When I sat down to write this, I thought that this part was the part that I’d be most excited to write. These days of joy and misery were full to bursting. But now that I get to it, I find myself wanting to hold onto most of it, to keep it close to me.

  I think the telling, though, help me remember. Maybe I see it more clearly if I let it go.

  The days after Bere and I became an item, were full of te night rendezvous, and stolen kisses in hallways, and also a lot of pain as Rachel recovered, and bad news as word of Caleb and the refugees trickled in. Bernie had added Caleb to the Kill Crew, but he hardly talked. Braelyime telep to him, and back often, and so we learned more that way.

  The greatest tragedy in those days was news of King Caleb’s middle son, Pes, succumbing to his injuries and dying.

  My work with Luca meant that I had learned more about magical healing now. Magical healing was supernatural in its effectiveness, but not as great as we imagined in The Game of our world. Spells to return the dead to life did exist, and Caleb had one, but they only worked on people freshly dead. A well preserved, and intact corpse was needed for resurreagibsp; Even from the most powerful of cleribsp; So, some injuries or methods of death did not allow for revival.

  Removing the head, reportedly, is one. Though Luca theorized that it could be overe should the head be reattached in the seds of its removal. Another method to keep the dead from being brought back to life was void magibsp; Wounds caused by void magic could not be healed before first banishing the curse, and if one dies while uhe voidcurse, something else take your pce.

  And some individuals just… refused to return to living. Sometimes their spirit simply could not be reached.

  The case of Pes, was one such case.

  Reportedly, Caleb shut down. Prince Xander and Queen Cerelia were forced to step up to repce him. Braelyioalk of moving up Xander’s ation, but that was one of the few things Caleb had explicitly refused.

  I wished there was something I could do to help. But I was needed here.

  On the sixth day of staying at the Academe Are, it was decided that the whole crew, minus Caleb, would try interrogating Helena. That m I woke refreshed and ready to take on the day, as Bernie had let me retire early the night before instead of, you know, keep her pany until te into the night.

  Rachel was already at the mess hall, listening to Braelyn talk, and rubbing her bad shoulder absentmindedly.

  “I need you,” I sang, putting my hand on her good shoulder.

  She looked back at me, shocked at first, then flicted. I could see a war between pt that I would dare to assume she needed help, and relief because the pain did lessen. Magical healing didn’t only heal, it soothed. In the end she just nodded her thanks.

  I sat dowo her, and said good m to both.

  The mess hall was mostly e room, with rows and rows of long tables, no shock there, but with many more windows to let in natural light along with the are mps. Most had already taken their food, delivered on trays carried by dumbwaiter from the ground floor, to their spots or to their dorms. Several returrays at a row of dumbwaiters on the opposite side of the room.

  “What’s the news?” I asked.

  “Still ’t get into her messages, but we have her stats now,” said Rachel, as she handed me a crystal ste.

  Helena the level 14 Fey Fighter.

  HP 146, AC 13 (unarmored)

  STR 21 (+5) DEX 17 (+3) 19 (+4)

  INT 11 (+0) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 13 (+1)

  Items: None

  Abilities: Adrenaline Rush (170% time dition, double movement speed). Beguiling Muscles (add your strength bonus to charisma skill checks). Fey Aggression (teleport to any on that has been thrown i five minutes, at will, with a three sed cooldown). Improved Fey Aggression (you may use your teleportatioure three times before cooldown). Sed ce (Twice per day heal +25% HP). Spellcasting.

  Boons: Boon of Strength (Set your Strength cap at 26 and increase the attribute by 5)

  Skills: Athletics, Deception, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Social Drinking

  “She’s strong,” I said, handing the ste babsp; “But her mental stats aren’t too impressive. We could probably trick her.”

  “Sure,” Braelyn said, “but is that the correct py?”

  “What have we tried?” I asked.

  “Not much,” Braelyn admitted. “Mostly just impressed upohe importance of talking food treatment.”

  “Good treatment?” Rachel asked. “Have we beeing her harshly?”

  “Depends,” Braelyn said. “She gets food and water. Basiecessities, but we haven’t beeing her read or py games.”

  “Solitary fi?” I asked.

  “ly,” Braelyn replied. “She be pretty chatty with the guards I’m told.”

  “Okay.”

  I didn’t know a lot about the ethipriso, but I knew solitary was actual torture. As was withholding sanitary products, or sleep deprivation. So, nothi my arm bells off.

  The very little I uood about proper interrogation I got from cop shows, and spy novels. What I knew about it, you had to make them your friend, make them feel like the interrogator was doing their best to help in a system that sought to crush you.

  This was a glorified school. So, I wasn’t sure how scary it was by reputation. But if it was tied to Caleb, he seemed to have intimidated the whole ti.

  But she wasn’t a native. She was from our world. Caleb’s reputation may not help us.

  “What are you thinking?” Rachel asked.

  “Not sure. Have we talked to the DM yet?” I asked.

  Rachel cut her eyes at Braelyn, then bae.

  “I’m not sure Braelyn knows much about them,” she said.

  “Well, why not tell her?” I asked.

  “Would she believe—”

  “What’s this?” Braelyn asked.

  I decided to spill the beans to her. Caleb trusted her with his ste for years. And she was sort of gest NPC ally.

  I told her that the Dungeon Master is the ohat brought us here. We didn’t know this for sure, but it made for a better story. And that he was responsible for leading us through The Game. She already kneere from another world, that art of the prophecy, but she attributed it to her religion, that of the Warden Who Provides.

  “So you’re saying that you believe this person you unicate with through the magic stes, is like the Warden?”

  I looked to Rachel, who answered.

  “We don’t know anything about ‘the Warden’ other than as a source for swear words. But the DM gives us quests and updates our ste’s abilities.”

  “Iing,” she said, taking a bite of a sweet roll. After chewing daintily and swallowing, she said, “but you haven’t expined why you don’t trust them.”

  “If they were trustworthy,” Rachel said, “they would be more forthing about why we’re here, and what we o do.”

  “Don’t you o defeat the former promised hero, and current bane of all the world, Inara?”

  Bere and I had unpacked some of our feelings about that particur revetion, that Sofia was also the Evil Queen, but we hadn’t really all talked about it as a group. I was furious at her, but also flicted. Bere seemed to see it very bd white: Sofia o be put down.

  I was so upset with her that I didn’t argue, but something didn’t feel right to me, even now. Even now that she seemed so callous, sone. But I was also lost in the wake of the incredible violence she had caused, the hurt to my friends, and in my newfound love affair, so I didn’t dwell on it much.

  “Sure,” I said, aowledgiatement.

  Just then, are lights flickered and dimmed, indig the ge of the hours.

  “Ah!” Braelyn said, “I must meet Gate Captain Bibblepubsp; Loop me in if you decide anything big.”

  She gave Rachel’s hand a squeeze a.

  I had a dumb idea. But I hadn’t heard anyoion it, yet.

  “So, speaking of the DM,” I said, “what if we just asked to go home?”

  “Shit,” Rachel responded. “Why didn’t we think of that before? What if he says yes? What if it’s that fug simple.”

  “I doubt it,” I said, and Rachel made a noise of agreement. “But we should probably still ask the asshole.”

  I took my ste out of my new Academy satchel, and messaged the DM right away.

  Breznik: Do we have to plete the quest to go home? Could we have just gone home any time we wanted?

  I stared at the ste for a moment, and upon seeing no response, let my arms hang at my sides.

  Bere walked in, and spped my ass.

  “Hey!” I said.

  She gave me a quick pe the lips.

  “Y'all are disgusting,” Rachel remarked.

  Bere shrugged. I gave a smile that I hoped ologetic, then ed my arm around her. She squeezed me back, removed herself, and sat o Rachel.

  “What are we doing?” Bernie asked, grabbing a sweet roll.

  “We were figuring how best to approaterrogating Helena,” Rachel said. “Before your… partner?”

  “Partner,” Bernie agreed.

  Revetions of our newly itted romantic retionship went over fairly well. They’d been rooting for us all along, after all. Rachel quickly moved into a position of disapproval of heterosexual PDA, but I felt like that was mostly just in good fun. If there was any ‘best friend bees jealous of the friend who nded a girlfriend’ vibes, I would have picked up on it. Right?

  If there were, that just meant that Rachel had to man up, and actually ask Braelyn out. The fact she wasn’t actively hitting that, when Braelyn was sending out all the signals made no seo me.

  Braelyn, before she left, had her hand actively on top of Rachel’s! From what little I knew about women who like women, that was basically hussy behavior.

  “Before your partner messaged the DM,” Rachel tinued, “asking if he could go home without finishing the quest.”

  “Shit,” Bere said, chewing rudely, “why didn’t we think of that sooner?”

  “He hasn’t messaged me—” I said, right as my ste vibrated.

  DM: Now, where would be the fun in that?

  “Hold on,” I said.

  “What did he say?” Rachel asked.

  I messaged him back, typing furiously.

  Breznik: Rachel lost her arm, and Caleb lost his son. I don’t think we’re having a whole lot of fun.

  DM: Oh really? And where did Caleb get his son? He certainly didn’t bring it with him through the blue door. And Rachel’s stats weren’t affected by the lost arm. You mao get it ba before stat decay.

  DM: I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The story is progressing as intended.

  Breznik: “The fuss” es from the fact that you’re keeping us here, and expect us to jump through a bunch of hoops to get home.

  DM: Am I? How do you know that I’m not doing everything I for you? You carry such hostility to me, a I give you nothing but the best quality quests I procure.

  I looked up and said, “he’s just dodging the question.”

  That brought noises of frustration from everyone.

  Breznik: I notice you saying a lot of jack shit about my first question. Just be straight with me. Is there another way to get home?

  I sighed, sat dowo Bernie and showed her my texts. She hummed, then ha babsp; My ste buzzed. He’d finally answered.

  DM: Here are the brass tacks, so to speak. I ot give out any information orue nature of The Game, or your role in it, or how you may escape it, other than the quest or quests provided.

  Breznik: What about your role in the game?

  DM: my role is to make sure you lot have a good story, if and when you make it home.

  Breznik: A good story on our terms, or yours?

  DM: Who else would know better? I’ve been doing this the lo.

  Breznik: And how long is that?

  DM: quite long.

  I sighed and tossed my ste oable.

  “Let me see,” Bernie said. She read the ste. “This is something.”

  “Is it?” I asked. “I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.”

  “Let me see,” Rachel offered. She read as well. “Okay. No, this is something.”

  “What do you got?” I asked.

  “Well,” Rachel responded, “I think this means that the ‘DM’ is a role you have for a long time. We be reasonably sure that the same DM that spoke to Sofia when she first got here is the same one you are speaking to now. It also seems that this person believes that there are rules he must follow. And that he is pying this role for our be.”

  “Okay, so how does that help us?” Bernie asked.

  “If we figure out what role he wants us to py, what story we o tell, then we know the rules of The Game.”

  “But that’s just the quests. That’s back to square one,” I added.

  “Not necessarily,” Bernie offered. “He said ‘quest or quests’ and that he ‘procures them’ for us. Maybe that means we could potentially get a quest to go home that isn’t defeating Sofia.”

  I thought for a moment. I picked up my ste.

  Breznik: If Helena joins roup, does she o follow our quest or would we follow her quest? Or are we free to choose either? Do we get a new quest?

  The DM didn’t answer right away. I sat down again and chewed food I hardly tasted. He answered.

  DM: Helena joining your party would ge the story signifitly. Whether that means you need a new quest, is all depe on what story you are telling together. There is a possibility that her quest is suitable in that case. But quests are given out based on what is, not what could be. We wouldn’t know until it happened.

  Breznik: That's not very clear.

  DM: the future never is.

  I showed Berhe messages.

  “That wasn’t a no,” she said.

  We filled Rachel in.

  “So,” she said, “we may not have to lie to Helena at all. If she joins us, she could possibly go home with our quest, not hers. There’s a ce we get an ally out of this. An ally with fat tits.”

  “Woah,” I said.

  “You haven’t seen ‘em?”

  “How big are we talking?” Bernie asked.

  “Guys,” I added. “She’s our prisoner. Let’s not sexualize her.”

  “Just stating objective facts,” Rachel said.

  “Also,” I said. “The DM could pull the rug out from under us, and ge the quest we have. We may not be at all from turning her.”

  “If we have to turn her,” Bernie said, “I should probably give it a try. Points iion and all.”

  “She may not be bi,” I cautioned.

  “Oh, so you’re thinking you should go for the sedu py?” Bere teased.

  “Worked on you,” I said.

  Bernie kissed me on the lips.

  “Groooosssss,” Rachel groaned.

  Mark ehe mess hall, his cape billowing behind him.

  “They’re delivering food now,” he said. “If we’re to interrogate the girl, we should do it while she’s in a good mood.”

  I looked around at Rachel and Bere, who both shrugged.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, “let’s go do it. I’ll fill you in on the way.”