Wards and Wonders

by Kay L. Ling

  She knocked at Ben’s door. “Ben? Tina Ann?”

  Still no answer. She turned the knob and called to them as she opened the door a crack. Hearing nothing, she went in.

  Ben hadn’t slept in his bed, either. Where could they be? Had they hidden after finding themselves covered in red glitter? It was the only logical explanation.

  Miserable over this turn of events, Tyla went downstairs. When she entered the Staff Haven, she found Arenia and Pentar at a table, reading newssheets. Arenia looked up, and her face was tense.

  “They’re not in their rooms,” Tyla said, “Maybe they went for a walk.”

  Arenia opened her mouth, but seeing Tyla’s warning look, shut it again.

  There was a chance, however remote, that Ben and Tina Ann were not guilty, and Tyla refused to give up hope.

  “Ben enjoyed seeing the barns yesterday. Maybe they went back for another look,” Pentar said.

  Did he really believe that or was he just being kind?

  The haven door opened, and a guard came in. He hesitated when he saw Tyla and Arenia.

  “What is it?” Pentar asked.

  “We have . . . er . . . a problem. Can you come with me?”

  “Certainly.” Pentar rose. “Excuse me,” he said to Tyla and Arenia.

  The guard looked increasingly uncomfortable. “I think they should come, too.” He gave Tyla and Arenia an apologetic look.

  Tyla’s last hopes of the breghlin’s innocence died. Snack food might not have appealed to them, but that was no excuse for raiding the kitchen. At Elantoth, meat was for meals, and servants didn’t get bedtime snacks.

  They followed the guard. Anger radiated off Arenia like Pentar’s heat stones.

  When the guard started down the basement stairs, Tyla wondered where he was going. Then she remembered the breghlin looking into storage rooms on the way to the Pedestal Room yesterday, and she had her suspicions.

  As she feared, the guard stopped at a door marked Libations and opened it, revealing a dimly lit room with three groups of wooden kegs—wine, beer, and fialazza.

  In front of the beer kegs squatted two forms, frozen in place. Both were touching the same keg, and their faces shimmered with red glitter.

  Words failed Tyla. Ben and Tina Ann had escaped from the kitchen, but they hadn’t been so lucky here.

  Pentar said with a wry smile, “Apparently they needed a little beer to wash down their meat.”

  Chapter 10

  As soon as Pentar released Ben and Tina Ann from the ward, their eyes widened in alarm, and they stood shakily.

  “Good morning,” Pentar said.

  The breghlin looked too stricken to speak.

  Ben lifted his sparkling, red hands in surrender. “I g-guess you be puttin’ us in yer dungeon now.”

  “This be my fault,” Tina Ann said, staring at the floor. “Put me in the dungeon an’ let Ben go.”

  “No one is going to the dungeon, and I won’t tell anyone we found you here, but it’s impossible to keep your expedition to the kitchen a secret.”

  Ben and Tina Ann stared grimly at each other’s glittering faces.

  The guard grumbled, “They should have learned their lesson after the first mishap.”

  “We knowed we be in trouble. Figgered we may as well have a beer while we think what ter do ‘bout it,” Ben said.

  “The red particles will wear off in a couple days, but we’re touring the commercial district today. You’ll get some odd looks,” Pentar told them.

  “Gnomes gawk at us anyhow, so it don’t matter,” Tina Ann said.

  “I’ll continue my rounds now.” The guard gave the breghlin a last disgusted look and left.

  “Breakfast is waiting,” Pentar said. “Shall we go?”

  Tyla motioned for Arenia to accompany Pentar, and she hung back to speak with the breghlin.

  “Pentar offered to pay for your food. You could have eaten something in the haven.”

  “We shoulda,” Tina Ann said. “But you knows me, I likes to explore, an’ we sorta wound up in the kitchen.”

  “If you ever do something like this again—” She couldn’t think of a suitably dire threat. “Come on.”

  An awkward silence hung over the dining room as they waited for their breakfast. Arenia looked more embarrassed than the breghlin when the servers who had waited on them yesterday came in and stopped, open-mouthed, no longer needing to speculate about who had broken into the kitchen.

  “Yer right. It be us,” Tina Ann said heavily. “An’ we be awful sorry.”

  After setting the food on the table, they hurried off, no doubt anxious to share the news with their coworkers.

  Pentar outlined the day’s schedule. First, they would go to the commercial district. Among other things, he wanted to show them the city’s largest gem shop. Then they would go to Aberell City Museum, which had exhibits about the Great Upheaval. In the afternoon, they would take an in-depth tour of the fortress, including a repeat trip to the Pedestal Room. Raenihel would take a few minutes to contact Elantoth. Then they would have refreshments on the terrace.

  When they finished breakfast, Pentar sent the group outside to wait for the cart while he went to get a few things. He came back with two gray hooded cloaks.

  “Here, put these on,” he said, kindly to Ben and Tina Ann. “Keep your hands inside and pull up the hoods. The glitter won’t be as noticeable.”

  Even without the glitter problem, Tyla thought that was a good idea. Hooded cloaks would help hide their features.

  They stopped at the sleepstay to get Earlic, Imeria, and Raenihel. Imeria came out in a tan cloak similar to the ones the breghlin were wearing. She had the hood up, and little of her face showed, but Tyla could see she’d been crying.

  Pentar’s running commentary as they drove was a good distraction, and Imeria seemed in better spirits by the time they reached the commercial district. The driver parked the cart in a lot near the public docks. Sunlight shone off the river, and clouds seemed to float in the water. At this hour, it was still pleasantly cool, and the breeze carried a subtle tang of decaying river grasses. Tyla hoped it remained cool so the breghlin wouldn’t want to take off their cloaks.

  Pentar led the way, and Ben and Tina Ann walked in the middle of the group, keeping their heads down so the hoods hid their faces. Many gnomes wore coats and cloaks, so the breghlin didn’t look out of place, and Ben and Tina Ann kept silent, knowing they had distinctive guttural voices.

  Pentar pointed out several fashionable clothing shops displaying traditional gnome tunics and pants in a wide array of colors and fabrics. Many had fancy needlework trim or tiny gems around the neckline and sleeves. They sold a different style of clothing for casual wear. The fabric seemed to mold itself to the wearer’s form, which Tyla found rather shocking, but it looked comfortable. After seeing the beautiful displays, her own clothing seemed drab in comparison.

  They passed shops that sold leather goods, pottery, and art, and came to a bookstore. Pentar took them inside. Tyla walked through the narrow aisles, marveling at all the books for sale. Near the back of the shop, she found racks of newssheets and other publications, including the ones Pentar had mentioned—Today’s Woodspirit, and Woodspirit News and Views, published by Kitana Windan.

  Tyla sighed. If only she had some IGs. But she didn’t, so she would have to settle for used newssheets from the haven.

  Tyla whirled at the sound of her sister’s hushed but angry voice. “You should be keeping an eye on your friends. They could steal a book and get us all in trouble.”

  “Steal a book? They can’t read!” Tyla reminded Arenia in a furious whisper.

  “Yes, I know, but that doesn’t matter—it’s just how they are.”

  Tyla bristled, even though there was truth to that. Ben and Tina Ann had begun to develop a sense of right and wrong, but they still had a long way to go. She stalked down the aisle with Arenia behind her lecturing in an irritating whisper. When they reached the front of the
store, Tyla saw Ben and Tina Ann outside, looking bored.

  “Should I go check under their cloaks to see if they’re hiding books?” Tyla asked in a scathing tone.

  Arenia turned on her heel and went to join Raenihel who was coming down the aisle.

  When the group was ready to leave, Pentar bought an Aberell City newssheet, and then they were off for the gem shop he had promised to show them.

  The front window showed elaborate jewelry with gems of every color and description. Tyla could only imagine how many wards protected the store.

  “Give me a minute to speak with the owner,” Pentar said. “I’ll be right back.”

  He went inside, and Tyla saw him gesturing toward the group on the walkway. The owner turned to look and nodded.

  Pentar came out, looking pleased. “Outcasts aren’t welcome in this part of the city, but I explained that Ben and Tina Ann are breghlin and won’t cause any trouble.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t make me sorry I vouched for you.”

  “We be very quiet and looks without touchin’,” Ben assured him. Tina Ann nodded gravely.

  “All right then.” Pentar held the door open.

  Arenia gave Tyla a warning look and went inside.

  Ben and Tina Ann stood well back from the showcases and looked around in wonder. There was certainly a lot to see. All around the room, wall-mounted shelves held statues, vases, pitchers, goblets, and bowls, ornamented with gems.

  Tyla’s human friend, Lana, was about to take over the family jewelry store in the Fair Lands. With her new responsibilities, Lana spent far less time in Ahmonell these days, though she still came through the portal on a regular basis to visit Elias and Jules in Strathweed. Did her store look anything like this?

  The owner and two other gnomes worked here, so there was someone to help customers at each showcase. A sign on top of one noted that the shop sold custom-made jewelry using your gems or theirs. Tyla came closer and looked inside, stunned by the quantity of bracelets, pendants, rings, and necklaces.

  “Everything is beautiful,” she murmured.

  The gnome behind the counter smiled at her with a patronizing air.

  She moved to the next counter where the owner was showing Pentar and Arenia a tray of gems. The dignified older gnome wore black to show off his chains and pendants, and his gray hair was coated with a scented oil that made Tyla sneeze. She listened, fascinated, for several minutes as he pointed out gems she had never heard of and described their powers. Then her eyes drifted upward to the shelf behind the showcase, and her breath caught in her throat. A dendrite ball! Had Varkandian really been using one at Elantoth?

  When the owner put the gem tray away, she found the courage to ask, “Is that a dendrite ball on the shelf behind you?”

  “Yes, it is.” He looked surprised that she knew what it was. He turned, lifted it from the shelf with the utmost care, and set it on a black cushion on the counter. “Have you seen one before?”

  “Only in a book,” she admitted. “I thought it was fascinating.”

  “It’s one of the more expensive rare gems.”

  She stared at the black forms inside the ball and tried to imagine them moving to form a picture.

  “I would demonstrate, but to do so I would need to contact someone who has a dendrite ball.”

  “Do you know anyone who has one?”

  Before he could answer, Pentar said, “Only the most prominent gem masters have these—gnomes in high political office and wealthy business owners.”

  “What about The Eight?” Tyla asked.

  Pentar said, “Possibly. They can afford anything they want.”

  Tyla hadn’t thought about the economics of gem ownership. At Elantoth, gem users shared the gem collection. Here, if you couldn’t afford a particular gem, you would never have that power. “So, gem users here only have the powers they can afford,” she said, meeting the owner’s eyes.

  He gave her a tight smile, “Well, of course. How else could it be done?”

  “Everyone could share their gems,” she suggested.

  He laughed heartily, and it was clear he considered her suggestion too ridiculous to merit a reply.

  Pentar said, “Those of us with modest incomes content ourselves with common gems, and they serve our needs well enough, but naturally we aspire to own rare gems with impressive powers someday.”

  Arenia nudged Tyla and pointed to one of the gem trays in the showcase. Tyla wasn’t sure which gem Arenia wanted her to see.

  “Just out of curiosity,” Arenia said, “how much would one of those color change simbiorytes be?”

  Once again, the owner looked surprised. “You folks do a lot of reading.” Then his eyes narrowed, and he gave Tyla and Arenia an appraising look. Tyla felt certain he had just made the connection that they were from Elantoth and probably had access to S’s gems. He looked up the price. “The ones we have in stock range from two-hundred-fifty to three hundred miereks.”

  Pentar said, “Which is about six years of my wages.”

  Tyla and Arenia looked at each other, aghast.

  “So, gnomes never lend their rare gems to others?” Tyla asked.

  The shopkeeper frowned at her. “It’s not illegal, but it wouldn’t be very profitable since the income from lending the gem would be heavily taxed.”

  Tyla said, “What if the owner lent it without charging anything?”

  “Then a tax would be levied based on typical usage fees.”

  Pentar said in an apologetic tone, “Things are different outside the Amulet. Here, many gem users provide gem-power related services for a living.”

  “Rare gems are a good investment. They can provide a lifetime of income,” said the owner, smoothing his beard.

  Tyla and Arenia didn’t say anything, but their expressions said they didn’t think much of Ahmonell’s gem-based economy.

  Pentar said, “Sometimes gem-combining creates powers produced by rarer gems. Are you familiar with that? When you simultaneously draw powers from different kinds of gems new powers often result.”

  “Yes, we’ve learned about that,” Tyla said without much enthusiasm. She looked around to see what the breghlin were doing. They were looking inside a showcase, but keeping their distance. She turned back to the owner. “Thank you for your time. It’s been quite enlightening.” She gave him a polite if somewhat stiff smile and took Arenia’s arm. “Let’s go. It’s stuffy in here.”

  “Yes, I think I’ve seen quite enough,” Arenia said.

  Chapter 11

  While she waited for everyone else to come out of the shop, Tyla reflected on Pentar’s comments. This system seemed fair to him because he had grown up with it. He was content to only have the gem powers he could afford and viewed rare gems as a luxury, not a necessity. Amulet clans had lived for generations without any powers, nevertheless this system still bothered her. A small number of wealthy gem masters could buy up all the rare gems.

  While plotting to seize control of Ahmonell, S must have accumulated many rare gems—especially the dark ones. Suddenly, Tyla saw history in a new light. She had always assumed that gnome gem masters hadn’t used dark powers to fight Sheamathan because Dark gems would make them deformed. But it was more likely they couldn’t get the right gems.

  Tyla felt a shiver of dread. How many rare gems did the military own today? Gems with the most impressive powers were also the most expensive. It had been peaceful here since The Great Upheaval. Rare gems might seem an unnecessary expense.

  Pentar came out of the shop with the rest of the group, putting an end to Tyla’s uncomfortable thoughts.

  “Such an amazing variety of gems,” Raenihel was saying.

  “It would take a lifetime to learn all their names and powers,” Earlic agreed.

  “All the jewelry was breathtaking,” Imeria said, “but I doubt the average gnome could afford any of it.”

  “You’re right,” Pentar said. “This is the premiere gem shop in Aberell City, but there are others wi
th more affordable goods.”

  “I’m surprised Aberell City has enough wealthy gnomes to keep that shop in business,” Arenia said.

  “We have more than you’d think, and don’t forget about the woodspirit population.”

  “Woodspirits! Why would they buy gems?” Tyla asked. “Only The Eight have gem powers.”

  “They buy gems for their beauty, just as many Nopes do.”

  “But they don’t need rare gems if that’s all they’re after,” Tyla protested.

  “No, but when you’ve saved IGs for hundreds of years and have everything you need, you buy things just because they’re rare and desirable.”

  “I suppose so.” The idea of woodspirits hording gems alarmed her, especially if the woodspirits were Sheamathan sympathizers.

  “Not only do they buy and collect gems, several are famous for their custom-made jewelry. Some of the jewelry in that shop was made by woodspirits.”

  Pentar started off toward the parking area, and Tyla walked alongside Ben and Tina Ann.

  Behind them, Raenihel said, “Seems risky letting woodspirits have rare gems. I suppose they have Dark gems as well.”

  “I’m sure they do,” Earlic said. “Gnomes don’t want them.”

  Tyla found that comment ironic, coming from him. His own son had stolen Dark gems and tried to use them.

  “Mierek thinks they can control everything with laws,” Raenihel grumbled, “but what control do they have over woodspirits? It’s been a long time since the Great Upheaval, and gnomes over here have grown complacent.”

  Tyla had to agree. Residents outside the Amulet must believe there would never be another power hungry woodspirit with gem powers, and Outcasts—the only gnomes that posed a threat—were too poor to buy rare gems.

  Tina Ann said, “I always say gnomes be too trustin’. Over here, they be downright stupid.”

  Further up the street, two female woodspirits came out of a shop.

  Tina Ann jabbed Tyla in the ribs. “Woodspirits!”

  They turned at the next street and passed out of sight. “I know they’re not evil like S, but they still give me the shivers,” Tyla said.