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

It took three hours to debrief with the town guard after they arrived on the scene. What surprised Fiona more was when adventurers and handymen suddenly appeared, having heard about the incident. After the guards finished, they allowed the men to come in and start repairs.

The damage wasn't as substantial as she thought. Bonnie's protective magics had definitely done their job. But the door needed a replacement--and they needed to remove the molten slag of the old one.

Meanwhile, she and the others caught up in the untouched office in the back, with Lieutenant Pierre from the town guard investigation services, and a medical officer present to offer triage. Liam explained he had just returned from the Arkantines and was running security checks for the incoming dignitaries arriving next week.

"So, you're coming here? You're telling me that wasn't a coincidence?" Fiona asked.

"No. I was finishing lunch, and then I was going to make my introduction. Then these two birds flew in, screeching about a robbery," he said, waving to Lani and Kali.

"It wasn't a screech!" Kali protested. "It was a throaty shout."

"It was a screech," Lani corrected. Kali looked slightly dejected as Lani continued. "The men who attacked you are associated with the Karlin. They will, of course, deny it but…"

She waved her hand, and ghostly images of the papers she'd held previously appeared faintly on the table. Pierre, the white-furred wolven investigator who frequented the shop so often, she should have a repeat customer discount, leaned in attentively. "Might I ask how you acquired these?" she asked calmly.

"Mark power," Lani answered, showing the simulacrums. "Their instructions, which were written on those ink-saturated papers you found on them, told them to rob the place and make the owner accountable. I do not think they realized the difficulty of their task."

"You'd think, given my reputation, these guys would have chosen to pick an easier job," Fiona muttered. "I feel like Karlin did this to piss me off rather than cause real damage. or to Doug."

"That is so predictably petty of him. There's a problem, though, that isn't his handwriting," Doug pointed out, and turned to Lani. "How are you so certain it was him?"

"They mentioned a 'Mister K' as the organizer, and several references to a dragon. Not written, but it's not hard to connect the dots," Lani answered.

"Doug, it's totally him. He's doing this to ruin our holidays! I'm gonna strangle that Scrooge McDragon if I ever get my hands on him," Fiona said with an annoyed tone. Meanwhile, Pierre took an image of the copies before speaking in her typical deep-set voice.

"Very useful power. What is your class?" she directed to Lani.

"My contract holder insisted I take a class dedicated to subterfuge. I chose to take an ambassador class, which does have some crossover into infiltration. But much more useful for people skills," she said candidly. "Creative interpretation is the only effective defense against the more insidious contracts. We communicate as we find exploits so that others may do the same. In turn, the contract houses will learn and amend them as we find exploits. We've had to adapt quickly in Vale."

Fiona wanted to ask why she was here, but figured it might be a sensitive question. "You must have known what they were up to, to shadow them. How'd you hear about them?"

"Fi, that forge wasn't the only holdings Karlin had. They lost money working for him in that chaos. A loss they blame on you."

Fiona let out a boisterous laugh. "You know what? I might be out a couple of days for repairs, but beating up Karlin's thugs is almost worth the price of admission!" Her laughter died out as she frowned when she realized this probably wouldn't be the last attempt. "Seriously, that jerk doesn't have the cajones to show up himself? When did dragons start outsourcing the kidnapping of fair maidens?!"

"That's not a thing," Liam said irritably.

"Uh…different culture where I grew up. The dragons weren't so nice," she replied, crossing her arms. She hated that this sneaky dragon thought it was fun to keep taking shots at her from afar–or maybe her and Doug.

"I am curious," Pierre said, her ears standing up. "I know from reports that the contracts of Vale are…restrictive. Lani, have you made your way here?"

"Put simply? I am not bound to their decrees anymore," Lani cautioned. "The information I carry is sensitive. My presence at the merchant's guild in Salipol meant I held more than a little information that should have been restricted. Vale was in chaos after King Varith vanished under unusual circumstances. I closed out my contract in full before they could raise questions, and it might have been the only reason I got out quickly. Varith may have done me a favor."

Lani sat back and looked at Pierre, hands folded neatly on the table. "I can speak more of this in private, when other parties are not present." Fiona took that as her cue to wait. Especially about the hanging question of whether she could trust her.

"Any chance more adversaries from Vale decide to follow up?" Liam asked pointedly. "This assault in the heart of Fiefdala has me concerned."

"And me. Swiftheart, you really know how to shake things up, don't you?" Pierre said, looking a touch annoyed. "You should have evacuated with the rest of the customers. Rather than engaging in a melee in a commercial district."

"Oh, come on!! We had it handled!" Bonnie said in a break from her silence. "No customers were in the line of fire, and we didn't create this mess! You have been staunchly insinuating since we met that we're trouble!"

"Indeed," Greg said with an edged tone; the emotional twinge in his voice, where he usually had none, showed how much that upset him. "Asking us to do nothing would be shirking our duties as adventurers, active or retired, to protect others. Miss Lani here was instrumental in ensuring damage and risk of harm were minimal."

Pierre put out a hand, as if warding off the accusation. "I understand that. This would be a much different conversation if bystanders had been hurt. I like how it was handled." But the frown on her muzzle returned. "I miss having a quiet district. One where the biggest crisis I had was when old ladies would complain about the excess bird crap on the statues!"

The deathly stare from both Lani and Kali was well warranted, and Pierre sighed. "The pigeons, to be specific. They're a nuisance."

"Are we done here?" Fiona asked quietly. She heard the industrious sound of reconstruction and cleanup from the volunteers in the main room. "I have a store to get fixed up, and likely, another crisis brewing on my doorstep. Liam, Lani, are you in town for a while?"

"I can meet up in the morning. Jacob briefed me on the situation," the dragon said, and pulled out a slightly oversized relay, which he tapped against Fiona's for contact information.

"My situation is…fluid," Lani said after a slight pause. "Lieutenant Pierre, I do have travel documents for Fiefdala."

"I ought to be thanking you for spotting those thieves; you're not in trouble. I'd like to debrief further at the garrison, but it may take a while. Do you have a place to stay?" Pierre asked, a pen already tapping on her data pad.

"I have a small room reserved for a few days. A local inn, the Auran Dancer. The one with the big gold dragon on the sign?"

"Oh, I know that place!" Pierre beamed. "Great food, super cheap, at the south end of town! They make those double-baked tubers with bacon and scallions. I can drop you off after we debrief. I'd like to know more about the situation in Vale, and if you've heard anything else about Karlin."

Fiona took that as her cue. "Lani, you can stay at my place…if you want."

"Uh…Fiona? Are you sure that's what you want?" Doug asked, his wings tensed. It was the only outward sign he wasn't happy about this.

"Doug, I'll talk in a bit, alright?" she assured him. I know what you're getting at, you think she told Varith's agents about what we were up to, and put our lives at risk. But I get this feeling she may not have had a choice, or Varith was lying.

"I do appreciate it, Miss Swiftheart, but I didn't want to impose," Lani interrupted, likely saving her a rather contentious discussion with Doug. "I do have some…things…to discuss. Of a business matter. Maybe tomorrow?"

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"We'll be here. Likely mopping up," Doug grunted. "Though…this could have been a far worse situation, admittedly. Detective, are we done here?"

Pierre pocketed her data pad. "If we have any follow-up questions, we'll be in touch." With that said, everyone got up to leave the room.

"Lani," Fiona called out, before the avian followed the detective. "A word, before you go?"

"Uh…" she trailed off, but got an affirming nod from Pierre when she glanced her way. "Okay. One moment."

She clicked the door shut, her clawed fingers tensed. "I assume you're wondering why I came to Fiefdala?"

Fiona stood at her desk, fingers tapping gently on the table. She didn't quite know how far she could carry this discussion, not with Lani possibly being at risk. "You look well," she said a moment later.

"I feel well. I can't say the same about many others I know." Lani stretched her wings lightly, after having sat in a chair not meant for winged Folk, and approached the other side of the desk, looking somber. "I came here to apologize."

"For what?" Fiona asked, hoping this would not turn into a confirmation of betrayal.

"For not having a strong enough will to resist the command given to me. Or warn you." She pulled out the contract and laid it on the desk, which Fiona had already read through in record time, her clawed finger resting on one line. What she read…disturbed her.

"They asked you to divulge anything I said. It's...a compulsion of the contract, huh?" Fiona said quietly.

"One they didn't enforce until one of Varith's men stepped in. Harrier." Fiona knew who that meant: the presumptive organizer of the events that led to the death of Doug's mother. "I...I didn't want to. What you showed me was a better place that I couldn't picture until I was outside of Vale. So I told him to go to the hells. I breached the contract."

Fiona knew what the contract stated. The insidiousness of what they put in print, right out in the open, sickened her.

"They can make you do things you don't want to do. Like, make you tell them what your assigned diplomats are saying, breaking the strictest confidence…with a snap of a finger. Or two."

Lani tried to hide her left hand, but Fiona focused on her two bandaged fingers. Fiona walked around her desk, and she lifted Lani's arm to examine them in detail. Lani looked away, ashamed. The subtlety of what the avian had said gave her a full understanding of how insidious the contracts were.

"What else did they do?" Fiona could barely contain the anger in her voice. But she knew the answer, much to her horror.

Article Four, Section Six, Paragraph Three: Breach of Contract and penalties that shall be levied, should Paragraphs One through Three not lead to compliance with Contract terms.

"They threatened to take my wings. And not just by breaking bones."

Lani's breath was shallow, and she trembled lightly. "People who are skilled in negotiations can have a contract written that avoids the more…unpleasant consequences when a contract is breached–"

Fiona gave the avian a loving hug, long overdue. "I never should have doubted you," she said softly, taking care to avoid squeezing her feathery wings.

She only regretted one thing now: not burning down Salipol to the ground, and all the contract houses in it. Or Harrison, the counselor, who likely had a stake in the state-sanctioned murder of a practical saint. An untamed fury welled up from her core.

I should have killed every single one of them. Bianca didn't have the wrong idea, and Doug is right: Vale would have ceased to be if I'd crash-landed there. Even Rikkard, as mad as I am at him, was right.

"Miss Swiftheart…I'll be okay. I'm free of them."

"And a lot of others aren't." Fiona held onto Lani for a good handful of seconds, who stopped trembling after a few seconds. "Here I am, worrying about a stupid magical shop, when I could be fixing a whole kingdom–"

"Varith tried. He got further than most," she responded, looking stern and shaking her head lightly. "But you can't solve every problem with a sword. Or, a giant hammer, in your case. You have your own challenges, as it were."

"The hammer solves most of the problems," Fiona corrected.

Lani let out a click of her beak. "Assume that wouldn't work. What would you do?"

Fiona thought about it and regarded her prior plan. "Go beat the ever-loving tar out of Karlin, take his gold, and the gold Glados stole. Then, we'll buy out the contracts, then get everyone the hell out of Salipol before the contract houses realize they'd been had. Or find a way to lawyer them out of the contracts."

Lani scoffed. "Lawyers are what created the contracts. Evil lawyers."

Fiona let out a bitter laugh. "Yep. They're a universal evil, aren't they? Look, Lani, there is nothing to forgive. This piece of paper...it's sinful. I want to see you at my residence tomorrow. Go catch up with Pierre, stay out of trouble, and meet us at Baker Way Plaza tomorrow night. My apartment's the one with the whirlpool bath on the patio in the back, Number six."

"I have never been in such luxury," she breathed.

"Well, assuming I can calm down the miniature dragon, we might be able to talk in private in my place." Fiona nodded to the door. "Unfortunately, I feel like it might be the easiest task I have on my list right now."

"Fiona, you are too trusting."

Doug tapped a claw impatiently on his arm, looking quite upset by her executive decision. And surly. Bonnie, Greg, Darla, and Kali were all gathered in the room, and the couch was full up, along with the other chairs.

Doug was still agitated because he kept going. "Lani lied to us! More than once! We can't trust her not to be part of some dastardly scheme from Vale to further mess with us!"

Bonnie patted the kobold's wing gently, and he gave her a look of ire. "You're molting, you're stressed."

"I'm not molting!"

Fiona jabbed a finger toward the ground, where a few bright red feathers lay. "You're stressed? You're stressed? They broke her fingers, Doug. They were going to cut her wings off. Lani might be free and clear, but thousands of others aren't!"

"You think that's bad? They are capable of far worse," Doug said, furrowing his brow. "But it's not our current problem. I don't like being the only one in the room to say it, but Fiona, this is a monumentally bad idea. I think Bonnie, Darla, and Greg are besmitten with you, and don't know when to push back against your truly terrible ideas."

"Oh, watch it, tiny," Bonnie growled. "Each of those guys was armed with charged wands capable of doing a lot of damage. Imagine that situation, with a room full of people, people who aren't trained in mage combat?"

"I was with Lani," Kali chimed in, having been invited as well. "She grabbed a few of those guys' wands as they charged in. Pretty clever sleight of hand with that power of hers, so they went in unarmed."

"Speaking of besmitten," Douglas said, glancing skeptically at Kali, "she wouldn't stop holding your hand."

Kali stammered, his feathers ruffled. "I mean, she's my age, kinda cute, mysterious…besmitten seems a bit of a strong word."

"Exactly," Douglas huffed. "We have a dangerous ex of Fiona's coming to this apartment in a week. We don't need complicated. We're full up already."

"Guys, my vote is, Lani came here at continued great risk," Kali shot back. "And you're wrong, Doug. You know you're wrong."

"Why's that?" Doug asked, irate.

"Doug, you of all people know what Vale has done historically!" Kali said accusingly. "Or maybe you were flying too high up to notice the people below you."

"I am quite aware of what Vale has done. I know they've sent trackers to retrieve people who escaped their clutches. But Lani has a contract that is magically bound," Doug snapped. "They can't touch her again."

Fiona had a grim flashback to the USA's own history. Headed north for freedom from slavery. Would I be setting a bad example if I finish what Bianca started?

Even if she could, how could she short-circuit the contracts? That was the bigger issue.

Greg then turned to address the kobold. "Doug, you know the history of Vale. You know what they've done before. Lani will need more than just a change of venue to have a normal life."

"Gregory? We're getting full up on misfits," Doug said with a roll of his eyes. "What are you proposing we do about Vale? As much pleasure as it would be to burn that city to the ground and incinerate every former slaver? Not going to happen. Varith–excuse me, Bianca tried, and only barely moved the needle. And it'll go back to business as usual in a matter of months."

Doug then waved to the room. "Meanwhile, we have our own kingdom to worry about! And Karlin enjoys stirring the pot, and that nuisance brother of mine just graduated to armed robbery. We can't have that become a recurring problem!"

"Uh…I could always take the hammer's 'humiliate' mode off again," Fiona suggested. Doug stared blankly at her.

"No, Swiftheart. You can't solve this one with brute force."

"Guys, cool it? It's been less than a day," Darla said with a hint of a growl to her words. "Besides, do you think Jake will let this go? He'll get a hornful from me if he does."

"No way will Jake let this one go. But he'll go through regular channels," Greg countered softly. "Now, I admit, how Karlin kept this many people in town that would stay loyal? I think he had help. And we do know someone who has tabs on other people who do their business under questionable circumstances."

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to go to him, are you?" Bonnie chided. Fiona raised an eyebrow at this and let out an audible groan when it sank in.

"Greg," Fiona said flatly, "Don't let this jerk back into your life. He will wedge a foot in the door that you won't be able to close."

"Uh, lacking context? What am I missing?" Kali asked.

"We'll have to consult the godfather about the family business," Fiona replied, with emphasis on accenting the words.

"What's this 'gahdfathah' exactly? Is it that accent you have from home?"

"No. She's referring to Lockheed Senior." Doug grunted irritably. "Tell me we're not doing this."

Later that evening, the surly looking kobold stood outside, bundled up against the winter chill, his teeth chattering audibly. They all stared upwards at a three-story manor on the outskirts of Fiefdala. Fiona couldn't help but notice the splendor of the white brickwork, beautiful statues, and even the magically heated garden that kept pretty pink flowers insulated against the cold, lining the walkway on either side. It must have cost a fortune.

"This is decadent enough for a dragon. I'm moving in," Doug finally admitted.

"We're not 'moving in', we're just asking my father a few questions." Greg cast a scathing look at the miniature dragon. "Don't let him walk you into a corner with words. It's what he does."

Bonnie let out a deep sigh before putting an assuring hand on his shoulder. "Sure, you say that. Until he gives you an offer you can't refuse."

Fiona tried to hide a cackle and failed. "Just watch out if he says it isn't personal, and is strictly business."

"Oh, laugh it up, you two," Greg said icily before gently knocking on the door. A soft set of footsteps approached as they waited patiently. Soon, the door opened with a soft squeak of hinges, and a middle-aged woman emerged, her dark hair resembling Greg's, but with blue eyes instead.

"Gregory, my dear, how are you?" She said politely, before giving him a great big hug. Greg wheezed from the impact. Fiona wasn't surprised–his mother might be just as strong as she was, with her powerful figure. "Oh, it's so good to see you! I thought you had decreed you'd never set foot on this porch again!"

"Hi, Mom. I'm here to talk to Dad. About a business matter," he said after a brief pause.

Her expression faded to discontent, and she shot a glare over her shoulder before addressing her son. "Oh. Guessing I shouldn't set out tea, then, if this goes like I think it will. Come on in!"