As their stores of food began to run low, Theo thought they understood the lay of the land. The grassy region containing the gate to Tatian was neither particularly dangerous nor particularly fertile, so it remained mostly uninhabited, including an absence of any pursuers from Nlukoko. Other regions, however, proved less simple.

To the east the razor hedge blocked off a significant area that appeared to be farmland, likely controlled by local families. Northeast of the hedge, there was a region of smaller villages, but those were useless to him. The city lay due north, still unnamed, and they'd travel there once they'd done all the preparation they could. But the most important region was to the northwest, which grew denser with silvery trees.

If he understood correctly, it was actually a managed forest, controlled by the local powers but not as firmly blocked off. Their group had mostly avoided it while they gathered information and soulcrafted final advantages for themselves, but if they wanted new sublime materials, they'd have to consider taking the risk.

The question was the level of risk and how best to mitigate it. At the moment, Theo scanned the borders, considering every variable he had any control over. Fiyu was scouting using her special senses and Nauda was investigating socially, so hopefully they would provide additional angles. For his part, what mattered was which resources were actually critical to local families...

"What," Nauda said as she came up behind him, silver cloak flapping, "you're not going to just steal everything like usual?"

"On Deuxan, stealing from the wrong person could get you killed." Theo turned away from the forest to look back at her. "Have you just been letting this moral indignation simmer? Am I going to get a lecture now?"

To his surprise, Nauda totally ignored his question and instead answered in a mild tone. "Have you ever seen a Tatian morality play?"

"The ones with the fancy masks in the village square? I think I saw a few from a distance on my previous visit, but I didn't pay much attention to them."

"I suspect you would hate them. They're simple little stories about good and bad members of the community, showing how crimes such as lies or theft hurt everyone and damage the community. The villains are terrible caricatures who announce out loud that they hate the community and think it needs to be torn down so only the strong can rule."

"You sound like you've been forced to sit through a few too many of them."

"Not exactly, Theo." After a deep breath, Nauda glanced back at him, everything about her expression wiped clean to reveal a deceptive mildness. "What I find troubling about you is how indifferent you seem to the idea of community. I've met a few morality play villains in the real world, and more who simply can't care for others, but you... we might have most of the same values, I think, but you don't seem to have any of the foundation for them."

Theo stared back at her, not having expected such an approach, but he didn't sense any mockery from her, so it deserved a serious response. "Where I'm from, we tend to frame things more individualistically, but that isn't really the point. I've seen too many people justify all their actions or spout pseudo-philosophy. I'm trying to do what I think is necessary, but I'm no hero."

"You could play the part, almost." She gave him an oddly quirking smile. "Other than being too pale, you have the right jaw, and that hair is very Tatian. I heard about how the Archcrafters in Nlukoko listened to you. If you got yourself a humble robe and played the part, they'd buy it."

"Huh." All his thoughts about that were horribly entangled with his view of himself in his previous life, and especially the plans he'd had for himself upon returning. A heroic role no longer appealed, and more importantly, he didn't care except as it related to Nauda. "So why bring it up? I take it you're not actually going to object."

"It would be a bit hypocritical, since I'm wearing this cloak you probably stole." Nauda began to pull it off and handed it back to him, not making eye contact. "I think I want to make the world a better place, but all my life, I've been told that the world is the community, and I've never quite been able to embrace that."

"Nauda... I don't think I'm the right person to talk to about any of this." Maybe once, but not after forty years on Earth. She regarded him critically, then accepted his refusal and shook her head, her hair sweeping the entire matter aside.

"It's probably better learned in the doing, anyway. On that note, I was able to speak to several more local Deuxans today and I think I have the information you wanted. Shall we wait for Fiyu, then I can relate it all?"

That seemed an eminently reasonable plan, but at that moment Fiyu blurred from out of the air beside them, a slight smile on her face. "I am here. I only wanted to let you talk."

Nauda jumped a little, then gave a rueful smile. "You've got to stop sneaking up on us like that."

"I believe it is time for us all to sneak together. Observe." Fiyu closed her eyes, then a ripple passed through the air, this time encompassing them. Theo's instinct was to resist, but he let the cantae slide over his body and expand into a sphere that just encased the trio.

The world around them appeared dark and slightly hazy, but Theo was surprised how easy it was to see, given that Fiyu's technique seemed to render her completely invisible. Clearly it didn't work on a simple principle like bending light away from her. She stood beside them, without any attempt to restrain the proud smile.

"I have been working hard on this. It also softens all sounds within the sphere, though we should still be quiet. Most common methods of feeling us indirectly will also be redirected, but I could not find a way to reduce smell." Fiyu's face fell, more than that minor weakness deserved. "I am afraid that the chamber is still very modest, however, so the illusion is weak. The cantae of an Archcrafter will penetrate directly through, so it is not very useful."

"It's always possible for more intense cantae to break techniques," Nauda reassured, visibly restraining herself from embracing Fiyu. "And you've only been soulcrafting for a few days. This is more than enough for a start."

Observation by Archcrafters was actually a significant weakness, though Theo kept silent about that. It would be more productive to consider how the technique might be improved, since with the right construction it might be able to escape the eyes of even Rulers. Regardless, being invisible in plain sight was always a terrible form of stealth compared to being invisible at the margins, so this was an edge they could use.

"Everybody disappeared! Senka is confused!" The brat wandered out of the trees, eyes wide.

"This is my technique, Senka." Fiyu didn't speak any louder than normal, but Senka perked up and swung wildly in their direction. "Please wait for us while I practice."

In response, Senka charged in their direction, tripped, and rolled past them down a hill. Fiyu gasped and Nauda checked to see if she was okay, but Theo just stepped in the way to get their attention. They'd prepared as long as they could, so it was time to begin.

"Nauda, why don't you tell us what you've learned so far?"

"The city is named Anguedan," she began, "and though they made some big claims about how important it is, the local villagers gave me the sense it's only a mid-sized city. Apparently their noble court is fairly small, with under a dozen families. I confess, I don't fully understand how their communities are organized."

"Most Deuxan nations are factions within factions, all the way down. Each 'family' is actually a cluster of related clans that work together, competing against the others. They'll all come together to form the Anguedan Court, which governs the city and surrounding area. Whoever controls the local court sends the representative to a regional or national court... who is it here?"

"That explains why everyone said the Armeau family is so important: apparently they're the largest family and they have been for generations. The others are apparently too small to matter, with two exceptions. First, there's a family they call 'Tatianborn' that seems to be made up of non-Deuxans. Then the Evigne family is... part of another community, I think?"

"They're probably related to a powerful family that controls some other court." Theo folded his arms and frowned as he failed to come up with memories attached to any of the names. They might have changed over time, but it seemed more likely that he was in entirely the wrong part of Deuxan. "I'll ask once we meet court representatives, but I don't think I know anyone here, or that we're close to anything I left behind."

Nauda regarded him curiously. "You didn't... leave caches for yourself, did you?"

"No, I never expected my life to go in this direction. But after my time on Deuxan, I left some things behind that weren't useful to me then, but could be invaluable now. Most likely, none of them are still there anyway, so we'll just have to do without them."

"Theo..." Fiyu drifted closer, gazing at him so intensely he could see silver ghosts of her eyes even behind her mask. "We have waited a long time before we enter the city. Is there some danger there?"

"Probably not, but we might be challenged. Soulcrafters can challenge each other on Deuxan as a matter of law, and we can't afford that kind of attention. I just want us to be prepared."

"None of them struck me that way," Nauda said with a frown. "The villagers seemed like kind and ordinary people to me."

Though Theo felt an impulse to tell her that she didn't understand Deuxan, he shrugged instead. It was possible that Deuxan culture had changed, or that this continent was completely unlike the others, so he might be wrong. He'd already given warning enough, and anything further would just be arguing for the sake of his ego. Frustrating as his time on Earth had been, he'd at least learned to rein in that impulse.

Fiyu released her technique and they headed toward the city hiding in plain sight. Theo wore the Deuxan robe, while Nauda embraced her Tatian identity and Fiyu just tried to hide within a large robe. When Senka saw them she came running after, but Nauda scooped her up and put her on her shoulders. Perhaps later they'd have to stick her in an obscuring robe, but for now that should be sufficient to disguise their group, especially given that they seemed to have evaded pursuit.

They moved parallel to the forest, but as the shining walls of the city grew nearer, they began to run into the roads covering the region. Most were unoccupied, this far from the main working regions, but he saw a few farmers moving herds of animals toward the city.

For a time he'd almost convinced himself that soulcrafters in this part of Deuxan were nothing like the ones he remembered, then a disruption in the road ahead drew their attention.

"Don't argue, worms! You'll get your pathetic wagon back as soon as the hunt is over!" A Deuxan man with an Archcrafter's soulhome stood on top of a wagon filled with bronze bundles of grass. Several villagers huddled away, but an old woman still gripped the halter of the beast leading the wagon. "Let go, hag! Do you have any idea who I am?"

It didn't seem like Deuxan had changed that much after all.

The smart thing to do would have been to just let the injustice pass, like so many others. But as Nauda set Senka down and stepped forward, he realized that he hadn't explained enough after all.

"What's going on here?" Nauda asked. The Archcrafter turned to her, his eyes taking in her Tatian cloak and sandals before he bothered looking at her soulhome.

"This has nothing to do with you, outsider. I'm an Archcrafter of the Armeau family, and the Armeau family requires the use of this wagon for only a short time, but these worms refuse to give it. My patience for these good people is wearing thin, and I have none in store for Tatian peasants."

Nauda wasn't foolish enough to attack him over that, but she did frown, and unfortunately that was enough. The Archcrafter immediately jumped down from the wagon to face her.

"You think you can challenge me, soulcrafter? If you want to treat our court like your miserable little home village, you'll have to prove yourself to me first."

"This is..." Nauda started to answer, but Theo quickly moved behind her and put a cautioning hand on her back. "Forgive me, Archcrafter. This humble villager was only curious about your glorious activities."

"I suppose you would be. Stay long enough and you'll see the hunt for yourself." With that, the Armeau noble turned back to the villagers.

During the distraction, several of the younger Deuxans had convinced the old woman not to risk herself against a noble. She continued to glower at the Archcrafter, but he only sneered at her as he moved past to the wagon. Reaching into the back, he began hurling the bundles of grass out to empty the wagon.

"Why stop me?" Nauda asked extremely softly. "Was the offer a trap?"

"No, challenges really work that way here. If you had won, he would have left them alone."

"Didn't you see his soulhome? He's nearly the weakest imaginable Archcrafter: only a few rooms on his ground floor, and he hasn't built a second tier since he ascended. I could have worked around his stronger cantae."

"Possibly, but don't underestimate him. Many Deuxan duelists have techniques or armaments to make use of their rank." Theo flattened his hand on her back to soothe her anger while he kept speaking. "But even if you did, it would only draw us into more problems. Someone else from the Armeau family might come to challenge you in return, just to equal the insult."

Though Nauda clearly didn't like that fact, she held back and kept her face neutral. The Archcrafter cast them one more glance, but seemed satisfied enough that he turned to depart. When he tried to guide the beast, it let out a low groan, uncooperative even when he sent a spark of cantae into its hide.

As he departed, he left behind the family of villagers and a heap of bundled grass. Fiyu hastened to assist them with gathering it up, though there was little they could do without the wagon. Senka ran to help her, but as soon as she hefted one of the bundles over her head, it proved too heavy and she pitched over backwards. At least she had kept her mouth shut while the Archcrafter was present.

"Did I insult him just by frowning?" Nauda asked, turning her gaze away from the scene.

"Expressions can cause serious offense here. I'm sure you can adapt, but you'd better explain it to Fiyu before she offends anyone. Deuxan cultures tend to be subtle and complicated."

"Not so subtle, considering that he didn't even notice I was mocking him."

"Your sarcasm might not be so effective here." Theo gave her a wry smile and nodded his head toward the departing noble. "If he's someone important in the family, he's used to people fawning over him like that unironically."

Nauda ground her teeth and went to help Fiyu. "I have a feeling that I'm not going to like Deuxan."

Working together, the two of them managed to help the villagers assemble their bundles into a form that could be rolled. To Fiyu's evident disappointment, they didn't seem at all grateful, and many of them cast angry glances toward the noble. Given that they were simply peasants, they probably weren't at great risk, but he could understand how they feared some sort of punishment.

Finally their group gathered again, remaining on the road as they watched the villagers go. Senka crouched at the side, chewing on a fallen blade of bronze grass, making a disgusted face, then chewing again. The other two turned toward him, clearly expecting more of an explanation, so he just raised his hands to either side.

"Welcome to the real Deuxan."

"I spoke to many villagers and none acted like this," Nauda said, her words precise. "Are they not the real Deuxan?"

"Rank matters immensely here. That's why he pushed to ascend, even though he hadn't finished soulcrafting much of a first tier. This won't be our last encounter like this."

Fiyu sighed and pulled her hood up around her face. "I do not think I will like it here."

"It might not be so bad." Theo glanced after the retreating Archcrafter, just now disappearing into the forest, then smiled. "You want to follow him and steal his stuff?"