The Twenty-Sided Dice

Chapter 5: Buried Truth

"What? What do you mean? You're my lost daughter?" The Game Master was in shock, staring at Maya as if he finally understood their strange connection.

"Doesn't it explain so much? It explains how I'm able to use soul energy like you, it explains how I developed this mindblock, and it explains why I know so many things that you don't." Maya was shooting him a quelling look, as if she was waiting for him to connect the dots. Immediately, his face lit up in understanding.

"It does make so much sense, but it doesn't explain how you knew that in the first place. How did you find this out?"

"Tanya. She's been collaborating with some mysterious girl to get all this information. She wouldn't have told me, but I've been practicing some form of mind reading, like you do, and I knew she had some very big secret that she wanted to tell me. All it took was a tiny prompt." Maya was trying to explain everything as concisely as she could, but she could tell, from her elementary form of mind reading, that the GM still had a very big question.

"Do you trust her?"

Maya had no clue how to respond to this. Did she trust Tanya? They were very good friends... but Tanya always had been very mysterious and secretive. The only answers she could think of were highly unsettling, so she decided to tell him something else.

"It doesn't matter, does it? It makes sense and it's logical. I could've come up with it myself, if only it had occurred to me. And besides, I want to learn how to use soul magic now! Can you teach me?" The GM could tell that Maya was trying to change the subject, but he was as curious as she was to find out the full extent of her abilities.

"Alright. Can you summon a small sphere of energy?" The GM stared patiently as Maya tried to create even the smallest spark of magic, but failed.

"That's alright, Maya. Your magic must be emotion-fueled, just like mine. I learned to master my own emotions in order to master my magic, and I have no doubt that you are perfectly capable of doing that very same thing. Now try concentrating your emotions, and find a target to aim at. Having a target always helps." The GM's voice was comforting, and Maya tried again, determined to get it right.

After a few failed attempts, she summoned a tiny orb of amber liquid, which sloshed around in its confined space. She held it up proudly, and was met by an approving face.

"Good! Now can you make it a little bigger?" The GM put his hand on her shoulder and summoned a cube of amber with his other hand. Maya stared intently at the cube, and after a few seconds, managed to create an identical shape with her own amber.

"Now, do you want to try something harder?" The GM stared at a nearby candle, then back at Maya.

"Of course? What should I do?" Maya eagerly responded, practically hopping up and down in excitement.

"Try creating a candle. I don't expect you to try and light it, but you can at least make the shape right. Go on, try manipulating this." He summoned a sizable cluster of amber beads, and floated them closer to Maya. She instantly began reshaping the golden liquid, gasping as it began to glow brighter and brighter.

"What's happening? Is it supposed to glow?" Maya asked, panicking. The GM tried to fix whatever was happening to the amber, but to no avail. The transparent liquid exploded in a puff of green mist, sucking Maya into a shiny green portal. He blinked once, and Maya was gone.

He had been reunited with his daughter for barely 5 minutes, and he had lost her again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tanya gathered some gold pieces and a signed contract into her backpack, then started walking into the forest. Nobody even noticed her leaving, they were all too shocked about Maya's instant disappearance. Knowing this, she began sprinting, careful not to make any noise.