Neo and I looked at the statues carefully before heading to the image of Tolmas at the back of the temple. It was a majestic statue, carved from white stone, with a serene and wise expression (it hardly resembled Tolmas). Without hesitation, we knelt before it in a posture that on Earth would be considered common for prayer, but here it seemed completely unusual.

The priest who had accompanied us frowned, puzzled by our way of praying. Then, something happened that no one expected.

The white stone statue turned completely golden in a single instant. A blinding glow filled the temple, and the murmurs of the faithful turned into gasps of awe. The priest froze, his eyes wide open as he tried to process what had just happened.

The subdimension was as vast as the last time we’d seen it, but now Tolmas was waiting for us at a stone table with a steaming teapot and three cups. We sat down unceremoniously, as if it were a university cafeteria, while he watched us with a mixture of pride and annoyance.

▓— They took too long to get out of the forest.— His tone was reproachful, but his expression betrayed that he was really amused by the situation.

Neo calmly took a sip of his coffee.

■—We were busy surviving.—

▓— Six years? —He said, raising an eyebrow.—

▓— I’ve seen turtles learn to run in less time.—

I shrugged

●— It’s not our fault the world is full of giant monsters.—

▓— Of course, of course, because two engineers with unique skills and otherworldly knowledge obviously didn’t have way to fix that before.—

●— You should have given us a tutorial instead of leaving us adrift.— Neo retorted with a mocking smile. Tolmas rested his forehead on the palm of his hand and sighed.

▓— Sometimes I wonder why I chose you two…—

Neo and I exchanged a look.

■●— Because we are the best.— We said in unison. —

Tolmas glared at us, but then simply snorted, giving up.

■— If by “the best” you mean “the most stubborn,” then yes, you got it right.—

Tolmas exhaled with resignation, resting an elbow on the table and looking at us with that mixture of annoyance and amusement.

▓— Speaking of doubts… Why did it take you so long to get out of the forest?—

Neo and I were silent for a second. Then we slowly turned to face each other.

■— He hasn’t done it…—

●— Yes, he did…—

■— He just dodged the question. —

●— With the nerve. —

▓— Six years isolated in a forest full of monsters is quite a long time. —

Tolmas shrugged, with a satisfied smile.

■— Fine, fine, whatever you say… But that doesn’t answer our question.—

●— So let’s try again… Who were the Seven Envoys of Tolmas and why do we have their title? —

Tolmas looked at us calmly, took another sip of coffee, and, as calmly as he could, placed the cup on the table before answering.

▓—Everything comes in its own time. I can’t tell you everything at once... It loses its charm. —

Neo and I stared at him.

●— That doesn’t answer anything. —

■— And you know it. —

Tolmas gave a light laugh and rested his chin on his hand.

▓— The only thing I can tell you for now is that those titles are not new. The original holders of those names… were your predecessors.—

The silence that followed was heavier than any revelation he had given us before, Neo and I let out a long, heavy sigh.

■— Okay, that sounds at least a little interesting. —

●— Yes, but it also sounds to me like he’s telling us just enough to make us more frustrated. —

■— I confirm. —

Tolmas looked at us with an amused expression.

■—See? This is more entertaining. —

Neo and I let out a sigh. Tolmas straightened slightly, and for the first time in the entire conversation, his tone became serious.

▓— Your arrival in the city did not go unnoticed. There are those who have already set their eyes on you.— He made a pause, observing our reactions.

▓—It’s not just the different looks... Hunt, they’ve seen you playing with the gold bar. In this world, as in yours, gold coins are a luxury; someone showing off gold bars like that is too conspicuous.

●— Don’t worry, Tolmas. We’ll manage as usual. We’ll probably end up in some kind of trouble sooner or later...

■— Or in several at once. —

●— Probably in several. —

Tolmas shook his head and sighed, but he didn’t seem surprised. Then his expression became more distant, almost melancholic.

▓— Before you go... —His voice lowered a little.

▓—This is, possibly, the last time we speak. I can’t interact with the world anymore.

Neo and I put our cups down on the table at the same time. For a moment, our teasing and joking disappeared. We stood up straight and gave him the most polite goodbye we’d ever given.

●— Thank you for everything, Tolmas. It’s been an honor. —

■— We hope we haven’t given you too many headaches. —

Tolmas looked at us with an arched eyebrow, as if he couldn’t believe we were actually acting formally, but eventually he smiled somewhat wistfully.

▓— I wish you luck... you’ll need it. —

Without adding anything else, we disappeared from the subdimension. Back inside the church. The evening light filtered through the stained-glass windows, dyeing the golden marble orange. Around us, the faithful and priests remained transfixed, still processing what they had witnessed.

Without saying a word, Neo and I dusted ourselves off and left the temple as composed as ever. We offered no explanations. We didn’t stop to answer questions.

We disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind the temple and everything that had just happened. Now... it was time to eat something.

...

The streets were bustling with life. We walked in search of a place to eat. The aroma of freshly baked bread mingled with the sound of vendors selling their wares completely enveloped us.

We sat down and ordered something typical of the place. The waitress, a young woman wearing a somewhat worn apron, served us each a steaming bowl of soup, along with two rolls of bread. The soup had a strong aroma and a creamy texture. The soup was called ciorba, a thick soup with cream and a slight acidic note. The flavor surprised us; it wasn’t like the mild soups we were used to, but it had something comforting about it.

After finishing the last bite of bread and taking a last sip of the thick ciorba, Neo leaned back slightly in his chair, satisfied.

●—That was amazing… I don’t think I’ve tasted anything that good in years. —

■—Yeah, well, anything’s better than dried meat or fish sitting in inventory for months, I said, wiping the remnants of soup from the bowl. (To be honest, I have to admit it was pretty good.)

Neo raised his hand to get the waitress’s attention. The young woman, who was cleaning another table at the time, approached with a smile.

—The waitress— Was everything to your liking? —

●—So much. How much is the bill? —

The girl took out a small wooden tablet where she had written down the orders and counted on her fingers.

—The waitress— There were eight bowls of soup, at 4 iron coins each… That’s 32 iron coins. And the two loaves of bread are 8 iron bars each, which makes 16 iron bars. In total, that’s…—

■— There are 33.6 iron coins in total. —

—The waitress— Excuse me, I’m not very fast with sums.—

Neo took out a silver coin, which he placed on the table without hesitation. The waitress looked at the coin and her eyes widened in surprise. It was much more than the meal cost. She hesitated for a moment, as if waiting for us to ask for change, but when Neo didn’t say anything, I smiled and nodded.

●— Sorry, we don’t have any smaller change.—

■— You can keep the rest. —

The waitress stared at the coin with wide eyes and then looked at us, clearly surprised.

—The waitress— A-are you sure? This is a lot of money…—

His eyes lit up immediately. We’d left a tip of 66.4 iron coins, which seemed like a large amount. (I’ll leave it, I’ll leave this one.)

■●— Yes, yes.

The young woman couldn’t hide her joy. She put her hand to her chest and gave us a big smile.

—The waitress— Thank you very much! May the Envoys of Tolmas guide you! —

Neo and I nodded with a slight smile, and before the girl left, we asked her another question.

●— By the way, do you know of any nearby inn where we could spend the night?—

The young woman blinked a couple of times in surprise and then let out a small laugh.

—The waitress— An inn? This is an inn, you can sleep here.—

■— Here? —I frowned, looking around.

—The waitress— Yes, this is an inn, not a restaurant. —

Neo and I exchanged a look.

■●— Aaaaa. —

■— That explains why so many people are prepared to stay overnight.

The waitress let out a small laugh and nodded

—The waitress— Yes, this is an inn, not a restaurant. It’s two copper coins a night. —

Paying four copper coins for two rooms didn’t seem like much to us.

After receiving the keys to our rooms, we climbed the wooden stairs, which creaked slightly with each step. The hallway was simple, with several doors lining both sides and small oil lamps lighting the way.

Each of us entered our room, we both did the same thing, before doing what was already customary, we checked everything. The windows were closed, the door was locked, and there were no suspicious openings.

A door emerged from the wooden planks, tall and with a faint, ethereal glow. (A door that only we could open.) Before crossing through, I made sure to block the door to the room with a chair. Just in case anyone tried to get in. Finally, we entered the subdimension, took a shower, and went to sleep.

(It was time to rest. Tomorrow we would begin our real exploration of the city.)