“I just don’t understand why we’re going so far out of the way,” Orb said.

“As I’ve already said three times, I have a strict business policy that prevents me from returning to towns I’ve visited in the last five years,” Merlin said. He held Marvin’s reins loosely in hand. If he held them too tight, Marvin would stop walking altogether. Only ten minutes after they’d left town, he’d taken a five-minute break and made them wait until he was ready to walk again. Merlin had described it as Marvin’s way to “show the new guys who’s the boss around here.” Marvin had snorted in agreement.

Since then, they hadn’t had any problems.

“You’re just scared you’ll run into someone you scammed.” Orb spun vertically in place. The closest thing he had to rolling his eyes.

“That… is true,” Merlin admitted. He turned to wink at Charlie. He’d been unusually happy since they’d left the village. Probably because of the sendoff they’d gotten.

Since their departure, they’d passed a few small towns, similar in size and appearance to Hilda’s village. But Merlin had refused to stop at any of them. Orb was getting bored and wanted to check some of them out. Charlie was just happy Merlin had decided to come along with them. But he had to admit, the trees had all started to look the same a while ago. He wasn’t sure if it was true or not, but he could swear Marvin was somehow taking them in circles. Another way of asserting dominance over his new traveling companions. He squinted suspiciously at Marvin before a question popped into his mind. “Hey Merlin! Do you ever hear a voice in your head?” he asked.

Merlin sent Charlie a horrified look. “Do you?”

Smack. Smack. Smack. Orb bounced against the cart in quick succession. He’d seen a kid throwing a ball against a wall before they’d left Hilda’s village and thought it was an amusing idea. He seemed less amused with bouncing himself, but for some reason, kept trying. It had something to do with trying to replicate the sound of a ball slapping against the wall.

He paused before he smacked the ground a fourth time. “Oh yeah, Charlie’s schizophrenic. I was hoping to ask Hilda if the sycamara plant might help with that, but… well, I can’t talk to just anyone I want. Someone refuses to make a dungeon large enough to encase the entire world so we can talk with everyone we meet. I mean seriously, what a butthead.”

Smack.

Charlie blew a raspberry at Orb. “I told you we can’t! What if the knights saw it? A dungeon that big would be really noticeable!”

Merlin looked between them. “Wait, what? Charlie, can you really do that?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then why… never mind. What’s this about a voice?” Merlin asked.

“Well, when I try to use my powers, sometimes a voice tells me if I can or not. But during the last battle, it was different. Like, different from usual. You know what I mean?”

“I have absolutely no idea what you mean. What did it say?” Merlin asked, leaning in.

Orb rolled over. “Wait, are you talking about the voice that told you to kill Merlin in his sleep and wear his skin like a onesie?”

“Squeak!” Mousifer said.

“Yeah! Stop trying to scare Merlin. The voice didn’t say anything about a onesie. Anyway, I think it was trying to give me suggestions about how to use my powers. But I haven’t heard it since the fight,” Charlie said.

“I’m going to ignore the first part. Have you tried to use your power since then?” Merlin asked. He turned back to look at the road, scanning the surrounding forests. He’d told them they needed to be careful while traveling. Most of the major roads were generally safe. But it was best to watch out for the occasional monster or bandit. Traveling alone like this made them easy targets.

“Hmmm, no, not since. Should I try now?” Charlie asked.

Merlin shook his head. “No, not here. We’ll be in town soon. But we should talk more about that later. Just because the researcher is supposed to help you learn about your powers doesn’t mean you can’t start figuring stuff out on your own as well. In fact, it would probably be better that way. The more information you can give him when you arrive, the faster he’ll be able to help. Probably.” Merlin paused. “So, the voice doesn’t say anything else? It just tells you if you can use your powers?”

Charlie nodded. “Yup! Oh wait, I think I heard something about an in yer face!”

Merlin blinked. “Do you mean interface?”

The wagon slowed to a halt.

Charlie thought hard about it. “Yeah! That sounds right.” He noticed the serious expression on Merlin’s face. “Do you know what that means?”

“You said the knights summoned you…but do you know from where? Have you remembered anything from before then?” Merlin asked.

Charlie frowned. “Hm, no, not really. Sometimes I have weird thoughts, or think I remember something, but it’s always fuzzy.”

Orb floated away and stared out at the forest. Merlin squinted at him. He turned back to Charlie. “This world…its magic. It’s governed by a system. I’ve heard tales that when someone from another world is summoned, the system grants them an interface. A way to bridge the gap between those from a world without magic, and those who grew up here. People say interfaces are magic personified. That they can make the impossible possible. If you have one…it means you’re likely from another world.”

Charlie looked up at him, his head fell to the side. “I’m from…another world? Where?”

Merlin looked toward Orb. “Well? Do you know?”

Orb turned slightly, as if to look over a shoulder that wasn’t there. He was quiet. “Yeah. I do. It’s a place called Earth. I remember that much. But nothing else. My first memory was Charlie eating me, and then I was flashing across a room full of knights. I’ve got bits and pieces of earth culture, but that’s where it ends.”

Charlie crawled toward Orb. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

Orb was quiet. “You just heard me. There wasn’t much to tell.”

Charlie’s head fell. What did this mean? Earth? He was from another world? He hadn’t thought much about where he’d been before the knights had summoned him. Part of him kind of thought he hadn’t even existed before then. If he was from another world, did he have a family there? Did he have parents? It gave him a lot to think about. Not to mention this idea of an interface. He wanted to talk to it again. Maybe it could help him learn more about his powers.

They traveled like that for a while, in silence.

Eventually, Merlin noticed something up ahead and craned his neck to peek around a patch of trees. “Well, looks like we were closer than I thought. Look, Charlie!” he said, pointing up ahead.

Marvin’s tail thwacked against his backside.

Charlie looked up. This town…was unlike any of the others one they’d been to or passed so far. Richard and Mary’s countryside town had been sparsely populated and spread out. Hilda’s town, and most of the towns that followed it, had been more concentrated. Most of their towns had been built around a single street or two.

But this was unlike anything Charlie could remember. The city was gated, a huge stone wall surrounded the city. Even behind the walls, Charlie could make out buildings that reached upwards of three or four stories. Up ahead, a short line of people waited to enter the city. Some, like them, were waiting in carts with goods and supplies. Others were on foot and carried baskets of berries or pails of water. They’d been scavenging in the nearby forest. Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Orb! Do you see?”

Orb buzzed in excitement, flickering all through the air. He grew extremely bright, and then dimmed down, over and over, like he was hyperventilating. “Now that is a town! You seriously haven’t scammed anyone in there, Merlin?”

Merlin adjusted his cloak. “I’ve not put on any shows here, no. It’s dangerous to do that in larger cities. Anyway… I’ve put that life behind me now.”

Orb scoffed. “Yeah, for all of a day.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Marvin slowed to a stop as they approached the gate. Charlie sat up, doing his best to act normal. Orb and Mousifer hid inside Merlin’s cloak. Bleedy played dead.

A guard in light blue and grey armor approached. A red fox insignia was emblazoned on his chest. He cleared his throat. “Hello, welcome to Sirra. Are you a trader?” he asked.

Merlin straightened up. “Uh, no, actually. Just traveling with my… nephew! His mother wants him to see the world early, and well, who am I to say no to something like that?”

The guard raised a brow, looking past Merlin. Charlie stared back, slobbering over a finger he’d put into his mouth. “She wanted a baby to see the world?” The guard asked incredulously.

Merlin shrugged. “Do you mind if we get going? I need to get a spot in the stables for my buddy here before they fill up.”

The guard looked around, like he wanted to see if anyone was listening. “Look…” his eyes drifted to Charlie again. “You should turn back.”

“What?” Merlin asked.

“It’s just—”

“What’s the holdup?” A guard called out from the wall.

The gate guard’s eyes shot open, and he wheeled to face the wall guard. “Nothing sir! Just giving directions!”

The wall guard squinted. He offered a small nod before returning to scan the forests.

Merlin quirked a brow. “Can we go in or not?” he asked.

The guard hesitated, like he wanted to say more. “Sure, you’re good to go.”

Merlin leaned forward and patted Marvin’s rear. The horse set back into a slow trot. Merlin turned to look back at the guard. “That was weird.”

“Nephew?” Charlie asked.

Merlin shrugged. “It’s better if people think we’re related. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a weirdo who kidnapped a random baby.”

“Aren’t you?” Orb asked.

Merlin scoffed! “No! Charlie asked me to come with you!”

“Sure, I bet that’s what all the kidnappers say.”

***

They made two stops before finding a cafe to grab some food. First, Merlin used the coin he’d gotten from the cultist to purchase a room at an inn. Then Merlin had rented a space for Marvin and his cart to rest for the night.

To their disappointment, Merlin thought it would be better if Mousifer and Bleedy remained with the cart as well. It would draw too much attention if they were spotted roaming around the city, and it was best they lie low for now. Charlie didn’t like it either, but he could understand the reasoning. Richard had told them to avoid towns because it was hard for Charlie to sneak around on Bleedy unnoticed. Nobody would think twice about seeing Merlin with Charlie. But if people saw a racooneever following them around, or a mouse hitching a ride on a baby’s shoulder, they’d notice. The knights might pick up their trail. It was for the best, at least until they found a better way to navigate towns like this.

At least, nobody should notice in theory.

In reality, a number of people gave them odd looks as they made their way through town on foot. Charlie couldn’t help but think it seemed like people were looking at him. He shrunk into Merlin’s hood.

He didn’t like this feeling.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe there just aren’t many babies around here.” Merlin ordered something at the counter and found them a table. After Merlin sat him down, Charlie relaxed, lying on his back. The cloth table covering felt nice after sitting in Merlin’s wagon all day.

A few men were at the counter, looking at pastries behind the glass. The smell of freshly baked goods permeated throughout the entire cafe. There was a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere, and Charlie wondered why there weren’t more people here.

Other than the two men and the cafe’s owner, the only other guest was a lady sitting near the door. She wore thick, wide-rimmed glasses that made her eyes look larger than they actually were. She was reading some kind of paper, scanning it intently. Occasionally, her hand would fumble around for her drink without her eyes ever leaving her reading material. Twice now she had almost spilled it. Three times she had accidentally dipped her fingers into the drink itself. She would take a sip, rub her hands on her white blouse, and then continue devoting her attention to whatever it was she was reading.

Charlie thought she was amusing.

“Can you believe it? A real dungeon. We should check it out!” one of the men said while he waited for his coffee.

“Nope. No way. My wife would kill me. She doesn’t even like when I go outside the walls.”

“As long as we come back with something valuable, she’ll forgive you.”

“What? No, she won’t. Tell you what, buy me a donut and I’ll think about it.” He pointed to a particularly plump donut behind the glass counter.

“Pshh.” The other man shook his head. “You buy me a donut and I’ll think about splitting my treasure with you.”

“You don’t even have any treasure yet! And if I buy a donut, I’m buying it for myself! Besides, you didn’t hear? Guild from out of town already claimed it. Couldn’t keep anything we found, anyway.”

The other man waved him off. “To hell with em! We’ve got our own guild, why should we let a couple of outsiders—”

The other man nudged him and tilted his head to the cafe owner. She’d paused and looked over her shoulder at them.

“What?” the man asked.

The shopkeeper finished his drink and turned around, offering it to him. “Gentlemen, two of our other patrons are new to town. Let’s not scare them off talking about dungeons.” Her voice was soft, but firm.

The man took a sip and cursed when it burnt his tongue. “Fine. Thanks for the drink.” The men left the shop, continuing their conversation outside.

“Merlin, did you hear that?” Charlie asked.

Merlin looked around to make sure nobody was watching. He leaned in. “Yeah, apparently the donuts here are really good. Maybe I should buy us a couple… wait, can you eat donuts?” Merlin asked.

“No. Not the donuts. There’s a dungeon nearby. What if we could go check it out?” Charlie asked.

“What?” Merlin said, louder than he hoped. The cafe owner shot him a look. He shot an awkward smile and lifted an apologetic hand. He waited for her to turn her attention elsewhere. “We can’t go to a dungeon by ourselves. We barely survived that whole ordeal with the cult. Have you lost your mind?” he asked.

Orb spat out from Merlin’s hood and onto the table. Merlin scrambled to cover him up with his hand.

“Unhand me at once! I’m a dungeon core!” Orb said.

Merlin rolled his eyes. He lifted his fingers slightly, so Orb could peek out from underneath his cupped hand.

“Much better. Charlies got a point, you know. You are the one who suggested we learn more about his powers. If we could investigate another dungeon, we might get the answers we need,” Orb said.

Merlin shook his head vigorously. “Nope. Not happening. Way too dangerous.” The cafe owner signaled him, letting him know the drink he’d ordered was finished. He stood, pausing. “Besides, I’m the adult here. It’s my job to make sure you two don’t do anything stupid that could get you hurt,” he said. Merlin picked Orb up and placed him in a small bowl of sugar. Then he hurried over to grab his drink.

“Charlie, we can’t miss out on this opportunity,” Orb said.

Charlie frowned. “I know! I want to see it for myself too, but maybe Merlin’s right. My powers still aren’t reliable. What if something goes wrong?”

Charlie had run out of energy at the end of their last fight. If it hadn’t been for Merlin’s quick thinking, they might not have made it out of that situation unscathed. Besides, wasn’t it smart to lie low for a while? Should they really run into a dangerous new situation so soon after dealing with the cultist?

Probably not.

Definitely not.

Then why did he want to so badly?

“We’ll figure it out together. Me, you, and that strange voice in your head.”

Charlie smiled. “But how do we get Merlin on board?”

Orb peeked out at him from his sugar burial place. “What if we… ditch him for a little while?” Orb said.

“Like, send him to the dungeon?” Charlie asked.

“No, no, nothing like that. Merlin has to go to sleep, eventually. When he does, we do what we do best. We sneak out. We’ll check out the dungeon, learn what we can, and be back before he knows it. Easy.”

Charlie thought about it. It was a good plan. And this way, if things got dangerous, Charlie wouldn’t have to worry about Merlin getting hurt because of a situation Charlie convinced him to get into. “Okay. Sounds good!”

“Excellent!” Orb said, shooting out of the sugar bowl.

Merlin returned, blowing on his drink. He’d impulsively bought a donut as well and sat it on the table. He saw Orb floating several inches from the table and swatted at him. Merlin did it so quickly that he forgot he had a freshly brewed tea in hand. It spilt. Partially over the table, and partially over the foot of Charlie’s onesie. Merlin jumped back, his chair scraped against the ground, his hand lifted in the air, as if he could undo the mess by pulling his hand away in time.

Orb sailed through the air, landing against the ground with a satisfying smack. “Hey! That was it! I made the noise!”

Charlie didn’t hear him. He was too fixated on the tea stain on his onesie. It was the only item he had that connected him to whatever place he’d come from. Before the knights had found him. Before he’d gone to live with Richard and Mary. He hadn’t thought about that before. How important it was to him. Richard and Mary had gotten him other clothes, of course. But this onesie was his favorite. So, when he noticed the ugly, brown stain on his blue and white onesie, he couldn’t help but get upset.

He couldn’t help but cry.

For the first time since they’d entered the cafe, the woman reading the paper sat it down and took them in. She saw Merlin standing there, a panicked look on his expression, a close-fisted hand by his head. She saw Charlie laying on the table, crying. She remembered the smacking noise she’d heard a second ago when Orb had fallen onto the ground. In an instant, her brain interpreted what was going on, and she let the world know exactly what conclusion she’d come to.

“Oh my god! Someone help!” She jumped up and ran to the cafe door, bursting through it and into the streets. “Someone help!” She yelled again. She screamed at the top of her lungs. People passing by all stopped and stared at the commotion. Merlin and Charlie turned in unison when they heard the last part of her plea.

“Someone please help! This man just punched a baby!”