Julie awoke with a start. She had been dreaming vividly. She could not remember the details, but it had left her shaken. She reached for the handle of her sword, leaning precariously against the bedside table. The room in the inn was cozy but small. She had not been under the blankets, having fallen asleep fully clothed on top of the quilt. She ran a curious hand through her hair, and was surprised at how quickly in was trapped in the blonde tangles.

It was torchlight dancing through the only window in the wall. Slept away the whole afternoon, she thought. All worries about time were quickly chased away by the roar of her stomach demanding food. There was a delectable smell creeping under the door. Julie gathered her meager possessions and followed the smell to back to the stairwell.

From the top of the stairs she could see the room was abuzz with noise. Conversations merged into ambient background noise.

She made her way down the stairs that let out into the main room, and saw two people standing near the entrance, arguing with the innkeeper. They were the most extravagantly dressed people she had ever seen. She wondered if they were husband and wife, and realized quickly that they must be brother and sister. The man was wearing trousers of robin egg blue, with intricate gold patterns weaving up the seams, sparkling in the firelight. His jacket was a deep red, and ended in two long tails that almost touched the ground. A puffy white shirt covered in strange silver frills poked up from under the jacket, and upon his head was a gigantic wide brimmed hat with a huge grey feather sticking out jauntily from the top.

The woman who was standing next to him wore a brilliant green dress, that was slashed up the side almost to her waist. Beneath the dress were black leggings, and at her waist was a brilliant silver corset. She also wore a frilly white shirt with the same silver frills. Her shirt went all the way up to her neck, and she wore a black cap upon her head jauntily tilted to one side.

As Julie got closer she began to notice things that the clothing had distracted her from at first. Both of the strangers had a sunken look about their faces, and their eyes seemed to be set too deep in their faces. They were arguing with the inn’s owner, but they seemed to have a permanently hunted look about them. Their skin was sallow and covered in a light dusting of white powder that seemed like it needed to be reapplied, or just removed.

The innkeep strode forward, and swept the door they’d just walked through open, “You two aren’t welcome here. It’s not my town, but this is my inn, and my home. I don’t have any rooms available for you.” The innkeep was the same that Julie had spoken to earlier that day, and yet now he seemed like a completely different person. He seemed older, and there was no humor left in his eyes.

“Please, I’m sure that you’ll find that we’ve more than enough money to pay for a night’s lodging. We’re only asking for a room, we won’t spend any time out here with your clientele, and we won’t ask for any food to be brought to our room. We’ll be out of here come the morrow, kind sir.” It was the woman who was speaking. She had a strange accent, trilling and lilting. All of the vowels seemed to be drawn and quartered as they left her mouth.

“I’m sure that the likes of you wouldn’t need any food. The answer is still no.” The man behind the bar seemed agitated with the strangers, and Julie was beginning to feel uncomfortable listening to the argument. The rest of the room had grown silent suddenly, and all eyes seemed to be focused on the confrontation.

The strange man spoke, pleading, “We gave you the egg! It must be worth a fortune! We gave it to you for a pittance, now all we ask is that you rent us a room for the night, we’ve nowhere else to sleep. We’ll leave in the morning.” Frederick was ushering the unresisting couple through the door as they tried to plead their case. To her surprise, he followed them outside, and shut the door behind him. As soon as the door was closed, a half dozen conversations started up again as if they’d never stopped.

Julie decided that it would not be a good time to ask the innkeeper for anything. Emile must be around here somewhere, she could get me a plate of food, She thought, and maybe tell me what’s going on. She began scanning the common room for the mop of red fluff. The girl was nowhere to be seen. She made her way over to the bar, and saw the tiny girl sitting on the floor, cradling something shiny in her lap.

The girl didn’t seem to notice her, so Julie made her way behind the bar, and crouched down. “Hey, Emile! What have you got there?”

The freckle-faced girl looked startled. “Oh! Julie, you’re awake! Look!” She held the object of her affection at arms length for Julie to examine.

It was an egg as big as the girl’s head, maybe bigger. Multifaceted and glistening like the crystals that sometimes formed in rocks. Intricate, every shade of green that Julie could think of blending and merging into each other. It seemed to capture the light and make it sing. Julie kept seeing images form and vanish on the surface, almost like paintings come to life.

“That’s beautiful, Emile! I was wondering if you could help me find something to eat.” Julie asked, sincerely stricken by the beauty of the egg.

“Oh! Of course,” The girl looked thoughtful for a moment, hugging the egg close to her chest, “We just have to put this away first.” She stood up quickly and strode purposefully away. After a few steps, she turned around and looked at Julie who hadn’t moved. “Come on! You still haven’t told me about killing Robert Two-eyes!”

She started following the happy girl automatically, and considered the question. She had not thought of the morning’s activities since she had woken up. Now it all came back to her. I don’t really feel like a hero. She was trying to think of how much of the story she could actually tell the little girl.

In the pregnant silence, Emile said “Pa told me not to, but I peeked. I’ve seen that man before. I didn’t like him. No one did.” The girl seemed to be happy to hold up both sides of the conversation, leading Julie through a back hallway of the inn. They reached a door dressed with feathers hung decoratively, if haphazardly. “This is my room. Do you like those feathers? I found them out in the forest, and I’ve identified most of them.”

Julie looked the door up and down, and thought of her empty stomach. She said, “They’re very nice. Uh, I like the purple ones”

Emile seemed excited at this, “Oh! Me too! The lavender bush sparrows come through every year, and I got a couple of their feathers this spring.” The girl opened the door with one hand, and hugged the egg protectively to her chest with the other.

Julie did not know exactly what she had been expecting, but what confronted her was certainly different. The room didn’t look like any little girl’s room Julie had ever seen. She thought back to her room back on the farm when she was that age, with her two dolls she had helped her mother make. Her stitching projects that seemed to be unending, and her flower and stone collection. Julie had never seen so many books in one place. Her family only owned one, a book they had purchased from the god peddler, it was much cheaper than getting a blank book, and her father had used it as a ledger to keep track of trades for their crops.

A single piece of paper had once cost her family a pound of wheat and a fat hen. Here there were so many pieces of paper strewn about, crumpled in the corners, and crowding under foot. Some were pinned up to the walls with pictures of birds and animals, with notes in tiny writing at the edges. Julie knew how to read, her parents had made sure that all of their children had learned. They said that pieces of paper could be worse than a sword to your throat if you marked your X on one without knowing what it said.

“I’ve never seen so many books!” Julie wanted to ask where it all came from, this was wealth untold.

Emile had lovingly placed the egg on the floor next to the stone hearth in the corner, and was picking up a blanket, “Really? We have more upstairs, if you want to read some. These are just the ones I’m reading. Pa let’s anyone in town borrow books if they want to read.” She paused and thought about it, “Usually people don’t like going up to top floor where the library is. Mother Maia goes up there all the time though.” Emile was wrapping the egg up in the blanket.

Julie did not know how to respond. The world is so much different than I ever imagined, she thought, “Why are you wrapping that in a blanket?” She asked.

“I don’t want her to get cold. She doesn’t like being cold. I don’t like being cold either.”

“She? What’s her name?”

Emile walked over and grabbed Julie’s hand, “I don’t know her name, silly, I haven’t met her yet. Didn’t you say you were hungry?”

Julie had slept much better the second time, with a stomach full of heavy food. The tub that they had let her use didn’t need to be filled with buckets, and the water came out piping hot! She was beginning to feel like she was in a castle that was just shaped like shabby inn. The morning light was filtering through the window. She luxuriated in the blankets for a few minutes. Finally she pulled herself from the soft bed, and slipped into wonderfully clean underclothes for the first time in weeks.

Downstairs, fresh baked bread, bacon and eggs greeted her, and wished her a good morning. She ate with the appetite of three. Emile interrogated her, “Did those three adventurers help you very much? Pa said he had at least ten up there. That’s a lot to fight all on your own.”

Julie chewed her food and almost choked when she realized if not for Emile, she would have gone in there alone. “That was you that sent them after me?”

Emile beamed at her, “No! It was pa! I knew you could do it, but it’s always nice to have people helping you. People always seem to want to help me too.”

Frederick swept in on his way between chores, and said amiably, “If you’ve finished eating me out of house and home, I believe you ladies had a chore to attend to this morning. Old Clyde’s probably got the shop open for business by now, and I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you got your dickering done while you had the place to yourself.”

Julie finished eating quickly. “You’re right! Thank you for the meal, and, well everything really.”

Frederick smiled at her, “Oh, we’ll square up later.” He gathered the plates from the table, and made his way to the kitchen.

Julie followed Emile out to the stable, and Julie carefully took the canvas sack with the trophy out of the handcart, and left it in the stall. She wheeled the cart awkwardly after Emile who skipped across the street, and straight into the shop. Julie stopped at the door, and walked in to see an old man appearing to cower behind his counter at the sight of the little red haired girl.

The man seemed to be trying to find a place to hide behind his counter, and failing, “Oy! I thought yeh pa said he wasn’t gonna be sendin’ you over here no more!”

Emile seemed oblivious to his behavior, “Oh, it’s all right. I’m not here to buy anything. My friend Julie has a lot of swords and things you’ll be able to sell to the king's armory.”

The man did not seem mollified, if anything he seemed even more agitated, “Oh, really!” Now he seemed to be noticing Julie who laid the first two swords on the counter, “Fine weapons these are?” He directed his question at Julie, pronouncing ‘fine’ so that it rhymed with coin, “I don’t know if anybody’s goin’ to want these. These set for scrap?”

Julie started to respond when Emile interrupted her, “These were Robert Twoeye’s swords! He seemed to use them just fine!”

Julie looked at the little girl, surprised, and said, “Well, actually I think he just used the axe. Hang on I’ll bring it in next. I have a lot more.” She went to retrieve it.

Julie struggled through the door, scratching the frame with the long blade of the axe. She looked up startled, expecting to be rebuked, but Clyde didn’t seem to notice. He was staring at Emile with a vacant expression, and nodding. “Yer right I s’pose. Be able to sell all this stuff to old Jameson up in Ravina. He can fix it up right good and sell it fer a profit ‘imself.”

“So ten gold for each sword sword and the bows?” Emile cooed.

“Sounds fair,” Clyde nodded.

“And fifteen for the big axe.” Emile said, waving at Julie to bring it over.

Julie shrugged, and half drag the axe up to the counter. She surreptitiously glanced at the hardwood floor and was grateful she didn’t see any more scratches. Ten gold! For each sword!

“Aye, seems like it’d be worth it. Sure.” The man was still nodding, he didn’t even glance up at the axe.

Julie was growing more excited with every word. Maybe this adventuring thing won’t be so bad after all. Her mind decided to bring up the werewolf, and she pushed that thought down with all of her strength. “I have some armor too, I’ll bring that in next.” She headed back out the door to grab the helmets and the chainmail. She had considered keeping the chainmail, but when she tried it on it had made her feel like a child in her father’s coat.

When she returned for the third time, Clyde was unlocking a metal box. He began counting out gold onto the countertop. Julie realized she’d forgotten to tell him that some of the payment would be in trade. This was happening much faster than she had expected. She imagined it would go like her families trips to the market days, with haggling on both sides. “Hey, wait,” she said, “There’s a lot of stuff I need here for the road.”

Emile looked at her and smiled, “Well you’ve got a hundred and fifty gold to work with, so get everything you need!”