Fred, Rodrigo and Amanda sat in a circle.

“Okay. Where does he keep his wish stones?” Asked Fred. Both Fred and Rodrigo looked towards Amanda. She sat pensive.

“He always walks into the prison whenever he gets a new batch.” Said Amada. “But I don’t know where exactly he puts it.” Fred stared at the ground. A glare of intense focus on his face. ~Okay. I know this is a fantasy world. But I can still apply real world logic. Assuming rats work the same way here as they do at home. Then there’s no way that there would be so many of them Gathered up. They piled up to be at least twelve feet high in the cave. I once lived in an apartment with a chronic infestation of rats. But there were never that many.~ Fred took a deep breath.

~The quantity of those rats is not beholden to real world logic. Meaning there’s only one possible cause. Fantasy bullshit. Nathaniel must have summoned those rats but why. There’s only one good reason to put in so many resources. That’s where he keeps his wish stones. ~ Fred stood up.

“Amanda. Are there any other entrances to the cave than the one through the prison? Because that’s clearly where he’s keeping the wish stones.” Asked Fred. Amanda shook her head.

“None that I know of.” Fred sucked in a breath through his teeth. ~We’re not strong enough to tunnel to it. We might be screwed.~

“I know another entrance.” Said Rodrigo. Fred’s head snapped in his direction.

“How? Did you scope out the cave already?” Asked Fred.

“I sweated the location.” He said. Fred looked at Rodrigo. ~Fantassssssy bullshit!~ As he had begun to learn. That’s what all of this world hinged off of.

“Okay. Take us there.” said Amanda.

Fred and Amanda followed Rodrigo down a stream and into a lake. Rodrigo waded into the lake.

“If we swim down through here. We’ll find another entrance under the water.” Said Rodrigo.

“Aight. Let’s go.” Fred dived straight into the water. He cut through it like it wasn’t even there.~I was on the swim team in my teens. This is easy.~ Amanda and Rodrigo jumped in next. Fred enjoyed a nice flow state as he swam. He focused only on the position of his arms legs and body. He had complete focus in his movements. Rodrigo was swimming with similar speed. He was right in front of him.

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~Wait. Where’s Amanda?~ Fred’s mind prickled with fear. ~She could have been eaten by some stray levethan!~ Fred Plugged his nose and turned on his back under the water. She floated there. Motionless. ~Shit. Me and Rodrigo's cardio is past olympic levels. But she’s just an ordinary human. Of course she can’t last that long. Why didn’t I think about this!~ Fred swam back over to Amanda and Grabbed her by the shoulders. He swam as hard as he could. ~This lake is deep. She’d run out of air by the time I got her to the surface. I need to get to that entrance that Rodrigo was talking about as fast as possible.~ So Fred kicked. He kicked as hard as he possibly could.

In great agony. Time loses meaning. As it did for Fred. All his conscious mind experienced was a deluge of fear, anxiety and physical strain. The world had fallen away. Leaving only the dim light of the cave that he would enter. After an unknowable amount of time had passed. He and Rodrigo made It to the entrance.

Fred threw Amanda on the soiled cave floor. The cave was lit by many small mushrooms which surrounded the little pool they had swam out of.

“What’s wrong with her?” Asked Rodrigo as he stood awkwardly above Amanda.

“Oxygen deprivation. Don’t worry. I know a technique from my homeland that should save her.” Fred put his hand on her chest. And pushed. Using all his bodyweight. Immediately she coughed up some water. Then rabidly he put his lips on her lip and blew. Refilling her lungs. Then again he pushed on her chest. Rodrigo watched on as this happened. Occasionally raising his hand and opening his mouth as if to say something. Only to lower his hand again and watch on in bafflement,

“Am I watching necrophilia right now?” Rodrigo whispered to himself.

Amanda’s eyes snapped open. A strange grin was on her face.

“Oh yeah baby touch me more.” She said Lewdly. Fred grew beet red and jolted back. Meanwhile Amanda’s expression shifted into a scowl. “Is that what you thought I’d say you pervert!!” She grabbed Fred by the neck and fell into him. His head splashed into the water. Amanda assumed a straddle position on his back so he could not resist. “Sexually assaulting an unconscious woman is not okay!”

~Shit…. I’m going to die again.~ Alarm bells went off in Fred’s mind. He scrambled, throwing his arms in every direction. With one good twist of his back he jolted Amanda off his body and awkwardly pushed her to the ground.

“You Idiot. I was putting air back into your lungs!” Yelled Fred. Amanda clenched her fist.

“Tell that to the executioner!” She jumped towards Fred, a savage smile on her face. Rodrigo watched this, still for a moment until a look of firm resolution appeared on his face. He dashed in front of Amanda. He held her still by her shoulder.

“Listen.” Said Rodrigo with a placating smile. “Fred’s not the type of guy to do things like that. He’s a good person. How about we just chalk this up to foreign customs and call it a day?” Said Rodrigo. Amanda sighed.

“Okay. But he owes me at least a finger in retribution.” Said Amanda, a sadistic glint taking root in her eyes. Fred nodded.

“After the heist I’ll give you one of my fingers.” Fred said.

~Must be common practice when everyone has magic wishes.~

“Alright. Let’s get to looking for the vault.” Said Rodrigo.

They walked down a hallway. The walls of which were very very smooth. ~It must have been created with wish stones too. How many resources did Nathaniel put into this cave? Wait……. What’s that?~ In Front of the trio. Was a wall of squirming fur. They had reached the rats. Fred let himself smile a hollow smile. ~I’m going to die aren’t I.~