Leilani returns to an empty room. It looks like Aegir is at the pier getting his package. Leilani quickly washes up and heads down to help with the lunch crowd. She gets to the takeout counter window and pauses as she sees Atticus helping Anani behind the counter. 

“Atticus got here early saying he would help as he waits for you.” Anani explains. “He’s a natural with customers.”

“Aww Aunty, I’m sure you say that about everyone.”

“Oh look at you! You should be calling me grandma.”

Leilani is nauseated by this display. “I said after the lunch crowd.”

“No worries, I’m here to help. We can go after everything is quieter,” Atticus says cordially. 

Leilani rolls her eyes, walks behind the counter and grabs a flatbread with some cheese and meat. 

“Little Lei Lei, you should have some vegetables,” Anani said sternly. 

Atticus holds out a small dish of vegetables. 

Leilani audibly sighs and takes the dish. “Thanks.”

She takes this into the courtyard and leans against a post as she eats. She decides to bring a change of clothes to dinner with Aegir’s parents, Rakel and Rugnar, since she’ll need to walk around a bit before meeting Aegir and getting to the teleport station. 

She finishes her meal and helps the team clean up. After the crowd is at a manageable level, she goes to her room to pack. 

As she comes downstairs, Atticus is still at the take out counter helping with cleanup. At least he’s sincerely helping. 

“Aunty Anani, do you need a hand with anything?”

“Oh no! Atticus, you should go. Good luck with everything! Come by and let us know how things turn out!.” Anani says, giving Atticus a hug. 

As they head to Cloud’s End, they converse a bit about the weather and make other small talk. 

When they enter, Anise is still at the front desk. 

“Here’s the person who needs an inheritance lawyer. Is Hawk around?” Leilani said curtly.

“Oh, I’m glad to see you thinking of me,” a voice from behind whispers into her ear. 

Leilani jumps. “How do you do that?” she exclaims with a shocked look on her face. Hawk seemingly appears out of nowhere. 

“Atticus, tough situation you’re in. I’m glad you’re coming to Cloud's End for our services,” Hawk says. 

“I think I’m in the wrong place, I’m not looking to host an event. I’m looking for a lawyer. Also, do we know each other?” Atticus asks, confused. 

“We will be close soon. Anise, I can free up Tobius in about 15 minutes if you want to get Atticus registered,” Hawk says with a business smile. “Leilani, let’s go to my office.”

“They do more than events here. See ya!” Leilani says to a still confused Atticus. 

They walk through the opulent main level. Hawk’s office is at the back of the main level set a few steps above the floor so he can see everything. 

Hawk motions to the open seat in his office and goes to pour some water for them both. “Are you here to accept the Rotation End’s job?” 

“No, I’m teleporting to Torresdale tonight and then to the Academy for a bit. Do you have any deliveries?”

“Let me see what the porter says.” Hawk slips on a magician’s glove, snaps his fingers, and then takes it off and puts it away. “It’s too hot to wear them all the time.”

Leilani nods. “Is there any news on the conqueror?” 

“It sounds like he is on his 9th island. Still no news on what he is looking for or his identity yet. No one on the crew has ever seen him sleep so no one had time to go through his stuff. Good news is, he doesn’t magic-protect his cabin. Unfortunately, that likely means he carries everything he needs with him.”

“9th? Wasn’t he on the 6th island less than a cycle ago?” Leilani was shocked to hear of the progress. 

“Your island was peaceful so he spent more time there claiming it. But Vincento Cay and Campobello Cay put up resistance. Merchant boats have reported that those islands no longer exist.”

Leilani is unsure whether she should be grateful that her island is now a slave colony rather than at the bottom of the ocean. “Could he possibly be someone who has been blessed by the Gods? Campobello Cay is a small island like my home, but Vincento Cay is large. An island like that can’t just sink through a mere mortal.”

“No one in the last 50 rotations fit his description. The few that do have already completed their blessings and have peacefully passed away.” 

“I must be missing something,” Leilani sighed.

“How about signing up to work a few sols during Rotation End’s festival, and I’ll get access to the Blessing Records Hall. We need you to work the first and last sol of the Rotation’s end. The other 3 sols can be up to your discretion, and I will ensure that you have off any auction events that you want to participate in,” Hawk says with his signature business smile. 

Leilani hates that smile. “Only during daylight, I want the evenings off. For the other 3 sols, I’ll just get it done at the beginning.”

“Fantastic choice! Sols 1,2,3,4,and 24 all daylight sessions.” Hawk puts on his glove again,  snaps his fingers, and puts away the gloves. 

“What magic are you able to do?” Leilani asks, puzzled. 

“Oh Leilani, you shouldn’t be interested in me. You have Aegir. He’ll be so hurt,” Hawk says, pretending to wipe a non-existent tear. “Come, Dailor always likes speaking with you.”

Leilani’s eyebrow twitches. He always dodges the question and gives some nonsense excuse before changing the subject. She sighs and follows him. The Blessing Records Hall isn’t somewhere anyone gets to go to. 

To the general public, they are like Atticus. They only know Cloud’s End as an organization that plans and hosts the largest events on the mainland. Few know how deep their information runs. They have started categorizing halls of information like the Antiquities Hall, Creatures (no samples allowed) Hall (no not even the dead ones), Magic Knowledge Hall, and so on. 

All halls are off limits unless you’re accompanied by Dailor, the head of Cloud’s End and Rainbow. He is the only person who is able to permit entry to the halls. Dailor is one of the earliest blessed ones. He pre-dates Petro the First. No one knows how old he is, but he wished to be permitted to hear all the blessings the Gods give. In exchange, he gave up his vision.

“Leilani! So glad you’re here.” Dailor walks up to her, navigating without the aid of a cane or an assistant. He walks better than some sighted people. 

Dailor, wearing just 1 magician glove on his left hand, casts a spell on her. “You’ll be able to access the Blessing Records Hall for 2 hours. Since you have dinner plans with Aegir tonight, I doubt you’d want to stay longer. Do you need a copier as well?”

“No, but can you grant access to my notebook? It has a blinding spell on it so no one can see it. You can verify,” Leilani says as she takes a notepad out of her sack and hands it to Dailor. 

As Dailor casts another spell, Leilani takes out a clip to give to Dailor.

“Matthew made this clip, and Aegir enhanced it with magic. You clip this to your cup. When you pick up the cup, the clip will blow a gust of air toward the liquid so you can get a sense of the liquid level inside the cup.”

“Ah, many thanks for thinking of me, please convey my gratitude when you see them. You’re going to the Academy tonight, correct?”

“...yes,” Leilani says tentatively. She’s always surprised how they seem to know her schedule. “It’ll be quick, I’ll only be taking records from 10 - 49 rotations ago. Since my home was taken over 13 rotations ago, that window should be large enough to encompass the conqueror’s blessing if he received one.”

“Mr. Dailor!” a voice yells from the other end of the hallway.

“You know where it is,” Dailor says as he walks toward the voice. Leilani watches as he navigates the busy hallway while avoiding people, in contrast to the employee who called his name who bumps into numerous items while running toward Dailor.

The Temple Records Hall. This hall contains a copy of everything the main temple and the 23 minor temples have recorded. This includes information that was lost when the 10th temple faced a terrible fire over 1100 rotations ago. There are also clear notations of when certain “holy” clergy members change records to suit their legacy.

Leilani heads straight to the back, where there is a statue of the winged god Iris, the Goddess of rainbows. Leilani walks to the back and waits for the magic Dailor set on her to open the secret door to where the words with the Blessings are recorded. They are listed in chronological order so it’s simple to find the 40 scrolls she needs. 

The copying process is quick: she opens the scroll and runs her notepad slowly across the opened scroll. Everything that is on the scroll is copied into her notepad and no damage is done to the scrolls. 

Leilani walks out of the hidden room. The door closes behind her leaving no evidence of a door and dust magically settles back around the entrance and over her steps, making it look like no one ever goes back there. 

“It sounds like Hawk has to speak with you. Did you get everything you need or do I need to gather some more information and send it to your hotel?” Dailor, coming silently out of nowhere, asks. 

Leilani jumps at the unexpected voice. “No, I got everything. Thanks for letting me know. If I find anything, I’ll let you know right away.”

“Fantastic! I look forward to being the first to know who the Panda Pirate is. There are a lot of requests coming in from other Islands requesting information on him.” 

The Panda Pirate. Leilani still calls him the Conqueror because that was his name when he took over her home island, Moorea. But as he takes over more islands, he seems to have stopped sleeping and now has very dark circles under his eyes. Many speculated that he would stop by now, but he has only increased his invasion, decimating those who do not join him.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up since I’m sure you already have people looking into this,” Leilani says dejectedly. 

“Another set of eyes never hurts,” Dailor says with a smile. “If you need any information, contact Hawk. He’ll let me know.”

Leilani nods and walks away. She pauses and realizes Dailor can’t see her so she turns around to answer, but no one is there. This place is a bit off-putting, but no one can beat the information they have or the pay they offer. 

Leilani walks into Hawk’s office. 

“There are no deliveries, but there is a pickup in 3 sols if you can wait there that long for it.”

Leilani sticks out her hand.

Hawk hands her a teleport pass. 

“OH! Look at…” 

They both turn their heads at sudden murmuring outside the office. People are pointing outside the window. Leilani and Hawk rush to the window to see what everyone is looking at. 

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