Young Kevin set out on his own,

Through valleys where wild winds had blown.

He found a beast small,

Yet smarter than all—

Together, their legend has grown!

Goldie Honorhide.

Susie wanted to rent it by the month, so I gave her coins for a week and said I would talk to her father in the morning. It looked good for us, but I would have to visit the treasury and find the others.

Susie's dad was the tailor. He measured me for some 'town clothes' and directed me to the nearest Kirghiz Treasury. I rented the room for a month, and he discounted the clothes. At least now I only stand out because of my height and bulk.

I found the city centre with the city Administration Buildings and Mercenary Guild, next to the Alchemist Society and what looked to me to be a massive Lore Society. They were around a general square with other large buildings. There were a lot of food stalls around the square, and a lot of birds scavenging scraps. Pigeons and sparrows mostly. I watched them for a while. I don't think they realised how good they had it. In my scavenging days, food was a lot less plentiful. There was also less competition, I suppose.

I bypassed the Mercenary Guild and entered the Lore Society. This was the most likely place to run into young Kevin.

My membership token got me access to the first two floors. The top floor and the three basement levels were restricted, but I could get access to a lot of it with good reason and an extra fee.

They tried to ban Felix, but bonds are actually allowed everywhere, accompanied by their person. This was Kingdom law, so they couldn't actually stop him. Kevin was not on either of the two floors I had access to, but his scent did linger. He had been here and not that long ago. I am sure he would be again. He may be on a floor I don't have access to, but he would appear if that were the case. He would be back. It was only a question of time.

I selected some books on Navigation and Mathematics that I hadn't seen before, and settled down to read. Felix curled up to sleep at my feet.

My stomach rumbled, so I went out for some food. The food in the centre of town was more expensive than the food near my cave. I decided to walk some more and extend my Map. I might get lucky and run into one of the others.

I meander, and mostly people watch. These are primarily adults, and they are going about their work. I think very few people live here in the central district. There is a hill behind it with large, expensive houses and a big mansion at the top. I am guessing that is the Duke's mansion.

Smaller but still nice houses are found down the valley near my cave, which is more in a craftsman area. I walk up the hill to try to get an overview of the city, but there are too many buildings in the way. I get glimpses.

This is a rich part of town, and I get some looks from private security guards. I feel I am not dressed well enough for this part of town. Is that part of the reason clothes are worn to differentiate status? It seems likely.

I wander back down the hill and follow a new route. I went past the Lore Society again, but it was closed for the day. The scent of Kevin is stronger. He visited while I was out. Unfortunately, there are too many conflicting scents in the street, and I lost his trail. If he had Olfactory, he would smell that I was there, but I am aware that he does not. He is going through a growth period, so he may have picked it up. I do doubt it, as he seemed more sight-focused.

I wander a new route through the city to my cave. This is more rundown, and there appears to be a lower standard of clothing. There are also more children running around and playing in the streets. The children are mostly with their own species. The orc kids are mostly play-fighting with sticks or fists. The human kids have a ball thing they are kicking around. This part of town looks like a lot more fun.

I head back to my apartment/cave. I grab some food for us on the way and sleep in my bear form. I wake several times in the night with sounds from the street. I don't like cities.

The next day, I made my way back to the Lore Society using a new, roundabout route, filling in more of my map. I got there quite late. We stopped in the square, and I got some food for us at a stall. I throw some crusts to the scavengers. Felix just watches them half-bored.

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Then I noticed a bird that was not acting like the others. It was small and black, perched on a nearby overhang, watching me. It was a raven, I think, although they are easily confused with crows. It was not diving for scraps. It also kept a watchful eye on its surroundings, but always returned to watching me.

It was acting very similar to how Sheila acted when I first met her and Yoboc. This was somebody's bond. I tossed it a crust, but it was intercepted before it got to the raven. I shrugged. I got up and we watched each other as I walked across the square to the Lore Society. I guess I will find out who was watching me in due course.

I am surprised bonds aren't more common. Perhaps I'm just not good at spotting them, but this is the first one I've identified since I arrived in the city.

The Jern Lore Society had a whole section on astrology. Most of it seemed pointless to me. Books like "Spiritual direction from the Stars" and "Guidance from your Birth Constellations." There seemed to be a lot of mystical stuff here. I wasn't discounting it, but it was not the direction my Astral Affinity aligned with. I did find a good star map there with a lot of stars and constellations named. Astral Map filled in some more, but didn't level.

My Astral affinity was more aligned with the physicality of the astral bodies rather than the Spiritual and mystical, and I learned that was called Astronomy rather than mystical Astrology. Maybe that would come later when I had more understanding, but for now, I wanted to concentrate on the hard physics of it.

Physics. There is a Physics Lore. This resonates strongly with my affinity. I found an introduction to Physics and sat down to read. Physics is the study of energy and matter in space and time. There is a whole area of Physics that concentrates on the forces of gravity and magnetism. This is what I am sensing with my Cosmic Aura, and now I can put words to it.

Physics Lore is closely related to Mathematics Lore, and as Physics Lore was added to my status, it levelled Mathematics once. Physics Lore steadily levelled through the Novice levels as I devoured this knowledge.

It was Felix moving that reluctantly pulled me from my book. I looked up to see Kevin grinning at me, a black raven sitting on his shoulder.

"You finally made it!" He said. "Yoboc and Goldie were organising to search for you!"

"Hello Kevin! Good to see you. You are looking good." He was, too. His physical agility must have massively increased. He was moving cleanly, smoothly, and confidently. He was in street clothes, but had a sword and knife on his belt. "Who is this?" I asked, indicating the raven.

"This is my bond, Kahz. We are still getting to know each other, but when the librarian said someone of your description was in yesterday, I had him watch for you. Where were you? Makara has been back for almost three weeks. The stories circulating about you are wild!"

I shrugged, "I needed space. Tell me about how you bonded with Kahz?" I asked, trying to distract him. I didn't want to talk about myself.

"Well," he said, "that is quite the tale of me hunting through the wilds and dangerous valleys and streams looking for my perfect bond."

I raised an eyebrow, "You are still not a very good liar," I said.

"I was hunting for a bond," he said with a grin. "A whole section of this city has beast tamers and live animal traders. I found this trader who was training pigeons and ravens as messengers. Kahz here was too smart for him. Ravens are intelligent birds, but he needed ones that would actually deliver the messages. I felt we had a connection, so I bought him. I figured if it didn't work, I could just set him free." He stroked Kahz's feathers, "Kahz made it work, and he is really smart. We are great together."

"Congratulations," I said.

"But what about you? What happened out there? Makara won't tell me anything, but I know you and she were at the forefront. There are stories of a new volcano, and the nest is a molten hole in the ground that won't cool down!"

"Have you been to look?" I asked.

"Not yet, but there is a team being organised by the Lore Society to investigate. Kahz and I are going to join it."

I nodded, "I would be interested in what you find."

"No, you don't! Don't try to put me off. You will tell me what you saw!"

"I only saw whatever Guild Master Nash says I saw," I said. I really should go and see the man. The trouble is, I wanted some backup when I did. It was very likely that I was going to be made an offer that they were not going to like when I turned them down.

"That is not a good enough answer."

"That is all you are going to get."

"The Lore Society will figure it out, you know," he said.

"Good. I look forward to it," I replied.

He was not happy, but I was not known for my long conversations, and you can't get much from one-word answers or no answers.

Yoboc, Goldie, and Makara had moved out of the inn they had started in, and were now renting a small house in a lower part of the city, both physically and economically. It was across the city from where I was staying, so it was inconvenient.

They were renting a house with room for me and Felix. This was the reason they chose it. It had a small backyard. The ground floor was the living and kitchen area, with two bedrooms upstairs and three downstairs. There was a lower basement that was only used for storage.

Makara and Kevin claimed the two upstairs bedrooms, and Yoboc and Goldie, two of the 1st level basement rooms. The last basement room was for Felix and me. I decided not to tell them about my cave. It will be my escape-from-people place.

After the greetings, we sat down, and they brought me up to speed with what they had been doing.

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