On his way out, Theo scouted potential allies. As usual, Navim required special accommodations, though it seemed like the Landguard village actually had a special place near the mine to house Mundhin. Famaj had taken a room near Theo's, but seemed mostly interested in talking with relatives in the city. That left him free to explore the city, though he decided to track down Fiyu first.

Predictably, she had chosen a room deep in the women's building, far from the others. When he arrived, she was pinning sheets of fabric over the windows to block out as much light as possible. As soon as he neared the door, she shifted toward him and smiled.

"Hello, Jake. Are you going to go into the city?"

"I was thinking of it." He stayed outside of her space and just leaned against the door frame. "Do you want to come?"

"No, I do not. Would it be possible for you to purchase something for me? When I was thrown here, I lost a tool called a spirit lantern. It is designed to store and repurpose cantae from sublime materials, do you know it?"

"Yeah, I think I've seen those before. They should have something similar here, so if you'll just give me the money..."

Fiyu frowned and regarded him as if puzzled. "If you return with the spirit lantern, I will give you the money then."

Though he felt a flash of irritation that she didn't trust him, Theo realized he was being too human. In Ichil, his offer would never have been taken at face value, and he was asking her for a level of trust that wouldn't be given even to some family. The fact that she had asked him at all was a positive sign, or at least he tried to take it that way.

"Alright, I'll look for your spirit lantern. I'll be back later this evening."

"Thank you, Jake. I will be here in my chambers."

He nodded and turned away, almost wishing that he'd given her his real name. It didn't really matter, though, especially given the limited trust between them. Instead of worrying about that, Theo counted his money and considered his highest priorities as he left the village.

The amount of money he'd been given was limited, and even combined with what he'd earned on the journey, it wasn't enough to buy sublime materials, at least not those of the quality he needed. That meant he'd need to rely on what he could earn directly from the Farmguards, which was more or less what he'd expected. He'd spend part on Fiyu's spirit lantern, pick up a few items he could use himself, and otherwise save the rest.

There were Farmguards at the entrance gate to the Landguard Village, ordinary soulcrafters but with fully built first floors. If demons attacked, he doubted any of them would falter in confusion, though they likely dealt with more ordinary problems in the city. They checked everyone, but already knew him by sight and merely waved to him as he went through.

A large Tatian city included countless potential diversions, none of which Theo had time for at the moment. Other potential soulcrafters from the school were also leaving at the same time and they might well take the tools he needed. Theo asked a few people on the street, focusing to use the local dialect, and was soon directed to a soulcrafter district not far away.

Once there, he looked through several stores and eventually found one that struck him as professional. They sold a gourd lamp that would serve as a spirit lantern, as well as a high quality spirit hammer. His chisel was better for wood or detail work, but he'd be working with heavy stone soon. The two cost more than he'd intended, and the customary bargaining process was aggravating, but his old instincts came back and he managed to get out of the store without being robbed.

As he started to return, he noticed a group of Fithans in the street. They weren't the ones who had come with him from the village, and beyond that they were a different species. Theo wasn't an expert on Fithe, but he knew the world had at least two major species. Those he'd met before had bluish horns, whereas this group was hornless with a reddish coloring.

What those differences meant, he didn't know, but it was clear enough that they were potential soulcrafters at the same school. More importantly, they drew his attention to a building that he'd completely ignored on his trip out. It was a finely crafted wooden structure with three stories, filled with windows to draw the eye to its real product.

Prostitutes framed themselves in the windows, both women and men. Their robes were more form-fitting than scanty, and the overall atmosphere was more warm than alluring, but the intent was obvious. This had clearly been what the Fithans had been looking for, so they crowded in, receiving a warm reception.

"You're an outsider too, aren't you? You don't look familiar..." A young woman leaned out from one of the ground floor windows, her curious expression suddenly giving way to a beaming smile. "Wait! Famaj said there were a few travelers from really far away who risked their lives to save a village. Was that you?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess I was one of them." Theo realized that he'd mostly forgotten this aspect of Tatian: prostitution was essentially not stigmatized, so long as it was done in a way that supported the community. It wasn't considered as healthy as marriage - or lovebonds or whatever saccharine term they used - but it was common once you got out of the tiny villages.

"Would you like to come inside? I'll give you a good rate if you tell stories about your home world!"

Theo considered it for only a split second. He had limited money and time, and this would be a waste of both. Even if he had been tempted, he remembered that the word was "warmthgivers" which was so irritatingly euphemistic that it left him repulsed by the whole idea.

"Thank you, but I need to get back to the school to work."

"Okay! Have a nice day!" She gave him another cheerful smile and looked back to the street, humming a pleasant tune to herself.

With a quick shake of his head, Theo put the incident behind him and headed back. He realized that even though he had a young body, he didn't feel like a horny teenager. In fact, seeing the young woman just made him feel like a tired old man, which he was in a sense. As much as he tried to forget his years on Earth, they had included a few relationships and a disastrous marriage.

It was easier not to think about that. He turned his thoughts back to soulcrafting.

Back within the village, he found Fiyu in the middle of soulcrafting, but her shadows faded as soon as he opened the door. Her mouth twisted nervously, so he simply tossed the spirit lantern to her. She ran her hands over it studiously, then she beamed.

"This will be sufficient. Thank you, Jake."

"No problem."

"What was the price?" Fiyu's face fell as she picked up her sack of money. "I... wish to be properly cautious, but I do not know what such a thing would cost in this world."

"When you're outside your home environment, you have to trust someone until you learn." Theo gave her the real price and she paid it with only a little hesitation. Though it seemed that she was busy, when he started to leave, she spoke up again.

"My relative had given me a number of sublime materials, so there is much work I can do. But when I have finished my current projects, I am... uncertain about the materials of this world. Do you think the teachers will be able to assist me?"

Theo shrugged, though he wasn't sure if the movement got through to her. "I'm sure they'll try their best to help you, so the real question is if they'll find anyone who can. I think they'll call teachers from further away, so maybe some of them will be experienced world travelers."

"I see. I am not familiar with these 'learningplaces' but I believe that my relative would want me to take advantage of the opportunity. I hope that we can study together, Jake."

"Yeah, me too. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Fiyu bobbed her head and then closed the door in his face. Only a little taken aback, Theo turned away and headed toward the mine. The sun might be close to setting, but the city was still awash in an orange glow as lanterns and bonfires were lit. It occurred to him that they must have a method to avoid widespread destructive fires, but he wasn't sure what it was.

In any case, he didn't intend to rest just yet. Sneaking into the mine might prove an unnecessary risk, but that didn't leave him without options. Theo instead searched for a Farmguard or someone else who could give him permission. He didn't expect to run into Nanjuma, but since the old man seemed to be calmly sitting on a bench and eating nuts, it might be a good time.

"Welcome back, young man." Nanjuma beamed at him and offered the bag. "Want a little treat?"

"No, thank you. But I was wondering if you could help me acquire some sublime materials to work on before school begins."

"Oh, but it will only be a few days until everyone has arrived! Why don't you enjoy yourself in the city first?"

"That's kind of you, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Ah, youth. I remember when all of that still stretched before me..." Nanjuma gave him a foolish smile, yet his eyes bored directly into his soulhome. "As I said, we have plenty of sublime materials, but you will need to convince me that you can make good use of them."

Deciding that simple words would be useless, Theo stepped into his soulhome, then leaned through the door enough to speak. "I may not have soulcrafted myself for long, but I know many of the arts. I would like to begin the long, hard work of processing stone."

"Ah, you do know a few tricks! How does a young man who has barely awakened as a soulcrafter know such things?"

"Are you going to make me answer before giving me anything?" Theo asked, stepping back out of his soulhome. Nanjuma regarded him seriously, then his eyes twinkled.

"Enjoy your secrets, then! You're right about the amount of work that stone takes, and I don't think you can hurt yourself just preparing it. What did you have in mind? We have plenty of our awakened stone, but perhaps something from the soil of a hearthtree?"

"Does the mine produce any solarstone?"

Nanjuma rose to his feet slowly and popped another few nuts in his mouth, looking down at him thoughtfully. "It does, but I think you're underestimating just how hard solarstone is. You won't be able to put a crack in it, much less form it into bricks suitable for a soulhome."

"You might be right, but I want to try." Theo hefted the spirit hammer he'd bought and gave what he hoped was a disarming smile. "Why don't you give me one stone? If you're right, all I'll do is waste my time and hurt my hands a bit."

"Hmm." Then Nanjuma was simply gone.

He appeared a second later, and this time Theo was just able to spot a blur. The old man now held a large chunk of bright rock instead of his bag of nuts. Though he smiled cheerfully and thrust it forward, the implicit threat was clear: someone who could go to the mine and back in a heartbeat could just as easily kill a person.

"Thank you." Theo accepted the chunk of rock, not looking at it directly - though it wasn't blinding, it was unpleasantly bright. Deciding that this was also a test of sorts, he gripped it in both hands and focused his full attention on it.

For several terrible seconds his hands hurt and he was afraid he'd be proved wrong, but finally the stone crumbled away into his soulhome. Nanjuma regarded him with a cheerful grin. "Well done, young man! If you really manage to do anything with that bit of rock, perhaps I can find a little more for you. I hope you'll make this school fun for all of us."

"I'll do my best," Theo answered, though he wasn't sure exactly what that meant. Not wanting to push his luck, he returned to his room and then drew the spirit hammer with him into his soulhome.

Within, the chunk of solarstone was a large boulder. It would be a great deal of work, but he could slowly break it into pieces, then shape those into bricks of stone. His foundation still needed work, but building the walls of his first tier from solarstone was as good a start as he could ask for. Now that he had a proper material, it was time to get to work.

His first swing deflected off to the side, his spiritual hands stinging. Several more attempts failed to leave a scratch as well, though he was slowly remembering the old art. Gradually he managed to draw the weak stream of cantae into himself, strengthening himself as a soulcrafter until he could bring his full force against the boulder in a single stroke.

A tiny crack appeared in the top of the boulder... the first of many. Theo smiled and pulled the hammer back.