“Kanin!” Noli signs. “Oh, thank the gods, you’re alive! I was so worried we wouldn’t find you.”

I stare, stunned. Is this real? Is she really here? “How?” I struggle to my feet, using some of my signing glass as a crutch to prop myself up.

Noli makes a beckoning sign at Attiru, and the map-maker leans Noli closer to me.

She balls up some of her tentacles like clenched fists. There’s a patch on her midsection that looks like paper. The gaping hole through her mechanisms is hidden away, though clearly not all of her insides were fixed, as she makes no attempt to stand or crawl out of Attiru’s hands.

I still just can’t believe it. I can’t believe she’s here.

Noli reaches out—then smacks me across my glass, lurching me off my crutch and sending me rolling back to the street.

[2 points of Bludgeoning damage sustained.]

“You left me!” Noli cries as I sit there, stunned. “How could you do that? How could you just leave me there alone and hurt with no one to help? Why would you abandon me like that?”

“I—I hurt you,” I sign, fumbling through the movements with what little broken fragments of signing glass I have left. “The predator—”

“The predator hurt me, not you,” Noli interrupts.

“But I make it,” I start again. “In me. My fault.”

“No!” She throws her limbs in the air. “It’s not your fault! I saw what happened.” Her signs become less animated. “I know it’s attached to you, somehow. Probably ever since we first got stuck Between. And I saw how it was—how it was using you when it hurt those people. But that doesn’t make it your fault, Kanin. You’re just as much a victim as everyone else.”

The words sting unexpectedly deep. I’m not a victim. That can’t be right. Not when I can still feel what the predator felt, taste what it tasted. Not when I reveled in all the pain I was causing. I shake myself from side to side.

“So why?” she asks. “Why did you leave me?”

“Didn’t want to hurt again,” I sign. “Had to protect you.”

Noli balks. “You—you ass!”

I lean back in surprise. That’s a new sign. I mentally tuck the word away for later use.

“Protect me?” she continues. “You know, I could have just as easily been saddled with that void monster as you. And I wouldn’t have left you back there in Peakshadow if the roles were switched. Don’t you understand by now? We’re in this together.”

Something in me melts. All the strength goes out of me. “I’m sorry.” I’d given up on her—on both of us. I’d stopped trying, while she never quit. What kind of friend am I? “I’m sorry.”

Noli slumps as well. “Good. You should be.” Then she wrings her tentacles in concern. “Oh gosh. I shouldn’t have hit you like that. That was very wrong of me—I was just so mad. No, I’m sorry, I’m making excuses. Are you okay?”

I’m not sure if I want to laugh or cry. “Good.” My soul aches in a good way. I’m glad she’s back. “I’m good.”

Attiru clears their throat. “As fascinating as it is to watch you two wiggle at each other, I think we’re drawing some attention.” They look at Noli questioningly. “So, now that we’ve found him, I suppose he’ll be needing a lift, too?”

Noli turns to me. “Well? Are you coming? What am I saying—of course you’re coming!”

“Where?” I ask. But I’m already pushing myself upright. I wave Attiru closer so I can fall into their hand alongside Noli.

“To figure this whole thing out,” Noli signs. “Together.”

Her confidence is infectious. I don’t know how we’re supposed to figure any of this out, given the creeping Void stat, the destroyed spell materials, shuttered wizard storefronts, and less than two days left on our timer. But now that she’s here, we have more time to find a solution. Somehow, with Noli, I think we’ll manage.

I’m still trying to roll into an upright position in Attiru’s hand before remembering my map. “Oh! Wait.” I point to the glass beads first, and Noli gestures for them as well: Attiru graciously picks them up. “There’s a map, too,” I tell Noli, sending my signing glass in the right direction. Noli taps on Attiru’s thumb and gestures at my glass. They follow it to the alley, where they find my map and pick it up with their freehand. As they do so, I notice the movement is stiff, and as I look longer, I realize bandages are wrapped around the exposed skin on that arm.

The arm we—the arm the predator stabbed.

Guilt prickles at my conscience, but they don’t let me dwell in it long.

“What’s this for?” Attiru asks.

I send my glass to tap on the icon of my inn, causing the map to zoom in on the location.

“Staying here,” I tell Noli.

Noli pats Attiru’s hand, which must be some sort of sign they’ve worked out between each other, as Attiru pulls it closer to examine it.

“We’re heading here?” they ask.

“Yes,” I sign, and Noli pats their hand again.

“Alright then. Ready?”

“Yes.” Being carried around like a helpless child is almost getting less embarrassing. Almost.

I point at Attiru as they start to carry us through the streets. “How?”

“They found me in their shop,” Noli explains. “And they recognized me from before, when I was trying to distract the shadow monster with pebbles. I guess they feel like I saved their life—but I think that’s an exaggeration! It’s what anyone would have done.”

Noli, very few people would have chosen to throw stones at a murder void while only three inches tall.

“After that, they found the letter I wrote to Rezira,” Noli continues. “They helped me send it, too. Then I explained everything else I could manage in writing. Gosh, it’s great to have someone who can understand me! Not,” she adds, “That you can’t understand me. It’s just that our conversations can be a little more deep. Not that yours aren’t deep. But the vocabulary…”

I never thought listening to Noli’s mildly insulting rambles would fill me with so much happiness. We have someone with money and hands to help us. We have Noli who can communicate for us. We have a chance.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“...Anyway, after Attiru patched me up, I decided we needed to track you down,” Noli signs. “And I knew you were coming to Harrowood to find a wizard that could help us, so I asked Attiru to take me. We thought we’d catch up with you on the road, but we never found you, so I’m guessing you also got help to get here so fast. So we walked for a few days, fought a greater marrowwing, camped a couple nights, blah blah blah… And finally got here! We looked around town for a bit, trying to find a homunculus wizard and ask around at all the arcana shops, but most of them seemed to be vandalized. I was starting to get worried until, well, until we found you!”

If she had lungs, I imagine she would have had to stop for breath at some point. And what was that about a greater marrowwing?

But as regaling as her story is, I have more important information to communicate.

“Two days,” I sign, pointing at the beads Attiru is carrying for us. They’re apparently ignoring our conversation, stopping occasionally to consult my map and mumble about shoddy workmanship.

“Ah, yes, I suspected we were pretty low,” Noli signs, not seeming nearly as bothered as she probably should. “Attiru didn’t know of anyone back in Peakshadow who might have been able to help us, though I suppose it’s too late to head back there, anyway. We can ask around town, still. We haven’t had any luck so far, but there should be plenty of time left for Attiru to find someone.”

I hope so. But can they find anyone who’s willing to talk to us, given Saru and Tetara’s attacks? And even then, would they have the supplies? Another concern I needed to get across so we can waste as little time as possible.

But first…

“The void,” I sign.

“Ah, yes.” Noli seems to be taking this a bit more seriously, at least. “Are we in danger of it appearing again? Do you know what summons it?”

“Yes,” I sign, to both questions. I do my best to explain to her what I know: that I can’t use magic, or even risk making my belongings vanish and reappear. That it’s over halfway to reappearing once more.

“That’s tricky,” Noli admits. “But it sounds like if you just take it easy, there’s no risk of it being summoned, right?”

Well, ideally. But that hasn’t worked out very well so far.

I gesture to Attiru. “They know about me and void?” Even as I ask, I’m provided unwelcome flashbacks of towering over them, eager to stab my claws through their chest.

“Not exactly,” Noli admits, squirming. “I mean, we could all see the monster carrying you around, but I don’t think they realize it’s connected to you. However!” Noli adds, “As long as you don’t do any magic, it’ll be fine! And we won’t have to worry about that creature ever again.”

In this instance, I don’t think I’m able to bring myself to share in Noli’s optimism.

“Ah.” Attiru stops, looking up from their map. “Is this it?”

I show them around back, to where the gap in my window remains cracked open.

They snort. “How terribly secure.”

Says the person whose shop we snuck into.

Even so, they climb through, and after taking a moment to look around the room, they deposit Noli and I on the desk. Attiru sets the map and beaded bracelet down as well, then digs around in their pack to remove a slate and piece of chalk. My heart leaps at the sight of the chalk, but a quick Check reveals it’s merely that. They put these on the table next to Noli, then sit down heavily in the desk’s chair.

“Well, we’ve found your friend,” Attiru says. “What’s next?”

“Time,” I sign, tapping the beads.

Attiru’s gaze flickers to the beads. “What are those for?”

Noli grabs the chalk and starts writing on the slate. Attiru adjusts their glasses, waiting patiently as Noli explains the beads. They already seem to understand our time limit, because they don’t ask for clarification about that.

“I see.” They wipe the slate clean so Noli has more space to write. “Two days isn’t great, but we’ve still got time. I can start asking around. It seems we would best be served finding a wizard who creates homunculi. Is there anything else I should be looking for?”

“Yes.” I don’t know how to communicate this to Noli, though. I summon Vessel Construction and Binding from my inventory, and the book appears on the desk with a thump.

Attiru jumps. “How did you do that?”

Yeah, that’s a whole different can of worms I’m not interested in opening. Instead, I tap the cover repeatedly until Attiru catches the hint and opens it. I turn to the Table of Contents, skim for the spell I went, and point out the page number. Attiru flips through the book and finds the page in a matter of seconds. God damn I miss having hands.

“Core Bond,” they read. “Used to bind an energy store to a vessel, primarily used for forging homunculi cores. Requires periodic spell refreshes to maintain the connection.” They raise their eyebrows. “This is the spell you need renewed. How did you find it?”

“Amazing,” Noli signs. “We don’t even need a wizard, then. We can do it ourselves!”

She might not be wrong, but I’d seriously prefer deferring to a professional before experimenting with any new spells of my own. However, the devil’s in the details, as I quickly point out.

“The spell circle needs null arcanum-enriched chalk,” Attiru concludes. They regard me with a look of newly found respect. “Resourceful.”

How flattering, but they’re missing the point.

“People attack,” I tell Noli, tapping where it reads “Null arcanum-enriched chalk” on the spell book’s page, since I don’t know how to actually sign that.

“Someone attacked the chalk?” Noli repeats.

Thank god she can understand my broken speech. Noli translates what I say to Attiru so they stay in the loop as well.

I do my best to explain what happened, though I still don’t know enough letters to spell out Saru or Tetara’s names. Half-assed descriptions will have to be enough. I explain the sabotaged supply cart, point out the shops I checked on the map, which ones had been broken into, the general lack of wizards (and chalk), and finally the encounter I’d had with Saru and Tetara. I leave off the part about the void hand. I don’t want to talk about it, anyway.

“Well you’ve kept yourself busy,” Attiru observes. They glance at the sack of coins weighing down an edge of my cheat sheet. “And well paid.”

Right. I still haven’t explained how I got to this city. I try to tackle that too, keeping to the cliff notes on my and Zyneth’s journey to Harrowood. A guy helped carry me. He had to leave once I got here. The end.

“At least we know what spell we need,” Attiru says, tapping the book. “That will help me when asking around. Is the chalk part of the spell absolutely necessary, though? Sometimes ingredients are added for stability, but can technically be performed without.”

For some reason, I don’t like the idea of removing stability from an unknown spell that’s already resulted in two souls getting trapped in inanimate objects once already. But if they’re right, then so much the better.

I look back at the page, scanning through the requirements. Echo, can you write up a checklist or something? So it’s easier to keep track of everything we need.

[Affirmative,] Echo says, and a list lights up my vision.

[Spell Circle: Non-existent]

[Target Foci: Specify target]

[Null Arcanum: Substitution Available]

[30 Mana: Available]

I pause. Substitution available? What does that mean? Echo? What can be used for the null arcanum part of this spell?

[As void is a subset of null arcanum, lines drawn with your Attuned void may be used in place of null arcanum-enriched chalk.]

It feels like my insides have turned to ice. The spell needs me to use the void? No. I can’t. That’s not an option.

“Kanin?” Noli prompts. “You’re quiet. What is it?”

“I…” I don’t know what to say. I’m not willing to use the void. Not when we still have other options. Attiru could still find some chalk or, better yet, a wizard. No, they don’t need to know about this alternative.

“...No,” I finally sign. “We need chalk.”

Noli nods, passing the message along to Attiru.

“I thought you’d say that,” they say. “That’s alright. I’ll keep an eye out while I’m trying to track some wizards down.” Attiru stands up, absently rubbing their injured shoulder. I watch the movement with nauseous guilt. “I think you two should stay here. It might take more time than it’s worth to explain a pair of sentient homunculi. If I find someone who can help, I’ll bring them back.” They pause, glancing at the door key. “Will your friend be coming back?”

I gesture for them to take it. “Don’t know,” I tell Noli, who translates for me. I hope so. But Zyneth had something important enough on the line he was willing to let me figure out my life-or-death circumstance on my own. I suspect I won’t see him again anytime soon.

“Be back by this evening, then,” they say. “Hopefully sooner, if I find someone.”

“Good luck!” Noli waves after them, as if Attiru was heading out the door for some groceries rather than a cure to our impending doom. The door closes after them, and the lock clicks shut. Then it’s just Noli and I.

I sit there awkwardly for a moment, wondering what I should say. I’m still sufficiently humbled by her earlier scolding. And guilt prickles me over not saying anything about the void substitution. But now that I’m no longer resigned to an imminent death, every passing minute is ratcheting up my anxiety a notch more. I’m grateful for Attiru’s help, but I also have no desire to sit here twiddling my thumbs while the hours tick by.

And it seems like Noli feels the same way. “Well?” she signs. “What are you waiting for? Let’s make that spell circle.”