We rode through the night and I slept. I woke up to Betsy still pulling us and when I looked up and out over the bench, I could tell she had slowed down a lot since I had finally turned in to go to bed. After I rubbed my eyes and scratched myself, I slipped into my robe and climbed onto the bench. I left the outer one in my bunk since it was already scorching hot. It only took a minute for my stomach to growl loudly.

  Betsy huffed and looked back at me while we rolled along.

  “I’m kinda hungry, and tired of eating nuts and dried meat,” I said defensively.

  She nodded her head and gave a soft bellow.

  I cocked an eyebrow and looked at her weirdly. It was still a little weirded out with her eating meat, but whatever made her happy. I thought back to that dream about an immortal chicken I had and frowned. Once I shook that thought away, I looked at the ox and shrugged. She was a diesel powered semi truck not too long ago and then I wondered if she’d like to drink fuel? Did they have oil here? Probably not, right? Maybe there were some dino bones I could turn into oil for her?

  “Betsy, you still don’t want to drink diesel, do you?”

  She turned her head back and gave me an annoyed look.

  I shrugged. “In my defense, you were a truck.”

  She gave a very unfriendly bellow and shook her head.

  We rode in silence after that for a while. I just sat back on the bench and enjoyed the day. It was cooler than it had been recently, which was a welcome change. Overcast, grey skies were the problem. They hung low in the sky and eventually it started raining, not hard at first. The sort of light mist that said it might be raining for a while.

  My stomach gave another loud growl, and I bundled up in my robes as I got a little cold with the rain and wind. I finally called up to Betsy. “We should find somewhere to park for a bit. Get some food and warm up.”

  She bellowed her agreement, and I reached down to grab at my map. It was written on some kind of special heavy paper, so I didn’t need to worry about it getting wet and ruined. I dragged my finger around the Royal Road and blinked through the rain as I looked around. “Man, we aren’t even close to a town or anything.”

  A bellow.

  When low and behold, we rounded a corner and a familiar Tolkien-esque building popped up just behind a few trees just off the main road. I blinked and looked back at the map. This isn’t where we were before, was it?

  “Betsy?”

  She responded with an equally confused bellow.

  I blinked and shrugged and pointed at the Lying Lily. “Make it so.”

  She picked up her pace a little, and we plodded along to the tavern. She led us right around the tavern and to the barn. The teenager ran right around to meet us and instantly frowned and crossed his arms against his chest.

  “Oh look, it’s the guy who doesn’t tip or even pay for services,” he said right when his eager expression turned into the disappointed frown.

  I frowned now and raised my hands placatingly. My entry into this world wasn’t that great, and I realize I took advantage of the kindness of strangers. “Yeah, uh, I’m sorry about that. I have money now. I can pay you back and pay you for this time as well.”

  The kid looked dubious as we rolled up the entrance to the barn. The doors were closed, and he didn’t look like he was in a hurry to open them for Betsy and the wagon. As he watched me, I pretended to search around my robes for my coin purse. I did this for a few minutes and pretended to grow frantic in my search.

  He grunted and waved his hands at me. “Go, go away. Find somewhere else to stow your ox.”

  I looked up and grinned and held my coin purse. “Alright, sorry, bad joke.”

  The kid then growled at me. Yeah, like a legit growl. He wore a scowl that would make mother in laws proud and had his arms crossed against his chest once more.

  “Hey stop, come on. I’m sorry,” I said and dug out one of the coins from the purse. It took me a minute to find the one I wanted because I only had a couple of them. I was looking for one of the coins that didn’t have a hole in them. It was the elongated silvery one made of platinum. The shiro coin was worth more than all the others, and quite a bit more. I put on top of my fist and flicked it over at the kid with my thumb.

  He reached and grabbed it and once he realized what it was. He looked up at me with raised eyebrows. “This is too much.”

  I waved it away. “You helped me out and didn’t try to beat me up or anything when I was here before and couldn’t pay. Take it and just take good care of Betsy. She really likes meat…”

  She made a satisfied noise when I said this as I climbed down from the driver’s bench.

  “Ooo, or some chicken maybe? She has a uh…” I looked over at her and she snorted loudly. “A grudge.”

  The kid stared at me with raised brows before he looked at the ox. Betsy just gave him an enthusiastic nod. It took him a moment, but eventually he shrugged. “Alright then, whatever I guess.”

  I clapped him on the back and gave him a nod. “That’s it. Thanks.”

  I grinned and walked away from him as I put my hands into the pockets of the robes where I stashed the coin purse.

  As I walked along the cobbled pathway from the barn to the tavern, I could see a bit more of the place in the light of day. It, in every sense, gave me thoughts of a cozy little warm medieval tavern. Wooden walls gave way to overgrown shrubs and trees. The windows were frosted over from the warmth inside. I grinned and looked at the fire pit outside of the door and crossed my arms against my chest.

  I still wasn’t sure if what I had seen that night was real. Even though I was standing here, everything seemed hazy in my memory. I shook the thoughts away and looked at the large wooden door. The whole place seemed a lot more subdued than the last time I was here, where it had that merry going party vibe to it.

  The door opened and there wasn’t the singing and joyous laughter and yelling wasn’t there. A short man walked out carrying a battle axe. He had braided hair and a long epic beard to match. I didn’t realize it, but I gave my beard a little tug and had some beard envy. I blinked and stopped in my tracks and stared at the small bulky man in plate armor.

  “What?!” he shouted and looked up at me.

  “Nothing. I, uh….” I blinked and looked around and pointed at something on the hay thatched roof of the building.

  “I was just looking at the roof. Good sturdy design,” I nod.

  The man spat on the ground. “Damn people around here, actin’ like they never seen a dwarf before!”

  “No, I uh…” I tried to defend my staring, but the dwarf kept walking away from me, heading towards the barn.

  “Pretendin’ he’s lookin’ at the roof while he’s starin’ at me?!”

  I blinked and listened to him yell. He was loud and abrasive and, quite frankly, everything I thought a dwarf would be. The fact that there was a dwarf in Japanese Fantasy Land wasn’t lost on me either. I just… I just didn’t really know how to deal with it. I walked to the door to go inside the tavern and just kind of pondered what my life currently was.

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  When I stepped into the door and looked around, I realized there was a reason it was so much quieter. There were only a couple of people in the place, and they sat at separate tables and ate their breakfast quietly. One was someone who looked like a beggar wearing the robes I was used to seeing here. He had dark hair and a few days of growth stubble on his face.

  It looked like a scene from the Lord of the Rings. Old wooden tables and some wooden chairs. There was even a hearth and a corner that seemed rather ominous and kind of dark, even though it was the beginning of the day.

  The other person was a beautiful woman with dark hair and features that would match someone on the cover of a fashion magazine. She wore simple green clothing and her robes looked more like a friar’s. I gave a double take as I walked over to the bar counter. Did she have pointy ears?

  “Oi there, I remember you. Welcome back to the Lying Lily lad,” the man said in that Scottish accent I remembered.

  I grinned and looked at him. “Hey man, thanks for having me. It’s a bit quieter here than the last time I was here.”

  He nodded his head and reached for a mug before filling it with a dark amber ale and set it in front of me. “Aye, bit early in the day for the usuals to come here and do their thing. Also, it’s a Tuesday, so..” he trailed off and shrugged.

  I grinned and nodded before I grabbed the mug and took a drink of it. The stuff was thick and had a burst of flavor. I think this ale might have been better than Guinness. I stared at it, and then at him with a wide grin. He just looked at me with a soft smile and nodded.

  “Aye, it’s good, isn’t it? House made,” he explained.

  I held up a finger. “Wait, a second.”

  He cocked his brow.

  “You weren’t here last time,” I said and stared at him.

  The redhead frowned and stared at me. He wore a brown leather jacket and some brown slacks with a white shirt and a green vest. His clothing looked like a smattering of styles of modern day stuff from my world and Victorian era garb. The deep forest green bowler hat he wore that matched the vest really pulled together the outfit.

  “I was too. I bought your dinner,” he said and crossed his arms against his chest.

  I took another pull from the mug and looked at him. “Thank you for that. I have money to pay you back. That’s not what I meant, though. I mean, this little rest area isn’t in the same place as it was.”

  The man blinked and grinned before he put his hands on the bar counter. “Isn’t it?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him before I took another drink of the ale. “I marked where I found you last time on my map.”

  He shrugged. “The thing about the Lying Lily is well, uh… it lies.”

  I stare at him. “Huh?”

  He grinned a toothy grin, and I noticed a golden tooth was barely visible. He pointed up to a wood carved sign that hung above the bar.

  The Lying Lily

  Beneath two moons, beyond lost seas,

  Where whispers ride the timeless breeze,

  There blooms a tavern, sly and shy,

  That drifts through worlds no map can spy.

  The Lying Lily, stained with gold,

  Its secrets deep, its ale ice-cold,

  It shifts through ages, slips through lands,

  Uncaught by mortal minds or hands.

  Only the mighty, sharp and wise,

  Who bargain blood and bend the skies,

  May glimpse its lantern’s laughing glow,

  And tread the paths few souls could know.

  Within, old kings trade songs for spells,

  And fallen gods weave ghostly tales;

  While trickster queens and mages grim

  Share toasts on fates both dark and dim.

  A single night may cost a crown,

  A whispered truth may burn a town.

  Yet still they seek the Lily’s door,

  The greatest souls, and fools, and more.

  I wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to tell me. “Man, my life has been kinda wild the last little bit and I don’t know if you’re fucking with me-”

  “I’d never,” he interrupted me.

  I stared at him.

  He sighed and crossed his arms once more. “The Lying Lily just kinda is wherever and whenever it is. Do ya know what a ghillie dhu is?”

  I stared at him blankly.

  He smirked and even gave a small chuckle before he explained. “They, we, are an odd type of fae. We help those lost in the woods, or lost in general. What better way to help a lost soul than with some proper drink and food? Maybe a place to stay the night so they can get their head back on straight.”

  I put my face in my hands for a second and then lifted my head and took a deep pull from the mug. I needed more alcohol in my life to deal with this. “You know, you’re not quite like everything else around this world.”

  He chuckled and nodded his head. “Aye, I get that a lot. Is there anythin’ else I can get ya?”

  I shrugged, feeling rather defeated by trying to make sense of it. I understood it was obviously a magical inn, but the elf in the room and the dwarf that left. Nothing about it made sense in Japanese Fantasy Land. “Whatever you suggest.”

  “That’s a good lad,” he said and wandered off.

  I grabbed my mug and looked around the tavern. I tried not to stare at the woman that I was pretty sure was an elf, but I couldn’t help it. IT WAS AN ELF. How could I not stare?

  She didn’t seem to mind. She just looked up at me and gave a soft smile and nod of her head. My response? I gave her a dumb little finger wave and a giggle.

  “Oi, knock that shit off. Leave the other guests alone or you’ll be out on your ass and won’t find the Lily again,” the scolding voice came with a hard thumb towards the door behind me on the bar counter.

  I turned and smiled a bit sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m not-”

  “Yeah, yeah, your world is all crazy now and you’re far from home. I get it,” the bartender interrupted me again.

  I looked down at the bowl of stew he put on the counter. It was thick and full of meat and potatoes and gravy. “Oh, man.”

  “Aye, it’ll put some hair on your chest. Eat up friend, cheers,” he said and took my mug to refill it.

  I had been to London once before in my life and the stew reminded me of a Guinness stew I ate in this old little tavern there. That tavern sat in a small village that I guess many movies used for scenes. It was deep and rich and I had had nothing like it since I’ve been here.

  The food in Japanese Fantasy Land was good, exactly what you expect from Japanese food. Good, simple, clean flavors. This was the opposite of that. It was just an explosion of a bunch of different things hitting your taste buds like a bare knuckle boxer about to knock you out. I didn’t mean to, but I let out a groan of pleasure as I chewed at the piece of mutton in my mouth.

  The bartender just grinned and watched me, nodding his head. Behind me I heard a soft giggle like a wind chime blowing softly in the wind and also a rough ‘Ha!’ I’m sure you can figure out which other occupant made what kind of noise.

  The bartender knocked softly on the bar and left me alone to eat. “Let me know if you need anything else,” he said as he slid a plate with a couple of rolls on it.

  BREAD! I almost cried. I grabbed one of the still hot loaves and broke it open. Chewy outside and nice soft inside. I scooped the piece into the heavy stew and let it soak up that rich heavy goodness before I jammed it in my mouth. I still let out soft moans and groans as I ate.

  “By the kami, and they call me a beggar.”

  Another soft giggle.

  I ignored them both and filled my face. I was about ready to lick the bowl when the beggar called up for another bottle of sake. The elf woman left while I sat there and I gave her another little idiotic finger wave. I’m pretty sure I had some stew in my beard. Ah well.

  Once I had cleaned the bowl out without licking it, I rubbed my stomach and leaned back in my chair. “Dear god, that was amazing.”

  The bartender came over to pick up my empty dishes, and before he left. I asked him. “Hey what’s your name?”

  He looked at me and smiled. “Declan, and you are?”

  I almost instinctively said ‘Maikeru’ but stopped myself. “Michael.”

  He held out a hand, and I shook it. “Well met Michael. Hopefully, we’ll see ya again.”

  I nodded and reached for my coin purse. I put out one of the rigid, solid golden coins I had. I didn’t know what it was, so I hoped it was enough.

  Declan didn’t seem to think anything of it. Just scooped the coin up in his fingers and put it somewhere under the bar counter. I heard a lockbox open and close and he smiled and nodded his thanks at me.

  I eventually groaned my way to my feet and headed for the door before I shouted a thanks to Declan.

  “Anytime lad.”

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