Lament of the Slave

When Enola told me about the name of the labyrinth, I asked her what it meant. She told me it was just a name it had, nothing more. Right now, I felt it was much more than just a name. I couldn't describe it, though. The remembrance or the echo of the past did not fully capture it.

The question that bothered me now was what battle Traiana had fought, when she fought it and why her statue was here, part of the labyrinth. I wondered if the other labyrinths looked the same. If they had a similar platform with a statue in the middle, I was even more interested in their names and statues standing there, and what they represent.

"I won't find the answers here, though!!" I sighed out loud, still looking at the statue.

I saw about everything I could here, and it made little sense to stay here any longer. That's why I looked at Ria, who was peeking at my tail but didn't dare try to hug him again.

"Okay, Ria. I'm not sure if there's such a place in Castiana, but I'm looking for a park," I said, crossing my fingers so that there was one.

Not taking her eyes off Sage and not even thinking about it, she said, "There aren't any."

"What about the gardens?" I asked, a little disappointed, but I expected her answer.

"Hmm ..." kitsune thought for a moment, then she looked up at me. "The Lord has gardens in the palace. The Alchemists have small gardens of herbs and the florists with flowers."

"So there's no place where people can just sit and do nothing, just relax?" I asked, not believing there was no such a place in the city. People needed to rest, to relax.

"Pubs, taverns, inns, brothels ..." she said as she counted on her fingers, but I had to stop her. I had no idea who told her about the brothels, but I understood that the place I was looking for would not be easy to find.

"I meant a place where there is peace. Where there aren't that many people or a place only a few people know about. Don't you know something like that?" I asked, clarifying my question.

Ria's eyes lit up with understanding, and she nodded, "I know one!"

Without saying anything to me, she set off.

Looking at Traiana for the last time, I promised to return here soon. Although I was afraid of what I would find in the depths, doubting my fighting skills, I wanted to get in there as soon as possible. Learn to fight, face beasts, face my fears, and finally level-up.

I caught up with Ria and went up the stairs to the square. When I looked around now, my gaze not fixed on the entrance to the labyrinth, I saw more clearly its hexagonal shape, the streets that led into it in every corner, and I was heading for one of them, led by my guide.

After a week in the city, I had a more accurate picture of it now, and it was not very different from the cities on Earth I knew. There were neighborhoods that were richer, such as around Labyrinth Square, some less affluent, say, inhabited by the middle class, and then those where the least wealthy lived. It seemed to me that with my dirty-looking and torn clothes, I stood out everywhere. Even the poorest were better dressed than I was. Okay, most of them. There were people like me among them, too. 

Back on Earth, I wouldn't dare to go out dressed like this and go out. Now I was glad to have some clothes at all and hoped I would never find myself naked in the cell again.

While Ria led me to one of the poorer parts of Castiana, I realized that my view of this world was too distorted by the novels I had read. I expected more segregation, like a ban on entering certain parts of the city for the poor and such. I didn't come across anything like that here, though. 

Some merchants did not like to see me in their stores, but it was apparent at first glance that I had no money. I couldn't blame them for that. After all, I was not a lucrative customer for them. 

Yeah, there was that racial thing while looking for a job, but so far, no one's been looking down on me just because I didn't have the money. I wondered why that was? It baffled me.

"Here," Ria said as she stopped, pointing to the narrow alley between the two old houses. I couldn't help but be confused, as there were many such alleys around the city, wondering what made this one special. Not wanting to doubt my little guide, I followed her down the narrow aisle with my ears pricked up, ready to be attacked.

Nothing happened, though!

No goons, no assassins, nor thieves who would try to attack or rob me.

There were only stairs leading to both houses' first floors. Ria and I took the corner and went up the stairs to the second floor, then third, where an old ladder leading to the house's roof was leaning against the wall.

The little kitsune climbed up fearlessly, but I hesitated. The ladder looked very weak, and I wasn't sure it wouldn't break under my weight. I didn't mean to say I was fat. Back on Earth, at my height of 166 centimeters, I was proud of my 63 kilos. I wasn't sure about those numbers now, though.

Dungreen gave me food, but I was sure I had lost weight in the cellar. On the other hand, I now had wings, a tail, horns, and a lot more fur and hair that also had to weigh something. Sometimes I wasn't even sure of my height, feeling like I was a few centimeters taller. Did the antlers count when measuring height? I guess not.

I sighed out loud, knowing that I was only delaying the inevitable by lamenting over my height and weight.

So I tried the first rung of the ladder, and it creaked right away, warning me against trying again.

"Come on, Korra!" Ria called, looking over the edge of the roof.

Sighing and not wanting to disappoint the little kitsune, I gathered my courage and began to climb the ladder. A squeak accompanied every step I took, making me hold my breath in fear and expect the ladder to fall apart at any moment. It didn't, and I reached the roof in one piece, just a little sweaty.

Most of the houses in Castina have a ground floor, two floors, and an attic below pitched roofs, covered with shingles or tiles, so it surprised me that this house had a flat roof. Besides, it was relatively tidy, probably cleaned by the owner or those who visited the place. It wasn't the park I was looking for, not as quiet as I had imagined, but it was a wonderful place, where there was no one but Ria and me. 

This flat roof was just high enough over the pitched roofs of surrounding buildings to see the entire city, its walls, and even the barracks, with a still missing roof on the administrative building.

For the first time, I saw the city lord's palace, albeit from a distance. It was no taller than the surrounding buildings, just fancier, no towers, but they seemed to be building one. What set the palace apart from other buildings was the green areas that surrounded it. Ria didn't say that, but I was sure these gardens were inaccessible to the public.

Now that I could see the entire city, I was sure there were no parks in Castiana, even no trees. I envied the Lord his garden all the more. It made me wonder why this was so, why there was no nature in the city because, without it, it seemed a bit dull, lifeless. 

The most likely cause was the labyrinth, although the exact reason escaped me. Trees were able to grow on rock, so the few meters of soil they had here should not be a problem. Anyway, I could now see that the center of the entire city was the Labyrinth square. The hexagon with the teleportation platform in the middle was unmissable from here as well as the six main streets that ran from it and crossed the city to the six gates in the city wall.

I was glad Ria brought me here. On the roof wasn't silence like in a library, but it was still better than the hustle and bustle of the streets below. What's more, the view was real. It wasn't a magical tool!

Looking at the kitsune, who was leaning on the parapet next to me, I thought of her reward. Due to fear for her, I endured dull pain as my tail suffered from a lack of mana. Fortunately, my body could regenerate faster than the necrosis that affected Sage.

It served its purpose, but it was a barbaric solution caused by my lack of skill control. At least I hoped so, wanting to believe that I should be able to control [Tail of Poison Empress] much more like [Beast].

I sighed, knowing I was too impatient. Controlling skills took time, and I was still far from mastering [Beast].

I moved Sage to my nose and sniffed at his hair. When I didn't smell the apples, nor did the system inform me of the poisoning, I inconspicuously moved my tail to Ria and surprised her by stroking her cheek.

She giggled, but before she did anything, she looked at me.

"Can I?" she asked excitedly.

I nodded, "You can, I promised you, didn't I?"

"Yay," she cheered and threw herself at my tail.

I was a little nervous about how I would feel when someone else touched my tail, not wanting to end up like beast girls in the manga, for whom such a touch caused pleasure. 

To my relief, my worries were unfounded, and when Ria hugged Sage and started stroking him, I felt nothing that would raise my heart rate in that sense. Not that it was uncomfortable, though. On the contrary, it was quite pleasant.

"Sage is as soft as my mother's tail," the kitsune muttered, tangled in my tail.

Her remark made me wonder if the tail was so significant among the terrans that Ria compared mine to her mother's tail all the time, if it was something like a dick measuring contest, just instead of men's junks, tails were compared?

As a growing teen, I envied some of my friends' breasts. Mine never really grew up, thus losing in the chest measuring contest that my friends and I had. It bothered me then. Now I was older and wiser, at least that's what I thought. It never occurred to me I would ever wonder what another woman's tail looked like.

Was mine bigger, softer? I laughed at the thought.

Ria raised her head to make sure everything was fine, but when she saw I wasn't laughing at her, she turned her attention back to my tail. Thanks to her, I remembered my mom. She often told me how she didn't have time when I was little, that she had to take care of me and my brother, that sometimes she would need more hands.

I guess terran mothers had an advantage in this with their tails.

Smiling to myself, I looked at the kitsune, who was just introducing her tail to mine.

"Sage, this is Lia. You can be friends ..." she laughed and wrapped her tail around mine. For fun, I did the same, and Ria laughed even more.

However, our time was running short. I needed to go back to the City Hall to pay for her work and have lunch before my shift. Although her approach was not as professional as Timmy's, and I didn't learn as much information from her as I did from him, I didn't regret the money. Not this time. It was fun.

Playing with Ria all the way back to City Hall, made it even harder to say goodbye.

"Do you really have to go?" the sad little kitsune asked me as I tried to say goodbye to her.

I nodded firmly, "Sorry Ria, I have a job waiting for me. It would upset my Boss if I was late."

Not to mention how upset the girls in the brothel would be.

"Hmm ..." Ria frowned dejectedly, hugging her tail.

She made that farewell even harder for me, "You know what! When I have time, I'll come to play with you. What do you think?"

Ria nodded enthusiastically, "Okay!"

"I can't promise you when it will be, though," I warned her, not wanting her to expect me to play with her here every day.

"I don't mind, I'll wait!" she said, shaking her head.

"Okay Ria, I'll be looking forward to seeing you, but now I still have to talk to Enola," I said, looking at the bewildered receptionist and then back at the little kitsune. "... thanks for being my guide."

She giggled, hesitating to leave, but then nodded and smiled.

"Goodbye Korra, goodbye Sage!!" she said aloud, waving as she left me at the counter with Enola. Waving back, I waited for the little kitsune to disappear around the corner before I turned to Enola, the young woman who was looking at me sternly right now.

"What did you do? And who is Sage?" Enola asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

I stopped, a little confused, wondering what I had done wrong. "What do you mean by what I did?" I asked cautiously.

"Ria usually does her job, which she has the least of all guides, and comes back pretty depressed. I've never seen her so excited and say goodbye to someone like that," she explained, and I realized she was worried about her.

"Well, I let her play a little," I said, scratching the back of my head.

Enola seemed to consider my answer before nodding, "Okay, and who is Sage?"

This was embarrassing. Just a few hours ago, I found the courage to tell the little girl this name, and now Enola wanted me to tell her too. But if I hadn't told her, she would probably have suspected that Sage was some weird uncle I had introduced to the girl, and I didn't want to upset the only receptionist I dared to go to.

So I leaned over and gestured to her to do the same. Then I whispered in her ear about Sage.

To my embarrassment, she laughed.

My cheeks flushed red, and I frowned at her, thinking she would be more understanding.

"Sorry," she apologized as she stopped laughing and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I see why she liked you so much."

"You do?" I asked, surprised that she believed me. 

"Ria and Lia are no secret. She has no friends among the guides, so she plays alone while waiting for a job," Enola said with a sigh.

"What about Timmy?" I asked. I could understand the others, but why he ignored her was beyond me.

Enola smirked sadly, "The boy only has swords in his head. When he has time, he trains his swordsmanship."

I could understand that, he was quite passionate about becoming a seeker. Playing with a little girl wouldn't help him much.

"He seldom finds time for her," Enola added.

"That's... sad," I said, understanding the lonely little girl who wanted to have fun but had no one to talk to. 

"It is, and that's why I was surprised to see her so excited! Thanks, Korra," said Enola, smiling at me warmly.

I shrugged, "Well, I had fun too."

When Ria and I returned to City Hall, I thought about registering as a seeker. There was no point in putting it off. I even thought I'd take a peek into the labyrinth tomorrow. But after this conversation, I didn't think it was a good time to ask that. I didn't want to spoil this good mood when I knew Enola wasn't a fan of seekers.

So, like a coward, I postponed this decision until tomorrow morning. I planned to stop at the City Hall anyway, in case Razso left me a message regarding that meeting. But all this was waiting for me tomorrow! Now I headed for lunch, still thinking of a little kitsune.

As the evening approached and I took refuge in my room after shifts at Broken Heart and inn, I regretted that decision. I couldn't stop thinking about it, even though the registration itself wasn't a big deal. However, it was a ticket to the labyrinth, which I planned to use. That thought made me even more nervous.

Because of that, I couldn't concentrate properly on my skill training, which was especially a problem with [Beast]. Since I didn't do very well with this skill this evening, I decided to try my luck with [Master's Shield]. Still believing it could be a useful skill, I hoped it would be more useful in the labyrinth tomorrow than in the barracks. 

Horned rabbits don't have spears or daggers, do they? I reassured myself, remembering how I ended up with a pierced chest.

My only consolation was my wings. Both were in full size, feathered, and as useless as before. Of course, I tried if I couldn't fly now if anything had changed. But no, even though I had full control over them, I didn't rise a millimeter from the floor. [Never-Dying] didn't seem to make a mistake as it regrew them and fixed them exactly as they were.

So, as I said, useless and annoying, but they were mine and back.

It was a long evening, and in the end, I only managed to fall asleep, hugged by my wings, holding Sage and sniffing the poison that was back between his hairs.

Facing Enola the following day was hard, but I did. She surprised me when she didn't try to talk me out of my decision. 

"I'm sure you've thought it through, Korra," she told me when I told her of my intention and took out a seeker registration form.

I scratched my back nervously, "I'd like to say yes, but it would be a lie."

"Then why do you want to become a seeker?" she asked me.

"..." I sighed, wondering what to say. "It's a personal reason!"

"Okay, I won't ask any more questions," she nodded knowingly and moved the form in front of me.

"Will you fill it out yourself, or do you want help?" she asked me.

It might have been a common question for her, and it didn't seem unusual to her that someone couldn't write. I felt very embarrassed, though.

"I'd appreciate it if you could help me," I said, feeling my face flush with humiliation.

Enola took the form back, looked at me, and held out her hand, "ID, please."

A little surprised and glad she had ignored my red face, I took the ID out of the ring and handed it to her. She filled the form quickly, asking me just a few supplementary questions, for example about my immediate family in case I died. That they know who to inform. Unfortunately, this box in my case, had to be left blank.

"So, now you take the form and go down the stairs over there," she pointed to the stairs leading to both the first floor of the building and its basement. "... there is only one room guarded by an official. You can't miss it. You'll get a labyrinth mark there. All right?"

I nodded, not answering and looking nervously at the stairs.

"When you're done, come back to me!" Enola added, handing me the form.

I would be lying if I claimed I went to the cellar with confidence and determination worthy of a seeker. My heart was racing, my knees were weak, and my palms were sweaty. It wasn't just my nervousness, but my bad experience with the cellars.

What's worse, the second part of the registration took place behind a closed door in a room resembling a vault.

"Please," the clerk pointed to a chair in front of a table in the middle of the room. I met this man in front of this room, which he opened only after I showed him the appropriate form and verified that I wanted to become a seeker voluntarily. He had magic tools for that.

Keeper: lvl ??

He was definitely not a weakling, and I didn't dare think of him as an ordinary clerk, even though he was dressed that way. Sitting down in front of an empty table, glad that I don't have to stand on my wobbly legs any longer, I wondered what would happen next and where he would sit. There was only one chair in the room, and I was sitting on it. Well, the keeper just stood aside by the wall, watching me. It was creeping me out.

Though I was glad I didn't suffer from claustrophobia when the vault door closed, I didn't like being locked up in this room with this man. But before my brain thought about what might happen between the two of us, an object materialized in front of me on the table, catching my attention.

At first glance, I could see where it came from. A black cube with sides fifteen centimeters long, covered with tiny runes, could not have come from elsewhere. Fallen's Cry. 

This was the key! 

Looking at the keeper, I was expecting further instructions.

In response to my look, he raised his left eyebrow, keeping his eyes on me. I almost felt like I should know what to do, but I didn't.

"Put your hand on the cube!" he finally told me. 

To be honest, it was the only thing I thought I could do. The moment I did so, the runes on the cube lit up with the same white light as the runes on the platform in the square. That's what I expected, but what surprised me was a faint echo of a painful cry in my mind.