A whirl of dust followed the stranger's heavy boots into the inn. The card game in the corner stopped for a breath, looked him over with disinterested eyes before returning to the hands. A young woman with the blackest hair looked him up and down, the smile on her face didn't reach her eyes and she turned back to her conversation. The wooden door banged shut behind him, the wind died, the searing heat was left behind and the stranger's shoulders sagged as a sigh left him. The barkeep looked up and gave him a nod, "Ain't seen you here before." He said. The stranger crossed the floor to lean up against the bar.
"Not been here." He shrugged. The barkeep looked around a moment before catching the eye of the black haired girl. With a brief signal she walked over.
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"Man here's a new comer, you mind explaining things while I fix this?" he said holding up some glasses. She nodded and turned to the stranger, giving him more of a look over this time. Under his hat, she could make out dark hair poking out, brushing his jawline. Silver-blue eyes fixed her with a distant stare and she supressed a shudder. She realised he towered over her and she took the smallest step back, two guns were strapped to his hips, almost hidden by the long great coat he wore.
"They won't work here you know." She said. He frowned. "You're weapons, they won't work here, none of them do."
"What is this place?" he said, pulling out his poke tin and rolling a cigarette.
"It's the Inn-" her words were cut off by a thundering crash, one of the windows shattered inwards. The stranger's guns were in his hands in half a heartbeat and she heard three clicks before he stopped firing.
"Don't work, right." He said. She turned to look at the smashed in window, a huge figure, draped with a red cloak, lay among the pile of glass, a hammer clutched in one hand. The figure coughed, once, twice, before clambering to his feet.
"What is this place?" he demanded. As he moved, the window behind him reformed, the floor clear of glass. The stranger with the guns starred at it, a frown on his face.
"Right, this is the Inn of all Locations, only found by those that know where it is or by those that need it most. Weapons don't work here, it is a sanctuary. There are rooms upstairs if you require them, the food is the best you'll ever taste and they serve anything you could possibly want. My name is Mattie, I was enjoying a quiet drink with an old friend before you two turned up, make your introductions." She said.
"Thor." Boomed the blonde haired new comer flashing her a winsome smile.
"Roland." The other man said, placing a cigarette between his teeth and lighting it.
"Having trouble Mattie?" the man she'd been chatting to joined her at the bar.
"No," she replied.
"So this is a safe house?" Roland said.
"The only true safe house left. Ain't nothing that can get you here, not mage hunters, not nothing. I'm Cathal by the way." He said inclining his head.
"Nothing can get me!" Thor said, signalling the barkeep.
"Like nothing put you through the window?" Mattie said raising a delicate eyebrow.
"Well..." he said waving his hand in the air, "I was winning until that unfortunate incident." The barkeep appeared at that moment and took the order from each of them.
"What passes for currency here?" Roland asked before laying a hand, or even his eyes, on the cool ale placed before him.
"What passes for currency where you live?" he replied. A gold coin appeared on the bar as he extinguished the smoke in a tray that hadn't been there a moment ago. "I don't have change for that." The barkeep said with a knowing smile.
"Don't expect it."
"I'll start a tab."
Roland nodded and took a long draft of the ale. Mattie watched the exchange with a fascinated look before turning to Thor, "What about you?" she said. Thor smiled that smile again before pulling a foreign coin from a hidden pouch.
"This is a coin of the Aesir, forged by my own hand, with Mjollnir herself." He said indicating the hammer at his side. The barkeep nodded and slid both coins across the bar and into a draw underneath.
"This shall do." He said, turning away. The four took their drinks and settled into one of the vacant corner booths. Cathal pulled out his two Widow-makers and began dismantling the weapons. Mattie thought about pulling out her spell book but rejected the idea; it would be rude to do so with two strangers sitting there. She sat instead, trying not to stare at the two men opposite her. They could not be more opposite to each other. Thor, with his open face and warm smile was a complete foil for Roland's dark frown. Thor's blue eyes were warm; his blonde shoulder length hair reflected the soft light of the sun, making it look like summer hay. She could make out well formed neck muscles and his shoulders looked like they could carry a house. He was well proportioned, that much was certain and she dragged her eyes to the vista out the window.
"What are those anyway?" Mattie said, turning her attention back to Roland's guns. "Cathal, you might find this interesting." She said nudging her companion with her elbow. He looked up as the gunslinger placed both weapons onto the table next to the crossbow bits.
"The guns of my line, they were my fathers before me, and his before him." He said. They were similar in shape to Cathal's crossbows, but missing the cross pieces. The handles were slim and made from the smoothest wood she's ever seen. The slender barrels were made of cold metal and the blue steel barrels looked perfectly made.
"How do they work?" Cathal asked. Mattie could see the curiosity in his eyes, for a moment she thought he was going to touch the weapons but a look from Roland stopped him.
"The same as yours do." He said.
"What put you through the window?" Mattie asked turning to Thor.
"Hmm. My brother." He replied, "Loki."
"Why did he not follow you in?" Roland asked, holstering the guns and taking a long draft of the ale.
"He didn't put me through that window. That was just the one I fell through. He threw me through the one in my father's hall. We were fighting over something but I cannot remember what. It seemed so important at the time." He said with a shrug, "Less so now. How about you? What's your story?"
"I was travelling through a desert. I was chasing someone, I'm sure I was. I... I don't remember. I think it was important to me." He said. He took his glass and drained it.
"How did you two end up here then," Thor said, turning back to Mattie, his blue eyes dancing in the light. She glanced at Roland and found him attentive in his own way. Cathal looked up and nodded.
"We been partners in business for more than a few years now. This place has been a sanctuary from those that would see us both dead. The place found us, much as it found both of you. From now on, you'll be able to find it when you need it, should you treat it well." Cathal explained.
"Business?" Thor asked, raising his brow.
"Business." Cathal said.
"And what would that entail then?"
"Bounty hunting, cards," he replied.
"Where do you come in?" Roland said looking at Mattie.
"I find people are open to suggestion in some ways. I can influence choices with a thought and influence how they play." She said, flicking her eyes to the table and back up again. She wasn't sure but she thought she saw the twitch of a smile at the edges of his mouth. Maybe. "Failing that, I can burn people with fire." That got a definite smile, it wasn't warm but it was a start. His long legs brushed against hers under the table and she shot them out the way with a blush. He didn't appear to notice.
"So, you're a card sharp and you're a mind reader?" Thor said, "This is not an honest living."
"It feeds my family." Cathal said, "I do what I have to, who are you to judge that? It aint the worst of my sins, nor is it the best but that's the way of it."
"Do you have family then?" Thor asked.
"It's complicated."
Thor waited for Cathal to elaborate. Mattie knew he wouldn't. She let out a sigh, took a long drink and fixed her best bar-maid smile. "What about you?" she asked Roland.
"Once. The world has moved on since then." He said, a faint sadness crept into his voice but he didn't elaborate further. Cathal returned to cleaning his crossbows.
"What do you do for fun around here?" Thor asked, "It seems pretty quiet."
"Most of the guys are out at the moment, there is rather a crowd sometimes. Vin plays the violin when he can be persuaded into it. We play cards-"
"We don't cheat here."
"Of course not, it won't work here, even magic is blocked."
"How far does that work?" Roland said.
"Just inside the building, we can go outside and duel if we get really bored. We can't be attacked by anyone outside but we can harm each other. There are targets and such as well for crossbows and er... guns?" Mattie said.
"What about hammers?"
