His mouth formed a silent ‘Ahhh’ but didn’t say anything more than that.
One of the kitchen girls came out bearing a steaming plate and a large tankard of tea, which was plopped down in front of Hammon with nothing more than a ‘Good morning to you, sir.’
Hammon dug in and lingered over the first bite before saying with approval, “This is quite good.”
“Gramms is a good host and has good cooks,” Siobhan informed him after taking a long swallow of hot tea. “It’s why we always stay here.”
“Just that?”
“And he likes the dogs.” Fei looked down at Pyper’s upturned face, moving an arm so he could scratch behind one floppy ear. “And what do you want, hmm?”
“Your unfinished plate,” Siobhan translated dryly. “Isn’t that obvious?”
Fei played along with a straight face. “I thought she finally came to me for affection.”
“The more you feed her, the more she’ll love you. It’s the rule of dogs,” Hammon offered, eyes dancing.
Hoping to get a little more information about her newest guildmate, Siobhan asked casually, “That sounds like the voice of experience. Had a dog, did you?”
“A collier, growing up,” he admitted just as easily, eating steadily. “He was more mischievous than these two. Is it Icean that trained them so well?”
“It is,” Fei answered. Giving up, he lowered his plate to the ground and let Pyper lick it clean.
Wolf came back into the room with his usual heavy stride, making the floor vibrate at his passing. Siobhan looked up in surprise, protesting, “You can’t possibly have gone to the watchtowers and back that fast!”
“Didn’t,” he agreed, bracing both hands on the table’s surface and leaning over it slightly. “Gramms beat me to it. The guards report stormy skies in every direction, but there’s a warm wind picking up from the south. Mayhap the storm will pass today, or so they say.”
She let out a breath of relief. “Thanks to any god listening for that. Alright, then we need to get ready to leave tomorrow. We might as well spend today doing a little research and getting Hammond a ring.”
Hammon quirked a brow at that. “A ring? What sort?”
In demonstration, she held up her right hand, which had a silver ring embossed with the basic arch of a bridge on it. “Bridge rings are what we call ‘em. They’re specifically for Island Pass. See, the rule they have for visitors here is that you’re only allowed to use the hostels, inns, and stores as you pass through. It prevents mischief from happening in the more residential areas of the island. But if you wear this ring, you’re a trusted man by the officials and allowed to wander in wherever you will and access records as you need them. If you plan to stay with us for any length of time, you’ll need a ring. We come through here often and the rings help us with our clients.”
“May I…?” he asked, with a gesture toward her ring.
“Oh, sure.” She slid the ring off her middle finger and handed it over so he could more closely inspect it.
“It’s not a very elaborate design,” he observed as he turned it this way and that.
“There’s different levels of rings,” she explained, taking it back from him. “This is a more basic level, one that doesn’t have a lot of power to it. It goes like such: silver, gold, then bejeweled. The bejeweled ones have either mother of pearl or crystal inlaid on top.”
Hammon stared more intently at the ring before glancing up at the ceiling, a frown of concentration on his face. “A golden version with inlaid mother of pearl, you say?”
“Conli has one,” she answered the unspoken question written all over his face. “He’s from a prominent family on Island Pass.”
From the blank stare he gave her, Hammon hadn’t expected something like that. “He is?”
“He is.” She splayed her hands in an open shrug. “Why he’s in Deepwoods serving as our physician, I can’t explain. He’s never volunteered that information and I’ve never felt it right to pry.”
“You’re dying to pry, though,” he said in a knowing tone.
“I hate unresolved riddles more than any other thing,” she grumbled. “But if I do, I’ll drive him and Denney away, and I’d rather not lose good people. So, I bite my tongue.”
“Why him and Denney?”
“They come as a set, those two. Which is another riddle I want answered. The most Denney has ever told me about herself is that she’s half-Teheranian, half-Wynngaardian—which I’m sure