CHAPTER 116 So What Did I Miss?

CHAPTER 116

So What Did I Miss?

Brownie

Minstrel Bronwynn, Lady Amy, and Queen Henrietta all sat round a table at Brownie’s inn.

The bard had arrived late to her two-hour show, and was only able to play for one hour of her set.

It was better than the alternative, being eaten by a grimalcat.

“Keith found me a magical door for our rooms!” Henrietta downed an entire jug of beer, slamming it down at the end of her story. The fluffy brown-haired ruler of all evil had found Brownie at the end of the show and dragged her off for lunch. “Now, I don’t need to summon maids to fetch me things or wander the halls in my housecoat! Our closets are connected.”

“That’s perfect. Now you’ll stop waking me up, coming and going every time I visit,” Brownie teased her friend. The queen’s suite of rooms had an office, wardrobe, private bath, lounge, entry, and a spare room for a maid or visiting family. Technically, if the queen ever took a lover, it could be used for that as well, but Henrietta and Keith were so in love she couldn’t see it happening in this reign.

Keith’s mother, however, had been known to have a few lovers, and no one knew who King Keith’s father was.

Lady Amy sighed. “As for me, I’ve memorized all of the laws you sent me, and I’m standing up for my free time!”

“That’s wonderful, Amy.” Henrietta beamed at the elf saintess.

“Even today.” Lady Amy nodded. “I’ve had to stand at the dungeon door as a figurehead before, praying from the beginning of the festival until the end. It was the worst . ”

Brownie took the last bite of her garlic-and-cheese twist. She’d ordered a creamy pesto and herb pasta with baked floofpoof bird, and was almost finished with the delicious spread. Then the bard had a thought.

“Is this a ceremony to Lithnilheim required by the Dark Enchanted Forest itself? Will the forest be angry that you didn’t stand there—not saying that you should!” Brownie quickly added, not trying to dampen the elf’s happiness. “I’m just saying that after last night, I wouldn’t want the forest upset.”

“Lithnilheim does not care one whit about me standing there like an idiot for twelve hours while everyone celebrates late into the night,” Lady Amy declared, sounding very sure of herself.

“How do you know?” Henrietta asked, curious. She grabbed a handful of nuts from a bowl on their table and started munching.

“Because he told me.” Lady Amy shrugged. “I let him know when I thanked him last night, and he pretty much said that me not overworking myself was great, and I should have a wonderful time enjoying the festival for once. Isn’t that so sweet?”

“Very.” The bright smile and shining eyes of the young elf maiden made Brownie chuckle. She was talking about a dungeon boss monster who ate people, but honestly, that was very generous of the forest. The workplace regulations for Drendil were nonexistent the last time Brownie checked—though that was changing under the new leadership. Servalt and Peldeep had very guild-based economies that included most people living their jobs. Only North Sumbria and the Dark Enchanted Forest had so many benefits designed for the everyday working creature.

“Besides,” Lady Amy added, “Lithnilheim will be enjoying playing with the adventuring parties today, since they’ll be letting anyone in to challenge the dungeon.”

That, as Brownie knew, was a part of the fun of the festival. Every few hours, adventurers would exit the dungeon and bring with them strange treasures, and show off whatever unique find they’d managed to snag. Henrietta had even mentioned her hope to compete before dinnertime.

“What about you, Brownie?” Henrietta waggled her eyebrows, glancing at the bard’s ring finger. “How are things going with you and Rufus?”

“You mean aside from you hiring him to stalk me?” Brownie asked with pretend sweetness.

The queen had the grace to look bashful. “Technically, I was sending him to prove your innocence—which he did .”

“That he did,” Brownie smiled warmly and then flashed everyone her left hand. “And I’d say we are doing just fine.”

“Is that?!” Henrietta leaned forward to admire the ring, while Lady Amy said, “Oh my, congratulations Brownie! ”

At that point, Gerda hurried into the pub. She was wearing a white dress with beautiful magnolia-print flowers on the hem of the skirt and the same flowers woven into a crown on top of her loose flowing green hair. Brownie had never seen the troll’s hair down before, and it fell like tight waves from the braids all the way down to her thighs. Henrietta was also dressed up for the day, wearing a light blue summer dress and matching bow in her hair. Brownie was wearing a red dress and vest, with her lyre harp on a strap hung over her shoulder.

The troll pulled up a chair to a chorus of welcomes. “So, what did I miss?”

“Brownie got engaged to Rufus, Lady Amy got the go-ahead from the spirit of the Dark Enchanted Forest to enjoy the festival instead of standing around praying all day, and I am happily married,” Henrietta paraphrased.

“His Viciousness made a door connecting their rooms.” Brownie laughed. “How about you, Gerda?”

“I’m doing alright.” The troll sighed. “I don’t care how much money it’s going to cost me; I’m not taking a single step onto my dumb bridge until after the festival.”

The rest of them shared a look.

Henrietta reached out and patted the troll woman on the arm. “That bad?”

“I had to reinforce six bridges so they wouldn’t float away in the floods, and actually hold off a young lord from Sumbria who was determined to make it to the festival. When I told him he was going to have to wait for the repairs first, he accused me of trying to eat him or something.” The troll rubbed her temple. “I barely managed to stabilize the bridge and magic him a riddle before he tried to run pass me. The bridge almost collapsed under us!”

“Wow,” Henrietta commiserated. “You never use your riddle magic, so I can imagine it must have been dreadful.”

“And worse !” Gerda dragged a hand down her green face, careful of her tusks. “He couldn’t solve it!”

“What was the riddle?” Lady Amy leaned forward, intrigued.

“I was angry and gave him a harder one,” the bridge troll admitted, looking sheepish.

“What Binds the Day to the Sun,

And Turns out Night into Space,

What Holds the Stars in the Sky,

What keeps the Moon in her place.”

The table was quiet, though Brownie thought she knew. Lady Amy asked the question, so she answered first. “The gods?”

Gerda shook her head .

Brownie smiled, and so did Henrietta. They shared a knowing look, and both said, “Gravity.”

The bard didn’t want to say that it was actually pretty easy if you had any experience with gravity magic, but she only had that experience because overcoming gravity-based traps was a part of her assassin training.

“If everyone’s done eating.” Henrietta stood up. She gripped her hand and gave one excited fist pump. “Then let’s go to the festival! And don’t think you’re off the hook Brownie, I still want to hear everything about your proposal!”