That was surprisingly easy.

He resurfaced back into the same room. Still the same pose, still the same people. Same positions, even.

“Wait, how long have I been in there?”

“A minute?…” Ailuros shrugged. “A time is never really an issue in the Inner State.”

Roth was studying Joe’s face. Curiosity was all but outright written on his damaged face.

“Fascinating! I have never ever seen a man of the sane mind, who doesn’t even know what the Inner State is! This is a case surely worth studying. Would you mind if I expropriate you for future assistance?”

“I just got here, like, five hours ago. And I’ve been out for most of it. Isn’t it too soon to make propositions like that?”

The doctor only hummed in response.

“Well, if you change your mind, my door is always opened. Now, what did you see in there?”

“Do I need to tell everything down to the last detail?”

“Just important parts are fine.”

*****

“What kind of clothes is this? It’s so thick, feels like I’m being boiled alive.”

“No need to be so over-dramatic,” Roth and his recently arrived assistant, both nodded at the same time, quite satisfied with a result. “It’s only a standard issued Sumeilien officer uniform, specifically made for withstanding harsh and dangerous work in a Threshold. Besides, we can even let you go in your underwear if you wish to. Should we take it back?”

“...On a second thought… It looks pretty good.”

Good it was. A mix of red color with black outlines on a long coat was reminding him of old British uniforms. For now, he was wearing a simple linen shirt and a pair of trousers, made out of wool. Unfortunately, inside of a room, Joe quickly started sweating.

The doctor’s assistant was reminding him of the rat. He was bald, too, and not much taller than the doctor Roth himself. Pat was his name, and he was the one who brought the clothes to them.

So far he hadn’t said anything, and Joe was quietly wondering if Pat was mute.

“I like the coat, but is this jacket really necessary?!”

“Jacket? This? Oh, this is just a waistcoat, no?”

“Are waistcoats usually that thick? I can barely feel my fingers on the other side…”

“When you get sliced into pieces and crawl back to me with a hole in your stomach, don’t complain to me about being hurt. It will be your own fault.”

“Fine, fine, I agree… hold on, just let me put that on first…”

It was a tough battle. The clothes were really heavy, and putting each of them on was a puzzle on it’s own. Unfortunately, the hardest part was right after the beginning, as wearing the entire set was another story entirely. Joe would have liked them more if he was wearing them outside, in the middle of the winter, not in a warm room with barely any ventilation.

“Now, don’t forget to wash them, clean them, take them off during exercises…”

“Roth, why does it sound like you are fussing over me like an old hen with an egg?”

“More like a father with a kid. Or a pirate with a treasure.” Unexpectedly, Pat’s face went from completely stoic to wearing a huge grin. He even said something!

Beside him, Ailuros coughed a few times. Roth only hummed.

“Well, I think we are quite done here. Unless you still want to take some time to recoverer, there is not much else I can help you with - but well, if you want to agree to my proposition, then of course...”

“...Maybe later.” Giving him a proper rejection was probably better, but Roth was the second, after Ailuros, person he had made a connection with in this place. He at least owed him that much. He was also very tempted to dump a truck of questions he had piled up in his mind, but decided that a much better and efficient way to satisfy his curiosity was to go outside and check everything for himself. His brain was overwhelmed with information as it was.

“Come with me. I’ll lead the way.”

Pat turned around and walked out of the room.

Joe turned around to the cat spirit.

“Don’t worry about the others. They are alright people if a bit rude and stubborn like bricks in the oven. You just have to earn their respect and you’ll fit in just fine.”

Ailuros waved her paw and vanished from a bed.

Even after Joe rubbed his eyes, the naji was nowhere to be seen.

“...I guess she really was abnormal. I don’t know it if’s a good sign…”

Well, at least magical cats do exist here. Better to learn it sooner rather than later…

He turned around and went to the door. His hand hesitated for a second, but there was nothing else he could really do. His only choice was to dive into an unknown world, full of undiscovered dangers and problems.

Or he could go back to a bed and hope that everything was just a weird dream.

...That was dumb even for him.

Joe pulled a door and stepped outside.

*****

“Where are we going?”

“To the quartermaster.”

Not like he expected a more elaborate answer here.

When he opened a door, he was greeted with a very familiar sight. They were in a short corridor, with a single door on each wall. His guide turned to the right one, gesturing for Joe to do the same.

Behind the door was a wider corridor. Made out of metal. With a bunch of doors on each side.

Joe felt a strong sense of deja vu.

“Are these crew quarters?”

“Yes.” Pat didn’t even look back.

At least he got an answer from him. Taking small victories wherever he could.

Laughter was coming from one of the doors. The doctor said it was the middle of the night - somebody clearly didn’t get a memo. Pat only shook his head, without saying a single word.

Nobody came out to check on them. They made it all the way through. Pat waved his hand, inviting Joe to open the door on a way forward.

“...A cargo elevator?…” With a metal-wire-based mechanism, to boot. These people were pretty advanced, although probably not to the modern level yet. Then again, he hasn’t seen much of what this world has to offer.

They didn’t take an elevator. Instead, they went to the stairs, that was to the left wall of a room. Another staircase was mirroring it on the right side.

They weren’t going to make it to the quartermaster without an encounter. Since coming down the stairs was the most hideous… human?… Joe has ever seen.

This double chin’d, giant piece of lard (Joe just couldn’t compare it to anything less… insulting), almost equal in both height and width was carrying a huge bottle in one hand, sword on his belt, and two pistols in the holsters on a chest.

If Joe would ever be able to find a person that looks even more like a stereotypical 18th-century pirate, he would hand them a statue of this grotesque man, made out of gold and gemstones by his own hand; Joe would swear on it.

Meanwhile, the unexpected fellow with a jovial smile on his large sack that Joe was refusing to call a “face”, bounced down to the two individuals, who kept staring at him, one stoically and one with a noticeable discomfort.

Joseph was sure that he completely ignored him, as the man just walked past them, oblivious to his presence. The fate proved him wrong quickly enough, as the caricature of a human turned around and looked all over him as if he was a clown in a circus.

“Who is that noodle, Pat? Is that one of the doctor’s recent pals? He looks like a Menace chewed and spat him out in a ditch!”

“He is from a recent raid.” The doctor’s assistant didn’t even bat an eye.

The giant man growled and, in a blink of an eye, appeared right in front of the “noodle”. Joe didn’t even have time to react, being completely taken aback.

He felt the sharp gaze all over him.

“Is that the schmuck? He doesn’t look like a soldier… or as a deck monkey.” The stranger snorted. “Or like anything useful, really. Why did our glorious kitty pick up this waste of space?”

Joe felt his blood heating up. He raised his head and met the cold gaze of the large man directly. He couldn’t see a single emotion in man’s expression - it was completely stiff as if it was a mask.

This man could have easily killed him, he realized. This man wouldn’t hesitate to cut his head off in an instant if they met in different circumstances. Despite his relaxed stance, Joe was sure that his eyes wouldn’t even be able to see the blade coming.

Joseph noticed that his own hands were shaking. He clenched his hands into fists.

Something else was rising up within his mind. This new feeling managed to move fear to the side. Joe felt his instincts screaming at him, trying to keep him back, but he didn’t really care.

Some part of Joe was taunting himself, telling him to challenge a man who managed to scare him just by his gaze alone.

Joe mentally shook his head and tried to get his thoughts back on track. It wasn’t very easy.

“Quite interesting words for a man who can barely fit in a door on the ship he is supposed to protect. I’m sure one such as yourself is no stranger to spending your time in food storage, while others are spilling blood all over the deck.”

It was way too straightforward, but Joe was never one for subtlety. Whatever happens from now on, he doesn’t care.

The giant leaned over Joseph. The pressure was immense, but Joe dug his heels into a floor and met the freezing glare head-on. He knew that challenging a man was a stupid idea - but he was also tempted to see what would happen.

Then the stranger snorted, briefly laughed, and stepped away. The smile returned on his face, relaxed and satisfied.

“This puppy has a few fangs, aye. He has yet to be hammered into a sharp tool, but a few hits will strengthen him up. Keep up at it, Pat.”

The man waved and disappeared into crew quarters.

“Let’s go.” His guide went ahead, without waiting.

“Who was that, even?”

“Ralf.” The tone of his voice was slightly different from the usual stoic one.

“And Ralf is…?”

“Armsmaster.” It was as if a simple word should be enough to explain everything, but Joe needed more information.

I guess I won’t be getting it from this rat. Funny that…

It seemed like they reached the highest level. The stairs were going even higher up, but Pat ignored them completely. The room was much smaller than before, with only two doors within sight. The rat-faced man pushed the left one and walked out of the room. Joe had nothing else to do but follow him.

It was his first step into the outside world.

*****

“...What in the world…”

It was beautiful.

It was stunning.

It was also completely, completely alien.

Roth was telling the truth. They were on a ship. There was no ground anywhere near the ship.

He just neglected to mention one small detail. One, that Joe forgot to ask him about.

The ship was floating in the air.

…Or maybe, calling it the “air” was a stretch. Joe had no idea, what the hell it was - he was completely stunned at the sight of the kaleidoscope of colors stretching everywhere around the ship, like some kind of Northern Lights show that has gone into complete madness and sprawled all over the starry sky. Mesmerizing gentle colors were enveloping a space around them like a veil, slightly transparent and haunting. The stars were shining brightly through the curtain, hints of black sky peeking through the cracks in a colorful barrage. The sheer magnitude of the void in front of him completely threw Joe off.

He kept staring into the lights. They were inviting him, promising him to share an eternity with him. They were showing him the way to greatness, they were whispering about great treasures beyond…

A very painful shove kicked Joe’s mind back into reality. He winced, turning around to angrily rebuke Pat for interrupting him, only to meet with a familiar sheet of metal instead.

Oh. Awkward…