Into Elythium

Chapter 1: The Absent Father

Sabaton blasted from my phone, and I jolted away. Without opening my eyes, I reached toward the coffee table and slapped my hand on the surface, knocking over an empty cereal box before closing my fingers around the annoying thing.

I cracked an eyelid at the number, but didn’t recognize it. My thumb hovered over the power button, but decided against it.

“Hello?”

“Taren?” The voice had a thick rasp.

“Uh, yeah, who’s this?”

“It’s me—”

And I knew before she said her name. My body froze, blood running cold through my veins. Time slowed, and I was a kid again, Hel laughing as she held my hand, listening to her voice over the phone.

A choked sob brought me back to the present. My heart sped up and color returned to the world.

“Hel, what's wrong?” I asked, sitting up, my fingers tight around my phone.

She cleared her throat. “I-I think you need to come over. It’s about our daughter.”

Our?

Our?!

“Hel—”

“No, don’t. Just come over. I’m sending you my address. Hurry.” She hung up.

I stared at my phone as the call ended and my Darth Vader background scowled up at me until the screen went black. Daughter. With Helen? Setting my phone on the table, I dropped my head into my hands. Numbness spread through my body, touching all but my heart. She would be, what, thirteen? Fourteen? I hadn’t seen Hel since the night she broke up with me all those years ago.

The coffee table rumbled as my phone vibrated, and I snatched at it. The screen lit up as the text came through, address displayed on my lock screen. All this time, and she only lived four streets away. Shoving it into my pocket, I grabbed my coat, slipped on my shoes, and ran out the front door of my apartment.

My car wasn’t worth four-hundred bucks. I don’t think I’ve ever pushed it past fifty, and to be honest, I’m amazed it made it to Helen’s without breaking down halfway. It stalled in front of her house. I ran up the paved driveway and squeezed between two flower bushes to get to the front door.

Taking a breath, I knocked. It took only seconds for the door to swing open, revealing the red-eyed, tear-streaked face of my ex-girlfriend.

“Taren, thank god.” Helen opened the door, and I stepped into her house. Pictures of Helen and a little girl lined the short hallway. I stared at them. My daughter. Not only did she look like Helen, but I could also see my mom. They shared the same stubborn jut of the chin.

“In here.” Helen led me into the kitchen. A man clutched the back of a chair, his knuckles white, face a light shade of green.

“Andy, this is Taren, Dot’s real father.”

I felt faint. “So, it's true.”

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, taking a breath. “Yeah. It’s true.”

Andy pulled out the chair, and I sat down hard, taking deep breaths. I couldn’t think straight. My mouth wouldn’t form words. Anger warred with disbelief and elation, but in the end, dread won out.

“What happened to her?” I whispered, my eyes darting to Helen. She stood next to Andy, one arm across her chest, the other hiding her mouth as she blinked tears away. They glanced at each other.

“That’s why you’re here.” Andy took a half step forward. “She was kidnapped. A few witnesses are saying this guy who kidnapped her, well—”

“Your father did it, Taren. Your father took our girl!”

“I–I–what? Helen, that’s impossible. My f-f-father’s been dead for sixteen years. I w-w-watched him d-die, remember?”

“Oh, Taren.” She put a hand on my arm, pity crossing her face. “You don’t have to keep that up. We all know he abandoned you.”

I took a step back, pulling my arm from her grip. “What are you talking about, Hel? I came to you right afterward. I told you what happened.”

The look of pity she gave me instantly lit a flame in my chest I thought I had long ago squashed. My hands shook as I closed my eyes and took a breath.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Andy said, holding out his hands. “Helen, you told me his father left him, but he says his father died? How can a dead man steal kids?”

“You don’t understand, Andy. His father abandoned him, and he made up this whole story about watching the man die so he wouldn’t have to face the truth! And now he’s sticking with it, despite Dyllon witnessing the same man talking to his daughter?!” Helen’s face reddened and her hands tightened into fists.

The ice circulating in my blood melted instantly, and I could feel my eye twitching. “This whole time you thought I was lying? I came to you, Hel. I trusted you.”

She flinched but didn’t back down. “They didn’t find a body, Taren. No one believed you. After you dropped out, there were rumors you killed him yourself. At least I didn't think you'd go that far.”

I stood up so fast I knocked my chair over.

“Alright, let’s just chill out,” Andy said, picking it back up. “We’re all on the same side here. Dot is the important part of this puzzle, and I think we need to focus on her.”

“You’re right.” Helen took a breath and sat down. Andy took the chair next to her and gestured at me. I sat, crossing my arms and scowling to cover up the ache in my chest. No one believed me?

“Whoever this guy is, I think we can agree we need to find him. Helen, didn’t you say Dyllon saw him talking with Roman?”

“Ella’s husband Dyllon?” I asked, scooting closer to the table.

“Yes,” she said. “She was playing in the yard when he walked by and stopped. Dyllon watched it go down as he pulled into the driveway and threatened to call the cops. When he told Ella, she brought out an old picture of us playing dungeons and dragons with Jax in the background. Dyllon agreed they were the same person.”

“Say it was my father. Why would he have any reason to talk to Ella’s kids? That picture was the only time they were in the same room together.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, does—”

Her phone rang. The caller ID showed the name David. I scowled as she snatched it up.

“Did all of you stay in contact?”

“Yes,” she said. “Hello?”

I sunk back into my chair, staring at the floor. It took me over a year after dropping out to give up texting my friends after receiving little to no response from them. I thought we had all drifted apart. I guess they just drifted away from me.

Helen hung up and placed her phone on the table, face drained of all color, a faraway look in her eyes.

“Hel? Honey?” Andy touched her shoulder.

“Kayce never made it home from school.”

“David has a kid?” I asked.

“He did.”

“Come now, Hel. Kayce is still out there. Our kids are smart, resourceful. If they’re together, they’ll help each other out. Let’s go talk to him, and maybe figure something out.” Andy took Helen’s hands and pulled her to her feet. She nodded, fumbling for her keys on the counter, and looking back at me.

“Are you coming?”

I stared at her, contemplating. If David’s kid got abducted from school, he wouldn’t know anything about my father. On the other hand, Dyllon actually saw him.

Rolls: 5, 12, 11, 2 = 8

My instincts screamed at me to see Dyllon first, but he lived across town, and my car was sitting dead against the curb.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m coming.” I followed Helen and Andy to their much nicer car and slid into the back seat. Slumping, I chewed on a fingernail as nerves crawled into my stomach. Hel, David, Shark, Ella. They were my best friends. We did everything together. But now…

As we pulled into David’s driveway, he dashed out his front door to meet us, hair sticking up on end, eyes wide and crazed.

“Hel! Oh my god. Oh. My. God. I’m so sorry about Dot.”

I slid from the car as they hugged, and just stood by the door, not wanting to close it and call attention to myself. David shook hands with Andy, and when he saw me, his jaw dropped.

“Taren? Is that you?”

I nodded, not quite meeting his eyes. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Damn, dude, it’s been years!” And he hugged me too. My body stiffened from the unexpected attention, but I took a breath and relaxed, hugging him back.

“It’s good to see you, David.”

“Come in, come in. We should discuss the situation.”

We followed him into a tiny neat house that smelled of cookies. My mouth watered. When was the last time I had homemade cookies?

“Cory’s still with the police making a report, but he made the cookies for everyone. I invited Ella and Sheridan as well.”

“Wait, Shark’s mixed up in this too? Our whole crew from back in the day?” I asked, taking a cookie.

“Unfortunately. If I had any inkling as to why…”

“His father,” Hel said, nodding at me.

“Hel—”

She glared at Andy, and he stopped talking.

David glanced at me. “So, he isn’t dead?”

I sat down and ran my hands through my hair. “Don’t know, man. I wasn’t lying back then when I saw him die, or at least I thought I did. Now Hel and Ella’s husband both claim to have seen him.”

He put a hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, T. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

His doorbell rang, and Andy hurried over to open it. In stepped Ella, her long red hair plaited down her back just like she used to wear it. Sheridan, or Shark as we called him, poked his head after her.

“No Dyllon?” Andy asked, glancing out the door. Ella shook her head.

“He’s staying home, just in case.”

“Taren!” A smile spread over Shark’s hairy face. The beard he sprouted at eighteen was now chest length.

Ella only glanced at me before turning to Hel. “Now that we’re here, we need to figure out how we’re going to find Jax.”

“Jax?” Shark cocked his head at her. “I thought he was dead.”

Helen and Ella glared at him.

“You believe me?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

He shrugged. “Of course. You’re my friend.”

“I thought you were with us, Shark,” Helen said.

“You didn’t believe him, I never told you one way or another. I didn’t want to fight.”

I felt a rush of warmth for my friend. “Thanks, man.”

“We're not going to fight,” David said, shooting the women a look before they could retort. “It doesn’t matter who took our kids, we just have to find them.”

“He’s right.” Andy nodded at him. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

I leaned back in my chair. “There’s gotta be a reason all your kids were targeted. Do we know if anyone else has gone missing?”

“Not that I have found,” Ella said with a sigh. “Just ours. Which is why Jax is even more suspect.”

Chewing my lip in thought, I grabbed another cookie. “Other people must have seen him. We could question neighbors, maybe his old haunts?”

A jingle went off in her pocket, and she reached for the phone. “It’s Dyllon.”

No one spoke when she answered. She listened, and without a word, set the phone on the table and put it on speaker.

“You guys have to get over here, now.”

“Where are you? What’s going on?” Hel asked, flinging herself at the table.

“I’m at the park down the street. You aren’t going to believe this.”

“Did you find the kids?!” Hel grabbed Ella’s phone, her knuckles white as she clutched it.

Dyllon sighed. “No, but I think I found a clue. Get over here.”

The phone went dead as he hung up. Hel stared at it, then shoved it in Ella's hands and ran out the door. Andy followed, grabbing her coat.

“We better go or they’ll leave us behind,” Shark said, following them with a skip to his step.

Piling into the two cars, we pulled up on Dyllon as he ran toward us across a park with a sprawling lawn and a path venturing into its copse of trees. He waved at us and put a finger to his lips. I closed the car door as quietly as possible.

“Dyllon, what—”

“Ella, shh,” he whispered. “Follow me. It’s in the trees.”

The patch was barely an acre. What could it be hiding? Tension built with every step we took. David muttered to Shark, but stopped when Dyllon glared at them. The sun dimmed as we walked beneath the canopy of branches above us. The hair on my arms stood, and I glanced around, not seeing anything.

“The birds aren’t singing,” Ella breathed, crossing her arms over her chest. She was right. The unease came from the lack of normal forest sounds. Birds, squirrels, bugs. These trees were silent.

Dyllon tiptoed up to a tree and glanced around it. He gestured for us to keep silent and follow him. We crouched behind a bush, and peeked over the branches. I was so shocked, I fell into the bush and scraped my hand, a squeak of pain escaping my lips.

Andy slapped his hand over my mouth and we both glanced toward the pegasus standing in a clearing, his wings flapping lazily as he stretched them. Did he hear me?

Rolls: 8+10+19=12

Chapter 2: Into Elythium

We froze, unable to take our eyes from the pegasus, but it continued to graze without looking up. I sighed against Andy’s hand, willing my heart to stop beating a discordant rhythm against my chest.

“Guys. Guys, guys, guys!” Ella whispered, waving to get our attention. She pointed across the clearing.

My eyes widened, and my heart redoubled its efforts as the last person I expected pushed through the branches. My father. He looked just as he did the day he died. Or the day I thought he died. Hair graying at his temples, broad shoulders, crease lines on his forehead from scowling.

If Andy hadn’t kept his hand over my mouth, my ragged breathing would have reached across the clearing and given us away. I had to ball my fists to keep them from trembling. My father, or Jax as we all knew him, strode across the clearing. The pegasus picked up his head and huffed as Jax rubbed the creature's nose with a gentleness I had never known.

Together, they walked back into the woods. We all held our breath for a good thirty seconds before Shark said, “Let’s follow them.”

We tiptoed across the clearing like Hollywood's worst ninjas. I was surprised Jax didn’t turn around and face us right then and there, but as we passed back under the trees, my father and the pegasus were nowhere to be found.

“What the heck?” David wrinkled his nose in confusion. “They did come this way, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, my eyes flickering over every shrub and trunk. I kept coming back to a single spot between two trees. The air looked weird, like swirling mist, but the day was too warm for mist.

“Do you guys see that?” I pointed.

“What is it?” Shark walked up to it and poked it. His finger disappeared. Ella grabbed him and tried to yank him back, but she couldn’t move his bulky form as he traced the mist, eyes wide with fascination.

“It’s okay, Ell. I think this is where Jax went,” David said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you think it's safe?”

“Shark?” David looked at him. He withdrew his finger and wiggled it.

“Absolutely fine.”

Ella stared at the mist quizzically, then dropped her shoulders. “Alright, after you.”

Shark stepped into the mist. It swirled, swallowing him in a single gulp. I walked around the mist to the other side. I could see the others through it, but no Shark.

“This day can’t get any weirder,” I muttered to myself. Then a hand appeared through the mist. David squeaked and jumped backwards, but Shark’s hairy head followed and he sighed, pressing a hand to his heart.

“Come on, guys. You’ve got to see this,” he said, and disappeared again. We glanced at each other, and Andy shrugged.

“Here goes nothing.” He stepped in. Ella hurried after.

“You okay, man?” David asked, looking sideways at me.

I nodded and smiled weakly. “Sure. What’s not to be okay about? Weird portals, flying horses, my dead father returning, my friends finally talking to me again after nearly fifteen years?”

“I’m sorry about that. Truly,” he said, dropping his gaze and scuffing his boot against the dead leaves.

“It’s fine. Let’s go before they leave us behind.” I stepped through the portal.

For a single moment, gravity ceased to exist. The world flipped. Up and down no longer meant anything. My limbs felt weightless. But as I completed my step, normality violently reasserted itself.

I gasped, staggering forward. Shark caught my arm, keeping me upright.

“Hang on, buddy. The feeling will pass.”

He spoke the truth. The vertigo only lasted a moment more, and this new world came into focus. Before me stood…trees.

“Looks a lot like home, Shark.”

“Just hold your horses, or should I say, pegasus?” He grinned, checking to make sure David had recovered before gesturing for us to follow.

“Where are we going?” Ella asked, ducking under a branch.

“You’ll see,” Shark said.

“Come on, just tell us.”

“I can’t. You have to see for yourselves.”

David and Andy glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

As I stumbled from the woods, my jaw dropped. Like, it hit the ground. No way what I was seeing was real. “Do you guys see this?”

“I–I–Yeah, I see it,” Andy said, voice hoarse.

A city stretched out before us, but not like any city I’ve ever seen in real life. It was like we had been dropped into the middle of one of our old DnD games. Wooden houses lined the edges, painted every color imaginable. A tower with a bell rose from somewhere near the center. Creatures that looked like furry chickens wandered everywhere. Stretching from the city to as far as I could see was a road filled with travelers.

The people were the real wonder, because most of them weren’t actually people. Some had feathers, others had scales and tales. Horns adorned heads. Pint-sized adults strode among giants.

“What is this place?” I asked no one in particular.

“We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore,” Andy said.

Ella walked up to Shark. “Did you see where Jax went?”

He shook his head. “No, but someone here must have. Let’s ask.”

“Wait, Shark, no. We should—” But she wasn’t fast enough. Shark jogged toward the road, stopping in front of a creature half his size with horns poking out of frizzy hair, and tusks jutting from his lower jaw. It skidded to a stop, peering up at Shark with wide eyes.

“Excuse me,” Shark said. “Have you seen an old man with a pegasus?”

The creature stepped back and eyed him, gaze lingering on Shark’s shorts.

“What are those?” The creature asked, pointing at his legs.

“My…shorts?” Shark plucked at the fabric.

“Shorts.” The creature repeated the unfamiliar word. “Why do they not go all the way down?”

I almost giggled at the look on my friend's face, but I slapped a hand over my mouth to hold it in.

“To stay cool when it's hot out.”

The creature glanced down at the tunic and leggings it wore, then back at Shark’s shorts.

“Sooo…an old man and a pegasus?” Shark asked.

The creature crossed its arms, a glint in its eyes.

“Uh, Shark? Maybe we should go,” Ella said, stepping behind Andy.

“I got this.” He smiled at her and returned his attention to the horned creature. “Look, maybe I can trade you for the information. I’ll give you my shorts, you tell me where the old man went.”

“Oh, god!” Ella buried her face in Andy’s shirt as Shark stripped down to his boxers and held out the shorts.

“Are those fish?” David whispered, pointing at the boxers.

“I believe they are,” I said, glancing only briefly at them.

“So? Is it a deal?” Shark asked the creature, dangling the shorts in front of him. “They have pockets!”

Rolls: 16+17+5+13=13

My eyes were glued to Shark and the little horned man as the shorts swayed in the breeze. 

“Alright, I’ll take them.” The creature grabbed the shorts, and put them on. My eyes widened as he slipped them on and buttoned them up. They fit perfectly. 

“How—?” Ella’s jaw dropped. 

“Now, where’s the old man?” Shark asked, crossing his arms and eyeing the little man. 

“He went that way,” he said, pointing vaguely down the road heading into town as he transferred the contents of his bag into his new pockets. 

Shark turned to us with a huge grin on his face. We walked up to him, and I kept my eyes firmly on his face. 

“Did that really help us?” Andy asked. 

“Sure it did,” I said. “Now we know he didn’t leave town.”

“He still could have.”

“Yeah, I guess, but not that way.” I jerked my thumb behind us. 

Ella started toward town. “Better for us anyway. We can find Shark some new pants.”

“The breeze feels rather nice,” Shark said. 

A sign stood at the entrance to the town, proclaiming its name was Shallowfire. We passed the residential houses first, many of their colors I couldn’t name. Window boxes sporting flowers lined the windows, and upon examining them, I realized I couldn’t name those either. Some were purple, some yellow, and others danced. 

The entire midsection consisted of the shopping district. More people and…creatures wandered around here, staring into windows, poking frogs as large as a small dog, and picking out different birds to send messages. 

“See any clothes shops?” David asked as he stopped to look at a display of potions. “Do these really heal you?”

“Not only do they heal, but they restore stamina as well! Now how many places can you find that sells a potion that does both, hm?” A woman with a pointy hat and more charms than I could count slid from the doorway, her eyes fixed on David. “Only a silver mark, that one. But look!” She pointed to a pink bottle next to it. “I’ll throw this one in for half off, special for you.”

David raised an eyebrow. “What’s that one do?”

“Helps you find true love.” She swooned. “One drink and you will be compelled to follow their scent until you find them.”

“No, thanks.” Ella grabbed David’s arm and pulled him along. 

“You’ll never know who you’ll love until you try it!” the woman called, waving her hand as we walked away. 

“The healing potion might have been nice,” David grumbled. 

“Except we have no money and don’t know if it works!”

“Wait! I have ten dollars.” Shark pulled a wad of dollar bills from… somewhere.

Andy looked at him with horror. “Uh, hey buddy, where did those come from?”

I giggled, realizing Shark had not changed since he was a kid. He always used to tuck money in his socks ‘to hide from the bullies.’

“Socks, dude,” he said. 

Before anyone could comment, a crash came from the building next to us. I jumped backwards just in time as a rather large woman threw a man with a tail from the premises. A curious instrument with strings and a mouthpiece followed, landing in the dirt next to the man’s head. 

“Next time you try singing parodies about my customers, you’ll get more than just thrown out!” she screamed, and slammed the door against a hoard of cheering patrons. 

“You okay?” I asked, offering the man my hand. He spit out dirt and took it, hooking his instrument with a clawed finger as I pulled him to his feet. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He dusted off the bright purple jacket hanging off his shoulders and raked back hair that looked to consist of thousands of tiny blue feathers. “The names Yonko, traveling bard.”

Ella had to stifle a laugh. He scowled at her. 

“Something funny?”

“No, no. Just a cough.”

Yonko narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. “I’ll just be on my way then.”

“Hold on,” I said, catching Yonko’s arm. He turned back to me, eyebrow raised. 

“You didn’t happen to see an old man with a pegasus did you?”

Yonko scratched his head in thought. “A few days ago, such a man came through. He had some children tagging along, though, so might not be your man.”

Ella grabbed his arms, shaking him. “That’s him! That’s our children. Where did he take them?”

“Nancy’s Work Pad.” His teeth clacked together. 

David put a hand on Ella’s shoulder, and she let the man go, stepped back, crossed her arms, and glowered instead. 

“Where’s that?” David asked. 

“Just east of town. It’s hard to miss. They auction off jobs there. I bet he brought your kids to work for him, and used The Pad to get quick easy jobs.”

“Okay, let's go!” Ella grabbed David’s and Andy’s arms and pulled them down the road. 

“East is that way!” Yonko called, pointing in the other direction. 

Shark clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for the help!”

We followed Ella, weaving through the townsfolk until we came upon the east gate. Just past the sign proclaiming ‘Welcome to Shallowfire!’ sat a wooden platform with stairs on either side. A group of people with fur covering their arms stood around it while a woman shouted from the stage. 

“Next up, we have ship work! Become a cabin boy now and work your way up to captain! Pay starts with the lowest cut of the booty, but the harder your work, the larger your cut will be! I’ve got the young boy in the back for cabin boy. Going once, going twice? Congratulations! You’ve got yourself a job. Head to the docks and ask for Captain Price.”

The woman herself was unremarkable, mousy brown hair in a bun on top of her head, a simple gray dress, and a greataxe strapped to her back. But there was a glint in her eye that fueled my anger. She sold off our kids with no more than a glance in their direction, just as she did the boy in the back. 

As the anger built in my chest and my hands curled into fists at my sides, something happened. A fire lit within me. My friends jumped backwards, and smoke curled around me. I glanced down. Fire encompassed my fists. A grin spread across my face, and I returned my glare to the woman on stage. 

“Don’t do it, Taren.” Andy touched my shoulder. 

I could do it. Right then and there, this woman could pay, but if I did, was there anyone else who could tell us where our kids went to work?

Rolls: 8+12+6+7+6=8

Shoving Andy’s hand off my shoulder, I wound my arm back as if throwing a baseball, and let loose the fire. It sailed over the crowd's heads. People screamed and ducked. The fireball crashed onto the stage at the feet of the ax wielding woman. 

She screeched and jumped back, batting at the hem of her dress to put out the flames. Behind me, Ella gasped. The smile dropped from my face when I noticed my friends staring at me. A chill wound its way from my flame doused hand to my chest. I messed up again. 

Then Shark’s face cracked into a grin and he smacked me on the shoulder, nearly knocking me from my feet. “Hell yeah, man. That was awesome! When did you learn to do that?”

“Shark! We shouldn’t be—” Ella started, but David cut her off. 

“What was that?! Are you holding out on us, Taren? You gotta show me how to do that!”

Andy stepped forward, shaking his head. “No, no. Ella’s right. That wasn’t okay, Taren. Where are our manners? We’ve been in this place for five minutes, and we’re already shooting fireballs at people?”

“Uh, guys?”

I glanced at Shark as Andy lectured. He shifted nervously from foot to foot, glancing over Andy’s head. Craning my neck, I laid my eyes upon Shark’s worry. The razor-sharp blade of a great ax glinting orange from the raging fire the Work Pad had become. 

The pine scent of Andy’s cologne hit me in the face as I tackled him to the ground. My hair rustled in the wind created by the blade as it swung over my head. Ella screamed. Without so much as a glance, I kicked out with my feet, one of them connecting with something soft. Someone grunted, and an acute pain flared in my calf. 

“David, shirt!”

I rolled off Andy as Ella knelt next to me, holding out a hand. David ripped off his button up, and tossed it to her. She wrapped it around my leg and red soaked it immediately. A queasy feeling started in my stomach. So much blood. My blood. 

“Oh, god,” I said through gritted teeth, staring at it. Ella slipped my arm over her shoulder. 

“You’ll be fine, but we gotta go.”

I nodded, leaning on her as I stood. A shiver wracked my body as shock began to set in. That couldn’t be good. 

The woman, who could only be Nancy, sat on the ground, holding her knee, and swearing at us in some language I couldn’t comprehend. Ella tugged at my arm and I hobbled away with her, our friends streaming behind us. The crowd had taken to putting out the fire, but only half-heartedly until someone used some water spell to put it out. We put their muttering behind us as we made our way back into town.

“Bet you wish we bought that health potion, huh?” David said as Ella lowered me onto a bench. She glared at him. 

“He needs stitches, not potions. You and Shark go find me some, and bandages, and pain meds if you can.”

“Where is Shark?” David glanced at each one of us, counting. 

I scanned the crowd of people streaming by, some ignoring us, others giving us curious looks. Bird-men like Yonko. People with horns, tails, fur. But no tall, broad, pantsless human. 

“Damn it! Fine. Andy, go with David. Hurry!”

They ran off. Hot, sticky blood seeped through the shirt and ran down my leg. I had to grab Ella’s shoulder to keep upright as a wave of dizziness crashed through me. 

“You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine,” she muttered, tugging the arms of the shirt tighter around my leg. 

I couldn’t stop the shivering when Andy and David finally returned, but they didn’t have any medical supplies. Instead, they brought a man in a suit of armor

“Before you yell, he says he can help,” David said, holding up a placating hand to Ella.  “This is Aldric Goldenheart.”

“What kind of name is that?” 

“I don’t know, his?”

Their arguing faded into the background as Aldric knelt on the ground and untied the knotted shirt. 

“This will only sting for a moment,” he said, golden curls falling onto his plated shoulders. He looked like a knight from a fairytale. Giant hands covered the wound in my leg before I could see it. A bright light flashed beneath his palm and an intense itch formed deep in my leg, but then the dizziness passed, and the pain disappeared. 

When he took his hand back, I checked my leg, and found it completely healed. I even had the energy I lost from the fireball. The fireball. 

“How’d that happen?” I hadn’t realized I said it outloud until Aldric gave me a funny look. 

“I healed you.”

“Not that. I mean, yes that too, but me. How’d I shoot that fire from my hand?” I held it in front of my face, inspecting it for burns, but there was none. Even the tiny hairs were still there. 

Aldric frowned. “Did you hit your head too?”

Ella stepped forward. “Well, sir, you see, we aren’t exactly from here.”

“From Shallowfire?”

“Yes, but not just this town. This world, if that makes sense.” 

“Ah, a different plane then?”

“Something like that,” Andy said. 

A warm smile played over Aldric’s lips. “Then allow me to be your guide. How can I help?”

“Our kids.” It still felt weird to say that. “Someone who looks like my dead father kidnapped them, and brought them here.” I stood, testing out my leg. No pain at all. 

“My, that's a predicament.”

“But not one he needs to worry himself about. I know where they all are.” Shark appeared at the knight's shoulder, scowling at him. 

“Shark!” No one saw him appear. 

“Where are they?” Ella squealed. Shark waved around a book in his hand. 

“They kept a ledger of every auction. Look.” He flipped open the book, turned a few pages, and spun it around. We crowded in, peering at the book. 

There they were. Each kid's name, a job description, and a town name. I sighed, feeling a little less of a failure for messing up the plan. 

“So hit the road, buddy,” Shark jerked his thumb over his shoulder while staring at Aldric. “We’ve got some kids to save.”

Into Elythium

Chapter 1: The Absent Father

Sabaton blasted from my phone, and I jolted away. Without opening my eyes, I reached toward the coffee table and slapped my hand on the surface, knocking over an empty cereal box before closing my fingers around the annoying thing. 

I cracked an eyelid at the number, but didn’t recognize it. My thumb hovered over the power button, but decided against it. 

“Hello?”

“Taren?” The voice had a thick rasp. 

“Uh, yeah, who’s this?” 

“It’s me—”

And I knew before she said her name. My body froze, blood running cold through my veins. Time slowed, and I was a kid again, Hel laughing as she held my hand, listening to her voice over the phone. 

A choked sob brought me back to the present. My heart sped up and color returned to the world. 

“Hel, what's wrong?” I asked, sitting up, my fingers tight around my phone. 

She cleared her throat. “I-I think you need to come over. It’s about our daughter.”

Our?

Our?!

“Hel—”

“No, don’t. Just come over. I’m sending you my address. Hurry.” She hung up. 

I stared at my phone as the call ended and my Darth Vader background scowled up at me until the screen went black. Daughter. With Helen? Setting my phone on the table, I dropped my head into my hands. Numbness spread through my body, touching all but my heart. She would be, what, thirteen? Fourteen? I hadn’t seen Hel since the night she broke up with me all those years ago. 

The coffee table rumbled as my phone vibrated, and I snatched at it. The screen lit up as the text came through, address displayed on my lock screen. All this time, and she only lived four streets away. Shoving it into my pocket, I grabbed my coat, slipped on my shoes, and ran out the front door of my apartment. 

My car wasn’t worth four-hundred bucks. I don’t think I’ve ever pushed it past fifty, and to be honest, I’m amazed it made it to Helen’s without breaking down halfway. It stalled in front of her house. I ran up the paved driveway and squeezed between two flower bushes to get to the front door. 

Taking a breath, I knocked. It took only seconds for the door to swing open, revealing the red-eyed, tear-streaked face of my ex-girlfriend. 

“Taren, thank god.” Helen opened the door, and I stepped into her house. Pictures of Helen and a little girl lined the short hallway. I stared at them. My daughter. Not only did she look like Helen, but I could also see my mom. They shared the same stubborn jut of the chin. 

“In here.” Helen led me into the kitchen. A man clutched the back of a chair, his knuckles white, face a light shade of green. 

“Andy, this is Taren, Dot’s real father.”

I felt faint. “So, it's true.”

She bit her lip and closed her eyes, taking a breath. “Yeah. It’s true.”

Andy pulled out the chair, and I sat down hard, taking deep breaths. I couldn’t think straight. My mouth wouldn’t form words. Anger warred with disbelief and elation, but in the end, dread won out. 

“What happened to her?” I whispered, my eyes darting to Helen. She stood next to Andy, one arm across her chest, the other hiding her mouth as she blinked tears away. They glanced at each other. 

“That’s why you’re here.” Andy took a half step forward. “She was kidnapped. A few witnesses are saying this guy who kidnapped her, well—”

“Your father did it, Taren. Your father took our girl!” 

“I–I–what? Helen, that’s impossible. My f-f-father’s been dead for sixteen years. I w-w-watched him d-die, remember?”

“Oh, Taren.” She put a hand on my arm, pity crossing her face. “You don’t have to keep that up. We all know he abandoned you.”

I took a step back, pulling my arm from her grip. “What are you talking about, Hel? I came to you right afterward. I told you what happened.”

The look of pity she gave me instantly lit a flame in my chest I thought I had long ago squashed. My hands shook as I closed my eyes and took a breath. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Andy said, holding out his hands. “Helen, you told me his father left him, but he says his father died? How can a dead man steal kids?”

“You don’t understand, Andy. His father abandoned him, and he made up this whole story about watching the man die so he wouldn’t have to face the truth! And now he’s sticking with it, despite Dyllon witnessing the same man talking to his daughter?!” Helen’s face reddened and her hands tightened into fists. 

The ice circulating in my blood melted instantly, and I could feel my eye twitching. “This whole time you thought I was lying? I came to you, Hel. I trusted you.”

She flinched but didn’t back down. “They didn’t find a body, Taren. No one believed you. After you dropped out, there were rumors you killed him yourself. At least I didn't think you'd go that far.”

I stood up so fast I knocked my chair over. 

“Alright, let’s just chill out,” Andy said, picking it back up. “We’re all on the same side here. Dot is the important part of this puzzle, and I think we need to focus on her.”

“You’re right.” Helen took a breath and sat down. Andy took the chair next to her and gestured at me. I sat, crossing my arms and scowling to cover up the ache in my chest. No one believed me? 

“Whoever this guy is, I think we can agree we need to find him. Helen, didn’t you say Dyllon saw him talking with Roman?”

“Ella’s husband Dyllon?” I asked, scooting closer to the table. 

“Yes,” she said. “She was playing in the yard when he walked by and stopped. Dyllon watched it go down as he pulled into the driveway and threatened to call the cops. When he told Ella, she brought out an old picture of us playing dungeons and dragons with Jax in the background. Dyllon agreed they were the same person.”

“Say it was my father. Why would he have any reason to talk to Ella’s kids? That picture was the only time they were in the same room together.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, does—”

Her phone rang. The caller ID showed the name David. I scowled as she snatched it up. 

“Did all of you stay in contact?” 

“Yes,” she said. “Hello?”

I sunk back into my chair, staring at the floor. It took me over a year after dropping out to give up texting my friends after receiving little to no response from them. I thought we had all drifted apart. I guess they just drifted away from me. 

Helen hung up and placed her phone on the table, face drained of all color, a faraway look in her eyes. 

“Hel? Honey?” Andy touched her shoulder. 

“Kayce never made it home from school.”

“David has a kid?” I asked. 

“He did.”

“Come now, Hel. Kayce is still out there. Our kids are smart, resourceful. If they’re together, they’ll help each other out. Let’s go talk to him, and maybe figure something out.” Andy took Helen’s hands and pulled her to her feet. She nodded, fumbling for her keys on the counter, and looking back at me. 

“Are you coming?”

I stared at her, contemplating. If David’s kid got abducted from school, he wouldn’t know anything about my father. On the other hand, Dyllon actually saw him. 

Rolls: 5, 12, 11, 2  = 8

My instincts screamed at me to see Dyllon first, but he lived across town, and my car was sitting dead against the curb. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m coming.” I followed Helen and Andy to their much nicer car and slid into the back seat. Slumping, I chewed on a fingernail as nerves crawled into my stomach. Hel, David, Shark, Ella. They were my best friends. We did everything together. But now…

As we pulled into David’s driveway, he dashed out his front door to meet us, hair sticking up on end, eyes wide and crazed. 

“Hel! Oh my god. Oh. My. God. I’m so sorry about Dot.” 

I slid from the car as they hugged, and just stood by the door, not wanting to close it and call attention to myself. David shook hands with Andy, and when he saw me, his jaw dropped. 

“Taren? Is that you?”

I nodded, not quite meeting his eyes. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Damn, dude, it’s been years!” And he hugged me too. My body stiffened from the unexpected attention, but I took a breath and relaxed, hugging him back. 

“It’s good to see you, David.”

“Come in, come in. We should discuss the situation.”

We followed him into a tiny neat house that smelled of cookies. My mouth watered. When was the last time I had homemade cookies?

“Cory’s still with the police making a report, but he made the cookies for everyone. I invited Ella and Sheridan as well.”

“Wait, Shark’s mixed up in this too? Our whole crew from back in the day?” I asked, taking a cookie. 

“Unfortunately. If I had any inkling as to why…”

“His father,” Hel said, nodding at me. 

“Hel—”

She glared at Andy, and he stopped talking. 

David glanced at me. “So, he isn’t dead?”

I sat down and ran my hands through my hair. “Don’t know, man. I wasn’t lying back then when I saw him die, or at least I thought I did. Now Hel and Ella’s husband both claim to have seen him.”

He put a hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, T. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

His doorbell rang, and Andy hurried over to open it. In stepped Ella, her long red hair plaited down her back just like she used to wear it. Sheridan, or Shark as we called him, poked his head after her. 

“No Dyllon?” Andy asked, glancing out the door. Ella shook her head. 

“He’s staying home, just in case.”

“Taren!” A smile spread over Shark’s hairy face. The beard he sprouted at eighteen was now chest length. 

Ella only glanced at me before turning to Hel. “Now that we’re here, we need to figure out how we’re going to find Jax.”

“Jax?” Shark cocked his head at her. “I thought he was dead.”

Helen and Ella glared at him. 

“You believe me?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

He shrugged. “Of course. You’re my friend.”

“I thought you were with us, Shark,” Helen said. 

“You didn’t believe him, I never told you one way or another. I didn’t want to fight.”

I felt a rush of warmth for my friend. “Thanks, man.”

“We're not going to fight,” David said, shooting the women a look before they could retort. “It doesn’t matter who took our kids, we just have to find them.”

“He’s right.” Andy nodded at him. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

I leaned back in my chair. “There’s gotta be a reason all your kids were targeted. Do we know if anyone else has gone missing?”

“Not that I have found,” Ella said with a sigh. “Just ours. Which is why Jax is even more suspect.”

Chewing my lip in thought, I grabbed another cookie. “Other people must have seen him. We could question neighbors, maybe his old haunts?”

A jingle went off in her pocket, and she reached for the phone. “It’s Dyllon.”

No one spoke when she answered. She listened, and without a word, set the phone on the table and put it on speaker. 

“You guys have to get over here, now.”

“Where are you? What’s going on?” Hel asked, flinging herself at the table. 

“I’m at the park down the street. You aren’t going to believe this.”

“Did you find the kids?!” Hel grabbed Ella’s phone, her knuckles white as she clutched it. 

Dyllon sighed. “No, but I think I found a clue. Get over here.”

The phone went dead as he hung up. Hel stared at it, then shoved it in Ella's hands and ran out the door. Andy followed, grabbing her coat. 

“We better go or they’ll leave us behind,” Shark said, following them with a skip to his step. 

Piling into the two cars, we pulled up on Dyllon as he ran toward us across a park with a sprawling lawn and a path venturing into its copse of trees. He waved at us and put a finger to his lips. I closed the car door as quietly as possible. 

“Dyllon, what—”

“Ella, shh,” he whispered. “Follow me. It’s in the trees.”

The patch was barely an acre. What could it be hiding? Tension built with every step we took. David muttered to Shark, but stopped when Dyllon glared at them. The sun dimmed as we walked beneath the canopy of branches above us. The hair on my arms stood, and I glanced around, not seeing anything. 

“The birds aren’t singing,” Ella breathed, crossing her arms over her chest. She was right. The unease came from the lack of normal forest sounds. Birds, squirrels, bugs. These trees were silent. 

Dyllon tiptoed up to a tree and glanced around it. He gestured for us to keep silent and follow him. We crouched behind a bush, and peeked over the branches. I was so shocked, I fell into the bush and scraped my hand, a squeak of pain escaping my lips. 

Andy slapped his hand over my mouth and we both glanced toward the pegasus standing in a clearing, his wings flapping lazily as he stretched them. Did he hear me?

Rolls: 8+10+19=12

Chapter 2: Into Elythium

We froze, unable to take our eyes from the pegasus, but it continued to graze without looking up. I sighed against Andy’s hand, willing my heart to stop beating a discordant rhythm against my chest. 

“Guys. Guys, guys, guys!” Ella whispered, waving to get our attention. She pointed across the clearing. 

My eyes widened, and my heart redoubled its efforts as the last person I expected pushed through the branches. My father. He looked just as he did the day he died. Or the day I thought he died. Hair graying at his temples, broad shoulders, crease lines on his forehead from scowling. 

If Andy hadn’t kept his hand over my mouth, my ragged breathing would have reached across the clearing and given us away. I had to ball my fists to keep them from trembling. My father, or Jax as we all knew him, strode across the clearing. The pegasus picked up his head and huffed as Jax rubbed the creature's nose with a gentleness I had never known. 

Together, they walked back into the woods. We all held our breath for a good thirty seconds before Shark said, “Let’s follow them.”

We tiptoed across the clearing like Hollywood's worst ninjas. I was surprised Jax didn’t turn around and face us right then and there, but as we passed back under the trees, my father and the pegasus were nowhere to be found.

“What the heck?” David wrinkled his nose in confusion. “They did come this way, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, my eyes flickering over every shrub and trunk. I kept coming back to a single spot between two trees. The air looked weird, like swirling mist, but the day was too warm for mist. 

“Do you guys see that?” I pointed. 

“What is it?” Shark walked up to it and poked it. His finger disappeared. Ella grabbed him and tried to yank him back, but she couldn’t move his bulky form as he traced the mist, eyes wide with fascination. 

“It’s okay, Ell. I think this is where Jax went,” David said, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Do you think it's safe?”

“Shark?” David looked at him. He withdrew his finger and wiggled it. 

“Absolutely fine.”

Ella stared at the mist quizzically, then dropped her shoulders. “Alright, after you.”

Shark stepped into the mist. It swirled, swallowing him in a single gulp. I walked around the mist to the other side. I could see the others through it, but no Shark. 

“This day can’t get any weirder,” I muttered to myself. Then a hand appeared through the mist. David squeaked and jumped backwards, but Shark’s hairy head followed and he sighed, pressing a hand to his heart. 

“Come on, guys. You’ve got to see this,” he said, and disappeared again. We glanced at each other, and Andy shrugged. 

“Here goes nothing.” He stepped in. Ella hurried after. 

“You okay, man?” David asked, looking sideways at me. 

I nodded and smiled weakly. “Sure. What’s not to be okay about? Weird portals, flying horses, my dead father returning, my friends finally talking to me again after nearly fifteen years?”

“I’m sorry about that. Truly,” he said, dropping his gaze and scuffing his boot against the dead leaves. 

“It’s fine. Let’s go before they leave us behind.” I stepped through the portal. 

For a single moment, gravity ceased to exist. The world flipped. Up and down no longer meant anything. My limbs felt weightless. But as I completed my step, normality violently reasserted itself. 

I gasped, staggering forward. Shark caught my arm, keeping me upright. 

“Hang on, buddy. The feeling will pass.”

He spoke the truth. The vertigo only lasted a moment more, and this new world came into focus. Before me stood…trees. 

“Looks a lot like home, Shark.”

“Just hold your horses, or should I say, pegasus?” He grinned, checking to make sure David had recovered before gesturing for us to follow. 

“Where are we going?” Ella asked, ducking under a branch. 

“You’ll see,” Shark said. 

“Come on, just tell us.”

“I can’t. You have to see for yourselves.”

David and Andy glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. 

As I stumbled from the woods, my jaw dropped. Like, it hit the ground. No way what I was seeing was real. “Do you guys see this?”

“I–I–Yeah, I see it,” Andy said, voice hoarse. 

A city stretched out before us, but not like any city I’ve ever seen in real life. It was like we had been dropped into the middle of one of our old DnD games. Wooden houses lined the edges, painted every color imaginable. A tower with a bell rose from somewhere near the center. Creatures that looked like furry chickens wandered everywhere. Stretching from the city to as far as I could see was a road filled with travelers. 

The people were the real wonder, because most of them weren’t actually people. Some had feathers, others had scales and tales. Horns adorned heads. Pint-sized adults strode among giants. 

“What is this place?” I asked no one in particular. 

“We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore,” Andy said.

Ella walked up to Shark. “Did you see where Jax went?”

He shook his head. “No, but someone here must have. Let’s ask.”

“Wait, Shark, no. We should—” But she wasn’t fast enough. Shark jogged toward the road, stopping in front of a creature half his size with horns poking out of frizzy hair, and tusks jutting from his lower jaw. It skidded to a stop, peering up at Shark with wide eyes.  

“Excuse me,” Shark said. “Have you seen an old man with a pegasus?”

The creature stepped back and eyed him, gaze lingering on Shark’s shorts. 

“What are those?” The creature asked, pointing at his legs. 

“My…shorts?” Shark plucked at the fabric. 

“Shorts.” The creature repeated the unfamiliar word. “Why do they not go all the way down?” 

I almost giggled at the look on my friend's face, but I slapped a hand over my mouth to hold it in. 

“To stay cool when it's hot out.”

The creature glanced down at the tunic and leggings it wore, then back at Shark’s shorts. 

“Sooo…an old man and a pegasus?” Shark asked. 

The creature crossed its arms, a glint in its eyes. 

“Uh, Shark? Maybe we should go,” Ella said, stepping behind Andy. 

“I got this.” He smiled at her and returned his attention to the horned creature. “Look, maybe I can trade you for the information. I’ll give you my shorts, you tell me where the old man went.”

“Oh, god!” Ella buried her face in Andy’s shirt as Shark stripped down to his boxers and held out the shorts.  

“Are those fish?” David whispered, pointing at the boxers. 

“I believe they are,” I said, glancing only briefly at them. 

“So? Is it a deal?” Shark asked the creature, dangling the shorts in front of him. “They have pockets!”

Rolls: 16+17+5+13=13

My eyes were glued to Shark and the little horned man as the shorts swayed in the breeze. 

“Alright, I’ll take them.” The creature grabbed the shorts, and put them on. My eyes widened as he slipped them on and buttoned them up. They fit perfectly. 

“How—?” Ella’s jaw dropped. 

“Now, where’s the old man?” Shark asked, crossing his arms and eyeing the little man. 

“He went that way,” he said, pointing vaguely down the road heading into town as he transferred the contents of his bag into his new pockets. 

Shark turned to us with a huge grin on his face. We walked up to him, and I kept my eyes firmly on his face. 

“Did that really help us?” Andy asked. 

“Sure it did,” I said. “Now we know he didn’t leave town.”

“He still could have.”

“Yeah, I guess, but not that way.” I jerked my thumb behind us. 

Ella started toward town. “Better for us anyway. We can find Shark some new pants.”

“The breeze feels rather nice,” Shark said. 

A sign stood at the entrance to the town, proclaiming its name was Shallowfire. We passed the residential houses first, many of their colors I couldn’t name. Window boxes sporting flowers lined the windows, and upon examining them, I realized I couldn’t name those either. Some were purple, some yellow, and others danced. 

The entire midsection consisted of the shopping district. More people and…creatures wandered around here, staring into windows, poking frogs as large as a small dog, and picking out different birds to send messages. 

“See any clothes shops?” David asked as he stopped to look at a display of potions. “Do these really heal you?”

“Not only do they heal, but they restore stamina as well! Now how many places can you find that sells a potion that does both, hm?” A woman with a pointy hat and more charms than I could count slid from the doorway, her eyes fixed on David. “Only a silver mark, that one. But look!” She pointed to a pink bottle next to it. “I’ll throw this one in for half off, special for you.”

David raised an eyebrow. “What’s that one do?”

“Helps you find true love.” She swooned. “One drink and you will be compelled to follow their scent until you find them.”

“No, thanks.” Ella grabbed David’s arm and pulled him along. 

“You’ll never know who you’ll love until you try it!” the woman called, waving her hand as we walked away. 

“The healing potion might have been nice,” David grumbled. 

“Except we have no money and don’t know if it works!”

“Wait! I have ten dollars.” Shark pulled a wad of dollar bills from… somewhere.

Andy looked at him with horror. “Uh, hey buddy, where did those come from?”

I giggled, realizing Shark had not changed since he was a kid. He always used to tuck money in his socks ‘to hide from the bullies.’

“Socks, dude,” he said. 

Before anyone could comment, a crash came from the building next to us. I jumped backwards just in time as a rather large woman threw a man with a tail from the premises. A curious instrument with strings and a mouthpiece followed, landing in the dirt next to the man’s head. 

“Next time you try singing parodies about my customers, you’ll get more than just thrown out!” she screamed, and slammed the door against a hoard of cheering patrons. 

“You okay?” I asked, offering the man my hand. He spit out dirt and took it, hooking his instrument with a clawed finger as I pulled him to his feet. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He dusted off the bright purple jacket hanging off his shoulders and raked back hair that looked to consist of thousands of tiny blue feathers. “The names Yonko, traveling bard.”

Ella had to stifle a laugh. He scowled at her. 

“Something funny?”

“No, no. Just a cough.”

Yonko narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. “I’ll just be on my way then.”

“Hold on,” I said, catching Yonko’s arm. He turned back to me, eyebrow raised. 

“You didn’t happen to see an old man with a pegasus did you?”

Yonko scratched his head in thought. “A few days ago, such a man came through. He had some children tagging along, though, so might not be your man.”

Ella grabbed his arms, shaking him. “That’s him! That’s our children. Where did he take them?”

“Nancy’s Work Pad.” His teeth clacked together. 

David put a hand on Ella’s shoulder, and she let the man go, stepped back, crossed her arms, and glowered instead. 

“Where’s that?” David asked. 

“Just east of town. It’s hard to miss. They auction off jobs there. I bet he brought your kids to work for him, and used The Pad to get quick easy jobs.”

“Okay, let's go!” Ella grabbed David’s and Andy’s arms and pulled them down the road. 

“East is that way!” Yonko called, pointing in the other direction. 

Shark clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for the help!”

We followed Ella, weaving through the townsfolk until we came upon the east gate. Just past the sign proclaiming ‘Welcome to Shallowfire!’ sat a wooden platform with stairs on either side. A group of people with fur covering their arms stood around it while a woman shouted from the stage. 

“Next up, we have ship work! Become a cabin boy now and work your way up to captain! Pay starts with the lowest cut of the booty, but the harder your work, the larger your cut will be! I’ve got the young boy in the back for cabin boy. Going once, going twice? Congratulations! You’ve got yourself a job. Head to the docks and ask for Captain Price.”

The woman herself was unremarkable, mousy brown hair in a bun on top of her head, a simple gray dress, and a greataxe strapped to her back. But there was a glint in her eye that fueled my anger. She sold off our kids with no more than a glance in their direction, just as she did the boy in the back. 

As the anger built in my chest and my hands curled into fists at my sides, something happened. A fire lit within me. My friends jumped backwards, and smoke curled around me. I glanced down. Fire encompassed my fists. A grin spread across my face, and I returned my glare to the woman on stage. 

“Don’t do it, Taren.” Andy touched my shoulder. 

I could do it. Right then and there, this woman could pay, but if I did, was there anyone else who could tell us where our kids went to work?

Rolls: 8+12+6+7+6=8

Shoving Andy’s hand off my shoulder, I wound my arm back as if throwing a baseball, and let loose the fire. It sailed over the crowd's heads. People screamed and ducked. The fireball crashed onto the stage at the feet of the ax wielding woman. 

She screeched and jumped back, batting at the hem of her dress to put out the flames. Behind me, Ella gasped. The smile dropped from my face when I noticed my friends staring at me. A chill wound its way from my flame doused hand to my chest. I messed up again. 

Then Shark’s face cracked into a grin and he smacked me on the shoulder, nearly knocking me from my feet. “Hell yeah, man. That was awesome! When did you learn to do that?”

“Shark! We shouldn’t be—” Ella started, but David cut her off. 

“What was that?! Are you holding out on us, Taren? You gotta show me how to do that!”

Andy stepped forward, shaking his head. “No, no. Ella’s right. That wasn’t okay, Taren. Where are our manners? We’ve been in this place for five minutes, and we’re already shooting fireballs at people?”

“Uh, guys?”

I glanced at Shark as Andy lectured. He shifted nervously from foot to foot, glancing over Andy’s head. Craning my neck, I laid my eyes upon Shark’s worry. The razor-sharp blade of a great ax glinting orange from the raging fire the Work Pad had become. 

The pine scent of Andy’s cologne hit me in the face as I tackled him to the ground. My hair rustled in the wind created by the blade as it swung over my head. Ella screamed. Without so much as a glance, I kicked out with my feet, one of them connecting with something soft. Someone grunted, and an acute pain flared in my calf. 

“David, shirt!”

I rolled off Andy as Ella knelt next to me, holding out a hand. David ripped off his button up, and tossed it to her. She wrapped it around my leg and red soaked it immediately. A queasy feeling started in my stomach. So much blood. My blood. 

“Oh, god,” I said through gritted teeth, staring at it. Ella slipped my arm over her shoulder. 

“You’ll be fine, but we gotta go.”

I nodded, leaning on her as I stood. A shiver wracked my body as shock began to set in. That couldn’t be good. 

The woman, who could only be Nancy, sat on the ground, holding her knee, and swearing at us in some language I couldn’t comprehend. Ella tugged at my arm and I hobbled away with her, our friends streaming behind us. The crowd had taken to putting out the fire, but only half-heartedly until someone used some water spell to put it out. We put their muttering behind us as we made our way back into town.

“Bet you wish we bought that health potion, huh?” David said as Ella lowered me onto a bench. She glared at him. 

“He needs stitches, not potions. You and Shark go find me some, and bandages, and pain meds if you can.”

“Where is Shark?” David glanced at each one of us, counting. 

I scanned the crowd of people streaming by, some ignoring us, others giving us curious looks. Bird-men like Yonko. People with horns, tails, fur. But no tall, broad, pantsless human. 

“Damn it! Fine. Andy, go with David. Hurry!”

They ran off. Hot, sticky blood seeped through the shirt and ran down my leg. I had to grab Ella’s shoulder to keep upright as a wave of dizziness crashed through me. 

“You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine,” she muttered, tugging the arms of the shirt tighter around my leg. 

I couldn’t stop the shivering when Andy and David finally returned, but they didn’t have any medical supplies. Instead, they brought a man in a suit of armor

“Before you yell, he says he can help,” David said, holding up a placating hand to Ella.  “This is Aldric Goldenheart.”

“What kind of name is that?” 

“I don’t know, his?”

Their arguing faded into the background as Aldric knelt on the ground and untied the knotted shirt. 

“This will only sting for a moment,” he said, golden curls falling onto his plated shoulders. He looked like a knight from a fairytale. Giant hands covered the wound in my leg before I could see it. A bright light flashed beneath his palm and an intense itch formed deep in my leg, but then the dizziness passed, and the pain disappeared. 

When he took his hand back, I checked my leg, and found it completely healed. I even had the energy I lost from the fireball. The fireball. 

“How’d that happen?” I hadn’t realized I said it outloud until Aldric gave me a funny look. 

“I healed you.”

“Not that. I mean, yes that too, but me. How’d I shoot that fire from my hand?” I held it in front of my face, inspecting it for burns, but there was none. Even the tiny hairs were still there. 

Aldric frowned. “Did you hit your head too?”

Ella stepped forward. “Well, sir, you see, we aren’t exactly from here.”

“From Shallowfire?”

“Yes, but not just this town. This world, if that makes sense.” 

“Ah, a different plane then?”

“Something like that,” Andy said. 

A warm smile played over Aldric’s lips. “Then allow me to be your guide. How can I help?”

“Our kids.” It still felt weird to say that. “Someone who looks like my dead father kidnapped them, and brought them here.” I stood, testing out my leg. No pain at all. 

“My, that's a predicament.”

“But not one he needs to worry himself about. I know where they all are.” Shark appeared at the knight's shoulder, scowling at him. 

“Shark!” No one saw him appear. 

“Where are they?” Ella squealed. Shark waved around a book in his hand. 

“They kept a ledger of every auction. Look.” He flipped open the book, turned a few pages, and spun it around. We crowded in, peering at the book. 

There they were. Each kid's name, a job description, and a town name. I sighed, feeling a little less of a failure for messing up the plan. 

“So hit the road, buddy,” Shark jerked his thumb over his shoulder while staring at Aldric. “We’ve got some kids to save.”

Rolls: 18+18+3+18+20+5=14

Chapter 3 From the Flames We Fly

Aldric glanced at all of us. I wanted to say something. We could have used a guide through this foreign land, but one look at everyone else and I kept my mouth shut. Suspicion glazed over their  eyes, but I couldn’t understand why. 

I shrugged and mouthed, “Sorry,” when he swung his gaze around to me. The healer winced and nodded. 

“I get it. I too had children once, and understand the suspicion of strangers. Go with my blessing and find your kids.” He nodded once and walked away without looking back, armor clinking with each step.  

An uneasy feeling ruined the excitement of finding the next clue to the puzzle.

“What’s up, Taren? You okay?” David asked, peering at me. 

“Yeah,” I said, tearing my eyes from Aldric’s back. “I’m fine. Where to first?”  

Ellie pulled the book from Shark’s hands. The longer she studied it, the more prominent the wrinkle on her brow grew. 

“What?” I asked. 

“We need a map.” She shoved the book back into Shark’s hands and faced town. Unfriendly eyes sparkled back at us from every direction. 

“Maybe if we let Aldric guide us…” I said, but she wasn’t having any of it. 

“Healing you is one thing. But letting these strange people around our kids? I don’t trust any of them, Taren. We have their locations, it won’t be hard to read a map.”

“First, we have to get one,” Andy muttered as a tiny woman with curly horns shoulder checked him. 

“I’m not sure we should do it here,” I said.  

“But where do we go?” Ella looked completely lost. 

“Roads lead to something, right? We can either go back or forward.”

“Alright, let’s go back so we don’t have to walk through town again.” She crossed her arms and headed down the dirt road. 

“Off we go again,” Shark said, looking positively giddy. He held the book up, studying it while we walked. 

There was a group of people, or creatures, pretty far ahead of us, and I kept my eyes on them to keep away the worry we had chosen wrong. We had no food, no water, but the sun was still high in the sky. I hoped we wouldn’t have to sleep outside. 

We walked in silence for about an hour before the people ahead of us started to move erratically. I couldn’t tell if they were dancing or running from something. 

“What are they doing?” Shark asked, blocking the sun with his hand. 

“I haven’t decided.” I stood on my tippy toes, watching them over David’s shoulder. Eventually, they ran forward as a group and disappeared over the horizon. As one, we slowed and stopped. 

“Can anyone see anything?” Ella asked, standing on her tiptoes to see farther. 

The ground exploded at our feet. Shark screamed. David dove to the side. I shoved Andy back and lost all traction, hitting the ground elbow first. Several words I’d never repeat slipped out, but in the chaos, no one heard. 

Waist high mushrooms with legs and faces ran between us. Each cap was different. Red ones. Spotted ones. Tall ones. Glowing ones. Little clouds of dust poofed with each footstep. The scene was so absurd, I couldn’t help but fall back to the ground and laugh, clutching my elbow until the tingles ebbed. 

Then Ella kicked a short one. It flipped through the air and landed on the ground with a wheeze. Every mushroom stopped running and turned toward her. A dread I didn’t feel a moment ago flooded my chest. 

“Run!” I scrambled to my feet and tackled the closest shroom. Its squishy body gave easily beneath my weight. The smell of rot wafted from beneath the cap. Wrinkling my nose, I rolled off it just as the rest rushed Ella. She dashed through the gap I made and passed Shark, who kicked another from her path. 

Andy screamed as one switched courses and dashed toward him. I started after it, but two steps in and I realized he didn’t need my help. Sliding sideways, Andy grabbed the shroom by its stubby arms, twirled it, and flung it far farther than I’ve ever seen anybody throw. 

“Did you play baseball?” I asked, tripping another mushroom as it ran by. He shook his head, eyes wide as he stared at the spot his shroom disappeared in the horizon. 

Without warning, the remaining mushrooms ceased their chaos, and buried themselves in the ground where they stood. The remaining dirt floating in the air tickled my nose, and I sneezed. 

“Careful there, buddy!” Shark batted at my shirt, and I glanced down to find him snuffing out a flame. “No more sneezing for you while we’re here!”

“Why did they disappear? Did we scare them off?” David asked, hands held up in case he had to defend against any more surprises. 

“Uh, guys?” Andy had a tremor in his voice I hadn’t yet heard, despite everything that happened. He stared upward at something behind us. It blocked the sun, throwing us into shadow. I swallowed hard and twisted to face it. 

Staring down at us from the height of a house was a furry creature that looked like a long, enormous dog. Teeth as long as my forearm stuck out between its lips. Floppy ears hung past its jaw. Coarse brown fur covered its body. A giant tongue unfurled from its mouth, and licked Shark, covering from head to toe in slime. 

“Ew.” Shark’s face contorted in disgust as the dog thing sat on its haunches and panted, watching him. 

“I think it likes you,” Ella whispered, unable to take her eyes from it. 

Shark shook the slime from his hands and reached out, letting the dog come to him. I bit my lip, wanting to tell him no and yank him back, but at the same time, this could be a good thing. We already alienated one person willing to help, maybe Shark would be more inclined to receive help from this creature. 

I warred with myself as the dog leaned forward. Those teeth were too close to Shark’s hand for comfort. My fingers twitched, itching to pull him back. On the other side of my friend, David moved to grab him, too. 

Rolls: 6+11+19+16=13

My intuition won over, and I held up my hand. David froze, eyes locked onto the dog’s giant head as it sniffed Shark’s fingers. 

“Who’s a good boy?” Shark cooed, rubbing its nose. The dog closed its eyes and lowered its head, one leg thumping against the ground. My shoulders drooped in relief. Ella rubbed her forehead. 

Several tentative steps later, Andy was scratching the dog’s ear and its tongue lolled out. It flopped to its stomach, making the ground rumble, and rolled onto its back. I couldn’t help myself. I joined the others, scratching her stomach. 

“Who’s a good girl?” Andy said, a wide smile stretching across his face. Even Ella’s lips were curved upward. 

“Let’s keep moving,” she said, stealing a quick pat. The dog trotted along behind us, occasionally covering Shark with a tongueful of slime. We were given a wide berth for the next two miles or so until the curl of smoke on the horizon announced the next town. The road we traveled merged with another, bringing a slew of people, and creatures, with it. 

Most of them didn’t look twice at the dog, but they did keep well away from her big feet. I patted her side, and her wagging tail whapped a guy with four horns, sending him careening into his friend. 

“Sorry!” Ella called. 

As the town grew closer, billboards proclaiming its name, Hairen’s Bridge, and its wares, fine cut jewels, the sweetest jerky around, and monster hearts, towered some ten feet in the air. 

“Hairen’s Bridge!” Shark screeched, flipping open the ledger and running his finger down the page. David barely avoided running into him. 

“Are one of the kids here?!” Ella pulled the ledger from his hands. 

“Mine!” 

If it wasn’t for the throngs of people, Shark would have left us in the dust. Instead, he was held up by two women with feathers sprouting from every part of exposed skin. 

“Excuse us,” I said, helping to make a path, but my shirt tightened around my neck. The bird women turned just as Shark and I snapped backwards, held back by Andy. 

“We need a plan first,” he said, glowering. 

“Yeah, the plan is to walk in and get his kid,” I said, jerking my thumb at Shark. 

“Are you serious? You saw how well that worked out last time.”

“It’s Aidyn, Andy!” Shark yelled. “I’m getting my kid!”

David stepped between us, hands out. “Alright guys, let’s chill. Shark, we know you want your son, we want to get him out too. But Andy is right. We can’t just go in with a blaze of glory like the auctions. It could get him killed.” 

I took a deep breath, relaxing my fists. “So, what do you suggest?”

“We walk in calmly, look for clues. Maybe our new friends here can sniff him out?” Andy glanced hopefully at the dog.  

“Muffin? Muffin!” The dog’s tail went wild, catching a green creature hobbling along and tossing him into the ditch on the side of the road. I grabbed Shark’s arm and pulled him back as the dog, Muffin, leaped toward the owner of the voice, a woman half my size with two little horns curling from beneath her hair. “You silly dog, did you make new friends?”

She glanced us over with a smile, wiping dog drool from her face with the apron draped around her neck. “I’m Pitsa.”

“I’m sorry, did you say Pizza?” It blurted from my mouth. I couldn’t stop it.

“Yeah, Pitsa.” The tiny woman gestured at me.

“Oh, I’m ah, I’m Taren.”

Ella leaned over to me and whispered, “Smooth.”

“I was surprised,” I grumbled. 

“I’m David. This is Taren, Ella, Shark, and Andy.” He gestured to each of us. “We were hoping your dog here—”

“Muffin.”

“— that Muffin could help us out with something.”

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Oh? And what’s that?”

Ella grabbed David’s arm and whispered fiercely into his ear. 

“But Ell—”

More whispering.

“We need—”

I rolled my eyes. “We are hoping your dog will help smell out our lost kids.”

“Taren!” Ella rounded on me. 

“We need to trust someone, Ella! We’re at a disadvantage here. Luck’s been on our side so far, but it’s not going to hold out forever. We need help.” 

“Please? He’s right.” David rested a hand on her shoulder. 

“Hold on. We barely even know her. Why should we trust her?” Andy said, sidling up behind Ella. 

A low murmuring reached my ears. Shark stood with Pitsa, feeding a treat to Muffin. 

“—kids are missing. We’re all under some stress.” His eyes flicked over to us. “Are you done? I’d like to find my kid now.”

Muffin stomped her feet and howled. A burst of flame shot from her mouth and into the sky. I stumbled backward into Andy. Someone screamed as the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving enough room for Muffin to unfurl her wings. 

My jaw dropped. 

“All aboard, friends. Time to fly,” said Pitsa, climbing Muffin’s leg. 

As soon as we were all on Muffin’s back, she took off, howling another burst of flame that singed the tips of my hair as we flew through it. I grabbed onto Shark (we made him sit in front because of his lack of pants) as I peered at the ground, receding far below. My stomach churned, my vision spinning, as I clamped my mouth shut and breathed through my nose, trying to keep nausea controlled, but I wasn’t sure I could. 

Chapter Four: One Dot, Two Dot, Three Dot, Four

Dot could not believe what she had to endure the last few hours. School. Here. In a land where tiny people with horns could throw fireballs from their hands. She must have gotten the worst luck of all her friends. Their jobs sounded exciting. Unicorn trainer?! Who wouldn’t want to do that?

No. Instead, she was stuck sitting at a desk next to some stinky kid covered in scales who kept eating his pencils and burping up the erasers. Teach had feathers sticking out from the hems of her shirt, and sort of squawked at the end of every sentence. 

“The three tomes you must memorize before you can learn raise dead are A Wizard’s Guide to Spellcasting, So You Want to be a Necromancer? and Anatomy: An Essential Tome.”

Dot knew the words coming out of her mouth, but didn’t understand anything she was saying. According to her guide, East Arrow High added student positions to the job auction, hoping to attract more students. She hadn’t wanted to go, but Aydin had volunteered her. At least they hadn’t tried to teach her math yet. 

Teach drew three circles on the chalkboard, each overlapping the next. Over the middle she wrote wizard, to one side warlock, and the next, sorcerer. “Now who can tell me the traits of each?”

Groaning inwardly, Dot leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. There wasn’t even a clock to stare at, so she zoned out on Teach lecturing until she sat down and the other kids gathered their stuff and filed from the room. 

“Oh, Dorothy?”

“It’s Dot, Ms. Hauk.”

“Of course,” she squawked, gesturing for Dot to sit. “You seem…unenthused.”

“All my friends are off on adventures! And I’m stuck here.”

Ms. Hauk clicked her teeth together. “If you paid a bit more attention, you could go on adventures too.”

Dot huffed and crossed her arms. “Look, I didn’t even know magic existed until, like, two days ago. I don’t know half of what you are talking about.”

Those molars clack, clack, clacked again. “Come with me, I have an idea.”

The chair squeaked horribly across the ground as Teach stood up and waved for Dot to follow. She did, if begrudgingly. They followed the twisting stairs down the tower, but instead of stopping at the main landing, Ms. Hauk brought them through a side door that descended even lower. Little balls of light floating against the wall lit the passageway. 

“Where are we going?” Dot asked. Goosebumps covered her arms and she thought about turning around, but curiosity won out. 

“Not everyone can feel magic right away,” Ms. Hauk squawked. “We have some artifacts that help with that.” 

Dot’s nerves were dampened by excitement. Maybe this school wasn’t hopeless after all. The air had chilled considerably by the time they reached the door at the bottom. Ms. Hauk pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Artifacts of all shapes and sizes lined the walls and stood on pedestals. A sense of old dust replaced the damp chill, a feeling akin to stepping into a museum. 

“Wow. All these are magical?”

Ms. Hauk smiled. “Every one. Just be careful what you touch, not everything is benign.”

Dot had her finger out to touch a glowing stone on a pedestal, but snatched it back. 

“The descriptions are on a plaque below each artifact.”

Relief washed over Dot as she read the stones description. ‘Healing Stone. Place next to a wound and watch your friends, or yourself, heal in no time.’

“What do I do?” she asked after reading several more descriptions for The Plate of Eternal Feasting, Disguise Outfit Earrings, and a small bottle with nothing more than the words ‘Danger, Flammable.’

Teach shrugged. “Pick one. Pay attention to the magic as it takes hold. Knowing what it feels like often helps those who struggle to find it themselves.”

Dot ran her fingers over a helmet that offered instant fighting tactics while in battle. What if she still couldn’t? What if being from Earth instead of this place made it impossible? 

She stopped in front of a bracelet. It simply read ‘Doppelganger.’ Next to it was a teacup filled with a steaming liquid. ‘Know everything about one subject for one day.’ Her hand drifted from one to the other, unsure which one to pick. 

9+16+1+12+10=10

Dot hovered a hand over the bracelet. If she had a copy of herself who could go to classes, and she could sleep in…

She grabbed it. Laughter bubbled up through her chest. A tickling sensation raced over her skin, and someone stepped out of her body, and from that body sprouted another, and another until four identical Dot’s stood in front of Mrs. Hauk. 

“Holy shi—”

“Language, Ms. Dot!” A smile spread across Teach’s face. Four Dot’s wiggled their arms and legs, then glanced at each other and giggled. 

“What happens if we all do different things?” Dot two asked. 

“Just what I was thinking!” Dot one said, jumping up and down in excitement. 

“You will remember everything your doppelgangers do once the spell ends.” Mrs. Hauk plucked the bracelet from Dot’s fingers and the copies disappeared. “But you won’t be getting out of your schoolwork that easily.”

Dot pouted, but if the experience helped her do real magic, maybe school wouldn’t be so bad. Her teacher ushered her out of the room and back upstairs. 

“Don’t forget how you felt putting on the bracelet. That was the magic. Try to feel that in class tomorrow, okay?”

She agreed, trying to remember every feeling, every sensation while she wandered toward dinner. The most prominent sensation was her skin tickling. But there had been something else. A feeling like reaching into the universe and borrowing its secrets to create something from nothing. No, not from nothing. That was impossible. Something was there. 

“Watch where you’re going, Stripes!” 

Dot’s dinner tray crashed to the floor. A scaly boy with a nubby head wiped his gravy covered hand on his pointy-eared friend’s shirt and laughed as they walked away. She curled her hands into fists and stared at their retreating backs, imagining her clones tripping both boys so she could treat them to one of her famous wedgies. 

“One day, they’ll get back tenfold what they’re giving.”

Dot whirled around to find a girl. She looked nearly human except for two tiny horns twisting out from her forehead and the reddish hue of her skin. The glare she directed at the bullies made Dot instantly like her. 

“I was thinking major wedgies.”

The girl laughed. “I know a spell that causes the target to see ants crawling all over their skin. Next time, they get both. Come, I have more than enough food here. I can never eat it all. I’m Alyx, by the way.”

“Dot.” She followed Alyx to an empty table and sat across from her. 

As they divvied up the food, Alyx asked, “Are you new here? I don’t remember seeing you around.”

“Yeah, I just started classes the other day. I—” Dot nearly told this girl her story, but she realized how crazy it must sound. 

“You what?” Alyx asked through a mouthful of apple. 

“Nothing, it doesn't matter. What other spells can you do?” Dot picked up her half of the sandwich. It tasted like ham, but couldn’t be sure. Did they have pigs in this world?

“Not many yet. Studying magic is literally the hardest way to learn it, and I’ve only been here a few months myself.”

“Wait, there’s other ways?” Dot leaned forward. 

“Oh yeah. You can make deals with gods, or sometimes just a powerful being. Some people are born with it.”

“Ugh, why couldn’t I have been born with it?” Dot munched her last bite moodily.

“Right?! It’s not fair. Listen.” Alyx glanced around and scooted closer. “I might know someone who can help us make a deal for magic. Are you in?”

Rolls: 16+11+17+18=15.5

Dot tapped her finger on the table, eyeing Alyx dubiously. “As much as not working for magic sounds great, I also don’t like to owe anyone favors. Especially powerful beings.”

Alyx shrugged and sat back, finishing her half of the sandwich. “Your loss. Might be good to keep in touch with someone here though. We can teach each other spells the other doesn’t know.”

“That I can agree to,” Dot said, grinning. “Who’s this person who can get you magic?”

Glancing around, Alyx stood and bid Dot to follow. Curiosity overrode any caution, and she stood, jogging after her new friend through the cafeteria and into the hall. They turned a corner and followed the sign pointing towards the alchemist’s classrooms. The door they stopped at busted open before they could open it, and a human boy stumbled out coughing, a cloud of purple smoke following in his wake. 

“Mark! What happened?” Alyx waved her hands at the tendrils snaking toward her. They recoiled like snakes. 

“Your name is Mark?” Dot raised an eyebrow at him.

Mark gasped fresh air and glared at her. “So? What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s such a normal name for this fantasy-ass place.”

“I’ll have you know I’m named after my father, Markthew, and he from his father, Marktholemew.” He pointed a finger at me and scowled. “It’s an honor to share the name Mark with them.”

“Okay, okay, no judgment here. I like the name Mark.”

Alyx put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean, fantasy place?”

Dot groaned and grabbed their arms, dragging them back into the classroom and shutting the door. Beakers lined walls and crowded tables. A tiny burned out fire sat in a metal dish on one, beakers with various colored liquids surrounding it. The smell of burned flowers hung in the air. 

“What’s going on, Dot?” Alyx demanded, stamping her foot. 

“Alright, listen. I have something to confess. And you better not say anything, Mark!” Dot poked his chest, and he batted away my hand, but agreed. “I don’t come from here.”

“So, where then? Like out of town? Or a different country?” Mark asked. 

“Oh! Is it Serpent's Soul?” Alyx asked. “I haven’t met a single person from there. My theory is everyone lies because they don’t want anyone to know they’re from such a creepy place.”

“No, no, no. Like a different world. Where I come from, there are cars and skyscrapers. And phones!” Dot dug into her pants pocket and drew out her Iphone. “See?” She turned it on. The screen lit up, a picture of her and her dog, Iggy, as the background. 

Alyx’s and Mark’s jaws dropped. 

“What in god’s breath is that?” Alyx asked. 

“A phone. It lets me talk to people. Watch.” She swiped open the lockscreen, hit the phone app, and pressed the most recent person on the list, her dad. It rang twice before he answered. 

“Dot?! Dot is that you?!” 

“Hi, Daddy!” She pressed the speaker. “I’m here with my new friends, Mark and Alyx.”

“I’m glad you’re making friends, sweetheart, but where is here?”

Dot glanced at her friends, a question in her eyes. Should she tell him?

Rolls: 16+14=15

The hesitation to tell him lasted only a moment. It wouldn’t hurt. 

“I’m at school, Daddy.”

“I’m sorry, school? Like Jefferson High?”

Dot laughed. “Nooo, like a magic school!”

There was a pause on the other side. 

“Is it working?” Mark asked, poking the screen. Dot slapped his hand away. 

“Don’t do that! You’ll hang up on him.”

“No! No hanging up, please,” Andy said, panic making his voice crack. “Are you safe? Where’s this magic school? We found Aidyn, we will come get you next.”

“Where are we?” Dot mouthed at her friends. Mark leaned in close to the phone. 

“We’re at Emerveil Academy for Spellcraft!” he screamed directly into the speaker. Dot snatched the phone away and backed up, glaring at Mark. 

“Did he hear me?” he asked, oblivious to her reaction. Dot ignored him, but repeated the name to Andy. 

“Don’t go anywhere, we’re on our way. Love you, hon.”

“Love you too, Daddy!” She hung up, and put her hands on her hips. “What were you thinking?! You don’t have to yell like that!” 

Mark shrugged. “I didn’t know.”

“Did too,” Alyx slapped his arm. “She literally showed you how to do it.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Mark rubbed his arm and pouted. “What are you doing here anyway? You never show up just to hang out anymore.”

Dot hopped on a desk and swung her legs. “Like I said, I’m not from here. Magic is hard. We’re looking for ways to make it easier for me without making a deal with beings.”

Mark’s face lit up. “I get to help you go on a quest?”

“Only if you can help with supplies.” Alyx strode over to a closest and flung open the door, scrutinizing its contents. Dot cleaned over, peering curiously inside. She had never seen an alchemist’s supply closet before, but had watched Fullmetal Alchemist with her Dad before. Maybe it was full of chalk. 

She was disappointed when Alyx shifted and it was full of beakers and toppered vials with different colored liquids, dried plants, and shiny stuff.  

“How will that be useful?” she asked. 

“In a lot of ways!” Mark bounced over to the closet, picked up a bag laying next to it, and started stuff ingredients and beakers inside. When it was full, he peered inside, dug around a little, and  glanced up. “Can anyone make a fire?”

“I don’t have that kind of magic yet, stupid.” Alyx rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder. 

“I can make one,” Dot said. 

Alyx raises an eyebrow. “I thought you couldn’t use magic.”

She shrugged. “I can’t, but I can make a fire without magic.”

“Really?!” Mark nearly dropped his bag, and swung it over his shoulder to cover his embarrassment. 

“It’s simple survival skills. My dad used to take me camping all the time.”

Alyx watched her skeptically. “For fun?”

“Yes, for fun. Now are we going to go, or what?”

“What about your dad? Aren’t we supposed to wait for him?” Mark asked, grabbing a purple cloak with moons on it from another closest. Dot eyed it. 

“Do you have a pointed hat to go with that?”

“No…” He was reaching for something, but changed his mind and shut the door. 

“Whatever. We don’t have time to wait for him. Who knows how long it could take him to get here? We’ll go find this magic, and then come back before he even knows we’re gone.”

Chapter Five: The Mouserats

Muffin didn’t fly far, and for that I was grateful. My stomach churned the entire time we were in the air, dipping and twisting, sliding forward and back. Shark whooped, and I tried really hard not to think about how close my hands were to his junk as I clung to his waist. 

The dog passed over town and circled a bridge spanning the width of a roaring river. I wasn’t the only one to scream as she went in for a dive landing, but I refused to turn around and see who had harmonized with me. 

A spray of dirt flung across the bridge as Muffin landed. I slipped off and staggered away, heaving into the bushes on the side of the road. 

“You okay, T?” Shark slapped my back as I wiped my mouth with my shirt. 

“I’ll survive,” I gasped, following him back to the group. Andy looked just as green as I felt. 

“So, where is he?” Ella glanced across the bridge. The rest of us turned our attention to Muffin. She sniffed in circles for a few seconds, then went down the embankment and under the bridge. 

Someone screamed. 

We rushed after the dog, coming up short when we discovered the bridge was home to about fifteen short, furry creatures, and one fifteen-year-old boy. 

“Aidyn!” Shark shrieked, pushing aside the little mousey people to get to his boy. 

“Dad!” Aidyn stood, a grin splitting his face, and opened his arms to accept the tackle. 

The mouse creatures grumbled as they rolled back to their feet, brushing the dirt off their tiny shirts, pants, and skirts. The tallest came up to my thigh and the shortest barely touched my kneecap with her ears. 

“What’s going on, Aidyn?” One wearing a smashed hat asked in a high squeaky voice, his naked tail flicking back and forth. 

“This is my Dad, and his friends,” Aidyn said. “Guys, this is Musa and his family of Mouserats. They hired me from the job auction to help with a problem they have.”

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Ella asked, carefully making her way through the furry creatures to check over Aidyn. 

“Yes, I’m fine.” He waved her off. “But would you guys help us? It’s going to be a little trickier than we first thought.”

“What’s the job?” I asked, glancing at Musa. 

“Our home as been invaded, which is why we are under this bridge. We need big people to help us chase out the invaders and make sure they won’t come back.”

David stepped forward, his brow furrowed. “We aren’t knights, or warriors, or whatever you have here, but we can try. Who invaded?”

“Big people, like you, but they’re wearing all this armor and stuff.”

“I know it sounds bad,” Aidyn said, his eyes wide and pleading, “but they saved me from a worse fate. We have to help.”

Shark squeezed his son’s shoulder. “We will, bud. First, we have to come up with a plan.” 

“I can fire them out,” I said, lifting my hand.

“All our stuff is in there!” A woman mouserat cried, slapping her paws to her cheeks. 

“Or, we can scout out the situation first and go from there.” Andy glared at me. 

Roll: 5+9+2+11=9

“I think the tired man is right,” Musa said, pointing to me. Tired? Did I really look that bad? “We need to go in swinging, surprise attack!”

“But Musa,” the woman pleaded, “the damage they could do to our stuff—”

He turned on her, his whiskers trembling, cheeks turning bright red. “Who cares about stuff? We can get more stuff! If this man—”

“Taren.”

“—Taren, can get those people out, and if it takes an entire fireball, I’ll let him do it!”

“I’d love to,” I said. I had been feeling pretty useless as of late, and if I could help these furry little Mouserats, maybe the others would stop looking at me like I was a burden. “Just show us the way!”

The Mouserats all glanced at each other and nodded. 

“This way,” Musa said, and all of them shuffled out from under the bridge and up the path. 

Aidyn slid himself between me and Shark as we followed the big mice. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. If it wasn’t for them, I’d be in mines digging for magic ore right now.”

“Magic ore?” I asked. “That sounds helpful.”

“Maybe, but the digging is dangerous. One of the other kids at the job auction was telling me their cousin got a job there, but he hit a vein with the pick ax and it turned him into a giant salamander.”

Shark looked horrified. “I’ll do anything for these little mousie guys.”

Aidyn smiled at him. “I’m thankful too.” Then he frowned. “Dad? Where’s your pants?”

“Oh!” Shark laughed. “I traded them for information to help find you.”

“Aw, thanks, Dad!” Aidyn hugged him. 

I shook my head, wishing I had the same type of relationship. Glancing at Andy, who was talking animatedly to one of the Mouserats, I wondered what type of relationship he had with my daughter. I wondered what type of person my daughter was, and if she was doing okay in this world, or if she too was in the mines, just waiting for the swing that would turn her into a salamander, or a frog, or a werewolf, whatever they had in this world. 

“Hey, you okay?”

I blinked and glanced around. Ella and David were watching me. 

“Oh, yeah, just thinking.” I relaxed my clenched fists. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll find them all.” Ella squeezed my arm, but didn’t look me in the eyes. She was trying to comfort herself, just as much as me. 

We only walked through the woods for about fifteen minutes when the Mouserats stopped. I glanced around, but all I could see were trees. 

“Over here!” Musa called, waving from the front of the trope. Me, Shark, Aidyn, Ella, David, and Andy maneuvered around the furries to find their leader staring at a hole in the ground. 

“They’re in there?” I asked, skeptically. 

“It’s a lot bigger than it looks,” the Mouserat squeaked. 

I nodded and turned my attention to my friends. “How should we do this? With fire? Or do we try to sneak in and take them out?”

Rolls: 2+13+6+10+2=7

“Please, just be sneaky,” the woman Mouserat pleaded, her whiskers trembling. 

I held up my hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. Do we have weapons?”

“We don’t have to kill people,” Andy said. His tone brooked no argument. “Especially in front of the kid.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that.” I was suggesting that. “But we need to defend ourselves, at least.”

“He’s right, Andy.” Elsa carefully moved through the Mouserats to get to our side. At least someone agreed with me. Andy huffed and crossed his arms. 

“Yeah, I guess. But we can easily do that with shields, too.”

“Does anyone have any shields?” Shark raised an eyebrow at him. Andy scowled. 

“No more than we have weapons.”

 “I have a pocket knife.” Digging in his pocket, Aidyn pulled out a hand carved knife and flipped open the blade. It glowed green. “Wow, I didn’t know it did that.”

“It didn’t when I gave it to you,” Shark said, scratching his head. 

“Are you going first?” I glanced at the kid. 

“He’s absolutely not! I will,” Shark growled, and Aidyn handed him the knife without a word. “Let’s go in.”

With Shark leading the way, the Mouserats parted to let us through. He dropped to his hands and knees, and crawled into the hole, knife held out in front of him. I followed, taking a breath to keep the warmth of fire coursing through my veins from rearing its head. Behind me was Ella, then Andy, David, and finally Aidyn. 

The hole was barely big enough for Shark, the biggest of us all. If I stayed exactly center, it was wide enough that my shoulders didn’t bump the walls. It was so dark, I could barely see my friend in front of me. The first ten feet were all dirt, caking my hands and fingernails, but then it turned into a masterpiece, the likes of which I had never seen before. 

I could only describe it as polished marble. The dirt seemed to meld to it as if there was no line between them. It widened just enough for Shark to relax. Tiny alcoves with glowing stones stretched the length of the otherworldly hole. 

Within moments, I could hear a murmur of voices, but I didn’t think the language they spoke was one I recognized. Shark stopped, and I wasn’t paying attention and stopped too close for comfort. 

“What do you see?” I whispered. 

“We’re over head, like a vent. It looks like they’re having some kind of party.”

“So, they’re not wearing armor?”

Shark shuffled as if peering down a hole. “Looks like just one acting as a guard to another door. Ask Ella to ask Andy to ask David to ask Aidyn to ask the Mousies if there’s other exits.”

Ella tapped my foot and I jumped, hitting my head on the smooth rocks. 

“Sorry,” Ella said. “I heard my name. What's up?”

“Ask Andy to ask David to ask Aidyn to ask the Mouserats if there are any other exits.”

I heard her whispering, and a quieter whisperer after that. It took several minutes until Ella tapped me again. 

“Uh, they said no, they don’t pay taxes. I’m not sure what that has to do with Brexit.”

I rubbed my face with a hand, then remembered it was full of dirt and stopped. “Just go Shark, buddy, we’ll figure it out.”

Shark dropped through the hole headfirst. I scrambled forward and peered down. He had landed on top of the man with the armor and was wrestling off the helmet. Screaming echoed through the hole, and I dropped down on the next guest to walk by, but as soon as I dropped atop his shoulders, that warm feeling circulated my veins growing hotter and hotter until the man’s jacket went up in flames.