Crossroads was incredible.

Sure, I'd expected big things from the moment the door appeared, but still. This was… really something else.

Coatli and I strolled across the bridges, dodging pedestrians and riders of all shapes and sizes. There was no rhyme or reason to them, either; I saw all the monster species I'd ever met before here, Draconians, Innismen, Arachni, Mantids, and more. There were Petari, like crude dolls of crumbling sand, and Gaieans, rippling along in waves of motile wood. Orchs, with their huge green bodies and delicate buds, and Rhyme, like wisps of cloud plucked from the sky and lit by rolling fire. They all jostled and streamed through the flowing streets, splitting and joining at intersections and scattering or gathering when we passed in and out of courtyards and colonnades.

And more than just the populous, the city itself was amazing. There were architectures from a dozen different archetypes, here the black granite of the far north, there limestone, covered in moss, ziggurats jutting skywards next to delicate soap-bubble domes and rippling brick walls. It all mixed together into a wonderful mélange, exciting my senses and throwing me back into a blur of days in new ports, the first steps into an unknown country. It was elegant, in a crumpled sort of way, and it all sang of opportunity.

"So…" I fumbled for words, after I'd soaked in enough of the jumble and mess for my sea-loneliness to fade, and I could stop gawking. "What is this place? Who are these people? Also, we're being tailed."

Coatli and I were pacing down a shady street. On one side, the white void dropped into the distance, on the other, walls of trees rose overhead, broad leaves arching over the street and dappling it with shifting sunshine.

"I know. They're monsters from other Dominons." He shrugged. "Back in my day, basically only the lieutenants—"

"Dungeon Bosses?"

"—sounds right, or higher, had access to this place." He glanced around. The rush had flowed to a trickle here, as we slowly moved away from the hustle and bustle, looking for the outskirts. "Either that's been relaxed somewhat, or a lot more Hearts have turned up."

"This is… money?" I poured a few glittering tokens on my palm and held them out to him.

"Why, you little thief!" His eyes danced from my palm to the leather pouch I held, then flicked from the cut strings to my face. He grinned. "Careful with that, now."

"Still got the touch." I whirled my hand, and the tokens disappeared. I held my pursed fingers towards him, and he stretched out a palm; I let them jingle into his grasp. He examined them a moment.

"Looks like archives." He tossed one into his jaws, and snapped it down with a crunch. A flicker of actinic brilliance arced through his teeth, and he nodded. "Yeah, they're archives. Little bits of power. You'll be able to make them from pneuma when your skill gets past 'New'. Unless it already is?"

"No." I frowned. "I've only archived a dozen or so living things, although there's objects I can pull from memory. Do you think we can spend these somewhere?"

"Won't hurt to look. Back in the day, this was mostly outposts and palisades. I guess the expansion was natural, but damn." Coatli glanced around. "This is pretty amazing. Coffee." He grabbed my wrist.

"Huh?"

"It's been six hundred years! I smell coffee."

We wandered our way through the boulevards and byways, eventually ending up at a stone shack with tables sprinkled around the front. I slumped against a wall and watched the passers-by as he haggled, eventually coming back with two tall ceramic mugs, steaming hot, and few less tokens.

"Looks like they're rated by how much pneuma goes in them." He spilled the change on the table, where I poked at it.

"Interesting." I picked one up, and raised it to my lips, before pausing. "You just…?"

"Bite it."

I dropped it on my tongue and rolled it between my molars, finishing it with a satisfying crunch. I felt a flash of warmth, and a peppery tingle that faded quickly.

"Hmm." A trickle of pneuma, maybe what I'd gotten for killing a single butterfly, curled through my chest. "Neat." I licked my lips. "We'll need more of those."

For a moment, we sat and savored our drinks.

"So," I said eventually, "do we have a plan?" I waved at the city. "My instincts say to burrow in and find the underground - because of course there's an underground - and figure out who runs this place and how and why."

"Could work." He tapped his mug absent-mindedly, his long claws pinging off the ceramic.

"The thing is…" I hesitated. "I'm getting an odd feeling from this crowd."

"Mmm?" he looked around, and as he did, I felt sidelong glances slide off me as the other customers and passersby pretended they hadn't been peeking. "That's… The whole time?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "They stay a little away from me, too, unless the crowd presses in." I lowered my voice. "Made cutting that purse a bit of a trick."

"Braggart," he smirked, but his eyes darted past me.

"I can tell you why."

I turned, slowly. "Oh?" Standing behind me was… Well, at first-glance she looked like an Innisman, what with the slate scales and the loose bodywrap. But she had hair, and I didn't see any webbing on her fingers. The gills were obvious, though. She was all curves and poise, but with enough heft I figured she could pick me up with one blue arm.

She strolled over nonchalantly. "Mind if I join you?"

"Go for it." I waved her towards a seat, and she took it. "So?"

"It's because you're human." She rested her chin on one hand and fixed me with a lidded stare, eyes poison-yellow slits under long lashes.

I glanced at Coatli.

He gave a miniscule shrug.

"And you are?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Besides the person who's been tailing us for the past hour," Coatli rumbled.

Her eyes widened slightly at that. "Call me Nepenthe," she drawled.

"Alright, Nepenthe," I drawled back. "What are you selling?"

"Information, if you like. Well, and I thought I'd meet my new neighbors." She grinned, and her teeth were sharp. "I remember you as being… taller, old snake." She shot Coatli a glance. "It'll be a bit harder to take down my Leviathans in that form."

"We'll see." Coatli looked distinctly unimpressed.

"Again, you are?" I laced my fingers behind my head and leaned back.

"You're no fun." She scowled. "I'm the Lady of a Dominion in the South Seas." She snapped her fingers and a mug of steaming coffee appeared in front of her. "And it just so happens that there's an annoying little unclaimed island in the middle of my land, that up until just recently was being guarded by one of the strongest Behemoths I've ever seen." She pointed to Coatli, then turned to me. "And who are you?"

"A new Lord," I replied dryly. "Who just so happened to get lost in the South Seas and end up on an island with a Dominion Heart and one of the strongest Behemoths I've ever seen. Edmon Valli. Nice to meet you, neighbor."

She nodded politely. "So, are you buying? I can sell you…" She raised one hand, and listed off: "A map of Crossroads. How I trailed you. Who you'll need to watch out for. Why you're being avoided."

"Not much for maps." I shrugged. "You trailed us by having our portal watched. Biggest threat right now? Probably you, not like you'd admit it. What do you want for the last one?"

"Your aspect."

"Ice." I sipped my coffee.

"A higher elemental prime?" Her eyebrows shot up.

"I guess." I waved a 'move along' gesture at her. "You said 'Because I'm human'…"

"Right." She nodded slowly. "There are no human Lords. Never have been, for nearly six hundred years - well before my time. And very few humans work for Lords." She looked around speculatively. "You might be the only human in Crossroads for quite a while, actually."

"And they care?" I quirked an eyebrow and skimmed the passersby, no two alike.

"Humans are different." She frowned. "They don't hear the Voice quite the same way. They call us 'monsters' and our dominions 'monster zones', and they hunt, kill, and destroy indiscriminately. And worse, they're good at it."

"Oh. Bigotry. Yawn." I swirled the dregs of my coffee and glanced at Coatli. "You need to ask her anything?"

"Nah."

"Right." I stood, shoving my chair back.

"Before you go, a freebie." She gave me a winning smile. "I would very much like to mark some of that island. But I'll give you a week's grace."

"Fine, have the last word," I grumbled. "But thanks for the warning."

"Later." She waved us off.

Coatli fell in beside me, and we headed back towards my Sanctum.

"Thoughts?" I pulled out my gun, and compulsively checked it over.

"She wanted to see us squirm," he growled. "Disgusting habit."

"Yeah." I sighed. "But that cocksure attitude will hold her to her word, I bet. Do we need to claim the whole island?"

"At least the coast. That's the next few days booked."

"Hopefully she's underestimating us." I looked around and smirked.

"I love being underestimated."