A hole appeared in the great patch of dirt in front of Vur. The sound of trees and rocks being shuffled around rang out of the hole. There was a gasp for breath, but that sound quickly disappeared. A moment later, the hole closed again, and a brown boulder emerged from the patch. Diamant shook his head, which was also his body. “I searched and searched, but there weren’t any crabcakes.”

“Oh,” Vur said.

“I told you so,” the Recordkeeper said. She was still sitting on the earthen spider with her body bound by black tentacles, a possible sign of the caster of said tentacles still being alive. “Stella misled you into thinking there were crabcakes.”

“Deedee, no,” Stella said. “Vur was referring to the people. Dig out the people, not the crabcakes.”

Diamant blinked his diamond eyes. He glanced at Vur. “Was that what you meant?”

“No, I meant the crabcakes,” Vur said.

Diamant turned towards Stella. “See?”

Stella rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m telling you now to dig those people out.”

“You should’ve told me that earlier too,” Diamant muttered. The hole opened in the patch of dirt again. Four figures were promptly launched out as if they had been thrown by a giant hand. They landed with a loud thump in front of Vur and Stella.

Vur stared at the groaning figures for a brief moment. Then, he ignored them and walked to the Recordkeeper. He ripped apart the tentacles holding her down, causing the groaning figure with blue hair to groan even louder. Stella swooped down and hovered over the four figures. “Hello again.”

Helden coughed out a mouthful of dirt and wiped at his eyes. He raised his head and glared at Stella. “Were you the one that cursed us?”

“Me?” Stella asked and blinked while opening her mouth, covering her chest with her hand in mock surprise. “No, why would I do that? Are you accusing me just because I’m a fairy? You automatically assume I’m the cause of your curse because fairies like cursing people, huh?”

Helden narrowed his eyes. “I know it was you.”

Stella snorted. She turned her head and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Vur! I need you over here. You didn’t beat this one hard enough.”

Helden’s expression changed as Vur glanced in his direction. Before the blond man could say anything, his body was smashed into the ground, an invisible pressure crushing him against the earth. Despite using all his strength, he couldn’t push himself up. How was that even possible? He had killed an orc lord and gained its passive strengthening ability, yet he couldn’t move an inch even though his opponent wasn’t even touching him. Veins bulged on Helden’s neck, and he barely managed to open his mouth. “You’re really a dragon?” he asked, squeaking out the words one by one.

“I think you beat him too hard now,” Stella said. “Either that, or he’s a bit slow in the head.”

Vur frowned. “I beat him too little before, and I beat him too hard now. How do I beat him just enough?”

“You want to make sure his mind is clear, so he doesn’t ask any stupid questions,” Stella said. “At the same time, you want to make sure he’s completely powerless to do anything.” The fairy queen nodded. “But remember, safety first! It’s always safer to beat someone too much than too little, so don’t hold back.”

Vur scratched his head. Who knew there would be so many details to pay attention to while beating someone?

***

“Mommy, what’s wrong with Alfonse?”

Leila glanced down at Gloria and smiled. She patted her daughter’s head. “Alfonse is a behemoth bear,” she said. “When it’s winter, they hibernate. It isn’t winter now, but since it’s so cold at your grandmother’s place, his body thinks its time to go to sleep.”

“You sure the bear didn’t just kick the bucket?” Grimmy asked. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it died of a heart attack.”

Leila slapped her mate’s snout. “Don’t pay attention to him, honey,” Leila said and used her wing to block Grimmy from Gloria’s view. “Alfonse is just sleeping.”

Gloria’s brow furrowed, and she glanced at the behemoth bear lying in the middle of the cavern. It was resting in a patch of moonlight, and it didn’t seem to be breathing. “If he’s sleeping, why can’t I wake him up?”

“Let me see,” Leila said and got up. She walked over to the behemoth bear and poked it a few times while lifting its paws. She frowned. Her eyes shine with a silver light, and she pressed her paw against the bear’s chest. Its previously still heart let out a thump. “He was poisoned, but he’s all better now.”

“Poisoned?” Gloria asked, her eyes wide. “How could he be poisoned? I only fed him moonlight.” Her eyes widened even further. “Is moonlight poisonous!? Am I poisoned too!?”

“Moonlight isn’t poisonous,” Leila said. After a brief pause, she added, “At least, it isn’t poisonous to us. There are some creatures that react poorly with moonlight like werewolves and certain types of fish, but moonlight won’t ever harm you.”

Gloria took in a deep breath. “Then, what happened to Alfonse?”

Leila turned her head to the side. “Ramon, get over here.”

“Yes, Mama,” a tired-sounding voice said from a nearby tunnel. Moments later, Ramon’s head poked into the cave. “What do you—I mean, is there something you need?”

Leila sighed and pointed at the large bear. “Did you poison Alfonse?”

“Why would I poison the stupid bear?” Ramon asked. He shrank back under his mom’s gaze. “I mean, no, I didn’t poison him. I don’t even like going near him. He smells funny.”

“Are you sure?”

Ramon nodded. “I’m not lying. Why do you never believe me?”

“If you want to be believed more often, you should lie less,” Grimmy said from his spot in the corner of the cave. “How about this? If you can prove your innocence, then I’ll take you away from here, and we’ll go to your other grandparents’ place instead.”

“You said it,” Ramon said, his head perking up. “If I find the poisoner, then we’re leaving!” His head retreated into the cave, and he dashed away before his dad could change his mind.

Grimmy raised an eyebrow at Leila’s accusing expression. “What?” he asked. “I’m getting bored here too.”