“Oh?” I said innocently, momentarily grating my teeth in annoyance at my own abilities. “I suppose it never came up, did it?” I chuckled and scratched the back of my head as I raced to create a believable story. “The blacksmith I worked with in Doram was originally from Lybesa, and he tended to speak Lybesian around the shop when customers weren’t around. I’m sure I sound a bit rusty; it’s been years since I needed to say more than a few words at a time.”
“You sound quite fluent to me,” Josephine snapped. “You’ve been spying on me this whole trip, haven’t you? Both of you, I’m sure!”
“Gran, stop it!” Miles cut in. “It’s not his fault that you assumed he couldn’t understand you!” He turned back to Lia and me and gave us each a small bow of her head. “Sorry. Her hip has been bothering her lately, and it’s putting her on edge, is all,” he apologized, giving his grandmother a sidelong glare.
“It’s no trouble,” I smiled. “Josephine, I’m sorry that I invaded your privacy. It was not my intent.” I spoke with halting emphasis in an attempt to make the words sound like uncertain Lybesian. She grumbled and looked away in response, and I breathed a small sigh of relief.
“Any other secret talents you’d like to reveal?” Layne asked playfully. “You know, something fun like juggling, or mind reading.”
Looks like the chef is making us eggs, Lia giggled at the back of my mind.
“I’m actually quite good at juggling,” I laughed, “but I’ll have to get back to you on the mind reading. If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know when we stop in to visit on our way back from Ellawynn.”
“So you’re actually coming!” he said excitedly. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like, you know. You can even swing by my forge if you’re feeling nostalgic for your apprentice days.” His eyes twinkled mischievously as he looked back and forth between Lia and me.
“We’ll have to see what the day brings,” I answered, ignoring the slight rush of warmth to my cheeks. “Depending on how long we end up staying, we could even visit the capital together. We could certainly use a couple of local guides.”
“Oh, that would be so fun!” Lia cut in, leaning forward on her elbows. “I’m sure you all know plenty of great places to visit in Ellawynn that normal tourists would miss.”
Her innocent statement sent Layne into an impassioned diatribe about the state of tourism in southern Lybesa; his list of grievances with the nobles that ran the Solarium Gardens and the specific regulations for visiting the famous Unity Cathedral fueled him until our food arrived. Lyn returned a few minutes later, bearing two room keys and a confirmation slip for their chartered wagon. When she heard the topic of conversation, she apologized profusely and attempted to calm her husband’s excited ranting, much to our amusement.
Lia and I enjoyed a lunch of poached eggs in a thick cream sauce, served atop a hearty slab of fresh bread. Lyn’s claim about the apple muffins turned out to be entirely correct; the crumbly treats were still warm from the oven and well-seasoned with fresh apples, cinnamon, and cloves. We stuffed ourselves with the sweet dessert as we discussed our plans for the next few days. Despite Lyn and Layne’s worries, we held firm in our decision to travel through the Midlands on foot, promising as sincerely as we could that we would be safe. While we didn’t explicitly detail our plans for hunting down the bandits that had ransacked Elise’s wagons, the combination of our impressive weaponry and total confidence seemed to put their minds at ease, and we eventually moved past the topic.
When the basket of muffins was empty, we all gathered our things and returned to the courtyard for a final goodbye. “Don’t forget, we’re the second road on your right heading north from Ellawynn, and then your third left after that,” Layne reminded us.
“Got it,” I said, absorbing the information for the third time since we had arrived in Lienna. “I can’t say for certain when we’ll be there, but expect us in...a little over a week, maybe?”
“Well, whenever you arrive, you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like,” Lyn offered.
“You’ve all been far too kind to us,” Lia answered. “Kind enough that I’m sure Lux is suspicious as to why.”
I laughed as I noticed her presence lingering in the back of my mind, correctly picking up on the continual feeling of confusion I felt every time Lyn or Layne continued to show their generosity. “She’s right,” I said. “I’m not sure what we’ve done to deserve your kindness, but I hope we get a chance to pay it back in the future.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Layne said, waving us off. “Given the season, we expected a long, quiet trip full of suspicious glances from a bunch of strangers. Lia’s greeting told us everything we needed to know about you two.”
“It didn’t hurt that you look like you can handle yourselves,” Miles added with a grin. “Traveling in groups is safer nowadays, especially if they’re armed and armored groups.”
Layne scratched his fingers through his beard. “I suppose that helped, too. But it was mostly the greeting, I promise!”
“If that’s the case, I’m glad I said hi!” Lia laughed. “It would have been a very boring trip so far if we hadn’t met you.” She stepped forward and gave Lyn a tight hug, then worked her way down the line, giving a quick hug to Layne and Miles before ending with a respectful nod to Josephine. I followed her example, with a firm handshake to each of the men and a light hug with Lyn.
“It was lovely to meet you both,” Miles said. “If we don’t cross paths again while you’re in the capital, you should come visit me in Almayn the next
