The Poison Paradox: A (Mostly) Cozy Fantasy for Ogres and Sunbeams by Hadley Field & Felix A. Green

Author:Hadley Field & Felix A. Green [Field, Hadley & Green, Felix A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Alaric

An Adventure in Diplomatic Relations

It was back to sleeping on the floor, which was still a considerable improvement from sleeping in various barns, trees, and forest clearings, but certainly not as restful as sleeping next to Eamon.

I’d woken before the ogre, mainly due to back pain, and I’d managed to draw water from the well and heat it above their little stove flame thing without burning the cottage down. Impressed with myself, I extended the faded mug with red flowers toward Eamon after he emerged from their small washroom.

“Tea?"

He grunted, eyes flicking at me, and then the mug, and then back at me.

"You’ve let it steep too long." He sipped it anyway, and then, without another word, took his knapsack off its hook and stomped out the door.

"You’re welcome," I muttered.

Lily stretched and shook her green, leafy hair into order. "He’s always like that when someone new joins our town. It’s not you."

"Hm." I very much doubted that, but I did have to admit that his attitude had changed once he’d dragged the goblin into town. "But he’s the one who brought him here."

"He brought Fritzie, too, and he was grumpy about it for weeks." She stood and fussed about with the trunk by her bedside, searching out something suitable to wear. "I don’t think he likes to be reminded that he cares for people since his friend left him. Makes him scared, which makes him angry."

"I’m not sure he cares about R’gavik."

She snorted. "He cares about everyone."

Lily carried a fresh pair of cotton trousers and a surprisingly delicate blouse into the washroom. "Thanks for the water!"

"Of course," I called out. "It was my pleasure, truly."

I quite enjoyed my trips to the well. Lugging buckets to the well allowed me to enjoy the ambience of the village, which was really quite lovely once you got past the fact that everyone was precariously built up from scraps and the like. The people were mostly lovely, even the giant, and since I had nothing to steal, Fritzie and I got along just fine.

Well, almost nothing to steal. My mother’s pocket watch and the locus stone Eamon had given me sat heavily in the pockets of my borrowed pants. I supposed I ought to have hidden them somewhere in the cottage, but I found that I was rather reluctant to let either one of them go.

Lily emerged from the washroom with a thoughtful look on her face. "You know, Eamon’s turned down everyone else who asked a potion of him."

I’m just better at blackmail.

"Is that so?"

She nodded. "Is it…You said something about your brother?"

I saw his face in my mind. His eyes, cloudy and unseeing. He always spent time outdoors hunting, so usually his skin was a light bronze. Now, the last time I’d seen him, it had been almost gray.

"Yes."

Lily glanced into the small kitchen area where Eamon had begun to stock his potion-making equipment. "Is he sick?"

That was quite the understatement. I nodded so that I wouldn’t need to lie out loud.

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