Catching up with Edmund hadn’t been difficult. The man was tall; He stood a few inches taller than Asher. His clothing was unusual, he wore faded grey robes that Asher thought looked like those of a martial artist, long loose sleeves to allow for free movement, belted at the waist with fabric. The robes which might otherwise have looked plain were ornamented by a blue cape resting on his shoulders. Lastly there was the hat. A strange tri-pointed thing that folded at the sides and back, it was navy blue with white lining at the edges. To top off the flashy presentation the man had striking yellow blonde hair and icy blue eyes. All in all, the guy was hard to miss. 

             Asher worried about that, if he had only noticed Edmund because of how obvious he was in a crowd, had he missed other tails? Were they still being followed? He had no way to figure that out while also trying to follow Edmund and keep an eye on Hazel all at the same time.

             Edmund was true to his word; he led them on a short walk to an inn with a sign out the front naming it “The Sleepy Hound.” Edmund stepped up to the front door and gestured for the others to enter. 

             The two accepted his invitation and stepped inside. Immediately Asher was embraced by the nostalgic smell of an inn. The warm inviting scents of roasting meat and rich gravy was enmeshed with the smell of spilled beer and wine.  The front of the building was staffed by a woman Asher guessed to be in her sixties. There was a flight of stairs to the left, presumably leading up to the rooms, and to the right Asher assumed was the way to the dining hall. His eyes, still night blind from the glare outside, were having trouble adjusting to the dim interior. 

             Asher and Hazel both hesitated, waiting uncomfortably for Edmund to follow them in. The embarrassing truth was that, not only did they not have any money, they didn't even know what money looked like here.  At home they had traded with paper money that the King had produced. He hadn’t seen anything like that exchanging hands here. 

             An awkward moment of silence later and Edmund waltzed in, the room’s attention was drawn immediately. Asher was beginning to wonder if perhaps Edmund enjoyed being the centre of attention.  “Evalyn! So good to see you again. It has been much, much too long.” He strolled over to the greeter and leaned down, planting his hand on the desk in front of her. He grinned down at the woman. 

             “No parties.” Evalyn grunted, her voice sounding stiff from disuse. She cleared her throat and repeated herself for effect “NO PARTIES.” She said in a much firmer louder voice. 

             “Wouldn’t dream of it, and you have my sincere apologies for the damage, once again.” Edmund replied as he stood up straight, withdrawing from the desk, only to knock on it once again for effect. “One room please, for my friends here.” 

             Evalyn leaned to the side peering around Edmund, studying Asher and Hazel for the first time. “And why aren't they buying a room themselves? They aren't beggars or streetwalkers, are they Edmund?” 

             “They’re no beggars.” Edmund scoffed.” These two are my new friends. They have come here from far away along a difficult path and they are in need of some help while they get back on their feet.” He winked. 

             Evalyn just sighed “Hmph, same price as always.” She took a key from the drawer in front of her and placed it on the desk. 

             Edmund pulled out what looked like a rough transparent gemstone, it hadn't been faceted and looked as if it were still in its original shape, perhaps snapped off a geode. It was sized well to fit in the palm of a hand comfortably. Edmund placed it down heavily on the desktop, taking the key in trade. 

             “Thank you, my good woman, I promise to be a good boy and ensure the damage is kept to a minimum.” Edmund said. Satisfied with himself, he turned back to Asher and declared “I think we need a meal, don’t you?” And with that he began walking away once more, toward the smell of the food.

             Left with few other options Asher and Hazel followed the strange man in. Entering the dining hall, they were bathed in the warm nostalgic scents of meat and gravy. Asher’s mouth instantly began to water and Hazel’s stomach loudly complained. 

             “Is this feeling too good to be true to you?” Asher leaned in and whispered to Hazel. “We come to this magical and dangerous world with shadow monsters and elves, and we immediately run into a weird rich kid who saves us and buys us a room and meal to top it off?” 

             “Maybe. It is convenient. But what other option do we have but to humour him? We have no guide and no information. Besides, if it's a trap we can worry about it after we eat.” Her eyes never left the firepit at the end of the hall, which had a cauldron of some kind of soup boiling away inside.  Edmund was already introducing himself to the barkeep and the few other patrons sitting at the bar. Asher couldn’t imagine having so much energy and appetite for meeting other people, he just couldn't understand it. 

             “You're right.” Asher replied. “We need more information, not to mention the food and a roof over our heads tonight.” 

             Looking over again Asher could see that Edmund had already chosen where they would be sitting. He had placed himself in a booth at the far corner of the room, pointedly chosen to be far away from the other patrons. Somehow, although Asher had not seen them ordered, drinks were already sitting out for the three of them on the table. Edmund was gesturing enthusiastically for them to join him.  Asher and Hazel sat down at the table opposite Edmund; they didn't bother to hide their suspicion of him.  

             “So, you two are from another world, right?” Edmund wasted no time getting to the point.