Daniel

“Yes!” he shouted in triumph. It’d been a good day of training with this as his crowning achievement. The precise tone and phrasing of Perses’ profound guidance felt like puzzle pieces snapping perfectly into place in his mind.

In any case, Daniel was done for the day. He strode tall on his return trip, Hanmā in tow, and reached the veranda overlooking the quarry. No Wendi. Brow furrowed, Daniel called for her, getting no reply.

“Looks like you’re out of luck there, partner,” Hanmā said. Alright, one reply.

He’d been away for hours, and Wendi probably got bored waiting for him. Oops. Daniel checked his Shew Stone. He’d gotten one infuriatingly vague message.

> Gone looking for the others. Things getting weird.

>

> Wendi

He wrote a quick reply asking for a ride despite not knowing the next time she’d check her Shew Stone. Unable to reenter the House without stepping on a straw mat Tsukumogami and getting the lot of them killed, Daniel had to remain outside until Wendi came and got him. Or until someone got Wendi.

“Hanmā,” he said.

“At your service,” the rubber mallet man replied.

Something occurred to Daniel then, though the fact had taken days to percolate through his subconscious. While his mind processed foreign ideas in his language thanks to the Rosetta Stone, his ears heard the sounds and syllables of their native tongue—registering these details even as he ignored them.

The three-word, four-syllable phrase in his language, ‘At your service,’ took a Tsukumogami a single syllable to speak.

A language’s monosyllabic words were often reserved for irreducible concepts like time (now/then), physical proximity (on/by), and basic nouns (I, you). Daniel’s mind contorted to absorb this revelation that the idea of ‘service’ was so essential to them as a culture they couldn’t afford to waste syllables saying it. At first, Daniel thought it must owe to a strict hierarchy, but Koto himself had casually used that word with Daniel during the feast.

Who were the Tsukumogami?

He shook himself and continued, “Can you find Wendi and bring her here?”

“My job is to protect you. It ends in a few hours, but I’m not one to sign out early for convenience.”

Sighing with resignation, Daniel had to wait… or find someone willing to help if he walked a lap around the House.

Perhaps an hour later, he had no idea if he’d circled the House multiple times or merely covered the west wing. One side of the House looked eerily like another once he lost his point of reference. After having been carried on tatami through numerous labyrinthine rooms of shifting proportions as the sliding paper panels rearranged hallways into various chambers, Daniel couldn’t begin to estimate the building’s size.

The cave itself gave no clues either. This enormous cavern had stalactites and stalagmites from molehills to massive columns but wasn’t 100% natural. Tsukumogami had expanded it in all directions over the years, and Daniel’s eyes struggled to measure its dimensions.

Before he overcame his embarrassment to ask Hanmā, Daniel heard a distant noise.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Hanmā said.

Curious, Daniel headed toward the source of the sound. “There’s nothing down here but us, right?” He stumbled through the shadows as the lantern light faded until he had to retrieve his light gem.

Hanmā nodded. “Not unless a Nightcrawler burrows its way in. Nothing to fret over, though it may eat a few nosy boys before Koto takes care of it.”

He ignored Hanmā’s comments and his better judgment; there’d been something familiar about that sound. After rounding corners and climbing rocks, he glimpsed a large frame and rough skin in motion. Daniel recognized the gait like a fingerprint. “Hanmā, wait here.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’m not to leave you unguarded,” the mallet man said.

“There’s nobody else. Keep watch, and I’ll shout for help if anything happens. You can quote this: I won’t hold you responsible for not saving me because I asked you to stay behind.” Daniel’s logic and promise convinced Hanmā to do as instructed.

Trekking the last leg alone, Daniel left the guard’s earshot.

He found Rana sitting alone, shoulders hunched, staring at her hands. No evidence remained of the tall shape he’d spotted. She didn’t react to the not-light from his Aurvandil. He guessed her eyes worked better in the dark than his.

“Why now?” Her voice came as a whisper not meant for him.

“Rana?” No response. “Are you okay?” He listened to her breathing. He couldn’t tell what was wrong.

She didn’t meet his eyes. “Hey, Daniel.”

He quirked a smile, relieved as she acknowledged him, but his concern grew, nonetheless. “What happened?”

She audibly swallowed. “I…” She lapsed into silence. He waited, not pressing her, letting her take however long she needed to gather herself. “I gained a new ability.”

“That’s good! Fantastic,” he said, encouraging her. “Do you need help training with it?”

“N-no!” she shouted with more fear than anger. “…No. I-I already know how to use this.” Before he could ask how that was possible, she cut off further questioning, “My brother taught me a lot of things.”

“You love him, Bufo.”

“What?”

“Your brother—he saved you, didn’t he? From something.” It was a feeling, an impression he got from the rare times she talked about her guardian. “We’ll find them. We’ll find the T.O.”

She didn’t respond with the warm relief he sometimes fantasized his speeches would inspire, frowning instead. “He won’t have stayed with them. He’d have left without me weighing him down.” Rana looked into his eyes and spoke in a hard tone. “Why are you here, Daniel?”

“I wanted to help.”

“But why?”

He couldn’t understand why she focused on this point. “Isn’t that normal?”

“‘Normal?’ What is ‘normal?’” she said, quoting herself. What was she driving at? “Sorry, don’t worry about me. Just a few bad memories, that’s all.”

“It’s no trouble, and I won’t stop worrying because I care about you. We’re friends.” He smiled at her. The red, brown, and cream of her skin darkened a shade, and she turned to hide her face. Was she not feeling well?

For the thousandth time, he wished he could offer a hug of comfort. Instead, he willed all the warmth his arms couldn’t deliver into his voice. “You listened to me. I can return the favor.”

She took a deep breath, centering herself. “Thanks, Daniel.” Though Rana declined his offer, her mood seemed to lighten. She stood, scanned him up and down in her Rana way, and said, “You need someone to get Wendi.”

He shouldn’t be surprised at the logical conclusion. “Guilty.”

“Of what?” Rana asked.

Daniel missed a step as he absorbed her confusion. Rana sometimes struggled with mundane references and tasks, like making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Hard to believe anyone would be worse than him in that field. Knowing Rana, she probably spent her free time in Eastwood drilling and exercising instead of binging television. “It’s a shortened version of the phrase, ‘Guilty as charged,’ meaning, ‘Yes, you’re correct.’”

She nodded, marching around him to lead the way, “Let’s go.” He gave her an abbreviated account of his situation and Wendi’s lack of response to his messages.

Hanmā gave Daniel a nod as the boy returned. Rana received a raised eyebrow as the mallet man noted her bodyguard’s absence. Without further words, the three sought lantern light to navigate the dark cavern.

After a few minutes’ walk, Daniel voiced the nagging question that’d pestered him for days. “Rana, are we in the Underworld?”

Hanmā barked a laugh, then schooled his expression and stiffened his posture. Likely, the man had instructions not to reveal certain information for free.

The frog girl, on the other hand, didn’t scorn Daniel’s ignorance. “We haven’t entered a separate reality unawares. This cavern is in the same physical world as our pursuant mages. My understanding is, if you enter the Underworld, you know.”

“Hard to miss all the glowing mushrooms,” Hanmā said. The man’s widening eyes and muttered curse confirmed the slip-up.

“Couldn’t we…?”

“No, Daniel, we can’t,” Rana said. “We might as well try to escape underwater. What we’d find in the Underworld would make our flight through the Wilderness seem like a stroll on the beach.”

“It is a choice, though.”

“Yes. My brother taught me the way—”

“—For when you unlock burrowing toad form. You did mention it before.” A small smile rewarded Daniel’s slight ribbing. “I don’t suppose that’s the ability you got?” She shook her head. “Better luck next time, then.”

She chuckled. He grinned at her, enjoying their back-and-forth. Too bad he had to ruin the mood with an apology.

“Rana, I’m sorry about before. I was being an idiot.” The frog girl gave him a look of profound confusion. “My debt. I knew it was a thing with you, but I took it too seriously and messed up earlier.”

She folded her arms and half-turned away. “I take debts extremely seriously.”

Daniel sighed, frustrated with his inability to articulate. “Yes, I gathered as much. This isn’t coming out right. The point is, I’m trying to understand, but I said the wrong thing last time, so please give me another chance.” Their eyes locked. She nodded, and he spoke in his most humorless tone. “Do you know about economic inflation?”

“That is… a money thing?”

“Right. With inflation, the purchasing power of currency decreases with time. Money now can do more than the same amount later. What I’m saying is that you helped me first, so it isn’t enough for me to even the score.

“To pay my debt, I’d have to save your life at least half a dozen times. If you factor in compound interest, by all practical measures, it becomes insurmountable. Basically, you’ll be stuck with me for a long while… if you want.”

The frog girl’s defensive posture loosened as he talked, and her expression shifted to contemplation.

“A debt that can’t be repaid,” she said, gaze focused on something he couldn’t see. Then Rana turned to him. “And that’s acceptable to you?”

“It’s only fair.”

They smiled.