Stepping back outside, I review the first set of instructions.

  

  Courier is to bring the provided package from Vastra directly to the City Lord’s Estate in Central City. Receipt is to be handled only by the head steward or his staff.

  That seems straightforward enough. Although, what’s a steward? There’s also a second part clumsily scrawled underneath the first.

  

  Attention! Courier is mute. Keep distance due to strong stench and possible risk of disease.

  Disease? Is this another slanderous fiction like the smell accusations? I’m the very model of health. I bathe every day. Sure, I only have the sewer sludge and not proper mud, but it’s far better than these fools and their disgustingly clear skin. It’s unhealthy, lacking layers of proper grimy nutrition and protection.

  

  Courier is returning to Vastra. Attention! Courier is…

  Almost the entirety of the second message is the same as the scrawled afterthought portion of the first. Hopefully this is enough to find the right port terminal for Vastra later. Maybe the city lord’s staff will be more helpful?

  I somehow managed to find the guild facility by chance and previous experience. However, I don’t know anything about the city lord or their estate. The books said that these lords are the leaders of the big ones. Therefore, that giant, central tower hovering high above the rest of the city is as good a guess as any. They sure like tall things. I’ll head straight in that direction and wing it.

  As I steadily approach, the already giant tower grows more and more. The city itself feels gigantic, but somehow the tower puts it to shame. Nearby, encircling walls funnel me towards an enormous archway leading towards the first floor’s entrance, so I head inside.

  “Welcome, child,” a gruff curmudgeon walks out to greet me. “Are you lost? This can be a very dangerous place to wander into.”

  I pause for a moment, believing his words that I messed up. However, my newly honed instincts kick in and I appraise him.

  Ah, perfect! I take my plates and the package off my belt and offer them up to the big one.

  “What’s this?” he says with surprise, taking the instructions but not the package.

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  There’s a pause as he reads it over and frowns. He looks back down at me for a moment as if judging me, and then holds the first plate up to his forehead. Somehow, it glows a vibrant green, then blue, then white. The big one nods his head in satisfaction before reaching out to take the package from me.

  “Odd to use such a damaged courier, but we should have come to expect that from Tranas’ Lord by now.“

  Ignoring his comment, I prepare to leave. However, before I make any progress, the big one holds the second plate to his head, eliciting a very brief flash, before offering it back to me. It would’ve been awful to forget that for the trip back!

  My mission truly complete, reality fully sinks in. I have no idea where the return terminal is. Quickly skimming the return instructions to find the word, I hold it back up again for the big one to see my finger pointing at “Vastra”.

  “You would ask the city lord’s steward for directions?” the progressively scarier big one pronounces with a strange power emanating from his voice. “Do you mistake me for some lowly street worker?”

  Wearing a giant sneer across his face, his pupils grow to fill the entirety of his eyes. A crushing weight bears down on me, but there’s nothing there. Not sure what else to do, I flatten myself to the ground and slowly crawl backwards towards the entrance to escape.

  “You’d do well to always remember your position,” the oddly projected voice continues, seemingly warping the air between us. “The ladder is long, yet your wretched kind refuses the simplest first step. Even if you do somehow discover the smallest spec of will to climb, then you’ll only be effortlessly knocked back down by those of us above. Weak. Accept your place and wilt as the world wills it. Gok is no name for one who makes demands.”

  Why is he doing this? Does he not know where the Vastra port is? Wait, the ladder? I’ve heard the big ones talking about this before. The books mention it as well. Are the big ones really this obsessed with it?

  The mind mud stirs at his provocation. He says that I can’t climb his stupid ladder? That he’ll knock me back down if I try? Ha! Foolish too large for brains, I’m not part of your stupid ladder. I’m the dirty, rotting, muddy ground on which it stands. Your lovely ladder could be pulled right out from under you and stolen away if I wish it.

  Something deeper passes through the mud and objects. No! There’s likely something valuable at the top. After all, there must be a reason that you’re all climbing. I’ll climb too. Sneak right up the back of the ladder and sprint past all you fools. I’ll steal your high up, precious treasure. Truly, is there any greater revenge than that? You can’t stop me. None of you can stop me!

  Finally out of the tower’s courtyard and feeling molten with rage, I risk an angry glance up but only find the area empty. Probably for the best that I don’t accidentally show any direct defiance in the face of such a powerful storm.

  I scurry down a random street to get far away. Either I’ll find the right port terminal by chance or a porter at another will hopefully correct me. It’s the only thing I can think of trying. Unless they treat me as poorly as all the others have. Except, shouldn’t they want me to leave their stupid city dungeon? I’m probably overthinking it. They’ll likely be far more helpful on the way out.

  My whirling mind finally winding down due to the comfort of a cobbled together plan, a single fact urgently peeks out from the memory of the scary one’s speech. He called me Gok. How did he know? Does he have Evaluation? What else did he see? Am I about to be hunted down by the crazy people in that tower? Should I forget all about blending in and hide instead?