Magic in the Air: The Traveler and the Exile

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This book has not yet been fully edited. I hope that any typos, awkward phrasing, or holes in research that might remain don't dampen your enjoyment of the story.

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The windows of the mess hall let through far more light than Edgar, Flynn, and Gerard were used to meeting in. And yet, Gerard could not help but feel invigorated. He had had his doubts about meeting so openly and yet Edgar's reassurances that most guildsmen would still be in bed after so many nights of celebration put his worries at ease. And to see the mess as empty as it was had let a sense of ease flood him, allowing him to smile in the sunlight that drifted down to their table. He tried not to sniff too deeply, though, as those same nights of drinking had not kept the mess free of the same stale ale stench that haunted Edgar's tavern. He raised his eyes to the nearest window, hoping to find it earlier then it felt. He was supposed to be here already.

Flynn and Edgar, sitting beside him, were filling their time with chatter. Gerard distracted himself further by trying to dip in and out of the men's conversation. It sounded as if most of it was about the election. Flynn still seethed that Mikkel, Edgar's sure thing, had failed. But Edgar seemed to have gotten over his own outrage. Gerard smiled as he remembered the man banged his fist on the table so hard that his spoon launched some bit of the rabbit stew into the crowd. But even such distraction could not keep his mind from wandering back to the matter of time.

"Where is he, Edgar? You had said we would begin by the ninth bell."

Edgar broke off his conversation with Flynn. "I know. And he is only a few moments late. There won't be anyone else here until noon. There is no reason for anyone to be here before then, can't you smell the coffee brewing?"

Gerard was no stranger to such remedies. He knew that food was often quicker, but several of the guildsmen had a habit of simply drinking more after waking. He had learned from experience just how dangerous that could be and was grateful for this alternative that he hadn't even heard of in his youth.

"There's no need to be so worried, Gerard. Triadaphylos is probably just giving them more information than necessary, and the snow queen is going to be at the market nearly all day." Flynn idly scratched an itch. "Those traders from her wasteland of a home are here for their annual trek."

Edgar faked a grimace. "You're right. The council chamber will smell of rotting fish for weeks."

The two men chuckled to each other and Gerard smiled despite himself. He knew that everything they said was true. Triadaphylos had an uncanny ability to over explain, and Therese had mentioned her market trip. Normally she would just slink off to it without a word, but after Eloise and Ned had their footing – or at least once Triadaphylos had explained what was necessary for that footing – they would convene and the president's veiled threat from election night would come true. And yet he could still hear something nagging him from the depths of his memory.

"Hello. Sorry I'm late. Wherever Triadaphylos comes from they must love the sound of their own voices."

Flynn and Edgar turned, mid-conversation, to the man who had appeared behind them. Gerard chuckled as they instructed Ned to take a seat. Edgar did tell him to be discrete when he got here. What was I so nervous about?

Once Ned settled, Edgar glared at him. "Secrecy is of the utmost importance among us. We must be a tight circle to hold the flood so that it will not was the rust away from this guild before the time is right."

Ned blinked at him. "Of course. I wouldn't be here if I didn't already understand that, right?"

Flynn looked like he was about to speak but Gerard stepped in.