Natalina stomped on the ground as hard as she could. The feel of the heat burning her sock was a relief compared to the fear still squeezing her stomach.
Another flame started to spiral along the ground at her feet. It read 'Two adults, three children in this bedroom. If everyone else is part of this gang, just give a thumbs-up towards the torch on the wall near the window'.
Natalina was sure there wasn't a torch by the window, but as she looked over towards the window, she could see a gentle, pale-blue flame hovering just above her nightstand.
"Mama, what is that?" Nancy asked, pointing at the fire.
"Help. It means someone's here to help us," Argente said, as he squeezed the children.
Natalina, tears in her eyes, held out her hand and pointed her thumb at the ceiling.
The bead of flame traced another note on her floor. Natalina read it, and in a sudden wave of confusion, forgot about her fear.
It read 'sorry about your door'.
The air cracked in fury as thunder roared on the other side of her wall. Her door billowed, cracking in two places just before the squeal of shattering glass punctuated the rapid cacophony.
Natalina could hear screams and cries, both frightened and anguished, through the door. Flashes of bright red fire and white light shone through the cracks in the door. One last scream, a defiant cry, was cut off by another thunderous explosion.
The door opened, and a smiling woman in a rust-red coat appeared in the doorway. "Sorry about your windows, too. And your kitchen. I made a mess of that. Not my best work. You had some lovely looking glassware; I'll make you a new set when I have some free time."
The open door chose that moment to fall off its hinges, and collapse at the crafter's feet.
Asides from the immaculate and well-tailored coat, the woman standing in front of them seemed remarkably ordinary. She was short, probably only coming up to Natalina's chin. Her features were remarkably normal, and her hair had a few streaks of grey through it. She was slightly plump, her smooth face suggested a well-rested lifestyle, and her hair looked slightly unkempt.
"And this door, too," the woman added, appearing to Natalina genuinely distraught at the collateral damage she caused by saving their lives. "Anyway, it's safe to come out. The goons are willing to stay down. The ones that aren't downriver, anyway. Didn't think you'd want the kids looking at dead bodies. I told them to keep their sobbing quiet. Hopefully, they cooperate."
"Ma'am?" Nancy asked, and Natalina nearly burst into tears as her three-year-old daughter remembered her manners. "Are you a crafter?"
"Why yes, I am! My name is Coraline Estoban. What's your name?" Coraline asked, crouching down to meet Natalina's youngest daughter at eye level.
"Nancy Casper, ma'am," Nancy replied, without a single quiver in her voice.
"Nancy. Lovely name," Coraline replied. "Now, since I've wrecked your kitchen and your front door, do you think your family would like to stay at my place until your home is repaired?"
*****
It took ten more minutes for a dozen orderlies to arrive. Despite the circumstances, the officers who arrived at Natalina's place were unusually polite. They gave her children sweets, thanked Coraline profusely for investigating after she found the building's caretaker dead in his room, and promised both herself and Argente that this investigation was their highest priority.
While the investigation team was at work, one of the constables advised Natalina's family that taking Crafter Estoban's offer would give her family security that couldn't be matched anywhere else in the City.
One of the orderlies reminded Natalina that in four hundred years, no one had ever broken into a Crafter's home.
"Darling, you've broken our rule," her rock and safe harbour said to her, as they finished packing some clothes.
"I know," Natalina answered, her voice quivering as she tried and failed to look at her husband. "I've put our children in danger over this, and I..."
A firm grasp settled over her hand, stopping Natalina, and drawing hr sight up to her husband, who only had a sad smile on his face.
"You did not endanger our children," Argente said, softly but firmly, and Natalina burst into tears.
"People who want to silence you endangered our children. The only rule you broke was to not bring your work home. For that, I want to know what you're working on that has an Undercity gang sending a dozen people and a reject to us," Argente explained, as he held her.
"I should tell you; I should. But I'd like to explain it to the woman who rescued us, too. I don't know how much she knows," Natalina said, gesturing to where Coraline Estoban was making small animals out of fire, and showing them to her children.
"Now, here's a creature out of old mythology," Coraline was explaining, as she and Argente drew close. "Legends say it was made of coals and liquid fire, that it ate ash and devoured cities the way you three must attack your dinners."
In the crafter's hand was an oddly shaped bird, with a long, thin tail and an oddly shaped head more like a lizard's.
"What's it called?" Midge asked.
"A Dragon," Coraline answered. "And it was as big as a train car, could fly faster than the wind, and could breathe more fire than even I can."
"Drag-on? Why is it a drag-on, when it can fly?" Nancy asked, and the creature disappeared in a puff of smoke as Coraline fell onto the floor, laughing.
"Can you breathe a lot of fire?" Lance asked.
"I am mighty," Coraline said, striking a dramatic pose. "Now, do you want to see a Nifreet? It's like a gorilla, but it has six arms and lives in a pit of lava that it made itself."
"Okay, kids. Mommy and Daddy need to talk with Crafter Estoban for a bit. Then we'll all go to her place for a few days, until our house is fixed. Go wait in Lance's bedroom for a few minutes," Natalina instructed.
Her children didn't object all, silently and obediently marching into the bedroom and shutting the door behind them.
"You have wonderful children, Mrs Casper," Coraline said.
"Madam Crafter, I take it Vance asked you to come see me?" Natalina asked.
"He did," Coraline said, with an amused grin. "He was under the most peculiar impression that you would be going to the Undercity soon. Asked me to come see you tonight, to let you know I'd be happy to accompany you."
"Do you know much about why?" Natalina asked.
"Not a thing," Coraline admitted.
"Well, let me give you the short version," Natalina began.
The explanation only took a few minutes, but just as Natalina reached the halfway point, Inspector Effran jointed them, sitting silently nearby as Natalina explained her suspicions of a plot within the army to have one of their number elected Lord Captain.
"So someone paid for Colonel Darrower's death with the Coldstone sword," Natalina finished. "The only thing I know for certain is that the 'Coal Oven' gang intends to purchase something from a gang called 'The Porters', in exchange for the sword."
"How do you intend to talk the gang boss of these 'Porters' to help you lean on the Coal Oven?" Argente asked.
"I was hoping to impress on him how serious the situation is," Natalina said. "Prove it's a murdered Colonel, hopefully barter for their help to find out who the Coal Oven's buyer was."
"Because gang bosses are known to be charitable," Inspector Effran said. "First you need proof that the sword didn't just belong to some careless, drunk lieutenant."
Natalina reached into her pocket and dropped a heavy piece of metal onto the table between them. It rattled on the ground, before coming to a stop, nearly showing the pommel design of heavy metal hoop with four bars running through it.
"Where the burning hell did you find that?" Arnold asked, the rage rising as his shock receded in a single sentence.
"You know where," Natalina replied, not bothering to defend her decision. "This gives me proof of the source of the sword. But I need a way to convince this gang boss to help me willingly. I need to be able to offer something more valuable than a cold-stone sword."
"You don't have anything," Argente said. "None of us do, except perhaps Redgrave. And what can he offer that these gangs don't already have?"
"Water," Natalina said. "Running water."
"That's..." Inspector Effran started to say, but he hesitated, unable to finish speaking.
"Redgrave can offer a gang running water. Hospice services, inspection engineers, food security, machinery. Especially if Valen ends up as our next Lord Captain. There's our carrot, an offer more valuable than anything anyone else will ever offer. But their boss would need to turn down a fortune."
"Which is why you'll bring a stick with you, just in case," Coraline added.
"You'll need to leave your coat behind, madam Crafter," Argente said to Coraline, and Natalina smiled at her husband's surprising usefulness to thief meeting. "Seeing your coat in the Undercity would send their entire world into pandemonium."
"No coat. I can live with that," Coraline replied. "We should leave tomorrow, since most access down there is cut-off at night. Besides, I'd like to get your kids settled in tonight. I'll even make breakfast."
"Thank you, madam Crafter. Thank you so much, we owe you our lives," Natalina insisted.
"Nonsense. You're a citizen of the City. You're entailed to whatever help I can offer, in a moment like that. I'll go gather up your kids," Coraline said, as she opened the door to Lance's bedroom and stepped inside.
Natalina turned to her husband and hugged him again. "I know you can't like this plan, but-"
"But we need to confront the people trying to kill us. Speaking of which," Argente began to say, turning to Inspector Effran. "Has anyone checked on Vance?"
"I have a pair of constables with him now. Good duo, they'll make 'inspector' soon," Effran replied. "I'll keep working things on my end, but you have permission to use me as a reference in any negotiation with these 'porters'. Good luck, Mrs Casper."
"Thank you, inspector," Natalina replied.
"You'll need as much sleep as we can get you, tonight," Argente said, just as the kids followed Coraline out of the bedroom. "You might be changing the Undercity tomorrow."