“Hello,” Chuck drawled. “I’m waiting.”
“I’m working,” Lily said. “Be patient.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt.” I raised my hands. “I can come back.”
“It’s fine,” Lily said. “Chuck’s just here because it’s a full moon tonight.”
“Does the full moon affect… gnomes?” I cleared my throat. “I thought that was more of a werewolf thing.”
Chuck scoffed. Lily gave a happy laugh, winking at me as she lit a flame midair and set a small beaker hovering above it. She tipped some of the purple liquid into it as it started to bubble.
“The full moon doesn’t physically change us, not like you’re thinking. We just honor and celebrate the full moon,” Chuck said. “We have a party in the Grove of Gnomes. It’s a cultural thing.”
“It’s an excuse to stay up all night and eat and drink,” Lily said cheekily, with a grin at her friend. “Chuck loves a good party.”
“I get indigestion from all the eating and drinking,” Chuck admitted. “That’s why I’m here. Lily makes me this really nice elixir that calms the intestines.”
“Couldn’t you just not eat so much if it’s that big of a problem?”
“No.” Chuck frowned at me like I was a real idiot. “It’s aparty. That’s sort of the point.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know.”
The way Lily’s face contorted, I could tell she wanted to smile, but she suppressed it for Chuck’s sake.
“There.” Lily patted her potion vial lovingly. “Give it a few minutes to simmer, and I’ll top it off with the aloe. Do you prefer mint or lemon verbena essence this time?”
“Chocolate?” Chuck asked hopefully.
“I can try, but it might be bitter. You might have to take it with a spoonful of honey.”
“I can do that,” Chuck said. “I like honey.”
Lily came around the table and perched in front of me. “What can I help you with today, Alessia?”
“I wanted to follow up on our conversation yesterday and see if you’d gotten the chance to ask Gus about any manuscripts he might have that could be useful to me.”
“Oh, right! Yes. I told him about that yesterday. He usually gets right on that sort of thing. Go on out to the shop, and he’ll get you sorted.”
I was just turning to step out of the room when something dawned on me. I faced Chuck and asked, “What is it about the full moon that’s so special to the gnomes?”
“Huh?” Chuck looked like nobody had ever asked this question before.
“You said that the full moon is very important to gnomish culture. I’m just curious what makes it so special,” I said. “Obviously, I’m new here, so I don’t understand many of these things. I’m trying to learn about different types of magic and rituals.”
“Oh. Right. Well, we gnomes are very spiritual. We like to get in touch with the spirit realms.”
“There are spirit realms?” I glanced at Lily for confirmation.
“We don’t know for certain,” Chuck said. “I’ve never been there, for starters. But it’s pretty common knowledge that there are other realms. Like the underworld, for example. Nobody really goes to the underworld for a visit, so nobody can say where it is or how to get there, but it’s generally believed to exist.”
“I see.”
“We believe that on the night of a full moon, the barriers between worlds are at their natural thinnest. It’s easier to commune with the spirits. There are good spirit planes too, not just the bad ones. We offer sacrifices for good health and wealth during our full moon ceremonies.”
“What types of sacrifices?” I felt my mouth grow dry. “People sacrifices?”
“Of course not. This isn’t the dark ages,” Chuck said. “We offer things like food or precious possessions.”
