"Alright, I'll keep it simple. Karlin's men wrecked your shop. I know you know this part. What you do not know is that the Santinos also have an issue with him. Probably because their estranged son is doing business with Karlin, even now." Thanatos sounded pretty sure of himself, and Fiona was about ninety percent sure he wasn't lying.

"Haha, yeah, right. Robert is already on thin ice and walking past the danger signs with me," Fiona said with a smile so sharp it could cut glass. "Don't think I don't know how this works. You benefit from this. Which is your goal in every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take. I'll be watching you."

The elven glare of doom she added at the end did not, in fact, increase the level of doom he experienced.

"The meeting I just had," he said with a sense of reservation in his words, "Was to ensure that we were clear on where lines are drawn. His son is most certainly not backed by the family in anything he does. Were you paying attention at all in our previous conversations?"

Fiona squinted and then remembered Thanatos had said, quite specifically, the Santinos were currently purging their criminal enterprise in favor of more legitimate business practices. "Thanatos? Reality warps around me. I'm lucky if I remember my own name with everything changing around me lately."

Greg tapped his notebook, and a page of writing appeared. "Oh, let me summarize from my notes. Let's see here…overbearing father, yada yada…Santinos are split, gaslighting me my entire life…and so on…"

"I'm right here, Gregory," His father snapped impatiently. "No need to throw shade."

"Oh no, Thanatos. I think there's plenty of shades darker we can go," his wife said, holding her wine glass like it might become an improvised weapon in the next five seconds. "Help. Your. Son. Without expecting a damn thing out of it."

Oh, no. I thought my family was dysfunctional. This is worse. Fiona had seen plenty of messed-up families in just her circle of friends alone, and the current monarchy was a family collective of basket cases. Thanatos glanced at his wife and let out a sigh of resignation.

"I have reason to believe Karlin needs something from your shop, Swiftheart," Thanatos addressed her directly. "Which means it affects my son. Now, as I recall, you do have rather unique powers for your class, do you not? Could you sense the item of most worth?"

"My power doesn't work like that," Fiona stated flatly, crossing her arms. "Instead of the theater, you could have just told us they were looking for something!"

Thanatos put one finger up, looking cheery. "So, you couldn't point out what item they were looking for?"

They're not looking for an item. They're looking for me, I think. It was one theory she had, the way Karlin had described a vessel, during their prior meeting. The way he described the vessel was not worth the trouble.

But what did it mean? Did Karlin need her for his insane plan to bring back Feo'thari? It was almost tempting to seek to let him kidnap her, clue in the others to tag along, and drop the bombshell that this goddess was already back among the living…sort of.

Thanatos tilted his head, smiling. "Oh, you know what he's after, don't you?"

"I have a shop filled with macguffins and armoires of invincibility. There are a few I wouldn't mind him stealing so that I could write it off as a loss, and clear my inventory," she replied with an effort to misdirect. This was one card she'd rather not let Thanatos see, for now. "How'd he manage to spoof the ward that checks against the known troublemaker list the town guard keeps updated?"

"I think he knew how to hire new guys," Bonnie said pointedly. "Though the sharp-dressed suits were a bit odd."

Thanatos looked smug as he presented a datapad. "Here's where it gets interesting. Karlin's men have gone to ground. Literally. I think he's using an old tunnel network from Underlune. A network that Santino and I would like to see shut down to avoid…temptation, let's say. The only problem? No one has been able to find the entrances," Thanatos said, and pulled out a datapad he casually tossed to Greg. "I've piecemealed a few broad areas where they could be. But magic doesn't work for every bit of sleuthing."

Fiona glanced at Bonnie, then Doug, then finally, Greg. "Your call, Greg. I'm not keen on getting continually harassed by Karlin, and that likely won't be the last petty thing he does." Or attempts to kidnap me. Like I'd let myself be kidnapped by a dragon.

"Are you asking me if I trust my father on this?" Greg asked skeptically.

"Son," his father sighed, "Take the peace branch, please. I do have a few people to help out. Not for my sake, either, but for yours."

"I find this highly unusual–"

"Gregory." The senior Lockheed stood up and closed the distance between them. "I haven't always been a good father. I've got too much of my father in me. After spending a considerable time on the matter in your absence, and the last real discussion we had? I reached a simple conclusion. All you ever wanted was to stand on your own, without influence from me. Even if you didn't have to say it.

"But this isn't just about me anymore. I've seen the rot from the low levels. Money is drying up. Rikkard was shoring up a kingdom to the best of his abilities. But rebuilding it will require we start from the bottom up. That includes me. And whatever small contribution I can make."

Greg let out a soft huff. "I'll think about it. Mum, keep him honest?"

"Oh, believe me, that's an ongoing effort," his mother said with gritted teeth. "Greg, please don't shy away from the house just because of past differences, okay?"

After a long pause, he nodded to her politely before hugging her. "I'll try, mum. Dad?" he said, addressing Thanatos with a slightly warmer expression than before. "If you want to start mending fences…it's not when it's convenient just for you."

Even the stern senior Lockheed's jaw loosened as Greg said that. "Then consider my assistance a…down purchase, as they say, to future gatherings."

The cold outside wasn't as chilly as the expression on Greg's face. Or the fiery expression coming from Bonnie. "What a manipulator," she growled. "Hearing you describe him is one thing, but seeing him at work? What a masterclass."

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"This was a waste of time," Doug sighed. "Not your fault, Greg. I'm sure there are other avenues we can take. Jake will likely help us out."

"That last bit was interesting. Karlin using old passages from Underlune?" Fiona latched onto the idea. "I don't suppose Darla would know anything about them, would she?"

"Possible. We can certainly ask her about them, see if there are other entries. It is a touch concerning whether someone might be able to move people underneath or past Fiefdala with no means of detecting them." Greg let out an audible grunt. "Let's just get back to running a shop for a few days. Fiona, did you see my list for security consultants?"

"Yes. I hate the idea of armed security that isn't in the form of my hammer," she replied unhappily. "Let's stew on this for a couple of days. Then, if we feel like your father can be trusted, we'll take him up on his offer."

"We can't trust him," Greg said in a tone bordering on annoyed. "Even mom and my sister can't keep him honest. I am happy to see that he seems to be on a path to legitimacy. For once."

"Greg, let's be real. If my father was any indication?" Fiona said icily. "If you're gonna hold onto hope? You're going to need a grip strength greater than mine."

The next day at the shop involved finishing up the last round of cleaning and reopening at normal hours. Fiona, however, was little more than a shambling corpse of an elf, looking haggard despite her best efforts.

Doug's snoring didn't help, either. She munched angrily on a pastry, and the first cup of coffee for the morning had zero effect, so far.

"I hate drama, I hate drama, I hate drama," she grumbled. "I want to run this shop one week without someone trying to burn it down, rob it, drag me into political intrigue, or otherwise drive me to prove that transmigrating me might have spelled doom for Cepalune."

"Your second dose of coffee, dear," Darla offered, appearing practically out of nowhere. Her tail was already outstretched with the steaming mug. Fiona took it and took a deep sip of it, regardless of how hot it was. Luckily for her, the sultry barista had it at the perfect temperature. "No dooming before closing time," Darla sang while wagging one finger at her.

"Which is…oh goodness, too far away." Fiona straightened some of the stationery at the front desk, noting it was not nice and tidy like it should be. "Life was easier when all you needed to do was beat up monsters for pay. It's days like this that try my patience."

"Comes with the territory," Darla said with a shrug. "You're powerful, you're charming…a little bit crazy. Drama is going to follow you around!"

"So, my life is going to be constant upheavals?" She pushed a strand of hair out of her face and leaned her elbows on the counter, letting out a groan. "Let's hope not. The infrastructure of this city will not endure my destructive tendencies."

Oh, don't worry, it'll die down eventually. Maybe a year or two, after things smooth over," Darla assured her. She, too, leaned on the counters, as it was unusually empty this morning. People likely assumed they'd still be under repairs, and Fiona had to fashion a sign made of canvas cloth and black paint gel that they were assuredly open today. "How was Greg's dad?"

"Like a younger version of Marlon Brando," Fiona muttered. "Why do dads have to suck so much?"

Darla raised a brow at that. "My dad is great. I even got a message a couple of days ago. He wanted to visit in the near future." She clutched her relay to her chest and let out a girly squeal. "You know what, you should join us all for a get-together when he gets here with mom. For proof that not all dads are busy trying to screw up their kids."

Fiona glanced at her, unsure of how to respond. "One condition. I want him to make us dinner."

"Oh, you think he's as good as me?" Darla laughed. "Spoilers, he's better. But I'm closing the gap, a little bit at a time. Fried rockfish is a treat down in Underlune, and he makes the best dish out there."

"Fish and tuber chips. Yum." She did miss that delicacy from before. "So here's a silly question. Why would summons bother grabbing someone from Underlune, if there are access points all around? How do summonings even work?"

"Well, we have a pretty good idea how yours went. A goddess intervened in your case," Darla said, stretching lightly and keeping an eye on the cafe. "Other summons seem to be a bit of an educated guess. Most fail. Despite the power of summoners to pull people from different worlds…it's too dangerous. The process is really rough on the summoned. I was busy cooking with my dad when some guy in the Arkantine mountains pulled me with a summoning circle." She flicked her hand, and a dented pan materialized in her hand.

"What's with the pan?"

"Oh, this?" Darla spun it on the divet in the center, her nail making an eerie scraping sound. "This is the pan I used to bean that lecherous old man for daring to interrupt my cooking. I had it in my hands when I was summoned. It took me a while to figure out where I was, and I booked it out of there. A week later, I found a small village, worse for wear, but still alive."

"So, that's your lucky charm, huh?" Fiona said, elbowing the darkling teasingly.

Darla laughed, and the pan snapped back to her portable kitchen. "Everyone has their favorite pan, and their favorite burner to use on the stove. Anyway, Dad was furious, as you can imagine. Back then, teleports weren't as common. I was able to reach him, after some trial and error, about a week after the incident. By the time he got a ticket to get topside and bring me home…I'd started a small meal service to pass the time," she added with a small smile. "I wasn't going to live on charity that whole time. No way."

"Did you get any warning at all?"

Darla rubbed one horn, then shook her head. "Nope. About the only thing I heard was a high-pitched hum a few seconds before it happened. It also seems to be somewhat random. I think the summoner wasn't searching very far."

"Hey, that reminds me," Fiona said, showing the copied data she'd gotten from Thanato's datapad. "Know any connecting tunnels to Underlune?"

"No more than the average person. But I do know where to look. We darklings got very good at navigating in the dark, and Underlune has some weird natural magic that can obscure passages that look like solid rock," she said, pointing a thumb at herself and puffing out her chest. "Turns out, darklings tend to find them better than others. You're going on an adventure, again? After just getting back?"

"It's a side gig thing, for now. I want to know where they exist, in case a bad dragon comes a'knocking," Fiona explained. She'd rather leave this one to Jake, for once, but knowing about them would give her some peace of mind.

Darla glanced at the recently repaired door. "Girl, sometimes I wonder if Bonnie's right, and you're certifiably crazy. It's already going to be busy with negotiators coming into town. And Bianca. And helping Douglas. You'll burn out."

Fiona flexed her hand dismissively. "Nah, I've got this. I think the worst is past us, for now. I still have to meet Lani this evening. I need to see what that poor girl has put up with since we left Vale."

Darla frowned at that name being mentioned. "Are you sure you trust her? Fiona, not that I want to doubt the poor girl, but…what if she's still under contract to someone fixing to put some hurt on you?"

Fiona glanced at her wrist, where Wingding gave feathery 'thumbs up' and bounced up and down. She wondered if Wingding knew by instinct…but could she be wrong?

Never count on a power working the second you start taking it for granted. Jake had ground that into the recruits nonstop, but…this was a little different. Wingding, do you always have a good read on people? I would hate for you to be wrong about her…

[I can't read everyone. But those who shine bright are easy to see.]

Fiona smiled faintly. "Yeah, I trust her. That said, her coming here? Something is stirring in Vale. And I would very much like to help the people out there."

"Is that all?" Darla asked, an eyebrow raised. "What's the real reason?"

"One of the high-ranked counselors we met in Vale likely had a hand in orchestrating the death of Doug's mother." She curled her fingers reflexively. "That debt is coming due for Counselor Harrier, someday."

"You know, the teleport pad exists, Fi. You could fix that problem real quick."

"No. Vale closed its borders and shut down its teleport platform. People can't dial in," Fiona said unhappily. "Not a surprise after what happened. Besides, taking a hammer to his skull without due process? That's not a great solution. They need real change in Vale. Lani might be able to bring it to them, since she has insight into Vale's government to an extent."

Darla sighed softly. "That's…complicated. You're not going to use her to enact a revenge tour for Doug, are you?"

"No. I want to see if we can help each other, first," Fiona said resolutely. "Alright, break time's over. Let's get back to one impossible task at a time."

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