“There are no gemstones in the Quamm Caves.” Rhys was confident with his words. “Just natural minerals and some exotic plants, that’s all.”
“Yes, there are and this proves it. I found it there,” announced Elric proudly. “Like the rest of you, I always believed those pesky gnomes only mined stupid rocks, but now I know otherwise. And for your information, those gnomes are vicious little critters. I had to move fast and in a blur in order not to be caught.” He rubbed his backside as he spoke.
“I know what you mean,” mumbled Darium, rubbing his arm.
“Brother, I thought you said your crow found the ring near the caves, but you’ve been in the caves yourself, haven’t you?” asked Zann.
“Murk is a raven, not a crow,” Darium answered, his eyes still on his cards. “And I might have been near the entrance of the Quamm Caves, but what does it even matter?”
“You were inside the caves. Admit it. We all know the gnomes don’t come out into the sunlight,” said Rhys to prove him a liar.
“All right. So mayhap I briefly stepped inside for a minute or two, but no one can stay long with those pesky creatures living there.”
“Seriously,” the elf continued. “I had to zip away using my power to move quickly to avoid their picks and axes.”
“None of you should be stealing from the caves of the gnomes,” said Zann. “You wouldn’t like it if someone stole from your home, would you?”
“Never mind that. Elric, you must be pretty sure of winning the card game to up the bid with something so valuable,” said Darium, eyeing up the elf with suspicion.
“Lay down your cards. Everyone,” instructed Elric. “Let’s find out who won this game once and for all.”
Everyone placed their cards face up on the table. Elric let out a whoop with barely even looking at his competitors’ hands. “I won, I won,” he chimed, standing on the stump again and raising his arms up over his head, turning in a full circle.
“What? Nay, you couldn’t have won,” gasped Zann, studying the hands of cards that had been laid down.
“Let me see those cards again.” Rhys inspected the elf’s spread. “By golly, he did win. How in the name of Belcoum did you get such a good hand?” he asked, using the name that was referred to by some as the devil.
“That’s what I want to know,” said Zann, blowing a puff of air from his mouth. “You usually stink at cards, Elric. We’ve always been able to beat you.”
“Not to mention, you were losing up until we placed these last bets,” added Darium.
“I guess I’m just better at the game than you three are, after all.” Still laughing and smiling, Elric reached out to scoop up his winnings. Before he could, someone walked up behind him and their hand slapped down atop his to stop him.
“He only won because he cheated,” said a female voice.
The Blackseed brothers looked up to see a stranger. A beautiful woman with long black hair and piercing blue eyes stood behind the elf. She wore an aqua gown with long silk tippets that hung down well past her fingers. There was some sort of charm hanging from a chain around her neck with an odd design on it.
“He’s surely cheating,” the woman repeated once again. “Aren’t you, Father?”
Two
Persimmon Burroughs stood before the group of men, holding down her father’s hand and already wondering if she’d made a mistake by coming here to Mura.
“Did you call Elric…Father?” asked the biggest man at the table, a brute with long brown hair.
“Yes, I did,” she answered, slowly releasing Elric’s hand. She’d only seen her father mayhap once every five years, but he seemed just as wily and ornery as the last time they’d met. And now he looked even shorter than she remembered.
Elric glanced over his shoulder and groaned, and then sat back down. “Persimmon,” he said, scrunching up his nose. “What are you doing here?”
“Before I answer that, empty your pouch,” said Persimmon. “Put everything out in the open on the table where the rest of the men can see it.”
“Well, time to eat.” Elric got off the stump, looking as if he were about to zip away in his usual fashion. He could move faster than anyone she’d ever known. If he wanted, he could move so fast that he appeared to be nothing but a blur. She supposed it came from being an elf, but she wasn’t sure. “I don’t want to miss out on those pazzleberry pies that Lira made,” he said.
Persimmon reached out and gripped him around the wrist now to keep him from going.
“Elric, Lira never told me she had a sister,” said the man with the long blond hair and the ochre-colored eyes.
“Shhh, Zann, quiet,” said Elric shaking his head, calling the man by name. It was too late. Persimmon had already heard him.
“Sister?” she repeated. “I have a sister? Father? Is this true?” Her eyes narrowed to slits as she eyed up the elf.
“All right, I confess. I cheated.” Elric emptied his pouch, throwing down a few extra cards and some odd trinkets.
“Hey, that’s the tooth from a Seyadillo that I got on a hunt while in my wolf form. See the hole in it?” Zann scooped it off the table. A Seyadillo was a large rodent with tough skin, so big that it was about the size of a small man. “I was planning on stringing up the tooth and wearing it around my neck. And Rhys, isn’t that a tassel from your horse’s tack?” Zann pointed to the trinkets Elric had emptied from his pouch.
“Is it? Let me see,” said the man named Rhys, picking up the tassel and dangling it from two fingers. “Yes, it is. I’ve been meaning to replace that.”
“This is Talia’s favorite hair pin,” said the man with black hair, picking up the last item to inspect it. “She blamed me months ago for misplacing it, when you had it all along.”
“They are just trinkets that I found, the same way Darium found his.” Elric nodded at the dark-haired man so Persimmon knew he was called Darium.
“You had Murk bringing you his finds?” asked Darium. “I don’t like that.”
“Nay, I wouldn’t let that dirty bird bring me anything.” Elric wrinkled his nose. “I just meant that all of you must have dropped the trinkets and I found them, that’s all.”
“That’s not it at all. You’re a thief,” said Zann.
