“In confusion, this musician – the Piper – possessed magical glasses which allowed him – and both Keith and David – to perceive the demons? And they chewed this, ‘bubbled gum’?”

I had been trying – and mostly failing - to explain my reference for 10 minutes now, as I struggled to keep up with my giant companions. The explanation had been tough without modern references.

“That’s right. Basically.”

Reff sniffed and spoke, his voice as brisk as I had ever heard it.

“Assuredly, demons are not real.”

I shrugged - glad to be done explaining - as we hurried through the quickly gathering gloom, the streets more sparsely populated than I had yet seen since my arrival. We were heading to the Thrice Frost, which was apparently some sort of tavern. It seemed to be deeper into the city, though not a great deal. The bulk of our journey so far had been parallel to the wall, and it was interesting to see the buildings change. Whereas there had been a clear increase in the quality of the dwellings when venturing to Ro’s place, on this trip the buildings stayed largely the same in structure, but the paint and lacquer decorating them changed dramatically. They began to sport colourful, stylised animals in different positions, and when I asked, Walker informed me that the areas we were passing through housed many of the city’s smaller sects, including what sounded like strictly criminal gangs from the descriptions he gave.

We reached the Thrice Frost as the golden glow of the sunset vanished from above the buildings, leaving the sky clear and dark, the light dotted towers a little breath-takingagainst the evening sky. Boisterous laughter mingled with lively music could be heard before the tavern came into sight, and I had a momentary sense of déjà vu as our destination was revealed – I had not been there before, obviously, but it seemed people having fun sounded similar everywhere.

The Thrice Frost stood three stories tall with a ringed balcony running what seemed to be the circumference of each. The whole building was painted in whites and blues and people stood around the visible doors, jugs and flagons held at the ready and they roared happily over some joke.

The three of us must have seemed dour indeed as we approached the tavern, lead as we were by Walker, who at the best of times looked vaguely irritated but at that moment looked like he wanted to eat somebody. As we walked past them, those still sober enough to be aware stopped laughing, perhaps sensing the mood of our little troop.

The inside was crowded with tables, each occupied by drinks and food and surrounded by laughing men and women of all sizes and shapes. Only the centre stood un-cluttered, though a few people seemed to be dancing some sort of group jig there. Balconies, like on the outside, created a vertical space all through the middle of the building, and I could see people leaning on the rails. Every now and again, a drip of some indefinite liquid would fall to the bottom floor and I wondered how often fights broke out in this place.

The music was coming from a group of tables to one side, who rather than being an official band, just seemed to be patrons who liked to play.

“We will split up to search for Quhei. I will take this floor, Reff, the middle please. Hunter, I leave the top floor to you.”

Without another word, the three of us split up and Reff and I went looking for the stairs – I at least hoped there were stairs and people did not get up there by flying or jumping.

As it turned out, there were indeed stairs squirrelled away at the back of the building behind a huge painting of some icy battlefield.

As I ascended past the second floor, Reff peeled off and I received a few raised eyebrows, more than one person watching my go up the second set of stairs until I was out of sight.

The top floor – my floor – was significantly quieter than the bottom one had been, with each person there dressed in an eerily similar fashion. As I stepped completely off the stairs, even what little noise there was died away, leaving only that which was echoing up from below. Dozens of men and women in black robes and a blue-green headband turned to look at me at once, and I began to think that the people on the top floor might just know each other.

A woman with a bright red pixie-cut who could not have stood more than 5 feet stood and walked towards me, signalling the other to stay seated with a firm wave of her hand.

“You have the wrong floor, friend.”

“I don’t want to disagree, but I’m here on purpose – regretfully. I’m looking for-”

“I do not care why you have the wrong floor, only that you do. Leave.”

“Look, I’ll only take a second of your time-”

I did not get chance to finish – mid-sentence my Danger Sense flared. Rather than trying to dodge, figuring that this person was likely still too fast for me to succeed, I instead drove my Praxis out through my focus, just managing it in the time it took her to drive her heel into my stomach.

I only held the lightning in place for a split second, enough to hopefully discourage a second blow but not long enough for it to escape my control. I did not however account for Newton’s third law of motion – as the lightning flared around me, painting the dim upper floor in blue-white light, the diminutive woman’s foot impacted and with a surge the power flared between us and along with the force of the blow, blasted me backwards.

Smashing through the wooden railing above the stairs and continuing through a table hurt a lot, but at least I had not electrocuted myself that time. I was however, severely winded.

Trying to force my paralysed diaphragm to cooperate, and pushed myself to my feet, knowing I would breathe again before it became an issue, but not accounting for the people whose table – and drinks – I had just destroyed.

As I stood again, my Danger Sense yelled once again and I half-stepped to the side, a fist just missing my jaw. I pushed the fist away and lashed out with a weak left jab to the attacker’s own jaw. I could not have hurt too much, as off balance as I was, but it gave me a moment to disengage and step back.

“Hey, guys, come-on, I just want to know-”

I dove into a roll as a foot ruffled my beard, warned again by my ability. The kicker was of course the other occupant of the table, and I glanced around as I realised, I was now surrounded on all sides by people who did not seem to have my best interests at heart.

I considered jumping the railing for a moment, but I had no idea how durable I actually was. Dismissing the idea, I finally sucked in a breath and tried for diplomacy once more.

“I’m looking for-” A clay gourd-looking jug spun past my face and I heard a curse as it missed, not even forcing me to dodge. I realised then that I could either make a run for it and hopefully come back with Reff and Walker, or I could try and fight it out, hopefully convince them it was too much trouble to keep shutting me up. I decided to let opportunity guide me, and at least try for both.

Decision made, I went on the offensive; picking up a fallen chair, I flipped it at the nearest figure in black and followed up by stepping in as he smashed it from the air, my foot impacting his knee. Crumpling as his knee lurched to the side, the man’s head came into range of my knee, which I conveniently drove into his ear. The un-named man fell to the floor, blood trickling from the ear, though he did not seem to be unconscious. His companion – the first man who had tried to punch me – was now trying to kick me in the same way the small woman had, though he was far slower. Not being so far outclassed in speed, and seeing him coming, I stepped into and round the kick, caught it with on hand and punched him as hard as I could in the nose, a jolt of electricity adding a little oompf to the blow. With a cry of pain, he tried to pull away but only fell since I was still holding his leg. I let it go and glanced behind me to find the man I had only just put down on his hands and knees, about to climb to his feet. Turning, I grabbed the back of his robe and hefted him into the air before throwing the flailing man at the freshly reacting crowd of anonymous goons.

Even with superior strength, speed and super powers, it seemed like mass and inertia were still pretty important, as improvised projectile knocked some of the frontrunners off their feet.

I made a break for the stairs but I did not even get close before my Danger Sense flared and a massive transparent dog made of blue-green energy smashed into me, knocking me clear off my feet and several meters through the air before landing atop me, a silent snarl twisting its face.

Within seconds, a dozen hands gripped me and the dog dissipated into glowing mist. While I was still on the ground, however, I once more reached through my focus, pumping lighting into those latched onto me. While many people in this world were still faster than I was, it turned out lightning could fuck most people up, which mean one thing: Getting grabbed was good for business.

As one, me and everyone touching me stiffened as I lost control of the flows within me and the streams connected though my body. The shock lasted only for a second before I cut it off and returned to cycling the dribble of raw Praxis through my body as I lurched to my feet, twitching in the cloud of ozone I had created.

I dropped into an unsteady stance as the people who had grabbed me started to drag themselves away. I stared around at the people who had me surrounded, though for the moment they seemed to be keeping their distance. Nobody wanted to be electrocuted but me, it seemed.

The group parted, and the woman who had kicked me stepped forward, the dog forming at her side.

“You should have left.”

“I am just looking for-”

The woman and the dog came at me simultaneously, hampered slightly by the still prone figures of the people I had shocked. Reluctantly, I Focused once more and the world slowed slightly as it lit blue-white once more, tongues of power licking out around me. The energy dog seemed to be moving a little faster than my human opponent, so I dodged right, keeping it between us, as I stepped in and dropped, punching down into the blue-green snout of the construct, feeling a little bad to be punching a dog, but I figured it was not real. I hoped.

The power flared between us and the edges of the hound blurred as I cut off the energy once more before it could backfire. A foot flew for my face, over the animals back and I lurched away from it, rolling to the side and back to my feet and kicking part of a table their way.

The dog came for me again, its form solid once more. Waiting until the last possible moment, I stepped to the side, grabbing it by two legs and spun before casting it out over the edge of the balcony. I turned back to the woman, glad to have taken an opponent out of the fight. That gladness did not last long however, as the damn dog pulled together out of streams of light next to her once more.

She wore a smirk on her face as the two split up, circling me in opposite directions and I cursed softly. Both the shorty and the doge were stronger and faster than me – I had only been able to do anything so far due to my Danger Sense. I had to take them both out, somehow, if I was going to get away without a serious beating – or death.

I dashed at the woman, her smile widening and I hoped I could reach her before her mutt bit my back. As I drew close, the human woman lashed out at me with a blindingly fast jab – warned ahead of time by Danger Sense, I lifted an arm to block, managing to deflect the blow slightly, but the bones of my forearms shattered anyway.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and kept up my momentum, latching on to her with my free arm as I felt her other arm thud into my ribs, breaking them with a painful snap. I grinned viciously and I saw her eyes open wide.

I pushed every last shred of Praxis in my body through my Focus, losing control immediately but I maintained my concentration. Ropes of energy as thick as my leg lashed about me as the air screamed and I saw some of the other men around us caught in spasmic throes of their own as they were caught by those roving bolts.

I fell to the floor a lot the woman, my Praxis completely spent in just a couple of moments. The two of us lay unmoving other than the occasional aftershock, but I heard a pair of heavy boots approaching us from behind.

“Hunter, if you are done doing... whatever it is you are doing with this woman... we have located Quhei.”

“... Yay...”

*

***

*

I limped alongside Walker, my arm and ribs still tender, even after swallowing the healing pill I had been given. I had spent half an hour refining Praxis – enough to help with the healing. The culmination of it all meant none of my bones were broken any more, but they still hurt a lot.

The situation upstairs had been quickly resolved by Walker casually slapping a number of the gang unconscious, though they had been somewhat more civil once he had explained who he was. I did not receive an apology.

As it turned out, the fourth person Walker had spoken to had known Quhei’s location, making all of my actions irrelevant. I decided to look on the bright side, however – it was, after all, an Experience.

Going over the fight in my head, I took comfort in the fact that I had managed to use my Focus - in an actual fight – long enough to make use of the physical enhancing elements I had first imagined without being shocked off my feet, which I counted a win. I also counted my actual wins as win – I had no idea what the cultivation levels of the people I had defeated had been, but I did know they were adults which was pretty much a first for me, outside of the use of Spiritual Weights.

The three of us were making our way to what was supposed to be Quhei’s home – it was a little west of the Thrice Frost and somewhat further into gang – or sect – territory. We had started to receive a few dirty looks, but so far nobody had made any moves – I was not concerned, I knew that even Walker on his own would make short work of anybody that made aggressive moves.

We came to a stop outside of a house painted in yellow and green, a huge lizard painted rampant above the door. We three crowded around the door and Reff leaned in to bang heavily against the bright door with one massive fist.

A few moments passed before the door was opened a crack, a huge eye with a star-shaped iris flicked between us before resting on Walker, the star expanding into a huge circle.

“Who you? Why Pinnacle here?”

“You are Quhei?”

“Me Quhei, who you?!”

“I am Walker, these are Reff and Hunter. You spoke earlier today to a friend of ours, Aella?”

“You friend Pinkeye? Why Pinkeye not come Pinkeye-self again?”

“Aella was hurt following a lead you gave her. We are looking for those who hurt her.”

“Uppity Chair bobo hidjas hurt Pinkeye?!”

“... I believe so.”

“Bobo hidjas?” I knew the term, somehow. It was not polite.

“Yes! Bobo hidjas.” The door opened slightly further and the figure inside spit heavily on the floor, narrowly missing out feet.

“The animal fuckers, they’re called the Uppity Chairs?” I found myself speaking another language, it was a confusing feeling – since I arrived, I had been speaking a single language that seemed to be shared between everybody, but it seemed whatever language packet Xiournal has given me was more extensive than that.

“You speak the true language? You are clearly a scholar of great merit amongst your people. I have met no others amidst you barbarians.”

“Hunter, you speak this person’s language?”

“It... looks like It?”

“With admiration, I had no idea you were so educated, Hunter.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“How did you come to know the true language? I am not of this world, are you perhaps from the Plenty?”

“No, I am from here, approximately. We can perhaps discuss this later; we really are simply seeking the Uppity Chairs you spoke of.”

“Uppity Chairs... Oh, I see. My grasp of your poor language is not complete. They are called the Risen Throne. My place within your... society... is to find lodgings for those who walk in shadows. Though I find it distasteful to assist demon worshipers, my place it remains. You may find them...”

The door opened fully and I saw the person on the other side clearly for the first time. Standing just over three feet tall, they seemed to be at least partly lizard with huge eyes and a series of yellow-silver scales scattered about their skin in patches.

Quhei stepped away from the door for a moment before returning with a slip of paper, with an addresswritten on it in beautiful flowing script.

“Here, they are at this location. Perhaps you will return? I have missed speaking with civility. She of the Pink Eyes is good company, for a barbarian, but...”

“That sounds... fine. I do not know when I will be free, but I will come back when I can.”

“Excellent. And now, I will finish eating.”

The door slammed shut suddenly, leaving Reff looking at me strangely, and even Walker had both eyebrows raised.

“That was really weird. He gave me an address we can check.” I handed the paper over to Walker who accepted it, without looking of course.

“Let us go, then.”