The next morning, Yuriko’s training regimen had changed from building up strength and stamina to merely maintaining her current physique. She sprinted most of the route--an entire league--as fast as she could, followed by the flexibility training scheduled she scheduled for the day. The sword dance practice was what she spent more time on but it was coming to a point that she needed to use the technique in a real battle, or at least a spar, to make some progress.

Luckily, Heron showed up in the courtyard carrying his training spear and buckler while she was still practising the dances.

“Light spar?” he asked with a small grin.

“Sure.” Yuriko grabbed the rifle-blade and squared off against the boy.

“That’s new,” he remarked as she parried his thrust. The buckler in his hand was small enough that he held the spear in a two-handed grip, making judicious use of the shield to deflect her thrusts while countering with his own. Yuriko kept to the second dance for a while before transitioning to the first.

Sparring without using Animus techniques didn’t accomplish much but they weren’t wearing much protective gear so it was a bit more restrained than she preferred. Still, having a live opponent instead of shadowing an image was a pleasant change.

She switched over to a plain spear then a greatsword after a while. By the end of it, Heron’s face was dripping sweat like a river.

“Thanks, Heron.”

“You’re…welcome…hah…hah...”

“See you at breakfast!”

“Right…”

She ran into the other girls, Millie, Ishika, and Krystal, on her way to her room.

“Good morning!” she greeted brightly.

“‘Morning, Yuriko,” Millie smiled. Ishika nodded at her while Krystal grunted with bleary eyes.

“Why does everyone get up so early?” she grumbled.

“No, you just wake up late,” Yuriko said succinctly. “See you at the dining hall.”

“Right.”

Kato was just about to leave when she entered their room.

“Good morning. Busy day today?” he asked.

“A bit, we’re going to explore more of the city. The others want to head to the Lower Ring today.”

“Ah, well, take care. Don’t put too much coin in your pouch.”

“Uh, sure.”

“You might want to visit the Zoraster Square, there’s usually a bazaar there. Cheap stuff, too, but you have to have a keen eye or you’d overpay. Oh, and haggle.”

“Erm, I’m not--uhm, sure, sure. I’m not sure what I’ll see there anyway.”

“Oh, arts and handicrafts. You’d be surprised at what treasures you might find there. Anyway, I’ll see you later at dinner, I suppose.”

In the room, she did her morning ablutions, took a hot shower, a short soak in the tub then picked out her clothes. She chose a pale red summer dress, the same leather belt to hold her pouch and side-blade, and a pair of sandals with leather thongs to tie around her ankles. Her footwear provided a good mix of both traction and balance. She braided the entire length of her hair, leaving only a little fringe on the sides to frame her face. She used yesterday’s beret since she didn’t have anything else to cover her head.

“Well, maybe I’ll find a nice hat today.”

This time her dress had deeper pockets, so she secured her safety pouch by looping the chain on the belt. Feeling ready, and since her tummy was gurgling already, she left the room and headed to the dining room for breakfast. Krystal and Mikel were already at a dining table with a platter of fried potatoes, sausages, and hard-boiled eggs.

“Yuri! Grab a plate, I could hear your stomach growling from the room,” Krystal snarked.

“Really?”

“No she didn’t,” Mikel grunted, “but Millie probably did.”

“...right.”

Yuriko wandered over to the breakfast table and filled her plate with a couple of eggs, sliced bread, a bit of crispy bacon, and a small dish of mustard and mayonnaise. Still no lavan berry juice.

After their meal, they gathered at the ante-chamber. Yuriko noted that the boys were armed. Heron had a collapsible baton on his hip while Mikel had a side-blade.

“You’ve updated your license?” Yuriko asked.

“Oh, Chaos, no,” Mikel moaned. “I’ll have to get a different side-arm.”

He stomped back towards the residence hall. By the time he returned, Ishika, Millie, Zeyn, and the twins had arrived. Ishika wore a long dress that came nearly to her ankles while Millie wore a pair of cargo pants, a rather small tee-shirt that showed a bit of bare midriff, and a pair of sneakers. Krystal was also in a summer dress. The boys wore sensible clothes, slacks, boots, and short-sleeved shirts.

“Are we taking the Circuit Tram?” Krystal asked.

“Unless you want to walk across the Gap?” Yuriko answered.

“No.”

“Well, we can take the Tram and then climb down the steps. Kato said we should visit Zoraster Square. Though I’m not sure where that is…” Yuriko muttered.

“We can ask.” Mikel approached the concierge. “Excuse me, how do we get to Zoraster Square?”

“Oh, well, if you go down to White Jasmine you can spot it from there. There’s a bronze spire in the middle of it, decorated with a sunburst at the top. But why would you want to go down there?”

“Er, we just wanted to explore the city.”

“I see. Well, keep your coin purses close. You never know.”

“Thanks.”

They walked down Cherry Blossom Road and when they arrived at White Jasmine, Yuriko came up to the barrier wall and stared down at the Lower City. Most of the structures in the Lower Ring were single- and two-storey affairs. Colourful canvas awnings decorated most of them, creating a riot of hues that hurt her eyes. It didn’t look like anyone bothered colour with matching since subdued blues would go next to mind-numbingly bright oranges and yellows. She could see people moving along the curvy streets much like river water following its meandering banks.

“A bit crowded, isn’t it?” Yuriko said hesitantly.

“Sure is,” Millie chirped brightly. “Looks fun! Come on!”

Orrin sidled up to Yuriko. “What exactly are we looking for down there?”

“I’m not sure. The experience, I suppose?”

“Right, everything I’ve heard around here really discouraged me from going down into the Lower City. So, really, why?”

“You should ask Krys.”

“Uh-huh. You ladies also alright with this?” He turned to ask Millie and Ishika.

“Looks like an interesting place. Besides, you boys are here to keep us safe,” Ishika added shyly.

“Huh, sure. I suppose this beats another day with my nose in the books.”

They caught the Circuit Tram on its way to the Southern Mid Ring. They hopped off at the stop nearest the steps.

“I see why they call this the ‘Steps of Torment’,” Krystal said with a gulp.

“It’s no worse than the ones at the Watchtower.” Yuriko shrugged. “The cliff height isn’t even as tall.”

“Well, sure,” Krystal muttered, “but I don’t run for fun like you do.”

Yuriko rolled her eyes and started descending. They stuck to the right-hand side, following the convention. Most of the people climbing were focused on their own ordeals and didn't pay them any mind.

There were several landings with benches and on each one, people were either leaning on the railings, catching their breaths, or seated with elbows on knees gasping. Still, others who were more fit continuously climbed up.

“This would be a good place to train,” Yuriko mused.

“No,” Krystal said flatly.

“Krys, your endurance needs a bit of work,” Yuriko said mildly.

“No.”

“Fine, I guess we’ll just continue sprinting.”

“Or, I could just sleep in?”

“I worry about you, Krys. Back when we were running away from the Hunter, I bitterly regretted the fact that we didn’t train enough. I don’t want you to be in the same position again.”

Krystal sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

“Fair enough.”

The stairs led down into a small square, where three different roads met.

“Which one?” Yuriko asked Krystal.

“Just follow this one for about a longstride then take a…hmmm, a left, a right a block afterwards, then continue for a couple hundred paces and we’re there.”

The road, labelled 2nd Street, was barely wide enough for four people to walk abreast. They paired off and walked on the right side of the street. It didn’t take long before people pressed up against Yuriko’s vicinity, making her a bit…uncomfortable. She kept a firm grip on her belt pouch and her side-blade while she walked, and Krystal held on to her elbow.

Someone pressed up against her back, but with the press of bodies just trying to walk down the road, Yuriko couldn’t blame them. It was probably one of her friends anyway, and a glance behind confirmed that it was actually Heron, who was also being squeezed in by the pedestrians going both ways.

The road branched out to even smaller alleyways that were barely wide enough to walk through. She did see a few scrawny children darting into or out of them. The stench of bodies soaked in sour perspiration was making her a bit dizzy but they were far enough down the road that turning back would be a chore.

Thankfully, a few hundred paces down, the road widened by half of its original width, though the relief lasted all of a dozen paces before the press of bodies squeezed them together again.

“Where are all these people going?” she muttered.

Her eyes darted about, and saw a few storefronts, selling snacks, hair loopies, ribbons, and even small ornamental bronze work. There was even a tinker’s stall set up across an alleyway, effectively blocking the footpath.

Shaking her head, she felt a hand brush against her skirts. Her eyes darted about but couldn’t find the source.

“Alright, this was a bad idea,” she sighed to Krystal.

“No it isn’t,” Krystal chuckled just loud enough to be heard above the muted noise generated by moving bodies, screaming shopkeepers and hawkers attracting attention. “It’s a nice, er, cosy, walk? Oh, we’re turning left here.”

The next road was wider again and it curved to the right. A circumferential road, Yuriko thought. It was early in the morning and the sun’s rays were soothing against her bare shoulders.

“Where’re the others?” she asked, after glancing back and seeing nothing but stranger’s faces. While she was tall for her age, that only meant that she matched the heights of most adult men. In this case, she couldn’t see over the crowd at all.

A few moments later, and with the crowd parting against her, she saw them rounding the turn. Heron and Mikel’s faces looked haggard and she couldn’t even see below Ishika’s hairline. Nodding, she and Krystal continued on their way, making sure to wait for the others before making the next turn. A few of the pedestrian’s bumped into her when she stopped and, more often than not, cursing under their breaths when they bounced away.

“Sorry,” Yuriko said, but they mostly ignored her and moved past. Except for a few boys who actually looked at her face, gaped, and were swept by the moving crowd.

An hour after they came down from the Steps of Torment, they finally arrived at Zoraster Square and sure enough, there was a bazaar going on. From how worn the wooden stalls were, the bazaar had either become a permanent fixture or had been going on for years. Screaming and giggling kids raced through the crowd, dodging bodies at the last second and even diving between legs in an effort to evade capture from their peers. Yuriko dodged a squirt of a child as he attempted to use her as both cover and shortcut.

The cries of the stall owners drew her attention though. She and Krystal headed over to the nearest one with a tableful of clothes.

“Don’t tell me we went all the way down here so you girls could shop!” Zeyn complained.

“Well, you boys can do your own thing,” Millie said derisively. “Shoo!”

“Er…” Heron hesitated but Zeyn dragged him along. The twins shrugged and followed the other boys, wandering over to the food stalls that gave off tantalizing aromas. Yuriko was tempted to head there too, but her wardrobe wasn’t by any means complete. And Krystal had a death grip on her forearm.

“See you later,” Mikel waved before he wandered away. “Let’s meet back at the inn if we don’t see each other by lunch.”

“Sure,” Yuriko and the other girls agreed.

For the next hour and a half, Yuriko and the others went from stall to stall, going through assorted dresses, shirts, blouses, slacks, hats, underthings, and even shoes and sandals. Yuriko found a bargain floppy hat and a nice grey patterned flat cap for a couple of silver marks each. She didn’t quite like how the fabric of the clothes felt against her hand so she refrained from buying any.

There were also a few children carrying a bunch of hair ties trying to guilt-trip the other girls into buying some but Millie firmly turned them away with a glare. A girl with short bluish hair standing on the corner of a stall caught Yuriko’s eye. She was carrying a bundle of circular rags and was giving them to the stall owner in exchange for a few triangular copper pennies. She had about a dozen paracord lanyards around her neck and the shopkeep pointed at one. The girl took it off and gave it over, receiving a few pennies in return.

Yuriko was oddly drawn by the complicated patterns of the lanyards. The patterns looked deceptively simple but were probably difficult to weave. Just as the girl was about to leave, she called her attention.

“Excuse me,” Yuriko called and when the kid didn’t seem to hear her, she tapped her on the shoulder.

“Oh!” the girl gasped, “you startled me.”

“Sorry,” Yuriko smiled.

“...you’re pretty.”

“Uh-huh, er, how much are those lanyards?”

“Oh, four copper pennies each, miss.”

“Ah, well, I don’t have anything smaller on me so, I’ll buy the lot.” Yuriko offered a silver penny.

The girl’s eyes widened. “But I don’t have change for that much!”

“Don’t mind it, these are beautiful.”

The girl quickly gave her the lanyards, eleven pieces all told. “Are you sure, miss?”

“It’s fine. Thank you.”

“No, thank you very much!” the girl squealed. She gave Yuriko a deep bow and ran off afterwards.

Yuriko pocketed them and continued around the bazaar with the other girls. She found another nice looking beret. She didn’t quite like that shade of purple so she ultimately put it back. They eventually wandered into the part of the bazaar that held the handicraft sellers. She saw a few statuettes on the table even a couple of wooden signet rings with ornate patterns carved on the head.

Soon enough, it was time to return to the Inn. Yuriko didn’t spot any of the boys so the four of them walked back. By the time they reached the Steps of Torment, Krystal, Millie, and Ishika were groaning.

“Come on, we’ll take it slowly,” Yuriko said encouragingly.

“No,” Krystal moaned, “just carry us.”

“Yeah!” Millie and Ishika hastily agreed.

“I can’t carry all three of you at the same time!” Yuriko protested indignantly.

“Well, make two or three trips,” Krystal said.

“No way!” Yuriko protested. “Come on, we’ll never get up there unless we start.”

“Fine, fine,” they grumbled and so started the long and arduous climb up the Steps of Torment. And it turned out that Yuriko did have to carry all three of them up the last two flights, but it was either that or wait an hour for them to catch their breaths.