As the sun sat proudly above the horizon the next day, the Golden Lion was already well underway into their morning trek back to Bellwater.

Dashiell, Kerd, and Fran were at the head, chatting good-naturedly, while Georgina and Kufko occupied a space in the middle. The dungeon delver kept a casual pace, clacking her needles, mid-production of some monstrous length of knitting that trailed behind her like a disobedient green flag. Kufko was wrestling with the Telisean puzzle stick again, shifting hidden catches and giving it a good go.

Behind them marched the hobgoblin, Surith, who carried the tiny Ember on his shoulder. The fox had taken the role of overseeing their charge quite seriously, Garrick had found, her typical playfulness taking a backseat to the proud sentinelship she'd been engaging in. Surith walked stiffly, seemingly afraid of jostling the vulpid from her perch. However, Garrick knew she was unlikely to be wrenched loose—she was a vulpid, after all. Despite her wily nature, she was a very acrobatic creature.

Garrick couldn't help but notice Tad trailing a few paces behind the rest of the crew. The young otherworlder appeared lost in his own reality, a characteristic half-smile playing on his lips as he meandered awkwardly along the path.

What's got him so distracted? Garrick wondered as the young man stumbled off the trail for a moment, tripping on a fallen branch and then careened back—so focused on something else that he might've been confused for drunk.

Daydreaming, maybe? Who knows what a man like that fantasizes about, though.

As Garrick continued his observation, he realized what the man was up to. It was initially subtle, but he eventually saw that Tad's fingers danced through the air as though he was trying to flick a bug from a window. He kept periodically jerking his hand up in a swiping motion before doing it again.

He's off again with this habit, he thought. Could be he's…

The old man shrugged.

Well, it never helps to speculate, does it?

With a squint and a sudden jab of his finger into the ether, Tad halted his mysterious pantomime and his walking. He blinked, then jabbed his finger in the same spot before his face broke into a big, goofy grin.

"Nice!" he whispered, clearly pleased with something.

Garrick watched as a subtle astaran flash erupted around Tad's body like a whisper of starlight. The young man executed a quiet, celebratory fist pump, the kind you'd see from someone who'd just won a silent bet with themselves. It was a small, private victory—or at least it would have been had Garrick not been nosy enough to witness the entire thing.

Ah, Garrick thought. Now I get it.

He'd been thrown by the nature of the otherworlder's gestures and had to assume that his menu looked quite a bit different than what he'd experienced. Still, he wasn't sure if Tad was aware of their…shared origins, and so, playing a part, he cleared his throat.

"What are you up to now, Mr. Tadanius?"

"Oh, nothing…" Tad replied with a grin.

Not the best liar, Garrick thought, shaking his head.

"Practicing shooing away mosquitos?" he suggested.

"More like practicing my skills!" Tad beamed, unfazed by the bemusement his actions often stirred.

Well, that settles it then, doesn't it? Garrick thought. He's in his menu.

As the two trailed behind the rest of the Golden Lion, Garrick reconsidered his companion's odd behavior. It had been years since he'd thought about menus and interfaces. The idea felt almost quaint now.

Tad turned back to Garrick with a boyish wink and a grin spreading across his face.

"Can I tell you a secret, Garrick?" His voice carried the weight of a child confessing to raiding the cookie jar.

Garrick couldn't help but smile and nod, curious about what manner of 'secret' Tad might think was worth sharing.

Leaning in as though about to disclose the location of buried treasure, Tad confided, "I'm not actually from this world."

His tone suggested this was a revelation of the highest order.

Garrick stared at him for a beat longer than necessary, processing the earnest declaration. He finally nodded slowly, trying to mask his amusement.

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"Right," he said, drawing out the word. "You already told the group that, didn't you, Tadanius?"

Tad's expression faltered momentarily, then lit up again as he apparently reasoned this.

"Oh, right, yeah, just didn't know if you knew—but there's another part I haven't told anyone."

Garrick's raised an eyebrow, encouraging Tad to continue.

"Well," Tad leaned closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "I have something called a 'hudd.'"

Garrick furrowed his brow, unfamiliar with the term. "A hudd, you say?"

"Yeah, it's like… I can see all my own ingredients," the young man continued. "My stats, my Chants, everything! And when I advance a skill, I can see it—and even apply changes to myself if the rules allow."

The concept sounded precisely like the old menus Garrick remembered. The old man nodded, the edges of his mouth turning up in a wry smile.

"Well, that does sound remarkably handy."

"Exactly!" Tad exclaimed, pleased that Garrick was catching on. "It's super helpful, keeps everything organized, and I can always check on my progress."

As they walked, Tad's excitement continued bubbling.

"Oh, and I get things called 'Quests' too," he added, his eyes wide with the thrill of sharing. "I'm actually on one right now. But—it's a secret Quest. I'm not allowed to share it with anyone."

Apparently realizing his enthusiasm might seem boastful, he flashed an apologetic grin.

"Sorry, that sounds like bragging."

Garrick chuckled, shaking his head in amused admiration for the young man's spirited openness.

"No need to apologize, Tadanius. We all have our secrets. It's often the not knowing that keeps life interesting, wouldn't you agree?"

Tad absorbed the comment with an air of revelation as if Garrick had unveiled some ancient wisdom.

"Huh… Wow, yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

"But why tell me, Tadanius?" Garrick wondered. "Surely there are others you're closer with?"

Tad just smirked.

"Something about you just seems trustworthy," the otherworlder said. "Something about your face, maybe? I dunno."

Garrick chuckled.

"I see, well," he said. "I'm here if you ever have further questions or mysteries to unburden onto an old man."

"Thanks, Garrick, for being so understanding! I was worried—because I thought you'd be too old to understand, but I get it now: you're a cool old guy."

With that oddly backhanded compliment, Tad turned and marched ahead, his hand flicking through the air, presumably interacting with his 'hudd.' Garrick watched him go, the man's earnestness as baffling as it was endearing.

Left alone with his thoughts, Garrick considered the concept of the menu.

It has been a while, he mused. What could it hurt?

He glanced around to ensure no one was watching before closing his eyes.

How does this work again?

He remembered distinctly asking for his menu to disperse decades ago, tired of its persistent notifications and updates. He'd requested that it end all activity until a time he might want it again—if ever.

Come to think of it—I got a notification not long ago about a Side Quest, didn't I? Must've missed one of the silence commands.

Now, standing on this dusty path, curiosity renewed by Tad's unabashed description of his own system, Garrick concentrated on the idea of the menu. He willed it to appear, focusing on the mental image of lists and stats, of quests and options.

A moment passed in silence. Then, with the softest whisper of astara, akin to the feel of a breeze that wasn't there, a faint glow began to materialize in front of him. Slowly, layer by layer, the interface of his long-dormant menu started to reassemble, its ethereal panels fluttering into existence like pages of a book being gently turned by an unseen hand.

Garrick opened his eyes, staring at the semi-transparent display that now hovered before him. The text was a little blurry at first, the system recalibrating after years of disuse, but it sharpened quickly.

Well, I'll be... Garrick thought, a grin creeping across his face.

[WELCOME BACK, GARRICK!]

Garrick chuckled.

Well, welcome back to you, too, he thought. Honestly, perhaps I was a bit too hasty before when I—

[62,330 NEW NOTIFICATIONS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED 17,470 SIDE QUESTS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED 6,580 MINOR QUESTS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED 1,541 MAJOR QUESTS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED 401 SECRET QUESTS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED 23 DEITY QUESTS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE WORLD QUEST: DEFEAT RASTERION, THE IMPERIAL FIEND LORD!]

[CURRENTLY ACTIVE QUESTS: 3]

[EXPIRED QUESTS: 219]

"Oh, shit," Garrick hissed, hastily trying to close the menu once more as the alerts began pouring in.

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: DECADES OF DUST! You've successfully ignored your interface for over 35 years. Welcome back, oh aged one!]

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: AGED LIKE FINE WINE! You've successfully avoided epic battles for 7,535 days straight. Here's to enjoying the quiet life!]

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: POTION HOARDER SUPREME! You've amassed over 1,000 unused potions. Status: Probably healthy—or just very cautious!]

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: POTION HOARDER REHABILITATION You've used over 1,000 previously unused potions. Status: Likely going through withdrawals!]

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: QUEST SPREE III! You've successfully completed over 15,000 Quests!]

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: QUEST SPREE IV! You've successfully completed over 20,000 Quests!]

[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: QUEST SPREE V! You've successfully completed over 25,000 Quests!]

The deluge was seemingly unending as more and more of the notices spilled out before him, all relaying what he'd accomplished since he last opened his menu. Garrick was beginning to panic.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DISCOVERED 930 NEW LOCATIONS!]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE REACHED SPHERE REALM—

"Got it!" he grunted, unsummoning the menu and breathing a sigh of relief as the bothersome disrupter dissolved from his view.

Garrick glanced furtively around, ensuring his minor resurrection faux pas hadn't drawn any undue attention. Fortunately, the rest of the crew was thoroughly absorbed in their own pockets of reality—still trundling along the trail back to Bellwater. It seemed Garrick's own secrets were securely tucked away in the collective obliviousness of the group, at least for the time being.

"Never again," he muttered, quickening his pace to catch up with the others. "Never again."