Newly Broke Heroine! [Book One Complete, Cozy Fantasy Adventure]

Once they were back at the guild, Fiona explained the plan. She wasn't 100% sure she could trust Lani on this, who warned her that anything they discussed in the guild was assumed to be heard by everybody. So, she told her to meet them at night.

In the meantime, in the privacy of her room, Fiona laid out a plan. Hopefully, Doug wouldn't be irritated that they were about to go off the radar.

Five minutes later, she teleported back to the store, where everybody was waiting anxiously. Doug looked flustered, and it seemed a feather came loose from his wing when he flapped agitatedly. "Where have you been?! We've been waiting here for forty minutes!"

Fiona gave them a reassuring wave. "Look, I think I know what Karlin is doing. And if I'm right, we're about to find out where our missing gold went. More importantly, I think Vale's been stealing it and then minting it into their coins, which sounds exceedingly illegal. Given that many people hate Vale; if this gets found out, it might be the last nail in their proverbial coffin. Lani examined some paperwork she swiped away from Karlin for a few minutes. This foundry's been going full tilt for a couple of years. Which lines up with the timing of gold deposits running low. We all know the gold in Fiefdala is drying up."

Bonnie furrowed her brow. "Well, there might be a way to tell where the gold's origins are. But that would require some testing. We need to test the gold against what is currently available. Most countries that mint their mined gold, have a certain pedigree to their composition. So, it stands to reason that if the gold is from Fiefdala, it should show up with some kind of trace. Especially Aurelium, the magical equivalent. Every coin is stamped with just a tiny bit of Aurelium alloyed in. But there's a lot more in Fiefdalas' coins. They have to up the exchange rate for us."

Greg looked like he had been worrying nonstop since she left. "You want to break into a foundry, on a wild theory, while acting as a representative of Fiefdala? Do you realize how bad it would be if you were caught?" His voice had a rather uncommon edge to it. "Fiona, you were supposed to be lying low, finding alternatives--"

"This is the alternative. Finding the missing gold. If the gold has been stolen, someone has been paid off, or well-connected, for a long time, and I doubt it's only one person at the top. We find it, we put Fiefdala back in the green," Fiona stated firmly. "Unless you think I can pull more trade deals than I've been pulling, and Barry's utterly useless, this is it. I wonder if this is what Varith has been doing to force Barry to the table, too. Though I don't know if those two are working together. No proof of that, yet."

Greg frowned. He hated the logic she was using. It was the first time he might have been arguing against his own logical approach. "You realize if Vale has been stealing gold, this is what triggers kingdom wars, right?"

"With the Unified Kingdom backing us? It'll be a one-sided battle," Fiona assured him. "Look, this assumes they even want to admit to stealing it. So, we're going to check this place out. We have an entire armory of equipment to pull from. Doug, anything of use we could use to, you know, sneak in, sneak out, and record evidence?"

The little kobold wore a determined expression and clapped his claws together. "Anything that puts an egg on that dragon's face is a good day for me. I see you sold off some of the stuff, but there are a few armor sets and gear that we might be able to use for this. But you're no sneak, Fiona. You're a battering ram."

"Well now," she replied as she pressed a button on her arcane relay. "I just so happen to know someone who might be able to help out on that front. Two somebodies, actually."

Fiona's friends assembled at the table a short time later, including Cita and Nick, now. She had to keep making trips back to her room at the merchant guild in Vale, because she was worried about losing her anchor point and having to take the teleport pad back.

Nick sighed and ruffled his feathers, arms crossed. He was not comfortable with this plan. Cita looked equally anxious. "I don't know, Fi, this is a stretch. This could be a legit means of producing gold."

"Really? This foundry, out in the middle of nowhere? Why's it in the countryside, and not in a heavily fortified area, like in the government quarter?" she asked, and pointed to the crude map. "It's close enough they could slip in gold via small package courier through the foothills, the border in that area is essentially uncontrolled and poorly marked. What I'm saying is, it's a perfect place to go run some schemes!"

"Let's assume it is. We need to plan this one out," Cita said firmly, tying back her dark hair and narrowing in on the map. "First off, we need something more than this crude sketch. Second off, you guys can't be seen anywhere near this. Fiona, your status as a destroyer is well known, and I think if the Vale government and the banks are in on this? They'll know that you might try something like this."

"Cita, if they are stealing the gold, we have to find out how. I'm not dumb. We need to do this quietly," Fiona said with a disappointed look. "Now, on the other hand, if they just let me walk in the door, that would be great."

"Assuming Vale is stealing gold…you think Barry will go to war over it?" Greg asked an uncomfortable question. "I mean, this level of theft, if it's true? It would be…unprecedented. The sacking of the Timerian kingdom is probably the only comparable-scale event."

"Not my problem," Fiona shrugged. "If we find the stolen gold, we are stealing it back, and doing it very loudly, and with evidence."

"And how would you plan on doing that?" Doug asked, now willing to entertain the idea. "I could think of one or two ways. You may not like them."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"You mean, playing Varith and seeing if I could woo him with womanly charm? I'd rather get eaten by a--" She stopped as Doug gave her a smoldering look of disapproval. "I'd rather get eaten by a whole pack of rabid zombies."

"Charming way to go," Doug replied. "It's still not a terrible idea, because romance makes you dumb. Some dead person, probably." Everyone glared at him. "I'm not apologizing for a plausible plan. Before our elf blows a blood vessel, let's see what we can try."

"No, we're not doing that one!" Fiona shut down the option entirely. "There is something really weird about Varith. You know who he looks like? Vanael. The god who killed Feo'thari."

"So, the god who allegedly killed Feo'thari, who was hounded for thousands of years by the entire world, and has not been observed in any divine site for nearly five thousand years...pops back up here in Vale?" Greg shook his head at that. "Fi, I hate asking this, but what are you angling for?"

"I..." she trailed off. There was something off about Varith. It wasn't that she was afraid of him. Far from it.

She was worried there was a reason she wanted to get close to him and figure him out. A compulsion to know who he was. Why am I obsessing about this, Wingding?

She remained silent. Not even a hint?

[Shrouded. He is more than he seems.]

Fiona let out a soft sigh and glanced around the table at her friends. "I don't know. I'd rather just go make impossible deals with Bar'dathi, Arkantine, Faredala, the dragon enclave, literally anyone else but Vale. But I know from my gut that Karlin had a role in setting up this precarious position, and the gold has to be somewhere. and if we don't get answers, Vale will just be a problem for someone else down the line, eventually."

"Then let's get sleuthing, then," Nick chimed in. "Then, we'll figure out the next course of action."

For a wretched hive of scum and villainy, this foundry rated at best, maybe a four out of ten It wasn't even that far out of the way, like dungeons They had traveled under the cover of night to scout out the foundry. Because there was so little traffic, they were able to make good time for it, maybe a half-hour drive in the rickety automaton. She'd have preferred a horse, in this instance.

The small campus of buildings itself was fairly large, made of steel-banded siding, coppery-looking bricks, and a set of chimneys still going on overdrive, on one side of the building. A few more were unlit, but that was because she figured they were only running a night crew. She could see that they were unloading pallets and that the contents were all covered with steel-lined containers or burlap covers. Species from all walks of life down there–but more than half were humans.

She took the magical scope, peered through it for a moment, and passed it to Nick and Cita, who took a turn looking through it. "Security looks pretty tight for a place that's supposed to be above board on business. Why are they running at night?"

"Industry never rests," Nick quipped.

Cita pointed out a small crew that was working on the side, and Fiona could see at this distance, they appeared to be taking a smoke break. "Not exactly regimented. They also have only one guard, maybe two, but with marks, you might have a few mage types. Nothing we couldn't handle getting by if we needed to. So, how do we go about this?"

Nick, ever the one for professionalism, didn't hesitate to start enacting the plan. Doug sat there, with his wings pressed against his body, lying low to the ground, while he laid out his methodology.

"Well, it would be easier to surveil it from the air, except they seem to have numerous spotlights skyward. Almost as if they were expecting it. Now, as for getting in, perhaps the best way, given the long sight lines, would be to sneak in with one of the regular shipments." He pointed one claw at one of the large cargo containers. I say we use a captured elf technique."

Fiona let out a grunt. "Hey, don't take advantage of my good looks. Wait, that sounds a little vain, forget I said that. But, how exactly are we convincing them to let me in? Plus, that plan has other risks."

She had to give this some thought. There might be one way to get into this place, but she was not keen on the idea. She glared at Doug, who wore a knowing smirk. "Doug, I'm not dating this guy."

"Well, do you see any other way to approach this other than trying some stealth approach, that they may or may not detect ahead of time?"

"It's either that, or we try the less subtle, brute force approach. Wait, when did I stop liking the brute force approach?" She pondered on that one, and had no answer.

They sat around for a bit longer, taking notes of patrols, including all the entryways, another point of interest around the facility, while walking along the low hill. It normally ran against her regular plans, which were typically more straightforward. This sneaking part, trying to be subtle?

It didn't suit her style.

After about 20 minutes, they had made their survey, packed up, and headed to their waiting cart that had been hiding on a low-traffic roadway, off the path. She glanced at her friends inside. "Well, we should find you guys a place to stay in the town, but we need to be discreet. Doug, you and I need to show up at the merchants guild, and then we'll try to plan this for tomorrow."

A short time later, they made their way back to town, and Fiona had seen Nick and Cita off at a small, nondescript inn a fair distance from where they were staying at the merchant's guild. To say it was low rent was an understatement. But, they didn't seem to mind, and said that going incognito might be the best thing for now.

She glanced at Doug, now that nightfall was underway, and let out a sigh. "This is going to sound a little weird for me, Doug, but do you want to head out for a drink somewhere?"

The kobold's wings trembled a little in anticipation. "Well, I guess I could go for one. Should we consider this a team-building exercise?"

"Yeah. Team building towards infiltrating a hostile government's gold pilfering operation. Sure, let's call it that." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Should have packed up and floated the shop to another Kingdom, Greg. You do give the best advice, in hindsight."

"Would you have?" Doug pressed.

"Maybe. As long as I had them, Gemma, and my cat? Sure. It would hurt, but…" she trailed off. "Sticking to your principles is hard sometimes. Especially when dealing with shit like this. I land smack dab in this mess, like a goddess had a hidden plan for me to find a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. Do you believe in Fate, Doug?"

"How about we talk about it over a drink," he offered. "That's starting to sound like a better idea, all the time."

She glanced at her purse. It was not brimming with gold, but she had enough for a little spending."

"What does a kobold drink, anyway?"

"Same thing as everyone else," he added with a toothy smirk. "When I was bigger and prouder, I could run up a hefty bar tab. Sadly, I had to downscale a little bit when I took my human form, so I could, you know, not break the bank. I could go for a pilsner at the moment."

"Yeah. But not at a place so seedy, I might get knifed for looking at someone the wrong way. Which, in this town, is about half the viable venues."