“Here we are, Master Noor. The finest room we have.”
“Thanks, Galen.”
Having finished my luxurious dinner ahead of the others, I was led by Galen to what he claimed was the nicest guest room he could provide. It was a bold assertion, to be sure, but the accommodation exceeded even his most confident boasts.
Situated on the top floor of the hotel, the room was said to offer a view of every famous landmark in Sarenza City. That, I thought, was more clever marketing than fact—while the landmarks were technically visible, they appeared no larger than tiny specks. Still, I couldn’t deny the breathtaking beauty of the cityscape.
As a bonus, the room featured a shower with unlimited water—a true luxury in a desert country—and a “one-person” bed so enormous that it could comfortably fit five people with space to spare. Every aspect of the services and amenities was immaculate. I doubted I’d make many—or any—more trips to Sarenza, but if I ever did return, I’d jump at the chance to stay somewhere so remarkable.
But the perks didn’t end there. Galen had gone above and beyond by reserving the entire floor for me, meaning I had free rein over every single one of its rooms. It was far more than I needed, in my opinion, but they would have gone unused otherwise; the others had already been assigned rooms on the lower levels. Lynne and Rolo wanted to repair their oracle’s orb—a magical, long-range communication device that could transmit both sound and imagery—so they were staying with Ines. Sirene was in a separate room with Mina and Rigel, having agreed to keep an eye on the twins. I’d offered to help both groups, but they’d said they didn’t really have a use for me.
And so, here I was, with nothing to do.
I’d passed some time exploring my room, but that only held my interest for so long. Then I started swinging the Black Blade around, hoping to get some practice in—only for Galen to sprint into the room and tearfully beg me to do “anything but that.”
Unable to tolerate the boredom, I wandered around the hotel asking if anyone had chores I could help with. Even simple tasks like cleaning or washing dishes sounded good, but every employee I spoke to went white as a sheet, fervently apologizing for whatever they thought I found “inadequate” about their service.
With nothing else to do, I decided to head up to the roof. Galen had praised its unobstructed view of the capital, and zoning out in front of a beautiful cityscape sounded pleasant enough as a last resort.
“The view’s even prettier than I thought.”
My first few steps onto the rooftop were tentative—my fear of heights was hard to beat—but I managed to swallow my nerves enough to get a good look around. I stood alone in an open plaza, with no walls or any sort of covering overhead. So many species of plants decorated the space that it might’ve been mistaken for a garden at first glance.
I relaxed into a small metal chair at the edge of the plaza and gazed up. The sun had nearly set, and a full moon hung crisp and majestic in the darkening sky. The moon probably wasn’t a rare sight here—it was likely visible most nights, thanks to the lack of clouds over the desert—but its stark brilliance illuminating the city from above gave the whole spectacle a fairy-tale sheen.
For a while, I simply took in the view. It was truly wonderful—but even that couldn’t keep my boredom at bay for long. Before I had the chance to grow sick of staring at the same scene, I decided to head back to my room and turn in for the night—while the view was still a memory worth appreciating.
However, before I could even rise from my seat, I sensed someone approaching. I turned to find Rashid, wearing his ever-present smile as he strolled over and came to stand beside me.
“Good evening, Noor,” he said. “Enjoying the hotel?”
I nodded. “The food’s great, the rooms are huge, and I got some good rest. The view from up here’s just the cherry on top.”
“Your praise warms my heart. Despite its shortcomings, Sarenza City will always be my hometown.”
“Oh, right. You lived here as a kid, didn’t you?”
“I did. Then, when I turned twelve, a minor incident strongly encouraged my departure.”
“Did you do something bad?” I asked, eyeing him curiously.
“Ah ha ha! More times than I can count, in hindsight. But the capital isn’t the kind of place to drive someone out over petty transgressions.” Rashid’s expression sobered, and he stared up at the moon. “No, I wasn’t the reason. Maybe I’ll tell you the story sometime.”
I joined Rashid in looking up at the sky, but a stir in the corner of my vision soon pulled my attention to the city below. Wagons from the shipping company we’d commissioned were making their way along the roads.
“Is that whole caravan headed for the City Forgotten by Time?” I asked.
“It is,” Rashid confirmed. “Rigel chose an excellent company—the relocation is already in progress. You can trust that everyone will arrive safely.”
“Yeah, I guess I can.”
“Mister Noor, Mister Rashid—I was searching all over for you.”
I turned again to see Rigel and Mina. They wore newly tailored clothes, and their hair was neatly trimmed. Had I not already seen their new look when they came to dinner, I might not have recognized them—they looked every bit like children of a rich family.
“We’ve come to thank you for dinner. The food was more delicious than anything we’ve ever eaten before,” Rigel explained. “You even paid us for our work this afternoon and generously allowed us to stay in this hotel with you. It’s so much more than we deserve.”
“Yeah, dinner was yummy!” Mina echoed. “Thank you so much!”
The twins bowed. I’d eaten faster than everyone else, so they hadn’t had the chance to thank me during the meal.
“You didn’t need to come find me just to say that,” I told them. “Besides, you were both a big help today. You’ve got nothing to feel bad about.”
“He’s right,” Rashid added. “The money you were given was fair recompense for your work. You earned it.”
“Rigel, Mina—we should thank you, if anything. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep helping us out.”
“Of course, Mister Noor,” Rigel said.
“Yeah!” Mina agreed. “Wherever you go, we’ll follow!”
“As much as I’d rather not rain on your parade, you two should leave this city as soon as you’re able,” Rashid said. His smile faded, replaced by a serious look as he gazed upon the pedestrians wandering the nighttime streets. “Starting tomorrow, things are sure to get messy. Today was but a taste of what’s to come.”
“Today was pretty hectic,” I agreed.
We had come across Mina and those men shortly after arriving in the capital, and things hadn’t slowed down since. If trouble of that nature was common here, I suspected we really could expect more. While I doubted we’d get trapped and attacked again, it would put my mind at ease if the twins relocated.