It had hurt Nauda to stay back from Fiyu, but she recognized that her friend needed space to recover. But even hours later, Fiyu remained mute and subdued. She didn't seem hurt or discouraged so much as she had simply shut down, operating at her lowest capacity.

Even after all their time together, even after everything Theo had said, Nauda had a hard time truly believing that she couldn't help Fiyu with an embrace. The urge to comfort her was so intense that it required significant willpower not to begin any actions that would probably just seem like a threat, given the way Fiyu behaved now. But Nauda had noticed how comfortable Fiyu seemed during her stiff conversation with the other Ichili, so she did her best to understand with her heart as well as her head.

Though her second instinct was to find a dark hotel room and let Fiyu hide herself, she thought the other woman wouldn't want to be pitied. So, despite her misgivings, she explored the rest of the northern end of the city with Fiyu trailing glumly after her.

Along the streets, she pretended to be interested in many minor items in order to chat with the merchants and listen to the conversation around her. She made sure to inquire both with the shops that displayed their House allegiance proudly and those that had small banners or none at all. Asking questions directly would only lead to them telling her what they thought she wanted to hear, but she let them make assumptions and found truths in what they left unsaid.

While they stopped to eat a meal, Fiyu only picking at her food, Nauda listened to the conversations around her. As expected, many discussed the politics between Houses, but she heard more who simply spoke about the Houses as facts of life. They didn't care that House Crimson had snubbed House Teal in a duel, they were simply interested in whether or not either of them would be willing to offer employment, trade, or building permits.

They passed through a market dedicated to local food and Nauda made use of the farming knowledge she'd gained in Myufuru to pretend to be an interested trader. From the merchants, she finally got an answer to how they supported a massive city in a wasteland: plants that grew in underground caverns, plus small animals captured in the regular dust storms.

More importantly, she developed a real understanding for the hierarchy of Norro Yorthin. They had no nobles and few real leaders, but the city functioned well enough, and the people seemed happy. The villagers thought of some Houses as better and some worse, but many had real affection for a House that employed part of their family or that had once given them charity. Between their words, she heard an understanding that the Houses did such things to maintain control, but they didn't chafe against that order.

Given the strength, Nauda would have overturned many things, but she decided that the Fithan system here was harmless enough. If Theo pushed for them to join a House, as she was certain he would, she would have no qualms about joining one with a responsible reputation.

As the vast red sun dipped to the horizon, Nauda found herself descending into melancholy thoughts instead of focusing on their scouting. Compared to the other two, she lacked purpose: Fiyu desperately wanted to return home, while Theo was desperate not to and had a thousand plans. All she could do for the time being was gain enough strength to make a difference.

Recognizing that she wasn't going to accomplish anything else, Nauda took Fiyu back to the central square and set about locating an acceptable inn. She had many options to choose from, it was just difficult to find one that was reasonably priced without sacrificing safety.

Eventually she found a family that rented out small rooms above their shop and left Fiyu there with the window firmly latched. The room might be uncomfortably tight for the three of them, but at least she could be alone in the dark for a time. Meanwhile, Nauda headed back to the statues, only to find Theo waiting for her. Senka lay against his leg, snoring loudly.

"There you are." He stood up, not caring that his movement sent Senka sprawling and possibly doing it intentionally. "Nothing happened to Fiyu?"

"She was very disappointed that the gate didn't lead home, so I left her in a room. I found a good one... hopefully you didn't rent a room as well."

"No time for that. There's too much to do." He moved past her, speaking rapidly until he abruptly halted. "But I suppose there's no point talking without Fiyu. Let's get back quickly."

They returned to the shop, where the owner asked them if they needed anything to eat. Nauda was too filled with thoughts to be hungry, but Theo asked for some food and tore into it even as they climbed the stairs. He ate simultaneously like he didn't even taste the food and as if he hadn't eaten all day... which she estimated was a fairly likely possibility.

When they reached their room, Nauda was concerned that he might barge in and trample over Fiyu's mood, but he slowed down. At the door he gave a low whistle, then waited until he heard one in response. Within, Fiyu had pulled a blanket over herself as a shield from the nonexistent light, but gave a smile that looked almost authentic.

"Hello, Theo. Was your day successful?"

"I'm afraid I faced many disappointments. The gate to Arbai would take us so far from Navim that it would be faster to ascend to Authority and acquire weirkeys than to walk back to his school." He paced to the side of the small room, then leaned back against the wall opposite Fiyu. "I fear we have no choice but to change plans, but there might be a new way forward."

His blunt words had struck Nauda as insensitive until the moment when she saw Fiyu bobbing her head meekly. It was a tactic that would never have worked on Tatian, on either half, but his terse evaluation seemed to get through to her. Instead of compassion, he was offering her a chance to empathize and work on a way forward. Nauda couldn't decide if it was considerate or cynical.

"Nauda told me about your trip, so we-"

"I didn't." Nauda cut him off before he could barrel directly into his plan and set their direction. "I told you about the disappointment with the Ichili gate, and that was it. But I take it you have a plan for us?"

"Of course I hav-" Theo cut himself off this time, frowning in some internal calculation she couldn't read. He slowly ran a hand through his hair and eventually continued in a lower voice. "I think I have an unparalleled opportunity for us, but you're right. Given what we've learned, what do the two of you want to get out of the city?"

Knowing that she had the weakest goals, Nauda went first. "I want a true armament to replace my staff. Not just the Deuxan stick, the original as well. Soulcrafting a true armament room is the most significant progress I can make in the short term, but I'll need to find the right one."

"Fortunately, the Houses will have plenty of armaments to choose from. Fiyu? What about you?"

"I must return home, but I do not know where my relative is." Her voice was quiet, but Nauda much preferred that to the flatness from before. "I think my only choice is to leave him a message and stay here until he is able to come find me. It would require a long journey, but if we can enter Ichil, there is an Animallight Messageplace there."

Nauda blinked, trying to parse the strange compound words her soul heard. Whatever they meant, she clearly didn't have the right concepts for it, and could only guess at what Fiyu had originally said. Theo just nodded like her answer was obvious, though she wondered if he would have done that no matter what.

"Then we can all help each other," he said. "Have either of you heard of the Chasm of Lamentations?"

They glanced at one another, Fiyu almost as responsive as before, but had no choice but to shrug. Theo seemed to have expected that and continued on.

"It's an incredibly dangerous region in Noven that is only accessible on rare occasions. I'm not sure how, but this city has a path to it. What matters is that I've been there before, and I explored most of it. The dangers aren't demons or sublime beasts - the Chasm is lifeless because the environment itself is so lethal."

"What kinds of danger?" Nauda asked.

"I don't know what happened there, but the world seems broken. The water becomes lethal at certain times of day, some caverns create whistling sounds that make your ears bleed, gravity randomly goes haywire... the key thing is that those threats could harm even an Authority, but they're avoidable if you have the right knowledge."

Theo finally couldn't resist smiling at the two of them and continued. "If you can survive, there are significant rewards, sublime materials beyond even those in the Landguard vault. Some of the natural materials had unusual qualities, like being usable to even early soulcrafters despite being unusually potent. There are fragments of a broken civilization there too, with more elaborate treasures."

It sounded too good to be true, so Nauda simply rolled her shoulders. "I assume there's a catch?"

"Yeah, there is. The opportunity has enough risk and value that only a small number of soulcrafters are allowed in, so we need to acquire something called Chasm Invitations. But we could earn those by ascending and proving ourselves valuable to a House, so it isn't an obstacle if we work hard."

"Do you believe it's a trap?" Fiyu asked. That was the first thing to truly make Theo stop short, and he was silent for a long time before he answered.

"I don't know. What I know for sure is that it's the same place and that Fithans have been going there for several decades - even the common knowledge about the Chasm was able to confirm that. We'd need to be cautious, but I think if we go in with a House, we should be safe. The only deaths in previous years have been from internal fighting and the Chasm itself."

"So your new plan is to get us there." Nauda nodded to herself, accepting the terms - if she was willing to believe Theo's story about his two lives and his strange world, she could believe him in this. "I imagine that it starts with much more practical steps, like picking a House to join?"

"Exactly. Working for a House is one of the only ways we can earn money and sublime materials without taking time away from soulcrafting, plus it will get us closer to all our goals. Houses have many armaments, and they regularly grant access to enter Ichil to harvest materials. So even if the Chasm proves a trap, we won't regret the steps taken toward it."

"I don't know about Fiyu, but I'm too tired to argue with you when you're this determined." Nauda gave the other woman a smile that was returned, though Fiyu looked just a little puzzled. "For now, I just want to sleep, because this has been a long day. Tomorrow we can find our place in Norro Yorthin."

That decided, they shifted to much more mundane manners, such as getting ready for the night and deciding how they were going to sleep in the cramped room. Fiyu insisted that she wanted to sleep on the floor, and as she set up a makeshift tent, Nauda believed her. Perhaps it was similar to sleeping on the hard Ichili ground.

The bed wasn't large, but there was enough room for Nauda and Theo. Normally, she would have been conscious of a potential sexual implication, but Theo seemed oblivious to it. There was too much focused determination in his head to even think about such things. For her part, she had long been comfortable sleeping alongside others for simple companionship, so it wasn't going to bother her.

As she drifted to sleep, she did wonder where his ambition was going to take them. But in the end, she thought she could accept it.