Friedrich walked inside the roadside inn, following closely behind Marina. The hooded Teleri was already sitting in the corner waiting for them, but she gestured for the two of them to go to the bar; something told Friedrich she was uncomfortable being a high elf in yet another foreign human-dominated land, but the Asterrans who made up most of the population of Kai’roh barely paid her any heed in Port Balsia.

“What can I do for you, young sir and madam?” asked the gruff-looking innkeeper whose tone was much kinder than his face.

“We would like to rent two rooms for the night, if you have any available,” said Friedrich. He subtly glanced around the inn and saw only three others drinking, so he suspected his chances were good.

“Got a lovely room with a balcony available, but it’s three single beds. Does that work for you? I’m presuming that elf is with you, on account of how she pointed at the pair of you a moment ago.”

Friedrich turned to Marina. “Three rooms?”

“We’re used to sleeping close to each other outside,” shrugged Marina. “We’ll just not tell Blackjack until it’s time to turn in.”

She was conscious of using Teleri’s real name in front of a stranger. Even throughout the entire journey to Kai’roh, the trio had been careful to only ever use the Alaurian’s pseudonym when Captain Alden and his crew were nearby.

“Alright, we’ll take it,” said Friedrich, pulling out his wallet of kupons.

“That’ll be thirty kupons for the night, including a meal for each of you,” said the innkeeper.”

“Thirty kupons?” said Friedrich, his eyes wide and his voice much louder than he had meant it to be.

“Where do you think you are, sir?” asked the innkeeper. “When you’re trekking across the sand of Kai’roh, this is the best you’re going to get. In the city where there are plenty of places to rest and a constant supply of food and water, you’ll find things cheaper. Here? Not so much.”

“Alright,” grumbled Friedrich, handing over thirty kupons before turning to Marina. “You and Teleri owe me for this.”

Marina threw her arms around his neck. “I will pay you back with this hug,” she giggled and then ran off to sit with Teleri.

As Friedrich walked over to the table, he looked around. Two of the patrons were huddled together talking intently, while the third was sitting alone, sipping wine from a cup by the firepit. He looked lost in thought, and there was nowhere better to be alone with your thoughts than a quiet inn in the middle of nowhere.

“Marina says that you covered the payment for us,” said Teleri. “Thank you, Friedrich.”

“She did, did she?” he asked, frowning at Marina who gave him a wide smile.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, I suppose so,” said Friedrich, laughing at how bold she could be.

Friedrich looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one else was listening in. “So, what do you think it means now that Kitt’s soul is part of me? Do all masks break when the soul within has its desire fulfilled?”

“You would have to ask a shaman to know for sure,” said Teleri, “but I suspect that the answer to your second question is yes.”

“And my first question?”

“Again, this is only my suspicion, but I believe it means that Kitt stayed true to his word and offered you his services until…well, perhaps until you die or you exorcise him somehow.”

“I won’t say no to new abilities,” said Friedrich. “Especially if it means I do not need to carry the masks around. Do you remember Marina and I telling you about Muriance?”

“The thief, yes.”

“I would doubt that he’s the only person in the world that desires the power of soul masks. I also doubt very much that I’m the only one who has any.”

“You have two,” said Marina pointedly. “Considering their rarity, that would make you the perfect target for mask thieves. It may not be Muriance, but there will be others out there hunting for them.”

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“That’s exactly my point,” said Friedrich, pulling the minotaur mask out from underneath his tunic. “Having these masks makes me a target, yet…I don’t have the will to get rid of them.”

Marina raised an eyebrow. “Is that because you can’t or you don’t want to?”

“Honestly? It’s both. The fox mask was easy to keep because it didn’t affect my negatively, at least as far as I can tell. The minotaur, however, has that insatiable bloodlust once it starts killing. It’s very hard to fight against it. I’m scared of it and want rid of it, but if it too has a desire then, perhaps, I can bend it to my will rather than it bend me to its will.”

“That is a dangerous game to play,” said Teleri, looking at the black bull head with the golden horns. “If it bonds to you as the fox mask did, who’s to say that it won’t be able to dominate you completely? Perhaps the reason the power of the masks only lasts so long is for your own protection.”

Marina nodded. “That’s a very real possibility too. You need to be careful, Friedrich.”

“I know,” he said. “You’re right, of course. Any number of things could go wrong.”

Teleri looked at him with doubt in her eyes, wanting to speak, but hesitating momentarily before the words came out. “We may have a somewhat spoken, somewhat unspoken agreement between ourselves that we will not pry into each other’s pasts, however, I feel the need to ask what it is that you so desire wealth and power for. To simply have a boat that will give you a sense of freedom is not an answer I will believe any longer.”

Friedrich smiled. “Why do you despise demons so much? Moreso than most, I mean.”

“That is a personal matter.”

“As is mine, but rest assured I am not planning anything nefarious. You trust me enough to believe that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” said Teleri as Marina nodded along. “Whatever your reasons, it is clear that you do not want to be rich for the sake of it. You do not want a boat to go on an adventure across the world. You have another motive driving you.”

“Don’t we all?” asked Marina. “Can we not all just agree that we will have each other’s backs when push comes to shove?”

“Is that not what we have done so far?” asked Teleri.

“It is, but I feel like it needs spoken aloud.”

“You humans and your desire for assurance,” said the elf, shaking her head before letting out a dry laugh. “Yes, I will protect you as you do for me. I will trust you both as you do me. Does that make you feel better?”

“Yes,” said Marina, grabbing Teleri’s hand and swinging it into the air.

Teleri pulled her hand free. “There will be none of this foolishness,” she said with a scowl.

“You should smile more,” said Friedrich with a grin stretched across his face.

“I will smile when there is cause to smile, otherwise it would be a false emotion.”

“Come on, Blackjack,” said Marina, elbowing Teleri gently in the ribs. “You were so beautiful at Lord Buckstone’s ball. I know we’re not exactly in the sort of place where we dress up, but a smile would go a long way in making you approachable.”

“I do not want to be approachable,” said Teleri. “In a cruel world, I believe that keeping my distance from strangers is a necessity, especially when I am so far from home. Need I remind both of you, that we are not in Mercia? You are also far from home.”

Friedrich pulled out the map he bought from Adajun back in Port Balsia. He unrolled it on the table and traced his finger from the town to roughly where he thought they were.

“Speaking of distance,” he said, ignoring Teleri’s point. “I think we’re making good progress, even with our stop in the goblin occupied shrine. I would say that three days isn’t outside the realms of possibility.”

“How much time do you want to spend sleeping under the stars and waking up with sand in your mouth?” asked Marina.

“Why would we wake up with sand in our mouths?” asked Friedrich, trying not to laugh.

“You snore sometimes and there might be a breeze, but answer the question.”

“It doesn’t bother me if we have to sleep outside. We do it all the time.”

“But look here,” said Marina, placing her own finger on the map where there was a small cluster of crudely drawn houses. “This looks like a town, does it not?”

“Yes,” agreed Friedrich.

“If we were to head there, we wouldn’t go too far off course and it would give us the chance to both replenish our supplies and not wake up with sand in our mouths.”

“Are you suggesting that I also snore?” asked Teleri.

“It’s a figure of speech,” said Marina, waving her hand dismissively.

“It was not when you were talking about Friedrich.”

“You don’t snore,” said Friedrich, looking at Teleri. “Now who is in need of assurance?”

Teleri rolled her eyes. “In any case, I find myself in agreement with Marina. We would be much better off moving along to this town before heading towards the ruins. We cannot guarantee that we will not run out of water on the road and the river does not extend all the way to the ruins.”

“That’s also a good point,” said Marina, nodding so wildly that her hair fell over her face. She brushed it away. “I think that it’s the best course of action, if you will agree to it.”

“I’m outnumbered, aren’t I?” asked Friedrich.

“We’re not ganging up on you,” said Marina. “If we’re going to travel as a threesome, we need to make sure everything has their voices heard and we can negotiate without overpowering each other. I think that’s the best thing to do.”

“Fair enough,” said Friedrich. “Alright, if you both want to go to the town, I don’t mind. Just as long as we still plan on going to the ruin. That map cost me the same as a night in this inn.”

“How much?” asked Teleri, her jaw hanging open. “Thirty kupons for food and two rooms?”

Friedrich and Marina exchanged an awkward glance. “Seeing as we’re all so close now, Marina and I agreed that the three of us will share a room tonight?”

“I pray that you are joking, Friedrich, for I shall not be happy if you are not.”

Friedrich simply smiled at her while Marina stifled her giggles.