Darkness surrounded them when morning broke in Newland.
Lanine felt it first. The change from black to grey. The slow return of light through the cracks in their shelter. He had not slept much. His eyes had stayed open all night watching the shadows waiting for something to come out of them.
Nothing did.
Rika sat against the rock beside him. She had not slept either. He could tell by the way she was holding herself. Tense. Ready. Like an animal waiting to run.
"The suns are back " she said.
Lanine looked up. Three of them. Rising over the horizon like they owned the place. Maybe they did. He did not know anything anymore.
"Why three?" Rika asked. "That is not normal."
"Maybe it is a thing that happens " Lanine said. "Three stars close together. It happens in space sometimes."
"You are doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"Explaining things with science." She poked his shoulder. "Even though we are in a place where water flows up and bushes eat things. Your science does not matter here."
Lanine opened his mouth to argue. Then he closed it. She was right. Three suns. Glowing berries. Water that lets you hear rocks. Nothing made sense here.
"Okay " he said. "New rule. No assuming anything works the way it should."
"Agreed."
They sat quietly for a moment. Then Lanines stomach made a noise that echoed.
A bush nearby heard it. The bush shuddered. It seemed to be thinking. Then it lifted its roots. Walked away. Slowly. Like it wanted them to know it was leaving on purpose.
Rika stared at it. "Did that bush just—"
"Do not question it."
"New rule two?"
" rule two. Do not question anything."
"Question nothing. Got it."
They still had berries from yesterday. Three of them. Glowing purple in Lanines pocket.
"We should eat " he said. "We need energy."
"Those berries could kill us."
"They could also help us. We do not know."
"That is not comforting."
They looked at the berries. The berries glowed quietly. They did not offer advice.
Lanine ate one. Rika ate one. They saved the third for later.
The effects came quickly.
Lanines vision changed. He could see further. Clearer. He could see ants walking three feet away. He could hear them too. They were talking about the weather. They did not like the humidity.
Rikas hands started glowing purple. She touched a tree. Her hand stuck to it.
"The tree is attacking me " she said.
"Your hand is sticky."
She pulled her hand off the tree. It made a sound like tearing cloth. She touched another tree. Same thing.
"This will wear off " Lanine said. "Probably."
The system spoke in their minds.
GLOWBERRY SIDE EFFECTS NOTICE
Rikas variant: Adhesive Hands. Duration two to four hours. Useful for climbing. Not so useful for touching things you do not want stuck to you.
Lanines variant: Expanded Vision plus Insect Translation. Duration one to three hours. Warning: Insects have boring conversations. They mostly talk about the weather and food.
"I can hear ants " Lanine said.
"What are they saying?"
"They do not like the humidity."
"That is disappointing."
They walked.
It was better than sitting. The land changed as they moved. The twisted purple trees became more normal. Green leaves appeared. Brown dirt that did not try to eat their feet.
Rika pointed. "Look."
Smoke.. Grey. Rising in the distance.
"Another campfire?" Lanine asked.
" much smoke. Too steady. That is not one fire. That is fires."
They looked at each other.. Fear. Both there.
"Maybe it is a village " Rika whispered.
"Maybe it is a monster party."
"Maybe it is both."
SYSTEM NOTICE: SETTLEMENT DETECTED
Designation: Axo Stone Village
Classification: Tier One Settlement
Population: Ten thousand plus
Distance: four miles
Primary Resource: Axo Stone. Lightning-attuned mineral. Valuable.
Threat Level: Unknown.
"Axo Stone " Lanine said. "What is Axo Stone?"
"I do not know." Rika was already moving toward the smoke. ". It is people. Real people. Walls. Roofs. Things that do not want to eat us."
". Monsters pretending to be people."
"That is a risk I'm willing to take."
Lanine could not argue with that. Four miles. Four miles to food and shelter. Four miles to answers.
"Okay " he said. "We go carefully. We watch first. We do not just walk in."
Something crashed through the bushes to their left.
They froze.
The crashing stopped. Then it started again. Closer now. Heavy breathing. Something big was dragging itself through plants.
Lanines expanded vision caught it first. A shape. Low to the ground. Moving like a hunter.
"Do not move " he breathed.
The shape emerged from the bushes.
It looked like a dog. Sort of. If dogs had six legs and no fur. Its skin looked stitched together from leather scraps. Its head turned without its body moving. Three eyes. Different colors.
It had not seen them yet.
It stood directly between them and the smoke.
CREATURE IDENTIFIED: STITCH-HOUND
Classification: Low-tier predator
Threat Level: Moderate. High in a pack.
Diet: Anything smaller, than itself.
Weakness: Cannot see directly behind themselves.
"Behind " Lanine whispered. "We need to get behind it."
The stitch-hounds head turned. All three eyes locked onto them.
"Run " Rika said.
They ran.
The stitch-hound chased them. Fast. Its six legs moved in a rippling pattern. The sounds it made were terrible.
Lanines expanded vision was both good and bad. Good because he could see how fast it was gaining. Bad because he could panic with precision.
"Left!" he shouted.
Rika followed. Her sticky hands grabbed rocks as she ran. She pulled herself along.
The stitch-hound followed them around the rocks. Its jaws opened. Rows of teeth.
Lanines foot caught on something. He fell. Rolled. Looked up.
Six legs. Three eyes. Many teeth.
Then—THWACK.
The stitch-hounds head snapped sideways. It crumpled.
Rika stood behind it. Holding a rock the size of her head. Breathing hard.
"I threw a rock " she said. "It worked."
The stitch-hound twitched. She hit it again.
"Stop moving. Stay dead."
Lanine got up. "Rika it is dead."
"Are you sure?"
"Eighty percent sure."
She hit it one time. Then she dropped the rock. Looked at her hands. They were not glowing anymore.
"The stickiness is gone " she said.
"Good job."
I killed a monster with a rock while my hands were sticky.
That is going on your resume.
She laughed,. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was a laugh of pride and power a feeling that maybe they could survive this place.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: BLOOD
You killed a creature in Newland. The stitch-hound population has gone down by one. You are welcome, ecosystem.
REWARD:. One combat confidence.. One improvised weapon proficiency.
They did not stick around to celebrate. The stitch-hound might have friends. They did not want to meet them. They kept walking toward the smoke and something was different now. They moved with a sense of trust watching each others backs without needing to say a word.
The wilderness changed as they walked. Trees became fewer and farther between. The ground became harder and more packed down. It was like a road.
"A road " Lanine said, his voice full of wonder.
It was not much a dirt path worn smooth by many feet.. It was made on purpose, made by beings who knew where they were going. The smoke was closer now. He could see shapes in the distance. Roofs, walls, buildings.
Axo Stone Village.
They stopped at the edge of the trees hiding in the shadows and just looking. The village was bigger than Lanine thought it would be with houses close and a central square with a well. People were moving between buildings living their lives as if the world had not turned down.
"It is real " Rika whispered.
Yeah.
They. Watched, trying to decide what to do next. Lanine thought about walking and asking for help but he was not sure how that would go.
"Carefully " he said finally. We do this carefully.
Behind them something howled. It was not a stitch-hound. It was worse.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: CIVILIZATION FOUND
You have located a settlement. Whether it contains friends or enemies remains to be seen. Either way it probably has food. Priorities.
REWARD:. One hope.. One appetite.
They waited at the edge of the trees watching and learning. People carried baskets children ran around and merchants yelled about prices. It looked so normal that it made Lanines chest ache.
We should wait longer Rika said. See how they treat strangers.
Agreed.
They found a spot with cover and watched. An hour passed then two. The sun moved across the sky and people came and went. Nothing seemed threatening.
I think it is safe Rika said finally.
They are very good at pretending.
You are too paranoid.
I am alive.
Fair. She stood up brushing dirt from her clothes. Come on. Let us go meet some villagers.
Lanine stood too his legs stiff and his heart pounding. Together they stepped out of the trees. Walked toward Axo Stone Village, toward civilization toward whatever came next.
Two figures emerged from the village edge. Guards. Lanine could tell by how they moved, by the way they looked at everything. One was tall with scars across his cheeks. The other was younger with hands that looked stained dark.
Stop, the one called. State your origin.
Lanine opened his mouth. Nothing came out. Rika stepped forward.
We are travelers she said. From away. Very far.
The guards exchanged glances and the scarred one studied them. His eyes were the color of cooling lava.
You look like you have been in the wilderness.
Yes.
How long?
Two days.
The guards eyebrows shot up. You survived two days there looking like that?
Is that not normal? Lanine asked.
The guards looked at each other again. This time something like respect flickered in their expressions.
The wilderness kills arrivals within hours the younger guard said. Days if they are lucky. You two must have something going for you.
Luck Lanine said weakly. Lots of luck.
And a rock Rika added. I had a rock. Several rocks actually. One worked well.
The scarred guard laughed, a sound like stones grinding.. It was not unkind.
Come on then he said.. Rocks. That is more than most have. He gestured toward the village. The Chief will want to see you. Strangers appear right before the sect arrives. That is either fortune or trouble.
What sect? Rika asked.
Both guards stopped.
You do not know?
We do not know anything Lanine admitted.
The scarred guard studied them for a moment then shook his head and smiled.
You two really are arrivals. Welcome to Newland. I am Goro. He jerked his thumb at the guard. This is Torben. Come on.. Talk.
They walked into the village. It was overwhelming. Not because it was huge. Lanine had seen cities on his planet. But because everything was different. The buildings were not quite straight the colors were not quite right. The air smelled like cooking meat and something metallic like lightning after a storm.
Children ran past chasing a ball that bounced before it hit the ground. Merchants called out prices in words that sometimes made sense and sometimes did not. A woman walked by with a basket of fruit that glowed faintly.
Do not stare Rika muttered.
Everything is worth staring at.
Stare less.
They passed a square and there was a stone platform there about ten feet across. It pulsed with purple and gold swirling like liquid under the surface.
Lanines intuition screamed. Important. Very important. Remember this.
The Destiny Platform Goro said. He saw Lanine looking. Every village has one. Confirms our existence to... Everything I guess. Keeps us safe.
Safe from what?
From being forgotten Goro said. If you are not remembered by the Platform you might well not exist. Villages without them just vanish. Not destroyed. Just gone. Like they were never there.
Rika grabbed Lanines arm, hard.
That can happen?
If the Platform breaks Goro said.. If the villages destiny drops too low. That is why the next few days are so important. Sect admission. If one kid gets in our destiny goes up. We become more real.
Lanine looked at the Platform with eyes with new fear too.
The Chiefs house was bigger than the others with a stone foundation and actual glass in the windows. Glass. Lanine had never been so happy to see something normal.
The Chief herself was a surprise. He expected a man with a beard but instead a woman who looked maybe forty sat behind a wooden desk. She had arms grey hair cut short and eyes the same lava color as Goros.
Survivors from the wilderness she said, her voice. Assessing. Two days out there. Impressive.
We were lucky Lanine said.
Luck is a resource like any other she said, gesturing to chairs. Sit. Eat.
Food appeared. Bread, meat, something that tasted like a vegetable but moved slightly on the tongue. Lanine did not care. He ate as he had never eaten before.
Rika was more restrained. Only slightly. The Chief watched them with amusement.
You will do she said finally. You have survival instincts. That is good. You arrived at a time.
The sect Rika guessed.
The Molten Core Sect the Chief said. They are sending examiners in seven days to test our people for admission. This is a deal for a village our size. If one kid gets in our destiny goes up. More kids, destiny. Maybe we finally become a town.
Lanine nodded, understanding maybe half of it.
The Molten Core he said. That is a fire sect?
Main focus yes the Chief said. They also teach paths. Body cultivation. Alchemy. Formations. Good sect. Respected.
She studied him. You are too old to test.. If you are still here in seven days watch and learn. Might teach you something, about where you're
I would like that.
"Good " the Chief said, standing up. "Goro find them a place to sleep. They can work for their keep. Everyone in Axo Stone works."
Their new home was a shed literally. It had a roof and four walls with enough space for the two of them to lie down without touching each other. It was like a luxury.
Rika said, "It is better than being in the wilderness."
"The standards are pretty low " Lanine replied.
"You can say that again the standards are down."
They sat at the doorway watching the village settle in for the evening. The three suns had gone down. The sky was that lovely purple again. People were lighting torches along the path.
Rika said, "We have seven days."
"Seven days until we see what cultivation is about " Lanine added.
"And figure out if we can do it too " Rika continued.
Lanine looked down at his hands. They were ordinary hands, human hands from a planet that was destroyed. What could they even do here?
Then he heard a whisper in his mind. He jerked back surprised.
Rika asked, "What is it?"
Lanine shook his head. "I thought I heard something. It was nothing."
The whisper came again. It was fainter this time and it faded away. Lanine said nothing.
Night. They went to sleep.
Lanine had a dream about fire. It was not a destructive fire. It was an welcoming fire, full of light. A voice kept saying "remember" over until he woke up with the word on his lips.
Rika was already awake staring up at the ceiling.
Lanine asked her "Did you dream?"
"Fire " she said.
"Me too " Lanine replied.
Rikas dream was different. "My fire was hungry like something was searching for me."
They were quiet, for a moment. Then they heard a howl outside.. This time neither of them flinched.