I excused myself and went to a nearby stream to wash my face. Bowen kept a respectful distance from me, but not without also keeping close watch. I didn’t mind. Truthfully, I was still a little shaky from my run-in with the ogre and the troll.

Suddenly I remembered the box. I quickly dried my hands and removed it from my pocket.

Seeing what I held in my hands, Bowen came up to me. “I thought you were going to give that back?”

“You know the troll and the ogre we ran into tonight? They were looking for this. I was going to give it back to him, but then the troll had to get all nasty on me. Oh well, Giulia sent him and his lovely friend to some dimension, the twelfth or the fifteenth, I can’t remember. The point is, he’s long gone and the box is still here.”

Bowen held his chin in his hands and contemplated the situation. “Hmm. I guess you’re right. It’s still here and its owner is gone. I guess it’s OK to open it.”

That was all the incentive I needed. I tore away the wrapping and pulled off the lid…