Chapter 11: House of Wisdom
Morning arrived the next time Dasha opened his eyes. It was strange. The light was likely a construct of magic but it felt so real. The clouds, the heat, and the ambience felt so nice.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Dasha bit his tongue. He rose from his slumber, glanced back at his nice pillow, and sighed. He stood up and went to the counter.
"What?"
"O-oh." It was an old man with a long, thick grey goatee. He had been hitting the wooden counter to test its endurance. "I, uh, thought nobody lived here. My bad."
Dasha stared at him blankly. Over the old man's shoulder he saw two puzzled faces. Players. "Mistakes happen," Dasha said. "If you have no further business, leave."
They did without further argument.
"You should clean this place up better," Dasha told the couple, who had been cowering at the back.
"S-sorry," Zhang Mei replied. "We...we've had some bad people try and take this place from us."
"Don't apologize." Without another word, he turned to leave.
Zhang Mei asked, lips trembling, "Will you come back?"