David and Niala worked through their situation, what they knew, and what tools they had at their disposal.

  Niala was reluctant to use her weaving; she could easily remove or disable her collar, but they might notice before David could get free and use something more dangerous on her. And, while Leandro had told her that expert weavers could create dormant tales, ones that would activate upon instilled triggers, she wasn't at that level at all, only able to delay her tales by a few minutes at most.

  She could, however, practice quickly weaving a tale to disable her collar, to be able to do so when the time was right, and so she would.

  They also guessed that Torsteel didn't know that Niala was a compound alchemist; the practice was rare, and only a very few people knew that she was a practitioner. They figured she could brew a different potion than the recipe she had been given, maybe a poison or a paralytic.

  The danger with this is that Torsteel might still suspect Niala of trying to do something like that. Not through compound alchemy, but just by knowing a different formula, given that the ingredient list she was going to work with was quite extensive. They would have to wait and see how things turned out, but she'd keep it a possibility.

  The last thing that Niala could do was use one of the abilities she'd rather not have: compulsion, the “gift” from Anaakendi. If she saw a mouse, she might be able to compel it into finding David, who could entrust the rodent with some of his emergency gear, for it to return to Niala with. David had several potions and a few courier tools tucked away, some of which could be useful.

  On David's side, he was going to test this “mana cell”, see what would happen if he tried to use mana. He was expecting the same effect as his collar, but stronger. If that was the case, pushing the enchantment might end up killing him. He'd have to wait until he was brought out, confident he could endure or even overload the collar.

  Before they could discuss more, Niala felt her side of the door begin to close on its own, a wave of dizziness coming over her. She realized her mana reserve was depleted, quickly kissed David, and was punted out of her inner realm, a headache pointing its nose.

  Sad at not being able to talk or see David more, she still smiled, because Torsteel had no idea that he had no way to keep them separated anymore. Between her smarts and David's squeezable muscles and stupid amount of mana, they'd show them nobody missed with Niala and her man.

  Her smile died a bit when she realized she couldn't nestle her head into the crook of his neck.

  She blinked and looked around the bed. The single bed with only her on it.

  Guess I forgot what it felt like to sleep alone... I hate it!

  Niala snuck in as much weaving practice as she could as her mana slowly refilled, deep into the night, doing so until she passed out from fatigue.

  She was shaken awake by rough hands, which she slapped away in a half-sleeping daze, before being slapped back. The sudden sting jolted her awake, seeing Griff's stern face above her.

  “Where in the pits did you find this sword!?” He growled, holding Heartsong in his hand.

  It must have appeared in her bedroom while she was asleep. Niala blinked, her ears folding backward. “It's... huh...”

  He grunted, sliding Heartsong's sheath into his belt before grabbing and pulling her arm, forcing her up. “One more surprise like that and I'm breaking one of your feet. Come on, lord Torsteel's waiting for you.”

  She pulled back, stopping the man mid-step. He looked back with a scowl, which she met in equal measure. “I need to go to the bathroom, and I'm hungry.” She informed him.

  He observed her through narrowing eyes before shaking his head and pulling at her with redoubled force. He brought her to a small bathroom, about as bare-bones as the bedroom she'd been stuffed in, and gave her a few minutes to “freshen up”. She used the time to drink some water, getting interrupted by Griff barging in and pulling her out and dragging her upstairs, to a small attic that had been set up as an alchemy workshop.

  Regis and Torsteel were already there and turned to face her as she was shoved in.

  The large man smiled without joy. “Good, you're here. The ingredients are on the table, and the tools should be sufficient. Regis will watch over the process. I don't think I need to tell you he knows a bit of alchemy, and will be able to tell if you're deviating from the formula.”

  From under scrunched brows, she shot daggers at both men.

  Torsteel smirked. “Still defiant. Well, I should also tell you that for every failed attempt, I'll bring you one of David's toes or fingers, as motivation. Is that understood?”

  She locked her gaze on the slime-covered boar. The fat degenerate could rot in the pits, festering in maggots nesting in his-

  Torsteel grimaced. “I can tell you're thinking nasty things. I don't care, as long as you brew this potion. Behave, and neither of you will be hurt. Useful tools have a place in my menagerie, remember that.”

  Dismissing her with a wave of the hand, he strutted out, Griff following and shutting the door behind them, leaving her alone with Regis, who picked at his fingers with a small dagger, ignoring her.

  She stared at the noble, long enough for him to stop and look up. He tsked and pointed at the work table with his eyes. “Stop your pettiness. Get to work. The sooner it's done, the sooner we're both out of here. My Lord won't let me go until he's had his potion.”

  She kept staring.

  He rolled his eyes. “I said, Get to work, or do you need one of David's fingers to get you started?” He asked with a sneer.

  She took in a deep breath, nudging her anger to a little corner, nursing it for later, and approached the table.

  She unfolded the formula that sat upon it and began unpacking the ingredients. Some of them she didn't even know, but could get a general idea from their name.

  And one of them, the Hungering Eye-stalks... the name alone sounded horrid. Only once she unrolled the small linen containing them did she realize how appropriate the name was.

  It was Fel Flowers. This formula used Fel Flowers, the same ones she had found growing out of the congealed blood of a slain fel.

  She kept staring at the flower, swallowing as it stared back at her.

  What is this formula?

  She took her time laying out her ingredients and reviewing the formula, running through all the compound combinations she could think of at the same time, which was quite a few. With Regis watching over her, however, any deviance from the formula would have to be subtle.

  She looked up at the man, finding him staring out the window. Quickly, she closed her eyes and dove for the hazy door hidden within, banging at it.

  David was lying on the bed, deep in thought, trying to figure out a way out, when he felt the door thump. He dove in quickly, meeting Niala within a few seconds. She jumped into his arms and began speaking right away.

  “They brought me to an alchemy bench and told me to brew the mystery potion, but they left Regis to watch me. I'm not sure I can brew a different potion.” She rattled off.

  David looked at his girlfriend in his arms, losing himself for an instant in her bright amethyst eyes, before giving her a reassuring smile. “Then brew the real potion. If you need me, come get me at the door. I'll find you, no matter what, and don't worry about using your weaving in front of anyone.” His voice gained an edge. “I'll make sure nobody is left to reveal your secret.”

  She stared into his eyes, her lips thin, before nodding. “You figured a way out of your cell?”

  “I... have an idea or two. Worst comes to past, I'll power through it.”

  She frowned, her ears flattening. “You haven't got a clue, do you?”

  He averted his gaze. “I have most of a clue.”

  “David!”

  “It'll be fine! You need to go back before they suspect something!”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “I'm serious!”

  “So am I! Don't worry about me! Go!” He said, pushing her away from him and back through the door.

  She looked at him with doubtful eyes, which he placated with a smile and confidence. She huffed. “I swear, if you get hurt, I'm going to punch you, and I'll find a way to make your old woman taste sweet instead of bitter!”

  His eyes widened. “Hey, Niala, no, that's-”

  She slammed the door behind her.

  He stared at the door, a sense of dread filling him.

  Better figure this mana prison thing out properly.

  David returned from his inner world, blinking, and looked around.

  Still alone.

  He got up and stretched, walked the perimeter of his cell for the umpteenth time. Still nothing new.

  He pushed a minuscule amount of mana through a finger, only for both his collar and the runed prison bars to immediately punish him with pain. Same as the previous fifty times.

  No matter how little mana he used, the result was the same. He just couldn't use mana...

  Wait.

  He frowned. Opening the door used mana, but the feedback enchantments hadn't reacted.

  What was different? The door had no physical world effect. Was that it?

  Did the runes only react to the physical manifestation of mana? Did this help him in any way?

  He grabbed his chin and paced. Was there a difference in the way mana was used, whether he was in the physical world or in his inner world? Probably. He had no idea what it was, but he could test.

  He sat back on his bed and dove back within, floating down to a few metres above the mana sea. “LEVIATHAN!” He called out.

  The massive serpent broke the waters, emerging in all of its gargantuan splendour. When he finished unfurling, he lowered his head.

  “You called, my Lord?”

  David sighed. “Wish you'd give up on that.”

  His mana shook his head. “It wouldn't be proper.”

  “Hmm. Whatever. I need your help.”

  “Whatever you wish, my Lord.”

  David stared at his mana, soon giving up on a pointless fight. “Right. Do you know anything about using mana from within... here?” He asked, panning his hand around.

  Leviathan angled his head to look around, returning his eyes to David. “Is it not the same as not here? In what you call the physical world? Is this world not part of the physical world?”

  “That's what I thought, but I'm sure you've felt the feedback enchantments when I try using mana out there, and yet when I open the door to Niala, nothing happens, and I can feel that I'm using mana, so something's different.”

  The beast shifted. “Maybe... If the sea is a representation of mana, this place is closer to the mana realm than your actual body. Maybe it is not within you, but partway to the membrane?”

  David tilted his head. “That makes sense. So, when I dive into myself, I'm actually, what, bringing my perception toward the divide between the two realms? So, when I use mana here, the mana doesn't flow through my physical pathways? It's used up before the runes can sense it.”

  He frowned and put a hand to his chin, thinking.

  Leviathan moved his head about, his body rocking the water below and sending waves off into the distance. “If that is true, then wouldn't that mean your physical mana pathways extend to this... in-between realm? How could you extract mana, otherwise?”

  David looked up. “Hmm? Common knowledge says that your body is connected to the aetheric realm, that your mana reserve is like a reservoir that fills up from a central point, and is then sucked up into your pathways. But if it's not... if they're more like, I don't know, roots? Which drill down to the membrane and sip up mana, like water from the earth...”

  His eyes widened. “Then the reserve is the trunk, and the pathways are the branches. Yeah, that works.” His shoulder slumped. “But that doesn't help me. How do I get mana from down here, to up there, without going through the trunk?”

  Leviathan tilted his head, looking up at the sky, and then back down at David. “That's not quite true, isn't it, my Lord? If your reserve is the trunk, then it would already be in the physical world. The trunk IS part of your pathways. Your reserve is... the amount of water in the earth, how much your roots can drain before it is left dry.”

  David quirked an eyebrow and nodded. “Ok, that works better. Then, how am I using mana down here? Among the roots?”

  The serpent's fins frilled. “Would it not mean that there is a tree growing here as well?”

  David scrunched his face before grunting. “That analogy is getting stupid. Let's cut it. Fact: I can use mana here, which is not actually within me, but deeper, down toward the membrane, if this isn't the membrane in the first place. Second fact: mana used here doesn't reach the physical world, or at least isn't picked up by runes in the physical world. This means this is some kind of sandwich, and we're in the stuffing part, where the magic happens.”

  Levianthan rotated his head, peering at his Lord with puzzled eyes.

  David waved his hand. “Don't think about it. I'm close to figuring it out, I'm sure of it... ok, so, mana sandwich, the inner world is between the bread slices, that's where you exist, and it's where mana becomes meat I can eat. Ok. So that means I can't eat the top slice of bread. I must eat only the meat, which is what I'm doing when I'm opening the door; that's inside the meat. Anything that touches the top bread is zapped.”

  David floated around, brow furrowed.

  “No top bread... how do I get rid of the top bread? Hmmm... when I eat a sandwich, if it has too much sauce, the meat will slide out. What is sauce?”

  He looked up at Leviathan. “Buddy, what might be mana sauce?”

  The serpent blinked. “My lord? Mana... sauce?”

  “Yeah, or something lubricating, but for mana.”

  Leviathan squinted. “Mana... lube...”

  David nodded. “Something that exists at the edge of mana. That adds flavour to it.”

  “Mana flavour... isn't each individual's mana a... unique aspect? Leandro's is a bear. My Lady Niala's is a library. I am yours. Am I your... flavour?”

  David's eyes widened. “Oh... Oh! That must be it! You're the lubricating sauce!”

  Leviathan blinked once more. “Aah?”

  SANCTUARY

  Koltos turned toward Almeniris and asked, completely lost. “What in the ever bleeding pit is he on about? He was so close to figuring it out!”

  The goddess looked back, shaking her head. “No, no, he has a point. Someone's aspect is kind of like the sauce in a sandwich.”

  Koltos's mouth hung open for a second. “...What? An aspect is nothing like a sauce! It's... It's... oh... my us...”

  He turned his head toward the display.

  “It is kind of like a sauce...” He whispered, a thin crack appearing in his perception of the world.

  Alemeniris smiled smugly and returned her attention to the transient about to figure out one of the three secrets to ascension. Through the power of a sandwich.

  David was on a roll. He was so close. If he wanted his mana to slip out from under the bread, and thus hit the physical world without being picked up by the runes, he just had to make sure he squeezed the sandwich really hard, and let the lube-sauce do its job.

  He looked at Leviathan with a manic grin. “Alright, Lev, we're going to try an experiment. It might get a bit uncomfortable, but let me know if it starts to hurt, ok?”

  Leviathan pulled back somewhat. “I... will, my Lord. I am ready.” He affirmed, letting almost none of his apprehension bleed through.

  David nodded and assumed the lotus position. He had to... use his mana in here. Push the meat out. The bread slices were held in place, after all, between the two worlds. Now, he just had to overfill the meat area.

  He felt out with his mind the extent of his presence within this space. He recalled the feeling when the door was opened, how he could sense his mana being pulled on, but not actually leaving his body.

  He gave a little tug and smiled as the mana reacted. The sensation was strange, but he could deal with it.

  And then, he pulled and pushed at the same time, in equal measure, willing his mana up, but not letting it go out. And the energy had nowhere to go but here.

  His body projection caught fire, and he kept adding fuel.

  He could hear Leviathan beginning to stir. He could feel him getting pushed in on all sides.

  Huh...

  Maybe he had it wrong.

  Maybe mana was the sauce, and Leviathan was the... sausage.

  He shrugged. Potato, Potayto. Keep pushing, eject the giant sausage.

  He got back to it in earnest.

  SANCTUARY

  Koltos and Almeniris were gripping the armrests on their chairs, leaning forward, eyes wide open, mouths hanging.

  Koltos was the first to speak.”What is he doing!?”

  “He's pushing his sausage out!”

  The god turned to his companion. “Why are you sounding pleased about that?!”

  “Because I've never seen a sausage being pushed out before!”

  Koltos stopped and leaned away from the goddess, inspecting her up and down. “I'm certain you've seen plenty of sausages. You are far from being a virgiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnn!” He yelled out as he got flung toward the horizon.

  Almeniris dusted her hands and returned to her seat, giving the impossible transient her full attention.

  “Come on, David, let's see what stupidly incredible thing you're about to do this time!”