The four days flew by quickly. Lee paid close attention to studying the nearest potential hostile neighbors of the Ferin race. He visited the arena and dueled with newcomers, quietly gaining experience for the next level. The hospital, the arena, and home became familiar places on his daily walk.
To his surprise, his guardians took a relaxed attitude to his desire to visit the cat capital. Going to the academy and working at the hospital gave the boy the status of a full-time colony worker. He could not miss a treatment session at the hospital. The young healer decided to have a treatment session in the morning and return the following evening. Lee Long expected to spend almost a couple of days in the capital.
The day of the visit to the capital finally came. Lee Long visited the hospital and went to the colony's civilian teleport. He paid 707 credits and took a step toward a new adventure.
The city of Ferin greeted him with the strong scent of strawberries.
There were several teleporters in a large room. Lee Long approached the nearest customs officer. The old gray cat greeted the human with an approving nod of his head,
"The purpose of your visit to the capital?"
"Tourism."
"Importing contraband?"
"No."
"Exporting contraband?"
Lee Long froze for a moment. The cat laughed loudly and threatened the boy with a claw,
"Don't mess with the mushrooms, kitten. Have a good time."
"Good hunting, sir."
Lee shook his head. These cats go completely nuts for the scent of fruit. Cats didn't eat fruit. They loved the scent of fruit.
He walked out of the room and into the street. The smell of woods and strawberries. It was a delightful experience to begin his adventures.
When humans got to Ferin, they knew immediately that it was impossible to understand another sentient race. Sentient cats lived in a strange and wonderful place and lived in strange and incomprehensible ways.
The cats lived in huge trees. And those trees were monstrous in size. The base of each tree exceeded several hundred meters in diameter. For humans, a road width of four meters was usual. For cats, a branch width of 10 meters was the usual road. At the edges of the roads, there were low houses of a couple of stories. Cats did not like houses with several stories. The cats lived in small families. At the age of 11, Black left her father's house and began living on her own.
Each tree branch was a small community of cats. The branches of many trees met and intertwined with each other. The city consisted of several hundred levels. The higher the level, the more important and wealthy the inhabitants. It was a familiar and understandable point of view.
From the main branches came branches a couple of meters wide. They carried smaller branches on which leaves grew. At the bases of the trees, twilight always reigned on the earth of the planet Ferin.
And mushrooms!
The city of Ferin is a place that is saturated with strange smells. Cats are clean! Cats are above suspicion. There are too many mushrooms growing in their towns. It is the mushrooms that give off strange aromas that rise to the sky. Cats love the scent of mushrooms, it helps them keep calm. Humans were not annoyed by the smell in the capital. Humans quickly became accustomed to the strange odor. Humans were frightened by the very structure of the city of growing trees. There was a suspicion of unreliability and instability. Humans were used to trusting in stone and metal.
The wood of the ferin was a mysterious and magic-soaked material. The wood of the trees was valuable. To steal wood or to conduct an illegal trade was the gravest crime. The guilty party was sent straight to the humans, to the mine, to mine m-crystals, without the right to medical care. Cats knew how to retaliate.
More mildly and leniently, cats treated fools who showed interest in mushrooms. The human race was severely hallucinogenic to mushrooms. But the cats took care of their servants. Humans knew the dangers and troubles of the new place. Mushrooms, bad senses, interest in wood. These were the main sources of danger for visitors. Visitors and tourists were plentiful in the capital.
At school, Lee received simple information about the political structure of the galaxy. Everything in the galaxy was simple and straightforward. Over many thousands of years of wars and struggles, two powerful forces had emerged. If you look at a map of the galaxy, the western part was occupied by the Syndicate sectors. The east was taken over by the Temple. But between the two enemies, a huge zone of neutral force sectors was formed. A third of the sentient races preferred neutrality. The Temple and the Syndicate and the Neutrals quietly conducted business in the Senate of the Sentient Races. The last large-scale open war between the Syndicate and the Temple was stopped by the invasion of a race of completely abnormal space vagrants. This race attacked civilizations with rage and aggression. The Syndicate and the Temple lost a third of their domain. This was followed by the unification of all the sentient races into the Alliance for a common war effort. The Alliance successfully conducted liberation military operations. The Rogues were wiped out. The Syndicate and the Temple moved on to civilized ways of cold warfare.
Humans were used to dividing the world into black and white. The Syndicate recognized the right of sentient beings to fatally exploit other sentient beings for various purposes. Sacrifice a sentient being to gain an influx of power? That's normal for a Syndicate resident. Kill a sentient being to obtain important materials from its body? That's normal for the Syndicate. The Temple was more restrained and did not welcome cruel ways of treating sentient races. Humans habitually divided the bosses of the Galaxy into the Dark Syndicate and the Temple of Light.
Humanity was a fortunate race. Ferin, the sentient cats were excellent "big brothers" to humans. The cats were strict masters, greedy in the conduct of affairs. But they gravitated toward the methods of the Temple.
The closest neighbors to the Ferin sector were the Bregan sector to the northwest and the Shade sector to the west. The inhabitants of these sectors were of different sentient races.
Lee Long walked to the edge of the road and looked down. It was a long way to the surface. He shook his head, "Capital. A lot of unnecessary expense. Maybe I should jump down?"
He laughed and waved to the nearest kitten. The kitten sat proudly at the wheel of a small two-seater flyer. He quickly flew up to the tourist and rubbed his paws,
"Where are we going?"
"Down. To the surface."
"Interested in mushrooms? Young kittens? Why down there? There's clean, inexpensive entertainment nearby!"
"I'm Interested in worms. I'm a scientist. I need soil. It's down there."
"Ugh! Worms! That's disgusting. Three credits for the flight and I won't wait for you downstairs."
Lee Long didn't argue with the insolent extortionist. He quickly used his communicator and made a money transfer.
It took them less than one minute to reach the surface. Lee was about to hit the extortionist with the Ice Arrow when the kitten flew back. Robbery! A mockery of an honest healer. But the new impressions calmed the duelist.
Lee Long stood on solid ground and felt fine. He liked the place immediately. On different sides, tree trunks ran up to the sky like walls. Roots sometimes towered over the flat surface. And mushrooms! Some of the mushrooms were very large. The tall stalks were a couple of dozen meters in size. On the hats of large mushrooms were small establishments and lodges. Neat plastic ladders were leading to the tops. It was a place where absolutely any kind of transaction could be done. Law and lawlessness reigned in this place. Chaos and Order played a game as old as the Galaxy.
The first thing Lee did was quickly make his way to a secluded spot. He took cover under a root and pulled out a hunter's suit from a small bag. He put the suit on over his clothes. He applied a layer of camouflage cream to his face. Lee looked at himself in the small mirror and was pleased with his disguise. This sentient person is trustworthy. He has a completely strange look.
Where is the first place an adventurer goes?
All roads lead to a place to eat, take a weak toxin, listen to funny music, and watch exotic dancing.
Lee Long walked to the nearest staircase and climbed the mushroom hat. The entertainment establishment could be recognized by the sounds of the music and the relaxed manner of the customers. Lee walked into the tavern.
It was a charming place. There was a bar on the left side. In the center of the room was a dance floor. To amusing music, various sentient beings moved on the platform. It was impossible to understand the local dances. The classic slow dance of the ferin began with a sniffle. A couple of cats stood around and didn't move. They were sniffing! But it was a dance. On the right side were tables with customers.
Lee Long walked over to the bar and nodded to the bartender,
"I'd like 100 credits in small chips."
The bartender with a familiar motion slid an electronic tablet to the guest.
"Please transfer 107 Alliance credits."
Lee transferred the amount, and the bartender placed several stacks of exchange chips on the counter. This was changed money for the convenience of making small transactions.
Lee ordered a glass of toxin-free milk product and began looking for his first victim.
The Appraisal skill revealed its usefulness. The duelist could see the race designation on all visitors. This made it easier for him to find his target.
The boy chose the first customer for his game and approached the table. At the table sat a large minotaur. It was a visitor from Shade's sector. Minotaurs were members of the warrior caste. In front of the boy sat an ordinary soldier on leave. Perhaps he was an officer. But he was a minor figure in the hierarchy of Shade's army. Solid minotaurs do not descend to the surface of the planet Ferin.
"Greetings to the warrior of Shade's army. I wish to test the warrior's strength."
The minotaur snorted with laughter. He picked up a large mug and took a large sip of the strange brew. The warrior was in a good mood. He wasn't looking for trouble,
"Is the little kitten lost? "
"I'm not a ferin. I'm not a kitten. I am a shrimp! I propose to test my strength. The challenge is called arm wrestling. My wager is 30 credits. Your bet is three credits."
The Minotaur put his mug on the table. He was surprised and began to feel annoyed,
"I don't know who you are. This is the first time I've ever seen a shrimp. But you're a brave little warrior. What is arm wrestling?"
Lee Long quickly explained the simple rules of arm wrestling. The minotaur laughed,
"Hahaha! I know this competition. It's wrestling for the weaker races. We fight with our heads. We have strong heads. I like your credits. I agree to arm wrestling."
The Minotaur placed the elbow of his big muscular arm on the table. The boy put his elbow on the table, too, and they clasped together in a firm handshake.
"Push!" The boy shouted and began the struggle.
The minotaur pressed sharply on the little black-and-green-faced boy's hand. The little shrimp's hand did not budge! The minotaur began to press with all his might. The little bastard's hand did not budge! The minotaur roared with indignation and applied all his strength.
"Mooooooo!"
Suddenly the minotaur felt the pressure. This baby began to press with unfathomable force! The minotaur could not believe the outcome of the struggle. He was losing to the little incomprehensible creature! And then the minotaur's hand touched the table. The warrior became indignant,
"You used magic! This is not fair! This is not a fight of honest warriors. Let's go outside, and I'll beat you with my horns!"
Lee Long was happy. He had won 1,000 experiences in a minute. He smiled at his opponent,
"You have the magic yourself. Shade's minotaurs know good magic. If I used magic. You would feel it. I did not mean to offend you, warrior. I am a shrimp. I am a small but very strong shrimp. I have strong arms, but I am small in stature."
"I am a dwarf! I'm not tall either. And I have strong arms, too. I want to fight, too. Here are my three credits. You bet thirty credits to win?"
Lee Long was not surprised to see a dwarf. You could see anyone in the galaxy. A bearded humanoid of short stature is commonplace.
"Hello dwarf. I'm a shrimp. Wait a moment. Dear warrior. I want my three credits."
The Minotaur laughed and moved three chips toward the boy,
"Take it, I'm not sorry."
"I bet twelve credits on the shrimp!" Suddenly the fish-headed humanoid said.
"I'll take it. My money's on the dwarf!" The minotaur responded quickly.
Lee Long rubbed his palms and put his elbow on the table.
It was the beginning of a very productive day.