The town of Yon wasn’t large, but it was bigger than Clifton. Surrounded by a large wall of stone, every building had a stone chimney, including two taverns, a library, a healer, and many more craftspeople. Most of the signs had iconography that he could recognize, but occasionally there were signs he didn’t understand.

There was one with a small hammer and a stack of coins that Jim explained as one of the few things you saw more of the further from civilization you traveled: buyers for the auction houses.

As the wounded adventurers detoured to visit the healer, they told Edgar and the others to meet them at the Surly Spider, pointing further up the road. So, their group continued on, glancing into the windows of the apothecary and the blacksmith as they went. Eventually, they found an image of a frowning spider carved into a wooden sign and entered the tavern.

The hair on the back of Edgar’s neck prickled again as they entered the tavern, but there was still nothing to be seen.

Edgar shook his head and entered the tavern. When they found a table, Edgar chose a seat with its back to the wall, keeping an eye on the door.

The adventurers returned from the healer in good spirits and began working their way through the bar’s stock of ale. As more of them returned, the volume in the bar escalated and more of the folks from town came by.

One of the townspeople who entered approached their table.

“New faces! You folks from out of town?” She asked.

Edgar smiled to himself. “You could say that.”

“Mind if I sit?”

Edgar gestured to the chair next to him and Mirai raised an eyebrow.

“How long have you been in Yon?” Mirai asked, tapping the tabletop idly with her fingernail.

“A while.” She said, glancing around the table and nodding to the others. “I set up shop here as a seamstress some years back. I really like making big, fluffy coats, so it’s a fun place to set up shop.”

Edgar sipped his ale. It was surprisingly tangy and green colored. “How is this a good place to sell coats? The weather is perfect.”

The seamstress laughed. “My, aren’t you a handsome one? Well, hun, you may not need a coat here, but the Ice Caves aren’t far, and if you head there without a coat… well, lets just say it’ll be too late to buy one, if you catch my drift.”

Edgar jolted. He didn’t have a coat, although Mirai was also staring daggers at him as the pretty seamstress leaned towards him.

It was a pickle, but he definitely had no desire to freeze to death.

“I… could… use a coat.”

“Of course you could.” Mirai grumbled, taking a swig of ale.

The Seamstress either didn’t notice or willfully ignored Mirai’s distress. Her whole attention focused on Edgar, but Edgar did. He tried to lean away from the Seamstress, but the scent of a sale was hot in her nose, and she pressed on.

“I have a nice, fluffy one that would look lovely on you, with those beautiful ears! What do you say?”

Edgar nodded, pained. “Sure, I enjoy… not being frozen. How much?”

She smiled. “For a handsome guy like you? Hmmm… forty iron.”

Jim nearly spit out his beer. Nat, Nate, and Priz were facing away from Edgar and the Seamstress, trying to contain their laughter, while Edgar could have sworn Mirai was using one of her sword skills to make her fingernail sharper, scratching into the surface of the table.

Edgar gulped, wanting this to be over. “Thirty-eight?”

She nodded, holding out her hand. “You got yourself a coat.”

Edgar sighed, defeated, as he shook her hand.

Item: [Fluffy Coat]

* A very warm, and indeed fluffy, coat.

* Durability: 100%

Item Actions:

* Examine

* Equip

Edgar swiped the screen closed.

“Good doing business with you, Mr…”

“Ed, you can call me Ed.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“I’m Pepper. So, were you part of the crew that cleared the road to the Ice Caves portal? Obviously, the fluffy coat business really hinges on that portal staying open, so I’m very grateful.”

“No, no. We just watched. From afar.”

She paused, caught off guard by Edgar’s response, and finally glanced over at Mirai, sensing the girl’s distress. “Well, the night is young and full of sales, so I’ll be off.”

Once Pepper left, the others finally let out their laughter. Nate doubled over, slapping Jim’s shoulder. Everyone enjoyed the moment except Mirai, who buried her face in her ale.

“Forty to thirty-eight iron, wow. We got ourselves a master negotiator.” Nat smirked, glancing between him and Mirai, her eyes glistening beneath the brim of her pointy hat.

Edgar groaned. “How bad was it? Did I get swindled?”

“You did fine on the price, it was more the…” Jim smiled apologetically.

“Handsome man.” Nat said, mocking Pepper’s voice.

“Oh, I see. Hilarious.” Edgar half-smiled, blushing. “She wasn’t interested in me, though. Just my wallet.”

Jim chuckled. “I’m not so sure about that. A girl that loves furry things is probably the sort of girl you should keep an eye out for.”

Mirai spit out some of her ale.

“I… I have to get a refill!” She sputtered, jumping to her feet and heading to the bar.

Priz jumped up and followed her. “Me too.”

The front door of the tavern burst open and a throng of tired adventurers poured in, led by the fiery redhead, the guy named Crayfish, and Klein.

Adara raised a fist in triumph. “We did it! The portals are stable and the roads are clear. In the morning, you can all get back to traveling safely!”

The crowd cheered. A reedy man at the bar, wearing a prim coat with the badge of a crimson sword that marked him as a guild man, stood up. He smiled and cleared his throat. The cheering died, and anticipation filled the silence.

“Adara, welcome back. Formal congratulations to you all. This was a guild sponsored effort, so anyone who took part, please approach. Adara, may I ask for your help to verify each participant?”

The crowd hurrahed. Adara smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

Edgar listened to the voices at tables nearby.

“Oi, finally! Those rifts have been popping up like daisies for weeks now.”

“Wonderful news! I told my nephew I’d be coming for a visit!”

“Oh, little Tim? He’s a cutie.”

“Did they find out what’s causing all the rifts?”

“I doubt it! This place is monster-food if you ask me.”

“Nobody asked you anything, y’old grump!” A woman carrying a tray of food scolded a man at a far table, who had a face as sour as his ale.

Klein approached their table with a broad smile on his face.

“How’d it go?” Jim asked, polishing off his ale and signaling the server for another all in one motion.

“Great. The monsters were these flying rat-ish things.” He shivered. “You’re better off not seeing them. Ugly beasts, but thankfully not all that smart… Where’s Priz and Mir?”

Edgar nodded towards the bar, where the two girls were in animated discussion, laughing.

Klein nodded, glancing back towards the long line of adventurers and his eyes lingered on Adara.

He whispered, “tsk, man, that’s gonna take forever.”

Edgar smirked, glancing at Jim and Nate. Jim mouthed, I told you so, and winked.

The last two to enter the bar were the Mason and the Key. They found seats together at the bar, but the Key had their hood up once again, obscuring their face. The Mason looked tired and called for food as soon as they sat down.

Then, Edgar felt it again, a tickle on the back of his neck that sent the hairs standing up—something was watching him. He turned, trying to spot the watcher, but there was nothing. All he could see were drunk, happy adventurers.

Another fluke?… Is someone following me?… With magic, I guess they could be invisible, but I’m probably just being paranoid…

He felt another shiver on the back of his neck, this one way more pronounced, and turned to find the Key hovering over him. Piercing, ice-blue eyes stared at him from under their hood.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Edgar asked. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Perhaps I could help you with your little… problem?”

“My problem?” Edgar asked, standing up.

There was a bit of melody in the Key’s voice when they spoke and, although their words were quiet, Edgar found he could hear them quite clearly.

“Yes, your problem.” The Key glanced at the door. “You are being followed by someone or… something. Their magic suggests a high level.”

Edgar stood up. Jim, Klein, and the other glanced at each other, standing up.

Klein put a hand on Edgar’s shoulder. “What did he say?”

Edgar glanced from Klein to the Key. “You can’t hear him?”

“No. We can’t.” Klein said, looking wary of the Key.

“Would you like my help or not?” The Key spoke, notes of impatience appearing in their voice. “We should go, now.”

Edgar hesitated, glancing from Klein to the Key, remembering what Mirai had said about Keys and Masons, that instead of combat skills and abilities, they had ones that would help them with their craft…

What’s a Key’s ‘craft’?

“Why do you want to help me?” Edgar asked, watching their stoic face for hints of emotion.

“Curiosity.” The Key nodded at Klein. “Bring this one too. He’s a decent fighter, if that sort of thing is needed.”

“Could you hear that, Klein?”

“I heard that.” Klein said, turning to the others. “If we’re not back in an hour or two, come looking.”

Jim, Nate, and Nat all nodded. Klein and Edgar followed the Key to the door of the tavern and then outside.

“What’s going on?” Klein whispered.

“I don’t really know, but… something’s following us.”

~~~~~

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