Page 58 of Morel Dilemma

Rylana took the pen to her own piece of paper and finished with: Meet me at the coffee shop on Acorn Street tomorrow afternoon. Ry.

She thought about removing Jildarin’s note, doubting threats would prompt her brother to feel amenable toward her, but left it. Let Frodin realize that he was not only messing with her but with a dragon. What had prompted him to interfere with their business anyway?

“I’ll check the market tomorrow and see about getting some roc ribs,” Rylana said when she caught up with Jildarin at the door. “Those aren’t common.”

“Fortunately,” he said as they walked outside, “we have many bananas remaining, should your brother correct his improper behavior.”

“That’s good, but I don’t want to disappoint your half-orc fan.”

“Correct. Fans should be encouraged, not disappointed.”

“Absolutely.”

In the street, Jildarin paused as two fire-fliers buzzed past, and he looked briefly toward a gap between buildings.

“We are being observed,” he said quietly.

“By elves again?” Rylana guessed.

Who else skulked about, keeping an eye on her from the shadows? The dragons were a lot more brazen when they observed her.

“Yes.” Jildarin slanted her a long gaze. “You will be wary of Captain Tassani.”

Rylana sighed. She hadn’t yet decided how flattered she should be by Tassani’s attention, or if she wanted anything to do with him, but the thought that he might simply want to get close so that he could more easily find Sylin was disappointing.

“It’s good that you’re here to watch out for me,” she said.

“Yes. And to assist with your personal issues.”

“Issues?” Rylana asked. “Do I have more than one?”

She waved back toward the building. At the moment, her brother was the main issue on her mind.

“You do,” Jildarin said. “Fortunately, the unveiling of the special coffee will now be hosted at our diner. The comrade you seek will not be able to resist appearing for that.”

Rylana smiled. “That’s probably true.”

“And the elven queen, once we have enchanted morels, will also not be able to resist coming. As she stated, she desires to speak with the elf child. They will meet at our new terrace and converse about pedigrees and determine if they will have a relationship.”

“That’s a good plan.”

“Yes.”

“Assuming we can find those morels.”

“After today’s great ground-soaking rain, I am confident that we will do so. Also, the gnome assured me that he has the most gifted magic-locating hound in his unit.”

“Then we can’t fail to find the morels tomorrow morning.”

“Certainly not.”

17

The rain started again during the dinner hour, making Rylana wonder if the elves would indeed finish the rooftop terrace in time for a gathering the following night. And, if so, would Jildarin be able to convince the queen to visit? Normally, Rylana wouldn’t care one way or another about that, other than wanting Jildarin to succeed at his quest, but if the coffee sampling happened to lure Sylin to visit while the queen was dining, and they could speak…

Maybe Rylana shouldn’t interfere in her friend’s life, but she couldn’t help but feel Sylin might regret it later if she brushed off this attempt by her family—by her mother—to connect with her. Maybe because Rylana had lost her own mother at a young age, and had always felt that hole in her life, she wanted others to have what she didn’t. At least when it came to her friends.

Focused on cooking, Jildarin spoke little when Rylana passed through the kitchen, depositing dirty dishes and picking up his artful—and sumptuous—plates to serve. But when the patrons had all left and she was closing out the books for the day, he leaned into the office.