Rezira blinks. “Who the fuck is this guy?”

Well, at least now I know the aversion to swearing only extends to one half of the relationship.

“In milder terms, I could express the same sentiment to you,” Zyneth replies. He gestures past her at me. “Last I left this place, Kanin was the only known resident.”

“He’s a friend,” I hurriedly sign, counting on Noli or Rezira to pass the message along. “Helped me get here. Got this room.”

“Zyneth,” he says, introducing himself as everyone else quickly exchanges names. He watches Rezira and Noli sign with interest. “Ah, I should have figured that out. When we first met, Kanin, you were trying to sign?”

“Yes!”

“It’s alright, I don’t blame you,” Rezira says. “His signs are awful.”

I’m right here.

“Zyneth,” Attiru repeats with a frown. “Why does that sound familiar?”

Zyneth waves off the question. “It’s not the rarest name.”

“Wait.” Attiru’s eyes go wide. “You’re not p—”

“Zyneth is sufficient,” he cuts in. “And at any rate, I’m sure we have more pressing matters. It seems I found you in the middle of leaving?”

“We were just checking out,” Rezira says. “Come on, we don’t have all day. If you’re here to help, we’ll explain on the way.”

Is he here to help? Or just pick up the extra change he left behind? Maybe he was just curious to see how everything played out. Given his abrupt and seemingly pressing departure, I hadn’t really expected to see him again. But now that he’s here, I’m glad he came back.

“You finish your task?” I ask him, Rezira translating for me.

Zyneth grimaces. “In a manner of speaking. I suppose it wasn’t the outcome I was seeking, but…” He glances at Attiru so quickly, I nearly miss it. “But the matter is now resolved, so I suppose that’s as much as I can hope for.”

This man has got to be the most cryptic person I’ve ever met. Not that I don’t have my own skeletons—or voids—in the closet. But if he found some resolution on his quest, then I’m happy for him.

As we strike out into the city and begin to navigate the morning crowd, Rezira and, after some hesitation, Attiru begin to fill Zyneth in on all of my and Noli’s adventures. Or at least, what they understand of it.

“Fascinating,” Zyneth says once he’s caught up, which I guess is one way to sum up a tale of body horror and constant near-death experiences. “But if you think Kanin’s spells are the answer to undoing this knot of magical malpractice, I might be of some assistance. My specialty is enchantment, you see.”

Once again, he says this as if I’m supposed to immediately understand the implications. Echo, what’s a rogue artificer do?

[A rogue artificer is a combination of two primary classes. A rogue class generally uses close-combat weapons which rely on agility rather than strength. Meanwhile, an artificer specializes in enchanting objects, such as creating charmed amulets, enhancing weapons, and brewing potions.]

Even with that explanation, I’m not sure I follow how this helps. The others seem to understand at least.

“You think you’ll be able to refill his magic supply?” Rezira asks. “Interesting. Only healing magic should be able to transfer magic to other people, but…”

But I’m not a person. Or I guess that’s how the magic sees it.

“Well, what do you think?” Zyneth holds out a hand. “Want to try?”

Well I guess since we’re just doing all the magical mad science today, why not? “Alright.” I gesture him over and Attiru stops to hold out their hands as well. I step carefully over into Zyneth’s palm, then gesture for him to go ahead. Let’s get this magic mayhem over with.

Yellow light crackles to life in his hands, licks of static crawling over his fingers. I wait for a moment to feel anything, but it’s just like Rezira’s magic. A nice lightshow, and nothing more. Oh well. I wasn’t wild about this plan anyway. I turn to tell Noli, but she’s watching with such rapt attention that I feel a sting of guilt. I should want this to work. She needs for this to work. Suddenly, the idea of not being able to perform all these spells—even if it means summoning the predator—fills me with disappointment instead of relief.

A staticky warmth creeps over me. The glow pulses through my limbs, comforting and gentle. Energy zaps into my soul.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

[Mana recovered,] Echo says. [50/50]

Then, a new stat appears.

[Bonus Mana: 10]

It worked. “It worked!”

And that’s bonus mana stat is also encouraging: if Zyneth can fill me up over my max mana, then I might be able to do the spells Noli needs after all.

But if his magic is only supposed to work on things that aren’t alive, what does that say about me?

“You did it!” Noli cheers.

“Wow.” Rezira gives Zyneth a begrudging look of respect. “Well done, pretty boy.”

“Pretty—!” Zyneth splutters, face flushing a darker red.

Hah. That’s the first time I’ve seen him at a loss for words.

“Well, thank you, regardless.” He clears his throat. “I suppose that means we have a plan—assuming I’m welcome to join.”

“More than welcome, I’d say your involvement is critical.” Rezira’s gaze shifts over to me. “Well then? You’re the one with the spells. You’re sure you can get Noli back in her body?”

I mean, I think so. I’m taking a shot in the dark, here, but by their descriptions and what I saw with Trenevalt, I should have all the spells we need. And with Zyneth to refuel my mana, I should be able to cast them all, too. The real question is what to do about the predator. If this really is the plan, then Noli and I need to make sure the others know what they’re getting into.

“Yes,” I sign. “But—”

“Of course!” Noli cries. “I told you Kanin could do it! He’s a natural.”

Was that intentional? Or had she interrupted me by accident?

I don’t have a chance to ask, however, as we step into the telepad square.

Travelers and merchants are crowded around the center pedestal, a raised lip of stone at least fifteen feet across with an intricate spell circle carved in its surface. The lines of the circle pulse with a blue glow. I watch, fascinated, as a set of dwarves step up onto the circle, and moments later, vanish with a pulse of light.

“I’ll go check the schedule and purchase travel tokens,” Attiru says. They quickly vanish into the crowd as they head toward a nearby storefront market with the Merchant Guild emblem.

The scene is such a strange mix of familiarity and the bizarre. I’ve been in buzzing, good-natured crowds like this countless times before, waiting outside venues to get into a concert or bar. Yet none of them included dragon people, or carts full of flowers that bloom eyeballs, or cages of flying fish, lazily floating in circles.

For all its strangeness, there’s an exciting beauty to this world. I can’t help but wonder what other fascinating creatures and places I’ve yet to see.

And why it’s taken this long for me to notice.

I sweep my attention around the square, trying to take in everything at once—which is when I notice Tetara and Saru. They’re lingering at the back of the crowd, watching everyone who sets foot on the platform.

I jerk back in Zyneth’s hands. “Danger!” I sign. Luckily Zyneth is standing at an angle where Noli can see. “Hurry, help, need to hide—”

She doesn’t ask questions. “Rezira! Get Kanin hidden—quickly!”

Zyneth cups a hand over me a moment later, and my world is reduced to a few thin shafts of light that trickle through his fingers.

“What is it?” Zyneth asks.

“Noli says it’s someone from Peakshadow,” I hear Rezira murmur back.

“Not allies, I take it.”

That’s one way to put it. At least Noli should be safe. They’re only after me. But did they catch a glimpse before Zyneth hid me? Are they heading this way right now? I have no way to know or ask from in here.

“Which ones?” Zyneth asks.

There’s a pause.

“Those two,” Rezira says. “The orc and human. Why? What trouble have they caused?”

None. I’m the trouble. They probably think they’re keeping the world safe—and I guess, in a way, they are.

But I need to keep Noli safe. And if I want to help get her back to her body, we can’t let these two stand in our way.

“Here.” It’s Attiru’s voice. “I have the tokens, enough for all five of us. We got lucky: They don’t link to cities as small as Bluevine very often, but there happens to be a slot in a half hour, and another in… Hey, what’s going on?”

The others fill them in with a hurried explanation and soft tones. I can hear the frown in their voice. “I recognize them. They’re two of the survivors from Peakshadow. Their friends were killed by the… well, you know.”

“What do they want with Noli, then?” Rezira asks. I can hear the protectiveness in the growl of her tone.

“It seems,” Zyneth says, “they’re after Kanin.”

“Why?” Attiru asks.

If Noli replies, I don’t know, because the silence in our group only continues to stretch.

She should tell them. There’s no point in hiding what I—what the predator—did. If she wants me to do the spells to get her back in her original body, then I’m going to end up summoning it again. There’s no way around that.

But we continue to wait, a few tense words exchanged, as time seems to stretch impossibly long. I don’t hear Tetara or Saru’s voices. No one comes to confront us.

Then, miraculously, Attiru says, “It’s time.”

“You ready?” Rezira asks, her tone soft and gentle. “It’ll be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you this time.” She must be talking to Noli.

“We’re about to go through,” Zyneth mumbles to me as well. “The orc and human are still watching the square but haven’t seemed to take interest in us. We should be beyond their notice in a moment.”

Good. Although now that it seems we’re about to give Tetara and Saru the slip, my worries turn to more immediate concerns.

Will going through the telepad expose us to the predator? It’s how Noli got stuck last time—even if it was Trenevalt’s spell that stuck her there. Since telepads seem to operate off null arcana, the users briefly blipping through the Between before coming out the other side, and the predator is still lurking somewhere in that realm, it’s possible our paths will cross again. Will we be there long enough for the predator to notice? Will the brevity of our visit even matter, given the apparent non-existence of time in that place between places?

Not that we have any other options. With Rezira’s spell on Noli’s body timing out, and Trenevalt’s spell on both of our souls about to expire, there’s no other way we can get to Noli’s body in time. At least I’m not given much time to dwell on all this, as in the next moment, we’re stepping onto the pedestal.

I can’t see much of the square from between Zyneth’s fingers, but I can make out the carved markings of the circle beneath our feet. My soul flutters. It should be fine. Hundreds of people use this telepad every day. Noli’s circumstances were a fluke. We’ll both make it through.

As the circle lights up blue, I take one last look around Harrowood, the city I’d spent so much time and effort trying to get to—all for naught. I can make out slivers of the crowd. The Merchant Guild’s logo. The eyeball plants.

Tetara. Looking right at us.

Then the world flashes white.