"What, you want me to start digging?" I turned around to look at Iter, then swiveled to look at the smattering of other people visiting Bernal Heights Park this evening. I pulled the hood of my coat closer around me. I suspected that beginning to dig wouldn't even get a second glance from most of the passerby, but I still felt embarrassed at the thought.

"Of course not," Iter replied in a tone reserved for children, making the heat rise even higher on my cheeks. "That would take far too long. We are suggesting a newly available alternative."

"What alternative," I replied cautiously, my curiosity finally pinning embarrassment and anger in a 3-way-no-holds-barred contest.

"Open your Communion, if you would," Iter directed, shifting himself to stand behind me. Warily, I brought up the menu. "Now open your Location." I followed his instructions.

"I do not see it," Iter mumbled in a puzzled tone.

"See what?" I scanned the screen for any obvious changes. I saw the map of our location atop Bernal Hill. I saw myself and a yellow dot not too far away, while Iter's blue dot hovered behind me. So Siarrálfr was still physically close by, somewhere within the bank to the left of the path. When I looked at buildings with multiple floors, I typically had to move the Location between levels to see the people on them. Apparently Siarrálfr wasn't considered to be on another floor/level right now. Iter interrupted my musing by reaching over my shoulder to point at the top of the Location window.

"There should be a new option here." Iter leaned back, and put a hand to his chin. "Is the elf in your party?" He looked at me in query.

"Uhm, I saw the message, but… " I looked to my journal, and noticed the notification was still pending.

A new Party Member request was received.

Accept? Y/N

"I guess I hadn't accepted it yet." I didn't see any reason to delay at this point, so I selected 'Y' and the message went away. "Okay, they're in my party now." I moved back to Location.

"There," Iter indicated.

I looked at the top of the window where he was pointing. A new option was listed: "Travel"

"Is that what I think it is?" I gasped. Without waiting for a response, I selected it.

A menu appeared, overlaid on top of the map:

Select destination:

Hero's home

Bushra's room

Kris' apartment

Siarrálfr's workshop

"Oh my god… " My voice trailed off as I gaped in wonder at the options in front of me.

"Yes," Iter replied, pleased. "Though We cannot take all the credit." I could feel the air of smugness that belied his words emanating from behind me. "With the addition of the elf, the conditions have been met. You may now access faerie paths to travel to each of these locations."

I took a single, deep breath, and selected the 'Hero's home' option. I felt no movement, but a light wind fluttered past my nose, leaving behind the faint scent of eucalyptus and dry moss. I blinked, and I was standing in the foyer of my apartment. It was dark and unfamiliar with the hall light off and without the automated porch light shining through the window.

"Oh shit," I breathed, reaching over and flipping the switch. The hall was bathed in light, and I froze, still not believing my circumstances.

"We are of mixed emotion with this ability, to be truthful. While officially tied to Our domain, it feels almost like a circumvention of Our Will," I turned back to face him without comprehension. He wore a complicated expression, but his eyes were bright and shinning. "However, with this Our Hero may now reach their party members much more efficiently," he said nodding.

"This is incredible!" I exclaimed. "Can I do this anytime? Can I take people or things with me? Is there a limit to the range or how often I can do it?" I reached out and grabbed the god's sleeve, and he looked over at my hand in mild alarm.

"There are no limits to the range or frequency," he replied, his eyes never leaving my hand on his sleeve, but making no move to remove it. "You may transport anyone in your party or anything in your inventory that is currently with you at the time."

"How are these locations decided?" I asked. In some corner of my mind, I knew I was being a bit intense, but this was amazing! I mean, the inventory tricks were interesting, and my other skills saved my life more than once. But for some reason this had a bigger impact. If felt magical.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"It is linked to the Hero's party members," Iter responded flatly, his face nonplussed.

"So how do I get back to the park?" I asked, releasing his arm and opening up Location again and selecting the Travel menu. I considered using Location to check my landing point to make sure no people were around when I arrived. I'd never actually moved my visible screen far away. I wondered what the people nearby made of Iter and me suddenly disappearing.

"You cannot," Iter replied, dashing my hopes. "At least, not through Travel." He perked up. "But normal means of transportation will suffice in that circumstance."

"Wait, so its a one-way trip? There's no 'return' option?" I said, slightly deflated.

"You may travel back and forth between designated locations as often as you like," Iter noted in a mollifying tone.

"Sure." It was still pretty cool, I told myself. "So we can go see Siarrálfr's workshop, then. Do you think it's done?"

"As the elf is beloved by the spirits, We are positive the initial structure has been completed by now."

I paused only briefly to consider that statement, before selecting the option 'Siarrálfr's workshop' from the Travel menu.

✦ ✦ ✦

I was surrounded by darkness. As I took in a breath, it was warm, almost stifling, and I had a moment of panic and claustrophobia. I flailed out an arm, but couldn't feel anything. I couldn't even see my hand.

"Iter! Are you here?" I shouted into the black space.

"Yes, We are here," a calm voice answered from behind me and a little to my left. "Are you feeling well, Our Hero?" his voice replied with a touch of concern.

"I can't see anything. Did we get lost?" Was this some kind of effect on my eyesight? Or are we somehow caught between somewhere? My panic rose. I took a step and turned back to try to grab a hold of the god's clothes, when a warm hand gripped mine.

"At my workshop you have arrived," a new voice like two stones grinding together echoed in the space. Suddenly, a bright incandescence burst into being on my right. I had to close and shield my eyes from the abrupt glare. "Sooner than expected, or a finer welcome I'd have made." The light dimmed and split apart into glowing orbs that spread out across the ceiling of the room, traveling like fish in a pond. "Hero Mairead Carrigan. You are welcome here."

I gradually put down the hand that was shielding my eyes, and blinked into the now softly illuminated space. It was an empty, dome-like room with a textured surface of light gray stone-like material. The floor seemed to be made of the same substance. Looking around, I noticed the dome seemed to come down from the ceiling and stop about 4 feet off the ground, where the wall then extended in a short distance to the floor. The broad figure of the elf was standing near the center facing in the opposite direction, a mere 15 feet or so away from me. The space was barren of any other feature or fixture. I noticed that I was still holding Iter's hand, and let go as surreptitiously as possible.

"Humans require a source of light to see, I seem to recall." I saw the nose shift from side to side from behind, and I imagined a carpenter examining their handiwork. "We are off-center from the ley lines that traverse this region. A series of underground pipes connected to the building the humans have placed at the peak of the hill necessitated this," Siarrálfr commented. "It is a minor inconvenience, however. We are amply sourced for water, heat, and air, thanks to our new friends." They waved their hand gracefully to indicate the lights, that seemed to wink in response to the movement of their arm like a wave of light.

"You built this just now?" While empty, the room was even and broad, and I could see from here that the lines and joins were as smooth as if cut by a laser. It can't have been more than 10 minutes since they first disappeared underground.

"The spirits were kind enough to acquiesce to my desires." They bowed their head to the room at large.

"Spirits?" I queried, brows wrinkling.

"As an elf, Siarrálfr is attuned to the primordial spirits that suffuse the world," Iter answered from beside me.

"Humans cannot see them, any more than you can see without light." Siarrálfr shook their head. "A truly blind folk, in more ways than one." Their shoulders raised and lowered in a sigh. "But perhaps that is just as well. The spirits would not tolerate your meddling were your kind to take notice of them. They already seem somewhat aggravated by your presence."

"Uh, okay," I replied, unsure if I was being looked down on. Or at any rate, I chose to be unsure and let their comments pass in the moment. "So this is your workshop, hunh? Do you also have a sleeping area or bedroom, something like that?"

"Sleep is not required." Siarrálfr turned and seemed to commune with a group of lights nearby, which then sped out along the ground, swirling on a spot that began to shift and reshape into a depression in the ground.

"You don't sleep?" I asked, eyebrows rising. The depression widened into a rectangular pan, which then rose from the ground on a column of the same substance as the floor and ceiling.

"Nay, an elf has no need." they replied without looking my direction. They moved to oversee the development of the basin that was forming, gesturing as they spoke to add minor alterations or improvements to height and width. "An elf is immortal. Even the little death of sleep is foreign to us."

"What about eating or drinking?" I asked, curiosity rising.

"We can receive substance from food and drink, but can take those elsewhere as well," the nose tilted back in my direction, the work on the basin apparently done for now. "Aqua Vitae, what your kind calls Liquor, however, is greatly favored." I saw the bright blue eyes tighten from within the halo of hair that covered their features.

"Ah, got it," I chuckled. "Any favorites?"

Their gaze sharpened and fixed me in place. "You have varieties?" The room itself seemed to brighten as if the entire cadre of spirits focused in my direction at once.

"Y-yeah, that's right," I said, unnerved. "There's lots to choose from." Feeling the pressure of a hundred pinpricks of light, I tread cautiously. "Want me to bring some with me next time?"

"A gift of such opulence would be most appreciated." Their tone was polite, but there was an undercurrent of, well, thirst.

"Uh, I can make a run to the store if you like," I replied shakily, as the attention tightened on me from around the room. "So, uhm, how do I get to my car from here?"

Silence met my query, and lengthened until it touched every part of the space.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Hey Kris, are you off work soon? I was wondering if you could come pick me up and drive me to my car? I'm at your house."