There wasn’t much on offer. Handwritten meant that books were expensive. Each was the result of hours upon hours of labour. They browsed through the pages, checking on the contents. Time in isolation had made the local calligraphy a bit different from the norm of creation. Every letter was curvy and flowed into the next. Despite those oddities, the script was still readable as the common one used on practically all Leaves. It worked, after all, and was bestowed by the gods. When utility and faith met, few ever rattled the cage.

“I would like works on history and the local creation story,” Aclysia requested the clerk. The rest of the party scanned the books by hand. Reysha was on the lookout for anything that randomly caught her eye. Korith looked for tales of treasure. ‘Come on, this world has pirates, there have to be some legends about hidden booty!’ she thought. ‘Hoards for Hoard, Hoards for Hoard, Hoards for Hoard!’

While the kobold kept chanting in her head, Apexus scanned for books regarding the myths of this place. Books similar to the ones Aclysia had requested, but with a religious or semi-religious bent. He wanted to understand how the local rulers justified the caste system and the slavery. In its inception, in the past, and in the present.

Aclysia was in the middle of getting recommendations when the door to the store opened. Aclysia, Reysha, and Apexus all shot an inquisitive glance over. A glance turned into a stare. Korith wagged her lizard tail.

Boots hit the wooden planks of the building. Four pairs of them, two of them ahead and two of them behind the much softer steps of sandals. The four heavy steps belonged to women clad in the heavy robes of the Felmer. Their outfit had been modified from the usual brown and deep grey layers of cloth to include basic plating that elevated the shape of their breasts and the narrowness of their midriff. They were dark haired, tanned women, tall for this Leaf but still shorter than Reysha by a hand width. Each of them was equipped with sheathed swords.

They surrounded a man in colourful clothes. His skin was pale, untouched by the sun, and only a few decorations painted on his face gave him any colour. He was thin, moderately fit, and a slight bit taller than the women he surrounded himself with.

Apexus did not like the man’s gaze as he looked over the room. There was a casual possessiveness there, of the room and, as it lingered, of the people in it. A lustful curiosity mingled in when he saw Korith. Then a competitive superiority when he stared at Apexus. Almost unnoticeably, the shop owner swallowed.

The newcomer took several steps forward, always surrounded by the four Felmers. “So these are the adventurers I heard so much about?” he raised his voice and finally Korith also turned her head. Crossing eyes with the man immediately made her clutch her mace. “I am Maya-Term Tanas. You may introduce yourselves.” He kept staring at Korith as he said that.

Apexus calmly put the book he was holding back on the shelf. “A trader,” he noted.

“A royal trader!” Tanas harshly corrected, eyes travelling over. “Know your place, casteless, and introduce yourself before you dare say anything else.” Apexus took several steps. The two Felmer at the front allowed it, until he crossed an invisible threshold. Then their hands darted to their swords and they took combat positions. Tanas tutted. “These loyal warriors are of the tenth level and their Dalara is impeccable. If you do not remember your manners soon, they will remind you of it.”

“So, you do have Scribes on this world,” Reysha remarked. Ignoring the sweating shop owner, the redhead jumped onto the counter and sat there. “Hear that, Aclysia?”

“We would prefer not to make a scene,” the metal fairy stated.

“Then you should tell your attack dog to take a step back.” Tanas sneered, glaring at Apexus. “A mute brute is hardly worthy of the company of ladies such as you.”

“I am contemplating if you are worthy of speaking to,” Apexus reported his thoughts honestly. There was no malice or joke to the words and that only made the insult that much harsher. Tanas clenched his jaw and growled, face red, when Apexus turned his attention away.

“I am talking to you, ignorant creature,” Tanas stated.

Apexus looked to Aclysia for advice on how to handle this situation. He found the guardian angel smiling. Not the usual slight smile of her good mood or the broad smile at the end of long and intimate contact, but a sharp and dangerous smile. A smile that he hadn’t seen on her for a long time. “Reysha, Apexus, you two should have a conversation with the man outside. You did wonder about the Dalara, correct?”

The words were terribly sweet. With a broad grin, Reysha jumped off the counter. “As my melody desires,” the humanoid chimera turned. “I am Apexus. Let’s go outside.”

“…it would be unbecoming of me to make a scene in my favourite bookstore,” Tanas declared, as if this had been his idea. He turned around, as did the back two of his bodyguards. The remaining two maintained eye contact with the adventurers for as long as it took their young master to step out of the building.

As they turned, they caught Aclysia’s expression turning dark and condemning. Both instinctively turned around again. The metal fairy did not bother to assume the smiling mask again. The contempt was in her lightless eyes. Hurriedly, they joined the rest of their group outside. Apexus and Reysha were quickly behind them.

“E-everything alright?” Korith asked.

“No one insults my darling like that,” the angel stated in a dreadfully neutral tone. “I hope they burn.” Little bits of heated light played around her fingers. When she noticed, she suddenly snapped out of it. “Ehem, my apologies,” Aclysia turned back to the shopkeeper. The man was so pale, one would think he was bleeding out. “If you would be so kind as to finalize your recommendations?”

Outside the building Reysha and Apexus stood across the Maya-Term and his four Felmer guards. In another district of the city, the standoff would have attracted attention. In this well off part, only a few servants and housewives followed the events from their windows. Everyone else was working in the lower areas of the city.

“My uncle wrote to me of your bad manners, but I did not think an outlander would be this unwise,” Tanas said. “And all I wanted to do was have the conversation you brutes refused to have before. If you still declare your support of the Maya’s castes, I can forget all about this. I am magnanimous like that.” His eyes roamed over Reysha’s body. “I could personally make sure you are given great places in our castes, should you have the wisdom to obey the proper order.”

“You wanna put him in his place or should I?” Reysha asked, ignoring the monologue of the man.

“How does he exist?” Apexus asked.

“Eh, you’d be surprised how entitled people get when they have stuff by right of birth.” Reysha shrugged. “So?”

“I will take care of this,” Apexus decided and stepped forward. The two guards at the front readied themselves to assume their combat pose again, only for Apexus to stop exactly at the invisible line. He placed a fist against his palm and bowed his head. “Maya-Term, I do not care for your country. I ask that you respect my indifference. Turn and tend to your business, so that we may go after ours. That would be wise.”

Tanas felt a vein on his temple throb. “Only the Maya know about all wisdom, how dare you lecture me about it?”

Apexus froze for a moment and gave the proud young man a long stare. The dark hair, the blue eyes, the casual superiority he displayed in every motion. “I require clarification. You claim to have mastered wisdom itself?”

“Of course.” Tanas puffed his chest up. “The Maya have ruled over Mayana for hundreds of years. Our wisdom is as vast as our realm prosperous.”

“When is it appropriate to kill a being of sapience?”

The question threw Tanas off balance. “Are you threatening me?”

Apexus tilted his head, then shook it. “It is a genuine question. I struggle to find a good answer. My teacher struggled with an answer. He was as close to a master of wisdom as I would have anyone claim. If you have mastered the art, give me an answer. When is it appropriate to kill a being of sapience? When can anyone assume the authority and the moral right to end a life before it has run its course?”

“When they threaten the stability of the realm,” Tanas answered.

Apexus mulled over that response in silence for a little bit. “What of all crimes that happen beyond your realm? Are they not worthy of attention?”

“If they want the protection of the Maya, they will have to submit to our laws.”

“Does justice only exist within the nation, then?” Apexus asked. “Is that your answer?”

“How could justice exist outside the nation, between savages and tribes? Without rulers, who can dictate what justice is?” the Maya-Term returned, conviction in every word. “The individual has no perception of justice. Only the Maya know what is best for the lower castes. We know what justice is and we have the authority to execute those that violate it. We are the enforcers of morality.”

The longer Apexus listened, the more he considered those words, the more anger built up inside him. “This is the mastery of wisdom you claim?” he asked.

“I take it you cannot see the-“

“Arrogance!” The boom of Apexus' deep voice made the entirety of the Mayana delegation take a step backwards. In the background, Reysha purred, seeing her man straighten up. An aura of annoyance surrounded him, emotions made tangible through the intense effect a Monk’s mood had on their ki flow. Forcing himself back to the centre, Apexus continued in a scolding voice, “Do not presume to yourself answers you do not have. You inherit responsibility and treat it like a vulture would a carcass.”

“You call me a carrion feeder?!” Tanas growled. “Enough of this. If you do not respect Mayana, then you will be taught respect through the invincible blade dance.” The Maya-Term gestured for the left of his two forward bodyguards to advance. “If he loses a limb, that will be his fault.”

The sword drew with an audible ‘shiiiing’. The blade had the stainless shine of expertly crafted, sharpened, and polished steel. A longsword with a broad blade and broad edges, it was a truly marvellous piece of smithing. The hilt was a decorated pair of iron and brass wrapped in leather. The female Felmer took a deep stance, turning her sword in a wide circle as she did. The onlookers were impressed with the smoothness and confidence of each motion.

Apexus stared passively and looked at the woman. Magic on the Leaf was minimal. To rise above the male peers despite the constraints of biology, to then get what little magic schooling there was from the Maya’s court, and to be assigned as a guard to one of his relatives, all of that was beyond impressive for her society.

Apexus understood this instinctively, even if he was not privy to all the details. “How many are your equal in the Dalara?” he asked.

“The three behind me,” the woman responded. “Only two dozen people in the Maya’s court could beat us in the highest art.”

Apexus nodded and assumed a combat pose himself. “Show me this art.”

“…Will you not draw a weapon?” she gave him the chance.

“I am the weapon,” Apexus responded calmly.

The warrior woman did not know what to make of it. Never had she seen an unarmed person this confident and the tales of adventurers and their magic were extensive. Extensive and, as far as she knew, completely overblown. She had seen the magic of Maya and she knew that it was powerful and that it was limited. Had it been strong enough to stop swords at will, they would not have needed bodyguards.

“Then you are truly to blame if you lose a limb,” she finally declared. Her blade swung through the air. Muscles under the robes shifted, warming up as she danced, flourishing her blade in wide arches. Her opponent’s eyes traced the trajectory of the blade. She established a rhythm, following the lessons of the fourteenth stance of the Dalara. On and on she went, until her body was warm for the movements. The robes breathed with the continued motions, allowing her to keep herself just cool enough to be comfortable. Her opponent retained his pose, unwise to the fact that the only response the Dalara had to this following of steps was the second or seventh blockade. Breaking the rhythm, she spun around her own axis, building momentum with a valiant cry. One deep slice would be-

Stopped.

The blade came to a halt centimetres from his shoulder. The warrior woman stared at the tensed, thick forearm that her wrist had slammed against. The entire energy she had built up had been counteracted by a counterstrike against the arm.

This was not part of the Dalara.

Instinctively, she pulled back and assumed a defensive pose. Expecting him to strike, she awaited his counterattack. The many forms of attack she was used to, none of them were employed. He just stood there, passively and looked at her.

This was not part of the Dalara.

He did not seize momentum, and so she decided to take it from him. One step, then another, she strut forwards confidently. Both times, she swung her sword in wide arches. On the third step, she delayed the swing. On the fourth, she would accelerate, catching him off guard with the broken rhythm. He did not allow her the fourth swing. He did not cede his ground and grabbed her wrist as the third swing began.

This was not part of the Dalara.

Apexus tilted his head and waited for her to show him what she would do next. Confused, he pulled her by the arm. She refused to let go of the weapon, but she didn’t have any means to free her arm.

“Y’all should carry daggers!” Reysha shouted from the background. “Daggers are neat! Ya can stab people when they’re that close!”

The three women and the Maya-Term in the background were too stunned to respond, the Felmer stood where she was too embarrassed and angry to even acknowledge the words. She tried to yank herself free, but she was standing on her toes at this point. Apexus jabbed three points down her arm in quick succession and then released her wrist.

She drew her arm back rapidly. Only when Apexus caught her sword by the hilt, did she realize that her hand was open and numb. “Give that back,” she demanded.

Apexus inspected the weapon. There was no tingle of magic from it. No secret there to unveil. “You won’t be able to hold it,” he told her, pointing at her uselessly dangling arm.

She grabbed herself by the shoulder, hissing when she felt nothing. “Cruel magic, to take my arm from me for the threat of the Maya-Term.”

“It will only last ten minutes,” the Monk informed her calmly. “It would be unjust to hurt more than your pride.” Apexus weighed the weapon in his hand for a little bit. “Reysha, would you value a sword?”

“I would value four swords,” Reysha purred.

“Do not be greedy.”

“Pretty please?” Reysha pushed her lower lip out and made the most adorable face she could. It did tingle the layers of his core.

“You would rob me of my weapon?” the Felmer asked.

“I would disarm you, yes,” Apexus said and handed the sword off to Reysha. “You can win it back.” He looked at the other three women. “I am interested to see more of this Dalara. You claim to be invincible with the sword. He claims to be the master of wisdom.” Apexus pulled his shoulders back, brows pulling together in the mildest display of irritation. “I worked with a carpenter earlier today. When I witnessed him, I was in the presence of an old eagle. Now I am in the presence of chicks. You believe you can soar. You have just forgotten how to fall.” He fixed his gaze on Tanas. “Prove me wrong.”

“Tsk. You, next,” Tanas sent the next member of his bodyguard forwards.

The woman confidently strut forwards. The Dalara was invincible – any loss was a problem of execution, not of the techniques. They were flawless and she would prove it. Taking the place of her caste sister, the Felmer took her longsword in both hands and then lunged straight at him. As the Dalara predicted, he dodged to the side. Hard, she yanked the blade in the direction of his chest. At least she would have, if he hadn’t grabbed her by the wrist.

This was not part of the Dalara.

Disappointed, Apexus wrestled the second weapon away from its wielder and extended another challenging glance. The third woman stepped forwards, twirling and dancing, as she executed wide swing after wide swing in his direction. He dodged nimbly, always keeping a distance. She accelerated. Then she suddenly slowed, did a full spin and stumbled over the leg between her legs.

This was not part of the Dalara.

The last contender went slow and steady. She kept him at a distance with a raised weapon and did not know what to do when he respected that distance. They just stood there, until her arms became tired. As soon as the tip of the weapon started dropping, Apexus rushed in. Her attack was sluggish, a thrust to skewer his shoulder.

Apexus dodged sideways and was about to execute a shoulder throw, when a projectile of magic struck him in the face. Tanas laughed victoriously in the background, hands raised. “In the end the Maya’s divine gifts are the… true power of… the… realm…” His voice trailed off when the explosion of arcane energy cleared. Purple energies thinned out and revealed Apexus’ skin protected by a layer of grey. The Ironskin of the Ready Waters Style had neutralized the attack completely.

“Again.” Apexus took several steps back and offered the Felmer a second try at attacking him. Already humiliated, the warrior charged forwards and joined her sisters in defeat a moment later. Reysha grinned as she was handed the fourth sword. “Will you fight?” Apexus asked, glaring at the Maya-Term.

Tanas was still dumbstruck from the utter lack of impact his blast of magic had. Taking the silence as a no, the Monk turned back to the beaten Felmer. They were clenching their teeth, uncertain of what had happened.

Apexus saw their confusion and provided an answer. “Keep the broken rhythm, discard the rest. The Dalara only defeats itself and inexperience. You waste your stamina, you create a thousand openings, you are inflexible. You dance more than you fight.” The words rung painful, delivered by someone who had just beaten all of them. Apexus turned to the young master. “Do you respect my indifference?”

“…You’re a vile creature, a threat to the realm, undermining our sacred traditions,” Tanas spat when he found his voice again. “The Maya will hear of this, of your manipulation of the Dalara and the theft.”

“Tell him that I will do nothing unless he forces me to,” Apexus stated.

Tanas was about to deliver a heated response, when the door of the bookstore opened and Aclysia stepped out. First she smiled, seeing Apexus, then she stared, dead faced, at Tanas. “The wretch is still present?” she asked, loudly and annoyed with the man’s very existence.

“…You will know your place…!” Tanas began and grit his teeth when he realized he was all out of threats. Turning around so quickly that his robes fluttered, he stomped away.

“I got some very nice books,” Aclysia said in an upbeat tone.

“…’Clysia, I’m supposed to be the crazy one around here,” Reysha complained.