“Smells nice, doesn’t it?” asked Friedrich with his hands on his hips and a smile on his face. He took a deep sniff of the air. “Ah, what a beautiful scent that is.”

  Teleri’s lips were pursed as she drew in a deep breath through her nose. “I specifically requested Sweet Nether Pine, Friedrich,” she said. “This is not Sweet Nether Pine…it is…what is it?”

  “This is better,” said Friedrich, waving his hand through the air. “They call this Tantalising Foxglove. The lady at the stall said it’s a very popular scent.”

  “You first return with nothing, telling me that you gave away my incense. Now you return and fill the house with his dreadful odour?”

  Marina threw her head back and groaned. “Please stop bickering! You two have been fighting constantly since we arrived in this city. You get along much better when we’re on the road.”

  “Because we have beasts to take our frustrations out on,” said Teleri with a sneer. “I am itching to kill something rotten. Starting with this smell.” She marched over to the window and threw it open.

  “Always a complainer,” muttered Friedrich, shaking his head. “Just leave it sitting in the air for a while and I guarantee you’ll grow to love it.”

  “Do you like it?” Marina whispered to him.

  “No, it’s awful,” he whispered back.

  Teleri spun around and glared at him. “You are a fool, Friedrich. A fool!”

  She marched up the stairs and slammed her door, leaving the two Mercians alone. They looked at each other awkwardly.

  “We need to find a bounty, don’t we?” asked Friedrich.

  “We?” asked Marina with a raised eyebrow. “I have no trouble getting along with either of you. It’s the pair of you that can’t help yourselves. I still can’t believe you said you gave her incense away. There was no need to lie about that. She would have understood if you just said they were out of stock.”

  “It wasn’t a lie!” protested Friedrich, shocked to realise that Marina hadn’t believed his story about the priestess either.

  “What was the priestess’s name?” asked Marina.

  “I don’t know.”

  “But she was a dark elf around our age?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many dark elves have we seen since we’ve been here?”

  “I don’t know…eight? Twelve? Why would I count that?”

  Marina bit her lower lip and looked him in the eyes, trying to determine whether his story was true or not. At last, she sighed. “Alright, I believe you, but it was still a very silly thing for you to do.”

  “The poor girl was desperate and I wanted to help,” shrugged Friedrich.

  “You were supposed to be helping Teleri. Surely you should prioritise your friends over strangers?”

  “I thought she would understand rather than think I was lying. The fact that you thought I was lying too hurts my feelings.”

  Marina shook her head in exasperation. “I’ll go and talk to her. You don’t say anything until she calms down. You know how she can be sometimes.”

  “Yes, the least mature of all of us.”

  “Don’t start!”

  Marina headed upstairs, knocked on Teleri’s door, and walked inside. Once she was gone, Lord Gaerfyrd slipped out of his study in the back and walked over to his son with a knowing smile on his face.

  “An amateur mistake when dealing with women, son,” he said to Friedrich.

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  “I didn’t think she’d be so sensitive about it,” replied Friedrich, still in disbelief about how everything had unfolded. “We’ve fought an undead dragon together and it’s incense that almost brings her to tears.”

  Siegfried put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “My boy, women don’t think the same way that we do. When I was courting your mother, I didn’t give her a gift on the anniversary of our first meeting.”

  “You’re supposed to do that?”

  “Exactly!” cried Lord Gaerfyrd. “I did not know this either and she was incredibly upset about it. There are unwritten rules that we must follow, Friedrich, and they’re difficult to pass from father to son when it takes a lifetime to learn even a quarter of them. When people are in love—”

  “In love?” chuckled Friedrich. “Teleri isn’t in love with me. Have you lost your mind?”

  Lord Gaerfyrd slapped his son on the back of the head. “You are surely not so dense, son?”

  “Eh?”

  “Both of those women are in love with you, boy. Surely, you’ve realised this?”

  “I had a feeling about Marina,” said Friedrich, cocking his head to the side. “And Pheston used to tease Teleri about being smitten, but I thought he was joking. That does explain why her default cover for when we’re trespassing is to kiss me…”

  Lord Gaerfyrd snorted with laughter and shook his head. “Son, I don’t know what to say to you. I think you’re even worse with the ladies than I was at your age. If only your—”

  There came a knock at the door.

  “Are we expecting company?” asked Friedrich.

  “Not that I’m aware of,” said Lord Gaerfyrd.

  Friedrich strolled over to the door and opened it, finding himself face to face with a dark elf. She was wearing a sleeveless purple dress with a corset around the middle that accentuated her figure. The skirt of the dress was patterned with gold, making her look almost royal. Her leather gloves stopped just shy of her elbows and her boots were up to her knees. Held in her hand was a black staff with a dragon adorning the top, clutching a glowing yellow gemstone. Her long white hair was braided, running down her back, while her bangs framed her pretty face.

  “H-hello,” said the priestess breathlessly. She sounded as though she had been running.

  “Hello there,” said Friedrich pleasantly.

  Lord Gaerfyrd laughed. “You weren’t lying, son?"

  Friedrich looked over his shoulder. “You thought I was lying too, father? Marina! Teleri!”

  Teleri’s door opened and the two women looked down from the upstairs balcony. Their jaws dropped when they saw who was standing at the door, affirming Friedrich’s story had indeed been true. Friedrich knew that when Marina said she believed him, she was lying through her teeth.

  “Am I interrupting something?” asked Ilyria, fanning her face with her hand.

  “Not at all,” said Friedrich, standing aside and looking smug. “Come in, priestess. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

  “I was not sure where else to go,” she said. “I’ve been running through the streets trying to find you, knocking on door after door.”

  “What an honour,” said Friedrich, grinning to Marina and Teleri.

  Ilyria followed his eyes and looked up at the two flummoxed women staring at her from the balcony. “Ah, is this the Alaurian wife you spoke of?”

  Marina frowned and Teleri’s eyes grew wide.

  Friedrich howled with laughter, making Ilyria avoid eye contact with everyone in the room. “We’re not married, even if we argue like it,” he said once he calmed down. “But yes, that’s Teleri who the incense was for. My name is Friedrich, by the way. And yours?”

  “Ilyria,” said the Balmorian shyly. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance officially.”

  “This is my father, Siegfried,” said Friedrich and his father bowed his head politely. “The Mercian girl is Marina.”

  Taking a second look at Marina, Ilyria’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. There was something familiar about her, but she could work out how she recognised her. Perhaps it was another Mercian girl she had seen before who looked similar. She shook it off and turned to Friedrich.

  “Are you a mercenary?” she asked.

  “Mercenary?”

  “I am mistaken,” sighed Ilyria, putting a hand to her forehead and heading for the door. “This is dreadful…what am I to do? I apologise for the intrusion.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Friedrich. “Tell us what’s wrong. Maybe we can help you?”

  “Your generosity knows no bounds,” said Ilyria, making Teleri roll her eyes in disdain; Balmorians were such shameless creatures.

  “Tell us your woes,” said Lord Gaerfyrd kindly.

  “It happened just this morning,” said Ilyria. “A wood elf stormed into my church, spewing vile obscenities about Myrofyr and how worship of the Great Dragon Above All should not be permitted in this city. I took swift action and personally ensured that he was blinded, beaten, and thrown down the stairs. The blinding was temporary, of course, but in my hurry to restore order, I failed to consider that this man had connections to Abnar’s Hand.”

  “The thieves' guild?” asked Siegfried.

  “Yes,” sighed Ilyria. “After I returned with the incense, I found that the church had been sacked, looted, and the head priest, Brother Tyrus, had been attacked. Furthermore, I failed to see him lurking in the shadows for my return. He attacked me, taking the time to gloat, and then fled.”

  “And this attacker was the same man who you threw out?” asked Marina, putting a finger to her chin.

  Ilyria winced and shook her head. “I am unsure, but I do not believe so.”

  Friedrich bashed his knuckles against his shield. “Teleri?” he said to the Alaurian with a sly grin.

  “Say no more, Friedrich,” she replied, turning to Ilyria. “We will help you, priestess. We will see to it that the man who attacked you is apprehended. His crime will not go unpunished.”

  Ilyria’s eyes were ready to burst from her head. “Truly? You will help me?” She looked around at the confident faces staring at her.

  “Tell us everything you know; every little detail,” said Friedrich. “We’re expecting a friend in the morning and I’m certain he’ll be willing to help you too.”