"Well," began Smirk. "Where should I begin? I guess I'll start with when I was a kid." Gohan got up and walked outside to the outhouse. Smirk watched him quietly until he went out of sight and shook her head.

"I grew up in the city of Hafnia," she continued. "I was always curious and hardly got into any trouble. My parents were both elves and they owned a small shop that sold leather equipment. They had very skilled hands. Well, one day, they had forgotten the key to the shop. With a thin strip of metal, I got that door open in two minutes."

Gohan stomped noisily back in, bringing with him a horrible stench from the outside. Everyone held their hands over their face in a vain attempt to block the smell, but, to no avail.

Smirk coughed a couple of times before continuing. "Anyway, I found I had a knack for picking locks and picking pockets. That got me into a lot of trouble. I accidentally lifted the purse of the Hafnia mayor once. That got me exiled since I was still young. They couldn't throw me into jail, so that was the only alternative.

"I was scared. I was 18. On my own for the first time in a strange world I had never seen. It just so happened I saw two travelers ahead on the road going in the same direction as I was traveling and I decided to follow them."

"Ooooohhh," said Cueball. "Now it makes sense. It did seem like someone was following us."

Smirk nodded. "That was the same day you two were headed for Cerebrus. I stuck with them after that because I felt safe with them. They took me under their wings, they protected me. In return, I helped get money, stole herbs if it was necessary, anything I could do to help. That was a year ago. Here we are today."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "But, inquiring minds want to know," ventured Ryoga. "How do you and Gohan know each other, Charjer?"

Charjer looked around at everyone staring intently at him as he began his tale.