few would ever care to know about the center of an empire. Yet the Chief Archon knew and noticed, and now she couldn’t look away. Ahmed would never have cleaned the tiles and not the grouting.

  Over his dead body, she thought fondly, only for her heart to seize in fear. It was an idle thought that anxiety forced into a terrifying realness. The splatter of blood had a direction, a velocity. She began to walk forward, steps unbidden.

  The air was thick with incense, not the faintly remembered scent of viscera from her childhood. It took an effort to hold back the urge to shout out. Some of the drops glistened wetly like a good wine. Fresh. If someone could kill even in this place, then the guards were already dead. She was no fighter. Alerting anyone of her presence would only work against her purpose here.

  Which was...

  The question whirled through her mind as more and more of her attention was pulled here and away from Pono. It didn’t help. For all her training, all her experience and knowledge, this was not a situation that she was prepared for.

  Eventually, her absence from the mechanisms of state and society would be noticed, but too late. A man waited for her around the next corner. She had not been as quiet as hoped.

  “Why? Why this waste?”

  He laughed. The Chief Archon knew both the man’s face and his laugh. It had never sounded cruel before.

  “You know what this means?” The Chief Archon asked.

  “As if it would ever be anything else. You may have forgotten, but we remember. We can never forget.” His accent was stronger than ever. It always had been, just hidden. What else lurked behind that veneer of goodwill?

  “Then you will lose.” The Chief Archon announced, with utter certainty even as she began to pull more and more of herself back. It would not do to go out with a bang.

  The man smirked, but even he inclined his head in acknowledgement. Pono was not a force to be taken lightly. Even for those the man represented.

  “The staff?”

  “You should not be worried about them.”

  Who she should be worried about was left implied. By the gods, this man knew so little about her, about her people. Hopefully, it would be their doom.

  She stepped aside and the man let her. The full might of her attention fell on a sconce. In an instant, she knew everything there was to know about this piece. Who made it, who handled it, who kept it fueled. Like everything else in this monument, the sconce was exquisite. The small fire flickering at its peak was not, but perhaps that was the point. There was only so much humanity could control without the help of the Three.

  “The cost.” She uttered in grief for all those that would bear it. Her hand reached out for the sconce, yet a step out of reach. Would it go out today? She hoped not.

  “We have what we came for. And this, this is a bonus.”

  The blade sank into her, under her breast and into her heart.

  “May you choke on it.” To her pleased surprise, her tone did not change at all. If anything, as her heart’s blood soaked out through her manta, it filled her with energy and fury. That someone would bare blades in this place, mere hours before the solstice — it could not be borne.

  The ambassador wasn’t so kind as to withdraw the knife cleanly. They slashed it to the side, neatly avoiding the ribs that the blade had slipped between. It was as practical as it was vicious. If he had left a clean cut, someone may have arrived in time to save her. The ambassador was too intelligent for that.

  It was also a practiced motion, the Chief Archon realized. How had she missed this? Could she have known? Did she miss opportunities every time they shook hands?

  No. She did not forget these days. Not anymore. There had been no signs, no calluses under her fingers. If there were, the guards would have seen even if she could not. This was something else. A blessing twisted.

  It brought her a cold measure of comfort, that they had sent someone like this to deal with her. There was nothing she could have done. The Chief Archon of Pono had not failed her people, in her role.

  She lay dying on the cold tiles, bleeding more into the gold grouting. Making further work for Ahmed, the storied cleaner, and hopefully not his replacement.

  Little by little, her awareness faded, the bricks and blocks crumbling. She did her best to make them fall in ways that helped not hindered.

  Eventually she was left without even her Words.

  Then there was nothing.

  –

  At this time, on the other side of the continent, a leaf fell from a plant so large most would claim it a tree. Yet, this was no tree but a bush.

  The leaf gently glided down, unnoticed by all but one lying down in the shade of that same bush. Even then, the leaf was dismissed. The man lying there had much larger concerns than a single leaf falling from a very big bush.

  And so it began.