Darkness pressed between the thick trees, the only light coming from the distant crackling fire and the fat, obfuscated moon above. The camp we made was part of a greater collection of tents, looking not unlike the rented options that decorated the fields alongside Triangle Road. Despite this, there wasn’t so much as a stir among the sea of canvas save for myself and Tanis. She was in her smallclothes, for reasons I couldn’t quite put together, but admittedly I wasn’t trying my best to do so. It was too dark for the more tantalizing details, but still her shapes commanded my attention, stirring feelings in my chest and lower places. She turned to me and smiled, that lopsided, coy, self-confident smirk that she’d worn so often in the more playful moments of our time together, be it fireside conversations or surprise dates in the snow.
“See something you like?” Her voice was honeyed and throaty, drawing on those animalistic urges harder than she ever had before.
In the blink of an instant she was in my arms, my hands smoothing over her naked skin, our lips pressed together in sloppy embrace. Goosebumps erupted across my own body, my breath catching in my throat as we finally gave in to the desires we’d been holding back for so long. The electric feeling faded suddenly and sharply, however, replaced by guilt. This was all moving so fast. We both said we weren’t ready for something more complicated than cuddle buddies. What had changed? Besides that, I was in a relationship. I had no right to put my hands on another woman, to have been carrying on with her as we had been, bundled so close at night, sharing warmth and comfort. Why did I let it get so far, carry on for so long? How was I supposed to confess my infidelity… what would happen in the aftermath? Panic threatened to make me hyperventilate, and my mind switched tracks to calming myself in response. Catching my breath, I pulled away and held up interposing hands to keep Tanis at a distance before we got closer, before it got worse. But… no, wait… I hadn’t been with anyone in over a year. I had no significant other to answer to, and the last woman I was with clearly didn’t value the exclusivity of our relationship as much as I was considering it now. My thoughts felt too far away to properly grasp, like the very act of considering something had to be performed across a great distance. Why was I so confused? Attempting to shut out sensation and bring myself some clarity I began to pull my hands to my face, but Tanis took both of them in her own.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t know. My head feels so foggy…”
“Figures,” she scoffed. “I should’ve never expected a soft-hearted, anxious little wreck like you to be able to really commit when it counts.”
“Wait… what?” Even if I wasn’t already dazed and stretching to catch a train of thought that was just beyond my fingertips, her venomous words would’ve knocked every other notion from my head. I didn’t even have the peace of mind to be insulted, instead trying to recover the situation. Her happiness was more important than my hurt, obviously. “Look, I’ll be fine, just give me a moment to—”
“Forget it. It’s been fun taking your money, but I need to get back to the circus. I’ll just grab the grimoire and be on my way.” She slipped away from me and ducked into our tent. I followed as quickly as I could, but she had enough time to put her clothes back on by the time I got there.
“You really screwed up, huh kid?” Redd looked more amused than sympathetic, almost snide, sitting atop a trunk I didn’t remember being part of our pack.
“I don’t know what I did, but I can make it better! Just give me a chance!”
“You wasted your chances,” Tanis snapped.
“Yeah, it’s been a pain in the ass dealing with you. It’s a shame I need a wizard to join the League an’ run an esper team, otherwise I wouldn’t have to be draggin’ your dead weight around.”
“Red…” My voice caught in my throat, but I cleared it with a cough and forced myself to speak. Something wasn’t quite right about him, bundled up in a green coat with white fur… Red had black fur, didn’t he? Was it black now? A trick of the light? His coloration seemed to shift and change before my eyes. Was I so upset as to be hallucinating? When did we get the pack? Where did he get that coat? Why couldn’t I remember? “I thought you were my friend.”
“Well, yeah, I would need you to think that. Otherwise you woulda broomed me before I could broom you. But, I was talkin’ to Wysteria an’ Grajo. We figure we can fake it so long as Tanis plays the part for us. Who knows, maybe she’ll even be able to learn magic from that book ‘o yours.”
“I- … I don’t understand… ! Please don’t do this, you guys are all I have… !” Anguish overtook my senses and I pushed through the tent flap, my heart pounding in my chest. I needed to get away, to run from the pain as the spectacle of everything I built, everything that brought me so much joy since I arrived in Barbavia fell apart around me. Emotion carried my feet through the camp, past the light of the campfire, through the forest, and before long even the moon disappeared. I was running blind, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t run far enough. I could never run far enough to escape the searing shame and self-loathing that seized my mind.
Gasping a lungful of air, I sat up suddenly, breaking the spell of my own torturous dreams. As the haze of the phantom forest faded, I gathered enough wherewithal to wince in anticipation of my aggravating my stomach wounds by moving so quickly and heedlessly, but no pain came. Feeling my abdomen, I found a sort of patch stuck to it with something like damp potpourri inside. A matching one was pasted to my back, and there were no injuries in-between. My clothes were gone, save for my underpants, which felt stiff and uncomfortable with the dried remnants of swamp water that had, at some point, managed to seep into them. As I gathered my bearings and slowed the beat of my anxious heart, I found the clarity to take in my surroundings. I was in what appeared to be a small hut of some kind, on a pallet of dry reeds and blankets across from a lit fireplace which was warming a kettle of savory-smelling liquid. There were dried herbs and ingredients hanging from the ceiling, as well as feathers, bones, and several other strung trinkets. Much like my dream it was mostly dark, with only the light of the flames and the moon through the paneless windows to see by. Perhaps that’s why it took me so long to notice the black-furred being sitting across from me, near the door. Jumping and having to catch my breath again, it was easier to calm once it regarded me with a small nod and a slow blink. This wasn’t some random predator here to devour me, but an intelligent creature. Perhaps even my savior.
“How are you feeling?” Her words were clipped and rounded, her voice husky and rumbling, befitting her form. She looked like something between a panther and a wolf, her muzzle favoring the former with more articulated lips. She was around the size of a large dog with a short, leonine mane decorated with similar feathers and jewelry to those on her walls.
“I’m uhm… I’m good, I think.” My back was a little sore from laying on a pallet of soft grass as opposed to a plush bedroll, but otherwise I felt as good as I did the last time I woke up. Perhaps even better. “You’re to thank for that, I presume?”
“I am,” she dipped her head. “I am called Yveline. I heard someone screaming and carrying on out in de swamp. Imagine my surprise when it was two espers and an unconscious human.”
“So it worked…” I breathed. Parting the Veil had more flexibility than I expected, which was good to know, but that guilty feeling of manipulating someone’s emotions pulled at the edges of celebrating my successful survival. “Where are they? The espers, I mean. Are they OK?”
“Aye. Piti is amongst your tings, sleeping now, I tink. De big one is down by de shore.” She nodded her understanding of the situation, golden eyes twinkling in the firelight. “He has been behaved, but I have done my part to keep dem separated just de same.”
“Piti? Is that his name?”
“I don’t tink he has a name,” she shook her head, braids and jewelry jingling with the motion. “He is too young. Too small. ‘Piti’ is our word meaning ‘small’.”
“I see.” I wanted to respond with something more, but my mind was still a bit of a minefield coming out of the dream, and I couldn’t quite locate the social graces to inquire about Yveline’s language and culture, despite my interest. Best to stick to hard, pertinent facts for now. “How long was I out?”
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“I found you in de evening yesterday. It is night, now, as you can see,” she gestured to the window idly with one paw. “I am not sure how long you spent out dere before I did.”
“Ah, hell…” If I’d been gone for over a day, everyone I’d left back at camp would have to be worried sick. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen a baltic and a bunch of espers around? They’re my friends. They’d be looking for me.”
“I seen noting. Been watching over you. But I did notice a few unusual scents some time ago. It could be dem. I can take a look, if you like.”
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble? You’ve already done a lot for me, it seems.”
“It is fine. I don’t exactly keep to a strict schedule out here,” she smiled. “You are hungry, I presume?”
“Uh… yeah, I could eat.” The mere mention of food set my stomach to rumbling, as though I hadn’t been in a room filled with the aroma of simmering stew for the last few minutes.
“Dere’s joumou in de pot, if you like. Goat, pork, and pumpkin soup,” she explained. “I’ll be back once I find someting.”
She padded swiftly and almost silently out of the hut, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Immediately I wished I’d thought to ask after my clothes, but I found them with little effort, drying near the fire. On a short table near there was the rest of my gear, minus the throwing knife I buried in the big bat-dragon’s shoulder. The tinier one was curled up among the extra clothes my pack and sleeping. I was pleased to find it was as waterproof as advertised, everything within untouched by the damp and filth. It was too peaceful to disturb, so I left the little critter be while I dressed and helped myself to some of the thin, fragrant broth stewing in the kettle. I was out of it enough that I didn’t have the time to take in the nuance of each flavor; it was just good. I typically struggle with the taste and texture of some vegetables and herbs, but for at least this meal I didn’t even notice. Perhaps there was something arcane about their inclusion more than the typical reasons you’d put stuff in soup, not unlike the poultices Yveline had stuck to me. Each culture had its own kind of magic, as Master Anatol had told me what felt like ages ago. Whatever people stayed isolated in the wetlands so far from civilization might work things slower, with more raw, natural ingredients, especially if its typical practitioners lacked the opposable thumbs for somatic components. Or maybe it was just good soup and I needed something simple and ponderous to occupy my mind as I ate and wondering about the herbs and veg was less stressful than anything else. Before long, a familiar face popped through the door, and the real Red who was overcome with relief and joy to see his friend nearly flew into my arms.
“Promité’s garters, chief, I thought you was dead!” He wrapped his arms so tightly around my neck I thought I would choke. “I kept tellin’ myself if you were really in trouble Grajo an’ Wysteria woulda felt it or somethin’, but when you didn’t come back that night or the next mornin’…”
“I’m so sorry, Red.” I stroked his back with one hand, supporting his body with the other. Tanis was the next one to enter the embrace, wrapping her arms around the both of us.
“Don’t scare us like that again, you dork.”
“I’ll try not to.” My voice cracked, the real love I felt from my friends annihilating their horrible dreamland counterparts.
I moved my hand from Red’s back to Tanis’, and somehow Wysteria wriggled into the middle of it all. We sat there together in one another’s embrace for what was probably way too long for a hug, but none of us could quite commit to letting go. I was worried I’d never see them again, that I’d never see anyone again, but even that fear and panic was only a few hours’ worth. They’d been missing me for over a day, scouring the mire for signs of life, or worse yet, my shattered corpse. Eventually Red pushed back, along with Tanis. She leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the forehead, then stepped away. Wysteria remained on my lap, snuggling in more efficiently without anyone else in the way. I ran my palm and fingertips along the bumpy surface of her skin with a diligence as though I’d just touched it for the first time and was enamored with the texture. Grajo caught my eye through the window from his post outside and gave me an approving nod. I responded in kind.
“Well,” Red began, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes, “now that we got that outta the way… what the hell happened to you?”
“It’s… complicated. Arcane Sight made it a lot easier to… uh… browse for espers, but I came across this huge bat-dragon who was trying to eat the last baby in a nest, and I couldn’t just let him.”
“Balayang,” Red supplied. “You’d have to go out of your way to find ‘em here, but they ain’t exactly uncommon.”
“Good to know. I haven’t had the wherewithal to look through the Grimoire about them yet, so…” I trailed off instead of making excuses for my lack of dedicated studying after a near-death experience, a thing which was reasonable not to do and that nobody expected of me. “Anyhow, I brought the baby through with Parting the Veil, but somehow the big one followed me. He chased us for… forever, I guess. Or ten minutes? An hour? I dunno. I thought I’d lost him, but then he got me in the back and in desperation I linked him, too.”
“De big one is how I found him,” Yveline explained from her position in the doorway. “He was in a panic, frightened, trying to find a savior for Glenn. Luckily, he found someone wit’ a little talent for magic, and I was able to recover his wounds.”
“So… we have two more espers?” Tanis inquired.
“I don’t think I’m comfortable with that,” I insisted, shaking my head. “In fact, if you guys wouldn’t mind providing backup, I should probably see about sending him back to the Esperwild.”
“I wasn’t aware you learned that particular spell,” Red cocked an eyebrow as I set Wysteria aside and stood up.
“I didn’t know he’d be able to drag himself through after me, but here we are. I figure if it worked one way, it could work the other.”
“I can lend some assistance,” Yveline offered. “Our magic takes longer to work dan de bipeds, but energy is energy all de same.”
“Thank you, Yveline.”
We exchanged a nod and I headed out of her hut, somewhat surprised to find we were raised up from the marsh on stilts. It made sense, but nothing about the building felt unstable or unsupported. The ground below it was moist, but substantial enough that we didn’t sink with every step. I conjured a palm of flame to light the way, marveling at how different the flora here were from what I’d seen during the trip up to this point. Curling fronds, bluish grass, and twisting mangrove trees replaced the wetlands with something I would recognize better as a proper swamp. The big balayang was squatting in the grass, staring forlornly out over the water. It was humanizing, although that probably wasn’t the right word. It inspired sympathy in me for him, and everything he must’ve been going through during my hours of unconsciousness.
“We have some unfinished business,” I said in Esperlang, careful to keep my tone even and comforting so my words wouldn’t be mistaken for a threat.
“Do we?” He inquired, still looking ahead.
“We do,” I confirmed, not wanting to get closer to him than was necessary. “We weren’t exactly in the right position to negotiate the terms of working together.”
“Yet I am yours all the same now, am I not?” He turned just enough to glare at me with one large, brilliant green eye.
“No,” I shook my head. “I don’t know how other spellcasters do it, but I’m not into coercing espers to fight for me. Ordinarily we’d talk it over, and I’d give you a choice.”
“Is that what we’re doing now?” He quirked an eyebrow.
“No,” I scoffed. “I’m all for redemption arcs, but you tried to eat a baby, then tried to kill me. That doesn’t make me very inclined to work with you.”
“The whelp is mine,” he growled. “It is my right to consume any offspring that pose a threat to my territory.” A grimace cracked my face, but I shook it off. Different creatures, different culture. I didn’t agree with it at all, but it wasn’t my place to judge him, nor did have any desire to do so.
“Sure, OK, whatever. The next clutch of babies you have, I probably won’t be there. Eat ‘em up. This time you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now we both have to deal with that.”
“You’ll kill me, but keep the child?”
“I’m not gonna kill you. I’m just gonna send you back to the Esperwild, so long as you’re willing to go.”
“And if I’m not… ?” His pupil narrowed as he turned to look at me again. No doubt he could see Red, Tanis, Wysteria, Grajo, and Yveline in the distance, but that intimidating stare was all for me.
“I’m not here to play games with you, dude. If you wanna go home, I’ll send you home. If you don’t, well… jeeze, man. I’ll do what I have to.”
“Like you did yesterday,” he sneered.
“I don’t like it, but… yeah. We all gotta survive at the end of the day, right? Look, this works out for you. The child will stay out of your territory with me, and I’ll give him the chance he wouldn’t have gotten in your stomach. We both get what we want.”
“What I want is to devour you whole, but your magic is preventing me from raising a cloaw to do so,” he seethed. “But… if you would release me from this bond of inhibition and allow me to return to my home, I would consider us even for the favor of saving your life.”
“I’ll ignore you leaving out the part where you were the one threatening my life in the first place. I’m not looking for more conflict.”
“Mhm.” He finally returned his gaze to the water, giving me his back. “This land is unsettling… so similar to my own, yet so different. I mislike the change.”
“Well, cooperate with me for a minute and everything’ll be back to normal, and you can forget all about this.”
Eager to have done with the entire affair, I accepted his response as agreement and cast Arcane Sight, searching for a weak point between worlds. Fortunately, it didn’t take long. Out here in the wild they seemed to occur more frequently, even so close to Yveline’s small slice of pseudo-civilization. With the looming peril of violence diminished from the last time I cast Parting the Veil in Marekaj I could feel how much more easily and fluidly the spell leapt forth. Instead of a specific esper, I focused on making a hole, and when the familiar colorful runes began to appear, I stretched and widened it until it was large enough for the massive balayang to negotiate. Somehow, I could feel him looming behind me as he approached, perhaps through my own mundane senses, or maybe through the power of link itself. Only once he was at the edge of the gate and my companions were firmly by my side did I remove the metaphysical link between us. The balayang regarded me one final time before stepping through, and he disappeared as I snapped the portal shut behind him.