Jiehong explained. Of the group he was a part of and of Colonel Winters. The guard, however, remained stoic and strident in his ignorance. "No such group has arrived," he said.

Walking off and finding other guards, Jiehong asked them similar questions, making sure to let them know Winters and Others would only have recently come to town. However, each guard he asked, gave the same answer. "No group like the one you've described has come through town."

He couldn't believe it. Colonel Winters, Whiskey, and the rest, they hadn't come through? What could that mean? Jiehong asked himself this repeatedly, like a small child asking a never-ending string of partially related questions.

Refusing to believe they could be dead or captured, such thinking only left for Jiehong one option: Colonel Winters and Whiskey simply haven't yet arrived in town. And no wonder, Jiehong mused to himself at an exclamation tone. They had nearly a hundred people. After the battle, it was only me and Zan. Much easier for two people to travel than a hundred!

Feeling distraught for a time, thinking and rationalizing the issue further, Jiehong figured he could do nothing but wait.

And wait he did -- Ought to make waiting a touch fun, though, right? Jiehong told himself.

Returning to the bar, Jiehong waited through the mess and ordered another pint.

He left the bar after an additional three pints. Not able to stand the noise anymore, nor the wobble of the world, Jiehong wandered back to the mudbrick building. Difficult though it was for a moderately inebriated Jiehong, thanks to the building's distinctive sewage aroma and the large cart parked next to the building, which was unique and clearly belonging to Marsha, he would have been scared about not finding his way.

Although Jiehong considered it an easy travel back to Zan, in actuality, the walk had been anything but simple, with Jiehong shoving his way into several incorrect buildings and rooms before he had found Marsha and Mimsy's flat. Due to the ale's intoxicating qualities, however, his understanding of his actions blurred. Had the people of Hope-Ridge not been accustomed to all manner of people stumbling in and out of the public buildings, he might have caused a scene. As it stood, Jiehong swerved about town without a hassle. When he finally came to lie alongside Zan once again, his night on the town seemed nothing remarkable. Except, perhaps, in his coin purse.

Though it was only early evening when Jiehong placed himself next to Zan, he felt the pull of sleep. The alcohol hurried slumber's approach and knowing too much about the drink to deny its due, Jiehong closed his eyes. He fell asleep quickly and when he awoke, everything was exactly as it had been before he slept. Zan's chest breathed steadily, up and down; a number of people remained in the room, Mimsy in and out, though clearly watching over things. By midnight, though, even Mimsy rested, leaving Jiehong and Zan wholly alone.

Awake and feeling refreshed from his night on the town, thankful to his due process for not overindulging, Jiehong wondered what he should do.

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Temptingly, he considered returning to the bar for a third time.

Then killed the idea.

No more booze! Jiehong scolded himself. Don't let yourself become distracted!

But if alcohol were not on the agenda, then what?

Heading outside to see the city, he knew there was hardly anything to do. At this hour, he could drink, but obviously would not. Jiehong would walk, he decided. Take a simple stroll outside and walk around the block.

Doing so, he encountered several patrolling guards. Each guard he met was nice to him. Even made banter for a while before continuing their job.

A far cry from our reception in Thundervale, Jiehong remembered. How fair is that, though? Thundervale, Feathervale, the whole region had a rebel problem. Obviously, the guards in that part of the country would be suspicious and paranoid about everyone who came through, invasion or no. How else is the king supposed to enforce his will?

Jiehong heard in the distance a ruckus from a tavern. People yelping, making noise. The bard bands making far too much ruckus for their size. Out here in the city -- the real city -- Jiehong met a slower pace of life. Hardly a handful of people were out. And they always hung around the outside of their mudbrick building. During his stroll, then, Jiehong only needed to take a few steps to encounter a whole new set of faces once one set grew predictable.

Talking with the folks in front of their flats, Jiehong found himself feeling proud for not having gone back to the tavern. He enjoyed chit-chatting with the people he encountered and liked hearing about their lives and tribulations. Small details about daily life always grabbed Jiehong's attention. One woman talked about how she had herself running errands all day for her neighbors in a fruitive effort to generate magical energy.

"Excuse me? Generate energy? What do you mean?" Jiehong asked the lady. "Can't you simply call down more form the Slipstream?"

"Ideally! It doesn't always work out that way on certain days. Like when the Slipstream isn't up? We can't do anything. So, we have to hold in the magic we have and water it down with constructive labor."

"Water it down? I have never heard someone talk about magic that way before... did you study?" Jiehong asked.

The woman, however, only let out a boisterous laugh. "Study?! Haha, you have a wit to you lad, never lose it!"

Jiehong smiled, made some small talk, then left the woman alone. Constructive labor? Watering down the magic? Holding magic in? He hadn't heard of or about any of what she said. Though the idea did intrigue him. He wrote a note in his journal to talk about these ideas with another learned person.

"I guess I should be getting on back," Jiehong said under his breath. He had been walking for a good three or more hours enjoying the conversation and company of other night dwellers. It would be light in a few more hours. I should get a nap in before the new day.

Cruising on through a few more streets, seeing no more people out on their building's fronts, Jiehong made a quick passage back to Marsha and Mimsy's flat. Perhaps on the final corner before returning to 'his' street, Jiehong encountered a lone youth. He could not tell right away at their gender or proportions as few street torches remained casting light. Though Jiehong believed the youth was male.

"Hey there. New in town?" the youth said, upbeat, but cautious.

Jiehong flashed a quick smile, not knowing if it was even seen. "Yeah. I and my half-brother are in town. We won't be staying long. I am on my way back to my flat now, actually."

"Very cool! I adore meeting travelers. I won't keep you as I know you are tired. Anyone would be after the ordeal you went through..."

"Absolutely. Listen. How about we talk more in the morning if we meet again? Or maybe tomorrow night if I haven't then left? I really need to get to bed. You understand." Jiehong replied.

"Have a merry night," the youth said, taking a step into the shadows and vanishing.