With their mission for Yan taken care of and the first dragon on Riakon's holy mission slain, there was nothing keeping the men in Port Sept. Miriana had finished up her formal visit to the main temple in Port Sept and was more than ready to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city and return to her quiet country estate on the high hills of Coastall.

Roden had mixed feelings about returning to his childhood home. Part of him, no doubt the true Roden, relished the opportunity to return while another part of him was plagued by his own homesickness. His longing for his wife and the comfort of their life together made for a bittersweet homecoming to Coastall.

Roden found himself feeling particularly drained by their most recent string of adventures. Fighting and slaying a dragon felt monumental as did the following divine consultation of Era and Erjorn. However, to Roden it was the gremlins that plagued his thoughts.

Even though their confrontations with the gremlins had been rousing successes each time they were pitted against them, Roden couldn't help, but feel their problems with the gremlins were only going to get worse.

As much as Roden would like to devote his time and effort to curbing whatever it was the gremlins and their great god were doing he knew their return to Coastall was a clear indication they were going after the second dragon on Riakon's list.

The journey from Port Sept to Coastall was an easy one. The long road between the two cities appeared, to Roden's surprise, paved. When he commented on the impressive nature of the medieval highway Miriana brushed it off as being the work of the Otellians. The clerics of Otell had apparently worked diligently to shape the stone to be one great slab, working mostly in five foot sections to create the relatively even surface many used to navigate between the two major southern cities.

The return trip to Coastall was a bit different from their original trip to Port Sept. Riakon and Errrkkkk took the opportunity to fly and work out the limits of Errrkkkk's flight granting aura. Even Branch and Grok were able to take advantage of his bestowed flight. Needless to say, many passersby were confounded by the sight of their strange flock.

Roden spent the majority of the journey driving the carriage with Miriana and their luggage. Roden didn't mind driving the carriage. The horses they had rented knew the road well and rarely needed any corrections, which left him plenty of time for his thoughts.

By the second day of their three day journey Miriana, the ever doting mother, questioned him while the others were off flying lazy circles high above them under the guise of scouting ahead.

"Copper for your thoughts?" her words startled Roden as he was previously alone.

"Huh?" he responded looking around. He found Miriana had lowered the partition between the driver's bench and the interior of the carriage.

Miriana giggled, "you looked like you were deep in thought. What is on your mind? And don't say nothing because you've been like this since you returned."

"Yeah I don't know. I'm just thinking."

Miriana rolled her eyes, "Roden, you have an adventurer's level of intuition. There is no such thing as just thinking. Something must be on your mind."

Roden sighed, "well if I'm being frank, it's this whole situation."

Miriana pursed her lips.

His words poured out of him "it's the fact that I'm here and not home. It's the fact that I don't know when or how I'm getting home. It's the fact that a few days ago I helped slay a dragon. I have no business being here. This isn't my life." his words hung in the air between them for a moment, his voice fell to a hush,

"I just want my life back."

Miriana opened her mouth to speak, but Roden cut her off.

"I know I know, we're saving the world." he held his hands up placating whatever objection or platitude she was about to provide. "It's just, I don't see the end of this. I know what is supposed to come, which that alone is confusing enough, but the more I think about the more I feel like I shouldn't fucking be here. Can't Roden handle it at this point? Couldn't we clue him in?"

Miriana absorbed his words stoically, it was her turn to let out a long sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry. If there was any other way that is what I would be doing, but there isn't and trust me I tried." her mouth closed tight, then she looked around and waved a manicured hand about as if she were doing her best Jedi impression.

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Roden felt the air get thick for a brief moment before Miriana slid closer and spoke conspiratorially,

"Look I know it is all a lot to ask and I've required you to trust me to a degree I honestly have not earned. On top of that you've had to give up more than anyone will ever know. For that I am truly sorry, so as recompense and to ease your troubled mind I have used up some of my precious divinity to shield us from the rest of the gods. If there is something you feel like you need to know to settle your mind, ask and I will try to answer if I can. It won't last long so be quick about it."

Roden's mouth twisted up, "I mean I don't really know if that is exactly what I need, but alright… ummmm." he thought for a moment, "do you know what is going on with the gremlins?"

Miriana shook her head, "nope those are a new variable to the equation."

"Yep this isn't helping."

Miriana narrowed her eyes, "then ask about something else."

"I don't know what to ask! I'm just so tired of it all." he nearly shouted.

Miriana's expression softened, "fair enough."

"How much longer until I can go home?"

Miriana winced, "I'm sorry, I can't answer that."

"Yeah I know, I figured it was worth a shot." he paused, reconsidering his approach, "ya know, how much of my game is actually going to play out here?"

"Was that a pun?"

"Yes, yes it was and I don't care."

"Quite a bit of it actually."

"So are we going to have to go to the Shade?"

Miriana nodded, "yep."

"How does that even work?"

Miriana gave a vague gesture of uncertainty, "sufficiently powerful beings figured out how to create them and now it's just a matter of getting there."

"That is a terrible explanation of traveling to different dimensions." Roden said, a small smile peeking through his melancholy.

Miriana shrugged, "I never said I would have good answers."

"How is it that things are the same here as in my game back home?"

"They aren't."

Roden's frown returned.

It was Miriana's turn to give a soothing gesture, "okay okay, let me think."

Her face took on a thoughtful expression as she tilted her head to the side.

"It's like this, imagine an event in your game and the same event here are bound to some degree. In your imagination the event already happened. The event coming to fruition here is the culmination of the binding between them."

"Sounds like prophecy to me."

Miriana scoffed, "I wish it was so simple as prophecy. You have no idea how long that little tidbit of quantology took me to figure out."

"How isn't that prophecy?" Roden said confused.

"Because there's no way of knowing which or how each event is bound. There is no indication of their connection until—" Miriana cut herself off and gave him a rye smile, "sorry, but that part would be a spoiler."

"Wow, super helpful." his tone full of sarcasm.

Miriana shrugged unfazed, "them's the breaks."

Roden pondered her description and found not much of it assuaged any of his frustrations. The fact his knowledge wasn't prophecy, but some form of science didn't make it any less troubling.

"Ya know, it occurs to me that your place in all of this doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

His accusation took her aback. "How so?"

"In my game, Zamira was an opportunist. She schemed her way into greater power until it was within her grasp and then snatched away. Why would Errrkkkk and Riakon's story be so—" it was Roden's turn to trail off as he was struck by the multitude of possibilities.

Miriana raised an eyebrow at the look of revelation on his face, "well go on."

Roden turned an intense scrutiny on her with a glare, "you aren't trying to change the ending of their story are you?"

She shook her head, "of course not, keeping it the same is why you are here."

"You say that, but your role in the end can't be the same. You are already too involved."

Miriana nodded, "there is that, but." she held up a finger to emphasize her point, "things must proceed as if it would. Again that is why you are here and the only one who could do this."

"So you want me to strive for an impossible outcome?" Roden said, his incredulity building.

"Precisely."

"But why is that outcome so important? Why all the song and dance if you and I already know the result?"

"Because of everything that must come before it."

Roden nodded, "like time travel."

Miriana shook her head disapprovingly, "sure, like time travel."

Roden let out a huff, "ya know, this is one shitty task you've got me doing."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah it is, I'm literally just tagging along on the adventure of those two. Nothing I'm doing has any bearing on my actual life then when it's all over I leave this place and all my work is attributed to Roden, the Champion of Zamira."

"Sounds like a truly heroic gesture." She said while giving him a smile somewhere between devious and joyous.

"Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me." Roden said on the precipice of sulking.

Miriana smiled, and laid a hand on his shoulder through the window between them, "then think of something that would make all of this worth your time and I will do my best to provide."

Roden looked at her hand suspiciously, "really?"

"No hero has ever done something so great as to save a world without gaining something in return. Why should you be any different?"

"Because I don't get to stick around to enjoy the ending."

Miriana looked at him quizzically, "would you want to stick around?"

Roden shook his head, "no, which quite honestly is part of the problem. There is nothing for me here. Everything is back home. My friends, my family, my wife, even my dog. Hell I haven't even been able to play a video game or listen to a good audiobook in what feels like ages. I don't know how yall manage it. This place is fucking boring when you're not fighting monsters to the death."

"That may be the most human thing you've ever said." Miriana said while trying to stifle a giggle.

"Why is that funny to you?" Roden said, his ire raising ever so slightly.

"Because I think I know exactly what you need to reignite that spark within you."

"What spark?"

Miriana flung her arms up and out in a dramatic gesture "The heroic spark for adventure, the force that drives a man to go beyond and confront the unknown!"

"Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me."

Miriana just rolled her eyes, "okay grumpy gills, you will just have to wait and see."

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