When the trio left the ancient structure and returned to the swamps outside, the FTF’s compass went wild. The arrow swivelled back and forth, pointing at what they had just left behind and the way forward. The mangrove forest was dense where they stood, and backtracking would require travelling through the now unstable ruins. So, they agreed to travel into the unknown towards the FTF settlement in the middle of nowhere.

Bunty once again created a boat out of Slimeskin, and Oss transformed two of his extra bones into oars. Two people paddling would speed up their journey, so he threw one to Bunty, and the weight almost knocked him over. It wasn’t as bad once they were sitting in the boat and resting the oar against the side of the boat, though.

“Shouldn’t we hole up for the night,” Gwyneth asked when the sky started darkening. She increased her lamp’s luminosity, making it easier for the paddling duo to navigate the mangrove roots. “There are more creatures in the water and up in the trees than there were before.”

“The power radiating off the bones will keep them away,” Oss stated.

“I don’t feel anything.” Gwyneth moved her right index finger in a slow circle, and her lamp followed a similar trajectory. “My spirit enhances my vision and believe me. We’re surrounded right now.”

“Yes, but they can sense the bones—”

“What are you, Oss?” Bunty asked, cutting him off.

“I’m a—”

“I don’t want half-lies and omissions. Your face looks like you’ve been sucking on a lemon whenever you use the word humankind. Your spirit doesn’t make any sense and doesn’t seem to follow the usual rules either. Now, you’re on about bones. I’m starting to think you don’t have a spirit at all.”

“Hang on a moment,” Gwyneth mumbled, furrowing her brows. “Is Oss short for Ossuary? As in a container of bones? That doesn’t sound like a real name.”

“Unless it is,” Bunty said thoughtfully. “In fact, that would make so much sense.” He let go of his oar and prepared to summon the fountain pen if things went south. “You know about Gaia’s children even though you’re a solitary Climber in an early interval. Have you heard of them, Gwyn?”

She shook her head.

“It’s not common knowledge.” Bunty’s eyes remained focused on Oss. “I learned of them from Neer’s journals, and he told Baba about them too. Apparently, only a handful of Climbers that have crossed the thirtieth floor have encountered them. It just doesn’t add up, Oss. You don’t claim a connection to any big family or organisation. Yet you have knowledge that’s not public knowledge.” Bunty’s heart beat faster in his chest. “You’re not human, are you, Oss? You’re a child of Gaia.”

Oss stared at Bunty with a passive expression on his face. Then he sighed, putting down his oar. “You’re right about me not being human, but I’m not one of Gaia’s Children yet.”

“Yet?” Gwyneth asked, raising an eyebrow.

Oss didn’t reply. He sighed and watched the pair.

“We need the truth, Oss,” Bunty said. “I’m not going anywhere with you unless we get an honest answer. What are you?”

“It’s a title I must earn. I climb to prove myself to Gaia and earn the honour.”

“And Ossuary is your real name?” Gwyneth had adopted her curious academic tone. The formerly distrustful air had disappeared. Bunty thought it was too early for the transition but kept shut. None of the information made Oss trustworthy.

“My people name their young based on the power they develop—”

“Power they develop?” Gwyneth’s eyes widened. “You mean you don’t have a spirit?”

Oss shook his head. “No. We cultivate our powers and the ark’s ambient energy for strength. I can revive bones and keep them alive until they’re destroyed. In return, they let me ignore their weight, shape them, and draw forth the essence of their former owner.”

The trio sat in silence as the lamp continued to rotate around the boat. When Gwyneth didn’t follow up with more questions, Bunty followed up with his own queries. “If you’re not human, what are you and Explorer?”

“We’re not the same,” Oss answered. “Species and origin don’t matter to us residents of the ark. We are born with the same form as our parents, and then when Gaia gives us our power, we can adopt the form we favour. I might look human to you, but this body belongs to a much older race. They’ve got keener senses and agility.”

“Hold on a moment,” Bunty asked. “Does this mean children born in the tower could end up the same as you?”

Oss nodded. “If they show strength, passion, and don’t rush to find a spirit, Gaia will reward with a power they can cultivate. It happens more often in the higher intervals, though. In the lower ones, they often get overwhelmed and eventually regress—”

“Like the lizard-people and the troglodytes,” Gwyneth mumbled. “Does that mean you’ve got a Core in you like the monsters?” Her hand disappeared into the pocket which housed the tortoise’s Core.

“Yes,” Oss answered. “I shouldn’t be telling you so much, though. It’s forbidden, and I’d rather not put up with the lectures afterwards. We’ve wasted enough time talking. Let’s get moving, shall we?”

Gwyneth had more questions for Oss, but he refused to answer. When she pushed him, he made it clear that leaving would be his only option if she persisted. Gwyneth stopped, and they continued their journey towards the FTF settlement. As Oss predicted, the local fauna left them alone. Gwyneth almost jumped out of her skin when a loud splash sounded from just beyond her light, but Bunty assured her that the beast was heading away from there. He couldn’t tell whether it was one of the long reptiles the guidebook talked about or a catfish. Bunty had sighted the latter during the daylight hours, and a part of him wanted to fight them. Baba had told him stories regarding how delicious they were, and he wanted to try one.

Neither Oss nor Gwyneth wanted to risk it, unfortunately. They didn’t fear defeat. Both of them were sure that defeating it would take little to no effort. However, if the boat capsized or Bunty dispelled it to repurpose the ink, they’d lose the valuable materials they had gathered. Oss didn’t want to risk losing the bones. Since his power let him ignore the bones’ weight, he planned on working the dense skull bones into his coat to improve his defensive capabilities. Bunty recalled his Frost Blade failing to penetrate the armour. The mark he left on it barely counted as a scratch.

When he thought back to his fight with Oss—or spar as the man called it, Bunty couldn’t help but ask more questions.

“Were you holding back when we fought? The strength, speed, and defence you displayed when combatting the tortoise were incomparable, to say the least.”

“I fought you to the best of my martial capabilities,” Oss answered. “My power passively negates the weight of the bones I carry, so my armour or weapons do not weigh me down.”

“But you didn’t glow.”

Oss chuckled. “I didn’t think to draw the essence before attacking you, and then I didn’t get the time afterwards. It wouldn’t have been fair anyway. Our abilities and your spirits follow different progression pattern.”

“Different how?” Gwyneth asked.

“At the end of the day, you’re outsiders in Gaia’s eyes,” Oss replied. “Her ark is here to help you, but you fight her residents while at it. She wants you to work harder to reach the same power levels as us. After all, we are born surrounded by threats that don’t exist outside the ark. So, we start off just about strong enough to survive the floor where we earned our power. Anything outside the biome is a threat, though, and it takes a lot more effort to nurture our power.”

“I imagine the ability to empower yourself with the essence of beasts you hunt makes your life easier,” Gwyneth commented.

“It’s a versatile power and gives me a lot of adaptability, but that’s all I have. The ability to mould bones doesn’t help a lot in a fight. Besides negating weight, drawing on essence is all I have. Unfortunately, it takes too long to lure it out and then holding on to the essence is just as big a challenge.”

“What floor are your people from, Oss?” Bunty asked.

“We’re once again venturing towards information I can’t share,” he replied.

“This is my last query on the matter.” Gwyneth’s persistence made Oss sigh. He rested his oar on his lap and slumped his shoulders. “I promise. If you’re not all Children of Gaia, what do you call yourselves specifically? Bunty and I are human. What are you?”

“Like I said before. Race doesn’t matter to us. We take the form we desire. Some hold onto the shape they were born with, so they can remain with their society. People like me that wish to become a Child of Gaia take whatever shape compliments our power best. I don’t require much strength or durability thanks to Gaia’s gift, so I picked a shape that makes me agile and nimble. It compliments my martial training too.”

“Compared to most, my abilities are reasonably weak.” Oss sucked on his teeth for a moment before continuing. “Like your fountain pen, Bunty, it doesn’t excel in offence or defence. When I started my quest, I had nothing besides the clothes on my back—we can’t take items from our origin floor when descending. No matter how much I dislike humankind, I needed your lot to start my journey. This form lets me fit in with Climbers and use their help to start collecting bones for my progress.”

“Does this mean you have free access to move between the tower’s floors?” Gwyneth asked.

“That was your final question before, Gwyneth Frie,” Oss said. “I’m not answering any more for now.”

“You can just call us Gwyn and Bunty,” she told him. “You’ve opened up to us, and we’re companions for the time being. Calling us by our full names make this relationship too formal. Let’s move on from that.”

Oss looked between the pair before nodding. Then he picked up his oar, and they continued paddling. Bunty was glad to have the man by his side. If their partnership worked out, Oss could become the group’s vanguard.

The remainder of the journey was uneventful until the trio reached a dense stretch of mangrove forest. Most of the local fauna had stayed outside of Gwyneth’s light until then. She had napped while Bunty and Oss rowed. The moon crossed its apex and was low on the sky when she awoke, poked Bunty and took his place. Oss turned down the offer of rest. While his body rowed, his mind and Core had been busy deconstructing and studying the tortoise’s essence.

Bunty hadn’t been asleep for long when the group encountered a beast that didn’t fear the ancient bones. A python twice as wide as Gwyneth’s birthing hips fell on the boat from the branches above. It clamped its jaws around his right shoulder, then coiled around his torso before pulling him up into the branches. Gwyneth’s surprised scream awoke Bunty, and he jumped into action straight away.

Dispelling the boat wasn’t an option. However, the black-ink coat felt unnecessary at the moment, so Bunty dispelled it and called forth the gauntlet in his right hand. Lashing the branches overhead helped him, let him close in on the monstrous serpent before it could crush Oss.

“Frost Blade,” he whispered before kicking off the branch and grabbed at the monstrous beast with his left hand. Bunty’s fingers failed to find traction on the slippery scales, so he plunged the Frost Blade into the thickest stretch of the monster’s flesh. The pen’s nib pierced the hide and flesh with little resistance. Unfortunately, the blade wasn’t long enough to reach the creature’s internal organs. The flesh around the wound started to solidify almost straight away.

As the frost started to spread, the python thrashed, throwing Bunty off. Fortunately, it uncoiled too, dropping Oss in the water. Bunty looked between the boat and Oss, contemplating his next move. He needed all his available Slimeskin to beat the monster. Oss disappeared into the marsh water with a loud splash, and Gwyneth’s eyes were wide with fear. Just as Bunty prepared to assault the beast on his own, the python hissed while slithering into the neighbouring tree.

Oss emerged from the water, coughing violently. The man’s face was white, and hair stuck to his skin. By the time Bunty had lowered himself from the mangroves’ branches, Oss was back on the boat. Gwyneth helped him back on board, and he collapsed on his back. The following coughing fit had him spraying pink spittle. When Gwyneth crawled towards him, Oss shook his head and waved her away.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

“You probably have internal injuries, mate,” Bunty told him. “Don’t be a hero. Gwyn’s got good eyes. She’ll find the problem in no time.”

“I’ve got two broken ribs,” Oss said. He unbuttoned his coat, revealing the shattered bone plating underneath. In comparison, the flesh beneath appeared reasonably unharmed. There were a couple of large welts on him, but nothing more serious. “It’ll take a couple of days, but I’ll be fine.”

“Is it a part of your power?” Gwyneth asked.

Oss nodded. He rested his against the boat’s side, breathing heavily. “I don’t have it in me to continue rowing.”

“It’s fine.” Bunty dispelled the Frost Blade and gauntlet. The resulting wave of exhaustion left him with a headache, but he didn’t let the tiredness showed. Instead, Bunty summoned two lengths of Slimeskin and shaped them into paddles. They were much lighter than the bone, but he was left with no ink for additional constructs. “I’ll row the rest of the way—”

“Let me help.” Gwyneth took one of the oars from him, and the pair got rowing. Oss closed his eyes, and before long, his breathing got quieter and regular. The man’s resilience surprised Bunty. It wasn’t just Oss’s powers that impressed but his tenacity too. Once he had a moment alone with Gwyneth, he intended to invite Oss into their party formally.

It was mid-morning on the eighth floor by the time the trio reached their destination, and Bunty was on the verge of passing out. He hadn’t rested since they left the hub. Eirkh’s Core had improved his endurance but not to such ridiculous extents. Bunty accepted Gwyneth’s help towards the end of the journey since he was on the verge of collapsing.

“Hold it there!” A woman shouted from atop the FTF settlement’s walls. The pair on either side of her lowered their rifles, aiming them at the boat. “What’s your business?”

“We’re here to use your gate!” Bunty called back at them. “My friend is here hurt too.”

“Too bad. We don’t let just anyone in—”

The woman stopped mid-sentence when Bunty held up the FTF’s compass. “I’m one Bunty Sen. Lydia said I could use your gates.”

“Well, Lydia also said there’s two of you,” she replied. “Who in the world is that man?”

“Our newest member and vanguard. We got ambushed by a python with a head as big as his torso. I stabbed it in the side, and it fled.”

The woman exchanged wide-eyed looks with the guards on either side of her. She exchanged words with her colleagues before returning her attention to the boat. “Where did you come from?”

“We were initially heading to the Silthead settlement but changed course halfway there,” Bunty answered.

“That means you passed through Zahhak’s domain, met her and lived to tell the tale.” The woman laughed. “Lydia was right. You don’t know how to play safe.” She nodded to the guards, and moments later, the settlements thick wooden doors swung open, letting the trio in.

The encampment housed more residents than Bunty expected. Most of the people weren’t armed and didn’t look like combatants either. Unlike the DeLawney settlements they had sighted on the previous floor, it looked like a fortified village. The Montagus settlements on the sixth floor had much better infrastructure, but Bunty believed that the FTF would catch up with them with time and investment.

When the boat docked, Bunty recruited a couple of guards to carry Oss to a bed. The man’s eyes shut open the second he was touched, and he slashed at everyone within reach, using a bone dagger. Then he grimaced, met Bunty’s eyes and relaxed. Oss climbed onto his feet without assistance and staggered onto solid ground, clutching his side. Bunty reclaimed the boat, and the trio followed the guards into the stone structures.

“I didn’t think you’d come all the way out here,” the woman said after introducing herself as Heidi. “When we received Lydia’s message, I didn’t think she was serious about you taking the rarely used routes. We were sure you wouldn’t dare brave the uncharted parts of the mangrove forest.”

“We didn’t plan to,” Bunty told her. “Gwyneth needed a new Core for her spirit, and Oss helped us track an appropriate beast.” He nodded at the hide and bones they’d collected. “The mangrove forest insisted we continued towards your neck of the woods or lug all of this back through a mess of crumbling ruins?”

“Ruins?” Heidi raised an eyebrow. “Anything worth salvaging?”

“I reckon we got everything worth taking,” Gwyneth replied. “I’m pretty sure I heard it collapse while we were rowing away. I’d say, don’t bother unless you have time and manpower to spare.”

“We’ll take your word for it,” Heidi replied. “I won’t send my warrior’s into Zahhak’s territory unless I have to.” She looked at Bunty and Oss. “Doubly so if you lot injured her. She’ll be mad and scouring the swamp for humans.”

The settlement’s gate led straight into the next floor. According to Heidi, the FTF controlled most of the hub on the other side, but that didn’t mean the noble houses wouldn’t be present. Unwilling to risk it in their current state, the trio agreed to rest before heading across. Since Oss couldn’t tackle stairs or ladders in his current state, they left him and their luggage in a hut near the water. One of the guards owned the place and was more than happy to let him use the extra cot. Meanwhile, Heidi took Bunty and Gwyneth up to a cabin built into the trees above. The pair thanked her for her hospitality, washed themselves in a wooden tub of cold water, and went to bed.