As the two kitsunes wandered through the bustling streets of Grand Noah, Kitsu eagerly pointed out the city's many landmarks with the enthusiasm of a seasoned tour guide. They passed a great stone bridge that led to an opulent castle with towering spires, likely where the royalty resided. The many houses and shops were tall and well-maintained, showcasing the prosperity and wealth of the city.

"And that," She exclaimed, pointing to a grand structure with intricate stained-glass windows, "Is the Church of Ilias. Don't go there though, she's a big meanie who hates us monsters."

The streets were bustling with humans and monsters going about their daily business. Stalls and stands lined the roads with their owners calling out to anyone who wandered too closely in hopes of selling their goods.

At the heart of a sprawling marble square was the Grand Colosseum, its imposing stone façade towering over the surrounding buildings. Large crowds of what seemed to be a large majority of women were eagerly waiting for their turn to enter the area. It appeared that a tournament was in progress as Orlen had overheard many conversations about a 'Queens Cup' along with speculation on who they thought would win this year.

Orlen took a moment to make sure his disguise was still in order. From the lack of reaction, it seemed to be working the way he intended. The city folk either steered clear of him or gave him looks of understanding and pity.

He could not blame them either. It had been weeks since he had last slept on a proper bed or had a shower. His lower face had long strands of facial hair that traveled in all directions and his clothing was ragged, torn, and stained with a mixture of blood and sweat. They probably assumed he was either a vagabond up to no good or someone who was on the receiving end of a few too many monster attacks.

As they walked into the city square, Kitsu turned back to Orlen with an eager gleam in her eyes. "I bet that Coruscant place you grew up in is tiny compared to this city. What do you think? This city is so huge."

Orlen glanced around examining the city with a critical eye. It seemed here monsters and humans had no issues coexisting together and the sight of so many unique species intermingling reminded him a bit of the streets of Nar Shaddaa, Ord Mantell, or Fondor. Granted, Grand Noah was far, far less populated or developed than those worlds.

In fact, now that he thought about it, it was probably an insult to even compare Grand Noah to those worlds.

Overall, it was a quaint feudal city. He guessed it had a population in the tens of thousands. At the very least, Orlen's nose appreciated that the residents seemed to take sanitation seriously

Orlen looked back over at Kitsu and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want my brutally honest opinion?"

"Um, sure." She hesitantly replied.

"This city is a speck of dust compared to Coruscant. Its entire population would not even be a rounding error. One apartment complex could easily have double the population of this entire city." Orlen dryly said before shrugging his shoulders a looked around the city square again. "It's alright, pretty much exactly what I was expecting. Probably the smallest place calling itself a city I have ever seen."

Glancing back at Kitsu he saw the girl counting her fingers in an attempt to try and comprehend how big Coruscant was. He swore he could almost see steam coming from her fox ears as she struggled to do the math.

Eventually, she paused and slowly looked back at Orlen. "That, that's not possible. No way a city that big could exist, how would they feed that many people? If there was a city that big how come no one had ever heard about it?"

Orlen chuckled at the confused girl and corrected her. "Not possible on this planet."

Kitsu's eyes went blank as her brain went into overdrive trying to process what he just said. "Wait, give me a second here. You talk about these giant cities no one has ever heard of, you mentioned other species but haven't met monsters until recently…"

He watched in amusement as the kitsune continued mumbling to herself, it looked like she was piecing things together and Orlen was eager to see what result the girl would come up with.

The girl looked back at him, having reached a conclusion. "You, you must be from some post-apocalyptic future where monsters have mutated and changed, and you somehow traveled back in time on some super secret mission to stop the world from ending. That's amazing!" Kitsu's face lit up in excitement as she came to the wrong conclusion. "What's the future like? Do you still have tofu in the future? Any new ways of cooking it?"

That was certainly not the conclusion Orlen was expecting the girl to reach. What she had just described sounded like an overdone science-fiction plot. Then again, he had crashed his spaceship on a primitive world and had to fight to survive. That plot is as overdone as one can get in that genre.

"Not even close," Orlen said with a smirk. "I had a ship that can travel between worlds, and I crashed it on this planet."

"Oh, well that's not as cool," Kitsu said dejectedly. She then glared up at him. "Hey, don't smirk at me. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Orlen chuckled as the girl pouted and turned her back to him. She smacked him with her tails as she did so. "Honestly, I just wanted to see how long it would take for you to figure it out. I haven't exactly been subtle about it."

Kitsu began to giggle to herself, her shift in attitude taking Orlen off guard. "Did my kouhai just prank me? Maybe there is hope for making you a proper kitsune yet."

"Once we get a chance, I promise I'll tell you more," Orlen told her. "By the way, what's tofu?"

Kitsu whipped her head around in shock. "Wait you don't know what tofu is! Orlen, this is a serious matter we have to fi-"

"There you are my beloved Luka!" An excited voice called from behind him.

Orlen looked over, annoyed at the interruption. The figure running towards him was certainly unusual. This monster seemed to be the opposite of Alice with a green serpent upper body staring just past her belly button and a human lower torso. She was the most unusual monster he had seen to date.

In other words, she would fit right in with other alien races he was familiar with. However, her way of walking, with her head bent down between her legs was certainly bizarre.

"Luka? I think you're mistaken." Orlen replied, unsure how he could be confused with someone two feet shorter than him.

"Oh, my mistake." The strange monster said disappointingly. "I sensed someone with powerful protagonist energy. How dare you try to steal my beloved's spotlight."

"I- What?" Orlen blinked in confusion.

"Let me take a closer look at you." The monster narrowed her eyes at him as she studied him. "Oh, I see. A story about another Order 66 survivor who is part of the rebellion, how original and daring of the author of this fanfic."

"Order 66? How do you know about that?" Orlen demanded. Was this person someone who also got stranded on this world? And what was this nonsense about an 'author'? Did she think they were in a fictional story?

He had heard of such delusions before. They called it Vultaumism, after the Vultaum species, a race that had believed their entire universe was nothing more than a holovid series. Convinced their existence endangered their god Lucas's grand narrative, they had committed mass ritual suicide two millennia ago.

"Order 66? What's she talking about Orlen?" Kitsu asked, her concern evident as she noticed his sudden change in demeanor.

"Not now." Orlen sternly told Kitsu. If this woman knew about that, she might know a way off this planet. He could not afford to let this opportunity slip by.

"Do you know where in the galaxy we are? Is it wild space, or unknown regions? Do you have a ship I can borrow to get off this planet?" He asked, bombarding the monster with questions.

"Sorry to kill your hopes but, there is no way you're getting off this planet. Like all the other Jedi in the rebellion, you need to be conveniently away or stranded so that there is no one around to train Luke-Kun on how to be a Jedi."

"Well, I better go before people start throwing rocks at me and kick me out of this city like they did in Sabasa." She said in a self-pitying tone.

As if on cue, a group of children ran up and gathered around the strange monster. "Oh hey Amira, come play with us!" One of the kids shouted.

"You should come to my house later," another chimed in. "My parents said you're welcome for supper!"

Amira's lips twitched as her claim of persecution unraveled in real-time. "I… I'm just going to go now…" she muttered awkwardly. Without another word, she turned and darted away into the crowded streets.

"Hey, wait! Get back here!" Orlen shouted as he tried to chase after the strange monster. The girl proved skilled at disappearing and after a few seconds had managed to vanish into the crowd. Which was impressive considering how much she stood out.

"What was that about?" Kitsu asked in concern, having quickly caught up with him. She did not know what the unfortunate lamia was talking about, but it seemed like it had agitated Orlen.

"I- I don't know," Orlen replied. He had no idea who this Luke person she had mentioned was. Maybe she just used strange magic like the rest of the monsters here to see something similar to Force visions. "I'll keep an eye out for her in case we run into her again."

"So now what?" Kitsu asked. "Have you figured out what to do about our money problem?"

Orlen glanced over at Kitsu. "As a matter of fact, I have. "Wait here."

"What do you mean you'll only give me a hundred gold for these!" Orlen yelled at the pawnshop owner in false outrage. "I assure you my friend that these metal chips are far more valuable than you realize. They are made of a metal I bet you've never seen before."

He grimly accepted that he would not be able to pawn off his credit chips for much and that he would have to haggle. He had at least convinced the shop owner to be willing to purchase them which was certainly an improvement from five minutes ago.

"Listen bud, I still don't see anything special about these rectangles you are waving in front of me." The owner said with his arms crossed and looking unimpressed.

"I'll have you know it took blood, sweat, and tears to get these relics from a more civilized age." He let out a sigh of resignation. "I guess I'll have to go to the shop on Queen's Street. Maybe he will see the value of these."

"Fine, I'm willing to hear you out. But only because you have an honest face. What price do you think is fair?" The man reluctantly said.

Orlen made a subtle gesture with his free hand, hoping his mind trick would work. "I would say three hundred per chip."

"One fifty, no more." The man sternly retorted.

"Two fifty." Orlen countered

"One fifty." The owner said.

How strong is this guy's mind? The mind trick did nothing. "Two hundred?" Orlen began to realize that he was not cut out for haggling.

"One fifty."

"Fine." Orlen relented.

As Kitsu patiently waited for Orlen to return, her mind drifted to the new information she had recently learned. At first glance, it seemed outrageous but the more she thought about it, the more it sounded reasonable.

It would certainly explain why he was so ignorant about monsters or magic. It also explained why she had never heard about any of the places or cities he mentioned.

She had a lot of questions she wanted to ask that her mind was overflowing. Maybe she should write them down, so she doesn't forget.

She shoved those thoughts aside when she saw Orlen making his way back over to her. His shoulders were slumped, and he was looking depressed. Did his plan fail? Maybe they could make some money selling Orlen's body to some eager monsters?

Kitsu immediately disregarded that idea. Orlen belonged to the kitsune tribe; she was not going to let other monsters have their way with him first.

Orlen sat down on the bench beside her put his face in his hands and groaned.

"Are you okay?" Kitsu asked in concern. "Did your plan fail?"

"No, it worked," Orlen replied in a resigned tone.

"Then what's wrong?" She questioned.

"Three months pay." Orlen slowly said. "Three months pay for a handful of measly gold coins."

"And worst of all, it's just plain gold coins. Gold isn't even worth that much." He leaned back and let out another groan. "I'm never going to buy that HWK-290."

Kitsu did not know what a HWK-290 was, but she guessed Orlen had been saving up for it for a while. Good thing she knew just the trick to make him feel better.

She reached out and patted him on the head. "I'm sure it will be fine. Can I have one of those gold coins? I know something that will make you feel better."

Orlen glanced over and pulled a coin out of the bag.

With the coin in hand, Kitsu skipped towards the main street. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, Orlen's nose twitched as he caught the scent of something. He had never smelled anything so good before. The scent was enticing and growing stronger. Orlen could feel his mouth watering and had to fight the urge to find whatever the source of that delicious smell was.

Luckily, he did not have to fight the temptation for long as it turned out that the source was a small wicker basket that Kitsu was carrying over to him.

She seemed to be struggling to contain her excitement as she sat down beside him and opened the basket.

"Orlen, as your sempai it is my duty to introduce you to one of the greatest things ever invented." She reached into the basket, pulled out a thin crispy-looking rectangle, and handed it to Orlen. "Try it, I promise you're going to love it."

Kitsu's two tails were wagging in uncontrollable excitement creating a silver blur behind her.

As Orlen brought the mystery food up to his mouth. His nose continued to twitch as it got closer to his nostrils. "Well, I'll try anything once." He said as he took a bite.

Orlen's mouth exploded in flavor as every taste receptor fired in joy. Whatever he had just eaten was possibly the best food he had ever tasted in his life.

Eventually, he forced himself to swallow and slowly turned his head towards Kitsu, who was looking intently at him, eager to see his reaction.

"Kitsu, is-is this a narcotic?" He asked with hesitation. Nothing can be this good without some sort of drawback. Orlen had never had spice before, but he imagined it would taste something like this. Would he soon enter a drug-induced stupor?

Kitsu giggled at his question. "Nope, this is just a paste made from soybeans. It's every kitsune's favorite food." She wasted no time grabbing a piece of her own and quickly devoured it. "Come on, don't just sit there. Let's eat!"

While the two kitsunes were eating, the reining champion of the Colosseum lounged in a comfortable chair while sipping a glass of wine. The woman was stunningly beautiful with horns on the sides of her head and long silky purple hair that trailed down to her smooth thighs. On her back were two large leathery wings as well as a thick tail with a bulbous tip.

Along the left side of her body were reddish-pink tattoos forming seemingly random lines that accentuated her scantily clad figure.

The succubus took another sip as she looked out the window to the street below. Today was the first day of the Queen's Cup and she was waiting for her turn to put on a show for the eager audience.

As the champion of the previous Queen's Cup, she was entitled to a luxury apartment on the top floor of the Colosseum to stay in between matches. Unlike the rest of the participants, whose quarters were one step removed from a prison cell.

Hearing the wind whisper to her of something particularly interesting, she turned her gaze further down the street where she spotted two kitsunes sitting on a bench eating tofu.

The male's disguise did not fool her, and she listened a bit more to what the wind told her and learned a fair bit of interesting things about this Orlen and his origins.

She knew that she should be responsible and tell Tamamo about what she had learned.

However, Alma Elma was not a responsible person. She had just found a second target to tease and play with and if Tamamo knew, she would either place him under her protection as a fellow kitsune or just rape him. Either way, Alma would not be able to have any more fun.

She decided she would eventually tell her friend, maybe in a few weeks when she sees her again in Hellgondo.

Orlen let out a sigh of relief as his body soaked in the warm tub of water. It had been far too long since he had last had a shower and while the tub in his room was very rudimentary and Mandalorian compared to what he was accustomed to, at this point he could not be bothered to care.

It had also been a bit of a pain to carry the buckets of hot water up the stairs of the inn to fill the tub, but in the end, it was worth it.

As he used the provided soaps to clean himself, the water of the tub soon became opaque as the accumulated dirt and grime were removed. He even noticed some oil and grease that was probably on him from before he even departed Yavin for the convoy strike.

As much as he would have liked to remain in the tub until it cooled down, the water was starting to get pretty gross.

With reluctance, he dragged himself out of the tub and began to dry himself off. Once he was done, he put on a fresh shirt he had bought before him and Kitsu had gone to the inn.

The store owner had taken one look at him and said: "Looks like you have had a rough go with the lasses" and tossed him some new clothes. With how forceful and strong some of the monsters are, the textile industry was probably very healthy on this planet.

For the clothes themselves, the fabric was far lesser quality than Orlen was accustomed to. It was itchy and poorly tailored, but it would have to do.

Having finished dressing himself and hiding his tail and ears, Orlen opened the door to leave his room. Kitsu and Orlen had agreed to get food in the main room of the inn once they were done sorting themselves out.

Walking down the stairs into the main hall of the inn, Orlen saw no sign of his young friend. Assuming she was not finished in her room, Orlen decided to see what passed for alcohol on this planet. Force knows he could certainly use a drink after the week he has had.

Taking a seat at the bar, Orlen let out a quiet sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. The place had a certain rustic charm, a dimly lit room filled with the low murmur of conversations, and the occasional clink of glasses. His sensitive nose twitched at the thick scent of spilled ale and cooking meat. The wooden bar counter bore the scars of countless years of wear and stains that no amount of scrubbing could erase.

"Whatever the house brew is," Orlen said with a faint smile as the innkeeper shuffled over. The man, a thin old man with a stained apron and a permanent scowl, gave him a gruff nod before disappearing to fetch his drink. As Orlen waited, a shady-looking individual took a seat beside him.

Orlen closed his eyes in annoyance as the person beside him leaned in. "Hey, ya wanna buy sum alraune pollen?"

Orlen resisted the urge to groan. He guessed this was probably some form of illicit drug, likely similar to death sticks based on how the person kept their voice down and was trying to be discreet.

"You don't want to sell me alraune pollen," Orlen said, giving another attempt at a mind trick.

"I don't wanna sell ya alraune pollen." The dealer echoed, tucking a small pouch back into his cloak.

Orlen let out a soft, humorless chuckle. Of course, now his mind trick was working. He certainly could have used it a few hours ago when he was haggling off his credit chips.

"You want to go home and reevaluate your life choices," Orlen suggested through the Force. The man smelled awful, and Orlen just wanted him to go away. He had seen many people like this in his life and they were always annoying and tended to attract attention.

"I wanna go home an reevaluate me life choices." The man parroted obediently, rising from his stool and stumbling out of the inn.

Eventually, his drink arrived, and Orlen took a sip. Honestly, it was not bad. Better than he feared but not as good as he hoped. It was incredibly hoppy and unlike the grain beers he was accustomed to, had no carbonation.

After he had finished his drink, Kitsu wandered down the stairs. Orlen gestured to an unoccupied table in the corner of the inn got up from the bar and took a seat with Kitsu following beside him.

A waiter came by and took their order. Since Orlen had no idea what was good, he let Kitsu order for him. After the waiter left, an awkward silence fell between them. He knew this was probably the time to tell Kitsu it would be best if they parted ways. He did not want to put the girl in any more danger. Plus, the longer she was away from her home, the more trouble she would probably be in with her seniors.

Orlen had been preparing for this conversation in his head for some time and knew the girl would probably be upset with him. She might even secretly follow him so he would have to make sure that when the time came, he would leave the city discreetly.

He would likely have to explain a bit about his past and how he is part of the rebellion to make her understand why he had to leave.

Before he had a chance to speak. Kitsu slammed a piece of paper on the table in excitement. "This is what we should do next!" She said with an eager gleam in her eye.

Orlen decided to humor Kitsu. "So what does it say?"

Kitsu widened her eyes at Orlen. "Wait, you don't know how to read?"

"No, I know how to read Kitsu. I just can't read this." Orlen said in an exasperated manner. Despite the verbal language being the same as Galactic Standard, the written word here seemed to be far different from the Aurebesh script Orlen was accustomed to.

"Oh, well there is a competition in the Colosseum in two days called the Champion Cup. You should sign up to fight in it. We only have enough money for a few more days so when you win, our money problem will be permanently solved."

Orlen pondered the idea. In addition to getting more of the local currency, taking part in this competition would let him practice with the Force in a low-stakes combat environment.

"Hmm, that might not be a bad idea…" Orlen mused with a faint smile on his lips. "After all, fighting in an arena is practically a rite of passage for a Jedi. Though, usually, it's to avoid execution."

It was a running joke in the Jedi Temple that passing the trials wasn't enough to be considered a true Jedi Knight. No, not until you'd been captured and sentenced to execution in some form of gladiatorial combat. Stories of the First Battle of Geonosis had only fueled this notion. Practically every youngling at the Temple, himself included, had imagined themselves in the Petranaki Arena, fending off endless waves of battle droids in heroic defiance.

Orlen refocused on his present situation as another plan started to brew in his mind. One that could help him set a false trail for any pursuers. But first, he would have to be identifiable. A male monster fighting in the arena would certainly be the talk of the city.

He was about to agree to take part in the competition when he remembered their earlier walk in the city. "Wait, are you sure this hasn't already started? We heard people talking about a competition starting today in the Colosseum."

Kitsu waved off his concerns. "Don't worry, that is the Queen's Cup, that's a bigger and annual competition. I don't think you would have won that one. They say the reigning champ is super strong and has never lost."

If that were the case, it would probably be for the best that they stick to the smaller competitions. Though, from what he heard, the Queen's Cup takes place over two days. Perhaps they should get tickets to the Colosseum tomorrow to get an idea of how the fighting plays out.

He relayed his idea to Kitsu who agreed with him. "Excuse me." He called out to the passing innkeeper. "The Queen's Cup, how much gold is it to get a ticket?"

The innkeeper tapped his lip with his finger in thought. "This late, probably about two hundred gold a ticket, I'd say."

Orlen thanked the man and frowned in consideration, that was more gold than they had. After a few seconds, he came up with another plan which would hopefully go better than his last couple. It would have to wait a few more hours though.

"So, you said you would tell me more about where you came from," Kitsu said, bringing Orlen's focus back to her.

He supposed he probably should answer her questions. It would be a good way to kill time and he did owe her for how long he kept quiet about it. "Sure, what do you want to know?"

"Um, how did you grow up on another planet? Did the stork delivering you get really, really lost?"

That certainly took Orlen by surprise. "Stork? What in the blazes are you talking about?" What even was a stork?

"You know, when a man and a monster really love each other, a stork delivers a baby to them," Kitsu said confidently.

"Kitsu, someone lied to you." Orlen bluntly replied to her.

"Lied to me? If it isn't a stork, then where do babies come from? Everyone dances around the question when I ask them." Her curiosity only deepened. She and Kamuro had asked countless kitsunes in Yamatai the same question, always met with evasions.

Orlen opened his mouth to speak before closing it again. No, he was not going to have this conversation.

"Normally, when I have to explain this to someone, I would jump in my ship and fly away." He flatly said. "After all, what's the point of having a spaceship if you can't use it to escape awkward conversations? How about you ask something else."

"Fine." Kitsu relented, someday she will find out the answer to this question. Remembering that Orlen mentioned his people being wiped out she decided to ask about that instead. "You said the Jedi were wiped out. Who did that and why?"

Orlen closed his eyes and inhaled. Looks like Kitsu was starting off with the heavy questions. "That's… a long story. There's a lot of context you'd need to understand. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Kitsu's ears twitched with determination, and her tails flicked behind her as she fixed Orlen with an unwavering gaze. "Yes, I want to know," she said firmly.

"Alright," Orlen said, steeling himself. "I suppose I should start with the Galactic Republic…"

What followed was a carefully condensed history. Orlen explained the Republic, its era of peace, and the role the Jedi played in it before delving into the Clone Wars: the conflict, the politics, and the rumors they had heard of the Sith plotting behind it all. He described the night Order 66 was executed, and how it turned allies into executioners overnight. He avoided going into detail about the horrors he witnessed and endured that night, but even then it was too much for Kitsu to handle.

By the time Orlen finished, Kitsu's face was streaked with tears. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I can't believe they would do that! You were their protectors, and they just—just tossed you aside like trash?"

Kitsu was sobbing now. "Those guys were your allies, and they just attacked you without hesitation? How could they do that? And those inquisitors, how can they serve the man behind all of that?"

Orlen honestly had no good answer for her. The betrayal of the clones he at least understood. The inhibitor chip was a devious trap that no one saw coming and he had heard many stories of clone troopers rebelling or deserting the Empire once the effects of the chips wore off.

Eventually, Kitsu was able to control her tears, and her grief turned to rage. "That Anakin guy, to think he did that to you. I swear I'm going to tell Tamamo about this. She will teach him a lesson."

"That is going to be hard," Orlen told her. "I was told by Master Kenobi that he killed Master Skywalker."

"Well, I'll find a necromancer to resurrect him so I can beat him up," Kitsu said with determination.

Eventually, she had calmed down enough for curiosity to win over her anger. "So, what happened after? What did you do-?" Kitsu's question trailed off as she let out a long yawn.

It was starting to get late now. The hours he spent talking to Kitsu had gone by in a flash. The inn was starting to fill up with patrons looking for a drink and most of the crowd who had been in the hall before who were not interested in getting drunk began returning to their rooms to retire for the night.

"I think that is enough for one-night Kitsu" Orlen told her. "I can tell you more at a later time."

Kitsu reluctantly accepted and hopped off her chair to go back to her room. Realizing Orlen was not following her, she glanced back at him. "What about you, are you staying up?"

"We only have enough money to last a few more days so I'm going to go out and acquire some more funds," Orlen told her.

Kitsu widened her eyes in shock. "No! We can find a better way. You don't have to sell your body for gold!"

Orlen struggled to figure out how Kitsu drew that connection from what he said. "Huh? I think you're a bit mistaken there."

"Then what are you going to do?" Kitsu asked with suspicion.

"Cheat at gambling of course. Get your mind out of the gutter." He replied, shaking his head.

Kitsu laughed nervously, "Sorry… Well, be careful, and don't get caught."

With that, she turned away and headed up the stairs of the inn to her room.

Once Kitsu was gone, Orlen glanced around the room looking for any games of chance that were currently ongoing. Spotting some men gathered around a table, he watched them for a few minutes.

It looked like they were playing some form of dice game, using cups to toss the dice. He continued to linger at a distance while observing for a few minutes, slowly figuring out the rules as the men played. Once he was confident that he had a grasp of how the game was played, he wandered over to the table and asked if he could join in.

Between subtle Force manipulations to sway the rolls of the dice and Jedi mind tricks to help with bluffs, he was confident that he would be able to come out ahead. Was it ethical? Absolutely not, but at this point, Orlen found himself struggling to care about that. Besides, any man who decides to gamble their money should be prepared to lose it.

Even so, Orlen knew he couldn't afford to draw suspicion. He'd lose the occasional roll to maintain appearances and keep his wins modest enough to avoid raising eyebrows. If suspicion brewed, he was ready to cut his losses and slip out to find another tavern and another crowd to get money from.

The men at the table had no issues allowing Orlen to join and the group shifted in their seats to make room for one more chair at the table.

Throughout the rest of the night, Orlen made his way from inn to tavern, table to table, slowly and steadily increasing the weight of the bag of gold with no one getting wise to how the odds were stacked against them.