The inn we had been directed to was a red-stone building with windows barred in violet metal, high walls topped with spikes of the same stuff, and huge gates banded in black. Above the gates was a sign that read, ‘The City’s Edge.’ It honestly looked more like a small fortress or a smithy, than it did an inn, so I was a little hesitant in stepping through the open gates, the entrance just wide enough to let Reff through if he turned a little, the space was not quite tall enough for him. Behind the gates was a strangely short corridor with an uneven floor and some kind of arrow slits running parallel down the walls. At the other end there was another black-banded door, though this one was closed.

I looked back at my friends as we crowded the inside of the short walk, and Daria offered me a shrug and a look that said, ‘what are you waiting for?’. I glanced at Riffa and Reff, but they were just looking uncomfortable in the small area, and I could not even see Toria, who was somewhere behind the risi. With a half-shrug, I turned to the inner door and knocked.

The door was a solid piece of wood that must have been very thick because when I knocked, it did not produce the hollow thunks I was expecting, but rather dull taps that produced an almost musical sound from the black metal running across it, just barely on the edge of my hearing.

Having knocked, I waited for a response, but after several seconds without any sign of a response I started to scan the door and the area around it for any sign of a knocker or pully. After a few moments of searching and finding nothing, I gave up and knocked harder, putting some of my cultivator’s strength into it.

This time the ringing was louder, a long, compounding hum that tickled something in my ears. As the sound faded, I heard a latch moving and an eye slit that had sat flush with the wooden surface was pulled inside, revealing a metallic blue mask with no apparent holes in it through which to see.

“What do you want?”

“We were looking for a place to stay, and we were sent here. Though I’m starting to think that he was messing with us. I wonder if we can find him...”

I felt my eyes narrow and my cheek twitch as I thought about the man who had given us apparently false directions. I did not think it would actually be possible to go track him down, but if I happened to see him again, I promised myself that I would state my displeasure emphatically.

My vicious thoughts were however interrupted and dashed at the same as the vaguely metallic voice spoke again.

“We’re an inn, if you’re not going to cause trouble. We don’t want no trouble with the Blood Watch.”

“We have no intention of starting any damn trouble! Uh, Sorry, I mean no, we’re not looking to start trouble. We just arrived and we’re hoping to isolate a bit and get used to the... ambiance.”

The man behind the mask did not speak for a few seconds and despite the lack of visible eyes, I got the impression he was looking between us, presumably trying to get a feel for just how likely we were to be issues. Thankfully, it seems that we averaged pretty well as a group – or the City’s Edge was used to a more violent clientele than us – and without a word the eye slit was closed once more, and from behind the door there came a series of loud clanks, clunks and the occasional grinding sound.

Once the noises subsided, the door swung open to reveal a short, solidly built person covered in metal plates, who stepped aside and swung his arm out, gesturing for us to enter.

Stepping inside and away from the door to allow the others to enter, I looked around at the new room, and was at least half-surprised that it was actually normal sized, allowing the risi siblings to actually stand straight.

The door through which we entered turned out to be a good foot thick and seemed almost more lock than anything else.

To one side of the room was a barred hatchway, with rows of bottles and barrels decorating the wall on the other side, a clearly marked area on the stone floor showed where I assumed people were supposed to queue to get drinks. The City’s Edge really took rowdy customers seriously, though given the area’s special features and the whole, ‘superhuman’ thing, I could not blame them. It did occur to me to wonder how effective a set of simple bars like that would be against the weird power-sets so many possessed, but I doubted that it was purely left to chance.

“Host’ll be out in a minute.”

I turned back to the doorman, who had taken a seat on a low chair was apparently now ignoring us, a large leatherbound book held in his hands as he stared at the pages through his blind mask.

“Thanks.”

He did not even twitch his head in my direction as I spoke. I turned away, mentally muttering to myself about poor manners, but being sensible enough to keep the sentiment to myself.

True to his word though, after a minute or so another panel in the wall slid open to reveal a woman in some kind of complex chainmail behind yet another set of bars. She had close-cropped hair and a large scar running down along her nose, before it swerved into a jagged line under her lips.

“How long?”

“Excuse me?”

“How long are you looking to stay, Pup?”

Not having an exact period in mind, I looked at my companions for suggestions and Reff stepped forward, bending at the waist to look directly into the hatch.

“In controlled greeting, we would like to stay for one week, with the option to extend our visit.”

“Room each, or sharing?”

“With careful assumption, I think it best if we take separate rooms.”

“We only have four available.”

“Then why did you ask-”

Darina started to speak, her voice scathing, but she was quickly cut off by our giant friend, his own voice slightly strained, but seemingly far calmer than the rest of us, though I thought that at least some of that control was likely faked.

“-In firm interruption, that will be fine. I will stay with my sister.”

“Thousand coins.”

I felt my jaw drop slightly at the massive sum, before closing it and tensing my jaw to keep the growl I wanted to emit from starting. My friends seemed equally non-plussed at the sum, and it was not hard to understand why; a top-notch set of clothes, tailored specifically for me had cost significantly less, and while hotels back on Earth could be expensive, there was usually some degree of luxury involved. The City’s Edge look more like a prison than a five-star hotel, at least with the room we were in as an example.

“With purposeful questioning, that seems like a great deal of money. Why is it so expensive?”

“We’re fortified against riots and sect wars, and it’s to pay for any damage you may cause if you lose it, as well as clean-up if you should call the Blood and Bones down on us. Standard rates in Ouhl.”

I could feel my temper rising at the possibility she was trying to rip us off, but I clamped my will down around its edges and held it together; what the scarred woman was saying did make sense. In a city where fights were apparently quite common – regardless of the Blood Guard – it probably paid to both fortify and ensure in case of damage.

“Blood and Bones?”

The question came from Toria, who stood at the back of the group, her finger tapping against the collar of her breastplate rapidly, like some kind of nervous tick, though I had not seen it before.

“The Blood Guard. They wear red and white, see? … And it’s all what’s left when they’re done ‘restoring the peace.’”

Our first meeting with the Blood Marshal had not painted the picture of a gentle man, and it seemed like those under him were no gentler, from what the host was saying. I did of course assume it to be something of an exaggeration; force might be necessary to restore order in a place like that, but commonly reducing people to their component parts seemed a little extreme. It was something that I had done, while on the dead world, but it had not been entirely possible to avoid, given the relative disparity between our bodies.

Perhaps, I thought, that was the answer; maybe the entire Blood Guard was made up of Pinnacle level cultivators, and they just could not help turning people into bloody messes when forced to intervene. Taking chances when people’s blood was up due to the area probably only lead to more death.

It was certainly not a place I was keen on staying in, and I looked forward to leaving. I enjoyed a good fight – afterwards, usually – but being that on edge all the time was going to get old quick.

“I’ll pay; I still have your shares,” I gestured at Reff, Riffa and Darina, “as I keep forgetting to give them to you.”

“We don’t want them, idiot.”

Reff and Riffa nodded along with the diminutive healer’s words, and I finally took the hint.

“Fine! I’ll still pay.”

Darina opened her mouth, presumably to call me an idiot again so I quickly rushed to forestall her.

“Just because I said I would! If we stay longer, you can pay!”

“... Fine!”.

Despite agreeing to my terms, Darina still looked like she was chewing glass and I was a bit hesitant to turn away from her, but thankfully she seemed to have reined in her temper a little.

I pulled the requisite sum from storage, counting it out in stacks before dropping them into a shallow bowl that dipped under the bars. The host swept them out again and into a barrel without bothering to check the amount, an irritated look on her face that said she was already regretting renting us rooms.

Reaching to the side, the woman pulled four sets of keys from hidden hooks and dropped them into the same bowl.

“You’re all on the top floor, you’ll need a key for each, and your rooms. Next floor up is private - don’t attempt to snoop, the other guards won’t hesitate just because you’re guests.”

I picked up the keys and handed them out; each ring had five keys, with four of them being labels for their respective floors, and the final key simply being a number. It seemed like a lot of security, but again it was probably a sensible precaution, to place as many barriers between potential fights as possible, but it did add a little to the feeling of being inside a very small prison.

“Uh, where are the stairs?”

“That door.” I turned to look where the host was pointing but did not see a door, though after a moment of confused staring I noticed a keyhole set into one of the stones of the wall. Rolling my eyes, I wondered over to the apparently hidden door and inserted my first key, turning it with a click that popped the door out and rendering it completely visible.

A dull thud behind us made me turn, and I saw that the hatch had been closed again. With a shrug, I pulled open the stone door and began to climb the steep stairs.

The first landing we came to had arrow slits to either side of it, and when I glanced into one I was greeted with the sight of a strangely liquid bow and arrow pointed at my face. Moving on hurriedly, recalling the warning, my friends and I continued up the stairs, turning at each landing and ascending the near vertical steps.

Reaching our floor, we each filtered into our rooms, closing the doors firmly behind us. I took a deep breath, my eyes closed and not even having looked at the room. Without anybody else around me, it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I could still feel the urge pressing in on me, but without any potential targets, and no immediate grudges, it was almost relaxing compared to before.

After half a minute of just breathing in the relative calm, I opened my eyes and let out a surprised, “Nice!” at the sight of the room. I had half expected a wooden board to sleep on and maybe a bucket, but the room was richly appointed in a deep forest green edged in gold. The bed was wide and looked invitingly soft, and there was even another door, through which I found a private bathing room.

I was very impressed, and somewhat mollified at the cost of the rooms.

Sitting down on the plush green carpet, I began to meditate, eager to refill my reserves; I had the distinct impression that not being combat ready in the City of the Red Grasses was a bad idea.