The Happy Sunflowers waited patiently for a few moments as the guard gathered his wits about him.

“What brings you to East Village?” The guard finally asked. “We don’t get many visitors.”

“We’re just traveling through on the way to Red Mount,” Malissa said. “We were hoping to buy some supplies and a map, if that would be possible.”

“Ah, Red Mount,” the guard lowered the spear and gave them an embarrassed grin. “I suppose I should have guessed. It’s been so long since I saw a strange face that I panicked a bit there. You’re about two weeks of travel away from Red Mount. I’m afraid we don’t have any horses or lizards to ride, but we can probably assist with your supplies problem. You’ll be wanting the general store. Jobben runs it out of the bottom floor of his house – there’s a sign.”

The guard’s eyes flicked to Arek, who still hadn’t said anything. He cleared his throat as the orc raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, is that an orc?” the guard asked.

“He is,” Ming replied, emphasizing the first word. “He won’t cause any trouble unless someone annoys him.”

“And what does that involve?” the guard asked nervously. He adjusted his grip on the spear and wiped his palms off on his pants. “I can’t let a dangerous creature into the town. We don’t have any trained guards inside it.”

“He’s just pulling your leg,” Malissa said, sighing. “The orc’s name is Arek, and he enjoys messing with people he hasn’t met – guards in particular. He’s just as intelligent as you or me and he can talk in common.”

The guard glanced from Malissa to Arek. The orc said nothing. Then he scratched his armpit and sniffed his hand.

“Right,” the guard said.

“Arek!” Malissa snapped. “Stop that!”

Arek sent her a dead eyed gaze. Ming suppressed a laugh, and a small smirk threatened to take root on Belmont’s stern face before he wiped it away.

“We’ll take full responsibility for our big companion,” Belmont said. “I assure you, he’s harmless so long as you don’t try to feed him bad food.”

“Fine,” the guard said, realizing the adventurers outnumbered him four to one. The rust on his armor and the dull looking spear tip didn’t make a great case for his training either. “And in that case, you’d best keep him away from Maggie’s Tavern. I doubt he’d like what she’s got to offer.”

“Noted,” Malissa said. The guard stepped aside, still watching Arek warily, and the four of them slipped past the barricade of spiked wood to step into the town.

Even though it was in the middle of the day, not many people were out. Arek caught one or two glances directed their way from behind windows or within buildings, but nobody stepped in front of their path. He had no problem with that – a town as small as this was unlikely to have anything of particular interest to him anyways.

The town was small enough that finding the general store didn’t prove to be a hard task. There was indeed a sign, but it had been so worn down by time and the elements that it was really no more than a blank wooden plaque leaning up against an old wall.

There were metal studs where it had once hung from a rotted signpost above the door, but the rings were long gone. Ming happily ran up to the front of the party and pushed the door open.

A rush of stale air greeted the Happy Sunflowers as they stepped inside the shop. There were half a dozen shelves against the walls and lined up unevenly at the center of the room. Everything from quills to old swords rested on the shelves. At the back of the store, beside a ladder that led to the floor above, was a small counter piled high with wooden crates.

“Hello?” Ming called. “We’ve come for your meat!”

“In the form of jerky!” Malissa quickly added, shooting a glare at Ming. “Supplies, really.”

A wizened man’s face popped out from the hole in the ceiling. Long white hair hung down around him, and he had to push it to the side to get a look at them.

“For my meat, you say?” the man asked.

The head disappeared. A moment later, a short man clambered down the ladder. Arek realized that what he’d seen wasn’t just hair - it was a long white beard. In fact, the man was completely bald.

“Supplies,” Belmont corrected. “And a map to Red Mount, if you’ve got one.”

“Adventurers, are you?” the man asked. “Well, I’ve got what you want. It’s no fancy feasting, but it’ll cut it until you make it to Red Mount. As for a map, I’ve got ‘em. Ten silver for the lot.”

“Seven,” Belmont said.

“Nine and five copper,” the man instantly replied, stroking his beard.

“Seven and five copper,” Belmont countered.

“Nine silver!” Ming exclaimed.

“Deal,” the man said quickly, darting over and shaking Ming’s hand. “I’ll have it out to you lickety-split. Don’t go anywhere.”

He darted back up the ladder as Belmont let out a heavy sigh.

“Really, Ming?”

“He needs the money more than we do, Belmont,” Ming said, rolling her eyes. “Why do we need to haggle over something this cheap?”

She reached into her extradimensional bag and pulled out a familiar looking straw hat. She sat it on her head and proudly proclaimed the activation phrase, summoning a piece of steaming pie atop her head.

She sat it on the counter, oblivious to the shocked stares her companions were sending her. When she turned around she raised her hands into the air.

“What? I thought he might like some pie.”

“Ming,” Arek said carefully. “Did you have that hat while we were in the River Crypt?”

“Yeah. I put it in my bag so it wouldn’t get messed up,” Ming said. “Why?”

Belmont’s eye twitched.

“We ate stale jerky and cheese for days on end, and you had access to a gods forsaken pie hat! Did the thought never occur to you that it might be a welcome change of pace?” Belmont asked furiously.

“Oh. I felt like it would ruin the whole mood,” Ming said, scratching the back of her head. “It wouldn’t be a proper tense dungeon dive if we had fresh pie every day, would it?”