There was a pounding on the door.

“Time’s up!” the creature that served as the frontman said through the door.

The filthy hide covering the bed clung to her for a moment as Anna sat up, having become slightly sticky from whatever bodily fluids the prior occupants of the room had spilled on it. She shook Qrixit awake and then got off the bed, trying to wipe the stickiness from her face.

Qrixit got out of bed and stretched before walking over to the door and pulling it open. He walked out of the room without saying a word. She followed behind him into the hallway. Other patrons of the inn were shuffling out of their rooms having been similarly rousted.

Everyone began to make their way down the hallway heading for the door. No one made eye contact as they walked out of the dank building into the bright morning light. The former patrons scattered in all directions, themselves included the moment they were outside with Qrixit leading her further into the labyrinthine alleyways.

“So, where are we going now?” she asked.

“A smoke den,” he replied.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“A vile place where you can smoke various substances that will cause you to become happy and see strange things,” he replied.

“Oh, one of those places. Uh, I was always told to stay away from them,” she said.

“That’s good advice. If you’re not careful, you can get hooked on one of the substances and spend every gem you have to get more of it while you waste away,” he replied.

“Yeah, that’s what Thokri told me,” she said.

“Who’s Thokri?” Qrixit asked.

“He, uh, raised me,” she replied.

“Oh, so, your father?” Qrixit asked.

“No! My father abandoned me. Thokri would never…” she replied.

The words caught in her throat, and she looked away. Qrixit put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“My apologies,” he said.

“It’s fine. I just, I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied.

“That’s fine,” he said.

They walked the rest of the way to the smoke den without saying a word. She smelled their destination long before she saw it, an acrid stench hanging in the air that grew stronger with each step. The source of the stench was a dilapidated clay brick building deep in an alleyway off a small street.

They walked up to the entrance, and Qrixit opened the door, allowing a plethora of unpleasant odors to waft out and join the smoky stench, the most concerning of which was the sickly sweet smell of death. She followed Qrixit inside. He didn’t seem bothered by the stench.

The inside was open and dimly lit. People lay on hide mats scattered around the floor smoking from long clay pipes. Qrixit walked over to an emaciated tukla sitting on a large hide. The hide had clay pipes laid out along with pouches and small lamps.

“Two pouches of rock eye and a pipe,” Qrixit said.

“Four yellow,” the tukla replied.

Qrixit fished the gems from his belt pouch and held them out to the tukla who took them and tossed them into a jar. The tukla then picked up two of the pouches and one of the clay pipes and handed them to Qrixit. Then he picked up one of the small lamps and lit it with a larger lamp before holding that out.

She took the lamp, and they walked away from the tukla heading to the back of the room. They found an empty hide near the back wall and sat down. Qrixit opened one of the pouches and took a small glass-like chunk from inside and placed it into the pipe. He motioned for the lamp, and she handed it to him. He placed the pipe in his mouth, held the lamp up to the pipe, and inhaled deeply.

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She watched the flame suck into the bowl and lap around the glass-like substance. The surface of the substance began to bubble and then smoke. Qrixit set the lamp down and took a few long puffs from the pipe to make sure it was lit before passing it to her.

“Only a little at first. We can’t be sure what this will do to your kind,” he said.

“Okay,” she replied.

She put the pipe between her lips and inhaled. A bitter-tasting smoke filled her mouth before flowing into her lungs. She took the pipe out of her mouth and blew the smoke out through her nose.

“How do you feel?” Qrixit asked.

“Fine,” she replied.

“I should have known it would have little effect on you after seeing you drink erona like it was water,” he said.

She passed the pipe back to Qrixit who took another puff.

“So, I get hiding at the mating inn, but why here? I mean, couldn’t one of these people go and tell someone about me?” she asked.

“There’s nothing to worry about. No one would believe a word they said. All of them smoked their minds away long ago,” he replied.

“Oh,” she said.

He passed her back the pipe, and she took a puff.

“So, why are you doing this for me?” she asked.

“I already told you. We need to lay low until the rains start,” he replied.

“I know that. I meant, why didn’t you just run away and leave me behind when you had the chance?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t leave a friend behind,” he replied.

“My other friends did,” she said.

“I’m not them,” he replied.

“Yeah,” she said.

She handed him the pipe and looked away, unwilling to talk anymore. Qrixit seemed to understand and causally smoked the pipe, looking around as well.

Why am I like this now? Why do I get all weird and upset whenever I think about my old friends? It’s not like they ever did anything bad to me.

She heard a strange sound and turned to see what was happening. A person from a species she’d never seen before was shaking uncontrollably. The shaking grew more violent, and they fell over onto the hide they had been sitting on where they convulsed for a few more moments before going limp.

Several people from nearby hides moved towards the fallen person, but when they reached the hide, instead of helping, they snatched for the pouches that were laying next to him. A struggle broke out amongst them over the limp person’s meager belongings.

The commotion drew the attention of the tukla that was selling the substances at the front of the room, and he uncoiled and picked up a long rod. He slithered over to the melee and began to viciously beat the combatants. A few solid blows from the rod seemed to take the fight out of the would-be scavengers who quickly retreated to their hides.

The tukla watched them for a few moments before turning to the fallen person and looking them over. He jabbed at them with the rod a few times before he reached down, picked up the pouches and the lamp, and slithered back to the front when he placed the goods back in their respective rows and coiled back up.

That was weird. The way they shook like that was kind of like when that little boy on my street did after he fell over playing. Barika said it was a seizure. I didn’t think a seizure could kill a person though, and that person looks dead to me. Must have been something else then.

She sighed and leaned back.

“How long are we going to stay here?” she asked.

“A few days,” Qrixit replied.

“Days!” Anna said.

“Is that a problem?” Qrixit replied.

“That’s a dead person right over there! It’s gross!” Anna said.

“Don’t worry about it. One of the scavenger races will eat it once it starts to stink,” Qrixit replied.

“But, but that’s a person!” she said.

“Not anymore,” Qrixit replied.

“But they used to be a person, and people aren’t supposed to eat people!” Anna said.

“Why not?” Qrixit asked.

She was so taken aback by the question she stared at him with a shocked expression on her face for a moment.

“Because they’re just not!” Anna replied.

“They do here. Honestly, I wasn’t going to tell you, but it almost happened to you,” Qrixit said.

“What?” she asked.

“Those enforcers were going to drag you off into an alley and shake you down for whatever gems and valuables you had, and if it wasn’t enough, they’d have cut your throat and sold you to a meat stall,” he replied.

“But why?” she asked.

“Because they are greedy, and the meat vendors pay more than the slavers during festivals,” he replied.

She stared at him in utter shock and horror.

“But, but that’s, it’s, it’s wrong!” she said.

“In other places, yes, but here, it happens all the time,” he replied.

She looked down at the candle for a moment, trying to process everything she’d just learned.

“One of the worst crimes a person can commit in my homeland is killing and eating another person. It’s completely unforgivable, and I know I’m supposed to accept different customs and different laws wherever I go, but I just can’t accept this. It’s too much,” she said.

Qrixit didn’t reply right away. He just stared at her for a long while before taking a breath.

“I’ll bring you to the south gate after the sun sets. It’s not guarded very well because there’s nothing but wilderness in that direction,” he said.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“I’m sorry for what it’s worth,” he said.

“Don’t be. It was fun until it wasn’t,” she replied.

“That’s usually how it goes,” he said.

“I still consider you a friend,” she added.

“Good because I still am,” Qrixit replied.

She sighed and then smiled.

“You know what, I never did get to see that skull,” she said.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to go and see it on the way out of the city,” he replied.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked.

“Maybe not, but when will you get another chance?” he replied.

“Fair enough,” she said.