*Gasp!*

Griffin grabbed at his heart, the lingering feeling of a heavy impact remained in his core. He glanced down to inspect his chest, but everything visible seemed to be in order.

Blinking, he stretched out his hands as he rolled off his side to sit upright. His vision was still blurry and his ears rang slightly from the overwhelming sensations felt just moments ago.

Thankfully, the headache was no longer there and the chest pain began fading quickly as he slowly regained control over his body. However, as soon as he was about to assess his surroundings, he felt a rumbling approaching him from behind.

"Get out of the road! Do you have a death wish?!" A man yelled from behind Griffin as the noise grew nearer.

He turned around quickly to see the man atop a horse-drawn cart moving straight towards him. Wanting to move out of the way, he focused on his legs but his strength still had not fully recuperated. Time felt like it was slowing down as imminent danger inched closer.

"Wait!" He shouted before suddenly being grabbed by another figure. He felt his body weight get lifted effortlessly as he was moved to the side of the road.

Griffin could not see the mysterious figure while being carried, but the moment he was set back down on his legs, he found a better view.

The helpful man seemed to be quite a bit shorter than Griffin, looking to be roughly four and a half feet tall. Despite his short height, his stature reminded Griffin of a trained weightlifter. A bushy set of gray eyebrows, a full beard, and a bald head marked this man's aged appearance. All in all, he looked to be an older man, but his youthful vitality clearly betrayed that description.

"Uhm… thank you!" Griffin quickly stumbled into a show of gratitude for what the man had done. His legs wobbled as he found his balance while standing.

"Hmm, young one, you looked like you needed some assistance. Is there a reason you would dare put your life in danger like that on such a busy road?" The older man responded inquisitively while eyeing Griffin's demeanor.

"I…" It was at this moment that Griffin looked past the man, noticing his surroundings in clear detail.

Previously, where he found himself on the ground, he discovered the location of large paved road. The clearly well-traveled bricks curiously seemed to show barely any sign of wear. The sides of road were dotted with multiple storefronts and trading stalls. What looked to be roots stretched along the bases of walls, curling around the buildings in a natural manner.

To Griffin, this merely looked like some kind of medieval renaissance fair. That thought stuck in his mind until, quite abruptly, another cart rolled down the pathway. This time, the cart was being pulled by two large, green-scaled beasts, reminiscent of monitor lizards. Their tongues flicked in and out as they scurried along the pathway, dragging a payload of what looking to be glowing crystals.

Griffins eyes widened, quickly darting back to the stalls around him. At this point, he observed the merchandise for sale. Dotted across the stalls were innumerable objects with abnormal properties: luminescent plants, floating stones, moving sparks of flame, and bottled creatures of varying sizes.

"Where am I…" Griffin sheepishly muttered to himself, clearly well out of his element.

"You're in Greenholm, of course." The man responded. "You didn't notice the Mother Tree?" He lifted his finger towards the sky as he raised a bushy eyebrow.

Griffin looked up to notice what he believed was a oddly-colored grouping of clouds, before his focus moved towards the horizon where an immeasurably large, reddish trunk connected the wispy shapes to the ground. Clearly, those clouds were none other than large collections of leaves sprouting from limbs of this giant tree.

"What the hell…" Griffin squinted as he could barely keep track of his thoughts at this moment. His usually calm and grounded personality was completely flipped upside down as his mind was filled with strange realizations.

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'What happened to me? Where am I? What is this place and how did I get here? Where did my bus go… and what was that light?' A series of questions raced through his head.

"So... young man, are you going to answer me? Well, I can tell that you aren't from around here with all of those quizzical looks. Especially since you can't even recognize the Mother Tree." The man tried to speak with Griffin once again, grabbing his chin in thought.

"Ah, I'm sorry. It's just that I really am quite lost and I can't seem to remember how I got here…" Griffin muttered somewhat truthfully, not looking to share too much of his situation with a man he knew nothing about.

"Quite odd indeed… well, if you truly need some assistance finding your way around here, I'd recommend going to local Guild branch. The closest regional office is farther down this road towards the city center, you won't miss it." The man raised his arm and pointed further ahead. Turning slightly, he exposed his back to Griffin.

At this point, Griffin noticed the large axe hanging across the back of the man's body. It had a gnarled handle made from dense reddish wood, dotted with small dark green vines. The axe head looked to be made of the same material, sharpened to a dangerous point. Something gave Griffin the idea that this wooden armament would stand on equal ground with a traditional metallic weapon.

In addition to the unusual axe, a woven sack hung from around the waist of the man. It looked to be made of some unique black thread, ethereal and glistening in the light's reflection.

"Oh? You've noticed my bag? Good eye, there's not many like it!" The man chuckled. "You know what? Since you seem to be new around here and a bit out of your element, you can take this." He spoke while reaching into his black bag. The man's arm thrust deeper into its confines, much farther past what would be physically possible.

'How is he putting his arm that far into the bag? It's not even stretching…' Griffin considered for a moment before the man pulled his arm right back out, holding what looked to be a bronze necklace on a dark string.

"This here is a standard protection amulet, nothing too far out of the ordinary. I noticed you didn't have one, at least from what I could observe, so I figured I should share an extra with you before getting back to my business." The man generously handed over the necklace to Griffin.

"Oh… thank you very much…" Griffin reached out and grabbed the necklace from the man's hand, looking down towards it with slight apprehension. He noticed a series of artistic carvings along the back of amulet, their shapes reminding him of a sprawling network of veins or some sort of channels.

"Don't be shy, put it on! This one was purchased down south from an artifact maker. You don't even have to a manually channel the Veil into it for the effect to take place!" He smiled, almost amazed at his own item. "Back in my day, you really needed to focus at all times to keep those shields up. But this here should definitely keep you safe, especially from something like that carriage earlier."

Upon hearing this, Griffin wrapped the string around his neck, letting the bronze amulet lay on his chest. Almost immediately, he experienced a refreshing pressure across his body, as if he was wrapped in a comforting blanket. Clearly something was happening that he couldn't see with his own two eyes, but knowing what the man said, he felt safer as the feeling washed over him.

"Thank you! Uhm, I never caught your name. I- I'm Griffin." He muttered to the older man, tripping over his words.

"You can call me… Oberyn. I doubt we will be seeing each other again around here as I have some duties to attend to outside the city, but I'm glad I was able to help." A smile stretched across the man's face as he looked down the road. "Well, it's about time for me to get back to my schedule today, safe travels and may the grace of the Veil be with you!"

After finishing his sentence, Oberyn turned and continued down the road, leaving Griffin standing there to collect his thoughts alone.

'Oberyn huh... I'm glad I was able to meet a least someone who could help set me on the right track here. Maybe I should take a look around before going to that Guild place he spoke of.' Griffin collected himself and turned towards the closest stalls.

Moving up to the stall near him, he noticed a variety of vegetation for sale. It seemed to Griffin that these strange plants could be considered food items due to the numerous people trying samples nearby the stall owner. He glanced at the merchandise, taking in the variety of colors and forms that presented themselves to him. Not a single fruit or vegetable looked familiar to him, but in all honesty, his mouth watered at the sight of a juicy purple fruit about the size of a small melon.

He stepped closer to get a better look at the purple fruit, quickly noticing small signs posted within the stall boxes. These signs seemed to have text written on them, however, Griffin could not understand a single word.

'It seems like wherever I am has its own language... wait? Wasn't I just speaking to Oberyn a moment ago?' Questions piled on as more was observed around him. 'Maybe I can learn more at that Guild branch he spoke of... I think a good first step to figuring out my situation would be to speak to someone knowledgeable. I can stand in awe here all day, but I really need to start moving now before I'm left without any plan at night time.'

Turning away from the enticing stall, he stretched out his leg, and began walking down the road towards the direction that Oberyn pointed.