The town was imposing, towering, in a figurative sense, over the farmland that surrounded it. I almost asked how this much land could feed such a large town, before I was reminded that the river beyond it seemed to empty out into a larger bay.

"It really does deserve to be called a city, but I'll be damned if I give that lord the honor of living in something acknowledged to me as being a respectable settlement."

Okay, it seemed like there might be some bad blood there, but she was still heading there, so it couldn't be that bad, right? I pushed the thought from my mind, a skill I was thankfully adept at before becoming this witch's apprentice. I retreated back into my thoughts, but as we walked towards town, a rather unpleasant realization came to mind.

“Uhm, Mary? What language do they even speak here? Actually, how are we even speaking now?”

“English, don’t be stupid.”

“That seems too convenient”

“A while back, like a couple centuries ago, an otherworlder passed through to this side and managed to get himself into a bureaucratic position. From there he gathered resources, and eventually took over the Empire. Afterwards, he decreed that his native tongue be the official language in order to promote the spread of knowledge from texts that pass through to our side. He was much better than the previous rulers in all other aspects, so most of the citizens went along with his request, although they still speak their native tongues as well. If anything it makes life easier, not having to learn how to speak Fae, or Elvish, or any of the other race-specific tongues.”

Mollified, I turned back towards the town, Porte, when another bit of housekeeping occurred to me.

“Do I need some sort of ID to get in? I can’t imagine such an impressive town having such lax security.”

“Why do you think we’re coming here in the first place? I need to vouch for you at least for the first time you enter, after which you should have proof of having business in the town. Don’t worry about it though. You’re with me, so no one will question your right to be here.”

We continued down the dirt road, with the gatehouse in the wall growing clearer and clearer. The farmlands, mostly growing wheat and flax, eventually gave way as we approached the opening in the glacis that the road snaked through before ending up at the gate.

As we got closer to the gate, I could see there was a short line to get in. Most were people on foot, who looked like farmers wearing hose and tunics. A wagon was also in line, driven by a man in stockings, breeches, and a waistcoat with a touch of embroidery. If I had to guess at his occupation I’d think it’d be safe to say he was some sort of merchant. Mary and I ended up in line right behind his wagon, blocking our view of the gateway, although it looked wide enough to accommodate 2-way traffic at the size of the merchant’s vehicle.

After a short wait, it was the wagons turn. Although I couldn’t see the interaction I could hear the merchant talking to the guard about luxury good taxes, and import tariffs, confirming my initial guess. Then, the wagon started off, and we found ourselves facing the guard.

The large man did a double take. “Shit, there’s two of them now- I mean, Welcome again to our humble town, Ms. Mary. I don’t believe I’ve met your sister before…”

“Apprentice.”

“What?”

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“She’s my apprentice.”

The guard looked over at me, with a look that was a mix of incredulity, pity, and a touch of fear on his face. He was tall and wide, wearing heavy plate armor and carrying a halberd. He had a handsome face, with a handlebar mustache, and a scar on his right cheek. He continued to stare at me, and I glared back in response. He broke his gaze with a start, turning back to Mary.

“Does she have any identification?”

“Not yet, Heinrich. We were going to stop by the government offices today to get her some. She just recently got here, after all.”

With this statement the guard, Heinrich apparently, gave another start and swung back to look at me, outright shock on his face as he looked me up and down. I started to fidget, not really used to getting this sort of reaction.

“Th-the entrance fees, she needs to pa-“

“What was that?” Mary asked sharply.

“N-nothing.”

“Thank you, have a nice day.” And with that, Mary grabbed my hand, pulling me through the gate on into town. From behind me I could hear Heinrich banging on the door to the guard hut.

“The Madness Witch has taken an apprentice! She actually found someone to be her apprentice! An Otherworlder apprentice!”

As we continued on into the town, a runner, wearing what looked like an official uniform ran past, giving a fearful look our way as he went by. I had already gotten the feeling that Mary was viewed as a bit of an oddball based off previous conversations, but this reaction was more than I had expected. And what kind of name was “Madness Witch?” What the hell kind of edgy thing did she do to become know as that?

However, she did rescue me, and for all her oddities she didn’t seem to be that eccentric. All that aside what was with the reaction they were making towards me? I was getting the impression that some of it might be guilt by association, but he got even more freaked out learning I wasn’t from this world. Mary made it sound like it wasn’t that uncommon, the way she talked about it.

Mary was still pulling me on by my hand, but I would rather not get pulled into situations without enough information, so I stopped. Not sure at first which part to start with, I decided to go with the most unsettling bit first.

“Madness Witch?”

Mary gave a grimace.

“So you heard that.”

“Why are you known as the Madness Witch?”

Mary looked away, as if it were uncomfortable to even think on the topic, sighed, and then began to speak,

“I had a little bit of a disagreement with the local lord. He felt that he deserved some of the money that I earned from selling medicines and potions, claiming I needed to pay taxes on my income. However, everyone knows that it’s just totally stupid to charge taxes on potions. Why would you want to make it harder for people to be able to afford my medicines? I’m practically giving them away as it is, and taxing the last little bit of profit is no better than theft.

So of course I told the lord this. He’s a noble, he should have some level of schooling and be able to see logic when it’s presented to him clearly. But no, he just had to disagree with my reasonable arguments. I’m practically a healthcare professional, and making me pay taxes just to support his lavish noble lifestyle would just make me less inclined to make potions in the first place. Eventually, he snapped and shouted ‘even talking with this witch is pure madness.’ Unfortunately one of his guards overheard this, and they’ve been calling me that behind my back ever since.”

Honestly I had expected much worse, especially given that I had already thought she was a bit crazy myself earlier this morning, with storing mercury fulminate by her front door. Hearing it was just from an argument, where she was even in the right, was a relief.

“Why did he act so strangely to me not being from this world though? The way you went on about it, it sounded almost common.”

“It’s not uncommon for stuff to pass over here. All sorts of things slip through the cracks in the worlds. But this world is a big place, and most otherworlders do get eaten or killed before they become known. And if you remembered, it’s usually only people with potential who end up here. So the guards be slightly concerned, since otherworlders usually end up causing a fair bit of change when they show up and actually make it to civilization alive.”

Come to think of it, she had mentioned something about increased potential in otherworlders. I had kind of been weirded out about that whole discussion with her, if I had to be honest. How did she even know about them trying to extend my enlistment? In the interest of clearing the air, I might as well ask. And,

“Well, on that computer from your side I managed to acquire, there was a really helpful lecture series from one of your journalists. He had all sorts of useful information on how manipulative your government could be, and how they’re even poisoning the frogs. The horror of it all. Frogs are so useful for potions, and tainting them in that way just seems wrong to me as a witch”

Oh

Oh God.

“Not that I can’t sympathize with the poor frogs. The rest of it seemed to be logical though, and the way he stated it made his whole view just seem like common sense.”

She had managed to sound so authoritative about the topic yesterday to, and to think that was her source. In hindsight I was fairly sure she had cited a popular show for her perspective on the use of magic and thermodynamics. The Madness Witch title may have been a fluke, but I’m starting to see why it was still in use.

Actually, it kind of reminds me of that series of movies, staring the one actor who made a name for himself as a Philly expat in Bel Aire. They would always go to the tabloids for the “real news,” the ones that had all that weird news about Elvis?

No. I refuse to believe that. I used to be a professional. It must be a coincidence. There's no way such a shot in the dark was actually on target.

"Well, you aren't working for them anymore, so you have nothing to worry about. Instead you get to work for such a skilled witch like myself! I would say as far as your luck as an otherworlder sent here goes, you hit the jackpot!"

On the off chance she was right, it’s probably for the best I changed careers.