Jake flopped onto the bed. Instead of a welcome soft embrace, it pushed back. He groaned and squirmed on his back, but the mattress—which didn’t deserve the name—refused to yield. Trust orcs to have beds as hard as their beer. The light, fuzzy world wobbled as he tried to get comfortable. “That orc booze is something else.”

Cara giggled and slammed the door behind her. “And you only had two.”

Slippery thoughts refused to be held long. Massaging his temples didn’t help, nor did every muscle in his body aching. “It felt more like four.”

“Pfft.” She waved away his complaint and cast the Alarm spell. Even swaying from rather more than two drinks, she still made it look easy. She had had a lot of practice recently.

Safe and secure at last, he chuckled. It was good to have her along. He needed someone to watch his back, even if she did love diving headfirst into trouble.

She reached into her pack and pulled out the little nest. A furry nose poked out and sniffed the air. Nibbles rushed forward and rubbed against Cara, demanding to be petted.

A beaming smile lit up Cara’s face, and she happily obeyed. “You didn’t like how loud it was, did you, darling?”

Squeak! Squeak! Nibbles gnawed at her owner’s ear. She wasn’t the only one who hadn’t liked the din. A rock concert would have been quieter.

The absence of noise lingered in Jake’s hearing. “I’m not sure my ears will ever be the same again.”

Cara stumbled forward another step. She cocked her head and stared, part smiling, part frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Hearing damage.” He paused. “Is that a thing here, from too loud noises for too long?”

She shook her head, and that beaming smile lit right back up. “Nope, never heard of it. Shuffle over.”

That was one less thing to worry about, at least. That only left death, dismemberment, and the end of the world. “I thought you didn’t want the bed?”

She blinked and clutched her hands for a few moments. “Nibbles misses you.”

Nibbles squeaked, gesturing toward him with her tiny little nose. A tingling warmth settled in Jake’s chest. They both looked very happy. He smiled and shuffled over. Despite being a single bed, at least it was sized for an orc.

Tiny feet raced up his chest. Nibbles nuzzled against his chin and proceeded to run circles across them both. Cara rested her head upon his shoulder and relaxed. His muscles soaked up her tension and tightened up. Even with the armor between them, she was so very close.

Brimming with energy, Nibbles clambered up his neck, across his face, and down onto the overly hard pillow. Little teeth gnawed at his earlobe.

“She really missed me, didn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Cara smiled up at the nibbling in progress. “I’m glad we didn’t leave her behind.”

“There was no we in that decision, Cara. It’s going to be dangerous.”

“I know, I know. I really had meant to find someone to look after her. I’m sorry.”

It was too late now. “Won’t she die at the first area of effect spell?”

“Not if I have her on me.” She rolled onto her side, draped her arm over him, and exhaled. “I’m glad she’s here.”

Jake’s chest tightened. A muffled thud echoed from below. Another brawl?

“Are you okay? Should I move?”

He blinked. Was he okay? Tensed up. Breathing fast. Heart pounding. He blinked again, a boulder sinking in his chest. Not just tense, coiled for fight or flight.

This wasn’t a trap. She wanted to be close. She was safe. He was safe.

He slowed his breathing and forced himself to nod. “It’s fine.” The words came out as a whisper.

“Okay.” Her smile returned, softer than before. “It’s strange. I’ve always wanted to go see the world, and now I am…” She trailed off and tugged on her bottom lip.

“Not what you imagined?”

She closed her eyes and swallowed. “I’ve never been so very, very alone.”

Alone? Jake’s heart skipped a beat. The tree-song. All her life, connected with everyone in the Forest. Until now. Until she’d left to help him. He wrapped his arm around her. “I’m sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine.”

“It’s building and building and I don’t know what to do and—” She buried her face against him and screamed.

Panic ignited. He bottled it up and saved it for later. She needed him now. A lump swelled in his throat. What could he do? Something to soothe her. He rolled to face her and stroked her back. “It’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe.”

Breathing hard, she looked up, her eyes wet and pleading. “How do you handle it?”

He stared blankly. Handle it? He just did.

“So many emotions, stuck, nowhere for them to go?”

Quivers took over his chest. So far, shoving emotions far away and pretending he’d deal with them one day had worked out. Not that he could recommend it.

She pulled her hands into her chest, and they curled into fists. “How do I make it stop?”

How did other people do it? Besides not being broken. “By talking.” His gut twisted just thinking about it. Allegedly, it worked for some people. But what else was there?

“Talk?” She grimaced like he’d suggested she eat shit. Except she’d probably have been happier about that.

“Yeah.” People were meant to, anyway. Not that he did.

She silently glared. What was that behind her eyes? Disgust? Desperation? Probably both. Who wouldn’t feel that? His gut twisted. A lot of people, probably. Normal, boring, non-crazy people who never got abducted into a game world and forced to… to survive.

Slowly, her expression softened. “Can you go first?”

Quiet, terrifying words. Every muscle clenched tight. No, she wasn’t safe. She was a whirlpool of insane ideas that would pull him in closer and closer and drown him. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”

It blurted out before he could shut it down. The words hung in the air, the elephant finally addressed.

She blinked, nodded slowly, and rested her head on his chest. “Me neither.”

“I didn’t want to.” The words came out of their own accord. He could have stopped them, but…

“We had to.” Her voice wavered.

“We saved Gramok.”

She took his hand in hers and held it tight. “We did.”

Gramok. A selfless warrior condemned to death for trying to help. “He didn’t deserve to die.”

“No.” Cara clenched a little tighter. “And they were murderers.”

“Right.”

***

“Wakey-wakey!”

Far too loud shouting beckoned Jake back to the waking world. “Ugh.” Blood pounded in his temples. Bright, piercing light filled the room. Aches and pains stabbed at his back. “Can’t I sleep more?”

“Nope!” Cara bounced from side to side and grinned. “We’ve got a dungeon to clear!”

“Right. And the risk of death is exciting because…?”

“Loot? Experience? Maybe even, dare I say it, new spells?”

What had he gotten himself in for? She wasn’t even the one that would come back from the dead.

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to leave this village to the vines, are you?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I have to be excited about it.”

Aghast, she stared back like he was the crazy one. “What’s wrong with being excited?”

He pulled himself out of bed and massaged his shoulders. The tightness refused to give up, and Cara continued to stare. He shrugged. “You do you.”

She picked up Nibbles, petted her, and placed her safely away in her nest. “Who else would I do?”

Where to even start with that? Another idiom ruined. He shook his head. It wasn’t worth it. “I’ve been thinking about the fight last night.” That provoked a wide-eyed stare and bated breath. “No, not like that. Tactically.”

Cara exhaled and nodded. “Me too. I should have done better. My gear…” She looked down, redness creeping into her cheeks.

“You did fine.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “I should have had Discern Magic up. I’d have seen it coming, stopped them dropping Gramok.”

“Maybe.” She scowled, her chin still down. “Everyone makes mistakes in battle. You were prepared. You had all those spells ready for it. Me?” She shook her head and growled. “Stupid.”

He suppressed a chuckle. She didn’t know about the other gear Jeremy had given him. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. We all make mistakes.”

“Some of us more than others.” Her pause dragged on. She snorted and shook her head. “Don’t tell Jeremy, but…”

Here it was. Poker face time.

“… I wish I’d taken the gear he’d offered me.” She leaned against the wall, head in her hands. “I knew it at the time, but I thought… Now we’re here, it’s real, and I nearly got us both killed.”

“Well then.” Jake smiled and stepped back, just outside fist range. “I guess it’s confession time.”

Cara looked up and tilted her head. Her eyes widened. She stepped forward and shoved her finger in his face. “You—No. No, no, no, no, no!”

Jake leaped back out of reach. He lifted his pack up onto the bed and laid out the equipment Jeremy had provided for just this moment. Armor. Bow. Dagger. The works.

She watched, an explosion waiting to go off. Her nostrils flared. Her hands clenched and unclenched. “The presumptuous bastard!”

“He was right, wasn’t he?”

Her eyes narrowed as she approached. “And you were in on it.” She frowned. Her face reddened even further. “Is this why I’ve been carrying all the supplies?”

“You said it yourself—you want this gear.”

Her growl didn’t disagree. She bit her lip and shoved her finger in Jake’s face again. “Don’t keep something like this from me again.”

She picked up the bow first and ran her finger along its length. Her scowl faded as she studied every inch of the bow. A smile grew on her face, and the coiled tension throughout Jake’s body stood down.

“It’s a good bow,” Cara finally said, completely failing at disguising her smile. “The armor and dagger, too.”

“I’m glad you like them and agree I made the right call.” At least it wasn’t real daggers she was throwing at him. “There was something else I realized—we need a tank.”

“Tank?”

“A big, burly fighter to keep the bad guys off me while I sling spells. I can’t move and cast well, and using only short cast-time spells will hold me back.”

Cara frowned and shuffled her feet. “Guess I wasn’t much help, skirmishing rather than holding my ground.”

“You’re good at that; use it.” This wasn’t the time for her to get sidetracked. Gramok was waiting for them—not to mention breakfast. “You’re great with a bow, and you can hold your own. I was thinking of someone with heavy armor, someone we know is happy to help people for free, because, the Forest knows, we can’t afford to pay for it.”

“Spoken almost like a wood elf.” She smiled, but only weakly. “Ask him if you want, but be careful what you share.”

“I know. We don’t need everyone knowing I’m a Hero.” Dying and coming back would give the game away, but hopefully not for a while. “I’ll shoot the bow and listen.”

***

Three abreast, they followed a dirt path through the surrounding farmland. Besides the occasional cart hand-pulled by orcs, there was little in the way of interesting or even boring distraction beyond the odd songbird.

Gramok’s armor glowed under Discern Magic. Even besides being enchanted, his gear was obviously high quality, and he knew how to use it. He’d make a powerful ally, and the dungeon spawn threat affected everyone.

Breakfast hadn’t been the right time. Too much risk of being heard, and ample food waiting to be devoured. Jake swallowed. There were no more prying ears around now. But what if he did it wrong? They needed help, and this might be their best chance for a while.

Never taking the shot would be worse than missing. He steeled himself and asked, keeping clear of the riskier elements. Gramok didn’t need to know about Earth, the System quest, or Jake being a Hero.

“Join you? Us three, try to save the world?” Gramok bellowed with laughter and clapped Jake on the back. “That’s a good one.”

“I’m serious.” He glanced at Cara for help. No chance of that.

“Uh-huh, sure you are.” Gramok stared, setting off a shiver down Jake’s spine. “The level 6 human and the level 13 wood elf need the level 15 orc to save the world. I got that right?”

When he said it like that, it didn’t sound promising. But what else could they do? “We need all the help we can get.”

No response.

What else was there to say? He had a point. The whole idea was crazy, doubly so without knowing Jake was a Hero. Would telling him that help, or just make it vastly worse?

It could wait. Maybe seeing the two of them in action would win Gramok over. It wasn’t like he’d seen much last time before he’d hit the dirt. Or maybe Jake would end up dead again. At least that would make the choice of how much to reveal a whole lot simpler.

Cara was the first to break the silence, pointing at a bird and asking if it migrated for winter. Gramok shrugged, but Cara wasn’t done. It was like a dam had broken—the age and species of every tree they passed, the mating habits of the birds, crop rotations used, the questions went on and on.

Gramok answered as best he could, but her curiosity vastly outstripped what little knowledge he had of the natural world. Nevertheless, she nodded along to what few answers he had and asked more questions.

Irrelevant or not, it gave Jake a chance to think. Would revealing that he was a Hero really be so bad? Did orcs hate them in the same way the wood elves did? It had been a long time. Maybe they’d met more Heroes like Sigurd since.

He chuckled. Vikings would probably have gotten on well with the orcs. Maybe Gramok would be okay with it, but the fewer unknowns, the better. What would underpin how important it was, and show that they had a chance?

Cara asked another question about bird’s nest materials. How did she even think of so many? Not that her questions weren’t all at least mildly interesting, but wasn’t she tired of so few meaningful answers?

Gramok clenched his teeth. “They’re birds. Hay, maybe?” He turned away and breathed deeply. “So, Jake, you want to save the world?”

“Yeah.” At least they were back to the subject at hand. “I have a System quest.”

“A System quest?” Gramok raised an eyebrow. “They’re a myth, a legend. You sure you’re not still drunk?”

Of course he didn’t believe it. Sometimes, Jake didn’t either. “We’ve got a lead in the Divine Empire. That’s where we’re headed.”

“Oh, why didn’t you say? There’s nothing I love more than visiting an empire where the emperor does whatever he wants to whoever he wants, while his loyal subjects pray they aren’t next.”

An ice-cold shiver ran down Jake’s spine. Did this world really deserve saving, after everything it had done? His chest tightened, and he swallowed. They needed a tank. What did Gramok want? What got him out of bed in the morning? “It’ll be an adventure.”

“I love adventure, but do you know the best part about it?”

Jake kept smiling while his heart sank. “What?”

“Coming back and regaling your adoring fans with your tales of valor.” Gramok grinned and clapped Jake hard on the back again. “You’re a promising caster, but the Divine Empire? That place will eat you alive and spit you out.”

Cara spoke up. “We have to try.” Her voice barely shook at all.

More laughter, and Gramok clapped her on the back too. “You guys, you guys are crazy, you know that?”

“Thanks.” She beamed like that was the nicest thing anyone had said all day. “You in, then?”

“If I did something that crazy, my old man would go ballistic.”

A knife twisted in Jake’s gut. His smile only just held the line. “That’s a no, then?”

A toothy grin came back. “Chance to wind him up? I ain’t going near the Empire, but I’ll adventure with you guys for a while. Kragonkar knows you two could use the practice, not to mention a stunningly handsome front-line fighter.”

Shaking his head, Jake chuckled. Self-confidence wasn’t a problem for Gramok, at least.

Cara’s lips pressed together. Jake met her gaze and raised an eyebrow. Was she okay with this? She nodded.

A genuine smile spread across Jake’s face. “Well, as I said, we could use all the help we can get.” He clapped Gramok on the shoulder. “Welcome aboard.”

***

“I’ve been keeping Discern Magic on, just in case, and—” Jake paused, second and third guessing whether it was rude to ask.

“You’re wondering about my armor?” Gramok sighed and muttered something in Orcish. “Fine, if it’ll stop you staring like a starving child at a banquet. We can rest under the shade of this tree. I’m sure Cara wouldn’t mind getting a good look at it.”

“I would love to! Someone,” Cara stared at Jake, “wouldn’t let me examine the trees before.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t. I just asked whether it was really the best use of our time.”

She lifted her chin and smirked. “All work and no play makes Jake a dull boy.”

Why did he ever teach her that saying? “It’s Jack, not Jake.”

She shrugged and began studying the perfectly ordinary tree. “It’s true about Jake, too.”

Heat rushed into his face and ears. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t had a point. Not that it was his fault the world wouldn’t stop throwing shit at him.

Gramok laughed, propped himself up in the shade, and wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel. “Go for it. I bet you won’t be able to guess what all the enchantments do.”

The metalwork itself looked… like metal had been worked. The armor was certainly well polished, and a damned sight more protective than leather, but assessing the quality was beyond Jake. Touching it didn’t give any information on its stats, either. Was that because someone else was wearing it?

The ornate design was incredibly detailed in places, without even a single dent or smudge. Generally, that wouldn’t be surprising given the mundane and magical ways to completely repair gear, but hadn’t it been rather more battered the night before? When had he gotten it fixed?

The enchantment was tidy. Intricate, but not delicate. No loose ends, no signs of uncertainty, experimentation, or flair in its creation. Whoever had made it, they had made others before, possibly an expert in their craft.

It didn’t hold a candle to the tangled webs of magic in the elven ruins. This was much simpler, much less artistic. That utilitarian nature made following the lines of magic to isolate the various aspects much simpler.

One aspect was very similar to the Repair effect, presumably its Enchantment cousin. Far from powerful enough to help in a battle, but strong enough the armor likely wouldn’t ever need maintenance without serious damage. The kind of damage that would make repairing the armor irrelevant, unless they were a Hero.

The other aspect shared some similarities to Repair, but not any other effects. Definitely not Armor or Absorb. What else could it be? What was he missing? There was a hint of the Light aspect in there, but that wouldn’t make sense. Both effects were powered by what looked very much like a Transmutation aspect.

“Can’t see it, can you?” Gramok said, somehow mocking and jovial at the same time. How did people manage that?

Whatever the aspect did, staring at it more would not help. Jake held up his hands and shrugged. “I haven’t seen many enchantments. There’s a Repair effect in there, and something related, but I can’t for the life of me tell what it does.”

With a grin a little too wide to believe, Gramok put his hands on his hips, lifted his chin, and pushed forward his chest. “That, my friend, is a Cleaning enchantment.”

“Cleaning?” Jake blinked and looked again. It made sense now. Well, how the enchantment worked made sense, anyway. “That’s why your armor gleamed toward the end of the night.”

“Aye. Twenty-fourth birthday, my glorious father asks what I want. ‘Anything,’ he says, ‘for you are a Lord’s son.’” Gramok grinned, showing off his sharp teeth with aplomb. “Being an adventurous sort, and knowing full well my father didn’t approve, I asked for an enchanted suit of armor.”

Jake’s stomach tightened and twisted. A suit of fine armor from his father, and Gramok grumbled that it wasn’t enchanted the way he wanted. “So he got you this?”

“Ceremonial armor for a ceremonial son.” Gramok shrugged and chuckled half-heartedly. “Of course, the great Lord Kadora couldn’t stoop to buy anything poorly made, so, vanity aside, it is a very nice suit of armor.”

“Useful.”

Gramok paused. His eyebrows pulled in, and the bounding energy left his voice. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Your father—”

“I’m fine. Let’s get going again.”

***

Gramok pointed to an unassuming stone building. “Here’s the temple.”

Stout, two stories high, no larger than a four-bedroom house, and not a fancy one at that. Battlements on top, arrow slits in the walls, and a portcullis across the only entrance. Despite being overgrown with vines, it was remarkably undamaged, at least from the outside.

Jake stared at the fort and tilted his head. “I was expecting something bigger, and less like a castle.”

Gramok snorted and grinned. “When your religion is fighting anyone and everyone with battle magic, you make an enemy or two.”

“Guess so.” Several layers of magic were woven into the walls, too complicated to discern what they did. “It’s enchanted, some sort of repair magic, at the very least. Nowhere near enough power for an extra-dimensional portal, though.”

New bow in hand and an arrow notched, Cara nodded curtly. “Good. That place gave me the creeps.”

It wasn’t large enough. There had to be more to it than this. Jake frowned. There would be surprises, and not the good kind. “How do we get in?”

They looked to their guide, but Gramok merely shrugged. “I’ve never been in. What? It’s a battlemage dungeon. Mages don’t fight fair, everyone knows that. It’s probably crawling with traps, too.”

“Right.” Jake swallowed. “Traps.” He cast an Absorb and an Armor spell on himself and snuck forward. His heart pounded in his chest. Every step might set off a bomb his overspecialized Perception didn’t spot.

Being the Order of the Battlemage, any traps would probably be magical. In theory, that would let Discern Magic see them. Unless there were enchantments to hide other enchantments. The hard lump in his chest grew heavier. Yeah, invisible traps sounded about right.

He had been curious about what else Death had to say, hadn’t he? And it wouldn’t be too awkward with Gramok, explaining why dying didn’t stick. That, and why they hadn’t told him in the first place.

He swallowed hard. Better not to find out. “Stay back.” A quick glance revealed his warning was pointless. Even Cara had enough sense to let him go first.

A step forward. Nothing.

Another step. Still nothing.

Another step. Nothing—

Mana surged in part of the wall. Jake pulled his arms over his face and dropped to the floor.

Red fire engulfed him. Uncomfortably warm, but no burning flesh. Distant heat, as if happening to someone else. Mana flowed through his Absorb spell, restoring a sliver of his MP.

“I’m okay!” He recast the Absorb spell and poked his head up.

Cara drew her bow. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah.”

The aspect that had triggered the response resembled the Light effect, but in reverse. Some kind of magical sight? It connected up to a Fire aspect and what closely resembled a Projectile form. Now he knew what he was looking for.

He gulped. There were more of them along the wall. Each had a fully stocked well of mana, except for the one that had just fired. Mana flowed rapidly into it. It was nearly full.

Adrenaline rushed through him. He scrambled back. Not enough time. The trigger activated. He brought up his arms and turned his face away.

Another blast of fire engulfed him. The Absorb effect sputtered and failed. Red-hot heat seared his skin.

24 fire damage received!

Agony ripped through him. He screamed and sprinted back to the others. That had been just one. If he’d kept going and triggered the others…

At a safe distance, he healed away the burns. “They’ve got a Sight aspect connected to a rapid recharge firebolt.” He looked back at the walls and grimaced. “And there’s more of them, too. I can’t cast enough Absorbs to get us past.”

“Mages.” Gramok shrugged, an irritatingly sunny smile on his face. “What’d I tell you?”

Cara rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Not. Helpful.”

“You try being smart with more critical injuries than Intelligence.”

It was a fair point. Cara’s face contorted and her head tilted from side to side, but there wasn’t really a good comeback for that. “Fine! So, Jake, resident intellect of the group, what’s the plan?”

Jake crossed his arms and pursed his lips. How did she make such pleasant words sound like insults? And now he had to come up with something, or look even dumber. Well played.

The triggers were all visual, as best he could tell. If line of sight was blocked, they might not go off. All he needed was a large, flat, and portable object. Some kind of shield.

A weight lifted off his chest, and he smiled. “I’ve got an idea.”