Amaro waited for that same resonant baritone voice to speak its riddle, but it never came. He could feel himself waking up.

“What?! You aren’t even going to give me a riddle to answer? After all of that, I get nothing?”

The pinhole of light expanded, and he was once again enveloped by it. When his vision came back to him, he saw everyone else looking at him.

“Guess I’m the last to awaken, huh?”

“How did it go?” Deka asked.

Amaro’s head was still swimming. He hung his head, “About as well as you would think.” Why did he feel so strange?

“Do you remember what happened?”

“I…” Did Amaro want to remember?

“Do you even want to remember?”

Was he still dreaming?

“Are you still dreaming?”

“I…” His throat tightened as he lifted his head to see seven heads of that horrid monster grinning back at him. The decapitated bodies of his friends and family served as a nest for its body as their worm-like necks crawled out from their shoulders towards him.

Amaro stumbled off his chair, “How did-” He reached for his sword, but it was not there.

“We go away when you don’t remember.” One head chided.

“But we follow if you do.” Another hummed.

“We know who you are, Amaro. We know the tune of your soul!” A third mused.

“We will find you. In this world, or the next.” A fourth sang.

“But only if you remember.” The fifth chimed in.

“We go away if you don’t remember.” The sixth repeated.

“So, Amaro Xirxus…” The seventh whispered in his ear. How did it get behind him?

“Is it better to remember horrible things, or to live in peace having forgotten them?” Their unified choir rang inside his skull. It echoed again and again. He couldn’t keep his balance. The ground was spinning.

If he remembered, they would come. They would find him, Kaara, and his siblings. Right now it was still trapped in this dream. It was still impossible to hurt them. If this thing got out, he could not stop it. It would make him forget just like they had done with Mark. The only time he would know is if he happened to plug his ears to avoid their song. If even a fraction of their threat was true, Amaro did not want to take that chance.

“I… I want to forget. I don’t want to remember!”

Stolen novel; please report.

The heads laughed in unison. It felt like they were driving nails through his ears. Amaro clutched his head. These were Malaki. These were true monsters.

He was grateful for the abyss that swallowed them back to where they belonged. That loud baritone taking its place in his head once more.

In the end, is it cowardice, or self preservation? Either way, it is not bravery.

Amaro woke up with a jolt that made everyone else in the tent jump with him.

“You okay?” Kaara asked.

Amaro blinked. What had just happened? “Hmm? Yeah, I think so. I guess I just got startled.

“By what?”

“I’m not so sure if I’m honest.” Amaro said with a shrug, “Probably another unpleasant dream. What of you all?”

Everyone shook their heads. No one had progressed.

“Well I’ve held up my end of things,” Deka said, “It should be around dinner time, I prefer to enjoy my meals alone. Dismissed.”

The six of them filed out of the tent, “Well that was a lot less productive than I thought it would be,” Amaro said.

“Well I think it was fun to hang out with everyone in his tent and drink tea while we waited for you to wake up,” Kaara said.

“How long was I out, anyway?”

“You were out cold for a good hour or so. Deka was contemplating kicking us out and having Vilka tell everyone you were having dinner with him to cover for things.” Arik said.

“Well I’m glad he didn’t. I would have woken up to the most awkward dinner date imaginable.”

“Ugh, I cannot imagine the two of you on a date,” Arik grimaced, “But I can imagine how terrible a couple you’d be.”

Anitus materialized a bushel of flowers from his sleeve, “For you, my dear brother! May it give you good fortune in courting our dear prince.”

Amaro tried not to smile, “Fuck off.”

“Whoa! I didn’t know you could use life magic, Anitus!” Kaara said with a glint in her eye.

“It’s just a silly human trinket. Amaro got it for me for my birthday” Anitus said, letting go of the flowers, “I can pull about three bushels a day from my sleeves just by thinking its command word.”

“I thought you needed to speak it?” Amaro said.

“I thought you would expect better of me. Wordless casting is a trivial matter, after all. Did you know humans have to train to master it? The poor fools.”

“My magic’s always stronger when I call out the word.” Kaara said, “Chompy’s always a lot bigger and stronger when I call his name.”

Anitus waved his hand dismissively, “That’s a lot different from having to train for wordless casting. Some humans can barely manage a candle flame without flapping their gums!”

“Will you all be eating with us tonight?” Amaro said to Kaara, trying to change the subject, “I know our tent is not as extravagant as Deka’s, but you would all be invited.”

Kaara glanced at Arik.

“Ah, yeah, we actually got invited to share dinner with some other folk tonight. Me and Kaara will have to pass.” Arik said.

“That goes for me as well,” Rorik said, raising his hand.

“Ah well, brother, you’ll just have to settle for our terrible company tonight.” Anitus lamented with exaggerated flare.

“You’re a bit too energetic this evening, Anitus.”

“What can I say? I have claimed the horns of five xiozians this day. I’m feeling wonderful. Come, you can have your flings with the tribe girls some other time. It has been too long since we’ve eaten dinner as a family.”

“It’s only been a day, though.”

“As I said! Too long.”

Something was definitely wrong here, but Amaro didn’t have the energy to resist it. After all, he liked this version of Anitus better, in a way.

He did not know why, but he plugged his ears for a moment.

“Trying to pretend you can’t hear me?” Anitus’s muffled voice came through.

“Just some wax.”

The three of them walked to their tent after grabbing a serving from the center of the camp. Amaro was the first to step through. He felt a jolt in the back of his neck. An ambush?

“Your horns are mine! Noble Scum!”