'Skuld, Brain, and Kvasir try to figure out what happened to Mimir.'

Chapter Twenty: How to Find a Missing Person

"So let me get this straight," Meili said slowly. "You went back to your apartment to get stuff, and all you brought back was your supplies," they gestured, somewhat vaguely, to the collection of items Brain was going through on the table, "and a lamp."

Skuld tried not to feel too sheepish, adjusting the lamp as best she could in her arms. "We didn't have much," she admitted. We didn't have anything, a part of her amended silently, glancing at the lamp and trying not to feel too embarrassed about purchasing it. It was…silly, probably, but—she had very little that was hers right now, and grabbing it had made her feel a little more grounded here.

"What's wrong with supplies and a lamp?" Brain asked, tilting his head back and raising an eyebrow.

Meili rubbed their forehead, looking vaguely tired. "There isn't anything wrong with them," they said, exasperated. "But you could've brought back more if you wanted to."

Skuld bit her lip.

Brain didn't say anything; he went back to tinkering with his items, scribbling something in his notebook.

Meili sighed, shrugging. "Fine. You can put the lamp…wherever. You," they added, jabbing a finger in Brain's direction, "contain your experiments."

"Mm-hm."

"Come on, Meili," Bridget called. "A couple of pets might make things more lively."

"Can we get a dog?" Eric asked.

"No," Meili snapped.

Brain didn't glance back, but Skuld caught his smirk. "Think I can get something close."

"Yes."

Meili groaned, running a hand over their face.

Skuld laughed and, after a moment's thought, set the lamp on the windowsill. There wasn't a place in here that was hers, really—if the old apartment had felt like a temporary place to stay, then Meili's was even worse—but it was the closest she could get to the stars. She took a step back, eyeing the lamp. It looked…pretty out of place, given the rest of the apartment's décor, but somehow, that made it feel…better. Some emotion she couldn't quite name threatened to choke her, and so she turned away instead, heading to the bedroom to see what Bridget and Eric were working on.

Papers were strewn across the bed; Bridget was carefully running a finger down a list of names, muttering to herself. Eric was hovering over a notebook, but looked up and offered her a smile when he noticed she was watching. "Checking records," he told her. "Double-checking who's connected to who, who might be friendly, who's hostile—things like that."

"Doris was nice," Bridget muttered absently. She leaned back and shouted, "Do you remember Doris, Meili?"

"I try not to remember most of my family."

"She wasn't always very in-tune with what was going on, but she was nice enough when Meili's parentage first came out."

"Was she the one that talked to them for an hour?" Eric asked.

Meili groaned. "Lights, I do remember her. She kept referencing things that I was completely lost about."

"Sounds like Kvasir," Brain commented dryly.

"Worse than Kvasir."

"We'll mark her down as a 'maybe,'" Eric said, scribbling something on his list. "Probably not going to help us a lot, but someone it wouldn't hurt to make connections with. Didn't she have a friend—Bored, or something?"

"Bjorn?"

"Yeah, him!"

"He always seemed…eccentric. Very into conspiracy theories, if I remember? Meili—"

"He just checks on the property obsessively," Meili shouted. "Ignore him."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Skuld asked. "Since this is my fault."

Bridget paused in her work to squint at her. "It's not your fault," she corrected quietly, "but you can look over Eric's list, if you'd like."

Eric brightened a little, gesturing for her to come closer. "So we've been trying to sort living family members into broad categories—basically, people who you want to avoid, people who are iffy but would be useful connections, people who are friendly enough, and people who are just…kind of there." He looked a little sheepish. "It's a little bit of a mess right now; I was going to organize it later."

He wasn't wrong; names were scribbled down the side of the page, hasty notes written beside them, some crossed out and corrected. Skuld flashed him a smile, anyways. "It's still more than we had," she said, and accepted the list to start going through it. Maybe I should make my own list, she mused, and grabbed a sheet of paper to scribbled her own notes about.

The group of them worked for a while; Brain mostly stayed silent, absorbed in his own project, but Skuld, Eric, and Bridget kept up a steady conversation, Skuld asking occasional questions about some of the names ("Why does this say, 'Super nice, but tried to kill their brother?'"), and getting surprisingly in-depth answers and amusing stories in response ("Oh, that was a long time ago—there was some dispute over who'd inherit the Head of Family title or something, but they've mellowed out a lot."). She didn't even realize how much time had passed until Meili muttered, "Where the hell are they?"

Skuld's head popped up, the question she'd been about to ask Eric dying on her tongue.

"Has it been over an hour?" Bridget asked, looking suddenly worried.

"Nearly two," Meili answered, and Skuld stiffened.

Brain pushed away from the table, frowning and catching her eyes.

Skuld's expression steeled and, with a nod, she pushed herself off the bed.

"What are you two—no." Meili caught Brain by the back of his jacket, ignoring his protests.

Skuld dodged away from their grasping hand. "If Kvasir and Mimir aren't back," she said, "then someone needs to go looking for them."

Meili looked at her with a conflicted expression. "I know. Fuck, I know, but—" They ran a hand over their face, for a brief moment hiding their stress.

"We are Union Leaders," Brain pointed out. "It'd probably be safer for us to go instead of anyone else."

"Yeah, but you two are the ones they're probably actually after." Still, Meili released him. "I don't like it."

"We'll be careful," Skuld promised. "And—and maybe it's okay. Maybe they just got distracted."

"Kvasir got distracted," Brain corrected dryly.

Almost as if on cue, the door behind them creaked open, and Skuld whipped around in relief.

"There you are," Meili said, and they slumped into a chair. "If you're trying to give me a heart attack—"

"Meili," Kvasir interrupted, and Skuld realized suddenly that he was alone, his expression twisted into something frantically terrified. "I can't find Mimir."

-"They were just going to talk to Master Freya." Kvasir was pacing; he'd repeated the same story several times now, and Brain was still listening to it, despite himself. "I don't know—I looked everywhere."

"Kid," Meili said. "Hey. Kid—"

"Where could they have gone?" Kvasir looked at Meili, half-desperate.

Brain bit back a response, swallowing his anger and turning back to his project. If you hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened.

The rational part of him understood it wasn't a helpful sentiment; something might've happened, anyways, and saying anything like that to Kvasir right now would probably just make things worse. But he couldn't quite get the thought out of his head.

It was why he'd stubbornly refused to respond to any part of Kvasir's story, focused on his Spirits, trying to keep his hands busy so he didn't do…something.

"We could ask," Skuld said; she'd gone white, but her expression was still all steel, despite her shaking hands. "We could go back to the school and see if anyone saw them."

"Did you talk to the Keeper?" Bridget asked gently.

"I tried." Kvasir turned to her with wide, panicked eyes. "Some of the school administrators caught me and kept me from going up there. They thought I was just being a disruption."

"So we can go back," Skuld said. "If Brain and I go with you—they wouldn't turn away Union Leaders, right?"

They wouldn't, probably, but Brain wasn't sure what good it would do. If they went missing, they're not going to be up there. We should be looking at the bluebloods.

He wanted to go speak to Kvasir's uncle. Or—less speak, and more interrogate. He was their number-one suspect; who else was going to be responsible for Mimir going missing?

But the others want to go and look at the school. It's not going to hurt to have more information.

It might, some part of him argued, if they're still alive, and just kidnapped.

They might not be alive.

Suddenly Brain couldn't look at his work at all. "Well," he said, pushing himself away from the table, "we should get going, right?"

"Kid—" Meili started.

"We'll be safe," Skuld promised, but her voice was hard, broking no argument.

Meili didn't look pleased, but they didn't argue anymore.

"We'll ask around," Eric offered. "Maybe they just wandered off."

Brain wasn't sure he was that optimistic, but it couldn't hurt.

-Skuld was trying very, very hard to stuff down her panic. It wasn't working entirely; her hands were still shaking, and she wasn't quite sure what expression was on her face but it probably wasn't good. It's fine. It's fine, it's fine, just focus on finding them, they're okay—

(I can't lose anyone else. Please.)

Kvasir was jittery; he stayed several paces ahead of them, only occasionally dropping back when he realized he was losing them, shifting from foot to foot like he wanted to race ahead.

Brain was…quiet. She couldn't tell what he was thinking; the only thing she knew was that this bothered him, but he seemed stubbornly determined to keep his thoughts to himself.

Kvasir finally broke when they reached the school, racing ahead of them and towards the upper floors. Skuld picked up her pace to try and keep up; Brain didn't, trailing behind, eyes scanning the halls like he was searching for anything they might've missed.

"You remember where Master Freya's office was?" Kvasir called back.

She did; it hadn't been that long since they'd been up here.

"Maybe no one will be here this time," Kvasir continued, descending into nervous chatter. "Or maybe she won't be here again. We might be able to wait—"

Something that sounded like a nervous squeak sounded ahead of them, and Kvasir made a startled noise, skidding to a stop.

Skuld panicked, racing to join him, Starlight flashing into her hands.

"What are you doing back here?" someone asked, and Skuld realized she recognized the voice.

"Odin?"

The Keeper's apprentice was staring at the two of them like he'd seen ghosts. Abruptly, Skuld realized that the last time he'd seen them had been when she'd jumped out the window of his grandfather's apartment, trying to lead an assassin away. We put him in danger, she thought, catching his eye and noting the fear there. Without meaning to, but—still.

"Odin," Kvasir said, and he broke into a relieved smile. "Odin! You can take us to Master Freya."

Odin's expression shifted to something disbelieving. "Again? You can't just talk to a Keeper whenever you—"

"Mimir's missing," Skuld interrupted.

Odin stopped. His mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to find the words and couldn't.

"The last we knew, they were coming to talk to her," Skuld continued. "We thought maybe she might know something."

Odin seemed to collect himself, but there was something frightened in his expression. "Is it…?"

"We don't know."

Odin's expression turned to something a little more serious. "I can—I can take you to her. Just—come on." He turned, heading further up the stairs, ignoring Kvasir as he babbled gratitude.

"Who's that?"

Skuld nearly jumped; she hadn't realized Brain had caught up to them.

He was watching her with an unreadable expression; she thought she could see concern there if she looked, but it was still carefully buried.

"Odin," she explain. "He's an apprentice Keeper."

Brain made a noise of acknowledgement, but didn't say anything more, letting Skuld lead the way up the stairs.

The pathway was familiar; it hadn't been that long ago that they'd been here, searching for answers, and the memory brought about a tangled knot of frustration and regret and grief, because maybe if Skuld hadn't tried to look into things, this wouldn't have happened, but—

But I'm so tired of feeling like I don't have control over anything.

The Keeper's office loomed in front of them. Odin knocked, calling quietly, "Master Freya?"

Silence, for a moment. And then: "Come in."

Odin's expression broke with relief, and he pushed open the door.

Master Freya didn't look any different than any other Keyblade wielder, despite her title. Her pale hair was tied out of her face, lips pursed in thought, eyes narrowed as thin hands sorted through papers on her desk. She didn't look at them as they entered, but did say, "Master Skuld. Master Brain. And—one of the noble's children."

"Kvasir," he interjected meekly.

Odin fidgeted, looking a little nervous, like he suddenly wasn't certain whether he should've brought them here or not.

"Thank you, Odin. You can return to your studies."

Odin started, then dipped into a small bow. He gave them a nervous look as he slipped out, mouthing, "Good luck."

And then it was just them and the Keeper.

Brain moved before any of them, but his eyes weren't on Master Freya; they were instead on the Keyblade hanging on the wall, expression so carefully blank that it had to be intentional, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles had gone white. It was worrying enough that Skuld half-started towards him, mouth open to ask what was wrong.

"I heard that you were here to see me the other day, Master Skuld."

Her mouth clicked shut. She snapped towards the Keeper, suddenly scrambling to put her thoughts in order.

Freya lifted a paper and frowned, licking a thumb and carefully paging through a couple of documents behind it. "I apologize for not being here. We heard of a…disturbance on one of the outer islands, and had to leave to assess the damage." She looked, finally, towards Brain; he'd snapped towards her, too, expression still carefully shuttered, face pale. "The World's darkness is…slightly out of balance, but it's not yet worrying enough to pose a risk."

Brain sucked in a breath, looking like he was half a second away from snapping something.

"That's not what we're here for today," Skuld interjected quickly. "We're looking for your student."

Freya turned sharply towards her, and her expression broke briefly with something like worry. "Mimir?" The worry fell away after a moment, pushed carefully under a cool mask. "Much of their study is independent. We meet weekly for training sessions—to assess what they've learned, to go over questions, and to touch on topics that would be difficult to learn alone. They're likely in their room if they aren't at their internship."

It felt like something was crumbling in Skuld's chest. "So you don't know."

Freya's eyebrows furrowed in a slight frown.

"You have to know," Kvasir interjected before she'd had the chance to say anything. "You're one of the Keepers, and—and they were coming to talk to you, the last time I saw them. If you don't know where they are—I don't know where to look next."

Freya's eyes flicked to him next, then slowly went to Brain—who was still stonily silent—and finally back to Skuld. Her expression sharpened a little, and she put down her papers finally, hands braced against her desk. "I believe," she said carefully, "that there's a story you aren't telling me."

Skuld wanted to protest that she should know—but then, she didn't know very much about the Keepers, beyond what she'd been told. At the end of the day, they're still just people. Like we are. "Someone…sent an assassin after us. Me."

Freya's eyes narrowed, but she didn't interrupt.

Skuld took a steadying breath. "Mimir and Kvasir were with me when it happened. And now Mimir's just…disappeared."

Freya didn't say anything for several moments, staring at her with narrowed eyes, like she was trying to pick apart her story and find answers. "When did this happen?"

"The attack was a couple days ago. Mimir disappearing was just a few hours ago."

Some of the worry disappeared. "A few hours isn't long to be gone."

"It is—"

"They were just coming to talk to you!" Kvasir protested. "I was with them! We said we'd be back in an hour."

Freya lifted a hand, forestalling any further protests. "It isn't long to be gone," she repeated, "but the circumstances do make it more…worrying." Another flicker of concern across her face, there a moment and gone the next.

Skuld sucked in a breath, then pressed, "I was told that Keepers are supposed to keep an eye on the world. That you know things. I thought that maybe—maybe you'd know for sure who sent the assassin. Or where Mimir went to."

Freya blinked slowly, but there was something weighted in her expression. It was a strangely familiar thing. "My job," she said, "and that of the other Keepers is to protect the World itself—not necessarily the people on it. We pay attention to any fluctuations of light and darkness, and keep an eye on anything worldly—or other worldly—that could cause the World's fall. That means that we have access to information that others don't—but it also means we can be incredibly disconnected from the everyday workings of the world. We're rarely aware of personal rivalries—and I understand that an assassination attempt is more than a rivalry, but you understand my point. We aren't connected enough to the World's people to know who attacked you."

"Oh." The word came out shaky and lost; she felt suddenly left adrift, with their one potential lead drying up completely.

"Nothing, huh?" Brain said, voice so quiet that Skuld almost didn't hear it. "Not even with that Keyblade?"

Skuld glanced at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Mimir said something about it being ceremonial," Kvasir said, but he sounded unsure, eyes flicking uncertainly between Brain and Freya.

Brain stared steadily back at Freya, something unreadable in his expression.

Freya steeled, just a little. She lifted her hand, and the Keyblade flashed to it in a burst of electricity and smoke.

(Was it her imagination, or did Brain flinch?)

Freya lifted the Keyblade, looking at the eye on the end. "…Do you believe in fate, Master Brain?"

…What?

Brain pursed his lips and didn't say anything.

"There are stories about the original wielder of this Keyblade—that they were a Master from a past even more ancient than yours, nearly their entire identity swallowed by the darkness of Before. The only thing we have left of them is the Keyblade—and, supposedly, the Book of Prophecies."

The words nearly drove the breath out of her, and Skuld looked at the Keyblade with a new sort of understanding. That's why it looks like the Foretellers' Keyblades. But—

"It didn't belong to the Master," Brain said, quiet and certain.

"And yet you think it would give me insight somehow?"

"Call it a hunch."

Skuld stared at him, hoping he'd turn her way and answer her silent question.

He didn't; he stared stonily ahead, expression blank.

Freya lowered the Keyblade slowly, tracing a thumb along the edge of the blade. "The Book of Prophecies had a lot to say about you, Master Brain. A lot to say about many things that would come to pass during this time. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you have a connection to this particular Keyblade because of that."

Brain's eyes flicked to the Keyblade.

"Be careful how you tread." Freya's voice shifted, slightly deeper and more serious, a ring to it that made Skuld's hair stand on end. "You are not as free from fate as you'd like to be—and Darkness is always waiting to strike."

Brain stiffened, just a little.

Whatever had possessed Freya seemed to slip away, and she dismissed the Keyblade. "If the Gazing Eye has the ability to grant people insight, I don't know how to access it. It won't give me any answers I don't already have."

"The Book of Prophecies," Skuld said, starting to feel desperate. "If it talks about Brain, then maybe—"

But Freya was already shaking her head. "This is not an event that was written in the Book," she said, "because there was an unknown variable."

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in. "Me," Skuld said, quiet. "Because I'm here, that means everything in the Book is messed up." It was a question that she'd only paused to consider briefly, in the space between dealing with everything else, but— "I don't even know how I ended up here. If I wasn't supposed to be." She'd just wanted to stay with her friends; she didn't think that would change in any world.

Freya blinked slowly. "I don't know how much you change things," she admitted. "There are some events that are so grounded in fate that it's hard to believe they could be untangled. The details are perhaps mutable—but destiny often has a way of wrangling those important to it into the right position. The World will correct anomalies, one way or another."

It made Skuld bristle, sudden, sharp anger filling her chest. (My destiny isn't out of my control.)

Brain looked aside, finally, expression shadowed by his hat.

"But I will…listen," Freya continued, quieter, and there was something sadder in her expression. "I will see if I can find anything about where Mimir's gone, and pass on what I can."

It didn't cool her anger entirely, but it soothed it, at least a little. "Thank you."

There wasn't anything else to say, really. There weren't any answers left to get, and so, one by one, they started heading towards the door.

"Master Skuld."

She paused; Brain and Kvasir slowed and stopped, glancing back towards her.

Freya studied her with the same intense expression she'd given Brain when he'd brought up the Keyblade. "I took Mimir on for a reason," she said, "and it wasn't simply because of their abilities with heart magic. There are…gaps in the Book of Prophecies. Mentions of a figure who was important to your story, but who seems to have been almost erased from the narrative."

Skuld's breath caught, and for a moment, she was back in the lifeboat chamber, fighting her friend and wondering where things had gone wrong.

"Something happened to Darkness in the past, but the exact explanation is…murky." Freya's eyes narrowed. "Prophecies are sometimes vague, but you learn how to read between the lines, eventually. I suspect that there is some sort of connection between Mimir and this mystery figure—though what is hard to say, exactly."

(A connection. A connection between Mimir and—)

(What was she supposed to do how was she supposed to feel about that Mimir wasn't supposed to be—)

"Why are you telling me this?" Skuld asked, because she didn't know what else to say.

"Because if someone knew of that origin, there may be…other reasons they'd be interested in Mimir. And even if not—it's best to be prepared."

"For what?"

"For whatever Darkness may follow you." Freya turned away, eyes on her papers, and Skuld got the distinct feeling she was being dismissed.

"That's not—that can't be it."

Distantly, she thought she could hear Brain calling her name, but it was drowned by the ringing in her ears.

"That can't be—you can't just say that without giving us more to go off of."

"I don't have any more to give you," Freya answered.

"You—"

"Skuld." Brain caught her arm, and Skuld spun towards him, ready to argue—but the expression on his face made her arguments die. She let him guide her away, casting only one last glance towards the door.

(In the brief moment before they walked out of view, she thought she saw Freya's shoulders dip, a hand running over her face—but then, maybe she was imagining it.)

-There was a logical part of Brain that understood it was dangerous to sneak out alone—especially at night. The rest of him argued that there was no better time to do it; he needed to check into Aegir, and while he knew Skuld would agree, Kvasir wouldn't, and—

And it wasn't like he was going to sleep, anyways. He needed something to keep his hands busy.

(He was…tired. He was so, so tired of feeling like he was always two steps behind, struggling to actually keep anyone safe. But if he stopped—he wasn't sure what he'd do.)

He'd managed to get the location of Aegir's estate from Skuld; he wasn't sure if she knew why he wanted the information, but from her exhausted expression, she thought maybe she'd had an idea. He wouldn't be entirely surprised if she showed up at some point.

The gate was locked. That wasn't a problem for a Keyblade wielder, but he suspected there were likely spells that would alert the owner to any disturbances. He summoned Starlight anyways, tapping it against the ground, debating how best to get inside.

"Why do I always find you lurking around places you shouldn't, Master Brain?"

Brain almost wanted to laugh. Almost. "For someone who's not supposed to be spying on me anymore," he said, "you sure seem to be sticking close."

Sigurd didn't offer a defense; he seemed tired, voice weary, shoulders bowed. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't think that's any concern of yours." He could launch himself over the gate with an Aero spell, maybe—but maybe there were traps on the other side of the gate. But I can't stay here debating all night.

"…He sets up Mine spells. They're anchored to points around the garden."

Brain paused.

Sigurd sighed, the sound world-weary. "If I can't talk you out of it, then I can at least make sure you don't get yourself hurt."

It wasn't exactly what he'd expected, and it made Brain's throat tighten. "Thanks." After a hesitant moment, he asked, "Not worried about Aegir, huh?"

"I don't think you're here to actually hurt him."

"Feel like that confidence is misplaced."

Another sigh. "Why are you trying to argue against me helping you? Sometimes it feels like you want people to dislike you." A pause. "I don't know what security he has inside, so just…be careful."

"Noted." Brain hesitated just a moment longer, then swept his Keyblade around, the Aero spell sending him into the air. He rose, up, up, up, flying high above the gate, aiming for a section of ground some distance away. Another Aero spell broke his fall; he braced himself as he hit the ground, half-waiting to set a spell off. He didn't quite relax when nothing happened, pulling up a barrier and an invisibility spell and making his way cautiously towards the door.

The estate door was locked, too. Figures. Brain wasn't really sure there was a satisfactory way around it this time, but he could at least try.

The windows were probably his best chance at getting in. He wasn't sure he wanted to risk his usual methods of scaling buildings, so he cast a Zero Gravity spell on himself instead, sticking close to the building and jamming the Keyblade into it to maneuver himself.

He didn't notice much through the lower windows, the rooms beyond dark. He caught a flicker of light from one of the higher windows, though, and dragged himself over, jamming Starlight into the frame.

A man sat at a desk, pouring over some papers in the dimly lit room. Another man stood in front of him; Brain could just catch the sound of voices, and pressed his ear close to the window to try and hear what they were saying.

"…with the stories that are going around—I don't know. You might be right, but I don't want to—"

"It's important to balance these things carefully. I know."

"It might upset the rest of the family."

"It might—but it would be better for us in the long-run. Safer." A pause, and then the man at the desk lifted his head. "I'm assuming that's the reason you're here."

The other man shifted; he looked younger, uncertain, arms folded and shoulders hunched. "Look, my father—he sent me to tell you that he'd support you, if you kept his name out of it. Try to pay off anyone who starts rumors or something—but he's not going to get his own hands dirty. But I'm just—"

The man at the desk stood. He placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder, who gave him an uncertain look. "You're young. You haven't seen much of what our family has gone through. We used to have a lot more—and now, what little we have left is in jeopardy. Frigga means well, but she's too cautious. We need to act decisively. The Union Leaders can't be controlled; we need to take out the threat before they grow too problematic for our family."

So that's it, then. It really is Aegir who's planning this. And apparently he's got some more people on his side.

Brain's spell faded; one hand slammed the windowsill, catching himself on it, the other clinging tightly to Starlight.

The older man—Aegir, Brain assumed—glanced at the window, and Brain was more than a little grateful that his invisibility spell held. After a beat the man turned away, escorting his companion out of the room.

With a jerk, Starlight came free from the window frame. A twitch of the blade, and he'd transported himself into the room. He paused, waiting to see if Aegir would come back; when nothing happened immediately, he hurried around the edge of the desk, shifting through the papers there. Mimir. Come on. There has to be something here. Something that'd say if he took them—or where they might be, if they're still alive.

(They might not be alive. And then, what does this really matter?)

Brain paused, doing a double-take at one of the papers. It looked like just a normal bill, but the services listed—

'Payment rendered for favors to our lineage.' Interesting. Brain's eyes trailed down to the recipient's name. Tyr.

Movement sounded outside the door. Brain cursed quietly, rearranging the papers and lifting his Keyblade.

(For half a second, he thought about leaving behind a spell for Aegir. It wasn't a thought that lasted long—it would make it too obvious that someone had been here, after all—but it was there, all the same.)

(Something moved in the back of the room, dark and oozing.)

Out of the house, back across the garden, over the gate—Brain landed awkwardly, his invisibility spell finally fading, and he wasn't sure if he felt like he was any better off than he was before.

"That was faster than I expected. Did you find what you were looking for?"

He wasn't as surprised as he should've been that Sigurd had waited for him. "I found…something, anyways." He started down the street, and Sigurd trotted after him.

The walk was…quiet. Sigurd seemed to be giving him room to speak at his own pace, but it was strange—strange that he was here, strange that he helped. And it was beginning to feel oppressive, with the silence lingering over them.

"Friend of mine went missing," Brain said quietly. "Mimir."

Sigurd didn't say anything right away; he just shifted a little, turning to look at Brain.

"Aegir sent an assassin after Skuld. Mimir and another friend were with her."

"So you think your friend disappeared because of Aegir."

"Yeah."

"Master Brain—" Sigurd broke off, and for several moments there was silence, like he was struggling to figure out what to say. "Why don't you tell the council?" he said finally.

Something bitter filled Brain's mouth—because of course that's what he'd say. Of course.

"Surely they wouldn't agree with this," Sigurd continued. "They wouldn't want a Union Leader—"

"Publically they wouldn't agree with it. Privately?" He shrugged. "We already had one blueblood send an assassin after us. You don't think that others might agree?"

"…I'm not going to be able to change your mind on this."

It wasn't a question, but Brain answered anyways: "Nope."

"…Very well. Then at least I can help you."

That brought Brain up short.

"I don't particularly want anything to happen to you, Master Brain," Sigurd said. "And it's a concern if someone has gone missing. So if there's anything I can do—please."

Brain paused, squinting at him. "…You're serious."

"I am."

And Brain…wasn't entirely sure what to do with that. "I'll…let you know."

-It had been three days. Mimir was still missing, and there was still an assassin out there somewhere, and Skuld was starting to get worried that they might be looking for a body, and not a person anymore.

Or a Keyblade, she thought. There should be—there should at least be something. Shouldn't there?

It felt like she was grasping at straws, something cold and hollow in her chest. It was an achingly familiar feeling; people had disappeared all the time in Daybreak Town—some of them people she'd known from afar, some that had been almost friends. The first time she could remember it really hurting was with Ephemer.

She hadn't known at first. That had been the thing; he'd disappeared, sure, but he'd left her first, and even if she caught glimpses of him sometimes, the Unions were large, and it wasn't unusual to lose track of someone if you didn't make an effort to spend time with them. But then she'd heard rumors that he'd disappeared, and it'd felt like she'd been punched.

He'd been her first real friend—and, after she'd gone digging, trying desperately to find answers, she'd found out that he'd been missing for over a week, and she hadn't known.

This felt like that—the horrible, gut-turning feeling, that looming specter of dread that said, You're not going to find anything, this is just like it was back in Daybreak Town, you have to move on, that same desperate urge to keep looking because she didn't want to lose anyone else, please—

She wondered if this was how Lauriam felt when he was looking for his sister, and then she tried not to think about it anymore, because that brought an unfortunately similar type of pain with it.

Skuld stumbled, knocking into Brain's chair in her pacing. Brain threw out a hand to steady himself, and Skuld told him a distracted, "Sorry."

"It's alright." He adjusted some materials carefully, eyes flicking back to the beaker on the table. He had notes scattered in front of him. The dark circles had grown heavier under his eyes; Skuld wasn't entirely sure he'd slept. (She hadn't had the chance to think about it much; she'd spent as much time as she could out on the streets, searching desperately for any sign of…something. Kvasir had been with her, much of the time, the haunted look on his face never quite fading.)

She couldn't bring herself to sit, but she did brace her hands against the back of a chair, trying to get a better look at what Brain was working on. She wanted to ask how he was doing, but the words died on her tongue, exhaled in one shaky breath.

"The Spirits might be able to pick up on something," Brain said, like he could read her thoughts. And then, vaguely frustrated: "If I can get them to actually form." He poked the glass, expression twisting.

Skuld nodded, but she was still too jittery; Mimir could be out there right now, and the longer they spent waiting— "I'm going out."

Brain's eyes flicked to her. He looked at the flask—materials still sitting uselessly inside—and stood.

It surprised her a little, considering he'd been working on this project almost constantly, but she couldn't deny the flicker of relief. "Stretching your legs?"

"Trying not to tear my hair out." He glanced at the flask, agitated. "I think if I stare at it anymore, I'm going to scream."

Skuld couldn't quite laugh, but she flashed him a tiny smile, the two of them slipping out into the streets of Scala ad Caelum.

Being out in Scala always felt like being watched anymore, but it was particularly jarring now, after…everything that'd happened. It felt a little like she was drowning sometimes, and Skuld sucked in a breath and tried not to think about it. Look for Mimir, she reminded herself. Keep an eye out for them. See if you can find any sign—

"Master Skuld. Master Brain."

Beside her, Brain stiffened.

Skuld tried not to react, stuffing down the surge of frustration and breathing out in a heavy exhale. "Frigga."

The Head of the Council stood just behind them; she'd folded her arms in front of her, smile deceptively calm, but Skuld had the unfortunate feeling that she wasn't as at-ease as she seemed.

Brain flashed her a sharp smile. "Come to look for us? We've been busy."

Frigga's smile grew a little, eyes narrowed—and then she turned to Skuld, ignoring Brain entirely. "You haven't been coming to training."

She'd barely thought about it. She hadn't really had time to think about the council at all; most of her attention had been taken up by searching for any sign of Mimir. But I don't know how much she knows about that. I don't know what she'd do if I told her. "Like Brain said—we've been busy."

Frigga tilted her head; Skuld wondered what she was thinking. "You are a part of this city's leadership," she said after a moment. "That means you have a responsibility to be there."

"Thanks," Brain said dryly, stepping in before Skuld could snap at Frigga, "but we've done this before."

Frigga raised an eyebrow, her attention still firmly focused on Skuld. "You should be careful," she said. "You wouldn't want to give people the wrong impression."

Brain stiffened, and Skuld clenched her fists so hard that her nails bit into her skin. She knows. She knows, she knows, we could be—

"Meaning?" Brain asked, and she was grateful for the intervention, because she didn't know what she'd say once she'd gotten her words back.

"Meaning that not everyone on the council is…pleased with your presence."

"Wouldn't have guessed. Figured they would've been happier of we weren't there." Brain shrugged, expression carefully neutral. "What would they do about it, if we just left?"

It reminded Skuld a little of when she'd first met Brain—when he'd been prodding them with questions, testing the waters to see where all of them stood. She wondered if maybe he was looking for an admission—or if he was hoping something would slip about Mimir.

Frigga, for her part, looked more surprised than anything, and that threw Skuld for a loop. It was carefully hidden, shock smothered by a calm exterior—but she'd still seen it. The slight widening of her eyes. The faint way her lips had dipped into a frown. It dawned on Skuld that, maybe, she'd never considered the possibility that they could just…leave Scala ad Caelum. They were Keyblade wielders, after all; they didn't need to rely on someone else to take them off-world.

But we can't. Not yet. And I'm not running away with my tail between my legs.

But what exactly could she do? She didn't want to cave and just go back to training with Frigga—not now, with Mimir missing. If she trusted Frigga more, maybe she could ask if she knew anything—she was a blueblood, after all, so—

Wait. She's a blueblood. And she agreed to teach me how to interact with them…

"Frigga."

The world fell abruptly silent, and Skuld realized she must've interrupted some sort of conversation between Frigga and Brain. Frigga turned to her, head tilted curiously; Brain's mouth clicked shut, but he had that same curious expression on his face, silently urging her to go on.

"You want me to come back to training, right?"

Frigga studied her. "Yes."

"Then I will. We've been…looking for our friends," which wasn't a lie, "but you're right; we need to worry about balancing the needs of the council, too."

There was a question in Brain's eyes, but Skuld couldn't answer it right now. She glanced at him briefly, silently trying to convey, Trust me.

"We've never done this before," she continued, and tried not to worry that she might be making a mistake. "And you promised to teach me how to navigate blueblood politics."

It wasn't an elegant proposal; it was made on the spot, put together shoddily, but it seemed to work well enough. Frigga appraised her, eyes crinkling in amusement, and Skuld forced herself not to look away. "I did," she agreed.

"So teach me." She took a step forward. "Teach me how to do this so that we don't run into problems." And then, before she could change her mind: "Let me talk to one of the bluebloods—or talk with them for me so that I can see how it's done."

She could see the moment Brain caught on, his eyes widening just slightly.

"I could certainly do that," Frigga said, sounding surprisingly indulgent. "Is there someone you had in mind?"

She hadn't been thinking of anyone in particular; she'd hoped Frigga would choose, and now she scrambled for names, wishing suddenly for the list that Bridget and Eric had been working on. "Doris," she blurted, and then tried not to curse herself for it. Bridget and Eric had said that she was nice enough, but not always aware of things; she might not have any ideas about Mimir at all. But it's better than nothing. If I have to do this—it's someplace to start.

Frigga inclined her head, eyes flickering with something like surprise. "She's usually amenable to surprise visits," she agreed carefully. "Alright. I will simply need some time to arrange things."

"That's okay," Skuld said, even though it wasn't.

"How long?" Brain asked dryly.

Frigga turned to him, expression shifting from something amused to something guarded. "I don't think it particularly concerns you."

"Sure it does, if I'm coming."

That Skuld hadn't expected—but maybe she should have. She tried to catch his eye; he glanced at her briefly, vaguely apologetic, and she hissed out a frustrated breath. Of course. Neither of us can talk about it with Frigga here. We just have to trust each other.

"You've never shown interest in this before."

"I'm not interested." He smiled, sharp and jagged. "Just want to make sure my friend's alright."

Frigga pursed her lips, looking distinctly less pleased about this development.

"It'd be good if he learned, too," Skuld pointed out.

"I do not believe he'll use it much, Master Skuld. But I doubt that I can convince you not to come?"
Brain's smile sharpened. "Nope."

Skuld wondered what was going through Frigga's mind right now; she glanced between them, looking like she was trying to put together what they were actually doing, and for a brief moment, Skuld found herself wishing she could trust her enough to just tell her.

Frigga was staring at her suddenly, and Skuld wondered if something showed on her face; it brought about a brief sense of panic, because she couldn't know, if something happened she didn't know what she'd do—but instead she said, "Very well. Come with me, then." She turned, heading towards the Clock Tower, casting one last glance behind her to make sure they were following.

Skuld started into motion, footsteps hurried to keep up.

A gentle nudge against her arm—Brain, half a pace behind her. "Thinking they'll know something about Mimir?"

Skuld glanced at Frigga, then nodded stiffly.

"Going to poke around. Good enough excuse to get into a blueblood's house."

Oh. That made sense; there could be all sorts of hidden things they didn't know about.

"But I've got a request." Skuld glanced at Brain, and he gave her a tight smile. "Think I could borrow Chirithy?"

-The Union Leaders were up to something. The problem was, Frigga had no idea what.

They were a particularly annoying combination, sometimes; not subtle enough to hide that they were planning something, but still secretive enough that she couldn't quite gather enough clues as to what. It was infuriating in some regards; it made it all too easy to make enemies, and neither of them seemed to care. Even now, waiting in the entryway of Doris's house, they were still talking to each other in whispers. Brain's eyes kept darting around the area, hat pulled low like he expected that to keep her from seeing things; Skuld was stiff, looking like she was trying to hide the fact that she was talking to her friend.

It was…a little insulting, in some ways. Frigga had been navigating politics for a long time; did they really think she wouldn't notice?

Well, she thought, I suppose it doesn't matter, if I can't actually determine what they're planning.

Skuld had said they'd been searching for their friends. She'd hesitated when saying it, but Frigga suspected that, at least, wasn't entirely a lie; she'd asked questions about if her friends had appeared in the Book of Prophecies, after all, and before Skuld had arrived, Brain had been off-world almost more than he'd been on it. Frigga would be willing to believe that they had been trying to figure out where and when the other Union Leaders would show up, at least part of the time. She didn't think that's why they had been absent from the council the last few days.

Doris wasn't a particularly well-known member of the bluebloods. She lived in a townhouse—big enough, but not the same as the sprawling estates that some of her family owned. She wasn't very interested in politics, wasn't a Keyblade wielder—really, all she did was attend family gatherings. She wasn't anyone who was considered important—but for some reason, her name had been the first one Skuld had said. Frigga had to wonder if someone had given the name to her—Kvasir, maybe—but she couldn't fathom why, when she had no promising connections. She would've had to have been asking about the family to hear about her. She wants to learn about how to navigate the political landscape, but this doesn't seem to be a particularly strong political move. Is she just testing the waters?

And then there was what Brain had said—what if they just left? It was, admittedly, a surprising concept. She'd always figured that the Union Leaders would want to remain in the place their friend had built for them—that they'd want to retake the power they'd once had. But perhaps she'd misread them; they seemed more concerned with the friends they were missing, rather than the current political structure of Scala ad Caelum. Maybe they weren't ignoring the council so much because they didn't care, but because (they were still grieving children) they simply cared more about where their missing friends had gone. Or maybe they want them to support their own goals. It would certainly be easier—

"Frigga! What a pleasant surprise!"

Doris's high, excited voice cut off her musings, and she forced a calm smile, opening her arms for the hug she knew was coming. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Doris?"

"It has, it has!" She wrapped her arms tightly around Frigga, lifting her off the ground, and she tried to ignore the ignominy of it.

(She thought she heard Brain's snort of laughter behind her, and ignored the way her eye twitched.)

Doris set her back on the ground, hands on her arms and eyes bright. She was a small, stout woman, but surprisingly strong; she probably would've made a decent Keyblade wielder, if she'd ever had the inclination for it. Her white hair was pulled back tightly, jewelry jangling around her neck and wrists. "I'm so happy you're here to catch up." She peered around her. "And who did you bring with you?"

Frigga wished she could be surprised. "These are Master Skuld and Master Brain. The Union Leaders."

Skuld looked somewhere between amused and confused; Brain had seemingly settled on amused, smirking at Frigga, and she refrained from pinching her nose in exasperation. "It's nice to meet you?" Skuld offered.

"Oh!" Doris's eyes went wide. "I didn't realize—I'm sorry, sorry, nobody tells me things, really." She hurried past Frigga, shaking Skuld's hand frantically, then Brain's, much to their combined surprise. "It's good to meet you!"

Skuld and Brain exchanged looks. Brain shrugged, gesturing, and Skuld offered, "We just…wanted to talk?"

Frigga tried not to sigh; they really did need some guidance, didn't they? "Master Skuld wanted to be introduced to the rest of the family. Master Brain decided to come along."

Brain looked distinctly unimpressed. "Heard you're good company."

Doris, if she noticed the lack of enthusiasm, didn't seem very bothered by it. She smiled, clasping her hands together brightly. "Well, don't just stand in the doorway, then! Come in, come in!"

"Thank you, Doris." Frigga dipped her head, then glanced at the Union Leaders, gesturing for them to come along.

Doris led them to the sitting room; Brain broke away and trailed along the walls, hands shoved into his pockets in a show of forced casualness. Skuld stood like she didn't know what she was supposed to be doing, and Frigga tried not to sigh.

"Sit down, sit down!" Doris gestured at the seats. "I should really have snacks ready—just a moment."

"Want some help?" Brain asked, and Frigga narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

Doris, for her part, didn't seem to see anything strange about that; she smiled and bobbed her head. "If you'd like! It's rare to get to talk to people from legends, you know."

Brain grinned mirthlessly. "You don't say?"

Doris continued chattering as they left the room; Frigga watched them go, and thought she saw a flicker of a gray-striped animal darting after them. I hadn't realized Doris adopted a cat.

Skuld, finally, settled on the edge of a chair, hands rolled into nervous balls against her knees.

"You can't let your uncertainty show," Frigga told her, and reminded herself that, for however much the Union Leaders had been through, they were—

(Still children. Children, like she'd been when she'd first heard the stories. As a child, she'd never stopped to think about what that had meant; as a teenager, she hadn't considered what it would be like, to have to adapt after the end of the world, with everyone who was supposed to take care of you gone. As an adult—they'd been more myth than person, people she could use for her own plans or who were so much better than her, wouldn't it be wonderful once they arrived and replaced her, because she could never live up to the legend—)

—inexperienced with some things.

"Doris was perhaps a wise first choice," Frigga conceded, and had to wonder again if she'd been given the suggestion. Perhaps there's more merit to this than I first believed. "She's unlikely to pay much mind to it—but others would. You don't want to show weakness; it could be leveraged against you later."

Skuld shot her a look she couldn't decipher, then seemed to make a conscious effort to relax, rolling her shoulders to try and ease the tension out of them.

Frigga was hit with a sudden, heavy feeling of uncanniness; her childhood hero was here, and she was the one teaching her. She didn't let herself dwell on it too long, instead saying, "You'll want to begin with pleasantries. Ask about their life and what they've been doing. Take note of anything interesting, and encourage conversation in that direction with compliments and questions. Listen carefully, and take note of everything; it might be useful information to have later."

Skuld nodded.

"If you have business, then you can turn the conversation towards that sooner—but this is simply a social call." She smiled gently. "Let me lead, for now."

Doris returned not much later, balancing a tray with what looked like crackers, mostly, a couple of selections of cheese and meat arranged across it. Frigga kept a curious eye on Brain, who entered with a tea pot and some cups; she'd half-expected him not to come back at all, but apparently he hadn't taken the opportunity to explore the house. She wondered why he'd been so anxious to leave the room, then.

"Do you want anything, Frigga?"

The tray was shoved under her nose, and Frigga pulled away carefully. "I'm alright, Doris. Thank you."

Doris bobbed her head, unbothered, and hurried over to Skuld.
"Tea?" Brain asked with a sardonic smile.

Maybe there was no real plan; maybe Brain had come along mostly to annoy her. "No thank you," she said, and forced a small smile.

"Suit yourself." He poured himself a cup, shoving the pot towards Skuld and settling into a chair much more comfortably than Skuld had.

"How have you been, Doris?" Frigga asked, deciding it didn't really matter what the other Union Leader was doing to get under her skin.

"Good, good!" She stacked a cracker with some cheese. "Not much has been happening, I'm afraid. I went down out to see if I could find anything interesting—did you know that Marshall's selling part of his estate?"

"I hadn't heard," Frigga said, even though she had.

"Well, that's a relief! It seems like I'm always the last to hear anything, really—I'm surprised they even remembered to invite me to the family meeting. At least I'm not the only one. I swear, I send some many letters, but only Bjorn and Matthias seem to send anything back. The least they could do is send a cursory thank you for writing."

"Family meeting?" Skuld asked, and Frigga tilted her head, eyes narrowed.

Doris didn't seem bothered by the interruption; she nodded rapidly, seemingly thrilled that one of her guests was engaging with her story. "That's right, you wouldn't know, goodness. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one locked out of the loop anymore—oh, no offense, my dear, I know it's frustrating."

A connection, there. "It is," Frigga agreed, looking at Skuld pointedly. "Both Union Leaders have expressed their frustration with it before." She laughed, rueful. "Unfortunately, we can sometimes be a secretive bunch."

"Oh, I know! My goodness, some of the family heads are so uptight. You only ever know things if they want you to know things."

"That has to be…frustrating," Skuld said, eyes flicking curiously to Frigga.

"It is! You wouldn't think some of us were part of the family, sometimes."

Skuld's smile turned a little more sincere. "I know someone who's complained about that before."

Meili, Frigga realized abruptly. That's who had told Skuld to come to Doris. She hadn't thought Meili was that attached to the Union Leaders; they'd been frustrated with Brain, and angry when she'd assigned Skuld as their co-head. The fact that they'd apparently developed something of a working relationship with them was both curious and worrying. They've never been particularly fond of us, after their…difficult introduction, but they've never seemed particularly interested in causing a stir, either. If that's changing—perhaps it's time to do damage control.

"Anyway, I'm sure that you hear a little bit more, at least. You're Union Leaders; people have to tell you some things."

"You'd be surprised," Brain said dryly, giving Frigga a pointed look.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"We don't always hear about stuff we should," Skuld interrupted quickly. "Like about the family meeting?"

Not very subtle, Frigga thought with a frown. It won't bother Doris—but it would tip someone else off. It did make her curious what Skuld was fishing for, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Oh, that's—Aegir's a paranoid old fool. That's all." Even Doris seemed to realize that was something she shouldn't likely be repeating—especially to the Union Leaders. She gave Frigga an uneasy look, and she took that as the cue it was.

"I imagine at least some of the others stay in contact with you."

"Oh, some do," Doris agreed, looking distinctly relieved. "I heard from Matthias the other day—you remember him? He graduated a couple of years ago, has been out helping with the trade routes. Not a very noble job, but he likes it, so I suppose I can't fault him…"

Frigga nodded thoughtfully, listening as Doris talked, but her eyes flicked to the Union Leaders. Skuld looked like she was at least attempting to take Frigga's advice to heart, staying calm and listening intently. Brain didn't say anything, but there was something sharp in his eyes, like he was listening for something.

"…and I keep hearing rumors of things happening on the outer towns."

Brain shifted, shoulders hunching just a little. "Rumors?" he asked, expression just a little too tight.

"Oh, it's been everywhere. When I went out to the market, I kept hearing something about a fight. Really, though, I don't know why anyone would want to go out there—I know we have some land there, still, but goodness, it seems a bit too dangerous to try and visit. I wouldn't go, I promise you."

"Kvasir said something about that, too," Skuld murmured; her eyes flicked, briefly, in Brain's direction, and Frigga narrowed her eyes. Interesting. "Does anyone actually go out there?"

"Aside from whoever apparently caused the fight," Brain added dryly, and Skuld looked like she wanted to reach across and kick him, which was more than a little vindicating for Frigga.

"Oh, yes, but they're all ridiculous. Bjorn thinks he needs to check on the land to make sure nobody's tried to steal anything. He's one of the sources of the rumors, you know—he says he thought he saw people out there, the paranoid old fool. The only thing out there is Heartless, and—well, I suppose Bjorn is at least a Keyblade wielder, but still. I think some of the others go out to check the buildings occasionally, but I would give up the land for lost at this point." Doris shook her head. "It'd be simpler if everyone just accepted that our family wasn't what it used to be. You can live a nice enough life without all of the politics, really—oh, no offense, Frigga."

"It's alright," she said, because she knew Doris had never had much interest in the topic.

"I get it," Skuld said. "Politics are…frustrating."

Another flicker of gray fur. Frigga might not have paid much attention to it, if Brain hadn't reached a hand towards it. She frowned, glancing his way, but Brain didn't leave his hand down there long; he leaned back, looking nonchalant.

Skuld tilted her head, then gave Doris a small smile. "Thanks for talking to us, Doris—but I think we have to go. We have—other people to meet with."

Doris blinked, looking slightly thrown. "Oh. Well—if you're sure."

"We can…stop by to talk again?"

That made her brighten, a little. "Oh, yes, that'd be lovely! Keep me informed better than some of these people."

Frigga smiled at the friendly, if exasperated, look Doris sent her way. Mostly, though, she watched the Union Leaders; it's like they'd forgotten she was there, and she trailed after them, stopping at the door as they disappeared down the street. The outer towns, hmm?

"Well," Doris said, stopping beside her. "They were nice. Thank you for introducing me. It's nice, you know, to meet new people."

"Of course." A pause, as Frigga turned over the interactions in her head, silently picking at them for clues. "I didn't know you got a cat," she said mildly, watching Doris out of the corner of her eye.

"I don't?" Doris blinked, giving her a confused look. "Why do you think I have a cat?"

Frigga's lips tugged into a mirthless smile. What are you two up to? "I'm sorry. I thought I saw one—that's my mistake."

"Saw one? Frigga, is there a stray cat in my house?"

"Have a nice day, Doris."

"Frigga? Frigga?"

-"That has to be where Mimir is," Skuld said, hurrying back towards Meili's. "The outer islands. If someone saw them—"

"I got a letter." Chirithy popped onto Skuld's shoulder, balancing carefully.

"You got a few letters," Brain amended; he was already paging through them, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"I didn't know what to grab! You weren't very specific."

"You did good, Chirithy," Skuld promised, rubbing their ear. "Kvasir and Meili might know what properties are out there. If we can figure out what one belongs to Aegir—"

Brain made a surprised noise. "Might not have to. Look at this."

Skuld tried not to snatch the paper from Brain's hands; it crinkled beneath her fingers, her eyes flicking across the words. Some of it was just rambling pleasantries, but—there.

'I went out to Sol—you remember Sol, don't you? When I was little, my parents always lamented that it was the best for garden parties, but with the Heartless—anyways, I went to the estate at Sol. It's not well-maintained, which is a shame, but I suppose with the Heartless, it would be hard. Perhaps one day I can recruit a crew of wielders and we can clean it up.

'I thought it was just going to be a normal visit—I was just going to clean up, make sure there weren't any thieves—and to my shock, there were people there! I tried to call out to them, threaten them off, but they disappeared. I can't figure out where they went—I searched through the property as much as I dared before I decided it was safer to head home. We really should put more effort into trying to protect our property in the outer towns, really. It could be useful one day…'

"Sol," Skuld repeated. "The name of one of the towns?"

"Presumably."

They fell quiet. "We don't know if it's them," Skuld murmured.

"We don't."

"But it's probably our best chance."

"And Kvasir probably knows where it is."

Skuld met his eyes. "We're leaving. As soon as we pick up Kvasir, we're heading out."

Brain hummed an acknowledgement. "Meet you at the docks?"

Skuld's eyebrows furrowed.

"There's one more person I need to pick up."

Looks like my initial guess of two chapters was probably right! Next will probably be the last before NaNo, since it could get, uh…kind of long.