Chapter 3: 3 - An order

By the next day, Lady Hawthorne was her usual jolly self again, maybe even unusually so. When Amir arrived he noticed her already going from table to table, talking with all the regulars. She also wore fine travel clothes rather than any of her usual dresses. That being said, he went to order first.

“So, what will it be?” Gramma Rose greeted him with a smile by the counter.

“Apple pie today, I think,” Amir said. “And one breadcoli.”

“Pff,” Rose laughed, caught off guard. “Breadcolli, huh? Maybe I should call it that officially. Credit you for the name, even.”

“I… do not require such acclaim,” Amir paled slightly. He did not need that attached to his name.

“Just kidding, just kidding,” she laughed again, stacking his order on a plate. “Here, the pie is still hot.”

“Thank you,” he smiled then went to a small table to eat. He was not even done with the broccoli bread by the time Hawthorne got around to him.

“Amir! No time for small talk, I have news!” she said, sitting down opposite to him.

“I am an ever-attentive listener,” Amir offered.

“You could be normal and just say something like ‘I am all ears’,” the Lady squinted at him.

“Lady Hawthorne, I see you are not as opposed to small talk as you had implied,” he shot her his best crooked grin.

“Hush, I do actually have an important thing to share,” she shook her head. “I will be leaving town tonight.”

“On such short notice?” Amir asked, eyebrow raised. “What happened?”

“I am on official business by our dear Count,” she said. “But sucker forgot to swear me into secrecy. So I am telling as many people as I can before he remembers.”

“Isn’t that…” he wanted to say illegal but that did not quite fit. He paused for a moment, thinking. “Consequential for you? The Count is known to have a mighty temper.”

“The lad can try having it in front of me,” Lady Hawthorne just snorted. “I remember enough forgotten embarrassments to bury him twice. For example: Did you know that 35 years ago when he was first introduced to court by his father, our Count used to have a massive stammer? You see…”

“I feel like hearing any more could put my life in jeopardy,” Amir admitted. He did not share the woman’s fearlessness. Though he half hoped she would continue in spite of his complaint - pointless or not, knowledge was knowledge.

“Fine, fine, my news then,” she shrugged. “People have been disappearing at the edge of the woods in the west. Just a few, spread across multiple villages, but around the same time and area. Too many to be a coincidence.”

“Something wandering in from the depths?” Amir guessed. “Or perhaps ursine hunters? It would still be strange though, the bear-folk are notoriously isolationist.”

“Most likely the latter, yes,” Hawthorne nodded. “So, I am being saddled with a few teams of adventurers to figure things out.”

“Why you?” Amir asked.

“Do my qualifications seem lacking?” she squinted.

“I cannot judge what I am ignorant of,” Amir deflected.

“Me because the Count needed someone who can actually wrangle dangerous mercenaries and won’t collapse within a week without a butler and a personal cook,” she explained. “But also someone from his court so he gets more credit. Hardly the first time the lad has done this.”

“The Count thinks highly of you then,” he decided to appease with a compliment. “I do have to wonder why you would try to so openly anger him though.”

“Because I am hoping it’s just some stupid uppity clan that decided to try poaching a few humans to round out their crumbling diet after kin had driven them out of old hunting grounds,” she looked him into the eyes, an edge entering the stare. “You are a good kid, Amir. If I return with a horde of claw and fur on my stench, I want you to not freeze in shock while they run at you.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I… appreciate the warning. Thank you,” Amir carefully said, unsure what to think about such disturbing yet sincere words.

“Think nothing of it, it’s the least I can do,” she waved it off, glancing into the room. It just so happened that another elf entered the bakery at the time. Not one Amir knew by name but recognized by the cloak covering her as one of Hawthorne’s closer friends - at least seemingly from the time they often spent together at one table. “Anyway, gotta go. Enjoy your breadcoli.”

She then skipped away to the latest arrival, who seemed in the middle of incredibly annoyed and overjoyed at seeing her. Amir finished his food without being approached again, then promptly left. He was not quite late for his afternoon shift at the workshop, but it wouldn’t do to dally. A thought only occurred to him halfway back though:

“How did she even know about my pun?” he muttered under his breath.

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Rose watched Hawthorne depart with a spring in her step. It would do her some good to hunt once in a while and this was a good excuse to get away from court. Thorn had settled into that life, it did not mean she had ever fully embraced it. Gramma's eyes followed the elf outside the door, catching the slightest hint of green. She did not flinch, nor even react in any way. She already knew, obviously. They had been watching her on and off for at least 3 days now. Rose was aging but not enough to not notice that. The chronic pain in her left knee did not mean she had fully lost her edge.

They were planning something, however many might be involved. Hopefully, it was just an overly ambitious gang rather than something on scale. For all she knew it was inevitable, she hoped the late king’s folly would not catch up to them for a few decades yet.

Obviously, she could not quite go to the guard - they would not understand and just tell her off at best. Yet it was a bit too early to act. Perhaps she was getting soft but nipping problems in the bud was often more trouble than the actual issue she was preventing. If she were to defend herself, Rose needed the other side to attack first. So, she did not reach for the long knife sheathed beneath the counter, nor for any other means. Instead, she put on a smile. Not that it needed much help or deception - it came to her naturally, even through grim thoughts. Grief and joy were not mutually exclusive, not to Rose at least. She approached her cloaked elven friend.

“How have you been, Holly?” Rose sat down. Holly was tall, though you often couldn’t tell because of how she hunched her back beneath that cloak. As ever, there was a scowl on her face - more out of habit than actual mood. She was the kind of recluse who had figured out that looking perpetually annoyed kept most people from talking to them. Not old friends though.

“Don’t say my name so loud,” the elf snapped, though with no heat behind it.

“It is not that rare of a name,” Rose smiled.

“I am…” Holly started.

“...wearing the glamour for a reason,” the baker finished for her, rolling her eyes. “What do you make of Thorn going?”

“Not much. I had to re-stitch her bow, though,” the elf sighed. “Spent a whole day on it. Now I am behind schedule on refuting idiots.”

“You should get a secretary,” Rose opined.

“If you find one willing to flip off bother-bodies with armed escorts, send her my way,” she rolled her eyes.

“Now I feel bad about what I am about to ask you for,” Rose shuffled a bit. “May I… offer you a breadstick as a bribe?”

“I have just finished eating,” Holly muttered. “Out with it.”

“Could you check all my wards are in working condition and untampered with?”

“It will give me either a headache or take hours,” the elf frowned. “Do you have any idea how complicated your setup is? It should not start decaying for months yet…”

“It is important,” Rose moved her hand subtly. Not much but her middle and index fingers went to form a distinct ‘V’ shape on the table. Her friend’s eyes glanced down for the slightest moment. Then there were no more complaints. “Subtly, please.”

“Ugh, fine,” Holly grunted. “I will get to it, then. But I am getting free food for the next week.”

“You literally earn more than everything I own every month,” Rose feigned outrage with a smile.

“Please, don’t remind me of work on my time off,” her friend waved the remark away. Then Holly's eyes glazed over while Rose kept watch, ready to snap her back into the present. It was only natural to do as much.

Holly seemed as subtle as ever. Looking around she watched the arcanist boy, Amir, leave without noticing anything off. Neither could Rose. She had no understanding of the Nera or the underside of things arcane. But she did know what her wards did, if they still functioned, that is.

“I will need to do a final check in the back but everything seems pristine,” Holly’s gaze regained luster after five minutes, one hand rising to rub her temple. “Completely untampered with. Unless you suspect someone unreasonably skilled. Do you?”

“No, you have already put my mind at ease.”

“Will you tell me what it’s about?”

“Do you want to know?” Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Only if it could kill you,” Holly admitted.

“Then you are fine not knowing,” she laughed. “No one is getting a jump on me while awake for a few years yet.”

“Let me check the core, then I have to go,” Holly sighed. “Keep yourself safe.”

“Keep yourself out of trouble,” Rose shot back. “And remember: No one is worth killing over being annoying.”

“I should put that on a sign,” Holly fought down a slight smile. “Maybe it would make some of them think at least once before speaking.”