The child slowly stopped trembling. He felt strong and warm hands picking him up and making him stand on his feet. He was a thin child wearing rags, with his body all dirty and bruised from the earlier blows.

“It is alright now, see? That idiotic brute received a piece of his own medicine,” said Liza, still holding the kid by the shoulders.

The boy looked at his aggressor sprawled on the ground. The man’s face was pale, his eyes were unfocussed, and he would twitch from time to time.

“Who are you lady? Why did you help me?” said the child in a small voice.

“I am Liza and I helped you because I wanted to. Now I want your help. Do you know where I can find an inn?”

“I do, but is it going to be ok?” the child whispered looking at the fallen man with a worried face.

“Who knows? I helped you this time because I could, but I won’t be around to protect you all the time.”

Liza thought for a moment and then searched around her things. She took a small pocket knife in hand. It was a very simple and sturdy tool, the all-purpose knife she used for camping.

“Here, take this. Don’t go around using it to do bad things and don’t show it to other people, keep it as a secret weapon. A knife is good for self-defense, but you are a small child, and if they know you have it they can easily prepare for it. Use only when you feel your life is being threatened. Now, be a good fella and take us to the inn.”

The boy looked bewildered for a moment. He then hastily hid the knife somewhere in his worn-down clothes.

“Thank you for saving me Liza. The inn is this way, follow me.”

They made their way through the maze of alleyways. Liza felt glad to have someone to guide them, it was impossible to know where you were going otherwise.

On the way she talked to the boy and learned a few things about him. He was called Nicola and was one of the many children from the slums who were forced to rob, steal and do all kind of jobs for other local criminals. She frowned hearing all that.

[It sucks, but what can you do Liza? You can beat some of them, Eliot and Boro could beat the rest, but then what? When you leave they will just return, or new ones will appear. This is a problem the local lord should be solving, not you, a measly fledgling adventurer.]

Liza was so lost in thought, arguing with her inner self, she didn’t notice they had arrived. The inn was shabby and only slightly bigger than the houses surrounding it.

“Here it is, thanks again for helping me. Bye then.”

The boy was about to turn and go away when Liza grabbed him by the arm.

“Why are you hurrying? The curfew will start soon, so let me pay you dinner and give you a soft bed to sleep today at least. Tomorrow you can go about your business.”

She grabbed Nicola with one hand and Eliot in the other and dragged them inside. Boro was still hiding in Eliot’s clothes so he wouldn’t draw attention.

The inside of the inn was poorly lit with only a few candles here and there. Three customers were drinking beer on the counter and complaining about their work, wife, kids or all of the above.

“Hey innkeeper, give me a room for the night with three beds and make me four meals please. We will eat in our room,” said Liza in a cheerful voice.

The innkeeper gave them an evaluating glance before taking a key from his pockets and putting on the counter.

“Second floor, it is the last room on the right Miss.”

Liza nodded, grabbed the key and went upstairs followed by Nicola and Eliot. The room was small, with the only furniture being the two bunk beds inside.

“Ok boys, you wait here. I will go get us dinner.”

After Liza left Nicola turned to Eliot with a puzzled face.

“Hey, what is your name?”

Eliot looked at Nicola and tilted his head sideways. There was a weird movement in his baggy clothes and soon Boro came out from his sleeves. He floated in the air, looking curiously at the kid.

Liza had just arrived at the counter when there was a big scream coming from upstairs. Everyone else looked up and then at her with questioning glances.

“Sorry about that, the little one is afraid of spiders. I will sort it out when I go back. Hahaha…” said Liza sheepishly.

“*hic* Hahaha, what a sissy. My *hic* boya is afraid of them ghosts.”

“Mine is those pesky goblins, we use them to scare him, see? Works every time.”

The three customers laughed and continued to talk about what their kids were afraid of. The innkeeper just shrugged.

“Your food will be ready in a moment, just sit tight for a spell.”

“No problem, I will just wait here then. By the way uncle, have you seen or heard anything about elves lately? Did any come to town or pass by?”

“OHHHH *hic*, them lady elves!! Thin and grace*hic*ful, or so I hear…”

The drunken patrons instantly went off, talking about the legendary beauty of female elves and how they wished they could see it just once in their lifetime.

“No, sorry to disappoint you miss. I don’t know where you are from, but elves usually don’t come to these parts. They are forest folk. Well, that is what I’ve heard at least.”

“OoOOoooohhh the lady elves, *hic*

their long pointy ears,

their big, full breasts, *hic*

OooOOoohhhh…”

The drunkards were now singing a made-up nonsensical song, filled with crass words, about lovingly lady elves and how male elves were smelly and no good. It was so terrible bad that it was almost good, in a way.

“I guess you are happy you don’t need a bard,” said Liza with a crooked smile.

“They are just your happy, non-violent kind of drunk. Hearing them singing is ten times better than having the placed trashed,” replied the innkeeper.

“Well, no arguing there.”

A man came from the kitchen carrying a wooden tray with four bowls of food and placed it on the counter.

“Thanks Fred. Here is your food miss and, if you don’t mind, I would rather you pay me now.”

Liza paid the man and went towards the second floor holding the food tray. She was thinking of how to appease the fearful kid and tell him Boro wasn’t as scary as he looked when she heard laughter coming from the room.

[What the heck, he is fine already?]

Inside she found Nicola floating in the air. He was chuckling while holding on Boro, who was flying in the limited space between the bunk beds. Eliot was sitting on one of the beds, looking at them with a smile.

“The food is ready people; sit up so you can eat.”

Nicola dropped to the ground and grabbed two bowls from the tray. He then sat in a corner on the floor and made a gesture for Boro to come and eat with him.

“Cool! I didn’t know you and bro had a tamed monster with you! Look, he is so strong, and cool, and flies, and has green scales, and…”

“Yeah, yeah, Boro is awesome, we know. Now eat your food before it goes cold.”

Soon there was only the sound of people (and one monster) eating. That didn’t last for long, since after Nicola and Boro finished their plates they started playing around again. Nicola would then praise Boro to the moon for the tenth time. Liza smiled at all the kid’s energetic antics and Eliot seemed to be enjoying all the fun.

The next day they said goodbye to Nicola and walked around the town. Liza tried to keep Boro hidden again, but today he wouldn’t have it. She would shove him inside Eliot’s clothes and he would just come out a second after, making her give up.

[He will draw attention, but we have registered him already, so whatever.]

They visited the market, the craftsmen’s guilds, the church and all the other locations travelers would usually stop by. She would then ask around if any elves were seen lately or if they heard any rumors of the sort. The answer was always negative.

Liza had the feeling they were being followed sometimes, but it was hard to pinpoint the cause since all the places they went to were always full of people.

After a full day of going around and asking for information, they started to make their way back to the inn. Or at least they tried.

“Damn it, this place is a labyrinth! These tiny streets all look the same and it doesn’t help that is getting darker!” said Liza in an exasperated tone.

Boro floated in circles around her head, like he was trying to calm her down. She was about to laugh (but also ask him to stop flying around) when she recognized a building at the end of one the lanes.

“Hey, isn’t that the back of the lord’s mansion? Lucky! At least we can make it back to the main street instead of going around in circles here.”

Liza was feeling more cheerful now. They made their way through the lanes towards the mansion. Different than the part that faced the main streets, the back part of the building was simpler. Walls made of rough stone stacked together with apertures for simple windows here and there.

When they got closer they heard an ethereal voice that shouted: “Oh my god! Is that an eastern dragon?!”