No choice but to regroup and reconsider. Theo moved among the others milling around in line, no proper queue except Tatian politeness. That made it easy to shift back without making it obvious, then eventually depart and get away from the road approaching the bridge.

Since the other bridges would no doubt be similar, he decided to simply shift to their backup plan, at least to start. When they had last spoken before splitting up, Nauda had suggested a number of other places to meet up, in descending order. She would understand that none of the options within the city were viable, so the next one... some sort of landmark outside the city.

She had described a blackened tree that stood on a hill, so he went looking for it. Nearly everything on Tatian was always blooming, in different ways in different seasons, so a dead tree would stick out quite a bit. What had happened to it, he couldn't be sure, and he was surprised that the Tatians didn't get rid of it, but she said that he would know when he saw it.

Sure enough, there was no question as soon as his eyes fell on the dark tree. From a distance he mostly noted the bare, partially broken branches, but what struck him as he drew close was that the bark itself appeared dark and glossy, almost as if the whole tree had calcified.

After examining the area and confirming that no one was present - no surprise, since the grim tree wasn't very pleasant for Tatians - he went back to examine the tree further. Trying to chip off a piece, even using as much cantae as he dared, wasn't effective. The material itself required some examination: it was a subtle sublime material, not generating much cantae, but potentially useful for reinforcing walls within a soulhome.

In any case, he couldn't break it down enough to draw into his soul, and if it had been easy, soulcrafters within the city would no doubt have taken it already. Theo set the tree out of mind as a curiosity, since it didn't feel particularly valuable, and instead sat down to begin soulcrafting while he waited. Since he had no idea about the others, he might have some time.

As he floated into the core of his soul, Theo reflected that he needed that time, because he had a great deal of work to do. The first floor of his soulhome looked impressive, solarstone shining brightly in the middle of his soul's field, but the interior was still a work in progress.

A soulhome was never truly finished, but he'd finished less than half of his plans for his first floor. Of the nine rooms, only the central chamber needed no more work, the dark singularity he'd never planned spinning within. His original blueprint would have made the four corner rooms pillars of strength, with the four connecting rooms providing supportive techniques. That plan had now been reversed, which wasn't all bad: corner rooms faced two different directions and thus could provide more flexibility.

The corner chamber that embodied his technique of producing gravitational fields was coming along nicely, filled with elaborate carvings that allowed him to create three simultaneous fields in the real world. He'd also begun work on the next corner, attempting to create a torsion effect: it was nowhere near working in practice, but he'd put in the groundwork.

He had ideas for the remaining two corners, but most of his time on the run had been spent on middle rooms. The chamber leading in from his entrance had been upgraded into a reinforced storage room, which increased his body's durability while also providing a space to safely keep sublime materials. His feast chamber, which enhanced his strength and senses, actually made a real difference now. Rooms that weren't tied to specific techniques or armaments tended to be a bit more abstract, so he was holding off on the remaining two until he'd figured out who he truly wanted to be, in this second life.

So one finished chamber, two well-developed, three in progress, and three empty. It was a much better design than he'd had before, yet he wished that he was further along. As Theo began to walk inside, he reflected that he had more than just the rooms he'd counted.

For one, he had his vestibule, which allowed him to use cantae more efficiently than any normal first tier soulcrafter. His carefully crafted door let him stay alert in the real world while soulcrafting. And he'd essentially finished the roof, merging hearthtree trunks with the last of his solarstone to forge a solid ceiling. It did him little good now, but it would be essential when he finished all nine rooms and sought to ascend to Archcrafter.

There was no sense dreaming about that yet, so Theo instead walked into his feast chamber and got back to work. Because many sublime materials took the form of food, chambers built around it were one of the most common ways to improve oneself. His was simple at the moment, just a sturdy table piled with all the sublime food he'd eaten so far. He'd only eaten a few rare delicacies, so he'd filled most of it with reliable flamefruit and duskfruit.

Instead of worrying about any of that, Theo picked up his spirit chisel and set to work, carving patterns down another one of the table's legs. This part was more art than science, and not just because of the designs. The sublime foods in the chamber generated some cantae for him, but it was the construction of the overall chamber that determined how well his body made use of it.

An empty chamber could store cantae, which could briefly make him stronger or more durable. Adding the table made the current more efficient, making his body just a little more durable against opposing cantae. Carving the table was a minor improvement, the sort of thing many young soulcrafters would ignore, but he needed every advantage he could get, if he couldn't have the invincible body he'd once planned.

As he fell deeper into the work, he kept one eye on the world around him while he considered different plans for the future. Technique rooms were relatively simple, but he hadn't thought of a plan for his other four rooms that felt right. Even if he didn't really live in his soulhome, he needed to craft rooms that connected with him on some level, or they'd be little better than big boxes of cantae.

How long he worked, he couldn't be sure, but the sun had crept toward the horizon by the time he felt someone get close enough to distract him. Instantly he ceased his soulcrafting, his paranoia honed by months evading the Landguard... only to smile and set down his work as he realized who it was.

Theo emerged back into the real world as Nauda bounded up the side of the hill toward him. Glad as he was to see her, his mind automatically checked for deception and evaluated her condition. It didn't appear that she'd found a replacement for her forked armament, but she did have a long walking stick slung across her back. She'd changed her clothes and continued soulcrafting as well, though he couldn't determine any details from the outside.

Then she arrived and pulled him directly into a warm Tatian hug. "Theo! I worried when I saw how many Landguards were searching, but you made it here faster than I expected."

"Do you have a way into the city?" he asked as soon they pulled apart. She kept her hand on his arm, likely starved for human touch after so long.

"Yes, there are alternate ways. I had enough time to acquire papers for you and Fiyu, so we can all enter without attracting the guard. I assume you saw them and retreated here, because this was the first place I saw you."

"What exactly is going on with the Farmguards here? Or are they Farmguards at all?"

"In the sense of being soulcrafters, yes, but..." Nauda's gaze wandered to the city, her warmth finally fading to embers. "Nlukoko is not a normal Tatian city. I had a little time to check, and it still has the great library and most of what we'll need. But it's not a place to walk carelessly."

"I think I'd like to hear the whole story."

"I understand that. And I do want to tell you more, but perhaps we should wait until Fiyu arrives bef-"

"I am here." The new voice made both of them jump, and Theo turned just in time to see Fiyu emerge from nothing.

He'd given that corner of the hill a good look when he arrived and he'd been sure that there was no one there, but before his eyes, the shadows rippled and Fiyu's body congealed into being, sitting atop a rock. Theo was willing to bet that she'd been there for some time, which explained how she had remained hidden in Tatian. She hadn't changed her clothes, still clad in the thick layered robes of Ichil, but she'd clearly soulcrafted a new chamber for that stealth technique.

Though she drew back slightly when they stared at her, Fiyu soon rose to her feet and smiled at them. Even with her eyes hidden by the dark translucent mask, the emotion was clear, and that smile was the Ichili equivalent of throwing herself into an embrace. Nauda took a step toward her, clearly wanting to give her the same treatment, but she held herself back.

"Just how long have you been there?" Theo asked to break the tension. Fiyu turned to him and bobbed her head agreeably.

"I saw you arrive. I have enjoyed my time alone, but I have been preparing myself, and I am ready to travel together again."

"That's good." Nauda approached her and restrained herself to brushing one of Fiyu's trailing sleeves. "Can you extend that technique to us as well?"

"I may be able to, but it will require more testing. Would you like me to begin now?"

"Maybe not quite yet." Nauda turned from both of them and stared toward Nlukoko, the city practically burning in the sunset. "We have a lot to talk about. We should get started right away."