OUR HEROES SPENT THE NIGHT IN THEIR OWN WAY. Zan bled the midnight oil. He consumed lectures between bouts of tea breaks nestled in the cooling evening air. Jiehong and Whiskey went straight to an inn and slept the night away.

  Coming up from a modest rest, Zan awoke early in the morning to the same black, grey-ish ceiling as ever in his room. "Gotta get back at it," Zan told himself.

  Back in the tutorial chamber, Zan picked up where he left off. He pressed the dial and the lesson he last watched repeated. "One more time," was all he could say as the lesson began.

  Up till now, Zan's progress had been steady. The first couple of modules had been basic. How to stretch and such things like basic defensive and offensive postures. Despite his ignorance, Zan learned quickly. None of the material so far, objectively speaking, was difficult.

  Finishing the lesson and receiving the passing score he so craved, that lesson's conclusion finished off the unit. "On to the next unit. Where more and more difficult material will press its luck to me." Zan smiled. He felt good.

  Starting up the next lesson, the Lord Commander's face appeared. He said, "Now's the time. We're getting real. User! Don't expect this to be easy!"

  Commanding Zan's attention, the Lord Commander now had all of Zan's sway.

  Continuing, the hologram spoke: "This unit will be all about how to move your body. Then we will begin how we can use magic to move our bodies. How magic can be used to augment our bodies and what the pros and cons of doing so are. Let's get right into it, shall we?"

  Going into the lesson, Zan thought it would be easy, despite the warnings of the lord commander. It was not easy.

  "Our first exercise: crouch into a kneeling position," the voice said and Zan obeyed. "Now, place your left hand on your knee. A question: can you grab at and withdraw your weapon? Hold onto your answer. Now, switch knees. Place your right hand on your knee. Same question. Can you reach and withdraw your weapon? If you cannot, then this is a truth for you -- you need to find a new place on your body to grab your sword, mace, whatever. If you can withdraw your weapon on one knee but not the other, then this opens up tactical issues you will need to rectify or keep in mind while confronting the enemy. My real purpose in bringing you to this position is about neither knee. My concern is this: from a compromised position, how does your body move? How easily can you withdraw your weapon? Bring up your shield? If you are the basic recruit I think you are, and using only standard issue Order equipment, your situation right now is compromised. Therefore, how do you compensate? This is the topic of our unit."

  The Lord Commander's lessons pushed Zan in a way he had never been tested. Fighting against the automotrons had pushed him in many ways -- physical endurance, psychologically, especially, emotionally. These lessons? They pushed him in delicate, almost technical ways, like he was a student of a proper martial order or even a dojo.

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  At lesson's end, Zan moved his body in ways he never considered possible. "Have I always been this flexible?" He related to and felt his body; how his muscles moved, how his fingers worked together to perform even simple actions. "I feel..." Zan searched for the word. How did he feel? He settled on wise.

  "You look calm," Sigma-Prime said, walking into the room.

  "Nah. Just tired," Zan said, not even thinking of what he said.

  "Hard not to panic. Although I am only a machine, I have lived for a very long time. I have seen generations of Ranger-Knights fly into battle to protect and advance Goodness. Not all of them return. These 'automotrons' you face, Zan, have means to hurt you; you never know when an attack could be launched. It is normal to feel a degree of panic. Who wouldn't?"

  Sigma-Prime's words caused Zan to feel seen. "Yeah. Absolutely, Sigma. I have a better handle on it now than when the war began. I hid it pretty well, but I was panicking the whole time."

  "Amazing! All that a simple stretching and muscle knowledge exercise can do!"

  JIEHONG AND WHISKEY departed Thundervale once the sun cracked. They returned to the Command Center with haste and walked in to immediately find themselves bombarded with words from the old man from whence before they left.

  "I asked around. Most people were not impressed with me asking them about nature. Maybe they hate it? I don't know. ANYWAYS, a few of the older refugees from around here have said several of the descriptions ring bells of small settlements they have visited. I pressed them for more information. And they gave me details. I jotted those details down. Here you go, youngster," the man said to a weary Jiehong who had just hopped off his bike when the man began to pester.

  Taking the list from the old man and reading it, Jiehong saw paragraphs of travel directions. He asked the old man for his name.

  "Me? I must've told you a dozen times, boy! You grew up only on the other side of the village! Yeesh, young'uns! Dix Dave is the name."

  "Nice to meet you, Dave. And I am sorry about not remembering your name. In my defense, my parents never interacted with you much," Jiehong said.

  "Aye. But think nothing of it. I know how your parents are," Dix said.

  Jiehong thanked Dix Dave and told him they would follow up on each location. Dix left to sit down near his firepit, where his help was needed as one of the informally elected officials.

  Heading inside the Command Center, Jiehong waited until they were out of earshot to speak. "Odd fellow. I genuinely do not remember him growing up. Childhood, huh?"

  "Children can be self-absorbed. I'm working to be less self-absorbed. It is a life-long process. Let me see the piece of paper he gave you," Whiskey asked.

  Jiehong handed the paper shred over. Whiskey read. "Huh... let's compare with the translated piece we have..."

  Jiehong and Whiskey compared the pieces, trying to find if the directions on the paper Dix handed to them might match any of the superficial elements of the bunker location descriptions. It was a vague mental task. "We're grasping at straws. Directions to a place isn't the same as what and where the place is!" Jiehong said, tired.

  At that moment Zan came from the basement door. "Back? Awesome. Any luck in Thundervale?"

  "No," Whiskey said. "We did have some luck when we returned. Do you know a villager named Dix Dave? An older guy? Well, he asked around the older folk if they knew of any places which matched the description your contact gave us. A few people thought they did. Dix got their information and wrote us directions to where these villages might be. It still isn't a lot to go on, but it is pointing us in the right direction."

  Jiehong saw Zan's face register shock. But the happy kind. "Wow! What you don't realize is right under your nose. I will need to thank this Dix." Zan told his friends.

  "So, what are our orders, boss?" Whiskey asked.