Deebee took on her human form as she touched down among the heavy brush. Her silky dress appeared on her body in the same moment her flight harness vanished. She stepped forward towards the secret entrance of her lair, beckoning for the young woman accompanying her to follow. "I must say, I didn't expect you to ask to come along," she said.

"I did not expect you to allow it," Jin replied. She turned about, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes were unblinking, landing on every shrub and tree as if searching for a lurking assailant.

Deebee watched her in consideration. It was true she and Jin didn't often spend time alone together. Which wasn't to say there was a lack of fondness. Quite the opposite. Though she regularly found it difficult to believe, Deebee had come to terms with the idea that Jin— a blustering osteomancer of House Algara— had become dear to the heart of a dragon.

Deebee could love Jin, and as time went by, it became more and more clear that it wasn't solely for Enfri's sake.

"What is it?" Jin asked once she caught the veiled smile Deebee was giving her.

"Hmm? Nothing at all, I'm sure."

Deebee turned away and faced the concealed entrance to her lair. A few somatics began the first of a series of necessary spells to pass through. The strength and number of the wards protecting her dwelling were considerable. It was entirely possible that even the Palace of Towers didn't possess as much arcane protection.

"You know, I don't often bring visitors here," Deebee said lightly. "I've only shown it to Enfri on maps."

"That surprises me," Jin replied.

"It's not exactly accessible," Deebee said with a nod towards the sheer cliff ten paces away.

"That it is not," Jin said quietly. She walked towards the cliff's edge and looked out over the landscape.

The entrance to Deebee's lair was located on the plateau of a tall mesa ten leagues north of Sandharbor. A great distance to travel by foot, but a mere half-hour's flight for a dragon on the wing. The mesa was surrounded on all sides by rough terrain. The only approaches for a land-bound creature were rife with loose gravel escarpments, thick brush, and wild patches of scalethorn. It was forbidding terrain, all but inaccessible to anyone unable to fly. Additionally, Deebee was on good terms with the spriggans living within the depths of the wild growth. In exchange for an annual tribute of shiny baubles, the unseely fey promised to dissuade uninvited guests.

From this high point, Deebee could just barely see Sandharbor on the horizon. If she strained her eyes and enhanced them with spellcraft, she could even pick out the roof of Enfri's cottage through the trees. She doubted Jin's eyes could span the same distance, but by the way Jin shielded her eyes with a hand and peered out, she was making the attempt.

"And the girl was always something of a homebody," Deebee continued. "If we're being forthright, her visiting my lair wasn't a subject I encouraged when she was younger. Whether it was a mistake or not, I tried to maintain a level of separation between Enfri and myself."

Jin turned towards her in surprise.

Deebee closed her eyes as she continued to work her spellcraft. "I wanted to protect her from... my world."

Jin made a soft sound of understanding. "You believed that if you welcomed her here, it might awaken the same adventurous spirit that took her father into the legions."

Deebee chuckled. "Well, I suppose you might be right."

"I am sorry to say you failed spectacularly."

"For better or worse. As you say." Deebee finished the last of her somatics and merely had to wait for a few of the spells to unravel themselves before proceeding. "If we truly are being forthright, may I ask you something, Jin?"

"Of course."

"Why did you ask to come with me?"

"If we are being forthright..." Jin whispered. She faced Deebee and looked her in the eye. "A number of reasons. Firstly, Goodman Smith suffers from battle fatigue, and Enfri believes royal assassins are a trigger of his."

Deebee hummed. "Yes, from his service alongside Yora. Brandyn Smith was there when he died."

She didn't need to elaborate further on the circumstances, or why the blacksmith would react negatively to an assassin's presence.

"I would not want to cause him distress," Jin said. She looked off to the side, her bearing growing troubled. "And another of my reasons is... jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Deebee exclaimed. "What in the blazes, girl?"

Jin flashed her a suffering look. "It is silly. I didn't wish to be there when... You see, I know Enfri once had feelings for Haythe Smith."

"Guh," Deebee blurted. "Please, don't remind me. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the boy's character, but I've nothing else flattering to say about him."

"Is that your way of saying he was simply not good enough for her?"

Deebee only partially succeeded in holding back a laugh. "So it seems. You, fortunately, I think just may be sufficiently acceptable. The bare minimum, of course."

"Of course," Jin replied. "Only barely."

Deebee looked over her shoulder as the illusions placed over her lair entrance at last unraveled. She gave a small cry of triumph as a pile of rocks faded away to reveal a broad granite staircase leading down into the depths of the mesa. Each spellwrought step was a pace and a half tall and twice as broad, large enough to accommodate the footsteps of her truest form.

That wouldn't do, not while Deebee was in this body and had such an important guest. One further somatic triggered a transmutation which changed the staircase to one better sized for mortal feet. She then conjured a firefly light to illuminate the stairs and led the way down.

"You said you had a number of reasons," Deebee said as they descended. "You made it sound like there were more than two."

"Curiosity over what manner of lair Deebee the Storyteller keeps might have been part of it."

"I hope I don't disappoint. Not to brag, but I think you'll be impressed."

"But, most important of all..."

Jin came to a stop on the staircase, and Deebee detected the faintest twinge of fear spiking in her scent. Deebee halted and turned to look back at her.

"What is it, Jin?" she asked with concern.

Jin took in a steadying breath and let it out all at once. "Enfri sought out Maya's blessing. It is only right I seek out yours." Her cheeks turned redder than Deebee had ever seen them. "I ask for your permission to marry your daughter of the heart."

Deebee blinked, non-plussed. "Not to be a wet blanket, but there does happen to be a way for you to ask her father direct."

"Yes, but... If Yora Page says no, it's not as if Enfri would pass that along."

"Mmm, true, but I don't think you need to worry about that. I knew Yora better than anyone else in this world, and let me tell you for a certainty, you're just the sort of person he'd choose for his daughter."

Jin cocked her head to the side. "You believe so?"

Deebee resumed her descent down the stairs with a laugh. "Oh, I know it. I seem to recall a visit by the young Algara queen during the Nadian Rebellion. She came to inspect the forces of House Merovech at the height of the fighting outside the walls."

Jin scurried to catch up. "My mother?"

"Yes, your mother. Queen Maebh Algara left quite the impression on Sergeant Yora Page of Sandharbor. He only saw her from a distance, but I recognized that look in his eye. He saw a goddess walking among mortals." Deebee turned back briefly to give Jin a reassuring nod. "Don't get anxious. He fell in love with your mother immediately, but it wasn't a romantic sort of love. Winds, no. Yora saw Queen Maebh as a sort of... oh, how would you say... a symbol. An icon, more like, or an idol. 'There', he would think, 'is someone to follow into Hell'. Yora had his own reasons for going to war, but I truly believe he was better able to come to terms with fighting for Althandor because of his admiration for the queen."

Jin furrowed her brow. "I don't see how that..."

"Don't you?" Deebee asked pointedly. "No, I suppose not. We need to work on that humility of yours. It gets bothersome. Suffice it to say, I see in you what Yora saw in your mother. That's how I know you needn't ask for Yora's blessing to wed Enfri. I'd wager my hoard against a walnut he's already given it to her." She came to a stop at the foot of the stairs and turned her head to face Jin. "And so have I."

If Deebee hadn't come to know Jin as well as she had over the last few months, she imagined it would've come as a surprise how Jin's eyes began to glisten. An intimidating royal assassin or not, Jin was a sensitive girl at heart.

I wonder, Deebee thought, who you might have become had you been born without those eyes.

Jin's beast-like gaze was lowered to her feet. Deebee reached for her face and raised her chin. She found her fighting valiantly against her tears.

"You mortal girls," Deebee sighed. "I long to see my daughters of the heart wed to one another. It will be a good day."

Jin's breath caught in her throat, and she looked to be teetering on the edge of losing all composure. Deebee thought it best to rescue her by drawing her attention elsewhere. She raised the hand holding the firefly light high and let the globe of radiance rise overhead. It picked up speed and began alighting along arcane sigils Deebee had engraved across the ceiling.

The antechamber of her lair became awash with silver etherlight. The polished granite of the chamber caught and reflected the etherlight, brighter and steadier than the finest gaslights in Althandor. Deebee was pleased to hear a small gasp of wonder coming from Jin.

Massive stone columns supported the vaulted ceiling, guiding the eye towards the enormous doorways leading deeper into the lair. Every pace and inch was spellwrought, the work of decades. Deebee had seen the lairs of other dragons. Most attempted to recreate Aleesh architecture from the pieces gleaned from the previous generation. Even before learning the old empire was not something to be emulated, Deebee had endeavored to create something altogether different. An architectural style of her own, inspired by what she imagined the aeries of the first dragons to be like.

There wasn't a single straight line or sharp angle to be found. Fluid and sinuous, like walking among clouds frozen into stone. The columns looked far more delicate than they were, and even the walls looked ephemeral enough to part for her if she tried walking through one. Deebee was proud of her creation, and she found Jin's reaction to it most satisfying.

"Beautiful," Jin breathed.

"Took just shy of forty years, less the time I spent seeking out my fellow dragons. I was something of a nomad before I found Yora, keeping my home in Varn's old lair. My Librarian was... is, I should say... terribly utilitarian, so I did what I could to imbue a little more artistry into my own home."

Jin took several steps forward and placed her hand against the curving lines of the nearest column. "I should say you managed."

"Care for the full tour? We have some time before Jalla arrives. Kimpo and Grimdar won't be here until this evening."

"Do you not need to prepare the nest?"

"Oh, did that ages ago. I wasn't completely negligent. There's a rookery ready and waiting further in. All that's left to do is pop the egg out. I must say I'm more than ready to get it out of me."

"Are you saying you're... in labor, now?"

"Labor," Deebee scoffed. "The very idea. No, but the little one's just waiting on me to go to my full size and straddle the nest at this point. The mighty aren't as pressed for time in these matters as mortals, so if you'd like to have a look around first, there's nothing preventing us."

One of Jin's barely-there smiles arrived. "Please. I'm especially eager to see this hoard you're always going on about."

"Cheeky."

"Just how many walnuts can you buy?"

Deebee started for the inner doors. "Enough that we won't have to listen to Reyn complaining about the ledgers for some time. Just don't expect me to donate all my treasures. A dragon must maintain her pride."

Approaching the doorway leading further into her lair, Deebee took a moment to look back at Jin. She was hesitating in the antechamber, giving it a final look before following. Deebee paused as she thought she saw something unexpected in Jin's bearing.

It was as if Jin was taking it all in at once, searing it into her memory, but it was the melancholy in her expression that Deebee found unexpected. Her bittersweet smile seemed to say Jin doubted she might ever get the chance to see this again.

"Is everything alright?" Deebee asked.

Jin let out a breath. "Yes. Just letting myself believe the world is as it should be for a moment."

Deebee felt she understood her meaning. The Five Kingdoms weren't about to stabilize on their own. Wars and troubles and foretold dooms were practically on the doorstep. Here and now, at least for the time being, it was peaceful. More than ever, such moments were sacred, and Deebee thought Jin was wise to appreciate them when they came.

"Come then," Deebee said to urge her along. "I should warn you to watch your step in the next room while I disable another ward. Strangely enough, I didn't expect the first royal assassin in my lair to be invited."

"A ward tailored to assassins?" Jin asked in surprise. "You would need a drop of an Algara's blood for something like that."

"Did I ever mention I could change into a mosquito? You wouldn't think it'd come in handy, but you'd be surprised." Deebee took Jin by the hand and led her into her home.

Here, Jin was welcome.

oOo

Yora chuckled at Enfri's predicament. Tell him he looks like his pa on his worst day.

I'm not about to insult a man poised to squish me, Papa!

Enfri fought to breathe around the massive bear hug Goodman Smith gave her. Brandyn had her feet up off the ground and her face about to turn purple by the time he was done. Enfri was rather dizzy when he placed her back down on the grass.

"Won't hear another word of it," he laughed jovially. Brandyn ran his fingers through the oiled length of his black beard. "Soon as Kiffa brought that blustering deed to your homestead, we kept it safe. In trust, I think the nobles call it. I wasn't about to take land off the daughter of the finest man I've ever known. Winds, no. She'd need a place to settle down again once she came back. The land's all yours, girl."

Enfri held a hand to her breast and tried to catch her wind. "Really, Goodman, I honestly meant for it to be yours. At the time, I was certain I'd never see Sandharbor again."

Brandyn thumbed his nose. "Aye, well, maybe part of it was us not wanting to believe it was really goodbye for good. Didn't even get a proper farewell."

Enfri hunched her shoulders. "Sorry. It was rather sudden on my end, too."

"Wasn't forever. That's what matters." He gave Enfri a heavy pat on the back that nearly toppled her and guided her back towards the others. "Since you showed up last night, I've been twisting my beard into knots about this business you've been getting into. We all thought you'd be past the equator by now, as far from the black hounds as you could get. Didn't expect you to be leading a legion of southern lords and dragons, and I'm still catching myself thinking the pretty lass with the antlers was a figment of my imagination."

Enfri giggled. "It's been a wild few months. Just wait until you meet the ogres. I think you'll get on famously."

"Winds take me. I'll look forward to it."

They came back around the forge, where Enfri had drawn him so they could converse in private. Ban was chatting with Haythe and Goodman Cooper in the shade of Grimdar the Gladiator's wings. Grimdar's crew were up on the dragon's back, conducting Haythe's two older children in a tour of the harness. Bran was three, Johd was two, and both dashed up and down the length of Grimdar's back while their mother watched anxiously from below.

Enfri remembered Valys Smith, formerly Valys Cooper, as being in the running for the prettiest girl in Sandharbor. She looked a little more worn now after bearing three children, but she remained as lovely as Enfri's memory of her. The youngest child, their only daughter Shannyn, was a wriggly baby struggling to free herself from Valys' clutches to join her brothers. She must have only recently learned how to walk and was already using her newfound mobility to terrify her parents.

There were other dragons nearby, both in truest and human forms. Three white dragons kept a loose watch on the surroundings. A whistle blew to signal the arrival of others. Enfri looked up in time to see Darva the Corsair and a second indigo dragon coming in for a landing. Crewmen from the Ruby, Quartz, and Pearl Knights busied themselves with the mundane tasks of maintaining their or their dragon's equipment.

Josy remained at Enfri's cottage with Kiffa. She'd recovered for the most part from her heroics, but Kiffa wanted to make certain Josy had healed right with all her bones in the right place. Hana and Hagen were there, too, under the watchful eye of Lord Grellin and the Wanderer. They'd declined to be returned to the legion and the other hallah'ha just yet, preferring to remain near to the Dragon Empress. Lastly, Lady Ascania and Jalla the Historian were coming soon, if only long enough for Jalla to sire Deebee's egg.

The one person Enfri wished most to see hadn't yet returned. Enfri didn't know what to make of Jin and Deebee spiriting off together as they did. It would be some time before Enfri saw Deebee again, perhaps as long as a month before her and Kimpo's eggs were old enough to be left on their own for a time, but Enfri hoped Jin didn't plan on staying for the duration. She'd probably come back with Jalla or Grimdar after the males' part in the egg-laying was over. That evening, at the latest.

"Really something else," Brandyn said quietly while looking up at Grimdar. "So that's how big Deebee really is?"

"Grimdar's the biggest dragon in Shan Alee," Enfri said. "Deebee is older, but red males are in a category all their own. Kimpo is Eldest of the reds, but even she's about three-quarters his size."

Brandyn let out a low whistle. "And you have how many dragons?"

"Over a hundred and ten now. Twenty are helping defend Ecclesia, and we've sent another twenty on errands across the Five Kingdoms. That leaves around seventy with the legion, and more are still coming."

"Sounds like we'd best get used to sights like this if you mean to settle here." He removed his wide-brimmed hat and ran a hand through his hair. "Winds and storms. A kingdom of dragons popping up next door overnight."

Ban and Goodman Cooper had their heads together. Enfri couldn't overhear, but it looked like Ban was listening intently while Goodman Cooper explained something in low tones. Ban nodded along with a grim look in his eyes.

"A lot's still up in the air," Enfri admitted. "We don't know for certain if Princess Maya will even allow us to claim my father's land as a new client kingdom."

"The princess and not the king?" Brandyn asked.

"Can't say he and I are on good terms," Enfri sighed. "All our contact has been through hired killers and really angry northerners. Might just be rubbing salt in the wound that I'm betrothed to his youngest daughter, so I don't think that's helping."

Brandyn gave a thoughtful sort of grunt. "Haythe owes Kiffa five shiffs. Can't say any of that politics business is in my wheelhouse, but if any of your knights need a knife sharpened or some hinges, I'm your man. Wouldn't trust my forge to make a sword, though. Never had cause to make weapons before all this trouble started."

Enfri mulled over what he said for a moment before it fully registered. "Trouble here?"

He looked a little miffed at himself for letting something slip. A chagrined grimace twisted his mouth as he scratched at the back of his head. "Aye, well, there's been some unpleasantness as of late."

"Winds and storms, Goodman," Enfri exclaimed.

"Nothing you ought to be worried over," he assured her. "Not now when you're fresh home. There'll be time enough for..." He sighed when he saw the stubborn light coming to life in Enfri's eyes. He continued on in a quiet and reluctant tone. "Crofters around the village have been getting their farms visited. By procurement specialists, they call themselves, attached to the Crescent Legion, and they've not been of a mind to leave so much as a turnip in folks' larders once they move on."

"Melcians," Enfri murmured. "Robbing Althandi goodfolk?"

Brandyn bent to the side and spat. "Aye, but that's not what they're calling it. Lawful procurement of supply, but anyone what thinks to raise their voice against it can expect a company of armsmen on their doorstep and bearing the signet of House Akazewi. Whether it's lawful or not, they've been taking every scrap of food and cloth they can get their mitts on."

A cold sensation swept over Enfri's body. It began at her face and worked its way down her spine.

This is my fault.

Yora tried to interject. You can't blame yourself for everything wrong in the world, Sunny.

"This is my fault," she insisted out loud. "After we drove them out of Nadia, the Crescent Legion wasn't just going to go home, and Sandharbor's right on the road between Drok Moran and Adezu. No one will help, because House Merovech can't protect these lands while I've got their head of house locked away." Enfri held the sides of her head in her hands and made a frustrated sound. "I should've seen it coming. The Akazewis know I'm from Sandharbor. I bet Adeyemi and Omolade made a point of coming here just to send a message."

"This is our trouble, Enfri," Brandyn said. "So far, no one's been hurt more than a few bruises. It's nothing to get worked up over. I don't want you getting yourself in a twist over our problems."

"Your problems are my problems. I'm every bit as much a resident of Sandharbor as you are." Enfri turned her head towards the others. "Ban!"

He came over at once at a jog. Goodman Cooper and Haythe followed him.

The goodman walked with a limp Enfri didn't remember him having. He wasn't as tall or as broad as Brandyn, but he was a solid man nearing the end of his middle-years. Haythe was the same handsome youth he'd always been. He was twenty-four now, his black hair short, his brown eyes dreamy, and his face might as well have been chiseled from a sculptor's block of marble.

Enfri would have wanted to give them both a proper greeting like they deserved, but she was too angry with herself and the Akazewis both to manage it. "The Crescent Legion, Ban."

"Aye, the goodmen filled me in."

"Do you think they know we're here?"

"There was no talk like that in town, Sky Woman," Goodman Cooper said. "I... mean to say..."

"Call me Enfri," she said. If her neighbors started in on this majesty business, Enfri doubted she'd ever be able to live it down. She turned back to Ban. "Even so, we should let the mighty know to keep their distance from Sandharbor. I don't want Rangers poking around this way."

"Good call," Ban agreed. "The knights here should be enough to get you away if you're found out, but I don't want more dragons than who's already here coming by. The Melcians must not be expecting us, but they're not blind."

"Why are they here at all? This can't be legal, what they're doing."

Ban held out a palm and tilted it from side to side. "On paper, the Crescent Legion's not doing anything wrong, but this sort of thing is frowned on even during war time. You can't just go pilfering the cellars of folk living in someone else's kingdom. If the Merovech was still alive, Adeyemi would get demands to withdraw delivered to him by the Highest King's messengers at the very least. Censure from the Highest Court, maybe a summons to the Spired City to answer for his actions. He'd have to pull back and make reparations or it would mean armed dispute from here to the border."

Haythe shifted his feet. "You mean it'd be a war between Melcia and Althandor?"

Ban gave a half-shrug. "This could be taken as an act of war, yes. Thing is, Cathis has always had Adeyemi on a long leash and allowed him more sovereignty than even the other great kingdoms. Akazewi and Algara have always been as close as two royal houses can be, so I think Cathis would give Adeyemi the benefit of the doubt. He trusts Melcia to act towards the good of the Five Kingdoms, so when he hears about this, you better believe he'll take Adeyemi's side. Lord Ambrose, however, wasn't the kind to let anyone push the people on his land around. If Melcian armsmen tried pulling this on his watch, he'd plant his own armsmen in their path and dare them to do something about it. You'd get a brief stalemate followed by the Melcians turning around and offering apologies while they were at it."

Enfri was scowling as she listened. "Whoever's directing House Merovech in Garret's absence won't do anything like that without the head of house's say so. If someone's going to stand up for Sandharbor, it's going to have to be us." She smoothed her expression and forced a smile. "It's good to see you again, Goodman Cooper. And you, Haythe. I'm sorry we don't have the chance to catch up properly, but do you know where the Melcians are encamped?"

Haythe gaped at her for a solid ten seconds before finding his voice. "Ah, right. Right. They're close. Too close for comfort. A few camps a bit east of town, but there's about a thousand in the village. They've taken over the trading post and the market square. Officers are taking quarter from folk, forcing them to put them up while they're here. The headman's house is overrun with them, and there's these giant knights with strange armor keeping everyone from coming within twenty paces."

Ban growled deep in his throat. "Sounds like angels. That means Omolade or Zoputan or both are here."

"And we have their sister," Enfri grumbled. "Not the best way to cross paths, is it?"

"They're entrenched," Ban said, "and when our legion gets here, they're going to be exhausted from the forced march. It'll be a bloody order rooting the..."

"No," Enfri exclaimed. "Absolutely not. I'm not about to start another battle in the middle of my hometown. Even if we push them out as quickly as possible, people will get hurt. My people, Ban, every bit as much my people as the Aleesh."

The three goodmen cast wary looks at Ban.

"Waves. Of course, Your Majesty. As you say."

Haythe and Goodman Cooper blinked in surprise at how readily Ban acquiesced to Enfri. They must have been seeing him as the one in charge, and it gave Enfri a small bit of satisfaction to have that laid to rest.

"Which isn't to say I'm just going to let Omolade do what she wants," Enfri said. "I'm not the military genius. What's my Knight-Marshal have to say?"

"Won't be easy, even if we came in with the Rubies and Garnets, fire breath first." He looked towards the east and furrowed his brow. "Any direct action will cause damage to the village, and I won't let that happen. For now, I can ride back to the legion with one of the others, direct the columns to march for your land west of Sandharbor, and set up camp there. With the terrain and how they're scattered, the Crescent Legion won't be able to threaten us until we've had the chance for some rest, and by then, we can find another way to convince them to go. Might be just showing up will make them think better of raiding the countryside."

"They'll surely see your people coming, my lord," Brandyn said. "They could have battalions ready and waiting for you before your armsmen get here."

Ban's confident grin arrived. "Not before the fey. We'll have orcs and goblins securing the desert's edge before they know it. If Zoputan's smart, and he is, he'll pull back from the town and take the high ground in those hills to the northeast. Once he does, the village will be out of harm's way, and we can sit down and have a civil chat with the Akazewis."

"I hope it goes better this time," Enfri said. "Luckily, we have something in our favor we didn't have last time."

Ban raised an eyebrow. "Nkeoma?"

"Nkeoma," Enfri agreed. "When you get back to the legion, send the Amethyst Knights and all their guests my way. Send Krayson and Reyn, too, while you're at it. I'm ready to have all this Garret business settled once and for all."

Ban nodded. "It will be done. I'll just need to say my farewells to Kimpo before I go, give her a few jabs about being a mama the next time I see her. What will you do until tonight?"

Enfri wasn't all that sure. It would be some time before the Taskmaster could come with Garret and Nkeoma. Enfri had gotten used to having too many things to do and not enough hours in the day to do them. Needing to simply sit still and do nothing for a few hours felt unfamiliar. She could hammer out some plans for Goodman Marchand and the Aleesh pilgrims to settle in the area. With Kolbat and the Corsair on hand, Enfri could even get a start on the tattoos for all the bonds she'd forged the day before. She'd almost forgotten how wonderful it could feel to have free time in which she could do whatever she wanted.

"I know what I'll do," Enfri said. "I'm going to dig around in a garden."