Nearly three weeks have passed since you and your friends started searching for Roddie, with not a single sign of him and no progress made in finding other avenues to discover Umeso’s alleged secret. The four of you have looked all across Umeso’s house, the school campus, the town, and even the town outskirts, and still, nothing. Asking Umeso’s grandmother about Roddie hasn’t helped at all, since the only things she seems to be able to remember are a vague physical description, and that he hung out at her house with Umeso years ago. Thus the only way forward still seems to be talking directly to the person you cannot for the life of you manage to find.
Standing in the Arestran living room, you stare at a table covered in family pictures, hoping something there might jump out at you as being somehow related to Umeso’s elusive secret. But after five minutes of staring, your mind constantly going off on tangents and having to re-focus on what’s in front of you, the only observation you manage to come away with is that Umeso is fortunate that they don’t have any embarrassing baby pictures displayed, as seems to be the case for so many of their relatives.
With a sigh, you step away from the pictures and shuffle back to Umeso’s room, where your three friends have been combing through Umeso’s piles of books in the vain hope that something important might be hiding within. As you enter, Kittpey glances up, harrumphs, and tosses the cover of the book she’d been looking through closed.
“It’s useless. There’s nothing here,” she says, leaning against the bed from her position on the floor, arms crossed. “We all know it’s useless, too! That Roddie kid is obviously the answer, why aren’t we out searching for him?”
Setting the book they’d been reading to the side, right next to an open book where you imagine an invisible Ruem resides, Umeso also sighs. “Because my feet hurt from all of the running around we have been doing. Also we have looked everywhere, multiple times. Roddiston is nowhere to be found.”
A booming voice from behind you makes you jump in surprise. “Aw, are you kids still trying to find that friend of yours?” says Umeso’s grandmother, standing in the doorway with a tray of cookies in her mittened hands. You eagerly grab one.
“I am twenty years old, Grandmama, hardly a kid—”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kittpey says, cutting off another one-sided argument before it can fully take shape.
Setting the tray of cookies down on a nearby desk, on the only sliver of said desk that isn’t covered in books, Umeso’s grandmother says, “Have you tried looking in Market Square? I used to see him there, from time-to-time.” Sadness creeps its way into her expression. “Though I suppose, with the square being destroyed by that monster…”
“Magic crafters already fixed Market Square, Grandmama,” Umeso says.
Grandma Arestran touches a hand to her blushing cheek. “Oh dear, of course, silly me.”
“We have looked there though, ma’am,” Kittpey says, perhaps trying to distract Umeso’s grandmother from her embarrassment. “But it couldn’t hurt to look again.”
“It very much could hurt my feet,” Umeso mutters. One thing you’ve learned over the past few weeks is that Umeso is very much the least physically active of the three of you (that have feet). Which is to say, Umeso has been having a rough time lately, and it’s been showing in their mood.
After a round of thanks given to Umeso’s grandmother for the suggestion and especially for the cookies, she takes her leave. Glancing at the clock hanging from Umeso’s wall, you realize it’s about time for you to do the same.
“I’ve got to head out for some more training.”
Umeso wipes the scowl that even cookies hadn’t fixed off their face, looking at you with sympathy. “Today is the last day, correct?”
You nod as Kittpey rises to her feet. “Yeah, at least for now. She’ll be gone tomorrow, and after that… we’ll see.”
A familiar orb appears on your shoulder. “At least we’ve been keeping that witch satisfied enough that she hasn’t done anything about the stupid secret,” Ruem says, voice dripping in aggravation.
“Yeah, that’s true,” you say.
“What’s true?” Kittpey says, tilting her head.
Oh, right. Apologizing, you relay what Ruem said. “We’ve really gotta find you a body, I hate this whole ‘invisible to most people’ BS,” the little orb grumbles.
After a bit of stretching, during which you try very hard not to let your eyes linger on her exposed belly, Kittpey says, “Well, while you two do that, Umeso and I might as well check out the market again. Can’t imagine we’ll have better luck with two people than we’ve had with four, but who knows.”
Pouting, Umeso slides off the bed, their arms crossed. “If we must…” They turn to you, their bottom lip still jutting out. “I hope your training goes well, and also that this is the last of it.”
“Thanks, you two,” you say, chuckling at Umeso’s expression. “And hey, since this might be the last one, maybe the Headmistress will go easy on us this time! Or at least end the session short so she can pack or whatever.”
Kittpey gives a tentative smile. “Maybe so.”
~~~
Headmistress Onpertet does not go easy on us, and she does not end the session early. Picking ourself up from the dirt, where we’d recently been planted face-first by a well-timed magic punch, we breathe a sigh of relief when we hear the Headmistress say, “Alright, that’s it.”
This relief is short-lived, as we realize that a fireball is zooming toward our face. Panicking, we barely manage to throw up a shield in time to save our poor eyebrows. Or, wait… we don’t have those in this form. Still.
Smirking, the Headmistress claps, sauntering over to us. “Nice job, girl. Would have been better if you’d been on the lookout for it, but those reflexes are quick enough to make up for that lack of foresight, at least.”
Not bothering to hide our irritation, we say, “Am I actually done now, finally? And am I really not supposed to trust a word you say?” We’d long ago made the decision to avoid using plural pronouns in front of the Headmistress… we’re really not interested in giving her anymore details on how this stuff works.
“Never trust a word anyone says, dear, that’s just the smart thing to do,” the Headmistress says, waving a hand. We barely avoid rolling our eyes. “But yes, we’re done. Only half an hour over time today…” She puts her hands on her hips, glancing to the side. “I’d go longer, but I really need to be out of here by 10pm.”
“Oh, you’re leaving tonight?”
She nods. “Yes, it takes a few hours to get there.”
Does that mean… have we lucked out? “And so… no training tomorrow, obviously… Are you just gone the one day?”
“How cute,” she says, condescension clear in her tone and on her face. “You’re hoping you might get more than a day? Sorry to disappoint, but I’ll be back late tomorrow evening. You’ll find out two days from now what your future’s going to look like.”
We sigh. “…Can’t wait.”
~~~
Some time later, you and Ruem — now separate again — make your way to Market Square. You’d stopped by Umeso’s house, but Umeso and Kittpey weren’t there, so you figured you’d try the Market. As you approach, at the end of the alley you see Kittpey crouched behind a box. She turns when she hears your footsteps, then beckons you forward, putting a finger to her lips in a ‘be quiet’ motion.
“What’s going on?” you whisper.
“After a lot of searching, we still couldn’t find him,” Kittpey says, strangely excited as you crouch next to her. “But then I had an idea! I suggested we pretend to have given up and to have left, but then we actually stake the area out from separate ends. So Umeso is across the way, and I’m here.” She grins wide. “And Roddie…” She points out toward the center of the market, where a familiar mousy boy is hiding near a stand full of apples, slowly reaching his hand up to steal one.
He’s here!!! Heart immediately racing, you whisper, “Amazing!! So what’s the plan?”
“I’m thinking you can circle around to that alley and then— oh, shit.”
Umeso is already creeping up on the boy, and doing a poor job of doing so stealthily. They’re barely using any cover, instead just crouching and slowly walking toward him in a line, super conspicuously. Sure enough, Roddie turns his head and sees them. Immediately he shoots up and starts to scramble away, and immediately you leap into action. Casting the speed buff on yourself, you rocket toward the fleeing target, closing the distance rapidly. In slow motion, you see Umeso trip over their own feet trying to run after Roddie, an angry apple stall owner shake his fist, and a terrified street rat turn his head, eyes going wide as he realizes you’re gaining on him. Gritting his teeth, he puts his all into his sprint, but it’s not enough; you leap at him and tackle him to the dirt, pinning him with no hope of escape.
“Nooo!! No, don’t hurt me!!” Roddie shouts, tears streaming down his face. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll neva do it again!”
Oh, wow, you weren’t quite expecting this reaction. His sobbing and flailing are really highlighting how young he is, and suddenly you feel like a little bit of a monster for doing this to a literal child. He can’t possibly be older than 14. Still, you’re not actually hurting him, and you don’t intend to, so hopefully you can just press on and calm him down? “I’m not—! Roddie what are you— Won’t do what again??”
“Steal from ya!! Sorry, ya had a couple’a quardnem in ya room an’ I stole ‘em!!” Roddie wails.
“…He stole some change from me and he thinks we’re gonna beat him for it?” Ruem says from your shoulder, baffled. For a moment, Roddie’s noises stop, his eyes bulging in his head as he stares at the talking sphere on your shoulder. Dammit, Ruem. “Crap, sorry.”
“Wh—what the—!?”
At this point Umeso and Kittpey finally reach you, the former gasping for air as though they’d just run several miles. Roddie’s eyes make their way over to Umeso now, which for some reasons prompts him to start wailing all over again.
“Fuck!! No, I— I didn’t mean ta, I was tryin’ ta avoid— sorry!!” Taking a huge gulp of air, snot dribbling from his nose, Roddie shouts, “I can’t give nothin’ back, I already spent it! Sorry!!!”
“Kid, can you please stop making such a scene? People are staring,” Kittpey says, exasperated. At a glance, she’s right — most of the Market is looking your way now, various people pointing and whispering about the commotion you’ve caused.
Screeching, Roddie says, “I ain’t gonna die quietly!! Rememba me!! Rememba m—”
You slap your hand over his mouth, which he immediately tries to bite. “Jeebus, Roddie, we’re not gonna kill you. We just want to talk. Please calm the hell down.” To emphasize this, you move off of him, holding your hands up and giving him room to move. Slowly, he sits up, his hysterics subsiding.
“Ya… ya ain’t gonna hurt me ‘cause’a the money I took?”
“We literally don’t care about that, Roddie.”
Sniffling, he takes a few deep breaths. Big, watery eyes glance between you all. “S—so ya ain’t gonna sick that weird thing on ya shoulda at me? Have it bite my nose off or somethin’?”
“Psh, she wishes she had teeth to bite with,” you say, waving a hand.
She sighs. “I do. I really do.”
Roddie pushes himself to his feet, glancing behind him. “Please don’t make me chase after you again,” you say, also standing. “We truly just want to talk. Can we go somewhere private to do that? Umeso’s house, maybe?”
As Roddie’s eyes begin to bug again, you realize you’ve made a mistake. “WHAT!? I ain’t s’pposed ta set foot there!!”
With calming hands, you say, “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t realize. How about my dorm? You’ve been there before.”
“…Fine.”
After Kittpey assures the crowd that everything is alright, you all finally make your way out of the market, all the way back to campus and into your dorm room. Once everyone is situated, Roddie sitting on the edge of your bed and facing the door, the questions finally start.
“Okay, so, what the fuck?” Ruem says unhelpfully, especially given you’re not touching Roddie.
“Roddiston,” Umeso says, causing the boy to flinch. They grimace, then start over, “Apologies… you prefer Roddie, yes?” He nods, avoiding eye contact with them. “Can you please explain, um… what, exactly, our relationship is?”
He does manage to look at them after that, his face scrunched like he just smelled a fart. “Relationship?”
Umeso sighs. “I do not mean… Not necessarily romantic. Hopefully not that. I just mean, why are you so bothered by me?”
Roddie squints at Umeso, eyes flitting back and forth. “Ya don’t… Ya really don’t rememba?”
“I do not know what there is to remember.”
Looking back at you, Roddie says, “Is this… this ain’t some kinda trick, right?”
You shake your head. “It’s really not. Umeso’s grandmother remembers you, even your name, but Umeso has no idea why. Can you help us out? You did steal from me, afterall.”
“I—I mean, ya could say that tha quardnem I took was payment for tha message I delivered,” Roddie says, crossing his arms and trying to keep his voice steady. You cock an eyebrow at him, and he immediately withers. “‘A course, I could also help ya out just outta tha goodness‘a my heart.”
Shuffling into a more comfortable position on the bed, Roddie takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. “Okay, so… A couple’a years ago, they came up ta me an’ asked me what I was willin’ ta do for some coin.” Everyone besides Roddie turns their eyes to Umeso, who seems just as baffled at the idea as the rest of you. “‘Course, they, uh… didn’t use that name, back then.”
“What, we talkin’ about a dead name or something?” Ruem says. You voice the question to Roddie.
“Uh, I dunno. Don’t think so? Didn’t sound like somethin’ a parent would name a kid,” Roddie says. Pursing his lips, he glances to the side. “Somethin’ with an ‘s,’ I think? “Shadow” or somethin’.”
Still not speaking a word, Umeso shakes their head slowly, utterly baffled.
“So, uh, I mean basically they had me steal a couple’a things, then paid me ta keep quiet ‘bout the stealin’ an’ ta never talk ta ‘em or their gramma again,” Roddie says with a shrug, as if that explains everything.
“What did you steal?” Kittpey says, asking the most obvious question, at least to your mind.
Scrunching his face again, Roddie says, “Oh, right… Three things, I think. Some sorta student records… an enrollment sheet… an’ a book from tha library.” A book?? It couldn’t be the… No, what are the odds? It could’ve been any book.
“What book was it?” Kittpey says.
Roddie looks down at the bed, cheeks heating. “Ah. Yeah. Um… Well, uh… I can’t really… read too good. ‘Specially then.”
“H—how…” Umeso says, body shaking, expression simultaneously furious and utterly confused. “How do you know Grandmama, then? Why were you at my house?”
Roddie’s eyes have a hard time meeting Umeso’s again. “Well, so, afta stealin’ those student records, I met Umeso at tha edge’a town. But afta that, I started meetin’ ‘em at their gramma’s house.” Grimacing, he says, “An’ ya know how I said I couldn’t read so good? Well I kept stealin’ the wrong thing, ‘cause’a that. So when I was goin’ ta Umeso’s house, I would pop in early in tha morning or in tha evenin’, an’ sometimes their gramma would notice an’ say hi.”
“So there’s stolen student records and a stolen library book somewhere at Umeso’s house?” you say, your brain still trying to make sense of it all.
“Oh, no, they had me put tha student records back.”
“You said I used a different name at first. When did I stop using it?” Umeso says, gripping their head with one hand as though suffering a migraine.
“By tha time I was goin’ ta ya gramma’s house, ya wanted me ta call ya Umeso.”
Shaking their head, Umeso stares at their lap, muttering to themself. “It doesn’t make any sense. None of it makes any sense…” In an attempt to comfort them, you reach out and touch their shoulder, but they flinch away. You pull back; they must just need some space.
“Well it’s simple, huh?” Ruem says from your shoulder. You cock an eyebrow. “We just get him to steal the records and the book again, have a look at them, and then I’m sure we’ll figure it out!”
Not a terrible idea, you have to admit. Looking to Roddie, you say, “Do you think you could steal them again? The records and the book.”
He shrugs. “Well I neva put tha book back, but… I could definitely get tha records. An’ I could look for tha book, just in case.”
You look to Kittpey, even though your following words are directed at Roddie. “And I think we could pay you in gold to get it done quickly and quietly.” Kittpey nods, looking a little surprised by the suggestion, but not disapproving.
“Gold?” Roddie says, dollar signs in his eyes. “Then yeah, I can getcha both’a those tonight.”
“Perfect,” you say, extending a hand. Roddie stares at it in confusion. Realizing your cultural mistake, you pivot to a dismissive wave instead, though that won’t stop you from delivering the line you had prepared: “A pleasure doing business with you.”
~~~
Early the next morning, you are startled awake by the sound of your room door slamming open, then slamming shut a second later. Blinking the sleep from your eyes, you see a tear-stricken Umeso standing next to you, a book clutched in one arm and a scroll gripped tightly in the other. Lip warbling, Umeso shouts, voice rough and hoarse.
“Biat, I’m a murderer!!!”
Oooh, that's extremely interesting