Alright, random chance really has it out for me. If it were a real, breathing force, I’d be very mad right now. Of course, I’m a man of science, which means I know full-well this is a pure roll of the dice. But I’d really like to be able to blame something for what I’m going through.

  After Tizek and I left the girls, we hit the baths. I found out it was fairly easy to convince them to take my money. I just had Tizek buy two sets of bathing materials and I “forgot” to pick up my bucket with soap. We couldn’t get away from them handing me a private booth because of my status. The poor marmot-clan girl at the counter didn’t know how to handle a noble wandering into a bathhouse since they all had in-home bathing.

  The bath was warm and pleasant and I also got Tizek to take care of the laundry service.

  Now I was shivering my figurative and, in many cases, literal ass off as I walked shirtless down Ipseos Boulevard toward the carnival grounds. My red checkered shirt was tied around my waist and I had my hands clutching my shoulders to ward off the cold.

  “You can have my shirt, my lord,” Tizek offered. His face looked like I was about to step on his dinner when he looked at my shirtless torso.

  “It ain’t cold, buddy. I can handle it,” I chattered through my clicking teeth. I’m a tough man, I don’t need a shirt. I could tell Tizek didn’t believe me, but he decided to accept my words.

  As we approached the carnival site, something deep in my being felt off. I was expecting there to be a growing cacophony of happy children and screaming roller coaster riders. Yet, as we moved along the street, all I heard was the general sounds of the crowds walking by. The loudest noises were people talking about why the newest Baron wasn’t wearing a shirt.

  My general sense of dread amplified when I saw Void and Lia sitting on a bench. Lia, with her face still covered by the towel, was swinging her legs as she stared ahead. Void, the lovely woman she was, had her finger in her nose and was mining for gold. Both had postures reflecting disappointment.

  “Hey, beautiful ladies,” I called out. “Why are you sitting out here?”

  Void’s attention returned to the present and she quickly yanked her finger out. She pretended like she wasn’t planting booger fairies, which I decided it would be wise to play along with. She pointed a thumb toward the carnival entrance.

  “Closed for the Season” A wooden sign was hung across the closed wooden gates by a rope. Behind, all of the various carnival games, shops and side-shows were shuttered. Where I should have smelled the heart-clogging goodness of fried meats and exotic desserts, I only caught the general whiffs of city life.

  I don’t know why, but something about that sign triggered a wave of disorientation in me. I felt slightly dizzy and I forced myself to sit down. I crammed between Lia and Void then began to hyperventilate. What’s wrong with me?

  “I don’t need a stuffed rabbit toy that badly,” Void said as she rubbed my back.

  “That’s not it. I…” I trailed off. I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. I had to think. What triggered this? I just got out of the baths, it’s cold and I saw the sign. It was the sign.

  “I think it’s all the changes,” I finally said out loud along with my realization. “I’ve spent centuries in an endless summer. I’m happy the last loop is broken, but now? I don’t know what to do with all this.”

  “You’ll get through it,” Lia offered with a soft voice.

  We sat there for a bit while I calmed down. I reminded myself change is good. I wasn’t stuck in that loop anymore and the comfort in the familiarity was just a bit of evolutionary biology going haywire in a situation it was never designed for.

  “Alright, I think I’m better. Why’s the carnival closed anyway?” I asked after my heart rate slowed.

  “It’s autumn,” Void said. “It’ll start raining almost every day. The rides don’t work and no one is interested in outdoor games when it’s wet. It’ll open up again in Spring.”

  “Um…” Lia started. “Why is your shirt around your waist?”

  Thanks for changing the subject, Lia. “It’s kinda embarrassing. Know that stuff I was sitting in back at the alley? Turns out it was caustic. When my britches got back from the laundry, there was a giant hole in the seat. Even ate through my underwear.”

  Void and Lia snorted as they tried to hold in their laughter.

  “Sorry,” Void said through a few chokes. “I’m sure it’s em-bare-ass-ing.”

  I had to admit, that was a good one. I grinned back at her. “That’s rich coming from the girl pulling a snoot root in public.”

  Void cleared her throat. “I think we should get you some clothes.”

  “Fine,” I groaned. “As much as I like my aesthetic, I doubt anyone would want to see my ass-thetic. Except you, Void. I’ll show it later tonight.”

  Void slapped her hand over her face with a hearty thwack. “I regret starting this. Come on, we’re buying you new clothes. Finally.”

  “On the condition I get to choose,” I replied.

  We stood from the bench and began walking up the street. I was still getting quite a few glances and an inopportune gust of wind blew up my hindquarters as we went. I had to keep my hands on the flap to avoid giving everyone a show.

  “No, no no no,” Void retorted. “It’s going to be normal clothing. Full pants and a real shirt.”

  “It is. I promise. It even has a nice hat to finish off the ensemble. I think the place even has masks for Lia,” I said. I had the perfect getup in mind.

  “You promise it won’t be fuchsia or have feathers poking out of the pants?”

  “My lord looks good in everything,” Tizek helpfully stated.

  I grinned at him before answering Void. I gave a little cross over my chest. “Cross my heart and hope to loop again.”

  Void rolled her eyes and we continued on our path.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  As we walked, I was getting the distinct feeling someone was watching me. Well, more than the usual gawking by the locals getting an eyeful of a noble acting not terribly noble. This one was not quite setting off my well-developed bad juju sensor – the one that failed when Kelly ambushed me now that I think of it. It was something different.

  I paused on the street, causing Lia to bump into my back. I didn’t hear what she mumbled when I was looking around.

  The street seemed normal. People walking around, gossiping about my attire and otherwise going about their business. Carts moving down the road trundled along with drivers frustrated at the traffic. A few kids ran by; based on their clothing they were playing hooky from a middle-class private school.

  Then my eyes spotted someone sitting on a bench across the street. When my eyes met hers, I fell into a strange trance. The world around me vanished and a series of images started flashing before my eyes.

  I saw a construction crew erecting a wood trestle bridge across a river. Next, someone was carving a wooden gear and setting it into a magical device. The next was a grand ship under construction in a drydock with its five mast sails fluttering majestically in the wind.

  The people in the images were shadows, vague shapes with indistinguishable clan markings. Whatever the vision was, it wanted to emphasize what those shapes were doing. For some reason, it felt important, but I couldn’t figure out why.

  “…ver. Are you having another attack?”

  I didn’t fully register the words. My eyes were locked in on the young woman sitting on a bench nearby. She was an unusually short – 170 cm tall – and slender jaguar-clan girl barely 18 years in age. Her features were ethereally symmetrical which gave off an almost eerie feel to them. To go with it was a degree of beauty that I couldn’t possibly comprehend.

  The orange of her fur was unbelievably brilliant as was the sheen. Her simple work clothing was also unusually clean. I couldn’t see a speck of road muck anywhere on her body. It’s like she had laundered her clothes and showered in that spot then never moved.

  There were things about here that were slightly off. Her jawline wasn’t boxy like a typical jaguar-clan person. She had puffy cheek fluff and her spots felt a little wrong. There were the circle patterns in her fur, but they were missing the dot at the center.

  She had what looked like a musket strapped across her back. It had a ceramic barrel and a wooden stock and I could see a clear hammer mechanism. The barrel and stock had an unusual series of carvings in them; the carvings were straight lines that had 90-degree angles where they turned on their path down the surface of the object. At intersections, different circles and symbols were carved and had a gentle blue glow which reminded me of a circuit board.

  It couldn’t be a musket, though. This world, while it could develop gunpowder, didn’t need to. Magic was more powerful and, with the temporary nature of metals, wood and ceramics used for construction lacked the resilience to handle the pressure of a projectile even if magically reinforced. It couldn’t be a musket.

  The most incongruent were the eyes. Despite looking like a teenage supermodel, the girl had eyes that felt even older than mine. She had a stare like she’d seen things that I’d have trouble believing.

  As she looked at me, I noticed she was coming out of a trance just like I was. Her eyes widened and she looked at me intensely.

  “Oliver!” Void sharply said and shook my arm. “Do we need to sit down?”

  I looked at Void and she, along with Tizek and Lia, were gazing back with concern. I blinked away the remnants of whatever the heck just happened. “No. I just had a weird vision. Do you see that jaguar-clan girl on the bench across the street?”

  Everyone turned to look and, when I saw the bench, she was gone. I looked up and down the street and saw neither hide nor hair of her. It was like she evaporated into nothing.

  “Maybe I saw a ghost,” I muttered.

  “Are you sure you’re up for some shopping?” Void asked. “You’ve been acting…honestly, I have no idea what counts as normal for you.”

  I ran my hand across my face and felt another cold breeze kiss my bare torso. “No, I think we should. It’s been a rough day and it’s not even noon. I’d like some normalcy. Sorry for this. I know I’m the one with the experience looping, but I’m having a hard time right now.”

  “Even the strongest metal will snap with stress,” Tizek commented.

  “Thanks, buddy, come on, let’s get to the shop,” I said and we left. I had to remember to come back here if we looped again to see about that unusual girl. Unfortunately, I had the suspicion I’d have a lot of chances to repeat this day.

  Our next stop washed away my foul mood. We were standing in front of a large department store on the main street just to the south of Victory Square on the road leading to the main castle gates. The building was four stories tall and the leaves on the branches above were stretched out over the road, casting it in shade. It was still too early in the year, so the leaves were dark green and vibrant.

  On the air, I could smell the roasting of Alvin’s chestnuts just to the north. I hadn’t eaten one in a few years. Considering we didn’t have any pressing issues at the moment, I’d ask if the others would want to stand in line afterward.

  My attention returned to the department store, particularly the large display window on the street. Inside was the object of my desire.

  The object was a man’s purple blouse with gold frilled sleeves on a mannequin. Gold buttons set within gold embroidery were sewn down the center of the chest. Tight black pants adorned the mannequin’s legs and a pair of shining black calf boots were on the feet. What drew my attention was the brown, wide brimmed hat with a rainbow-colored feather sticking out of the top.

  Today, after so many long centuries, you’d be mine. And this time, I wouldn’t have to throw a trash can through the window to get it. I’d buy it fair and square. That and I’d get a quality server’s tux so I wouldn’t have to steal Void’s uniform to help out at the Teeth.

  “I’m surprised. I thought you’d take us to a clown supply shop to buy big polka dot pants,” Void commented as she looked at the door.

  “There’s only one in town and their pants are a little too big for me,” I replied. I even got a side eye from Tizek when I said that. “What? They looked comfortable.”

  The inside of the department store, a place called Maicees – yes, I know, it’s just a coincidence – was quite luxurious. Being near the castle and on the main road, it catered to higher class citizenry. And, today, a half-naked nobleman.

  “Lia? They have masks on the third floor if you want to look at them,” I said.

  “Thanks!” Lia said. She started to run off then paused to look at Tizek. “Want to come along?”

  Tizek looked at me and I could tell he was conflicted.

  I sighed. “Tizek, buddy? I don’t think I need protecting in here. The only thing I’m at risk being assaulted by are the perfume sellers.”

  “But you were attacked three times,” Tizek responded as he looked around the store.

  “Tizek,” I said softly. “This is a department store. Look around again.”

  Tizek peered around the room once more. I knew he would see what I was seeing. Since people living in Leoren had trust issues, nothing was ever left out in stores. Maicees was far larger than other shops, meaning they had a lot of displays.

  The other difference was, instead of catalogues, the merchandise was locked up in cases. Between the shop’s size and the higher class clientele, customers weren’t going to walk up to a counter and rattle off an order. They wanted to see the wares and a concierge would arrive and open a case to sell the goods.

  The concierges were also armed. They doubled as security in case someone decided to bash into a display to steal a pair of pants or some jewelry.

  Before Tizek could protest, an employee approached us. He was a well-groomed brown bear-clan man in a fine suit. He was also wearing a metal short sword. The shop had some money if they were willing to splash Sovereigns on metal.

  “Good morning, Baron,” the man said in a formal manner. “I’m Honeywell, the manager. I will be your personal concierge for your visit.”

  I held back laughing at the name. I wondered if he had a brother named Poohbert. “Thanks, man. I’m looking to replace my clothes. My fiancé here thinks I’m not properly dressed.”

  Honeywell bowed to Void. “My apologies, Baroninne, I thought you were a guard.” His attention returned to me. “Yes, I believe the Baroninne is correct in her assessment. Your attire is, apologies for the slight, Baron, inadequate for one of your station. We have a myriad of options I believe you will find suits your new rank.”

  I nodded. “Sounds good to me. Tizek? Do you feel comfortable leaving me with Honeywell here?”

  Tizek sized up Honeywell and snorted. “Yes, he appears to be a skilled warrior. I shall enjoy accompanying Friend Lia knowing My Lord is safe in his care.”

  Honeywell gave a nod of respect to Tizek before addressing me. “If you’d follow me, Baron? I shall show you to our best ensembles.”

  “Thanks man,” I replied. “However, there is one thing I really wanted to buy.”

  “Oh? What is it?” Honeywell asked as Lia and Tizek headed off to look at masks.

  I whispered in his ear and he frowned. “Oh,” he said with disappointment, but he didn’t fight back and we headed off to the particular set of clothing I had my eye on for a very long time.

  As we went, Honeywell tried to talk up other options. I was enjoying the conversation. Void, too, was enjoying her trip as we stopped here and there so she could examine bags and some unbelievably dull slacks. I’d have to get her to expand beyond the turquoise vest and liven up her attire.

  After informing Honeywell what I was looking for, he seemed surprisingly approving of my choice. He ushered me into a dressing room and vanished.

  I donned the gold and purple blouse and set the hat atop my head. Everything about it screamed high-class Florida Man, especially since I still had my pink floral boots on because the calf boots didn’t come in children's sizes.

  I exited the dressing room and gave Void a spin. She groaned. “Oliver? You promised you wouldn’t buy anything ridiculous. There’s even feather in the hat.”

  “No,” I replied. “I recall specifically promising I wouldn’t buy anything in fuchsia and the pants wouldn’t have feathers. This is purple and the feather is in the hat.”

  “Fuchsia is purple,” Void countered.

  “Fuchsia is purple-pink. This is straight purple” I replied with a smirk.

  Void sighed. “How do you know that?”

  I winked, not wanting to say out loud how old I actually am in front of Honeywell.

  “I find the Baron to have excellent taste,” Honeywell commented. His tone was either well-rehearsed or his honest opinion. “This color design is quite popular among high society this season.”

  I gestured to Honeywell with both hands and nodded my head at Void. She rolled her eyes and just gave me an approving nod. Thanks, gorgeous, for being understanding about my preferences.

  “I do wonder why you want this other uniform. It’s not sized to your frilled-clan retainer. And the third one? It’ll be ready the day after tomorrow,” Honeywell added.

  “What else did you buy?” Void asked.

  “It’s a surprise if we ever get invited to a noble’s party,” I winked. I turned to Honeywell, “I’ll take it.”

  “And would the Baroninne like something today? Maybe a bag or clothing to match her new station?” Honeywell asked.

  Void shook her head. “No, I think I’ll keep what I have.”

  I knew Void wasn’t interested in that kind of thing. She’d rather have a new sword and some armor over a dress.

  “If that’s all, we can discuss price and a servant can come by and make payment. I’ll have someone sew the tail hole shut,” Honeywell said. I found it somewhat refreshing to shop here. The employees here were used to dealing with higher-class people and weren’t trying to give everything away.

  “Tizek can take care of payment today,” I said. Honeywell nodded approvingly and we went to find Lia and Tizek.

  I had to say, after the rough start of the day and the unusual vision I got looking at that jaguar-clan girl, I was enjoying myself. I really did need a bit of normalcy to balance out my day.