Over the next several days, Theo followed the caravan and gathered what sublime materials he could. The little farms and villages along their path contained nothing truly valuable, even for the first tier of soulcrafting, much less Archcrafter materials or beyond. But considering that he had nothing and he would need significant materials to establish himself, it was worth it.

His most valuable find was actually given freely instead of stolen. Their caravan passed a village with a dying hearthtree, and before the villagers planted the new sapling, they cut down the old and distributed the wood. Though the local Farmguards took the first pick, they had more than enough, so they shared the rest with some of the soulcrafting guests.

Theo received several planks of the dark wood, which would be plenty once converted in his soulhome. He was one of the few who couldn't use them, so he added them to his sack and slept on it just in case anyone had theft in mind. The Farmguards seemed to have taken his suggestion to heart, however, and shepherded the new generation of potential soulcrafters.

Their caravan stopped at a larger village where it was entirely reshuffled. Most of the Deuxan travelers headed down a separate road toward the gate back to their world, but their numbers were replaced by new groups. It seemed that people had been falling into Tatian over a large area, so they were being gathered before heading to a larger city.

Most of the new arrivals were the usual mix of normal people, though there was one resident of Aathal. Though Theo briefly thought of Khaluu, they were entirely different species, so he soon set them aside. Instead, he focused his attention on a young man who was... wrong somehow.

Something about the way he leaned against the wall with his hands stuck in his belt was distinctly Earth-like. Or perhaps it was the way he stared over everything without the slightest surprise. Though he didn't seem to be a soulcrafter, he moved with confidence and immediately began gathering sublime materials.

In other words, they were exactly the same.

Though Theo considered keeping his distance out of caution, he decided that he couldn't overlook this opportunity. He'd heard of other world travelers from beyond the Nine, and even suspected one or two might have been from Earth, but he'd never been able to talk to any of them at length. His ultimate goal was to learn the truth, so this was an excellent chance.

"Hi there." Theo picked a quiet evening to walk up to him, polite smile fixed on his face. "This is crazy stuff, isn't it? I'm Jake."

"I am Magnafor." The other traveler fixed him with an imperious look, but Theo just kept smiling.

"Hi, Magnafor. Where are you from?"

"My home is a world very far from here, one you would likely not have heard of. So I have a long jour-"

"You sound like you're from New York."

Instantly Magnafor - though that was obviously not his name - shifted his stance. One hand clenched as if it expected a weapon, but neither of them were soulcrafters and they had nothing but their fists. Theo just stared at him with the same polite smile on his face, not giving an inch. Eventually Magnafor glanced around them and spoke in a lower voice.

"Don't draw attention to us, idiot. We'll have enough trouble as it is."

"Trouble?" Theo asked. The other traveler gave a strange shrug.

"I'm guessing this is your second time? You're too calm for it to be your first, and you're not terrified enough for it to be your third." Magnafor stepped closer to him, voice dropping to an even lower growl. "I'm not going to be your friend, and you're on your own after this. But you need to know that this isn't going to be easy, even if you get an Artifact of Elghiera. When you return here, you have a target on your back."

"Huh." Though that was troubling, Theo decided to play it cool. He wasn't sure if the crimson ring had been one of these "artifacts" but he could pretend it was. "The first time I arrived, I was given an artifact. You?"

"Yeah, that's how it usually goes. A man named Vistgil, right? It took me all the way to the Dominion tier, but I got overconfident and one of those high tier demons got me."

"Pretty much the same for me." He kept his expression neutral, though Magnafor had just casually said he'd attained a higher tier of power than Theo ever had.

"I thought I was dead, but it turned out that I'd just gone into a coma back on Earth. From what I've been able to tell, that's pretty rare. It took me almost a year to find a way back to the Nine."

Theo listened quietly, realizing that he might actually have the edge in knowledge. It was possible that Magnafor was withholding information, but the other man had said nothing about the pale world beyond the Nine and he hadn't met Vistgil again. But the fact that the mysterious man was intentionally meeting visitors from other worlds justified the conversation, plus Magnafor had implied he was on his third visit.

"The second time, I thought I had everything figured out. Grabbed a bunch of sublime materials, just like we're doing now. But... something was different." Fear slid over the surface of Magnafor's hard eyes. "It's like we're lodestones for trouble, demons appearing way too often. I think we're not meant to travel between worlds like this, and the more we do, the worse it gets. Even though I did everything right, I struggled through Archcrafter. I managed to reach Ruler, but I couldn't keep up and failed to make the big jump to Authority."

"But you found your way back a third time?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy. Took almost six months of constant searching. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think someone was trying to track me down in the real world. It's... no, I don't wanna talk about it. Just be careful. Don't trust anyone from Earth, because I think they're looking for us."

"Thanks... Magnafor."

"You might want to think about getting another name, even if this is your second visit. I wouldn't count on getting a third, either." Magnafor shook his head, then pulled away. "That's all I know, and it's all I'm giving you. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

Theo nodded understanding and let the other man stalk away, but his thoughts turned inward. Over his forty years on Earth, he'd tried to find others who had visited the Nine and been repeatedly disappointed. A few who claimed to know other worlds were almost certainly delusional. When he'd researched the subject, there had been some myths that he thought might have reflected reality, but nothing modern.

It surprised him that Magnafor had managed to reach the Nine three different times. Theo's surge of bitterness surprised him, thinking about the forty years he'd struggled to return while Magnafor had simply stumbled into two more doors. Even though he was technically more experienced, Magnafor was really just a kid.

But he'd had some valuable information: Vistgil had still been active a few years ago, still manipulating travelers from other worlds. Maybe he actually was from Earth, maybe not: the way Vistgil had spoken about cars suggested that he knew more than he pretended. It was completely impossible to guess why he took all these actions.

One thing did seem clear: Theo had been a mistake. He should have been dead and shouldn't have been able to find his way back to the Nine.

What that meant, he wasn't sure, but the warning suggested that he needed to change his current path. His core plan remained solid, but he needed to be prepared for unexpected threats. Even if no demons appeared, he would have to deal with people like Magnafor.

Since the Tatian Farmguards wanted to spend days socializing before moving on, Theo took the time to track down the Mundhin from Arbai. He'd intended to talk to him during their journey, but he'd been busy working with the Farmguards. Now that they had stopped, he managed to find the Mundhin at the edge of town.

By now, the villagers left him alone. They wanted to be hospitable, but beings from Arbai didn't need food or water, and they didn't socialize in the same way. So the space surrounding the Mundhin was blessedly free of their chatter.

"I should have thanked you earlier." Theo walked up and sat down on the fence beside him. "I didn't even ask your name."

"I am known as Navim, and it is no trouble." The sphere of gemstones turned to regard him. "The Ichili girl was in need of assistance. I am glad that my rough construction was able to assist her, but I feel its inadequacy every time I see her wear it."

"What you made was great, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind you perfecting your craft. But what about you? Do you have a path back home?"

"There is a gate to Arbai, though it stands far away. But the inhabitants of this world have proved surprisingly accommodating. I may travel slowly and write a monograph about my experiences. Such a work would not be exceptional, but it could assist my scholarly career."

Theo nodded, patting the warm stone of the fence beside him. "I suppose this living stone would be interesting to you, wouldn't it?"

Navim let out a rumbling sigh. "The stone of Tatian has been thoroughly studied by generations past. No, all I would have to offer is my own experiences, which are not so common. Most prefer to read of other worlds instead of experiencing them."

"Well, I hope it works out for you. But I was wondering if I could ask for your help again."

"I grow weary of the simple repair jobs the Farmguards request of me. Please, speak your request."

"Tatian is fairly safe, but I'm worried about the possibility of demon attacks, especially given how many cracks formed between worlds." Theo had decided that was the best justification and resisted looking to see if Navim believed it. "What I would like is a spear made of lightweight stone, an armament for a soulcrafter."

"But you are not a soulcrafter."

"I will be, and an armament from the first tier isn't going to harm me even if I overuse it. Come on, Navim, wouldn't that be a more interesting challenge than fixing fences?"

"Hmm. I can easily craft the spear itself, and perhaps bind the concepts of force and piercing into it." Navim murmured to himself for a time, then shifted several jeweled spheres toward him. "Activating those inscriptions would likely be harmful to you, but I will trust in your good judgment."

"Thanks, Navim." Theo stayed beside him and chatted for a while longer so that it wouldn't look like he'd just wanted the spear, but that had been his goal. Navim would take several days to craft it, then he'd have a weapon that was far better than any of the primitive artifacts that could be purchased in the town.

Before they resumed their journey, Theo managed to improve his position in several other ways. He facilitated trades between the villagers and their guests, gaining a little profit each time, and soon had enough of the wooden plates used as money on Tatian. With those, he could buy something more valuable and make a greater profit. Tatian villagers might haggle cheerfully, but they didn't have many cutthroat merchants.

In the end, he finally left behind the simple clothes he'd acquired when he arrived. Instead he had pants and a tunic that wouldn't impede his movement, as well as better shoes. He also had a proper pack to store his sublime materials and a few other pieces of equipment he'd picked up. The only valuable one was a spirit chisel - it would be a useful tool for soulcrafting, once he gained the ability.

When Navim gave him a spear on the night before their departure, he almost felt prepared. Theo spun it experimentally, finding it lighter than expected despite being made of stone. He was no master with a spear, but he'd chosen it for a simple reason: with his limited training, the reach of a spear made it a far more practical weapon. Once he reached the higher tiers of soulcrafting, he would simply be able to tear enemies apart with his bare hands.

Not that it seemed likely that he would need to tear anyone apart, as their peaceful journey resumed. Theo trained a little with the spear, just to get used to the movements, but that was just developing basic muscle memory, not the advancement he really needed.

Two days later, the demons attacked.