It was finally time: Bethany and Lex had finished moving. The house in Arlington hadn’t sold yet, but there was no doubt that it would.

Thomas’s apartment was empty, but his parents hadn’t given it up; they’d taken over the monthly payments instead. They were considering setting it up as a “guest room”. Until Aki expanded the living space in the dungeon itself far enough, they’d need space outside.

Bethany had mentioned hotels to Aki, and she was now trying to figure out how to make the idea work; more people in her dungeon was helpful, even if they weren’t fighting and killing monsters. The problem was simple but not easy to get around: she had to build it on land that she “created,” but how could she convince people it was safe to stay there?

She could staff it with some of her kobolds, but that didn’t solve the problem. There was no way to get a hotel permitted in that spot; after all, while land ownership of new land was still being debated, often in court, there was no doubt that Aki was wholly within the bounds of New York City, so any land she created was by default subject to its rules.

She was a dungeon, which ought to change things, but no one really knew what yet. It didn’t help that she was trying to hide the fact that she was a dungeon to keep people visiting the park without worry. That was, of course, why she’d limited the new flora and fauna to things that were magical and different but not any more dangerous than what was already there as long as you left them alone.

Rissa’s house was likewise empty, with all of the stuff now in Aki’s dungeon. There was no question of selling it; instead, it was being remodeled. More accurately, they’d found a company that was willing to start remodeling it in about six months; it seemed like there was a lot of construction work happening, so getting a contractor was difficult.

All of that meant that the Rothmers were finally free to head back to the Caribbean and continue Lex’s search for the Well of Souls. In some ways, it was like any other retired couple who went looking for their roots; their child was doing well on his own and they had the time now. In other ways, it was completely different; if nothing else, Lex had to be careful about where he traveled. He was no longer Secretary of Defense, but that didn’t mean the restrictions went away. He still knew far too much to afford to be careless.

This time, their helicopter pilot met them at their hotel instead of the marina. Oliver Davis stood at the entrance to baggage claim, holding a sign that said LEX.

Lex smiled as he walked up to Oliver. “Thanks for meeting us here.”

Oliver tucked the sign under his arm and smiled. It was clearly a professional smile, but then so was Lex’s. “Happy to. Any friend of Baxter’s is worth a little extra.”

Lex tried to suppress his chuckle at that. He was pretty sure that Oliver had just admitted that he was charging Lex more than he’d charge someone who found him another way, but also providing extra benefits. As long as the extra cost brought extra service, Lex was fine with it; after all, having the little inconveniences taken care of so that you could concentrate on other things was one of the reasons to have money.

“You have tonight to settle in; we’ll set out in the morning. I didn’t want to start the trip immediately, in case of flight delays.” Oliver repeated the itinerary Lex had gone over with Baxter before they set out.

Lex grinned and followed his wife towards the carousel. He recognized that they were managing him, but he didn’t mind it as long as they limited it to things like travel timing.

Oliver trailed behind Lex. The first bags had started to appear when Oliver decided to ask a question that had clearly been on his mind. “Your last name is Rothmer.”

Lex recognized that as a leading statement. He’d rather not talk about his former position, but it wasn’t like it was exactly private. Honestly, he didn’t even really mind talking about it; he just didn’t like dealing with the complications that came up when people knew who he was. They’d only gotten worse since he retired; there were some people who were very unhappy with how he handled the invasion portals, even though his hands had been tied by his commander in chief. “Yes.”

“Does that mean you’re related to Serenity? I’m pretty sure his last name is Rothmer.”

Lex blinked, then grinned. It was great to be reminded that his son was now more famous than he was. “Yes, I know Serenity. Why do you ask?”

Oliver shifted uncomfortably. “Well, my niece. She went through the last round of Tutorials; it wasn’t offered to her until almost the end. She picked up a Path that none of us know what to do with; she can’t figure out how to progress it, either. She’s tried going through some of the local dungeons and that does give some progress, but nothing like what everyone else gets. So I thought, maybe Serenity can help? I can’t pay that much but maybe I could trade some services for it?”

Lex frowned at that. The last thing he wanted to do was sign his son up for work he wasn’t prepared to handle. He could understand Oliver’s concern; Paths seemed likely to be very important in the future. Perhaps he could give some advice and see if it would help? He had talked to Serenity about how Paths worked, since his and Bethany’s were both distinctly not combat Paths. “What is it?”

“Dungeon Keeper,” Oliver answered. “That’s why we thought going through dungeons would help, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

This was definitely not the place to ask for more details about something like that. Dungeons were a touchy subject for anyone who’d lost someone to them; while that number wasn’t all that high, there were still quite a few. If Oliver’s niece’s Path was anything like Raz’s, Lex wanted to talk somewhere they wouldn’t be overheard. “We can talk more on the ship. I’m not sure Serenity is the right person to ask, but I know some people may be.”

Three days after Tirmanak and Jenna arrived on Asihanya, a far more human-looking Jenna clung to Serenity’s back and wings as he trotted around the second floor of the Library, pretending he was flying. His wings weren’t strong enough to lift himself, much less himself and a baby, but that didn’t seem to matter to Jenna; she was having a grand time.

Rissa led the two of them around, darting from hiding place to hiding place among the shelves. Whenever he caught her, she tapped him on the nose with a “boop” and ran off to another hiding place. The first time she did it, she actually startled Serenity; since then, he’d taken it as part of the game she was playing with him. She always said his wyrmling form was cute, after all.

Serenity had to admit that Jenna was adorable, regardless of her form. Still, he was more than four times Jenna’s size in his wyrmling form, the size of a german shepherd, and that was before the wings! Surely that was too large to be “hella cute”?

Not that he minded too much. It made Rissa smile, and that was worth more than the fight over being called “cute”.

Serenity had just caught up to Rissa again when Honoria emerged from the stairwell and looked at the young dragon with a baby on his back. “Serenity?”

Serenity had tried to hide his shapeshifting for a while, but by now everyone living at the Great Library knew about it. He was pretty sure the Silver Blades didn’t, at least. That was something. He turned towards Honoria. “Do you need something?”

She smiled back at him. “There’s an older lady asking for you and Raz; she’s waiting at the librarian’s desk on the first floor.”

Older lady?

It took Serenity a moment to remember Grandma Tillon. He’d never met her, but Raz had mentioned her and said he’d invited her to meet them at the Great Library. “I’ll get ready and head down.”

“I’ll take Jenna,” Rissa stated. “We’ll be in the back; you should meet her before we introduce the baby.”

Serenity felt Jenna’s weight disappear from his back. He shifted into another form that was truly as comfortable as his dragon form had become: his chimera form. There was no reason to hide it, not at this point. It wasn’t like Asihanya was human-only; he’d just gotten used to hiding.

Honoria led the way downstairs. “I’ll get Raz once you’re with her. There’s something about her that sets me on edge.” Honoria paused, then shook her head slightly. Serenity couldn’t see her face, but he suspected there was a frown on it. “I think it’s just how perfectly she matches my impression of a friendly but someone strict grandmother. No one is that simple, yet she doesn’t feel like anything else at all.”

“Highly skilled at aura control?” Serenity asked. That seemed like the most likely reason.

“At a minimum. Probably also some ability to act. Wouldn’t surprise me if she is a friendly-yet-harsh grandmother, but from what you’ve said that’s not all she is. So be careful.” Honoria opened to door out of the stairwell and any chance they had to talk further vanished.

Serenity took a tight grip on his own aura. He’d never developed the skill to lie with his; it was a weapon of the battlefield for him, not a weapon for social settings. He was skilled, but his skill was in affecting the people he wanted to and not others rather than altering what it said. The “softer” aura skills were ones he’d always had trouble with; of course, that could be because he seemed to be partially blind to them. Chances were good he’d never have caught whatever set off Honoria’s concern.

An older woman did indeed wait at the desk when they walked up. Serenity could see why she was called Grandma; she had the white hair and wrinkles. Despite her apparent age, however, Serenity could see that she moved like someone far younger. She didn’t seem to have lost much in the way of muscle, either. She was someone to be cautious of; she might be a bit slower than in her prime, but she was definitely more experienced.

She wasn’t afraid to initiate the conversation, either. She smiled gently and held out a hand. “You must be Serenity. I’m Esma Tillon, but most people call me Grandma Tillon.”

Serenity inclined his head. “Serenity. As you already know, I’m working with Raz. We’re planning to head to Stallet next, but if there’s anything you can tell us that would help, it would be appreciated.”

Meeting someone new and powerful was always a dance. He was fairly confident that they were working towards the same goals, but he couldn’t just assume that her priorities matched his. It had been more than a year; he’d managed to deal with the invaders threatening Takinat in less than a month. He had some large advantages, but he’d also brought in a lot of his resources from off planet, while hers were local. If she hadn’t freed Stallet yet, there had to be a reason.

The smile fell off Esme’s face. “Stallet’s going to be a tough nut to crack, but let’s talk about that after Raz is here. Before he arrives, though, I can’t help but indulge my curiosity; I’ve never seen a Hand serve anyone other than Order’s Guild before.”

Lillene

Jenna is back in her “half-dragon” form. Whoo! All it took was some time with her parents.

I wonder if either of them remembered to ask just who the “friend” was that told Tirmanak to bring her to her parents? Because I’m pretty sure they forgot… well, maybe Rissa remembered?