Back on Duty

"Princess! Princess!" the guard yelled as he burst into the guest suite.

Celestia looked up from making sure hey peytral was straight and took note of the poor pony's near-panic. "What is it?"

Corporal Silverwing was trembling as he opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out at first. He cleared his throat, then tried again: "W-We don't know. It's Gregory!"

Her muscles immediately stiffened but Celestia stopped herself before simply running out randomly. She needed a direction. "Where?! Is he okay?"

The guard shrank back a little from her expression. "We- we don't know, Princess! He is barricaded in his office. We can't open the door and he is not answering!"

Now Celestia knew where to go and her horn lit up brightly enough to cast shadows on the walls. "Meet me there!" was all she said before vanishing in a small explosion.

Her mind was already racing, even as Gregory's study formed itself around her. She should have given orders to keep Blossom safe and to fetch Luna, but it was too late now. She only had one priority.

"What? Where-"

She twirled around the room, but it was empty. There was a powerful spell encasing the place, concentrated on the entrance. It took a single flick of her horn to shatter it and fling the door wide open.

Longstride jumped into the room, teeth bared, a spear clutched in the crook of his foreleg, and ready for a fight, but when he saw it was her the guard relaxed and looked around. "Where is Greg?!"

"Gone..."

It was worrying that the room had been apparently sealed from the inside. That meant someone had teleported out. That was impossible to do with any kind of precision from afar, which also meant someone had had to come in, first!

Celestia closed her eyes and probed the air around her, but her own powerful teleportation spell masked any others which might have occurred previously. "What happened here?"

"I don't know" Longstride answered. "Greg went to the bathroom a few minutes ago, but he came back. He closed the door. Corporal Silverwing heard something inside, but when we tried the door it wouldn't open! He ran to get you, and I've been trying to get in!"

"Silverwing did get me. How long ago was this?" Celestia demanded.

The stallion thought for a few moments. "Twenty minutes. I've been trying to get in ever since. I sent the clerks to get help."

The story still didn't make a whole lot of sense, but there was a flap of wings and the sound of hooves skittering on tiles. Silverwing nearly missed the door, but caught the frame and pulled himself inside.

"Explain!" Celestia demanded.

The pegasus guard, his chest heaving, saluted with a wing. "Myself and Private Longstride were on guard. When Gregory came in from the bathroom, there was a sound - like a very faint explosion. I don't know what it was, but we knocked on the door to make sure Greg was alright. He didn't answer, and we found the door wouldn't budge."

It really did sound like some kind of an elaborate foal-napping, but Celestia could hardly believe it. Surely they wouldn't be so bold, especially in a Castle which was waiting for them! More importantly, how could they have done this? Teleporting blindly into a room, especially if they weren't familiar with it, would be suicide!

Silverwing hurried on with his explanation. "I came to fetch you after we couldn't open the door between the both of us, Princess."

She gave the guard a nod and went back to examining the room. His explanation painted half of the picture, but what had happened inside the office? A glint caught her eye and she lifted Twinkleshine's pendant from the carpet.

Her breath caught as she recognized it, despite a crack running right through the middle of the gemstone. "Surely not..."

She had checked it for traps, carefully. Surely they couldn't have snuck a spell past her, could they? Only two ponies in Equestria had the skill to weave magic too subtle for her to detect.

One of them was Twilight Sparkle, whom she trusted with more than her life, and the other was Sunburst, who was surely still in the Crystal Empire with Cadence. Celestia shook her head. There was no way a spell had slipped her detection. The pendant must have simply fallen and then gotten damaged when somepony trod on it. Which meant there had to have been a struggle in the office. Celestia looked around with renewed interest, searching for any other signs of damage. She noticed a bulge in the carpet by the desk.

"Moved? Bumped?" she murmured to herself.

She looked under her hooves and studied the pattern of burn marks on it. She had materialized herself in that exact spot, and the fabric was scorched in a large circle. Here and there were lines, radiating outward as the surplus energy had grounded itself.

Except...

"There were multiple teleports!" Celestia exclaimed.

It was obvious, now that she looked at it properly. All her lines had to begin from the larger circle, going outwards. They shouldn't extend inward! That could only mean that there had been a smaller scorch mark on the carpet before hers!

"How many, though?"

It was hard to tell because the fabric was severely blackened. More than one, but less than five, the Princess guessed, else it would have burned through to the floor tiles below.

She tried to reconstruct the scene in her mind.

"Somepony teleported into Gregory's office and barred the door from inside to keep them safe. I do not yet know how exactly, but there can be no other explanation."

Such precision would require extreme familiarity with the place. Casual visits, even more than one, wouldn't do it. It meant either one of the staff, or a guard. The last thought made the mare close her eyes and shake her head in distress. Could she and Luna no longer trust even their own judgment?!

"Somepony teleported in and there was a struggle. The pendant fell and was stepped upon. The table was bumped in the struggle."

She was forced to conclude with the thought she absolutely didn't want to voice: "Gregory lost, else he would still be here. That means he was taken."

For an instant Celestia tensed up and spread her wings, intending to teleport high above Canterlot, but she would surely be too late to see where Gregory was being taken. Surely they wouldn't openly drag the human through the streets.

"They could not have teleported far. They surely did not have an alicorn and very few unicorns can manage significant distance when they are carrying a passenger. Silverwing!"

The pegasus, who had been standing quietly in the doorway until the Princess finished her examination, snapped to attention. "Ma'am!"

"Take all guards who aren't protecting Blossom and scour the ground in and around the Castle! Look for the other side of this teleport. The ground will be scorched in a circle like it is here. Hurry, before some fool maid takes it into her head to clean it up!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The stallion sounded relieved to be doing something and rushed out of the room with a clatter of hooves. A few steps later the sound vanished and there was a whoosh of his wings as he took flight.

Celestia focused her stare on Longstride, who endeavored to look a little taller under her scrutiny.

"Private, send word immediately to all city gates. Any coach or wagon leaving Canterlot is to be searched. Anything large enough to hide a human! I will not have Gregory whisked away from under my nose!"

The guard saluted, barked a loud and clear "Yes, Princess!" and galloped away.

Now that she was alone, the thought forced Celestia's head down. Her hind legs failed her and she let her breath out as she sat on the burned carpet.

Gregory, taken. She had not expected that. They had been so sure that they'd rooted out the subterfuge within the Castle! The mare blinked away tears and steeled her heart. Whoever was ultimately responsible - and Celestia had a pretty good idea who - would live to regret their actions, both before, as well as on this day. They would have a good many lonely years in her dungeons to rue their decisions, that much she swore to herself!

"Sister?" came a tentative call from the entrance.

Celestia looked up at a blurry Princess Luna.

"Right from under our hooves, Sister," she whispered.

She was hardly aware of the other mare moving, but suddenly there was a wing around her back and a soft, yet firm presence against her side. She leaned heavily against Luna and closed her eyes in gratitude.

At least she wouldn't face this adversity alone.

"We will find him, do not worry. I know his dreams well and I will seek him out. Nothing will stop us!"

"And if he is already dead?"

Luna didn't have an immediate answer, but she looked around the room and suddenly her face cleared up. "If that were the case, Sister, do you not think they would have left his body?"

That made a certain kind of sense. They went through the trouble of taking Gregory right from his office, which meant that they had plans. They intended to extort her.

"I do not understand what Silvermane hopes to gain from this," Celestia said. "Why would he attack like so? He must know we suspect him. This is senseless!"

Again, Luna gave this some thought before replying: "Perhaps it is the same reason he had Comet Roll imprisoned in Baltimare. It was a measure to buy time. They are panicking because we are breathing down their withers, Sister!"

It could be true. Celestia allowed herself a glimmer of hope. If they intended to use Gregory as a bargaining chip, then they wouldn't dare harm him. Luna was right - she would see his dreams and she would know where he was. Her muzzle scrunched up and a fierce light gleamed from her eyes as Celestia imagined calling down her full might and tearing apart the very building where Gregory was being kept. She would peal open the roof and the floors until she found him. Then she would burn the place to the ground, and then she would scatter the ashes in the ocean. And then she would boil the ocean into-

With a shake of her head, Celestia dislodged that train of thought. If it really was Silvermane, as she suspected, then there would be one fewer noble family left in Canterlot by the time she was done!

"Do not let vengeance consume you, Sister," Luna's voice intruded on her grim thoughts and Celestia blinked. The night-blue mare's expression was concerned. "It leads down a dangerous path. Trust me on this. We will have justice, but it will be justice, not revenge."

Celestia let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and managed a tiny smile. She buried her face as best she could in Luna's Royal Chest Fluff without piercing her Sister with her horn. "Thank you."

The words came out muffled as the soft fur performed its insidious magic. Luna's muzzle came down next to her ear and the mare whispered: "I will watch over you always, Sister. You know that. We are here for each other, always and forever."

Letting out a shuddering sigh, Celestia tried very hard not to cry, while Luna started licking her ear and nuzzling through her mane. The gesture helped dissolve her bad thoughts and brought Celestia back to when they were young and afraid together. Back when the world was new and scary, and all they had was each other. She remembered how she used to do the same for a crying Luna. She didn't know how long they remained like that, but it was long enough for her tears to dry up and for the dread to lessen.

Gregory was alive and they would find him. She was sure of it. How could she fail with Luna by her side? Celestia pushed herself away and gave her sister a smile. "Thank you," she repeated.

Luna simply smiled back. "Go and rest. I will make sure that Blossom is safe and then I will begin searching the dream world."

The thought of lying around, doing nothing, while Greg was in danger, felt physically revolting to Celestia and she pushed herself away. "I can help them search."

She was about to rush out, but Luna's foreleg barred the way. "No, Sister. Rest first and trust in those around you. You will not be useful in this state."

The advice made sense. Rushing around, distracting all her guards, and demanding immediate results, as she was likely to do in her present state, would just reduce the chances of getting any results. Big operations, as this search was likely to become, required a steady hoof and a calm heart. "You are right. I will eat, first."

Luna lowered her leg and Celestia walked out of Gregory' office. She remembered just in time and turned back. The broken pendant was on the floor, where it had slipped out of her grasp. Now she picked it up again and held it up before her eyes.

"Perhaps there are still answers in this. I will not leave any leaf unturned."

Luna gave a single nod, but did not otherwise comment. When it came to magic, Celestia was far more subtle than her. Offering help would be entirely pointless.

Taking a deep breath and clutching the pendant securely in her magic, Celestia stepped out of the room. A pony would have to look quite closely indeed to see the faint tremor in her legs, or the dried marks of tears on her muzzle. She looked both ways before settling on a direction and walking. Two of the guards, who had been waiting outside, followed her without comment. She didn't acknowledge them.

It was nearly time for Princess Luna to begin her watch over the dream world when a pegasus in the guard armor flew up to her in the corridor. She had to think for a moment before being able to put a name to him.

"Sergeant Glory Tail?"

The colt saluted as he delivered his message. "Ma'am! The Captain is back with Silent Spell. We were looking for Princess Celestia to give her our findings."

That reminded Luna. Glory Tail and Fire Fly had been watching over the investigator pony from Las Pegasus in the slave mine. For an instant she debated fetching Celestia, but after what had happened she decided against it.

"I will take care of this. Take the Captain and the investigator to the smaller conference room. I will join you shortly."

The guard saluted again and was away, winging down the hallway with alacrity and efficiency. She approved of that kind of swift obedience. It wasn't much further to their quarters, so Luna walked past Celestia's chamber to her own. Her step faltered when she was at her sister's door and she reconsidered whether she should tell her. Luna leaned a careful ear against the door and stilled her breathing so she would hear better. For a while she didn't catch any sound, but then - a soft sob.

Ears folded down in sympathy, Luna raised a hoof and gave the wood a gentle knock. Her sister's voice came back, faint but clear: "Enter."

She did so and the door opened to reveal Celestia lying on the bed and staring at the wall. Luna made sure to shut the room and give them some privacy.

"We will find him, Sister. Be strong," she said in as gentle a voice as she could manage.

Celestia didn't answer, but one of her ears perked up and focused on Luna. It was a good sign and Luna walked over. She lowered her head and pressed her muzzle against her sister's cheek.

"I will take care of things. The court tomorrow and the investigation. Leave it to me and take a few personal days."

"How?!" came the question along with an incredulous stare. "How can I rest when Gregory is who knows where, going through who knows what?"

"I do not think they will harm him, Sister. He is too valuable alive and they surely fear your wrath. I believe they are panicking and this... foalnapping was their last effort to save their hides."

"You mean the Silvermanes?"

"Whoever is behind this."

Celestia glared suddenly and her lips peeled back in a sneer. She lifted her head up and a low growl escaped her throat. "I will find out! I will go question him!"

Perhaps it would help calm her spirit? Luna was thinking about what to say, but then she noticed something disturbing. "Sister, did you hit your eye? Did something fall into it?"

The question was unexpected enough that Celestia blinked and let her grimace fade to mere puzzlement. "What? What is wrong with my eye?"

Luna leaned in and peered at it a little closer, but it was back to normal. For an instant the whites had darkened and the irises changed from the usual magenta to... gold?

"I thought I saw- never mind. It is gone now."

Shaking her head, as if to dismiss this new strangeness, Celestia frowned again. "Silvermane-"

"-is best left to professionals, Sister."

Again shock suffused Celestia's muzzle and she scrunched it up in confusion. "What do you mean, Luna?"

"You are an amazing diplomat, Sister, and much admired - rightly so - for your many fine qualities. But an investigator you are not. You cannot think that way. You are too good."

"Too... good?!"

"Yes, Sister. You knew this when you sent for Silent Spell to examine the mine. I believe we should charge her with the investigation into Gregory's foal-napping. I will oversee," Luna reassured her sister.

Celestia opened her mouth as if to argue, but then she heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. Her ears flattened. "Maybe you are right..."

"You said only the other day that you rely on my judgement more and more. Rely on me again this time, Sister. I will not dissappoint you."

For a moment it looked as if the older mare would decline, but then Celestia bit her lower lip in thought. "I am personally involved..."

"Exactly. An investigation should be executed with a clear mind and a steady heart. I am sorry, but you have neither of those right now."

The two sisters looked at one another for a while, and then Celestia's mouth quirked up into an almost-smile. "When did you become wise, Luna?"

An instant later the younger mare was smiling as well. "I learned from the best, Sister."

Luna thought she saw a glimmer of a tear in the corner of Celestia's eye and she leaned down again. The other Princess met her halfway and they nuzzled for long moments. Luna could almost feel her older sister's accustomed confidence flow back into her.

"I will meet with Silent Spell and Fire Fly right now. I will charge them with this investigation, and make sure they take it as their utmost priority. We will find Gregory," Luna promised.

"You make it sound so easy, sister..."

Luna just smiled and brushed her muzzle against Celestia's cheek for one last time, before breaking the contact and straightening up. "Try and rest. Read. Bake a cake. Keep yourself occupied and try not to think about what has happened. It will all turn out fine in the end."

Celestia gave a dutiful nod, and her folded ears, brimming eyes, and disheveled mane made her look much younger than she was. Luna felt her heart swell with love for her sibling and she wondered if that was how Celestia felt all the time. If she'd known this feeling a thousand years ago, perhaps they wouldn't have been parted for so long.

"Luna? I just remembered-"

"Yes?"

Celestia shook her head in dismay at having forgotten something so important. "Our friends are coming to visit for Summer Sun Celebration."

"Which friends?"

"Miriam Adams, Glitter Dust, Silent Brook with April and Glitterbug. Rock Lichen and Lake Frond and their daughter will also come to Canterlot for the festivities."

Luna made a fast mental calculation, then smiled with confidence. "That is more than a month in the future, Sister. By then, this sad business will be finished and Gregory once more by your side. You both will have an amazing story to tell them."

Celestia wrestled with emotion for a few moments, then her face cleared up and she nodded. "I hope so."

"Belive it."

Still smiling, Luna went back to the door and quietly let herself out of the room.
She entered her own bedchamber and found Eli already in bed, reading a book.

He placed his finger between the pages to mark his place and closed it. "All done?" he asked.

"Sadly, no. The investigator and Fire Fly are back from the mine and I will take over that duty from Sister. I will also sit in Court tomorrow, so we must change our plans for lunch."

The man seemed a bit sad - they'd been looking forward to their reservation on Saddle Row. "Okay."

Luna stepped closer and tipped his face up with a careful wing feather under his chin. That brought him in reach for a nice, long kiss. "We will go another day, I promise."

Eli gave her a nod. "I'll take care of it. I'll call the restaurant."

"Thank you."

It was one less thing to worry about and Luna really was grateful. She rewarded the man with another warm kiss. "I guess I will come to bed even later than usually. No doubt my visit of the Dream World will be delayed."

Eli wasn't too happy about this state of affairs, but he understood the need and gave Luna a nod. "I'll keep the bed warm for you."

"Thanks."

She left the room with a smile still on her muzzle.

By the time Princess Luna was approaching the conference room her grin had long vanished. She had promised she'd find her sister's lover, and while she had every confidence in her dream walking ability, it was still a dangerous situation. If the perpetrators were as panicked as she assumed - and they would have to be, or else they wouldn't have staged such a daring, reckless foal-napping - they might yet do something utterly stupid. If she approached the rescue in the wrong way, Silvermane, if it was indeed him who led this whole mess, might decide to simply kill Gregory out of revenge. It wouldn't be very pony-like behavior, but neither was slavery and forced labor.

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the bad thoughts and keep her optimism, then entered. There were only Fire Fly and Silent Spell in there.

"There is a more urgent situation we must discuss before your findings, Inspector."

The mare just gave a slight nod and waited for the Princess to explain.

It didn't take long for Luna to summarize what had happened and with each word Fire Fly looked more crestfallen. His thoughts were easy to read: nothing like this would have happened when Shining Armor had been Captain of the Guard. His self pity wouldn't help. Even if it turned out that he was incompetent in keeping his guards in order, they could not afford the upheaval of replacing him right now, so Luna gave the stallion a smile.

"It is an exceptional situation, Captain. Even Sister and myself failed to prevent it. Please, do not blame yourself."

The Captain swallowed and flashed her a quick, worried smile before nodding.

Silent Spell was already in deep thought and her hoof idly tapped on the table. "Princess, tell me all that you know about where Gregory was taken from. Every detail about the room you can remember."

Luna did so, as best as she could. She described what she remembered from Gregory' office and what her sister had told her. Then she summarized again what little she knew of their investigation so far. Silent Spell listened quietly, but her mouth began twisting almost immediately and her frown only kept deepening as the explanation went on. Once it was done, the mare worked her mouth as if trying to swallow something awful.

Finally she sighed and spoke: "I keep telling Celestia that she needs a proper police force in Canterlot. She says there isn't enough crime here - well, maybe so, but then she should have called us the minute all of this began!"

Even Luna couldn't help but fold her ears down in embarrassment. "I thought we had everyhing in hoof..."

Silent Spell shook her head. "This is basic police work, Princess. All due respect, but you two stomping around the human's office have probably messed up all the clues. And you said Celestia took something away from it?"

"The pendant. It was given to Gregory by Twinkleshine, but we think it was only her plot to incriminate him. Most likely, it does not have anything to do with his foalnapping."

"Most likely?" Silent Spell asked quietly, closing her eyes in exasperation. "Princess, you don't run an investigation on hopes and assumptions. I need to see that pendant. I'll tell you if it's connected or not. I also need to see the office."

"Of course. You may go freely anywhere in the Castle, except our bedchambers."

The investigator gave a nod. "Furthermore, I wish to speak with all the guards who were involved in this. And then you and I will question all the other guards, again."

In a way it was a relief to have a competent pony in charge who knew what she was doing. "I will recommend to Celestia that a police department is opened in Canterlot, but we will discuss that after this emergency."

"Good. Now, before we go, my report on the mine," Silent Spell said and slid a piece of paper across the table.

Luna glanced at it, but didn't read it - that would take too long. "Can you give me a quick summary? I wish to enter the dream world as soon as possible and look for Gregory' dream. I may be able to find where he is being held."

"Good. The mine is more or less what we suspected. Ponies and humans were being kept there and made to work. They moved the prisoners recently and in a big hurry. Some of the tools and clothing were left behind." Silent Spell paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, then shrugged. "They left with ground carts, so I've already had the Captain send pegasi to nearby villages to ask if anypony has seen anything."

"We already knew some of that from Blossom. Good idea about the carts," Luna agreed.

"That reminds me, I'll want to speak with her as well," Silent Spell interjected. "What bothers me about all of this..." The unicorn shook her head and paused for a moment to get her thoughts in order again. "Princess - do you know how humans can enter Equestria?"

Luna blinked. What did that matter? She decided to play along for now, even if she didn't understand why it was relevant. "Through the portal, of course."

"Good, good. Yes, through the portal. There are border controls on both sides. It's guarded day-round, right? Any crossing has to be officially sanctioned, no?"

That much everypony in Equestria knew and Luna still couldn't see where Silent Spell was going with it. She leaned her head to the side in confusion, but still nodded. "Of course."

"Tell me then, Princess, who are the humans being worked in that mine? Where did they come from? You should have a record of who came into Equestria and didn't return, right?"

Luna's mouth dropped open. She glimpsed from the corner of her eye that Fire Fly had done much the same. Silent Spell looked smug, but didn't say anything else.

"But- we-" Luna stammered. "What?!" She jumped up to her hooves. "How is that possible?! There should be no humans in Equestria other than the ones we know about!"

The unicorn mare sighed and nodded. "See? That's why you need the police. We know what questions to ask. Find out where those humans came from and you'll understand how that slavery ring operates."

"B-But that's completely impossible! Nopony can cross from one world to the other without us knowing! Without the humans knowing! If some humans went missing, surely Bennet would ask about it!"

Silent Spell waved a dismissive hoof. "I've got three theories for now."

"Speak!"

"First - and most likely - perhaps the guards at the portal are not entirely trustworthy. Perhaps they are being bribed and things are being smuggled into and out of Equestria. Things and people."

It made sense, but the possibility nearly turned Luna's stomach. It would mean that she and Celestia could trust practically nopony. It would also mean that they were ruling in name only!

"What else?"

Silent Spell tapped the table with her hoof again. "Second, somepony might have figured out how to open new portals to Earth. They went there and foal-napped some humans to make them work in the mine."

Luna shook her head. This seemed entirely implausible. "Surely not. Twilight Sparkle had been studying the portal from the moment it appeared and she has no idea how to close it, or make another. It is impossible another pony would have figured it out before her."

"Very well, that leaves us with option three: there is more than one portal."

Again in just a few minutes Luna's jaw dropped open. "More than one?!" she gasped.

Silent Spell shrugged. "Think about it. Why would there be just the one? Both Equus and Earth are big places. Have you searched all of our world? Have the humans examined all of theirs? If one portal opened by itself, why wouldn't others?"

It was too much to take in and Luna's head swam. "I- don't know," she admitted, ears folded flat against her head.

"We have to consider all three possibilities. With your permission, I will send a message to Las Pegasus PD and ask for some backup. That is - if I am in charge of this investigation?"

Bewildered, Luna could do nothing except nod quickly. "Of course," she said hoarsely. "You will get everything you ask for, Silent Spell."

The investigator inclined her head in agreement. "Good. I will examine the crime scene and the Captain will help me with questioning everypony involved. I will have more questions for you and Celestia, but that can wait until morning." She thought for a few more moments, then went on: "I'll need an office here and a fast courier. Most importantly, I'll need coffee. Lots of it."

All three of them chuckled, grasping the joke as if it were a life line to sanity. Luna exhaled and turned to leave, but paused before she took a step.

"I will pass by the kitchen and have them bring a tray," she said, "you can use this room as your office - it is shielded against eavesdropping. Captain Fire Fly will help with any other arrangements you need."

"What about my courier? A fast one, mind you!"

Luna leaned her head to the side, but then her muzzle split into a grin.

"I know just the pony. I will send her to you in the morning," she promised.

"Good. Let me know if you find Gregory through his dream. We have to move quickly on this!"

"Of course."

Luna left the investigator to her job and headed for the castle kitchens. There was generally somepony there even at night. If there wasn't, she would make coffee for Silent Spell herself! It was good to have a pony who knew what they were doing. Luna shook her head again. Why had nopony asked themselves where the humans in the mine had came from? Perhaps Gregory was right that there was a human in charge of this whole mess, but then where had he come from? Or she, for that matter? Could there be another portal? The thought was chilling, but not so much as the possibility that the guards on the existing portal were all criminals. From what Eli had told her of the human world, that might have been possible on their side, but surely not the ponies?

Celestia and Silent Spell would find out which it was. In a way, Luna was glad it was out of her hooves. The investigator was a competent pony, good at what she did, and her sister was the finest diplomat that lived. That had ever lived, possibly. Both of them together would be a force to be reckoned with.

All she had to do was find Gregory. It sounded like a trivial task when she put it into perspective. Simply find the man's dream and ask him where he was being kept. Easy.

Now, to see about that coffee...