Aribeth was waiting for us when we arrived at dawn, the spirit's form fading in and out of focus as she paced back and forth out the front of the temple. She'd greeted us with a tentative nod, uncomfortable under our scrutiny and ready to depart from the haunted city.

Once inside, we answered the five-fold questions, the sensei begrudgingly allowing us entrance to the Sleeping Man. She waved a dismissive hand towards his chamber after bestowing me with her amulet, which I slipped over my head. The bulky bling was supposed to be a means to help me see into his dreams, focusing my mind. So far, I didn't feel any different.

The end of the hall was warmer than the rest of the temple but, despite this, I felt my skin rise with goosebumps as we passed the room's threshold into the Sleeping Man's chamber.

"Do you feel it?" Aribeth asked, voice filled with wonder. "His… goodness?" She closed her eyes, smiling. "It's like being young again!" Her eyes snapped open, seeking out my own. "You can feel it, can't you?"

"Maybe," I replied, tentatively.

"I can feel his happiness like it is my own," she explained. "His sadness too. Happiness because his love is coming. Sadness because she is not yet here. That is how hope works, I think… The mingling of the two."

"And you feel that way?" I asked her tentatively. "Hopeful?"

"I guess I am," she replied after some deliberation, as her eyes roamed across the face of the Sleeping Man.

Deekin sniffed tentatively at the air as we piled around the bed come altar. He seemed all-together unaffected by the divine creature's presence, merely curious about what all the fuss was about.

I wish I could say I was unaffected by him, but his beauty was impossible to ignore. Even lying down it was plain to see he was tall, eight or more feet of pure power. His opalescent emerald skin did nothing to detract from his looks, his dark lips parted slightly in sleep, chest rising and falling as he drempt. His head was bald, allowing me to see the twitching of his pointed ears as he listened for something. Most impressive of all were the massive white feathered wings, tucked underneath him and fluttering slightly in the drafty room.

The words 'She will wait for you by the gates of Cania' were carved lovingly on a plaque, attached to the foot of the bed, like labelled art at a museum.

I tried to understand the feeling that Aribeth had explained, but all-in-all the Sleeping Man's aura just left me feeling uncomfortable and itchy.

"What a silly man," I found myself saying.

Valen scoffed in agreement.

He hung back in the doorway, a respectable distance from the powerful celestial.

My borrowed amulet began to hum, glowing from within with a dull green light.

I lifted a hand to the cool metal of the pendant, closing my eyes and focusing on the noise with a frown. The sound grew louder when I focused on it, but I couldn't make any more sense of it. I bit my lip in frustration, trying again. Apart from the low drone, all I could hear was the swishing of Valen's tail and the steady breathing of Aribeth by my side.

I shifted and the humm grew in volume.

Experimentally, I knelt closer to the Sleeping Man, rewarded for my efforts when the sound changed in pitch. My eyes snapped open and I lifted an arm to the altar, resting my hand tentatively on top of the Sleeping Man's. The noise grew louder again.

I paused, watching the man's face for any sign of waking. This close, I noticed a sadness to his features, a weariness that seemed to cling to his brow. Despite this, the corners of his lips were turned up in a gentle smile.

I shivered again, closing my eyes and focusing only on my breathing and the noise that permeated the room all around us.

I tried, I really did.

But slow bouts of meditative focus and contemplation just weren't my strong suit.

I pulled away with a grimace of disgust, unable to gleam anything from the man's dreams.

My frustration clear, Deekin pulled the small trumpet from his satchel with a grin.

"Little Deekin wake the Sleeping Man?"

I stepped back, giving him the floor with a flourish.

"She won't be happy about this," I warned them.

Valen stepped out of the doorway, rolling his shoulders and drawing his flail as I clamped my hands over my ears and waited.

Deekin brought the trumpet to his lips and blew.

For a moment, it seemed as if the multiverse itself had fallen silent. But then, with a ripping, tearing sound came the screaming winds of Pandemonium. Deekin played for only a few seconds, but I could feel my whole body vibrating along with the shaking room.

Then, just when I thought I could take no more, everything quietened and the Sleeping Man stirred.

As the rumble of the trumpet faded, it was replaced by the shriek of the sensei.

I drew Enserric, the usual sounds of his steel drowned out by the ringing that still lingered in my ears.

"No!" The sensei wailed, falling to her knees. "No one disturbs the Sleeping Man!"

Tears glistened in her eyes as she tugged at her hair, searching the room for the one responsible, before landing on the sheepish kobold.

She lunged for him with a shriek of pure outrage.

Deekin's eyes widened as he dropped the instrument from his lips, arms lifting in defence as he began to back away.

She was quick.

But I was ready for her.

I swung my sword around, bringing the pommel into the side of her temple and following through with a kick to her side with the flat of my boot.

She gasped out a surprised hiss of pain, Valen planting a foot on her chest, levelling his flail at her head.

He needn't have bothered.

When she hit the ground, she blinked at Valen in surprise, eyes widening before she stilled. Blood leaked far too heavily from the wound on her temple.

I hissed, reaching for a potion as Valen went to push a hand to the wound.

A moment, and he looked up at me with a grim shake of his head, wiping the fresh blood onto the sensei's robes.

Dammit! If she was his true love…

I tried not to think about what that would mean for the Sleeping Man and any hope of him helping us defeat Mephistopheles. I turned my attention back to the planetar, taking a steady breath to try and calm my whirlwind of thoughts.

The celestial was squinting at me, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the dim green light of the room. His eyes traced every curve of my face, his eyes lingering a little too long for comfort.

With a frown, he pushed himself onto his elbows, muscles rippling with the effort, before dragging his eyes away from me and considered the form of the fallen sensei.

"It seems you made short enough work of your attacker," he started, unsure. "Have you any idea who she might have been?" He paused, head snapping back around to me. "I am still in Cania, no?"

His voice was warm, his accent a lilting melody that emphasised his vowels and the deep timbre of his voice.

I took a deep breath, sheathing Enserric and hiding the red glow of his magic. "That gith was the sensei. She runs… ran this temple."

"And the god she worshipped?" He pressed, considering me carefully.

"You," I stated plainly.

"Me?" He blinked slowly, before his eyes widened. "I sense the truth of it, but the very notion… it's horrible!" He moved to sit on the edge of the altar, wings fluttering experimentally behind him. "Did she not see the heresy in it?" He shook his head, eyes finding my own again. "You were right to do away with her, before such notions spread."

His words held no sympathy for the fallen woman, and I found myself frowning at the angel's blatant disregard for life.

He grimaced, running his hands over his ears. "I swear, I can still hear that damned trumpet." Shaking his head, he returned the entirety of his focus back onto me. "You risked much by waking me. Why?" His eyes held me in place. "My one true love. Is she here?" His wings fluttered.

I contemplated my next words carefully, knowing that he would only help us with the right incentive.

"I do not know," I said carefully. "But you were told she would meet you at the gates of Cania…"

"Maybe Deekin be your true love?" the kobold piped up with a cheeky grin.

I snorted at the joke, but the Sleeping Man barely deemed Deekin's comment worthy of attention, let alone a response. As the planetar considered my words, I turned my gaze to Aribeth. She had schooled her face into careful blankness, narrowing her eyes at me as she tried to determine the hidden agenda behind my words.

I glanced back at the Sleeping Man as he leant forward, unabashedly letting his eyes roam over me; from my messy braid, to my array of weaponry and dark leather armour. It was impossible to know what he thought.

Not that I cared. I bristled at the scrutiny, motioning again towards Aribeth as subtly as I could manage.

He seemed to finally notice her, and his shoulders relaxed, lips pulling up in gentle smile.

Well, you're not my type either, buddy! I thought indignantly.

She was ramrod straight, eyes darting nervously between myself and the angel as she realised what I was insinuating.

"Could it be true?" The Sleeping Man whispered hopefully.

Aribeth took a tentative step back, lifting her hands defensively in front of her.

"No," he told me, shaking his head. "Bring me proof. Then, I will know whose soul is matched to my own." His eyes roamed between the two of us lazily, resting on Aribeth's beautiful features longer than strictly polite. "And then I will love them forever more." He closed his eyes. "I have waited for more than a century, there is no harm in waiting longer…"

I frowned.

"Well, it's not—" It's not me, I had intended to object.

Instead, he snaked a hand out, grabbing hold of my wrist; green skin on black gloves. I could almost feel the heat of him through the material.

His eyes were open and imploring.

I stared down at his tight grip.

"Every soul has a true love. Even a foolish man such as I," he assured me. "Who are we to question the god's choices?"

How romantic! I thought sarcastically.

I pulled my hand out of his grasp pointedly.

"And to find this proof?" I pressed, rubbing my wrist absently.

He seemed hurt that I had pulled away, lips pulling down and eyes imploring, but he made no complaint or attempt at remedying it.

Good.

I could feel Valen's warm presence by my back, could hear the irregular swish of his tail as it flicked in irritation.

"Somewhere," the Sleeping Man started, "banished to the furthest wastes of Cania, is a creature called the Knower of Names…"

I crossed my arms. "And why didn't you seek her out yourself?" I asked.

His eyes continued roaming across every inch of my face, narrowed in consideration.

"I faced a choice," he explained gently, voice low. "I was granted only a single question, and a single answer… do I gamble everything and learn my true love's identity, with no guarantee of ever finding her?"

"Or do you learn where she might find you?" Aribeth finished for him.

He nodded to the elven spirit, lips pulling up in a gentle smile. "Knowing then that we would at least have the fortune of gazing upon each other's faces." He barely blinked. "Unrecognisable, but still in love."

I shifted uncomfortably, the movement surprising him out of his trance.

"I chose the latter," he explained.

"Clearly," Valen mused, unimpressed.

I looked over my shoulder at the tiefling's voice, cocking an eyebrow at his defensive stance. He was leaning against the doorframe, blood stained hands crossed atop his chest. His jaw was clenched, muscles popping below the surface.

I rolled my eyes at him, hoping to express just how ridiculous a person I thought the planetar was. Valen frozen, before smirking and consciously relaxing his stance.

I looked back at the Sleeping Man, who was observing our silent exchange down the length of his nose, lips pulled back in poorly veiled distaste.

His eyes found mine again, the question of my company clear.

Bigoted prick…

I took a deep breath.

I glanced Aribeth's way, noting that she looked equally unimpressed, despite her earlier awe.

Here's hoping he's just not very good at giving first impressions, because it would be nice to have a planetar on our side when we fight Mephistopheles. And the only way that was happening was if he thought Aribeth was his true love.

Or you, Enserric piped up helpfully with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes.

And so, the planetar — who may or may not have been Aribeth's destined love, but was most assuredly not mine — told us about the Knower of Names' treatment at the hands of her lover, Mephistopheles. He told us how he had risen to power after she had named those that meant to betray him. How he had rewarded her by banishing her somewhere only he could find her, lest his enemies use her against him.

Just like we were hoping to, now.

Valen chuckled humorlessly at the revelation, shaking his head.

The Sleeping Man told us that we could ask the Knower of Places for her sister's destination, before imploring that we ask for the name of his true love and bring it back to him.

He warned of the five guardians, two slain by his hand and three yet remaining, Valen's tail resuming its steady flick at the prospect of a fight.

Then, he told us of his deconstructed puzzle ring — powered by hope, of all things — which would lead us to the first of the Knowers, if that is who we truly hoped to find. He summoned a planar door to his vault, warning us of the guards he'd left in place and assuring us that that was where we would find the three pieces of his ring.

We barely spoke as we entered the planetar's pocket realm, fighting through summoned skeletons that Aribeth made quick work of with her god-given abilities.

How she doesn't accidentally smite or turn herself, I don't know…

The guardians all dead, I placed the pieces together — the ring magically fusing once I lined them up properly— the words hope, faith and love engraved on the inside, almost too small for the human eye to see. I rolled my eyes at the inscription.

"What a pathetic sad sop," I hissed.

"You do not think it romantic?" Valen pressed. His voice gave nothing of his own thoughts away.

I pulled a glove off, placing the ring on my finger and blinking in awe at the fuchsia glow that it gave everything. I smiled at Valen, who was bathed in colour, glowing brighter than anyone.

He waited for my answer.

"Look, props to the guy for coming to the hells to meet people." I said. We've all been there. "But taking a nap and waiting for her to go to all this effort? No, thank you. I like my men less Snow White, more…" I trailed off at his amused smile, his eyebrows raised as he waited for the rest of my sentence. "More, more." I finished lamely with a dismissive wave of my hand.

I pulled the ring off, the warm glow fading from his skin and causing my head to spin as everything returned to normal.

"He seemed to be under the impression he was waiting for you," Valen broached carefully, all hints of the teasing smile gone from his face.

I snorted.

Aribeth and Deekin returned from their looting of the chamber, just in time to catch the tail end of Valen's statement.

"And Aribeth," I jutted my chin in the elf's direct. "And who knows who else might have passed by and said hi, whilst we've been gone. And he'll sit and wait and one day she'll pass him by." I scoffed. "It's pathetic."

Aribeth seemed torn, her frown enough to grab both mine and Valen's attention. She opened her mouth to say something, before shutting it and shrugging, her smile flat.

"It's hope," she said, simply.

"It's something," I scoffed.

Valen smiled, eyes crinkling in good-humour. "It pleases me to hear it," he said to me, slyly. I felt a flush rise to my cheeks, the butterflies returning at the promise in his eyes. "I do not think I would enjoy our after quite so much if he insisted on being involved."

I blinked dumbly at his words, before chuckling. No, the word 'chuckle' didn't encompass the sound properly. It was giggling. Giggling!

Trying to even out my voice and the erratic fluttering in my stomach, I pulled my pack higher onto my shoulder and made as quickly as I could for the portal.

Once through, I was impossibly thankful for the cold air of Cania on my cheeks, the promise of after still ringing in my ears.

NOTEBOOK EXTRACT

The list is in Jane's easily recognisable scrawl.

Things I Don't Miss

Working nine to five

Public transport

Bills

Housework

Big empty house

Incurable illnesses