Tyler crouched in the long grass with Seshka and observed the town. The long grass slightly wet and soaking into his stolen clothes. He ignored the feeling, wanting to know what this, his first taste of civilisation was. Might there be some structure here something he could grasp onto to make sense of all this.

  Tyler estimated the town was big enough to house maybe one hundred to one hundred and fifty people, if several people shared housing. It also looked old, not ancient but the repair work on some of the buildings identified it as being used for several years.

  He had not got a good look at the poele that had passe through the large gate, and wanted to see if any where humans like him, or more importantly if they were from Earth.

  It only took about fifteen minutes before a small group of people came out of the trees, each carrying small bundles in their arms, Tyler couldn't quite make outwhat it was, maybe twigs or baskets.

  From what Tyler could tell, two men, by the way they moved. A woman. And a child, or maybe a small adult. He couldn’t be sure

  They did not seem to be in a rush, turning to each other as they walked as if in conversation. About 20 meters out from the gate, it started opening, as if inviting them inside.

  Funny Tyler thought, there were no checks at the gate, he couldn’t make out any watch or guard posts, why then have an enclosure and a gate? Did they have to defend against something?

  “What do you think?” Tyler asked. He had already made up his mind to take a closer look, but he wanted Seshka’s take on it.

  “I don’t know. Like I said, I have never heard of people living on the Intertwining Path, apart from those like mana chasers who get stuck here. I suggest we circle around and keep heading on.”

  Tyler looked at Seshka, a little confused. He had thought she would be eager to at least see some others, and humans by the look of it too. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, which Seshka interpreted as a cue to explain.

  “Whatever the reason, it will not help us. These people are most likely just as doomed as those mana chasers. Stuck, with no chance of advancing. It would only hinder our path.”

  “Seshka, I have no intention of staying in this place, so do not worry about me getting distracted. I need to get back. I have people that I need to see. But that does not mean we have to miss out on everything we see. You never know, they could end up pointing us in the right direction, whatever that may be.”

  Tyler could understand her reluctance. She had always been told to advance her path, and these mana chasers obviously had a stigma attached to them. But still, you couldn’t just ignore something — you needed to understand it first.

  Seshka sighed. “Very well, but we shouldn’t stay longer than we need to,” she said, reaching for her spear.

  Tyler put his hand on her arm to stop her loosening it from her back. “I don’t think we are going to need that — well, not straight away. Plus, if we go in brandishing weapons, that’s just going to invite trouble. I am sure I saw a child just enter with that group. I don’t think we are in any danger.”

  Tyler looked her in the eyes, his face full of conviction, then stood up out of the grass and started walking slowly towards the town gate. Seshka left her spear strapped to her back, although she kept her hand behind her, holding it firmly just in case.

  Tyler made his way to the gate and was surprised when nothing happened. He hadn’t seen any guards, but had thought at least someone would be watching as strangers approached. Yet when he was about twenty metres from the gate, a large wooden lattice of thin trees strapped together with rope and some sort of green, sticky mud swung open, and a large humanoid-looking cat stood in the opening with what looked like a wide smile on its face.

  Tyler slowed to a stop a few metres short of the now open gate and simply stared, a little shocked at what he was seeing. It was a human cat. Not fully a cat, but as if a human had been turned into one. It had arms, legs, hands and feet just like a normal human, although its hands were covered in short black and white fur and had quite long, sharp-looking yellow fingernails.

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  Its head resembled a cat’s — nose, whiskers, slightly cat-shaped upper lip — but its chin was more human, giving it a feminine look. Its face was covered in the same black and white fur, but striped in a slashing direction across two large hazel eyes. On seeing Tyler, its eyes widened even further. It smiled, and its two ears on top of its head pointed straight up from an almost lazy flop.

  “I see we have some new residents. Please, come in, I’m Calix. Oh, it’s always a good day when new people show up. You know it’s been, what, like two years since Maggot came here? That’s a long time, isn’t it? Well, maybe not too long, but it feels like it. Same people every day, it can get a bit, you know. Anyway, come in, come in. Tell me all about yourselves. What’s your name? Where are you from? What is it that brought you here? Oh, I know, the Intertwining Path, but what profession do you follow?”

  The cat-like creature launched into a full tirade of what Tyler thought was a little too much. She talked fast, high-pitched and surprisingly friendly. Her tongue seemed to get in the way of her words as she tried to get them out as quickly as she could.

  Tyler just stood there staring as Seshka walked up beside him. The cat lady, Calix, had certainly let herself ramble on and seemed friendly enough, but two other people were coming up behind her at speed, and these two creatures did not at all look as friendly. A large, muscled demon, as far as Tyler could work out, and a stocky bull as wide as he was tall.

  Seshka had obviously seen the other creature’s approach, as her spear was drawn and in front of her within a second. Calix seemed surprised for a moment until she looked behind her and saw the demon and bull approaching. She immediately put her hand out in front of her and started waving it about.

  “It’s fine, it’s fine. That’s just Jason and Magda. Nothing to be afraid of. They’ll just be curious to see who’s come. Like I said, we don’t often get new people here. Definitely not two at the same time. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people turn up in the same year, never mind the same time.”

  Calix had stopped waving her hands about halfway through her mini speech as she trailed off into her own thoughts, rambling out like water from a broken hose.

  Her little speech had distracted Tyler and Seshka enough that the demon and bull had run up beside her now. They both stopped and, to both Seshka and Tyler’s surprise, smiled.

  “Hey, new people. Nice!” the bull said.

  “Oh, no Vennex’s. Darn, still all by myself,” the demonic creature said, sounding deflated as he crossed his arms and, from what Tyler saw, started to sulk a little. He mentally noted down Vennex, was it a demonic ace?

  The bull then stepped forward in front of Calix, its movement fast and with purpose. Small clouds of smoke hissed from its nose as its face changed — not of curiosity now, but one of apprehension.

  “Why has that one got a weapon drawn? It’s not—”

  His words were cut short as Calix pushed past the bull, slightly nudging him to one side. “Jason,” Calix said in an almost whining voice, “wouldn’t you get a little frightened if two large knuckleheads like yourselves came charging out of the gates at you when you’ve just turned up?”

  “Sorry about that. These two can get a little carried away, unlike me. I’m always looking out, always watching. That’s why I’m a city lord, well one in training that is. Nearly at level 10, then I’ll be on my way to follow a true Path of Negotiation”

  Tyler tilted his head slightly to Seshka indicating for her to put her weapon away and stepped forward. Obviously even though odd looking, even quite intimidating the three creatures before him didn’t seem to be aggressive.

  “Hi, I’m Tyler and this is Seshka. We’ve just entered the Intertwining Path and stumbled on this place. Nice to meet you all. What exactly is this place? We’ve never heard of someone living inside the event before.”

  Tyler hadn’t even heard about the event until yesterday, but he wasn’t about to go sharing that tidbit of knowledge — well, not right now anyway — so he thought he’d rely on the information Seshka had given him.

  "Oh, this is a profession village. This one is currently called Pilton Hays." She waved a hand vaguely at the buildings behind her. "I never named it, mind you. It had that name when I took over as interim city lord." She puffed up slightly at the title. "Not a system-appointed position, but since that's the path I want to walk, everyone lets me carry out the duties. This is a place where people come to find their path, a path that rejects the system’s relentless ambition to fight and kill. Are you sure you have never heard of such a place? They are pretty common, as far as I know.”

  Tyler looked at Seshka, but she looked more confused than he did. Was this just common knowledge from other places — other places than where Seshka was from? Maybe, as her sect was all about fighting and war, it might never have occurred to them. Something he’d look into.

  “Oh, that sounds like quite an honourable path to choose. Violence is very rarely the answer,” Tyler said — something he had agreed with most of his life until recently, when he and the others he was with had been ambushed by a pack of spiders. He had been confident violence was the answer then.

  “Great, great, great!” Calix said, jumping on the spot and clapping her hands. Her fur made the clap sound more like a dull thud than a sharp smack. “Well, come on inside. I will tell you all about this place. There are loads of people here. I’m sure there’ll be something you’d love to do.”

  Calix waved one arm over her shoulder towards the inner town, turned, and started skipping back inside. Tyler shrugged at Seshka and followed the crazy cat. At least it wasn’t spiders or someone wanting to kill them. Plus, professions — he’d noticed it highlighted in his status page. He definitely wanted to know more about them.