Nix didn't answer right away, the walls were much high than he would have guessed from the edge of the valley. Up close he would estimate their height somewhere between 35 and 40 feet. "I don't have any business here. I'm doing a bit of exploring, I ran into a Nescari citizen yesterday and he invited me to visit."

"Name?'

Nix was tempted to say Thor but he refrained. "Nix."

The guard shook his head. "Not your name, the person you referred to."

"Oh... Jaro. Sorry, I don't know his last name."

The portcullis that blocked entrants to the settlement slowly raised up, the guard in question walked to the edge of the wall. "Word had been sent to the Steward. You may enter."

Nix entered the town of Nescari. Again he was astounded at the size of everything, everyone he had seen was normal size so why did they super-size everything? An armed guard met him when he entered, he was a large man with a bald head and wide shoulders. Immediately Nix thought of Bane Ton, Hyai's son-in-law.

"I'm Tora. I'll have to escort you until we can verify your story, Mr. Nix." The man's tone was apologetic.

"That's very cautious. Is Nescari at war?"

"Not officially, sir."

"Just call me Nix. Can you point me to the market area?"

"Of course, I'll take you there." Tora led him down the main street for a few minutes before turning onto an extrwide street that was aptly labeled Market Square.

"Why is everything so big here Tora?"

"We're t.i.tans. We like everything big."

Nix stared at him for a moment. "t.i.tan? This is a t.i.tan town?"

Tora nodded. "Shouldn't you know that already Nix? Where are you from?"

"Colonial," Nix answered absentmindedly. Does that mean Jaro is a t.i.tan?

An impressive shouting match stopped any further questions. Nix recognized Jaro right away, even though the clothes he was wearing were much fancier. He stood nose-to-nose with a short, stout looking man that was nearly as wide as he was tall.

"Listen, you stoop-shouldered, box-headed, amphibian dunce! For the last time, we don't have your f*cking ancestor in our prison." Jaro poked the man in the chest several times while he yelled.

"Don't go poking me, ya furry a.s.s, s.h.i.+t-in-the-woods, Ursine! If it wasn't for Sossamon, this whole valley would be overrun by the Wolf clans."

Nix chuckled at the conversation, he leaned closer to Tora. "Who is Jaro talking to? And what is Sossamon?"

"That's Gillian, the Sossamon Steward." Tora's tan face showed that he was holding back his amus.e.m.e.nt. "Those two have never gotten along."

"Is Gillian a t.i.tan also?" Nix felt odd asking, but he couldn't tell by looking at him.

Tora scoffed slightly. "Barely... He's a turtle."

"Turtle?" Nix's eyes widened slightly, his thoughts immediately moving toward the hunt he had taken Soup on. "Well... I don't have time to listen to these two argue all day."

He walked up to the arguing men and stepped between them without speaking. Both men stared at him in surprise. "You two done disturbing everyone? Shouldn't this be handled somewhere less public?"

"Who the f*ck are you?" Gillian's round face was beet-red. "I hit ya so hard your own mother wo..."

A fist struck out, slamming into Gillian's chest and sending him skidding across the square like a flat rock on a calm lake. Nix pursued him quickly before placing a foot on his chest. "It's bad manners to speak ill of the dead."

Gillian struggled to breathe for several seconds before finally looking up. "Your mum has pa.s.sed on?"

Nix nodded. "She has."

Gillian sighed heavily. "My apologies sir, I take back my words spoken in anger."

"Apology accepted." Nix removed his foot and helped him to his feet. "Why do you think your ancestor is locked up here?"

"Sinai was old and ready to die. He wanted to take one last trip to visit his friend in Nescari." Gillian brushed off his clothes while he spoke.

Nix noticed that Gillian's eyes were the same color as Soups. "Can't you track him? Maybe a predator got him."

"No chance of that, he would have just changed. This was 50 years ago, before the curse." Gillian rubbed his chest. "You aren't a t.i.tan. Why are you so strong?"