Qube hurried over to the Chosen One, who seemed to have finished rifling through all of the books.

“Hey,” he said as she approached. The posse of librarians looked around, confused as to whom he was talking to. “You get it?”

“I spoke to Sexy Screamy Spider Lady,” Qube replied, cautiously. “Do you remember her parents talking about how she needs to do the trials? Well I think it might be time for her to do them? Or if you want to marry her and become her Head Guard. Which, Chosen One, did you want to romance Sexy Screamy Spider Lady?”

The Chosen One wrinkled his nose. “Wait, it’s linked to her romance?” he sighed. “I suppose, yeah, although I don’t know how I feel about it given I’m not entirely sure what the ethics of that would be. You know, given the whole,” he gestured broadly towards the party, “potential situation.”

Qube nodded thoughtfully. She hadn’t considered the difference in power dynamics, what with him being the Chosen One and her a member of his party. That would be tricky.

“Anyway, when we go back to the volcano to exploit the double shops, I’ll hit up the Forest and see what the go is. Meanwhile, let’s do the Restricted section. Hey, Sewer Bard, come and check out your epic poem or whatever.”

“I really hope that book is in code,” Qube muttered to herself as the party trooped towards the forbidden area. As the Chosen One approached the Restricted area, the two guards moved aside the red velvet rope and ushered the party in. Definitely Bad Guy went instantly to the horrifying book Qube was trying to scrub from her memories, Sexy Screamy Spider Lady went to a disturbingly-rhythmic pulsing pink novel, and Sewer Bard made a beeline for the middle of the room.

As soon as he touched the book it dissolved into a shower of green and gold sparkles. They poured onto the ground, then wrapped around the man, causing his billowing sleeves to flap, his increasingly tired appearance suddenly revitalised. His mouth opened, and from it issued a song so rich that it felt like it had a physical presence. His fingers flowed over his lute, the tune exploding forth was that of a full band, and the lyrics…

Had absolutely nothing in common with the words in the book. It must have been an encoded spell that had imprinted itself onto him, because none of the nonsense Qube had read appeared in the majesty occurring before them.

A lifetime later, the song stopped. Sewer Bard collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The song lingered for a while, before once again the quiet sounds of the library reasserted control.

Sewer Bard stood up and turned to the Chosen One. He bowed, the lowest ever, the top of his cap touching the floor. His eyes shone with unshed tears as he looked at the Chosen One with utter devotion.

“Thank you, Noble Patron,” he said with the most sincerity Qube had ever heard. “With this, I will be able to unlock my full potential as a Bard. I pledge myself to you, from now until death ends my service.”

“Cool,” the Chosen One said, flipping through the mind-bending tomes.

Given the rather lacklustre response, Qube expected Sewer Bard to be upset, but instead he just glowed with confidence. The worried expression that had been deepening over the last few days was totally gone, and he was once again the happy-go-lucky fellow they’d first met in the sewers.

“So you got more spells or something?” Chosen One asked, unblushingly. “Or like, new abilities? What can you do now?”

Sewer Bard took this all in stride. “Noble Patron, I do not yet have any new, concrete abilities. But I feel as if something within me has been unlocked and now I will be able to learn previously hidden things.”

The Chosen One nodded, still thumbing through one of the books, then stopped and held it away from him. His eyebrows flew up.

“Oh, that’s messed up,” he said. “There’s no way they’re keeping that in the final release.” He threw it onto the ground, adding it to the growing pile. Qube wasn’t entirely sure what absorbing so much knowledge at once would do to the Chosen One’s mental state, but he seemed to be handling it pretty well.

Or, at least, he didn’t appear any stranger than before.

After about an hour, the Chosen One had finished throwing all the ancient tomes onto the ground and was looking a combination of bored and disgusted.

“They really let them go wild in this area, huh?” he said to himself. “Still, it’s interesting. Bit more insight into someone’s psyche than I needed, but it’s no old lady cellar.”

“What do you mean?” Qube asked, tilting her head inquisitively. The Chosen One shuddered dramatically.

“Urgh, that creepy witch lady with the cabin. She had some messed up stuff in her place. I blame the devs. They have been going… mildly insane, trying to wrap their heads around this new tech.” The Chosen One rubbed his chin as he looked at Qube. “And I still don’t think they’re anywhere near understanding it.”

“Chosen One, I —” Qube frowned. Gathering herself, she blurted out; “Chosen One, I don’t know who ‘the devs’ are.”

For once, the Chosen One seemed to take her confusion somewhat seriously. “They’re kind of like the gods,” the Chosen One said slowly. “They made this world. Or, well, parts of it. I never got a full answer on that.””

“Oh, so they’re the ones who wrote the Golden Prophecy?” Qube asked. That would explain how the Chosen One seemed so familiar with them. Maybe they were the ones he was writing the reports to? Could they not directly witness what was happening?

“Pretty much,” the Chosen One said, before kicking aside the books, causing them to ping around the room and bounce off the walls. “It’s a whole thing. But for now, I’m gonna go do something I really, really don’t want to.”

“What’s that?” Qube asked, carefully avoiding the paper missiles as she followed behind him.

“Time for the Water Temple,” the Chosen One sighed.

---

After everyone had changed into their waterproof clothing (except for Qube, who was still ‘getting the hang of’ putting on anything other than her Healer robe) the Chosen One marched the party towards the front gate.

“Um, Chosen One, didn’t you need to —” Qube closed her eyes, “do some more shopping?” The Chosen One had yet to clear each and every single store in the area. He’d only done about two thirds third for them.

“Nah, finished that off before the food,” the Chosen One said. “Also handed in that forest delivery quest thing.” He shot a sly look at Qube. “Don’t worry, I paid for almost everything,” he teased. Qube started to splutter, before realising he’d already walked ahead.

“Wait, what do you mean almost everything? Chosen One? Chosen One!”

“So here’s the thing,” Chosen One said as she caught up to him, ignoring her cries. “The water temple is going to be a mess. Everyone knows that.”

Qube didn’t know that.

“Don’t worry Chosen One, I’m sure we’ll be able to defeat it!” she said supportively.

“But, at the very least, it’ll be a blast seeing how you lot manage to break everything,” he continued. “So hopefully that’ll help outweigh the [snacky] factor. Oh yeah, how did the whole fast travel thing go? Anything interesting?”

“Good luck on your perilous journey!” one of the blue-clad guards called after the party as they left the gates behind.

“Return to us soon, Saviour!” the other guard chimed in.

“Well, there were some wolves, but I think they were more used to people than the ones we’ve run into before,” Qube started, as the group settled into a rhythm. Chosen One in front, Qube just behind him, then Definitely Bad Guy, with Sewer Bard and Sexy Screamy Spider Lady leading up the rear. “So they just ignored us. I think they’ve learned not to hassle larger parties.” Qube glanced back over her shoulder at Sewer Bard. The goofy smile he’d been wearing ever since he’d completed his quest faded slightly as he caught her eye.

“But other than that, nothing really of note,” Qube continued smoothly.

“Eh, I’m sure we’ll find some way to exploit it,” the Chosen One said, looking to the horizon. “I have faith in our ability to make a total mess of things.” He grinned, his teeth almost glowing in the golden afternoon sunlight.

For a few minutes, the group walked in silence. Inside Qube there grew a strange, warm feeling. Something she had never actually felt before.

Contentment. Acceptance, mixed with familiarity. As the dappled light under the trees turned into clear skies, stained purple and pink by the various setting suns, the group crested a hill and looked out over the rolling fields, dotted with small patches of wooded areas. Up ahead, the path continued to the Forbidden Forest and, a smudge of black in the very distance, the tip of Doom. To their left was the little trodden track that eventually led to the enhanced woods that protected their home village. Behind them, the festive flags of Cobbletown continued to snap in the ever present breeze, the castle towering over all, its influence felt even at their backs.

But to their right was unexplored land. The land slowly dropped away, down into a basin that was filled with a giant lake, a large dark circle in the middle of it. Next to the water, if Qube squinted, she could just make out what looked like a fishing village. Behind the mammoth lake there were massive spikey mountains, their tops concealed with thick white clouds.

Even looking at the hazardous journey they were about to undertake, Qube couldn’t shake that soft feeling within her. They were still on the most important quest in the world, and she still had half a million unanswered questions, but that gnawing sensation of not being good enough, of needing to prove herself as the best, had eased. It was still there, but quieter, now, less desperate.

The party, including the Chosen One, trusted her.

And a tiny part of her felt as if she could finally trust herself.

---

This delicate feeling lasted until around the time the Chosen One threw himself at a bear. The bear had been in the process of battling a giant spider, and the spider seemed to have been losing, so Qube wasn’t entirely sure why the Chosen One had picked the bear to throw himself at.

Although maybe he had been trying to save Sexy Screamy Spider Lady’s sensibilities. What with her being a spider and all that.

Then Sexy Screamy Spider Lady shot an arrow directly into the giant spider’s face, and Qube gave up on the group ever making any kind of sense.

“Chosen One, what if it’s the Bear Mage, come back to repay us for freeing them from that pillar?” Qube asked as the Chosen One tried to jump onto the bear’s back. “Also, [Lesser Shield].” Her shield snapped into place just before the bear’s claws raked across the Chosen One’s face.

“Kinda slow on the protection there,” the Chosen One huffed, bracing himself behind his shield. “[Shield Bash]!” The bear staggered backwards, temporarily stunned by the Chosen One’s spell. “Hey bear, you a Bear Mage or something?”

The bear, slightly recovered, roared and charged him again.

“Guess not!” the Chosen One cheerfully called to Qube.

“I am a little bit — [Lesser Heal]” Qube cast on Sexy Screamy Spider Lady, as the giant spider managed to gash open her side. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to have punctured any of her pocket dimensions. “— preoccupied, Chosen One. A little bit of notice might have — [Minor Cleanse], [Lesser Heal], [Minor Haste] —” the spider had gotten in a venom-infused bite on Definitely Bad Guy, who was continuously streaming fire from his hands. His exposed tattoos shone, the red in them deepening into near blackness the longer he channeled the spell. “— been appreciated.”

She didn’t have much mana left. She could do one or two more Lesser, and a handful more Minors before she was tapped. It hadn’t been as much of an issue when it was just the Chosen One and her, but she needed to develop her mana pool if she was going to be protecting them all at once.

Then Sewer Bard stepped up, his green mana wrapping around the party as he sang a protection song.

“I didn’t want it stealing my experience,” the Chosen One said, ignoring all the magic flying around him. He leapt onto the bear’s back and brought his Sacred Sword down, causing the creature to fall to the ground and, after a brief moment, dissolve into a bag of coins, some claws, and a professionally-made bear skin rug. Sexy Screamy Spider Lady and Definitely Bad Guy posed as the giant spider curled up onto its back and turned into coins, a potion bottle filled with green liquid, and one fang.

Qube wasn’t sure why Sexy Screamy Spider Lady stuck her abdomen to the side, winked half her eyes, and raised her two left claws to her mouth every time she killed something, but Definitely Bad Guy seemed to have picked up the habit too. Not that he exactly mimicked her — the mental image of his sticking his butt out, winking, and putting a finger to his mouth was, frankly, something that Qube didn’t think she was equipped to deal with, but he would summon a book in his left hand, wreath his right hand in fire, and sneer at the remains of their defeated foe’s insides.

The Chosen One scooped up the inner loot of the bear and spider, and they continued. The open fields had given way to twisted woods, the trunks oddly bleached, and random swamps waited to swallow them up. Night had fallen, and small white wisps of light lazily wound their way through the trees.

Finally, though, the path opened up, and haphazardly-assembled huts, made of the same strange white wood, appeared before them, huddled against the edge of the lake. The moonlight caused the huts to shine, bathing the whole fishing village in an eerie light.

And, in that otherworldly glow, there stood a dozen fish.