Bel played a game while he made his way through the dense foliage. He called it, be as quiet as I can, and he was failing miserably. He never thought that he’d appreciate the lack of a need for silent footsteps in his day-to-day life, but now he wondered what would happen if he ever truly needed to be silent. Every twig under his feet snapped and cracked like fireworks. He looked down at Mephisto curled on his shoulder, head resting against his clavicle.

“Sorry, I’m letting you down, bud. Turns out you’re the stealthy one.”

Meph didn’t respond.

Bel looked down at his phone again. According to the progress he was making on the map, he should be clear of the forest in a half mile or so. At least, that’s what he guessed. Now that he’d had time to really look it over, he saw the map was much less detailed than he’d thought. It was like a two dimensional political map, devoid of any natural landmarks, and only the names of countries and their capitals were laid out on the screen. As he walked, though, the surrounding area filled in, as though he were clearing the fog of war in an RTS game. He didn’t understand how that worked, but he was quickly learning to just chalk things up to magic until he met someone who could answer his questions with something different.

The pace was slow, and the half mile was covered at less than half-speed. It didn’t help that Bel kept looking at every tree they passed, seeing if he could identify it, or if it was some kind of alien flora. He spent about ten minutes doing this before he realized he wouldn’t be able to identify a tree on Earth, let alone tell the difference between it and some alien specimen.

“I’m just about fucking worthless for this kind of thing, Meph,” he muttered. “No fire, no tools, and my first mushroom will probably kill me. You, though—you’ll be fine. Just promise not to eat me when I’m dead.”

Meph flitted his tongue.

Bel rubbed a knuckle against the snake's head and then continued on in silence.

The night air was thickening around him. He had no idea what that meant, but the cool mist was more chilling than he’d like. Based on the map, he was high in the northern hemisphere, probably around where the Washington-British Columbia border was on Earth. If it was this cool at night, it must be sometime between late spring and late summer, he guessed, assuming seasons worked the same way here. He paused.

Are days the same length here? Years?

He didn’t like the idea of not knowing how long the night would last. The clock on the phone read 12:26AM. He guessed that he’d been walking for those 26 minutes, and he wasn’t sure if the clock just started at midnight, or if that’s when it really was, and also if the time even meant anything at all. There were too many questions that he just didn’t have answers to. He still wasn’t even fully convinced this wasn’t some insanely elaborate prank from some YouTube channel.

“Check out what happens when we dose this guy’s pumpkin spice cocktail with LSD and make him watch disaster movies!”

Bel wasn’t much for hallucinogens, but he was pretty confident he wasn’t tripping balls on some footpath in central Oregon.

The trees thinned out slightly as he was approaching the forest’s edge. A breeze rolled through, salty and cool, and even if he hadn’t had a map, he would have immediately recognized the ocean’s scent.

Well, that’s the same, at least.

There was a cry in the night, like some kind of bird. It made Bel jump, and he looked around. Up in the trees above him, something moved in the darkness as he passed the light over it, but it was too fast to track. It was the first sign of life he’d seen since the mouse that Meph had eaten. He thought it was strange that there hadn’t even been bugs or more mice, but again he had no idea what to expect in Earth's nature, so trying to compare this to that was pointless.

The tree line crept up into his vision, and beyond he could see flat grass and the beginnings of a dark sky. The canopy above him was still too dense, and he hadn’t been able to get a good look upwards. He walked to the edge of the trees and looked out and around. It was open grassland that slanted away from him over a hill to the east, which, according to the map, should be close to the beach. Cautiously, he stepped away from the forest and killed the flashlight on his phone.

Everything was so open.

It wasn’t so different from Earth, but he couldn’t help but feel the surrounding expanse. The smell of something like rosemary on the breeze, the chill, crisp night, the damp grass that rose almost to his knees, and then he looked up.

“My god,” he choked. The stars were so bright and clear. Each pinpoint was like a billion watt bulb to pierce his eye. He spun left and right, staring at them all. When he had turned completely around, his breath caught in his lungs and blood seized in his veins. The moons.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Two of them—two moons! One about the size of Earth’s, but the other was probably three times as large or larger. And both of them were marbles of blue and green dotted by wisps of white. It was unmistakable; they were covered in water with defined continents and an atmosphere.

Bel dropped to his knees and stared upwards over the trees. He started giggling, and laid back onto the soft grass, completely ambivalent to the dewy moisture that soaked his back and legs. Meph slithered quickly as Bel descended, moving down his arm and then across to his chest. Bel put a hand on him.

“Sorry, Meph.” He laughed again. “It’s just that I’m never going to see this again. Not like this, anyway. I only get to see two moons for the first time once, and I want to appreciate it. I need to remember this moment.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. It was so far beyond the realm of possibility to him he was completely stunned.

As he lay there, he noticed a faint glow creeping into the sky. At first, he thought it was a star, but it grew larger, warmer. A third moon crested the treetops, smaller than the others, but unmistakably real.

“Three moons,” he whispered. “Best. Night. Ever.”

After several more minutes of absolute wonder, he slowly got back up, cradling Meph against him, and then returning him to his shoulders. He put his hand down on his knee and he felt something in his pocket. The ring!

He’d completely forgotten about it. Quickly, he reached in and grabbed it, wrenching it free of his pocket and holding it up. It was the first time he’d looked at it since Melchior gave it to him.

A simple silver circle, completely unadorned like a wedding band. He turned it in his fingers, looking for any kind of marking, but there was none. He caught sight of something around the interior, though. An inscription. It was too dark to read it, so he took his phone out again and shined a light into it.

Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.

The text was small, but clear and legible. He recognized the quote. It was by Helen Keller. He smiled. If there was anyone that deserved to have their words pass beyond the Earth, she was high on that list.

He twisted the ring again and contemplated wearing it. Thinking of ol’ Bilbo and Frodo, and all the trouble that their ring had given them. He knew that wearing it was his choice. The ocean was just over the rise, and if he wanted to, he could chuck the ring into it. He didn’t want to, though. There was something in him he was beginning to understand. This new world, with its three moons and everything else it offered, Bel wanted to be a part of it. Throwing the ring away would just be like hiding his head in the sand and pretending everything would sort itself out around him. He’d never been that kind of person.

Without another thought, he slid the ring over his finger, and everything changed.

Instantly, the world became more prominent. He was aware. He saw details he hadn’t seen before. The grass blades were small saw teeth. Ocean air moved in and out around him, drawing the smells of the world in a pattern he could discern. Above him, the sky was no longer the simple deep blue of the night, but marbled blue green like waves on a silken cerulean bedsheet. He could hear the surrounding life, even if he couldn’t see it. There was something in the forest behind him. Small. Another mouse. And there were birds, too. Threats. But he was safe. They wouldn’t attack him.

He looked at the ring on his hand and saw that he was glowing. Not with light, but there was another sense. He could see heat radiating off his skin, faint pulses along the veins in his hands. When he glanced at his chest, his heart glowed faintly beneath. It was... bizarre. Overwhelming.

He dragged the ring off. It felt like tearing Velcro, though, thankfully without the sound. It was attached to him, like it had been partially absorbed into his skin. Once he was free of it, he gasped and shook his head back and forth to clear his mind. The world had returned to the way it was before.

“Holy shit.”

Meph flitted his tongue.

“You can say that again, bud.” And Bel blew a raspberry in response.

He took three breaths and slid the ring back on. The sensations crashed over him again, though he was more prepared this time. The new senses were still jarring, though. He had no idea what to make of it. The ring was interesting, sure, but as far as magical powers went, there were a lot that were better than infrared vision and some trippy colors. For all the caution that Melchior and Balthazar had given him about keeping it secret, he couldn’t see what the big deal was. He’d half expected to levitate into the air and fart thunderbolts, or, as derivative as it was, turn invisible. The more he looked around, though, the more he liked it. The overwhelming sensation soon faded, and it was already beginning to feel natural.

He turned the light on the phone off and looked at the screen. He hadn’t looked through anything else yet, and he didn’t really want to start until he found somewhere he could rest and focus on it, but he tapped on “Inventory” anyway.

A simple screen opened. It listed his clothing: jeans, white socks, gray tennis shoes, gray boxer-briefs, blue “Blockbuster” shirt. Then below that: Wallet; with a subsection that listed his ID and credit card. Lastly: Phone, and Ring of the Concordant.

Well now, he thought to himself; it has a name.

He tapped on it. It brought another window up, showing an image of the ring, its weight (7g), size (19mm), metallic composition (97% Silver, 3% Aetherium), the inscription on the inside of the band, and a red text box that said “Bound”. Unfortunately, nothing else was listed.

Bel keyed in on the “Aetherium”. He remembered Aether was the name of dark energy—the substance that allowed for the use of “magic”. A tiny piece of the puzzle was falling into place. Aetherium was likely some solid form of the dark energy, or dark matter. He nodded his head, happy with even the minor revelation.

“Alright, if no one is gonna give me the answers, I’ll just figure this shit out on my own.” He reached down and ran a gentle hand along Meph’s back. “First things first. Let’s find somewhere we can rest, then maybe we can sort out what is going on.” He smirked to himself. “And figure out who the hell stole my castle.”