"Rieta. What a pretty name," Erevan said. "And I'm sorry about trying to spill your guts across the ground."
      I gazed at him then walked over to the revealed entrance. When I'd looked around earlier, the stone looked smooth and continuous. There'd been no sign of breaks or doors. So where did this come from? "How did you get in here, Erevan?"
      "It was a small puzzle that had already been solved," Erevan said. "I just pushed some pieces back into place and opened the door again. What? Were you trapped in here or something?"
      I glanced at him then stepped through the doorway. A staircase of black marble and white crystal sconces twisted away from sight.
      "Hold on a minute! I still need to search this place! Just because you're not interested doesn't mean I'm leaving empty handed!" Erevan called after me. I heard him moving about the room, searching the place. I turned and watched him as he checked the pockets of the bodies and searched along the walls. If he kept searching like this... would he find evidence of how I got here? Of what happened to me? Could I risk such a thing?
      "Don't bother. It was like this when I got here as well," I said. "Traps disarmed, bodies scattered, blood dried. The door closed on me as I was searching. This place is a tomb, you aren't meant to leave."
      Erevan glanced at me then pressed a series of tiles. The still waters of the pool rippled as stepping stones floated to the surface, forming a path to the island at its center. Erevan walked over to the new path, saying, "This isn't a slight against you, darling. As they say, trust but verify." His hand curled into a fist. "And I can't afford to not verify." He strode across the stepping stones to the island where what I had originally thought was an altar stood. Now though, I could see it was a sarcophagus. Erevan gripped the edge of the lid and began pushing. To no avail. The stone slab didn't even budge.
      "Damn it all!" He huffed and looked around the sarcophagus. Then he looked to me with a frown. "Well? Don't just stand there! Help me!"
      I slowly moved towards the island. How? How could I help him? I could feel it in my bones that I wasn't physically strong enough to move that slab, anymore than him. And magic, if I even knew it to begin with, was laughably out of reach until I could piece together more of myself.
      Reaching the sarcophagus, I rested a hand it, preparing to push with Erevan. Runes along its edges glowed and flashed with arcane energy. Energies that tickled my senses with familiarity. The stone grated and dragged, moving aside with a slow deliberation that revealed the skeletal form of a humanoid resting inside. Clad in ragged golden robes, horns curled from a barren skull and skeletal hand bones were scattered across the bottom of the sarcophagus. Almost as if they'd been broken and scattered by someone grabbing something from where they'd covered.
      "Well, it looks like you have the magic touch, darling," Erevan said. "I'm almost jealous." He looked over the bones and the scattered hands. After a quiet moment, he stepped back with a slight frown. "Shit."
      I gazed at him then started back across the stepping stones. "Unless you have something else to inspect, feel free to join me in leaving this crypt." Erevan's footsteps hesitated for a moment before they followed after me, catching up at the stairs. He flashed me the most dashing of smiles as he bowed before me, gesturing towards the stairs and their exit out.
      "After you, darling."
      "Oh, no, I insist you lead the way," I said. "It's what any gentleman would do."
      Erevan smirked and started up the stairs, casting a glance back towards me as I followed. This was incredibly risky. The gaps in my memory made everything risky. So far I'd only remembered two things: my name and how to fight with a magically disappearing rapier. How I remembered them was a question unto itself. Would I remember other things as time went on?
      For all my questions, one loomed largest and most important: who was I? And how did I end up in that tomb with no memory? Those needed to be answered first and foremost. At the very least, I had my name. Rieta of House Vanyil. Based on the fact I had a dedicated tutor and the clothing I wore, House Vanyil had to be some type of nobility. Maybe. Damn it. Whatever scattered my memory is a problem.
      The stairs leveled out into a dark room of thick grey stones. Hollows lined the walls, skeletons resting there. Statues stood in alcoves, curiously turned in varying directions. The tiled floors had a pattern of alternating pale tiles and dark diamond tiles. This place looked more like what I would have envisioned at the word tomb than whatever was below. Except for the scorch marks on the stone across from the gargoyle heads that now rested on the ground. The air of the crypt was musty and dry, caught in the silence of death and the quiet of threats.
      Erevan stepped out onto the tiles and I tensed for a heartbeat. The diamond tile clicked and my gaze darted around. Only to remember that he'd mentioned all the traps already being dismantled. I suppressed a small sigh of relief and I followed him towards another entrance. Did I trust him? No. But he was my best bet to get out of this place and find more people. I remembered how to fight. I could keep him in line that way at least.
      The antechamber of the tomb was almost identical to the tomb but without the hollows where the skeletons rested. Again, there were scorch marks on the walls opposite dismantled gargoyle heads. And scattered suits of armor just like the crypt below. Were they animated armor that served as guardians of the tomb? Who had defeated them? Something in me tingled with a sense of smug pride. Was it me? I mean, I didn't remember anything... A chill ran down my spine. Who was I?
      "I wish I could thank whoever did all this," Erevan said. "They certainly saved me an incredible amount of time." I glanced at him to see him watching me, gaging my reaction.
      "Indeed, quite an impressive display." I walked across the antechamber to what I hoped was the true exit. Erevan followed behind, his eyes still on me. Reaching the stone door, I noted the raised sigil at hand level. I pressed it and the stone door slowly grated open, the sound rumbling through the entire chamber. Beyond the door was a vast starry sky, stretching out beyond the edges of the sunken entranced to the crypt. It was beautiful, like diamonds studding a dark velvet dress of navy blue. At one edge, blue gave way to the darkest of purples and the vaguest hints of sunlight.
      "Quite the sight, isn't it?" Erevan said, his breath tickling my ear.
      I jolted softly and quickly stepped away from him. "Ah, yes, quite beautiful." I cleared my throat and looked about for a way out of the hole that led to the door. It seemed someone had dug out the entrance from where it had been buried, either deliberately or by the passage of time. Seeing the exposed roots of a tree, I grabbed on and clambered my way up and out of the hole. Once I was at the top, I looked around to see the vast expanse of a forest all about me, the night swallowing any further detail. Which wasn't particularly helpful in this situation.
      I turned back and offered a hand to help Erevan up and out of the hole as he climbed using the roots. He took my hand with a smile and pulled himself up. Then up against me. I stiffened as his other hand reached up and pushed my hair back, tucking it behind my ear.
      "There... all better." Erevan smirked, icy blue eyes narrowing.
      I shook him off and turned sharply on my heel. "I suggest we find shelter for the night. The nearest settlement is too far to walk at night." Erevan's brow quirked. Had I guessed wrong? I couldn't see any lights from buildings near-by. Did he know something I'd forgotten?
      "Fair enough, darling. I would have preferred a nice feather bed but I suppose I can make do." Erevan looked around and walked over to a tree nearby. I found a tree opposite him and sat down, shifting until my tail was comfortable. I pulled my satchel into my lap. I hadn't bothered with it earlier but now was as good a time as any to examine it. Erevan busied himself with situating his cloak in some kind of makeshift bed which told me he wasn't prepared for this. And it seemed like I wasn't prepared either.
      I opened the satchel, expecting to find water logged stuff. Instead, there was just... nothing. A dark void where the inside of the satchel should have been. Keeping my face carefully neutral, I stuck my hand and watched it disappear into the nothingness. Then keep going, far past where the bottom should have been. A tidbit of knowledge rattled forth from my mind and I realized it was an everpurse, enchanted to be bigger on the inside and capable of holding a vast amount of stuff in perfect condition. If that was the case... I focused my thoughts on something I could use for camping and felt something touch my fingers. I grasped onto it and pulled out what looked like a miniature castle tower.
      "Hold on, what is that you have?!" Erevan rushed over and squatted before me. "Is that- are you serious?! You had an Instant Fortress and let me muck in the dirt?!"
      "You didn't exactly give me a chance to say otherwise," I said. "You're the one who jumped to this conclusion." To be fair, I didn't even know that I had something like this. I was just expecting a luxury tent.
      "Well, darling, don't let me keep you from setting it up." Erevan straightened with a sultry smile and quickly grabbed up his cloak, dusting it free of moss.
      I stood and glanced between him and the instant fortress in my hand. The only problem was... I didn't remember anything about this thing. It must have been mine but... how to use it, everything it did... I wasn't recalling. My heart raced. If I didn't do this now, my entire ruse would be revealed. He would no longer be even remotely threatened by me and I would lose access to the one person I might have been able to get information from.
      I found a clearing and set the instant fortress on the ground. Taking a few steps back, I waited to see if it would just do the thing on its own. But nothing happened. And Erevan's silence became more and more concerning with each passing heartbeat.
      "Rieta, darling, you need to say the command phrase," Erevan said, casting a glance at me. His eyes were searching my expression and I don't think I could hide my mounting panic. I wanted to. Gods, I wanted to just be able to say it without a second thought. But the longer I struggled to recall anything, everything, I knew about the fortress, the more my head ached and throbbed.
      "Do you hear that ringing?"
      "Rieta? Rieta!"

      I blinked, slowly rising from the darkness of a pounding headache. My throat was tight, my body leaden.
      "Are you awake, darling?" Erevan's voice was distant, muffled by the rushing in my ears. I slowly turned my head, a pillow of some kind under it, to see Erevan sitting beside a small campfire, watching me with a fringe of concern across his otherwise neutral expression. I sighed and looked back up towards the tree canopy overhead.
      "How long was I unconscious?" I said, my voice raspy.
      "Not very long."
      "Why are you still here? You could have left, should have left." I looked back at him. "So why?"
      Erevan gazed at me. "How long have you had amnesia?"
      My eyes widened. "How did you--"
      "I wasn't certain until you couldn't activate the instant fortress. The questions you were asking, the suggestions you were making, I knew something was off. But I wasn't expecting you to collapse like that. So how long?"
      I gazed at him. Could I really trust him? Something in me wanted to trust him. I liked his face. And I needed help. "Since I awoke floating in that pool of water in the crypt."
      This time it was his turn to widen his eyes in surprise. "Wait- you're telling me that you had just woken up in there when I found you?"
      "Yes. I'd only just remembered my name. I remembered how to fence when you attacked me. But... anything else, who I am, where I came from, how I got there, is blank."
      "Then... you don't really know if there was anything to be found in that crypt. Or if you possibly had something on you already." Erevan leaned over me. "Did you?"
      "I don't remember if I did and what I have may not have even come from the crypt." I sighed. "I only lied to protect myself. And since you attacked me right away, I was completely justified."
      Erevan regarded me for a moment before leaning back. He chuckled. "Fair enough, Rieta. I did come on a little strong." He reached over and smoothed the hair back from my face again. "I won't say I'm sorry but I will say that I'll see you get somewhere safe. There's a settlement about a day's walk from here. I'll get you there and we can go our separate ways."
      I reached up and caught his hand. "Must we?" Sitting up, I turned to face him in the dim light of the fire. "You seem like a useful person to know. And... I don't want to lose you just yet."
      Erevan lifted my hand up in his, thumb caressing the back of my hand. "Is that so? Truth be told... you seem quite talented yourself. If you hadn't been caught unprepared, your lies would have been perfect. I nearly believed you and I never believe anyone." He drew my hand towards him. "I hate to lose talented people."
      "I imagine I have a long list of talents..." I leaned in closer. "We could explore them if you want..." Ereven smirked. "A delicious proposition but..."
      I released his hand and pulled back. "I'm joking, relax. I need to rest anyway." He blinked. "Oh, uhh, yes, of course." He scooted back and turned away. "I'll, uhh, just be over here." He laid down, back to me.
      I followed suit, putting my back to him as I stared at the hand he'd held. Why... did I do that? I knew nothing about him. Gods, I knew nothing about me. But when I looked at his face... there was something... familiar about it. Something comforting. We'd clearly never met before but his face... did I know someone who looked like Erevan? Someone I cared for?
      I closed my eyes and hoped that tomorrow would bring me closer to answers.