The mayor of Briargate is ecstatic. He has been trying to keep Max from wandering off or getting lost again, but the boy just will not cooperate. This morning, Max informs him that he is sad because he can no longer practice his bow or spear skills since he is no longer going to the cabin with Stephen.

  He offers to get Max a target and will allow him to practice on the estate grounds if he promises to stay put until the Braye envoy arrives. He thought for sure that Max would decline and instead choose to continue working at the smithy or for random townspeople, but Max actually agrees!

  Max promises that he will only take one more trip off the grounds, that he just has to pick up some things. The mayor sends one of his servants to immediately sort out buying and setting up the target for Max while the boy makes his final trip around town.

  Honestly, I didn’t think that would work. Max smiles to himself. It would have been a waste to buy a target just for this short time until the envoy arrived. Since Stephen is no longer training me and I’ve already said goodbye to the smith, I really have nothing to do.

  I never thought he would actually offer to buy one if I mentioned I wanted to train. I thought for sure he would have just encouraged me to buy one myself. I guess he really cannot stand my wandering.

  Max walks through town pleased that his little scheme works better than anticipated. He makes his way around the vendors looking for a suitable spear, bow, quiver, and a cheap but reliable set of arrows. Since he is no longer going to be able to use Stephen’s whenever he feels like it, he will now have to buy his own.

  After leaving Briargate, he will inevitably need them anyway. Having a target and a place to train will allow him to familiarize himself with the new tools and continue to get better at their use.

  The spear he ends up buying is about the same length as the one he is accustomed to using, but the head is completely different. It looks almost like a trident since the two lugs are bent into a front-facing crescent, only with the middle prong, the actual spearhead, being far longer.

  The lugs don’t actually bend completely forward like the way the prongs on a trident would, but more moon-shaped. Still, the illusion is there, and for whatever reason, they have been sharpened on the sides and brought to a pointed tip.

  He has never seen a spear like this, but he likes the way it looks, so he buys it. To his surprise, it also comes with an ingenious little cup attached to a rope with a loop on the end. The vendor explains that if you slip the loop up the shaft of the spear and then put the bottom of it in the cup, he can carry the spear easily on his shoulder or back.

  He also tries out more than a few different bows. He wants one that isn't too large so he can move with it, like the one he practiced with, but also with a decent pull strength. It takes him a while to find what he is looking for; most of them have been either too easy to pull or far too difficult.

  The quiver is easy; he doesn't really care what it looks like as long as it functions and just goes with the cheapest one he can find. Lastly, he looks at arrows.

  Not being completely sure what makes any arrow that much better than another, he mostly just makes sure they are straight and that the heads are a bit longer and narrower than the ones he had made. While the wound they will cause might be smaller, he feels the deeper penetration will be a plus.

  With his purchases complete and his coin pouch almost empty, he returns to the mayor’s estate. To his surprise, someone has already fetched and set up the target. He starts by working out with simple exercises and practicing some of the exercises from the martial arts books that he can remember.

  Given all the time he has spent in the woods, he has started neglecting his morning workouts, and he is going to make sure to not only change that but also increase the frequency and intensity of them. After he finishes the workout, he starts practicing with his weapons. He doesn’t just need bow training, so he alternates between it, the spear, the tomahawks, both in throwing and close up, and with his knives, the same.

  ? ? ?

  Sir Elijah and his squire ride through the countryside. They have been sent on an errand by Lady Rosalee Braye of Ashbury. Their mission is to find a boy named Max McIver and see if it is the same person Lady Rosalee hopes it to be, or if it is an imposter. All things considered, it is an easy assignment.

  Elijah is impatient; he feels that he should be on the battlefield, not doing a mission such as this while they are at war. Even if the child truly is the real thing, he feels that they should be grateful for his help, but wasting time and resources on him isn't worth it. No one asks him or cares for his opinion, nor does he offer it.

  Ashbury is far away from Briargate, located in the northwestern region of the Ridge Weald. Elijah does not rush to complete the mission even if he is impatient. Pushing the horse for no reason will not be good, and if they travel too quickly, they might run directly into an ambush.

  As for the boy? He can wait as long as he needs to. They take regular breaks and even halt travel early if it means they can enjoy an inn instead of roughing it. It isn't as much of an adventure as it sometimes can be; no trouble befalls them in any way.

  Two and a half weeks to get here, now another going back. He can’t help but sigh at the thought. If the boy truly is who he says he is, then I can probably expect it to take even longer. Hopefully, he isn’t too much of a burden. Why did I have to be assigned this?

  Elijah is bored and tired of the road. He would have much preferred to stay in Ashbury and fight the war with the majority of the other knights. Sadly, he is not one to skirt his duty.

  "I am Sir Elijah D'Aboville of Ashbury. Mayor Wilfred Tipping is expecting me." Elijah announces as the guard nears them.

  He waits as the guard sends someone to deliver the message to the mayor. He has no intention of wandering the town or trying to find the mayor's estate on his own. Given the circumstances, they will send someone to escort him.

  An escort arrives shortly and proceeds to lead the knight and his squire through the town to the mayor's estate. Max, who had been out training as usual, has been informed that the envoy has arrived and will be coming to the house shortly.

  Cleaning himself up, Max doesn’t know what to expect. He then gathers his few things and waits nervously alongside the mayor outside the front of the house.

  A young boy, a little older than Max, and a man approach. Wait, that isn't a man, it's an elf! Max's eyes widen as he notices the man's exceptionally long, pointed ears.

  I have never met an elf before! I wonder if they are any different than us? Max grows excited, his nervousness all but forgotten at the chance to meet a fantasy race.

  The elven knight gets off his horse and approaches, shaking the mayor’s hand. “I am Sir Elijah D'Aboville of Ashbury; you must be Mayor Wilfred Tipping. It is good to meet you. You informed the Braye family that you have finally found a child claiming to be Max. Is this the boy?” Elijah turns and faces Max, who is staring at him.

  “Yes, this is the boy, he told me about the escape and how he helped the two kidnapped Ladies of the Braye and Grey families,” The mayor puts his hand on Max’s back and pushes him toward the elf.

  “Your scarred arm, boy, let me see it.” Reaching his arm out, Elijah carefully watches to see what the boy does.

  Used to the gruff behavior of the smith, Max simply undoes the vambrace on his left arm and proceeds to extend it into the knight's hand. “A needleleaf latched on to it and then to get it off, I had to stick a torch into its eye.”

  “Indeed. How did Lady Elizabeth Grey react when she saw the walls of Briargate?” Nodding at the scars being correct, he moves on to the next thing he is instructed to check.

  “She was in disbelief until I confirmed what she saw was real, and then she ran ahead of me and Lady Rosalee.” Max has to think about it for a moment, then tells what he remembers.

  The knight raises an eyebrow at something Max said and continues. “How in detail did you help Lady Elizabeth off the small cliff outside of the tunnels?”

  “I encouraged her to let me lower her after Lady Rosalee went first. She fought against us, but eventually we wore her down. When I was preparing to lower her, she jumped before I was ready and almost pulled us both over the edge. I managed to lower her, but she refused to let go, so I dropped her.” Being candid, Max answers as if it is normal to drop a duke’s child off a cliff.

  The mayor stares at Max, dumbfounded, and cannot help but ask, “You did what!?”

  The knight raises a hand, silencing the mayor. “The final question. How did you refer to both Lady Braye and Lady Elizabeth?”

  Max opens his mouth and then closes it, pausing. He feels as though it might be a trick question. Given what he has learned living in Briargate and the things that he had looked up when he returned the last time, he now knows just how inappropriate it was that he referred to them so informally.

  Only then does it cross his mind that that is exactly what this question is referring to. Just the real Max would know just how rude and inappropriate he had been.

  “I referred to Lady Braye only by her given name, Rosalee. With Lady Grey, I… impudently referred to her as Liz. I would like to add that at the time I was unaware of exactly what their stations were and was more concerned about their safety.” Max rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. The mayor gawks at him, unable to comprehend how he could have ignored their station like that.

  The knight simply nods before pulling a pouch of gold out from his belt and handing it to the mayor. “The boy has passed the verification. Here is the promised compensation.” After the mayor accepts the money, he turns to Max.

  “I have been instructed that if you pass the verification, to bring you back to Ashbury with me.” He simply looks at Max, waiting to see if there will be an objection.

  “I will gladly go with you. I had planned to seek out one or both of the Ladies after I had received gear and training, which I have already done. I was only looking for their whereabouts and would have traveled to them anyway.”

  “See to your affairs; we will leave at first light.” With that, he turns and mounts his horse, intending to leave the estate.

  “W-Wait! As an esteemed guest of Briargate, I must insist that you stay as my guest.” The mayor hurries forward and tries to stop the knight from leaving.

  “I must politely decline. We will be back on the morrow for the boy at first light, make sure he is ready.” He rides off with his squire without anything further.

  The mayor deflates a little at being turned down, but looks at Max. “You heard the knight. You must be ready before dawn’s light!”

  “Yes, sir. I just have to make a quick trip into town, which I will go do right now, and then I will be ready.

  “Then see to it, boy!” The mayor huffs and heads into his house, leaving Max alone outside.

  Well, I guess it could have gone worse. He seems about as friendly as the smith, maybe I will grow on him. Max makes his way for what he feels like will be the last time through the town. He takes longer than normal to look at things one last time, even the smithy from a distance, stopping by vendors he knows like Martin and saying goodbye.

  He buys some small trail foods that will not weigh him down too much, and even a medium-heavy bag of salt. He doesn’t really notice how long it has taken him until the sun starts to set. Sighing, he sets off for his intended location.

  The clothier is just about to close the shop when Max arrives and picks up the finished jacket. It probably was ready sooner, but he simply had no reason to come and pick it up any earlier. Saying goodbye to the clothier, he dons the jacket and walks out of the store.

  It actually feels pretty good. He does some minor test movements, feeling how the long jacket moves with him. It is definitely heavier than I thought, but I can still move rather well with it on.

  Unlike the cloak, where I always felt like it was getting in the way or just billowing behind me, this just seems like a regular jacket. It is kind of warm for the temp right now, but in the morning or later this evening, it will probably feel nice. The temperature is still dropping, so I will be glad to have it soon enough, I’m sure.

  He wanders off to the staging area for the hunters and leans against the side of the gate, looking out at the woods. I have had a lot of good times here in Briargate and the surrounding areas. I will miss this place. I don’t have any idea what Ashbury is like. I hope it isn’t too different. Max finally returns to the mayor’s estate and settles down for the night.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Max sleeps well, even though he is both excited and nervous to be leaving. He rises a little before dawn as he has been doing since he and Stephen had hunted beavers. He makes sure to wear his leather pants and stained leather vest, leaving the cloth pants and better-kept vest in his pack.

  It isn’t like he has a lot of clothing, only really having these two outfits and his school clothes.He wears the cloth shirt under his vest because he feels the beaver fur rubbing against his skin will be too warm, and he will just wind up getting it all sweaty.

  He is standing outside the mayor’s estate, leaning against the entry gate, watching as the sky starts to get lighter, when he notices the Elven knight and his squire approaching. He can’t help but examine them as they approach.

  The knight isn’t as armored as I thought. For some reason, I expected him to be in full plate mail, but he isn’t. Seems he favors speed over defense. The knight wears metal knee-high boots over what appears to be leather pants. His surcoat almost completely hides the fact that he has a plate breastplate on, over a long-sleeve chainmail shirt. Metal gloves and bracers hide the ends of the chain shirt, and he finishes his attire with a green cloak, currently only half on his shoulders.

  The squire, on the other hand, wears leather boots and gloves with cloth pants. He also wears a surcoat with the same markings as the knight, but no breastplate underneath, only a long-sleeved chain shirt.

  The knight has a hand-and-a-half sword on his waist and carries a pack in one of his hands. The squire carries a large pack on his back and another in his hand. On his waist, he has a single one-handed sword. Seeing them near Max pushes off the gate and approaches them.

  Elijah looks Max up and down as he approaches. What is he wearing? He plans to travel in only buckskins and some weird fur coat? As yesterday, he seems to carry six knives that I can see. As for those hand axes that he had on previously, he probably still wears them, only the coat hides them. Now he carries a quiver outside the coat on his left hip and a spear hanging from his left shoulder, carrying a short bow in his hand. I wonder why he carries so many weapons. “You are ready?”

  “Yes, sir.” Nodding, Max falls in step beside the knight with the squire on the knight’s other side. They walk through the early morning streets of the town in silence.

  The destination appears to be a stable, and Max grows a little restless. I have never ridden a horse before. Elijah seems to notice his apprehension.

  “What is it, boy?”

  “Umm, it is just, I have never ridden a horse before.” Max rubs the back of his head with his free hand.

  “How did you expect us to travel? By carriage?” His expression darkens as he believes that Max might wind up being some spoiled child expecting them to pamper him.

  “Honestly? I never really considered it. I guess I always just figured we’d walk, but seeing as how you arrived yesterday on horses, I really shouldn’t be surprised.” Still rubbing his ever-growing hair, Max tilts his head, looking at the stable.

  “Hmph, Ganis, prepare Max’s horse for him.” He looks at the squire as he speaks before glancing over to Max. “Starting tomorrow, you shall show him how to do it himself. You can teach him to break it down tonight.”

  With that, the knight leaves Max and goes to his horse and begins to prepare it himself. Max, with nothing else to do, moves over to the squire. Guess his name is Ganis, then. He seems to only follow the knight, not really speaking, and just following his orders.

  The squire ignores Max’s presence and just goes about readying his horse and making sure both his and the knight’s horses are packed. Once he finishes up with the regular duties and moves to a third animal, which they must have acquired yesterday, since they had only two horses then.

  He readies it just as he does his own. “Your pack and your bedroll, if you please.” He finally speaks as he approaches Max.

  “I only have a pack.” He hands his pack to the squire and continues observing how he is setting the horse up and tying things down.

  The squire simply nods, taking the pack. Finishing up with Max’s horse, he walks over to Elijah. “The horses are ready. The boy doesn’t have a bedroll.”

  “He’ll just rough it then. Once we reach the next village, he will appreciate us getting him one more. He’s probably never traveled like this before; it shall be an experience for him.” Elijah smiles, thinking that there might be some interest in watching the boy struggle to adjust, and only hopes he doesn’t whine too much.

  They lead the horses to the gate before the knight mounts his horse and looks to the squire once again. “Help him into his saddle. We will move slow until he gets the hang of it.”

  The squire approaches Max, looking him up and down, trying to see the best way to help him. “See if you can get your foot into the stirrup, grab the pommel, and pull yourself up, swinging your leg over.”

  Seeing the way Max looks at him, confused, he doesn’t even wait for Max to reply. “Like this, take your foot and place it on the stirrup.” He demonstrates on Max’s horse. “Grab this, it is the pommel.”

  Grabbing the raised bit at the front of the saddle, he looks at Max to make sure he understands. “And then just pull yourself up, swinging your leg over.” He mounts the horse as though it is nothing before climbing back down. “Now you try.”

  It takes several attempts, and Ganis eventually has to push his butt up before Max finally gets on the horse. He is very unsteady in the saddle, and the horse moves slightly, making him sway. “Here, take the reins. Sit up straight, and turn your feet inward. Try to almost hug the horse with your legs.”

  “Hold the reins with both hands; When you pull one side, it will turn in that direction. Gently tap the horse with your heels to get it moving. The more you do that, the faster the horse will go, so don’t do it very much. We will be moving slowly for you to start, and it is a long trip, so overall, we won’t be going very fast. Pull back on the reins to stop.”

  “Try to stay on it.” Max’s lesson apparently over, the squire moves to his horse and mounts it. The knight takes the lead, moving ahead of them. Max struggles and tries to follow after him while the squire takes up the rear.

  By noon, Max seems to have figured out the horse relatively well. The squire notices he doesn’t even pull the reins most of the time and simply pats the side of the neck to make the horse turn. Max was pretty terrified at the start, but now is far more relaxed and is enjoying their ride.

  They break for a meal at midday and are slightly surprised Max has his own food and isn’t solely relying on them, as they had anticipated. Max still has trouble getting back onto the horse and requires a push from Ganis to make it into the saddle.

  They travel slower than they did on their journey to Briargate, as Max isn’t as good at controlling the horse as they are. It isn’t even sunset when they call a stop and dismount.

  “We will stop here for the night. It seems a decent enough place. Show the boy how to break down the horse and ready the camp.” Without even glancing at the squire and Max, the knight just starts to break down his horse.

  Following the squire's instructions, Max starts removing things from the horse. The squire finishes before Max and supervises him as he finishes.

  Together, they then go about setting up camp. All of this is new to Max. He can guess why they have to remove everything from the horses and wipe them down, but he feels it is still a pain.

  As for setting up the camp, it isn’t too different from just camping with Stephen on the beaver trip, only with more steps. The squire and knight seem far more rigid and regimented than Stephen ever was. He feels as if they can wind up with the same result with far fewer steps. It is nearing sunset when they finally finish.

  They eat a simple meal of the food they carry with them and then go to sleep. The knight and squire sleep in their bedrolls while Max uses his jacket as a blanket and pack as a pillow. As with Stephen, he still dislikes sleeping out in the open, but seeing that the other two men don’t mind, he isn’t about to complain.

  The next day follows the same pattern. They wake up and eat a small meal. The squire teaches Max how to pack up the camp, then how to set up his horse while doing his own. The sun is just breaking the horizon when they ride from the clearing. Noon comes, and they eat another simple meal and continue until it is late in the day.

  Just like before, they unsaddle the horses, set camp, eat, and go to sleep. Max is sore from the riding and realizes he very much prefers walking, no matter how much longer it will take. When he wakes, he finds himself almost repeating the same day over again. Max knows he will tire of this quite fast and hopes that they won’t be traveling this way for long.

  This day takes a bit of a change, shortly after their noon break, a village appears in the distance. Max doesn’t expect a village to be so close to Briargate; he knows almost nothing of how far apart things are or how the kingdom is set up.

  He figures that just like in books and movies, once he leaves the town he is in, there will be long stretches of nothing before reaching someplace else. When they enter the village, he expects the knight and squire to just ride through the town, but to his surprise, they go to the stables.

  Elijah dismounts and looks at the two following him. “We will rest here for the night. It may be early, but I would rather sleep in a bed than in the woods. Max, you might want to take this time to find a bedroll.” He starts breaking down his horse, having said his piece.

  “It is fine, I do not need one.” Max doesn’t even look at the knight as he tries his best to remember how to start taking things off the horse.

  Elijah raises an eyebrow and looks over at him. After a moment, he glances over to Ganis, who is once again telling Max how to break the horse down. Ganis sees Elijah's look and just shrugs in return. If the boy doesn’t want a bedroll, there is nothing we can do about it. Ganis’ look says to Elijah.

  They drop the matter and continue to break the horses down. Unbeknownst to them, Max has a blanket in his pack that he never even takes out, that he had bought long ago. Max feels that he doesn’t need it; the jacket keeps him plenty warm. Sleeping on the ground isn’t so bad, and if he bought a bedroll, that will just be another thing that he will have to figure out how to get on and off the horse.

  While Max seems sheltered and almost na?ve to the knight and his squire, Max sees them as pampered, indulgent people who hate to be inconvenienced. He has never minded walking long distances, sleeping on the ground, or out in the wilds. Sure, it unnerves him, and he prefers someplace safe, but that never stops him from doing so.

  He feels as if stopping so early in this village is simply a waste of their time, which could better be spent continuing their journey. Once they have finished with the horses, the three of them find an inn that is part bar and eatery as well.

  “I’ll rent us three rooms, we should eat and rest for the rest of the day. Before the sun sets, we should grab some more provisions so we can leave early before they open the shops.” Elijah is about to head to the counter when Max speaks up.

  “You don’t have to get three rooms; I am fine with sharing with either of you.”

  Elijah looks at the boy, “It is fine, I will rent three.”

  Shaking his head, Max waits for his key before informing them of his decision. “I will be back before dark. I want to see the town.”

  Both of them nod at this and go find a table. Max leaves the inn and starts looking around the town. He stops by a vendor and buys some more food for the trail, including some fruits that won’t survive long. After walking about for a while, he notices a familiar sight and goes to investigate.

  Two people are standing next to a board near a gate to the village. Max approaches the board and looks at the notices. A smile crosses Max’s face as he jogs out of the gate and into the surrounding countryside. There is a bulletin on the board about a nest of needleleafs that are bothering a nearby farm, requesting someone to clear them out in exchange for coin.

  Maybe stopping in this town isn’t so bad after all. Max takes a bite of one of the fruits he had bought as he makes his way to the farm from the notice.

  ? ? ?

  George, the farmer who had posted the notice, explains to Max that he has seen multiple needleleafs heading off his land to the south. They have slaughtered one of his cows and several chickens. The amount of coin that he offers isn’t a large sum, but Max doesn’t mind.

  The farmer finds it strange that Max is so young yet offers to fight needleleafs until Max explains that his teacher had sent him to gain more experience fighting beasts. That he has already faced a number of them and been shown how to handle them. He tells the farmer he will be careful before setting out after the beasts.

  They haven’t hidden their tracks, and Max is able to easily follow them. It isn’t long until he sees the telltale signs of a needleleaf nest. He takes two arrows with the bow and another in his mouth, as he always does before notching a fourth.

  Max isn’t sure of just how many of the creatures there will be, but in his limited experience hunting them around Stephen’s cabin, they seem to form groups from three to five.

  A sudden roaring growl erupts to his left; Max spins and lines up his shot. Didn’t get the drop on them, damn, this isn’t good. Where are the others? His arrow takes the needleleaf in the head, killing it instantly.

  He scans his surroundings for several minutes, keeping a tree to his back. Nothing else emerges, so he presses closer to their nest. Once he clears the bush line, he can see three needleleafs eating something on the ground.

  He took the arrow out of his mouth after he killed the first one. Now seeing that they aren’t attacking, he places it back in his teeth and draws another from the quiver before taking aim. The arrow pierces the back of one of the squatting needleleafs.

  It lets out an anguished sound and falls to its side. As the others jump to their feet and look to where the arrow came from, a second arrow strikes an oversized head. The last one roars and rushes to where Max hides. He doesn’t panic and launches another two arrows, both striking it in the chest, killing it.

  Max stays where he is and places two more arrows in the hand holding the bow and one in his mouth. He isn’t going to take any chances. Cautiously, he approaches the three needleleafs to find that the one he had hit in the back is still alive.

  Holding the two arrows, the bow, and a notched arrow in one hand, he draws the knife from the front of his belt and uses it to kill the beast. He wipes the blade on the creature before sheathing it.

  Nothing else comes out, so he uses his foot to brace the creatures and his free hand to pull the arrows free. Once that is done, he spirals out from the nest, stopping to retrieve that arrow from the first needleleaf who hadn’t been in the nest.

  He is about to head back to the farm when he hears rustling in the distance. He glances toward the nest behind him, the beast at his feet, and now the bush in the distance. You were coming back to the nest from that direction. Are those your pals?

  He pulls the bow back and stalks in the direction of the sound. While not trying to hide, he is trying to keep some distance between himself and whatever is there. A chittering sound can be heard as five needleleafs enter his vision. They are dragging two geese and what appears to be a mangled fox.

  Wasting no time, he let two arrows fly in quick succession. The creature in the middle dies before they even see Max. He fires two more as they drop their game and rush him, one struck a fatal blow, but the other only wounds the needleleaf it hit. He tosses the bow to the side and shrugs off his spear, catching it.

  Meeting their charge, he kills another with a thrust of the spear. He pulls the spear out and is able to turn, just in the nick of time; he uses the butt of the spear to smack the wounded one in the side of the head. It rolls to his side, and the last one jumps at him mouth-first.

  Max uses the shaft of the spear like it is a bit for a horse, shoving it into the needleleaf's mouth and using the spear to toss it to the side. He thrusts the spear with just his right hand and draws his left tomahawk. The spear strikes the off-balance needleleaf he had just thrown.

  Once he feels the spear go deep enough, he drops it while turning to fully face the one that had rolled past him. It is running at him the usual way. Passing the tomahawk to his right hand, he waits for it to close in before side-stepping and introducing his tomahawk to its brain.

  The melee concludes quickly, and Max always feels extra tired after a fight. He pulls the tomahawk free and waits to see if there are any more. After a moment, he figures that had probably been the last of them. He cleans his axe while staying alert before retrieving the other tools.

  Nine? That seems to be an unusually large amount of them. Thankfully, they weren’t all together, or that could have been tough. Max makes his way back to the farmer; he presents a head that he brought back as proof and tells the farmer that there had been a total of nine that he had found.

  He also mentions he has never seen that many together before, that it is unusual, and that the farmer should keep an eye out to make sure there doesn’t turn out to be more nearby, even though he feels as if he has gotten them all. The sun is setting as Max returns to the village. He is thankful that Elijah has gotten him his own room, as long as he doesn’t run into them, he doesn’t have to explain where he’s been.

  His luck continues to be true as they are nowhere to be seen in the inn as he makes his way to his room. He lays his things on the floor to the side of the bed and doesn’t even get out of his boots or jacket before falling asleep.