“I’ll wait here with Valgrin. You two go get the swampy supplies we need. By the time you get back, Valgrin and Skwilly should be over the portal sickness.” Malcolm shooed Tahlur and Steeyann away and took a seat on the bench next to Valgrin.

  Valgrin looked up and mumbled. “Thank you. They keep telling me it’ll get better. I keep wait—” he groaned, then dry-heaved. “Waiting, not happened yet.”

  “Might take over three trips to get used to it.” Malcolm looked down at his friend’s feet. “You doing okay, Skwilly?”

  A grunt and a nod answered him.

  “Oh,” Valgrin grabbed onto Malcolm’s arm. “I think I just figured out who DL could be. Sort of just popped into my head.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Do you remember a character named Drathnor Lupine? Baddie with a lycanthrope thing going on.”

  Valgrin watched Malcolm stare off for a few moments.

  “The one you based on Bryan’s big bad from his campaign? Thought he could save the world by turning everyone into a lycanthrope.” Malcolm’s voice speed up as he talked.

  “The very one. He borrowed the idea and wanted to continue in his Master’s footsteps, at least that’s the back story. Do you remember what he, well, what I did, to you?”

  Malcolm scratched at his chin for a moment, then straightened up. “You set up that NPC to be everybody’s little brother—then had him killed as we were forced to watch. Still remember that as one of the meaner things your did to us.”

  “That’s the guy. Remember anything else about the NPC?”

  “That’s about the—oh, wait. He had a belt of lightning that he used to save us a few times. You’d set us up to need him to—oh, Tahlur?” Malcolm stared at Valgrin.

  “Can the Structure set things up this on the nose? Sure seems that way, at least with what little we know.”

  Malcolm bolted from the bench, his robe swirling as he spun back around to face Valgrin. “We should keep Tahlur from going with us.”

  “Probably easier said than done.” Valgrin shrugged. “We at least need to let him know and be ready to step in to protect.”

  Malcolm plopped back down on the bench. “Yeah. This whole creator thing and us having just a little inside information is messing with my mind.”

  Valgrin nodded and stared up at the sky.

  You drop a bombshell like that and can be relaxed? My stomach is churning, and I don’t have a portal reaction. Damn! This feels like half-baked déjà vu. Malcolm joined his friend and stared upward.

  The pair sat in silence for several seconds before Valgrin spoke. “We’ll die.”

  “Mmm-hm…wait, what do you mean? I think the four of us can take what’s out there.” Malcolm’s words rushed out.

  Valgrin turned his head. “Didn’t mean now, necessarily. I’ve concluded if we die here, we actually die here. Might be some magical reset, like a resurrection type spell, but short of something like that we’re done for.”

  “And how did you come to that conclusion? Sandy has been silent on the issue, actually could’ve stopped at silent. Fred dodged the question several times.”

  “The dodging and silence make me think they don’t want to tell us the truth. And the way things work here. They typically pull someone over who is near the point of death. We’re outside the normal—“

  “Abnormal is the default setting around here.”

  “No argument there, but still we’ve both heard how we’re a special case, so we’re abnormal in a world of abnormalities. I don’t think the Structure is set up to send people back, at least not on a regular basis.” Valgrin sighed.

  “Heard no concrete proof there, but you probably have it close to right. I will offer this up as a reason we didn’t get a quick answer. If we knew dying would take us back home, you’d have off’d yourself as quick as possible.”

  “In a heartbeat. You would to.”

  Malcolm leaned forward. “I’d have stuck around here. Knowing I have that in my back pocket. It’s not always been fun, but it has been interesting in several ways.”

  “I can see that. If this happened during my single years, I’d probably join you.”

  “Well, you’re kinda joining me now.” Both chuckled at Malcolm’s comment.

  Shifting his weight, Malcolm crossed his legs and plucked at his pants. “To get a little serious. Have you wondered why both of us have adapted to being here so easily? Even in your desire to get back—there isn’t the passion or panic of when you first got here. We’ve both fallen into calling each other and ourselves as our character names, with no problems there.”

  “Crossed my mind a time or twenty.” Valgrin stood up as he answered. “Knee-jerk reaction answer. The Structure uses magic to make that happen. Don’t know if it’s magic based on delusion, illusion, or something that calms us or makes us accept things more.”

  He stepped away from the bench, then pivoted to face Malcolm, his finger raised to his chin. “Considering this Drathnor situation, the expectations of us, and this ease to adapt—I can’t help but wonder how much have we been manipulated or magically forced to where we are now? I mean, beyond that fact of our being brought here with no choice.”

  “I’d say the fact that you stayed calm and presented the case with no anger is proof that someone did something to us.” Malcolm chewed at his bottom lip.

  Valgrin pointed. “We’ll need to table this for later. They’re just a minute or two away.”

  Malcolm sighed, while standing and turning to see Steeyann and Tahlur making their way down the street. Idiot screwed up and missed another chance to tell him. One simple word and I’m too scared to talk about it. Like speaking, it makes it real. Idiot. I need to—

  “Malcolm? Malcolm.” Steeyann shouted the last word.

  Shaking his head, Malcolm blinked, and the world came back into focus. He held his hands up, “Sorry, lost in a deep thought—“

  “Any deeper and you wouldn’t have been conscious.” Valgrin looked over Steeyann’s shoulder.

  Malcolm tugged at his top. “Yeah, it was a real deep thought. Brain took something and went running. Anyway, what did I ignore?”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Tahlur held out a small box that reminded Malcolm of a green boxed deck of cards. He took it and examined the simple container. The swirling green hues were the only distinguishing feature he could find. “What’s this?”

  “Steeyann got one for each of us. It’s an advanced trail bed. Drop it on the ground where you want to camp out and a thin mattress with a sleeping bag pops out.” Tahlur spoke faster, staring at the red box in his hand. “Oh, and the mattress has a quarter inch levitation with leveling. So you’re basically sleeping on air. Not much air, but some.”

  “It will keep us from having to sleep on cold, wet ground.” Steeyann stepped closer, pointing at the box in Malcolm’s hand. “If you keep a nights use to around nine hours and only levitate the quarter of an inch, you should get twenty-five to thirty nights out of the thing. These are rechargeable, but each recharge reduces the magic’s efficiency and therefore a reduction in usage time. This one will go up to one inch levitation, but each usage costs several nights, three to six, of a default use.”

  “Does it level itself with the air cushion?” Valgrin turned over the yellow block he held.

  “It does indeed, to the best the range you’re levitating will allow.” Steeyann answered.

  Malcolm followed Valgrin’s lead and stuffed it into his pack. “Thanks, Steeyann. You didn’t have to get us these.”

  “I want to use mine without guilt or y’all giving me murderous looks.” Steeyann laughed, “This was an investment for me more than you.”

  A round of chuckles worked through the group as they stowed their new beds and readjusted their packs.

  Valgrin stepped closer, closing the circle. “Since you’re both tightening your packs, are we to assume we’ve got some info? We’ve got some to tell you both. Might as well be direct.”

  Valgrin and Malcolm spent the next few minutes explaining to Tahlur what they remembered and the danger they felt he’d be in.

  “Not leaving you guys. Won’t mind the protection, though.” Tahlur’s chuckle didn’t hide his nervousness.

  “It could be nothing, but it wouldn’t be right to not tell you.” Valgrin patted Tahlur’s back.

  “We go forward and forewarned.” Steeyann proclaimed, then laughed. “That was more pompous sounding out loud.”

  Tahlur nodded. “Now that that’s settled. On to our news, there are rumors of more activity around the swamp over the last sixty days. There’s a wagon passing by the best spot to start, based on the rumors. We can grab a ride as long as we sit with the cargo until we get to the jump off point.”

  “Leaves in a little more than an hour, so need to head over to the docks and be ready to jump on once they get loaded up.” Steeyann pointed to the east.

  “Riding with the cargo?” Malcolm asked.

  “Yep.” Steeyann shrugged. “Passenger seats were taken and the next wagon out that way is tomorrow afternoon. Plus, not sure they’d let us jump off from a passenger spot.”

  “Wait a minute.” Valgrin held up a finger. “You’ve said jump off a few times now. At first I thought it was a figure of speech—I now am wondering if you mean literally jumping off.”

  “They agree to let us catch a ride for free if they didn’t have to stop or slow down. They’ll holler and we’ll jump. If you roll with it shouldn’t have any issues.” Steeyann mimicked a rolling motion with his fingers.

  “Even going slow, this doesn’t sound like fun,” Malcolm pointed out.

  “Look at it this way. One step of many to find out what is going on.” Valgrin sighed.

  “Not helping me envision a positive outcome here.” Malcolm muttered as he took up the rear in following Steeyann.

  They got there right after one of the cargo wagons had been loaded. There were a dozen barrels strapped in the wagon's rear, four folded blankets were there for them to use to sit on. Steeyann joined the rest after talking to the caravan boss.

  “Here, they’re giving us each a collapsible flask.” Steeyann handed them out.

  Tahlur held his translucent flask up to the sun, then clucked. “These are the good flasks. We’re getting paid for this trip. What’s going on?”

  Steeyann looked down at his feet, then up again. “I was getting there. We’ve agreed to come to their defense if attacked before we jump off. I guess attacks have increased lately on the portion of road we’ll be on. I figured we’d help in an attack anyway, so why not get these nice flasks?”

  “Looks like a large toothpaste tube.” Malcolm bounced his in his hand. “Other than it holds a shape.”

  “These are made with the folded space magic, just like your backpacks. These can hold about ten gallons and still weigh less than a pound and only take up a forearms space where ever you put it.” Steeyann lifted his higher. “These are not cheap or easy to come by.”

  “So, does that make our caravan crew suspect?” Valgrin asked.

  Steeyann shook his head. “I don’t think so. The owner of this caravan owns three other caravans that cover these swamp routes. They only have two other transport companies as competition. Full caravan and majority of the market, seems they’ve invested in the good stuff for their crew, or at least a portion of their crew and hold some back to make deals like this one with us.”

  “Seems reasonable.” Malcolm popped his new flask in his pack. He looked up to see Valgrin still holding his flask over an open bag. “What are you doing?” He called out.

  “Well, at this very moment I was thinking, this is a liquid, this is a drink. You stopped me before I could finish.” Valgrin answered.

  “You’re indexing your stuff before putting it in?”

  “Well, if I have it down as cold, or thirsty, or hydrating—it’ll make it easier to retrieve, and I can retrieve by a group query.” Valgrin cocked his head as he answered.

  “That’s, “ Malcolm paused for a moment. “Actually, a good idea. I hadn’t thought about my pack like a rudimentary database.”

  “I figure if the capacity on this thing is hundreds of items, what we store them as could be important.” Valgrin shrugged.

  Shouts up and down the caravan gave warning they were heading out. Even with the warning, all four fell off their barrel when the wagon jerked into motion.

  Two hours passed, Steeyann and Tahlur were sleeping. Valgrin had just finished talking to a guard who rode next to the wagons. Malcolm watched him settle in, probably headed to a nap.

  Another chance? He looked over at the others sleeping. Now or never, just need to move a little closer. Malcolm slid over the barrel next to Valgrin.

  “Got a moment to talk?” Malcolm asked.

  “Sure, wait, you making it so we don’t have to shout over the creaks and animal noises?”

  Malcolm nodded. “Yeah, it’s a spell called Communicate. If you’re close enough, we can have a normal conversation no matter the noise level. This close, we can almost whisper—if needed.” He swallowed hard. Tell him, tell him now.

  “Guessing you have something to say, then?” Valgrin’s eyes opened slightly.

  “I do, been meaning to say something since you showed up here. But there was a lot of weird and little chance. And what chances I’ve had, I’ve not taken. It’s started eating at me.”

  “Okay, you have my attention.” Valgrin leaned forward.

  “I, I mean, well—I wanted to let you know I will do everything I can to help get you home, but I’m not going back with you.”

  Valgrin’s forehead scrunched. “Um, okay. That is surprising, but why was that so hard to tell me?”

  Malcolm cleared his throat and sighed. “The afternoon before I ended up here, I found out I have cancer—terminal, some version of a lymphatic cancer. They told me the name, but my brain had started glitching, so I’m not sure what the actual name is. They gave me six months or less, then told me the name—main reason for the memory glitch.”

  “I’m so sorry—I know that doesn’t help.” Valgrin laid a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder.

  Raising his hands to fend off Valgrin’s words, Malcolm continued. “I know you care and at times like these words fail. Something you also need to know, here in the EverNever, I’m cancer free. Either I somehow healed myself or I was healed in transporting here. No matter, one way or another, it’s gone. I’ve had it checked by Sandy and a couple of healers Izzy pointed me towards.”

  “That’s great news. Still have you around to laugh and have fun when we’re not being chased. “ Valgrin stopped and paused before continuing. “That’s why you’re not going back. No guarantee the cancer won’t be back?”

  “Exactly. If I get that guarantee, maybe I’ll change my mind. But given what this world offers—age issues are gone, feel like I’m mid-twenties. Then there is Izzy. Maybe I can find a better version of life here. Right now, it’s what I’m shooting for.”

  “Of course you shouldn’t go back. Even if this wasn’t a thing, I’d never try to force you to come with me. You stay, no matter what your reason is—health, relationship, and joy, those all seem to be great reasons to stay behind. If it wasn’t for Kara being back home, I’d be tempted to stay.”

  “What if we could get Kara here?” Malcolm asked.

  Valgrin rubbed at his chin. “Not thought about that. She might take a little longer to adjust. Both of us were, sorta, halfway here. She’s never got into role-playing games. Fantasy is not her favorite genre. But then I’d be open to talking through staying or leaving.”

  “I appreciate your support for my decision. Something we’ll have to think through.” Malcolm rolled his shoulders. “What if it’s a package deal? We have to both be on the same side?”

  “Easy, we stay. That’s not even an argument as long as your life is in question. Now, if we have that guarantee, we’ll need to talk it through. But enough of that unless it pops up. I think we should follow the lead of the rest of the group. Who knows when we’ll get another chance to sleep.”

  Malcolm nodded and scooted back across the barrels. “That gets a load off. Maybe I can sleep better than I have been.”