Two more days' travel, and they finally reached the Forest. Riko breathed a sigh of relief as they passed through the leafy boughs of the giant trees surrounding them. Two more days, and they would be within reach of the base's patrols. Three more days, and they would finally reach Esrai itself.

Del'rania, on the other hand, did not seem happy at all. Rather, the farther they traveled into the Forest, the more tense she grew. He could not blame her, but inwardly he laughed at her fears. This was the Forest. This, at last, was home.

They were moving along at a quick trot when he first heard the horses quietly approaching, hooves thumping softly against the ground. Del'rania began to speak even as he pulled Makia to a halt. "Someone's coming."

"Yes, I know."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get out of here!"

"No, we're not leaving until we see who it is. Most of the domesticated horses in this area of the Forest are owned by the Golden Rose. It might be a patrol from the base at Esrai, though it's unusual for them to be this far out. Quiet down and wait."

Grumbling, Del'rania subsided.

Several minutes passed in tense silence. The riders, whoever they were, drew closer. Then—a flicker of movement—light reflected off of metal—a banner waving in the air—and suddenly the Esrai patrol appeared, trotting towards them.

Riko cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. "Patrol…halt!" he yelled in Common. In front of him, Del'rania sighed in despair and shook her head, amazed at his foolishness. The patrol came to a stop. There was a moment of stillness before the leader rode forward.

"Honored Paladin." He dipped his head in deference.

" Squad leader."

"Is there something you wish, sir?" He moved a few more steps forward. "We would be delighted to aid you in—" He drew his horse up sharply. "…Sir…ah…might it not be wise to, um, tie her hands?"

"What? Oh." Riko paused, uncertain as how to continue.

It would be much simpler to pass her off as a prisoner, much less trouble in the end. Once they returned to Esrai, he could explain things to the Jarrin and, at worst Del'rania would only spend a day or two in prison. On the other hand—barely two days later, her story still rang in his ears. Heironeous only knew how she would react if he let them tie her up, but he was certain the results would be explosive. Besides…it felt like a, a betrayal of some sort—to free her and come so far with her, only to let someone make her a prisoner once more. No matter that the soldiers were on their side—no, were on his side. No matter that her treatment would be completely different from the kind she would have received at the hands of the drow or the slavers. It was the principle that mattered. And what difference would it make to Del'rania? She would still be a prisoner again.

The squad leader seemed to take his silence as acquiescence. "Rope," he demanded from one of the others. "If it would please you, sir," he continued, accepting a long length of strong rope from his soldiers, "We would be delighted to take her back to Esrai. Honestly, sir, I whole-heartedly congratulate you on your capture, of a female no less. Despite all the recent drow activity, we have been unable to capture more than a few alive. They fight like hell or run."

"Get your dirty paws off of me, human!" Del'rania suddenly cried in Goblan, warding off the squad leader's questing hands.

Riko snapped out of his reverie. "Stop that, both of you," he commanded, restraining the angry drow and waving off the squad leader. The man had ridden up alongside him and was trying to tie her hands, right under his nose. He cursed himself for not paying more attention. "Squad leader—what was this about recent drow activity? I've been away for awhile, so I'm afraid you'll have to fill me in on the situation."

"Of course, sir. Um—this may take a while to explain. Might we stop for lunch, sir?"

"As you wish, squad leader."

They ate their rations in silence. Del'rania sat a few feet away from the soldiers, watching them as warily as they watched her. It was a tense gathering; the men were clearly displeased with the idea of letting the drow remain unbound. Their hands strayed towards their swords. They seemed ready to leap to their feet and grab the drow should she try to flee.

Eventually the squad leader drew him aside. They walked a few feet awayfrom the small clearing where they had eaten. Riko leaned against a large oak tree as the squad leader briefed him. "You wanted to hear about the current situation, sir…?"

"Of course."

"Sir, over the past few weeks, we've noticed a gradual rise in drow activity on the surface. They move in small numbers, no doubt to avoid detection—we don't know how many we've missed. Mostly they move at night—they seem to settle down into hiding during the daytime. They tend to be moving towards the west, towards the Ralgir Plains, though we're not so certain if that is indeed their destination."

Riko eyed Del'rania tensed against a tree trunk, ready to fight off the soldiers if need be. He knew exactly what those drow were looking for. At least we're a step ahead of them. If they're still headed for the Plains, then they don't know that we're in the Forest yet. Yet.

"We believe that they are planning some sort of surface raid, possibly aimed at some sort of target on the Ralgir Plains, though of course we can only be certain once we finish interrogating our prisoners. But like I said, sir, we have very few prisoners, and they mostly refuse to talk. That's why your capture has the potential to be very important. We need more people to interrogate, and a female might well know more than a male. That said, sir," the man finished, "It would be a very good idea to bind the prisoner, don't you think, sir?"

Even as he spoke, shouts came from the clearing. Where he had left Del'rania. Riko sprang up, seizing the hilt of his sword. The squad lead grasped his shoulder with a restraining hand. "Sir, please—as I said, it is best if we tie her up. I have instructed my men to do so."

"You what?" Angrily he shook the man's hand of his shoulder and strode into the clearing.

Del'rania was propped up against a tree, bound hand and foot, gnashing her teeth at the soldiers and cursing them furiously in her language. Frustrated, Riko turned on the squad leader.

"Look, she's not a prisoner, squad leader—well, not exactly—I mean…" He trailed off, suddenly aware of what he was saying. The squad leader was giving him a strange look; his soldiers looked outright suspicious. Flushing, Riko bent to cut the ropes binding Del'rania's feet and marched her into the surrounding woods.

He shushed her even as she opened her mouth. "Del'rania, listen to me. It might be a good idea to just…pretend you're a prisoner."

"What?"

"Because otherwise I'd probably have to explain everything," he went on, overriding her objections, "how I found you, the raid the other night, the necklace—do you want me to tell them about the necklace? No, I thought not," he finished, as her eyes widened in horror and she covered the necklace as best she could with her bound hands. "So I think it's best if you just go along quietly and pretend you are a prisoner. I'll get you free once we reach Esrai—I'll talk to the Jarrin, promise I will. So—don't resist, okay?" She gave him a blank look. "Okay? Del'rania?" But she remained silent. "I'm taking that as a yes, okay?" When she still refused to answer, he seized her wrists. "Let's get back to the camp."

They returned in silence. The squad was waiting patiently for them to return. Without a word, Riko tied her feet once more. "I'm coming with you, squad leader," he said shortly. "You are returning to Esrai, aren't you? But I'll be the one transporting the prisoner."

The man seemed taken aback. "As you say, sir."

"Then let's go." He lifted Del'rania—she was not very heavy—and carried her to Makia, tying her to the mare's saddle. "It's just for a few days," he murmured to her in Goblan. She gave him a bitter look. With a sigh, he heaved himself into the saddle. "Mount up, squad." The men moved to obey.

Dinner, too, was a silent affair. The soldiers seemed to remain suspicious of the outsider, no matter that he was a paladin. Del'rania was not much better.

"Doing okay?" he muttered to her as he handed her food to her.

"Emarin hamini si'kul," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

She gave him a sharp look. "Emarin hamini si'kul," she repeated, and would say no more.

"Tamariko. You return at last. How goes your travels?"

"Very well, sir." Two days later saw him kneeling before the Jarrin, eyes respectfully lowered. "Very well," he repeated. "Destroyed some ghouls that had taken up residence in a graveyard, skirmished with the forces of Hextor for a bit…The temple in Mordikan has grown in strength and it's starting to proselytize the surrounding villages, sir. Um…it may become a matter of concern in the future.

"You're too wishy-washy, Tamariko. Is it or isn't it a matter of concern?" the Jarrin demanded sharply.

"It is, sir." He hesitated, then added, "I'd advise strengthening our forces there, counter-proselytizing and such."

"Good boy." The man sat back.

Jarrin Oshid was a small man, old yet still quite strong. Sharp blue eyes dominated a hard, angular face. He had shaved his head a long time ago, yet a wispy white beard clung to his chin. Dressed in gold and white robes, he sat cross-legged on a small pedestal, examining Riko silently.

Eventually the Jarrin said, "You requested to speak with me as soon as you arrived. What is it that troubles you?"

"Sir…right before I came here, I freed a slave. In fact, I had to come here immediately, since I freed her in a particularly…conspicuous way."

"That was foolish of you, but good job all the same. Be more discreet next time."

"Yes, sir. The thing is, sir…she's a dark elf." Riko braced himself for a reprimand.

"Fascinating," replied the Jarrin, unpeturbed.

"Sir, it goes beyond that. You see, she—she has a very strange…necklace, sir." Riko told him of the entire journey—the escape, the attack, even Del'rania's story about the necklace. The Jarrin listened intently. "…and so I let them think she was a prisoner, sir, and we brought her back her and she's in a cell right now," he finished.

"Huh." If the man had any thoughts on the strange story, he did not say. "Does she know anything about the recent drow activity on the surface?"

"I don't think so, sir, but if you ask me, I think they're looking for her. She's terrified of them, I know that much, and for good reason, too. They want that necklace, sir, they want that necklace and they want her dead." Riko paused, then added cautiously, "Sir…is it okay for us to release her? Not into the forest, I mean, but let her leave the prison and stay here?"

"That may not be a wise thing to do, Tamariko," the Jarrin warned after a moment. "Are you so ready to trust her? She is a drow, after all. Not to mention the fact that she will encounter hostility wherever she goes."

"I know, sir, but like I said, she's terrified of her own people. I doubt she'd even think of betraying us to the drow—the very idea of it would probably frighten the wits out of her." The Jarrin remained silent. "Sir…I—I promised her I'd get her out of prison. Please, sir, I guarantee that she's harmless."

The cleric did not answer for a while. "I'm holding you responsible for her, Tamariko," he said at last. "If she gets into trouble…you get her out of it. If she does anything…kill her. Or at least throw her back into a cell. Do you understand me, Tamariko?"

He swallowed a sigh of relief. "Yes, sir."

"Good." The Jarrin rose to leave.

Riko half-rose from his crouch. "Sir…one more thing."

The Jarrin eyed him over his shoulder. "Yes?" he asked, annoyed.

"Sir…did I do the right thing, rescuing her and bringing her here?"

Silence for a few moments. "What's bad for the drow is generally good for us," he replied, and vanished through the curtain.

She barely spoke to Riko, even after he came with the keys to her cell. He had tried to speak to her several times, but she had only responded in Drow, if at all, until he had given up and ceased to speak. The anger was beginning to recede, yet she still wished for some space between the two of them. The charade had been a reasonable, even a smart idea, yet it still felt like a betrayal in some obscure manner.

Most of her time was spent in her tiny room. It was probably even smaller than her cell, and barely furnished, but it was her room—her one real place of refuge. Outside in the halls, she faced open hostility from the Temple's residents. Dark looks followed her through the halls, voices muttered curses in languages she did not know. People shied away from her as if she carried the plague.

But today, as always, she ignored the glares and murmurs, refused to notice the almost palpable enmity of the people surrounding her. Today, she passed them by with a confident stride, for today, for the first time since she had arrived, she was going outside.

She had felt the compulsion to leave the confining recesses of the Temple ever since she arrived, to bask in the warm sunshine and the cool shade. How strange it now seemed that she had hated the open, had cringed at the sun! How wonderful the forest truly was! The times when she had longed for the darkness of the Underdark seemed years ago—ages, even…

Del'rania stopped and shook her head. What was she thinking? Of course she missed the Underdark! She longed for it every day! Didn't she? …Didn't she? Del'rania looked deep inside herself and saw that no, she had ceased to yearn for its silent, rocky corridors, barely even thinking about it, now. No, thoughts of the Underdark had vanished within her, and new, stranger thoughts had taken its place. Thoughts not quite her own…She shivered, and began to walk once more, even faster than before. Best not to think of that; she already had far too much to worry about right now. Best to get outside. Everything would be better outside.

Finally she found the door and stepped out into the sunshine, deeply inhaling the heady scent of the woodlands. She held it for a moment, before slowly releasing it, relishing the wilderness. It felt…good to be outside.

She wandered aimlessly around the compound, not caring where she went. The only thing that mattered was the way the sun shined, the trees waving gracefully in the wind, the birds singing their songs in one jumbled chorus…

Riko was following her again, she noticed irritably. He had the annoying tendency to appear wherever she was, silently watching her from a distance. Somehow, his presence felt like an intrusion, unlike any of the other beings about the grounds of the Temple; how dare he track her across the Temple and ruin her delight! She turned to face him directly and scowled furiously at him. He sighed, and came over.

"Del'rania—"

"Go away, Riko," she snapped, and Riko blinked in surprise. It was the first time she had said anything to him in Goblan since their encounter with the patrol. She cut him off even as he opened his mouth to speak. "Look, I'm really tired of you—stalking me, okay? Just leave me alone. Go find someone else to bother."

His head jerked back at the curt dismissal, but his brow quickly darkened in anger. How dare she brush him off like that! "Now see here—" he began. "Del'rania, listen to me. You've had more than enough time to sulk by yourself. At least be—be civil to me, okay? You're going to hear me out whether you like it or not. People don't like you here, in case you haven't noticed. They really don't like you.

"I know that already, thanks very much."

"Look, you've heard about the recent drow raids, right?"

An irritated light flashed in her eyes. "Yes, of course I've heard about them, even though I barely understand anyone here," she replied sarcastically. "What raids?"

"A lot of them, that's what. Much more drow on the surface than normal, killing whoever they encounter, as usual. That's one of the reasons the Temple is so crowded. Refugees, see? Very bitter, angry refugees, no doubt suspicious of the drow wandering in their midst. You're not particularly safe here. Someone might attack you."

"Then why did you bring me here?" she cried.

"Because I knew you'd be safer here than you would out there. The reason why I've been…'stalking' you, as you so eloquently put it," he continued, "is because the Jarrin assigned me to you. To protect you." He didn't mention that he was also there to make sure she did no harm.

"Who is this 'jarrin'?" she queried.

"The head cleric. I talked to him. About you."

"What—what did you tell him?" Her voice trembled slightly with suspicion.

"Everything, Del'rania. Everything."

For a moment she was silenced completely, blank shock and horror spanning her face. Finally she found her voice. "You—did—what!"

"I told him everything," he repeated. She began to turn away and he seized her shoulder. "Del'rania, I had to. He has a right to know who he's taking in under his roof—no, he needs to know who he's taking in. Besides, he's a cleric, a very good one. He may know what the necklace is. Don't you want to find out? Don't you want help?"

She stared at him for a moment. Suddenly she pulled away with a grimace. "Get your hands off me, human," she snarled. "Stay away from me—I can take perfect care of myself." Furious, she whirled away.

Riko hurried after her. "Look, Del'rania," he snapped, growing irritated again, "I can't very well hide something so important like this from my superior! You know as well as I that those drow are looking for you and that necklace! It's got to be of some significance. I do have certain duties as a paladin, you know. I know you want to keep this secret, and for good reason to, but I'm obligated to tell the Jarrin things like this. It's not like I've told all of Esrai!"

Del'rania came to such an abrupt halt that he actually walked a few steps past her. "I don't think I made myself very clear, human," she said coldly. "I said: get away from me. Stop following me around. Leave me alone, and stop bothering me." She pushed him back and darted away.

He stared, openmouthed, as the small dark figure vanished back into the Temple. Shock faded to anger. "Fine," he growled, deliberately turning on his heel and walking in the other direction.

A week passed, spent almost entirely in her room. Eventually loneliness drove her out to wander the Temple's compound, wishing for someone to talk to. Riko had ceased to follow her at first, but eventually she sighted him tracking her again, no doubt driven by his sense of duty, she thought sneeringly. Clearly he did not enjoy his job. They never spoke to each other, barely acknowledging the other's presence, as if each merely happened to be in the same room.

She began to spend more and more time in the small library. Although she could speak many dialects of the Underdark, she had never bothered to learn to read until Sus'sarins insisted that she learn to read Drow so that she could understand written orders. The library had no books written in Drow, needless to say, but it was one of the few places where she felt unthreatened by the people surrounding her. Most of the occupants were scholars absorbed in their work who barely noticed her existence. In the rest of the Temple, however, a dark hatred accompanied her wherever she went, so terrible that she was surprised that no one had attacked her yet. Certainly there had been several "accidents"-someone sticking their foot out to trip her, or "stumbling" into her, even a stone once (though Riko had quickly put a stop to that, she hated to admit).

Usually Del'rania browsed through the books, choosing them at random and looking at the pictures. Today, though, she was examining a book she had found written in Drowish script. It was not the first time she had come across such a text, but this one had sparked her interest, and she was paging through it, eagerly hunting for pictures. The language was similar to Drow, that much she could tell; several times she picked out words that sounded akin to some word in Drow.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she jumped, slamming the book shut. Furious, she shrugged the hand away and turned to berate Riko for bothering her.

It was not Riko but a dreamy-looking spectacled human scholar, jabbering at her in the humans' trade language and thrusting a book at her. She snarled at him in her own language, and moved away. The short man moved after her, frowning vaguely. "You…not speak Common…what you speak?" he asked eventually in heavily accented Undercommon.

Del'rana was so startled that she actually came to a halt. She had never encountered a human who spoke Undercommon and had assumed that none spoke the language. The man repeated his question, and when she did not answer, asked her worriedly, "You speak Undercommon, yes? You drow…you speak Undercommon, yes? Drow speak Undercommon, yes? And you drow, see?" He reached up and tugged herdark, pointed ear.

Del'rania snapped out of her stupor, livid at the indignity. "Of course I speak Undercommon, you miserable little human," she growled, slapping the man's hand away.

The man's face lit up, so that she wondered if he had understood a word she had said. "Good, good, good. Read." He thrust the book at her once more.

She stared first at it, then at him. "I can't read it, you fool."

"Ohhh…" His face fell. "Bad, very bad…what language you speak? Draconic? Giantish? Orcish? Goblan?"

"No, no, no, n—what?"

"Aha!" he cried, triumphant. He seized her arm and towed her over to his table, talking at lightning speed in Goblan. "Should have known, shouldn't I have, after all, the nasty little buggers get everywhere, don't they, everyone has to learn their gibberish if only to deal with the dirty beasts. Like rats, they are."

"Look, man," she finally said, "I don't care what you want, I'm not—"

"Now listen," he continued, ignoring her, "I'll read what this book says and you're going to tell me what it means, okay? I don't know that much Undercommon, just learning, really, and I've been looking for a translator formonths. Do you know how few people on the surface actually speak the language? So frustrating. I've been wondering whether to wait until I leave for the Underdark, thank the gods I found you…" He trailed off, looking for his place. "'The duergar are well known for their animosity to the rest of the dwarven race,'" he read carefully in Undercommon, and looked at her expectantly. "Well? What does it mean?"

She stared at him, wondering at his obliviousness. "I don't think you understand," she replied, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "I'm not going to translate this for you. Go bother someone else."

"Of course you are. Don't be ridiculous. It'll take forever for me to find someone else, didn't you just hear what I just said?"

"But I—"

"Do you want me to reread the sentence? Maybe a bit slower? 'The duergar are well known for their animosity to the rest of the dwarven race,'" he repeated, even more slowly than before.

"Look, human—"

"Is it too hard? Just say so. We can try the next sentence. So…?"

"Now, see here—"

"'Some compare the rivalry to the only other famous interracial conflict, that of the drow and the elves.'" He paused, waiting for her answer.

Del'rania sighed and gave up. "Fine, I'll translate your damn book," she said grudgingly. "But just this one day, okay?"

"Excellent," the man said with a sweet smile. "And what did those last two sentences mean…? I know they were talking about the rivalry between the duergar and the dwarves…"

Rolling her eyes, she translated the two sentences.

They worked all afternoon on the text. Jinz (which was his name) was studying the cultures of the Underdark, she soon learned. The book, written by a dwarf, chronicled the entirety of dwarven civilization, "revealing ever so much about the species," the man had informed her excitedly. From the way the human eyed her, she could tell that he was itching to badger her about her life in Zorin'zaal.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Jinz demanded as she rose to leave for dinner, stomach rumbling. "We made excellent progress today, I'm sure you'll do wonderfully tomorrow." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "So, tomorrow, yes?"

"Wha…tomorrow? Don't be ridiculous." She stared at him incredulously.

"Oh…" His face fell. Then it lit up once more. "Well, two days from now? Any time you wish, really, I'm free all the time."

"I don't think you understand, human," she said wearily. "I am not going to work with you tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that. I said I was only going to translate for you today, remember?" She turned on her heel and began to walk to the door.

"But…wait!" He raced after her and stationed himself right in front of her. "Please, won't you at least consider it? I couldn't have gotten anywhere today without you. You're positively priceless. It's been an honor to work with you, really." His eyes were pleading.

With a roll of her eyes, she pushed him aside and walked by. "At least think about it!" he yelled after her. Something tickled her mind, and she shook her head muzzily, both to relieve the sensation and in reply to him.

She had nearly left the library when it hit her. A wave of dizziness slammed into her, nausea churning in her stomach. Del'rania gasped and clutched the doorpost for support, seeing only spots. A dull throb pounded against her left temple and she whimpered in pain. An alien presence probed her mind, cruelly parsing her memories, looking for something…

No…can't let it find…shouldn't be here…get it out…Del'rania staggered, gripping the doorpost tightly. …violating me…out! Get out! With all her strength, she—pushed—

—Spots swirled, the world reeled and

"Del'rania? Del'rania?" A familiar voice. Someone slapping her cheeks.

She was in her bed in her room, sick and tired. Darkness surrounded her.

"Del'rania? Keshrik slarr?" Tired, she did not bother to answer, only grunting softly. After a moment, arms encircled her, beginning to lift her, and she shifted impatiently, waving the help off. "Naw, naw, Riko, slarri, slarri," she groaned, and opened her eyes.

For a moment she felt disoriented—Where am I? Why am I not in my room?—before reality asserted itself. She was in the library, lying on the ground. Riko crouched over her, any antagonism long since replaced with concern shining clear on his face.She closed her eyes for a moment,feeling genuinely grateful for his presence for the first time.Behind him, Jinz watched her, shocked and uncertain.

"Del'rania, are you okay? Can you stand? Walk?I can get you to the infirmary—" He reached out again to pick her up.

"No, Riko, I'm fine, really I am. Please, don't bother." Slowly, carefully she sat up. "What happened?"

"You fainted."

"Oh…"

He leaned in close. "Del'rania—does this…fit have anything to do with—you know—" he whispered.

She shook her head, still feeling a little dizzy. "No…I don't think so…" Yes, she should have said, Someone was in my mind…looking for the necklace. Yet somehow she still felt unwilling to tell him the truth. Riko gazed at her, eyes wide and worried. He rose from his squat and held out his hand, pulling her to her feet. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Your nose is bleeding." He placed his hand over her nose. Cool white light flared, she felt a slight pang, and her nose cleared up and ceased to run red. "Thanks," she repeated.

Slowly she pulled away and stumbled back to the door. "Are you sure you're okay?" Riko asked, following after her.

"Yeah…I think…just a little light-headed and tired…" And nauseous, she added mentally as her stomach roiled. "Think I'll go back to my room and go to sleep…"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Go ahead. You're already following me around," she muttered, too tired to argue the point, and stumbled out of the Library.

Lixarin broke the connection and sat back with a smile, fondling the communication ring. So the heretic had managed to escape Tis'ganath's troops and make it to the false god's temple, with the help of that human companion of hers, no doubt. A lover? Almost certainly; the heretic did not have much else to pay for services but her own assets. So. If she played her cards carefully now, she would end with the heretic's head, while Tis'ganath would be ruined, bringing her House with her, hopefully.

Her finger crept up to a simple gold ring hanging from her ear, the earring that all Council members used to speak to each other. Quietly she murmured the spell to herself.

There was a short pause before Tis'ganath answered. "Yes?" came the irritated voice of the kismatin-Shaltiel in her ear.

"Tis'ganath, dear," Lixarin purred, "I have bad news for you…"

God, it's been ages since I last updated! There's no excuse for this, just plain procrastination. I'm so sorry, dearest readers, you really don't deserve this long a wait! Please forgive me! prostrates herself to the readers This chapter came out pretty long though (ten whole pages!)—I hope you don't mind. It's sort of an intermediate chapter, I guess—everyone pretty much takes a short break from the recent action. Well, maybe you see it another way, but that's how I've thought of it. I have to warn you, though, it may be a while before I update in the future. I'm not so sure how I'm going to do the next chapter, plus I need to write a story for my submission to a writing camp. But I'm pretty disappointed in myself, so I'm going to make a special effort to get this done soon.

Oh yes. What Del'rania said earlier in the story in Drow was "Humans are all the same." Later on, Riko says, "Are you awake?" in Goblan, and she responds, "I'm awake, I'm awake." I think I'll make a glossary at the end of this fanfiction.