“Oh, I know,” Venthar said with a chuckle. “I simply wanted to bring you back to Toril, so you wouldn’t miss it.”
“Miss what?”
Venthar made a flourishing gesture to present the Kiss of Enduring Love, sparkling in its enormous silver setting. They were at the final display, draped so people climbing the stairs wouldn’t see it until the end. A single light shone down on it, soft as the light from a bright full moon. Saeldian still held their focus on their spell, and the sight of it made every muscle in their body go tense.
The gem glowed with magic. Part illusion, part divination, part enchantment, it was silvery lavender and rose and green all at once, but also not any of those things, because the color was not a shifting of three colors or even an undertone of one or the other. It was fey magic, imbued with great power, and magic glowed in the heart of the long, brilliant cut oval as if it could breathe.
Saeldian’s spell ended. The glow of fey magic faded. The gem was still beautiful, still hypnotic, but Saeldian missed the magical sight of it already. It was somehow not as large as they expected, but still too big to be a reasonable gem for a necklace. A crown? Again, it didn’t matter. It would fit in a pocket, if they could steal it.
“Well,” Venthar said. “What do you think?”
Saeldian caught Jubilee’s eye and bit their lip. They inhaled, sharp and short, through their nose.Get us away.They sighed and smiled at Venthar. “I have no words. I never imagined such a thing.”
Jubilee got the message. “Helarel, you look a bit chalky. Did you have one of the battered peppercorn mushrooms?”
The question didn’t make sense. “Yes. Quite distinctively flavored. And tasty!”
Jubilee leaned in. “Did you have more than one?”
When your partner suddenly asks you a strange question, any good actor saysyesfirst and figures it out as they go. “Well, yes, I—wait. Were they—”
“Cooked in maize starch? I suspect so.”
“Oh,” Saeldian said, letting their voice fill with air. “That explains why I feel so—”
“I knew we should have asked if there was maize!” Jubilee said. “Maybe it was only a little. Was it only a little?”
And there was, of course, more than one way to say yes.
“No.” Coins clacked as Saeldian clutched at their belly. “It definitely wasn’t only a little. I can’t undo this bodice alone. Accurate, please help.”
Jubilee-as-Accurate moved to take Saeldian-as-Helarel’s free arm, but Venthar didn’t let go. “The comfort rooms are to the right of the right-side staircase. Shall I send in a remedy?”
Jubilee dragged at Saeldian’s arm as they patted a pocket. “I always have some handy. Thank you, Saer Venthar!”
“Excuse me! Coming through. They’re not well.” Jubilee pushed through the crowd to the stairs. Venthar stared after them, disappointed as Helarel disappeared from his life forever.
And Helarel would disappear. This appearance and background was burned. Saeldian would be a different person when they emerged from the comfort rooms, and so would Jubilee.
Be empty. Be empty.They rounded the corner, and one of the doors stood ajar.Thank the gods!Saeldian turned the sign on the door toin useand locked it.
Jubilee leaned against the door, making herself a barricade. “You used your detection ring. What is it?”
This makeup had to come off. Saeldian lathered up their hands and apologized to their complexion before massaging all their creams and powders away. “This is really bad. The room is a trap.”
Jubilee unfastened her skirt, fished under the stiff petticoats, and pulled a short jacket free of its basting stitches. “Of course the room’s trapped. They’d hardly need a thief if it wasn’t.”
Saeldian wiped the coin-scale bodice away, dropping the illusion until they stood in a set of light undyed armor, drab as a conscripted peasant’s. A gesture pulled all the pins from their hair. They shoved them into a pocket and stared at their reflection.
Their disguise as Helarel hadn’t really changed their appearance much, but it had to go. The tidy, illusory beard faded to angular cheekbones and the delicate creases of age. Black hair, smokynight-dark eyes, and full red lips softened to white-streaked barley blond, summer blue, and smiling sweetheart rose. “I mean the room is a trap. The whole room.”
“The whole room? The floors have pressure sensors in some of the squares. They didn’t spring right in places.”
“Map?”
Jubilee unfolded a paper and sketched on the floor plan while Saeldian worked on the quick change. Drab armor bloomed into an azure gown with coins dangling from a wide neckline. They laid a delicate, wrinkled hand on Jubilee’s shoulder and muttered, “Change-oh, none will know, set a disguise and off you go.”
Rhyming verbal components hardly ever failed to bring out the spirit of doggerel, but Jubilee barely faltered as her hands became an aged lady’s mid-sketch.
