The mountain on two legs in front of you looks confused, almost as if no one had ever talked to him like this before. "Uh.......what?" He looks around but is not getting much support from anyone else on the street. Looking back at you, he pushes the two whores along. "OK. You got this one time." The whores go back to strolling along the street and the Troll heads back to where he was standing to watch them. He motions that he has his eyes on you as you walk past.
The building that matches the address Tommy gave you is a bakery of sorts. All the windows in the building are barred, even the upstairs ones, but that is not surprising as most of the windows you have seen since you left the car park have been barred. The window of the bakery is empty of merchandise, leaving you to wonder if it is even still in operation. The building has four floors and the door to the upstairs apartments is right next to the door to the bakery. There is a row of buttons near a small intercom unit. The name O'Reagan is neatly printed in a fancy style of calligraphy on the card over the number 204.
Ringing the bell for 204 brings a tinny voice through the intercom. The words are so fuzzy that you cannot make even one out, but the banging of feet coming down stairs is evident enough. Tommy opens the door with a smile. He nods to you as he turns his head and yells up the stairs. "Sensei-Joe is here Mom. I'll bring him up." The boy had washed his hair when he showered at the dojo and you wonder if he gets enough hot water in a place like this to take a regular shower. You have heard of water rationing in the Barrens, and hot water would be at a premium. Tommy motions for you to come up the stairs and you follow him, noting that the dim bulb in the stairwell flickers a couple of times during the climb up. The apartment he leads you to is small, by anyone's standards. It takes about three seconds to see that there is a small living room/dining room area, an even smaller kitchen, and only one door that seems to lead to a bedroom. A quick glance confirms a small pile of blankets and sheets on the floor behind the ragged looking couch.
Myotama greets you from the kitchen. "Thank you for coming, Joe-san. You honor our home. Please be comfortable. Dinner is almost done. Tommy?"
The boy moves from where he is setting the table. "Yes, Mom?"
"Please entertain our honored guest. I will finish the table."
Tommy nods and motions for you to come into the small living room. His face goes a bit red as he points out the best spot to sit on the couch to avoid the springs that seem to be poking through in at least two places. He asks if you are interested in seeing his drawings of the Dragon? Without really waiting to hear your reply, he goes to get a book from a small pile stacked against a wall of the very sparsely furnished room. He brings it over to you, saying, "I hope that you can make them out. I had to draw them from memory." Opening the book, you are struck by three things. First, the boy is a whiz at drawing. The details of the dragon scales and the armor of the knight facing him are exquisite. Second, although the dragon always seems to be some variation, the knight is always the same, or near enough to be so. Third, while the dragons are done quite well, there is always a bit of haziness to the outer detail, but the knight is drawn clearly and perfectly. Skimming through the book, you see at least twenty drawings that are complete and several more that are just sketches or partially finished.