"I think we're lost," said Rock. Kevin had to nod in agreement. The rest of the goblins had pinched, anxious faces. Even though they had only been in the city for less than an hour, it was immediately obvious that there weren't very many other goblins walking around.

The last few minutes had been a reminder that the former prisoners, for all the efforts they’d made to wash their clothing, weren’t wearing much better than rags. The effect helped part the crowds, but some of the group were growing increasingly embarrassed.

Kevin mostly saw humans walking around, which, although he was expecting it, was still surprising to him. Where Clearmine was situated, the goblin and ork countries were relatively close by.

“Maybe they have a visitor map somewhere,," he muttered to himself. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he frowned, regretting saying something so silly. The odds of a visitor map being posted in a frontier mining city like this was just wishful thinking.

Kevin knew next to nothing about Clearmine. The city was relatively young, too. He doubted that his parents even knew it existed. They very rarely flew this direction from their mountain range anymore. Anything important enough for them to deal with meant an emissary would usually go to them, or they would need to travel somewhere directly.

The current situation surprised and aggravated Kevin. He would have never imagined that he could get lost in a relatively small city like this. However, the streets crisscrossed and even dead-ended like a labyrinth. On top of that, there was a surprising number of people walking around, which added to the general sense of chaos and disconnect. Kevin realized part of this might be because of the time; it seemed like it was around lunchtime, and maybe people were on their lunch break.

In the group's wanderings, he was surprised and delighted to see a train and train tracks in the distance. Steam technology was a relatively new invention in this world. He hadn't known that the technology had already been implemented to the degree that he would spot evidence of it.

After another twenty minutes of aimless wandering and winding up in what looked like some sort of storage district in the city, the entire group huddled together to have a quick meeting.

"I'm hungry," said Bilak. She flared her nostrils, and Kevin remembered that none of his charges had actually eaten that morning. They had been so excited about getting to the city.

"Is everybody else hungry too?" asked Kevin. All the goblins nodded, and he sighed. "Okay, that'll be our highest priority for the moment."

Then they moved back in the direction they had come. Kevin got the attention of a few strangers and asked for directions to inns and restaurants. Two of the three people he asked gave him strange looks; one was downright unfriendly. He wondered if these people were just jerks or if it was a prejudice against goblins, or poor people, or adventurers, or dirty people…Kevin realized his group actually ticked off a whole number of reasons others might not like them.

Some of the people he’d spoken with hadn’t been kind, but at least they had given good directions. Fifteen minutes later, Kevin's group was walking in front of the first set of inns that they had found. There were also a handful of stand-alone restaurants nearby. In the opposite direction were a few cheap clothing stores. Kevin decided to fix the group’s bedraggled appearance there.

"Rock, do you have any preference on where we stay?" asked Kevin.

"No, not at all. And it doesn't feel right for me to be too particular anyway, since we don’t have any money." The older goblin smiled ruefully.

Kevin chuckled and admitted that was true. "Alright. Well, how about that one?" At the very end of the street, there was an inn that, at least externally, looked like the most expensive inn in town. However, the one Kevin had just pointed at, The Dancing Mermaid, was still better than most of the others. It looked decent, but not pretentious–exactly the kind of place Kevin had liked over multiple lifetimes.

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Rock was dumbfounded. He started to say, "Lord," but stopped himself. "Kevin, isn't that too expensive? We're just simple goblins. We only need a roof."

Kevin shook his head. "No, I need a bath, and you do too. No point in putting on new clothes later today if everyone is still caked in dirt. And more importantly, if we're going to get you a good trade or other way to make a living, it’ll help to be staying at a decent place if anybody calls for you."

"Oh, that actually makes sense," said Rock, and he nodded.

It only took a few minutes for Kevin to secure a room, and he gave Rock one of the keys. Kevin got a room for himself next door and also kept a second key to the goblins' room, just in case. Then the two of them met up with their group again that had been standing outside. None of the other goblins had wanted to loiter around the common room, so they’d stayed on the street.

Now that Kevin was in a city, he really was painfully aware of how travel-stained and poor the other goblins looked. Kevin was fairly dirty himself, but his clothing was obviously of the finest quality and was no doubt one of the reasons why the people he had dealt with recently took him seriously at all. He wasn't much of a clothes horse, but it was a reminder that he probably needed to buy a new wardrobe for himself soon too, especially if he was going to legitimately try being a good ambassador.

Everyone was hungry, but he decided to fix the clothing situation immediately. He told everyone to stay put, ran to the nearly clothing shop, and bought a set of simple clothing for all of the common goblins. Then he raced back, handed them all to Rock, and told them to make sure they all changed.

As Kevin waited, he thought about how the goblins and goblin maidens in the same room wasn’t very appropriate, but he knew if he got them two rooms, the already-indebted goblins would be appalled.

It didn’t take them long to come back outside. While it was less than ideal that they hadn’t bathed first before changing, Kevin had already decided to buy them all at least one more outfit anyway. The problem would solve itself.

The restaurant that he led the others to, all following him like baby ducklings, was called the Moonlit Leaf. It had a beautiful silver sign outside on the building, and Kevin chose it in part for that reason. In this world, cleanliness and hygiene could be spotty, but he felt that restaurant owners that took the time and care to present a nice exterior would probably have a clean kitchen as well.

Inside the restaurant, there were immediately some problems, though. Rock froze next to him, his eyes wide. When Kevin glanced over to see what had the old goblin worried, he was mildly surprised but could understand why Rock was shocked. An elf stood behind the greeting counter, dressed in a vest, slacks, and wearing an elegant neck scarf. Like all elves, he was very attractive and well-built. At the sight of a half dozen dirty goblins entering the restaurant, the elf narrowed his eyes but thankfully didn't turn up his nose or try kicking them out. Instead, he merely asked, "One table for all of you?"

"Yes, please," said Kevin. Then he approached the counter with his finger raised and head cocked in the universal manner that meant he had something to say, most likely quietly. As he did so, noticed the elven man raise an eyebrow. Maybe it wasn't common for people to be this assertive in restaurants in this city, but Kevin wanted to establish some sort of positive rapport right off the bat. He sidled up to the counter and pressed a silver coin down that would be a very generous tip.

"I don't know who will be cleaning the tables afterward, but my companions and I have had a long travel. I know that we are still a bit dust-stained from the road. So just in case it's busy and somebody is inconvenienced cleaning up after us, I want to show my sincerity."

"Of course," said the elven man, and he made the silver coin disappear as if by magic. "Thank you for your consideration. This way, please."

He led the group to a back corner, and Kevin got the lay of the room. The tables were about half full, so the restaurant was fairly busy but not completely jam-packed. If they were this full for lunch on a weekday, they likely would be at full occupancy for dinner. This was a good sign; people didn't show up en masse to sub-par restaurants, or at least not usually.

However, there was a problem. Another minute in, when he noticed Frekel and Gesel turning their menus over and over again in very obvious confusion.

"Can all of you read?" he asked. With shame in their eyes, all of the goblins except for Rock shook their heads. Even Rock didn’t look confident, though.

"That's not a problem," said Kevin. "Do you all mind if I just order enough food for us, and you can try everything to see what you like?" They all nodded, and Rock gave him a grateful wink.

Lunch ended up being very pleasant. The food was delicious, and even though it was slightly expensive, Kevin didn't mind paying for it. The goblins looked like they were in absolute heaven the entire time. It was likely the best food they'd ever had in their lives. And for that fact alone, going to the Moonlit Leaf had been a good idea.

On the way out the door, the man at the front, who had first greeted them, got Kevin's attention and gestured him over. The rest of the goblins glanced back, but Kevin waved them onward as he went to speak with the elf.

"Yes?"

The rubbed his nose and said, "I don't know exactly how to say this, but I can't handle my curiosity. Have you ever lived in the Great Forest?"

"You mean with the elves?" asked Kevin. The man nodded. "No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"

"There's just something about the way you move and the way you carry yourself. It feels very…familiar. I don't usually get that impression from other races, especially not a goblin. So I've been trying to figure out why."

"Oh, well, I have actually learned a bit from the elves," Kevin lied. It wasn't an entire fabrication; he had met elves who had visited his parents. But they definitely hadn't given him many lessons, and Kevin couldn't name-drop any of the powerful elves he actually knew, or this man would flat-out not believe him.

"Perhaps that is it, then." The man smiled and bowed. "I am sorry to have inconvenienced you."

"Don't worry about it. The food was delicious, said Kevin. He bowed in return, with perfect form, a bit of etiquette that he'd picked up in his teens. "I will show myself out. Thank you and your company for such a welcome meal."

The man raised his eyebrows at Kevin's polite, erudite, elf-appropriate farewell, and Kevin left to find his group.