Y’talla excitedly pointed out the most opulent place in the whole clearing, their sign in cursive gold writing that sparkled like it was made out of raw gold, not just coloured to look like it. The front was all windows, from floor to ceiling, and the people eating lunch inside looked only slightly out of place next to the elegantly dressed workers. The few young kids Elach saw during his quick scan were accompanied by extremely well-dressed and made up older practitioners, and from the beaming smiles on their faces and the way their bodies sagged under their own weight this was a reward for a job well done.

“Welcome to Chez Pillar, practitioners.” A woman in a black suit with golden accents said as Elach pushed open the doors, noting the lack of judgment on her face for his dirty clothes and unkempt hair. “Is this your first time dining with us?”

“It is. Are you only connected with the butcher and the grocer, or do you have some way we can get a meal today?” Elach asked.

“We don’t have anything to trade.” Y’talla added. “Unless you like hard candy.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Is the candy from this group of floors?”

“No.” Y’talla answered.

“Then it cannot be traded. We only deal with things caught, gathered, or grown on floors eleven through twenty. And all restaurants here are connected to the grocer and butcher. They supply us, so we work through them. There is a…” The woman turned and flagged down a man with an apron that went from his waist to his knees. He raised an eyebrow and walked up. “How long’s the wait for a booth?”

“Twenty minutes at least.” The man said, shooting a look at a booth that had two older practitioners nursing single cups of coffee. “An hour at most.”

“Thanks, Kel.” The woman said as Kel walked over to a table without food. “So, you three want to wait for a booth or take a table? There’s no wait for those.”

“Is the food different if we wait for a booth?” Y’talla asked in confusion.

The woman smiled. “No, it’s the same anywhere in the restaurant. People just like the booths more.”

“We don’t have any credit from the butchers. Or the grocers.” Elach pointed out before Y’talla could get them led to a table. “Do you, or any of the other restaurants, have a free meal like the hotel has free rooms?”

“No free meals, sorry.” The woman shook her head. “But if you give your word, we’ll put your meal on your tab.”

Y’talla went to accept, but Elach stopped her. “How long do we have to pay back the tab?”

“Seven days from eating.” The woman said as she picked up three small laminated cards. “After that, you’ll have serious trouble getting anything from anyone around here. We’re pretty tight-knit, so you slight one of us, you slight all of us.”

“That’s perfectly fair.” Y’talla said, giving Elach a ‘shut up and let me eat’ look. “Right, Elach?”

“Right, right. I won’t get between you and your meal.” Elach gestured for the suited woman to lead the way. “Any advice for newbies like us?”

“Don’t order anything that’ll sit heavy in your stomach if you’re going out. The last thing you want is to feel off while you’re fighting for your ‘life’.” The woman put specific emphasis on ‘life’, as if there was another meaning to the word. “You’ve probably already been warned to keep out of the higher zones, but you should keep an eye out for the dangerous things in the lower zones. They’re pretty easy to take down with a group, but you might have trouble with just the three of you. Is here fine?”

Before Elach could say anything, Y’talla had claimed one of the four seats. “Here’s fine.”

“Very good. Here are your menus.” The woman said as she placed a small card in front of Y’talla and the other two in front of empty chairs. “Run your Issi through them to see the whole menu. Your server will be along in a minute to take your order, but can I start you off with some drinks?”

“That lunch was so good.” Y’talla groaned for the tenth time in as many minutes. “We have to eat there every day. Twice every day. Do you think they serve breakfast?”

Elach grimaced as he looked down at the piece of paper the woman, whose name he’d never asked, had given them as they finished up. They owed the butcher the equivalent of an entire parched earth buffalo, or one of the rarer and finer meats they could find in the wilds of the zones. Sure, it was because he’d already paid for supper, but six meals for an entire bovine seemed like a horrible trade.

“Maybe we should look for a cheaper place.” He said as he stuffed the paper into his pocket. “Unless one of you two have super strength, it’s going to be a pain and a half to get that buffalo back here. And if we have to go get one every day…”

“Aww. Is it really that expensive for two meals?” Y’talla pouted. “It’s not like we’re going to be here for that long. Can’t we indulge a little?”

“You’re not the one that has to drag this thing back.” Elach tapped his finger on the book that was open in front of him. “Five to six feet tall, eight to ten feet long, and about two thousand pounds. Even with my Issi, I don’t know how we’re getting one of these things back into the clearing.”

“Can’t you just wrap it in chains and pull it here?” Y’talla suggested.

“I’ll ask around to see if anyone’s got a cart they can lend out.” Elach sighed as he flipped his book shut. “Are you staying here with Flow, or are you coming with me?”

“I’ll stay here.” Y’talla said instantly, her gaze already wandering around the well-stocked shelves of the library. “Maybe I’ll find something that helps me get back into that knowing state.”

“Alright. Don’t leave here or let Flow leave, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

“See you soon.” Y’talla said with a wave, pushing out of her chair as Elach did the same.

“If you decide to go out into the training yard, try not to use your Issi. My first bond warned me that Flow’s precious Issi could make them a target. I’m worried you might be the same.”

“I’ll be fine, Elach. And so will Flow.” Y’talla smiled wide and put a hand on her bicep. “We’re strong, so we’ll be fine.”

“You actually found a cart.” Y’talla said, eyes wide with amusement. “I thought you were kidding.”

“You want to carry half of a two thousand pound bovine?” Elach asked as he pulled the chains he’d replaced the cart’s ropes with. No point wasting that pocket of transcendent Issi if he could find a workaround. “Because I sure don’t.”

“You mean a third, right?” Y’talla pointed out by pointing at Flow, who’d perched on the back of the cart. They laughed and gestured at themselves. “Don’t pretend you’re weak. We both know that’s not true.”

Flow cocked their head to the side and flared their Issi, lines of amber shooting along their frame. Their talons dug into the wood of the cart, and with one heavy flap, they took to the air. The cart followed as if it weighed nothing.

Y’talla gestured victoriously at Flow. “See? See? They’re strong!”

Disbelief came through Elach’s bond, as if Flow hadn’t known they could do that. Now that Elach thought about it, they had only been a manifestation for a very short time before they’d bitten the dust the first time, and he hadn’t exactly put Flow in the line of fire so far. Flow had never gotten a chance to strut their stuff.

“You want to try killing the buffalo yourself?” Elach offered. Flow considered for a moment, then cawed affirmation. “When we find one, we’ll stay away and let you do all the work. But we’ll be right there if you need help.”

“Yeah!” Y’talla said excitedly, hopping over and out of the fenced-in training area to join Elach and flow on the path out of the glacial cavern. “To adventure!”

The path out of the cavern was set with dark grey stones, each bearing a single runic marking that Elach couldn’t identify. He didn’t feel any Issi coming off of them, but that didn’t necessarily mean they were powerless. They could be dormant, waiting for whatever built in trigger would spring them to life. Y’talla hopped on the cart as the path narrowed, turning into a tunnel that was maybe eight feet tall by ten feet wide, dark ice glowing a deep blue closing in on all sides the further they went.

After ten minutes of walking, the tunnel suddenly blinked out of existence. Elach winced as harsh false sunlight assaulted his eyes accustomed to the relative darkness of the glacial cavern, a sprawling field of yellow grains with chest-high stalks and wispy grains as far as the eye could see. The Issi emanating off the field was surprisingly intense, each single grain a blazing point of growth Issi that overwhelmed Elach’s senses.

“How’s it going up like that?” Elach heard Y’talla ask from down in the stalk, her head popping out a moment later. Her hand was filled with grains, long strands of willow-like plant stretching and waving in mesmeric movements towards the sky. “Look! It’s even doing it after I picked them!”

“You could probably make some really fluffy bread with this stuff.” Elach said, plucking a head of grain from its stalk. He felt Issi trying to push its way into his fingers, tingling like he’d had too much caffeine just from touching it. “I wonder if energy bread is a thing.”

“Do you think we should bring some back? Maybe the grocer or the baker would want it.”

Elach thought for a moment, then shook his head. “If this stuff is just outside the exit, then they probably don’t need any of it. Or if they do, they’re paying next to nothing for it.”

“Okay. Is it ok if I take some?” Y’talla rolled a grain between her fingers with fascination. “Maybe I can make something good with this.”

Elach shrugged his pack off and threw it to Y’talla. “Don’t fill it up too much. We might need the space for something else later.”

“Okay.” Y’talla said, followed by a few minutes of silence while Elach started walking. A grunt of effort and a popping noise snapped him out of the trance he didn’t know he’d fallen into. “What happened to all the stuff that was in here?”

“In where?” He asked as he turned, seeing Y’talla holding the canister up for him to see. “Ah. I put all the stuff Flow told me to keep in my headspace. They won’t last as long in there, but they’ll last longer than if I kept them in our room at the hotel.”

Flow let out a strangled noise, then appeared over the stalks as they landed on Elach’s shoulder. They gave him an earful on how useful the materials they’d harvested were, and how they lost their impact the longer they went without being properly preserved.

Elach nodded grimly. “I messed up, huh.”

A gesture at the canister Y’talla still held high, then a peck between Elach’s eyes let him know what Flow wanted him to do.

“Here.” Y’talla capped the canister and tossed it to Elach. “I think you should refill it.”