Idika stood rooted in place, unsure of what to think or how to react. Had she just heard correctly?

  “You saw her? Spoke to her? When? Where?” questions came faster than her brothers could answer, and she could feel herself becoming more anxious as she probed for information. Malkadian raised his hands, either in surrender or as an attempt to calm her, she couldn’t tell which.

  “Take a breath, I think we all have questions,” he glanced around as if afraid someone might be listening in, “let’s find a place to talk.” Idika nodded and took a slow inhale of breath. The four of them surveyed the yurt before deciding on a pair of chairs with matching side tables near the kitchen. They arranged the furniture into a makeshift fort that hid their small frames.

  Once she had made herself comfortable, Idika looked at Malkadian expectantly. There was silence. She figured he was composing his thoughts. Several more minutes passed and the silence turned tense and awkward.

  “Well?” Idika prodded her brother, he stared back at her blankly.

  “Well, what?” Malkadian responded as his brow furrowed in confusion. Idika took another long inhale of breath before replying through gritted teeth.

  “You had us move here to talk. So what do you all know?” no response came from her brother's, they simply averted their gazes and shifted uncomfortably. She narrowed her eyes at them, “You do know something . . . right?”.

  More silence and Idika could see her brothers had started to sweat. She let out a groan and scrubbed the heels of her hands over her face.

  “It’s not like we don’t know anything!” Makadian’s sharp voice cut through the silence, apparently taking offense to her discontent with them. Idika peeked over her hands, she wasn't sure what her expression looked like, but based on how Makadian glared at her, it likely displayed her frustration with them.

  “Ya!” Drazahar chimed in, his tone far more chipper, “It’s just that everything is a little . . .“ his voice trailed off as his face scrunched in concentrations, trying to find the words,

  “Like trying to remember a dream,” Malkadian finished his brothers thought, and Drazahar nodded at him.

  “Exactly!” Drazahar confirmed, “Like the memories are all blurry, and pieces are missing,” she mulled over her brothers words for a minute before she spoke again.

  “Ok,” Idika said slowly, “In that case, what do you remember?” the three of them thought for a moment, their eyes glazed over slightly as they stared into space.

  “There was a massive tree and this really buff guy,” Malkadian spread his arms wide, “I think he had a spear too?” he gave a noncommittal shrug as Idika nodded. She remembered the man with the spear, he was fighting someone. Or something?

  “There was another guy!” Drazahar interjected, “He had a long white beard, he told me his name. What was it? Igris?” he knocked a knuckle lightly on the side of his head, as if the action would cause the information to come loose.

  “Ignis?” Idika asked, she felt her heart speed up as the memories of him standing under the tree flooded back.

  “That was it!” Drazahar snapped his fingers, looking giddy, “He said his name was Ignis and he threw these rocks, and said to find them!” he placed his hands on his hips triumphantly. Idika gnawed on her lip as she concentrated, the vague impression of Ignis filled her mind. She remembered the stones, something about a test, then coming back. There was a window like the ones she saw earlier. There were words on it. What did they say?

  Idika closed her eyes and tried to force the memory to become clear, imagining a filter passing over it making the details sharp. It was a list of names. She couldn't remember them all, but three stood out. Idika, Malkadian, and Makadian. It was her name and two of her brothers. They were on that list.

  Pain erupted behind her eyes, it felt like knives had been driven into her skull. Idika gave a small cry and doubled over, curling into a ball as she grasped her head. Distantly she heard her brothers call out her name, panicked and confused, but she couldn't make out their words. Her ears were ringing and pain radiated across her skull. Biting down on her lip Idika did her best to breathe through the pain. Ever so slowly it faded to a dull ache, still there but manageable.

  Opening her eyes she was greeted with three worried faces. Even Makadian looked concerned, much to her surprise, and she managed a weak smile.

  “What happened?” Malkadian questioned, his forehead scrunched in worried as he gingerly helped Idika to her feet.

  “I don't know,” she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the faint ringing in her ears, “I was trying to remember more about Ignis, and what happened. The memories did get clearer for a second, then all of a sudden it felt like knives were being jammed into my skull,” Malkadian hovered next to her, arms tensed as if he expected her to double over again at any second. Idika waved him off as she straightened, he gave her a sceptical look but took a step back. She appreciated his concern and was even more grateful he could tell when to stop hovering and give her space.

  “Are you sure your ok?” Drazahar asked, his orange eyes wide with worry. She smiled warmly and ruffled his bright hair.

  “I’m fine, the pains practically gone now,” Drazahar huffed a little, concern still written on his face, but he did not rebuff the affectionate gesture.

  “So what did you remember?” questioned Makadian, drawing their attention to him, “Must have been important if that happened the second you remembered it,” this made Idika pause. She hadn't thought that the pain from remembering could have been caused intentionally. Did that mean it was some kind of trap? Or a warning?

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “After the test I was standing in front of Ignis, and a screen appeared. It looked just like the one I saw when I grew,” all three of the boys listened intently as she spoke, “The screen had a long list, and my name was on it. But I wasn't the only one, I saw your names too,” Idika pointed to Malkadian and Makadian, they were shocked.

  “What about me? Did you see mine?” Drazahar chimed in. Idika shook her head and he frowned. The group went quiet as they contemplated what she told them..

  “Do you have any idea what it means?” Malkadian was the first to break the silence, and Idika let out a heavy sigh.

  “Honestly, I haven’t a clue. I guess it means the three of us were there? But aside from that who knows. What do you all think?” she faced her brothers, Malkadian and Drazahar exchanged glances and shrugged, but Makadian looked deep in thought as he gnawed at the inside of his cheek. They let him stew, waiting for a response.

  “It's not a coincidence,” Makadian finally spoke. “You saw our names and we just so happened to all be related?” he shook his head and started pacing back and forth, “Were different, you’ve noticed it right? Were stronger and growing faster than the rest of our brothers. Not to mention we saw her . . .” his voice trailed off as he turned to face Idika.

  “The woman in all black, I remember her. It’s vague but I’m sure I saw her.” Makadian nodded, taking a step toward Idika as he continued.

  “What do you remember about her? Did she say something?” Idika thought for a moment, it was blurry, like the rest of it, and she gently sifted through the memories not wanting to trigger the pain again.

  “I remember her coming out of the dark, she said she wanted to help me. But there was this awful pain and then . . .” she trailed off.

  “And then what?” Makadian asked, a hint of agitation in his voice. Idika hesitated, opening her mouth then closing it again.

  “She said Ignis took something from me, and she wanted to give it back.” she looked away, an ache settled deep in her chest, it felt cold and familiar.

  “What?!” Makadian growled out, “What did she give you?!” he was now less than a foot away from her, her head snapped up and she tensed about to yell at him to back up. Then an arm shot out, grabbing the dark haired goblin and pulling him back.

  “That's enough! Give her some damn space!” Malkadian barked as he placed the smaller boy in a headlock. Makadian flailed wildly in a desperate attempt to escape.

  “Let go! I didn't do anything!” Makadian shouted, he continued to struggle and curse till he ran out of steam. His arms dropped limply to his sides and was breathing heavily.

  “You gunna stop acting stupid?” Malkadian questioned, the reply he got was grumbled too low for Idika to hear. But judging by his smug smile she assumed the smaller boy had acquiesced, he was released and stomped off to a corner of their hiding spot to sulk.

  “Thanks Mal, but I could have taken him,” Idika replied, jabbing her brother in the ribs with an elbow. He clutched his side with a mock expression of pain, and the two of them chuckled.

  “So . . .” Drazahar chimed in, “Do you remember what the creepy lady in black gave you?” his question brought them back on topic. She paused and mulled over his question.

  “To be honest I’m not sure. It wasn't like a physical thing,” Idika tugged at her hair as she replayed the memory over again in her head, “It was like . . .” she grasped at the air trying to find the words.

  “A feeling?” Mal asked, she weighed his words.

  “Kind of? I remember a lot of strong emotions. Like someone had opened up my chest and ripped something out of it,” Idika mimed pulling her heart from her chest and the other two nodded, their expressions serious.

  “Ya, I think I remember something like that too,” Drazahar confirmed and Mal nodded along with him.

  “I remember her saying I lost something, and I could feel it. This emptiness. I can't remember what it was but I know I wanted it back more than anything,” Mal added. They all agreed on having a similar experience, but still couldn't place the ‘thing’ that had been missing. Then a voice from the corner piped up.

  “Do any of you have weird dreams?” the three of them looked over at Makadian, his back was still facing them.

  “What do you mean?” Idika replied, but she had an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach as she spoke.

  “Like you don't really remember them, but they felt so. . . real. All shapes, and sounds, nothing distinct but . . .” Makadian trailed off, still refusing to face them.

  “Familiar?” Idika finished, and Makadian finally turned to face them, his expression serious.

  “You've had them too.” his rispons wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.

  “So the thing we lost was, what? Memories?” Drazahar asked, looking a little unsure.

  “That's my theory.” Makadian replied as he leisurely stood, stretched and sauntered over to the group. He wore a smug expression that still managed to annoy Idika, despite her agreeing with him.

  “If that's correct, that means this Ignis guy took our memories.” her nail made its way back to her mouth as she absently chewed at it, “But why? And why would that robed woman want to help?” Idika’s questions hung over the group like a dark cloud.

  “Maybe she just doesn't like Ignis.” Mal offered up with a shrug and she let out a long sigh in response.

  “Who knows. Makes about as much sense as anything else.” she gestured vaguely to their surroundings, “But why? Is she doing this just to screw with him? Who even is Ignis? And why-” Idika’s tirade of questions was cut off by a sudden cry of pain. But this time it did not come from her. The group's attention was drawn to the far side of the yurt where the rest of their brothers had been playing.

  Three of them were gathered in a semicircle, in the center laying on the floor was a little goblin with poppy red hair and pale green skin. He convulsed violently as his muscles spasmed over and over again. his veins glowed orange beneath his skin. They all understood what was happening by now, and were aware all they could do was wait. But knowing that did not ease the pit in Idika’s stomach as she watched her brothers limbs spasm and contort, his face twisted up in pain, the only sound the snapping and popping of his bones. When his body finally relaxed she let out a breath she had been holding. Kneeling down she saw his chest steadily rise and fall, then gently reached out to touch his shoulder.

  The boys eyes fluttered open, exposing topaz colored irises, which darted around in confusion, then locked on to something in the middle distance. Idika realized he must have been seeing the system screen. On a whim she decided to try something, and stared intently at her brother with the desire to gain information.

  At first Idika was pleased with her ability to perform another inspection, but the self satisfaction gave way as she read the information. This couldn't be right. Was there something wrong with the system? She opened her mouth with the intent of questioning him, but stopped when a hand squeezed her shoulder.

  To her surprise it was Makadian. The dark haired goblins expression was serious as he stared at Dahkan, and his eyes flickered back and forth slightly, as if he was reading something. He was inspecting. Idika was caught off guard but also impressed he had managed to figure it out after her briefly mentioning it. She watched as his brow furrowed, and his eyes darted in her direction. Makadian shook his head ever so slightly, a wordless warning. He had seen the same strange differences between them and their brother and wanted her to keep it quiet.

  Idika hesitated, then gave a slight nod back at him. Makadian released the grip he had on her shoulder as Drazahar and Mal also knelt down beside her. Dahkan had a build very similar to Mal’s, he looked like a formidable brawler, but was closer in height to Idika.

  “You ok? That change can really be disorienting, here let me help you up,” Mal offered his hand and their brother took it, and managed to make it to his shaky feet.

  “That makes four of us!” Drazahar exclaimed excitedly, “At this rate we’ll all be on an adventure, killing monsters and finding treasure by tomorrow!” he mimed swinging a sword at an imaginary creature and Idika shook her head with a smile. She opened her mouth to speak but her words were cut off by a loud clang. Startled, eight heads swiveled in the direction of the sound, looking for its source.

  The culprit was quickly spotted. On the floor a few feet away from them lay an ornate sword. The blade was engraved with intricate metal work and the hilt wrapped in a deep red leather, with a pummel in the shape of a wolfs head. Above the sword stood their mother, mouth hanging slightly agape as she stared at them. Her ocher skin was a paler more sickly looking yellow and the expression on her face was difficult to read. Idika couldn't tell if it was horror, anger or something in between. Their mother cursed under her breath.

  “This is not right. It’s happening far too fast,” her voice was clear this time and the words as unmistakable as the panic underneath them.