Simon didn’t trust this new sun. He kept looking up each day, or quarter, as they called them here, to see if it had moved. It never did, but Justus said it did. Apparently the sun moved in an oval over four days, only it was almost impossible to notice by sight.

  After mentioning his skepticism a few times, Justus had pulled out a pole and a small ovular disk. He planted the pole in the ground and set the dial a few feet away. The dial had four large marks in the cardinal directions and many smaller notches between them. He told Simon it was an ancient time-keeping device. Sort of like sundials on Earth, Simon figured. Sure enough, the shadow did move over the hours they spent training.

  So maybe this red sun wasn’t completely stationary, but Simon still didn’t trust it. He wasn’t sure why. He felt like if he started to enjoy this sun and its quirks, he’d be betraying his own sun, sort of like cheating on a spouse. Stupid, but he could admit that his mind didn’t make sense all the time.

  The monotony of the days did feel like a genuine downside. He’d always taken for granted how useful and nice it was to have a nighttime. With the sky in a perpetual twilight, Simon felt like he was in some kind of purgatory. The days all bled into one another without the contrast of light and dark.

  He also wondered how owls and cats worked here. Justus said those things existed here, but they were nocturnal on Earth. How did they know when to hunt? Did they just hunt when everything else was asleep? How did anything know when to sleep?

  Questions like that kept popping up in his head, which was weird. Stuff like that usually didn’t bother him. Details. He didn’t care much for details. Maybe his mind was simply trying to find something to do during all the stupid meditation Justus forced them to go through.

  Simon cracked an eye open. He was sitting on the grass, in the clearing where they’d been training for the last few days. Kate was to his left, just a few feet away. Justus, however, was in front of them, meditating as well. They did this at the start of each day’s training.

  “Stop thinking, Simon,” Justus said.

  Simon rolled his eyes and shut them once more. During their meditation, Justus kept his eye on them with his Spirit to make sure they were focused.

  Meditation, along with sleep, was apparently the fastest way to restore Spirit. Meditation also had the benefit of “maturing” a Spirit, whatever that meant. It had something to do with getting stronger, but Simon didn’t know anything about it beyond that.

  To Simon’s right, he felt a presence even with his eyes shut: his clone. Simon had been summoning it before each practice session. He wasn’t sure if it really helped his Spirit mature faster or not, but there was little downside to trying.

  He’d found out after the first day of practice that the clone really was conscious. Whenever he dispelled it, he absorbed all the memories it had. It gave him a major headache each time. It was still pretty awesome, though. It really was like a shadow clone, aside from the fact it was entirely white and couldn’t talk.

  The headaches were awful, but the tradeoff was well worth it to get the memories. Simon suspected that he was also absorbing the clone’s muscle memory. His hand-to-hand skills were improving faster than he expected, even considering the extra coordination that Opal rank granted him. Maybe he could test it by having the clone learn a dance or something, then seeing if he could do it without practice once the clone mastered it.

  Damn, he hated meditating. The thought of doing tests was actually exciting in comparison. How long had they been sitting here not doing anything? As if sensing Simon’s impending request, Justus spoke.

  “Alright, that’s enough for today. Let’s—”

  Simon groaned and got to his feet.

  “Ugh, finally,” he said, stretching his limbs out. “I swear you only make us do that because you know I hate it.”

  Justus ignored Simon, which only proved that Kate and Simon weren’t the only two learning here.

  “Simon, after we spar and do our exercises, you’re going to try out your companion skill. Thanks to your clone, you’ve been able to get a pretty quick grasp of Spirit control. You and your clone were almost as steady in Spirit during meditation as Katherine.”

  Simon turned to his clone. Though the thing had no face, he could feel its emotions, so he knew it was thinking the same thing as him. They looked at Kate.

  “Even with two of me and an extra skill, I’m still behind you. That’s so unfair. Are you cheating? How are you so good at this Spirit stuff?”

  Kate blushed and looked away. She shrugged. “I don’t know…”

  Simon felt a bit guilty for teasing her. He wasn’t actually upset, of course. He just enjoyed ribbing people. He wished she would shoot back at him. He knew she had it in her. She snapped back at Justus all the time. Whenever Simon made a verbal jab at her, though, she got all coy. He couldn’t tell if she disliked him or Justus.

  “Katherine, today you’re going to spar with Simon’s clone. You might be great at Spirit control, but you’re lacking in hand-to-hand combat. Try to use your deflection skill while fighting.

  “Clone, go easy on her. Pull your punches. She can’t heal like Simon can. Focus on grapples and submission holds.”

  The clone rolled its head, and Simon could feel its annoyance, but it gave Justus a thumbs up.

  “Simon, you’ll spar with me.”

  Simon groaned. “Do I have to? Can’t we do some kind of exercise, like capture the flag? There’s usually something fun like that during training arcs. I’m sick of getting my shit rocked.”

  “You can capture your flag on your own time, whatever that is.”

  “I swear, if you were any more of a stick in the mud, I could use you to tell the time,” Simon said. The joke got no reaction. Damn, he’d been cooking that one up for a while. He sighed. “I’m wasted here. Fine, let’s go ‘spar.’”

  _____

  Two hours later, Simon used his restoration skill to heal his broken nose. It hurt just as much the fourth time as the first. Luckily the skill cleaned the blood too, so his robes weren’t filthy with all the blood he’d spilled.

  “Nice work. You barely flinched from getting hit that time,” Justus said.

  “Thanks, glad to know I can take my beatings with some dignity at least. I think it’d be more impressive if I could land a single punch, though.”

  “I’ve been trained in hand-to-hand combat since I could walk. That’s not a gap you can close easily. Given your advantages, you might be able to stand a chance in a few years, as long as you put in the work. Are you good to move on to skill training?”

  Simon checked his Spirit. He’d been getting better at feeling it out. There was a decent chunk of his reserves missing from his clone skill, and his healing had used about a quarter of what remained.

  “There’s still plenty of gas in the tank.”

  “Good. Let’s figure out that familiar skill. Bring up the menu for your familiars.”

  Simon focused and summoned the skill menu, as he’d done a few times now.

  [Familiar]

  You currently have no set Familiar.

  Once you have declared a Familiar, you can use this menu to check on your Familiar status and advancement.

  To set an animal as a Familiar, you must already possess a strong bond. Once a bond is formed, use this skill to infuse your Spirit into their own.

  Eligible Familiars: Belle

  At Justus’s request, Simon read out the information.

  “How dangerous is this?” Simon asked.

  “Nothing involving Spirit is totally safe, but I don’t think you have much to worry about. At most, if you mess up she might feel tired and sore for a while.”

  “I thought you said on the first day that I could mess up and make her brain-dead or something?”

  “You could, if you had absolutely no control or idea what you’re doing. But you’re past that point. A few days ago you were given a hammer, and you didn’t even know what nails were. You’ve still got a long way to go before you can build a house, but you’ve nailed a few boards together.”

  “Okay… Can’t I practice on something else first? Is it possible to bond with a fly or something? Maybe if I let one of these damn mosquitoes get a taste for my blood it would count.”

  “Doubtful. There are some skills that allow control of insects or animals, but familiars almost always require a level of emotional intelligence.”

  Simon crouched down and whistled. Belle, who’d been lying down nearby, hopped up and sprinted toward him. She ran around his feet before jumping in front of him and spinning in tight circles. He reached down and scratched at her neck and large fluffy ears.

  “You excited? Oh, look at your tail wagging. You gonna be a brave girl? Huh? Gonna help me kick some ass?”

  Simon looked up. “Actually, what will this do to her?”

  “Depends on your Spirit. Like I told you three days ago, each skill has its special quirks. Familiars are even more unique than that. Each familiar is different. I can’t be certain what will happen with your dog. It might be given skills, or become infused with your Spirit, or something else completely.”

  “She,” Simon corrected. “Belle’s not an ‘it.’”

  Justus rolled his eyes. “Sure, she.”

  Simon took a seat on the grass. Belle jumped up on him, trying to lick his face. He petted her and tried to get her to sit still.

  “Calm down, you little demon spawn.”

  “Use your Spirit. She’ll feel it and have an idea of your intentions.”

  Simon reached out with his Spirit. He put a gentle pressure against the dog’s own Spirit. He felt her Spirit resonate in response to the touch. Immediately, the dog stopped like she’d been frozen in time. For a moment Simon thought he’d broken her or something, but a few heartbeats later she turned to look Simon in the eyes.

  Belle’s gaze fixed on him with an awareness that seemed too sharp for a dog, even one as smart as her. It was unnerving. He’d never seen her settle down so quickly. He pet her, making sure she was fine. She relaxed. Simon felt guilt churn inside his gut.

  “This feels wrong. What if she just wants to be a normal dog?”

  “Familiars aren’t servants. The connection is willing. If she doesn’t want the bond, she can break the connection at any time. She won’t even lose the power the skill gifts her. Familiars are empowered and strengthened by their gifters, but they aren’t shackled to them. Apparently there are a few familiars who became full-fledged adventurers. I’m not sure if that’s true, though. I’ve never met one or anyone I trust who has, so it could just be an urban legend.”

  “That’s good. I think. So there’s no downside?”

  “Not usually. Depends on your definitions, but this will definitely make her stronger, which means it will make her safer.”

  Simon sighed. “All right.”

  He once again touched Belle with his Spirit. This time, he cupped her tiny head in his hands and stared into her eyes. The dog settled again, her eyes darting to look at each of his in turn. There wasn’t any fear in her eyes, but there was a curiosity.

  He stretched his Spirit until it encompassed her, then he tried increasing the pressure. That only seemed to make her nervous, so he eased back. He knew somehow that wasn’t the way to go about the skill.

  Next he tried spinning his Spirit, letting it rush around her while gently squeezing. This time he felt something change. His Spirit began slipping into the “cracks” of her own. That’s what it felt like, at least. The dog’s eyes widened, and her pulse quickened. He could feel that she wasn’t scared, though. She was nervous, but not scared. He could feel her trust in him.

  [Familiar]

  Potential Familiar, Belle, has accepted your bond.

  Spirit levels okay. Beginning Spirit infusion.

  Warning!

  Unfinalized Spirit infusion may cause Spiritual damage to potential Familiar.

  For User and potential Familiar safety, do not end the process early.

  Simon read the message and dismissed it. No turning back now. He followed his intuition, letting his churning Spirit push deeper into Belle’s.

  As the process took hold, he had flashes of emotions. Fear, childlike wonder, excitement, and an urge to go running off and chase that bird that’s been flying about.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  He wasn’t sure how long the process took. He focused all his attention on the task at hand until the rest of the world melted into the background.

  [Familiar]

  Bond Successful.

  Belle has been added as your Familiar.

  [Belle]

  Species: Canis Familiaris

  Breed: Papillon

  Spirit Resonance: 12%

  Familiar, Belle, has reached a new Spirit Threshold

  New Affinity Manifested: [Excitement]

  New Affinity Manifested: [Protection]

  New [Excitement] Skill: [Flurry]

  Flood your body with Spirit and convert it into energy and speed.

  Focus Skill

  New [Protection] Skill: [Stubborn]

  Your Spirit, when saturated into your body, amplifies durability and mass.

  Passive Skill

  Simon took in a deep breath, his body shaking from a strain he hadn’t realized he’d been exerting. His Spirit left Belle and snapped back towards him like it was a stretched-out rubber band.

  Belle was panting, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. He reached down and scratched her behind the ear.

  “You okay?”

  The dog let out a short yip, and he knew she was fine. He did a mental double take. How did he know that?

  “Belle?”

  The dog looked at him, and he could feel her curiosity.

  “Oh, this is weird,” he said.

  “What is it?” Justus asked.

  “Uh. I think I can read my dog’s mind. Or her emotions, at least.”

  “That’s typical for a familiar. They can’t talk, but their gifters can understand them to a degree.”

  The dog rolled off his lap and lay down on the grass. She flipped onto her back, belly up to the sky and tongue hanging out her mouth as she panted.

  “What’s the effect?” Justus asked.

  “She got two Affinities. Excitement and Protection. One skill for each. Looks like she can move really fast for a time, and her Spirit makes her durable and changes her inertia. Not sure what that means.”

  “Read it out to me.”

  Simon did so. Justus ran a hand through his sandy hair.

  “Those are pretty useful for you. A mix of offense and defense. The passive is great and synergizes well. Whenever she uses that first skill, the passive will kick in. From the sound of it, it seems like she’ll be able to turn herself into a living battering ram.”

  “I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” Simon said. “I don’t want her fighting.”

  “You should at least teach her to defend herself. Training her to use skills and to fight will only make her safer. This is also another motivator for you to get stronger. The stronger you are, the stronger your connection, and the more power she’ll gain from your bond.”

  Simon felt a burst of excitement from the dog. Belle rolled over, her eyes fixed on a bird that had flown past them and towards the nearby treeline. She dashed after the bird.

  A few seconds into the dash, Belle’s fur sparkled with white light, and the dog’s legs became a blur as she took off like a sports car in a drag race. She tripped, and he could feel the shock and surprise from her as her momentum flung her in the air towards the treeline.

  The dog slammed into a tree, and he heard a sickening crack and a high-pitched yelp.

  “Belle!” Simon yelled, clambering to his feet to chase after her.

  The tree, nearly as thick as Simon’s thigh, fell to the swamp floor. It had been snapped in two, and only milky-white fibers connected the pieces. He felt a jolt of surprise and delight from Belle as she hopped out of the swampy foliage, her fluffy fur an absolute mess of leaves, dirt, and bits of tree bark.

  She yipped as she trotted towards him, clearly happy with how things had gone.

  “This magic stuff is messed up,” Simon muttered to himself.

  Over the next hour, Belle quickly got a basic grasp on her flurry skills. Like Justus said, it was pretty simple. She could move incredibly fast, but she wasn’t very agile when she did. All she could really do was turn herself into a dog-shaped cannonball.

  He had no clue just how durable she was during the ability. Clearly durable enough to smash into small trees without much harm, but he wasn’t about to test her powers out on a concrete wall anytime soon.

  What was really useful about the speed ability was the fact that it was a focus skill, so it had no cooldown and could be used for as long as Belle had Spirit. The downside was that it drained her Spirit quickly.

  Simon had a feel for her Spirit just as accurate as his own, and he could actually feel her Spirit dwindle whenever she used the skill. It was like watching sand fall in one of those cheap plastic sand timers. After only a few minutes of having the skill activated, she was beat and knocked out on the grass in record time.

  Justus had said the skill was only as Spirit intensive as it was because of her stubborn passive, which naturally activated alongside the flurry skill. Anytime she used it, she was basically using two skills at once.

  “But it says whenever her body is saturated with Spirit. I thought our Spirit is always flowing through us. Does that not count?” Simon had asked.

  “It is flowing through you, but that’s not exactly the same as Spirit saturation. Your Spirit flows through your channels. Those aren’t exactly physical things; they’re Spiritual. Spirit usually stays inside those channels, but they are permeable, and your Spirit can emanate through them, pulsing your Spirit through your body. That’s saturation. It’s how your Spirit repairs your muscles, for example. Usually a passive like Belle’s has a saturation threshold, meaning it takes a certain amount of Spirit to trigger.”

  It took a little bit more explaining for Simon to get it, but it made sense. The fatigue thing made the body damp with Spirit, while some skills flooded the body with Spirit, soaking it like a rag. Since Belle’s speed skill “soaked” her body with her Spirit, it activated the passive durability skill.

  After Belle ran out of steam, Simon sparred more with Justus. He didn’t really have any other way to train his skills. His simulacrum skill was already getting experience by sparring with Kate, and the only way to train his healing was to get hurt first.

  Nearly an hour of bruises and fractured bones later, Justus called an end to their sparring. He called over to Kate and Simon’s clone, and Simon healed his most recent injury as they approached. He felt the hairline fracture in his jaw knit back together, stinging as it did.

  Kate was soaked with sweat, having been sparring for nearly three hours without a break. The clone trudged through the grassy field alongside her. Its bright white form had faded to a dull gray, a sign that it had used up much of its Spirit. The clone used Spirit as muscle, so any physical movement or effort slowly drained it.

  “Good work today, clone,” Simon said. He frowned. “Still need to come up with a name for you.”

  “Does it matter? It’s just a clone,” Justus said.

  The clone lowered its head dramatically.

  “And shit like that is why you don’t have friends,” Simon said.

  Justus glared at him. He was really good at it too.

  “Alright, alright, that was a bit mean, sorry. But try letting me break your jaw a couple times and see if you don’t harbor a little bit of a grudge afterwards.”

  Simon turned back to his clone. “Up top, sexy.”

  The clone gave him a high five, and Simon absorbed the Spirit that made up its body. The clone’s body unfurled into small silver streams of light, which swirled into Simon and sank under his skin like water evaporating on the sidewalk during a heatwave. The extra Spirit felt refreshing as it rejoined him.

  The physical contact wasn’t necessary, but there wasn’t much flair in dismissing the clone with a simple Spiritual command. His abilities weren’t very flashy, so he had to make do with what he had.

  As he absorbed the clone, he instantly gained its memories. The splitting headache they caused quickly followed.

  As his mind caught up with the memories, he realized that as awkward as grappling was, getting those memories without feeling the adrenaline of a fight was much more awkward. He could vividly recall the close contact with Kate as the memories filled his mind. A few particular grapples in the clone’s recollections made him a bit flustered. For once he was glad for the splitting headache. It was a distraction and an excuse to look uncomfortable.

  “Are you okay?” Kate asked.

  Simon was bent over, hands on his knees and eyes squeezed shut to help distract from the pain. He stood up, shaking the feeling away as best as he could.

  “Yup. All good. Just clone headache stuff. The usual. What’s next on the docket, Teach?”

  “How are your Spirits doing?” Justus asked.

  “The familiar bond took a lot out of me, and the healing took a lot of the rest. The clone got me back up some. I’d say I’m a bit under half. Or… no, maybe a third left.”

  “I still have sixty percent left,” Kate said.

  Simon felt a pang of jealousy at her quick and confident self-assessment. He didn’t know how she had such a good grasp of her Spirit. He’d asked her for advice, but the advice she’d given didn’t seem to work for him. When Simon asked Justus about it, he’d been told that each Spirit is unique, so interacting with it was unique as well. That was why it was so difficult to train some aspects of Spirit Arts, apparently.

  “Good.” Justus said. “That’s enough for what I have planned. Simon, we’re going to train up your dodging skills. Katherine, you’ve got great control with your pyromancy skill, so now you need to learn how to use that control accurately under pressure.”

  “I don’t think I like where this is going,” Simon said.

  “Katherine, stay right there.”

  Justus began walking. About thirty yards away, he scraped his foot in the soft grass, drawing a line.

  “Simon, get over here!” he called.

  Simon glanced at Kate. She shrugged, but he could see she didn’t like where this was going either. Still, neither of them would challenge Justus. They learned quickly that when it came to training, he was even more of a hardass than usual. Worse, he knew how to get results. He was a good teacher, even if his methods were a bit extreme at times.

  Simon jogged over to Justus, who had him stand just behind the line. He pulled out some black cloth from a shimmer in the air. He handed the cloth to Simon, and Simon realized it was a pair of shorts. They were woven from a rough material but had a soft interior.

  “Fire-resistant shorts. I’ll take your robes,” Justus said.

  Simon nodded. He slipped the shorts on underneath his robes, then took the robes off and handed them to Justus. Justus put the clothing in his inventory. He walked away, placing himself off to the side between the two of them. Simon felt a little awkward without a shirt. He never much liked being shirtless in front of others. He was too scrawny to be very confident in his looks.

  “Alright! Here’s what you’ll do. Katherine, you’re going to try to hit Simon with a blast of her pyromancy skill before he can reach you. Simon, you’re going to try to reach her without getting hit. If Simon does get hit, both of you stop. Simon will heal himself and go back to the line. The line is a bit further than Katherine’s max range, so you’ll be able to get a running start. We’ll do this until one of you is too low in Spirit to continue.

  “Now get ready. We’ll start on my mark. Ready… set… GO!”

  Simon took off.

  Simon trudged through the village, following behind Kate and Justus. He carried Belle in his arms. The dog was still worn out after her first day using her Spirit. He sympathized.

  A few of the villagers waved as they passed. Simon waved back.

  He was beginning to find some charm in this village. It smelled rank, and there wasn’t much for him to do other than train, but that was fine. It was all Simon wanted to do right now. When he trained, he wasn’t thinking of anything else. And once he was done, he was too drained to care about anything other than getting sleep.

  It wasn’t the healthiest way to cope, but Simon wasn’t sure there was a healthy way to cope with getting beamed onto another planet after your home was destroyed.

  He worried about his friends from school. He thought of Ray, Mikey, Daniel, and Brian. Would he ever see them again? It hadn’t even been two weeks since he’d been at school, hanging out and joking around with them like nothing was wrong. That life felt so far away now.

  Simon wondered what his friends would think if they saw what he was doing now. He was basically a superhero at this point. Granted, his powers were pretty lackluster. Belle was more of a threat than he was. Still, creating a clone had some perks. He could use it to do his homework or play co-op games if the rest of his friends were busy.

  Thinking like that was a double-edged sword. Part of Simon wondered if he would get back to Earth. Even if he did, things wouldn’t be the same. He knew for certain that the days of goofing off with his high school buddies were gone. He’d been roped into something big, something he still barely understood.

  What had that thing said? Before he’d woken up? You can stop it. That seemed like a joke. Simon knew he still wouldn’t stand a chance against that first monster he’d faced, the one that Justus had killed with only a few rocks.

  Kate could probably kill that thing now. That fire was pretty terrifying when she went all out, and he’d seen in his clone’s memories how much better she was at using that other skill. She’d absorbed and redirected dozens of key strikes while sparring with the clone.

  Simon wished he had someone else training with them. Was he bad at this, or was Kate really good at it? He didn’t feel like he was making much progress with his skills. Meanwhile, she was constantly getting better. Their last bit of training today proved it.

  At first Simon had kept pace with her. She’d hit him with a few blasts of fire, but he got in close enough to touch her a few times. Then she started adapting. He’d felt her doing it. She began summoning quicker, predicting where he’d be instead of aiming where he was. She’d started to push his progress back further and further with each attempt. During the last ten attempts, he hadn’t even managed to get halfway to her.

  He needed to do something different, or she’d leave him behind. But he didn’t know what to do. He tried experimenting with his clone ability, but it seemed like what he could do was all he could do. He couldn’t create multiple clones, and he couldn’t control his clone. He’d even tried to summon another while the first was out, and nothing happened.

  Simon felt like each of his skills was limited. Despite starting with three, all of them combined seemed less powerful than either of Kate’s alone. Justus had said that was a common drawback of having three skills at the start. He’d said they’d be less versatile or powerful. Still, Simon couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

  As they were making their way to their small cabin, a familiar hulking figure walked up to the three.

  “Another quarter of hard training, it seems,” Roshesh said. “How does it go? Are the polliwogs growing their legs?”

  “It’s going better than expected, worse than I’d hoped,” Justus said.

  “And by that he means we haven’t tried to murder him in his sleep out of revenge yet,” Simon clarified.

  Roshesh grinned, the motion revealing his pointed teeth. “That is good, then. Try to refrain from doing so. Having one of our guests murdered in our home would not sit well with my father, I think.”

  Roshesh reached out, and the air shimmered. A steaming pot fell into his open palm, and then he pulled out three bowls and spoons with the other. He offered the pot to Justus and the bowls to Kate.

  “Stew, made by my mother. You’ll find it a refreshing meal, I hope.”

  Justus nodded and took the pot. “Thanks.”

  “It is our pleasure. Speaking of my father, however, he is eager to know when you might be departing. We don’t mean to rush you, only to inform you that our tradesman is ready.”

  “I’m ready to leave,” Simon said. He realized as soon as he said the words that they might seem rude, so he quickly clarified. “I like it here and all, and you guys are great, but I’ve never traveled here before, and I’m excited to see some of the world.”

  “Ah, a nomad’s spirit. I envy your chance to nurture it. So will you be leaving soon?”

  Simon glanced at Justus, who pursed his lips in thought.

  “I think these two have a good grasp of their skills, enough not to be a liability on the road, at least. We can leave tomorrow.”

  Roshesh nodded. “That is good to hear. My family will prepare a fine meal for you in the wakehours. You can meet the tradesman you will be traveling with and have a full belly before you leave. A proper way to begin a journey, I think.”

  “We’d appreciate that,” Justus said.

  “Will there be some of those crocodile tail kebabs? With the glaze?” Simon asked. He ignored the annoyed look Justus shot him.

  “I said a fine meal, and it wouldn’t be a fine meal without kebabs,” Roshesh said with a grin.

  “Sweet. Looking forward to it.”

  “As are we. Thank you again for your help. I’ll leave you all to rest now. Have a pleasant sleep.”

  Roshesh left, and the three made their way inside the cabin. Justus put the pot down, and Kate handed them their bowls. Simon had prodded them for conversation the first few nights, but between them being exhausted from training and Justus and Kate’s natural proclivity towards being quiet, he hadn’t gotten much chatter out of them.

  Justus could talk for hours about Spirit Arts, but not much else. That was the last thing Simon wanted to talk about after spending all day training. Kate didn’t seem to want to talk to Simon about anything.

  So Simon ate silently along with them. He hoped the tradesman they met would be a better conversationalist, or else this trip was going to be incredibly boring.