I slept deeper than I ever had in my life. Rovek told me the suites were designed to optimize rest. They adjusted temperature, sound, even gravity to make sure guests woke fully restored. The beds even tuned themselves to natural sleep rhythms. Apparently, I needed ten hours of sleep, because that’s exactly what I got.

  Breakfast at The Crest was ridiculous in the best way. A full spread of bread, meat, pastries, and cereals. Basically, a magical Golden Corral buffet. I grabbed thick slices of toast slathered with some creamy fruit spread and two slabs of something that tasted suspiciously like smoky bacon. Mel, being Mel, ate another helping of varnelings straight from the pond. Rovek preferred dense, spiced sausage that steamed with a peppery aroma.

  After returning our suite token to the front desk, Rovek led the way toward the Vask estate. He knew the route well, and the walk took only minutes. We were clearly in Velasyr’s finer district. Elegant homes with sculpted gardens, enchanted lanterns, polished stonework lined well-manicured lawns and sidewalks. Compared to the rest of the city, which felt functional and modest, this area had a quiet, refined grace. Definitely upper?class territory.

  Rovek knocked on the Vasks’ front door.

  A magical explosion blasted him backward so violently he flew across the street. About 30 yards. The door itself didn’t even crack.

  I didn’t have time to react.

  One second he was standing there, the next he was a heap on the pavement.

  I stared at him, then at the door, then back at him. On my final glance, I caught a glowing symbol on the doorframe before it faded.

  A trap. Definitely a trap.

  I ran to Rovek. He was alive, thank the gods, but when I tried to lift his head, I couldn’t.

  Good grief, how much does your head weigh, dude?

  I dug through my bag for a health potion, broke the wax seal, and poured a little into his mouth.

  His eyes snapped open and he coughed violently, spraying potion all over my face.

  “Are you trying to drown me?!” he barked.

  “I was trying to revive you!”

  “Give me that!” He snatched the potion from my hand, glaring.

  Okay… you’re welcome, crabby.

  [Rovek is an orc, not a crab,] Mel corrected.

  I glared at the little fish?axolotl. You’re lucky you’re so firkin adorable. You’ve gotta learn sarcasm and metaphor though.

  “Who hit me?” Rovek demanded.

  “Someone booby?trapped the door. I saw a greenish symbol fade into the frame after it launched you. You landed gracefully, though. How much do you weigh?”

  Rovek shot me a murderous look.

  “Sorry,” I said quickly. “I just mean… if that was a rune, it was powerful. Might’ve killed me or someone less… um… heavy.”

  “I have big bones,” he growled. “Move. I don’t understand why the Vask home would be trapped. They are a prominent family in Velasyr. They usually keep their door open for those who need enchantments.”

  He got up slowly. I would’ve offered a hand, but it would’ve been pointless. We approached the door again, more cautiously this time. Rovek stretched his hand toward it like he was about to use the force. Turns out he was just examining it.

  “A medium?power expulsion rune,” he said. “The purpose is not to kill, but to—”

  “Blow a huge orc across the street?” I snorted.

  “Not funny. And no. I must’ve hit it just right, or the rune was poorly formed. I am not a rune expert. I only know how to identify them.”

  “How do we get inside now?”

  “Either remove the rune or remove the door. I don’t know how to remove the rune, so…” He trailed off, turning his head as if listening. “Guards are coming. They probably think we are attempting to break in.”

  “Great! Now what??” I hissed. I really didn’t want to spend another night in this world’s version of jail.

  “Well…Uh…We break in.” He backed away from the door, pushing me with one hand. His other hand turned red as a fireball formed around his fist. I watched his skin glow, becoming semi?transparent. I could see his bones and thick veins. The fireball blasted from his hand, recoiling his arm like a shotgun. It hit the door and exploded inward in a burst of flame.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Hurry!” Rovek grabbed my cloak and dragged me inside. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw guards sprinting down the street.

  “We must search quickly,” Rovek said. “The guards will arrest us without question, and I have no means of keeping them back without hurting anyone. Search the upper floor!” He shoved me forward. “Go!”

  He scrambled across the lower floor.

  “Mel, can you help search upstairs?” I asked.

  Mel vanished instantly.

  I gotta learn that spell.

  I jumped twice, clearing the stairs in two leaps.

  “Hello!” I called. “Anyone home? Mr. and Mrs. Vask? Threnna?”

  Nothing. Every room was empty, untouched. It looked like no one had been here in days.

  Mel popped back onto my shoulder. [That was fun, but I did not find anyone.]

  “Freeze! Don’t move!” a voice barked.

  A young guard stood at the landing. He was a pig?man hybrid with a snout and long white whiskers, sword drawn.

  A pig? C’mon. And he said freeze. Of course. A cop is a cop, no matter the world.

  I didn’t want to fight, but I didn’t want to go back to prison. I leapt off the balcony, landing easily on the floor below. Embracing my frog form, I hunched low and sprang toward where Rovek had gone. I vaulted over two guards, clearing their heads by inches, and hit the ground running.

  “Rovek!” I shouted.

  I sprinted through the kitchen, through swinging doors, into a vast dining room. I jumped over the table and burst into a massive den stretching the length of the house. Bookshelves lined one wall. A huge fireplace dominated the other. The arcane enchanting table sat beside it.

  Rovek stood near the table, staring at the floor.

  “Rovek! Wha—”

  My words died.

  Three bodies lay by the fireplace.

  “Halt!” a soldier yelled, even though neither of us moved. “Nobody move. By authority of the mayor of Velasyr, I order you to cease and—what have you done?”

  Rovek didn’t answer. He just stared the body of a young female. I realized that must be Threnna.

  Maybe they were more than friends.

  [He seems to have cared for her,] Mel whispered.

  I slowly raised my hands and turned slowly towards the guards. “Listen… we didn’t do this,” I said softly. “We thought something was wrong, so we came in and found them like this.”

  “We will be the judges of that!” the guard snapped. “Secure them.”

  “Wait!” Rovek roared.

  His voice carried power. Like literal power.

  Everyone froze.

  He lifted his gaze from Threnna and scanned the room, searching for something I couldn’t see. After thirty seconds, the guards shook their heads, clearing whatever fog he’d put them in, and advanced again.

  Rovek didn’t resist, so I didn’t either. Mel teleported away, hiding under a couch.

  The guards marched us to another mansion at the end of the street. Opulent, fortified, guarded. It reminded me of Mayor Thalorin’s place in Serenveil. Apparently, mayors here liked having a courtroom and prison in their basements.

  We were taken straight to the courtroom.

  Honestly? I appreciated the speed. Back home, court cases dragged on for years. Here, you stepped on a truth rune, told your story, and lived or died based on the truth. No lawyers. No evidence. Just honesty. Or magical honesty. I could see how someone might tamper with a rune, but it didn’t seem common.

  A guard shoved Rovek onto the stand. He glanced at the rune beneath him, then at me. “We’re standing on a truth rune. Tell the truth, and we should be okay.”

  The mayor entered looking bothered to have whatever he was doing interuppted. He looked so much like Thalorin he could’ve been his brother.

  “Kneel before Vaelith Surn, Mayor of Velasyr,” a guard ordered, trying to force Rovek down. He might as well have tried to bend a wall.

  “Enough of that,” Vaelith said. “What have we got here? An orc and a… what in the world are you? A new species?”

  “I was turned from a human to a frog by our magical awakening on my planet,” I said, just like I had with Thalorin.

  “Humph. Your planet? We’ll get to that in a moment I guess.” He waved impatiently. “Guards, what are the charges for the orc?”

  “Sir Vaelith, the accused stands bef—”

  “Stop with the sirs and thee’s and thou’s,” Vaelith snapped. “Orc, what are you here for? You know you’re on a truth rune?”

  “Yes,” Rovek said. “I stand accused of murder.”

  “Did you commit the murder?”

  “No.”

  “Well then, get on with it. Tell me what happened.”

  Rovek explained everything: Threnna, the heartseed, our trip, the trap rune, breaking in, finding the bodies.

  Vaelith hummed thoughtfully. “I assume you and…the frog both came from Serenveil?”

  “Yes.”

  “Serenveil…” He rubbed his chin. “Frog. I have a question for you.”

  “My brother, Thalorin, crossed paths with you recently, did he not?”

  “Yes,” I said nervously. “I was accused of murder in Serenveil a few days ago.”

  “Death seems to follow you, doesn’t it?” Vaelith said with a half?grin.

  “I seem to be around death way more than I want to be. I was told I’m an emissary from my world and that I must complete quests, learn what I can, and bring the knowledge I learn here back to Earth.”

  “Did you kill Karn?” he asked bluntly.

  The question hit me like a punch. I had to tell the truth.

  “I did, sir. I had—”

  “Guards, arrest him!”

  “I had to! It was self?def—”

  Before I could finish, something slammed into the back of my head.

  Everything went black.

  I woke up in a cell far fouler than the one in Serenveil. This one smelled like someone had actually died in it. The darkness was absolute. Apparently pitch?black jail cells were standard décor in these gods?forsaken cities. My head throbbed. I was getting real tired of being knocked out by blunt force trauma.

  So much for my thoughts on the justice system here, I muttered to myself.

  [You got into trouble again, didn’t you?] Mel’s voice chimed in my mind.

  Where are you?

  [I’m just outside the wall. Rovek was trying to plead your case, but the mayor isn’t listening. I think we should break you free, but I cannot do this alone.]

  It’s okay, buddy. Hopefully Rovek figures something out and gets me out of here. I’ll probably have to stand trial again in Serenveil anyway. And I have a feeling that’s going to be a trap.

  [Thalorin may have plotted with Karn to steal the Tear.]

  Yeah. I’m thinking the same thing.

  [I know! I can read your thoughts!]

  I missed that. Can you teleport in here?

  [It is too dangerous for me to teleport through a wall,] Mel said. [A door is no problem but teleporting to a sight unseen could kill me if I do it wrong.]

  Okay. Well… go find Rovek. See what he’s planning. Then come back and keep me company.

  [Sure!]

  His presence faded from my mind, leaving me alone in the suffocating dark.

  I felt around until my hand brushed cold, damp stone slick with something I didn’t want to identify. I slid down the wall until I was sitting, then pulled my knees to my chest, and lowered my head.

  And then I cried.

  Not loud, not dramatic. Just a quiet, exhausted release. Everything I’d been holding in since the swamp, since Karn, since the awakening, since being ripped out of my world… it all finally cracked open.

  For a moment, I let myself feel small, alone in the dark.