The guards stepped aside, and the cart rolled through the gate.
The sounds hit Alucent immediately. Voices calling out from market stalls. The clatter of wheels on cobblestone. The hiss of steam venting from pipes that ran along the rooftops. The steady rhythm of a settlement that was alive and busy despite the threats beyond its walls.
He leaned toward the window, wincing as his ribs protested the motion, and looked out at the Hinter Villages.
The place was far larger than he had expected. The palisade wall had made it seem like a small frontier outpost, but inside, the settlement sprawled outward in all directions. Steamcottages lined the streets, their Ironvine facades weathered but sturdy, and market stalls crowded the wider avenues, vendors hawking goods beneath canvas awnings. Beyond the immediate bustle, he could see farmland stretching toward the distant hills, fields of crops interrupted by scattered barns and storage silos.
Steampunk-Victorian, he thought. It's just like Eryndral. But more rural. More scattered. Like a town that grew outward instead of upward.
The cart rolled deeper into the settlement, passing through a market square where merchants argued over prices and children chased each other between the stalls. Joy watched through the opposite window, her blue eyes taking in the surroundings with quiet interest.
After several minutes, the driver pulled the cart to a stop beside a wide avenue lined with larger buildings.
Joy opened the door and stepped out. Alucent followed, gripping the frame of the cart as he lowered himself to the ground. His ribs ached with the motion, and his left leg was stiff from sitting. He stood on the cobblestones and waited for the discomfort to fade.
Raya and Gryan climbed out behind him. Gryan's mechanical arm clicked softly as he stretched, and Raya looked around at the crowded street with her hand resting on the hilt of her Weaveblade.
Joy turned to the driver, who was still sitting on his perch with the reins in his hands.
"What is your name?" she asked.
The driver blinked, as if surprised by the question. "John," he said. "John Irvilous."
Joy nodded. "John. Please attend to the horses and keep the cart safe. We will be staying in the settlement for today."
John Irvilous nodded quickly, relief flickering across his face. "Yes, Lady Augusta. I'll find a stable."
He flicked the reins, and the cart rolled away down a side street.
Raya watched it go, then turned to the group. "We should rest here for today," she said. "At least, I am certain that everyone wants to take a bath and change clothes." She looked down at her own travel-stained dress and grimaced. "I know I do."
Alucent shifted his weight, trying to find a position that did not make his ribs ache. "How much do we have with us now?"
Joy answered before anyone else could speak. "You should not worry about that," she said. Her voice was calm, matter-of-fact. "I can cover what is needed today. I have one hundred and fifty Silverweaves budgeted for food, drinks, clothes, and a proper hotel room to lodge in."
Raya's eyes widened. "One hundred and fifty?" Her face broke into a genuine smile, the first Alucent had seen from her since before Tyranix's attack. "Scribe Joy, thank you. Truly."
Gryan inclined his head in a slight bow, his mechanical arm clicking as he moved. "Thank you," he said quietly.
Alucent opened his mouth to protest. "You don't need to do that. We have enough to—"
Raya cut him off. "How can you be so unappreciative?" She was grinning now, the sharp edge in her voice softened by teasing. "If Scribe Joy wants to offer her generosity, you should be grateful for it. It is not every day something like this falls into our laps."
Gryan nodded, a faint smirk crossing his features. "Stay calm, Alucent. Receive the kindness."
Alucent looked between them. Raya's grin. Gryan's smirk. Joy watching with quiet amusement.
He sighed and shook his head. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite his efforts to suppress it.
"Okay, okay," he said. "No problem."
He turned to Joy and bowed his head slightly, the motion sending a twinge through his ribs that he ignored.
"Thanks for your generosity, beautiful Scribe Joy."
Something flickered across Joy's face. A faint color rose to her cheeks, visible even through the torn veil. She looked away for a moment, then back at him.
"Oh, no," she said, and her voice was softer than usual. "It is nothing. I would do far more for people who have risked their lives for mine."
The moment held for a breath. Then Raya clapped her hands together.
"So," she said. "What do we do first?"
Alucent straightened, pressing a hand to his side as his ribs protested. "We should find a good hotel to rent and pay for," he said. "Then we eat." He paused. "Scribe Joy, how much do you think a two-room hotel would cost in a place like this?"
Joy folded her arms and considered the question. "In a place like this? Perhaps thirty Silverweaves per room. Each room should have at least two beds inside."
Raya frowned. "Is that not expensive?"
Joy shook her head. "Not even close. In Mossgrove Arc, a hotel room with two beds would cost nothing less than eighty to one hundred Silverweaves for a very comfortable stay. If we can get the same here for thirty or even fifty Silverweaves, I would not hesitate to pay." Her expression grew more serious. "I would not want to rest and wash up in a low-budget hotel."
Raya's eyebrows rose. "Eighty to one hundred? Mossgrove must be the most expensive city in all of Verdant Vale. That is ridiculous." She paused. "How has Miss Candice been coping with living in such a place?"
Joy smiled faintly. "When you are born in a city like that, or spend most of your life there, the cost of livelihood becomes normal. It does not seem ridiculous if the economy is balanced and good."
Raya considered this. "That is true," she said slowly. "I completely understand now."
Alucent shifted his weight again, his stomach growling faintly. "Okay," he said. "Let us go find a nice-looking hotel to lodge in. And then eat better food." He paused and rubbed his stomach. "I am seriously starving now."
Raya turned to him with a grin. "After everything we have been through, your first priority is food?"
Joy's smile widened slightly. "He has his priorities in order, at least."
Gryan snorted. "A man needs to eat."
They laughed, and Alucent felt something ease in his chest. The fear and tension from the previous night had not vanished, but it had loosened. For this moment, at least, they could breathe.
They set off down the avenue, walking together through the busy streets of the Hinter Villages.
Alucent moved gingerly, each step sending a dull ache through his ribs. He kept his hand pressed to his side without thinking about it. The others walked at a pace that matched his, slower than their usual stride, and he was grateful for it even though no one mentioned it.
The Steamcottages they passed were larger than the ones in Eryndral. Two stories, some of them three, built from Ironvine and brick with brass fixtures that gleamed in the morning light.
Like two-story buildings on Earth, Alucent thought. But with pipes and gears everywhere.
The streets were crowded with people moving between shops and stalls, their voices blending into a constant murmur. More people than he had expected for a frontier settlement.
This city has high population, he thought. I should ask about that later. When we have settled in.
They turned down a side street, then another, passing rows of residential Steamcottages and small market squares. John Irvilous had disappeared with the cart, presumably to find a stable for the horses.
Then they rounded a corner onto a street marked by a brass sign: Gauls Avenue.
And Alucent stopped.
The building at the end of the avenue was different from everything else they had seen. It was massive, three stories of soot-stained red brick reinforced with polished copper exoskeletons that caught the morning light. Gothic architecture, soaring and multi-tiered, with floor-to-ceiling arched glass windows that revealed massive brass cogs rotating slowly behind them. The gears powered something inside, lift systems perhaps, and their movement gave the building an impression of being alive.
At the very top, a sprawling brass and iron terrace served as some kind of landing platform. For what, Alucent could not immediately tell. Airships, perhaps.
Above the entrance, a signboard displayed glowing letters: NIRVANA'S STEAM.
Raya's eyes went wide. Joy's lips parted slightly, and something shifted in her expression.
Alucent turned to Gryan. "You see that?"
Gryan's mouth curved into a smirk. "I see it."
Joy stepped forward, her blue eyes fixed on the building. "Yes," she said, and there was genuine pleasure in her voice. "This is what I was hoping we would find. I did not expect such a place in this city."
Raya was already moving toward the entrance. "I do not care where it came from," she said. "As long as we get to rest in such a place today, I am glad it exists."
Alucent followed, his ribs protesting with each step. "Alright then. Let us go inside and ask the receptionist about the pricing."
Raya reached the entrance first. The doors were massive, thick glass panels reinforced with Ironvine wood and brass fittings. She pushed them open with both hands, her excitement lending her strength, and stepped inside.
The others followed.
The lobby stretched out before them, high-ceilinged and grand. At the center stood a giant clock powered by water pressure, its gears visible through a glass casing, turning slowly with a soft mechanical rhythm. The floor was a mosaic of black-and-white marble tiles, accented by bronze strips that glowed with recessed gaslight. Wrought-iron railings bordered a central staircase that curved upward toward the higher floors, and copper pipes ran along the walls, carrying pneumatic mail between rooms.
The furniture was deep emerald velvet and distressed cognac leather. Antique telescopes stood on brass stands near the windows. Leather-bound maps hung on the walls beside Edison-bulb chandeliers that hummed with a low, electric vibration.
The air smelled of polished brass and fresh bread drifting from somewhere deeper in the building. Guests moved through the lobby in small groups, well-dressed men and women speaking in low voices, their footsteps quiet on the marble floor. The atmosphere was refined, unhurried, the quiet bustle of people who belonged in places like this.
Alucent looked around and felt something between awe and amusement settle in his chest.
This... This is not what I expected from a frontier settlement.
Joy nodded slowly, her eyes moving across the lobby. "I am impressed," she said. "This is likely the most luxurious hotel in the Hinter Villages." She paused and adjusted her torn veil. "This is my taste. Let us meet the receptionist immediately."
They walked across the marble floor to the reception counter at the far end of the lobby. Behind it stood a young woman in a wine-colored suit, a matching hat perched on her head. She was beautiful, with sharp features and dark hair, perhaps in her early twenties. She smiled as they approached.
"Good morning," she said. "Welcome to Nirvana's Steam. How may I assist you?"
Raya stepped forward. "We want two rooms here. Each with at least two separate beds inside, a bath, and very comfortable." She paused. "The best you have."
The receptionist's smile widened. "Of course. I am happy to assist. Our rooms with two separate beds and private baths are forty Silverweaves per room."
Raya turned to look at Joy, her eyebrows raised.
Gryan spoke first. "Does it not go lower? Perhaps thirty Silverweaves per room?"
The receptionist shook her head politely. "We do have rooms at thirty Silverweaves, but those do not have two beds. The bath is also smaller compared to the forty-Silverweave rooms." She paused. "Additionally, lunch and dinner are included for guests in the forty-Silverweave rooms."
Alucent's interest sharpened at that. Free meals. He turned to Joy.
"Can we take them? Two rooms?"
Joy met his eyes and nodded.
Raya's face broke into a wide smile. She turned back to the receptionist, practically bouncing on her feet.
Joy stepped forward and reached into the pouch at her belt. She counted out eighty Silverweaves, the old notes with their soft pale silver glow, and placed them on the counter.
The receptionist collected the notes and counted them carefully, holding each one up to the light to verify that they were the old Silverweaves and not the new ones. Satisfied, she placed the money in a drawer beneath the counter and looked up with another polished smile.
"Thank you for choosing Nirvana's Steam," she said. "Please allow me to show you to your rooms."