5.24 L (1/2)

She dreamed of thrones, of bickering voices and tall, frail men and women perched like harpies on towering seats built of tarnished, stained gold. Lyonette saw a court full of people whose faces were masks and whose smiles were as sweet as poison, mingling around the thrones. She walked among them and found herself standing in a town where everyone bowed and never met her eye.

And in her dream, Lyonette thought it all made sense. She saw the masked nobles look at her and curtseyed before the watchers on their squalid thrones. She stepped among the nobility, putting a mask on her face and smiling artificially alongside the rest. She smiled as she saw a golden throne fall, and cheered with the others as another one was built from blocks of the old one. She saw nobles fade as they sprouted daggers from their chests, spat froth and blood from poisoned lips, took terrible wounds by sword or claw or just grew old and passed.

The others mingled and talked and there was something there almost like affection as they slid daggers under their skirts and clothing, waiting for the best moment. She laughed at the common folk and nodded at the few who managed to look up, allowing them to stumble into the room full of watching, predatory masked faces. The monarchs watched, waiting, old and ancient and their thrones grew taller. Lyonette dreamed of all this. It was no nightmare. For a while she was happy. Then someone stuck a wet nose in her ear and she woke up.

—-

It wasn’t, Lyonette thought, a mystical prophecy of any kind. It was just a dream. It might have been caused by stress. But it hadn’t been a bad dream. It hadn’t.

“I used to like it, Mrsha.”

The Gnoll looked up as she ate her breakfast of porridge. She had some of the food caught on the fur around her face. She licked it up with her tongue and looked at Lyonette questioningly.

“Being a [Princess]. It wasn’t a bad life.”

Mrsha nodded agreeably. That made sense. She went back to her porridge. Lyonette sighed.

“But I was frustrated. I never leveled. I never did anything and I felt like I was a failure. I was…sad.”

She looked down at her bowl until she felt a wet nose on her hand. Mrsha looked up at her with expectant eyes. Lyonette smiled and spooned some porridge into her mouth.

“I’m not sad now. It was just a dream.”

Mrsha nodded and pointed at her empty bowl. Lyonette eyed it; it had been licked clean. She thought about scolding Mrsha, but then she recalled that licking your plate was perfectly acceptable, indeed, expected in Gnoll society. So she nodded and smiled.

“Take your bowl into the kitchen and you can play. But remember—”

She held up a warning finger as Mrsha grabbed her bowl. The Gnoll paused and looked back. Lyonette made sure Mrsha met her eyes.

“You can’t leave the inn without telling me or Erin. Remember?”

Mrsha sighed and her ears drooped slightly. But she nodded and scampered into the kitchen. Lyonette heard Erin’s voice for a second before Mrsha scampered out. The Gnoll raced upstairs and Lyonette guessed she was heading straight to her room. She had a ball up there.

Sure enough, no sooner had Lyonette heard the scuffling-scratching sound of Mrsha racing upstairs than she heard energetic thumping coming down the stairs. Mrsha raced down with a soft ball made of corded leather in her mouth. She ran into the center of the common room and looked around.

Normally, there wouldn’t be much space for an energetic child of any species to play in a normal inn. Especially one with guests. But happily, Erin’s inn now featured her [Grand Theatre] Skill at almost all times. The giant room felt slightly unnerving to Lyonette and she often kept her back turned to the extra space. But Mrsha loved it. The dim room was plenty of space for her to toss her ball and race after it, diving beneath chairs and leaping over the tops of tables.

“Careful!”

Lyonette couldn’t help calling out another warning as she watched Mrsha leap over a chair as she chased after her prized ball. Mrsha was going fast! But she didn’t tell the Gnoll cub to stop either. Mrsha needed to play. And given the current circumstances, letting her play anywhere but the common room of the inn would be dangerous.

The young [Princess] glanced towards the windows. Half of them were still boarded up, but two had been renovated by the industrious Antinium Workers. She saw through a glass pane dark skies and pouring rain. Again. It felt like it had been a month already, but barely a week had passed and the spring rains were still drowning Liscor. The waters had now engulfed the Floodplains and only a few of the tallest hills and the city itself stood above the waterline.

It was wet. Unpleasant to be out and about in. Not that Mrsha would care, but the waters presented dangers of their own. Quillfish, octopus-fish with teeth, Rock Crabs creeping along underwater, to name but a few of the dangers. Of course, most of the fish that had entered the waters were by and large harmless, but Lyonette wasn’t about to risk Mrsha at all. She’d had enough close encounters, thank you. So the Gnoll had been confined to the inn unless Lyonette went into the city. Normally that would be fine, but the rain meant that Liscor was less than engaging for a small child.

Rain. Rain and more rain, pouring down at every second. It was enough to dampen the brightest spirits. Or at least, make one think twice about venturing outside unless you had business. Lyonette sighed as she watched Mrsha playing. Then she turned her head.

“Stay out of my drink, Apista.”

The Ashfire Bee creeping up the side of her mug fanned its wings. Undeterred by the gigantic bee, Lyonette plucked her off and tossed her into the air. Apista fanned her wings and flew around Lyonette; the [Barmaid] could feel the bee’s annoyance. But not much; it was a mild thing, like the faintest of itches and Lyonette had learned enough to know that meant Apista was only vaguely upset. And she wasn’t about to let the bee drink her milk.

Lyonette sipped from her mug, savoring the warm, rich goat’s milk. It had a different flavor than cow’s milk but it wasn’t bad. Actually, it might have been a bit sweeter. Lyonette had known worse goat milk before, but Erin got hers fresh from one of Liscor’s few villages and it stayed fresh thanks to her Skills.

Something to savor. Lyonette closed her eyes and sipped again. Without looking she batted Apista away from her mostly empty bowl of porridge. The Ashfire Bee buzzed again, but Lyonette was unmoved.

“I just fed you breakfast! You ate your honey—shoo!”

Disgruntled, the Ashfire Bee flew backwards and Lyonette knew she was going to her favorite spot—the baskets of faerie flowers that were blooming despite the horrible weather right by Erin’s windows. Lyonette knew the bee loved sipping the nectar from the flowers.

“Strange that it doesn’t do anything to you. Everyone else gets dizzy and I knock out bees when I burn the flowers. So why can you drink the nectar and be fine?”

Apista didn’t reply. Lyonette sipped from her mug as Mrsha raced around the tables, throwing her ball off the walls, jumping onto the stage and racing around the props the Players of Celum had left, panting happily. Enticing smells drifted from the kitchen as Lyonette heard Erin banging around, opening cupboards, swearing as she dropped something, and humming.

This was her morning. It was peaceful, enjoyable in its own way. Lyonette savored it until she heard dull footsteps from above. She looked up. The inn’s other residents were waking up. The Halfseekers, the Horns of Hammerad—the Goblins would probably come down now. Lyonette was sure they were already awake. She’d spotted them beating each other in training before dawn through her window. She sighed and reached for her spoon. Time to finish eating. Her day was going to be busy. As always.

—-

Breakfast this morning was porridge, but Lyonette served fried eggs, bacon—even a steak to her guests, which were all three Gold-rank teams and the Horns of Hammerad. And the Goblins. While it was true that Erin made a specific breakfast for each morning, and that she’d made porridge as a healthier and lighter breakfast for Mrsha and Lyonette, her guests were guests and could order anything they pleased. And they did. Lyonette put the steak down in front of Ceria and the half-Elf licked her lips. As she began cutting into the bloody meat, Jelaqua raised her head and spoke around a mouth full of egg.

“Alright, I talked to Hawk yesterday.”

“And?”

The other adventurers instantly looked at her, as did the Redfang Warriors who were demolishing a pot of porridge by themselves. Jelaqua glanced at them and then looked at the others. She shook her head.

“No go. He told me flat out that he’s not running anywhere near the Goblin Lord’s army. And…yeah. I couldn’t talk him around it. Plus, he’s not keen to wait around while an [Enchanter] appraises the artifacts so I’m afraid it’s City Runner’s or nothing.”

Lyonette heard a groan as she went around with a pitcher of cool goat’s milk. The last they had in stock, actually. She made a note to ask Krshia about getting more. It was hard to get supplies from the villages—they had to be transported by boat. Maybe she could see about food from Celum? She listened with half an ear as she refilled Ylawes’ cup, nodding and smiling as he thanked her quietly.

“So what? We’d have to rely on City Runners? That’ll take a week to get there—and I’m not sure I trust them with magical artifacts.”

Ceria groaned as she sat back in her chair. Halrac grunted. Everyone looked at him. The [Scout] folded his arms.

“Don’t trust them. Not for Gold-rank artifacts.”

“I agree. It’s too risky. Some City Runners are good, but this would be a multi-part delivery. You couldn’t request one to take it specifically. And having one appraise the items at an [Enchanter]…I’m sure most would be tempted to sell that information or run off with an artifact worth thousands of gold pieces.”

Ylawes sighed as he speared a poached egg with a fork. He looked around and all of the older adventurers nodded. Erin looked around, confused. She wasn’t waiting tables but sitting with the adventurers as they discussed the issue of the artifacts.

The artifacts the Redfang Goblins had recovered. Lyonette glanced at the five Goblins. They were sitting apart from the conversation, but they were listening intently. The adventurers glanced at them now and then before looking away. It was a strange situation. The artifacts were the Goblins’ and Lyonette knew they were hidden somewhere by the five Redfang Warriors. However, the adventurers had insisted the artifacts be identified. The Goblins hadn’t protested—they hadn’t said anything, true to form—and so the debate for the last day had been on how to get the artifacts appraised in a timely manner.

“Hold on, why aren’t City Runner’s a good idea? They’re not trustworthy?”

“Some are, some aren’t. I don’t know any in the area I’d trust with that much gold. And like Ylawes said, it’s different if multiple Runners are carrying an item. Times like these would be when you request a Runner you know is trustworthy—and can defend themselves. If we were up north we’ve have a list of contacts. But around here, Hawk is the only good Runner I’d trust.”

Jelaqua sighed. Erin nodded as she thought that over.

“I get it. It’s like getting the best mailman. And Ryoka’s…”

She trailed off. Lyonette looked at her and saw the Horns of Hammerad exchange glances. After a moment, Ceria cleared her throat.

“I know a Runner. Fals. He’s good, and I think he’d be trustworthy. But the distance to Invrisil…no. Is there another [Enchanter] nearby we could use? Someone near Celum, perhaps?”

“Someone who can identify dungeon artifacts? I don’t think so. That’s not something you want to leave to a low-level [Mage]. Anyone know another name?”

Jelaqua looked around and got headshakes from the other adventurers. The Selphid grimaced and twitched her tail. It was still unsettling to see her in her new Drake body, but she’d adapted Drake mannerisms already. She scratched at the scales of her neck with one claw.

“Pallass is an option.”

“I don’t know any [Enchanters] there. And I don’t know the city. It’s not as straightforward there. We might run into obstacles.”

Ylawes frowned, looking mildly concerned. Seborn nodded.

“A Drake city won’t necessarily recognize Gold-rank adventurers from the north. Especially not a Human team. However, the Halfseekers have worked in the south in the past.”

Revi nodded as she tapped her lips.

“That works. I wouldn’t put it past a Drake [Enchanter] to avoid working with stinking Humans, but your group used to have Drakes in it, didn’t you? Think we could trade on your reputation?”

All eyes turned to the three Halfseekers. Jelaqua looked up at Moore. The half-Giant had a huge bowl of porridge and spiced apple. He put down his spoon thoughtfully and wiped his mouth.

“We could always ask. It’s not as if it matters if the [Enchanter] talks about what the artifacts do, does it?”

“But—”

Moore cut Revi off.

“Not if the artifacts are going to their rightful owners.”

He looked pointedly at the Redfang Goblins. The adventurers turned as one. The five Goblins returned the gazes, watchful. There was a pause and someone coughed. At last, Ylawes nodded.

“They retrieved the artifacts. If there is room for negotiation…it should be after the appraisal. Let’s assume we’ll go to Pallass. What about the cost for the appraisal?”

“The Gold-rank teams could all pay a portion of the cost. The question is, how would that be repaid? In the form of one of the three artifacts? To which group? And ah…if not that, how else?”

Typhenous murmured as he inspected his fork’s tines. He glanced up and Lyonette saw the Goblins shift. Erin frowned.

“I can pay! I’ll just take it out of their wages.”

Everyone looked at her. Ceria sighed.

“Erin, I don’t think you understand how much a good [Enchanter] charges—especially for a rush job.”

“How much?”

“Let’s see. Eighty gold coins for an appraisal?”

“Eighty—”

Erin choked as she took a sip from her mug. Lyonette saw the Goblins turn to each other and jabber worriedly. Revi smiled wickedly.

“Eighty? Maybe for a normal artifact. But dungeon artifacts? Try ten times that. More, if the [Enchanter] thinks they might get hit by a curse spell. You could pay as much as two thousand gold coins per artifact.”

“Two th—who’s got that kind of money lying around?”

The Halfseekers exchanged glances and shrugged, but Typhenous smiled as he stroked his beard and Revi smirked. Dawil, Falene, and Ylawes all raised a hand.

“Our groups could pay the cost. As could Griffon Hunt. The question is—would we receive an artifact in exchange?”

“That’s hardly a fair exchange, especially if one’s worth more.”

Yvlon frowned as she pointed that out. By her side, Ksmvr and Pisces nodded, being more engrossed in listening than anything else. Ylawes frowned at his sister.

“We could repay the cost. But we want to be clear about what we might get in exchange. What do the…Goblins think of this?”

All eyes turned to the Redfang Warriors. They exchanged looks. Lyonette went around the tables, waiting for a response. After a long while in which four of the Goblins began kicking the fifth, Numbtongue finally replied.

“Don’t need artifact appraisal.”

“What?”

All the adventures looked incredulous. Numbtongue shrugged and refused to say anything else. Revi leaned over her table, chewing her bacon furiously.

“See here, I don’t care if you lot die in a dungeon, but I’m not having you walk around with artifacts that might do anything! The curse might not affect only you—I once saw a cursed artifact melt everything in a fifty foot radius!”

“It’s their choice, Revi. If they don’t want to—”

“Oh come on! They’re Goblins! We’re adventurers! We saved them! Don’t we get a say?”

“We saved them at Miss Erin’s request. In point of fact, the artifacts were already recovered.”

“Shut it, Typhenous!”

The argument went on as Lyonette went into the kitchen for cow’s milk instead. She could have served a weak ale for the morning, but milk was generally received well. The adventurers were arguing amongst themselves and the Goblins complicating matters with their silence when she returned. Lyonette listened to the argument, feeling…lost.

She just felt a little left out, that was all. Seeing the adventurers anxiously trying to confer with each other and Erin while the Goblins listened reminded Lyonette that all of this was Erin’s doing. She’d set everything in motion so a group of five Hobgoblins, Hobgoblins, could enter a dungeon and come back with treasure.

True, Lyonette had been the one to get the Halfseekers to enter her inn. And Griffon Hunt. But it had been Erin’s inn and the [Innkeeper] was the one who’d charmed them, made them allies and friends rather than guests. That was her talent, the thing that separated her from Lyonette. She’d made this world, where adventurers would negotiate with Goblins rather than just attack them and where Gold-rank adventurers were regulars at her inn. In fact, it was a testament to the way Lyonette had gotten used to it all that she barely blinked an eye when the Halfseekers announced they couldn’t keep debating the issue any longer.

“We’ve got to test the Heartflame Breastplate that Selys is leasing us. We’ll head to the dungeon if we can, Halrac. But we’re going to see exactly what the armor can do!”

Jelaqua grinned, looking like a child stuck in a dead Drake’s body. She rubbed her claws together.

“It’s going to be amazing.”

The other Gold-rank adventurers looked enviously at Jelaqua. If the Goblin’s artifacts were the news of the day, the revelation of Selys lending the Halfseekers the Heartflame Breastplate was the talk of the year. Last night Jelaqua had been so happy she’d bought drinks for the entire inn—thrice! Typhenous leaned forwards, his eyes shining as Jelaqua grinned wildly.

“Can we watch?”

“Sorry. Selys says part of the armor’s secrets can’t be shared. You can watch Moore chuck spells at the armor if you want, though. Or join in yourself.”

“We might have to. Halrac, Revi, I know the dungeon awaits, but ­this—”

The older [Mage] looked at his companions. Halrac nodded after a moment’s thought.

“Fine.”

“We’d like to watch as well. Obviously finding a way into the dungeon matters. I don’t trust entering and exiting via the rift, so the dungeon entrance must be cleared. But for today…I’d love to see what an artifact like that could do.”

Ylawes looked at his team and they nodded in agreement. Dawil sat up as he finished stuffing another sausage into his mouth.

“Always worth seeing what a good artifact does! And it beats arguing about artifacts that we didn’t get anyways. Let the Goblins have their artifacts if they want.”

“Unless we can appraise them ourselves. That’s one last option. Anyone fancy looking at the enchantments and seeing what they might do? Falene, could you look at the enchantments?”

Ylawes paused and looked at his companion. Falene raised her head and gave him a severe glance.

“I am a [Battlemage], not an [Enchanter].”

“I know. I just thought—”

The [Knight] broke off as the half-Elf woman raised one delicate hand.

“However, as the sole [Mage] present who has been fully trained by Wistram, I will inspect the artifacts and make a preliminary assessment. Free of change. If we are all in agreement?”

She glanced at the Goblins and then away. The other adventurers nodded, more interested in the armor now, but it was Pisces who sat up. The [Necromancer] sniffed loudly, drawing attention to him.

“Miss Skystrall, it seems you are implying that your understanding of enchantments is superior to anyone else in this room.”

Falene smiled archly at him.

“Oh? I didn’t think I was implying so much as stating a fact. You disagree?”

Pisces flushed.

“Immensely, as a matter of fact. I believe my understanding of enchantments would provide just as much illumination.”

“Then both of you check out the artifacts. Typhenous too, if he wants. Look, if we’re not hiring an [Enchanter], stare as much as you want. Just don’t touch it.”

Exasperated, Jelaqua got up. She looked around.

“This has been fun. But I’m getting new armor and as for this Goblin thing—look, Erin. You want to let them go into the dungeon, fine. They’re adventurers now. I don’t know why. And they have magical artifacts. Unappraised magical artifacts. That’s fine too, I guess. Just make sure they understand what the risks are.”

She looked at the Redfang Goblins, nodded to Seborn and Moore, and then the Halfseekers went to the door. Jelaqua opened it, stared through, and closed it.

“Hey, how do you open this thing to Liscor?”

“I’ve got it.”

Erin hurried over to the door and Lyonette saw the other adventurers rise. They followed the Halfseekers, all but the Horns of Hammerad.

“You’re not going to watch?”

“We’d love to. But I think we’ll get a chance later. And we have something Ksmvr’s insisted on doing.”

Ceria looked at Erin as Ksmvr rose. The Antinium was shaking, but he nodded to his team as the Gold-rank adventurers walked through the doorway into the rainy streets of Liscor. Ksmvr looked at Yvlon and Ceria. Yvlon looked worried.

“Ksmvr, are you sure this is what you want?”

“I insist. If I die, know it was in the service of my team.”

“Die?”

Erin looked confused. Lyonette stared at Ksmvr, a stack of dirty plates in her hand. She wondered what Ksmvr was talking about. She found out as she was washing dishes in the kitchen. It was hard to ignore the screaming.

—-

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—”

Lyonette nearly dropped the plate she was washing the first time she heard Ksmvr screaming. It was coming from outside. She ran out of the kitchen and saw Mrsha staring out a window. Lyonette ran to the door and stared outside. The wet, rainy landscape and churning waters surrounded the inn. She heard the screaming cut off suddenly and looked around.

Where had it come from? She stared down to the water’s edge, where three shapes were standing as the rain pelted them. She saw them heave, and then she heard Ksmvr screaming again.

“Aaaaaaaa—put me back, put me back!”

He was flailing with his three good arms at the water’s edge. Lyonette saw Yvlon and Pisces look at each other, and then the two adventures slowly lowered Ksmvr’s head into the water. Instantly the Antinium began flailing. After a few second they pulled him out.

“Aaaargh! Aaaah! Water! Water everywhere!”

He screamed as water ran out of his mandibles. Lyonette saw Ceria shouting at him as she held his legs.

“Dead gods, Ksmvr! Just stop!”

“No! Put me back! I must conquer my fear!”

The other three Horns of Hammerad exchanged glances. Pisces shrugged and Yvlon nodded. They slowly lowered Ksmvr’s head towards the water. He began screaming before they even submerged him. His wild thrashing nearly made the three let go—they hauled him out.

“Put me back!”

“You’re struggling too hard! Ksmvr, this isn’t working! You panic if your head goes into the water, Ring of Water Breathing or not! We can’t hold you steady.”

“I see. Then drop me in!”

“What? You can’t swim!”

The Antinium jerked as water sprayed off his carapace.

“I must learn to enter the water. I disgraced myself by not joining the other adventurers in fighting underwater. I abandoned my duties!”

“You gave the ring to Erin. She used it!”

“I should have used it myself! I must learn to tolerate the water! Put me in!”

“Okay, but if you start screaming and thrashing, we’ll stop.”

“I will not scream. I may excrete all my bodily waste, however. Is that acceptable?”

“No.”

The Antinium was arguing with his companions as he continued his water tolerance training. Lyonette watched, trying not to laugh. She did feel some admiration for Ksmvr, she really did. But the sight of the Antinium screaming and panicking just looking at the water was funny. She understood why he was afraid, though. That put something of a dampener on her humor and Lyonette decided to get out of the rain—until she saw the white shape sneaking down towards the Horns of Hammerad. Mrsha stealthily snuck up behind Ksmvr as he was arguing with Yvlon and put her paws into the water. She splashed the Antinium from behind and Ksmvr screamed.

“The water is attacking!”

He tore himself loose and ran up the hill as Mrsha chased him, spraying him with water she was holding in her mouth. Lyonette laughed and then shouted.

“Mrsha, stop that! Stop tormenting Ksmvr!”

Mrsha ignored Lyonette as Ksmvr slipped and rolled down the hill, screaming for the others to catch him. She was trying to push him closer to the water as Ksmvr flailed. Lyonette decided this had turned from a prank into cruelty. She snapped.

“Mrsha!”

The Gnoll cub whined and looked up at Lyonette. The young woman felt bad, but she pointed and Mrsha reluctantly abandoned the screaming Ksmvr. She padded up the hill, tail and ears lowered.

“You know you can’t go outside without asking! What did I say this morning?”

Mrsha made a grumbling sound in her throat. Lyonette understood, she really did. But she had to be firm.

“Inside, young Miss. You need a bath now. Let Ksmvr be.”

Ignoring Mrsha’s protests, Lyonette forced her back inside. She could still hear Ksmvr arguing with Yvlon.

“I will conquer my fear! What if you froze my arms and legs so I could not move? Then put my head underwater?”

Lyonette shook her head. Mrsha was still complaining, and now she was sulking. By the time Lyonette made her take a bath, the Gnoll cub was throwing a tantrum and howling. Something had to be done. And as the morning became midday and the rain poured on, Lyonette knew it was time.

—-

“A break?”

Erin paused in talking with the [Actor] in front of her long enough to frown at Lyonette. The [Barmaid] nodded and held her breath. Behind Erin she could see a score of [Actors] and helpers setting up the stage for today’s plays. The Players of Celum were putting on multiple performances today and the inn was already bustling, despite the plays not being scheduled for another two hours. However, that hadn’t stopped curious Gnolls, Drakes, and Humans from entering the inn from both Celum and Liscor.

Word about the new play, The Triumph of Liscor as it was tentatively being called, was already spreading to Liscor and Celum. That, combined with the popularity of the plays in general meant that Erin’s giant theatre actually felt somewhat full already. Erin had been rushing about, coordinating details with the Players of Celum in between cooking, but Lyonette had managed to get her attention at last.

“I think Mrsha’s really unhappy at being cooped up. Normally I’d ask Krshia to take care of her or ask Selys to take her to the playground, but Selys is very busy and so is Krshia. I’m the only one who can supervise Mrsha, so I’d like a small vacation. Nothing too much! Just around…let’s say lunchtime for three hours?”

Lyonette held her breath. Erin blinked at her.

“Mrsha’s cooped up? I totally get that! This rain is getting me down sometimes. And if she needs to run and play—don’t worry about it! Take the whole morning and afternoon off if you need to! Mrsha comes first. I can handle things—Drassi and Ishkr are both slated to be in tomorrow as well, so we’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure? I know you’re so busy—”

“Mrsha comes first. We’ll manage! Besides, the Players just need food and drinks and someone to shout at people to be quiet. I can handle that if I have help!”

Erin smiled. Lyonette smiled too, gratefully. She saw the [Actor] standing behind Erin cough and flushed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine. What were you saying, Kilkran?”

Erin flashed a smile at the [Actor] and he straightened.

“I was going to ask about your interpretation of Othello, Miss Erin. You see, it’s become something of an argument among my peers, and I was hoping you might take my side. Tonight’s play will feature one rendition of the play, and I was hoping you could have a word with the actor playing the part before we began. You see, I regard him as…”

Lyonette saw Erin sigh slightly, but the [Innkeeper] listened as the [Actor] went on and Lyonette went back to serving drinks to the people rushing about. That was Erin Solstice. She stood in her inn, but the inn revolved around her. Yes, there were other people in it, but the one who bound everyone together was Erin. And that was great! Wonderful. It wasn’t as if Lyonette was bitter about that fact.

It was just that she wanted to matter too. Erin was like Jasi or Wesle, one of the stars of the acting troupe. She dominated the stage. And Lyonette didn’t mind that. She’d watched Erin, from the proverbial backstage. She knew Erin now, possibly better than anyone else. The thing about Erin was that she had her good sides and her bad sides. She was good at connecting with people. She was bad at—

“Lyonette!”

A harassed-looking Drake approached the [Barmaid]. Lyonette smiled at Drassi. The Drake [Barmaid] and [Gossip] didn’t return the smile.

“Drassi, what’s the matter?”

“My feet are what’s the matter! Lyonette, Erin told me I need to work tomorrow from morning till night!”

“That’s right. Is something wrong with that?”

“Yes! That’s my day off! Only Erin told me how much business we had and she really needs me to work! I love to earn money Lyonette, I really do. But I need time to spend the money I get!”

Drassi’s tail lashed and she spoke faster and faster as she grew more upset. Lyonette tried to soothe her.

“I understand. I know Ishkr’s been busy too. Look, I’ll talk it over with Erin and see if I can get you your day off sometime this week.”

“Would you? I know we have so much business. But it’s too much for three people! Erin should really hire some [Barmaids].”

“I’ll talk to her about it. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks Lyonette. You’re a lifesaver.”

Relieved, the Drake went back to waiting tables. Lyonette looked for Erin, but now she was talking with Wesle. That was the thing about Erin. She was good at people. But when it came to organization—well, she still slept on the floor of her kitchen next to her cooking ingredients. She could leave things hanging. She was good at focusing on one thing. But multiple things—

“Lyonette. Some of our visitors want to leave to Liscor.”

Ishkr called across the inn to Lyonette. He was carrying lunch and was clearly swamped. Lyonette nodded and hurried over to the door. A group of impatient Drakes was waiting there.

“To Liscor?”

They nodded. Lyon found the corresponding mana stone—a bright green one—and placed it on the door. She swung it open and immediately the Drakes poured out and more poured in.

“Finally! We’ve been waiting here for ten minutes! Why did it take so long?”

One of the Drakes demanded angrily as she shook water off her scales. Lyon tried to apologize as she winced and wondered if they could put the door somewhere else. They had to clean the floor six times a day with everyone tromping in and out. She seated the Drakes, turned around, and saw Erin striding towards her.

“Lyonette! Drassi says we have a problem with schedules?”

Surprised, Lyonette glanced towards Drassi. The Drake winced and flicked her tail—a Drake way of apologizing. She must have mentioned the issue to Erin and the [Innkeeper] had abandoned the arguing [Actors] to immediately talk to Lyonette. The [Princess] nodded.

“We don’t have enough staff, Erin. I know we talked about hiring more. I think we need to, otherwise Drassi and Ishkr will be overworked.”

Erin chewed her lip.

“I know, I know. It was on my list but after Maran and Safry, I didn’t want to. You know?”

Lyonette nodded sympathetically. She paused.

“But we do need more.”

“I get it. Um…”

Erin looked around distractedly, as if new helpers would appear out of nowhere.

“I could ask Krshia for more helpers? And Selys? Or get some people from Celum…only I think I’m being boycotted by the [Innkeepers] there. I can ask around. But doing it today is sort of hard because we’re doing so many plays and I have to be here.”

The young woman looked around the inn.

“I know Drassi and Ishkr are tired, but I’ll pay them double if I have to, Lyonette. So…can we handle it for the next few days? I really, really need to have enough people serving the tables for our plays. I just don’t have time to find good people to hire—but you still take your break tomorrow with Mrsha! Kids first! But—”

“How about I find us some help?”

Erin stopped fretting and looked at Lyonette.

“You think you can?”

Lyon nodded. Why not? It wasn’t as if there was a lack of [Barmaids] and [Waiters] to hire. She gave Erin a confident grin.

“Leave it to me! You focus on the plays and I’ll figure something out.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am. And while I have you, can we do something about the door?”

“What?”

Erin looked blank until Lyonette explained about having to switch the door between Celum and Liscor constantly. And that was without factoring Pallass into the equation. She groaned.

“I didn’t realize it would be such a problem! Pallass barely gets used, but Liscor and Celum—look, I’ll try talking to Pisces, but he says I can’t make it move like Howl’s Moving Castle.”

“What?”

“I can’t make it automatic! Or rather, he can’t. It’s too hard and has something to do with enchantment bindings and limited spell matrix capacity and so on. It would be so much easier if we didn’t have to use Liscor’s door, but what can you do? It’s not like I can get people to swim here, right? Right?”

Erin grinned sheepishly. Lyonette wondered if she’d actually be able to do just that. Knowing Erin…

“Maybe there’s another way.”

“Maybe? If you think of it, let me know.”

Erin sighed. Lyonette heard someone call her name and Erin groaned.

“Gotta go. Tell me if the lack of employment thing gets worse, okay?”

“Okay!”

The two separated. Lyonette made a beeline for Drassi. Ironically, there was no bee in sight; Apista was up in Lyonette’s room with Mrsha, preferring to stay out of the way of so many people.

“Sorry about that, Lyonette. I just mentioned that I talked to you, and Erin was like ‘I’m going to sort this out right now!’ I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

“It’s fine, Drassi. Erin’s asked me to sort this out. Tell me, do you know anyone who might be free to work here?”

The Drake paused as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

“Me? Yeah, I’ve got tons of friends! So does Ishkr! Hey, Ishkr!”

The Gnoll paused as he headed towards the kitchen. He strode over and quickly convened with the two [Barmaids] as the diners waited for service. He nodded the instant Lyonette asked about other potential workers.

“I have a handful of friends. And acquaintances, yes? I could ask them.”

“They’re trustworthy? Hardworking?”

Both Drassi and Ishkr gave Lyonette an insulted look. Lyonette returned it.

“I have to ask.”

Drassi twitched her tail.

“Some of my friends slack off a bit. Okay, half of them. But I can ask the good half.”

“And I would not betray Miss Erin’s trust. I could ask a handful of the Gnolls I know to work hard.”

“Do you think they’d leave their jobs to work here?”

“Depends on how much you offer them. A lot of them work part-time. You know, during the spring rains? They could be persuaded to quit—especially if they get to watch plays.”

Drassi gave Lyonette a toothy smile. Lyonette smiled back and did some quick math.

“Tell them that Erin will pay them one silver and two copper per hour for the next three days. After that, if they want to stay on they’ll be paid a regular wage. Less.”

“Whoa! That’s a lot of money!”

Drassi and Ishkr looked shocked. That was nearly as much as Erin had offered Maran and Safry, and that had been an exorbitant amount for their levels and Skills. But the inn could definitely afford it. Lyonette nodded.

“I want them working tomorrow. They can come in with you and learn how to work in the inn. Of course, Erin will pay you and Ishkr the same amount. And for all the times you’ve had to work overtime!”

“Really? That’s great!”

Both Drake and Gnoll looked delighted. Lyonette smiled at them. She was promising a lot, but both workers had been pulling long hours for the inn. She should have brought this up with Erin a week ago! But that was also the thing with Erin. She reacted to problems rather than think ahead most of the time. Lyonette got back to work with Drassi and Ishkr; the patrons were getting unhappy with dry throats. Like a flash, it was already evening and Lyonette was tending to a fussy Mrsha.

“I know you want to run, but you can’t go running about under the tables. You can sit and watch the plays or run about upstairs, okay?”

Mrsha buried her head in her pillow and made a whining noise. Lyonette sighed, but she didn’t have time to argue. She hurried downstairs just in time to see Erin greeting a familiar face.

“Hey Ilvriss, what’s up?”

Wall Lord Ilvriss, arguably the most important Drake in Liscor, glared at Erin but silently took a seat at a table. Lyonette winced as she rushed past Erin. She waved at Drassi who poured her a mug of Firebreath Whiskey and shoved it into Lyonette’s hands.

“You do it? Please? He scares my tail off!”

Lyonette nodded. She took the mug to Wall Lord Ilvriss and smiled.

“Your drink, Wall Lord.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

Ilvriss looked surprised at the prompt service. He looked around at his table.

“I assume more plays will be put on tonight?”

“Absolutely, Wall Lord. We have another performance of The Triumph of Liscor, and the Players of Celum will be putting on other plays throughout the night. I can ask for a list if you would like to hear it?”

“Hmm. Yes, do that. But first, orders. I will have your finest steak—well done, spiced as hot as your kitchen allows.”

He nodded at his table and the Drakes who’d come with him chimed in with their orders. Lyonette fixed all of the details in place in her mind and bowed again before hurrying off. Ilvriss looked slightly pleased when she brought him his food within five minutes of ordering—the steak was done, and Ishkr had only had to heat it up, fry it until it was further done, and dump as many spices as he could onto the meat. Of course, the other orders were also premade and ready, but Lyonette deliberately chose to hold off sending them to the table until Ilvriss’ plate was done.

It was just etiquette, plain and simple. You didn’t serve anyone but the Wall Lord first. And you most certainly did not call him by his name in front of his followers. Lyonette wished Erin knew that. But in a way, that was something Erin couldn’t do. She couldn’t be humble.

Or maybe she could be. But she was bad at doing things she hated. She didn’t treat Wall Lord Ilvriss with the respect he required because she didn’t believe in the superiority of the noble titles. That was all very well and good and Lyonette understood the sentiment—here she was, a [Princess] waiting tables—but it was also a fault. Ilvriss had mellowed out considerably, but there was a difference between pushing him to being more tolerant and insulting him to his face.

What she could do wasn’t what Erin could do. Lyonette served tables as the Players of Celum finally began their play. The Triumph of Liscor was just as overdone as the first time she’d seen it, but the speeches had been refined and more parts had been added. It was as far from the truth as could be and when the play had finished, the applause was thunderous. The [Actors] rotated and another group came on to play Othello. All the while Lyonette was hurrying over to the magic door to let people in and out to Celum and Liscor. She had to change the door every five minutes—or less.

“This is ridiculous! There has to be a better way!”

Exasperated, Drassi slapped a yellow mana stone onto the door and yanked it open. Octavia’s voice could be heard in her shop.

“Come on, buy a pack of matches while you’re waiting! Or how about a stamina potion for the night? You’ll be wide awake until dawn—unless you take one of my drowsiness tonics! A two-for-one offer! Why not throw in a healing potion while you’re at it? You can never be too careful!”

“If we could just leave the door open to Celum, we wouldn’t have to keep opening it to Liscor. Maybe just once every thirty minutes so people know when we open it.”

Lyonette frowned at the door. Drassi nodded.

“But how would we tell them? A sign? Sundial? It’s raining so that’s not going to work. Ancestors, it would be so much easier if Erin just bought a bridge! I have a friend who could sell her one.”

“A bridge?”

Bemused, Lyonette glanced at Drassi. The Drake nodded.

“Why not? It’s not far from Liscor to the inn! It would cost a good bit of gold, yeah, but it would be so much easier.”

“To buy a bridge.”

“Of course! Wait—I forget, you don’t know about bridges! Hasn’t anyone told you?”

Drassi slapped her forehead. She tried to explain as she pointed Lyonette to a window.

“It’s not like we have that many, but if there’s a nearby place we need to get to—I think we connected one from the city to the dungeon. It’s not hard! You just pay a few Drakes or Gnolls to build a bridge over the water! If you’ve got the gold, you can hire one and have it done tomorrow.”

“And it’s safe?”

“Well, it’s not that safe if a monster attacks. But most of them don’t go above the water and if it’s near the city the most you normally get is hit by a Quillfish. And you have Bird on the rooftop, right? He and the City Watch can shoot anything that attacks.”

“That could work!”

Lyonette imagined a bridge connecting Liscor and The Wandering Inn. It wouldn’t eliminate the need for the door, but it would cut down on the traffic. She found Erin in the kitchen and explained the bridge idea. Erin nearly dropped the hot pan in surprise.

“Wait. Are you serious? Relc told me he had a bridge to sell me and I told him he was crazy! That’s actually a thing?”

“That’s right! Drassi says she knows someone who can get to work tomorrow. Do you think you’d be willing to pay for it?”

Erin thought about that for a moment. Then she reached for her money jar.

“How much?”