Warnings: Mention of death from overworking.

Chapter 15: The City that Tempted Fate Part 4: Bradley from Broadleaf

"But first, we'll need to find a place start-" Roland was suddenly accosted, or rather greeted enthusiastically by a humanfolk man with carrot red hair and beard dressed in Goldpaw finery.

"Hey man! Great to see a fellow Leafer!" Roland had been somewhat dubious but had otherwise rolled with it for convenience, but all the people who had said that his accent had sounded like the one spoken in Broadleaf had not in fact been kidding; If not for the words he was speaking, Roland could've easily mistaken the man for a fellow Usonian. "Judging by your attire you ended up in Dell. Bad luck, man. I heard about the coup. We Leafers can't catch a break, huh?"

"Tell me about it," he replied smoothly. "But what's your story?"

"Why don't we take this inside?"

"Do we have time for this?" Aranella asked pointedly.

"Well…" Roland trailed off.

"How long has it been since you left?" Asked Tani.

"It has been a while."

"And have you spoken to anyone from Broadleaf since?"

"Not since I left."

"It'll be fine, Miss Aranella," Batu assured her. "Let the lad'ave some time with'is people."

She sighed at that. "All right. Since you put it like that."

"Yeah… It would be nice to catch up," Roland added. Gotta stay in character after all, he thought.

"Great!" The man lead them out of Fortune Square. "Name's Bradley by the way."

"Roland. This is Aranella, Tani, Batu and Ev-uh… Ivan-"

"King Ivan," Lofty corrected. "And I'm his Kingmaker, Lofty."

"Ooh, visiting royalty," Bradley replied. "And from Ding Dong Dell no less."

"We're not from Ding Dong Dell actually," said Evan. "At least… not anymore. We have a new country now."

"Yeah? What's it called?"

"Um… it doesn't have a name yet," he replied with a touch of guilt.

"Well that's okay. Sometimes when you're naming something it comes to you right away. Other times, it just takes a while. So don't sweat it, all right?"

"All right," he replied, sounding reassured.

"We don't get a lot of humanfolk around here, so I came over to say hi. Thought you were more refugees from Ding Dong Dell at first, until I heard Roland talking… Although I guess you technically still are."

"Refugees?" Evan repeated.

"You mean there are more?" Aranella asked.

"There sure are. Some humanfolk and grimalkin arrived not too long ago. You'll probably see them around. But what brings you to Goldpaw? You can't be here seeking refuge since you have your own country now."

"We're actually here on behalf of Niall," Roland explained.

"Oooh. I see. That explains it."

Something about the way he'd said that gave Roland the distinct impression that there was more to this chance encounter than was immediately obvious. Was this even a chance encounter at all? It was a sentiment that Aranella shared, and Batu as well to a certain extent as they returned the mildly troubled looks he sent their way. Aranella hung back, and so did Roland. "Can we trust him?" She asked as Bradley continued talking.

"Anyway it'll be great to catch up with another Leafer!"

Roland was about to reply, but then came a voice from the back of his head. I think you should hear what he has to say. He may turn out to be the starting point you were looking for. "Well we don't really know him, but I think we should hear what he has to say."

"I mean I can still talk to my friends and folks at home, but it's not the same as talking to someone face to face, you know?" Bradley continued.

"Really?" She asked dubiously.

"Yeah," Roland replied. "He might be the starting point we're looking for."

"I suppose. But what if he starts asking you awkward questions?"

"I'll just have to roll with it."

"When did you leave?" Bradley asked.

"About a year ago," Roland replied smoothly. "I never felt like I fit in at home, so I left and made my way to Dell. Got myself a job as a soldier. And the rest is history."

"A year ago, huh? Were you able to keep in touch with anyone back home?"

"I'm afraid not. It was a hard choice, but… in the end I had to do what was right for me."

"Sure, I get that. But that means you won't be up to date with what's been happening in Broadleaf, will you?"

"Judging from what I've seen on Leafbook, I'm guessing there's been some… developments."

"You can say that again. But we're here, so I'll explain all inside." He held the door open for them. "Go on in and make yourselves at home."

"You live here?" Evan asked. Bradley had taken them to the wealthier part of Goldpaw, and they were standing before an ornately decorated two story house that looked about as expensive as it probably was.

"Yep. This is home sweet home. I actually earn quite a living here you see. But like I said, I'll explain all inside." So they filed in. The downstairs area was a completely open space. A kitchen area for cooking and preparing food was at the back. To their right was a seating area with plush sofas and chairs arranged around a polished wooden coffee table. Bookcases filled with books, and shelves and display cases filled with various trinkets and decorative ornaments lined the walls to the left, and oil paintings were hung around the room.

"Wow…" Tani mumbled.

"Take a seat," he said. As they made themselves comfortable, he headed over to the kitchen area. "I'd offer you some coffee, but they don't do that in Goldpaw. So, would you like some tea instead?"

"Why don't you just tell us why we're really here?" Roland replied, his arms folded.

He turned away from the kettle. "Oh. All right… I'll get straight to the point then… If you guys are here because of Niall, that means he's noticed that something's up. Well? He's right."

"We figured that much fer ourselves," said Batu.

"Yeah I heard, you noticed the dice roll, didn't you? And you're here to fix it, aren't you?"

They exchanged looks before Roland replied, "I think that may depend on exactly what's going on."

"I can help you with that. But before I do, I gotta give you some context first. A few months ago, I left Broadleaf because of the way things were going."

"What do you mean by that?" Aranella asked.

"President Vector was a great man." Roland had to restrain himself from echoing "President Vector?" It seemed as though there were presidents here after all. "But not anymore. Ever since development was started on the perpetual fission reactor project, he's been asking-no, demanding people work increasingly insane hours with no breaks and no time off."

"That sounds awful," said Evan.

"Yeah. It was. And still is I guess. If I'd stayed there any longer I would've ended up working myself to death like…" He swallowed. "Like the others…"

"The others?" Tani asked.

"Judging by some posts on Leafbook," Roland supplied. "It seems like a number of people have collapsed from exhaustion. Some of those people did not get back up. Not enough to spark outrage just yet, but… I don't imagine it'll be very long until it does."

"Gods that's terrible," said Aranella.

"Ye must be worried about yer friends n'family, Roland," said Batu.

"Yeah…"

"Who are they?" Bradley asked. "Maybe I could get you in touch?"

"Actually… I was uh…" It was becoming increasingly apparent that at some point in the near future he'd have to level with Tani and Batu about where he was really from, but that time was not now. So for now, he'd have to keep up the pretence. "Thinking about visiting."

"Well if ye were thinkin' ye could fly there by skimmer, I'm afraid ye'll have to think again," said Batu. "As I be sayin' last time. They were built to withstand all sorts o'weather, but pilotin' them through all sorts o'weather be another matter. And ye'd be tryin' that over the ocean."

"Right… Well… I got to Dell by boat. I guess I'd have to get to Broadleaf the same way. But I'd at least like to get our kingdom going before I thought about doing that."

"Are you sure, Roland?" Tani asked. "It sounds like it's getting pretty bad back home."

"I have a duty to my King. Besides we… didn't exactly part on the best terms…"

"That's all the more reason to go back as soon as you can! If they die before you see them again, whatever you said to them when you left will be the last thing you ever will!"

"Well… I…" Roland was at a momentary loss for words, until he was able to figure something out. "Look," he said gently. "The boat I took is in Dellian territory, so we wouldn't be able to get it back. I'd uh… I'd have to make a new one first. And that's going to take some time."

"You know, Goldpaw has a protectorate called Capstan-Upon-Hull," Bradley explained. "It's a shipyard. Maybe you could get a new boat from there?"

"Maybe. I'll look into it."

"If you got te Dell by boat, 'ow did you be gettin' te Goldpaw?"

"Also by boat," Bradley replied. "But it's all out of power, so you wouldn't be able to use it to get back."

"But neither can you," said Tani.

"Yeah, I know. It was a one way trip. But it's like Roland said. I had to do what was right for me. But I brought my tablet with me, so I can still keep in touch."

"And what the devil be a tablet?"

"Well it's a computer-"

"A what?" Everyone except Roland asked in unison.

"Oh boy, uh…"

"It's basically something like Leafbook," Roland explained. "Only not."

"Right, yes. Thanks."

"But you can directly communicate with other people."

"Right, but only people you've linked up with. It's not a problem in Broadleaf, since you can just exchange links with people you meet. But me? Well, I won't be adding any more people to my network in the near future sadly."

"Why can't you do that with Leafbook?" Tani asked.

"Because it was primarily designed as a news outlet; Somewhere you could find news and stories from all over the world. The dev team thought the best way to accomplish this was to allow people to make their own posts about the events happening in their lives. Being able to comment on these posts wasn't actually in the alpha release, it was originally just posts you could only read. But the dev team received feedback from the alpha testers asking to be allowed to add their thoughts to each post in order to open the door to conversation. So they did, and the rest is history."

Batu scratched his head with a confuzzled expression. "I only be understandin'alf of that."

"Do you think they'll make another Leafbook that will?" Tani asked.

"Oh I'm sure. One of Broadleaf's core tenants is innovation after all."

"We can worry about Broadleaf later. What were you were saying about Goldpaw?" Roland prompted, bringing the conversation back on track from its extended tangent.

"Right, uh. Where was I? Oh yeah, so I'd heard of Goldpaw as being a land of fortune and opportunity, so that's where I headed."

"You also said it was a one way trip," Aranella cut in. "So what in the world would you have done if you hadn't been accepted?"

"If things hadn't worked out, then I would've had enough power left to move onto Ding Dong Dell if I'd had to. All I knew at the time was that I couldn't go back to Broadleaf no matter what happened."

"I see…"

"But as you can see that wasn't a problem. With my background and connections to Broadleaf, I was able to hook them up with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos, such as Leafbook-"

"And the lights?" Roland asked.

"Oh the lights! They actually had a pretty limited understanding of electricity already so I just helped them build on it and made it more efficient. They covered the city in lights after that. I was welcomed into Goldpaw with open arms and was able to make quite a living, as you can see. And Master Pugnacious granted me citizenship within a week of my arrival. I really appreciated him doing that and I thought he seemed like a great guy."

"But?"

"But," he sighed. "Just like Vector, he eventually revealed his true colours."

"What happened?"

"One day he showed up at my door because he wanted my help with something. He said he wanted to control the way the dice rolls in order to maximise the tax rate. Whoever built the thing obviously foresaw that it could be potentially manipulated for ill intent because its protected by all sorts of anti-magic wards that prevent the dice roll from being altered with spells."

"Hold on, mun," Lofty interjected. "What happens if they need to replace the dice?"

"But that's the clever part you see. The wards aren't on the dice at all, they're on the automaton. They act as a shield that prevents any kind of spell cast on the dice from taking effect. That way no one could replace the dice with one that accidentally didn't have the wards installed, or if the knowledge was lost."

"What would've happened if the automaton broke down?" Tani asked.

"It's well maintained. So well apparently, that it's not broken down once since it was first built. So if it did, or ever does, it'd be a pretty big deal. Big enough that it likely would've drawn attention to any dodgy dice rolls after that – or… so I would hope."

"Why don't they notice the dice rolls right now?"

"Blind devotion," Roland supplied. "Sometimes people find it easier to pretend like there's nothing wrong, because doing so means they'd have to confront the problem. In this case the problem, is that taxation based on a dice roll just isn't responsible no matter what they say, and they'd need to restructure their entire way of running things into something else. Taking down Pugnacious would only solve the problem in the short term."

"Right," Bradley agreed. "And it's not the only thing they decide on a dice roll either."

"Oh no," he uttered. "What else do they do?"

"Are you sure you wanna know?"

He grimaced. "How bad is it?"

"It's pretty wild," he replied, the enthusiasm in his tone very likely being completely unwarranted.

They exchanged looks. "Perhaps we'd be better off living in ignorance," said Aranella weakly.

"Aye…" Batu growled.

Bradley's grin widened. "As you wish."

"So he wanted you to come up with a way to manipulate the dice with technology," Roland stated more than asked. "What did you say to that?"

"What do you think I said, man? I said no. To his credit I suppose, he tried to win me over first by explaining that if he had more money, he would have more money to spend on the nation. So when that didn't work, that's when he resorted to blackmailing me. He threatened to revoke my citizenship and throw me out of Goldpaw on some made up charges."

"What did you do?" Evan asked.

"What else could I do, man? My word against the Grand High Roller? Forget it. And if he kicked me out, I'd've been done. I couldn't get back to Broadleaf even if I wanted to, and with my boat out of power I could forget about going to Ding Dong Dell. I'm a tech guy, I can't fight. So I did the only thing I could do in that situation, I invented a dice that can be controlled remotely, so he could roll his Sixes just like he wanted. And that's my story."

Batu folded his arms. "An'that be why the dice were rollin' funny."

"So you left one home looking for better, and now you're being blackmailed by the leader no less, of your new home," Tani summarised.

"Yyep," Bradley sighed. "Like I said. We Leafers can't catch a break."

"Well in his defence," Lofty piped up. "He's broken hearted, see and has lost his restraint."

"Broken hearted?" Bradley repeated, disbelief colouring his tone. "I thought that was just a myth."

"It's no myth, pal, I'm a faerie. I know broken heartedness when I see it."

Batu pinned Roland with a look. "Didn't ye be sayin' ye'ad no idea what broken'eartedness was, on account o'ye be from Broadleaf?"

"I said I didn't know," Roland replied. "I didn't say all of Broadleaf has never heard of it."

"I guess it's not impossible," said Bradley. "Still that surprises me. It's a pretty well known faerytale, even back home in Broadleaf."

"Faerytale?" Lofty repeated indignantly.

"Do you have any idea why Pugnacious became broken hearted?" Roland asked, steering the topic of conversation back onto Pugnacious and away from him. "Apparently it can be caused by a strong surge of emotion."

"No clue, man," Bradley replied. "You'd be better off talking to Second Roller Ya Ya."

"Second Roller Ya Ya? Was she the dogwoman at the ceremony earlier?"

"That's her."

"And I'm guessing the role of Second Roller is similar to that of a Vice President?"

"In some ways yes, in other ways no. The Second Roller steps in and covers for the Grand High Roller should they become unable to continue governing, but they're not the defacto successor to the role unless they've been appointed as successor by the Grand High Roller."

"I see. Was she with Pugnacious the day he came to visit you?"

"Nope. It was just him."

Roland looked thoughtful. "I see. If that's the case, and judging by her reaction to the dice roll earlier, it doesn't seem as if she is in on the scheme. Is there anyway to prove what you've told us?"

"Uhhh well. He also wanted a way to control the dice in the casinos as well which is why they've been doing so well all of a sudden. So he'll've needed a factory to manufacture them all. But I just supplied the materials and the prototypes, I've had no involvement in the mass production side of things. If I had to guess, though, I'd try the Grand High Roller's Hall."

"All right. It sounds like we have our starting point."

"Will you get in trouble for telling us this?" Evan asked.

"Well of course," Bradley replied. "But Niall sent you here to fix things didn't he? As long as you do that, I'll be fine."

"Then I promise. We'll do all we can to put right what has gone wrong," he said. And then he yawned.

Bradley chuckled. "I'm sure you will, but I guess it won't be today."

Roland glanced at the clock tower through one of the windows. "It is getting pretty late, and we have been up since early this morning."

"You guys have somewhere to stay while you're in Goldpaw?"

"We have somewhere we can make camp, and some tents we can set up."

"Some tents, huh? Is that all?"

"Well yeah. We don't exactly have a lot of money."

"I can fix that."

"Oh we couldn't possibly-" Aranella began.

"It's no trouble. Besides, how long has it been since you all slept in a real bed?"

"Too long…" Roland muttered. "Don't get me wrong, the beds we made ourselves are better than nothing, but they don't compare to a full mattress."

"I've never slept on a mattress before," said Tani. "What's it like?"

"They're very comfortable, but firm," Evan replied. He looked away for a moment and mumbled to himself. "I wonder what became of my room…"

Roland, Aranella and Batu exchanged looks at that. "What d'ya say te a stay in Goldpaw, laddie?"

"Oh, I'd like that, but… we don't have any money."

"But we will, if we be acceptin' Mr Bradley's generosity. T'would be a shame te come all the way to Goldpaw, an'not be able te make use o'one o'their inns after all. I sure would be appreciatin' a chance te try out one o'these mattresses fer meself as well."

"Exactly how much money are you offering?" Roland asked of Bradley.

"A thousand guilders," he replied.

"A thousand guilders?" Aranella repeated.

"Blimey!" Tani exclaimed.

"Cor, there's generous of you," said Lofty.

Bradley shrugged. "It's pretty small change to me."

"But…" Aranella protested. "It just doesn't feel right. Taking so much money off a complete stranger. And for nothing."

"You're here to fix this mess aren't you? And maybe take down Pugnacious, if you have to, right?" He explained. "For that, I'd be happy to pay you more."

"More?" Evan repeated.

"Tell you what," Roland began. "What if we just took half instead? So five hundred guilders. Would that be better for everyone?"

"Well… it's less…" Aranella stated unnecessarily.

"I be'avin' no problems with a thousand guilders," Batu replied with a shrug.

"Nor do I, mun."

"But if five hundred guilders be less inclined te make Eva-ah-Ivan, n'Aranella pass out, then I suppose that be what we'll be takin'."

"But…" She protested again, but much less fervently.

"I can be understandin' yer reluctance, Aranella, but in our culture it be an insult te refuse someone's willin'ly givin'ospitality."

"And honestly, it's no big deal," Bradley added.

"All right," she relented. "Since you put it like that. We will accept your five hundred guilders then, Mr Bradley."

"Great! Wait here." He disappeared upstairs and reappeared with a small hessian pouch that clinked as he walked and as he held it out. "Here you go. Your five hundred guilders." He grinned as he added. "Spend it wisely, now."

"Thank you ever so much, Mr Bradley," said Evan as he took the pouch.

"You're welcome."

"You should probably give that to one of us," said Roland.

"I'll take it," said Aranella. So the pouch of money was given to her and disappeared into her armsband.

"All right," he said to Bradley. "We'll get out of your hair. But, you've been a big help, so thanks for that. Really."

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you. Good luck out there, you guys, I'm counting on you. And Roland? You ever wanna come chat about Broadleaf stuff, you know where to find me."

"Sure." He smiled. "I'll see you around."

They bid their farewells and stepped outside. "Well, we certainly learned a lot today," Aranella commented.

"We sure did," he agreed. "But it's late and I'll be honest, I am far too tired to figure out what we're going to do with all that information right now." The others murmured their agreement. "Let's go back to the Dreaming Camomile Inn and get ourselves some rooms for the night."

"Sounds like a plan, mun!"

"Ar, arf! Welcome back!" Lady Pekingese greeted them happily. "Are you here to rent some rooms?"

"We are," Roland replied. "We'll need enough beds to sleep six of us." He added as an explanation. "One of our party is waiting for us outside the city."

"Arf! That is no problem. Let me see what I have."

"What about me, mun?" Lofty objected as she consulted her list of available rooms.

"Lofty, you do not need an entire bed all to yourself," Roland told him flatly.

"You can share with me," Evan added. Lofty sulked but did not object or protest further.

"I have some options for you to choose from," said Lady Pekingese. "I have a room with three bunk beds, enough to sleep all of you in one, but I also have a room with a double bed and a bunk bed available, two rooms with double beds and three rooms with a single. The three bunk beds are sixty guilders for one night, the double bed and bunk bed is thirty, the double beds are twenty and the singles are ten."

"Before we decide, we'll also need somewhere to store our sky skimmers."

Lady Pekingese blinked. "Your what?"

"Sky skimmers, they're uh… they're how we got to Goldpaw. They're about yay big," he gestured to show the size.

"I fear size may not be so much the issue. We do not have anywhere to stable such things, you see…"

"Oh, they're not animals. So we only need somewhere to put them away for the night."

"Oh. Oh then of course. You can store them out back."

"Great, thanks." He turned to the others. "So what're we going with? It'll be the same price if we pick the double with bunk and three singles or the three bunk room."

"Batu and Chingis both snore," said Tani. "So unless you don't mind that, you won't want to be in a room with either of them."

Roland eyed Batu. "Is that true?"

Batu scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "So I've been told."

"I see. Looks like it's the bunk and double and three singles then."

"Definitely," Aranella agreed.

"You go ahead n'be bookin' the rooms then. I'll go n'fetch Chingis n'the'iggldies."

"Won't you need some help moving the skimmers?" Roland asked.

"It don't be takin' much te pull 'em, remember? We'll be managin' between the two of us."

"All right then. We'll go ahead and turn in for the night as well, so we'll see you tomorrow."

"Aye. G'night then Roland, Aranella, Tani, Yer Majesty."

"And me, mun!" Lofty objected.

"Aye. And you, Yer Mighty One."

"Goodnight, Batu," they all chorused. Batu disappeared through the doors and they returned to the desk to make their booking.

"Would you like breakfast to go with that?" She asked. "It's an extra thirty guilders for six."

"What about seven?" Lofty asked.

"That would be thirty five."

They exchanged looks and nodded. "That would be lovely," Aranella confirmed.

After she'd had handed over the money, Lady Pekingese gave them their room keys and lead them to their rooms. "The doors at each end of the corridor are the bathrooms," she explained.

"Is there somewhere we could hang our clothes to dry?" Roland asked.

"Arf! Why yes of course. Give them to me and I will take them to the drying room. I'll leave them for you outside your rooms tomorrow morning."

"Great, thanks."

They handed over all of their wet clothes. "Good night," she said, "And sleep well."

"Good night," they chorused.

"And thank you," Evan added.

"But of course, Your Majesty." She curtsied and left.

Roland gestured with his thumb. "I'm gonna take that one to brush my teeth."

"Yes, that's a good idea," said Aranella. "We should do the same."

"But we're tired," Tani whined.

"You're never too tired to brush your teeth, Tani."

"Aww," she and Evan chorused.

"Now come along both of you. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can go to bed."

"All right," they sighed and allowed her to usher them to the bathroom.

"Come on, Evan," said Lofty as he followed. "Having teeth as fabulous as mine takes work, mun."

"I suppose you're right," he conceded.

Roland watched the scene unfold with an ache in his heart as it reminded him of the days before Will became ill. It was strong enough to make him clutch at his chest and force down the sudden lump that had wedged itself in his throat before he turned away. When he got back to his room, Roland dragged off his coat, polo neck, boots and socks, deposited them unceremoniously on the floor and flopped gratefully onto the mattress. It had been a week since he'd slept in a proper bed and by god did it feel good to be back in one again. He pulled the covers up to his chin, closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

"Hi, Daddy."

Roland raised his head. He was once again back in his Presidential Office. "Will," he smiled wistfully. "Hey kiddo. I've missed you."

"I know, Daddy. I'm sorry we can't be together like we were."

"No, that's…" He swallowed. "Don't apologise okay? That's not your fault."

"Okay." He decided to change the subject to something else. "So what do you think of Goldpaw, Daddy?"

"I…" A frustrated sigh. "Taxation based on a dice roll?" He put his head in his hands in exasperation. "Who thought that was a good idea?"

Will laughed. "It does seem pretty silly doesn't it? What else do you think they decide on a dice roll."

"God I dread to think."

Will laughed again before his expression turned more sombre. "Don't you think it's funny, Daddy? A leader stealing from his people. Doesn't that sound like something that happened in our world?"

Roland frowned. "Yeah… it does. Now that you mention it."

"And Ding Dong Dell?"

"The Royal Family being ousted by a coup? Yeah… Something similar happened in Albion about… thirty years ago. Only the Crown Prince was killed in that revolt."

"I guess that means our worlds aren't so different, huh?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I guess it does. Aranella did say that our two worlds were connected after all."

Will hummed in agreement. "So. Do you think Pugnacious is a bad person, Daddy?"

"Well… it's hard to say. Apparently this broken heartedness changes how a person acts, but…"

"But?"

"I don't know. It just sounds like a convenient excuse to cover up their actions."

"So do you think Pugnacious is a bad person, Daddy?"

"Well? It's not like he doesn't know what he's doing is wrong, or else he wouldn't be going to such lengths to intimidate people into silence, or hide what he's doing. So… I guess I do."

"But what if he's doing what he's doing because he thinks what he's doing is right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say that sometimes you have to make hard choices? What if Pugnacious is making a hard choice as well?"

"You think there's a reason behind his actions? One that's not just simple greed?"

"I think you should at least think about it."

"Well… I find it hard to believe that subterfuge would be necessary but…" He relented with a sigh. "All right, Will. I'll think about it."

He beamed and hugged him. "Thank you, Daddy." He pulled away. "It's time for me to go."

Roland couldn't stop the pained expression that took hold of his features. "Again?"

"I know. But we'll see each other again! I promise."

A heavy sigh. "All right… I look forward to it, kiddo."

"Bye, Daddy."

"Yeah… bye…"

Roland opened his eyes to find the ache still settled in his heart and just sighed.

A/N: In which I turn the "using technology from Broadleaf" handwave into an actual plot point.

Also couldn't think of a better title for Ya Ya, so this is what we're with rolling with for now.