Passenger

Chapter 5

The gravel road led into the town, a large metal sign at the front reading Tannem. The name jogged my memory slightly. This was a nice little town I had visited once or twice, since it was pretty close to the sea if you were on horseback. But it was a pretty long way from the capital. No idea how anti-Avian it might be, though.

"just keep your head down and try not to interact with too many people." I told Krys as we reached the first of the buildings. "no need to attract attention to yourself, yeah? I'll keep an eye out for you."

Krys nodded. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground, looking a little apprehensive. He might've had his mind set, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous. Keeping a few feet above his head, I looked around as we started through the streets, passing by other humans as they went about their business – shopping, delivering, taking a stroll, whatever it was.

None of them paid much attention to Krys as he ambled through the streets, looking around at everything with undisguised curiosity. I didn't see what was so interesting about it – the building were normal stone, word, and occasionally metal, but nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, I didn't exactly know what Avian towns were like.

As Krys walked, I spotted a bakery off on a side street. I pointed it out to Krys, who brightened immediately and headed over to it, weaving in and out of the other people. I sighed in defeat as he did. So much for keeping a low profile.

We entered the bakery, a small bell chiming as Krys pushed open the door. It was a nice and cozy little shop, that probably smelled of baked dough, if I was to guess. Probably warm, too, judging by the pleased look on Krys' face. He started looking at the various sweets and food on the trays in curiosity, probably not recognizing all of them.

"how can I help you, little one?" came a gravelly voice. Both of us looked up to see a large, stocky figure looming above the counter. He was probably seven feet tall, wearing baker's clothing and an apron that were slightly too small for someone his size. He looked fairly humanoid, except for the fact that he was made entirely out of solid granite.

I was surprised. "whoa." I murmured, raising an eyebrow. "cool. A golem."

The stone man looked down at Krys as the Avian stood up quickly. "oh, if you're looking, take your time." The golem said good-naturedly, gesturing to the trays. "just let me know if I can help you with anything."

His voice was so deep that I swear it was actually shaking the shelves slightly. For his credit, Krys didn't seemed fazed that much. "thank you. What's your name?"

"Ralph." The golem leaned his hands against the cash register, causing the floor to creak audibly. "just let me know when you're ready to buy something!"

As Krys went back to looking at the sweets, I leaned over to him. "uh, so you do realize we don't have any money, right?" I asked him.

Krys frowned and looked at me, then dug into his pocket. After a moment, he withdrew a handful of small copper squares, holding them up for me to see.

I eyed them for a long moment. "yeah...uh, I've got no idea what those are." I told him, raising an eyebrow. Krys' face fell in dismay. "Down here we just use gold pieces. Whatever kind of Avian currency that is, it's not gonna work down here. We're gonna have to find some other way to do this."

The Avian frowned, thinking. Then he stood and walked over to Ralph. "excuse me, Mister Ralph?"

Ralph looked down at him and chuckled. "just call me Ralph, little one. What can I do for you?"

"well, I have a problem." Krys began. "I have money with me, but I don't think..."

He hesitated, unsure of what to say. "tell him your money isn't the same as the money here." I suggested.