The Anne Runelara estate fit in just fine with the rest of the noble quarter. Like many others, the main section of the house was made of a large, tall tree as wide around as any tower in New Frausta. Surrounding it were various buildings made of stone so white that the moonlight reflected easily off of them, giving the place an ethereal ambiance.

We walked up a bush-flanked path to the most prominent of these buildings connected to the tree. An elderly Elf in fine clothes was there to meet us. He offered me a nod, but lit up with a dazzling smile when his eyes met Ferrisdae’s.

“Welcome, Dungeon Inspectors,” he said with a bow. Despite his joy at seeing my junior, it didn’t seem like he would neglect his duties. I respected that. “You may call me Ballie. I see to the grounds. May I take your jacket, sir? Or your robe, young mistress?”

“No, thank you,” I returned politely. “I don’t plan on staying long after I’m done.”

“Please, Ballie,” Ferrisdae said, taking him up on his offer. She shrugged off her purple star robe, revealing comfortable travel clothes underneath. Adjusting her tunic, her gaze traveled past the older man. “Can I assume that mother is practicing?”

“You would assume correctly, young mistress,” Ballie confirmed as he folded the robe over his arm. “Would you like an escort?”

“No, thank you. I can take it from here.”

“Very well. If you need anything, you know how to call me,” the Elf said with another bow. A moment later, he disappeared into the darkness at his feet.

“You have teleporting help?” I asked with an arched eyebrow. “That seems prohibitively expensive.”

“He’s in charge of everyone who works for the family and has been for generations,” Ferrisdae explained as she entered the building. I followed after her. “I’m sure he’s paid handsomely, but I’m not well versed in my family’s finances. I can only assume that we make a lot from just mother’s adventuring and father’s patents alone, not even regarding everyone else.”

I nodded along. There was likely no reason for her to know unless she was being prepared to take over as the head of the Anne Runelara family and that wouldn’t be for a long while. While Ferrisdae’s father technically was the inheritor of the name, her mother was more aggressive in the role. From what little I understood from my research, this suited him just fine and allowed him time to accomplish his own goals in alchemy.

Apparently, Zerellus Anne Runelara was considered an eccentric genius. He had been an alchemist for a century, and he had really found his calling making potions, unguents, and more. They had become the gold standard at which every other professional had become subjected to. Not always happily.

Cutting off that train of thought, I looked around. The mansion — and that’s the only word I could have used for it — was spotless from top to bottom with a clean that only magic could provide. Plants, antiques, and curios lined every hallway we took. For a family of adventurers, few of them looked like trophies. I appreciated the less violent decor.

When the stone halls were replaced with wood and I knew we were in the tree portion of the mansion, I faintly heard the sound of a violin. Having heard musicians of all sorts both good and bad from running the Bottom’s Up, I could tell that this was someone of immense talent even if they probably did have all the time in the world to practice, as they were an Elf.

“That would be my mother,” Ferrisdae said.

“Not your Grandma Arabella?” I asked, remembering back to trivia night in Crystal Snows. “She was the one who played the first seat in Violin Concerto #3, right?”

“Yes, she's my father's mother. Good memory,” my junior praised happily. “All of the women in our family pick up an instrument. It’s not something that we’re told to do, but there is some pressure on it. The men tend to as well, choosing to play whatever’s complimentary. Mother started playing after marriage and father already played the piano because he was used to playing with Grandma Arabella, so she decided to pick up the violin as well.”

I grunted, but asked the obvious question. “And what do you play?”

She smiled sheepishly. “I’m stuck on vocals. Wouldn’t say I’m any good, but I don’t have a decent enough sense of rhythm to play something.”

“Well,” I started before lowering my voice to a whisper. “Bring that up with Willow next time we’re in New Frausta. I’m sure you’ve heard her sing quietly to herself. She loves learning new songs from the bards that play in the tavern.”

Ferrisdae’s eyes widened as an enthusiastic expression overtook her face. “I would love to sing with Willow.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep it down,” I said, shaking my head. There wasn’t anyone around, but I wouldn’t put it past an adventuring family to have some kind of security that allowed them to record voices. That was why I whispered.

She nodded, but couldn’t contain her excitement; her gait had an extra bounce in it that I hadn’t seen in a long while. So long as Ferrisdae was actually happy and not just putting on an act like she had in the Dungeon Master’s dungeon, that was fine by me.

We stopped as a figure, the first we had seen, walked from one hallway to another in front of us. The Elven man was carrying so many rolled up scrolls, charts, and other paperwork that he could barely see where he was going. There was a whiff of chemicals coming from him, too, and I easily identified sulfur as the strongest one. Just as I was about to say something, Ferrisdae squealed.

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“Father!” she called.

The Elf nearly fell over as he turned to face us, trying to peer over the bundles in his arms. He shifted this way and that before we made it to him. Ferrisdae took some of the taller papers so she could better see him, and his face lit up.

“Ferry!” he announced loudly the moment he saw her. “I haven’t seen you in a day! How have you been?”

“I’m doing well,” she answered jovially. “Here to see mother on official Department of Dungeon business, actually.”

“On Freesday?” he asked, wrinkling his brow. “You know she’s very particular about her practice.”

“It’s my meeting,” I said. “It was the best time that worked for me, and she obliged.”

“Who?” he asked, turning to try and find me. If he couldn’t see his daughter, then he certainly wasn’t going to see me.

“I am Dungeon Inspector Badger,” I replied. “I’m your daughter’s mentor.”

“Oh! Badger! Sorry, Dungeon Inspector Badger! I’ve heard so much about you these last couple of months,” he said before shifting his papers. The Elf offered his hand low, holding everything up by pressing his arms together. “Only good things, of course. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Zerellus Anne Runelara.”

“A pleasure,” I repeated. Reaching up, I shook his hand no matter how awkward he was making it. I slipped a glance at Ferrisdae knowing he couldn’t see me. She gave me a confused look back. “Though I am surprised you’ve been hearing about me for the last couple of months. Has Ferrisdae been sending you a lot of letters?”

“Some, but my wife, Durendrelle, couldn’t have been happier to hear that you would be our Ferry’s mentor,” he answered.

“Mother was happy about that?” Ferrisdae asked. “I knew she was paying attention to where I ended up, but I didn’t know that she thought Badger was a good fit. Especially considering his track record with rookies.”

“Hey,” I warned, even if it was true.

“Oh, she was beyond ecstatic!” Zerellus said. “Drella was sending letters, donations, all sorts of things to the Department of Dungeons to ensure that you received the best treatment. She mentioned something about someone, but I don’t think she ever said a name. Or did she? I don’t think I was paying close attention at the time, but I guess that must have been you, Badger.”

I continued to watch Ferrisdae’s face as her father spoke. It was immediately clear to me that this was new information to her, and it was worrying. If it were Emilia or Willow, then I would have offered to help and only given it if they asked. This seemed like a wild overstep for a parent to take.

Was Durendrelle pushing the Department of Dungeons to give her to me because of my reputation when it came to rookies? Was it because Ferrisdae succeeded under the toughest circumstances or failed out and came home to be an adventurer?

She had thought she had gotten the job on merit alone, then how much of that was true? Brackenhorst had said he had vetted her personally and that she was a diamond, but how much of it was her mother pulling the strings in the background?

How much pride could Ferrisdae take in being, relatively speaking, the youngest junior inspector at a Human equivalent age of 18?

“Father, you’re joking right now, right?” she asked quietly.

“Oh, it was no trouble at all for Drella, I’m sure,” he replied, getting the complete wrong idea from his daughter’s tone. “You know your mother and I would do anything to help you get ahead. Well, I’ve been a bit busy, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t, either. You know that, right?”

“Of course,” Ferrisdae said with a strained smile. “We probably shouldn’t keep you. I know you’re likely busy.”

“I am, but I can-”

“No, that’s okay,” she interrupted firmly. “You go and find your next big thing. I’ll stop by again if my schedule allows it.”

“Okay, Ferry, so long as you’re sure,” Zerellus said. He awkwardly leaned in around the papers and kissed Ferrisdae on the cheek before she loaded him back up with the ones she had taken. “It’s so good seeing you again. And nice meeting you, Badger. Don’t be a stranger next time you find yourself in Athir.”

“Have a good night,” I replied. He resumed his trek through the mansion, but we didn’t move. I looked up at Ferrisdae. “Your father seems… nice. A bit absentminded, maybe a bit clueless? But nice.”

“He is all of those things,” she agreed. “But, he’s also a genius, so. There’s that.”

I pursed my lips. If this were Emilia or Willow, I figured I would know what to say. Ferrisdae was neither, and this was a family issue that I wasn’t sure how to broach. Or even if I should.

“You don’t have to be a part of this meeting if you don’t want to,” I offered, unsure.

“No, I still want to see her,” she said flatly, though I could tell she was conflicted.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

“No. I don’t think I do.”

“Take your time, then. We’ll continue when you’re ready,” I said after a moment of hesitation.

Just as I was about to start really appreciating the architecture, Ferrisdae began moving again. Her footsteps were heavy, and I assumed they mimicked her thoughts.

“Please don’t bring this up when we meet her,” she requested softly. “I know that it probably means mother had looked into you, and that she probably knows your past. I understand that you’d probably think of that as a huge invasion of your privacy. You would be right, but I don’t want to deal with that argument right now. If that’s okay, I mean.”

I thought about what she said, and her line of thinking made sense. It was very likely that Durendrelle had given Zerellus a name, but seeing as it was the Nameless he probably misunderstood or wasn’t interested in monikers. In my worry about Ferrisdae, I hadn’t even thought about that.

It did make me mad, but I shelved it. If my junior wanted me to play nice with her mother, I could do that for her.

“For what it’s worth,” I said quietly. “I don’t think Chief Inspector Brackenhorst would have given you this particular job just because of your mother. When I tried to pawn you off to another Inspector that first chance I got, he seemed to have been genuinely impressed by you. Now, I’m glad he didn’t let me ditch you. I’m impressed, too.”

“Thank you,” she replied after a few steps. “That does help.”

I nodded, and we walked the rest of the way without conversation. The only sound was that of her mother’s violin getting closer and closer.