Chapter 180: Tour Of Venduros

[You have arrived!]

[Welcome to Venduros!]

The air changed first.

It was warmer than Earth and carried a mineral scent Thea did not recognise. Gravity settled a fraction differently against her shoulders.

She staggered one step, then caught herself against Kalon’s arm as the system finished adapting her body.

They stood near the outer edge of the resistance city, where pale stone streets opened toward high buildings and open market lanes. Yellow-leafed trees marked the far boundary.

Above them, the sky was orange.

Thea’s blue eyes went wide.

"This is real," she said. "Kalon. This is actually real."

"Yeah," Kalon said. "Welcome to Venduros."

She turned in a slow circle, taking in everything at once. Purple-skinned Vendurions moved through the nearby lane in practical clothes and light armour.

A pair of resistance fighters crossed the junction ahead with spears on their backs.

None of them panicked at the sight of two humans. A few simply looked over, recognised Kalon, and continued on with a respectful bow.

That reaction alone made Thea stare harder.

"They know you..."

"They know me well," Kalon said. "Come on."

He led her into the city proper.

The first core place he took her through was the lower market street. Stalls lined both sides with cut fruit, cooked meats, crystal-glass bottles, and folded resistance cloth.

Thea kept stopping every few metres, not because she was afraid, but because she wanted to look at everything.

A child with glossy purple skin ran past them laughing. An older woman sold polished stone charms from a low tray. In the distance, the upper palace structure of the resistance rose over the denser buildings.

Thea grabbed Kalon’s sleeve.

"There are actual streets. Actual people. I thought it would feel more like a dungeon world or a closed field. This is just... a city."

"It is a city," Kalon said. "One that almost got pushed under by the empire before I got involved."

As they moved deeper, the recognition became clearer.

A pair of armed resistance fighters stopped fully this time. One of them placed a fist against his chest.

"Sir Kalon."

The second followed the same motion.

"The human who held the forest line. The city still speaks of it."

Thea looked between them and Kalon, mouth slightly open.

"Held the forest line?"

"I’ll tell you about it later," Kalon said.

They continued on. More people noticed him as they walked. A stall keeper called out a greeting. A young woman in training wraps stared openly, then bowed her head when Kalon glanced over.

Near a public water basin, an older fighter told a pair of teenagers that the human walking past was the one who forced the empire’s advance to stall.

The teenagers turned and watched Kalon with open awe.

Thea’s face had gone bright with disbelief and excitement at the same time.

"You’re not just visiting this place," she said. "They treat you like royalty."

"I’ve done a lot for this city... and they’ve done a lot for me. They’ve even given me a home here, but I usually stay with Josinia."

"That’s incredible... and they are all so kind. Much kinder than humans."

Not all of them... Kalon thought.

He took her off the main lane and up a short rise toward one of the open training yards. Resistance fighters were sparring in pairs on packed dirt, using both weapons and elemental bursts. Water, earth, and raw physical technique mixed freely.

When Kalon appeared at the boundary, several of them stopped and offered the same chest-fist salute as before.

Thea stood beside him, practically glowing.

"I want to train here," she said. "Just once... I have to!"

"Another time," Kalon said. "Don’t worry, we will have all the days in the world to travel back here. Today’s just an introduction."

She did not argue. She was too busy looking at everything.

By the time they came back down into the denser market lanes, her nerves from the travel had fully turned into open delight.

She asked short questions in a rush.

What the yellow trees were called. Whether the palace ahead belonged to the princess he had mentioned. How many people in the city had actually seen a human before him.

Kalon answered what he could and let her take the rest in on her own.

Eventually he stopped at a street vendor near a busy corner.

The vendor was an older Vendurion man with darker purple skin and a heavy pan over a heat stone. Strips of seasoned meat and sliced pale-root vegetables sizzled together with a thick red glaze. The smell was sharp, sweet, and spiced all at once.

Kalon ordered two folded trays.

The man looked up, recognised him, and refused payment with a quick shake of the head.

"For the human who kept the outer road open," he said. "Eat."

Thea accepted her tray with both hands, still not over any of it. They stood to the side of the stall and ate while traffic moved around them. The meat was tender and heavily seasoned. The glazed root had a crisp edge and soft centre. Thea took one bite, stopped, then took another immediately.

"Okay," she said. "Okay, that’s unreal. Why does alien street food taste better than half the places near campus?"

Kalon huffed once.

"Because you’re standing on another planet while eating it."

"That might be part of it."

She finished every piece.

...

"So, this is the safest planet?" she asked.

"Safest of the ones I trust," Kalon said. "Cryos and Veylora are quite safe too. We will go there another day."

...

They left the stall and cut through a quieter residential lane. The noise of the market faded behind them.

Kalon headed for Josinia’s place by memory, taking the same route he had used before when he wanted to arrive without drawing a whole street after him.

He did not need to knock.

The door opened before they fully reached it.

Josinia stood in the frame with her white hair loose and her pink eyes already wide. She was in simple home clothes, purple skin warm in the afternoon light. For a split second she only saw Kalon. The smile that hit her face was immediate and unguarded.

Then she saw Thea.

Josinia froze for half a breath, processing the second human, the linked presence, and what it meant.

After that the smile came back even stronger.

She crossed the remaining space in a few quick steps and threw her arms around Kalon first.

"You’re back," she said into his shoulder. "And you brought Thea!."

Thea’s eyes widened and a face smile spread across her face.

For some reason, she hadn’t expected the alien to remember her, or her name.