Page 47

Forty-Six

Lira blew a strand of hair off her forehead as she pulled a tray of hand pies from the oven, setting in on the top with a clatter. She fed Crumpet an overly browned corner of crust as he sat patiently on the counter, his soft chittering providing a comforting backdrop.

Then the doors swung open, Crumpet flew to the hanging copper pots, and Sass strode into the kitchen.

“They’re here.”

The dwarf didn’t need to explain further. They were Cali and Iris, and as previously planned, they’d come to try Iris's solvent to dissolve the mortar.

“Cal is keeping Durn distracted at the bar while Iris sneaks down below.”

Knowing Durn, Cali had the harder task.

Lira wiped her hands on the front of her apron and gestured to the cooling pies. “The second batch is ready, so I’m going to pop down with Iris.”

Sass bustled forward and used the knit short scarves to move the hand pies from the hot pans to a large wooden tray. “I’ll get these served while you two try your luck downstairs. Folks who are busy eating and drinking are plenty distracted.”

Lira hoped she was right. She met Iris outside the cellar door, and Sass passed them on her way to the great room with the tray held overhead. Iris held a lantern at the ready, and her dress pockets bulged.

Iris gave Lira a solemn nod, and the two former rogues opened the door and slunk downstairs. They made quick work of getting to the corner of the cellar, with Lira too nervous to pay much mind to the fetid odor and dank cold this time.

Iris emitted a disapproving sound when she saw the mortar on the ground. “No rat did that.”

She produced a brown glass bottle from her pocket and then a rag from her other pocket. “Don’t stand too close to me. This might make you lightheaded.”

Lira took a step back as Iris uncapped the bottle and poured a generous amount of solvent on the rag. She pressed the wet cloth to the mortar, burying her nose in the crook of her arm.

The sharp chemical smell bit the back of Lira’s throat even though she wasn’t close to the wall. She put a hand over her nose and mouth as she battled the urge to cough.

After a few minutes, Iris tossed the cloth on the ground and stepped back. “It isn’t working.”

Lira blinked rapidly as she leaned closer to the wall. “Not even a little bit?”

“Not enough.” Iris waved her hands in front of her face. “The amount we’d need to use to dissolve it might kill us. ”

Lira was sure her gran would not want her and Iris dying over the spell book.

“I brought something else in case the solvent didn’t work.” Iris reached into her apparently bottomless pockets and pulled out a chisel.

Lira had barely opened her mouth to register hesitation when Iris thrust the sharp end into the mortar. The sound was anything but quiet, but bits of the mortar did flake away.

“When there’s a will…” Iris muttered, striking the point into the mortar again, the metal clanging as it slipped and struck one of the stones.

Overhead, someone belted out what was undeniably a sea shanty. Lira put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, knowing exactly who it was.

Quick footfall descended the steps behind them, and Cali’s voice cut through the darkness. “What’s going on down here?”

Iris paused with the chisel suspended in mid-air. “Can you hear me?”

Cali stepped into the circle of warm light. “Why else do you think Sass is leading everyone in a song? A very strange song, I might add.”

“I think she makes up her own sea shanties,” Lira said.

“Goblin’s spawn.” Iris stamped her foot and stepped back from the wall. “We’re going to need a bigger distraction.”

“Bigger than a dwarf leading the tavern in song?”

Iris gave the wall a grim look. “If we want to get through all that mortar and rock without poor Sass running out of breath.”

Or without Rygor catching wind of unusual sounds coming from the tavern’s cellar. If the wyvern was the one who’d tried to get through the wall, he’d be watching for anything suspicious.

“Maybe we should do it when the tavern is empty,” Cali suggested.

“That means we’d have to get Durn off the premises.” Lira wasn’t sure how possible that was, considering how much the man slept. “It also means anyone passing by could hear the racket.”

“Like Rygor,” Iris muttered.

Cali swung her head from rogue to rogue. “Who’s Rygor? ”

Iris made a disapproving sound in the back of her throat. “The wyvern reeve.”

Cali’s ears twitched. “Vaskel mentioned him—not favorably, I should add.”

“He knows there’s gold on the premises,” Lira said, “but he doesn’t know where.”

Iris flicked a hand at the mortar on the ground. “Or maybe he does.”

Lira’s pulse spiked at the thought of the greedy beast getting his claws on her gold or her gran’s book. “We have to get through the wall before he does.”

“But when?” Cali’s tail swished behind her as she paced a small circle. “There’s never a time when this village isn’t peaceful and quiet.”

Iris's face brightened. “You are a genius, love.”

“I am?” Cali looked to Lira, but the woman could only lift her shoulders.

“The village wasn’t always so quiet, especially not during festivals,” Iris said.

Lira snapped her fingers. “Does Wayside still have Night Faires?”

Iris's smile slipped, and there was sadness in her eyes. “Not in a long time.”

“Night Faires?” Cali asked.

“Celebrations that used to be held one night a month, on the night of the new moon. Luminaries lit the roads, the market was open and lit by lanterns, the shops set up outside, and special vendors sold decorated paper lanterns.”

“There was music and dancing and then at midnight, all the paper lanterns were released into the sky,” Iris added.

“Sounds like a good distraction,” Cali said.

There was a determined glint in Iris's eyes. “Now we just have to convince the village it’s time for another one.”

Lira thought about the moon cycle. “And plan it in two days.”