Marko wasn't actually a panda, and Larry wasn't truly a koala, Amelia learned. Much like Timon and some of the other Elarans, they were a sort of humanoid version of those animals, blending features and traits of each species. Unlike the Fur Folk, who were animals, just with greater intelligence and the ability to speak. It was kinda confusing, but since they were all friends now, she figured it didn't matter much, one way or the other.

Except for Larry, who they hadn't thawed out yet. She wasn't sure if he was going to be a friend, so it was better if he stayed a statue until Marko was ready to move on.

While they were devouring portions of chips from the café, they'd had a rather nice chat. Marko eventually calmed down a little as he realized Amelia was much nicer in person than in rumor, even if she did eat chips with brown sauce. But other than that, she seemed normal.

Amelia gave him a little overview of the hollow and its environs, which was getting increasingly complicated once you included the doings in Elara and the underground warrens. After the last reorganization, it was so empty and peaceful in the area around the cottage it was easy to forget all the industries and crafts that were there. Or the enormous number and variety of inhabitants they had. She hand-waved most of that, just saying that they "had a lot going on".

Marko, for his part, explained that he and Larry were merchants out on their holidays. They were acquaintances of Reginald, having done some trades and projects with the boar on occasion. When they had explained their plan to go on a long ramble, he'd mentioned the hollow as a place to visit.

Amelia hadn't spoken with Reginald since he'd introduced her to Pola, but the goblins and dwarves had kept in touch. He was their main contact on selling some of the products they made, and especially the rare ore they'd extracted from the cavern below Alder's clearing. The boar had contacts everywhere and knew who was buying what and for how much.

"So what do you two specialize in? Or do you just do a bit of everything, like Reg? I have an idea maybe you could help me with, if you're interested?" asked Amelia, before taking a sip of her tea. Tyni had been keeping them supplied while they talked, bringing out snacks and drinks as he saw them running low. The dwarf was a master at hospitality, inserting new dishes and spiriting away the old ones when there was a lull in the conversation, so they weren't interrupted.

"Ah, um, I'm not sure ..." Marko glanced over to his frozen friend, fiddling awkwardly with his mug. "Maybe we shouldn't talk business? I wouldn't want to step on Reginald's toes, you know, and Larry ..."

Amelia nodded. Reginald was certainly profiting from them, but everybody seemed happy with the current arrangements. She let Bellows and crew deal with all that since it was mostly their work they were trading, anyways. It was nice not to have to worry about money these days. There wasn't much she couldn't have Bert or Elara make if she wanted it, or ask one of her friends to make for her. Some rare ingredients or specialized tools were about all they had to buy for the most part. It was still nice to have 'pocket money' for visits to the Night Market and such, though. But they'd never agreed to be exclusive with the boar, however.

"Well, Reg has trotters, not toes, so no problem there. And if Larry puts up any objections, we can drop it, I promise!" She grinned mischievously and winked.

Curiosity (and a bit of greed) warred with loyalty, the battle clear on the panda's chubby face. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment or two, staring absently at his petrified partner. Then back to his new friend, who was practically bouncing with eager energy, happiness and goodwill almost oozing from her. The panda smiled back and nodded his head, a keen glint in his round eyes. "What's your idea?"

"Be right back! I'll show you!" Amelia said, jumping to her feet and dashing into the cottage. She returned to the gazebo a few moments later, carrying a small metal tray piled with chocolates. "New products! Try 'em, tell me what you think!" she said as she placed the tray on the table, wedging aside a few mugs and the partially empty baskets of snacks they'd been grazing on.

Marko gazed at the assortment of candy on the tray. He could see that there were at least two styles, with one kind a little larger and fancier looking. He plucked one delicately with the claws of his thumb and index finger, holding it up to inspect it from all angles. It was rather rough and hand-made looking and about half-again the size of the other sort. After a thorough perusal, he popped it in his mouth and chewed with gusto.

Amelia nodded as he enjoyed the candy, pushing the tray closer to him. "Good, right? Want another one of that kind?"

He nodded but didn't say anything as he savored the moment, eyes half-lidded, shoulders slumping in relaxation. You could practically see stress drain out of him from the top down, the panda melting into the chair as he finally swallowed.

"That is AMAZING! That was the single best candy I have ever eaten!" he managed to get out, eventually, speaking a bit thickly as he returned to reality. "I'm not usually a fan of caramel, but that was just sublime, Amelia! Like a, um, like all the best things rolled into a bite and poured over your tongue at once! Like getting your head scratched, back rubbed, and feet massaged while sitting in the perfect temperature bath!"

"While a fire roars in the background, with maybe a good book handy. Tasty drink nearby?"

The panda stared at her in shock, then nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Exactly! I have no idea how you taste that, but that was it! Like, the perfect cozy moment!"

"Another one? There's lots!" She held the tray out to him.

"Of course!" Marko replied instantly, but his paw didn't move to take one. A confused look crossed his face, then he smacked his lips for a second. "Um, then again, maybe one of the others? It was sooo good, I'm afraid nothing else will live up to that. You know?" He plucked one of the smaller pieces up and ate it quickly, without the detailed examination of before.

It wasn't possible for him to relax any more, but if he could have, he would have. It was several minutes before Amelia poked him gently with a finger to see if he was still awake.

"Wha? Oh, sorry! Drifted off there!" He said, blinking his eyes and stretching like one just waking up from a long, wonderful nap. "What the heck is in those things?"

"The two you had were the ultra-dark chocolate, no sea salt, with toffee. Not caramel, though. Caramel is just sugar, but toffee has butter in it. Sometimes flour too, but these just have sugar and butter. Plus a little special processing me and the crew came up with. With a little extra somethin' somethin' in the large ones."

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"You're going to tell me the special ingredient is love, aren't you?" The panda eyed her skeptically but with a wry grin.

"Well, of course we put that in! How could you make candy and not love it? Well, at least as a hobby, anyways. But no. The special processing is ... dum dah da dum! Magic!" She held her hands up and wiggled her fingers dramatically. "Don't believe me? Want another of that first kind?"

The panda looked from Amelia to the tray and back, puzzlement on his face. "Actually, no! It was amazing, but I just don't want another of the big kind. I'm not like, repulsed or anything. Just don't want one. How weird!"

"Nope! Magic! But the big kind have some extra special properties." She stopped speaking for a moment, thinking about her next words carefully. "We, um, figured out a way to make anti-mind control candy. It's like a vaccination, sorta. Only takes one, then you should be freed from any mind-control, persuasion, hypnosis, and so on. Permanently immune to it, as well. Oh, it also does good things for your mental health, like helping to relieve depression and anxiety and such. I'm not sure that isn't just the butter and sugar, though, but it does last!" She peered at the expression on the panda's face, trying to evaluate his reaction. "It also makes it so you only ever want the one, too. Of the big ones. So one or two people don't eat the whole batch by themselves. Again. Then sleep it off on the oven for days like useless lumps. Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Marko goggled at her, at a loss for words.

"I've ... We've been trying to help the people in Whimsy. The so-called 'forces of light' have been making a mess over there, doing bad stuff. Real bad stuff. I don't even want to think about it, but just couldn't let it go. Buncha my friends have been patrolling around, trying to stop the worst of it, but it's hard. I don't think violence is the answer, but once those rotten elves get their mental hooks in people, it always gets rough. Bad rough. Get those guys out of the way, though, and everything turns around pretty quick. Still some fighting, but I think that's just folks bein' folks, you know? The elves just make it ten times worse, every time." Amelia stopped for a moment, then continued, determination in her voice. "This doesn't solve the problem, anyways, but people should be free to make up their own minds. Without some fae git doing it for them. So we want to get this stuff out to everybody. Not just in Whimsy, either. Any place those things try to mess about. No more mental zombies." She grinned. "And they taste good, too! No root beer flavour or anything!"

Marko digested the words (and the considerable infusion of calories he'd just ingested) for a few moments. "Are you sure there aren't any, uh, herbal components added in there?"

"Herbal? ... Oh. No, no. Not in those. Briar helped with a few batches. Those ... those aren't for sale. You ever see an oak tree so relaxed it tried to lay down for a nap? One piece, and the squirrels in his branches were nodding. Yeah, no. Prescription only, those. Only for maximum stress removal in the worst of cases. You know, emergencies only." She stopped, a thoughtful look on her face. Marko followed her gaze, then grinned, nodding as he looked at Larry.

"Wait here--I'll go see if Briar has any left ..."

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It was lovely having guests in the cottage, Amelia thought. There were still the workrooms and such in the tower, but that wasn't the same. Or the birds in the Aviary, like Beige and Blue. She visited with them on occasion, but they weren't guests. They didn't really have guests, now that she thought about it. Everybody who'd come here had more or less put down roots, still living in the warrens underground, or in Elara. Even Bill had a room he used in Elara on occasion, although he still went home more often than not. Dan and Ann and a few of the other gamers were probably the closest thing they had, since they would occasionally stay over in the gaming hut for marathon sessions.

Still, it was nice having a new face join her at breakfast, and enjoy the dancing fire sprites in the fireplace in the evening.

"You know, Marko, you've got me thinking. I need to turn the cottage into a bed and breakfast or something. We have all those bedrooms on the first floor, and we could even convert the big meeting space on the second floor to more rooms. We don't ever use it for anything anymore, so it'd be no big loss. Tyni and his crew still use the kitchen for the café, so we could easily serve food. It'd be perfect!"

The panda nodded, caught up in her enthusiasm. He gestured vaguely in the direction of the 'backyard', which he couldn't see since they were lounging on the sofa in the ground floor living room. "Not just a bed and breakfast! You got a whole spa thing going on here! That bathhouse back there is huge! You know, you find a masseuse or two, maybe spruce up the backyard with that water feature and stuff, you'd be on to something!"

Amelia nodded excitedly. "Wow! Good thinking! I never got around to removing the old bath building when I put in the new facilities down below and added my own private WC. I'm pretty sure you're the first one to use it in weeks, if not longer!"

"Huh. Who does your cleaning? That place practically sparkles! Whoever your cleaning crew is, they deserve a raise! Fresh towels, soap, the works. Never saw an attendant either. Neat trick!"

"That'd be Bert. I left the 'automatic housekeeping' mode active for the buildings above ground, so he must have been keeping it clean. Makes my bed for me every morning, too. I feel guilty about him cleaning up after me like that. But not too guilty, if you take my meaning. Those fluffy towels after a hot bath are divine!"

They both laid back into the cushions, relaxed just thinking about the experience.

Amelia was too excited to let it last for long, though, and bounced up to pace around the room as she planned out loud.

"We cleaned up and organized paths ages ago, for the ramblers who come to visit. When we put in the gazebo, WC, and café, I was just thinking of people passing through. Well, I guess people staying overnight would just be passing through as well, but you know what I mean. It really wouldn't be much of a step beyond that to make this place a real destination!"

The panda nodded as he watched her pacing animatedly, weaving around the seats and tables that crowded the room. "With the portals to Elara and Whimsy, and easy access to Megrim and the mortal realm, this could be a sort of crossroads. I know it would be handy for Larry and me! Usually, we camp near the Night Market, or out in the woods. Having an actual place to stay with real amenities would be amazing! We aren't the only ones who'd make use of this place, either! There are loads of other people that travel about the area, and occasionally need to pass between realms as well. I'll bet you'd make bank!"

Amelia winced at that. "Well, we don't actually need the money. I just think it'd be cool to have people passing through! And I know there are other portals here in the hollow, I just don't know where they all go. Plus there's a big crossing point not too far away in Megrim--Quiet used it when she was rescuing baby Onni. It apparently connects to a bunch of other places besides just Elara, if I remember correctly."

"Location, location, location! Isn't that what they say about real estate? This place is just about perfect for that! I'm surprised nobody's done something like this before, to be honest. That canal you added would be handy, too. I know a few guys who ship bulk goods, and getting 'em across realm boundaries can be a right pain, I can tell you. If you expand that a bit, you could get even more business from them!"

"Huh. That's kinda what I originally planned for that, but maybe we'll take things a little at a time. Rome wasn't conquered in a day, right?"

Marko winked at her. "Well, they didn't have you leading them, now, did they? Just remember us little people when you're in charge, okay?"

It was Amelia's turn to be at a loss for words, until she realized the panda was just winding her up.

"Exactly! Time to conquer the world with comfy seats, good food, and massages! Then, when they're least expecting it, BAM! Chocolate! And other snacks too, of course!" she giggled, flopping down on her back onto one of the sofa, one leg and arm hanging off and dangling to the floor as she stared up at the ceiling. "Let's do this! Only ..." she hesitated, then rolled onto one elbow to look over at Marko.

"Where am I gonna find a masseuse? Know any?"

"Hmmm. Not really, no. Sorry!" The panda frowned as he shrugged, palms up.

"Darn! And I was this close to world domination, too!"

Luckily, as it turned out, Mr. G's mother was a licensed massage therapist. There hadn't been much to do in the Hollow before Amelia came, besides the occasional correspondence course.