Chapter 28 - Tall Tales

“I really don’t like this idea…”
“Too bad, you agreed to it already. Now hurry up and use that Disguise spell you said you have.”
Willow and I were standing in a small alley just outside of Hill’s Oasis. Nobody knew we were here, mostly because we hadn’t told anyone. I was actually kind of surprised that Willow went along with that part of the plan, even with Daniel, but she’d left my cabin the day before with a much, much clearer understanding about exactly what I was worried about.
She did think that her brother wouldn’t freak out if I explained most of my history to him just as I’d done for her. That said, she also agreed that he’d probably think it was something that the whole town should be allowed to know… and she actually–thankfully–agreed with me that that was just such a bad idea.
“I still think you should let me do this part…”
“And risk you deciding to stab him?”
“I wouldn’t…” Willow cut me off with a look that made me second guess myself. “Stabbing is messy…”
“Right, cause that’s the problem with it.” She rolled her eyes, then made a ‘hurry up’ motion with her hand.
“I’m staying close… and just remember, keep the rumor simple and don’t lead–”
“Corbin…” she said, cutting me off. We’d gone over the plan half a dozen times already.
There was little chance it would work of course, but a small chance was better than nothing. I mentally pulled the spell up, focused on all of her features, and then cast it. Now, Willow was already a very pretty girl, just not in a way that was likely to draw Gryphon’s attention. As my spell took hold, the air around her hazed and shifted until a slightly older, far more voluptuous woman with hair that was as black as night, a few gaudy pieces of jewelry, and far, far too much makeup stood in her place.
I’d tried to model the disguise after a variety of women I’d seen over the years at any number of royal events, and I hoped Gryphon didn’t have some personal preference that would have made this whole endeavor pointless. Willow looked down at her body, then back at me with her nose scrunched.
“Really?”
“Look, I’m going based on what I’ve seen people like Gryphon chase. I think it’s ridiculous but if you want to sweet talk him enough to convince him, this is probably the best bet,” I explained and she sighed in response.
“Okay I guess… I just wish it didn’t make me feel the corset… I thought that this spell just made an illusion?”
“Maybe for beginners. If you know enough, you can make the effect tangible… though it only works if the target is willing,” I replied, giving her a curious look. “I’m more interested in the fact that you even knew that’s how the basic version worked.”
“I read, thank you very much,” she scoffed, crossing her arms only to have to adjust and do it again when they didn’t cross the way she was expecting over her enhanced features. “Are you always going to be like this now that I know?”
“Probably, you’ll get used to it. Now hurry up, that spell has an hour limit,” I said, casting the spell again to make myself look like a composite of various people I’d known. It wouldn’t do to have this entire plan just for Gryphon to recognize me sitting at a nearby table, that would be stupid.
Willow rolled her eyes, looked at me as I changed, and scrunched her nose again.
“You look like an ogre…”
“A human ogre?”
“I guess?”
“Then it’ll do, I’m not trying to enter any beauty contests.”
“You’d lose.”
“I’m starting to regret telling you about all of this.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. Then shook her head, the black hair bouncing slightly.
“Sure you are. Okay, give me five minutes and then follow me in… I’ll pick a table close to him with another one open close by, then try to draw his attention.”
I gave her a nod and gestured for her to go. Once she went, I waited a few minutes until I was mostly sure the time had passed. I really just wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to turn around for any number of reasons before I followed. It was the middle of the week and while it wasn’t busy in the tavern, it certainly wasn’t empty either. I was thankfully able to spot Willow’s altered form relatively easily, but unfortunately as I went to move toward the closest table to her, it was scooped up by a few men.
This left the only available spot anywhere near her one that was a table away directly in front of her, with a trio of miners drinking steadily sitting between them. I moved through the crowd and grabbed one of the chairs before another group could steal the spot. I’d barely had my butt planted for five seconds before an overly cheery girl popped up to ask if I wanted anything. I ordered what passed for ale and then waited.
Gryphon was sitting in a corner booth behind me and I tried my best not to look at him. I was just your normal, everyday giant oaf. That was made more evident by the fact that everyone seemed to give me a rather wide berth. Maybe Willow was right and I had made myself look like an ogre.
Willow sat patiently, sipping at a drink she clasped with both hands. If she approached Gryphon, it would be too suspicious, especially with the planned goal, so she was stuck sitting and waiting, hoping he’d take the bait.
The waitress returned with my drink, then lingered just long enough to realize I wasn’t going to order any food before she frowned slightly. She was just about to walk away when she stopped, her head bowing slightly. Gryphon passed me on my right, barely looking our way. I held my breath momentarily, only releasing it when he stopped right next to WIllow’s table.
The miners at the table between us started to laugh, making me miss what Gryphon said. I swore under my breath, then cast Eavesdrop, a useful but rather expensive spell that took the last of a few Trumpet Vine Roots I’d found growing in the recovering forest.
“–a pleasure, Sir.”
“I’d imagine so,” Gryphon laughed, grabbing the chair across from her and sitting. I took a sip of the ale, mentally trying to relax enough that the man’s annoying tone didn’t make me react to something I shouldn’t be able to hear.
“What brings you all the way out here, Sir?”
“Oh you know, doing my duty as a noble by trying to uplift the yokels around here to a better status,” Gryphon laughed. I clenched my cup just a bit harder and took another sip that I didn’t taste. “And what about you madam? You look quite out of place, if you don’t mind me saying and it’s rather dangerous for a woman such as yourself to be alone in a town like this.”
Willow laughed. It wasn’t like her normal laugh–a bit hearty with a giggle hiding behind it–but instead a more practiced one that would have sounded fake to most anyone. Unfortunately for Gryphon, nobles pretended to laugh so often, there was little to no way he’d be able to see through it.
“I was just passing through off the Eastern Spoke Road, decided to stay here for the next day or two while my horses are fed and my wagon repaired. Those roads certainly have seen better days,” Willow lied smoothly.
While this plan did have a potential need to improvise, the backstory was one thing we could outright control, even if I did give Willow some leeway to modify it even If I didn’t like it.
“Is that so?” Gryphon mused. “Perhaps I could be of assistance? I do carry the authority of the Royal Merchants and the Sentinel of the Southern Highlands. If you’d like, I can speak with the craftsman working on it to quicken the process. I know I’d rather not be stuck here longer than needed.”
Stars, this guy needed to get punched in the face, even if he did give Willow one of the few openings we’d discussed. I hadn’t expected it to happen this fast, but was I really going to complain?
“A Sentinel? I’ve never actually met one in person!” Willow was a bit too exaggerated, but the way Gryphon chuckled made it seem like he hadn’t noticed.
“Oh you still haven’t. Lord Drake is my father, but actions taken by me in his name do plenty to open doors.”
“The son of a lord? I can see how that would work. Are you his heir?” Willow probed, already knowing this was a touchy subject for the wannabe lord.
“No, that would be my brother, Draco. But, the Sentinel of the Eastern Expanse is rather old and he never had a male heir. I suspect once I deliver the news I’ve discovered, I’ll be able to slowly increase my influence until King Dawnmere realizes it’s in the crown’s best interest to appoint me to the position.”
“Wouldn’t you have to marry one of Lord Jesting’s daughters for that role though?” Willow asked.
This was the first I’d heard that Gryphon had such a lofty goal but logically I could see it. The crown would never go for it of course, the idea that one family–even one that had easily been the crown’s earliest and closest supporter–other than the royal line could control two of the four regions of the crown’s land wasn’t something they would truly entertain. But the amount of influence he could get before he got that denial was dangerous to say the least.
“If I have to, I will,” Gryphon said casually and I could barely make out him brushing the idea off with his hand. “But what’s a lord without proper consorts?”
I gripped my cup a little bit harder. This was the attention we’d expected from him. But that didn’t mean I had to like actually hearing it. And I doubted Willow liked it any better.
“What sort of news do you have that will help you achieve these lofty goals? If you don’t mind me asking.” There was an edge to Willow’s tone that made me suspect I was right. But it was an easy guess. Very few women enjoyed hearing that a man had already decided what secondary position they might occupy in his life.
“Just the location of the prince’s missing companion. It was quite the discovery, if I do say so,” Gryphon said, easily being redirected before someone decided to castrate him. That was lucky though, because he’d already given her the actual opening we’d been waiting for
“You’ve been to Jestings then?” Willow asked with an impressive amount of casualness in her tone. It wasn’t where we’d discussed, but given the new bit of political motivation Gryphon let slip, I couldn’t deny it was a good choice. “I was rather surprised that the man wasn’t being very discreet about it given he constantly claimed to be trying to escape notice.”
“Yes, see he was hiding in—“ Gryphon had already been ready to boast and I almost wish I could see the look on his face as he stopped himself. “I’m sorry madam, I must have misheard you. Did you say you ran into the missing companion in Jestings?”
“Briefly, yes. Rather impressive fellow actually,” she said. “I almost suspect Lord Jesting is aware he’s there and is hoping to marry him into the family.”
That took me by surprise. We hadn’t discussed trying to shift blame to anyone in particular. In truth, we’d been counting on being able to send him on a wild goose chase long enough that Danwood could just establish enough protections to keep him from trying a hostile takeover.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the idea, especially since Gryphon could get tied up for days trying to actually talk to the Sentinel despite his status as the son of one. I just didn’t think Willow would inflict Gryphon’s attitude on anyone else without me having to be the one to suggest it.
Maybe she thought because Lord Jesting was so old and the town of Jestings was just far enough away that it didn’t matter, but I could see the potential pitfalls.
One comment about being none the wiser and… actually… Willow had given a rather plausible explanation. Keeping it a secret until he could convince “the missing companion” to wed one of his daughters was the exact kind of play for power that the lords of this world did, just for the status of it alone.
Gryphon, having taken some time to consider this, finally cleared his throat.
“Well… that is curious. Perhaps I’ll have to head that way when my business is finished here. I’m not doubting you madam by any means, but you may have come across someone trying to impress you with a tall tale. My own discovery suggests the companion is hiding right under the nose of another of Prince Frederick’s companions over in the dump that is Danwood.”
“Entirely possible,” Willow agreed, surprisingly not lashing out at him for the insult, then leaned forward slightly. “Though who’s to say that’s not what you’re doing, Sir.”
“I tend not to deal in lies, but I admit there’s always a benefit to traveling to Jestings. I could always start the courtship of one of his daughters and get ahead of my plans,” Gryphon admitted with a shrug.
It wasn’t much, but if he was going to go there before he headed to Frederick, it was certainly better than nothing. Unfortunately, regardless of what Willow or anyone thought, the only thing we probably could do at this point was stall that eventual day.
What would I do when that happened? Run? Try to convince him to turn away again?… fight?
“Well, Sir, I appreciate the company while I had my drink, but I believe I have some business to attend to before I call it a night,” Willow lied.
We’d agreed that the moment the idea was planted was the best time to extract her. Otherwise, it just gave Gryphon enough time to ask questions that could poke holes in the theory and that wasn’t helpful at all. But, of course, a man like him also wasn’t accustomed to a woman abruptly leaving as he was trying to impress her either.
“But you only just got here, let me buy you a drink, I insist,” Gryphon said.
“I couldn’t, this stuff doesn’t taste very good and I do need my wits about me.”
“Really? I find it rather unique. I just bought a cask of it,” Gryphon said and I rolled my eyes. Of course he’d like the ale here.
“To each their own, I suppose,” Willow replied with a bit of an awkward laugh. “Now, I really must get going, I’d really only stopped in for a quick drink.”
“Then you should at least let me accompany you, we can visit the carpenters and get them to finish the repairs on your wagon,” Gryphon pushed again. I stared past the miners at the back of his head, trying to will him to just take no for an answer before I had to step in.
“That’s really just fine, the workers are doing a fine job and I don’t think it’s necessary,” Willow said, then went to stand up. Gryphon reached over the table, grabbing her wrist.
“Miss Lena, I really do insist. A woman such as yourself shouldn’t have to deal with whatever paltry excuses the carpenters gave you to make you think you’d be stuck here for days.”
“Sir, please let go of me,” she said in as calm of a tone as possible.
“If you’ll let me assist you. I’ll be out of your hair in no time at all.”
Willow’s head was high enough that, when she looked up from him, our eyes met and she shook her head. It was only then that I realized I had started to stand up. I slowly lowered myself back into the chair, grabbing my drink again and drinking the rest of it down. If she wasn’t looking for me to help… I needed to trust that she didn’t need it.
“If… if that’s all you’d like to do…” she trailed off.
While I couldn’t see his face, I got the distinct feeling that Gryphon gave her the most insincere smile just based on the uncertainty that flickered through Willow’s eyes. Still, he finally relented, then leaned back while letting go of her.
“Then… thank you, Sir… it’s quite unnecessary, but it would be rude of me to turn down your help.”
Gryphon stood up, brushed his clothes down, then gestured for her to lead. Willow briefly looked at me again before turning toward the door. She wouldn’t admit it… or maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see, honestly it didn’t matter to me. I was not about to leave her alone with him, even if there were other people on the street.
I waited only a moment, then stood and followed.