Kaleb gingerly opened the door to the bar. He stopped when he saw Erid and Essan there, sipping on cups from which steam was rising in delicate tendrils.

“Come in, come in! Would you like some breakfast?” Essan rose from his seat, and came towards Kaleb, who nodded demurely

“I’ll be right back out.”

Kaleb made his way over to the table. The bar was still as empty as it was, but Kaleb supposed that with all the turmoil – turmoil that was somehow related to what happened to him– nobody much was open for business. He only hoped that he would be safe here. After the events of the previous cycle, he felt as if he was somehow being pressed under an enormous weight, or that he was hanging by a thin rope over some interminable depth. He was uncertain about so much, and the tension was mounting within him. He sat down at right angles to Erid, who was silently sipping his tea.

“What’s the matter?” Erid asked, noticing he was being watched.

“Nothing” said Kaleb quickly

“Hmmm” Erid didn’t probe the matter, just sat there. Though, Kaleb noticed, Erid’s eyes occasionally darted over to watch him, something in them that was not there yesterday– some kind of question, askance – though for what Kaleb did not know.

It was still something of a point of fascination and nervousness to Kaleb that he was under the same roof as two members of the legendary brethren, but he had yet to see how, in matters other than battle, they were anything but ordinary people. He had decided, for the good of his thought process, and of his relation to the two men, he would not push any of his questions or doubts onto them. If they wanted to believe themselves the brethren, he supposed that it was within their rights to do so. He himself was obviously not yet able to reconcile the myths of his childhood with the reality of his present. So he decided to do what any sensible person would do and relegate it to a corner of his mind that was filled with things ‘to be considered later’.

“Here. Eat up” Essan appeared suddenly behind him. Kaleb hadn’t even noticed his approach. He started slightly, before reasoning that it was probably the soft ground covering – what he had inferred was the ‘carpet’ from the previous cycle’s embarrassing admission of ignorance. He felt himself blushing again.

“Thank you” he said, and took the plate.

He had fallen asleep without eating, and his hunger surprised him. As soon as the smell of the food reached him, he felt a desperate ache fill his stomach. He happily picked up the utensils and began to shovel the dish into his mouth. It was good! It was rich and hearty, everything was slightly different from what he was used to –but that was to be expected– the sausages were made of some other meatstuff than the harsh taste of what they made on Haethea. There were eggs and toast that was as light and delicate as any cake. His eyes must have been wide with excitement, because Essan looked on proudly as he watched him eat.

“Good?”

Kaleb could only nod, and slowed his pace to savour it a little more.

“See, the boy has taste” Essan nudged Erid, who grunted and returned his tea to its saucer.

“Kaleb, how are you feeling today?” Asked Essan

Kaleb hurriedly swallowed his mouthful

“Um… I’m well thank you, how are you?”

“That’s good. I am well… but I do not mean to inquire after your health, I mean to inquire whether you are ready to move on from the occurences of the last cycle. Do you need to go through it?”

Kaleb was puzzled at this concern. He was shaken, it was true. But he had seen worse, dealt with worse. Death was a part of living, after all. He would rather it were not his own of course, but living on Haethea had taught him the risks of all endeavours. Even idle farming and gathering on a pillar in the middle of nowhere engendered the possibility of monster attacks. The thing that shook him was that in this place – this part of cable city – the attacks came in human form. He had never had to consider this before, he realised, the inability to trust those that shared his human form, and now he was finding with great rapidity that more often than not entities that resembled him were even more dangerous than those which did not. At least those other things, those monstrous existences, at least they did not scheme and plan nor speak with words he understood.

“I am fine, really. I have never been attacked by people before. I mean, before coming to cable city. Even though the settlement was not free from fights, it is not like anyone ever attempted to… well, do whatever those guys were trying to do to me before. I’m sorry if I seem… well a bit stupid, but I never expected other people to be so…”

“Horrible?”

“Depraved?”

“Ah… I was going to say ‘unreasonable’. But anyway, Mr. Essan. Thank you for your hospitality. I’m sorry to say… I don’t have anything to repay you with.”

“And I would accept nothing.” Essan said with a smile

After a beat, Kaleb decided it was better to charge in than hold back. “I wondered if you could tell me what’s going to happen now? Is there much trouble brewing?”

“Hmmm… That is a good question. I wish that I could say exactly what would happen. It is possible that the Sallor - the chief, the man who’s running the settlement– he might finally take it upon himself to crack down on the underground here… but I doubt it, he is a man who is too invested in it himself. He benefits too much from the deals that occur while his eyes are elsewhere… There are however numerous other interests invested in the area. The competing companies, AG and Veralis… Who knows there might be another competitor trying to stir up trouble… or there will just be a new person in the seat, as they say. Probably less able than Arleigne, undoubtedly less knowledgeable and less able to account for all the pieces– being a sensory field generator, there was rarely anything that missed her. A rare sort in the underground– in command not for being the most brutal, though she was certainly brutal, but because she was able to manage everything with the most efficiency and effectiveness.” Essan looked away for a moment, “but who it could be I cannot say. What I can say is that it will be dangerous for some time, and I have no doubt that Arleigne’s supporters will be trying to cement their control with desperation after that little incident, and I’m sure that they’ll have their eyes open for two troublesome boys who caused them no end of grief”

“Oh” said Kaleb, looking down at his empty plate. “So what should I do?”

“You know, I’m happy to leave this discussion for a later time, if you like? Is it not too fresh? You don’t need to recoup at all?”

“I’m fine” said Kaleb, trying for conviction.

“Hmmm… well, to tell the truth, there are some things I– we would like to check with you… get your opinion on. The first thing I want to ask you is if you have any intention of returning to your home? After everything that has happened to you, I think it would, to be honest, be one of the better courses of action.”

But even before he had finished, Kaleb was shaking his head. “No, I am going to see things through. I already risked my life to leave and come to cable city. That was my decision, and it remains my resolve. I know now… truly I know… how weak I am, but even so… I cast my life there away when I left. I won’t go back.”

“I see. That does make sense. It is a credit to you that you can state that after everything. However. This leads me to ask if you are aware of the risk that your former home is in?”

“Risk?”

“Yes, there is a good chance that it is at tremendous risk. How far did you travel to come here?”

“It’s hard to say… I can say that I fell for at least ten bells before I saw any other pillars…”

“It is just that there is the possibility that your people might find themselves attacked. If not for their resources, then for their very bodies – if, like you, they do not have spikes.”

Kaleb’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even thought of this possibility.

“Oh.” he said, “I… I’ve got to warn them.”

“Well, not necessarily.”

Kaleb looked at Essan in confusion

“If it would please you, I wonder if you might permit me to be the bearer of this warning. I would also like your opinion on the matter of whether or not your people… might be welcoming of some instruction in the arts of self-defence.”

“Oh… ah. Well, I would appreciate it greatly. I mean, I barely know where my home is from here, so even if I wanted to return, I probably couldn’t. But if you think you can get there… but why would you do such a thing? And can you really teach self-defence?”

“I most definitely can teach self-defence. As to finding the pillar… Well, if you would be willing to give me some details about your journey here, it would allow me to approximate the location of your home settlement, and I should be able to find it… with enough patience.”

“Well… I’m happy to share everything that I remember. I have this terminal too.” Kaleb had, as ever, kept Iowara’s terminal on him, stored in one of his pockets. He opened it and began to scroll through it. It kept a log of his locations, and he quickly scrolled past the abandoned settlement, shivering at the memory of long dark fingers. Better if no one ever goes there again, he thought to himself. But, scrolling further back, there was a log of where the moving pillar Iowara was stationed on had been. He quickly rolled back the cycles to when he assumed he had landed on the pillar. The location was diagonally away from the abandoned settlement, and he felt a surge of relief.

“Well, this is the location I was picked up after falling.” he pointed to the spot on the terminal, passing it to Essan, who nodded, and scribbled down the numbers given by the terminal. “But beyond that I really couldn’t say. There’s also… There’s also something I have to warn you about.” He scrolled forward to the abandoned settlement. As much as he was loath to recall this particular event, he felt that he had to warn someone about it. “There’s a man. A man with a black hand. Well maybe it isn’t a hand. I’m not sure. But he was here, at this settlement. I thought he was going to kill me when I saw him. He was…” Kaleb shivered again, “Frightening.”

Essan was frowning, and he shared a glance with Erid. “I see.” he wrote down the numbers “I’ll remember to steer clear of that place”

“And that’s really all that I can tell you about Haethea. I never knew there was a location system there, so there aren’t any numbers I can give you to find it.”

“That’s quite alright.”

“And… Essan, sir?”

“No need to be so formal, lad”

“Ok. Thank you. Uh… I was wondering… if you can teach self defence… well. I still have nothing to offer you, but if, before you were to leave, could you maybe, um, teach me a little?” Kaleb found himself blushing at his own forthrightness. How much could he ask of the man!

Essan surprised him by laughing.

“Well, this brings us to the second issue… I must prepare for my departure, but if you want to learn, and have the will to continue on your journey as you say you do, then I want to send Erid along with you… to help you and to teach you.”

“Oh. oh! Really? Is that ok!? Can you!?”

Erid seemed abruptly taken aback by Kaleb’s enthusiasm “Ah, sure. Yeah.” was all he said, his face a bemused mask.

“Oh… well, I mean, if you want to… that’s. Thank you! I have nothing, but I will repay you with my dedication, and do anything I can to help!”

Essan laughed again, watching as Kaleb bowed politely to Erid, who was now nearly blushing himself, his eyes carefully placed on his teacup.

“That’s… that’s good. You should want to work hard. I won’t go easy on you. You know the risks… and the dangers of the pillars now. I’m going to make sure you survive. So… so you better work hard!”

Essan smiled as Erid delivered his hesitant ultimatum. Yes, times were changing, he thought, and maybe there was some hope left in the world after all.