Sofie was not one to openly trust those around her. Living extremely poor and working far younger than she should have had to, that alone bred disdain but mistrust brewed from deeper. A so-called miracle medicine that had only made her mom sicker, her brother not returning money home when he said he would, and last but not least the treatment of her and her mother when Kiev was invaded. While she held onto hope for her mother somehow still being alive, she knew all too well the truth of it all.
That day, when Sofie got tossed to the wolves by her fellow Ukrainians, her mother had likely lost all hope. The sickness no doubt claimed her if a bullet didn’t first. She would never know if her brother was alive or not, if the red army had pushed back Germany, and the fact she would never know was the fault of her own countrymen. A betrayal so ingrained in her brain that she felt the distrust made sense.
By all means that, along with their fear of her being this so called Lord of Terror, should have kept her from talking so friendly with Harper and Elenise. Yet in traveling with the couple the past two days, she had grown unexpectedly fond of the two despite that inherent distrust. Harper wasn’t exactly the most friendly of individuals, but she figured he had allowed her to taste food far better than she had had in all her life. She had no idea something so simple could make her trust someone. Elenise, on the other hand, continued to show intrigue at the world she had come from, Sofie feeling guilty of not having the education or knowledge of any place outside the USSR to give the elf.
The elf was also a decent hunter, Sofie having joined her one time too so that she could hopefully pick up bits and pieces for her own travels. She doubted she would be staying in whatever town they were dropping her off in, wishing to use her lease on life to do things she couldn’t do before. One of those was traveling, and that meant learning to not only protect herself but also to gather food when she was out and no town was nearby. She figured it would be a learning process, but a voice kindly reminded her otherwise.
“Replication complete.”
That strange feminine voice that played whenever anyone seemed to use a weapon around her. The so-called “Replication State” given to the Lord of Terror, a means to aid them. At least that was what she had gathered, considering the only times it seemed to appear was when she was around a weapon she had never used before. It felt odd, having knowledge suddenly forced into her brain by an outside source, but she figured it was okay as long as it helped her stay alive.
It was for this reason that Sofie decided to call the voice, and by extension the replication state, Athena. She remembered her mother telling her it was the name of a Greek goddess known for wisdom. Granted it didn’t seem to have much of a personality or will, instead being more confirmation that it had effectively copied a weapon for Sofie, but it felt good to call it by something a bit more human.
Especially since, as she saw the open fields turn to farmland, it would likely be her only companion for a time. Taevenburg was only a short distance away now, the girl watching the world pass by on the back of the wagon to get out of the sun for a time. The people tending the farm fields were doing an assortment of different things, but what caught her eye the most were the crops. Specifically how the wheat seemed to be decaying despite it being midsummer.
Something was off, and it made Sofie very very worried.
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Taevenburg, despite being at the center point of Ellio and frequent rest stop for merchants, travelers, mercs and others, was rather small at its heart. Most of its land was farm, and a lot of that farmland was currently struggling for unknown reasons. Go further in and one would find something more akin to that of a village than a town, with militia stationed more densely there compared to the outer areas. Sofie felt like they cared less for the farmers compared to everyone else around.
At the point Sofie hopped off the wagon, they had left behind the farmland and entered the town proper. At the center was a central well, a woman raising water from it at the moment. Most of what lied around her seemed to be houses, though she noticed a building with a sign hanging off of it not too far away. She couldn’t read it, the sign worn from a mixture of age and weather. Still, this is where she would likely be for the next few days. She would figure everything out.
“Here we are,” Harper said as he made his way around to Sofie from the front of the wagon. Elenise was at his side, a pouch held in her hands. “From here, it is easy to get anywhere in Ellio. Just a matter of taking the right road.”
“Thus why it is so common for people to stop here on their way through,” Sofie recalled, having heard it more than once from the man during the past two days. “If I remember correctly, you said the capital, Nentara, was west so… that way.”
She pointed in the opposite direction of the sun, which at the moment was to her left. Harper gave a nod, reassuring her that all of the talks she had received during her time with them wasn’t for naught. She was curious what a city was like in a world like this, as well as knowing she would have far better chances to find work of some kind in that direction. Though, considering her role as Lord of Terror, she doubt any work she found would be anything more than temporary.
If Maxwell and his words were anything to go by, when word got out about her being the Lord of Terror her head would be on the line. She would have to keep on the move, unable to stay anywhere because none would have a problem killing her. That was doubly so for the Council of Peace, as she apparently wasn’t the first Lord of Terror they had dealt with. How absolutely perfect.
“I would recommend waiting till tomorrow if you plan to head out, given the day is almost over,” The merchant said. He nearly allowed a smile to creep onto his face, but forced it down. “Besides, I’m sure you are a bit hungry, correct?”
The mere mention of food caused Sofie to drool a little. While she had eaten stuff far more worth calling a meal than what she had had during her last few weeks in Ukraine, they were still not what she was looking for. Even with what Harper had made for her over their travels together, it was never enough to satisfy her. A huge plate of food with meat and bread and veggies, maybe some vodka or rum if she was being sneaky enough. She wanted to be full for the first time in months.
“I… most definitely won’t deny that,” She said, doing her best to downplay how she felt.
“Here then,” Elenise said, walking forward and placing the pouch she was carrying in Sofie's hands. The moment her skin touched it, she felt what was inside and got wide eyed. “I remember you mentioning you barely had enough money for yourself. Consider this a little something to both help you get to Nentara and enjoy yourself a little.”
“I… I.”
If Sofie wanted to finish whatever she was saying her mind wouldn’t let her. Years and years of getting through with so little, her only real toy being a piano so broken beyond repair less than two thirds of its keys worked. She immediately opened the bag, revealing a small nickel coin, ten ces, if she was remembering correctly. Reaching in again, she placed the ten ces coin back in the bag and took out another, revealing a far bigger one made of bronze. She put it back and took out another, repeating that same motion over and over as she looked at the coins of the realm she had ended up in.
“I have money,” She said, merely speaking those words sending a shockwave through her at the mere absurdity of it all. She put the current coin she was holding back in the bag, and gave a small smile. “Thanks. You have no idea what this means to me.”
“Enjoy yourself,” Harper told her. “Maybe we will see you around?”
Sofie nodded, watching as Elenise and Harper made off in the opposite direction of what she figured was a local pub of some kind. A piece of her still distrusted the couple, but that part was hidden under sheer joy and happiness at just having money. After watching the two for a bit, she turned around and made her way to the supposed tavern, more than ready to get something tasty.
The building was relatively old, but it was also well maintained when one excluded the sign. No sign of mold or rot on the wood, and she could hear the voices of a few others inside. Opening the door leading inside, Sofie couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated as she immediately looked to the man behind the counter. He was bulky, this bar clearly not the only thing he could put on his resume, and the sheer power of the stare that he gave Sofie the moment she walked in made her shake for a moment.
He wasn’t the only one staring at her though, realizing quickly that the few other patrons were also looking at her curiously. She gave a nod in greeting and chose a chair farther away from everyone else. Everyone but the man behind the counter, who followed her there after she chose her seat. Sofie kept her hand on her knife and sword, the same ones that she had gotten from her encounter with Maxwell days ago.
“Not from around here, are ya?” The man said, voice deep but remarkably more friendly then the appearance.
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“I’m guessing the clothes tipped you off,” Sofie replied, guard up just in case. There were more than enough people out there who acted friendly just to take advantage of you. “I’m from… a long ways away to put it simply. First time here in Taevenburg.”
“Well, you came at a rather bad time,” the man told her. “Harvest has been odd this year. Something wrong with the water, as far as we could tell.”
“I noticed that actually. Things looked like they were withering before they were fully grown,” Sofie said, the man nodding to let her know she had gotten things correct. “Names Sofie Yvanova by the way. Not a farmer myself but it doesn’t take a trained eye to tell something was off.”
“Oswald,” The man replied, giving Sofie a smile. “Anyways, I’m sure you didn’t come here to listen to such things. What can I get for you today?”
After going through the menu, being told what they did and didn’t have, Sofie decided on a vegetable soup. It wasn’t what she was hoping for, but given the town's current problems her choices were far more limited than she wanted. Still, that along with a small thing of beer was more than good enough, even if it wasn’t exactly the alcohol of her choice. Turned out the drinking age of Ellio was sixteen, which was just fine with her.
While the soup wasn’t what she wanted, it was delicious and definitely well made. She used to make soups all the time, though she wasn’t exactly the best cook. Having some made by an individual who actually knew what they were doing was a refreshing change of pace. Still, the memories it brought back, the feeling of longing she had for her home, and the reminder that none of those wishes would come true stuck with her.
She almost felt like she could cry as she once again thought on the fact that she alone was likely spared from death. So many others had died beside her, from children to couples to soldiers and so many others. The nazi’s were ruthless and cared little about who they killed, probably even willing to kill their own or themselves if their commanders asked them to. To think that Ukraine and Russia were once allied with them, it was sickening.
Bam!
Sofie’s entire body froze as she heard that sound, her mind registering what it believed to be a gunshot. In an instant, she finds herself face to face with a bullet as well as something pressing against the back of her head. Both of the objects were frozen, but so was she, as if her body was encased in black ice. She wanted to scream, but her voice failed her, for but a moment wondering if all she had just experienced was but a pre-death dream.
“Say that again dwarf! Say it again!”
Suddenly, she found herself able to move again, instantly turning to her left and finding herself back inside the tavern. A chair with its leg broken off, a human and dwarf staring each other down, that was what she had heard. Turning back in front of her, she was met with more of the tavern, and a glance back proved much of the same. Her breathing was heavy, wondering for a moment what exactly that was she had just experienced.
“I said, you are a weak puny man!” Her attention turned back to the dwarf as he spoke. It quickly dawned on her that what she was afraid of this entire time was drunken idiots trading blows. “You are nothing compared to me. I could slay Falketh with my bare hands if given the opportunity, but you couldn’t conquer a kitten.”
She didn’t hear the human’s comeback, embarrassed at the fact she had gotten scared stiff at two idiots with too much alcohol in her system. She pushed her own beer back, not touched at all, wishing to not end up like those two. At the sound of the door opening, she looked to see Oswald through them both out to the streets. She expected him to come straight back to the counter after, but instead she found he stepped to the side as something else entered.
It was not human, or even bipedal for that matter, but it was definitely large. It bounded over to the side of the tavern she was at and dived under a table. Lowering her head to get a better look, she saw what looked like a rodent mixed with a lizard. Fur of dark and light gray covered it, with a snout and tail made of scales. Its paws had long claws, and wings like a bat rested on its back, not to mention a strange almost ethereal chain that went through the front of its neck. It noticed her looking at it, bringing one of its paws to its snout, shushing her like a child hiding from their parents.
Not entirely sure what was going, Sofie just nodded and returned to her soup like nothing happened. Oswald did the same, returning to the counter but keeping his eyes on the door just like the creature was. Sofie’s eyes were more on the table where the creature was. She did hear the faint sound of footsteps outside the door, but she didn’t think much about it. It was only when the creature came out from under the seat that anyone talked again.
“They are gone. Thank god,” The creature said, Sofie nearly choking as she heard the unmistakable accent that they had. She looked at it, waiting to see if she had just heard things. “Thanks Osie, and sorry to just burst in like that.”
“You apologize but we both know that you will just be at it again tomorrow,” Oswald said, the creature’s awkward laughing making it clear how correct the man was. “So, find anything out?”
“No, not too much more. Can’t get enough time alone to move the bookcase myself. Doubt I could with this body anyway,” The creature said, jumping onto a chair at a nearby table before turning to Sofie. “Sorry you had to get involved in this all by the way. Names Cameron Hoover.”
With the last name, everything clicked and an excited gasp left Sofie’s mouth. Cameron had no idea what he had done till he suddenly found the girl staring him down with her nose centimeters from his snout. Sofie was more than willing to feel stupid, to know she what she was about to say was wrong. The accent though was so clear that she had to know if she was correct or not.
“Are… are you an American?” She asked. Cameron’s eyes widened as she said that, pointing at her.
“Russian?” He asked right back. Sofie’s gaze quickly shifted to disappointment.
“Ukrainian.”
His paw went straight to his face as she corrected him, feeling stupid that he had somehow messed the two up. Sofie, while definitely disapproving of the mix up, immediately pulled the American into a hug. At the end of it, she was just happy to see someone from home, not caring who or what background they had. She held back tears, only letting go of the hug to look him in the eye and pray he could tell her a little bit about what had happened in the two days since she died.
“Tell me, is Kiev still under German control? Is Stalin mobilizing the army to stop the advance? Are your soldiers getting off your lazy asses and helping Europe or are you just gonna sit there bringing supplies?” She berated him, shaking him thoroughly. “Please. I need to know if home is safe again.”
“Stop shaking me and I’ll tell you!” Cameron pleaded. Sofie let go of him, allowing the former human to breath for a second. “So, first thing I need to make sure of, you are not from the twenty-first century?” Sofie shook her head in reply, confused at why he was asking the question. “Don’t worry, I can assure you Germany was stopped. Hitler is dead by his own hand, your homeland is free, and from when I got here Stalin died just over sixty-nine years ago.”
He turned away, a smile on his face as he said that last word. Sofie swore she heard him say “nice” under his breath. That was nowhere near as prevalent though as the sheer time gap that Cameron had hinted at. According to him, not only was Stalin dead in his time, but it had been sixty-nine years since that day. She should be happy to hear that Germany was stopped, that things were better now, but an entirely new set of questions had just entered her brain.
“Sixty-nine years! Then you are from the future?” She asked.
“From the sound of it, around eighty years or so,” Cameron said, seemingly far more calm about being in an otherworld. Sofie didn’t quite understand why he was taking it so well, chalking it up to just having been here longer. His eyes fell to her right hand. “I’m sorry about all you went through but, hey, you are alive! No matter where you are you gotta take what you can and run with it right?”
She smiled and gave a nod, his reasoning lining up very well with hers. It was odd, honestly, seeing someone deal with this as if it was nothing. Made her wonder what was going on in the future, how much better it was, but it didn’t matter. She would never see that future herself after all. It did make her a little sad, knowing she would never see it, but then again she doubted that even without the war she would have lived long enough to see the world Cameron lived in.
A part of her wondered why she was so openly believing the American, not knowing if she was blinded by seeing someone in a similar position as her or if it was something else. Perhaps it was as simple as that, having someone who openly believed her because they lived through the experience. After all, she was certain that they were telling the truth about being from Earth; they knew about Russia without being prompted. Given how Ukraine was part of the USSR, she couldn’t blame the creature too much for having thought she was Russian. She would make sure to get it into his skull that she wasn’t if he made the mistake again.
“So, you are from this “Earth” as well,” Oswald spoke up, having watched the entire conversation from the sidelines. Sofie turned to him and nodded. “That explains you saying you were from somewhere far away. That said, it's probably not best to discuss this all in a public place.”
Cameron and Sofie looked back to the rest of the tavern, noting a lack of people. While it made Oswald’s point moot, he was no less correct. Sofie was more than aware that openly talking about where she was from would no doubt point people to the fact she was the Lord of Terror. That was the last thing she needed, and so looking back to Cameron, she spoke up.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a less public place we can discuss this all, would you?” She asked him.
“I do, actually,” Cameron said, snout pulling into as much of a smile as possible. He hopped off the chair before turning back to Sofie. “It’s not too far. Just a farm house on the outer parts of the town.”
Sofie, wishing not to be left behind, quickly made her way to his side. Oswald watched as she opened the door for him, the two leaving not just the tavern but himself all alone. He let out a sigh, then chuckled a little at the two. He wasn’t sure if Cameron caught onto who he had just met, but he certainly was. Crossing his arms, Oswald smiled.
“Gotta say, not what I expected from a Lord of Terror,” He muttered to himself. “Though if freezing up on a chair is any indication, she might not survive for very long.”