Page 62 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
“What did I tell you?” Val whispered, slipping a hand around hers. “You’ve found your hearth.”
‘Thank you,” Sass said, even though her voice cracked. “Youdon’t have to do this, but I couldn’t have picked a better crew than all of you.”
Pip’s smile was incandescent as he elbowed his brother. “Bless the stars! Did you hear that? We’re finally part of a crew.”
As the group shuffled toward the village square, Thrain hurried up and fell in step, still shaking off sleep.
“Where have you been?” Sass asked.
“Late start,” her friend said with his gaze fixed ahead. “I overslept.”
Vaskel gave the dwarf a once-over. “Glad you joined us. We need our whole crew on a day like today.”
Thrain gave a brusque nod to the Tiefling, his cheeks reddening with pleasure. “I never miss the chance to fight alongside friends.”
Sass hid her smile, but Thrain considering the motley villagers his friends might have been one of the more surprising parts of her morning—and that was saying something.
Forty-Seven
As honoredas Sass was to have so many of her friends and villagers joining her, she hadn’t fully appreciated the sound of so many people walking through the forest. Even with Vaskel and Cali moving in front of the group with considerable stealth, Klaff and Vorto couldn’t help crushing the dry leaves beneath their massive orc feet. Surprisingly, Erindil’s battle ostrich made almost no sound as he walked alongside the elf, delicately placing each two-toed foot on the ground.
Not to mention, Tinpin was seemingly powerless to suppress his nervous muttering.
“It’s quite shady in here, isn’t it?” he said in a stage whisper to Pip. “Quite shady indeed.”
“We aren’t supposed to talk,” Fenni hissed, putting one of his cheese knives to his lips and nearly slicing into himself.
Even though Val was clearly on high alert, Sass caught the twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth. “Not you too.”
Val flattened her lips and regained her solemn expression. “Say what you will about our group, we have the element of surprise.”
Sass stole a look at Glen, who boasted a harness that lookedmore like a jeweled headdress. “If you mean the dwarves will be stunned by the makeup of our armed party, then I agree.”
Vaskel held up a clenched fist, and Cali whispered, “Almost to the camp.”
This only made Pip bounce more and Tin drop his scissors. Sass touched her thumb to the ring, which was prickling just like it had the first time she’d come searching for Florin. The dwarves were there, she was sure of it, but maybe their group had the element of surprise.
The trees thinned as they approached the outskirts of the clearing, but it was instantly apparent that they hadn’t snuck up on the search party. A full complement of armed guards waited with battle axes at the ready, and Florin stood in front of all of them.
“I didn’t expect you to bring company, my love."
Her gaze sought Sass, who stepped forward with Val close at her heels. “You never said to come alone.”
Florin’s jaw ticked, but she mustered a smile. “But I asked you to wear the amulet I gave you.”
“About that?—“
“The deal,” Florin interrupted with a swish of her hand, “was that you would wear the jewel I gifted you one final time in exchange for me leaving in peace and not demanding retribution from your clan.”
“That deal was based on the lie that you wanted everyone to believe.”
The redheaded dwarf flinched, and her guards shifted angrily. “What lie?”
“That you gave me a beautiful amulet crafted by your clan as a token of our bond, and that I broke that bond by running off with the amulet.”
Florin crossed her arms over her chain mail. “I hear no lie.”
Sass reached into her pocket and produced the velvet pouch. “You forgot to mention that you had a powerful mage or darkwizard cast a spell on the amulet. You never wanted me to wear it because it symbolized our bond. You needed me to wear it so you could control me.”
