Back to Basics - 1.2

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The prisoner went still. Well, he tried to. My bugs could feel his body trembling and smell the fear in his sweat. I had a feeling I wouldn't have to worry about any more tricks from him.

"T-this is all just an unfortunate misunderstanding. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Pisces, a competent mage and graduate of Wistram Academy. I am specialized in both the Elementalist and Illusionary schools of magic— though I am quite capable in several other fields."

Magic? That must be what they call powers around here. Wistram must be a cape school then. An important one too, since he keeps bringing it up. Though if he's someone important, I can't imagine how he ended up robbing an abandoned inn dressed like a homeless person. And did he say he has multiple powers?

"Tell me your exact capabilities. You know what happens if I discover you left something out."

For emphasis, I pressed the blade further into his neck. Not enough to draw blood with a knife that dull, but enough to make him uncomfortable. Not that he wasn't already.

"I-I wouldn't dare attempt to deceive you again. It might take me some time to list my many Spells and Skills but—"

"Skills?"

Erin and I gave each other a look. The phrasing could just be a coincidence but…

"I may not have put on the most impressive showing earlier… but I assure you, I am the highest level [Mage] you'll find in these parts. I have plenty of Skills to show for my years of study."

Okay, not a coincidence. I grabbed Erin and pulled her away from the table so we could talk without being overheard.

"Did he just say level? Does he have the same power as me?"

"Powers don't work like that. I think… I think that maybe the whole level thing might affect everybody in this world. He expected us to know what levels are, which means that its common knowledge at the very least."

"So I don't have superpowers?"

Erin looked upset and I couldn't really blame her. I was being a bit too quick to try to fit everything I didn't understand into familiar boxes. I wonder what else I've overlooked because of my biases.

"You still have power, just not the kind I know anything about. I know a lot of capes back home that would give up their powers in a heartbeat for this leveling system. Also, you've been gaining levels a lot faster than me. I assumed that was because it was your power, but there might be something else to it."

"That's true I guess. I still have the [Sidekick] class too. Maybe it'll give me a real superpower if I level it high enough."

"Who knows? We need more information. Let's not keep our guest waiting."

While we walked back over to continue the interrogation, I considered how I was going to approach this. He was speaking English so the divergence point in our worlds must have been pretty close in the past. I needed to try to get him talking so I could find out exactly what the differences were without giving away how little I knew.

"So Pisces… how exactly does a mage from Wistram end up stealing from an innocent [Innkeeper]?"

It was hard to tell through the layers of silk, but he seemed embarrassed.

"Well, you see… I have fallen on hard times recently. You must understand how difficult it is for a fine human mage such as myself to find work in Drake country. I may be desperate, but I assure you, I wouldn't stoop so low as to rob an innocent woman. A simple meal is all I hoped to receive."

Drake? Is that the species that inhabit the city? I couldn't tell if that was the name of the ant-people from earlier or a different species altogether. Regardless, it seemed like they were prejudiced against humans. A diplomatic option was seeming less and less likely.

Oh? What's this? I'd been searching the man with my smaller bugs throughout the interrogation. They had just found a pouch hidden inside a pocket in his robes. It was filled with round metal discs of various sizes that I assumed were currency.

"Couldn't find work? I wonder where all that money you're hiding came from then?"

Pisces chuckled nervously.

"I may have resorted to some… unsavory means to acquire those coins. I don't suppose you would accept them in exchange for my freedom?"

I had my spiders pull the coin pouch from its hidden pocket and drag it to my side.

"Not happening. We do need information about this city though, so I'll make you a deal. Tell me everything you know about it and if what you say is useful… I'll consider letting you go."

He relaxed a little bit at my offer, realizing that we weren't just going to kill him. I had no intention of letting him go though. If he'd been stealing in the area, I could probably turn him in for a bounty.

"Of course! I'll tell you everything you need to know. What do you need to know?"

"Pretend I know nothing."

"In that case… Liscor is the furthest north of the Drake cities. Its population is primarily drake but it has a sizable gnoll population as well. They have Antinium too, but I wouldn't count them as citizens. I'm unaware of the finer details, but after the last Antinium War, they made a deal with the Antinium. In exchange for military support, the Antinium were allowed to build a hive beneath the city. The city is run by some sort of council, but I don't know much about it."

The Antinium were probably those ant-people I saw earlier. Apparently, there are no humans in the city though. He mentioned it being difficult for a human to find work in Drake lands, but he implied it was possible. I need more information on how welcoming they are to humans.

"You've been into the city, right? How friendly are the citizens?"

"Well, most of my interactions weren't on the friendliest of terms but… you know how Drake cities are. Whatever business you have here, I doubt they'd be willing to do more than tolerate you."

"What about the Gnolls?"

"Friendlier than the Drakes, for certain. I could be of more help if I knew exactly what you planned to do in the city."

I carefully considered how to respond. The thing I most needed from the city was information. There wasn't much harm in letting him know that.

"We were looking to do some research here. How likely is it they'd let us use the city's library?"

"I can't imagine why you would come to Liscor for research, I doubt they even have a library. You'd be better off finding an information broker."

Gathering information was going to be harder than I thought.

"What about trade? How willing would they be to trade with a human?"

"I doubt you would receive a fair deal, but Drakes would never turn down an opportunity to profit."

"That's enough for now. I'll have more questions for you later."

"Can I at least have something to eat while I wait?"

"Alright, fine."

I pulled Erin into the kitchen. As much as I wanted to keep questioning Pisces, I needed more background information if I wanted to get anything useful out of him without giving away that I was from another world. My best was to find whatever information I could from the city before questioning him again later.

"Erin, I need to go scout out the city. Do you think you can handle watching him alone?"

"I've got this. There isn't much he can do while he's tied up."

She looked nervous but determined. I wouldn't be gone for long so I trusted her to keep him under control.

"I'll be back in a few hours. If I don't come back, use this money to hire someone to take you to a human city."

I took her hand and closed it around the coin pouch I'd taken from Pisces.

"What!? I thought you were just going to look around?"

"Don't worry, I don't plan on taking any risks. This is just in case."

She didn't look like she believed me, but I didn't know what to tell her. She'd realize in time that sometimes danger is unavoidable.

"Alright, but be careful."

"You too. Don't let your guard down around him just because he's tied up. I'll see you in a bit."

I left the building as quietly as I could so I didn't tip off our prisoner. I made sure to bring my spiders away from the inn. I wasn't sure exactly what they'd do outside my control but I doubted it'd be anything good.

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Under the cover of night, I approached Liscor's walls. With my bug sense, it was trivial to keep track of the guards on watch. I had one of my spiders scale the wall and tie a rope of silk at the top. It was difficult with only one arm, but I timed myself to the guards' movements and made my way up to the top.

I could see most of the city from my perch atop the wall. I looked up at the moon and— What the fuck? There were two curves of light hanging in the sky. I rubbed my eyes thinking there was something wrong with my vision— but no, there were two moons up there. Just another tally on the list of strange things about this world.

I took a few moments to refocus myself and pick a direction while my spiders tied a second rope of silk to the other side and cut off the first. By the time they finished, I had a destination in mind and descended into the city.

***

Erin was faced with an awkward problem. She'd prepared a bowl of pasta for the prisoner but his arms were bound in spider silk and Erin's knife was too dull to cut them free. Her only options were feeding it to him by hand or letting him eat out of the bowl like a dog.

"I'm quite famished. I would appreciate it if you could prepare the food with greater haste."

She was highly tempted towards the second option. In the end, she decided to go with the first option. Taylor played bad cop so it was her turn to be the good cop.

"Open your mouth, I'm gonna feed you some pasta."

"I would much prefer to feed myself. I promise I won't try to escape so please unbind my hands."

"Not an option. Either I feed you, or I hang the bowl around your neck and you slurp it up."

"Alright then, I'm far too hungry to disagree."

As Erin fed him the pasta, she couldn't help but wonder at how strange her life had become. She was feeding pasta to a magic man tied up in spiderwebs while she waited for her superhero friend to return. It didn't take long for the bowl to empty and soon they were left sitting in silence.

"So… you never did explain how you ended up here. Why didn't you just get a job in a human city?"

"I have a… hobby that many people find unsavory. It's easier to avoid unwanted attention in this part of Izril."

Erin narrowed her eyes and shuffled away from him.

"Are you a pervert or something?"

"What? No! Nothing so crass! I simply happen to be a practitioner of one of the less appreciated fields of magic."

"And that is?"

"...Necromancy."

Erin stared blankly at him for a few seconds.

"Necromancy? Like raising the dead? That sounds pretty sketchy… Wait! Are you the one that stole my skeleton?"

"I wouldn't say stole, it was just lying there without a use. I simply bestowed it with a greater purpose."

"So you're a bone thief as well as a regular thief. That's just great."

"If you have a way to procure bones without resorting to theft, by all means, enlighten me."

"You could've asked me! I would've given you the food at least, if you were nice about it."

"My apologies then. I must be too accustomed to the hostility around here."

"Were they really that hostile? Or were you just looking for reasons to steal from them?"

"I only did what I needed to survive!"

"That doesn't justify stealing from innocent people!"

A tense silence fell over the room. Erin thought about the conversation while she cleared the empty bowl and returned it to the kitchen. How could someone be so jaded? Am I going to end up like that if I can't find a way home?

She decided she needed to clear her head with some chess. Chess had always calmed her down. She kept one eye on Pisces and sat down, mumbling to herself.

"Pawn to E5. Pawn to E4. Knight to—"

"Is that chess I hear?"

"Yes? You play chess?"

"I played quite a few games during my time at Wistram. I wouldn't want to boast but I rarely lost."

"Oh yeah? Care for a game?"

"Oh no, I'd rather not embarrass my gracious host."

Erin's eyes narrowed and she was about to respond to his insult when an idea struck her. She smiled evilly as she moved to sit in front of him.

"If you're so confident you'd win then let's make a deal. If you win, you get to go free. If I win you swear to never steal again."

Pisces smiled, ignorant of exactly whose inn he had walked into that night.

"That sounds like a fair deal. Would you like to start?"

"I'm good, you can go first."

"Alright then, let us begin. Pawn to E5."

It was unfortunate for Pisces that his eyes were covered, otherwise he may have seen the devilish glint in Erin's eyes before it was too late."

***

On my approach to the inn, I heard a voice shouting from inside.

"I almost had you that time! Again!"

I could tell from my bug senses that there was no fighting going on, so I was curious as to what had gotten the prisoner so heated.

"Alright, but this is the last one. I'm getting tired of winning so much."

I knocked on the door and watched as a bored-looking Erin sprang up and ran to get it.

"Who is it?"

"It's Taylor."

I had a fly buzz in front of her face to verify myself. We really needed to establish some Master-Stranger protocols given that illusions are a thing here.

Erin swatted the fly out of her face and opened the door.

"Taylor! How'd the mission go?"

"Not as well as I'd hoped. Most of the important-looking stuff was written in a different language. I did find out a few very important things though. How have you been doing?"

"I played a few games of chess with Pisces. He wasn't very good though, beating him got boring after a few games."

Chess? Chess was not the kind of thing I expected Erin to be into. Though to be fair, I've only known her for about a day. Strangely, it feels like it's been much longer.

"Did you get any more information out of him?"

"Not much besides the fact that he's a [Necromancer]. According to him, they aren't very well liked which is why he's hiding out around here. I think it might just be his personality though."

"Necromancy? Like raising the dead? That sounds like it could be useful. I'll have to look into that. Anyway, I learned some unsettling things while I was looking around. The biggest piece of news is that this world isn't an Earth."

"What? Are we on Mars or something?"

"I don't think so. I considered that when I noticed there were two moons in the sky but there are too many things that don't add up. I think we might be in a universe entirely separate from the multiverse of Earths."

"What does that mean for our chances of getting home?"

"I honestly can't say. There are so many differences between this world and mine. For one, superpowers didn't exist in my world until 1982. From what I could find, magic has existed here for at least several thousand years. We can't expect anything in this world to follow the rules we're used to. If we're going to make any progress, we need a guide that's native to this world."

After I said that, we both turned to look at our silk-wrapped prisoner.

"Maybe as a last resort. He seems pretty sketchy and he's bad at chess."

"I agree, we'll try our luck with Liscor first. I found a few options we can look at tomorrow morning. For now, we should get some rest. I'll have my spiders keep watch over the prisoner."

Erin and I headed to bed as I had my spiders cut Pisces from the chair and toss his swaddled form into a pile of silk.

"Pardon me, but, how am I supposed to use the bathroom like this?"

"Not my problem. Figure it out."

With that, I had my spiders cover his mouth and ears again. It took me a while to get to sleep, thinking of the implications of everything I'd discovered. I couldn't help but feel I was in over my head. Lisa probably would've had a plan to take over Liscor's economy by now. I wonder if she's even still alive.

I drifted off to sleep, lost in memories of my former team.

[Superhero Level 3!]