Ebba walked up to the city gates and peered through the small opening cut into the door. She said, “Nine people requesting entry. I’m tier two, and the rest are new tier ones.”

“Seedlings, huh? You just pick them up from their tower?”

“Yep, they came through day before yesterday, but their tower isn’t maintained anymore. Taking them up to layer one so they don’t die.”

The guard grunted. “Well, you know the routine. Got any Bell cards on you?”

“We do. And we submit to having them locked up for the duration of the stay.”

“Alright. Put them in here and submit to a scan,” the guard said and pushed a small box through the window.

Ebba pulled her Disregard card from her chest and placed it in the box. Then she turned to them and said, “Everyone with a Bell card, put it in the box. They will keep it safe and you are guaranteed to get it back when we leave.”

“Do we have to?” Yang asked.

“Yes,” Ebba said firmly, “It’s one of the few rules that is consistent throughout the cities of Spinworld. No one wants people with mind control cards wandering around civilization.”

Yang frowned and looked down to her chest. She still couldn’t use her arms.

“How exactly do you expect me to accomplish this task?” Yang asked through tight lips.

“Oh, right. Well. Have your friend do it. It’s about intent, not moving your hands around,” Ebba said dismissively.

While they were talking, Feng took out a card and placed it in the box. Max tilted his head. He didn’t know Feng had a Bell card. He tried to get a look at what card it was, but Ebba held the box too high.

Lily stood in front of Yang and held out her hands right in front of her chest. James was staring intently until Max nudged him. He immediately looked away, James’ face turning red from realizing he had been staring at her breasts. Lily succeeded a moment later and placed the Decoy card in the box.

Ebba slid the box through the opening without comment. A short while later, the area in front of the city gates flashed blue.

“Alright, you’re clear. Make sure your seedlings stick around after we let you in, we need to give them the rules before they wander about,” the guard said.

“Yes, sir,” Ebba said.

A tall door opened in the gate and they all filed through. Both guards were heavily armored in segmented metal. The guard they had been talking to was a new type of alien. It had green skin, a humanoid head, two arms and a segmented tail. The tail resembled a centipede tail with small tentacles instead of legs. The guard pointed to the side where they should wait.

Max did his best not to stare, but James gawked openly. He couldn't look away from how the guard’s moved. It glided across the ground in waves of movement, each tiny tentacle moving in sync with the others. It was hypnotically smooth. Max turned away to examine the other guard.

The other guard was human. He was wearing metal armor with red accents. Instead of a helmet, he wore a set of complex looking earmuffs. He gestured along with his partner to the waiting area. Max felt something unclench that he didn’t know was tense. There were other humans here, and they were able to survive and thrive. Well, he didn’t know if being a town guard was thriving, but it was still a good sign.

The centipede guard closed the door and said, “Pay attention, seedlings. Like most cities, we are ruled by a high tier governor, who has dozens of quests to keep the city happy and safe. Murder, robbery, extortion, all of those things are impossible here. Do not break a law or our governor will find out and punish you harshly. The laws are as follows...”

Max listened with a half an ear as he looked around. Most of the laws boiled down to ‘be nice, don’t break stuff’. Fairly standard rules. What wasn’t standard was the city around them. It was strange in a number of ways.

The first difference was that there were very few straight edges. The buildings made of the red wood were all cylinders with round windows dotting the walls, seemingly at random. The stone towers sported oval windows and iris doorways.

The cityscape wasn’t static either, dozens of flying machines flew between the tall buildings. Each contraption was different from the last, as if it was a rule that no two could look alike. The air traffic followed no clear pattern. Each airship headed directly for its destination, only just barely avoiding midair collisions.

The traffic on the ground was much more orderly. It was mostly pedestrian traffic, probably heading home at this time of day. There were occasional metal carts or wagons, drawn by burly Lunuk and the odd human.

Glowing signs were wired above the doorways and embedded in the pathways leading up to them. They must have figured out a way to get electronics working again, either that or mana was a great replacement for electricity.

The pathways were tiled with wooden shields. They were tessellated, much like the wall around the city. The construction workers must have a fusing card. It would work wonderfully with the other citadel cards that created objects. Max half expected to see a building made of hammers somewhere.

As much as he was trying to ignore the guard and examine the city around him, he found his attention continually being drawn back to the guard with the tail. He was endlessly fascinating for some reason. It wasn’t that he was an alien, Ebba wasn’t nearly as interesting.

There was something captivating about this guard. A presence. Max almost laughed when it clicked. The guard had upgraded his Presence stat and that was why Max’s attention was continually drawn to him. Pretty useful for a guard that needed people to pay attention to him.

“... follow those rules and our Governor's forces won’t fly down and smite you. Any questions?” the green skinned guard asked.

“Do you know where we can buy a healing potion for our friend’s arms?” Max said.

“Yes, but they are expensive. If she isn’t going to die tonight, it’s best to let them heal naturally,” the guard said. He slid back to the gate and waved them on. Seems like he wasn’t going to give them a chance to decide for themselves if it was worth it.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Max turned to the human guard and said, “We have some nice orbs. I think we can afford it. Could you point us in the right direction?”

The human guard just pointed at his ear coverings and shook his head.

Ebba grabbed Max’s shoulder and pushed him forward. “The human cannot hear you. The things on his ears deafen him as protection against Bell cards, so that no one may mind control him.”

“So you have to be able to hear someone for a Bell card to work?”

“Yes. I thought the experience with the deaf feathered serpents made that abundantly clear.”

“I wasn’t trying to understand the workings of your card at the time. I was focused on staying alive,” Max groused.

Ebba ignored him and turned to the group following her. “The human sixth is over there. Stick to that section of the city when you are looking for a place to sleep or someone to sell you a healing potion. Lunuk and Paj do not like intruders in their neighborhoods. Igra encourage visitors, but they are odd.”

“How do we tell Igra from Paj?” Lily asked.

She stopped and pointed at the gate, “That guard is a Paj. The Igra do not show their bodies, but they must look like short humans, two arms, two legs. You will be able to recognize them by their strange armored suits.” She kept walking and pointed to her right again. “Anyway. Go over to the human sixth. I will stay in the Lunuk third. We will meet again at this gate in two mornings. That will give you a day to rest.”

Ashley held up a hand. “Wait, no! We need to head out tomorrow, as soon as possible. We don’t have time to dink around the city.”

“The city is safer than you think. It is a lower mana area because all the people soak up the ambient mana. It isn’t low enough for your countdown to stop, but it will slow down while we are here,” Ebba said.

“But-” Ashley started.

Ebba cut her off and said, “I have spoken. Meet me here in two mornings or arrange your own guide to safety.”

She walked off without looking back, leaving Ashley sputtering. Max stepped in and said, “Let’s go. We don’t have much light left and night is very strict here.”

“We have 26 minutes until nightfall,” Lily said.

Max turned to her and tilted his head. How does she know?

She held up her wrist and pointed to her analog watch. Their electronic devices might have failed, but the analog ones were still ticking away. Max nodded, wishing he had thought to bring an analog watch. He had brought just about everything else.

The eight of them wandered through the city, gawking like tourists. Yang was the only one seemingly uninterested in the strange new town. It might have been because her arms were in agony, or she might just be jaded.

It was easy to tell when they got to the human part of the city. The buildings were smaller and the roads narrower. Most people ignored the new group, but they did find someone that gave them directions on a place to stay.

Night fell as they walked down the small road. Without a leaf canopy overhead, they were able to watch it happen. Last night, Max thought the sun had just turned off. Now he realized he was wrong. A line of darkness swept across the city as night fell. There was something orbiting the small sun, blocking the rays for the night.

Their little group stood stock still for a moment. The only illumination was from the occasional window or business sign. That changed a few moments later. A strip of light appeared across the tops of most of the buildings, illuminating the street below. It was like a streetlight, only not as bright.

They found the inn a few minutes later. It was a small stone building, two stories tall. It was one of the few buildings in town that used natural stone and mortar. The sign above the door wasn’t glowing, but it read Hammurabi’s Hotel. They walked inside together, a small lobby held a single desk and a man sewing shut a tear in a sheet. He put down his work and stood up with a smile.

“Welcome, welcome. I am Hammurabi and this is my hotel. The rates are excellent and the rooms better. You smell of Earth. Did the guild’s tower open already?”

The group turned to Max. He set his pack down with a thump and stepped forward. “We are from Earth, yes. Got here a few days ago. We came from a tower several miles south of here, but I’m not sure if it’s the one you are thinking of.”

“No, the crystal guild’s tower is in the center of our city. You must have come from the wilderness. I’m impressed you all survived.”

“Most of us didn’t. There were 24 of us. The only reason we made it this far is because we had a guide.”

Hammurabi nodded, “Ah, that explains it. You are indeed fortunate to have a guide. The wilds are very dangerous. Now, down to business. I’m assuming you all want a room, unfortunately that isn’t possible. I only have four rooms available at the moment.”

“Yeah, we all need a room. Do you know of any other hotel that might have more rooms open?”

“No, sorry. This is the only human hotel in the city. Our city has very few human visitors. You have the bad luck of arriving at the same time as the caravan, they have taken three of my best rooms.”

Max ran a hand through his hair. “How big are your rooms? Could we double up?”

“They are all single bed rooms, but if half of you are willing to sleep on the floor, we can squeeze you in. Yes, that is the best option, because the guards do not like humans wandering about at night. Come, I will show you your rooms.”

“Wait. How much is this going to cost us? We haven’t had time to get some local currency.”

Hammurabi waved away the concern without looking back. “Do not worry, we will work something out. I am sure you have something in your enormous pack that we can trade for. Come, come.”

Max shrugged and grabbed his bag. He was too tired to pick it up so he just dragged it along the floor. Hammurabi showed them the rooms and handed out discs that acted as keys. Ashley claimed the first room and Fern joined her. Gus and Feng got the next one. James took the next one and Max dropped his bag in the room too. When it came time for Lily and Yang, Hammurabi noticed her bandaged arms for the first time.

“Mother’s dirty shoes! Monster bites on both arms? Why didn’t you tell me you were injured?”

Yang gave him a look and said, “Are you a doctor too? If not, I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?”

Hammurabi sputtered and said, “I am not a doctor, but even I can see you have already bled through your bandages. I don’t want you to die before morning. Come with me to my room. I will have my wife look at you.”

Yang hesitated, “Would it be expensive? Our Lunuk guide said mana should heal me if I wait.”

“Bah! Lunuk know nothing about other species. You are new to this world and an injury like that could kill you. Mana is slow to heal newcomers, you cannot rely on it. Come now. We will heal you, even if you can’t pay.”

Yang let herself get swept up by Hammarabi with Lily following her. James started to follow, but the girls said he wasn’t needed. He shrugged and went back to his room. It was a small room, barely big enough for a bed and a chest at its foot. The window was wavy and clouded, clearly handmade.

Max told James to take the bed and he set up a pad and sleeping bag on the stone floor. With the cushioning in the pad, he would be perfectly comfortable. There was a single bathroom for the four rooms on the top floor. Max changed out of his dirty clothes and took his turn inside.

He had been expecting a hole in the floor, but he found luxury. A sink with instantly hot water, a large shower, and a cushioned toilet. After Max used the last one, he pressed a button on the top and his waste dissolved into nothing.

Back in their room, James tapped a crystal to turn off the light. A soothing smell of flowers filled the room. Max smiled in the dark. He could get used to this magic technology.

The next morning, Max was woken up by the rain. Thankfully, this time he stayed dry. He had to wait for a turn in the shower, but it was worth it. Afterwards, he felt refreshed and ready for the day. A check of his mandatory quest showed he still had 25 cycles left. That meant that Ebba was right, the lower mana areas of the cities meant his countdown went slower here. More good news.

He headed down to the lobby to see if Hammurabi was available. He wanted to see about selling some of his stuff to pay for the rooms.

Lily was already there, talking to Hammurabi. She turned to Max and said, “Oh good. You are up now. Can you come with me to buy a healing potion? Yang is doing much worse this morning, and her fever keeps going up. They bandaged her up better last night, but we think she was poisoned.”