Tala and Rane hesitantly stood on a snowy mountainside, sharing a look that conveyed almost as much as the Archive-enabled conversation that passed between them. One thing about that portion of the situation struck Tala as funny: Tala stood atop the snow, and Rane stood in it, making them nearly the same height, but Tala didn’t let that distract her.

She didn’t even let the fact that this boy shared a name with Master Simon draw her thoughts away.

She and Rane agreed to take it slow and try diplomacy first before moving forward, toward the boy who was cradling Terry. Rane spoke for them this time, “Hello, Simon, I’m Rane. This is my wife, Tala. Is our friend there, Terry, free to leave if he wants?”

It was an odd first question to ask a random child found in the wild, but Tala didn’t begrudge Rane the wording. After all, it lined up with the trepidation they both felt.

Even without any visible magical aura or anything odd about him, the boy was… different somehow.

This child was alone in the wilds, at least fifty miles from any settlement, outpost, caravan route, or research station that they knew about. And yet he showed no fear, nor relief at being found by adults. Instead, he was seemingly making a barrel’s worth of ice cream… for himself?

He was too small to have carried the barrel by mundane means, and he was clearly pulling the candies from something like a bound dimensional space.

Moreover, both Tala and Rane had detected the minute flickers of dimensional magic when Terry had tried to move away—with the weight of both Tala and Rane’s magics behind him—and he’d failed to even budge.

Simon tilted his head to the side, his close-shorn white hair swaying in the breeze. “Oh, please no. I have use of him still…”

Tala could see every layer of the boy’s body due to her threefold sight, and he looked utterly human except for one thing.

-There’s no food in his digestive tract.-

Yeah, his stomach, intestines, and colon are completely empty and immaculately clean, except for the chewed remnants of a few dozen pieces of candy.

-Kidneys and bladder too.-

It’s like someone constructed a human body according to a detailed set of schematics without bothering to use it properly.

It was… odd. Did this boy-formed creature just eat sweets?

His heart beat in a perfect rhythm, without variation or stutter. The lungs filled with air and the other processes seemed to be working without a hitch.

Rane glanced Tala’s way, sending a message through Enar.

|Do we still want to handle this diplomatically? I don’t really like leaving Terry where he doesn’t want to be.|

Let me try to talk with him. Alat, can you find a way of asking Lisa if he knows anything that would help? She’d had the thought as the fox-kin was a ready source of knowledge and older than she really knew.

-Will do.-

Tala took a step forward. “Simon, we are on a trip. We can spend some time with you, but only if we can then go on our way. All of us.”

The little boy frowned. “Wait…” He seemed genuinely confused. “Are you… afraid of me?” He swallowed visibly. “Why? What did I do wrong? Are you usually afraid of children?”

Tala hesitated. “No, but children don’t usually manage to restrain Refined level, bound companions with such ease.”

Simon looked genuinely perplexed. “He’s trying to escape?”

“Yes.”

The little boy looked down at Terry, shoulders hunching. “And he’s really Refined?”

It was Tala’s turn to frown. “Yes.”

“Oh… well… can we just ignore that then, please?” He looked up and met her gaze, something passing between them in a blink.

Tala blinked a few times. What were we… Right. She smiled toward the boy. “So, what can we do for you?”

-Oh, RUST no.- Alat’s voice cracked like a whip within her head, and Tala blinked again, immediately realizing that Simon had nudged her mind.

Alat instantly confirmed that it was non-invasive—not really mind magic—but more of a strong suggestion. She would have remembered everything after they left. If we would have been able to leave. “Simon, that wasn’t very nice.”

It was his turn to look taken aback. “Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just…” He looked down and away again. “I just really do simply want you to sample my ice cream and candies.” He grimaced. “This has all gone wrong. It is so hard to find customers at this stage in your strange city cycle. I was lonely, and then this wonderful creature came by and…”

Tala was about to respond when Alat interjected. -Well, I’ll be. Lisa says that Simon is a known entity. Though, truthfully, not much is known about him. He likes making treats, and he will occasionally give advice or insight, if he likes you. Everyone who has received such and spoken about it conveyed that it was good or true. No one has ever been harmed by his creations to Lisa’s knowledge.-

Well… alright then. Convey that to Rane and Terry, too?

-Already done.-

Rane stepped forward with a smile. “I’d love to try some.”

Simon gave him a flat look, mild sadness poking through his clearly demure nature. “Your trust would mean more if you hadn’t just been reassured of my good will.”

Rane raised an eyebrow. “You mean if we only ‘trusted’ you because you had a hostage?”

Simon seemed genuinely confused. “But… I don’t have a hostage. He’s testing my sweets…”

Rane almost objected, but seemed to realize it wouldn’t go over well. “I really would love to try some.”

Simon took a deep breath and let it out slowly before giving a brave smile. “Alright, I will not turn away a sampler.”

He pulled a bowl out of mid-air and somehow scooped out ice cream into the bowl.

He didn’t get up, the barrel didn’t move or shrink—so, the rim was well above his head—yet he seemed to simply lower the bowl into the barrel and lift it back out filled with perfectly scooped balls of ice cream.

Rane took the offered treat, finding that the spoon was already in the bowl, ready for use.

He took a tentative bite. Then his eyes widened in obviously delighted surprise. “This is amazing. It’s like it was made specifically for enhanced senses.”

Simon beamed. “Well, yes? Does that mean that you like it?”

“Absolutely. How is it different?”

He gave a little grimace. “Mundane tastes are too easy to overwhelm and trick. Just add more sugar, or fat, or a pinch of salt, and that’s it. This? This takes art, my art.”

Rane gave an affirming grunt, not pressing further as he took another bite. He then turned to Tala and offered her the bowl.

She was about to accept when Simon shook his head. “No, no. Please don’t do that… Let me get you your own. Please?”

Tala hesitated. He seemed genuine in his request. With a small smile, she sat and nodded. “Alright.”

Rane sat beside her, making a triangle with Simon.

Soon enough, Tala had her own bowl, and it was every bit as amazing as Rane had made it seem, even though she couldn’t have actually described the flavor with the words she had available to her.

It was unlike anything she’d ever tasted before in the best of senses.

The three chatted about small things, with Simon speaking the least, instead enjoying his own bowl of ice cream.

Terry was finally freed after what seemed like more than a hundred candies of various kinds.

He tentatively trilled, seemingly giving the answer as to which he’d liked the best.

Simon replied in a soft voice. “Thank you, Terry. Are you sure you don’t wish to try more?” He gave a little smile as he continued. “I know you have the room.”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Terry declined before flickering away.

When the three had finished their ice cream, and Tala and Rane had complimented Simon on its creation quite thoroughly, all three stood.

The barrel was gone, though Tala couldn’t have said when it disappeared nor where to.

Simon gave a small bow. “Thank you for taking the time to stop by. I would love to see you again, if you’re ever in the area again.”

Tala smiled. “We’ll see what we can do.”

Rane nodded. “I would love to try some more of your creations sometime. If you’d like, I can find something to trade?”

“I hope that you can try them. I do not require anything in trade. Take care.”

With that, the boy turned and began walking away, up the mountain.

Tala and Rane shared a look before shrugging and turning to go on their way once more.

She had just crouched down to spring away when Simon’s voice reached her ear. “Existence is a heavy weight to bear. Even if you could pass it on, I would think that you should hesitate to do so. Be mindful of how you are affecting the world around you—and how you will in the future—Tala, gated-human of the House of Blood.”

Tala spun around—unnecessarily as her threefold sight was also frantically sweeping the area. Neither her mundane eyes nor her magical perceptions revealed any sign of Simon, nor even any remnants of his ever having been there.

Even the snow where they’d sat only bore the imprint of herself and Rane.

Rane, who had been right beside her, fell into a guarding position even as she jerked around. “Tala? What’s going on?”

“He… he said something.” Her heart was pounding, even if she didn’t think it was a fully warranted response.

“Oh? Really? I didn’t hear it.” Rane’s question wasn’t one of doubt, and Tala understood it. He was informing her, so that she could better assess the situation as a whole.

“Yeah, I got the feeling that it was just for me, at least for the moment.” She grimaced, then shook her head. “Let me process it, then tell you later?”

He hesitated a moment, then gave a soft smile. “If that’s what you think is best, sure.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded once. “Unless there’s anything else, then. Let’s be off.”

“Let’s.” She gave a genuine smile before crouching and launching into the air once more.

It wasn’t until the third step down on the air to gain height and speed that she allowed her mind to wander once again.

What Simon had said was actually in a similar vein to what Mistress Holly had expressed in her evaluation, even if not precisely.

‘Be mindful of how I affect the world.’

-And contemplate how who you are interfaces with the world around you, yeah.- Alat chuckled. -Who knew that such an expensive evaluation could be rendered unnecessary by a random encounter in the wilds?-

Tala grimaced slightly. You don’t believe that any more than I do.

-No, no I don’t. They are different ways at coming at the same idea, and it took this second one for you to actually consider the advice.-

Her grimace deepened. Yeah, well… I’ve been busy.

-For months, yup. Too busy to spare a thought for advancement.- Alat sent the impression of a critical gaze. -Who are you, again? I thought I was talking with Tala?-

That made Tala smile. Fine, fine. I’ve been… avoiding the subject.

Why had she? Had she felt, even right after the wedding, how something wasn’t quite right with her own soul, and how it related to others?

But she really didn’t want to touch the core of that topic at the moment, so she distracted herself yet again.

Alat sighed.

Simon had reminded her of someone else who she’d encountered, the baker in Platoiri. He hadn’t been an arcane, at least he hadn’t felt like an arcane in a very similar way that Simon hadn’t felt human.

Yamanther, baker, owner, and bouncer of the ‘Many-fold Bakery.’

He might have been an arcane with an odd concept, but the comparison still stood.

Both had liked treats, too, but Yamanther had been decidedly… firmer, more set in who he was, and less… shy?

It was odd. Simon had definitely come across as shy, while still pushing forward toward what he wanted.

Maybe it was more uncertainty than shyness?

-The two are essentially the same thing. Shyness is just uncertainty in social situations, right?-

Huh, yeah. I suppose that’s true. In the end, she had to admit that she didn’t really know, and she likely wouldn’t any time soon.

She was a bit curious if she was the only person to have met them both, but it was probably irrelevant.

Though, if Lisa’s people are scattered around here and there, isn’t it possible that other species have done something similar? Fitting in where they could.

-It’s likely, yeah, even if ‘fitting in’ might not be the exact right word for it.-

Yeah… they also both seemed rather locationally fixed.

-Oh? Oh, yeah, I didn’t consider that. If he was so interested in tasters, why not move closer to human cities? Or any other cities, really.-

But he didn’t. So, something must keep him here in one way or another. And Yamanther seemed very attached to his shop.

-...just because he didn’t like you attacking his customers and driving away potentials…-

Fine, fine, but even so. His bakery had been there for centuries, and he’s never moved.

-Fair enough.- Alat let out a little giggle. -What if they are some manifestation of sapient appetite? Simon’s younger because the sapients in this region haven’t been around as long, and he keeps being left behind because the cities keep moving.-

That’s a funny idea? I’m not sure there’s really any basis for it, though.

-Fair, fair. But… are we going to actually think about the issue?-

Tala mis-timed her next step on the air, only adding more power to her surface-area expanding scripts after she was already stepping down.

As a consequence, she didn’t get as much height or speed as she’d expected. It took her a moment to correct, but Alat was still patiently waiting when she had regathered herself.

I… fine.

-Our children’s souls will be tied to Existence as gated-human souls are to magic…-

Well, it can’t be quite like that, right? They would inherit our connection to Existence. We’re still pulling Magic from the next world, not something else.

-Well, yes and no. We are pulling Magic from the next world, iron—Reality—from Zeme as we find it, and we not only keep those powers, those conflicting things, separate, we can draw on the Void to introduce separation where none existed before.-

Tala grunted. True, it would be a bit silly to expect all three aspects to behave or manifest the same… Even if we are using them in their hybrid forms. Reality-Magic for the iron from the dasgannach and Void-Magic from the sword, merged with Flow as well as incorporated into our elk-leathers.

-But we’re dodging the issue again. Our children.-

If we have them.

-When we have them. I still haven’t lost hope, and I know you haven’t either. When we have them, they will have similarly innate giftings, without the need for soulbonds. Simon is right, we do need to consider how that will affect the world around us.-

Tala sighed, reveling in the feel of the wind on her bare skin. She rarely wore her armor when not expecting combat. When did that change?

Alat sighed within their head. -Anything but the topic at hand, eh? Well, I’ll answer that. It happened slowly as you came to trust your Defender Unit and Rane more and more, and really came about fully once you and Rane started courting. You liked being able to touch him with your skin, rather than your armor.-

That tracked with her memory, especially with Alat pulling out the requisite occurrences and highlighting them for her review. Right…

-If you don’t want to discuss biological children, let’s talk about the Irondale gateless that you have helped to rebirth.-

They are doing well.

-Yes, and they are incredibly loyal to you. Have you considered the fact that you have effectively created a small army of physically enhanced people, ready to fight for you at a moment’s notice?-

They aren’t soldiers.

-Not yet. They are training.-

They can’t really leave Kit and maintain their power.

-Fifty so-enhanced fighters can turn even a large-scale conflict in thirty seconds with ease, and they’ll keep their power for at least that long. Given time it will be even longer.-

So, what? What’s your point?

-No point, I just want you to consider the fact that you’re walking around with a Refined level strike-squad in your pocket. They will only grow in competence, endurance, and number as time goes on. In a decade? A century? You might have thousands.-

Tala felt something click in her mind, and a smile tugged at her lips. Imagine what they could do to an arcane city.

-There it is. That is why people are going to start getting nervous about you carrying them around with you.-

As soon as anyone really understands.

-Exactly. Right now, people don’t really have a baseline of what they can do. They are a curiosity, a new path for the gateless. The moment they actually come into play in a public way?-

We’re going to need to cash in a lot of those favors earned through Mistress Ingrit.

-Yeah…-

She was the caretaker and—effectively—responsible for those treading the new gateless path, and just as Mistress Holly had said, she had never once considered what effect they and she would have on the world at large.

She had helped create them and then essentially ignored them.

That’s worse than what my parents did to me. The thought hit her like a run-away wagon, and she rejected it immediately. She may not be their parent, but she was responsible for them to some extent. She needed to actually own that.

She grimaced at the need, even as she promised herself to do better, but behind even that, there was something more as well.

If she could actually make this path work for them, what would it mean to the gateless humans in the moving cities? In the arcane lands?

She didn’t have the throughput to support them all—not then and likely not ever—but she could support a lot of them.

And as someone with ties to all parts of Existence, how hard could it really be to find another way of drawing forth Magic?

She felt a shiver pass through her very being, seemingly originating in her soul.

What would she do to the world if she continued down this path?

It bore considering; so she did.