The stable reminded me a bit of the Roman Colosseum. It was a massive stadium of a building with an area in the middle where various kinds of beasts were. There were massive birds, camels, creatures that looked like stegosauruses, and all weirder-looking beasts. A guard instructed us to dismount once we got to the door. I left Zakia with them while I entered to make the arrangements. Unlike what I was expecting, the inside of the building was cool, almost cold. I looked around expecting to find an AC, but I couldn’t find where the cold air was coming from. Tenebris stretched his wings, and all eyes fell on us. I wasn’t sure if they were more surprised by me or if I was more shocked by them. There were people of all shapes and sizes. Some of them looked human except for their cat-like eyes and pointed ears. There was a group of people who looked like draconic humans, with scales either covering their skin or replacing their hair. Some even looked like bipedal elephant people. They were all either as tall as I was or taller which was strange.
Once everyone recovered from the initial shock, most of them went back to doing what they had been doing. Two people made their way over to me. They were androgynous with softer facial features, a single long braid going down their waists. They had beautiful dark skin and golden eyes.
“Hello, my name is Lateefah, and this is my companion, Maizah.” The taller of the two spoke first. I was able to pull my eyes up to their face with an embarrassed smile. “Hi, my name is Darterrius, Darterrius Solomon Maximilian. My friend and I would like to leave our mounts here. Is there space for two?” They wiped away the look of surprise that crossed their faces nearly as soon as they appeared.
“Ah, of course. We have plenty of space. Do you know how long you plan to stay in the city?” It was Maizah who spoke up. They had to work hard to keep their gaze from drifting towards the small dragons on my shoulders. Something both dragons were enjoying.
“I plan on being here” I paused for a moment. We hadn’t discussed a timetable for my return. I didn’t want to be here too long, but I also wasn’t in a hurry to leave. “Let's say three weeks for now. I may need to extend later on.” They nodded their agreement and looked at each other as if waiting for the other to speak again. After a long beat, Lateefah broke.
“Would you like for us to manage your companions?” They gestured toward Sanaa and Tenebris, who perked up. They snapped their jaws and sent a wave of irritation through our bond. I chuckled as the two workers visibly flinched. “No need. They like to stay with me. How much will it cost?”
Both of them visibly relaxed before Maizah spoke up. “It would be twenty gold coins for us to house two beasts. That amount is enough to feed and care for the beasts. If you wish to stay for fifteen days your total would be 300 gold coins.” I nodded and then realized I had a bit of a problem. I had no way of knowing how many coins equaled a gold bar. A quick look around told me no one was watching me but pulling out gold bars could draw some extra attention that I didn’t want. I gestured for the pair to follow me over to a corner when I caught a woman rolling her eyes in my direction. I immediately forgot about my worry and held a hand beneath my ring. A quick flex of will caused a bar to fall out into the palm of my hand. When the pair saw the bar appear out of nowhere, their eyes widened like saucers. I looked over at the woman, who was now staring at me and the gold.
“I must apologize. I don’t know how many gold coins are worth one gold bar?” Lateefah was the first one to recover. “A single bar would be the equal of a hundred coins. So you would need three of them for the entire stay.” They wiped a bead of sweat from their brow as more eyes fell on us. The gravity of what I just did hit me a moment later. I was the foreign tourist who threw his money around. Which meant that I needed to get out of there quickly. I willed another two bars out and placed all three on the table. I did my best to focus on the conversation but couldn’t help but scan the room more and more. No one looked like the “thief” type, but that would assume that “Rogue” classes one existed and two all dressed like shadowy figures in the corners of the building. Once they accepted the payment. I turned and led the pair outside.
“Are there any other services we can supply?” Maizah’s voice cut through my thoughts as we got back outside. I was about to wave them off when I realized there was something I needed. “Do you know where I could find a pleasant inn? My friend and I need a place to stay for the evening.”
“Ah well, I would recommend The Blood Price Lodge. For someone of your distinguished taste, the lodge should provide quality service, discretion, and opportunity.” Zakia raised an eyebrow in a silent question that I chose to ignore." Thank you. We will make our way over. Do you need anything more from us?" When they confirmed they didn’t, I gestured for Zakia to follow as I made my way back out onto the street.
“Are you going to explain what that was about?” Zakia asked as she walked alongside me. I glanced around, making sure we weren’t being followed. “Well, I might have shown off that I have a considerable amount of gold. So we might have a problem with that later. Oh, it was three gold bars and we will be able to stay for three weeks.”
She glared at him before nodding her head. “I will pay for one of the three. Do we want to split one of the bars in half? Or find someone willing to exchange it for gold coins?” I shook my head. “No, well, if we can find someone able to exchange it would be a good idea. I don’t mind covering the extra bar. I have more than you overall, so it’s not much of a big deal. I imagine that this inn is going to be rather expensive.”
“We should have gone to the merchants first. That way, we could have avoided showing off.” Zakia added as I stepped around a large Minotaur with a great hammer on one shoulder. The person who I thought was a man was nearly eight feet tall and as wide as a car. He caught me staring, which prompted me to put a little extra pep in my step. “Uh, right, we should get to the inn soon. I want a bath and to get out of these sweaty clothes.” I looked down at the robes and the clothes beneath them that were sticking to my skin. “On that, we can agree.”
We reached the second wall a few minutes later. The guards here were wearing armor made out of steel and thick leather strips. The armor had the crossed sword symbol on the right breast. There were three guards in total and they each had long swords on their hips. Our attempt to enter the second wall was a bit more detailed than the first. They wanted to know more about what we were doing, but once it was clear that we were looking for The Blood Price Lodge, they let us through. They were a bit more concerned with Sanaa and Tenebris, but they let them through as long as I agreed to keep them under control. They even gave us directions to the inn.
The inn was not what I was expecting to put it. Instead of it being one building, it was a large compound that took up an entire neighborhood. It was the home of the affluent. It even had a colorful wall going all around it. “Are you sure this is where you want to stay?” Zakia asked and part of me wanted to go somewhere else, but I had never had wealth back home. I certainly wasn’t poor, but I was not staying at the high-quality hotels and eating caviar. I slowly nodded my head as I made up my mind.
“Yeah, why not take the time to enjoy having a bit of money? Besides, I doubt we will be coming to the city a lot. I won’t get the chance to enjoy high-class living for a long time.” Zakia looked like she wanted to object, but quickly changed her mind. “Fine with me.”
Once we entered the building, I knew we had made the right choice. It was beautiful. There was a dark red carpet leading from the door to a stone desk. On one wall was a rack of amazing weapons. One was a staff that thrums softly with magic. I barely resisted the urge to cast lesser revelation on it. Floating in the air us were small balls of golden flames. From what I could tell, the flames didn’t give off any heat, but they were stunning to look at. I felt Sanaa uncoil herself and leap into the air. The dragonette shot into the air and flew crossed through the air like a child cat chasing a laser pointer. I couldn’t help but smile as her joy reached me through her bond. Thankfully, none of the guards reacted.
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We made our way over to the desk. The worker was watching Sanaa as if she had never seen something so interesting. Once she saw us, though, she calmed and concentrated on us. “Welcome to the Blood Price Lodge. I am Bashira. How can I serve you today?”
She spoke in that customer service voice where you managed to sound like you wanted nothing more than to be at work. “My companion and I would like to pay for two of your rooms. We will be here for around three weeks. Are you able to help us?” The woman continued smiling as she removed a scroll from beneath the counter. She opened the scroll, and it read for a moment. When she was done, she placed the scroll down and removed two stone keys. “I have two buildings available. They are on opposite sides of the compound, though. Is that acceptable?”
There was an unasked question there that I decided to nip in the bud early. “That is fine. We aren’t looking to be together.” Zakia snorted behind me and I had to work to keep my face pensive.
“In that case, it will cost two hundred gold coins for that length of time. That is per room.” I had to work to stop my eyes from bulging at that price. Zakia had failed to do so based on Bashira’s worried expression. She started to mention alternative inns before I could stop her. “That won’t be necessary.” I placed my palm on the counter and willed six bars out of the ring. I managed to aim it so one bar appeared at each finger and then doubled up on the ring and middle fingers. Before the woman could take them, however, Zakia placed a hand down.
“You may want to spend a colossal amount of gold, but I am not. She grabbed three of the bars and somehow managed to hold them in one hand. Each of those bars weighed 27 and a half pounds. I wasn’t sure what her strength score was, but it was higher than my own. “Uh, right, right? Well, in that case, I would like to take one of the rooms.”
Bashira took the situation in stride. She handed over the stone key before nodding to the guard closest to her. He was human, from what I could tell. He had dark brown skin and was around six feet tall with two short swords. One on each hip. Unlike the other guards, he didn’t wear armor. Instead, he was shirtless, with a nasty scar going diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip. He stepped into place behind the woman, grabbed the two bars, and left out of a side door. Once he was gone, Bashira’s smile returned to her face, and she gestured for us to follow.
She led us out a side door and into a small neighborhood. The ground was made up of broken cobblestones. There was a central path that led through the grounds, with smaller paths branching off toward small houses. It was a bit like a summer camp. Just much nicer. I called Sanaa back to me and she darted down, making Bashira stumble off the path. The dragonette wrapped her tail around my neck and peered down at her."Stop that" I scolded her before turning toward Bashira and offering her a hand.
“Ah thank you. Your pet is very interesting.” Both Tenebris and Sanaa perched like bloodhounds who had found their target. The animosity that flowed from them to me made it abundantly clear. I balled my fists and considered punching the woman before I could get control over myself. I took several deep breaths and sent calm to both of them. Bashira spoke, but I ignored her. I needed a moment to gain control over the shared emotions. Once I got control over myself and they had calmed down, I turned toward her.
“I apologize. They don’t like being called pets. They have calmed down a bit now, so we can go ahead.” The woman was certainly a professional because she straightened up, smiled, and continued walking. If it wasn’t for the slight shaking in her hands, I wouldn’t have realized she was afraid.
“What was that?” Zakia asked while we followed.
“Oh well, I share emotions with the two of them. Though that was stronger than usual.” She looked both of the familiars up and down before nodding her head. “I suggest you get that under control. I thought I was going to have to keep you from attacking that woman.”
I laughed at that. “Don’t worry. I have no interest in hurting innocent workers. It just snuck up on me.” Both dragons pushed off of my shoulders and took the sky. I was nervous for a moment, but the anger that had been there earlier was gone. Instead, they were flying in circles around us. Bashira made a right turn and headed up a path leading to a house in the far corner of the compound. It was on a slight hill which gave a view of the rest of the house. Not enough to see inside of them, but enough to see if anyone was approaching. Once we arrived, she smiled and gestured to the key in my hand. “This is yours for the next fifteen days. It is yours regardless of whether or not you stay in it. The buildings have some advanced anti-scrying and detection rituals in place. Keep that in mind should you decide to cast magic inside. Our guards are able and willing to assist should you need it, but if you cause too many problems, we will ask you to leave.”
She did her best to keep her gaze on me when she said that last part, but couldn’t stop herself from looking up at the circling dragons. “Ah, there is a clothing rack next to the door. If you leave your things on it, someone will come by to clean them. If there are magical items you need cared for, let us know. Depending on their rarity, you may need to pay an extra fee. If there is anything you need, send a small amount of magic through the sensor and either myself or one of the other workers will come to you. If there is nothing else?” I shook my head and Bashira nodded to both of us before turning and making her way back down the path. I wasn’t sure, but I thought she was moving a bit faster than before.
“If I had known about the extras, I might have bought a room here.” I turned toward her and laughed. “You are more than welcome to go and take care of it now. She might enjoy dealing with you more than me.” She shook her head.
“No, I know of an inn that is visited by adventurers who are looking to save a silver or two. Do you have plans for tomorrow?” I nodded.
“Yeah, I am going to find someone who can sell me building materials, seeds, livestock, and other similar things. Basically, all the needed things for a settlement. I imagine I will need someone with a way to transport it all, as well.”
“OK then, let’s meet up again in two days. I am going to visit a blacksmith friend and then I have some private matters to attend to.” I raised an eyebrow at that. When she didn’t offer an answer, I decided to leave it alone. “You also need to keep your familiars in check. It wouldn’t do us any good if you get kicked out of this part of the city.”
“I know, I know. Do you want me to walk you to the other inn?” She folded her arms. “Why?”
“Well, so you don’t have to walk there alone.” She looked at me and shook her head. “No, thanks. Besides, if you did, then you would have to walk back here alone, which wouldn’t help the situation. There are plenty of guards and I am not the flashing lots of gold around.”
“You are carrying—” Before I could finish, she raised her finger to her lips and turned away. “Take care of yourself.” I watched her leave until she left the compound. “Alright, I guess it’s just the three of us.”
The house was much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. The outside made it look more like a touristy cabin, whereas the inside was a literal house. When I closed the door, there was a brief hum and then complete silence. The lack of ambient nice was a bit uncomfortable. Noises that I had been ignoring mentally certainly weren’t there, and I was hyperaware of it. The building had two floors. The downstairs was divided into a living room with five chairs made out of dark brown wood, a stone table, and a room I assumed was a kitchen. It had a stone basin like the one the Ifrit used for cooking. There wasn’t a cold box here which kind of sucked. I removed my magic items and placed them on the rack. A wave of drowsiness hit me as my stats corrected themselves. I made my way up the stairs in search of a bath. Strangely enough; the bath was split into two different rooms. One had the sink, toilet, and other things while the bath was in the other. The bath was made of stone and was too small for me to fit. At least not comfortably. “As much as things change...”
Once I finished my bath, I felt like a brand new man. I practically had to rub my skin raw to remove the sweaty feeling. Thankfully, they left clean robes for me to get dressed in. I hoped they would have everything cleaned before I needed to leave. New clothes were going to be a necessity. When I reached the bedroom, I found Tenebris and Sanaa asleep on a chandelier floating above the bed. They both managed to look cute and almost harmless. The bed itself was massive. Probably around a California king, which was wonderful. I got under the sheets and was asleep within moments.