The Warehouse of Quest Materials, aka “DoNotTouch That”
Aru looked out of the portal tunnel and saw the vast night sky salted with stars.
The portal had opened a foot above a thin cloud upon which sat a white marble mound with a little door and a sign that readWAREHOUSE OF QUEST MATERIALS. The structure was so small, Aru doubted even she—at her magnificently intimidating height of fivefoot nothing—could stand comfortably inside of it.
“What is this?” scoffed Aru. “A warehouse for ants?”
Out of habit, she looked to her right, where normally Mini would’ve been on the verge of laughter. But she wasn’t there, and Aru remembered with a pang that her friend was angry at her.
She sighed and prepared to jump through the door. Before she did, a pair of slippers peeled off the cloudand covered her feet.
From behind the mound came a muffled squeak. “Aru?”
Mini poked her head out.
Then they spoke at the exact same time: “I’m sorry.”
“I overreacted—” started Mini.
“I didn’t mean it like that—” said Aru.
They stood there, waited a moment, and then started laughing. It wasn’t their first fight, and it wouldn’t be their last. But fights between good friends are a bit likelightning: a flash of anger, and then it’s fine.
“We should go in,” said Aru.
“I know, but I was waiting for you,” said Mini as she walked out from behind the mound.
Aru’s eyes went wide. Mini was dressed in head-to-toe black, including black combat boots. Her shirt had a skull on it, and there were faint traces of eyeliner under her eyes.
Mini frowned. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Say it,”said Mini.
“Nothing. You’re just leaning into the whole daughter-of-the-god-of-death thing pretty hard. I dig it.”
“Is it too much?” asked Mini, glancing at her own outfit as if she’d just seen it. “I only wore black because dirt doesn’t show up on it that easily.”
“What about your goth shirt?”
“Oh, that?” Mini smoothed down the front. “I like being reminded of my own mortality, you know?It makes stuff meaningful.”
“You do you, Mini.”
The warehouse was a whole lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. When the doors opened, Aru saw rows upon rows of shelves disappearing into the distance. Once she stepped onto the polished marble floor, her cloud slippers vanished.
Aiden,Brynne, and Urvashi were waiting for them. Brynne muttered, “Way to show up on time.”
Aruignored her, choosing instead to skim the small labels affixed to the bottom of each shelf. They had strange names, likeOMINOUS DREAM SEQUENCEandA SHARP KICK IN THE REAR.
“This is our Warehouse of Quest Materials,” said Urvashi. “Each of you is allowed to take one item. The item will vanish on the tenth day, so use it wisely.”
“But how do we know what to pick?” asked Mini, looking overwhelmed.
“Choose what speaks to you,” said the apsara. “I cannot tell you any more than that. Remember, you are considered suspects until the bow and arrow of Kamadeva are found.”
“But you know we didn’t steal them!” said Aru. “It isn’t fair.”
