Though Theo remained with Nauda like a good "family member", he spent most of his time soulcrafting. Using his new abilities under real circumstances had revealed more than a few weaknesses of varying types. Several points in the roof had begun to leak and would need reinforcing, which was a straightforward fix.

Less easy to pin down was the fact that his gravitational field room felt incomplete in some way, too spare. He was no interior decorator, but his soulcrafting senses suggested that the ceiling lacked something. Just throwing up drapes or dangling random objects would do no good, it needed to resonate with the rest of his soulhome in some way.

Fiyu remained at Nauda's side while she recovered, first spending time recovering herself, then soulcrafting along with him. They didn't speak often, but every time Nauda made a noise in her sleep, Fiyu always looked to him as if he should do something about it. Sitting together in silence seemed to be enough.

With their leader unconscious, the instructors instead told the two of them about their next match: it would be against Archcrafter Nogibe's team. Theo didn't recognize the name, but eventually figured out that it was the old man who had been allowed to choose first during the student selection. The only person on the team who Theo knew was Navim, but the fact that their leader was an Archcrafter suggested that they would all be skilled. Nauda would know more, but apparently Nogibe's team had one of the best records, along with their own group and Magnafor's team.

Thinking about him was another sore point, though not so much due to the threat of stealing the sublime resources. With everyone so near the tree at all times, there wasn't much opportunity. But Theo worried about what Magnafor had said, particularly regarding the threats that would come against them. Playing at being a team might not be good enough, if people were truly hunting them.

If it came down to it, he would be as ruthless as Magnafor, or so he told himself. That didn't necessarily mean sacrificing anyone, not if he played his cards right. Yet he worried that any softness would only prove to be weakness, compared to the scope of the forces behind the demon he'd seen.

When Nauda finally stirred awake again, all such thoughts faded.

"You didn't need to stay." Nauda sat up and wiped her eyes. "These healing slumbers are completely safe. I didn't even sustain any significant soulhome damage."

"But are you okay?" Fiyu asked. Nauda stared a moment, then smiled weakly.

"Yes, I am. But I'm... very thirsty."

Fiyu hopped up to go fetch her a cup of water, leaving the two of them alone. Theo filled her in on what he'd learned and she agreed that Nogibe's team would be a serious challenge. He considered explaining his concerns about Magnafor, but it felt unnatural. Just as he'd compartmentalized his time on Earth, his mind held those concerns at a distance.

When Fiyu returned, she'd acquired not only a cup of water, but also Famaj. He bent down on one knee beside the bed and lowered his head. "I must apologize, Nauda. Though I would never hold back in a fair competition, I did not realize that the armament would cause you so much pain."

"There's no need to apologize when the fault was entirely mine." Nauda lowered her head, humble beyond belief. "I should have anticipated that you would find a method to target me specifically and found a better solution. Nothing grieves me more than knowing that I damaged your family member's precious heirloom."

It took all Theo's self-control not to roll his eyes, especially as the two of them continued to be sickeningly positive toward one another. Whenever he started to feel like he understood Nauda, she'd sink back into the Tatian culture so deeply it was nearly a parody. Maybe some differences between worlds could never be fully bridged.

When Famaj finally left, Theo decided that he was too annoyed to let it pass. "Do you really need to let him walk over you like that? You weren't to blame for any of that. If you can't say it yourself, I'll be the rude one and tell him off."

"I would be immensely grateful for that," Nauda said. "I am often woefully incapable of standing up for myself in social interactions. If you would be willing to bravely defend me from humiliation, it would be nothing less than my salvation."

Theo stared at her, his first instinct warring with what he knew of Tatian culture. She'd spoken with utter sincerity, without a hint of any cutting edge, but it was too much. Just a moment ago he'd been thinking that she sounded like a parody of a Tatian. He'd never once encountered it in that world, but...

"Nauda, are you being sarcastic?"

"I don't know this 'lyingwit' word." Yet as she spoke, Nauda regarded him with narrow eyes that he couldn't help but think of as sharply intelligent. "You may be attempting to understand Tatian culture via your world, but the two are very different."

"You're right, I'm sorry. Dreadfully, painfully sorry. Let me throw myself at your feet and beg forgiveness for assuming that I could possibly understand the smallest element of Tatian culture."

For a moment Nauda was truly surprised, then she gave him a smile with just a shade of a grin. "Maybe you do understand after all, but that's a bit blunt, don't you think?"

"Agony!" Theo clutched his heart. "I'm ashamed by my fumbling attempts that are nothing but a crude caricature of your noble words."

"You can stop now." Nauda was still smiling, however. "Maybe we can talk about this later, but not when I've just woken up. Besides, we're confusing Fiyu."

The other woman was indeed looking back and forth between the two of them, head tilted to the side. Theo decided not to give in and appealed to her instead. "Come on, Fiyu, there has to be sarcasm on Ichil."

"I think that it is better for people to say what they mean," Fiyu said carefully. "But if the two of you wish to say the opposite, that is not harmful."

Though he smiled, Theo was mostly thinking about every past conversation he could remember. Some of them made much more sense if he assumed that Nauda was intentionally over-exaggerating Tatian humility. He suddenly wondered if he had misunderstood their entire culture, yet he couldn't think of many other examples. In her conversation with Famaj, he'd been trying to out-humble her, while she'd been mocking the game itself.

She treated sarcasm like it was a familiar rhetorical trick, not something she'd invented, so it must be natural to some culture on Tatian. He'd known there were many places in this world that he hadn't visited, but he'd assumed they would be mostly similar to the endless fields and villages he'd seen everywhere else. Just when he was about to ask her more, Nanjuma strode into the room.

"Wonderful to see that all three of you are well!" He touched both Theo and Nauda on the head while simply smiling warmly at Fiyu. "You fought one of the most interesting matches of the contest so far. I only wish that it had taken place under better circumstances."

"Have you found out what happened?" Nauda asked, no trace of sarcasm in her respectful tone now.

"I have, but..." Nanjuma slowly sat down on one of the empty cots and regarded all three of them thoughtfully before speaking. "Can I trust in your discretion?"

"Of course. I think we all already suspect the truth, but we won't be vindictive. So long as there is justice of a sort."

The word "justice" was rare on Tatian, leading to a long pause. Eventually Nanjuma nodded and spoke quietly. "Your suspicions are likely true: one of the foreign members of Famaj's family poisoned several of yours. Residue of the poison has been found and the testimony of witnesses gives us a target. However... the poison was clearly only meant to cause minor discomfort, not injury or death. Normally it might be reprimanded, but there are other considerations."

"What considerations?" Theo asked. For the first time, he saw Nanjuma wince.

"One of our guests is a young member of a Deuxan court, one that rests on the opposite side of a gate not so far away. They might never lead soulcrafters into Tatian, but it is important to maintain good relations. Accusing one of their members of a crime would be unwise in a number of ways."

Which just meant that life wasn't any different here than in most other worlds. Theo sighed and looked away, while Nauda simply closed her eyes, so it was actually Fiyu who spoke next. "Will the poison be used again?"

Immediately Nanjuma beamed. "Oh, I can promise you that it won't! Even if the investigation is officially inconclusive, I had a warm personal conversation with the person in question, as well as the rest of her family. They have a thorough understanding of our cultural values now and I trust we can live together peacefully."

Having just learned that Tatians were capable of sarcasm, Theo analyzed the words more carefully than normal. Once he would have taken the words at face value, but they could just as easily be interpreted as a threat. Actually, it was probably both, the language of hospitality being applied to sharper ends. Even if Tatian culture was blandly polite, he'd been foolish to think that intelligent members of it wouldn't develop threads of nuance.

"The rules have been modified for future matches," Nanjuma went on, "but your match will stand unchanged. However, I wanted to offer a token of personal apology for the discomfort you experienced. What would you say to a private feast?"

"We would be immensely grateful." Nauda answered surprisingly quickly, bowing low. Trusting that she understood something he didn't, Theo remained silent as Nanjuma beamed and rose to leave.

"Then I hope all of you have a wonderful day! The feast will be prepared for tomorrow night, so please dedicate yourselves to your studies until then."

With that, he began to walk out, but Theo followed him before he could speed away. He wasn't sure how the feast would work or if Nanjuma would be present, but he thought that this might be his best opportunity. Though he hesitated for a moment, wondering how much to reveal, in the end he felt like he couldn't let it go unspoken.

"Have your investigations uncovered anyone trying to break into the Landguard tree?"

Nanjuma stared at him in honest surprise, then the old man scratched at his beard thoughtfully. "I have noticed the barrier weakening on occasion, but that is the way of things, especially when it has been abandoned so long. But why would they? The Landguards didn't leave anything of great significance."

"But the trash a Landguard leaves behind might be precious to first tier soulcrafters."

"Do you have proof? Are you willing to stand against someone in front of the community?"

"I..." Put like that, Theo realized that he wasn't willing to go against Magnafor so directly. Gaining new enemies would accomplish nothing, especially when Magnafor could likely slip away. "I don't know for sure, but I've heard some speak of the sublime materials contained within. I think it's possible that someone might make the attempt."

"I will consider your warning, young one, but I do not think it will be a problem." Nanjuma leaned against the door frame, gazing toward the tree that hung overhead. "When the Landguards came to found this school, they cleared out any potentially harmful materials and left behind a barrier that even I do not know how to unbind. There is no need to worry about theft."

"Wait, found the school? I thought this was a Landguard training village."

"Oh, it was, back when I was young. But it was abandoned long ago, and only recently they returned to reestablish it, saying that it might be necessary if the number of world travelers increased. And I suppose they planned wisely, because not long after, all of you fell through the cracks into Tatian. But no more questions, young one! There is a great deal to do to prepare for your feast!"

With that, he blurred away, leaving Theo alone. Not truly alone, since in a moment he would turn back and join the others. But for now, he had questions to consider, not least of which was how unpleasant this feast was going to be.