I wanted to die.

  I lay stretched across three chairs with a damp cold cloth over my forehead. My eyes were shut and my stomach was like a bouncy castle with a dozen children bouncing around inside of it.

  Arian’s face floated into view. “How do you feel now?”

  I opened one eye and glared at her. “Like I’ve been through a terrible betrayal.”

  Her face drooped and her eyes grew large. “Do you. . .do you truly believe that?”

  I closed my eyes and sighed. “No, but I don’t feel very well.”

  Arian’s eyes lit up and she used both hands to grasp my arm. “Perhaps we might visit Grandmother now.”

  I waved her away. “Go on without me. I need a little more out-of-body experience before I’m sure I’m still alive.”

  “But Grandmother has a cure for such maladies.”

  My eyes shot open and I stared wide at the ceiling. “Come again?”

  “Grandmother has many remedies for such common ailments. She may be-”

  I shot off my impromptu reclining couch and snatched her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” I scolded her as I dragged her through the restaurant. There were fewer customers now and I was able to bowl through several chairs and a few tables.

  “Because I worried you may not be able to move!” she yelped as she dodged a chair I’d crashed through.

  “I’m fine enough to get well!” I countered.

  She jumped out of the way of another table. “I can see that!”

  We rushed through the open doors and past Hudian. He waved at us as we passed. “Have a good day, Lady Arian!”

  “I will!” she called over her shoulder as we rushed down the street.

  I came to a sudden stop only twenty yards down the road and off to one side. My stop was so quick that Arian crashed into me. We both tumbled forward but I caught us on a water barrel close at hand.

  Arian’s worried expression intensified as I stood with my back to her. “Why have we stopped?”

  I turned and sheepishly smiled at her. “I don’t know which cave Grandmother lives in.”

  My friend choked on a laugh before she nodded at a nearby narrow side street. “It is this way.”

  “And not too far?” I mused as my stomach reminded me of its condition. I wrapped both arms around my gut and tried not to lose what little lunch I’d managed to get down.

  “Only a mile.”

  “Oh boy.”

  I traversed that torturous mile and was glad when we finally stepped out of the last row of houses. The sheer cliff loomed up in front of us and I couldn’t help but tilt my head back to catch a glimpse of the top from where we stood. My neck wasn’t that long or flexible.

  Dozens of caves dotted the rocky hillside. The lower ones had steep and narrow stone steps that led to their entrances. Those above the fourth floor featured the remains of wooden and rope ladders.

  One of the larger caves stood in front of us and an inscription had been written above the large entrance. I tugged on my friend’s sleeve and nodded at the writing. “What’s that say?”

  “That cave leads to the old market,” she revealed as her eyes followed the flow of the lettering. “It says ‘welcome to those who bring heavy purses.’”

  I blinked at her. “Really?”

  She sighed and nodded. “Truly. That is the motto of our trade guild.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I snorted and the rumble upset my stomach. I tightened my grip on Arian’s sleeve and tried not to double over. “So which one is Grandmother’s cave?”

  She nodded at a cave a dozen entrances down the cliff wall. “That one.”

  We hurried down the long row of holes and reached the abode of Grandmother. The cave entrance was smoothed to a shine and the floor was swept clean. A scent of flowers and spices wafted over us, the former lifting my spirits while the latter sank my stomach.

  Arian inched her way to the entrance and leaned in. I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why do you look like you’re trying to sneak inside?”

  “Grandmother is not always welcoming of guests,” she sheepishly admitted.

  My shoulders drooped and my face fell. “How do we tell if she’s welcoming?”

  “You might try asking!”

  The sharp voice rang out of the cave entrance and a moment later a woman as old in appearance as Lady Wuhel shuffled out of the cave. She wore a plain fur dress with matching pants and shoes. A shawl wrapped tightly around her delicate frame and a short and gnarled wooden cane bore the brunt of her weight. Her eyes were a brilliant blue that shone even in the dim light of the cave.

  She set her hands one on top of the other over the cane and her bright eyes flickered between us. “Well? What’s wanted?”

  Arian clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed low at the waist to the woman. “My sincerest apologies, Grandmother Froumai, but my friend here is quite ailing. We were curious if you could give her a medicine to ease her suffering.”

  I wouldn’t have put it in such a dire way but my rumbling stomach disagreed.

  Grandmother dropped her gaze to my stomach and the corners of her lips twitched upward. “I see. The food here doesn’t agree with you.”

  I set a hand over my stomach and sheepishly smiled at her. “No, I’m afraid not. I’ll probably get used to it, though.”

  She turned her nose up and scoffed. “Only if you live here for another ten thousand years. It took my stomach that long to handle the brine they soak everything in.”

  A little color drained from my face. “Ten thousand years?”

  Grandmother stomped the bottom of her cane against the ground. “Enough chatter. My old bones need a good fire on these cool mornings, so are you coming in or not?”

  “Coming,” Arian and I eagerly replied.

  We followed Grandmother into the cave and found ourselves in a watery grotto. The cave occupied two rooms, one a central living area and another shut behind a wooden door which I assumed was a bedroom. Niches in the walls acted as cupboards and were filled with pots and pans of all shapes and ages. A simple table and chairs were the only furniture apart from a nest of blankets beside a hearth carved into the stone. The smoke escaped through the walls and out into the world.

  The main draw of the home was an indoor pool at the back where a fresh batch of steamy water filled the air with soothing heat. Stalactites hung from the ceiling and more water dripped from their craggy tips to drop into the pool. The only drawback was the small patch of mildew that floated on the surface at the far end. A frog sat atop the green gooey batch and stared at us without blinking.

  Grandmother shuffled over to one of the niches and snatched a bottom of some greenish liquid. She turned and thrust it out to me. “Take this.”

  I accepted the vial and studied the contents. There were specks of. . .something floating inside it. “What is it?” I asked her.

  She narrowed her eyes at me. I sighed and popped the cork. A putrid smell wafted into my nostrils. My stomach did a flip flop but I plugged my nose, closed my eyes, and downed the whole contents.

  It tasted as bad as it smelled. My tongue outright rejected the horrible concoction but my throat didn’t have enough time to its objections known before the medicine slid past. I felt it drop into my stomach and splash around.

  Each sploosh eased the ache in my gut. My eyes widened and I set a hand over my stomach as the pain faded away.

  “Do you feel better?” Arian asked me.

  I bobbed my head. “A lot better. You should sell this stuff.”

  Her eyes twinkled with mischief and she held out her hand. “Who says I don’t?”

  My face drooped but Arian gladly dug around in her pockets. “How much would you like?”

  “A month’s worth of meals to your family’s restaurant will set me right,” Grandmother told her.

  Arian smiled and drew out a small pad with a pencil. “I shall write a note giving you just that.”

  She scribbled out the message and signed it before handing it over to the eager old woman. Grandmother coveted the slip of paper like it was worth its weight in gold and quickly tucked it into a pouch perched on her hip.

  Arian continued writing on another piece of paper and held up the finished note between two fingers. “We would like another favor of you.”

  Grandmother lifted a weathered eyebrow. “What sort of favor?”

  Arian nodded at me. “My friend here would like a disguise she can use during the Fur Festival. I remember you were able to change a man into a frog once. Can you do something similar to her?”

  “But without the frog part,” I added.

  Grandmother stroked her chin between two thin fingers and studied me. “There may be problems with this one.”

  I blinked at her while Arian appeared worried. “What problem do you foresee?”

  “She is not able to control her magic, is she?”