A gentle wind blew through the tall grasses and a few random trees dotted the open plains. It was strange, there wasn’t a single mountain in sight. Only hills and clouds, a few darker than the rest. Edvardus was now certain he’d been teleported somewhere far away from his home. He opened his mouth to ask about their location when the woman he was supporting slipped out of his arms and collapsed to the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Edvardus asked.

The woman, Gilda, cried. Through her tears she sniffed out three heart-wrenching words, “He’s not here.”

Realization dawned. She’d been hoping to see her son on the other side of the portal. “And is this where you entered the dungeon or are we all lost?”

“We’re home, it’s just a short walk to Oakwood from here,” Thorin said. The older man’s feet shuffled back and forth. Was he nervous? Oakwood was a plain name. Edvardus did not recognize it, but a larger city or the name of the country they were in might be more helpful.

“And where exactly is Oakwood? Give me the details, and hopefully, I’ll be able to tell where I’ve ended up,” Edvardus asked.

The woman continued to cry but the old man was willing to speak. “We’re far in the interior of Wrapaima. Many call this area the breadlands because we produce the majority of the wheat and oats that feed our country. There aren’t any large cities nearby, but you may have heard of the capital, Wroa. Did any of that help?”

It did. He was more than halfway around the world from his home, but at least he had a way back home. “Yes, indeed, my country is far from here, I’m not sure if you’d know it. I’m from Lysseah, South of Palmos. It’s good to have my bearings again.”

“Good for you, but we really need to head to town and see if any monsters attacked while we were away. Come on Gilda, get up. You won’t solve anything here and you could really use a healing potion,” Thorin said.

Together Edvardus and Thorin gently helped Gilda to her feet and supported her as they walked. Her tears stopped but occasionally a sniffle came from her direction. She really was strong. If her ribs were injured as well as her leg then the pain would be excruciating and she never whimpered or complained.

They traveled through a wooded area and the trees blocked out the sun. The path was small but well-worn going up and down the hilly land. The trees stopped as suddenly as they appeared and Gilda’s fingers dug into his arm. “Ouch, could you loosen up a little,” Edvardus said.

“I see smoke,” Gilda said.

Edvardus looked up at the sky. There was a lot of smoke, which was not a good sign if that was coming from their hometown. “Let’s pick up the pace, I can’t believe I didn’t notice it earlier, I saw it, but I just thought they were storm clouds,” Thorin said.

They hurried through a few more hills and reached a plateau where they could see for miles ahead. Oakwood was on fire. There were three separate sets of flames.

“I don’t see any monsters, but we need to help put out the fire before it spreads any farther. Can we go to the West side first? My friend Olivia Sunset lives right next to one of those flames,” Gilda said.

“I’m sure our new friend can help you, Gilda. I need to check in on my sister and she’s on the other side of town. Sorry, but I’m going to run on ahead,” Thorin explained.

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Gilda nodded and Edvardus thanked the man for all his help so far. Thorin sped off at a surprisingly fast past for a man his age. They could see him as he grew farther away then disappeared as he entered the town.

Now that it was just the two of them, Edvardus felt a little nervous to be alone with a woman. True, she was injured and not interested in him, but her arm around his waist was warm and her curves were tucked up against him. Edvardus picked up the pace and Gilda hopped along beside him. She was huffing and puffing, and starting to wince with every step by the time they reached the first buildings.

“Where can we get you a healing potion?” Edvardus asked. “You’re in no condition to help anyone unless you take care of yourself first.”

“It’s close to where we’re headed, don’t slow down on my account, I’m fine,” Gilda said. The layer of sweat on her forehead did not match her words, but Edvardus knew better than to get in the way of a determined woman on a warpath.

Gilda directed him through the winding streets of Oakwood until they reached a building with an apothecary symbol. Edvardus opened the door and helped Gilda inside, there wasn’t anyone at the counter. The whole village was probably out working on controlling and putting out the fires.

“I’ll pay Mrs Starling back, go behind the counter, and look for a green bottle with the image of a vine on it,” Gilda said. She steadied herself by holding onto the counter and watched him as he pulled looked through shelves and pulled open drawers. None of the bottles matched her description.

“Do you remember where the apothecary keeps them?” He asked after a few minutes of searching.

“I thought she kept them over there.” Gilda pointed at a high shelf in the back, but more than half of that shelf was empty.

“Well, if this is where she kept them, then they’re all gone.” Edvardus checked all the shelves once more to be sure then shook his head. “I do not see any here Miss.”

“Then grab one of those brown bottles, a little pain management we’ll help.” Edvardus followed the angle of her pointing finger, took a brown bottle, and handed it to Gilda.

She drank it down in one go. Then beckoned him to get moving. He stood beside her and let her use him as a walking cane again. They left the apothecary took a few turns and found a group of people standing in front of two burning buildings. They looked like cute little cottages up in flames.

“Oh, no, that is my friend’s house,” Gilda said. She pulled him toward the nearest bystander and tapped them on the shoulder. An old woman with gray hair and a multitude of wrinkles turned around. “Do you know if Olivia and her family are all right?”

“Little Livy is over there, dearie,” the old woman said. She used her chin to point to another group that was desperately bringing buckets of water to the burning house.

Gilda sighed in relief. “I think I’ve recovered enough mana to help out a little. Let me try to put out this fire and then you and your friend can chat,” Edvardus checked his stats and sure enough he’d recovered more than a quarter of his MP. “Freeze,” Edvardus said, concentrating on the size and shape of the house and he continued to chant. Once he was ready he pushed out the cold mana and hoped he’d done enough. The ice surrounded the building and crept towards the fire. It melted and refroze and melted again. After an agonizing minute, the flames extinguished and the house was covered in a sparkling sheen of water crystals.

“Thank you,” Gilda said.

“Gilly, is that you?”

Gilda nodded and a second later a woman flew at them and captured Gilda in a bear hug. “Owww, Livy could you put me down? I think I have a broken rib or two.”

“Sorry, so sorry, I was just so happy to see you alive and well. There were wolves and goblins all over and we were doing a pretty good job at holding them off until they started lighting their arrows on fire.”

“I’m sure you did your best. Are your children safe?” Gilda asked.

“Yes, but poor Mr. Upside didn’t make it. Zoren, Tom, and Mika took down all the goblins but Mika was shot through the head and died, Zoren was in awful shape, and I haven’t seen Tim in quite a while. Then all the monsters just disappeared. It’s been a horrible day.” The two women kept talking at incredible speed catching each other up on the events of the day.

Edvardus had a hard time following their conversation as he didn’t know any of the people they were talking about, but hearing what had happened here put a pit of worry in his stomach. What was happening in Lysseah? Was Carlotta safe? What about Ema?

There was absolutely nothing he could do and he had no way of communicating with them. If they were alive and well, they’d be searching for him. And if the unthinkable had happened, who was running the country?

Edvardus needed to get home, but he had no money, nothing worth selling, and no way of getting there. What was he supposed to do?