A few minutes later, Fiona could smell the appetizers coming–and indeed, that crab roll looked delicious when it was set in front of her. “Oh, my goodness. Where have you been all my life, snackling?” she uttered in amazement. She could smell that sweet meat packed with all sorts of savory breading, and other seasonings. She hoped elves didn’t have an allergen to any kind of shellfish, because she was about to risk it.

She wasn’t disappointed. That meat had a slightly smoky flavor, and it was fried so well, she couldn't help but make a muted sound of delight. “Greg, you take me to the nicest places. Bestest work friends, ever!” she cooed with delight–and quickly downed a breadstick, too. “Jake, speaking of which, where's your plus one? You talked about them, but we haven’t met them!”

“Oh, they’re working tonight, as much as it pains me to say it. Don’t worry, we’ll all get together soon,” Jake assured them. But expression indicated he was disappointed, based on his slight slump in posture after she asked. She knew better than to ask right now, at dinner. She’d have to follow up with him later. “Anyway, Greg let me know you guys were going to line up a donation of some kind. You know, you didn’t have to do that–”

“Jake, the guild made me into what I am, and has done so much for the kingdom. It’s the least I can do, by remembering my roots,” she countered passionately, one hand to her chest. “I still remember those exhausting exercises, and the amazing food, and Marley, with that stick up his arse! Never met a trainer with such a lack of humor!”

“And that stick has failed to dislodge, even given your attempts to bring charm and humor to the place,” Jake mused, and looked enthralled with the menu. “I still don’t know what I want. Someone else has to order, or I’ll never settle on something.”

“What can I get you?” Virgil asked as if showing up by instant reaction, a pen and pad already in hand.

“Bison steak, those fried tuber things, and–I dunno, can I get more?” Fiona asked. Greg laughed at this.

“Trust me, you won’t need to.” They had several minutes to kill while the meals fired up, and Cita nudged Nick, as if to spur him on something.

“So, we heard something about King Barry. Apparently after he left the party, he got super pissed. You must have set him off, Fiona,” Nick told her while they’d been chatting about what they had missed. “He has an axe to grind with you, for sure.”

“I still don’t get that. Like, why would he hoist this bogus debt, just to get me to negotiate a trade deal?” she pondered aloud. “Did I piss him off in another life or something? I doubt I did. He could have found someone else.”

“Unlikely. King Barry was born here,” Jake answered with a measure of calm, hands folded together and fingers interlaced. His claws were also trimmed to a neat, and non-lethal length. “But, I did confirm something that you and Bonnie mentioned. He’s trying to secure some kind of trade deal with Vale. The rumor has it, there was a bit of a shake-up in the internal politics of the capital there, about a month or so ago. Very hush-hush. But they’re apparently under new management.”

“New management is not always better management,” Bonnie said venomously. “Especially given their history.”

“Uh, what history is that?” Fiona asked.

“Slavery, drug trade, and more,” she answered, with her ears tucked back at that mention. “Fiefdala is nice, but go far enough out of your way, you’ll find places that aren’t as uh…enlightened as we are here.” Fiona took that as a note to start paying attention, and leaned in. “We had a border skirmish with them a while back. They picked a fight they couldn’t win, and Greybeard beat them six ways to Fiersday. He wasn’t messing around. Which is why I’m glad his calm, collected leadership is the norm around here. Barry, is not, as we’ve proven. He’s thin-skinned and a schemer.”

“So, why’d he put Barry on the throne? He’s got four other kids, even the mage dropout would have been a better choice!” Cita stated with a flash of teeth. “I find it pretty suspect that the second Greybeard goes on his little vacation and semi-retirement tour, that Barry jumps in with this.”

“He’s whipped with that viper, Glados,” Fiona proposed. “She’s got that dominating vibe to her. Barry is wrapped around her little manicured finger. And, she’s got a heart filled with lead.”

“And you know this, how?” Jake asked cautiously. She could say that her little winged heart gave her the inclination, but that might sound crazy.

“A gut instinct. The way they acted around each other, for more than five minutes,” she said with a decidedly more subdued approach. “Barry being the throne–not even counting the beef I have with him–is bad.”

“He is the King. For now. I'm not clear on if Greybeard will kick his son off the throne or not, if he does a bad job,” Jake cautioned and motioned for temperaments to cool a little with a subtle hand motion. “I do hear from the other guilds that they’ll be putting Barry on a tight leash, because Greybeard did indeed have a level of competence they appreciated. When he gets back with the missus, I’m sure he’ll be of keen interest in what his son has been up to, and Barry knows that. So, he has to deliver.”

“Bah, he’s skeeving. I can smell it from his greasy pores,” Fiona growled, and devoured a breadstick in response. “What else are the guilds saying?”

“Rebuilding efforts are ongoing in the affected province, and Douglas the Red–through some thorough negotiations–won’t be bothering us again. Funny story, he thought we stole his land from him! That’s ridiculous, though. Dragons tend to just claim things, then take them when no one’s looking,” Jake informed them.

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“Not all of them, Jake, hey! That’s speciesism. The dragon enclave up in the mountains are good trade partner and reliable allies. I think Douglas had a falling out, him and his clan,” Nick interjected with a ruffling of feathers. "Plus, doesn't he have a twin brother or something?"

"Egg mates." Greg spoke up with a calm resolve. "Essentially, twins in the same egg. Kier'fraag, Doug's brother, does not attract attention the way his brother did. I know little of him. Come to think of it, this whole dispute emerged essentially out of nowhere. Douglas was never an problem, and even ran trade with fertilizer and other produce, and some ore refinement, prior to the conflict."

“Heh heh. I still beat some humility into him,” Fiona beamed. Jake tried not to smirk at that.

“I won’t say that you didn’t have a profane impact on him, but–no, some impacting was involved,” he added in a quip that got her giggling. “The hard part after the battle is realizing that peace isn’t always perfect. There’s a helping of kobolds and others in his domain that trickled our way, looking for jobs, and not being stuck working in a peat bog all day. All over a piece of land.”

“Hang on, back up a second. The dragon claimed that we stiffed them on a land deal?” Greg asked as if he’d been mulling on something for a moment.

“Again, dragon, and when you’re half a ton of scale, lean muscle, have a ravenous appetite, and can bulldoze a whole town, people aren’t keen on arguing with you. Though not all dragons are like that,” Jake cautioned. “They have a small slice of a kingdom in the Karave mountains north of here that we’re on good terms with. But as for a land deal, I recall nothing of the sort. I just find it odd–it’s almost as if the dragon thought we stole his land. Greybeard wouldn't deliberately stiff people like that."

The arrival of the food interrupted Jake’s interesting discussion, and Fiona stared at that slab of juicy, succulent meat with a hint of butter and other fresh seasoning in front of her. “Oh, my goodness. That is the biggest steak I’ve ever seen,” she gasped as the scent of that steak and fried tubers came to her attention. “Let’s eat!”

She was not disappointed in the slightest, it was bright pink in the center, juicy, and utterly tender, and she found herself having to slow down, just a little bit to enjoy it. She’d never had anything quite like it. The meat itself also had a slightly sweet taste, and was just a touch gamey–but it was an utter delight! She wished all meals could be like this. The side of fried tubers were well seasoned–it was almost like curly fries, but something a little more firmly textured.

“Well, looks like someone’s enjoying this place,” Greg commented in a bemused way while working on his plate–a well-cooked and presented slice of fish, likely caught locally from the lake. It was lightly seasoned, with what looked like a lemon slice to garnish it. “Been saving that appetite for tonight?”

“Someone hid my snacks,” she managed to say between bites, and sent a sly look toward Bonnie. “I wonder who that could have been?”

“Nonsense, you just left them at home,” Bonnie said with a leering grin and her eyes lit up brightly.

“Ah-ah, you can’t pull the Jedi mind tricks on me, dear! I’m not weak-willed!” she retorted back. “How’s the…uh…poultry?”

“It’s pretty good. Greg, thank you for taking us here, it’s nice to relax for a little bit,” Bonnie said with a nod towards the ever-composed Greg. Jake and the others were chatting amongst themselves, sounding excited.

“Now, I have one question for you two,” Jake asked with a grin as he glanced at Nick and Cita. “Aren’t you both supposed to be on duty tomorrow? Better not indulge too much, or I’ll send the manic red-haired elf after ya. You know, to make sure you’ve got some spring in your step!”

“Pssh. I still have reduced hours on Saturday, but that gives me a day and a half of free time!’ Fiona said with a laugh. “Besides, I think Nick here knows that what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.”

“Oh dear gods, the puns, Fiona,” Bonnie groaned while tugging her ears for emphasis. Nick laughed loudly at that, and Cita giggled along. “You can’t leave things alone, can ya?”

“If it’s a button that needs pushing, I push it!” she grinned and pointed at herself with enthusiasm. “It’s my new goal in life!”

After a few moments, the tempo had slowed, and everyone had mostly finished up with their meals, and were idle talking. The waiter had come back–all handsome looking–and Fiona was tempted to ask if a slice of hunk was also on the menu. She thought better of it because Greg gave her that look of ‘don’t try it’, like he was reading her mind. She did thank the waiter for the excellent service, and gave him several gold coins for his efforts.

Greg was the first to clear his throat, after the conclusion of the meal. “Now, be mindful, we can’t come here every week,” he explained after he’d paid for the meal. “But, I think for our first week open…we did well. I can say that with confidence, now, even though I had my reservations before.”

“Greg the realist. Keep these girls juuuust anchored enough to the ground, and I think you guys will do fine. Thank you for that generous goodwill, by the way,” Jake chimed in after a few seconds. Cita was more than edging from her chair and leaning on Nick, and being more than a little forward about hanging out, afterward. “Well now guys, thanks for the invite. Next time, I promise to bring my plus one, I’m sure you’ll like to meet them.”

“Don’t be a stranger, Jacob,” Greg assured him. “I think with the kingdom now settled back into something more of a ‘normal’ state, you might want to think about some more training for peacetime operations.”

“Yeah, we’ve already started pivoting. We have plenty to finish up, though. Fiona, you sure you don’t want back in?”

“Hah! My adventuring might be limited to weekends only, Jake. But, you know I’d be with you in a heartbeat if I can!” she answered with a wink aimed at him, and a gentle hug before they departed for the evening. They were about to head up the street, but then Fiona heard a flapping of wings–was that Kali flying toward them?!

He landed in a stumble and barely avoided nose-diving into the ground. Or on second thought, beak-diving. She was still getting used to this crazy world, and she let out a sound of shock–he was hurt!

“Fiona, there’s a problem,” he gasped. He looked more than a little ruffled, and she could see scrapes on his face and arms. “I headed back to the shop to check on something. A couple of guys tried to break in, tried to force me to undo the wards! Bonnie hadn’t keyed me in, so I couldn’t! I managed to escape, but–”

“Kali, first off, are you okay?” Bonnie gasped, and examined him thoroughly. He winced when she grabbed his arm–he’d been bloodied up a little bit, and his clothing had been scuffed and torn.

“Second off, who hurt you?” Fiona felt her ears twitch and she reached for the veiled haft of her hammer. This was the kid's first day on the job, and he'd been assaulted. Someone was about to become a carcass for daring to hurt a member of her team.

“Took off when I smashed the window to trigger the alarms. The town guard is there,” he managed with a ragged breath.

“Jake, Nick, Cita, I’ve gotta go,” Fiona announced. “Bonnie, get him back on his feet, we need to go back to the shop."