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Helfer glared back. "Are you threatening me, cutie?" he said.

The badger drew up short and blinked. "Wot's 'at mean?"

Behind him, the rat broke into a chuckle. "Reckon it means yer his type, Hensley."

"Look," the badger said, but his momentum had been broken.

Vin took the chance to jump in. "He's a friend, Hensley," he said. "He ain't here about the boxes."

Helfer took his paw out of the crate and leaned on it. "My name's Hef," he said. "I just came in for some play with Vin. You feel like joinin'?"

Behind the badger and rat, Vin was shaking his head and waving his paws furiously. The rat laughed, while the badger scratched his ears. "Well, what..." he said, and then looked back at Vin, who composed himself just in time.

The rat was laughing. "Oh, he's okay," he said. "Y'already know Hensley. My name's Dicker. It's what I'm called, it's what I do." He winked, but Helfer noticed he kept one paw on the hilt of his knife.

Hensley was less subtle about his suspicion. "How d'we know he ain't gonna go back t'the castle and tell where we are? Hm?"

"I wouldn't do that to Vin," Helfer said.

"He'd do it to you."

"Hey," Vin said, stepping forward. "I wouldn't! Well," he said as they all turned to look at him, "not 'less, y'know, someone was threatenin' me."

"We know ya, Vin, we love ya," Dicker said.

Helfer cleared his throat. "I keep out of palace affairs," he said, drawing one paw along the edge of the box. "I'd 'preciate it if you'd hold off on the Vellenland stuff as much as you can, but that's the price of business."

"You're Vellenland?" Hensley's eyes widened. "Tell yer brewers not to make the apricot so sweet. Chokes me."

"I like it sweet," Helfer said. "You should try the lemon brandy."

Hensley sheathed his knife. "Lemon brandy? Never seen it."

"Mostly they serve it over on the east side of town," Helfer said. "But I can get a couple bottles for you."

"That'd be right nice," the badger said. He jerked his head to the other room. "Join us for some ale?"

Helfer shuddered inwardly to think what they might be drinking. "No, thanks. I just want to find out where this...friend of mine went. He ducked into the house beside the Four Vines. I didn't want to just barge in after him."

Hensley looked back at Dicker. The rat's expression was carefully guarded. "Don't really remember," the rat said. "Ain't a good place t'go wanderin' around. Hope your 'friend' knows what he's doin'."

Vin shrugged when Helfer looked at him. "Would the people in the Four Vines know?" Helfer said.

"Reckon," Hensley said. "They--"

Dicker strode forward. "They know lots in there." He gestured to the front room. "Can we show you out, yer lordship?"

Helfer nodded. With a wistful glance at the apricot mead, he walked through the door into a small closet, and from there into a small room that resembled a gentleman's club that had seen better days, and none too recently, at that. The wood floor was pitted and warped, where it was visible below rugs so discolored the patterns were no longer discernible. All of the furniture had either been clumsily repaired, or was in dire need of it: a wooden chair listed to one side, another was missing half the back, a bench's upholstery was torn, the straw half gone from it. Only the liquor cabinet in the corner looked fully functional, despite the doors being of different wood grain from the body.

The only other door in the room was set across from him, between two grimy windows through which sunlight oozed. As much as they wanted him out of the back room, he seriously doubted they would want him to go upstairs, and he didn't really have any desire to mount the rickety staircase anyway. "I'll send that brandy along," he said as Dicker opened the front door.

"Pleasure," Dicker said. He ushered them out into the street and slammed the door.

Helfer brushed his tunic. "What nice friends," he said, glancing up at the front of the building and seeing to his surprise a sign that proclaimed it a boarding house. "Who would stay there?"

"You'd be surprised," Vin said, swinging his paws. "Well, lucky I was 'round for that, eh? Narrow escape. Hensley's got a temper, he does."

"Dicker's the more dangerous," Helfer said absently. "I suppose we just go into the Four Vines now."

"Or," Vin said, "we could forget about all of it an' jus' find a nice room where we won't be bust in on."

"Do you actually know any?" Helfer walked away from the house in the direction he thought the Four Vines was. "I'm beginning to wonder."

"We wouldn'ta been interrupted back there if you coulda left this whole thing alone. Ain't like you," Vin grumbled.

"It's different," Helfer said. "This isn't politics. It's friendship."

"So is this!" Vin said, waving a paw at himself. "Look, I'm offerin' this inna spirit of friendship. What's that fox offerin'?"

Helfer grinned. "Help me with the Four Vines and I'll take you up on your offer, I promise."

Vin hesitated. "There's other offers wouldn't be as much trouble."

"But would they be in the spirit of friendship?" Helfer leaned forward.

Vin scowled. "I got lots of friends," he said. "Friends what don't ask me t'go into them places."

Before Helfer could respond, he turned at the sound of heavy footsteps running toward them. Hensley had rounded the corner and ducked into a doorway near them, the heavyset badger panting and gesturing them into the shadows with him. Vin and Helfer glanced at each other and then hesitantly followed.

"Look," Hensley growled, "I don' trust ya, and Dicker don't neither. But he thinks it's funny if ya go into the Four Vines like a witless sheep, an' I don't. So here, give Bichi this." He dropped a small coin into Helfer's paw and closed the paw over it before Helfer had a chance to look at it. "He won't know it come from me, just that it means he should treat you serious."

"Thanks," Helfer said, surprised.

The badger patted him on the shoulder. "Hope you find what you want. An' I'm lookin' forward to that brandy."

"You'll get it," Helfer said.

Looking both ways, Hensley slipped out of the doorway as stealthily as a six-foot tall, two hundred-fifty pound badger can. The two weasels shrank further into the doorway.

"What'd he give ya?" Vin asked excitedly.

Helfer opened his paw. Inside was a coin about the weight of a copper, but instead of the crown and the sigil of Ursus, it bore a strange spiral bisected by a line on both sides. "You know what that means?" he asked Vin.

Vin shook his head, then perked his ears hopefully. "Mebbe it's meant to be looked at naked."

Helfer palmed the coin and slid it into a pocket. "Then let's hope this Bichi is cute," he said, stepping out from the doorway.

"I seen it around," Vin whispered as they walked toward the inn. "Inna Four Vines, an' around Dicker an' all. Slick fella like me, they don't tell me the secrets. Worried I'll take over, ya know."

"I'm sure that's it," Helfer muttered. They'd turned onto the street where the sign hung for the Four Vines, a chipped painting of greenery that might be four vines, or might be six toads, or one tree. Only the words "Four Vines" had been freshly painted, over the black door scarred with age. The stone walls of the tavern were so thick that Helfer could barely see the windows in their deep wells. As they watched, a wolf with an eyepatch and torn ear strolled up and yanked the door open, grinning as he disappeared into the dark interior.

"Well, it won't get any friendlier," Helfer said. "Come on."

"Me?" Vin squeaked. "I seem t'remember tellin' ya that I ain't exactly welcome there."

"I'll tell them I'm keeping an eye on you," Helfer said.

"An' how will they know you ain't as bad as me?"

Helfer tapped the pocket where the coin rested. Vin shook his head. "You dunno Hensley like I knows 'im. What if he's just havin' us on?"

"He seemed sincere."

"Yeah. Seemed."

"Only one way to find out." Without waiting for Vin, Helfer strode to the black door and tried to yank it open as the wolf had done. It resisted with surprising force. He planted his feet and used both paws, and slowly managed to drag it open enough that he could get inside. He felt motion in his whiskers; Vin stood by his side, staying close and looking around nervously.

The Four Vines was more brightly lit than Helfer would've thought, given the appearance of the windows and doors. Skylights let in shafts of sunlight, showing the unpolished but clean surfaces of the dark wooden tables. Only the back right hand corner of the bar was not well lit, the contrast with the rest of the room making the shadows even more impermeable. In fact, if he'd just wandered in, Helfer would've thought this a rather nice place--if not for the clientele.

The wolf they'd seen enter was standing at the bar holding a metal tankard, talking to a mouse behind the bar. Three of the other tables were occupied with pairs or trios of disparate species, all of whom looked as lean, muscled, and scarred as the wolf. All of them, whatever they had been doing a moment before, were now staring directly at the two weasels. Only the wolf and mouse at the bar continued their conversations in low tones.

Helfer glanced around to make sure that the fox wasn't at one of the tables, noting the staircase to his left and the door underneath it. Those were on the side of the adjacent house. If he hesitated any longer, he might just run right outside again, so he strode quickly up to the bar, where a large black hear was staring at him, paws moving a cloth mechanically over a tankard.

"Bichi?" Helfer said, taking the token out of his pocket as he approached the bar.

Vin tugged at his tunic. "That's Bichi," he whispered, pointing at the mouse, who had broken off his conversation with the wolf to join the rest of the tavern in staring at Helfer.

"'Scuse me a moment," the mouse said to the wolf. He walked along the bar to meet Helfer. His voice was high, but confident. "Afternoon. What can I do for you?"

Helfer laid the token on the bar. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. He went into the house next door, and I was told you were the one to ask about that."

"Mmm." The mouse barely glanced at the token, but Helfer did see his eyes flick toward the staircase. "Curious place for a friend of a noble to go. Didn't he tell you where he was going?"

"No," Helfer said. "I don't think he saw me when I waved to him."

"Or you were following him and didn't want him to see you. No matter," the mouse said pleasantly. "It's no secret. My wife runs a gentleman's club next door. If you want to wait outside, I'm sure you'll catch your friend on his way out, in a much better mood."

"Thanks," Helfer said. "I may do just that." His eyes flicked to the shadows, where he heard a rustling noise and then a low chime, clear in the still-silent tavern.

The mouse cocked an ear too, and then nudged the bear. "Go clear the tables," he said. As the bear walked out from behind the bar, Bichi said, "Thanks for stopping by. Sorry we won't be able to let your friend leave with you. He owes us--ha, you would, would you?"

This last was to Vin, who had made a respectable dash for the door, only to be tripped by one of the patrons. A moment later, the bear had fallen on him, holding him in place despite the weasel's squeals. Helfer started back from the bar, but movement drew his eye to the door at the top of the staircase. It was open, just a crack, and in the darkness beyond he saw a glimmer of eyeshine. As soon as he turned, the door slammed shut.

Bichi had noticed it too. "Excuse me a moment," he said, seeing Helfer's stare, and walked over to the door under the stairs. Helfer managed one step in that direction before the wolf with the eyepatch grabbed his wrist. "Best leave him," he said. "Worry 'bout your frien' there."

The mouse was through the door, shutting it behind him. On the floor of the tavern, Vin was squealing, "Hef! Tell 'em I ain't done nothin'!"

Helfer looked back at the wolf's one good eye, a fierce, bright blue. The canine grinned. "Jus' tryin' to be helpful," he said.