I appeared on the outskirts of a city with a large stone wall encircling it. The door I came through was inside a stone arch on a circular stone platform that was about 12 feet in diameter. The door disappeared shortly after it had shut. Well, there’s no going back now.

I looked ahead and saw that there were two guards manning the front gate to the city and they seemed to have noticed me, because they looked surprised. One of them ran off into the city. I could see that there were a few more guards walking along the top of the wall, but they didn’t seem to notice me.

There was a small clearing in front of the city gate, but was quickly met with a dense forest. I could hear the wails of beasts and I didn’t want anything to do with them, at the moment, so I headed towards the front gate.

As I approached, the guard that was left straightened up and looked me in the eye. He spoke words to me that I didn’t understand and he then moved his head back to staring directly at the clearing and forest in front of him. Well, I’m not sure what he said to me, but I guess I’ll just wait here then.

After standing awkwardly outside the gate for another ten minutes, the other guard showed back up with another person. It was a younger female with blonde hair, who looked somewhat similar to the woman who just beat me up on the previous railcar. She was wearing a navy-blue button up that had gold-colored buttons. Her pants were the same color, as well as the hat she was wearing.

“Hello!...”

She trailed off briefly while she saw my face and the bloodstain from my nose. She pulled out a small handkerchief from her pocket and handed to me. She waited a moment before speaking while I proceeded to wipe off what I could. When I attempted to hand it back, she waved it off. So, I placed it into my bag.

“Welcome to Neron, my name is N and I will be your guide while you get situated. Please follow me.”

Her name is N? The letter? We started to walk into the city.

“How is it I can understand you, but not the guards?”

She pointed to her neck, where a violet necklace glittered in the sunlight.

“I see you are without a speech gem. We will have to find a seller that is selling a pendant or other piece of jewelry to accommodate this, or find one that’s been to the Terror Mountain caves and has the bare gem that we can get enchanted.”

Terror Mountain. Yeah, I can agree with that. She tapped her cheek while she thought. While she did that, I pulled the violet gem from my bag.

“Something like this?”

Her eyes widened and went to grab the gem, but held off.

“Where in Agrathea did you get that? Those are very rare and cost a lot of gold. It’s a good thing you have one, because you would’ve had to take on considerable debt to buy from a seller. This saves us a lot of time and money.”

“So that place was Terror Mountain? Those imps do cause a lot of terror in numbers.”

“Oh those ‘imps’ are just the babies. There are other creatures in there that are the real reason it’s called terror mountain.”

Now that has me worried about ever going back there. What did I almost get myself into trying to collect those green gems?

“If that’s the case, why do those yetis live there?”

“Yeti? Do you mean the Y’ati people? They have found that cave to be a viable spot to plant their crops in the harsh environment in which they live. They are suited for the cold weather, too. They have found that the creatures living in the mountain fear the light just as much as they themselves are feared. That is why they have the giant hole for the daytime, and guards with torches and light gems for the night. It is risky living, but that is their choice.”

We stopped in front of a building with a hammer and anvil shown on a sign, with a “95” painted on the base of the anvil. This can’t be.

“This is the blacksmith K’ali’s workshop. She will be able to reform that gem into something you can use to understand the many languages of Agrathea.”

“Is that so? We’ve actually met before. This sword was made by her.”

I tapped the sword at my waist. N slightly bent down to get a closer look at the hilt. Her eyes squinted for a moment.

“You’ve got good taste then. Let’s see if she’s in. She almost always is.”

When she grabbed the door handle and tried opening the door, it would not budge.

“That is most unusual. It appears, this is one of the rare times, she is not in. Let’s move on.”

We continued walking further into the city. We passed a market full of stalls and vendors selling a wide variety of items. We turned corner after corner, weaving through the buildings, passing several that appeared to be residences.

“We are headed to the Ag Inn. That’s short for Agrathea Inn, but also a play on words because they’re sure you’ll see them ‘ag-ain’.”

N chuckled to herself.

“I don’t have any gold on me. How will I pay them?”

“They have arrangements with the king to help passengers such as yourself.”

Passengers? Does she know that I’m, we’re, on a train?

“I’m sorry, did you say passenger? You know we’re on a train?”

“I do apologize, but I am forbidden to say any more.”

“Are you a passenger? K’ali didn’t even know what a train was.”

“The inn is just on the edge of the city, near the southwest gate”

She totally ignored my question. She won’t budge. Damn.

“I still don’t have a speech gem. How will I be able to communicate with them?”

“All workers at the inn are equipped with a gem. Please note, that this is the only establishment, aside from K’ali’s that uses these gems. It is very rare stone, and very few people are even able to afford them. You will be unable to speak with anyone else outside of the inn, so please be cautious if you decide to explore.”

We reached a building that was separated from the others and it was positioned a short distance from the outer wall. There was a large open grassy area with a pedicured garden in front of it. It was a very luxurious looking piece of property. I don’t know if I would ever be able to afford a night here.

“Here we are.”

As we approached, several women dressed in uniforms came out and stood in a line to greet us. Each one of them had a necklace with a violet gem inside. Once we were closer, N spoke to the first woman on the end.

“This here is a passenger. Please accommodate him according to his majesty’s wishes.”

A few of the women on the other end of the line seemed surprised, but quickly stifled the emotion and straightened back up.

“And this is where I must leave you. There is not much to be done without a speech gem, so we must part ways until such time. It made no sense for you to purchase another, since you already have one in your possession. However, these fine ladies of the inn will help you from here on and if you ever need my help, they can direct you to the Lord’s building in the center of the city.”

N gave a slight bow and headed off.

“Welcome to the Ag Inn, passenger.”

“Thank you.”

I followed them in. The inside was immaculate and felt like this wasn’t necessarily an inn but a very fancy hotel. The floor was polished stone, there was elegant furniture, and fancy large paintings on the wall. The entryway had two sets of large curving staircases in the back corners. Just before each staircase were doors. The left side doors were opened and within looked like fine dining restaurant. The other doors on the right were closed. I wonder what is through there.

At the far end on the wall opposite the front door and seating area, was a large polished stone counter. Behind the counter sat a single person, that I could only assume was the innkeeper. I was escorted up to this man and the maid that N had spoken to walked around the counter and whispered into his ear. She then returned to the line of maids off to the right.

“A passenger. Yes, yes.”

He leaned over to pull something out from beneath the counter. It looked like a dusty old journal. The innkeeper skimmed through it.

“Ah, yes, very peculiar.”

I stood patiently as he read the journal.

“Yes, yes. My name is Milkrose and I am the keeper of this inn.” Milkrose started to read directly from the journal. “By order of the king, all passengers shall be treated as a high lord. Any and all costs of the stay shall be at a reduced price and shall be collected once the passenger has arrived to railcar 75. If the passenger has not paid all debts by railcar 50, a Kohlector will be summoned.”

He closed the journal and looked a bit confused. A collector? Summoned? Yeah, I don’t want to deal with that. Here’s hoping this stay doesn’t cost a fortune. And how much is a “reduced price.” What other choice do I really have though? I have no money.

“Apologies, my lord. I did not understand most of what that had said, but I assume you do, yes?”

“Yes, understood.”

“Yes, good, my lord. There are a few things you should know. My staff shall see to all of your requests. You shall be staying in room 90i. You may dine in for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, during your stay. There is a bell inside your room, should you have any needs. And…“ Milkrose opened the journal once more. “You may use the elevator behind the front desk, should you need it. A key is needed. If no key is present, Ag Inn staff shall provide passage to the next railcar.”

Milkrose looked behind him at the keyhole I had just noticed in the wall.

“Yes, yes. Layla, could you please take our lord to his room?”

Layla, the head maid, bowed to Milkrose and gestured me towards the stairs. As we walked up the stairs and made it to the long hallway with all of the rooms, I noticed that there were no numbers on the doors. The hallway looked as if it could fit ten rooms, but there were only three. At the far end of the hallway was another set of stairs.

We had gone up eight flights of stairs total to reach a hallway with a single door, set right in the middle. On that door was the number “90i.”

“This will be the first time, since I have served at this inn, that we’ve had a visitor stay in this room. I have never personally seen the inside, my lord.”

She walked us to the door and was about to open it for me, but stopped herself.

“I do apologize, my lord. Per the guidelines, you must be the one to open the door.”

Is she implying that it wouldn’t be the same room if she were to open it? I reached for the handle and pushed the door open. Inside the room, almost made no sense. It was a railcar cabin. There was a bed, a chest similar to the one in the dining car, a small desk, and what looked like a small bathroom, with a shower. There was also a giant window, that showed a dark nighttime forest with a small pattering of rain. Wait a minute, wasn’t it still daytime?

I could see the subtle sway of the room, standing in the hallway. The head maid looked stunned, with this room being nothing she had ever seen before. The size of the room didn’t fit what she had quite imagined.

“I’m sorry, my lord, this small ro…”

I cut her off. “It’s perfect.”

“Yes, of course, my lord. Will you be needing anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

“Of course, my lord. Please ring the bell on the…”

She trailed off for a moment, unsure of where the bell was.

“Yes, thank you Layla, I will ring the bell. And if I am unable to find it, I will head down stairs, it’s no trouble.” I just want to sleep. It feels like it’s been days.

Layla bowed and headed back to the stairs. I watched her descend first, then went through the door and shut it.

It was peaceful in this room. After having been through so much, and even dying, all I needed right now was to sleep. I found that I didn’t get hungry on this train and I only ate when I was injured. Sleep wasn’t a necessity, just a strong want. I needed a reset. This bed will rock me to sleep with the rain calming my mind. It was everything I needed.

I took off my sword, placed my bag on the desk, and practically jumped into the bed. And fell asleep instantly.