The guild's lobby settled into an awkward silence after Elara dragged the protesting Yue down the corridor. David leaned against the counter, arms folded across his chest, listening to the gradually fading sounds of alchemical threats and dignified flame-sorceress retorts. The old sweeper had vanished as mysteriously as he'd appeared, leaving only the soft bubbling of unidentifiable substances in glass containers and the occasional mechanical click from the self-operating orrery.
David had just resigned himself to a lengthy wait when footsteps approached from the corridor. Litty emerged, looking slightly frazzled but significantly more composed than when she'd chased her mother moments earlier.
"I've left them to it," she announced, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from her robes. "Your friend seems to have the situation well in hand. Mother actually sat still when Elara threatened to singe her eyebrows off."
David raised an eyebrow. "Effective threat."
