When Mizuki stepped out into the demiplane, it wasn’t like she’d been hiding out in extradimensional space for the last week and a half. It was instead like practically no time at all had passed, only eight hours or so of fitful sleep followed by a quick breakfast supplied by entad, this one a pastry filled with egg, onion, and ham.

She was nervous, naturally, all the more so because they were splitting up. She’d wanted to go with Hannah, but part of the idea had been that they would just slot right into this new society, and it would be easier to do that if they were playing the parts of newcomers. From experience on undone days, there would probably not be that much issue with saying that they were visiting from the palace, or even that they were staying with Verity, or that they were still looking for a home. There were, in fact, a lot of people in the demiplane, and the best time to infiltrate was before everyone knew each other.

At the back of Mizuki’s mind was mage college, which she was missing the first days of without any warning given to them. She was bummed about that, and a bit anxious, because her mother had always said that you only ever got to make one first impression on people. That wasn’t really true for chrononauts though, which made her feel a pang of envy. Of course, Alfric would probably have said that using that power to get a second first impression was wildly unethical, but still.

Mizuki wasn’t entirely sure what they were looking for, but she was intrigued by the Wildlands, which had been mentioned a few times, and was hoping to get some kind of a look at them. Alfric had been forthright in saying that he thought they had no real business left in the demiplane, having confirmed that it was at least mostly on the up-and-up, and there was a part of her that agreed with him, though she still hadn’t spoken to Kell. The whole thing wouldn’t be over until she had some kind of conversation with him. It would need to be approached with delicacy and tact.

The village mostly consisted of houses that were all the same, though some had special paints, ornate windows, or additions. Among them were larger buildings though, communal spaces that seemed to carry a great age to them. One was a tavern, and Mizuki slipped inside it, feeling self-conscious. From what both Verity and Ria had said, so many of the people were new, especially within the last two weeks, that it would be possible to blend in. Still, there was a feeling of being naked, and not in a good way. She felt like people were staring at her, though maybe that was just because she looked so guilty.

The tavern was almost more of a barn, with a high arch going overhead and more overhead room than it really felt like the place needed. It was long, in a way that Mizuki wasn’t particularly used to taverns being, though she hadn’t been in all that many of them. There was something earthy about the place, perhaps the amount of wood that had been used for the arches, the tables, and the floors. A large sign said ‘one and a half drink maximum’, which felt odd to her.

It was morning, but the tavern was at least a quarter full, and Mizuki found a seat for herself. The plan had been for the party to scatter, lest they draw more attention to themselves, and while she had readily agreed that the five of them moving around together would be a bit suspicious, she wished that they were with her to make her feel more secure.

People were eating steaming breakfasts, and Mizuki looked around for a bit, not seeing any waiters, staff, or buffet to pull from. It was probably the kind of thing you got told when you came to the village, though if Verity knew, she hadn’t mentioned it.

A shockingly handsome boy sat down opposite Mizuki with his own plate of food. He was dressed simply, but far, far too pretty for her to do anything but stare at him for a moment. His eyes were pale blue and his hair raven black, and he had dimples when he smiled, which he was doing in her direction, showing straight white teeth. It was almost annoying how good he looked, and it wasn’t even that she was attracted to him, necessarily, it was that his looks were distracting.

“Do you need help?” he asked.

“Um,” said Mizuki. “I’m new?” she ventured.

“And didn’t get the full tour?” he asked.

“No, not quite,” said Mizuki. She looked around one last time. “How do I, uh, get food?”

“Slam your fist on the table and say ‘breakfast!’” said the boy. “You have to say it kind of loud.”

“Breakfast!” shouted Mizuki, slamming her fist on the table, hard enough that it kind of hurt.

Nothing appeared, and the boy laughed.

“Oh very funny,” said Mizuki, frowning at him.

“I love entads,” he said. “You can tell people anything and they’ll try the most ridiculous stuff.”

“So how do I get something to eat?” asked Mizuki, still frowning. She was going to have to remember telling people the wrong things about entads though, that was funny.

“Finger signs,” said the boy. “Thumb to index finger, thumb to pinky, cross index and middle fingers, then wave your hand over the table.”

“Show me,” said Mizuki, folding her arms.

“I’ve already got my food,” said the boy with a smile.

“Well make me a plate, then I’ll eat that instead of doing it myself,” said Mizuki.

“Aw,” he said. “You don’t trust me.”

“Yes, that happens when the first thing someone does is trick you,” said Mizuki.

He made the finger motions quickly, with practiced ease, and where he waved his hand, a plate of food appeared. It was scrambled eggs with chopped up herbs, a long brown sausage, a pile of sliced up strawberries, and a short muffin that was glazed with honey and decorated with orange peel.

“Huh,” said Mizuki as she took the plate. It would be her second breakfast of the day, and she immediately felt bad that she wouldn’t eat all of it. “I don’t get to decide what to eat?”

“Nope,” he replied. “It’s always the same for everyone, usually some good variety, but at the tavern all the meals just are what they are. It changes through the week, but I think this is always what we have for breakfast the day after temple day.”

“And I can’t get a boiled egg in the middle of the night?” asked Mizuki.

“Nope,” he said. He held out a hand. “I’m Thom, by the way.”

“Mizuki,” she replied, taking his hand. His handshake was a little too firm. She still hadn’t gotten used to the way he looked, but she was hungry, so she ate.

“Do you need someone to give you the tour?” he asked. “Are you visiting from the palace?”

“I’m thinking of moving here,” said Mizuki, which was a complete lie. “So yes, a tour would be nice.” She was speaking with her mouth half full, which was only because she’d been asked a question while she was in the middle of chewing.

“Were you wondering about the drink and a half sign?” Thom asked.

“I guess,” said Mizuki, covering her mouth so he wouldn’t have to see half-eaten strawberries. The food was good, though nothing all that special. She could have done better, though she’d never made her own sausage, and it was clearly a lot less work to just magic something up.

“There are glasses you can grab from the wall and fill with whatever,” said Thom. “Just tap the side and it will be anything drinkable, milk, juice, rum, wine, you name it. But if it’s got alcohol, you can’t drink more than a drink and a half. Anything beyond that will turn to water in your mouth.”

“Huh,” said Mizuki. She finished a bite of muffin. It was a little overly sweet, for her tastes, and also needed a bit of salt. “What if you wait?”

“I think the rule is never more than a drink and a half in you,” he replied. “But I guess I haven’t actually tested it. The idea is that no one actually gets drunk.”

“Or you could bring your own drink in,” said Mizuki. “It’s easy enough to make wine, if you have grapes, and I can’t imagine we don’t have grapes.” She wasn’t actually sure that it was easy to make wine, but her grandfather had run a winery and talked about wine a lot, and it didn’t seem like it could be that complicated to end up with something that would at least get you drunk.

“I guess,” said Thom. “There aren’t a lot of rules, but I think trying to work our way around what’s already in place is, uh.” He seemed uncomfortable for the first time. “I mean, this place is nice, I don’t think anyone wants to rock the boat too much.”

“Who put the sign up?” asked Mizuki.

“I don’t know,” said Thom. “I’ve been here a month, which is just long enough to feel like I know my way around. At a guess, all things flow from our mysterious benefactor.”

“Any idea how she got a demiplane?” asked Mizuki. “And a, uh, living one?”

“No,” said Thom. “And like I said, rocking the boat … eh.”

“What can you tell me about the Wildlands?” asked Mizuki.

“Um,” said Thom. “I don’t know, I’ve never gone out there. From what I’ve heard, it’s like a dungeon, but … less. Or less and more. A dungeon is a set of rooms, but the Wildlands are more like, um, an adventure. Forests and valleys and mountains and swamps. Less dense?” He shrugged. “Why?”

“Oh, I used to be a dungeoneer,” said Mizuki.

“You?” he asked, in an incredulous way that Mizuki really didn’t like.

Mizuki nodded. “I used to sweep through them with my party, before it all fell apart. Giant sword in hand, skull armor, glowing hair, it was really something. I was thinking that I would go out into the Wildlands, if it really is like a dungeon, or a spread out dungeon. There are entads?”

“Yes,” replied Thom. He was looking at her differently, half was though he thought she was joking about doing dungeons, and half as though he hadn’t been treating her with the proper amount of respect. “Much more rare, but they’re there, and I think they’re the same. The wilding parties usually come back with a handful, even if they’ve been out a week. It’s much more like camping or exploring.”

“But they’re parties?” asked Mizuki. “I mean, limited to five?”

“Not necessarily,” replied Thom. “But I guess I don’t know that much. There’s no real need to go into the Wildlands, at least from what I know. We have everything taken care of here.”

“And there are monsters, like in a dungeon?” asked Mizuki.

“There can be,” nodded Thom. “Fewer, more spread out, but still dangerous, I think.” He looked over. “Here, there’s someone I can introduce you to that might know more.” He gave a wave, and Mizuki turned to look.

It was Kell.

They locked eyes for a moment, and Kell faltered, then strode over.

“Thom,” said Kell with a nod. He looked at Mizuki. “Who’s this?”

“Mizuki,” said Thom. “She’s new, or at least new to the village, might be living here. She was asking about the Wildlands, and I thought since you’ve taken to them, you might be able to speak more knowledgeably on the subject.”

“Certainly,” said Kell with a sharp nod.

“This is Kell, he’s a professional,” said Thom.

Kell looked down at Mizuki’s half-eaten plate of food. “You look like you’re just about done, can you walk and talk with me?”

“Er,” said Mizuki. She wasn’t really done with her breakfast. “S-sure.”

“Right,” nodded Kell. “Thank you for the introduction, Thom, I’ll speak with you later about the game. Mizuki?”

Mizuki rose, reluctantly, and followed after Kell as he strode from the tavern.

“You were asking about the Wildlands?” asked Kell as they walked through the village. “Hang on, we’re almost to my house, I’m very close by.”

“I was just —” began Mizuki.

“Here,” said Kell. He was walking fast, and pushed in through the door, leaving it open behind him and not taking off his shoes. He went to a closet door and opened it. It led into a bright space that was larger than the closet should have allowed, extradimensional entad space that was made more obvious by the fact that the door didn’t quite fit. “I’ve been in the Wildlands quite a bit, and haven’t really had the time to set things up, but this area is well-furnished and very cozy, if you don’t mind.”

“Er,” said Mizuki. He was standing next to the open door, waiting for her. “Sure.”

She went inside, hoping against hope that it wasn’t a trap, but if it was a trap, then Ria would surely rescue her by undoing the day. The room was a nice one, a sunroom with jungle plants outside it, as though they were in an inverted vivarium of some sort, a spot of domesticity encased in glass and plopped down in nature. There were three large chairs around a large center table, which had a pot of steaming tea on it and three porcelain cups with saucers.

“Tea?” he asked as he shut the door behind him.

“Kell,” she said.

“Mizuki,” he replied. He took a seat and poured a cup for her, then for him. It smelled of juniper and honey. He sat back with the cup in his hand, held delicately, and watched her for a moment.

“I guess you’re wondering why I’m here,” said Mizuki. “But I guess I’m wondering why you’re here.”

“There are two options, as I see it,” said Kell. “Either you’re here because Cate plucked you up from Inter, like she did me, or you’re here without Cate’s blessing, having ridden in on Verity like a flea. I don’t think either of those would be great for me, but one would be considerably worse.”

“Yeah, it’s the second one,” said Mizuki. “But you disappeared, and —”

“I left a note,” said Kell. He took a breath. “Cate thought you might go looking for me, that you might bring in the others, that chrononauts might get involved, and — I really thought that you’d figure out that I went of my own free will. That I wanted a fresh start. So however you got here, it would be wonderful if you could leave. It’s bad enough that Verity is here, but we never knew each other all that well, and Cate warned me, so it’s not that big of a deal. I’m probably not long for the village anyway.”

“You’re not?” asked Mizuki. “I mean, are you just going to live by yourself?”

Kell let out a sigh. “It’s really not any of your business.”

Mizuki frowned at him. “We were friends. What happened?”

Kell looked at the ceiling for a moment, avoiding her gaze, then down at her like he was staring into her soul. Their eyes were locked with such intensity that it was almost painful.

“I was in love with you,” he said.

“Ah,” said Mizuki. She pulled back.

“You knew?” he asked, though it was a question that he seemed to know the answer to.

“I guess,” she said. “I mean, I thought it was more of a crush.” On her end, it was a feeling like she had lost interest in him at the tail end of their romance, but without actually having the preceding relationship. There was always a point when kissing wasn’t that fun anymore, when there was no thrill from a touch, and with Kell it was almost like they had a whole history which had already run its course. She couldn’t say that to him though. She was very aware that it didn’t make sense.

“I knew you didn’t think of me like that,” said Kell. He shrugged, too casual. “And it did hurt, and I did hope that it would somehow change, but — we don’t need to have this conversation. I didn’t leave because of you.”

“You didn’t?” asked Mizuki. “Because it feels like you did.”

“There were a lot of reasons I left,” said Kell. “I didn’t have a home, I didn’t have a purpose, I didn’t fit in, and here I have all those things.”

“You’ve been here a week,” said Mizuki, frowning at him.

“We’re all people who’ve been displaced,” said Kell. “I’m making friends.” He hesitated. “I’m getting married.”

“You’re what?” asked Mizuki. “After a week?” She leaned forward. “How does that happen?”

“It’s the way it’s done in Cairbre,” said Kell. “We hit it off, she proposed, I said yes.”

“That’s stupid,” said Mizuki. She folded her arms across her chest. “Wait, are you living together?”

“Not yet,” said Kell. “It’ll be a long engagement. But the point is that if you did slip in here with Verity, you need to slip right back out. I can facilitate that, there’s a technique that wizards can do, but you need to go. I don’t know what Cate will do if she finds you here.”

“So you do think she’s dangerous,” said Mizuki.

“I think she’s got an enormous amount of power,” said Kell. “I think she’s hiding things from us, both about the history and the nature of this place. But you know what? I also mostly don’t care. I can construct a way out, if I need it. I studied the technique before I left, and I have enough power. If it comes down to it, I can leave, taking a handful of people with me. For the moment? We have every single need provided for us. I have a girl I’m planning to marry. And the Wildlands — they’re hard to describe, but they’re everything I had always hoped dungeons would be.”

Mizuki pursed her lips. “You weren’t given a fair chance to decide. You weren’t allowed to talk to anyone about the decision.” These were Alfric’s words coming out of her mouth. “And maybe that works for you, but there are so many people here, most of them down on their luck, vulnerable, and the difference in power between them and her —”

“They’re taken care of,” said Kell. “They’ve got food, shelter, healing, and more than that, community. Some of it is built up already, other pieces are being built as we go, but you understand how it was for me in Pucklechurch, one step out of sync with everyone, not feeling like I had a place, like I had missed out on everyone growing up together. Here, we’re all getting a chance to do it at the same time.”

“If you’re actually happy here,” said Mizuki, slowly. “Then I guess … we can’t really do anything about it. We have to just say ‘well okay, I guess we came here for nothing’.”

“We?” asked Kell.

“The others are here too,” said Mizuki. “The rest of the party.”

Kell sighed. “I guess I should have known that you wouldn’t do this on your own. That you couldn’t do it on your own.”

“Says who?” asked Mizuki. She wasn’t sure why she felt affronted, because she couldn’t have done it on her own.

“You agree that you need to get out of here?” asked Kell. “I’ve spoken with Lin, I’ve talked to Kali, so far as I know those are the people you care most about. They’re safe. They’re mostly happy.”

“Mostly?” asked Mizuki.

“Kali was deeply unhappy, being a bastlefolk,” said Kell. “You remember us talking about it? I sought her out and talked with her for about an hour, because you’d mentioned her, and I felt like someone should be watching out for her. She’s doing alright here, but feels like an imposter, because she’s human full time.” He shrugged. “I’ve been helping her deal with it. I think for her it means more coming from me, since we’re not family or anything like it. She just wants to be normal, and she is normal, she just needs to feel it.”

“Ah,” said Mizuki. “That’s kind of you.”

Kell shifted in his seat. “You know, I kept thinking that you would see me.” He gestured at himself. “That you’d realize I was, I don’t know.”

“Mmm,” said Mizuki. “Sorry. I don’t think it, uh, works like that. For me.”

“There was nothing I could ever have done?” asked Kell. “Nothing I could have ever been? No amount of kindness, strength, competence, nothing?”

Mizuki felt awful. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t feel anything for him, only that she was sure she didn’t. “I did think that if you’d made a move, it might have been … I don’t know. That if we kissed, I might have felt something. I’d have gone on a date, I think, if you’d asked.”

“That sounds awful,” said Kell. His lips were tight.

“Yeah,” said Mizuki. “Or, I don’t know, you’re doing the marriage thing, you said, where maybe you don’t feel a full connection right away, but it grows over time? I don’t think that would have worked, but —”

“I really don’t want to talk about this,” said Kell.

“Right,” said Mizuki. “Sorry.”

“I think you should leave,” said Kell. “Not just leave here, but leave the demiplane. Go back home. I’m safe. We’re all taken care of. It’s paradise.”

“We can’t do that,” said Mizuki. “Sorry, but we can’t, if Cate is allowed to close the entrance behind her, there’s no telling what’s going to happen here. People need to be able to leave.”

“I already told you I can craft an exit,” said Kell. “It’s actually not that difficult for a wizard, a week’s work, tops. We don’t have cause to deal with extradimensional stuff often, but making a small hole to get out of a demiplane is one of the things that we can do.”

“Only as long as you’re allowed to,” said Mizuki.

“This is true,” said Kell. “But do you really think that this is some very long setup for something nefarious?”

Mizuki looked out at the plants. The truth was, she wanted Kell to come back, for everyone to come back. From everything she could tell, all these people had left because there was something wrong with their life, some grudge against the world, and she really didn’t agree with that. She liked the world, and going somewhere else to start over felt false, in a way.

“I have no idea what Cate wants,” said Mizuki. “But you don’t either.”

“You know I’m no slouch when it comes to combat, right?” asked Kell.

Mizuki stayed silent. She wasn’t supposed to talk about Ria, whose presence within the demiplane seemed like it was bound to bring a fight. But that meant that she also wasn’t supposed to say anything about what Ria knew about Cate’s powers, the presumed hoard of entads backing her up, or anything like that.

“Well, we’re sticking around,” said Mizuki. “If Cate doesn’t have eyes on the village, or if she knows we’re here and isn’t going to kick us out, then we’re going to investigate as much as we can. We’ll be ‘fleas’.”

“I think I could vouch for you, if you wanted to stay,” said Kell.

“No,” said Mizuki, frowning. “And besides, I thought you did all this to run away from me?”

“Yes, I’d prefer to just move on,” said Kell. “Because … I feel it. And I know, have known from early on, that you don’t.” He was silent for a moment, and Mizuki felt a burning embarrassment. She felt like he wanted her to say that no, maybe there was something between them, or could be. She didn’t say that. “But we were still friends, and my feelings, whatever they might have been, were a problem with me, not with you.” He swallowed. “There’s this wound I’m worried about reopening every time I see you. But it’s good here, and I wouldn’t want to deny you that, if it was a possibility.”

“I’m sorry,” said Mizuki.

“Sorry?” asked Kell. “For?”

“I don’t know,” said Mizuki. “Just sorry. I feel like I’m saying that a lot. It feels like you came back to Pucklechurch for me, and I was exactly everything you had dreamed that I would be, and you had proven yourself strong and capable, smart and determined, and then …” She trailed off. And then I just had no interest in you.

“Yeah,” said Kell. “Look, are you trying to rub it in?”

“No, I’m not, sorry,” said Mizuki. “Sorry for saying sorry.” She bit her lip. “You won’t tell, right?”

“Tell Cate?” asked Kell. “No. I don’t know what would happen to you, but there’s some risk that you wouldn’t just be kicked out the door.”

“You think she’d kill us?” asked Mizuki.

“I don’t know,” said Kell. “I think if it were in her power, she’d remove your memories, at the very least, but I don’t know if it is within her power. Everyone I’ve talked to has mentioned the same black orb. Verity too?”

“Yeah,” said Mizuki. “Plus we saw it while looking into the past.”

“I don’t know how many more things she has like that,” said Kell. “She’s flush with entads, which makes sense. There are entads out in the Wildlands, and they’re more time-consuming to get, but generally safer.”

“You’ve been getting more for her?” asked Mizuki.

“For me,” said Kell. “She doesn’t take the fruits of our labor.” He paused. “You really should go, out of my house, if not right out of the demiplane. I don’t want to be seen as collaborating with you.”

Mizuki frowned. “Alright. But we’re not leaving until we at least find some answers.”

Kell sighed. “Keep your head down. Cate seems to mostly let the village run as it is, but if she catches wind of you being in here … there might be trouble.”

“We already ran into trouble and undid it,” said Mizuki. “We’ll be fine.”

“And you’re hoping to uncover some kind of crime?” asked Kell. “The whole concept of crime gets sticky when she’s effectively a sovereign.”

“You know what I mean though,” said Mizuki.

“I do,” nodded Kell. He hesitated for a moment. “That was one of the things I always liked about you. The way you’d just go out and do things, even if they weren’t the smartest.”

“Thanks, I think,” said Mizuki. “You know, you could help us. Get access to the palace, put a wizard’s eye on things.”

Kell’s lips went tight. “I did say that I liked it here, right?”

“You’d rather stay ignorant?” asked Mizuki.

“I’d rather not be implicated if it turns out you’re chasing ghosts,” said Kell. “But if you do find something … then yes, you can come to me. I’ll help. I can get people out, if that’s what’s needed, and lend some firepower, if you give me some lead time. Right now I’m configured for exploration.”

“Thanks,” said Mizuki. She stood from the couch. “I wish … I guess I wish that things had been different. I hope that if I’m wrong, you can find some happiness here.”

Kell nodded. “I’m well on my way.”

Mizuki hesitated. She wanted it to be like it had been, when they were friends, just friends, but she wasn’t sure that era had ever existed. Maybe he’d always been pining after her, even when they were just hanging out and talking. That made her feel sad, like they’d never really been friends at all, so she stood up and left after another brief goodbye.

That left her with the rest of the day, though she didn’t particularly feel like wandering around the village. The palace was off-limits though, and the Wildlands seemed like a bad idea to do by herself, even though there was more than enough magic swirling in the air for her to fireball her way out of trouble.

Mizuki went back to Verity’s house, looking for someone to talk to, and knowing that it would be Ria.