Late in the night, I received a magical message from Sophia that an emergency teleport was coming in from Athir. Emilia and Willow were already in bed and I had been sitting comfortably with my wife, happy to be without drama for any amount of time.

  Alas, such moments were never meant to be. It was nice while it lasted, but I left Tabitha’s warm embrace for the cold of the city, making my way to the Top where I sat on a bench just outside of the Mage’s Guild tower. I stared up at the stars, a sight I couldn’t see from home, and waited. It wasn’t long before someone escorted a Forest Elf out of the guild and closed the doors behind her.

  I didn’t say anything as Ferrisdae approached, her footsteps soft against the ground. She was back in her usual spellcasting outfit and fiddled with the wand at her hip. I wasn’t sure how to take that, and I didn’t say anything as she sat next to me.

  “I am such an idiot,” the Elf said, following my gaze to look at the stars. She placed her staff on her lap with both hands gripping it.

  “I’d say that’s wrong, but I’ll hear what you have to say first,” I replied. “What about this time?”

  “I talked to my mother just like you said I should,” she started. “After I explained everything, she sent the family to make sure everyone was all right and to tell the guards, the Consortium... everyone needed to keep order after what had happened.”

  “If anything, your mother sure knows how to get things done,” I remarked, not sure where this was going.

  Ferrisdae nodded. “I was going to help, but I got pulled into a long discussion about what was going on. Not about the Endless Moment, but with me. She wouldn’t stop prying, trying to figure out what was wrong. Once I started rambling, I couldn’t stop. From the excitement of the first day with Krad, manhandling Sevensleg, to the Dungeon Master and what he did to me.”

  That last part was technically classified information, but I didn’t say that. What she told her mother was her own business.

  “We didn’t go through everything, though. Some things I just couldn’t get out,” she whispered mournfully, staring absently at the sky. “I really wanted to let her have it. Channel my inner Badger and scream about how she shouldn’t be sending money to the place I work to get me into better positions. Like that time when you were scolding me for inviting Cojisto. On the way to Ori’s dungeon, remember?”

  “How could I possibly forget?” I scoffed. “He’s fine, by the way, but he and Moose slunk off without so much as a goodbye.”

  Hesitantly, she nodded. “Cojisto reached out to me on my Stone. They’re going to be gone for a while, but they promise to come back. He sounded… wrong, but he did say to apologize to you and the family for not saying goodbye.”

  “Some things change a man,” was all I said on that topic. “What about your mother?”

  “I have sap for brains,” Ferrisdae immediately replied, bringing her hands up to cover her face. She screamed into them, kicking her legs, and I was about to be concerned for a moment when she looked down at me. “She had to go and help clean up the mess Abara made and help restore order, and she just hugged me before she went.”

  “She is your mother and you have been through a lot?” I asked more than said, not sure why that was such a big deal.

  “I wasn’t able to say anything important, though!” Ferrisdae exclaimed. “I told her what happened in the blizzard, and then we had to part ways. I didn’t even try to stop her. She would have stayed behind, too. I know she would have. Letting her go was the easy way out. I’ve read so many books where the plot could be solved by simple communication and I always rolled my eyes at how contrived it seemed, but now that it’s happening to me I finally understand how hard it can be!”

  “To be fair, you Elves are the kings and queens of miscommunication,” I joked. “You all can sulk about something for decades before everything comes to a head and it turns out everything was a big misunderstanding. It’s one of the curses of a long life.”

  “You are not doing this to me right now,” she deadpanned.

  I shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

  “Do not.”

  “I mean, it might get cleared up with one conversation.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Right?”

  There was a worrying pause before Ferrisdae smacked me on the shoulder with the back of her hand, trying to hold a firm expression but failing. “Stop teasing me,” she whined with a playful pitifulness.

  “Fine, fine. I’ll stop trying to cheer up my junior,” I said, waving a hand as I cataloged that pause for later. “I’m glad you managed to break through your self-doubt to help me, though. You really did save the day.”

  Ferrisdae snorted. “Please. You had becoming a paladin just sitting there in your back pocket this whole time. You could have done it on your own.”

  “Maybe that’s true, and maybe it isn’t,” I said, waving my hand. “But there was still a very good chance that Abara would have eaten me when I wasn’t expecting it. We’ll never know what might have happened, all we know is what did.”

  “Yeah, I suppose,” she conceded. “I do feel a lot better in regards to my self-confidence, at least.”

  “Is spellcasting easier for you now?”

  “Yeah. I don’t have to struggle with my wellspring anymore. It’s much clearer than it was.”

  “That’s what happens when you solve a crisis of self-confidence,” I told her with a smile. Then, I frowned as I remembered how Durendrelle had basically called me out as someone who was making her daughter uncomfortable. “Did you manage to set the record straight that I didn’t do anything to you other than be my usual, cheerful self?”

  Ferrisdae chuckled at the way I described myself. “Yeah, I told her how great you were past all your rough edges,” she replied. “Mother did know about your time as the Nameless and wanted me to get paired up with you, by the way. She was surprised when she found out that I knew.”

  “So she did want me to be your mentor?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, and she even requested it. As for why, she had nothing but good things to say about your track record, talking about how I would be the one to meet your demands as an apprentice. It was an appeal to challenge me more than anything else. Like she wanted to make my job harder by sending me to you.”

  Thinking about that for a moment, it made sense. The Anne Runelaras were an adventuring family and adversity was their bread and butter. They sought it out, assessed it, and overcame it. By sending Ferrisdae to me, Durendrelle was raising the bar for her daughter’s success as high as she could.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  It wasn’t that she was being overprotective, she was just raising the stakes. I wasn’t sure I liked that any more than thinking Ferrisdae got a free pass, but I didn’t have to like it to accept it.

  “But that doesn’t matter,” the woman continued. “Because all it proved was that she was in contact with Brackenhorst while I was trying to get into the DoD. She might have not made a demand of him, but that shows she still has influence.”

  I crossed my arms. “Ferry, I’m going to say something, and I want you to actually hear me for once.”

  “Badger?” she asked softly, looking down at me.

  “Brackenhorst himself told me that you’re a diamond, how he vetted you himself,” I said. “How he thinks of you isn’t anything new. I told you in your own home how impressed he was by the work you had done and he hadn’t even read the report about Krad and Sevensleg. I’ve told you what I’ve thought of you. However, I don’t think you’ve had time to let it sink in.”

  I shifted in my seat to better look at her. “You may think I’m soft, but I’ve had 13 different juniors foisted on me in the last five years alone before they decided to stop trying,” I said, causing her to tilt her head as she processed my words. “Now, I generally get put on subjugations because I seek them out. Not only do they allow me extra time with my family, but they’re also work that needs doing. Important. You were on one, so you understand.”

  “Razorbeak could have hurt a lot more people, yeah.”

  “When I get a rookie, I need them to be someone smart, tenacious, and strong. They need to know the rules of engagement as well as those required of a Dungeon Inspector. They need to be able to watch my back. I need to be able to trust them enough to bring them home to my family. Before, I never had. There was always something missing. You?” I narrowed my eyes. “I was ready to trust you before we left Krad, and, honestly, I didn’t like that.”

  The Elf looked back down at her staff, a smile on her face as she fidgeted with her robe. She was obviously pleased by that. “That kind of makes you sound like you’re soft, Badger.”

  “Not soft. If you didn’t have it, you’d be in the same place as the others. I recognized that you had what it took to thrive in this position. That when the chips were down, you would have my back.” I reached over and placed my hand on her arm. “You delivered on that. It does not matter if your mother got your foot in the door. Now that you’re here, it’s my choice. Your fate at the DoD is in my hands.

  “And, you know what? Even without your magic, I would have fought tooth and nail to keep you on as my apprentice. Sure, I wasn’t lying about sidelining you if you couldn’t keep up, but then we had to deal with Abara and I had to eat my words. But you are a prodigy, and not because your family paid your way in. I recognize that in you. That’s why I pushed you, and that’s why I took all that unnecessary damage from the Burning Hands variant so you could find yourself again.”

  The smile on her face faltered. “You did what?”

  “That whole name thing?” I asked, smiling. “Meant to push you. And you delivered.”

  “Badger, that was a horrible moment for me!” she protested, crossing her arms. “Do you realize how upset I was?”

  “Yes, that’s why I did it,” I told her flatly. “Because I knew you wouldn’t let me die. Kid, you are great. You think you’re in your family’s shadow, but honestly you put them all to shame. And I should know; I had plenty of time to read up on them while we were in quarantine.”

  “You really think so?” she whispered, looking down at where I was still touching her arm.

  “I wouldn’t lie to you about something this important, Ferry,” I answered. “You’re not just a junior inspector; you’re my junior inspector. If anyone wants to take you from me, then they’re going to have to step over my bureaucratic corpse for you. You’re already family approved and you know my real name. If that doesn’t show you how important you are, then I really don’t know what will.”

  “So that really was your real name?”

  “Tabs can confirm it tonight.”

  Ferrisdae considered it for a moment before her smile reappeared on her lips. “That does make me feel better, Badger, thank you,” she said. “I guess I just couldn’t believe it before.”

  “But you do now?” I asked, wanting to make sure.

  She nodded. “Yeah. The whole thing is just a huge weight off my chest. I’m really sorry about how my self-doubt affected me.”

  I held up my hand, not wanting to hear any more of that. “If you really want to be sorry, I have something else you can apologize for.”

  Blinking in surprise, Ferrisdae turned to face me. “What do I need to apologize for?”

  “Two things,” I said, holding up that many fingers. “First, what we did with Abara is being counted as a subjugation, so I have a week off before I have to deal with it.”

  “Having a week off isn't something I need to apologize for. Deal with what?” she asked, clearly worried.

  “Second, apparently Brackenhorst is considering your apprenticeship with me a success,” I said.

  Ferrisdae gasped. “Am I going to be a full Dungeon Inspector? Already?” she asked, voice shrill from excitement.

  “No, you’re way off,” I said, trying not to laugh at how excitable she was. “You know the rules.”

  “A junior must be a junior for at least a year,” she stated as if she was reading straight from a book, deflating slightly.

  “These are some dark times, but not so dark that we aren’t following the rules,” I chuckled. “No. Thanks to you, I got saddled with a second junior.”

  She sat up straighter. “You did? Who? Do I know them?”

  “Yeah, you know them. Apparently, they volunteered and were hired on the spot,” I said, trying to sound sour.

  “Who?” she demanded.

  “Dalsarel.”

  “Really?” Ferrisdae asked, eyes wide. “Then I apologize most vehemently. She helps out a little bit and Brackenhorst throws her to you? I studied my butt off to get accepted into the Department of Dungeons and all she did was grow up in one! What’s her qualifications? Tell me.”

  I arched an eyebrow at the Forest Elf’s stated vehemence. “She grew up as the sole heir of one the most successful dungeon owners on record. Noble upbringing, great education, and she stuck by us when it mattered most. She’s not so different from you, Ferrisdae, so I’m going to need you to simmer down.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, and then took a breath. “Wow, yeah, I do, don’t I?” she asked, chuckling nervously. “I think you’re going to have your own little Badger and Sophia on your hands. At least, until we can actually get along. Sorry. I promise it’ll get better. I got along well enough with Kaelmourn when I met him, this should be easy.”

  “It better be. Though, are you the Badger or the Sophia in this little situation? Because I don’t want to deal with either of them together.”

  “I’m not going to answer that,” Ferrisdae said, shaking her head. “Neither one is flattering, and I’m not going to be stuck choosing one or the other.”

  “Good choice,” I said, looking back up at the stars. “You’re alright, though?”

  The Elf took a moment to answer, considering the question. “I think… No, I definitely am,” she concluded decisively. “I feel guilty thinking that I came out of this in a better place than I was when it started, what with everyone who didn’t, but I’m not going to lie about it either.”

  “I’m not asking you for anything more than the truth,” I said. “So if you’re alright, then that’s good. We can do what we need to in order to make sure that everyone gets the chance to do the same.”

  “For what little time we have, anyway,” Ferrisdae replied. “Sophia mentioned that we might be going to war soon.”

  I cast my eyes towards the Mage’s Guild tower before nodding. “No might about it, we will be. Three months, four, doesn’t make a difference. We’ll be setting sail south.”

  “That’s not a lot of notice.”

  “We’re lucky to have received any kind of notice at all,” I snorted. “That’s life. Whether through sheer coincidence or divine contrivance, the world keeps moving despite any workings against it.”

  “Yeah. Does Cheroske have anything to say about it?” she asked.

  “Just that this war needs to be done, and that I’m going to be called to action whether I like it or not,” I answered.

  “As a paladin? Or as a Dungeon Inspector?”

  I glanced her way, seeing the worry on her face. Ferrisdae’s real question was clear to see. “As a Dungeon Inspector, which means you’ll be by my side.”

  Relief flooded her face. “Okay, good.”

  “Along with Dalsarel,” I continued.

  “Great, fantastic,” she continued.

  Smiling, I stood up and stretched, motioning for her to do the same. “You know, Tabitha doubled down on the whole adoption thing recently,” I said. “After everything we’ve gone through, she wants to put it back on the table.”

  “Well, it’s not like you put my adult adoption back on the table just because I’m having trouble communicating with my mother,” she replied, amused. I glanced at her, and she tilted her head. “Wait. It’s still off the table, right?”

  I said nothing, looking ahead as we walked.

  “Liam,” she whispered, her voice barely a hiss. “It’s not still on the table, right?”

  “Come on, kid,” I snorted, my neutral face finally breaking as I started walking away. “Let’s go home.”