The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [21]
Too late Giogi recalled that Aunt Dorath hadn't wanted outsiders to know about the theft.
"But the spur's supposed to ensure your family's success," Chancy said.
"No," Shaver corrected, "his family succession. Right, Giogi?"
"That's just a superstition. Look, do you think you might keep this between the four of us?" Giogi asked. "It's best if it doesn't get around."
"Of course," Shaver said. Lambsie and Chancy nodded in agreement.
Looking at his friends' faces, Giogi did not feel reassured. They were all too blank. One of Uncle Drone's little sayings popped into his head: Nothing flutters so frantically when caged like a secret, nor flies so fast when released.
Giogi didn't like to imagine Aunt Dorath's reaction if, when she sat down to breakfast tomorrow, she were to find a letter of condolence from Lady Dina Cormaeril, Shaver's mother. At least I'll be in the catacombs by then, Giogi thought. Maybe Aunt Dorath will have calmed down by the time I come out. No, he realized, Aunt Dorath could stew for hours and still be boiling mad by sunset.
With a feeling of doom, Giogi took leave of his friends and wove his way out of the Immer Inn. He headed west, toward the Wyvernwater. "A bracing sea breeze would fit the bill," he said aloud, though there was no one present to hear him, nor did it matter to him at that moment that the Wyvernwater was a freshwater lake, not a salty sea.
He grew less anxious walking in the fresh, cold air, and by the time he'd turned south on the main road, he'd reasoned himself out of his fear. If Aunt Dorath finds out I babbled about the theft, he thought, I can always go abroad again. Maybe, though, if I find the spur, she'll forgive me and I can stay home.
A stiff gust of wind off the lake blew right through his cloak. He shivered and suddenly felt very tired. What am I doing walking around in this cold? I could be home sleeping in my warm bed.
He quickened his stride, but before he turned down the road leading home he remembered the duties facing him in the morning. His desire to sleep vanished, and he slowed his pace. If he stayed awake, it would be hours before he had to go into the crypt with Freffie and Steele and face the guardian.
Somewhere nearby Giogi heard the strumming of a yarting and the jangle of a tantan. He turned toward the music to find the door to the Five Fine Pish standing open as a crowd of travelers squeezed its way in.
"Sudacar," Giogi whispered, suddenly remembering the local lord's invitation to stop by the Fish to talk about Cole.
The Fish was renowned for its ale and very popular as a meeting place among adventurers who passed through Immersea. Giogi's friends all patronized the Immer Inn, so Giogi, who had never felt very comfortable among strangers, had not been in the Five Fine Fish very often. It would be full of strangers tonight, but Sudacar, while not exactly a friend, could hardly be considered a stranger-not if he knew things about Cole that Uncle Drone hadn't even spoken of.
Determined to learn more about his father's adventuring life, Giogi strode purposefully toward the inn. He slipped through the front door behind the last of the travelers and squeezed his way past them into the common room.
The room was packed with people. Five musicians in the corner struck up a reel, and several people began dancing on the wooden floor. The dancers' shadows swayed against the wall whenever someone bumped into one of the oil lamps hanging from the low ceilings. The tables and chairs of the Fish's common room were built for durability rather than style, not carved, but hewn, and polished, not with wax, but by generations of oily hands and elbows. Lem, the inn's owner, was tapping a fresh keg of ale, banging the spigot into the barrel in time to the music. He looked up at Giogi and gave him a wink.
Giogi searched the room for Sudacar while people coming in and out jostled him. Finally the young noble spotted the local lord in a corner opposite the musicians. He was seated with a few members of the town guard and some adventurers Giogi did not recognize. Sudacar