“Hand me the goods.” Lin said, opening a sack.

Rolada and I shovelled the rings and other jewellery we had found down in the catacombs into the burlap sack. After Lin made sure the sack didn’t have any holes we started to pace up and down the packed street looking at pawn shops. I was fairly surprised just how many pawn shops, second hand goods or custom workshops were all crammed into the single street.

Rolada paused by one shop, running a hand over the front of the shop where there had once been something else. She hummed to herself for a moment and then said. “This used to be a weapon’s store, why is it a pawn shop now?”

“You just blow in from stupid town kid?” A hooded goblin spat behind us. “Tired Lad opened a weapon and armour division for the animals to work in. Don’t know why the king let you beasts wander around without a leash, turning Wyrmbreath into a damn petting zoo.”

The short man grumbled more about the influx of refugees but was out of ear shot before Lin could give him a biting retort. I felt my hand instinctively open, curling into the usual shape to launch a fire attack but I stopped myself. The guards had been hoping for a ruckus and I wasn’t about to give it to them. I saw Rolada’s ears fall and she tugged on her sleeve, trying to hide in her sweater. I got closer to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

“Don’t listen to that jackass Rolada. Besides, how could we have known?” I asked.

Perception skill : Success!

+1 XP gained.

Looking down towards Tired Lad I could see a smaller expansion, with a pair of signs besides it. One was a sword over an anvil with the second sign being a helmet. Over them were bright flashing lights with the word ‘NEW’ being burned into my retinas.

“Huh, would you look at that.” I said, wiping my watering eyes. “Could turn the brightness down a notch.”

Rolada tried to cover her face as she angrily hissed into her palms. Lin gave me a wink and got on the distressed girl's other side. Lin gave her a playful light hip check and smiled at her.

“Hey listen, these pawn shop guys probably all have terrible prices but I’m used to dealing with them. I’ll walk around a bit and find the best price I can get while you two get something for us to eat. I can smell the food vendors from here.” Lin said.

“It’s like my mom always says, I get hangry.” Rolada sighed. “We can get a table for you, but if you see that little bugger feel free to trip him.”

Lin gave her a salute and dipped into the pawn shop looking quite cheerful. As Rolada and I followed our noses to the scent of sizzling meat and sweets a thought dawned on me. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my temple and dabbed it with my makeshift cloak.

“Are you alright Josh?” Rolada asked, she held onto my hand and checked my forehead.

“Did we just let the thief go into a pawn shop… unsupervised?” I whispered. “You don’t think she will…”

“No, no. Lin and I had a great heart to heart last night and I can honestly say we can trust her.” Rolada said, with a beaming smile. It started to crack and her voice came out in a squeak. “I think.”

“What did you two talk about?” I asked.

My question fell on deaf ears as we rounded the corner and reached the food street. A vast dense street of a hundred miniature stores were as far as our eyes could see. Little shops where three or four patrons could sit with a dizzying array of choices. Roasted meats, pastries, fresh veggies and foods I couldn’t even identify attacked our senses and stunned us.

“They have a little Vinny’s!” Rolada shrieked. She pulled at my cloak so violently I nearly toppled over. “Please Josh, I need it. I’m having the cravings, the cravings that can only be satisfied with a bowl of noodles and a shot of Boonie.”

Rolada was wiping the drool from her mouth and searching around the area. She closed her eyes and let her nose guide her. I quickly moved to follow her, tripping over a man’s foot. Stammering an apology I fought to keep pace with the fox girl, dodging and weaving between strangers.

Rolada abruptly stopped and I crashed into her. I shot out my arms and pushed against a shop wall, with Rolada a hair’s breadth away from me. She flattened herself against the wall, her face flush and her ears perked up. Her breathing started to increase, and her hand rose to her chest.

“Josh, if you want to take me all you need to do is ask.” Rolada purred.

“What?” I asked, stumbling back. “I didn’t mean-”

Rolada’s expression dropped to her sticking out her tongue and she lightly slapped me in the chest. She started to shake and she clutched her arms around her belly. As I leaned over to check on her she bellowed out with laughter.

“Oh my goddess, Lin was right, you are so easy to tease Josh. Your face is redder than a beet.” Rolada said, tugging my sleeve. “Let’s get something to eat.”

The Vinny’s was a small shop like most of the others but was made with much more care than the others around the area. The sign over the shop was shaped like a bowl with the name of the shop on it and a small dragon coiled around it snoozing away peacefully. The interior of the shop was lit, with three booths for four people each and a small counter to order from.

The small restaurant smelled phenomenal, it was clean and warm. The wonderful atmosphere set me at ease as it did Rolada who was now fixated on the menu board over the counter. I was just glad she had something else to focus on for now.

“I’ll order for you Josh, just grab a seat.” Rolada said, waving me off.

I thanked her and flopped into one of the booths, gratefully to finally be off my feet. I needed a vacation after the marathon of distance I must have hiked these past few days. I was starting to appreciate the ease of travel back on earth.

Rolada jumped into the booth across from me and beamed with joy. She had a mischievous glint to her eye that set off some internal alarm inside of me. She gave me a predatory smile, flashing her fangs and lifting her foot to rub the inside of my leg.

“So how long have you and Lin been bedding together?” she asked coyly, giving me her full attention.

“Started a few days ago. I just met Lin but she said it was for warmth.” I said, crossing my arms.

Rolada’s tail whipped behind her and I could tell she was having fun extracting info from me. I had to remind myself that with her talent she was in a position of power over me and I couldn’t lie, but I wondered if I had to tell her the complete truth too.

“Do you typically bed with women you just meet?” Roalda asked, winking at me.

I coughed and looked towards the counter, thanking whatever god or goddess was lending me a hand. A man in an apron with horns on his head, striking yellow eyes and a long whip-like tail approached our booth. He set down three ceramic bowls filled to the brim with long thin noodles and spices. He set down mugs of a fizzy drink and three smaller cups filled with a dark liquid. The sharp smell of alcohol wafted off the dark liquid and it was enough to clear my sinuses.

“The hell is this?” I asked in shock, bringing the dark drink closer.

“Boonie, the best thing to clear the airways and perk you up.” Rolada grinned. “Bet you a whole silver you can’t down it in one go.”

The fox girl lifted her own drink in a toast and waited for my response. I picked up mine and in sync we took the shot. The burning taste was like a slap to the face with such force I could feel the afterburn hit me a second time. I bent over and started hacking my lungs out as fire coursed through my system.

Constitution check : failure!

Rolada howled with laughter and slapped the table earning us a hard glare from the little store’s owner. She put a hand over her mouth and tried to calm herself but giggles kept rising to the top no matter how hard she tried.

I took a swig of the other drink finding it refreshing and sweet, the flavour reminded me of ginger ale crossed with honey. The sweet taste left a bit of an aftertaste and it helped cleanse the strong alcohol letting me breathe normally once more.

“You knew that would happen.” I said.

“Now pay up or answer me a few questions.” Rolada said, with a wide smile on her face.

“Fine, ask your questions. I would have answered them regardless.” I said.

“It’s more fun this way, not every day I get to speak to a realm traveller.” Rolada said.

“Speaking of that, you guys didn’t seem that alarmed I was from another world.” I said.

Rolada let out another giggle that she tried to stifle as she watched me cough a few more times. She took out a thin book from her satchel and quickly flicked through it before turning it around for me to see. On the page she had turned to was a series of spheres with symbols on them connected with a network of lines resembling a spider's web.

“Ewyernar is a world nicely nestled between a few other realms. We have demons and angels conversing with their followers, mages teleporting in from who knows where and creatures falling from the stars. It’s not that unheard of Josh.” Rolada said.

I couldn’t make out the text of the page and Rolada took it away a few seconds later. I would have to ask her if earth was on that list. As my thoughts turned to home I found myself flooded with worries.

“Josh, are you ok?” Rolada asked, reaching over and touching my hand. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“I’ve been so caught up in trying to figure stuff out I didn’t even think about home. My friends and family, if Paul is even still alive and what about my job. I feel like an idiot now.” I huffed, shoving a few noodles into my mouth trying to distract myself. “Holy hell these are good.”

“That’s what I always tell people, Vinny’s can let you forget your worries. Josh you shouldn’t feel bad at all, you got to make sure you make it to the next morning before you start worrying about other stuff. Besides, your world is chalk full of magical stuff. I'm sure you can find a way to teleport back home.” Rolada said, patting my arm to ease my woes.

“Rolada, I tried to explain it to you guys. There is no magic in my world.” I said, looking at her earnestly.

She set down her glass and looked at me deeply. The deep green hue of her eyes searched me for confirmation and they widened as she gasped. “Josh I thought you were playing up a joke, what do you mean no magic?”

I took out my spell book and showed it to her, tapping the spells I had. “This stuff does not exist in my world, everything is technology and science. There’s no mana crystals to power up items, just hard chemistry and physics at work.”

Rolada bit her tongue and her expression twisted as she tried to wrap her head around what I had just said. She seemed at a loss and flipped through her book again looking for something.

“Sorry I’m late you two.” Lin said from the doorway. “Figured you were a Vinny's kind of girl Roalda.”

Rolada smiled and turned back to her book, absentmindedly sliding over to make room for Lin. Her tongue stuck out to one side as she combed over the book seemingly absorbed into whatever idea had just taken hold of her.

“Feel free to thank your big sister later.” Lin said tossing to each of us a small bag stuffed with coins. “Took a bit of looking but I found someone with a mutual friend of mine.”

Added 25 gold 50 silver 75 copper.

“This is a lot Lin, thank you.” I said. I was amazed at the heavy sack in the palm of my hand. “I didn’t think we would have gotten this much.”

“I only got half that from the sales, don’t worry about the rest.” Lin said with a wink.

“Josh you are a very interesting man, if I can get back to the academy we should talk to one of my professors. For now let's enjoy a hot meal, and hear about how you're going to pamper us when we get home.” Rolada said.

“We decided since I didn’t kill you that when we got the bath going you would massage our shoulders while we relaxed...” Lin said.

“... pour us a glass of wine...” Roalda added.

“... and a few more things while we are at it.” Lin said, gently swaying her mug. “I was thinking of spicing up the bedroom a bit-”

“Can we please not talk about stuff like that in public?” I hissed, feeling the heat rise to my face.

“Your right Rolada, red is a good colour on him.” Lin whispered into Roalda’s ear, causing them both to start giggling.

I focused my attention on the bowl and devoured my noodles trying my best to ignore their playful banter. My head started to turn towards wondering about my family and I tried to beat it down with little success. They hadn’t made many attempts to reconcile in recent years, but I still wished I could find out if they were still fine. I could scarcely remember the last time I had heard my father.

“Ready to head out?” Rolada asked, shaking me from my funk.

I had finished my meal and realized the others had too. Lin was paying at the counter and conversing with the owner while Rolada had moved to sit beside me smiling sweetly. She gave me a playful bump and coaxed me out of the booth.

“Sorry, just a bit of bad memories.” I said.

“Well if you need someone to chat with, I’m here. I can’t promise the world but I can promise to be your friendly foxie if you need it.” Rolada said, opening her arms to me.

I took her up on the offer and gently squeezed her. She sunk into my chest and I put my chin on her head feeling her soft ears rub against my cheek. Rolada squirmed in my grasp and giggled uncontrollably.

“Josh, we are trimming that stubble, it’s way to ticklish. I have no clue how Lin puts up with it.” Rolada smirked.

“It feels nice honestly, but you do look like a wild vagabond that will nick the silverware.” Lin said.

“Funny coming from you.” I said.

We headed back out to the street and navigated past a few shady looking groups. Men in dark robes surrounded by followers or beasts, finely dressed goblins followed by dozens of others or people wearing bone white masks. They kept to themselves but we still avoided them in case they were trouble, Rolada didn’t get a good feeling from them and we trusted her judgement.

We found a new street that was mostly empty with vastly larger buildings. They were made out of stone on the first story with extra ones built out of wood. It was quiet here and people talked in hushed whispers. My internal clock was telling me it was well past evening as the glowing ceiling shifted to a cool relaxing blue.

“What’s this place?” Lin asked, pointing to the nearest building. “Did we find an inn?”

The building in question was more stout and had a dark theme to it with tinted windows and a small sign covered in foreign script which was barely visible from the street. The other buildings on the street had overhanging signs with several languages on them. I could make out on some of the words like inn, tavern or rest house.

Rolada put on a pair of rose tinted glasses and smiled. She elbowed Lin and said. “It’s a strip club. Want to see what kind of cuties are around here?”

Lin’s hands turned into fists and she gave the front door a hard glare. She spat at the club and turned, marching off. “Let's go somewhere else.”

Lin’s long steps carried her away, causing us to jog to catch back up. When I walked abreast to her to ask what was wrong I decided against it. She was clearly cross with something and I could wait before stirring the hornet's nest.

“What about this place?” I asked, looking at the closest tavern. “Nila’s maid haven?”

“I love maids!” Rolada shouted. “Can we please see some cute maid girls Lin?”

“Sure, I don’t feel like walking much further anyways.” Lin said.

This building was far more inviting than the last with lit lamps, a sign that resembled a fluffy sheep in a maid dress and the smell of treats wafting out the windows. Laughter could be heard inside and we all made our way towards the door.

The door burst open and two men came sailing out. Lin grabbed Rolada and dove to the side while I threw myself down feeling one of their boots bounce off my forehead. Standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a dangerous snarl on her face was the silhouette of a dragon girl in a maid dress.

“Don’t you dare ever come back.” She spat at the two men. A puff of frost came out of her mouth and small flakes of snow fell onto the ground. “Do I make myself clear?!”

The two men, one a cat beast-kin and the other some kind of dog untangled themselves and sprinted down the street out of sight. The sheer terror of the men was striking and I tried to make myself small. Sadly for me my other companions didn’t feel the same way.

They greeted the furious maid at the door and pointed me out. The maid looked at me with cold purple eyes, she politely bowed to us and stepped aside letting us in. Before I could protest Lin and Rolada had entered, leaving me alone.

“Welcome sir, I hope I can make you comfortable,” she said, an icy edge to her voice. “Please come in.”