The Trail was southwest of the Yoshiga tree and was downhill the entire way. The Yoshiga was at what was probably the highest elevation in the area and was humongous. Even from here I could still see the encompassing canopy and some of the larger individual branches.

I immediately noticed when I had reached the Trail even before I saw the people and buildings. There is a distinct quality to the chakra near The Trail. Normally ambient chakra fades into the background like the feel of clothing. Eventually you stop thinking about how your clothes feel and it fades into the background. The Trail’s chakra felt alive like a warm moving river trying to sweep me up. It was oddly soothing, or maybe it was just nostalgia influencing me. I grew up traveling the Trail and it was where I first started sensing natural chakra.

As I got closer, I saw the familiar hodgepodge of buildings that lined both sides of the Trail. In every territory roughly 75 kilometers from the coast the Trail made its path. And no matter where you were on the Trail, its width was a uniform 50 meters. Despite being hundreds of years old it was still in pristine condition, no doubt due to its unique nature. The Trail was somehow made of one enormously huge piece of solid smooth grey stone. And through all the wind, rain, and snow it still showed no cracks or gaps. To this day its construction is a mystery.

People could live most of their life on the Trail, but all food and resources needed to be gathered somewhere which was why small villages and compounds could be found scattered across all five lands. There were only twelve main cities that could be found where the Trail intersected large rivers or important areas. Well after the war it was more accurate to say eleven cities. La’itza had more abandoned buildings than people from what I heard.

The middle of the Trail was reserved for people quickly traveling through while the outside was more for people slowly moving or visiting businesses that hugged the edge of the Trail. Since it was midday, there was a bit of traffic on the edge. As we were looking around, I saw a friendly face. Inside of his food wagon was Obi. The big man had changed a bit since I last saw him. While he had been balding as long as I had known him, it seemed he finally lost his last hair. Now he was sporting only a thick black beard with his usual dirty white apron. He did not have any current customers, so he quickly spotted me in the crowd.

I waved and said, “Hey Obi!”

His chubby cheeks shook as he whipped his head around and said, “Kell, what is happening little man? Who are these two with you?”

“This is Devanna and Roen. They also joined with the Yoshiga.”

“Well...” after a pause he continued, “It’s nice you’ve got company in the Yoshiga program. Remember I’m always here to help. Your grandmother would throw a fit if I didn’t ensure you’re eating? What do you all want? It's on the house.”

Roen and Dee looked at the menu and then back to me. I decided they might need time to decide, so I said, “I think today is the day I finally finish the Jumbo Gumbo. Roen and Dee can decide what they want while you cook that.”

“You think you’re big enough for the jumbo? You know the drill.”

Obi then motioned for me to get inside the wagon and he opened the door in the back. I climbed in and closed the door behind me. Obi got the fire underneath the teppan going and grabbed all the food and seasoning needed. I stood next to him and he started to narrate the process. Before I decided to join the Yoshiga this was my day to day. It was always fun watching Obi’s flare and skill dazzle customers. And right now Roen and Dee seemed impressed with Obi's quick movements.

After making sure I wasn’t in the way of anything within this cramped wagon, Obi grabbed some tool and spoke, “First, I cut this round loaf of bread in half. I then hollow out the loaf with this here. This loaf is what holds everything that goes into the Jumbo Gumbo. Once the bread is hollow, I line the inside with some seaweed or lettuce leaves depending. Today I have some lettuce, so using this rod here I line the bread’s inside with the lettuce. After that, I get started on what will go inside. For the Jumbo Gumbo that is some peppers, celery, onions, and fish meat. And just for you, Kell, I’ll add some mustard since I know you love the stuff.”

He threw more wood into the oven that heated the thin metal stove and quickly closed its door. I couldn’t see into the oven, but I remember that the smoke from the oven goes through some pipes and out the back of the wagon. Then he poured some oil onto the teppan. He smoothly grabbed a knife that was hanging on a wall and said, “Now I cut up all the ingredients and cook them.”

He then chopped all the ingredients in lightning fast smooth movements. Obi even added in some flashy moves like knife twirls. While chopping everything, Obi would throw some spices onto the ingredients before moving on. In a flash he was throwing everything onto the teppan. In no time everything was ready. Obi in a display of skill held the knife diagonally in front of him and pushed the ingredients off the teppan as he slid the knife towards his body. When the ingredients fell off the stove, they dropped into the waiting loaf of bread without a drop of oil spilling. He then added a few okra on top as a garnish.

With a flourish of his knife, Obi handed me the food and said, “And that is the Jumbo Gumbo Roll.”

“Thank you, Obi.”

He chuckled as I looked at the thing in front of me. Jumbo Roll indeed, because this thing was at least 20 cm long. It looked like a long bread cup full of glistening fish meat, vegetables, and an assortment of spices. I took my first bite which was always the best, and soon I reached the meat of the roll. It tasted great. Dee decided on two stuffed potatoes filled with cheese and broccoli, while Roen seemed to gain a competitive edge as he decided to try the Jumbo Gumbo for himself.

With Obi’s encouragement, both me and Roen managed to finish the Jumbo Gumbo Roll in only a few minutes. Towards the end I had some trouble getting it all down, but Obi started yelling ‘You can do it’ and ‘C’mon little man’ to encourage me despite the looks he got from people passing the stands. I managed to finish before Roen, but afterwards I felt a bit sick and lethargic, yet still had plenty of time in the day to get what I needed.

As Obi was preparing for any future customers, I asked him where he got his quality foodstuffs. He told me about an old man that sells stuff a little ways away. I got out of the cramped wagon, did a little post meal stretch, and we meandered towards the old man. When I neared his little wooden, he quietly greeted me.

He was selling canned sealed rice and bread along with vegetables and some fresh produce. Seal packed food had a simple seal that removed all air and moisture from food which allowed it to take up less space and last much longer. It was really effective on bread and had the added benefit of refilling the bread with air on release of the seal. It was not perfect and the bread was always hard and dry, but entire loaves could fit in your palm for a pretty good price. The food was packed into metal cans and the seal was located on the top lids. While seal packed food was a bit more expensive, it was worth it since the food lasted longer and took up less space.

Before I could even mention it, Roen decided to pay for any food since he had the money and we were all going to eat it. Roen decided to buy us a few month’s worth of food. He got canned rice and bread along with a few sealed vegetables for only 25 dollars. The best part was that all of that food fit into a nice duffel bag the old man at the shop gave Roen. The old man told him it was old and he didn’t want it so he threw it in with our purchase. The bag was a brown cloth sack with a drawstring that came up to Roen’s waist when he tried to hold it up lengthwise. It even had a nice little strap one could use to carry it like a satchel.

Dee then led us around buying items we probably needed. She ended up buying a cheap iron pot for cooking, some utensils, bowls, and other such items. Luckily everything fit in the pot which itself could fit in Roen’s duffel bag.

Since I did not need to buy food, I thought buying new clothes could take precedent. I only had two outfits, both of which were linen clothes that were quite old and growing too small for me. Looking for a place to buy cheap clothing, I found a unique store. The store was called Devakter Brothers and had all the merchandise on display. What made it unique was that the store only sold two items: cotton shirts and cotton pants. All shirts were long sleeved and all the pants looked loose fitting and ankle length. The only difference between all the clothes was their color with each shirt having a pair of matching pants.

The man manning the store saw us and said, “Welcome. I’m Lou Devakter, the younger brother. You’ll find our clothes are the cheapest around and the quality and price for every item is the same as the next. The cost of a shirt and pair of pants together is just a single dollar.”

That is interesting. All the clothing was the same size and there were only three colors to choose from; white, red, yellow, and blue. Different colors meant different dyes and the uniformity of every article was strange. Looking closely there was no way any person could produce each item with such precision and no deviation. I asked, “How are all the clothes so uniform?”

He answered, “Our family owned one of the first cotton mills, and with special machines designed by my wonderful brother we are able to craft all our goods from our cotton.”

I know of cotton mills, but not their inner workings. I guess if a machine can process the cotton, it is entirely possible for one to make clothes. With new inventions like the lamp I saw and this clothing making machine, I am starting to wonder what technology is truly capable of.

I decided to buy two sets of outfits, both being the strong blue color. Both the shirt and pants were going to be too large, but the pants had a drawstring to tighten around the waist, so I could roll the legs up to better fit me. And of course I could grow into it and for the price of two dollars it was well worth it.

We ended our trip and walked back to our camp near the Yoshiga tree. The trip back to the Yoshiga tree was filled with some conversation led by Dee. After we got back to camp, I put on my new blue outfit. I had to roll up the sleeves and pants legs, but the cotton was comfortable and easy to move in. With the new utensils and pot we had a better meal than usual, due to Roen deciding to be in charge of cooking from now on. By that time we all got some rest.