Bookshops & Bonedust

Viv follows the man out the door, feeling as if she is going into battle. She confronts the man, who pulls a knife out of his robe. He kicks Viv’s injured leg out from under her, and they fall together to the ground. A magestone on his belt emits a fiery pulse that throws Viv, and she feels her leg begin to bleed again. When she pulls him down, his satchel flies off his shoulder. They are scrambling for position when suddenly Gallina appears and holds a knife to the man’s throat. Viv takes the man’s magestone belt and steps back. She realizes that they are surrounded by a crowd, including Iridia and her Gatewardens.

Iridia puts Viv and Gallina in one cell and the man in gray in another, taking their weapons, the magestone, and the stranger’s satchel. After Iridia leaves, Viv thanks Gallina for her help. The girl asks Viv to tell her stories about Rackam’s Ravens to pass the time. Viv is initially reluctant, but then finds herself wanting to talk about the Ravens, especially Rackam. The man in gray doesn’t move a muscle.

Highlark, the surgeon, visits Viv in jail to attend to her injury, which has opened up again. After he leaves, Viv asks Gallina why she is still in Murk, not believing that she is just going to wait for Rackam. Gallina says that it is hard for a gnome to get hired as a mercenary, something that Viv wouldn’t understand.

Fern visits the jail, bringing a bag from Maylee’s bakery and Viv’s book. After she leaves, Viv and Gallina share the baked goods, and Gallina convinces Viv to read her a few chapters of Sea of Passion. After just a few pages, Gallina is asleep, and Viv dozes off, too.

When Viv and Gallina wake up, the man in gray is gone. They yell until the jailer appears. When Iridia questions Viv, she mentions that the man smelled the same as Varine the Pale’s army—coppery, like frozen blood. The man now has all his weapons, the magestone, and his satchel. Iridia points out that he didn’t kill them, so he must have other plans. An hour later, Iridia releases them.

Viv sleeps uneasily that night. The next morning, she goes to the bookstore and finds Fern painting the door red. She tells Fern about the stranger’s disappearance and reminds her friend that she is a mercenary, and not to worry. Fern says that it is strange to think of Viv in that context.

They finish painting the door and go inside. Minutes later, Gallina walks in and introduces herself to Fern. She makes herself at home in Viv’s chair while Fern and Viv pick out a book for Maylee to thank her for the lassy buns. Later, Viv gives Maylee a book of gnomish pastry recipes. Maylee thanks her and flirts a little, confusing and pleasing Viv.

Things are quiet for several days, and Viv starts to relax. She spends her days at the bookstore, resting and healing her leg. One day, Fern casually mentions that Zelia Greatstrider lives on her family estate near Murk but is very reclusive. While Viv is absorbing this information, Pitts comes in and asks Fern if she has any more poetry books.

Later, Viv is eating at The Perch when Maylee sits down at her table. She tells Viv that she used to be a mercenary. She retired when she got tired of the lifestyle. Viv can’t believe that Maylee doesn’t miss it. After a moment, Maylee gets serious—she tells Viv that she likes her. Even though Viv will be leaving soon, Maylee wants to get to know her better. She asks Viv if she feels the same, and Viv says yes.

Maylee borrows a boat and takes Viv out on the water. They row along the coast to a small cove, where they feed the fish and drink gin. They talk about Maylee’s mercenary career. She tells Viv about how, shortly before retirement, she was washing the group’s dishes at the river when she saw their enemy’s cook, also washing dishes, across the water. They’d seen each other, but after a moment, gone back to washing dishes. Maylee retired soon after.

Viv and Gallina hike to the bluff overlooking Murk. When they get to the top, they find a graveyard. Viv sees a large estate in the distance, and wonders if it is Zelia Greatstrider’s. Gallina asks Viv about her relationship with Maylee and the various other ways in which she is involved with the Murk community. She thinks that Viv is planning to stay. When Viv denies it, Gallina asks if Maylee knows about her plans. Viv tells her that Maylee understands, but the conversation makes her feel guilty.

The next morning, Maylee gives Viv something that she made from the book Viv gave her. Viv takes her to the bookstore, and Fern gives Viv a book called The Lens and the Dapplegrim. Viv asks how the bookstore is doing, and Fern says that even though business has still been slow, what they’ve been doing has helped her remember how she loves her work.

Suddenly, Gallina bursts into the store to tell them that she’s found the man in gray. She takes Viv to the dunes. The man is dead and Pitts, who found him, has gone to get Iridia. Viv searches the body and finds “etched into the skin below his clavicle, […] a diamond with branches like horns” (149), the mark of Varine’s army. Viv and Gallina find the man’s satchel and hide it before Iridia comes.

When Iridia arrives, Viv shows her the man’s tattoo but denies seeing his satchel. After Iridia leaves, she and Gallina retrieve the satchel and return to the bookstore. Fern is relieved to see them, especially after they tell her about finding the man. They open the satchel and find human bones.

Gallina reaches into the bag again and pulls out a bottle. Fern identifies the powder in it as bonedust, and explains “osseoscription.” The bones are inscribed with tiny symbols and are brought to life by sprinkling the bonedust on them. The resulting creature is skeletal but alive, a sort of helper. After a brief discussion, they decide to try it. Viv sprinkles bonedust into the satchel and after it rustles, a skeleton slowly emerges from the bag. It greets Viv and offers its service.