Of the many things Kenneth had expected to find down here, machinery and probably guards. Invisible Nok, on the other hand, wasn't at all on his list. And with both of them staring, it was only a matter of time before questions started coming.

  Well, like his teacher once told him, fake it till you make it.

  Nokkibai quickly covered herself and turned partly invisible, as Nokiolite opened her mouth about to speak, but before that could happen, Kenneth beat her to it.

  “Finally, you are hard to find,” he said, getting back on his feet and dusting himself off.

  “What?” Nokiolite questioned Kenenth, noticing her scales right now were dark green.

  “Yeah, you said I could walk into her any time I wanted when invisible, and I gotta tell you, not easy, but I ain’t nothing if not determined,” He quickly explained.

  The gears turned in her head as if she tried to comprehend the situation fully. “Why are you out now?”

  “I’m not allowed?” He questioned back. “I mean, yes, I have a place I sleep, but it’s news to me I gotta stay there with, mutey, bitey, rubby, and squeezy. I guess if it was implied, then it just flew right over my head.”

  “Why aren't any of them with you?”

  “I’m guessing below,” Kenneth answered nonchalantly, not the least bit guilty about snitching on them. “I asked if they could watch me outside since it was hot, and I was a bit curious about your monthly tradition. Next thing I knew, they all abandoned me, leaving me alone with no way to get back inside, so I thought, since I saw you going this way, I might as well kill some time.”

  “I see...” Nokiolite said, staring at him.

  He could see she wasn’t buying it. ‘Really, that was the best excuse I could come up with; I was bored, saw them go this way, and wanted to walk into someone.’

  “I didn't think you were so mean,” Nokkibai commented.

  Nokioltie, with her arms crossed, swung her hips and hit her in the back of the head with her tail, “Cry me a river. If you didn’t want him to see you, then you should have avoided him!”

  “But...”

  “The only excuse I want to hear is you apologizing for keeping me up here for yet another full moon because you can’t move and keep yourself invisible!” To illustrate her point, she became invisible and walked around the room, effortlessly blending in as if she weren’t there. “It can be done, so do it!”

  The poor girl looked close to shivering, but not from the cold.

  “Excuse me, Nokiolite, was it? May I try something?” Kenneth asked.

  “If you think you can do something, go ahead. This annoyance is about to force my hand,” She said with an angry undertone.

  Kenneth knelt down on the ground and asked, “Why do you think you can’t turn invisible?”

  “Why do you care? You only want to walk into me and make me uncomfortable like everyone else,” She responded, sounding like she was on the verge of crying.

  “I’m sorry. The first time was an accident, and the second... I honestly thought in one manner or another I was helping,” Kenneth explained to her. “If you want to, I would like to know the reason behind why it’s so hard.”

  For a moment, she looked at him, then turned her head away. “It is hard. I have to keep it up, and when everyone is looking--“

  “No one is supposed to see you,” Nokiolite interrupted. “That is the point of me teaching and training you so you won’t be seen. The only reason people look at you is because of those long clothes you wear.”

  Nokkibai lowered her head, a tear or two escaping.

  Kenneth got to his feet, looked around for a moment, and picked up Nokkibai’s clothes and, with his back turned, offered them to her like a gentleman, “If you would, could you put them on? I want to try something.”

  She looked toward Nokiolite.

  “Do it.”

  Her body language was already much more open with her long clothes back on. “Alright now, can you turn one of your fingers invisible?”

  She looked at him for a moment and easily did so.

  “Now, another.”

  Once again, she did.

  It continued slowly and for a short while until her entire body was invisible, and she was little more than floating clothes and eyes.

  “Okay, now just take one single step.”

  While he couldn’t see her body, the clothes floating indicated slight hesitation as she appeared to be looking around.

  “Only one step, and then we are done.”

  She still appeared hesitant, but eventually, she took that one step, her visible body not appearing for a second.

  “Well done,” Kenneth congratulated her. “Now just one more step, just a single one more.”

  That was the mentality you had to have when training or exercising, pushing your limits, which she did for another ten steps.

  It was by that tenth Nokiloite lifted Nokkibai's skirt, revealing nothing underneath… for all of three seconds before she returned to the land of the visible brightly so.

  “You actually managed to do it. Huh... finally,” Nokiloite said in slight relief.

  Kenneth looked at her. “You’d be surprised how simple tasks can be sabotaged by self-doubt and nervousness. It was clear she needed to be a bit more comfortable.”

  “All well and good, but the best she can manage with that is maybe scaring a couple of heretics,” Nokiloite hissed in a low, rumbling tone.

  “Perhaps. I’ll admit I’m not much of a teacher, but one thing I do know is that people are different, and one form of learning doesn't always work for everyone. Try taking it one step at a time and see how far she can walk,” Kenneth recommended.

  “What? Do you spout sage wisdom all of a sudden?” she questioned with an underlying sternness.

  “I’m merely offering a different perspective. One teacher to another.”

  She didn’t respond; instead, she turned her head to Nokibai, “You managed to do it, so let’s go down. And you are coming to Black Beak. I can’t very well be letting you wander around alone.”

  “Fine,” Kenneth shrugged. “But I hope you don’t expect anything from me because I ain't putting out.”

  “You think I want to be with you.”

  “…I have never been so relieved to be rejected.”

  She looked at him strangely for a moment before putting her clothes back on, Kenneth taking the opportunity to do the same with his shoes. Dressed and ready, all of them got back up on top of the wall, Nokiolite leading every step of the way.

  While there, Nokiolite couldn’t help but complain about the guards all slacking their duties and muttering something or other about adding more lookouts to keep watch over them.

  Kenneth then interjected, saying he was certain adding more wood to that fire was going to put it out. She didn’t have much in the way of a response, which he took to mean she understood his meaning.

  For the most part, the descent downward was a silent one, well, except for...

  “I hope there are still some places that will take me in, and everyone isn’t too tired,” Nokkibai muttered to herself.

  “Not to be rude, but you don’t like anyone seeing you out of clothes, so how are you going to participate?” Kenneth questioned.

  Her response was simple, “I keep my clothes on.”

  “I see,” he replied while thinking to himself that he should have probably guessed as much.

  As the final door to the underground slowly opened, Kenneth couldn’t help but wonder what was in store. His mind raced with images of a hedonistic red light district where every carnal desire and act, even the horniest human hadn’t imagined or even thought of, would be on full display.

  It filled him with some slight hesitation, and as the door opened, it was replaced with relief.

  For the most part, the place didn’t look any more crowded than any other day, with a decent amount of people here and there, in at the very least a little bit of clothing, mostly tied loincloths and skirts from what looked like their normal clothes.

  All around, doors to homes were wide open, and with what could only be described as piles of colorful scales inside, where you weren’t able to tell your own tail from someone else's.

  With a bit of an urgent expression, Nokkibai was quick to run off, leaving only the two of them.

  “So I’ll just be staying outside,” Kenneth quickly made sure of. “I got no problem with piles, but I prefer to never be at the bottom of one again. Last time, the heat damn near killed me.”

  Nokiolite’s stern expression softened as she watched Nokkibai run off. “Thank you for helping her. I honestly didn’t think the girl had it in her to do it.”

  “I wouldn’t say I did much,” Kenneth somewhat bashfully said. “She was always able to do it; she just lacked the confidence, at least from what I saw.”

  They shared a glance.

  “Well then, where off to?”

  She looked at him more intently and let out a sigh. “Follow me, there’s less heat this way where I’m headed.”

  Of course, he followed, walking beside her, passing numerous open places where it just looked like you could jump in any time you liked, a few doing so with eagerness, yet Nokiolite passed each and every one.

  Kenneth wasn’t much one for looking around; however, something did catch his eye, that being Nokmao shooting a bow at an archery range with none other than Split beside her. Of all the pairings there could be and of all the places… he had a bad feeling, but doubted there would be a murder in brought crystal light.

  “Got a specific place for you, commander’s or something?” Kenneth asked more so to try and drown out the noises around him, figuring the answer would be less… explicit.

  “None of us goes there, it doesn’t satisfy after a while.”

  He was a bit hesitant to ask, “Are you all selfish lovers or what?”

  She glanced at him and cracked a smile for a moment, “You know nothing of this, do you? Well, let me explain. Inside each altar, there are different rules.”

  “What, no shedding on the couch?” Kenneth joked.

  She pointed to each altar in line one after another, “That one is for women only, that one is only for men, the one beside is mixed, that one is for men and women, that one is for sleepers, that one is for tails only, and that one is for dominating only.”

  The last one, Kenneth noticed Noksafgro was inside wrestling naked with a woman whom he recognized from the commander's table. She had smokey grey scales and wore only what could only be described as bubble goggles made of glass.

  It felt like walking through the tags on a porn site. “Let me guess, there is one of each imaginable fetish for everyone to explore.”

  “There are more, but many of the popular ones have more altars here and there.”

  “I’m guessing that one ahead is a lone one as well,” Kenneth said, gesturing to the open altar where roaring and shouting raged, with people behind held back and talking to someone who looked like a guard. “Aint seen many bouncers at the other places.”

  “Inside there… You must be prepared, because it doesn’t matter if you are a commander or guest, inside it’s all the same,” Nokiolite said in a serious tone. “It’s the duality of walking down Lorizo’s forked roads… or at least that's what I heard from some philosopher or other say, who enjoyed very much both paths.”

  “Huh… you don’t say,” Kenneth muttered, feeling a chill in his gut as he had a feeling what tag that altar was.

  “Black Beak, come over here and have some fun!”

  ‘Okay… at least it’s something else now,’ Kenneth thought in conflict.

  It was only a matter of time, he supposed, before his reputation extended him an invitation.

  He wished that was the extent of what was said, but it was one of the tamer ones. He felt like a woman getting catcalled, a unique experience, to say the least, as were the following.

  With simple words not being enough, many others resorted to more seductive methods in an attempt to lure him over to them. They kept their distance, probably because of Nokiolite, but that didn’t stop them from testing the boundary with obscene poses. If he was completely honest, the men were doing a better job than the women on that front, not that they significantly caught his interest.

  It was getting ridiculous to the point that Nokiolite seemed to have grown annoyed enough that her scale suddenly changed from green to a deep red.

  All of a sudden, even the most persistent backed off, and as they continued onward, the multitude of people began to thin until there wasn’t much of a soul in sight. No wonder, since Nokiolite had taken them to the graveyard.

  She took the lead and stepped over to the railing. “Do you know why I took you here?”

  He could hear an underlying seriousness in her voice. “Peace and quiet.”

  She suddenly peeled off a piece of shedding scales and threw them into the muddy hole, “Togetherness past the red veil, let our bodies be washed as we enter her embrace from which we hatched.”

  The manner in which she spoke so softly sounded like a prayer, one of definite mourning. “Is someone--“

  “Has this sated your curiosity? “She cut him off, her voice hard and rough. “I saw you once looking my way as I stood here and said these words. Did you enjoy knowing what I said?”

  “I hope your prayer has reached whoever is down there.”

  “Nokshala won’t be, not for a long time, if at all, and yet I say words that I wonder if can ever reach my daughter.”

  ‘Nokshala is her mother!’ Kenneth internally exclaimed as he, with slight shakenness in his voice, offered. “I’ll lend an ear if you need to get something off your chest.”

  “...”

  She looked at him for a moment, dead silent as the noise of people in the distance became all the louder and louder until, when she undressed, every little sound dwarfed all others, and as her skirt hit the ground, she let out a breath and vanished.

  He could only follow her for a moment as her footsteps, even with such a lumbering body, were oddly quiet and hard to discern from any of the surrounding sounds.

  “I didn’t bring you here so that you would hear my confession,” Nokiloite said, her voice appearing in the opposite direction he was looking. “I was uncertain at first if you knew anything, but now…”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “A lot of people died that day,” Kenneth said, the truth, at least the one he knew, not one a grieving mother should hear. “I’m sorry about your daughter, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you one corpse from another.”

  “You reacted to her name,” Nokiolite accusedly said.

  “Down in this heat, I sometimes get a bit weak from a lack of drinking water, not something I think you can relate to,” Kenneth deflected.

  “Tell me what happened to her body after she was murdered. Has she begun to be reclaimed, or did those heretics devour her flesh, or...”She gave a slight pause for a moment, her presence fully vanishing. “Did they burn her, make her unclaimable by Amito?”

  Kenneth could understand how she felt. Her child was presumed dead; all someone wanted was closure, but the truth wouldn’t bring her that, and after such a long time passing, he couldn’t be certain she was even alive.

  “I can't say I know anything about her final fate.”

  Suddenly, Nokiolite grabbed him by his coat and pushed him dangling over the railing as he grabbed onto her arm. “You have to know something!”

  “I swear I don’t know anything about her death or after.”

  “Speak the truth, or I will let go and watch you sink.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t you understand! She wasn’t supposed to be there! I was!” She yelled with tears in her eyes. ”It’s because of me for being reckless and getting blood drunk that she’s dead! Now tell me how she died!”

  “I can’t,” Kenneth said once more, as he surrendered. “Because all I know is she’s alive.”

  His statement filled Nokiolite with such shock that her form became visible. Both stared at one another for what felt like an eternity before she slowly pulled Kenneth up to his feet and said, “Explain.”

  “I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t know if she’s dead or alive, but last I saw of her, she was alive, kept as a prisoner and interrogated… though that’s too pretty of a word,” Kenneth explained. “But I left not too long after the battle, so I don’t know what happened to her.”

  “I’m sorry,” She apologized, turning away and looking up at the ceiling.

  He didn’t respond; however, he wasn’t unsympathetic; he understood where her anger had come from.

  For now, it might just be best to forget it and move on. “So where to now--“

  “Can you see a scar on my back?” she suddenly asked.

  He glanced for a second, “A faded one, yes.”

  “I got that scar when we took down what I thought was the last outpost; even when healed, the scar remains. We train to hide everything, even our eyes, so we barely see anything, but with one of these, we can’t,” She explained. “If you are cut deep enough, it remains. Eternal shame for someone like me and many others. If not, with time, it will fade until it’s completely gone. It’s said the shame and guilt marked will fade once it’s gone, but that is shit. It’s a relief to know the truth now.”

  ‘Your daughter is imprisoned and probably being tortured if not already dead. How can that be a relief?’ he questioned internally.

  Silently, she adorned herself once more in her loose clothing and led the way, with Kenneth following through, keeping a slight distance.

  Though that proved to be a mistake in its own right, as one brazen woman he recognized as Nokkaarug, or sniffer as he’d called her for a time, got rather close to Kenneth.

  “Black Beak, why don’t you join? You are more than welcome,” She offered with a smile.

  ‘Oh yes, you of all people would be the one I would say yes to,’ Kenneth thought sarcastically; though of all those who had been hunting him out there, she was far from the worst, at least wanting him to live. “No, thank you.”

  Her gaze turned predatory as she grabbed his arm and quickly led him over to one of the houses. “Don’t be shy; it can be fun. Even the old zillo’s can still keep at it.”

  Reluctantly, he was dragged closer and not really able to resist as he was pulled off balance, only able to stop at the door as he slammed his hand against the frame.

  ‘So does ‘no’ just mean a come get me, yes here or what?’ Kenneth questioned about to say as much as the sight inside the room left him a bit stunned.

  Now, the multitude of people combined in exposed positions, most of whom were in smaller piles with rippling, almost dancing, scales in one changing color or another at a steady interval, wasn’t something that was going to make him blush.

  Not even the sex act no human was capable of, most of which only the men seemed capable of, using their slender and maneuverable tails, with some women seeming to try it on their own, solo.

  No, what Kenneth was surprised by was the fact that there were also one or two Aki in the mix. Fortunately, it wasn’t a blood bath lubricant thing; they were performing very well using their mouths and tongues in a way Nok could not.

  ‘This would throw a wrench into the plans,’ He thought. ‘This would have been the best time to try and escape, but now with them also being here, it’ll be the worst.’

  Sniffer took Kenneth’s silence as a go-ahead as she began to pull, and most likely, once he was part of the pile, he wasn’t getting out.

  “Relax and let us all wet the sands and nourish the earth.”

  He managed to resist for a second, but his brute strength was no match for hers as she nearly threw him inside, his body coming to a sudden stop as Nokiolite grabbed his other arm and pulled him out.

  Sniffer looked about, ready to say something, but when she noticed who it was that had grabbed Kenneth, she backed off, and he was more than happy to get out of there. “Thanks. I really didn’t want to be trapped at the bottom.”

  “You were interested in this tradition, yet you don’t want to participate?” Nokiolite questioned.

  “I don’t just drop pants for anyone,” Kenneth sighed, no worse for wear. “Usually they do it for me, but I doubt anyone wants a prostate exam, no wait, scratch that, they probably want to.”

  “Keep close then, and follow me. It’s best if anyone thinks you're with me, then,” Nokiolite told him.

  He did as he was told and kept close for the time being as they made their way through the underground city to a place Kenneth hadn’t been yet; he remembered well why. This was the place he was apparently forbidden to enter, since it would be around here where Nokstella was.

  On any other day, he would have picked the hedonistic crowd that aimed to swarm him. It was only the reassurance of her undoubtedly being asleep that made him brave enough to venture into uncharted territory.

  There wasn’t much to differentiate this place from any other down here, except for the sound of running water and splashing. Step by step, it became clear: a giant indoor swimming pool with people mostly relaxing in the water and only a few either fighting or playing.

  “No one should bother you here. Call on me if there is something,” Nokiolite said as she entered and sank under the water, leaving Kenneth by the edge.

  He looked around. There were a few familiar faces, among them being Nokkrick, Nokguvo, and at the very edge, Split, who was sitting by her lonesome. None of them seemed to have noticed him, and before they did, he walked over to her, took off his shoes and socks, and dipped them in the water.

  The moment his toes were submerged, he was overcome with a relaxing feeling that felt so luxurious despite the fact that it was only lukewarm water.

  However, the knowledge that this even existed and that he, for so long, hadn’t known caused his mind to flash with anger as he internally shouted, ‘I’ve been freezing my balls off with ice-cold swamp water when I could have been warmer than that.’

  It was only for a moment, though, as he stretched his toes.

  “Why are you sitting here?” Split asked, looking a bit beat up.

  Kenneth let out a relaxed sigh. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but I prefer some quiet.”

  “Where are the others?” Split asked.

  “Somewhere around here, but don’t worry, I’m being watched,” Kenneth assured her. “So you don't have to clock into overtime. Actually, I would like to see you when you are not at work and just you.”

  “I am me.”

  “Is that so?”

  Split glanced at him for a moment, “Why are you being this way now? You know what I did. That is why you have been distant after all.”

  Kenneth found himself paused for a moment. It was true he had been less engaged with her as of late, but it had nothing to do with the reason she was a disgrace, and more to do with what he learned.

  “Ironically, the reason isn’t the same everyone else called you that name and all that, you did what you did for your brother, ain’t nothing to be ashamed of if you ask me,” Kenneth explained.

  Split looked at him, “What problem do you have with me?”

  “Noksafgro said you both were at the gate. Was it you who tried to drag someone through it and then killed him?” Kenneth asked.

  “What of it? But it was me,” Split answered him.

  “His name was Hoota. I didn’t know him all that well, but his friend called him a love-struck fool or something like that. His last words were her name,” Kenneth told her, revealing it hauntingly, with all the feelings resurfacing of how useless he felt.

  “Heretics have done far worse. I ended it,” Split replied. “Don’t think about them anymore, you are here now.”

  “You know, I honestly had to explain this so many times when I was with the Aki, but as you can see, I’m different. I don’t view heretics, on either side, as so, to me they are just people, and hearing what your brother had to say, just made me realize, you have killed more than I probably can imagine,” Kenneth told her.

  “I never counted, I killed heretics, that’s it.”

  “It wasn't really different from the others,” Kenneth admitted. “They killed you and Sil, and it didn’t change how I looked at them. Maybe I only feel this way because I was there and saw it all. For them, I was just ignorant, or wanted to be. It would be hypocritical to hold you against it if I didn’t do it to them. You even saved my life, again. I’m sorry, I’ll try to be better.”

  “…You're a healer, you value life,” Split said, stating the obvious. “I’m a hunter, I value death, but I’m also a soldier.”

  “Are you just stating facts or what?”

  “When I kill an animal, a heretic, it’s the same, I kill. I like the silence after. That before is only the path to the end, mine or theirs. It’s only about survival. Life cannot last without death. So don’t worry, and don’t think about it.”

  “Are you trying to cheer me up? If so, you are doing a piss poor job of it.”

  “There is nothing more I can say,” Split replied.

  “The fact you are trying means a lot, even if it was terrible,” Kenneth halfheartedly chuckled. “Thank you.”

  Split remained silent, but the bigger half of her tail did flop against the ground a little.

  “There was actually something I wanted to ask you about,” Kenneth said. “I saw you a bit earlier with Nokmao. I guess she's still giving you trouble.”

  “There won’t be any trouble,” Split replied.

  “Choosing to just take it doesn’t sit well in my book, trust me, they never stop,” Kenneth warned her.

  “It will not be as before; that has come to an end.”

  Kenneth leaned forward and rested his head on his hand. “You stood up to her, good for you. Here’s to hoping it’ll last.”

  “So you are here. I thought I saw you wander by.”

  He recognized the voice, but it lacked a certain sharp edge to it as he turned to Nokset. “I’m surprised you want to talk to me outside of class; you barely say anything in them.”

  With arms crossed and his snout slightly stuck up, he glanced out into the water at everyone, “Have you realized a healer's worth?”

  “I don’t know exactly what you mean by—“

  Before he could finish, someone else cut him off. “We know his worth, and it’s more than you, you little plebo!”

  Nokguvo had been the one to yell that one out with some fury behind it. Perhaps she had had a bad taste in her mouth since Kenneth last saw her, or she simply didn’t miss the opportunity.

  Regardless, she had opened the floodgates as more joined in calling him names; some he understood, and others he didn’t.

  “Don’t forget I’m the only one who can heal you properly!” Nokset shouted in utter rage.

  Most enjoyed the show, some laughing, and one even shouting, “We have Black Beak now; what do you have left to offer?!”

  Nokset looked about ready to pop a blood vessel. His scales grew pale, and his body was trembling in anger. At the point Kenneth feared he would lunge for anyone, including himself, he instead simply walked away, muttering something under his breath while most everyone laughed loudly at him.

  One of the few who didn’t do that, Kenneth recognized, was Nokkrick, who looked a bit saddened at him as he wandered off.

  He couldn’t help but feel a slight sympathy for the guy who was getting bullied. Learning his crotch grabs were culturally acceptable, though they still didn’t sit quite right with him, had made him see Nokset in a slightly different, yet still annoying light.

  In the middle of all the noise, Nokhavadoo walked toward him, his waist submerged in the waters, and Nokamber floating beside him, looking a bit dazed. “Where have you visited a lucky few? I would have loved to be a part of it before you came here to rest and ease the burning.”

  “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I wasn’t really with anyone exactly. I was curious about this thing down here, and I’m little more than a passive observer,” Kenneth explained.

  “Really, you do nothing; how creepy,” Nokhavadoo shrugged.

  “Yeah, I could call you names, too. I wouldn’t exactly say you are normal to me, but I try not to judge,” he replied. “If you don’t mind, I have a question.”

  “Do ask,” Nokhavadoo said while Nokamber gently floated to the edge, sitting up against it near Kenneth, though not noticing him, her gaze affixed on the man in front of her.

  “Nokrock is your life partner, so doing all of this with everyone else. Don’t feelings get hurt?”

  “He got men and women, and the other got rock to fuck,” someone yelled.

  Nokhavadoo didn’t even pay attention, as he looked at Kenneth with a gentle expression as if he were a child.

  “I like everyone, but I only love Rock. I love everything about him, from his tail to his snout and his obsessiveness with work. I do not think I could grow bored no matter how long I watched him work. This tradition and prayer to the gods is fleetingly fun,” He gazed deeply into Nokamber’s dilated eyes and gently held the tip of her snout with thumb and middle finger, in a display that was a complete reversal from hours past. “But being with him is… is… joyly…! In a way I can’t describe nor could bear the thought of ever being without.”

  “You know, I can’t help but think that would have been profoundly more beautiful if the water wasn't so clear,” Kenneth commented, glancing at his Naughty, naughty tail that just wiggled around.

  Nokhavadoo simply smiled, “I wouldn’t pray so devoutly if I didn’t know how to do more than one thing at a time.”

  “How selfless of you,” Kenneth replied sarcastically.

  Though his comment far from gave him any reason to stop, Nokamber, however, gave one herself as she, with her eyes half open, glanced at Kenneth and shot up in panic, “You are here!”

  It got a few laughs from everyone, with a few loudly praising Nokhavadoo’s talents.

  “Finally remembered me, I see.”

  “Gods above and below, how could I have forgotten about you?!”

  They shared a look for a moment, “So, are you asking for a detailed explanation of brain chemistry or just the short version? Horny equals dumb.”

  “We have to get out of here before the commander sees you down here!” Nokamber said urgently.

  “I’m gonna say pass on that,” he told her bluntly, at which point her eyes briefly widened as her scales whitened. “I’m actually enjoying a bit of leisure time. Sure, I’m boiling in the heat, but my feet feel amazing, so I’ll enjoy it a bit more. Besides, you are here now, watching over me. Let’s not forget you were as much a part of eagerly getting me outside.”

  She sat back down in the water. “At least… some of the salt you bathe in is rubbing off you here, rich man.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t bathe in saltwater?”

  “With how much you bought from the merchant, I don’t believe that,” Nokguvo said.

  “I tasted how it lingered on your body,” Nokamber added.

  “Do you mean sweat?” Kenneth irritably groaned. “Listen, the only baths I've taken lately have been with a wet cloth; all the rest come out of me because it’s hot.”

  His explanation left many with an expression of doubt, all of which only annoyed him as he once and for all wanted to set the record straight.

  He pulled up his sleeve and exposed his sweating and dripping forearm to the dry air. “I’ve only had my feet in water, and my sleeve is dry, so tell me why my arm is wet.”

  Nokamber looked at it for a moment, slowly reaching with her hand, but Nokhavadoo beat her to it, slithering his tail along the ground and catching a few of the drops falling. As quickly as it had appeared, he pulled his tail back into his mouth in a display akin to… well, he wouldn’t think about it.

  He tasted it for a moment as a few held their gaze on him. As his tail slid out of his mouth, he had a smile. “I didn’t think you were telling the truth.”

  “Wait, really!” Nokguvo exclaimed in shock.

  “Is Kenneth leaking salty water?!” Nokkrick questioned.

  “Not salty water, wet gold.”

  “Liquid gold?” Kenneth boardly repeated pulling his sleeve down. “You are being a bit dramatic now. It’s just salt water. Go to the ocean, and there’s nothing but it.”

  A few people shared some glances with Split, saying, “The ocean isn’t salty.”

  “It’s no different from any other water,” Nokamber added.

  “You serious?” Kenneth questioned, convinced this was some kind of elaborate joke on him. “We are talking about the same thing, right? The ocean… a big body of water stretching beyond the horizon. Walk any direction, and you’ll eventually hit it.”

  “Are you trying to pull our tails?” Nokguvo chuckled. “Let me guess; you heard Nokkrick tell a story to her youngings and thought to have a laugh. Everyone knows it’s a thing of fantasy.”

  “Huh… really. So you really don’t have saltwater here,” Kenneth muttered. “Well, you lot are lucky. Where im from, there’s almost nothing but saltwater.”

  “You are lying… right?” Nokamber asked, sounding so sure of herself, even though many others looked at them questioningly.

  “Honestly, I’m wondering if you are all lying to me,” Kenneth admitted. “All I know with certainty is that where I’m from, the ocean is nothing but saltwater; it stings in your eyes, good for flesh wounds, and tastes awfully salty.”

  “You are full of it!” Nokguvo scoffed. “It's nothing but a fantasy, like Darkspinners, Eggeaters, or the land across,

  The expression, as well as the changing scale colors, were diverse, to say the least, and the only reason why there probably were any at all who seemed to trespass into an area of believing him was the fact that he said it.

  As they no doubt were aware, Kenneth wasn't an Aki, Nok, or Sil. None of them had ever seen anything like him, and yet he had come from somewhere. That alone had to give some validity to anything he would say. Though none of them knew he was from another world, so for all he knew, there was no saltwater here, as strange as it sounded.

  “Why are you all so quiet?” A rather exhausted yet still energetic Nokzusa yelled out to everyone, only later noticing Kenneth sitting by the edge of the water with two women between him and a man in front, with everyone looking at him. A rather large smile grew across her face. “Tell me everything, Kenneth.”

  “Apparently, I’m leaking gold without knowing,” he answered her casually.

  “Is that so?” She chuckled, taking a seat beside him.

  “Finally, come to join the rest in easing the burning?” Nokhavadoo questioned as he took a second glance. “I have to say you seem to look shinier, and if I’m not mistaken, you have gone at it longer than normal. Ate some two dangling organs or another to gain a little vigor?”

  She slapped her leg, laughed, and grabbed Kenneth in a one-armed hug from behind. “Hardly! I have this little one to thank! With this, there are no chafed scales or burning!”

  She rubbed the inside of her thigh and then pulled her hand up for all to see. It was covered in a clear, slimy liquid.

  Everyone looked, their gaze gathered on her hand; Nokhavadoo, as one of the closest, rested his head on his tail like you would an arm, glanced at the pair, and smiled. “Do tell, and don’t leave any detail out.”

  Kenneth quickly caught on and explained before anything misleading and troubling could be said, “It’s lubrication, so get your mind out of the gutter. I needed some stuff built, paid her fee in a bucket of stuff.”

  “That reminds me of why I came,” Nokzusa remembered as she stood up and looked at Nokhavadoo rather intently. “I got more of this slick goo back at the workshop. The others are still going. What do you say?”

  “Color me interested,” he replied as his scales darkened.

  As they left, the next natural thing to happen was everyone turning their gazes toward him, and like the predators they were, Kenneth, even with his copious exposure around them, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear.

  The idea of enlisting Nokamber crossed his mind for all of two seconds until he noticed she looked at him the same way.

  And then it began, the asking, everyone wanting some lube, talking over one another as their voices became a jumbled mess of things. Then the begging where Kenneth tried to explain he didn’t have any on him. And lastly, the aggressive begging, the kind where your personal space was utterly invaded.

  At the very least, Split had his side.

  Yet all of a sudden, probably right before the scene became another chalk outline of his dead body, the entire collection of people grew quiet as the commander arrived.

  All of them backed off as her glaring gaze had them fearful.

  Her prestigious white coat looked more like a loosely worn bathrobe at this point. “You are down here.”

  “Last I checked, prisoner and guest had two separate definitions, or am I mistaken?”

  “You are a guest and…” Her narrow gaze shifted to Nokamber for a second, who was almost white at this point. “You are accompanied. One can never be certain of how people act outside my sight.”

  “Good thing you came then,” Kenneth said in a respectful tone while having expected an all too obvious joke to be made.

  “Have you enjoyed the event?”

  “…not as much as you and the others have, but it’s been enlightening.”

  “That is… It’s well to hear.”

  “Yep…”

  She then pointed to his feet, “Your legs are a different color. And I didn’t know you had five toes and only wore something over… them…”

  ‘Is she trying to make small talk?’ Kenneth was a bit weirded out. “Yep… I have them… and. Okay, I honestly don’t know how to respond to that, so I’m just gonna ask. What’s your sudden interest in my feet?”

  “Brazen, I see, but I also want this to be over,” Nokuji answered him. “I have taken time to think about your proposal.”

  ‘Yeah, a long time. I have already extracted test medicine from the mold, but at least I'm already a third of the way through writing the first medical book in human. Your daughter has barely begun translating,’ he thought, biting his tongue.

  “What you ask is tremendous and far from something a leader should give permission to take place,” she said in an unreadable tone of voice. “Yet it is only because of what I ask, you too request. Deep in prayer, I was enlightened, or more so, reminded of the gods. They have always had an understanding beyond mortal sight, Lorizo, more than any. On the fork in the path, I’ve made my choice. You can conduct your trials…”

  For a moment, Kenneth felt a sense of… well, not relief, more so the dull anticipation finally resolving, like the bad guy dying, at the end of the movie. Of course, he didn’t let it show. “Thanks, and I promise—“

  “Know this,” she interrupted. “I will not order anything to do this. All must walk their path, and it must be theirs to choose.”

  Kenneth gladly met her gaze, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”