Eve and Franky quietly conversed as Rogue Wave swung back and forth, only part way through its ride sequence. But when a man approached via the exit, Eve’s face split into a smile—Luka was finally around.

“I heard you had a special visitor a few hours ago!” she said as the overhead illusionary clouds poured rain and the illusionary coral reef enthralled beside them.

It was just past noon and well into her and Franky’s shift. As it turned out, to the surprise of no one, the park had brought in significantly more people than yesterday. Rogue Wave, Goddess Tippy’s involvement, and maybe most importantly, a wonderful article by a certain demonic reporter were the causes. From park opening to now, Rogue Wave’s line was always full and spilling out into the walkway.

“You’ve got to build a secondary queue for us here,” Franky said to Luka. “People keep coming up the exit thinking it’s the line since the entrance is so muddled.”

The World Walker nodded toward the entrance to the box of illusions that was the underwater reef. In reality, the “box” was simply a covered queue, but with the illusions, it was as transparent as a building.

“Already done,” Luka said. “I added a snaking fenced line leading from the path over. Should be good now, but we may need to expand it more later.”

He doesn’t give himself credit, why does that bother me so much? Eve asked herself, pausing at his words.

Luka always said “we” or “us” when referring to things only he could do. Who else, besides the gods themselves, could do what he’d done so far? Could Sol, she wondered? Maybe, given enough time and preparation.

Could I? The answer was evident—no.

Behind Luka, Leo and Sebby wrestled over a particularly gnawed-on tree stump. Leo used his size-changing abilities to his advantage, shrinking and growing at will to dodge a chomp or defend a body-check. A little further away, Olive, the emu, watched from the cover of the bushes, her head sticking out of the leaves like an axe in a log.

“We need to build the area for beast companions,” Luka said, watching the wolves. “A big open area with chew toys and plenty of sunning spots.”

There’s that word again, ‘we,’ Eve thought. She glanced at her friend, finding the Earthling to be… to be… It was hard to equate if she was honest with herself. Luka seemed less guarded? Or maybe he was more relaxed?

She could tell he was stressed—everyone in the village was—but not like two days ago near the bathroom. Maybe the success of the park took something off his shoulders. Maybe he’d realized the villagers are in it with him, and he doesn’t need to supervise all the time. Either way, I’m glad, Eve told herself, meaning it.

Franky agreed with the idea. “We should add a watering hole and a treat dispenser!”

Luka turned, a glimmer in his eye. “And a ball-throwing machine. One of the automatic ones the beasts can operate themselves.”

“Add it to the ever-growing-list of things to build!” Franky said with a laugh.

Holding out his hand, Luka showed off a crude-iron ring. It was bland, dented, and warped, and yet, shimmered with an almost iridescent sheen. “Hopefully this will help.”

Eve leaned in, taking his hand. It was clammy. “From the goddess?”

“Yes…” he gave her a strange look. “How’d you hear about that?”

“One of the kids,” Franky said, waving him off. “Came by like a news crier.”

Luka gave an annoyed sigh. “You know, when you get a whole group of kids to take a vow of secrecy, you’d think they’d respect the terms.”

“What were the terms?” Eve found herself asking, Luka’s hand still in hers. Suddenly, the weight of the ring felt… infinite. Saying a ring was from a goddess was one thing, but Luka actually trying to keep it a secret? Just what was this ring?

“I told them if they could keep Goddess Tippy’s sudden arrival and present,” he nodded at the ring, “a secret, then they could have all of the other presents she left.”

“How—how many presents did she leave?”

“Oh, like a hundred or so—” Eve and Franky gulped audibly. Luka then said, “Can you believe that? A goddess swooping down from the heavens to drop off plain sugar? What kind of goddess wants to rot the teeth of—”

“Luka, stop,” Eve snapped. She lurched on her feet, a cold sweat running down her back. “Just what did the goddess gift?”

He gave her a strange look. “Candy. Like my grandmother would—” He stopped himself, seeing the siblings’ expressions. “What’d I say?”

Franky exhaled as if breathing for the first time. “We thought you were saying she left a hundred presents similar to that ring.”

Beside them, Rogue Wave came to a stop. Guests filed off the ship, exclaiming praise for the ride. A moment later, a new set of guests filled the seats, all petrified about what was to come—and if it was anything like the queue… well, they’d just have to wait and see. Eve quickly went through the ready checks with her brother, and the ride restarted.

Luka gave an impish grin. “Sorry, I thought the kid would have told you. Tippy arrived, handed out candy and the ring, talked with me for a minute, then left.”

The siblings stared. “What kind of candy—”

Eve smacked her brother on the arm. “Ignore him. Is the ring an artifact? And before anyone tells you differently, you should keep it.”

Luka smirked at Franky, but asked Eve, “People are going to tell me to sell it?”

“Most of the village, I’d wager. But that kid didn’t tell us about the ring and candy, so maybe there’s hope yet.”

“What?”

Franky jumped in. “You’re going to want to keep that ring hidden. People will kill for an artifact, especially if it’s a good one. Others will tell you to sell it and buy a private country for yourself and retire.”

“An entire country?”

“A small one—yes,” Eve muttered darkly. “The Amulet of Aprac is traded around nations every few years because if one nation ever held it too long, the others would go to war to get it back. Some artifacts are simply that powerful.”

Luka lifted an eyebrow. “I thought war wasn’t a thing on this world.”

“It’s not. But the gods would allow a war for the amulet. Though they’d do everything they could to assist in solving things peacefully first.”

“What’s it do?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“No one knows. Just that it does something.”

Franky quickly added, “That’s going to be the case for most artifacts. The owners don’t often tell the public what they do, or even that they have one, for that matter. The Amulet of Aprac is a national secret for the nine nations that share it.”

“Ah, well, okay…” Luka looked off into the distance, his eyes unrousing.

There he goes again, Eve thought. Another memory from Earth breaking through his brain-fog. She studied his face—whatever the memory was, it made his lips twitch and the skin around his nose to crinkle. Was that bad? Was that good? Was he remembering the secrets of the universe or reliving more death and destruction?

I could just ask him, Eve thought, knowing he’d share even if it made him uncomfortable.

“What’d you remember?” asked Franky. Eve quickly shot him a glare.

Luka flinched, blinding back into focus. “Oh, uh. Weapons from my world. I was touring a silo. Don’t ask, please. Weapons like those don’t deserve to ever be mentioned in this world.”

Eve shared a look with her brother. Luka’s memory was triggered by the amulet… just what kind of weapon could stack-up to the amulet?

“Anyways,” Luka said, holding out his hand and ring. “What’s this do?”

“You don’t know already?” Franky asked.

“Should I?”

“Yes!” Eve said at the same time as her brother.

“Oh… how do I…”

“Connect your magic to it—Hold on, the ride’s slowing down.” The next cycle of guests came and went, and Eve resumed her tutorial. “Connect your magic to it and… uh, I don’t actually know.”

“Hah!” Luka said, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. “Something about magic you don’t know! I never thought I'd see the day!”

Eve rolled her eyes. “Oh please, any other magic question you might have, I’d be able to answer. Artifacts are too esoteric.”

“Yeah? Well, what about magic’s role in smithing? Is that even a thing?”

“Sure, it is. Magical smiths are a well-paying profession if you join the guilds.”

Luka made a face. “Seriously? What do they do?”

“Make magical metal and stuff made from magical metal—or, in the more interesting side of the profession, they make stuff into metal. Like clouds or lava.”

“Run that by me again?”

“Magical smiths can forge anything into a metal-like state, well, nearly everything.”

“Clouds?”

“Ever seen a cloud castle?”

“No—”

“Well, you should. They’re neat.”

“’Neat.’ Cloud castles are ‘neat.’” Luka looked like he wanted to say more.

“They are.”

“I believe you.”

“They are!”

“I truly believe you!” He held up his hands, surrendering.

Eve’s eyes magically found the ring. “So what’s it do?”

“Wait.” Luka's shoulder tensed-up, an idea for the park forming, Eve recognized. “Are there ‘pocket dimensions’ in this world?”

Eve and Franky looked impressed. “Your world had pocket dimensions?”

“Well, no—”

“Who told you about them then?”

“They were theorized. But with magic, I thought maybe they were real?”

“They are,” Franky muttered, dejected. “But expensive.”

Eve gave her brother a knowing look. “Maybe your next birthday.”

“Really?” he asked.

“With the park’s profits, who knows?”

Luka studied them both. “Context, please?”

“Franky has wanted a storage ring for as long as I can remember. Oh, storage rings are small pocket dimensions directly inscribed into a ring or other piece of jewelry. Essentially, they allow the wearer to store stuff in a personal stasis.”

“And they’re expensive?” Luka concluded.

“Immensely.”

“Hmm. Well, maybe this artifact ring is a storage ring?”

“Doubtful. You would have space around you acting strange already.”

Luka glanced around, eyeing the ‘space’ around him. “But wouldn’t personal storage be amazing? I’d always carry around all our materials. Then—boom! Inspiration strikes, and I can instantly build a decorative thing or dark ride. How do you even make a storage ring—GAH!”

The siblings flinched as Luka yelped.

“What is this?” he bellowed, thrashing his arms out in front. “Ah! Go away!”

Franky grabbed him and held him steady. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s words—wait…” Luka’s eyes scanned as if he was reading something invisible. “It’s a… recipe card?”

Eve tilted her head. “What?”

“Sixty space anchors, twenty-five space expanders, thirty-one meters of reality thread—” Luka’s unfocused eyes rounded on Eve. “Eve! I know how to make a storage ring!”

She gasped. “The artifact tells you how to make things?”

He looked back at the invisible words. “Uh, well, no. It just tells me what and how much stuff I need, including what kinds of glyphs.”

Eve’s eyes went wide. Then she froze. A moment passed. “Luka—” She said his name coldly, very coldly. “Stop talking.”

“What—” He looked up, finding a pair of dark bags under her eyes. Bags that were not there five seconds ago. “W-what’s wrong?”

“You don’t understand what’s on your finger.”

“I—I guess I don’t.”

“Tell the ring to tell you another recipe for something else.”

Luka looked away, blinked a few times, then scanned over another set of invisible words. “I now know what’s needed to make jrum… And guys, why didn’t you tell me what’s in it? Some of these ingredients are exotic.”

“What?” Franky asked.

“Nine grams magical essence per one-hundred grams jrum beans? Soul fire heated to precisely ninety-three point three degrees?”

Eve held up her hand. “What did you tell the ring to show you?”

“’The best jrum recipe in the world.’”

She bit her lip. “Tell it to show you a ‘normal’ jrum recipe.”

He looked away, scanned the invisible words, then looked back. “Oh, I see. This recipe just says, ‘boiling water’ and ‘ground jrum beans.’”

“Luka. Do not tell anyone you have that or what it does. If Tram asks, tell her I told you not to tell anyone.”

***

“I—” Luka studied her eyes. “Okay. I won’t.”

Eve gravely nodded, Franky doing the same. “Good. Now then, don’t ever take it off… and,” she gritted her teeth, “can you tell me what is needed for Aunt Sol’s famous r’tok’ull dessert?”

Luka looked from her to the ring, thinking about the strange Orcish name. But no words came. “It didn’t work.”

“That’s because Sol doesn’t have a famous r’tok’ull recipe. How about this: what’s needed for Judge Ben’s sweet loaf recipe?”

Again, Luka conferred with the ring. Words appeared this time, and he read them aloud.

Requirements for Judge Ben’s sweet loaf:

1 kg of butter.

1 kg of sugar.

1 kg of flour.

1 kg of soured cream.

Pinch of salt.

Large pinch of baking powder.

4 eggs.

Heated oven.

“That’s it?” Franky asked incredulously. “Ben always said it was a complicated recipe! What’s complicated about that!”

Eve shushed her brother. “Okay, so. Now we know the ring gives you ‘recipes’ so long as they exist—even if they are personal and secret.”

Luka’s eyes went wide, the ring suddenly weighed three tons. “Oh Jesus, what’d Tippy get me involved in?”

“She’s future-proofed World Walker Park.”

Eve and Luka both looked at Franky. “What?”

“She’s given you a ring that can practically create gold. You need to find a recipe we can make here in the village for the cheap, then sell it here at the park. Goddess Tippy’s given us a way to ensure the park will always have enough money to expand.”

Eve gawked. “You’re right.”

Luka hesitated, however. Was that really why Tippy gave him the ring? Surely that was too shallow. There was something he was missing—just like Tippy’s reasoning for sending him here to Emberwood versus anywhere else…

An idea sprouted; the ring took care of the rest.

Requirements for a Potion of Reincarnation:

30,000 motes of life.

30,000 motes of death.

1 phoenix heart.

1 drop of liquid undeath.

1 meaningful possession of the deceased.

1/1,000 divine teardrop.

Luka’s heart swelled. Was this it? Was this the reason Tippy gave him the ring? To reincarnate the villagers who died in the mines?

But before he could worry about any of that, he had a job to do.