Arriving in town by nightfall, we find the guildhall busy with most of the tables occupied by adventurers. They are returning from a day outside the walls now eating dinner and talking among themselves. Managing to find Bolear we tersely ask him if we could speak in private. Briefly considering our demeanor, he finds someone to replace him at the counter and guides us into a back office.
Books line the walls and most of the space is piled high with paperwork; there is barely enough room for us, but the space is private at least. Anira begins to describe the encounter with the Flayer mimic during which Bolaer fetches a book off the shelf while continuing to listen. After she finishes speaking, Bolaer starts looking for the monster through his texts.
Finding no match, Bolear says "I will need to at least post a general warning; most people expect that area to be relatively safe. You normally wouldn't find something that dangerous unless you went further into the wastes and I don't think many of the adventurers here could survive an encounter with that thing."
Deciding I can't have people endangered because I held back this information, I state "I found a broken summoning circle with several burnt corpses around it in a cavern about a day's travel from here. I think this monster may have been brought here by those means. I didn't find anything that might be useful, but I may have missed something. I would be willing to bring someone back there to inspect the location if you think that it may help."
"How did you come across this?" Bolear asks.
I carefully respond "I won't divulge that, but I can tell you I have no affiliation with whoever they were. I don't know why they were doing all this, but my guess is that it was for experimentation."
Bolaer looks at me for a few moments then replies "I'll take it under consideration and talk to the guard about this. If there is nothing else, I should get the information about this out right now while there are members in the hall."
We exit the office and stop by the back of the guild to drop off our day's bounty. We could just supply proof in the form of a unique monster part to fulfill the requirement of culling the population, but the additional materials add to the reward resulting in a total of 12 silver for 8 Thorn lizard corpses. I ask the two of them to keep my portion as they were only out there to help me level.
I had been expecting our excursions to be low risk, but I can't rely on that assumption anymore. As my level of ignorance is a dangerous liability for all of us now; I will need to take a chance and tell them about my past even if it means they will want to part ways afterward.
"Niviem, Anira- is there somewhere private we can talk? If we're going to stay together as a group, there is something you should know about me. I'll probably have some questions as well if we get past the first part." I ask.
"If we speak quietly, we can talk where we are set up. It should be mostly out of earshot of anyone else." Anira suggests.
Nodding in reply, I follow along as they lead the way outward from the central part of town. We end up against the outer wall where they have a small tent assembled. Among other tents spaced out along the perimeter, a few have shabbily equipped adventurers nearby cooking dinner. I don't understand why they are living outside; perhaps they are sending their earnings to their families? I can't but help feel a sinking sensation remembering they've been using their time to benefit me. I will try to make up for it later, but I need to get this done first.
I state "I wouldn't tell Bolear how I found that cavern because I was summoned to that location as well."
Niviem responds with "Yup." Anira quickly nods with an expectant look as if she is still waiting for the subject I wanted to discuss.
Blinking a couple of times I ask "You two knew?"
Anira smiles a little in amusement.
"Just thought it was likely. Let's see..." Niviem takes a breath "Warning us you will be needing information about rudimentary things? Being level 1 at your age with a rare class like that? You could be some kind of sheltered noble, but you have fighting experience, so that seems unlikely. There have been a few others summoned in the past and one common mention is that they don't have a System in their world so being dropped here later in your life would explain it. Also not being able to tell Bolaer you were walking in the woods when you found a summoning circle was kind of a giveaway too."
Rubbing my eyes I say "Ok I suppose that makes this easier. Let's compare notes please, so I don't accidentally do something problematic."
After some discussion, I learn the natural aspects of our two worlds are similar but instead of large-scale magic fabricated through weaving symbols, most magic is performed automatically using the System. Availability of class types differ by individuals and the selection is believed to be influenced at least partially by their actions. As to the strange third class I have, it is something they have never heard of.
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When asked about other languages, Anira has to refer to ancient ruins for an example of a different written language. Everyone in the world can read and write as soon as their brains develop enough as infants to understand such things. The System is heavily ingrained in people's lives beyond just having additional skills.
Humans were at the apex of power in my world; until they weren't of course. Here there are many forces that can and do send humans into ruin every couple of millennia. Based on the number of iterations of old ruins that use the System's written language, it has been in existence for a long time.
Lastly, I learned this world is in relative disarray from one of those cataclysms which happened a few centuries past. There is much lawlessness and the high population of powerful monsters also adds to the chaos. We are in the country of Carthim; a minor power mostly ignored due to the majority of the landmass containing unusable or dangerous areas.
This particular region is known as the unhallowed wastes due to portions within emitting harmful psionic effects. A generation ago a mass of demons had emerged and ravaged the area until a much larger human army had put them down at great cost. Their point of origination within the wastes was never found, but a large wall has been erected in the mountain pass leading to the cities as a precaution. Anira indicates she will be sure to indicate anything dangerous, although she believes many hazards should be self-evident.
After making plans for the next day and thanking them for their help, I turn to walk towards the tavern. I notice someone is disappearing around a corner not too far from where we are, but it is unclear if they were listening in or just passing by. Summoned people from other worlds were unheard of in my previous home, but it appears my having been brought here by those means won't be as problematic as I first thought they would be, so hopefully, it won't be an issue either way.
Back at the tavern, I don't waste any time getting out of my equipment, tumbling into bed, and falling asleep moments afterward.
...
I wake up and find I don't understand any of what is happening. I don't feel as if I am still asleep and dreaming. Time is progressing normally, there aren't any disjoint thoughts and I can see, hear, smell and feel everything vividly, except I'm in the body of a little girl.
It is still nighttime, and she is being carried in a back pouch by her mother who is also carrying a bag in each hand. They are traveling down a road with sparse foliage and trees leading to a town a short distance away. The girl is loosely hugging her mother and has the side of her head pressed up against her neck as she watches the surrounding scenery. She loves being outside looking at the trees and peering ahead to see what each bend in the road will reveal but most of all she loves being close to her mother. Her empty stomach is silently protesting, but her happiness is still palpable in a way perhaps only young children can experience.
"We should be there soon Ceira, are you hungry?" her mother asks.
"I'm not hungry Mom." she lies.
Her mother quietly nods in response.
The last times she had eaten, she noticed her mother had not eaten anything herself. I wonder if I would have been as observant as her when I was that age.
Ceira brings her hand closer to touch her mother's back and a pale green light emanates from it. This would only help her mother if she had an injury somewhere, but she half-heartedly hopes it will do more.
Arriving inside town at dawn, her mother finds a small alley and deposits her bags behind a few crates near the back. Then setting her daughter down next to them, she kneels in front of her.
"I need you to hide Ceira- you should be safe from monsters here. I'm going back outside to look for something we can eat."
Feeling guilty for making her mother go through this, she gazes into her eyes and responds "It's alright Mom, you don't need to go."
I cynically wonder for a moment if her mother is leaving the girl behind for good, but the many times she has demonstrated her love to her child are never far from Ceira's mind. As these memories take hold in me, it is clear this woman would die before she abandoned her daughter and I feel ashamed for ever having thought otherwise.
Touching her daughter's cheek she replies "It has been too long since you've eaten something little one. I will try to be back before the evening." Holding her daughter close for a long minute, she eventually releases her and says "I'll be back Ceira, hide well for me ok?"
Ceira only nods mutely in response. I can feel that she wants to melt into the ground in tears, but she is putting up a brave face. After her mother has left, she curls up behind the crates and begins waiting for her to return.
...
I wake up with a jolt and rapidly get ready. It is only a little past dawn; earlier than the time we had agreed to meet at the guild. I return to the camps on the wall where Anira and Niviem have a tent. Calling out to them, they eventually pull themselves out and regard me with bleary eyes.
Apologizing for waking them, I go into detail about my experience and ask them if we can isolate where this town may be. There is a possibility that this is a dream, but it just seems too detailed for that. It could also be something that happened in the past but from my perspective, it feels like something that just happened minutes ago.
From what they are telling me, it could be any one of a multitude of locations in the current and surrounding countries. In addition, there is a possibility this is happening in a city outside the current continent we're on. Traveling to it would be problematic as there has been no contact or travel outside for centuries.
"If this happens again, you may be able to learn enough to narrow down a location to travel to. Until then, I suggest conserving funds and preparing for a potentially long journey." Anira says.
What she is suggesting is reasonable, but it doesn't stop me from balking and considering what else I can do. Using words to describe what happened falls far short of the events and feelings I experienced firsthand.
Sensing my unease, Niviem slips on his shoes and says "Let's all get something to eat Rem. Maybe you can tell us a bit more about them."