Cinnamon Roll ~ heavenly frosted cinnamon pastry—4 bits
Thimblets ~ crunchy nut & fruit delicacies—2 bits
*
FINER TASTES FOR THE
~ WORKING GENT & LADY ~
As Viv watched Tandri chalk in some snowflakes with a flourish, she felt that old crawling sensation on her back and couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder. She half-expected to find Fennus’s humorless smile at the window.
An old saying came to her unbidden:
The poisoned cup foretells the poisoned blade.
20
As Viv returned from a lunchtime break, thumbing through a chapbook she’d bought, she paused near the table out front. She glanced at the one-sided chess game in progress, then at the little old gnome studying it. “This seat taken?” she asked.
“Not at all!” He smiled at her and gestured toward the chair.
Viv slid it out and sat, placing her book on the table. She offered her hand over the top of the board, mindful not to upset the pieces. “Viv,” she said.
“Durias,” replied the old man, shaking her forefinger with his tiny, knobbly hand. He carefully sipped the drink before him. “I must say, Idoenjoy your wonderful establishment. Real gnomish coffee? Never thought I’d taste it again. In my day, you couldn’t get it so easily, even in the bigger cities like Radius or Fathom. And to find it here? Well. A rare pleasure.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Viv. “Glad it passes muster.”
“Oh, indeed. And these pastries?” He waved one of Thimble’s confections. “An inspired pairing.”
“Can’t take any credit for that, but I’ll pass it on.”
Durias crunched into the Thimblet and closed his eyes in appreciation.
“So,” said Viv, shifting in her seat. “You don’t have to answer, but my friend in there is going crazy over your chess game.” She pointed at Tandri, who was looking at her suspiciously from behind the counter.
“Really?”
“She swears you never move the other pieces. She’s been trying to catch you doing it and says she never has.”
“Oh, I definitely move them.” The gnome nodded.
“Youdo?”
“Certainly. But I did it a long time ago,” he said, as if that made any sense at all.
“I’m sorry?”
“You know,” said Durias, without clarifying in any way whatsoever, “I used to be an adventurer like you. I’malsoa retiree, now.”
“I, uh….”
“You’ve found a very peaceful place here. A special place. You’ve planted something, and now it’s blossoming. Very nice. A good spot to rest. My thanks to you for letting an old-timer shade under the branches of what you’ve grown.”
Viv’s mouth hung open. She hadn’t a clue how to respond to that.
The moment passed as Durias cried, “Ah,thereyou are!”
Amity stalked around the corner and deigned to allow the gnome to scratch behind her enormous ears. She stared balefully at Viv, then curled around the base of the table. The gnome rested his feet on her back, where they were lost in tangles of sooty fur. “What a marvelous animal,” he said, with real admiration.
