A pot-bellied ogre with a sloping brow, huge nose, and dangling earlobes stood in front of the wooden stairs leading up to the Chime House porch, leaning on a metal cudgel. Virgil walked right up to the ogre and held up a folded card.
Virgil spoke words that Seth could not hear over the clangorous chimes. The ogre checked the card, then jerked his chin toward the porch. Virgil, Seth, and Merek climbed the stairs to the front door, and Virgil rapped the knocker.
A troll with yellow markings on his black scales opened the door. He had a fin down the center of his head that continued along his neck and back. The troll admitted them and closed the door, reducing the noisy chimes to a tuneless rustle.
“Do you have an appointment?” the troll asked.
“We’re meeting Sable in the Serenity Parlor,” Virgil said, showing his card to the troll.
“Excellent,” the troll said after a brief inspection of the card. “Sable is among our most valued clients. Put away your invitation and follow me.”
They climbed two sets of abnormally creaky stairs. Discreet signs along the way shared messages like “Stay Where You Belong” and “No Admittance without a Guide.” At the top of the stairs, they turned down a hallway where every step sounded like a tap on a bongo drum.
“Hard to sneak around in here,” Seth said.
“You have no idea,” the troll said in a snide tone. He stopped in front of a wooden sliding door. “The Serenity Parlor lies beyond. One of our finest spaces.” He indicated a rope that disappeared into a hole in the ceiling. “When the time comes to depart, pull this cord and wait for a guide. Should you attempt to navigate these halls unescorted, you will be promptly mauled by whisper hounds.”
“Understood,” Virgil said.
The troll gestured at the door and backed away. “Your encounter awaits.”
Virgil slid the door aside. The floor of the room beyond was lower than the hall and immersed in a thin layer of water that ran from beneath the left-hand wall across the room to disappear under the wall on the right. The blades of one of the windmills zoomed by outside the lone window. A long table awaited in the middle of the room, with a man and a woman seated on the far side. There were two empty chairs on the near side, plus additional chairs at the head and the foot. A candelabra with three candles burned in the center of the table.
The woman stood. She had short brown hair, parted stylishly on one side, and wore a fashionable red dress with a dark blazer over it. “Welcome. Call me Sable. This is my associate, Basil.”
Basil was a lean man with angular features, dressed in a dark suit. His black hair was slicked back, and he sported a little tuft of whiskers on the tip of his chin.
“Wet room,” Seth said.
“You may want to remove your shoes,” Sable said. “You can place them in the bin just inside the door. Virgil, I believe you told me to expect one companion in addition to Calvin.”
Seth and Merek crouched and started removing their shoes.
“He made a new friend,” Virgil said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Calvin?” Sable asked. “Do you vouch for him?”
“You bet I do,” Calvin said.
“Any friend of Calvin’s,” Sable said.
As Seth waded into the room, lukewarm water sloshed against his bare feet. He placed his shoes in the bin on top of black dress shoes and a pair of high heels. Merek added his boots as well.
Seth and Virgil crossed to the table and sat down. Merek moved the chair from the head of the table so he could sit beside Seth.
“This is one of the most secure places in all of Humburgh,” Sable said. “I am true to my employer, but that doesn’t mean I want him to hear every word I speak.”
“Not even Humbuggle can hear us here?” Seth asked.
“Nor can he enter the room without being detected,” Sable said. “The running water prevents him from appearing in disguise or entering invisibly.”
“Is he often in disguise?” Seth asked.
Sable laughed. “Oh, you’re charming! Dear boy, Humbuggle is always prowling about in disguise. Are you new to town?”
“I’ve been here a couple of days,” Seth said.
“On your first day you undoubtedly met him,” Sable said. “He pays pointed attention to newcomers. Most who visit Humburgh encounter him several times unawares.”
Seth looked left and right. “He isn’t any of us.”
“At least not right now,” Sable said.
“Is she here?” Calvin asked.
“Serena wanted to see you before showing herself,” Sable said.
Seth set Calvin on the table. “Serena?” Calvin called. “It’s me. I’ve come a long way to find you.”
“I told you to wait for me,” came a voice from the breast pocket of Sable’s jacket.
“Serena?” Calvin exclaimed.
A pretty little face peeked up from Sable’s pocket. She had honey-blonde hair and animated blue eyes. “Of course it’s me.”
Calvin grinned from ear to ear, placed both hands over his chest, then flung his arms wide. “Finally!”
“You promised to stay with the others until I finished the assignment,” Serena said. “What I’m doing takes time, and it’s extremely dangerous.”
“Serena, I was waiting, and would have kept waiting, except I found the champion,” Calvin said.
“You did?” Serena asked.
“Seth,” Calvin said, presenting him with both arms.
“He killed Graulas?” Serena asked doubtfully.
“With Vasilis,” Calvin said. “And he promised to help break the curse. But he lost his memories. He’s still helping, though.”
“I’ve met Virgil and Calvin,” Sable said. “We still lack some introductions.”
“I’m Seth Sorenson. And this is Fenrick.”
One of the candles in the candelabra went out, a thin ribbon of smoke curling up from the charred wick. Sable glanced at it. “Whoops. Who is he really?”
“What did the candle tell you?” Seth asked.
“They protect us all from lies,” Sable said, using one of the other candles to relight the candle that had gone out. “Giants are so skillful at truth magic.”
“I’m Merek. But
