Page 51

Fifty

Lute music greeted Lira as she stepped outside the tavern holding a tray of scones in one hand and a platter of baked apple dumplings in the other. Even though the sun had barely set, people were already milling about and drifting over the stone bridge toward the heart of the village. Luminaries spilled puddles of yellow light along both sides of the hardpacked dirt road, and even the bridge had been strewn with fabric pennants.

Her pulse quickened, and for a moment she was transported back to being a girl and walking to the Night Faires with her gran, her small hand nestled safely in the old woman’s soft one. She’d barely been able to contain her excitement as a child, skipping on her toes in place of walking. Her gran had only laughed at her, always letting her run ahead once they got close enough to the village center. There had been nothing like the joy of racing toward the festival, dust kicking up behind her feet and her hair flying.

Now her heart tripped for a different reason. Soon, she and Iris would sneak away and finally break through the stone wall in the tavern’s cellar. She would finally retrieve what she’d left behind, what she’d come home to find.

“There you are,” Sass said as she bustled up to her.

In honor of the occasion, Sass had wrapped her braid into a coil on top of her head. Her usual work dress had been replaced by a teal blouse made from a fine fabric with sheen and a smoke gray skirt that was gathered high on one side.

“You look nice,” Lira said as Sass took the trays from her.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I can clean up when the need arises.” She gave Lira a cursory glance. “I hope you don’t plan to come to the Night Faire covered in flour.”

Lira realized that she still wore her apron, even though she’d finished all her baking. “I guess I should change.”

She untied the apron from her waist, stepping away from Sass before shaking it. “How’s it looking?”

Sass held the two trays over her head. “I have to say, for an aboveground celebration, it’s not bad.”

“I take it dwarf parties are better?”

“There’s nothing like a celebration in an underground city with a thousand lights and the sound of drums echoing off the stone.” Sass sighed wistfully. “But this isn’t half bad.”

Laughter erupted from somewhere in the village center, followed by clapping.

“That must be the folks from Elmshire.” Sass glanced over her shoulder. “Word must have spread fast, either that or Pip and Fenni sent messages, because quite a few halflings are here, and one is an impressivly good juggler.”

“I can’t wait to see.” Lira took a moment to hang her apron on one of the coat hooks inside the front door of the tavern and then smoothed down the front of her burgundy dress. It wasn’t as fancy as what Sass was wearing, but it would have to suffice.

Sass handed her back the platter of apple dumplings as they walked toward the village center. As they got closer, the music grew louder, and more villagers crowded the main road. She spotted the halflings Sass had mentioned, as well as a few groups of gnomes, a handful of orcs, and the pair of ogres who’d delivered the chairs. Not to mention, a sizable number of humans and at least one satyr.

As expected, Pip had set out a table in front of his store, and the smell emanating from the trays and stands arranged on it almost made Lira’s knees wobble.

“Those aren’t lemon sweet rolls,” she said reverently, detecting an entirely different flavor profile.

“They’re not.” Pip stood behind his table, still wearing his apron, a prodigious amount of flour in his hair, and a smudge of something dark on one cheek. “They’re called doughnuts.”

Lira eyed the rings of dough that were stacked high. One stack was glazed in something dark and glossy while another shone like glass. Yet another was covered in so much glittering sugar that her teeth ached looking at it. The warm, yeasty aroma pulled a moan from her lips. “Why doughnuts? Why not dough rings?”

Pip lifted one small shoulder. “Don’t ask me. It’s a gnomish delicacy all the way from the Skittering Islands.”

A child rushed up and handed Pip a copper bit. “One of the dark ones, please.”

“One chocolate doughnut.” Pip beamed as he used a translucent square of paper to pluck one of the darkly glazed treats from the top of its pile and hand it to the child.

“Chocolate,” Lira murmured. She’d heard of chocolate. It was rare and, like Pip said, hailed from the Skittering Islands.

“Try one.” Pip used another paper square to take a doughnut from the pile and hand it to Lira .

Lira patted her pockets, realizing she didn’t have a coin on her. “I don’t…”

The halfling flapped his free hand at her. “On the house.” Then he gave her a mischievous wink. “As long as you set one of those apple pastries aside for me.”

Lira bit into the doughnut, groaning with pleasure at the rich flavor of the chocolate and yeasty soft dough as she chewed. “Consider it done.”

Pip bounced on his heels and gave her a wave as she took sugar-stunned steps to follow Sass. Fenni was deep in conversation with a halfling couple debating the merits of a soft versus hard cheese with whipped honey from Elmshire. Instead of a table displaying his wares, Tin had created a stall filled with long ribbon wands for people to wave. Lira already spotted several children running with the colorful ribbons trailing behind them like dragon tails.

Then she reached Sass, who had all the baked goods from the tavern displayed on a table in front of the apothecary shop. Iris stood behind it, her smile tentative.

“No one wants to buy a poultice or talk about their maladies during the Night Faire,” Sass said by way of explanation.

“Oh, I’m sure they do, pet,” Iris corrected. “I just don’t wish to hear about it tonight.” She gave Lira a pointed look. “I have other things to do.”

Lira pivoted to peer at the people laughing and gathering around the stone monument in the village center and spilling into the illuminated market. A juggling halfling walked past with several children following him, and Lira spotted a lute player busking in the corner outside the potter’s shop.

Cali sauntered up chewing one of Pip’s doughnuts, this one with clear glaze. “That baker outdid himself.” Then she sniffed the air and followed the scent to the tray of apple dumplings that Sass was arranging on the table. “I guess both bakers did.”

“Thanks, Cal.” Lira looked over the Tabaxi’s shoulder. “Where’s Vaskel? ”

“He’s not charming the ladies, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Sass said.

That had been what Lira had been thinking. She scoured the crowds, looking for the Tiefling’s distinctive skin. His task was to keep the wyvern occupied, but Vaskel had been known to get distracted before. Lira recalled one quest when he’d done such a good job of keeping the lady of the manor distracted that he’d ended up in her bed. At least the guards had been too busy chasing him to notice Lira slinking from the vault with pockets filled with jewels.

Finally, Lira spotted the Tiefling on the outskirts of the crowd with Rygor dogging his steps. How had he managed to get the wyvern to follow him ?

“Your Tiefling friend is as clever as he is smoldering.” Iris said, taking a copper bit from a pink-haired gnome in exchange for an apple dumpling. “He stuffed his pockets with gold to keep the wyvern’s attention on him.”

Lira took a final bite of the doughnut. “And Durn?”

Sass extended a finger to where the tavernkeeper was walking next to Penny, bending down to laugh at something she’d said. “Both of them received lovely notes inviting the other to meet at the town square.”

Cali crossed a hand at her waist and bowed. “I outdid myself, if I do say so.”

Lira licked her sticky fingers and surveyed the crowd, the butterflies awakening in her belly. “It’s all going according to plan.”