As it turns out Ed was the only consistent customer the old man had, he'd only served six customers today despite being open from dawn till dusk. On a good day, he boasted of getting twenty customers but even to someone like me who had zero business experience that number seemed a little low.

"Guess it's about time to pack up!" the old man kept his stall running longer than all of his competitors hoping to catch a drunken night owl but he wasn't that lucky today.

I stared at the comically large pot in confusion, it was made of thick blackened metal that retained heat well and was large enough for me to have a bath in. How did he move it around? I got my answer soon enough. He manifested his Animus-blade, a blocky knife that resembled a cleaver. I flinched and braced myself but mercifully the song it emitted was lively, quiet and mercifully ordinary. After my recent experiences, I was warier than ever of the blades.

He focused on his Animus-blade for a moment and the song increased in volume as it began to glow but it never became overbearing. With some difficulty, the pot began to float behind the old man who beckoned me to follow.

The tune it emitted was something one could easily frolic to, a jaunty melody that had no beginning or end. Though it would occasionally skip forwards a bit, like a musician that forgot a line of their performance.

The instinct to acknowledge the song and join it was still there as it always was but it wasn't too hard to ignore. I didn't have enough experience to be sure but my theory was that the more powerful someone was the more I was compelled to sing, unfortunately, it also seemed that powerful individuals could kill me just by existing in the same room if I failed to resist. Forget earning a living sword tending, if I did become popular I'd be lucky to survive.

The old man confidently made his way through the streets passing by house after house, the more we walked the more I noticed that houses closer to the city's edge were much smaller and less lavish. It's not like I expected the old man to live in a castle but I couldn't deny feeling a little sad passing by some of the larger houses.

We were approaching the last line of houses before the walls. Even these 'cheap' houses were nicer and more sturdy than the shacks of my village but to my surprise, the old man continued past the last line of houses and followed the wall. Eventually, we came across a set of stairs inside the wall that went down. Without a word the old man continued down the stairs, the moonlight above was soon lost in the darkness as the staircase continued downwards. Small blue crystals set into recessed metal cages provided the only source of light as we delved deeper.

I followed the old man unwavering at first but as we went deeper and deeper my confidence began to falter. I considered asking him where we were going but held back. Eventually, after more steps than I think I walked in my life, we reached the bottom. Through the archway was a second city, completely underground, the pristine beauty of the land above was nowhere to be found.

The houses resembled the shacks I knew from my village, the still air was full of an unknown musty stench and the only light was the faint blue glow of the crystals that were attached to every surface possible. I looked up but the ceiling disappeared into the darkness. The only reminders of the land above were the few lavish houses that still existed and a large column in the centre of the cave that I suspected supported the tower on the surface.

"Stick close missy."

The old man said,

"Dangerous to walk alone down here, especially for someone young like you."

He refused to take another step until I walked alongside him,

"If you're out of my sight you could disappear in a flash."

It didn't take too much longer to reach his place; it was carved into the walls not too far from the stairs we came from.

"Sorry it's not much but you should feel pretty safe inside. The shacks are a nightmare but this here."

He slapped the solid stone walls twice before fishing around his pockets for a key,

"This is pretty sturdy, someone breaks in here and you won't have to be afraid because you'll be dead before you have the chance."

How awful must this place be for a quick death to be something not worth worrying about? If nothing else he was right about the strength of his house, even the door looked like it could take a beating, thick wooden planks held together by bands of metal. It might even be enough to keep out a weak Animus-blade. After finding the correct key he swung the door open with less effort than I expected and ushered me inside.

"Make yourself at home, I'm going to be a bit longer, gonna hand out the leftovers. I'm going to lock the door now, anything you wanna say before I go?"

"Not really… just, will I be safe here?"

The inside was surprisingly normal. The walls and floor were stone but other than that it had a similar layout to any other shack I'd seen. The biggest luxury the old man had were carpets that covered most of the floor, they were probably necessary if you ever planned on walking on your bare feet.

"Yep. Just stay quiet if you hear a knock on the door or a voice that isn't mine calling. You don't need to avoid making a peep, just don't say anything and it'll all work out."

That was not nearly as reassuring as he thought but with no other options, I bid him farewell as he left and locked the door trapping me inside. With nothing else to do, I explored his house a little. My first impressions were right, this place might as well have been a regular house. Like the outside of every building down here, the inside was lined with those same faintly glowing crystals. Unlike a torch or lantern, the crystals never turned off so the glow just appeared to be something you needed to get used to.

The kitchen area was again shockingly normal except for a large recessed area for his giant pot to boil. With all the weird crystals about the city, I expected the kitchen to use them as fuel or something but it seemed like wood and charcoal burning still supplied the heat to cook and keep the place warm. Speaking of which I noticed a fireplace and wondered if I was allowed to start it up. He didn't seem like the type to get angry over something like that but just in case I decided to leave it alone.

Strangely the old man had four different bedrooms, each one was kept immaculate even though all but one didn't look like they were in use. I couldn't help my curiosity and checked the old wardrobes and drawers of the abandoned rooms but found nothing.

With the house explored and nothing better to do, I decided to get my nightly exercise out of the way, half of the reason was that I still wanted to get stronger and the other half was because I needed distraction. I felt like I might fall apart if I were to stop moving for a second.