“Who thinks what?” Kerrick asked. He entered the room, followed by Sol who was yawning almost fit to crack his jaw. Val got up to ladle them each out a bowl of stew.

“Careful, s’hot,” Tip warned them through a full mouth of food.

“I don’t know what Tip just said but I’m sure it was profound.” Kerrick limped to a free spot at the table and set down his bowl. His movements looked stiffer than normal, probably a result of a night spent out in the cold.

“So, Hawkeye.” Tip asked, once she’d emptied her mouth. “Tell us about your exciting spying mission.”

“Nothing to tell really. They were stealing something from a fancy building. I stayed outside with a bird whistle and kept watch. Didn’t see so much as a rat.” Kerrick patted his pocket. “Easiest two silvers I’ve ever earned.”

Tip privately thought the job might have cost him more than he was admitting, but let it go and joined in with the congratulations. It wasn’t the first time any of them had earned money to bring home to Marit but it was certainly the most any of them had ever succeeded in earning. It would be heartily welcomed to put towards repairs on the Crib’s roof that they hadn’t been able to manage themselves.

“We must ask Flint if he can break it into coppers for us before we go,” Val said. “There’ll be trouble if it gets out that Marit has silver in the house.”

“If it’s the same amount of money, why does it matter if it’s in copper or silver?” Sol asked.

“Everyone has copper, but silver is something special,” Val told him. “It would make people think Marit is rich, even if she isn’t.”

“I thought gold was the most special,” the boy said.

“It is, but we’ll be lucky if we ever see any of that, Solly-boy,” Kerrick said.

“My name’s Sunny now,” Sol told him, which led into an explanation of their ‘street names’ as given by Flint, which led to them all ribbing Tip about hers, all of which led to an 80% chance (and rising) that she was going to stab Flint the next time she saw him.

“You know what I’m wondering?” Kerrick said thoughtfully as he spooned up the last of the stew in his bowl. “If Val’s ability is supposed to change her into whatever is advantageous with regards to the person who’s looking, why did it make her all copper-haired for Flint? He said he wasn’t in the market for it. So it was wrong really.”

“If you take the long view, it still turned out to Val’s advantage,” Tip pointed out. “Flint took her to Leather Lady and she learned a lot. That never would have happened otherwise.”

“But that was sort of an accident,” Kerrick mused. “Surely Val’s power couldn’t have predicted that outcome.”

Val cleared her throat. “Kitty told me Flint is a special case. He has sort of a knack for spotting other people’s talents. Almost like a power itself.”

“He certainly seems to know a lot of interesting people,” Kerrick said.

“That I do,” came Flint’s voice from the doorway. He strode into the room grinning broadly at the four of them. “And the list is growing all the time.”

“Flint, can I read your palm?” Sol asked eagerly.

“Maybe some other time, Sunny,” Flint said. “Folks, I’ve good news. We got all your provisions quicker than planned and they’re waiting in a cart outside the Hog. My friend on the staff has agreed to open up the cellar side entrance an hour from now, then we’ll be able to load in your stuff.”

“That’s great!” Tip said, among excited exclamations from the others. They’d be going home earlier than expected, which was wonderful news for Marit’s mental health.

“There’s no point going yet,” Flint said as he pulled up a chair. “We’d only have to hang around in the cold street until Jazmin opens the door and she said definitely not before three bells. I’ll have some of that stew if there’s any left.”

“Sol, get Flint a bowl,” Val said. The rest of them moved over to make room for him at the table.

“So,” Flint said, seating himself and digging into the food Sol brought him. “I can’t pretend I’m not intrigued by all this mystery surrounding the four of you. Any chance you’ll share what you were doing in Damal in the first place?” When his words met with a stunned silence and he looked up to see their astonished faces. “Now look here, if it’s going to damage our new friendship then by all means keep your secrets. I can manage without knowing the details.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Did you say Damal?” Tip asked. “As in, the main city of Damovar?”

“As in, the long kingdom with a lot of mountains and mining?” Kerrick asked.

Flint looked confused. “I don’t follow. Where’d you expect to be?”

“It’s a long story, but we honestly weren’t sure where we were,” Kerrick told him. “Hey! If we’re in Damal you must have all the latest news on the war. What can you tell us about its progress?”

If possible, Flint looked even more confused. “What war?”

There was a moment where everyone looked at each other, and then Val asked, “Isn’t there a war going on? One that requires a lot of supplies and resources?”

“Not that I’ve heard of,” Flint looked disconcerted. “Not to blow my own trumpet but I like to think I have a pretty good handle on what’s going on, politically speaking. Friends in high places and all.”

“Are you sure?” Kerrick asked him. “There couldn’t be a secret war being fought somewhere?”

Flint rubbed his chin. “It would be a fairly hypocritical one if there were. I don’t suppose you know this if you’re strangers here, but we’ve just had a jubilee celebrating Damovar’s long years of peace.”

Tip and the others shared a long glance. There was no war. The implications were shocking and many, but they were for the four of them to discuss later on.

“And the kingdom is prosperous? Plenty of trade and such?” Kerrick asked.

“As far as I know.” Flint was frowning. “No unrest in the merchants’ district currently. That’s usually how you tell whether trade’s going well or not.”

“And is the king in good health?” Tip asked.

“As far as I know,” Flint answered. “We’re don’t exactly move in the same social circles, you understand.”

“Why’d you ask about the king?” Kerrick asked Tip.

“Just a whim,” she said. “I’ve always wondred about him, sitting here on his warm, comfortable throne while we’re all there starving and shivering in the pits of-“

“Pits of despair!” Kerrick broke in before she could give away their settlement’s name. She frowned at him and he widened his eyes at her before turning back to Flint. The older man had narrowed eyes and Tip knew he hadn’t missed Kerrick’s clumsy cover-up. However, Val asked for more details about the jubilee celebration and the conversation moved on.

Before too long, Flint said it was time to go and they bade goodbye to the cosy safehouse, heading out into the freezing streets on their way back to the tavern where they hoped their boats would still be waiting for them.

It was different seeing the city in the light. Especially now that they knew where they were. Tip glanced around and realised there were a hundred little clues that should have given it away. The style of dress and building was so similar to their own experience that it should have been a dead giveaway when their other two trips had taken them to such alien and unfamiliar worlds. But they were all still too new at the world-travelling game to be able to recognise the difference. They’d know better in the future. At least now they’d made a friend in a place that might actually be useful to them.

When they reached The Roasted Hog, Flint continued straight past it without comment and led them into a side alley where a wagon was blocking most of the space and shielding a nearby cellar opening from casual observation. The cellar grating was already open and the men guarding the cart had begun to unload. Tip and the others grabbed crates and headed down into the cellar too.

Once Tip’s eyes had adjusted somewhat to the gloom, she could make out the racks of barrels and the familiar staircase that led upstairs into the tavern. For a moment she was seized by fear that the Underrun had disappeared, but no, there it was in the far corner. A slight greenish glow, comfortingly familiar. When she went closer, sure enough, there were their boats, bobbing on the still water as if eager to be off.

“Where’d you want it all?” asked one of Flint’s men, gesturing to the pile they’d already made.

Tip waved. “Over here, by the water.”

She got only confused faces in response. “Thought it was all beer and wine down here,” muttered one of the men.

“Ahem, what she meant was over there next to the wall,” Kerrick said, raising his eyebrows at Tip.

“Right, got you.” The first man heaved a crate onto his shoulder and strode over to Tip. He dumped the crate on the floor near her. When Tip looked closer, she saw there was a threshold where the cellar floor turned into the Underrun dock. The edges of the crate lined up exactly with the boundary between the two. The man obviously thought he’d put the crate down next to a wall. Tip took a careful step away from the boundary and thanked the stars she hadn’t actually stepped over it in front of the men.

“So I promised myself I wouldn’t ask again,” Flint said. He’d carried a box of dry goods into the cellar and now he placed it with the rest of the goods the other two men were piling next to the ‘wall’. From the way he was acting, it was clear he couldn’t see the Underrun either. “But I really do have to ask,” Flint continued. “What are you planning to do with all this stuff in here?”

“Top secret,” Kerrick said, grinning. By now they knew Flint well enough to know he wouldn’t be angry at their evasion.

Quite the opposite. An eager glint appeared in the man’s eyes and he shook a finger at all of them in turn. “I’ll weasel it out somehow, don’t you worry.”

“Hey, maybe your street name could be Weasel!” Sol said.

“That’s a good suggestion,” Flint told him. “But you see, I’ve already got a street name.”

“Ooh, what is it?” asked the boy, eyes wide.

“I’ll leave you to guess that one,” Flint said, with a wink. Looking around at the four of them, he held out a hand to Kerrick, who was nearest. “Well, I’d say it’s been a pleasure but in reality, it’s been far more than that.” Having shaken with Kerrick, he moved on to Tip, Val and finally Sol. “I hope I see the four of you again. I’m not at all clear on how you plan to leave the city, but assuming you actually do, if you should ever find yourselves back in Damal, I’d be very happy to assist you in whatever way I can. And of course, should you ever be in need of more work…” He let the sentence trail off, saluted them and exited the cellar with a final wave.

Tip looked at the piece of metal he’d transferred into her hand when he shook it. It was a medallion stamped with some kind of design on one side. The light was too dim to see what so she shoved it into her pocket for now.