The experience in the courtyard that afternoon set the precedent for the next few days.

Most of the time Jack was still cooped up in the room that he'd first woken up in, a prisoner as much as a patient with the door being kept locked. At what he assumed to be mealtimes, the Shrew would come and collect him from the room and lead him to the courtyard, accompanying him through the mediation that he was slowly becoming more at ease with.

While his mind was insisting that he should be starving in the absence of three full plates of food a day, his body was showing remarkable improvements from the tiny mouthfuls of fruit. He wasn't getting stronger, per se, but his stamina was recovering in leaps and bounds.

After a few days of this routine - during which he'd managed to learn that the Shrew called herself Jun, mostly by repeatedly pointing to himself and saying "Jack", and then pointing at her until she got the idea - he could manage the walk to and from the courtyard without breaking out into a sweat or collapsing as soon as he returned to his bed. He could also walk the length of the courtyard repeatedly, encouraged by Jun.

The makeshift weight still felt like a ton of bricks, but he could at least manage to lift it. Jun didn't talk much to him, but he noticed that although he still couldn't understand a word she said, it was getting easier for him to grasp what she meant.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, uncle?" Jun asked Elder Li as they approached the young man, no, Jack's door. What an odd name, a name with no meaning!

"Strange as he is, he's not our prisoner. We can't keep him locked up in our home indefinitely, can we?" he smiled as he replied. "I don't feel any threat from him, so what harm is there in letting him accompany us in town? The fresh air will do him good, and besides, we can learn more from him in a different setting!".

Jun bowed briefly in deference of her Uncle's decision, before knocking to let Jack know they were coming in.

"That's different", thought Jack. Not only had Conficius joined Jun this morning, but he immediately noticed that the clothes Jun had placed on the stool were of a much better quality than usual. "Maybe they're also a little less itchy", he groused to himself.

Jun said something that felt like "Get dressed", before she and Conficius turned their backs to give him some privacy.

Coughing to indicate it was safe to turn around, he followed as Conficius set off, with Jun beckoning him to join them. He peered around curiously as they walked past the courtyard door and turned into a neat little reception area instead, heading for the front door...

He was unaccountably nervous stepping outside, having been cocooned since his mysterious arrival here.

His original impression of this being an old cowboy town was not in any way refuted by being in it; perhaps a little neater, with more greenery in sills and pots than he'd expected. Confucius stepped out onto the dirt street and ambled along at an easy pace. Jack and Jun trailed a few steps behind as Conficius walked down the street, responding with a nod, a smile or a few words as they passed the other townsfolk going about their early mornings.

It didn't seem like they had any destination in mind, as they passed shops, kids playing in the street, old men arguing good naturedly and older women gossiping loudly. Not to mention the lizards, being ridden and walked. Jack shied away the first few times any of them came near him, but they simply ignored him and he soon resorted to just giving them a wary eye as they passed. They smelled just like old leather, barely noticeable.

The shops and businesses grew sparser, and were gradually replaced by what were obviously homes, complete with manicured gardens and little fences.

Eventually, after about two miles, the road seemed to come to an abrupt T-junction at the entrance to a walled compound.

Conficius knocked on a small door inset into a much larger gate, and soon they gained entrance into the compound.

Which Jack soon realised was a school or an academy of some sort; the compound was split into four squares, each occupied by children of all ages, from some that were barely more than toddlers right through to a few that appeared to be his own age. The younger ones were mostly meditating, sitting around listening to lessons, with a few that looked like they were practicing some form of martial arts. Many of the older ones seemed to be practicing fighting of some form, or sparring.

The outer edge of the compound was made up of classrooms, students sitting on meditation mats while a teacher walked around, answering questions.

Again, he saw orbs similar to the one he had seen Jun staring at from time to time in the hands of many of the students. "What are those?", he whispered to Jun, hoping she'd understand what he was asking, pointing to a nearby student entranced by one.

He withered her look of almost disgust as she replied. He was getting used to feeling the meaning behind the words, and could feel learning and knowledge as being the crux of her reply. Along with a hint of scorn? Seems like emotions could also be felt.

He didn't see any books or anything to do with written language, so these orbs were a learning aid? He didn't understand, but didn't have any more time to ponder what Jun meant when Confucius indicated for the two of them to wait while he went to converse with a striking older lady that had approached from a central building.

The headmistress?