January 16, 2019, 11:58am. A perfect time for lunch.

Doing as instructed, I move over to the chair. While settling in, I watch my 'host'. She doesn't move to join me, making her way to the lower bunk instead.

Setting her bow to the side as she sits, her eyes never leave me, but her wariness feels like it's dropped off. If I'm reading her right, I think she's more… curious.

"So," I say, testing the waters. She keeps looking at me but she doesn't respond or reach for her bow, so I continue.

"What's your name?" I ask while enjoying the chair. It's so comfy I'm almost glad she showed up, shepherding me in here. Wish I had Smoulder though.

"Rufka," she answers. Then as she leans towards me she asks, "what kind of name is Awl-ex-uhs anyhow? How come you don't have a nice normal name?"

"It's normal enough where I'm from," I respond, wrapping the extra fur from the edge of the chair up and around me.

"Hmm. What are you doing out here in the eastern reaches anyhow? No user comes out here," she asks, gesturing wide with all four arms. It's surprising how expansive the gesture is with four limbs involved.

"It's where we landed," I reply as I study her face. She's the first K'tharn I've seen in person. Her facial colouring is beautiful. There are subtle ripples of dark brown fur against her general tawny colouring. It really accents her eyes.

"We? There are more of you out there? Oh, Vaus. Mum wouldn't be happy to find out there are users running around our reach," she says as she runs a paw through her mane. Hers is pretty short compared to a couple I've seen. I've noticed most K'tharn manes are pretty similar to human hair. Uthica'd never seen a bald K'tharn though. Unlike some of the elaborate hairstyles some K'tharn favour, Rufka's is cut short, keeping it simple.

Seeing as Rufka is currently distracted, I take the time to check my notifications.

"Skills increased:

Temporal Manipulation (11 to 15) Spatial Manipulation (13 to 18) Mana Manipulation* (79 to 81) Fire Manipulation (28) Water Manipulation (28 to 35) Wind Manipulation (28) Lightning Manipulation (28 to 30) Stone Manipulation (50 to 51) Earth Manipulation (28 to 30) Metal Manipulation (34 to 36) Ice Manipulation (2) Twilight Manipulation (2 to 9) Metal Shaping (34 to 35) Running (4 to 5)

Seems like every time I connect, I get Temporal and Spatial manipulation. It's nice to know I've found at least one reliable source for levelling them.

"Quest Completed: Gotta slay em all - Lesser Pothlin. Contribution: 20/22 Pothlins slain. Reward: 5 iron rank integration points; one uncommon starter item. Pothlin codex updated."

"Please return to your closest available Nexus to retrieve your items."

I guess Rufka killing the last Pothlin finished the quest. I'm really glad the system gives me integration points as well as the physical rewards. Having to go back to the Nexus every time I complete a quest would make them next to worthless.

Glancing up I see Rufka shifting back and forth like she's trying to get a better look at me.

"You know, you kinda look like a Builder now that I think about it," she says while stroking her chin. I guess some gestures transcend species.

"Course you're too short. Skins the wrong colour. Eyes are the wrong shape. And let's not even get started on your ugly round ears. But yeah, kinda like a Builder," she says, standing from her bunk before moving closer.

"So how about it?" she asks as she sets herself down in the chair across from me, leaning forward, "you a Builder?"

"You mean the people who brought the sanctuary cities here right? Pretty sure I'm just human," I reply while leaning back from her enthusiastic questioning.

"Ah well. Didn't figure so. Haven't been any Builders for hundreds of years. Shame. That would've been pretty neat," Rufka says as she leans back.

"Hey, wanna play a game of Astra's Stride while we wait?" she asks suddenly, rubbing her paws together excitedly.

"Uhm. I'd rather get going. My friends need my help," I answer while looking to the door.

"Ah. Sorry. But I can't let you go just yet. Mum made a rule. Any-user who sets foot inside our clearing has to stay. See, we can't have word getting back to the Aetherium that we're out here," she says, looking down for a moment.

"But that's fine. Once we're sure you're not from the Aetherium, we'll let you go," Rufka says brightly.

"Uhm, what's the Aetherium?" I ask nervously. I'm not sure why, but something about the way she's talking makes me feel like they haven't let anyone leave. Ever. I think I need to get out of here.

I'm not within range of the door with any of my manipulation skills. But I'm close, only half a meter or so and I might be able to unblock it.

"The bad people who want to lock us away," Rufka replies matter of factly as if that's all there is to say.

"Well, since we have to wait, why don't you show me how to play," I say as I wonder what I'm going to do. Are they criminals? That would explain why they're living out here in the middle of nowhere. I haven't received a quest to turn them in or anything so maybe it's not that bad.

"Really? That's great. Mum doesn't play anymore and Theria doesn't make it around very often," she says as she rises up from her chair, moving to get something near the bunk beds.

I move the table out from the wall as if getting it ready to play. At the same time, I push my chair back a bit, hopefully not so much as to worry her, but enough to reach the door with my manipulation skills. She comes back eagerly, with a well-crafted wood board. It has eight sides and a multitude of smooth, half-sphere divets across the surface. The playing area is eight triangles along the edge with a dark area in the center. With the board on the table, she sets several small bags next to it, each bag clearly died a different colour.

"Okay, so the objective of the game is to reach the other player using your 'magic'. Now it's pretty simple," she says as she takes me through the rules. It's pretty simple. The goal is to get eight of my pieces into her starting area before she can get eight into mine. I swear I've played something similar when I was staying with my aunt Charon, but she called it Chinese checkers.

Even as Rufka's explaining, I start attempting to lift the heavy wood bar she set over the door. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of concentration and I'm trying to pay attention to her explanation, so I'm not making much progress. If it was metal or stone, I'd have already moved it. Stupid wood.

"Okay, I'm lightning," she says grabbing the purple bag, pulling out small purple marbles.

"What kind of magic do you want to use?" she asks as she sets her 'mana' in place.

"Oh, I like to play with all kinds of magic," I reply, reaching for the red bag which I'm guessing corresponds with fire. While setting my pieces, I continue working on moving the bar. To avoid ripping it apart I have to use air, earth, and water manipulation, all in sync. It's not going well.

"Lightning's my favourite. I wish mum had let me be a Lectromancer," Rufka says taking the first move.

"Lectromancer huh," I mumble, as I copy her move. Is that seriously what they're called?

"The only known dungeons for Lectro's are all controlled or sealed by the Aetherium. So completing the progression quest is impossible for any but their agents."

"Oh," I say in response, wondering if maybe I should blow up the damn bar instead of moving it.

"As if that weren't bad enough, they've gone and locked down the portal too. Not like anyone's gonna be leaving world without their sayso anyhow," she continues without really needing my input, skipping over a couple of my pieces while she's at it.

"The Aetherium locked down the portal?" I ask, suddenly much more interested in the conversation. I'm not making much progress with the bar at the door anyway. The balance is different from when I tried manipulating a living tree. Because of course, it is. Plus, trying to manipulate magic while having a conversation and playing a game is hard. Even if I haven't been committing much of my attention to the game or conversation.

"Yeah, a hundred years ago, or so mum said. Vaus, you must be from a long way away if you didn't know that. Are you from the Rashelle isles?" she asks as she moves her last piece out of her starting area.

"Uhm no. I'm from a place called Vancouver. You've probably never heard of it. Not a lot of K'tharn there," I answer while thinking about the portal. If it's locked down, that makes it less likely we'll be able to use it to get home. I'm guessing it's not how we got here anyway.

"Really? That sounds exotic. Must be nice not having the Aetherium around. No user making up rules, telling you what you can and can't do," she sighs as she moves her seventh piece into my starting area. How did I get so far behind?

Right, I wasn't paying attention.

"I'm pretty sure there are people making up rules like that everywhere," I respond, finally getting my first piece into her starting area. I want to ask more about the portal but I'm not sure how much information Rufka will give me. Ah well, it's worth a shot.

"So this portal that the Aetherium locked down, where is it?" I ask. As I finish speaking I watch her move her last piece, capturing my starting area, defeating me with her powerful lightning magic. Which actually shoots me with a small shock.

"What the," I mutter, shaking my hand in reflex as she chuckles. Quickly checking my status, I confirm that I just lost five health for losing a board game.

"It's over the mountains to the west, near their capital city, I think," she answers as all her marbles float up, returning to her bag.

"Again?" she asks with a glimmer in her eyes. Noticing Rufka's nearly pleading expression, I'm struck by what it must be like to spend months out here with no one but her mother and this Theria person for company. Rufka must be lonely.

"Sure," I reply, "Uhm, I just need to check something," I continue, hoping she has a similar interface. I want to connect to Beth again, but I don't want to give away the connection.

Nodding, Rufka waves one paw in my direction which I interpret as a sign to go ahead. I settle back in the chair, not waiting to count out the pulse interval. They're still a long way away.

When the connection forms I'm doing my best to pay attention to Beth's reaction. The last couple of times I've made contact have been different. I'd like to know why. This time I'm able to detect Beth reinforcing the bond using her mana. I'm not able to see focus, but I can't imagine she'd be able to accomplish this without it as well. I make an effort to copy her, which is surprisingly easy.

Even as we secure the connection Beth remains focused on the objects before her. They don't appear special. In fact, it appears to be a collection of random odds and ends. As my attention joins hers, I hear her say the name of a fork, a sea shell and a book, all in Vausian. She gets them all correct. Beth has an accent but it's a noticeable improvement over this morning.

As she finished Beth looks over her shoulder revealing the first white K'tharn I've seen. Even in Uthica's memories, there weren't any white K'tharn. This K'tharn has the most impressive mohawk I've ever seen. It's a woven mixture of mane and what seems like a light silky material. It stands nearly a foot above her head then continues down, tapering off just before reaching her tail. While I'm still talking, she claps her lower paws together in excitement while patting Beth's shoulder.

"Excellent, at this rate you should receive the quest reward in no time. Hopefully, then we can have a proper conversation. I can't believe Ivicka wouldn't let me near you until now. Muscle bound sky jock," the K'tharn next to Beth says before she begins taking Beth through several other objects. I watch as Beth keeps answering until she pauses.

"I know kung fu," Beth says, but in Eastern Vausian, which confuses me for a second until I get the reference. It seems like she managed to complete the quest.

"I knew it, I just knew I could get you through this. The moment I saw you using ...." the white-furred K'tharn continues speaking as the connection fades.

Beth couldn't believe her stupidity. They'd been ambushed and she'd led them straight into the trap. The kid was hurt, and Beth couldn't see them. The old man was dodging around trying not to get torn up.

And their fourth was injured bad. If Beth didn't get to her soon, she might bleed out. Which would officially mean the mission was over. She was the only one certified to operate the equipment. Not that Beth couldn't do it. She just wasn't certified.

But that wasn't Beth's number one priority at the moment, Beth dodged back, then struck the swine swinging at her with the butt of her rifle. It was a good hit, his head tilting back as his jaw shattered. It'd be enough to keep him out of the fight until she dealt with the others.

Beth preferred her targets at the far end of her scope, but she never let that stop her from training close combat skills. It's what you weren't prepared for that got you killed. This wasn't supposed to be that kind of mission, but she wasn't entirely surprised. Backwoods jobs like these rarely went the way they were supposed to. This was still better than the crossing back in '06.

The old man was still being harassed by two of the Rojas brothers' people, trying to keep them from getting too close. Sighing, Beth raised her rifle putting a bullet through one of their knees. She'd barely had to aim. She'd miss the bullet.

When the last dickhead realized he was alone he tried to give up, but the old man took the opportunity to twist the thug's knife around, cutting his throat. He'd been getting fond of Jefferies, they'd made him angry when they shot her. He made sure the thug who put a bullet in her suffered before he finished him. The old man knew as well as Beth that they couldn't let any of these brutes live.

While he was taking care of the thugs, Beth hurriedly checked over the others. She was glad to see that Jeffries had only taken a hit on the shoulder. Probably hurt like hell, but it didn't hit anything major. She'd be fine.

Walking over to where the kid went down, Beth sighed in relief. He was breathing, just unconscious. She brushed the brown hair out of his eyes. He was a good kid. She didn't know how he'd gotten mixed up in this business.

When she thought about it, Beth wasn't sure how she'd ended up running jobs under the nose of the Colombian cartel either.

What…. the… actual….

I come back to myself, only to nearly fall out of my chair. Rufka is next to me, looking down at me with worried eyes.

"Are you okay Ahluxis?" she asks with a surprising amount of concern in her voice. She does know she basically took me hostage at arrow point, right?

"I'm fine," I say as I gain some distance from the memories of Beth's brutal encounter with cartel thugs. That was insane. What did Beth do for a living? Do I tell Beth that I'm reliving her memories? She seemed so at ease with the violence.

It doesn't matter, I try to tell myself, though I don't really believe it.

Still, I have a concerned-looking K'tharn hovering over me. I should probably address that.

"Something I ate," I lie weakly, "and it's Alexis. Lex to my friends."

"Lex. That I like. Strong, like my mum," she says leaning back.

"I can get you something fresh if you'd like. Maybe some tea. Mum always said tea is good for the soul," Rufka rambles as she starts searching through a nearby cupboard. The strong scent of dried herbs washes over me, reminding me of Sab. I never really drank tea until Sab started insisting I try her favourites. Bit by bit, she wore me down. I never became a fan of the really bitter teas she liked, but a nice earl grey with a splash of cream was the perfect thing on those cold, wet, west coast mornings.

Rufka sets a strange pot on the table in front of me before closing her eyes in concentration. A few seconds later I watch steam start whistling out the top of the magical kettle. That's the fastest kettle ever!

Grinning at my expression, Rufka can't help sharing, "my mum helped me unlock the enchanter subclass. I may not be a Lectromancer, but one day I'll be able to create artifacts. It'll be a long time before I can make anything like mum's cabin though."

"Oh," I say, "the cabin is an artifact?" I wonder what makes it an artifact as opposed to a magical item.

"Oh, uhm, I really shouldn't talk about it. Can you just pretend I didn't say anything," she looks at me with four pleading eyes. Wow, it's like trying to be mad at a kitten.

"Promise," I say, as she pours me a cup of tea. The mug is similar to the one from the ruins, though it doesn't have any writing on it. The handle is shaped in a way that is clearly meant for the K'tharn's longer, thicker fingers. I don't immediately drink my tea, because taking unknown substances from a stranger seems like a bad idea. I take a moment to focus on it first.

"Substance analyzed: Muthica's special tea blend.

Description: A restorative blend of mana enriched tea leaves, this tea will restore most iron rank or lower conditions. Doubles iron rank resource regeneration for thirty minutes. Reduced effectiveness on copper rank or above. Toxic to mortals.

Don't worry, you're not mortal. At least not by the system's calculations.

Okay. No longer mortal. I'm guessing that has to do with the iron rank integration points.

Survival tip: This is an unusually potent mix for an iron rank substance. Consumables of this potency require an exceptionally skilled alchemist with a maximized subclass to create.

Well, it appears the tea'll be good for me, at least. Cradling the tea in my hands, I take a tentative sip.

Peach. And raspberry. Or somewhere in between. I savour the drink as I tease out the flavour. I'm enjoying myself when I notice Rufka smiling at me.

"It is good, right?" she asks while smiling at me.

"Yeah, it's delicious," I reply taking another sip. It really is.

"Mum always made her tea bitter. But I convinced her it was better like this," Rufka nodded proudly.

"So, when do you expect your 'mum' to be home," I ask while enjoying my drink. The warmth of the tea feels as though it's working its way through every part of my being, slowly suffusing me with energy. It really is helping with Beth's memories. I know she was defending herself. She was just so... Brutal.

"I don't know. It could be a month or two, you'll have to wait until she gets back," Rufka answers, causing me to spit out my tea.

"A month or two," I sputter, she wants to keep me locked…. Her laughter interrupts my thoughts.

"Sorry, sorry," she says, clutching her sides as she continues laughing.

"I couldn't help it. My mum, she…. she won't be coming back. The Aetherium took her. I'm sorry for lying, it's just so lonely out here. And my mum did tell me, be careful around potential Aetherium. And you're obviously a mage so," she trails off with a sad smile. It's a smile Uthica knew well. A smile that speaks of being resigned to loss.

"So, if we're not waiting for your mother," I trail off, letting the silence serve as a question.

"I needed to make sure you weren't an Aetherium. They're the only users who use magic as you do. But no Aetherium would play Astra's Stride or drink Muthica's tea," she says gesturing to the game and drink.

"Of course I suspected you weren't Aetherium before then," she continues, as she stands up, walking over to where a brace of knives is strapped to the wall. Turning back towards me, a knife held in one hand, her golden eyes narrow while her sharp tongue flicks over her even sharper teeth.

"No. You're not Aetherium."

"Afterall, no Aetherium would be foolish enough to lock themselves indoors with the daughter of Crimson Death."