Burning Eyes

Navigating the city was easier than I thought it would be, most of the relevant stores and services were placed on the main road, as close to the town square as they could possibly manage. This made it easy for the tourist or travelling crowd to find places to spend money.

There was everything from restaurants to equipment stores, to bookstores to brothels. One hundred and one different ways to spend your hard-earned currency, all in one place. It was admirable, to see the clear application of marketing and economic strategies that were all too common in modern day Earth. Though, I was starting to see the cracks in the veneer the longer I stayed here.

Just because the residents of this city—which was inventively named Crossroads—made copious amounts of money from those who bought and sold at their stores and businesses, it didn't necessarily mean that the residents liked them. With my natural empathy, it was too obvious. The sheer distaste from a smiling store attendant was enough to make me warier of the darker flipside to Crossroads.

It became clear that only those who knew what they were doing, or were residents themselves, dared to slip into the side streets—away from the view of the crowds. I myself took a few glances down the side streets and found it to be a packed maze of small buildings and branching paths.

Rethi and Alena were both smart cookies, so they caught on just as fast. My best guess would be a significant criminal element to this city, possibly more than just significant. Of course, while we likely agreed, we weren't stupid enough to talk about it out loud in the street. The walls had ears, and possibly a few eyes, after all.

The day was getting into its later hours, and any enthusiasm that the teenagers might have had to wander the stalls and stores was quashed by their overwhelming exhaustion. Rethi, while technically far more hardy and possibly capable of going sleepless like myself, wasn't quite past being exhausted yet.

Thinking back to my first few days of being a Champion, my body was still acting as if it didn't have infinite energy and even having muscle pain. I can't be sure if I just hadn't boosted my Might to the level I needed to be sleepless, but there was a significant likelihood that my body just reacted that way on instinct rather than actual need. It didn't seem like any type of power simply gave your new spec sheet to your brain, and it accepted it for its new reality. To take full advantage, you had to push yourself with the new powers over and over until your brain rewires what needs rewiring to conform with reality.

Oh well, that was something that he could work on later. This journey isn't going to be ending any time soon.

As the sun was slowly covered by the orbiting planet, its own night sky visible facing towards us, I directed us towards a hotel tavern that we had passed an hour ago as we wandered. It was down the western main road of Crossroads, the one we had arrived from was the southern road. This was all from a compass decoration sitting in the centre of the town centre, obscured slightly by various stalls.

The reason I was taking us to this particular establishment, was because I had been tracking the emotional states of those around us, and within the buildings adjacent to us at all times during our wandering. This tavern was one of the only ones to have employees, and presumably owners, that seemed fine with their customer base. If not happy, then neutral to them at least. We tied Darksteel and Lily up in the tavern's stables, a bit of a luxury in comparison to other taverns that you'd have to pay a stable down the street to take care of the horses. We packed our bags into a provided rudimentary lockbox, though we'd likely bring the bags into our rooms for the extra safety.

As I walked up to the door of the Skinned Lizard, and pushed open its doors, I found myself surprised. Something that had been of note in our wandering of the main roads was the distinct lack of non-human peoples. Any that may have been another race were either passably human, or their forms were hidden underneath their cloaks.

However, in the Skinned Lizard, it seemed like the cloaks were off. Almost every single person inside were of a different race than human. There were still a few humans, of course, but this seemed like it was the sort of place that those of a different race gravitated towards. The most prevalent race inside the Skinned Lizards was… well, lizards. The exact name of their race isn't something I think I've ever been told, and you couldn't pay me to call them lizards.

Many of them were humongous, only a little taller than humans on average, but were much wider. Their shoulders were significantly wider than what seemed natural to my own limited conception of biological structure. Each and every lizardfolk—which is my tentative name for the race—was muscled in some way or another, either the wiry, sleek muscle you see in rock climbers, or the powerful, large muscles of a strongman.

The variance from person to person was significant, though it seemed that the average is the large and muscular variation. Their facial structure differed wildly between variations as well. The large, muscular variation has a thick and wide, scaled neck leading to a similarly wide and squat face, tapering into a short snout. I had no doubt that inside their mouths they house a set of menacing teeth, maybe even reminiscent of crocodilians. The other variation I could see are softer looking, more rounded and slimmer faces that seem less harsh and inherently predatory with a distinct lack of defined scales in place of smooth, shiny skin.

All while I meandered in my mind, I found myself and the suddenly extremely awake teens a table in a quieter part of the large dining room. Both of my companions were nervous, their eyes dancing from person to person. Both of them, Alena included, were effectively being exposed to an entirely different environment, including the new races. Alena emotionally registered as every race in this building being new to her, aside from the humans, which I found to be a little surprising. Maybe if you just never go looking you won't find them?

I observed a reptilian waitress—of the significantly friendlier looking variant—moving herself from table to table. She greeted guests in a light tone with little depth to the voice, and with a slight accent that I couldn't place amongst the other vocal differences. She took orders and moved along, a large reptilian man bringing out food and drinks to the tables moments later.

"Uh, Master Max?" Rethi whispered under his breath catching my attention, and the attention of a few others with exceptional hearing, "Are you sure this place is for… us?" He asked anxiously. I cringed a little inside, and so did those that overheard the light whisper. It wasn't as if the boy was being malicious, I think a part of the reason for his nervousness was that we were encroaching on another's territory.

"I don't think it is a place created just for us, Rethi." I began consolingly in a normal tone of voice, catching the attention of the same listeners, "It's a created space for any who feel uncomfortable in places that would be made for just us." I paused, letting the two teens in front of me settle their nerves. I laughed lightly at the matching contemplation on the faces of the couple.

"We are clearly an other to those that live and work in Crossroads, so are we not more at home here? With those who find themselves as others themselves?" I let my gaze wander to the diverse crowd, the lizardfolk being only the largest majority. The few other races that I could see were distinctly more human, two men who were easily over eight feet, a man who had moss covering much of his exposed skin, drinking with a woman with sharp features and lightly tinted red skin.

"Why thank you for the lovely words, there 'Master' Max." My eyes turned back to the lizardfolk waitress I had seen busying herself earlier, though her voice held some apprehension for my 'title'. I grinned towards her soft and colourful features, almost reminiscent of a cute gecko. Her shiny skin was a vibrant blue with large, dark eyes protruding from her streamlined head. Rethi's face immediately burned red with embarrassment, realising that if this waitress had heard him that more had likely overheard too. The waitress did the best approximation of a grin on her reptilian features, careful to not display her teeth.

"Ah, well—I try." I shot her another grin, awarding me with some amusement in her emotions, "If you don't mind, may I ask the name you use for your race? We come from a small road town south of here. Not much diversity to speak of, you see." Her dark eyes filled with some understanding, even as she let out a constrained sounding laugh. I couldn't quite tell if that was just how her laughs sounded, or if she was doing so consciously.

"I see, it isn't often that travellers come from the south road. As for our name, we are generally referred to as Reptilia, though it is a wide net cast for many fish." Her speech was very consistent, holding a distinct, predictable rhythm. Her high-pitched voice—though not grating—would likely be difficult to hear if the clamour of the dining floor were any louder.

"Interesting!" I said, trying to walk the line between being politely interested and too interested, "Are there specific names for the race of each Reptilia?" She seemed a little surprised that I wanted to know more and seemed happy to comply with my interest.

"Indeed, those reminiscent of myself are named Gek, or formally Gekkonidae. We are the second most populous Reptilia in Crossroads. The foremost representatives of Reptilia in Crossroads are from the Tiliqua tribes west of here, however they are part of the larger Scincidae race." I felt my mind turn over with the new information, my companions doing the same. It seems like the classifications the Reptilia used amongst their own 'race' was quite stringent, and maybe even tribal in nature. An airy chuckle from the Gek woman later, and my mind was brought back to the present.

"Anyway," I said, waving myself and the others from out stupors, "what do you suggest we eat?" I received a thinly pulled from the woman's already non-existent lips.

"Please don't order any of the Reptilia 'cuisine'." I could hear the air-quotes in her voice, before she waggled her strangely ridged fingers, "It could hardly be called that and is frankly gross to most Reptilia. The only reason we still serve it is because of Tek." I started with surprise of the light disgust in the woman's voice, and the much more powerful emotion to accompany it. She didn't dislike this Tek person, but she was perturbed by the food he ate. Interesting how much you could pull with just some simple empathic senses.

"Alright then, how about a decent steak?" Steak was a commodity in Mayer's household, the man too frugal in his day-to-day for his own good. Or he just didn't like steak, I guess.

"Good choice!" The Gek waitress said happily, her emotional state indicating that I chose what was at least her favourite. She asked how big a cut I wanted and how I wanted it done. Rethi just ordered the same as me out of instinct, and Alena ended up ordering a salad of some sort. Just as the Gek woman turned to leave, telling us that the food would be to our table in a little while, I called after her gently.

"What's your name by the way, miss?" I asked, keeping my voice quieter than I normal would if I were calling after someone, but many in this part of the dining floor appreciated quietness, probably due to their sensitive hearing. She turned and gave me a small quirk of the lips in the middle of her snout, what I could only assume was a smirk.

"Gehne." She said, then quickly walked away towards customers that had been waiting patiently while we had absorbed a few minutes of her time. I looked to the sandy blonde headed boy and his dark-haired girlfriend, both of them noticeably calmer now. All they needed was a little reassurance and a nice interaction and they were now letting their eyes dance from person to person with a little bit of wonder sitting snugly in their minds.

The lovely gentleman who brought our order over, along with complementary drinks from Gehne, talked with us for a little while. His name was Tenra, of one of the Tiliqua tribes. Apparently, many from the Tiliqua tribes moved into Crossroads when they started to go into full tribe warfare.

It was good information to know, though I'm not sure it'll necessarily come in useful. The large Tiliquan man eventually ran off once a much deeper voice with the same Tiliquan hiss called from the other side of the room. We mostly ate in silence, the two teens having rekindled their exhaustion, the drawing ever closer to its end. At least the food was good, exceptionally so actually. The meat was cooked perfectly and even though I couldn't tell what animal it had come from, it was tender and flavourful.

After dinner was finished, I waved Gehne over and paid her handsomely for the food and the room I booked immediately after. Apparently, many of the customers were local, so the rooms were open and cheap. Obviously I tipped her, though it didn't seem like it was a common gesture and she tried to decline, but I wouldn't accept the money back.

What else would I do with such an insane amount of money on my hands?

I paid for a room of my own, and two for the teenagers, knowing full well that they'd only use one. I'd use my own room for my bags, which I had hauled up to my room all in one trip, thoroughly impressing the extremely tall men in the corner of the room. By this time Rethi and Alena were already sleeping together in their own room, exhausted enough to fall asleep as soon as they touched a soft pillow.

With my two companions safely tucked away in bed, I left behind my bags in my room and made my way out of the tavern, wrapping myself in a dark and heavy cloak perfect for skulking around shady side streets in the dark of night.

As I walked downstairs, many of the tavern's patrons had left for the night, leaving the dining room mostly barren. Making my way towards the door, I passed by Gehne who was wiping down the tables as the night drew to a close for the tavern. I made sure to give the Gek woman a friendly nod as I strode forward, opening the door to the cool night air.

"Master Max," she said, no apprehension in the title she had overheard Rethi using.

"Just Max, or Maximillian if you absolutely have to." I smiled, feeling a little flicker of warmth enter my eyes under the shade of my hood. Her scaly brow knitted slightly, but she nodded gently.

"Max, then. I have to warn you that the streets at night… aren't safe. Especially nowhere you would go with a cloak like that." I could see a healthy dose of suspicion in her, maybe a slight change in opinion from me being a totally harmless person to something a little more… nuanced. I just smiled deeply at the woman, the flicker of warmth from the nearby fireplace brought a toasty, comfortable heat to the room, brightening it just enough for the Gekkonidae's sensitive eyes to notice the change.

"Thank you for the warning Miss Gehne. But I think I'll be quite safe on my outing." I took a step outside, turning back to see her standing there, the cloth she'd been using to wipe the table now hanging limply from the ridges of one finger. Her mouth was open wide, revealing the small teeth that had been hiding just behind her lips, the large cavity of her mouth almost intimidating if it weren't so amusing.

"Goodnight, Miss Gehne." I said as the door closed, and I disappeared into the shadows of the streets—still feeling the shock she'd experienced when she saw my burning eyes.