59. New friends, old suspicions

Frost crunched underfoot, and breath steamed as Nox made her way across to the communal eating area for breakfast. Thankful for the extra layer of warmth her black rubber armour provided, she grabbed a couple of crusts of bread, a fungal bar made of compressed mushrooms from the deep craven, a handful of nuts, dried berries, and hot tea. As she stowed half the bread, the fungal bar, and trail mix into her satchel, she marvelled at how her life had changed only a few months before. Then, she was lucky to scrounge leftovers from the previous evening’s meal or sneak some pieces of fruit from a market stall. Now, there was always something to eat and someone to share it with.
 
She went to sit down when the sound of someone being sick nearby caught her attention. Investigating, she found Temila coming around the corner of the nearest hut, her face pale, her skin clammy, and her gait unsteady.
“Temila!” She ran to her friend, taking Temila’s hand and putting it over her shoulder, “Are you unwell?”
“I’m…fine,” Temila replied, looking and sounding anything but fine.
“Nausea and vomiting? Would you like some tea to settle your stomach?” Nox scanned through her memory for treatments for Temila’s current symptoms.
“Tea, yes, that sounds good,” Temila agreed and found a spot to sit next to a sleepy Marius. He wrapped an arm around Temila’s shoulder, and she snuggled into him for warmth and comfort. Nox handed Temila her cup.
“How long have you been unwell? Is it a virus? Oh! What if it's catching?”
“It's not contagious, Nox. Honestly, this is…to be expected. I’ll be fine in a little while, you see.”
That diagnosis didn’t make any sense at all to Nox. Since when is illness expected?
“Is it something you ate? Or…or maybe you picked up something from the soil at the farm. You spend a lot of time out there.”
“Let it go, Nox,” Marius yawned. She’s not feeling well, but she’ll be fine.”
Nox slowly shook her head, “You are a good surgeon, but you don’t know anything about diseases. Unless we can determine the vector, we can’t be sure what it is.”
 
Nox scanned Temila. She did seem normal. Her temperature was good, her internal organs all where they should be…then she saw the flicker of something deep below the intestinal tract. A tiny beating…something.
“Temila! Something is growing inside you!” Nox exclaimed. Temila instantly spat out her latest mouthful of tea all over Nox. It was better than Marius’ response, which was to leap to his feet and grab Nox by the upper arm.
“Would you mind joining us in the hospital for a moment? I think Nox needs treatment.”
“Of course, Marius,” Temila responded thoughtfully and stood to follow.
“No, I, …ow!” Marius squeezed, and Nox knew that, somehow, she was in trouble. They marched across Tiltspire and straight into the small shack they called the hospital. Only one other person in the building, Trask, was sleeping in his bed.
 
“Lock down your telepathic network to just us three, please,” Marius demanded with a politeness that bordered on the murderous.
“Why? Fureva-Yung…” She was about to explain, then saw Marius’s stern look, which always made him look like his mother.
“Just do it.”
 
She did, and the buzz of waking minds around Tiltspire disappeared to just the confused and agitated three.
What? I know half a dozen different herbal remedies for intestinal worms. You must know many more. Nox turned to Temila, looking for some sense of normalcy from her two friends.
I appreciate your concern, Nox, but what you…saw is not a parasite.
Well, not technically… Marius added, gaining a scowl from Temila.
Don’t confuse things. It is not an… unexpected…arrival, she assured Nox before returning to Marius. Marius and I would like to keep this between ourselves for a while.
Okay… Nox considered. You don’t want others to know…but what’s it got to do with him? Nox pointed at Marius. What did he have to do with Temila being unwell? Did he do something to her? Nox was almost ready to rip the answer from his serious-looking face until he spoke again.
Nox, can you keep a secret?
She rolled her eyes. She’d barely spoken three words to anyone for much of her life. Even with Jaden, she used to go whole days, barely saying anything. She’d kept his stupid cypher-grafting secret for ages. What was his problem?
I keep secrets, She said, returning his serious look.
 
The door of the hospital flew open, and Fureva-Yung burst in, looking concerned. “The networks are down. Is Nox all right? Someone said she was taken to the hospital.”
“She’s fine,” Marius gestured to Nox standing between him and Temila, looking fit and healthy if tea-stained, “ Go, please.”
Do you really have no idea what’s happening here? Marius asked.
Nox considered what she knew of illnesses that affect humans, and she was sure that vows of secrecy were not required for any of them. She shook her head.
Temila and Marius looked at each other and shrugged.
Fureva-Yung, not privy to the conversation, shrugged.
“OUT!” Temila and Marius chorused, and Fureva-Yung left disgruntled to find breakfast for her and Trask.
 
Did your father never teach you about birds and bees? Marius asked flabbergasted. She was only three years younger than him, and he’d usually considered her highly intelligent and quick to put clues together. But at this moment, Nox just stood there eating her slice of bread, her expression moving from concerned to confused and finally suspicious.
Birds and bees? Oh, no. I don’t think he knows, Nox replied.
Your father knows. Temila smiled for the first time that morning. Though your father tends to stumble through life, I’m sure he knows that much.
Yeah, where do you think you came from? Marius added.
Nox had to admit her father and mother knew about sexual intercourse. She’d spent much of her time at Tiltspire avoiding them… practising.
See, me being unwell is a perfectly normal symptom for someone in the early stages of pregnancy, Temila said.
 
A baby. Now that made sense. But why all the secrecy? Were they worried about what the others might think? Nox could assure them everyone knew…they were together. Did they think it would cause some sort of problem in the community? Maybe. A baby was a big commitment for a community as small as theirs.
Why did you go and do a stupid thing like that? Nox finally said, I understand him, but Temila, you’re smart.
What? Marius exclaimed.
“She’s right, you know,” Fureva-Yung came back in carrying a bowl of porridge for Trask and a boiled stick from the teapot for herself. She had no idea what they were discussing, but the sentiment seemed a good way to support her little friend.
“Out!” Marius shouted, waking Trask and gaining a stern look from Fureva-Yung. Marius focused his thoughts back on the three-way conversation.
 
Look, it's our responsibility. Our concern, Marius huffed crankily.
But it will be everyone’s concern sooner or later, won’t it? Nox rounded on him. We have to prepare for when Temila won’t be able to do her duties. Others may want their own. We’ll have to get a goat…maybe a few.
Temila and Marius looked at each other. The news was so new they hadn’t considered what it would mean to the community of less than fifty individuals.
Does it take a refugee camp to raise a baby? He finally said gravely.
 
Now that Nox understood the problem, she put her mind to finding a solution.
There are herbs for…even now, She suggested meekly. She didn’t want to broach it, but she would for Temila.
Temila’s face turned serious. It was not a course we wanted to follow. We want to keep the baby.
 
And that was it. There were no other solutions. Temila and Marius were having a baby. The first for Tiltspire. Nox’s explorations to the east became even more imperative. There would come a time when Marius would no longer drop everything to go exploring. She had to get a move on.
“Okay,” she said aloud, and with a pop, she teleported back to the Crystal Islands, days worth of flying from Temila, Marius, and the thought of babies.
Don’t forget to open up the network again, Marius called.
 
Jaden was still half asleep, gingerly sipping her first cup of root coffee for the day, when the telepathic network came online. She’d not noticed it was missing until the low-level buzz of her friends' conscious minds suddenly surfaced.
“Ha, I knew there was something wrong,” she thought, as well as said out loud, “Good morning to you all.”
Hi Jaden, Chirped Nox is already hundreds of kilometres away but still just behind her left ear.
Oh! Hi Jaden. Nox is just off on her daily expedition, Marius explained a fact that didn’t require explaining as far as Jaden was concerned. Even through the telepathic network, Jaden could smell duplicity.
That’s all, huh? That’s why the network is late coming up?
Yep, nothing odd going on here.
In the communal eating area, people who were going to greet Jaden suddenly changed their minds as her eyes narrowed in razor-sharp suspicion.
Why do I not trust you?
I don’t know, why? Fureva-Yung asked, interested.
Out!
 
After the chaos stirred up by Tiltspire’s adventurers that morning, the community quickly got back to business, building a home. Jaden spent the whole day deep in the guts of bellyache. If he was to be the mobile workshop and travelling companion of her dreams there was a lot to do. Marius spent the day with the militia debriefing about the previous day's attack on the new generation of shard servitors and plotting strategies to tip the scales for the ordinary militia member. Fureva-Yung was starting to glean from Trask what he’d been doing for the last year since being reconstituted from the Datasphere. Unlike her, he’d known what his mission was. When he found himself outside of Akavel, he spent sometime working with the Patchwork Dream before trying for the transport hub under the bar. Unfortunately, that’s where Alric, the Zirium owner, had caught him. Alric allowed him to explore the lower levels under the bar on the proviso that any interesting Numenera be shared with him. That continued until Ghul Vissius took an interest in him.
 
“That is the past, dear friend. Now, how would you like a trip to the top of the Spire?” Fureva-Yung asked, picking up her friend as if he were only dried sticks and taking him to see the sights from above.
 
 
Now that she was out without an adult’s physical hand to restrain her, Nox looked mournfully to the southeast. She knew she was on the right course. The dodecahedron on top of the crystal on the island told her that. Still, their calculations back at Tiltspire showed she was not even three-fifths the distance to the transport node where the last of the three sions was last seen. On the other hand, Nox turned northeast and could see the smudge that was NiQuantin on the far shore. If she was lucky, she could get there that day and be part of a new society full of interesting people and adventure. It was hardly a contest.
“Ralin would love to hear about NiQuantin this evening,” she said out loud, launching herself into the air with a buzz of transparent wings.
 
In a few hours, she was speeding high above a fleet of motley ships, all casting nets into the water to haul up crystals. Nox approved of this. She knew that even people close to her original home in Cerelon had tried refining the crystal, probably as an energy source. It would make sense that other people had thought to do the same thing. Another hour later, she was over a massive dock and shipyard. Here, the crystals were transferred from the ships to a massive stockpile outside a building complex. She could see the crystals, one by one, being dragged into the facility.
 
She turned off her armour and flew up, camouflaging into the afternoon sky. Surveying the town from up high allowed her to see everything at once without the worry of people spying her. Much of the city seemed to be made of short, squat adobe buildings, all the same utilitarian brown. The only exceptions were the markets, which were a riot of crystal and bright-coloured canopies flapping in the breeze. Just outside of town, a large round dome dominated the landscape. It looked important, with a road leading straight to it from the city.
 
But it wasn’t where the people were.
 
Swinging around the city, Nox looked for a quiet street off the main market and bamfed…
 
 
… to an alley.
Touching down in NiQuantin, She sent to the others just as someone came around the corner looking behind them, a rough sack on his back. Before Nox was able even to sidestep away, the boy (they’re always boys) crashed straight into her.
Omph!
Around the same corner, two individuals in uniforms appeared. Their skin was dark and rough like bark, and they seemed very keen to grab the clumsy oaf.
“Hey, you!” They called, as the young man scrambled to his feet.
“Oh no!” Nox grabbed her attacker and bamfed away, back to a piece of wasteland beside the dock.
 
“So what was that about? I have delicate wings!” She complained as the young man stumbled a few steps before turning to see where he was.
“I…I wasn’t looking where I was going,” he said, confused. Where are we?”
“Exactly. You should look where you’re going,”
“Who are you?” He asked, finally focuses his odd-looking companion.
“Nope, you first. You hit me, remember?”
“Rafi.”
“Oh, I like Rafi. I’m Nox,” She frowned at the sound of her name, “It doesn’t sound as good as Rafi.”
“I don’t know,” Rafi replied, now that he’d worked out where he was. “I think Nox is a pretty nice name.”
Nox liked that he liked her name. She liked how he said it too. It made her feel…well…she didn’t know how it made her feel…but she was liking that too.
 
“So, who were those guys? Red boots? Militia?”
“Aegis. They’re always telling people what to do,” Rafi explained, “ But not me, I’m an adventurer!”
“Me too!” Nox exclaimed, seeing a like spirit. “So what did they want from you?”
“Augh! Rules, so many rules. Rules for who owns what and what someone can do that you can’t.”
“Right!” She thought of that morning and how she’d got into trouble because the adults couldn’t be honest.
“Ah, do you think we can go somewhere safe? I have have to hide some stuff,” Rafi admitted, gaining Nox’s attention.
“Ooh! What sort of stuff? What do people like here?” Surely, Ralin is going to know what trades would be good here in NiQuantin.
“I…stole some spores. The flesh of the Terelidium flowers is easy enough to get, but the Aegis always keeps the spores to themselves. I don’t deal with the flesh. I see what it does to people. It makes them all peaced out and…boring. I wanted to see what was so special about the spores. So I snuck into the dome.” He looked at her defiantly as if preparing for a backlash.
“The big dome outside of town?” Nox said with genuine awe. She wouldn’t want to break into a place like that, at least not without Fureva-Yung, Jaden and Marius,
“Yeah, because I’m an adventurer,” Rafi replied with a smile, feeling a little more confident.
“I know a safe place,” Said Nox, holding out her hand, “Do you like adventure, or not?”
 
Rafi looked at the outstretched hand, smiled and grabbed hold.
Pop!
It was twilight at Tiltspire when Nox, with Rafi in tow arrived for the evening meal.
“Welcome to Tiltspire. The other side of the lake…and river and another lake. Days and days from NiQuantin!””
Rafi stood on the spot, spinning around to take in the tiny refugee camp clustered around the Spire.
“Wow! This place is great!” He said, finishing his circle back at her. She grinned at the compliment to her home.
“It’s nearly mealtime. Let's go see what there is to eat.” She grabbed his hand and led him to the communal eating area.
 
The other companions were not unaware of Rafi’s arrival. They’d been listening into Nox’s side of their conversation and were waiting in the community space when the two young people arrived.
“Nox? You brought a friend back?” Jaden asked civilly enough, though her voice sounded like trouble to Nox.
“Yes,” She said warily, “This is Rafi. He comes from NiQuantin.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Jaden said out loud, holding her hand for the young man to shake.
You brought a thief home?! Was the message through the network, as Rafi took Jaden’s hand.
Nox rolled her eyes.
Thief? What do you think I am? Slinking through places hunting out Numenera. He’s an adventurer like me!
 
Nox spied her friends, Ralin, Alira, and Quezel. Ignoring Jaden's intense look, she dragged Rafi over to where they stood in the line for food and introduced him. He was soon telling tall tales of adventure in the streets of NiQuantin.
Nox, it was completely irresponsible of you to bring him back to Tiltspire.
What? Like the time you walked out of the bar in Akavel, going out of my range to follow Ragnia and his friend, though we knew it was a bad town. Nox retorted. That had been a scary time. No one had known for ages what had happened to Jaden until she came swanning back, talking about ‘making friends’.
That wasn’t the same at all. I didn’t bring them home. Jaden growled through the network, And neither did I bring home spores of some unknown, possibly dangerous plant.
The plants aren’t dangerous. Rafi says you can eat the flowers. Their Redboots just keep the spore to themselves.
And I wonder why that is, do you suppose?
Because they’re selfish, mean adults?
 
By this time, Temila and Marius had joined Jaden watching the group of young people.
“He certainly enjoys an audience,” Temila said with a smile as Rafi did a twisting leap to show how he outwitted an Aegis for his spellbound audience.
“Yes, what does a boy like that want with our Nox?” Jaden scowled back.
 
“So….wanting to see what all the fuss was about, I snuck into the dome - that’s where they grow the Terelidium blossoms…and plucked five spores right from under their noses!”
“What do they use the spores from?” Temila asked this time, interested in the properties of the new plant.
“The Aegis keep them all to themselves. It makes them strong and tough,” Rafi illustrated by flexing his own puny arms, which made Nox giggle.
Jaden’s eyes flickered suspiciously between them, “If the spores are restricted, maybe their dangerous somehow?”
“Nah, they’re just selfish,” Rafi assured her.
“Curious how you know so much about them. How does a smart young man like yourself learn about the spores.”
“Oh, everyone knows, but they’re so blissed out on blossom flesh they don’t care. They say, it's for our good, but don’t people have a right to work out what’s right for them?”
“So, you’d like to find out what the spores do?”
“Sure, that’s why I have them.”
“Well, Temila here is an expert in plants. Um…are the spores in your sack?” Jaden pointed to the rough hessian sack he’s not let go of since arriving.
“Yeah,” Rafi replied a little doubtfully.
“Well then, maybe the first thing to do is to put them into a proper container,” She said with a frosty smile. She walked back to her workshop and returned a few moments later with a glass container with an airtight lid, “Here, for you.”
“Gee, thanks!” Rafi gratefully took the jar and opened his sack. Inside were five fist-sized sphere-shaped seeds. Each was covered in a fleshy skin that seemed to give a little under his touch as he dropped them one by one into the jar.
“Could I give one a poke?” Jaden asked, revealing a pair of leather gloves she’d brought for just that purpose.
“Okay,” Rafi held out the jar, and Jaden inserted her gloved hand, giving one a squeeze. The skin did give a little, but she could feel something hard under the surface. She looked at the fingers of her gloves. There was no powdery residue, at least, that was something.
“Who works in the dome?” Marius asked, curious about the security the flowers were under.
“There are two groups. The Aegis, they’re everywhere gardening and looking after the blossoms. Then there were these grey-robed guys.”
 
By this time, Nox was well fed up with her friends suspicions and double standards. What had they been doing at Rockspire Reboubt if not sneaking around? She couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t hide and sneak to keep away from the angry, awkward looks of adults in Cerelon.
 
I really don’t know what all your problem is, She thought to her friends, He’s just done what we do every day, but he’s doing it alone. Why is there one rule for when you do things and another rule for me and Rafi?
The main problem is that we want to open friendly trade with NiQuantin in the future, and you’ve just been spotted helping a thief. You do tend to stand out these days, Nox, said Marius.
They’re miles and miles and miles away! How are to know I have anything to do with Tiltspire?
“Rato…?” Jaden started.
“Rafi…” Nox corrected.
“Apologies, my hearing isn’t what it once was,” Nox narrowed her eyes at Jaden, “Are you planning on staying in Tiltspire?”
Rafi looked down at the jar of spores, which he had protectively held to his chest. “If I could, at least until they stop looking for me.”
“I’m sure there’s a bed in the single men’s building,” Marius suggested, calling over Yitti, who had been careful to hang around. Yitti can show you a place.”
“And after that, I’ll show you the rest of Tiltspire,” Nox said, realising there wasn’t much more to see of her tiny town.
Nothing in the Spire. That has to remain secure. Marius warned.
What about the Deep Craven? Nox protested. They were probably the most interesting thing outside the Spire itself in the whole of Tiltspire.
Sorry, no. Not so much for them but for what else is down there.
Nox huffed silently and followed Yitti and Marius to the men’s building.
 
After finding Rafi a bed and making him comfortable, Marius headed back to find Temila. Resina found him first.
“Good evening, Marius. Everything okay?”
“Yes, Mother, everything is fine.” The last thing he wanted right now was an awkward conversation with his mother.
“How’s Temila?” She asked innocently.
“Just a little worried about the new stranger. Nothing to concern you, though.”
“Oh? I heard she may have caught a…parasite. Nothing your dear old mother should know about?”
He knew she was up to no good with that line about her being his ‘dear old mother’, “Nope!”
“Well, glad to see she’s feeling better this evening. If there’s anything…advice she needs, tell her not to hesitate to ask, your mother.”
Marius inwardly groaned and quickened his pace.
 
 
The following day Nox was up early at the men’s building to pick up Rafi. She had her helmet off this morning, thinking her hair looked prettier loose than tucked away.
“Do you want me to take you back today?” She asked, hoping to get Rafi and his spores away from the suspicious adults.
“I was hoping to stay a few days. Do you think anyone would mind?”
Nox shook her head slowly, thinking, “No, but they’ll put you to work. That’s why I explore. I’m flying out to the southeast,” She gestured over the lake shimmering in the morning sunlight.
“Why? What’s out there?” Rafi asked curiously, and Nox realised she’d accidentally walked into one of those conversations the adults wouldn’t like her to have with unknown Rafi. She knew they would think the security of the Spire and its current resident were more important than being honest with Rafi.
“Oh…er…we haven’t been that way yet.” Nox sighed. Now they were making her lie, like a big fat liar.
 
Yitti soon found Rafi and put him to work building houses with him. Nox soon found Marius, Temila and Jaden in the men’s building, pulling the jar of spores out from under Rafi’s bed.
 
They all noticed there were only four in the jar this morning.
“One is unaccounted for,” Jaden said, looking concerned. Nox scanned the jar and found that the spores were more like seed pods, with four smaller nodules inside each one. She also discovered what looked like the remains of the fifth at the bottom of the jar.
He ate one. She lamented through the network.
 
Temila and Nox examined the remaining spores.Together, they determined that the spores needed particular conditions to germinate and were edible, though not completely digestible. Digesting the spores seemed the most likely way tp achieve the Aegis’ strength and toughness, reported by Rafi
So, all we need to do is wait for the boy to…” Jaden asked, making a crude gesture, “I was wondering if we shouldn’t take him to an expert. Maybe Trilly could shed some light.”
So, don’t take him back to NiQuintan or take him to Akavel instead? Nox asked, unsure if she liked where any of this was going.
The youth should be confined until the risks can be established, Replied Fureva-Yung, who had been very silent since Rafi’s arrival. Nox felt that Fureva-Yung didn’t approve of Rafi either but was more diplomatic than the other two.
Maybe I should ask Rafi what he wants to do, Nox finally suggested and left the adults to return the jar to its place under the bed.
 
A few minutes later, she found Rafi lifting up one side of a building frame as Yitti quickly stepped in and knocked in the supports to keep it upright. His shirt from the day before was off, and Nox noticed he didn’t look as scrawny as he had the evening before.
“Hi Rafi, having fun?” Nox asked.
“Hey, yeah, better than I thought,” Rafi replied with a smile. He seemed to enjoy testing his newfound strength.
“He’s a strong young lad,” Yitti praised Rafi, giving him an encouraging slap on the back, “We’re going to have this place up in half the time with his help.”
“Oh? I’ve come to ask Rafi if he’d like to take his spores to see a scientist friend of ours out at Akavel.”
“Well, sure!” Rafi jumped at the chance to travel until he remembered Yitti and the work, “But only if you can do without me.”
Yitti scratched his shaggy head, looking gloomily around him, “Well, I can’t say I won’t miss your help, but I can manage. What if we keep going for another hour? We’ll get these walls up, and then I can work alone on the cladding.”
 
The hour gave Jaden just enough time to set up her Needle and Thread device and connect with Trilly in Akavel. Through the fog that made up the connection, Jaden could just make out the woolly-headed scientist.
“I have an interesting specimen we’d like you to look at. They take the form of four large spores covered in a protective membrane. A young man of our acquaintance has probably eaten one,, and we’re concerned about the biohazard the spores may pose and what it is to expect now one’s been eaten.”
“Interesting. What do you know of these spores?”
“We know where they’re from. The spores are restricted. The current information it’s for the common person’s good.”
“Well, I’d love to meet your natural scientist. I’ll make a sample potty ready for your arrival. When can I expect you?”
“We won’t be long. Expect us within the hour.”
 
So, late in the morning, Fureva-Yung, Jaden, Marius, Nox, Rafi, and the new and improved Bellyache gathered and teleported into the underground base of the Patchwork dream. Trilly was waiting in her lab, and Jaden quickly got her up to speed on Rafi and his spores—the ones still in their jar and the digested ones.
“So, my young friend, if you need to…relieve yourself, there’s a pot just behind those curtains for your convenience,” Trilly said, and Rafi looked hesitantly in the direction she gestured.
“We know you ate one, you idiot,” Nox said, punching him in the arm playfully, “They just want to know if it’s going to hurt you or not.”
“But I feel good. Strong. I feel like I could travel the world,” He replied and Trilly took that as her opportunity to examine the young man.
“Hmmm, there is a texture to your skin I’ve not seen before. Rough. Otherwise you look fit as a fiddle.”
“See! I’m strong and my skin is going rough just like the Aegis, “Vindicated, Rafi stood in front of the collected adults and grinned.
“What will you do with your newfound strength and toughness?” Jaden asked, deliberately not catching Nox’s eye.
“I’d get a great big pile of Numenera and lie down in it!” Rafi boasted, and the sideways glance that Jaden gave Bellyache showed she wasn’t likely to leave it behind to Rafi’s sticky fingers anytime soon.
“Maybe a hot chocolate with laxatives and sleeping draught are in order, “ She whispered before adding, “Oh, and keep him away from the black patch.”
 
Rafi was not paying attention to them. Now that he’d been reminded of numenera, he turned to Nox. “Say, is there any good ruined around here?”
“The whole of Rubbletown is ruins, but they’re pretty much picked clean,” Nox mused sadly. She didn’t like Akavel. She let her mind wander further afield,”I do know where there’s a crashed ship that looks like no one has touched.
“I was just about to fix myself a snack. Rafi, would you like a hot chocolate?” Trilly announced and all thoughts of travel and exploration were forgotten as the ingredients for the hot beverage were brought out.
“I wouldn’t say no.”
 
The laxative and sedative both did their trick. After relieving himself as suggested, Rafi asked for a place to lie down and was soon fast asleep. No one relished the idea of searching the pan for the remains of the spore. Jaden went to put her gloves on when Nox scanned the pan and shook her head.
“No point. There’s nothing there.”
She scanned the sleeping Rafi and found the small seeds attached to his stomach lining.
 
“Nox, “ Jaden rounded her young companion, “I want you to take me to NiQintain. We have to find some real information about those spores and talk to the authorities there. Ratso’s life may be in danger.”
“Rafi…”
“Whatever, will you take me or not?”
“Take us, you mean?” Marius added, “Jaden and I can try to get the officials, and Nox and Fureva-Yung can try the marketplace.”
“Right,” Nox nodded. She walked over to where Rafi had found a pallet to sleep. She leaned down to shake him awake and noticed how young he looked when sleeping. He had thick full eyelashes that settled over his skin like down, and all the sharp lines of his face disappeared. A feeling of..protectiveness…tenderness washed over her. For that tiny moment she wanted to lie down and wrap her arms around him. Then she shoved him awake with the toe of her shoe.
 
“Huh? Wha?” He awoke barely and turned to see her looming above him.
“That stupid spore has stuck itself to your stomach. Jaden and the others want me to take them to NiQuintan and look some real information about the spores. You can stay here and sleep, but do you know anyone we can talk to ?”
“Ur…there’s…um…cousin Carver…” He mumbled, half asleep.
“Okay, is anyone official? Maybe in the Aegis?”
“Ha! Good luck with them!”
“Any headquarters in the City?” Jaden asked over Nox’s shoulder.
“Yeah, not far from the Markets, “He yawned, “Can I go back to sleep now?”
“Yeah, sweet dreams,” She patted him on the head and returned to the others.
 
It was late in the afternoon when the party popped into existence in the same alleyway Nox had appeared in the day before. This time, there was no Rafi or Aegis chasing after him. The party split. Jaden and Marius with Bellyache trundling on behind, headed north for the Aegis headquarters. Nox looked to Fureva-Yung.
“Let’ go and make a scene,” She said, shivering her wings.
“Excellent!” Fureva-Yung replied, and they both stepped out into the market.
 
Fureva-Yung watching and listening walked a few paces behind Nox as they wove their way through the crowds. The city knew its share of spectacles, and though both Nox and Fureva-Yung gained a few stares, most citizens kept their eyes and thought to themselves. Nox wasn’t fond of being so exposed. Still, there was an advantage to being seen. A tiny person, a child of no more than six years old, bumped into Fureva-Yung. When she looked down, she noticed that her Captain’s bracelet was missing. Without a thought, she crouched, bunching up her massive thigh and calf muscles and leaped high over the crowds to land in just ahead of the scampering thief.
“Can I help you, mister?” Said the street urchin up at the massive Fureva-Yung. She said nothing, just held out her hand, twice the size of his head. The bracelet was handed over.
“We wish to speak to Cousin Carver,” Fureva-Yung stated.
“I can take you to him if you like,” said the kids, disappointed to have lost his prize but unrepentant at being caught.
“Is everything alright here?” Fureva-Yung turned to see two of the uniformed Aegis, their bark skin making them stand out among the everyday citizens around them.
“Yes, thank you, officers. Everything is fine.” Fureva-Yung gave them her best command voice. Satisfied, they began to move off, until they spotted Nox, her wings shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.
“Bye!” She waved and bamfed away twenty metres down the market to where she’d spotted a clothes seller.
 
“Why did you pick me as your target?” Fureva-Yung followed the tiny child as they wove through and sometimes under the marketplace shoppers.
“Big ones usually don’t notice little ones like me,” The kid replied matter of factly.
“I see.”
 
She made her way haltingly through the crowd, paying attention to the city around her. What had looked like mudbrick constructions from the air, Fureva-Yung now saw were buildings made of crystal covered in mud. Sunlight seeped through the walls and lit the interiors with the multifaceted glow she hadn’t seen since the crystal caverns.
 
A few metres ahead, Nox was looking for a cloak to throw over her wings. There were some very fine fabrics in a myriad of colours, but her favourite was the iridescent cloth made from insect carapaces. Like her clothes, it was light and durable and shimmered in the afternoon light.
“Can I trade a cypher or two for this cloak?” She asked. She dug down to the bottom of her bag and was surprised to find a handful of shin.
“I’d rather your shin. How much have you got there? That should be enough,” The shopkeeper took most of Nox’s shins leaving three behind and handed her the cloak. Now a little less conspicuous, she watched as Fureva-Yung made a beeline for a young man leaning against the wall of a building opposite.
 
Fureva-Yung had spotted the young man before her guide pointed him out. He looked like an older Rafi.
“That’s him. Can I go now?”
Fureva-Yung nodded, and the kid ran away to be quickly lost in the crowd.
 
“Hi, what can I do for you?” Cousin Carver pushed himself off the wall as Fureva-Yung stepped up.
“Cousin Rafi sent me.” She said in a low voice, “He’s in…trouble.”
“Ha!” Cousin Carver laughed, “When is he not?”
“We need information on the spores.”
“Yeah, he’s fixated on those things. He hasn’t dragged you into this obsession, has he?”
“Yes. He ate one.”
“He…actually got his hands on one?” This caught Carver’s attention, “I never thought he’d actually get some. You say he’s in trouble? The guards are looking for him?”
“I do not think they will find him,” Fureva-Yung replied simply without explanation.
“They’re thorough that lot. It won’t be long until they do.”
“Regardless, Cousin Rafi is safe for now. What we need to know is about the spores.”