Arek made himself comfortable on the slightly too small stool and set his bag down on the ground beside himself.

“Where’s Belmont?” Malissa asked.

“Trapping the room,” the orc replied with a sigh. “He nearly took me out with your pan this morning.”

“I was wondering what happened to it,” Malissa said. “When did he even get a chance to sneak it out of my bag? If that man devoted half the effort he spent on traps to anything else, he’d be a real force to be reckoned with.”

Ming mumbled her agreement through a mouthful of soup.

“So, what are the plans now?” Arek asked, leaning in a little. “Magus is meant to contact us, right? Do you know how he’ll do that, Ming?”

“Probably not with magic,” Ming said, pausing with the spoon a few inches away from her mouth. “Red Mount has a field of energy that blocks magic cast from outside of it. He must have some other way to get word to us.”

“The post, perhaps?” Malissa suggested.

“How would a courier get up here?” Arek asked. “I doubt Red Mount is in the normal route they take.”

“Maybe they’ve got a special agreement. I don’t know,” Malissa said with a shrug. “Doesn’t hurt to check, though.”

“Fair enough,” Arek agreed. “We can do that after Belmont comes down and gets some food.”

Ming started eating faster at the thought of having to abandon her meal station. A short while later, the waitress emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of soup. She expertly shifted it to one hand, picking up a pile of bowls to clean room on the table before setting Arek’s food down in front of him.

“Thank you,” Arek said, inclining his head.

The soup had long strips of something tan mixed in with what he recognized as strips of beef, black mushrooms, and possibly chicken. All of it floated within a rich brown broth. The orc licked his lips and dipped his spoon into the broth, tasting it without any of the floating ingredients.

It was rich and smokey, with the slightest tinge of heat and soy. There was a kick of something acidic as well. The broth had enough saltiness to make Arek eagerly lower his spoon to get another taste, but not so much that he was instantly thirsty.

“This is quite good,” Arek said after several more spoonful’s. “Better than most of the other soups I’ve had, actually. It’s so complex!”

“I agree,” Malissa said. “I can’t quite eat like Ming, but I managed to stuff down two bowls. I’m not sure how this is made, but it’s amazing. Do you think we can get the recipe?”

“I’d love to try,” Arek said. “We might have to trade something for it if we can even get the chef to part with it. This kind of dish is something that has been worked on for years to reach the flavor balance that we’re experiencing.”

Ming nodded empathetically, pausing to glance at the stairwell as Belmont wandered down it. The heavily armored man scanned the room before making his way over to their table.

“Are you going to get something to eat?” Malissa asked when Belmont made no moves to sit down.

“Not yet,” he replied, his voice low. “I need to investigate this tavern to make sure they don’t hold a grudge against us or have possible reasons to try to take our life. Do not worry – I have some jerky left.”

“Your loss,” Arek said, tipping the remains of the soup into his mouth in one large gulp. He smacked his lips and grinned, setting the bowl down.

“We’re planning on checking the post to see if any couriers come through Red Mount,” Malissa informed Belmont. “Maybe Magus sent something through them.”

“A good idea,” Belmont agreed. “We should find out some information about the dungeon afterwards. Whatever was going on in that forest wasn’t normal.”

Arek and Malissa nodded in agreement. They all turned to look at Ming, who glared at them and shoveled the last of her soup into her mouth. She let out a contented sigh and patted her stomach.

“I guess I’m ready too,” Ming said.

They rose from the table as the waitress made her way over to them.

“I hope you enjoyed your meal,” she said. “Will you be returning later today, or would you like to pay your tab now?”

“We’ll be back tonight,” Malissa promised.

“Wonderful. Please enjoy your time in Red Mount,” the waitress replied, picking up a large stack of bowls and heading back into the kitchen.

The Happy Sunflowers headed out of the inn and got their first look at Red Mount in the daylight. One thing was for certain – it wasn’t hard to tell where the city got its name. The reddish stone that had been used to make much of the city shone a deep crimson in the light.

The buildings were beautiful. Each one seemed to have built in a slightly different method. Some had longer, sloping roofs, while others had murals painted across the stone with shimmering paints.

However, what Arek quickly decided was his favorite part of the city were the signposts at every street corner.

They were large wooden poles with dozens of arrows nailed into them, each one with a word engraved into them.

Instead of having to hunt around for the post, it only took a few minutes for the group to spot the appropriate name and set off down the street that its arrow pointed towards. A short walk later, the four adventurers came to a stop before a small building with a wooden sign denoting it as the post.

It was only two floors, and the stone looked a little more worn down than the other buildings in the area. The doors swung open with a loud creak as the Happy Sunflowers entered. The smell hit Arek instantly. It wasn’t bad as much as earthy.

A portly man sat in the center of the room, surrounded by around a dozen plump birds with bulbous eyes and tiny beaks. He glanced in their direction and scrambled to his feet.