Len and Cammie spent a bit more time in the voidspace talking about the nature of things, but nothing really meaningful passed between them. Eventually, Len bade her goodbyes and returned to normal sleep. She didn’t understand exactly how she knew how to make that transition, but it was startlingly easy once she decided to do it.

When next she opened her eyes, it was morning. She felt cold sweat on her brow and shivered against the cold, but felt leagues better than she had the day before. Whatever had taken her had passed now, and she was ready to face the new challenges.

Kes and Balar gave her some space as they broke camp, each of them bearing worried looks, but neither asking the questions obviously running through their minds. She considered telling them a part of it, but decided that it wasn’t the time or place. Balar was an ally, sure, but not a close enough one to relate that secret to. Keseryn deserved to know, she was close enough to things that she’d find out eventually, could very well be at risk because of it, but she was also very young and dealing with a lot herself. Len resolved to give it at least a year unless things took a turn for the worse (which, to be fair, things had a tendency to do).

They didn’t say much on their march that day, the last bits of tree line faded away for bland tundra pocked with trails and occasional signs of herd animals. The sky remained a sullen gray that did little to lift anyone’s spirits but bit by bit conversation picked up. Balar spoke fondly of his peoples traditions besides the Challenges that had been abused of late. He spoke of month-long festivals in celebration of the winter and in defiance of it, of feasts and tournaments and joyous sights to behold. It was clear that whatever else he was, Balar was a great lover of his people, and that the current state of affairs hurt him greatly.

Keseryn didn’t seem particularly interested by any of his tales, though she did perk up a bit at the talk of feasts. The fact that this was a society that had been denied to her due to a fluke of birth did little to sell her on the greatness of it all. Still, she kept most of her sneering disdain to herself while Balar regaled them. For her part, Len listened closely, especially on matters of etiquette as he droned on. Before the sun had begun to set, they set their eyes on the Kelvachian city.

Len had never seen anything quite like it in either of her lives. The whole city was made up of individual buildings of varying size, all on very visible sleds. Each one had been hand-crafted and bore insignias of the makers. It sprawled out for several miles, with each sled arranged in a roughly symmetrical pattern. There was a clear stratification of quality in the sleds, with the shoddier ones towards the outskirts and ever more gaudy ones as one got nearer to the center. At the very center, was a massive pavilion with an arena visible even from the distance. Behind that, she could see a final colossal sled that exuded a decadence that brought an involuntary sneer to Len’s face. She hadn’t even met the owner of that thing and already she hated him.

“Behold my clan,” said Balar with a grand gesture. “We’re still several hours from my home, but you have to admit that it’s quite the view.”

Len nodded in amazement and hid a smile as Kes did the same. It seemed that the girl could still be stunned speechless under the right circumstances.

True to his prediction, the rest of the journey took nearly three hours to complete, with the sun having set well before they reached the city. The perimeter guards (who seemed to be the owners of the sleds?) caught sight of Balar and acknowledged him. Though they threw suspicious glances at Keseryn, they didn’t question further or stop the advance of the trio. Apparently Balar really did carry some weight in these parts.

The rest of their trek through the city was much the same, with numerous judging looks thrown at Kes, but none that dared to question her so long as Balar was near. Len made a note to not let the girl out of her sight during their stay here. Dead on their feet, they finally arrived at a large and welcoming looking housesled, emblazoned with the mark that Len had seen Balar display on occasion.

Calling it a ‘sled’ didn’t really do the thing justice. Len had seen plenty of houses in her old world that were dwarfed by the thing. For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine how any beasts of burden would be able to move it from its spot, but figured that was a question for another time. For the moment, her only real concern was climbing into whatever bed awaited her inside. Balar ushered them into a smaller room that nonetheless featured grander beds than Len had seen since arriving in this world (though, not as grand as the ones she’d been accustomed to back in her old world).

Kes, meanwhile, had never experienced anything more impressive than a straw bed, so had the distinct joy of discovering proper quilted bedding for the first time. If the move to Len’s quarters at the Hovel had been a step up for her, this was leaps and bounds more impressive. She sank into the bed with an squeal of delight and pointedly ignored the indulgent grin that her mentor allowed herself. It was a good feeling to enjoy, and Len did so to the fullest of her ability.

Confident that they would be able to settle in comfortably, Balar excused himself to go take care of some urgent matters. Len waved goodbye as she too settled into the bed. For all that she’d been amused by Kes’ response to it, she couldn’t really argue. It was by far the most comfortable experience she’d had in months and before she knew it, she’d lost herself in the folds of the blanket, snuggled up with the stuffed pillow, and shuffled off the mortal coil to a very deep sleep.

* * * * *

Morning was a quiet affair. Len and Kesaryn both woke up feeling positively light on their feet after the first truly restful night they’d had in ages. Keseryn in particular, was reluctant to claw her way out of the luxurious bedding, but was lured with the smell of delicious meats and griddle cakes that were truly out of this world. Balar had a main dining room, something that felt a touch ridiculous in what was fundamentally a giant sled, that had room for a good sized table to feast at. Servants brought in platters stacked high with various delicacies and treats.

Again, Kesaryn was the most enthralled by the experience. Living as one of the Banished with nothing to her credit that her family couldn’t procure for themselves had left her with limited options. Len, likewise, had only been able to have a few luxuries at the Hovel, and quality food had definitely not been among those luxuries. This was by far the highest quality food she’d had in ages. It wasn’t the best meal that she’d ever had, but it was up there. In particular, she enjoyed the bitter fruits that were on offer. She’d never had much of a sweet tooth, and had received nothing but looks of confusion from her friends as she could happily have a grapefruit or even a lemon (the latter with a very slight dusting of sugar) for a morning repast. These things were close in taste, but not quite as good, having missed out on the several centuries of domestication that their counterparts had benefited from, but they were still pretty tasty. Again, faces blanched at how comfortable she was eating them plain, and when Kes tried to mimic her mentor, she was left recoiling in horror after the first bite.

After that meal, they retired to their rooms to change into some clothing that Balar had provided to make them less conspicuous. Len thought that the veil was a rather ridiculous option to hide her features when those long ears were what most people would see, but he also provided an odd headpiece that called to mind those old bunnygirl headbands that she’d seen fangirls wearing back on Earth. In this case, the ‘ears’ slipped over her actual ears, covering them with a fluffy white cloth. It muffled things a bit, and hid her skin, but she had to admit that it was more comfortable than she’d expected and was a nice ward against the winter air.

Keseryn’s attire was an elaborate gold affair with a sort of clawed gauntlet on the left hand. The thing itself was surprisingly light, but still looked awkward to Len’s eye. The rest of the outfit covered her nearly head to toe, leaving only her eyes visible beneath a crimson cowl. Balar explained that the outfit would mark her as one of the Kensharev, a caste of bodyguard warriors from another country, renowned enough to be worthy of staying clear of and asking few questions. It seemed like an odd costume to go with, but it masked Kes’ Banishment brand, so it’d do the trick regardless.

“I wish I could show you around,” said Balar with regret, “but I’m afraid that I’ve got more matters to attend to here. There’s a lot to set in place before tonight’s feast.”

“Wait, that’s tonight?!” Len yelped. “I thought we had more time than that.”

“We did,” he said pointedly, though not unkindly. “Unfortunately, we needed that extra day of travel to get here and, well, the timeline has shifted a bit. With that in mind, my wife Keris will be the one to show you around.”

Len blinked. She’d seen the woman sitting with him at breakfast but hadn’t gotten the impression that the woman cared enough about her to show her the ropes. The only other time she’d ever seen this woman had been when she first came across Balar and hadn’t had much chance to talk to her then, either. This would be interesting.

“Thanks for taking the time,” she said carefully.

“Of course,” Keris replied. “If you’re willing to help my husband in his fool quest, I’m happy to do my part.”

There was a coolness to the woman’s voice that wasn’t exactly hostility, but it made Len nervous all the same. This was not a woman who was pleased with the current state of affairs in her household and she wasn’t going out of her way to hide it. Balar either didn’t notice or didn’t care, and that just made the whole thing more awkward. With luck, they’d be able to iron out those wrinkles during this tour that she was taking them on.

“Thank you very much,” said Balar absently. “Did you want to take the kids along too? Might as well make a day of it, don’t you think?”

“No, husband,” she said in exactly the same cool tone. “I think it’s best if I show your new friends around with as little distraction as possible. We wouldn’t want any more surprises to happen, would we?”

“Whatever you think is best, dear,” he said, a slightly pained expression on his face. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t completely oblivious.

With little left to say, Kes and Len checked their outfits one last time, happily accepted a small stipend of spending coin to enjoy their jaunt, and let Keris lead them out into the grand expanse of the Kelvachian city. Len didn’t know exactly what to expect from all this, but she had to admit that she was pretty curious to find out what was in store. Kes, for all her stubbornness, did seem to be excited to at least enjoy the sights, even if that core of resentment remained within her.