The first thing they did when they arrived at Rumiga City was to hop on another Tram, an intra-city Circuit Tram which moved Yuriko, Kato, and the twins out of the Southern Mid Ring to the Northern one.

“There aren’t any good hotels over here,” Kato said bluntly. “This is the industrial and storage zone, full of rough people.”

Yuriko looked blankly at her brother then at the early evening crowd on the streets. They seemed no rougher than the folks back at Faron’s Crossing were. In fact, aside from the slightly different clothing style, they looked much like the people she’d known all her life.

The chill of the mountain wind and the early evening made her shiver. The Circuit Tram, like the one at Faron’s Crossing, let air flow freely inside and only had wooden blinds in case of rain. Yuriko had exchanged her forceweave clothing for her casual clothing--a sleeveless blue blouse and dark brown slacks--just before they arrived in the City. She somewhat regretted it but rubbing her hands on her arms served well enough for some warmth.

The Tram turned on the main road, giving them a breathtaking view of the lowlands and the Lower Ring. Soon the small pockets of light from the windows and the lamp posts along the major roads were the only things she could see from the plateau.

“It is a bit chilly,” Braden said from behind her. “Didn’t expect this in the middle of the Season of Fire.”

“Yeah.” Orrin shivered next to him. “What a nice view though,” he muttered.

The Circuit Tram soon went past the Southern Mid Ring’s boundary. The Gemstone Boulevard continued on the mountain road, going downhill to pass under the channel. As they neared it, all she could see was a swirling storm of Chaos barely contained by the mountain. The cliffside had thousands of thin metal strips riveted into the stone, each one with glowing runescript, to contain the Chaos behind a barrier, she assumed.

“How do people travel through the Channel?” Yuriko asked Kato.

“Northern Quay for cargo, Upper Docks for people.” Kato pointed up the cliff face. “The berth for the Arkships is actually in the middle of the crevasse but the passenger entry and exit points lead up to the Upper Ring while cargo is delivered to the Northern Quay.”

The crevasse was less than a longstride wide, about seven to eight hundred paces, so it didn’t take long for the Circuit Tram to cross that distance. Even so, the bridge spanning the gap was a wonder, and she spent the entire time with her head hanging out the windows and her mouth agape.

“Bumpkin,” Kato teased.

“What, you weren’t like this the first time you came here?”

“Of course not.” He held his nose high in the air.

“Liar.”

Gemstone Boulevard had turned into White Jasmine Avenue when they crossed over to the Northern Mid Ring. They disembarked at the third waiting shed taking their luggage with them. The street they were on, Cherry Blossom Road, had at least three hotels, large sprawling buildings with wide lawns and probably a hundred rooms each.

They headed to a more modest building towards the end of the road, this one a three-storey affair made of red bricks and decorated with ornamental brasswork where green ivy vines crawled all the way from the ground to the roof. Shepherd’s Cross, the sign over the main doors proclaimed.

Kato pushed the door open and led them into a placid antechamber decorated with tapestries depicting abstract but soothing patterns. They could see a counter as soon as they entered, a youngish looking man was behind it, reading a book bound in red leather. The soft tinkling sound that came from above the door when it opened alerted the receptionist to their arrival. He put his book down and peered down his large nose at them.

“Welcome to Shepherd’s Cross. How may I help you?”

“Good evening,” Kato greeted. “I have reservations for a double room here. I apologise, our transportation was delayed, else we would have been here earlier.” He fished out a letter from his backpack and handed it over. Orrin did the same.

“I’m Levigne Sartos. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Ms. Davar, and you as well, Messrs. Foster.”

He reached under the desk and came up with four room keys attached to wooden carvings. The ones he gave to twins were in the shape of a rearing stallion and a butterfly, while the ones he gave to Kato and Yuriko were of a cat and a flower.

“I want the cat,” Yuriko said with a smirk, snatching the key before Kato could blink. He rolled his eyes as a couple of aides came up with trolleys.

“How long are you planning to stay?”

“Until term starts. Though I think the dormitories would be open a couple of weeks earlier. So, until the 77th Day of Fire, but maybe until the 91st.”

“Hmm, today is the 50th Day of Fire, so at least twenty-seven days. It’s twenty-five Sovereigns a night for a room, for a total of one thousand four hundred twenty-five Sovereigns for your stay until the 77th. An additional three hundred fifty Sovereigns if you extend until the 91st.”

Yuriko tried to calculate how much that was in coins, remembering that each digit represented a denomination.

“So that’s...uhh...”

“One gold mark, four silver crowns, two silver marks, and five silver pennies,” Braden helpfully supplied.

“Uh, yeah,” she muttered, feeling her face heat up.

“Breakfast is free for two per room,” Levigne said with an amused smile. “The cost for the first week is one hundred seventy-five Sovereigns.”

One silver crown, seven silver marks, and five silver pennies later, Yuriko and Kato were escorted to the second floor. The aide pushed the trolley up a ramp while they used the stairs. Their suite was quite spacious with a common area, two bedrooms, and a single shared toilet and bath. The living room had windows that overlooked the central courtyard which was a garden with a large oak tree in the middle.

The view from Yuriko’s room was, unfortunately, of the mountain wall a hundred paces away. She unpacked, placing her clothes inside the closet, her toiletries on the desk, along with her pen, messenger cranes, and books. The technique cube Da gave her just before he left for the Tidelands was lovingly placed beside the night lamp on the side table. It was honestly of no use to her since the Golden Silhouette had given her improved versions but she liked to look and channel her Animus into it every now and then, to soothe her mind.

Tap tap.

“Come in.”

Kato stuck his head in and gave her room a once over. “Dinner’s about to be served. I bet you’re hungry.”

Yuriko shrugged. “Not more than usual.”

“Well, come on.”

They left with their keys in their pockets. Nextdoor, Braden and Orrin had just left their rooms and the four of them headed to the dining hall on the southern side of the building. The Inn’s main door faced north with the common room just west of it. The inn’s guests had a private dining chamber and, feeling the need for some quiet, the siblings opted for that one. The twins followed behind them without a word.

“This is one expensive stay,” Braden muttered when they took their seats and looked at the board for the menu. There wasn’t a meal for less than four Sovereigns.

“We aren’t short on money,” Orrin pointed out.

“It breaks my trader’s heart,” Braden said jokingly. “Well, Unc gave us a few errands and contacts to earn some extra coins. I’d honestly prefer to engage with the Funds but I don’t have enough capital for it. We get a trial account in Aneurin Academy.”

“Says you. My goal is Sharom,” Orrin said.

“You two weren’t intending on entering Agaza?” Yuriko asked.

“Not really.”

“Why attempt the elite class then?”

“Prestige and the stipend,” Braden shrugged. “It’s worth a shot and we won’t lose much for trying. Just a silver crown.”

“Oh.” Yuriko felt some slight dissatisfaction. She had assumed they would all study together in Agaza but oh well.

The dinner she picked was sliced roasted duck with a sweet and sour sauce, served with sweet mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. The meal came with red wine but Kato had them replace hers with lavan berry juice instead. Despite that, dinner was a pleasant affair and they lingered over a dessert of honey cake with cream.

“What are your plans for tomorrow?” Orrin asked. “The exams aren’t until the 54th; we just have to register on the 53rd at the latest.”

“I’d like to get that done as soon as possible,” she answered. “Afterwards, well, I’ll just train.”

“All day?” Braden asked. “How about we explore the city tomorrow?”

“I guess that’s fine.”

“Don’t stay out ‘til sundown,” Kato admonished. He gave the twins a fixed stare.

“We’ll be back before then.” Both of them hastily promised.

“Good.”

“Kato,” Yuriko said coldly, “that’s up to me to decide.”

Kato shrugged. “Still, it's best if you don’t stay out at night. I don’t think you’re ready for what you’ll see,” he added grimly.

“Well, now you’ve got me curious.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“We’ll see.”

The next morning, though she wanted to take a run around town, she opted to do her callisthenics in the courtyard instead. She was up before dawn, doing a variety of exercises that gave her a good sweat. Afterwards, she worked on her sword dances and adapted spear techniques. After using the rifle-blade, the next time she activated her Facet, the Golden Silhouette had demonstrated the proper way to wield such a weapon. It included spear techniques, greatsword techniques, and even point-blank shooting. The last one surprised her mainly because she didn’t realize that Plasma Casters had been in use since her Ancestor’s time. Well, maybe they had similar weapons.

The interesting thing was that the more weapon styles she used, the more the Animus circulation patterns used for each one seemed similar to each other. She soon found that adapting the circulation pattern when using the spear didn’t take too much effort or time. The Intents were the same between each dance.

The First was always about finding or creating a weakness and taking advantage of it. With the dual sword, she used one blade to feint and the other to strike. With the spear, it was with the quickly shifting point of attack. The spear’s point could shift from high to low, left to right, with minimal movement from the rear hand, and those movements were further enhanced by the Animus shifting between body and weapon.

It was also easier for her to shift between the first and second dance while wielding the spear, though she had some trouble with using the third dance.

Using the rifle-blade was interesting, especially when the feints involved using the muzzle and the threat of firing as part of the feint. It was also the only way she could use her Golden Silhouette techniques with a ranged weapon, so she was quite diligent in practising it.

She wasn’t alone in using the central courtyard as an exercise yard. Kato, Orrin, and Braden eventually showed up, an hour after the sun had risen. Some of the other staying guests took short walks there, too, and a couple of others did their callisthenics. Most of the guests were older than her but there was a pair of thirteen-year-olds who she thought were here for the elite trials, too.

Either way, the two girls stared at her with ill-disguised hostility that she determinedly ignored. She also noticed a few boys, young men, and a couple of middle-aged ones, staring at her while she went over her drills. She ignored them and they mostly left her alone.

After a hot shower and soak in the tub, the inn had a nice big one, that was cut short when Kato demanded to use the bathroom, they went to the common room for breakfast. The main course was a savoury porridge with slivers of beef, garnished with onions and other herbs she didn’t recognize. There was the ever-present lavan berry juice but no kaf. A bitter smelling tea was served instead, with a cream and honey on the side.

“Well, I’m off,” Kato announced after they returned to their room to pick up her backpack.

“Where’re you headed?”

“...library.”

“Right.”

“Unlike you, I like to read,” Kato smirked.

“Hey, that was uncalled for!”

“Still true, nonetheless.” Kato ducked out of the room before she could pinch him, laughing all the way down the hall. She stomped her foot in a fit of pique. The wood creaked ominously. After a stunned silence and a hasty inspection, she heaved a sigh of relief and left the room after belting on a side-blade. The wooden floorboards weren’t damaged.

She met the twins at the antechamber and they left together. Neither of the two were armed with anything more than a belt knife.

“To the Academies?” she asked.

“Do you mind if we head over to the Southern Mid ring first?” Orrin asked, “We have to deliver a letter for Uncle Colin.”

“Oh, sure. As long as it doesn’t take too long,” she shrugged.

They took the Circuit Tram and half an hour later, disembarked on a waiting shed along Gemstone Boulevard.

“Quartz Avenue…” Braden looked at the street names. “Where’s that again?”

“Here.” Orrin handed over a map. Braden glared at the tiny street names.

“Why don’t we just ask for directions?” Yuriko nodded towards the constable watchpost.

“No need, I’ve got it!”

Half an hour later, Yuriko approached the nearest constable. “Excuse me, how do we get to Quartz Avenue?”

“Go down that way until you get to Amethyst Road. You’ll find Quartz a couple of blocks over.”

“Thank you.” She led the shamefaced twins down the correct way and once they were on the proper road, asked, “So, which one?”

“Er…” Braden looked at the envelope. “Twenty-eight.”

The warehouse was just a few buildings away. The property’s walkway was quite wide and there was a separate one for pedestrians. Before Braden could knock on the door, it opened and two boys older than them walked out. Both were about as tall as Yuriko’s height and quite scrawny. Their eyes widened in surprise. She nodded to them and stepped aside to let them through, Braden and Orrin following her lead.

They stared at her for a few minutes until the middle-aged man who held the door open coughed into his hand. The boys started, with the shorter one with blue hair blushing.

“Excuse us,” he murmured before hurrying past.

Yuriko could feel the stare on her back though and one of them muttered, “Now that’s some fine…”

“How may I help you?” The balding man asked.

“I have a letter here for Mr. Lindon Mazer, from my uncle, Colin Foster,” Braden said, holding out the envelope.

“Of course, please enter.”

The antechamber was accoutred with a fascinating array of woodwork. Yuriko let the twins go ahead while she lingered. There was a carving of a bouquet of flowers. The details were so exquisite that it could have been actual flowers transformed into wood.

“Or, it could be exactly that,” she murmured to herself.

Either way, there was a set of oil paintings, landscapes of the mountain and the channel, as well as portraits of distinguished looking men and women, in the next hall. Why a warehouse would have such artwork displayed was quite puzzling really.

“The owner likes to show off,” The door guard explained, noting the look on her face. “He rotates his artwork here every Season.”

“I see. Interesting pieces.”

He left her to admire them and half an hour later the twins came back.

“Now to the Academies,” Orrin said.

Yuriko nodded and they made their way to the waiting shed.