Page 35 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
Sass quirked her lips. “That one was from my gran. No one could swing a pickaxe like she could.”
Lira shook her head. “I think our grans were very different.”
Sass laughed, glad for a distraction from her own gnawing worry. She tried not to think that somewhere out there, possibly getting closer with each passing hour, were Florin and her hunting party. If she didn’t love her friends and Wayside so dearly, she would have run already.
A smile tugged at her mouth as they turned the corner and she took in her beloved adopted village. As she knew it would, Waysidewas transforming into something magical for the upcoming festival.
Orange and gold pennants fluttered like sun-burnished leaves across the main road, their vibrant colors catching the morning sunlight and casting dancing shadows across the well-worn path. Sass knew it was the skilled handiwork of the village haberdasher.
Perched on the top rungs of ladders, Korl and Val were coordinating their movements to attach more colorful streamers across the fabric awnings that shaded the shop windows. When Val glanced down and caught sight of them, offering a cheerful wave, Sass’s face flamed and she waved back perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.
Lira gave her an amused look that suggested she was about to say something when a familiar figure came rushing toward them with arms waving.
"Perfect timing! Perfect, perfect!” Tinpin called out, practically bouncing on his toes as he approached. It was his habit to repeat himself, and even moreso when he was excited. Streamers of green and russet fabric draped around his neck like colorful scarves, and amber and brown fabric pom-poms dangling from his arms like gaudy baubles. "As head of the decor committee, I simply must have your opinions on our look! I simply must!”
Sass glanced at Lira, who leaned close enough to whisper, "He's the only member of the committee. He created it himself."
Both Sass and Lira assured the gnome haberdasher that the decorations looked absolutely splendid and were perfect for a festival to celebrate the end of the summer and the harkening of autumn. His beaming smile and enthusiastic hand-rubbing suggested that they’d said precisely the right things.
"Excellent, excellent! I knew my instincts were spot on about the warmer palette. I just knew it.” He absently fluffed one of the fabric pom-poms. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must oversee the installation of the remaining streamers. The symmetry is crucial. Absolutely crucial.”
He bustled off, leaving Sass and Lira shaking their heads as they continued through the bustling village.
Near the cheese shop, they spotted Fenni setting up a wooden table outside his establishment. The finely dressed halfling was stacking wheels of cheese as if he was crafting an elaborate wedding cake with bunches of fresh herbs adorning the tiers like flowers.
"Are you partnering with the beekeeper again for special cheese and honey pairings?" Sass called out, remembering the successful collaboration from Night Faires.
Fenni's face lit up at the question. "Indeed, I am! She's created a special whipped pumpkin honey butter that pairs beautifully with one of my new Elmshire farm cheeses. The sweetness of the pumpkin and honey complements the sharp, nutty flavor of the aged cheese perfectly."
Lira's eyes brightened, and she touched a hand to her stomach. “Save some for us to try."
"Consider it done," Fenni assured them with a courtly bow. "And what culinary delights are you preparing for the festival? I heard rumors you've been experimenting with something special."
"It's a surprise," Lira said with a mysterious smile.
Fenni nodded knowingly and gestured toward his brother's bakery, where the windows were opaque with steam. "Just like Pip. He's been working all night on his festival creation. I haven't seen him this excited about a new recipe since he came up with his lemon sweet rolls."
“Something other than the pumpkin sweet rolls?” Lira asked.
Fenni rolled his eyes dramatically. “That’s what he says, but he’ll say only that.”
Sass's stomach rumbled audibly as the most delectable aromas seeped from the bakery—yeast and sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, and something she couldn’t place but that made her mouth water instantly. She made a mental note to visit Pip first thing when the festival officially started.
Lira nudged Sass, drawing her gaze to a familiar figure settingup luminaries along the road. Durn, the former barkeep and owner of The Tusk & Tail, was working alongside a petite gnome with lavender hair, the village chandler and his new wife, Penny.
“More evidence that you’re indispensable to the village,” Lira said under her breath as they waved at the couple that Sass had worked her matchmaking skills on.
Durn waved back with a grin wider than Sass had ever seen him wear during his days behind the tavern bar. The transformation was remarkable. Once he'd been surly and defeated, gnarled and bent by grief. Now he practically glowed with happiness and purpose as he helped Penny set out her beautiful, hand-cut luminaries for the festival.
"It's amazing how love can transform a person, isn't it?" Lira observed. No doubt the woman was also thinking about how her own life had changed when she found love with the shy orc guardsman.
But Sass was only half-listening to her friend's musings. A flash of something all too familiar caught her attention from the corner of her eye—the back of a squat figure ducking down a narrow alley just beyond the potter's workshop.
She could have sworn she'd left Thrain sleeping soundly in his room above the tavern, snoring loudly enough to wake the dead. So what was he doing sneaking around the village like he had something to hide?
As her mind began racing through unpleasant possibilities, Sass felt her chest tighten with a cold knot of dread. Either her best friend from home was keeping secrets from her—which would be completely unlike the dwarf she'd known since childhood—or that figure hadn't been Thrain at all.
One thing she knew for certain was that she’d just spotted a dwarf. Could Florin's advance scouts have found her already? Was her former fiancée’s hunting party closer thanshe'd dared to imagine?
