I liked Eric’s response to how. Very matter of fact with a hint of pompousness. Kind of a telling last line, although I do personally disagree with it.
The only thing I see that could be cleaned up in this would be the sentence that begins, “Ker pushed the long black hair from his face and took a long look around the plaza.” You use the word “long” in quick succession here. Maybe choose another word for either of those spots? Other than that, great job as usual.

@John, I totally agree with you on the double “long”s. It bothered me even before I made this post BUT I couldn’t find anything that fit for me so I left it…
If I can find a new word and still get the “feel” I’m after I’ll change it.
As always, thanks for the input and great job editing.

I don’t think it really hurts your story or the flow at all, just something to keep in mind next time. I do the exact same thing. A lot of my comments are also working as reminders to me on how to make myself better. The only way to become a better writer is to become a more active reader, looking for things that work and those that don’t. Thanks for not getting irritated with my constant comments.

If I were Ker, I would be wondering just when my second death was coming.