The door of the Red Door — a name that Marv the Innkeeper had stumbled over enough times to know it had been a bad choice — swung open. Marv flinched at the noise. He hurriedly sat straight up, adjusting his collar and plastering a well-practiced professional expression across his features.

  A great deal of adventurers passed through Knottsville. Some were poor. Others were rich. Others… well, they were so rich that they as well have been dead broke. When it came to Rank 7s, it was often better to give them free passage than to risk trying to charge them for much of anything at all.

  But that was a small price to pay for being situated within a week of Aqua Terra. The land beneath Marv’s feet was worth more crystal than every scrap of wealth the entirety of his lineage had ever managed to procure.

  But that didn’t mean he was poor. On the contrary. Marv considered himself a very wealthy man. He’d earned enough money to retire ten years ago, but money had a way of keeping one in the game until retirement was nothing more than a distant memory.

  Marv loved it. Money, that was.

  Money was great.

  It was great enough to keep him in a job that he generally tolerated for many years longer than he had any need to. And he wasn’t the only one in Knottsville that lived by such a principle. Life here was, for lack of a better word, safe.

  Only rarely did great monsters make themselves known. When they did, some poweful adventurer or another would make short work of them. None of the other factions would be fool enough to try an attack anywhere near the capital of the Coral Empire.

  No, this job was the greatest one in the world. It only had a single drawback.

  “Hey,” a man called through a sneer as he stepped into the building. Golden livery dangled from his silken clothes and a pair of wickedly sharp blades hung at his sides — clean but worn from years of use. “Pour me a good one. Not your usual trash.”

  The customers.

  Marv kept his expression perfectly still. Even more people were passing through the Red Door now that the tournament was so close. Some were old faces. Old problems. Ones that Marv was more than used to handling.

  But some were new. Members of other factions. Unpredictable problems that threatened the only two things Marv cared about: his money and his peace.

  “Welcome back, Ser Rand,” Marv said. He was quite proud of the fact that his tone didn’t allow so much as a hint of displeasure through. “I hope your training went fruitfully.”

  “I don’t recall asking you for small talk,” Rand replied, striding over and flopping down in a chair. He leaned back and kicked his feet up to rest his dirty boots on the recently cleaned counter before Marv. “Get me my drink, little man.”

  Marv’s eye nearly twitched.

  Then he dutifully reached back and poured a frothing glass of beer. It was a good one. Not his best. But the best was reserved for the people he actually liked. It wasn’t even on the menu.

  There was one benefit to all the rude adventurers passing through Knottsville. None of them expected much at all from him, so they were hardly surprised when they found his drinks to be little more than average.

  Marv set the drink down before Rand. “Of course. Please, enjoy.”

  “I doubt I will,” Rand said, grabbing the beer and downing half of it in one go. His lip curled in distaste and he set the mug back down on the table before pulling a napkin from his pocket and dabbing at his face. “As shit as I remember.”

  “Thank you,” Marv said with a straight face. “If it was good enough for you to return, then I will accept the compliment.”

  Rand grunted. “Don’t get too big for your boots. The only reason I’m here is because I’m enjoying the countryside a little longer before heading into Aqua Terra for business.”

  More like you aren’t powerful enough to swing your weight around in Aqua Terra, so you’re just settling for the outskirts where you can still feel like your life matters more than those of the people around you.

  Marv wasn’t sure what faction Rand came from. They’d never had a conversation long enough for him to find out. But, if he had to guess, it was probably the Horde of Man. All the adventurers from that faction tended to be arrogant. Perhaps it had something to do with the way their empire was structured.

  Perhaps Marv would have been more curious if he hadn’t been subjected to their insufferable mages. But, at the end of the day, it hardly mattered. Rand would annoy him for a few more days. Then the tournament would arrive. The man would leave, get humiliated, and return to his empire, never to return.

  “Get me another,” Rand said.

  Marv glanced at the half-empty glass of beer on the counter before Rand. Then he inclined his head. “Of course.”

  The door creaked.

  A shadow passed across the torchlit room.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Marv paused. His gaze flicked to the door as a woman stepped through it, long black hair braided with metal disks running all the way down to her lower back. She wore skintight leather armor that had seen more than its fair share of battles but still remained in fairly good shape. A wooden mask covered her features, leaving only two sharp eyes visible beneath it.

  But Marv barely had a second to take in her appearance before a titan of a man stepped into the room behind her, turning sideways to squeeze through the door. He was easily two heads taller than the woman and covered with muscles that would have made a troll jealous. The man’s head was clean-shaven, and he bore a huge hunk of metal and stone masquerading as a sword on his back.

  It took Marv a second to drag his eyes away from the weapon. The two newcomers made their right up to the bar beside Rand and pulled chairs out, sitting down alongside the other adventurer. Wood creaked dangerously beneath the large man. But, by some miracle, the chair held strong.

  “What are you doing?” Rand snapped. “I told you to get me another.”

  “Right,” Marv said, blinking hurriedly and turning to pour another drink for Rand. “Of course. My apologies. I zoned out.”

  Rand just let out a snort. “Empty-headed fool.”

  But for all his words, Rand’s eyes were focused on the chest of the woman that had sat beside him. He was making absolutely no move to hide where his vision was directed.

  “Do you barter?” the woman asked, either not noticing Rand or completely ignoring him.

  Marv paused. “What?”

  “Barter,” the woman said. “We’ve been on the road for a while. I’d prefer to avoid spending any crystals if we can. What about a monster tooth? I got it from some tiger thing in a forest a while back.”

  “I… sure,” Marv said. At the very least, perhaps it would make a good mantle piece. It was better than nothing at all.

  “Why bother?” Rand asked. “It’s free. You’re here for the tournament, aren’t you?”

  The woman ignored him. She pulled a claw free from a pouch at her side and slid it across the counter to Marv. It was… well, a claw. Marv didn’t have the faintest sense for what a good claw was. He’d capped out at Rank 4 for a reason.

  He mutely took the claw and poured two beers. Some pay was better than none at all.

  “Hey,” Rand said. “Don’t ignore me.”

  “You didn’t say anything worth responding to,” the woman said. “And I am not in the mood for an uninteresting conversation.”

  “That’s a lot of talk for someone with such a weak domain,” Rand drawled. He took a sip from the new mug of beer that Marv had poured him, then set it aside beside the first one. “Who are you with? I don’t recognize you.”

  “None of your concern,” the woman said. “You’ll find out if we meet in the tournament. I don’t see any reason to reveal my abilities to someone before then. But I don’t find it likely that we’ll meet there, either. You don’t seem competent.”

  “What was that?” Rand’s lips peeled back into a snarl. “You want to try me, princess?”

  The patrons scattered throughout the rest of the Red Door started to glance in their direction. Marv’s stomach clenched. This wasn’t good. It was also hardly uncommon. When someone gathered a bunch of arrogant adventurers in the same room, fights were inevitable.

  He’d spent more crystals than he cared to admit on renovation in the past weeks alone. If the Coral Empire hadn’t been subsidizing the damage caused by visiting mages, his profits would have taken a pretty significant hit.

  “No fights in the tavern,” Marv said.

  “Shut up,” Rand said, still staring at the woman. “If princess here wants to talk shit, then let her back her words up. I’ve been looking for a good warmup before things get properly started. But let’s put something worthwhile on the line, why don’t we? No reason to fight without stakes.”

  The large man beside the woman blew out a heavy sigh. “Drop it. This isn’t worth the effort. I’m tired, and you’ve already torn two other sets of armor to shreds recently. We can’t afford to fund this forever. You have a problem.”

  “It’s optimal,” the woman snapped. “Are you expecting me to practice in sub-optimal equipment? That isn’t happening.”

  “Don’t ignore me,” Rand snapped, rising to his feet and sending his chair tipping back.

  The large man pointed a finger toward the chair.

  It froze mid-air.

  He flicked his hand, righting the chair and setting it down a foot away from Rand. Then, with another heavy sigh, the large man rose from his own seat to loom above the other mage.

  Marv suppressed a groan. This wasn’t good.

  “Last warning,” the large man said quietly. “I am tired. I am in a bad mood. The road has been long. That is liable to make me do something that I regret.”

  “I don’t recall saying anything to you. And neither of you have anywhere near the domain to act like this. Putting on an aloof face isn’t going to save you,” Rand laughed. “Come on. Money where your mouth is, big guy. That huge ass sword isn’t doing anything but showing us all that you’re compensating for something inadequate. Is your built-in sword a bit short, perhaps?”

  The big man sighed. “Would it make you shut up if I said it was?”

  “I don’t bargain with cowards,” Rand sneered. He took a step forward.

  The big man raised his hand.

  Rand vanished.

  A faint pop in Marv’s ears followed by a whoosh as wind rushed to fill the air where Rand had been a second before was the only sign of anything at all having happened.

  What?

  Marv blinked. He stared at the air where the arrogant mage had been a second before. Then he looked over to the huge man, who lowered his hand and quietly sat back at his chair.

  Was that spatial magic? But I’ve never heard of someone being skilled enough to forcibly teleport an enemy mage so easily. Not unless the difference in power was astronomical.

  The hair on the back of Marv’s neck stood on end.

  There was a monster in his tavern.

  “Sorry about that,” the large man said. “We’ll cover his tab.”

  “I — uh, there’s no need for that. No need at all. Is there anything else I could get you?” Marv stammered.

  “Just an answer to a question. I’m looking for someone,” the large man said, hunching down over the counter to get closer to eye-level with Marv. “Might you know anything?”

  Marv swallowed. “Can you describe them? I can do my best, Ser.”

  “No titles, please. I’m not Ser of anything,” the large man said with a small laugh. “And the man I’m looking for… well, I don’t even know if he’s even passed through the area. It’s just a hope. I don’t even know what he might be dressed like right now. All I’ve got is a name.”

  Someone this powerful searching for a particular person? That’s not going to end well for anyone involved. Shit. I certainly hope I’ve never heard of them.

  Marv gave the man a stiff nod. “Who is it? I can try my best to recall if I know anything of this person.”

  “Well, I’m not actually sure he’s going by this anymore,” the man admitted. “But it’s my best guess. I’m looking for a man by the name of Spider. He’s my brother.”

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