Hours later, Kevin gave us the sign to stop in what must’ve been the tenth cluster of trees we’d come across.

Topher continued talking like there was no break in the conversation. “I guess the question becomes… why? Why would there be a way for us to know when others like us die? I mean, it’s not like this whole thing is an act of nature - we were put into a room with books and instructions to make D&D characters, so there’s some sort of system in place.”

“We don’t know that the whole light thing was an intended aspect of it,” I said, flopping onto my bedroll. “If it turns out to be right, of course.”

“Only thing that makes sense to me,” shrugged Kevin. “They almost looked like beacons.”

Topher suddenly got excited. “Maybe it’s like the Quickening! Something like, their power is going to someone. ‘There can be only one’ and stuff.”

“It could be their spirits going home,” said Kevin.

I was almost too tired to think about it. Sadly, I was so sore that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon, so I mulled the idea over. “Did it look like the light was going somewhere, or did it just shoot up and stop?”

“The second one.”

That didn’t sound good. “Well, if our assumption that this is all a competition between adventurers is right, I suppose it could be positive confirmation of an adventurer death,” I said. “After all, it’s not like we’re going to be forthcoming about our identities if this is a ‘last man standing’ type deal.”

“Now hang on,” said Topher. “It could just be to let us know that there are friends that need help - like we talked about before, resurrection is a thing here.”

“That’s a good point,” said Kevin. “Regardless of whoever’s wishes, we don’t have to kill other real-worlders if we don’t want to.”

“Unless that’s the only way we can go home,” I mumbled. “Hey, where’s Jenn in all this? You with us, Jenn?” I looked around, but it was a bit too dark.

“I’m here,” said Jenn. “I was just thinking; after I signed my name in the book, there was all this… white light.”

“Oh yeah,” said Topher. “Same happened to me.”

“To all of us, probably,” added Kevin. “It was kind of terrifying. Like I was going to be burned away. Think that light and those columns of light are related?”

I could hear her kick something. “I don’t know. It’s just what I thought of when you mentioned it.” She sounded disheartened. I imagined she was coming to terms with being unable to save those other real-worlders.

“So here’s a question,” I said. “How should we proceed? Let’s assume Captain Minerva wasn’t messing with me, and let’s assume there’s a number of others trapped here with us - perhaps one for each class archetype.”

“We level up,” said Kevin.

Topher nodded. “Agreed.”

I waved my hand. “That’s a given - having more power should only play in our favor. But what after that? Or rather, what while we’re trying to accomplish that? Should we look for the others? If we find them, do we befriend them? Do we reveal who we are? Or should we stay away from them, and try to find adventure in our own right?”

“I’m really wondering what adventure there is to be had,” said Kevin. “Think about it - they can teleport those AUTC people to small towns like Woodsedge. If there is any sort of problem, why not just call them?”

“That might only be used for special emergencies,” suggested Topher.

“Well, it’s something to look into,” I added, “but usually land is divided up into city-states. Rikston is probably the big one for this area. The farther away you go from these cities, the less likely you’ll find help from governing bodies. We might find patrols along the road or the occasional fort, but in general it’s just wilderness.”

Kevin didn’t sound convinced. “If that was true, goblins wouldn’t have to hide underground, would they? If they could really hide in the spaces between cities? And Woodsedge didn’t even have any guards or anything, and Colme had few - almost as if their only defense was to teleport in soldiers. Are things so stable that cities can go without guards for extended periods of time?”

“Clearly things aren’t stable, if they’re having problems with goblin attacks,” said Topher.

“Military and police are often the same thing in fantasy settings,” I added. “It’s possible there’s a political reason as to why there aren’t any guards in Woodsedge.”

I could tell Kevin was shaking his head. “Whatever. Like you said - just something else to look into.”

“And, as far as adventuring goes,” said Topher. “There are a lot of things to do, and they’ll likely take us all around.” He started counting on his fingers. “We still need to find Brance Deralin - our only lead there is in… Rikston, I think she said? Also, we could investigate the Ware and what that cult was trying to do with the baby. Also-also, there seems to be a goblin that lives on the surface and instigates other goblins into attacking the surface - we could look into that. Then there’s the pixies; we have no idea what their motives are, so it might be worth investigating.”

“We should get to level three as soon as possible,” said Kevin. “That way we can make sure we’ve got the class stuff we want. After that…” He took a second to find the words. “We got involved with those goblins without knowing the full story - that shouldn’t happen. We need to learn more about this world. Read some books, or something. I think because I have the history skill I can—did you guys hear that?”

I hadn’t, but I could feel Kevin tense from where I was. I sat up, hand on my sword. “Hear what? Do you need some light?” I asked.

Kevin shushed me, drawing his magic longbow. Topher whispered to me, “No light - still hiding from the military, remember?”

I resigned to being silent and ready. A minute later, Kevin said, “Alright, I think it was nothing? I’ll check around again later.” His voice came from a completely different direction, which was startling - I hadn’t even realized he’d moved.

“What did it sound like?” asked Topher.

“I… don’t even know. It was weird.” He sounded shaken.

I set my sword down and fell back into my bedroll. “Maybe it was squirrels,” I said, dismissively in hopes to calm him.

“Maybe…” he drawled.

“Changing the subject,” said Topher. “Too bad about Yik. I was kind of fond of him. Next time we’re in a tavern, we’ll drink to his memory. Sound good?”

I snorted. “Don’t let anyone know you’re mourning a goblin; they’ll arrest you.”

“Yeah, that whole situation was messed up,” said Topher. “I mean, I suppose I don’t know what the history or whatever of the world is, but that was some nasty racism.”

“On both sides,” said Kevin.

“What gets me,” I thought aloud, “is that if we’d never gotten involved with Yik, he would’ve had a better chance actually dealing with the other goblins.”

The idea resonated for a bit. “Yeah… that Captain was gunning for us,” said Topher. “I get the feeling that dealing with those goblins was secondary for her. Yik would’ve had time to do his thing if he hadn’t been a convenient excuse.”

“And us being with Yik didn’t do him any favors,” said Kevin. “Jack’s bluff notwithstanding, he’d have done better coming to them without us.”

A somber air settled over us. It was true - Yik would probably still be alive, and the goblins closer to giving up their crusade if we hadn’t gotten involved.

“Anyone else feel like an asshole?” asked Topher.

“Suck it up.” The tone was absolute.

“Jeebus, Jenn, I almost forgot you were there,” I said.

I heard her turn toward us. “Yeah, it sucks that Yik died, and the whole cycle of violence is going to continue - but we did everything we could. It was a crappy situation, and we didn’t know all the facts, but we made the most of it and did what we thought was right. It’s not like we could’ve known what was going to happen. We’ll suck it up, learn from this, and keep going forward. We can’t let mistakes bother us.”

Topher cracked his knuckles. “Yeah, we can’t blame ourselves for lack of omniscience.”

“It was more of a lack of preparedness….” I muttered.

“And we shouldn’t let it get us down,” he finished his thought. “…You alright, dude?” Topher sounded nervously concerned. “You’ve got a death grip on that bow…”

I could barely make out Kevin’s silhouette in the woods, but he seemed to be clutching his bow to his chest. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just feel weirded out. You know what? I’m going to patrol around for a bit. I’ll be back.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Topher.

“It’s nothing,” reassured Kevin. “You should get some sleep. I only need—“

“I’ll go with you,” reasserted Topher. I heard them wander off.

“Did Kevin seem like he was acting strange?” I asked. I didn’t get a response. “…Jenn? Still there?” Still no response. Had she left too? Why hadn’t she said anything? She was acting a little distant. Was something weird going on?

“I’m right here,” came Jenn’s voice. “Sorry; I forgot you can’t really see. It’s easy to get used to this whole nightvision thing. I tend to forget how dark it actually is. Weren’t you going to sleep? Don’t let me keep you up.”

“I was asking if you thought Kevin was being weird, but you weren’t really paying attention, were you? Is something on your mind? Feel free to talk; I’m too sore to sleep.”

She didn’t say anything. I looked to where I’d heard her voice and could make out her form sitting with her back to me, looking the way we came. “It sucks, though,” I said. “I thought a healing spell would get rid of muscle ache. Guess not, huh? We could’ve made a killing between the sneezing powder, Topher chasing, and the magically sped-up recovery. Maybe you can research a massage spell or something.”

She was still quiet. I decided against taking the hint. “Let’s see, that would be the second spell we’d have to research. ‘Muscle Massage’ and ‘Topher’s Beer Chill’. Actually, cold beer would probably be the big moneymaker. Oh, wait - three spells. The third one can be one that transports us home. Sound good to you?”

Still nothing. “Alright, fine. Guess I’ll just lay here in agonizing silence.”

“You were right about the moon,” she said.

“I… was?”

“It was a new moon back on that first night. I said there didn’t seem to be one, but you pointed out a spot where you couldn’t see any stars, and said it must be a new moon. It’s just a sliver, now. Not very bright, but there.”

“Huh. I hadn’t noticed it the other nights we’ve been here. It must have a longer cycle than the moon back home.” I put my head back down. “Well, if nothing else, it’s nice to know when you’re right.”

She chuckled, but didn’t say anything else. I stretched out and rested my head on my hands. “…Any other astronomy questions? I’m happy to help.”

“No, I’m fine.”

I sighed. “Sorry, I know you’ve kind of been giving me signals to shut up, but I find being quiet just makes me focus on how much I ache. Anything you want to talk about? You’ve seemed fascinated with the idea that Kevin and I did theater back in the day….”

She laughed. “That’s right. Wizard of Oz, wasn’t it? I have an easier time picturing it the more I get to know you.” I could hear her shift in her armor. “…Except that you were a terrible singer a couple days ago.”

“Hey! That was supposed to sound terrible. And at least it was on pitch.”

“Mm-hmm,” she placatingly hummed.

I rolled my eyes. “Is this just an attempt to goad me into singing something for real?”

“That would be great, yeah.” It was the first time she faced me since this conversation started.

I gave her an overly dramatic sigh as I reached for my lute. I found my hands to be a little shaky. Was I that tired? I was, but this was nerves. I was afraid to play for her. Deep down, it must have felt like it actually mattered. “Any requests?”

“Surprise me.”

“Sorry; don’t know that one.” I grinned. “How about this?”

All trace of fear vanished as i strummed the first chord. My soul excitedly held its breath as I sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I played it lying on my back, slowly and sweetly, in a key that wasn’t any sort of strain. Oddly enough, the grey semblance of calm dominated the performance. Rather than examine it too deeply, I just let it flow out. By the end, another emotion was peeking through, though I didn’t have time to examine it.

“That was really good,” she said, pleasantly impressed.

“Thanks.”

She shifted again. "I haven’t seen the Wizard of Oz in a long time. I guess I never realized how sad of a song Somewhere Over the Rainbow is.”

“It’s about a weak person who just wants to be whisked away and leave all their problems behind,” I said. “It’s hope calming a troubled mind. Funnily enough, Dorothy gets transported away from her problems, only to find a host of new ones.” I plucked a few strings idly. “I guess the moral is there’s going to be crap wherever you go, so the only answer is to just deal with it and realize that you had the power to do so all along.” I blinked. “Sorry. I guess I get strangely philosophical when I’m tired.”

“It’s a step up from cranky,” she said, sweetly.

The frantic rustling of metal through foliage began approaching from deeper in the forest. I dropped the lute in favor of my sword. “Think that’s Topher?” I asked.

“Jack! Jenn!” It was Topher’s voice, alright. “Grab your gear! Now!”

I fought through the pain in my legs as I jolted up and started gathering my things. I could hear the shimmy of Topher’s chainmail as he got close. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “We been spotted?”

“Oh, uh, okay, first: the spice must flow,” he said.

“Right, right. And I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. You know, we’re going to have to figure out a different way if there are others from the real world here. Now, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Kevin,” said Topher, grabbing my collar and ushering me through the woods. “He just went nuts and ran headlong into a crypt. I don’t think he’s alone in there.”