There are no interruptions; the people walking by respectfully let him sit in silence, even if they look at him with equal parts confusion and curiosity.

He feels that he hasn't fully recovered all of the Tranquil he spent, but being able to sit and meditate resolved a lot of his restless anxiety. So.

He is in some unknown place, perhaps on the other continent, in an unknown city. Despite this, he understands the language, both written and spoken, even though there are no effects on them that would permit him to understand. Indeed, he cannot detect any effects or energies anywhere, even though the buildings surely cannot have been made mundanely.

He still has his clothes. He still has his spells. He still has his Way. The Way of Tranquility is the Way that endures, the Way that preserves, the Way that lasts, the Way that remains. He has walked enough along the Way that, theoretically, he could survive without food, water, or shelter indefinitely. He has nothing to fear.

He will start exploring the city again. Is there any place that looks like a Openet office? They will have an eight pointed star at the front, and the building won't have a door, only an opening. Or a post office? He will keep trying to detect energies.

There is nothing like an Openet office, nor anything like a post office. The total absence of energy remains a constant. He can't even see any eight pointed stars anywhere.

Everything continues to be Very Strange and Energyless. Okay, time to accost random passers-by.

"I'm lost — do you have a map of the city?"

It's a woman dressed in tight leggings and a form-fitting top. "Yes, on my phone. Is there somewhere you want to go? It can get you directions."

What is a phone.

Yes, he wants to go home. He predicts the phone will not have directions home.

"I would like to find an inn. The cheap ones." He thinks he can sell his practice in lieu of cash.

"Well, sure? Not sure how cheap is cheap enough..." she taps on the phone, not even paying attention to what's on screen, before finding the closest hotel. There aren't a lot of short-term travelers, so it's still a fair distance away. "Here's an inn, as it were, that's inexpensive and not far from here? I can just tell you directions, if you want to go there."

"Thank you for your kindness. Do you think the inn will accept non-cash payment? I don't have any local money, but I'm a practitioner of the Way of Tranquility, and a member of the Society of Solace."

"... what money do you have, if not local money? Have you spent all your money on buying gold cards and commemmorative coins? That's insane..."

"I have..." he says, and he reaches into the pockets of his tunic to find...nothing.

"Sorry, I mean to say that I have no money at all, actually."

"Where did it all go, then? What did you spend it on? Are you a bankrupted criminal, do I have to call the authorities?" She takes a swift step back and raises a hand defensively.

Oh my stars.

"I was transported here by an errant Open ritual – wait, you don't recognize my clothes? Is the Society of Solace extant here?"

"No, I didn't recognize your clothes, I just thought you chose to dress differently. The" she produces a very strange and unnatural pair of syllables "Society of Solace ", pause, "does not exist anywhere in thomassia. It is an organization from a fictional book series, but you can't be part of it unless your name is Sima Chingyi. What are you doing here?"

"So, the Society of Solace is real, and I can testify to that under truth spell." He supposes that if the Society of Solace died out here during the Cataclysm, then him claiming to be from it would be dubious. And it explains why he isn't recognized.

"I was transported here by what I believe to be an errant Open effect, when I visited White Lake University. I can also testify to that under truth spell."

"Truth spells aren't a thing, dummy. I think you're trying to do something, here. Who are you, exactly? There's no point in trying to talk about fictional people and places."

He wants to terminate this unproductive and seemingly hostile conversation – not that he thinks he has anything to fear from her, even if she were to become violent – but also he has Pride™ and also the reputation of his Society to think about, regardless of whether or not she specifically recognizes him as being a part of it.

Is where they're standing on right now sand or soil?

They're standing on concrete.

Ugh, they're standing on stone. Fine. He was planning to throw stuff into the air and Arrest it, but he will instead do something else. He's working against his Way here: the Way of Tranquility is the Way of quiescence, the Way of humility, the Way of calm, the Way of stillness. It is against the Way to be flashy. Still...

He will cast Normalize in an area around himself. The air will suddenly become room temperature.

She gets confused by the suddenly much cooler air. "Did someone turn the aircon to 100?" She looks around, thinking about where the sudden shift in temperature could have been coming from.

"I cast Normalize. It causes conditions to return to a set value. This is one of the things I can do, as a practitioner of the Way of Tranquility. I can also remove the momentum of objects and become immune to hazardous environmental conditions." It's not a lie, but it's leaving out many many things. And also leaves out what he uses his practice for, which is healing. It's a lot harder and more invasive to demonstrate.

She looks at Feya utterly stunned. It takes maybe 15 seconds, before she blinks twice, very deliberately. "I think you should get to the inn that I showed you. Take some time to think, and get settled. I'll pay for the room for the night, just because you have nothing. Then I'll meet you again, once you have of an idea of what you might want to do here."

Wow! Who knew Tranquil practitioners were more charming than Flowery ones.

"I thank you for your kindness." He bows. "At what time tomorrow will you want to meet? Dawn, noon, dusk?"

"Noon, I believe. I'll have been awake for a while, so I'll be more clear-headed."

"Oh, I forgot. My name is Feya Pio Meyangchan Nuaiheya. Call me Feya."

"I will only call you Feya. Now, would you please follow me? I'll take you to the inn, and you can get some time with your thoughts."