Daniel’s mind raced as he lay in his bed, drawing insane and twisted and wrong conclusions about almost everything, taking negative perspectives to extremes even when they defied logic and general principles. He knew he was doing it, but he couldn’t help himself, much like how an addict looks at a needle, knowing that there was nothing but life-ruining insanity at the edge of the tip but unable to shake off the desperate urge to sink it into their flesh anyway. Two days passed like that until he got a strange visit—Edico. He knew it was him just by how the man walked—the way that he took bold, decisive strides somehow covered as much space as a normal step.

Edico silently sat beside him. “Rebe’s doin’ well,” he said after a time. “Regretting not having children—as always. But at least she doesn’t think I’m abusing Sara anymore. Well, I call it abuse—she calls it cheating. Either way, she’s cookin’ for two again.”

The things people say when they’re not listening, Daniel thought.

Edico leaned back. “I wish I had more to say. Things that proved your sacrifice was worth it, but…. I don’t. The Siege is through, so I’m not really needed. My kids… you guys… are all grown up. Now it’s time to read books and see death different… ly. But it all just seems… a waste.”

Daniel’s emotions plummeted when he heard Edico’s words, and his stomach sank like an anchored corpse, dragged into the depths of the ocean.

“I hope you wake up, kid,” Edico said. “I think we all do. We’ll all be waiting when you open your eyes…. Waiting to welcome you home. See ya, kid.”

Daniel wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t look Edico in the eye. So he just listened as Edico left, left alone—yet again—with his thoughts. Just hearing someone other than his guards and grumbling caretakers made him yearn for basic interaction—even if he didn’t plan to speak. He’d open his eyes to the next person he saw.

2

Sara sat with her back against a wagon’s wall, basking in the warm glow of light seeping through the tanned animal hides stretched over the frame. Ever since they had warded off the bandits in the forest, the group was sitting in luxury in a merchant’s wagon. Sara celebrated daily by pulling out her notebook.

“What’d he write to make you smile like that?” Raul asked, putting his hand to his chest and saying, “You’re like tulips swaying in the wind. My heart bleeds when I’m not around—” Sara shot him a lethal glance, and he put up his hands. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’m just curious.”

“I am, too,” Emma said. Her eyes were glittering, so Sara sighed and responded:

“Today, he grieved that he paid for musicians at the tavern. Or… rather, that other people paid them to show up. They just showed up, and the guy that brought ‘em wanted a reward. So Kye told ‘em to go fuck his mother and give birth to a squema… in his mind… and allowed it. The whole time, he was wishin’ that some would stop the music and ‘ventures would jump in, smashing skulls but keepin’ down daggers to prevent investigations. Investigations mean closin’, and closing means the ‘ventures would have to go to places like Kyritus’s current tavern to drink and… fuck that. You know?”

Raul’s eyebrows raised higher and higher as she spoke, brow furrowing at the top, head cocking at maximum furrow, lips parting at the end. “And that makes you glow?” he asked.

Emma giggled uncontrollably, grabbing her face and unconsciously leaning against Raul, an increasingly common sight, and then dropping into his lap when she couldn’t breathe.

Sara didn’t find any of it amusing. “What do normal couples do? Talk in poetry?”

“Not at all,” Raul snorted. “They frown and ignore each other.”

Emma snorted on his lap.

“Like that?” Sara asked, pointing at Emma.

Emma suddenly froze and turned red as a tomato, shooting up from his lap. Raul looked between them, unsure what to say—refusing to deny it. Sara didn’t revel in the embarrassment, so she just continued:

“It just feels like a present, you know?” Sara posed. “Opening up your spatial ring and finding two packages, each wrapped with love. Here….” She opened her ring and fished around, pulling out a letter. She opened the envelope carefully and read:

“Delina! I just learned what a “yemma” sounds like today. Do you wanna know what it sounds like? Brother’s sadness. You should see how grumpy he is that the richies don’t like him singing! Pure sadness. So make sure to cheer him up. His reska’s coming out burnt, and people are complaining to me! You know what you can do? Come here sooner! I swear he’ll turn into a glider and start doing loops. Then I can show you my room and toys and….” Sara paused and didn’t continue, signaling that she wouldn’t give away the location. “Love you, love you, love you, muah, muah, MUAH! T.” Sara smiled and then looked at Raul and Emma, who both looked like deer in the headlights. “See?”

“So cute!” Emma squealed, forgetting her embarrassment.

Raul nodded. “Now I want to know what Kyritus ends with.”

“Absolutely not,” Sara said.

“Oh, come on,” Emma said. “Please?”

“No.”

Things went on like that for the rest of the day. Everyone went to sleep smiling.

3

A lady came into Daniel’s room that night. He was unsure whether to open his eyes—or how he could do it without giving away his mental condition. But she took one look at his sheets and said, “Who’s been ruffling….” He could tell she was staring at him, even through his eyelids. “Wait….”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I can’t hide it….

“Are you awake?” she asked. “Daniel?”

Vegetable. Play vegetable. Unthreatening, disposable vegetable. Vegetables… have signals, right? Fuck.

Daniel opened his eyes blankly and turned to the woman. Her hair put him at ease, but he forced himself not to focus on her. He just stared at her broadly, letting her image blur as he refused to focus on anything.

“Ah…. I thought you woke…” the woman he’d later come to know as Renti said disappointedly—as if she were speaking to someone. She walked to the door and activated an array on it. Suddenly, Daniel felt the pulse of mana and recognized what she had activated—a privacy array. That made his heart beat like a war drum, thudding in his ears. When people silenced rooms, bad things and conspiracies happened. Part of him wanted to cast a spell to kill her, but when she rushed back to him, she sounded relieved, which confused him. “I-I… can’t believe it,” she said. “You’re awake…. Daniel, can you hear me?”

Daniel used all his willpower to keep up the act despite his fear and confusion about the circle. His eyes glided to her, but he didn’t look at her.

“Daniel….” Renti swallowed hard. “Can you understand me?”

Daniel didn’t move. He just blinked and continued to stare beyond her.

She fell silent and sat down, rubbing her face. “Of course…. I knew this would happen, but…. Emanasa. What’s your will? Why…?”

Daniel felt a pang of guilt for not speaking. He might later—but for now, he just wanted interaction. He wanted to test the waters—learn the landscape. Sara might forgive him—she wasn’t a bad person. His mind settled on that. But he doubted she’d let him roam about or let him live unless he became a… musician or something. Worse, Daniel had puppets he blackmailed, and each would want to kill him to escape his control. It was lucky that Sara had guards protecting him as is—if he left he was in danger. He was in a precarious situation on all fronts—he had to play things coolly.

“What should I say?” Renti asked herself. “Should I tell them? Or… wait? He could still come too… no sense in causing panic….” She turned to him. “Your hearing’s alright, right?”

Daniel looked toward her but then looked back, feeling his heart thrum. Waiting would be the best of all worlds.

“I’ll wait.” Renti said after a pause. “In the meantime, let’s start buildin’ those muscles.” Daniel felt remarkably humiliated when she took off his covers, grabbed his leg and thigh, so thin and gaunt that she grabbed too far, pressing his sensitive inner thigh before bending his leg. Daniel lost all fear of reacting to her touch when he felt his leg crack, and he had to summon all of his willpower not to scream. He grunted, but all she said was, “I’m sorry. I know this sucks, but when you come too, you’ll wanna walk….”

Daniel never found out why she silenced the room, but he got the feeling that Renti recognized him as a “vegetable” and didn’t want the guards to spread rumors or sow panic. Whatever the reason, it worked for him.

4

The day after Daniel opened his eyes, Sara, Raul, and Emma passed over rocky bluffs that broke a monta’s hoove. The merchant tried to kill the animal and sell the meat (hoping to regain some of his losses), but Emma rushed forward and said she knew healing magic. That started a fresh round of astonishment from the merchants. “Keep doin’ this, and people’ll start askin’ questions,” Sara whispered. “Merchants spread news fast. Then Quell’s gonna say, red hair? Healing? Can’t be. It’s her….”

Emma swallowed. “Yeah… But….”

Sara whispered something to Raul and he nodded, walking up to the merchants to negotiate their silence. They nodded and made promises that they would keep their lips sealed. Then, Sara whispered something to the merchants—and they suddenly meant their promises.

On the next day, farriers shooed the montas with shock absorption shoes made of a rubber-like substance. Raul refused to watch the team use knives and tools to shave away the hooves, as he knew yet refused to believe the montas couldn’t feel it.

The following day Emma got drunk with the merchants and sat in Raul’s lap as a “joke.” He didn’t get it but put his hands around her waist like a seatbelt in response, a “requirement” to keep her safe… or something.

The caravan reached Keleno—a town made of wood and thatch and stone. It was a remarkable city, built on a mountainous bluff far from trees or building materials. It was a bleak location that once survived solely on hunting big game that spotted the landscape like bighorn sheep. Now, it was prosperous, as it was the junction between two major trading cities. The tavern they went to had a boisterous environment. Single women courted men by lifting floor-level dresses in a curtsy; sex workers did the same but lifted their dresses to their thighs. All ate well-spiced soup and foods exchanged between the two trading cities as a man strummed an instrument in the corner. It felt normal until one person threw a mug, and two pulled swords. They exchanged swords, and one fell. Sara didn’t stop eating as the man bled out—Emma and Raul reluctantly followed suit. He didn’t die, so once Sara’s group finished eating, they donned cloaks and healed the gutted, screaming man as they passed by, leaving the people carting him away stunned. It was a compromise—and left Emma pleased. So far, there had been no casualties around them.

5

Daniel went through exercises twice a day with Renti. He rapidly built up muscle—channeling a body constitution as he did it. He’d be able to walk in a couple of weeks—he was certain of it. To ensure that she retained hope in him waking (thus continuing to keep his progress secret), he grunted and made a whirling sigh to make him sound remotely coherent.

“Are you there?” Renti asked, turning to him sharply. “Daniel?”

“Uuhh.” His lips quivered.

“He’s waking… he’s really waking….” Renti whispered. “A few more days.”

6

They parted with the caravan, moving northwest as the merchants moved south. After a few hours’ ride, they took the Nass Passage through the mountain, a narrow road that moved over a sketchy switchback. They met travelers packing mule-like creatures up the treacherous and windy path, and everyone worked not to look down, seeing the thousand-foot plunge two strides from the mountain. Even Emma refused to help when a pack animal stumbled on shifting rocks and plunged to its death. She cried. The merchant spat at his lost wares.

They reached the peak at sunset and could see lands of sprawling trees and vegetation in the distance, which increased their morale considerably.

“Just over that forest is Elcalore,” Sara said. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to. You’ll immediately know why she wanted to be buried there.” Just on the west side of Elcalore was where Telia Sayon made her famous crypt. Emma would get Sayon’s Staff and magic scrolls she could use there. It would be a huge power-up.

Raul chuckled. “’Just’ over that forest. You know we’re on a mountain, right? That’s like 200 miles.”

Sara shrugged and made a fire with flint and steel. “What’s the rush? Just enjoy it.” He shrugged. They did.

7

Daniel slowly sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.

“This is gonna be hard, but it’s vital,” Renti said. “Come on.” She helped lead Daniel’s foot to the ground. When it touched, and she lifted him onto his feet, any belief he had that he could’ve learned to walk again on his own diminished. He instantly fell forward, primal instincts screaming that he was going to break his knee in the fall, but Renti caught him. “Don’t push it!” she lectured. “If you fall, it’s over. Ya hear?”

Daniel needed this to continue as long as possible, so he grunted and said, “I….” Before nodding slightly. Renti’s eyes widened and her eyes filled with determination. “I’ll let Edico find you. Okay? Let him have the joy of discoverin’ you….”

Daniel’s stomach sank again. Edico’s pureness made him feel guilty for what he planned to do once he could walk.