Evin jerked his body until he managed to pull himself into a sitting position. He looked around the room. There was a large desk, some bookcases, and a chair. It looked to be some kind of study.

“So,” Jorick said, his voice filling the heavy silence. “Who are you two?”

Bet sniffed and looked at Jorick. The question seemed strange after they had spent the past several days traveling together. But Evin knew what Jorick meant.

All the memories they had the past few days were in reality layer upon layer of magical lies put in place by Sefron. Lies that were meant to simulate the campaign so as to not arouse the suspicion of the other wizards in the order, but also lies that were meant to lead them to the keep, to destroy the wall, and to free the monsters just as Sefron had wanted.

Who they were the past few days was not, in fact, who they were for the many years before they’d come to find themselves embroiled in Sefron’s scheme.

When no one spoke, Jorick cleared his throat. “We have some time to kill,” he said. “So I guess I’ll begin. My name is Jorick. I am from the city of Kellachstan, to the east by the ocean. Long ago, pirates killed my parents during a raid. I was left to fend for myself on the streets. I joined gangs of children and we fought in the sewers for some of the nobles. They came and placed bets on us, and we’d fistfight while they watched.”

“Sort of like here in the wall,” Evin whispered.

Jorick laughed, a sharp, barking sound. “Yes. Exactly like here, except back then I knew what I was doing, I wasn’t going to die, and sometimes I got some coins or a hot meal out of it.” He snorted a sigh and looked down. “But last week, my friend Geidan got me and him a job on a ship. We were going to be ship hands, do real work. Then that wizard showed up and took me and—”

“Tied you to a table,” Evin whispered, recalling the details himself. “Poured potions over you that burned. Read from his books. Pried into your head.”

Jorick nodded. “Next thing I knew, I was in the woods looking for you. And I was a different person.”

Beside them, Bet gulped down a sob. A shadow passed over the hole in the ceiling, and there came a clang. Evin looked up to see a metal grate with a hole in its center had been placed over the opening.

“You?” Jorick asked, ignoring the commotion above.

“My name is Evin,” Evin said. “I am from the city of Dristoll.”