Rowena awoke rather early despite the violent interruption of the night before. Although she did trust Thea and Finnegan as much as one could trust two relative strangers, the fact was that they hadn’t been safe in their rooms.

She stood up and stretched, still wearing her one clean set of clothes she put on after her bath. Night clothes had seemed like a luxury when they’d packed– packing light had been the recommendation in Mattie’s travel book– but for the first time Rowena felt the importance of the ritual of dressing for the day.

As quietly as possible, Rowena neatly and precisely packed up her few belongings, and, remembering that Thea had taken their soiled clothes to wash and dry the night before, decided to go and fetch them.

She exited the room and her breath caught– Sorel was standing just outside between her own door and Rowena and Kieran’s, eyes closed. The tall Shield’s eyelids fluttered, though, and she half opened her eyes when she heard Rowena.

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Sorel said, peering at her.

“I can see that,” Rowena said wryly. “What are you doing?”

“I wanted to stand guard after last night,” Sorel’s arms had been crossed over her chest and she let them drop to her sides. “I now get nearly as much rest from dozing as you all do from sleep– helps me keep watch more easily– but it’s still… I’m adjusting,” she admitted.

“We all are,” Rowena hesitated, and– remembering Mattie’s constant reassuring touches– reached out a hand to grab Sorel’s shoulder and squeezed.

This kind of familiar gesture did not come naturally to Rowena, and she could tell the taller woman found the gesture as awkward as she did, but Sorel smiled anyway. Rowena hastily withdrew her hand and instead said, “I think we should be safer now that it’s morning. Thank you– maybe try to get another hour’s sleep before we go? Real sleep!”

Sorel paused, quickly weighing her options before nodding. “Good idea. I’ll be more use later if I sleep now. Kieran up?”

“Not yet. But let’s try to leave within an hour or so,” Rowena replied.

Sorel grunted in agreement and, with a barely stifled yawn, disappeared into her and Mattie’s room.

Rowena made her way down the stairs, pausing halfway to sniff at an unfamiliar smell. It almost smelled like something was burning, but not in an unpleasant way. Nevertheless, she picked up her pace and made her way quickly to the dining room, worried she might encounter a fire or something even worse.

Instead, she saw Thea sitting behind the bar, head propped up on her fist. A strange silvery pitcher of some sort was next to her, as well as a mug full of a steaming liquid.

Grog? Rowena wondered. At this hour? But she shook her head. The grog Leo had given them had an extremely distinctive smell, and this wasn’t it. She was glad to note that there weren’t any flames to be seen.

As she entered the dining room, Thea’s eyes flickered open and she looked at Rowena with a strange mixture of concern, anger, and… regret? But rather than say anything, she just pulled another mug down from the shelf above her and poured some black liquid from the pitcher into it, and set it in front of Rowena, who had sat in the stool on the opposite side of the bar from Thea.

“Is this… coffee?” Rowena said as she sniffed it. She had only ever smelled it in the pouches it came in, never having brewed it herself, but seeing the liquid in the mug helped her piece the minor mystery together. “Eleanora loves this stuff.”

“Like aunt like niece,” Thea said with a sad smile, fiddling with her mug. “I wouldn’t recommend getting too attached to it, though. It’s an expensive habit.”

“Then… thank you,” Rowena said awkwardly, and took a sip. It tasted awful at first, bitter and harsh.

Thea laughed at the face Rowena had made. “It’s a taste that grows on you, but the real benefit is more the waking up properties. Drink the whole thing, and you’ll feel ready for your day.”

Rowena nodded, and took another little sip. Now that she was expecting the bitterness, it really wasn’t that bad.

“Did you sleep at all?” Thea asked.

Rowena nodded. “More or less. I think Sorel stood outside our rooms the rest of the night, though.”

Thea gave a sad grin. “The nature of a Shield. I knew a few in my time. You’re fortunate to have one on your side.”

“I’m fortunate to have all of them.” Rowena gripped the mug in her hands tightly, enjoying the warmth that spread from the hot liquid through the ceramic to creep into her fingers and palms.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“That you are,” Thea agreed. “Rowena– I’m sorry about last night.”

Rowena shrugged and said in clipped tones, “I don’t think you had anything to do with it.”

“Of course not!” Thea said with a touch of indignation, but immediately calmed. “I don’t know how they got through the door locks. In all my years as an Innkeeper, we’ve never had a theft. Some Inns don’t bother, but Finnegan and I– The Wandering Vine is more than my own personal mission, it’s a family legacy. To bring aid and comfort and above all, safety to those who might not otherwise find it. This forest is full of people society rejected or people who have left their homes on their way to unknown but hopefully brighter futures.”

“How is that a family legacy?” Rowena asked, curious.

“My ancestor was Alianna Innkeeper of the Wandering Rose Inn. She provided a safe haven for adventurers back in the Dark Ages, when gryphons and dragons and chimeras and the like were far more abundant than they are now,” Thea explained. “The members of my family– well, we’re supposed to provide Inns for those in danger.”

“That’s an impressive legacy,” Rowena said, running her finger around the rim of her mug. “I guess there’s less need for that kind of thing now, though.”

“Human monsters are bad enough,” Thea pursed her lips and looked down at the bar.

Rowena said nothing, but continued drinking the coffee as she thought of the human monsters she’d encountered over the last few weeks. She wasn’t sure which type of monster she would prefer to deal with.

“I can’t tell you much more about the thieves– the lead one was called Sylas–” Thea said suddenly. “Except that I’d taken them for petty criminals, but obviously either they or their employers are much more sophisticated than that. As I said, it would have taken very, very strong magic to break into your rooms.”

“I don’t care about them,” Rowena waved a hand. “I care about this… this Damon.”

“I wish I could tell you more– the boy kept to himself. He did… he seemed upset. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse,” Thea sighed and then looked deeply troubled. “When I think of your poor brother–”

Her son is almost the same age, Rowena realized, and her throat caught a little as she thought about Colin’s sweet smile, so reminiscent of Tommie’s.

Calm Person, Activated!

The tightness in her throat eased as Rowena calmed herself. It was a little strange, but the fact was that the more she thought about Tommie the less she felt she’d be able to find justice for him. Instead, a different thought occurred to Rowena. “What about his Subclass?”

Thea hesitated for a moment, but apparently decided that she owed Rowena at least that. “He’s a MAGIC USER - Conjuror.”

Rowena frowned. She wasn’t very familiar with MAGIC USERs as a Class anyway, but she knew even less about the specific Subclasses. Still, she’d of course heard of Conjurors– MAGIC USERs who could summon objects to themselves. It wasn’t the most popular of Subclasses as it was practically in the realm of a ROGUE. No one liked or trusted someone who could potentially just steal things from someone else, taking whatever they wanted on a whim.

She pushed aside those thoughts for the moment. What he was was less important than where he was. “And he was going to the University? Or somewhere else?”

“I believe he was going back to the University, yes,” Thea nodded.

“Thank you,” Rowena sighed, grateful to have a little more confidence in their journey. The two women sat in silence for a little while, lost in thought.

As she finished her coffee, Rowena realized that she felt a slight tingling throughout her body. “Is coffee magic?”

“I think so,” Thea said with a laugh, “Though not the same kind of magic as, say, a Heartstone uses. Are you feeling it?”

Rowena nodded.

“Then one cup is more than enough for you. Do you like it?”

“I– I think so, actually,” Rowena realized. She usually didn’t like things that altered her in ways outside of her control– it’s why she took such small sips from the wineskin– but this just felt like she was herself, but more. More active, more awake, more ready. It was a pleasant buzzy feeling.

“Me too,” Thea nodded. “We usually don’t serve it to guests as it’s so expensive, but I treat myself to it once a week or so.”

With that, Thea drained her own mug and stood. “I expect you’ll be wanting to leave early– three more nights and you’re past this part of the forest– you’re lucky you only had to travel the narrowest part– and then it should only take you one or two more nights before you’re at Arcania.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a proper map, would you?” Rowena asked. Mattie’s book had some rough sketches of maps, but there was no substitute for a real one. She’d have taken one from the shop if they’d had one, but well-drawn maps were not something the people of Tunehlan typically wanted or needed.

Thea nodded and looked thoughtful. “I’d be happy to give you mine. It’s a little old, but not much has changed, really, and I don’t go anywhere anymore.”

“Thank you,” Rowena said, and stood up. “I should go wake the others.”

“I’ll pack an extra bag for you with some food and other things,” Thea said, and turned to head into the kitchen.

“I’m happy to pay you for the food. And our rooms, of course,” Rowena added, realizing that the thieves had probably not paid before Thea had Banished them.

Thea was shaking her head as she disappeared into the back and held up a hand. “No, and I won’t hear another word about it.”

Rowena let out a sigh of relief. They didn’t really have much money, so she was glad to keep what she could for the big city– she had no idea what was in store.

Alright– it’s time to get going, she thought, steeling herself for the start of the next leg of their journey, stomach still churning a bit. On to Arcania!