Travelers and Rhodes Cards

At the same moment Shade spotted Mr. Asmon, the other man saw him as well and recognized this old acquaintance from Coldwater Port.

So he walked over.

"I never expected to run into you again here. Meeting the same person again in a different place during one's travels always makes one marvel at the strange workings of destiny."

The man in the brown robe sat across from Shade, and the two shook hands over the table. Then the waiter came over again to let Mr. Asmon order. Only after the waiter left did the long-faced man look at Shade and say:

"Oh, Mr. Watson, it was only after I saw the newspaper reports about the Great City Player that I heard of Shade Hamilton and learned who you really were."

He must have noticed the Demon card in the champion deck.

"My apologies. I am actually a detective. Two months ago, I accepted a troublesome commission and had no choice but to operate in Coldwater Port under the alias John Watson. It is the same this time—I came to Middlesburg for another troublesome commission."

Shade briefly explained his whereabouts, then leaned forward slightly and asked with great interest:

"Mr. Asmon, did you find the Demon in Coldwater Port in the end?"

The surrounding voices were boisterous, but no one noticed what the two men by the wall were discussing.

"Of course not. There were only those foul-smelling mermaids from the rumors."

This Demon Scholar's Delarion Language had a great deal of character. It was not inaccurate, but carried a strange accent that did not hinder comprehension. Under the dim yellow light of the kerosene lamp on the wall, half of his long face was hidden in darkness.

"But afterward, I learned something interesting from the folklorists of Coldwater Port. That