It was by far one of the tastiest things I'd eaten in... Well a long, long time. To be honest, I couldn't recall eating something as delicious as this. The meat was surprisingly tender with a gamey tang to it that could still be discerned through the herbs that seasoned it. The mushrooms filled both my mouth and my nose with their own deep aroma when I bit into one of those on the skewer and the best part was mixing them!

For a girl like me, born and raised in the Gloom, this tasted a lot better than any street food you can get there, let me tell you. The meat sold in my home district does not taste gamey and I've never dared ask what animal it actually comes from, for fear of the answer.

Not that I could afford meat of even that questionable kind with any kind of regularity and when I saw the two silver crowns the tall blonde man paid for the two skewers I had honestly been surprised. Spending it right I could have lived for almost a week on just one silver. But the feast in my mouth right now reminded me that there is indeed a difference between living and simply surviving.

"Um?"

The voice startled me and I might have jumped a little off my stone seat as the tasty food had spellbound me thoroughly enough to make me temporarily forget the man sitting next to me on the fountain edge. I looked over and up, ready to try and run for it if things looked bad! But as it turned out he was just smiling rather warmly while pointing at his cheek. When my meat- and caution-addled brain didn't make the connection, he pointed at my chin instead. I suddenly became a bit too self-conscious about the feeling of meat- and mushroom juices running down my face under this man's scrutiny.

Well gosh! So sorry if my manners aren't as good as fine folk like yourself! Hrmph!

However, I still wiped my chin and cheeks with the backside of my hand. But I managed to keep the satisfaction of causing me to blush away from him!

"So, young Miss, care to tell me your name? Mine is Elbrecht, pleased to meet you."

I looked closer at Elbrecht's face. I felt I could do that at this point since even if he had some nefarious ulterior motive for bribing me with delicious food I doubted he'd try anything in the middle of a still very busy street in the east district. Even though I was a 'gloomer', people here would still react if I started to cry bloody murder. Besides, he did have that medallion; a 'Guardian of the City' emblem as they were called. Unless it was fake or stolen, which I hadn't ruled out yet. If it was genuine that would mean he was even some type of ranked officer of the guard, that much I knew. Your common tinhelm didn't carry those around. 'Tinhelm' was what we called the ordinary militiamen, the common city guard, the grunts.

If I was being honest, Elbrecht was beyond doubt what most would call a handsome man. He was very tall as pointed out already, broad-shouldered and his handsome face was also what I'd call kind-looking. Though men carrying swords are dangerous to call 'kind' offhandedly, that was nonetheless what his face implied to me. He had gray eyes, like an overcast sky, and blonde hair that was tied neatly into a ponytail which had become visible now that his cloak's hood was pulled down.

He looked like someone a girl like me would love to have as a father or perhaps older brother.

"Fen."

There was little risk in giving him my name. If he came asking in the Gloom later for some reason, no gloomer would give him a straight answer anyway. Don't get me wrong, by and large gloomers aren't what you'd call dependable people, since most couldn't afford to be. But when it came to outsiders we still closed ranks.

Well unless the coin was good enough of course.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Fen. We can wait to talk about important stuff until after you're done eating. Speaking of which, do you want seconds?"

My eyes must have betrayed me because he grinned at me as I stared up at him over the soon-finished skewer between my teeth.

Hey, if you're paying, I have no pride to keep me from denying myself this great food. Or any food for that matter!

I nodded and after leaving me a short while he returned with another serving for me, as well as two mugs of something. I could have taken this opportunity to run of course, but I decided to continue to risk it for more food. And if I was being honest; I was also curious about Elbrecht.

So when he returned, I was still there. He made no indication that this surprised him and I took the second offering, sniffed at the contents of my mug which told me it wasn't just water, it smelled faintly of something fruity and when I took a sip from the wooden cup it turned out to be pear-flavored water. It was sweet and I drained half the cup in one go before I set upon my second helping of meat and mushroom which were just as good as the first had been.

"Well, since I can do the talking while you eat, how about I tell you a bit more about myself Miss Fen? Maybe that would allow you to trust me a bit more, which I hope you will."

At least Elbrecht was upfront with the fact that he wanted me to trust him and that he understood that as of now, I still didn't. My only reply was to give him my attention as I ate and drank, which he took as consent, drinking some from his own mug before going ahead.

"What I told you in the alley was not untrue; I work for a certain someone, a city official that has taken great interest in the mysterious person who has healed at least five people to this date. Well six now I suppose; seemingly miraculously, and that's only the ones we know about."

Elbrecht didn't meet my eyes as he monologued, instead looking into the passing crowds as if to emphasize his way of not publicly implying that I was this person.

"I'm sorry to be vague about exactly who my employer within the government is, but they also have their own security to consider. And unless I am even more sure that I am indeed talking to this mysterious benefactor of the citizens, it wouldn't be prudent of me to say more about that just yet."

He now turned his kind face to me again, giving me a harder-to-read smile which once again I replied to with silence, and in that continuing silence, we just sat as I finished all the food and drink. My belly was feeling fuller and my soul more soothed than I could easily recall them ever having been. I licked the juices off my fingers after wiping my chin once more than looked down at my feet that were dangling over the fountain's edge into the street.

"Thank you. For the food I mean, it was really good."

Surely, I owed him that much at least?

It's foolish to trust only your gut. But it can still go a long way in an unknown situation and my gut, albeit very thoroughly bribed now, was telling me that Elbrecht was not a sinister sort. He seemed to have reasons to not be fully upfront with me but those reasons were sound if you asked me.

"My pleasure Miss Fen. So then, have my bribes and pleasant company earned me a more private discussion? We can find a tavern if you want, I understand if you don't want to be alone with a strange man, even if he bought you supper. I'd hope you wouldn't, if I'm being honest."

He grinned sheepishly at me and pulled his hood up, standing from the edge where he sat, his long legs far from needing to dangle like mine.

I knew what my answer would be, but I still sat a little longer, looking up into his once more hooded face. A tavern sounded fine, lots of people but still private enough at a table I guessed. It's not like a young girl like me frequented such places after all! But if I may say so myself; as an orphaned gloomer I was more adult and knew more than most other girls my age. I had to be.

"Fine. But can you just call me 'Fen'? 'Miss Fen' just sounds... Weird."

With that I got up myself, my feet landing on the hard-packed ground beneath the fountain.

"Alright, only Fen it is then. Let's go over here, I know of a decent place close by."

He started down the late-evening shaded street and I had to almost jog to catch up to him on his long legs!

"Actually, there's a chance you might be familiar with the place already."

I looked up at him in surprise at that remark, but walking beside him I couldn't make out his face under the hood. Why would I be familiar with a tavern in the east district? But as we later entered the place, I realized that Elbrecht had been correct. It took me a little while, but then I realized I had in fact seen this tavern before, but only parts of it and by way of looking in through one of its smokey windows from the outside.

***

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Elbrecht walked directly up to the barely out-of-his-teens man who was working behind the bar and fished out some coin from a pocket as they spoke. Meanwhile, I was standing a few steps behind him looking around at the talking, eating, and drinking people around the dozen or so tables of the quaint east district tavern. I say quaint but compared to the drinking holes of the Gloom, this place seemed almost fancy to me. But over here I supposed this was a commonplace tavern, judging from its patrons, who looked like mostly humble workers.

We didn't attract much attention at all, not even me. This was no doubt because of my new clothes. Elbrecht had explained to me on our way here that bringing a girl my age into a tavern wasn't something a man like him should do, normally. People might start to wonder and to be honest, I did see his point. I also quickly realized that he very politely left out the fact that I was poorly dressed for any tavern, not in the Gloom and in quite the dire need of a dip in the river or at least a good bout of heavy rainfall. And, not to mention; I was a demi. Even in this district that neighboured on the Gloom, I still got a fair few looks from people, and other demis were few and far between.

So, Elbrecht had us make a short stop at what turned out to be a clothing shop and while I waited at the door, feeling extremely self-conscious I might add, Elbrecht bought me a cloak! Just like that. I was so taken aback by this that I almost forgot to thank him, but finally a I squeaked out a simple 'thanks' after putting it on and continuing to follow him to the tavern once more. He just smiled in that earnest way of his.

"Don't mention it. Besides, it will make things less complicated for me too."

I was already happy for the hood's cover, because this time I could feel a blush creeping up my cheeks. I don't know how much Elbrecht realized this; to him it might have been just a cheap off-the-shelf cloak, to make me stand out less but these were the first new clothes of any kind I had ever worn, let alone been given. The old, patched tunic I wore under it had been only a little less patched a few years ago when I traded some herbs I'd managed to gather for it.

This simple light blue cloak was made of wool, not rough linen and I felt it would be warm even when fall and winter came by. But I decided to not make a big deal out of it, maybe that would just embarrass him? To Elbrecht, though his cloak and clothes were not super fancy, they were still of even better quality than this and thus his gift probably wasn't such a big deal to him as it was to me?

My generous benefactor returned from the bar carrying two mugs once more and he used one of them to indicate the direction to a free table against one of the brick-laid walls of the tavern. The red-brownish brick and mortar walls reached about four feet upward, where wood paneling and adobe took over before reaching a thatched roof. This was a very common type of building in the east district.

He pushed over a mug of something hot to me across the table as we sat down. As I inhaled the steam from my mug I realized it was heated goat's milk spiced with cinnamon! I had heard of this before but never actually had it. I wasted no time in taking a small sip, only to lightly scold my tongue, ouch! But I was quickly getting over the pain with the help of this new heavenly taste! This time I was sure my eyes grew larger and, as I looked up over my mug, lightly poking my tender tongue out in an atempt to cool it, Elbrecht suddenly coughed into his drink!

"What?"

I know I look stupid! You don't have to laugh at me though! I'm a gloomer Elbrecht, it's not like most of us get to drink this whenever we want! Or ever!

"Sorry. It is only... Well to be honest, you looked really cute just now."

I nearly dropped my mug of precious cinnamony ambrosia at his remark!

W-Wha-!? Y-You can't just say something like that to a girl like me, with a straight face Elbrecht! Words have power, you know!

I suddenly got really focused trying to count the small blackish-brown specs of cinnamon floating around the hot milk, like tiny stars. Hopefully, he'd think my blush was due to the warm cloak and hot beverage.

"So then, Fen..."

His voice took on a more serious tone and I reflexively swallowed, knowing somewhat where this was heading but absolutely not how all of this would turn out.

"You are the one who healed those people, correct? Among them, the stabbed artisan that the militia carried into this tavern some weeks ago?"

I still didn't look up from my mug. It wasn't much of a question, more like a statement that just waited for its final stamp of approval before becoming canon. He had seen that man in the alley earlier being healed, and he had noticed me close by after all. There really wasn't any reason for me to try and lie, was there?

Besides, Elbrecht had told me something back in that alley, that still gnawed at the back of my mind; he could track me with his magic. I didn't doubt this, as I had myself seen him approach the alley when I was walking through it earlier that evening. His one hand had been illuminated by magic light. That was the reason I had stopped and gotten closer to him, which was stupid, but come on, it was magic! That had been when we both became aware of the mugging and the stabbed man.

"If I was, what would you do to me? You said your 'employer' would want to thank me, and even reward me. But you could just do that right now? You already have, as far as I am concerned."

I was of course referring to the food and the cloak which, even though he might not think so, was a lot more than I had expected. Though he probably had an inkling as to the kind of life I was used to, if he really worked for the government. The Gloom was the city's slums after all.

Still not looking up, I could hear him taking a swig from his mug. Even from here, I could smell a faint scent of alcohol, it was most likely ale or beer. My kind had a better than average sense of smell, and 'average' of course meaning compared to pure-blooded humans.

"I wouldn't do anything to you Fen, but perhaps there might be something that I, that we, can do for you. I don't know how much you know about magic, even about healing magic, but the healing that these people received is... Well, it is incredible to tell you the truth. I can say with confidence that no cleric in the city would be able to accomplish it. Not even the High Priest himself."

There was silence between us again and as he took another swig, I was reminded that the mug in my hand could be used for other things than to be stared into, so I drank as well. The sweet and thick flavor warmed me to the tips of my ears, even though they were kind of squished down under the heavy hood, which was annoying but not painful. I finally looked up to meet his sincere gray eyes once more and bit the tip of my scalded tongue behind my closed lips.

There really is no point in denying it. This man is smart, he knows already, he just wants to hear me say it.

"Alright. Yes, it was me that healed those people. I guess you want to know more than simply that though, huh?"

Elbrecht looked intently at me. Was he still trying to determine if I was lying? He had mentioned a reward after all and I couldn't blame him for doubting a gloomer being offered such. Lying was infinitely better than starving and anyone saying anything different hasn't starved long enough. But then his face softened once again. Had I passed the test?

"Yes. But you should not tell me here and not now. You would just have to repeat it to my employer later anyway. Besides, this may not be in the middle of the street, but it is not entirely private either."

"Oh, OK. When and where can I meet your employer then?"

His reply had surprised mea bit, since I had been certain he'd want to get as much as he could out of me right away.

He suddenly smiled brilliantly again! The change in his face was remarkable and made me feel a wave of assuredness rise within me to meet it.

Honestly, he could win over a troll with that smile of his! Why even bother carrying around a sword? It's not fair! You're cheating Elbrecht!

"Well as they are very eager to meet with you, we can do it first thing in the morning. As for where; well here is an idea, how about you still come with me there this evening? I can arrange a comfortable bed for you for the night. Do not worry Fen, you will see it's a very official building with lots of other people working there."

The way he said that assured me that Elbrecht knew full well that where I slept usually was not what he, or anyone, would call 'comfortable'. They would probably be right too as I guessed that any bed would be more comfortable than a blanket on the ground.

But, I too had a final test to put to Elbrecht, and now it was my turn to lock my gaze with his. It took some courage from me to say this, but I had to. My gut was sure about Elbrecht already, but I still had to.

"Just so you know Elbrecht. You can't force me to use my healing. People have tried in the past and it just won't work. Even if I tried to accommodate them. It just doesn't work that way."

His face didn't change, even at the implications I had just thrown at him. But there was a subtle change within his steel-gray eyes. They softened. Not that they had been hard before, but now they showed a hint of something more. Was that pity? Empathy? He shook his head.

"I can only give you my word Fen, neither I nor my employer wish you any harm or to somehow make you use your healing for our benefit. For whatever that word is worth right now, I still give it."

Your word huh? In the Gloom, we have always been taught that promises only last until desperation comes knocking. Then words, promises and oaths jump through the window.

But if they were that kind of people and to be honest, I honestly doubt that, they could still just track me down and capture me if they wanted to. I emptied the mug, making sure to get as many of the final drops as I could into my demanding mouth before setting it down. Clearly, this spectacle also amused Elbrecht.

If you tell me that was 'cute' too, I might actually run!

"Alright. I'll come with you to meet this secretive employer of yours. Sleeping in a bed sounds nice."

I wonder what kind of 'official' building you mean though? Maybe a guardhouse, or barracks? Those have beds, don't they?

Elbrecht nodded earnestly but couldn't seemingly stop himself from smiling at my reply. He had an easy time smiling, which in truth made me like him more easily.

It's still cheating though!

"Thank you Fen! But since we can't meet with them until the morning anyway, we are in no great rush. So how about another mug of that before we go?"

He pointed to my empty mug, now sadly devoid of its liquid treasure. Before realizing it, I smiled back at him.

"To be honest; there is nothing I'd want more. This is the most delicious thing I've ever had. Um... Thank you again, Elbrecht."

End of Chapter Two