Beneath the Strawberry Moon

”As are you, Sam. Thank you again for coming with me to find our Guildmates,” the bard said warmly, settling in with his tea and toasting the bookmaker with a smile before sipping the apple-scented brew with a contented sigh. The companions were happily at play, and Jigano might have relaxed completely, if he hadn’t been considering a shift in their conversation he wasn’t quite sure how to start…

But Samuel beat him to it, taking a different path than the Provost had expected. Jigano’s brow twitched curiously at the mention of Remi, but he focused on the description of Arduinna with a faint frown. ”That does sound unsettling,” he agreed slowly, tilting his head to the side in thought. ”I think… an argument might be made for you and Killian, perhaps, that you did not ask for help, and made no offer of recompense. Certainly, if I am able to, I will make that distinction. You were swept along by our quest, but it wasn’t that she helped you directly. Deimos and I will need to face her squarely, but I’ll do what I can to spare you two, at least.” Jigano was not so noble that he wouldn’t try to find a way out of paying any price too high. He had a strong feeling that, had Arduinna not interfered, his birds could have led them through the shifting wood that was their home… but he also had to admit that Delah and her hidden warriors would have claimed them without Arduinna’s protection. And he was honorable enough to want to repay a debt owed, even if, at the time, their guide had made no mention of one until he had offered story or song. Semantics might be the saving of them yet, if things were as bad as Remi thought…

But Arduinna’s help had been fey and wild, a force of glorious chaos that she had been under no obligation to provide. True, she had laughed when Jigano had fallen and Killian nearly charmed by the tricks of the Woods that adored her so, but she had also admonished the warchief to give them hospitality in the village…

And a cold welcome that had been, another point to bargain with.

”I agree, though. And hopefully our future won’t include such dire circumstances again any time soon!” Bargains they could take or leave, or haggle before accepting, were always far preferred to those they were rushed into blindly. ”As you said before we left on that venture, you have many books to make now,” Jigano added, changing the topic tosomething hopefully safer with a smile for his busy guildmate.