They had no problems following the vendor’s directions. Two streets north, past a smithy whose workers were already busy, stood a stone building with a blue banner with a bck stylized ntern hanging over the door. The wall itself appeared to be about twelve feet high and thick, with small slits for windows. For it to be compared to a small fortress, it wasn’t far off.

  But to protect the occupants from who?

  The entrance, much like the rest of the city, opened at sunrise, but it didn’t mean you could just waltz right in. It too was protected by a heavy, reinforced wooden door, and next to it, hidden in a small alcove, was a guard post. Inside that, two men in leather armor, steel helms, and wielding short spears, turned as Jace and her group approached.

  The older of the two nudged the other then bowed their heads.

  “Honored one,” the first guard said in a formal greeting. “Welcome to The Blue Lantern Lodge.”

  Marion stepped forward. “My Lady is tired from a long trip and requires a room and a bath.”

  The guard then smiled, “Welcome then, come this way, please.”

  Soon they were escorted through an open courtyard and, from there, through another set of reinforced doors, into a rge, warm room lit by oil mps and a central hearth.

  Beyond the entrance, behind a counter, a rge man who owned an equally rge mustache looked up for a heartbeat, then smiled and bowed deeply.

  “My Lady,” he greeted them in a heavy accent. “My humble name is Radomir Vukovi?, and I am the owner of this lodge. How may I be of service to you?”

  Jace smiled. She hadn’t expected a name that sounded somewhat familiar. Was he a former summons, or perhaps his family has someone who was a summons?

  However, it was Marion who once again replied, “We have just returned from travelling through the Necropolis…”

  The lodge-keeper cut her off with a raised hand and a bright smile. “Ahh, say no more, you desire a pce for your Lady to rest. You have come to the right pce.”

  He then snapped his fingers, and a young boy who looked much like a smaller version of him entered the room, bowed, then disappeared.

  “You and your attendants will have the finest room, my dy.”

  Jace nodded, thinking of the coins in her purse. After everything they had just been through, staying somewhere nice would do just fine.

  “Thank you.”

  Richard leaned toward Hina, whispering. “What's going on?”

  She whispered back, “They’re getting us a room.”

  The lodge-keeper straightened as the boy finally returned with a heavy set of keys said something which caused the owner to nod.

  “If it pleases you, I have sent word ahead to prepare a private suite. It has its own hearth, fresh bedding, and a lock only you can open.”

  Jace blinked. This was no Holiday Inn. “Sounds lovely.”

  As he waved them forward, she began to follow, certain that all this attention would cause them trouble. However, thoughts of a warm bath and a soft bed made her decide that was future Jace’s problem.

  They were then led up a flight of stairs and down a short hallway lit by warm oil mps. Several servants bowed as they walked past, some sves, others weren’t.

  Jace also noticed that it was retively clean, much nicer in some ways than the hotels in her old world. Even the air smelled faintly of incense. Not that she was terribly surprised, the whole dirty and smelly medieval troupe was overdone.

  As they walked through the hallway, she also began to rex for the first time in a while, right up until they reached her room, when the lodge owner stopped in front of a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron bands.

  “This is our finest suite, my Lady,” he said, bowing deeply. “I pray it meets your expectations.”

  He then stepped aside and motioned her in.

  Jace took a few steps, then froze; it was enormous by anyone’s standards. With thick rugs on the stone floor, a private hearth crackled in the corner, warming it up quite nicely. It had a whole natural look, which some hotels back home try to emute, though the ck of modern lighting made the room a bit dark. But still.

  From where she stood, she then watched a woman begin filling a table with fruit, some meats, warm bread, a steaming pot of something, and several small cups. Hidden behind a folding screen, two more servants were already filling what looked like a copper tub with hot water.

  When a fourth woman in soft robes sat down and started to tune a string instrument in the corner, Jace almost said something, but instead complimented the lodge-keeper on the room.

  The man bowed again. “Thank you, I hope it meets your needs.”

  Richard stepped in behind the two and looked in. “Holy crap, that’s a nice room, Jace. Almost as nice as our apartment back home. So, where are the other bedrooms?”

  Marian and Hina didn’t answer; instead, they pulled him back, having remained in the doorway, heads bowed, waiting.

  Jace turned. “Come in.”

  The lodge?keeper cleared his throat gently. “My Lady, your attendants’ quarters are prepared.”

  She blinked. Well, having a room for herself didn’t sound too bad, and that bath was calling her name. Hopefully, everyone’s room will be as nice as hers.

  “Alright, then, everyone, how about we meet up ter, okay?” Jace said.

  Marian, who bowed again. “As you wish, my dy.”

  As she and Hina prepared to follow the owner, Richard frowned. “We’re not going in.”

  Marian sighed. “No.”

  The lodge?keeper gestured down a side corridor after closing the door behind him. “This way, the room is clean, and close to your master in case you are needed.”

  Richard looked back following. “Wait. We’re not staying in here?”

  Marian gave him a look and said in English, “Dude, we’re sves. Be happy, Jace picked a nice pce. Usually, we would be sleeping in the stables.”

  Hina smiled as the door opened, revealing a room with four beds, then said in the dungeon nguage, “Very nice, thank you.”

  The lodge?keeper nodded, handed her an iron key, then walked off.

  Richard growled as he stared into the room, as another woman with a tray of something entered Jace’s room.

  “But…but..she gets a private bath, a musician, and are those pastries?”

  Hina sighed, then tugged gently at his sleeve. “Come on, others might be able to understand us.”

  Marian pushed the door closed, dropping her pack to the ground, “Wow, this is actually nice.”

  “I know,” Hina grinned.

  Richard crossed his arms. “It’s a fucking broom closet.”

  Marian rolled her eyes. “Oh, suck it up. We’re not on the dungeon floor eating stale bread. This is luxury.”

  Hina nodded, setting down her pack and plopping on the bed with a sigh. “And Jace is not sending us off to work in the kitchen.”

  Richard stared at them, confused. “Are you guys really okay with this?”

  Marian shrugged. “Compared to what we’ve had? This is a five-star hotel, buddy.”

  Hina smiled softly. “The two of us are chained summons, sves, higher-css ones, but still sves. This is really the best we get.”

  Richard looked like he wanted to argue, then grumbled. “This fucking sucks. I should have never put on this damn colr.”

  Marian elbowed him. “Hey, it's not like your ex asked for this. And if she refuses, everyone freaks out. So let her take the fancy bath.”

  Hina nodded. “I’m sure Jace will pay, so we should be able to get one ter.”

  Richard sighed, tossing his pack on another bed. “Fine, it still sucks, and I’m stealing one of those pastries ter.”

  Marian punched him in the arm with a grin. “No, you’re not.”

  In the other room, a servant approached Jace with a tray. “My Lady, your bath is ready. Shall we bring scented oil? Lavender? Sandalwood?”

  Jace blinked. “I, yes. Thank you.”

  The servant bowed and hurried off.

  So odd, she thought, crossing the room to look down at the food and reach for one of the fruits. It tasted like a peach. The same servant then poured her a cup of what tasted like very sweet coffee, and she happily began sampling everything on the tray.

  Not too long after, Jace was stripped, pampered, and let into a wonderful, warm bath. It wasn’t until she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the water, that she realized that she had no issues removing her clothing in front of a bunch of strange women. Or rather, had no objection to a bunch of strange women removing them.

  Before she could turn into a prune, the servants pulled her out of the water and brought her to a table, where they rubbed her body with oils. By the time they were finished, Jace felt like a wet noodle and was quite comfortable. It took no effort at all for the same woman to lead her into another room, where she promptly fell asleep.

  Down the hallway, Richard stepped back as two serving women entered their small room with a bowl of warm water and a ptter of soft bread and meat. After both servants gave him a flirtatious smile, Marian rolled her eyes and spoke to the two for a few minutes before closing the door on the pair.

  Then, what shocked him, both of his new companions began to strip and, in no time at all, stood nude in the center of the room.

  “Towels nice,” Marian sniffed one, then passed it to Hina before she started to wash herself.

  “Ahh, do you want me to leave the room?” Richard stammered, although he didn’t know why.

  Marian blinked, then ughed, “You can stay if you want, we don’t care?”

  Richard began to sputter. “But you just took off all your clothes in front of me.”

  The two who didn’t appear to be bothered by it at all grinned, shaking their heads.

  “You think we’ve had any privacy for the st two years?” Marian ughed as she began to wash under her breasts. “They don’t even have doors to the toilets here.”

  Hina nodded, grabbing a bit of food. “You’ll get over it.”

  Marian then raised her finger, her whole body now in full view. “Just one more thing that would have made you stand out.”

  The two girls then rolled their eyes as Richard just sat there staring at them, dumfounded, but didn’t bother to leave.

  Hina said something in Japanese, which caused the two women to ugh.

  “Look all you want, buddy, but if you try to crawl into bed with me, I'll stab you,” Marian warned, then turned her back and finished washing off the sweat and grime of the Necropolis.

  After the two were done, Richard took off his shirt but not the rest, cleaned himself off, and then noticed the two girls were already in bed, asleep. He decided he might as well get the rest of himself clean and started to strip.

  Afterward, he finished demolishing the rest of the food on the ptter, grabbed another tunic, and slipped into bed.

  And for the first time in a long time, everyone slept without fear.