?


    Kat was taking in the view of the city. It was a bit oddly shaped, but quiterge. There was a small river that cut through the centre of the city with a few buildings alongside it. Most of those were twice the height of the next highest buildings from other sections of the city. From there, the city seemed to build around the river until sshing against the ocean and really spreading out. The city looked a lot like a squashed arrow, with the steming down from the river, and the point touching the ocean and spreading out. Thend mass itself curved slightly to reinforce this position.


    "What can you tell me about this ce Nixilei?" asked Kat.


    "I know a few things. This is considered the premier resort town in the elvennds. This is because it was actually founded by a few beastkin that got lost in a storm a long time ago. Before tensions rose, this city was founded on elvennd by beastkin settlers and became a bit of a melting pot for cultures.


    "It''s quite famous for stayingpletely out of all wars both nations were involved in… well… at the time it was founded neither the beastkin nor the elves were considered to be one nation, but they still never got involved in any of the wars. The one time it happened was because one side attacked the town. It''s unclear which side though…


    "The history is quite clear that both sides used the other of hiding elite spy units inside the town, and that the strike on the town was simply a strike against those individuals… but the records are quite clear that they were both doing it, and very unclear about who was actually responsible for the attack. It''s furtherplicated by the fact that the only people who died in it was a well known businessman and his wife…


    "But the husband was an elf, and the wife was a cat beastkin, so it really wasn''t clear which, if any side they were supporting. Some researchers believe ''both'' is the answer. They were a merchant couple after all, and smuggling supplies to either side of the war was profitable if they weren''t getting caught.


    "Anyway, their son found out about it, and he spent the next year drawing and enchanting a series ofrge stone pirs that created a massive shield around the town, cutting it offpletely from the war at the time. Sadly, most of these pirs burnt out protecting the city from a tsunami a couple hundred years ago. They do still have two surviving pirs in a museum but the runes are still quite faded," exined Nixilei


    "Ah, that would be why the city isn''trger then? Regr tsunamis?" asked Kat.


    Nixilei made a ''so-so'' gesture, "I wouldn''t call them all that regr. Once every few decades, no more than other costal regions really. This city… oh I just realised I never named it. The city is called ''Safe Harbour'' with Safe written in old elven, and Harbour written in ancient felin, the mainnguage cat beastkin spoke. It''s worth noting, even when the town was founded thenguages were already old and not particrly well used. Not sure how it''s tranted to you though," said Nixilei.


    "I just heard Safe Harbour, but I got a little bit of the context your exnation provided afterwards just from hearing you say it," replied Kat.


    Nixilei let out a hum of interest, as she wondered if the trantion left off more information because Nixilei intended to exin the rest, or if mixingnguages was a problem area for it.


    "Right well, it''s be a bit of a party town and a good money maker for the elves, considering the fact that they still get the taxes for the ce. Apparently staying out of wars is one thing, but taxes are another,"


    Kat couldn''t help butugh at the idea. A pletely neutral'' city-state in the elvennds… except they still paid their taxes. "It makes sense but I just find it so silly," said Kat betweenughter. "Do you think the elves would have left Safe Harbour alone for so long if they weren''t getting taxes?"


    "I''m not sure. The area is a great natural port with quite a few ces for ships to drop off goods. The increased trade the city brings in might be worth it even without the taxes… but the taxes do certainly help," answered Nixilei.


    "Do you know what Thyme is gathering us here for? Like, are we actually doing something inn town? Or are they going to teleport us somewhere else?" asked Kat.


    "I''m not sure," said Nixilei. "I try not to guess what goes on in Thyme''s head. That way lies madness,"


    "Surely some people spy on them though, right?" asked Kat. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Nixilei made a ''so-so'' gesture, "Sort of? Thyme is really strong, and with their space affinity it''s not hard for Thyme to just leave an area with no way to follow. Sure every spy would know to report Thyme''s movements, but they aren''t going to try to hide that fact. There just aren''t many people who could avoid Thyme''s notice, even when Thyme isn''t trying. If Thyme wants to keep a secret? No spy is going to figure it out,"


    Kat nodded along, conceding the point, "Right well, changing the topic a bit. Where are we staying?"


    "We''re staying at the ''Seaside Vi'' which is neither on the seaside or much of a vi. We''ve booked out a section of six small, but well made wooden huts that are all in a circle. We picked up six just to have the whole section to ourselves. Each hut is basically just a bedroom, with a small kitchen and bathroom. Each one has a double bed, so there should be space. I''m assuming you and Lily want to sleep together right? Green and Gareth are, despite the fights, but even if they weren''t six huts is enough for everyone to have their own if we really wanted,"


    Kat was about to answer but decided to introduce Lily properly. "Hold up Nixilei," said Kat, and Nixilei paused. Kat shifted around to open the backpackpletely and Lily rolled her eyes and hopped out.


    Lily transformed on the spot and huffed. "I was perfectly capable of getting out myself Kat. You''re not that tall, and the backpack was designed so that I could slip out if I want to,"


    Kat shrugged, "It''s sort of like opening the door for you, it''s just the chivalrous thing to do,"


    Lily shook her head and sighed, "Anyway, as I''m sure you can guess, my name is Lily and I''m Kat''s girlfriend. You did meet mest time, and we sort of talked but this is much more natural. Now, I''m going to jump on Kat''s shoulders because I realise I don''t have the best footwear for walking on slippery mountain terrain and I don''t want mud on my feet,"


    Lily then did just as she said, hopping onto Kat''s shoulders with a leap. [Thankfully I wore pants today. Imagine if I''d worn a dress.]


    *You probably would''ve just turned back into a cat.* "It''s nice to see you as well Lily," said Nixilei with a slight bow, "I am d you got your transformation under control. I am not sure what Thyme will allow you to do during the tournament, but hopefully you will not be bored,"


    "Yeah… Thyme was somewhat unclear about the rules," said Lily.


    "The rules are somewhat unclear about you, actually. The rules are clear, familiar are allowed… but the definition of familiars matches the bond you have with Kat… except for one specific line, being ''A animal chosen by…''. Now, obviously you''re not an animal. If we treated beastkin with animal forms as animals then we''d never reach peace with them. As far as we were aware… a bond like you to share wasn''t magically possible.


    "That hypothesis is obviously incorrect, you exist, and your bond is real. So it leaves us in an odd area where the rules don''t really ount for you properly," exined Nixilei as they finally stepped off the mountain. The group started to navigate towards the nearby dirt road.


    "You know… having a familiar seems like a good idea, why doesn''t everyone have one? Even if it''s just for the tournament. It seems like a boon," asked Lily.


    Nixilei winced, "Well… the spell we use for it joins the life of two beings. It gives the weaker of the two strength and the dumber of the two intelligence… but the real issue is that it connects two being''s life. With our version of the spell? If a familiar dies so does their owner… and most animals don''t live as long as humans. Connecting your life to one regrly reduces the mage''s lifespan to that of their familiar,"


    "Huh… odd… I think you guys are doing something wrong because while, yes, it was heavily implied Kat and I will die at the same time, I got Kat''s lifespan, she didn''t get mine," said Lily.


    Nixilei shrugged, "Demons might have so much lifespan that giving awayrge parts of it still leave them immortal. I don''t know. It''s just considered a big risk. Still… some people think it''s worth it,"