Jack walked out from underneath the floating marquee sign, and turned to look at it and see what it said.

In giant, bold black letters, the flashing placard read "IMMUNITY TO COLD AND ICE".

You know, because of course it did.

For the second time in two minutes, Jack could not shake the overwhelming impression that Frumpkin was rolling on the floor with laughter right now.

"Well, 'at's sumthin', innit?" The large man said, his laughter calming as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Tho's I can't say it'll do ye much good roun' these parts now, willit?" And just like that, he fell into another fit of laughter.

Jack could feel his ears turning red, but before he could get too embarrassed or angry, Eleanor chimed in.

"Oh, don't be so hard on him! He's had a tough day." She walked over to the far side of the one-room house, and grabbed a pitcher of something off of a rough-hewn wooden counter that appeared to be covered with a layer of plater on its countertop. "When we found him, he'd been shrunk to pocket size and was hostage to a bunch of goblins."

"Oh, I'm meanin' no offense if I've given any, young mas'er. Jus' enjoyin' the irony is all. Now, why don' you come 'ave a seat at me table, and let us 'ave you be our guest for dinner. We're 'avin' mutton!" Simon said, motioning towards the table with his large brown hand.

"Thanks." Jack said, and walked over to the table. "Any preference on where I sit?"

"None wha'soever. Take yer pick!" Simon said.

Jack picked a seat facing opposite to the door he walked in, and rested his hands on the stone of the tabletop, which was mercifully slightly cooler than the rest of the hotbox atmosphere he currently occupied. By this point, every piece of clothing he wore was soaked through with sweat to the point that his socks felt like damp sponges, and he felt a faint squishing sensation on his backside as he took a seat. The worst part of the whole ordeal was that he very distinctly felt the sweat dripping out of every fold of fat in his body. He'd have to get a better looking form as one of his next upgrades, and sooner rather than later.

Shortly after he sat, he was joined at the table by Rose, Eleanor and Simon. Madeleine, for whatever reason, preferred to remain on the far side of the room, seemingly perfectly content with spending her entire existence staring Jack down.

The food was, frankly, pretty terrible. But, he'd had such a rough day that he was glad to be stuffing his face. At least that part still felt familiar.

As the four of them ate and talked, Jack began to get a better sense of his new compatriots. Rose was the only actual daughter of Simon. Eleanor and Madeleine were both orphans he'd taken in, largely on account of the fact that they, as Jack had so painfully experienced, tended to burn the bejeezus out of anything they touched. What with him and hiw wife and daughter all being Ifrits who were immune to that sort of thing, they were all two happy to take the two other girls when offered the chance.

Of the three, Rose was the oldest, and had apparently been training with a sword from a very young age. Her uncle, Simon's brother, had apparently been quite the swordsman in his day, and made a point of teaching her everything he knew after she spent day after day begging him. Simon, for his point, spent no small amount of time bragging on her skills to Jack in the middle of dinner, to which she protested heavily.

"I've seen 'er split a 'air in two with tha' blade o' hers. Never seen nothin, like it before in me life!" He said, beaming at Rose, who grimaced at the attention.

"Dad, stop! You're embarassing me!" She said, and Jack couldn't help but notice that she somehow managed to get even redder at the open praise.

Madeleine, to Jack's immense shock and surprise, was actually the next oldest of the three, and older than Jack by several years. But when Jack expressed his shock at this, Simon just shook his head and explained.

"It's 'em Ember Sprites. 'Ey don't age th'same way we do, with us gettin' all bigger and older lookin'. 'Ey just stay the same size and appearance once 'em's fully grown affer five or six years. By Ember Sprite stannards, she'd prolly older 'an I am!" Simon said, laughing.

Jack looked over at Madeleine, who was still staring at him intently.

"Does she not like to talk? She hasn't said a single thing since we met." Jack said.

"Maddy's not much of a talker, I'm 'fraid. Barely says more than an 'ello or 'ow do you do to people she knows. For th'first coupla years, I thought she was a mute, that one." Simon said.

"Don't take it personally. Maddy's the type who doesn't speak unless she thinks something needs to be said. It's just how she is." Rose chimed in.

"I'm sure once she gets used to you, she won't be so shy around you, right, Maddy?" Eleanor joined in, turning to the Ember Sprite and smiling. Madeleine's eyes flicked back and forth between the three of them, as if sizing them up, and then slowly nodded her head. Jack smiled at her, but the girl offered no response, and only continued to stare at him with her same blank expression.

Eleanor was the youngest of the three, and apparently the equivalent of a human teenager. She did the most talking of everyone at the table, flitting excitedly from one topic to the next seemingly without any segue or provocation. She seemed to take an especially strong interest in Jack, and on more than one occasion he couldn't help but get the distinct impression she was either checking him out or sizing him up for dinner. The fact that it wasn't clear which simultaneously turned him on and creeped him out.

Eleanor was, as Simon was quick to keep drawing attention to, the most educated out of all of them, having studied for several years at the Coltriss Magic Academy to be a wizard. Simon said this with such pride and revererance that Jack got the sense that this was probably something he should be impressed by, despite having no context for it.

"She's th'most cleverest of the four of us. Gradua'ed three years early, 'at one. Couldn' be more proud o' her!" Simon beamed. "'ey said she was th'youngest wizard what gradua'ed in a generation!"

"That's right!" Eleanor said, smiling so hard her eyes seemed to disappear in her cheeks.

"Wow." Jack said, honestly impressed. "Do you think maybe you could teach me how to use my magic a little better? I have no idea what I'm doing with it."

He paused for a moment, and then added, "and I'm honestly afraid I'm going to accidentally blow myself up if I keep at it like this."

Eleanor's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, I'd love to! I haven't gotten to play with anyone who's Gifted in years!"

"Gifted?" Jack asked.

"She means someone who has the natural gift of magic. Most people don't have the Gift, and as a result can't learn to cast arcane spells." Rose said.

"Ah, that makes sense. I honestly figured in a world where magic exists, anyone could learn how to use it." Jack said.

Eleanor shook her head. "Nope. It's a special thing that only appears in certain people. It's more common in certain races, and less common in others. Elves tend to have a lot of Gifted children, while Dwarves tend to have far fewer. Humans are somewhere in the middle."

"And where do Fire Tieflings fall on that scale?" Jack asked.

"Oh, all of us Tieflings are born Gifted." Eleanor said, seemingly surprised by the question.

"Really?" Jack asked. "Why?"

"Tieflings all have Infernal blood from their demonic ancestry. That's what makes them all Gifted." A small, child-like voice said from across the room.

Jack spun around and looked at Madeleine, startled. The girl's face was still mostly expressionless, but the faint edge of a smile at the corner of her mouth gave away the indication that she was amused by his reaction.

As the evening drew to a close, Simon decided to turn in, and walked over to the far end of the room, where a large bed sat. Within minutes, he was snoring so loud that Jack's eyes started to water.

"Alright, so I suppose you will have to come sleep with us in the barn loft." Rose said matter of factly as her and Eleanor got up from their chairs. Jack nearly choked to death on the mouthful of water he was trying to swallow when she said this. After spending a few long moments hacking and coughing, he spoke up.

"Uhm, I'm sorry, what?" He said. He could feel the blood rushing to several parts of his body, including his cheeks.

"Well, do you WANT to sleep in the house? You look like you're melting in here, and it's a lot cooler out there. I figured you'd appreciate the temperature change." Rose said, seemingly oblivious to how Jack interpreted her last statement. Eleanor, however, grinned devilishly, clearly in on Jack's though process.

"Oh, uh, yeah, that sounds great." He said, Rose's complete lack of understanding of subtext told him he was most definitely was not about to get what he was hoping for. Eleanor, however, flicked her eyebrows flirtatiously at him, and looked at him with a glance that made him feel very much like a side of meat.

"The three of us girls keep our beds up in the loft. Partly because it's cooler and more comfortable, but mostly because Dad snores like a congested dragon. You'd just take one of our spare bedrolls." Rose said.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense." Jack said, feeling more than a little deflated.

He got up from the table as well, and followed the two of them outside. The night was clear and the moon shone brightly across the ground. While Jack knew it was probably summer warm outside, compared to the sweltering interior of the house, the outdoors felt downright chilly by comparison, especially with him being soaked through with sweat. Strangely, he felt "cold", but he didn't feel cold. He could tell that he should be shivering, but he felt strangely perfectly comfortable with the chill, as if it weren't affecting him at all.

Oh, right. He was immune to Cold. Convenient.

The two girls led him into the barn and up into the loft on the far end via a metal ladder. Once up top, Jack saw three bedrolls laid out next to each other, one of which was occupied by the small form of Madeleine, who seemed to be sleeping, her breath soft and rhythmic.

"The spare roll's over there in the corner. There should be a couple pillows with it as well." Rose said, pointing to the far corner.

"Okay", Jack said. He grabbed the things from the corner, and started to walk back to the other side when Eleanor said "Hey, come sleep next to me!" and patted the loft floor next to her bedroll. She had a very intense, almost wild look in her eyes, and an impish smile on her face.

"Oh, uh, okay. Sure." Jack said, quietly gulping to himself.

He laid out the bedroll next to hers, and took off his shoes. His clothes, however, were still very damp with sweat, and he felt a distinct desire not to lay down in wet clothes. He thought for a second, and turned to Eleanor. "Hey, Eleanor?"

He almost choked when he saw that she was now out of her robes, and wearing a white night dress that was thin enough to very clearly show him she had nothing on underneath it.

"Yes?", She asked, turning her attention towards him as she tied her hair back.

"Uhm, uh, do you know the spell to dry out something wet?" He asked, using every bit of effort in his body not to let his eyes wander lower than her face.

"Oh, sure!" She said. She wiggled her fingers, and said a single syllable in her magic language, and instantly Jack felt his clothes dry. Not only that, but they now looked and felt brand new.

"Wow. Uh, thanks!" He said.

"Don't mention it!" She said, and winked at him.

"You both ready for me to kill the lantern?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Jack said, laying down into the bedroll.

As the light went out and he was left in the darkness, he thought to himself "Goodnight, new world."