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I gathered my supplies and Lilth gave me a ride back to the shore. I could see the remnants of several cities along the coast, and shuddered to think of the cataclysmic earthquake that could shatter an entire fault line. I didn't have an opportunity to ask Lilth any more about what had happened while I was away, since she was in the water pulling the boat along rather than in it rowing.

It wasn't long before we reached the shore several miles up the coast from where I had been picked up. Lilth gave a terse goodby and jumped back into the water and I was left alone. She had been kind enough to drop me over by a town, just far enough away that I could walk around to a main entrance without being seen. I was thankful for her help, and wandered into town.

From afar, it looked like someone had taken the remains of a larger city and just fixed it up as much as they could. Up close, I realized that it was actually an attempt to work with the materials that had been left after the disaster. The sign outside said read 'New Arrowhead', and there were gate guards very similar to those I had seen in the last town. They didn't stop me as I went in, merely watch me walk through the gate. It seems that my new appearance as a Wolf detracted people's interest in me.

Following my intuition, I started looking for a richer part of town, hoping to find the house of a 'Patron'. This was simpler than I was afraid of, the difference in building quality was obvious between the rich part of town and the poorer parts. The reused construction materials gave way to much more elegantly built buildings. A quick look around confirmed that the people here were also much better off than those in the poor part of town. The blander wool clothes that the people in the poor part of town wore were replaced by more expensive silk and finer linen.

I grimaced at the huge gap in social equity, but kept on walking through town. I eventually came to a fence surrounding what could only be described as a palace. I walked around the fence until I found a gate with guards, all of which were big cats of various species. I pondered this as I walked up and asked a panther, "Is this the home of this town's Patron?"

A terse nod was my only answer.

"What would it take for me to gain an audience with the patron?" I pressed.

"Being important enough to warrant an audience requires a contribution of considerable worth, along with proof that your patron is willing to allow you a bit of leeway," he replied, seeming short of temper.

I dug around in my pack looking for the small gold bullion that we had been given in case the economy ever got so strange that we were unable to use our money. I pulled out two of the six bricks and asked, "Is this enough?" The panther only nodded, his eyes bulging at the bricks. "And as for the Patron, I have none but myself. Any chance I can get in?"

He motioned for another guard, this one a lion with more intricate designs on his armor, and they conversed quickly in hushed tones. I could pick up that they were trying to decide whether I was worth taking in to the patron or snagging for themselves. I felt uncomfortable and said, "If you try to take me anywhere but to the patron, I am more than capable of taking several of you down without to much problem."

The lion grimaced and shook his head at the panther. "Fine, come with us."

They opened the gate and told the guards inside to take their place until they returned, and led me into the estate. The walls inside were all painted a vibrant emerald green, and the tapestries all had this color as a main theme. There were shelves lined with books and trinkets, and trophies and paintings hung along the wall. They led me through an almost labyrinthine series of passages and I was beginning to grow worried that they had decided it was worth the risk after all, when they finally knocked on a simple wooden door.

"Come in," called a deep voice from the other side. The guards led me into a room that was lined with hundreds of books with a large desk in the center. It was the being behind the desk that surprised me. Sitting in an oversized armchair deep in the study of a large tome was an emerald dragon.

He looked up at the door and with what seemed to be annoyance asked, "Well, why are you two guards still standing around? Get back to your posts!" They jumped and hurried back out the door. "Well, let me see your contribution and take a seat." I put the gold bullion into his outstretched hand and he humphed as he put it into a drawer behind his desk. "So, what patron wants me to do what? I'm a busy drake."

"Actually, I don't have a patron," I responded, "I was hoping that you could explain some things to me."

"And why should I do that instead of putting you into the slave pens?" he asked, reaching for another stack of papers.

"Because you'd end up a lot more dead than you want to be, and I don't enjoy killing if I don't have to."

"Supposing I believe you, how do you propose you would accomplish this?"

"A bullet in your brain would kill you just as sure as it would kill someone else, I think." He stopped at this and looked at me.

"So why would you deceive me into thinking that you weren't anyone of import?" he asked. "Guns are reserved for Patrons and Patrons alone."

"I didn't know that, actually, thanks for telling me."

He stared me straight in the eyes and I was suddenly made very aware of the physical difference in body structure. He was scaled, had horns that looked sharp enough to put a dent in my bulletproof coat, and teeth that more closely resembled small daggers than the more functional set in my own mouth. "So then, who are you to come into my home and ask for an explanation? The Coalition isn't very forgiving of a lawbreaker."

"What coalition? I've been rather far away for quite a while, if that's any reason not to be aware of what goes on in these parts."

He snorted. "The Coalition of the New West controls this part of the continent. We hold it, and it's a fair sight better than if we didn't. We put those who break the law or don't hail from a town into slavery for a time befitting their transgression. We haven't had any troubles with bandits for nearly a decade. If you aren't from around here, then where are you from. We'll exchange information for information. A fair barter, if you don't mind."

"Fair enough," I replied. "I come from a small town in the west U.S. What do you use for currency here?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "An oldtimer?" he asked. "That's odd, but not unheard of. Peasants use a barter system, but those with a bit more financial support use a simple Gold, Silver, Copper system. Your little gold bullion stunt almost got you jumped; that's enough to buy a house almost to rival my own. Where did you get it?"

I nodded and asked, "Off topic, could you give me a fair trade in coinage for another? On topic, I got it from the people I used to work for before the disaster."

"Fair trade would be fine, hold on." I waited while he retreated into another room. He came back with a fair sized bag that clinked as he walked. I handed him another bullion and he handed me the coins, which I promptly put in my pack. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Would you care to work for me?" he asked.

"And why would I do that?" I asked.

"Simple," the drake replied. "You would be able to claim me as your Patron, and I would have a subject that is able to handle himself quite nicely."

"I don't particularly enjoy being called anyone's 'Subject'," I replied. "I think I'll pass for now."

"Are you sure?" he asked, reaching under his desk. "It would be such a shame to have this meeting collapse when it was going so well."

"Yep, I'm sure," I replied.

He sighed and pulled a rifle out from under his desk. I pulled my revolver out of its holster almost before realizing what I was doing and put a bullet right between his eyes by the time he had pulled the trigger. My coat stopped the bullet from the rifle, but I could feel that I was going to have a large bruise on my ribs. He wasn't so lucky, on the other hand. The .45 FMJ bullet from my revolver had gone clean through his skull and he toppled over as the guard arrived at the scene.

They took one look at their fallen leader and decided that they didn't want to tangle with anything that could put him down. I sighed and rushed to the door the drake had gone through to get the gold. It opened into a storeroom with several chests in the back. One of them was open with the keys still in the lock so I checked it. Sure enough, there was the gold bullion. I figured that it was enough for me to recover the two bricks that I had used to get in and leave. I wasn't so heartless as to take from the guards; they were only doing their job, even if their leader wasn't alive anymore.

I ran out into the courtyard, jumping over the fence a little ways from the gate. I quickly decided that getting some distance between me and this town and started running. Halfway to one of the side gates I had noticed while circling around the town earlier, I noticed that I was being followed once more. It wasn't odd given that I was a stranger here, but it didn't comfort me as I began to hear a bell ringing in the distance.

The people began to rush to the Patrons house as I ran to the gates. The streets quickly cleared themselves and I had a free run to the gate Getting through proved to be a bit more difficult when the guards there drew their weapons and charged at me. I drew my sword and disarmed them as I ran past, trying to avoid injuring them as much as possible. A few seconds later I was through the gate and on the road.

*

The feeling that I was being followed didn't stop as I continued away from the town. In fact, it seemed that the person following me grew closer as I entered the forest. I finally stopped and yelled, "I know you're following me, you might as well let me know who you are."

A stallion walked out of the foliage behind me. He was wearing simple leather armor and I could see that his only weapon was the spear he was carrying in his hands. He was a good two feet taller than me and had a brown and white coat.

"I'm Khyros," he said, "and until today I was a slave to Patron Vandorhoff. I take it you're the one I have to thank for my freedom?"

"If that's the patron I just killed, then yes," I replied.

"He was... cruel in many ways," He continued. "Thank you for killing him." I nodded and continued walking through the forest, hoping to be well away from New Arrowhead by nightfall. Khyros followed me and after a while I just took it for granted that he would follow me until we reached the next town.

Late in the afternoon we finally came to a road, which I followed in the direction that I assumed led away from town. It was surprising when we came to an inn and I decided that it would be far better to take a night at the inn rather than sleep on the ground where wild where who knows what could find us. A quick look around told me that there were indeed still livestock being kept. I went in through the front door and was greeted by a fairly lively common room. There was a rather portly old badger behind the counter who stood up a bit straighter as I walked up.

"It'll be a silver for a night, three if ya want yer own room," he said disinterestedly.

I opened my pack and rummaged around, pulling out three of the silver coins that were in my bag. I put them on the counter and asked, "You serve any food here?"

He swept up the coins and checked them before answering, "Take a seat in the common room, one of the girl's'll be with ya soon."

I motioned for Khyros to follow me, which seemed to surprise him a little bit. We found a seat and I said, "I'm extremely new to this place, so you tell me; was that cheap or expensive?"

"That was a fair price, right in the middle," he replied. "We're real close to town, though, so you'll find that they'll be that way for a while. Tomorrow or the day after we'll reach the end of Coalition territory, and you'll get two things: one is that the country will end up a lot freer than in Coalition lands, the other is that things will be far more expensive. If this place sells them, I'd recommend buying yourself a horse here."

"I'd think you wouldn't like that," I commented with a smile.

He shrugged. "They don't have any sentience of their own. If you'd asked to ride me, I'd be very annoyed."

"Fair enough," I sighed.

"Also, a map would be good. I haven't been too far out of town for a very long time, so I don't know how things will have changed."

He stopped talking as the server walked up. Like the man behind the counter she was a badger, but it was easy to tell that she was far younger. I ordered something for myself and surprised Khyros further by asking him to order. He stammered out an order and was quiet until she left.

"Why did you let me order?" he asked.

"You are the closest thing to a friend I have," I replied. "So, I'm going to assume you're hungry and treat you as a friend."

He just sat there in his own thoughts and we waited until the food arrived. He fell to with a gusto which surprised me as I ate my food. I left a fairly large tip for the meal and we followed the innkeeper to our room. Khyros was still silent as I drifted off to sleep, and I knew that the journey ahead to find out what had happened to the world would be interesting, to say the least.