Section 4

  Part III Meeting with a stranger

  "Hello, yes, ma'am, we're new to the area," I replied to the stranger.

  " Aye, ya look like ya ain't ever stepped foot in a town other than ye own. I'm Rebekah. Nice to meet ya, " replied the woman as she stood up and approached the table with an outstretched hand.

  "I'm Draxson. Nice to meet you. Was it that obvious that I've never traveled?" I asked, laughing while I shook her hand. Rebekah took her hand back and offered it to Sopheia as she replied to me. "Yeah, I can see all the gear yer carrying and that ya made a quite the amusing display when talking with the Inn master. It was the funniest thing I've seen today." Said Rebekah as she shook her hand with Sopheia and made introductions. Rebekah introduced herself to Phantom, and I was quite surprised that Phantom was so friendly. "Nice to meet you, Rebekah. I've been to this place before, and I'm just accompanying this group through the area. You can call me Phaaz." stated Phantom energetically as she shook Rebekah's hand firmly with both hands.

  Phantom told Rebekah that her brothers wouldn't talk, so after talking with Phantom, she sat down across from me.

  "So what brings ya ta our little town of levies da tru?" Asked Rebekah.

  Sopheia responded to the question to start off with a brief conversation. "

  "We're just traveling through the area to restock on supplies and sell the extra gear we've accumulated over the last week of our adventure. We came this way because some monsters we didn't have any chance of fighting."

  Sopheia said briefly, recounting our adventure thus far.

  Rebekah and Sopheia, and surprisingly, even Phantom, started a conversation about majic, and Rebekah was getting more information from Sopheia. At was pprobably20 minutes after the Inn master directed us to our table, the first plates of pork dumplings, spicy chicken, and noodle rice arrived at our table.

  I thanked Miss Figal for the food and for refilling the formula, which I requested when she checked on us about 10 minutes ago. "Let me know if you need anything, ladies or you young men," Figal said before asking Rebekah if she would like anything. Rebekah ordered the same thing we got and a drink before engaging in conversation again. Inn master Figal walked back to the back after she checked on us.

  Rebeka, for the first time in a quarter of an hour, talked to me.

  "So, Draxson, are you planning to stay for a few days? If you are, you might be interested in the tournament the mayor of the town is hosting tomorrow. Would you be interested in Draxson, Sopheia, and even you, too, Phaz?" Asked Rebekah.

  I thought it over for a little minute before I gave my reply.

  "That sounds very interesting. What are the details of this Tournament? Will there be a lot of contestants?" I asked.

  "The mayor is a combat and sparring fanatic, so every year, he hosts about three tournaments for a prize and to see new fighting techniques and interesting spells. He usually enlists some of the talented competitors and any of the winners he can. Though the winners are usually people that came from further south and are just here for the award or the prestige." Stated Rebekah without taking a breath.

  A moment later, after taking a breath and enjoying her fudge scotch in large doses, Rebekah continued pitching the idea to me. I ate some of my food while I waited for her to speak again. Sopheia, Phantom, and her brothers were already eating while I listened in. Phantom's brothers didn't seem all that interested. Instead, they occupied themselves with their sugary mint smoothies and finished a second serving before they sat there and drew things in the air with their iridescent color light wisps.

  Rebekah started talking again, slowly and calmly this time. "So, as I was asking for a dose, does that sound like something that you would be interested in taking part in?" Inquired Rebekah before her gaze caught sight of Phantom's brothers. Phantom was otherwise engaged by sculpting a small wolf figure of her likeness pre-transformation and full of color. It even barked occasionally as Phantom was muttering something under her breath while twisting and turning strands of light as a weaver would fit yarn into superb tapestries. Rebekah was very intrigued by this and silently watched Phantom's light figure form.

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  I thought over Rebekah's question for a moment, and before I even finished my mouthful of food, Sopheia reached out to me with a small tingly cloud of frost that covered my the area around my left knee. I reached out to her hand over the table, holding a steady cast, and I entwined our fingers and gave a light squeeze as I established a mental connection.

  "You're Sopheia good. You can stop the cast now." I said through her mind. I watched her face immediately flush pink as she hid her face with her cup.

  Sopheia: Hey, Draxson, can we join this competition. It sounds pretty fun, it sound like we could get some money out of it for more ingredients and maybe find someone who would take this extra gear off our hands at the tournament tomorrow.

  "Yes, this would be a good opportunity to meet some strong people and even find something else to do after it's all over from one of the townspeople or from the traveling competitors. And we could get rid of this gear, and I could bargain some recipes from the townspeople with a portion of the winnings.

  I opened my mouth to speak as I set my fork down on my plate. "I've thought about it, and I would like to join this event," I said before clearing my throat and taking a sip of my honey root juice. Rebekah turned her head so fast at my declaration that I thought she would sprain her neck. "Really, you'll participate in the tournament? I can't wait to see what you're capable of. If what Sopheia was recounting to me is as impressive as she says, then we're going to have an entertaining tournament this year. I look forward to watching you fight, and I wish you the best of luck," Rebekah said as the Inn master brought her food.

  It was a beautiful plate of noodles laid in a swirling pile of light brown noodles topped with steamed rice and mixed chicken. Three pork dumplings sat on the side of the plate in a semi-circle, with two small bowls full of brown sauce in one and a crimson-hued sauce in the other. Rebekah picked up the small bowl with the spicy crimson topping sauce and poured it evenly on her food. She then, after setting the small bowl down, produced two small sticks from her pocket and picked up some noodles, bringing the tips of the sticks with the food to her mouth, and bit down on the food dangling from the interesting sticks, pulling them back as she closed her mouth to chew.

  A dozen seconds later, while chewing, she set her sticks down and, in the same motion, picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth before setting the napkin down again. The Inn master stood there patiently, hands together in front of her at the bottom of her apron, awaiting her patrons' opinion on the food.

  "No, I ain't been holding out on you, not when y'all are all such great customers in my establishment. It's a new recipe the chef made in the back; he's been working on it for about a month, only testing his dishes on the employees here and daring customers. He only just perfected it yesterday. And you're very welcome; I'll take your regards to the chef. If you don't need anything else, your rooms are ready... what was your name, lad? Sorry, I forgot to ask you earlier," said Figal.

  "My name is Draxson, and I am Sopheia," Sopheia and I said respectively as Sopheia reached out her hand to shake Figal's hand and thank her for the food.

  "Alright, Draxson and Sopheia. Thanks for being great patrons. Your rooms are ready when you are. Here are the keys for both rooms: end of the line to the left."

  "Mistress Inn Master Figal, before you go, could I bargain that I make some desserts and a full-course meal for you and your people for the recipe of this wonderful dish and for the fudge scotch? Would those be agreeable terms, Mistress Figal?" I asked hopefully. I was talking with Sopheia earlier about how much I wanted the recipe, and we agreed to try to bargain for it. Inn Master Figal gave a shake of her head and said, "Nah lad, don't ye be trying to bargain with me in my own business. I'll let you talk with the chef, and it'll be up to him and me to decide to accept your offer. Just go to sleep, lads and lasses." "Well, I'll be going now. Draxson, Sopheia, and Phantom, it was nice to meet you all. I'll see you at the tournament tomorrow. Good luck," Rebekah stated, turning to each of us and then taking her leave out the front door, tossing a coin to the worker behind the counter, who struggled to catch it and thanked her when he had it in his grasp. We resigned shortly after Rebekah was clear out of the door; we headed up the stairs at the far back of the room and trekked until we made it to our rooms. I produced the keys and asked what the plan was. "My brothers and I will take the room. I'm on the left, closest to the door," Phantom replied as she stretched her hand out to me, palm open. I placed the key in Phantom's hand, and I bid her goodnight. "Goodnight, Sopheia, and Draxson sleep well, you two. See you in the morning." And with that, Phantom and her brothers filed behind her into the room, and Sopheia and I went to our rooms to rest for the night.