“Right, well… you never know. I’d still like to find a cure for my cancer before I go home, so there’s a chance I’ll come back.”

Ferrith snorted as we waded into a thicker section of the crowd. “If you decide to leave Oxenraith, they’ll let you go anywhere in the world that’s on the Porter’s network. I don’t advise coming back to Haemir.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“It’s on the edge of Kalador’s territory and known primarily for its monsters. Head South. Down in Dileth, the only real threat is bandits, and they don’t try to eat you.” Through the crowded center of the city, Ferrith led us toward the domed Porter’s Guildhouse instead of skirting around the perimeter like he had previously.

We walked right in a large pair of propped open double doors in the front of the building. The interior was constructed of polished gray stone tiles and had two long counters with rows of people lined up before them. Ferrith picked the closest line and came to a stop behind a narrow-shouldered woman in a bright yellow tunic. She was of equal height to Ferrith, while the two children she had with her looked closer to my height. That made me idly wonder whether strangers would assume Ferrith was my father. Looking around, I saw dozens of similar lines all slowly making their way up to one of the many counters. There was no sign of the enormous dome I’d seen from outside, but there was a hallway up ahead leading deeper into the building. A few of the city watch stood guard at the entrance, monitoring the people going in and out.

“You know…” I said to Ferrith when I realized we were going to be stuck in line for a while. “There was something Gora said that’s been bothering me.”

“And are you going to bother me with it now?” Ferrith asked.

“Well, I was going to ask you about it. Whether it bothers you isn’t up to me.” Ferrith sighed loud enough to be heard over the crowd. I took that as permission to proceed. “While he was talking about that Homeward Brand, he said you could use it to escape ‘you-know-what’. I tried asking him what that was, but he just changed the subject.”

“Smart of him,” Ferrith said. “I’d like to do the same. Why don’t you tell me about that ‘bob’ thing you humans make? It explodes, right?”

“You mean bombs?” I asked. “Sure, I’ll tell you all about them if you tell me what the you-know-what is.”

The woman in front of us glanced over her shoulder at me. I couldn’t get a read on the look she shot at me, but I guessed it meant she was eavesdropping. “No deal,” Ferrith said. “Now is not a good time to discuss that. If you want to know the answer to that question, wait until the next Culling.”

“The next what?” I asked. “Culling? What’s that? How will I know when it happens?”

“You’ll know,” Ferrith stated flatly. His voice had a dark undertone to it that was hard to miss. He didn’t provide any further context, but the woman in front of us looked back at me again, then grabbed her kids and led them away in a hurry. Ferrith just shrugged and took a few steps forward in line. “You see? If that was a safe topic to discuss, I would have mentioned it to you by now. It’s not. Here’s some free advice: forget about it.”

“But I don’t even know what it is! Can’t you just whisper it in my ear if you’re afraid of others overhearing?”

“No. If you talk to anyone else about it they’ll arrest both of us. I suggest finding something else to be curious about. If you stay in Earris long enough, you learn what it is eventually. And when you do, I want you to think back to this conversation and realize I was trying to do you a favor.” I gave a nice loud harrumph to let Ferrith know I was displeased, but dropped the subject. Maybe I could try later with Clarice. I had a translator now. I didn’t need to depend on Ferrith to tell me everything.

The cacophony of speech that surrounded us no longer sounded foreign to me, but English. That didn’t mean I could automatically understand everything said, but I found if I listened, I could make out the occasional word or phrase. I got lost in the chaos of trying to take everything in as Ferrith slowly shuffled us closer to the front of the line. People commented on the nice weather; two men entered the line next to us wearing tall, conical hats and arguing about some kind of new tax issued by King Julius; the couple in front of us held hands as they discussed the travel accommodations they’d arranged at a place called “Lirnen”. It was a lot to take in.

I noticed a number of rissians who weren’t waiting in any lines. It looked like they might be employees, based on their similar outfits of a sleek white suit with oversized copper buttons running down the breast. A few of these uniformed rissians stood behind the desks processing people that reached the front, while more of them wandered around, keeping an eye on the customers. In front of our line, I watched a tall man receive a flashy-looking square of paper that looked like a ticket. After processing through the front desk, I saw customers proceed to the central hallway that was overseen by a few of the city watch. The place reminded me of a busy train station.

“So, uh…” I said to Ferrith, as the customers in front of us continued to be processed. “This place is how people travel in Earris?”

Ferrith glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyes flat and unamused. “I already told you that,” he said. “The Porter’s are the fastest way to travel. That’s why almost nobody takes the King’s Road anymore. Did you think you were going to walk to Oxenraith?”

“Yeah? I mean, nobody ever mentioned how far away it was. I thought it was in the city.”

“No, not in Haemir. Oxenraith University is in the city of Oxenraith, which is on the other side of the world. Both cities are on the Porter’s network, so it’s easy to travel between them.” He pointed towards the hallway people kept disappearing into.

“So this is like teleportation? Instant transport?”

Ferrith shrugged. “It’s just the Porters. You walk through the Doorway, and you’re there. They just only take you to places in the network. If you want to go somewhere else, you have to pay extra.”

“And traveling this way… is it expensive?”

Ferrith shrugged. “What do you care? The University is covering your travel.” He saw the look I gave him and offered slightly more explanation. “Well, it’s not cheap. You could hire a boat to take you to Oxenraith for less. That’s how they decide what to charge. Always just a bit more than the next cheapest option.”

“We have a similar service on Earth. Faster travel that costs more. We call them planes.”

Ferrith turned back to the counter as the person in front of us finished talking to the agent. “You humans sure have a lot of funny words,” Ferrith said.

“And rissians don’t?” I challenged.

Our friendly disagreement was interrupted by the attendant beckoning us forward. “Next, please,” she called out in a clear voice.

I followed as Ferrith approached the counter.

“Parcel, port, or private?” she asked before Ferrith even volunteered any information of his own.

“Port,” Ferrith answered.

“Location?” the woman droned. She didn’t even look up at us. Her attention was instead focused on the massive book in front of her, quill at the ready.

“Oxenraith,” Ferrith said. “For one adult.”

“Coin or credit?” the woman asked.

“Credit,” Ferrith replied. He slid a folded piece of paper across the counter.

The woman unfolded the paper with practiced motions, then held it up. She looked at Ferrith, the paper, then at me. “He the traveler?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m just dropping him off,” Ferrith explained.