After the incident with the dragons, I was left without hair for a while- I had shaved off the remaining parts that hadn’t been scorched away. Some people could pull off that look, but I didn’t think it was for me. My beard grew in more evenly than it used to, but it along with the rest of my hair was tinged with something odd. Normally it had been blue-white with yellow tips, but now there were streaks of orange-red. I didn’t find it to be an improvement, but it seemed I would have to live with it until I could convince my hair to pick a single style.
Other than that, life was filled with training and checking up on friends. Everyone tied to the Brigade was doing well. Beyond that, Ceira and Izzy were some of the few friends that didn’t have any ties to the Power Brigade. Both were doing alright for the moment, though the inconsistency of Izzy’s employment was a consequence she had to deal with for helping out a friend. Rositsa was fine as well, last I checked, working night jobs.
I made sure to continue with Sending spells to Sir Kalman, just in case there was an issue. I never got much in the way of responses, of course. “Things still continuing as normal.” “Training has been boring.” “Nothing important to report.” That sort of thing. But he couldn’t necessarily contact me if I didn’t contact him first, so the price of some mana every few days was what I paid.
Until we did get a response of note, and I was glad I’d stuck with it.
“Need to speak in person. Lieutenant will be waiting for your arrival in town.”
“Huh,” I said, looking over at Midnight. “Weird.”
I explained the message, and I felt some concern from him. “He does know we can’t just traipse off to another world whenever we want, right?” Midnight asked.
“I mean… we kind of can,” I pointed out.
“Sure. But to have the Lieutenant waiting means sending him significantly ahead of time. They no longer have a permanent base set up in Mossley, right?”
“Hmm,” I nodded, “Good point.”
“We still need to go, obviously. Part of our official duties are related to handling incidents from that world, after all.”
Settling things on the side of the Power Brigade was fairly easy. “Do you need backup?” Calculator asked.
“I didn’t receive any indication that we would,” I said, repeating the message.
Calculator nodded. “Then it would be best to keep it to the two of you. I suppose you should probably get going.”
“Seems pretty easy,” I said. “You don’t need me here?”
He shrugged. “We have people in reserve for a reason. And you’ll be paid out of Extra’s pocket for this.”
Which meant the Brigade would actually be making money off of us while we were handling this matter. Active patrol or specific missions were paid for by the government, but training was something the Brigade generally had to eat the costs for. “Great. I guess we’ll be off, then.”
I sent a message to friends to let them know Midnight and I would be out of town for a few days. Communications should be secure enough for that, and if they weren’t there were bigger issues at hand.
We popped off to Extra, both because that was where they wanted us to do Gate related things, and also because it would let them track official on the job stuff. Malaliel was actually there to meet us when we arrived.
“Wow,” I said. “You’re usually so busy.”
“Sometimes there are breaks in the action,” said the angel. “And these extradimensional matters are of specific concern. You said you got a message?”
“The returned half of my Sending spell,” I said. “It can deliver a few words from the recipient of the original message.” I explained the contents- once again, quite simple and straightforward.
“So it is not a matter of immediate peril,” the angel said. “But nonetheless one that seems to come with a requirement for secrecy and perhaps some amount of haste.”
“That was what we figured,” Midnight agreed.
“Well, I won’t hold you up,” Malaliel said. “Good luck with your efforts.”
“Thanks,” I said. “We’ll keep in contact if we have extra mana.”
“Right. Interdimensional communication.”
“Yep. And we can’t do it if we don’t know the other person so…” I waved. “It only works for a few things. Bye!” Comms work was definitely not a job I aspired to. No fighting or room for growth at all.
Where did we want to show up? That closet we used before belonged to someone, so outside of Mossley was probably best. Maybe something would have happened with the ruins of Uvithar’s tower?
Midnight and I split the mana cost for the sake of regeneration, but I was actually close to the point where I could cast Gate alone. Or maybe it was already possible? Certainly, next level it should be fully possible.
It wasn’t important at the moment though. We popped through the portal out in a small clearing, then stopped for a small glance at the rubble. “Hasn’t really changed much,” I admitted.
“That’s probably good. Nobody poking around.”
“Not obviously,” I agreed. “Though using magic, nothing would have to move.”
We made our way to town along the road. The guards were vaguely familiar and I felt a sudden urge to run… after zapping them with a weakened Shocking Grasp. Instead I properly approached them.
“Greetings, Turlough,” said one of them- a woman. That was some of the most respect I’d gotten in Mossley, though I suppose things had been different after the whole incident. “Sir Harold has been expecting you. I can escort you to him.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Well, at least that was easy. We didn’t even have to ask.
Sir Harold looked like most other members of the Order of the Lion- except for his specific insignia, of course. But the point was that he was a human covered in armor, so they all looked rather similar, by design. “Excellent,” he said upon seeing us. “I was worried I would have to wait significantly longer. I have only been here a few days.”
“Really?” I asked. “Doesn’t that mean you were sent out a couple messages ago?”
“Most likely,” Sir Harold said. “Sir Kalman indicated the results would be like that.”
“And he didn’t say anything sooner because…?”
“It would still require my presence to escort you,” Sir Harold shrugged. “It would be more awkward for you to wait here than myself.”
True. I was the one who kinda-sorta didn’t belong in this world anymore. “So what’s the issue?” I asked.
“It would be best if Sir Kalman told you himself.”
“... I have Nondetection, if you’re concerned about people listening.”
“Good. Make sure to use it on yourself, and not on me. If someone is looking, I shouldn’t suddenly… disappear,” Sir Harold said. “Now then, do you know how to ride a horse?”
“I do not,” I said.
“Then this is your chance to learn.”
He brought us out to some stables on the edge of town where he saddled his horse. “We’ll be sharing,” he said. “As it’s rather suspicious to ride two horses on one’s own.”
“Well, I don’t see another option,” I admitted. “But are you sure it can carry both of us…?”
“Lily is a good horse,” Sir Harold said. “She is more than capable of carrying an extra individual, even one of your stature. And Midnight.”
“I don’t think anyone was particularly concerned about me in this scenario,” Midnight admitted.
Sir Harold climbed up first. “You are fairly physically fit, so it should be easy enough. Put your foot in the stirrup there. I’ll help pull you up. Just make sure to get your leg across the far side.”
I did exactly as suggested, and was quite glad for pants instead of a robe. It wasn’t that difficult, as I’d had to make worse movements at the obstacle course. It was still awkward to be done, though. Not comfortable at all.
“This sucks,” I said.
“Work with the Order long enough, and you will find yourself in much worse scenarios. Have you ever camped on rocky ground without a sleeping bag, with a torn tent?”
“Sounds like you need better logistics,” I said. “Also, no. And I never will.”
“You’d be surprised what can happen.”
“Nah. I have the Shelter spell,” I said.
“Oh. Right. Sir Kalman did mention that came quite handy during your jungle excursion. But I likely shouldn’t chat too much, in case we’re being watched.”
“... we’re not, though,” I said. “I would sense if we were being Scryed.”
That didn’t change Sir Harold’s opinion on the matter, however, but at least Midnight and I were able to chat between us.
“I can’t even read back here,” I grumbled.
“We should learn a spell to charge our phones,” Midnight said. “We could have music. Or I could since you don’t listen to music.”
“... Phones can have music?”
“I seriously don’t know how you live without,” Midnight said.
“Well, it’s like I’m from a world without any technology at all.”
“Would that actually make a difference?” Midnight said.
“A little. And hey, I do use my phone. For practical stuff.”
At least that distracted us from the discomfort of the road. Until we stopped for the day and I got off the horse.
“Uuuuuugh,” Midnight said.
“I’m the one who feels this, you know,” I pointed out.
“Yeah but you don’t properly respond to pain signals!”
“Sure I do. Hmm, should probably stretch here.” I frowned. “I guess this doesn’t count as combat, huh? How disappointing.” My thighs ached for nothing. Sitting against a metal plate all day hadn’t helped either.
It was a good thing Sir Harold had food and paid for the room at the inn where we stopped, because we had none of that stuff. Somewhere I’d had a pouch of coins, but they wouldn't have lasted long anyway and they had probably been lost a few apartments back. Or were they in a safety deposit box? Not Storage, at least.
-----
“We’re here,” Sir Harold said finally after a few more days of travel.
“Oh, good,” I said. “I… forgot to ask where here was?”
“I wouldn’t have said, anyway,” Sir Harold said. “But we can speak more freely here. It is much more legitimate to ward a fortress of the Order of the Lion against scrying than a random Lieutenant.”
“He’s here!” I recognized a voice, though only barely. Because the words didn’t quite fit. The accent was… ah, elven. Antiele waved to Midnight and I. “Hello, Turlough!”
I looked at the wood elf. “Weren’t you supposed to be taken home?”
“I was supposed to be returned to where I belonged. And ultimately, that became here.”
She wasn’t dressed in fancy armor or anything, just more or less normal clothes with the Order’s insignia.
“What are you doing? I mean, like your job.”
“I’m a training coordinator!” she said excitedly. “I don’t actually get involved in actual fighting much, but I still get to learn.”
“Turlough!” a booming voice caused me to turn. And then look down at the beard pouring out of some armor. There was a single moment where I looked at Sir Kalman before his armored fist came for my chest.
And that hesitation was what cost him the first round. Though to be fair, it wasn’t entirely a fair fighting field. I only had to hit him, not cause damage- but then again, he got to be in full metal armor to start off. To even be close I would have had to cast Stoneskin.
I spit blood onto the ground as I stood up at the end of the third round. “Good to see you, Sir Kalman.”
“Aye. And good to see you haven’t slacked off on training, Turlough.”
“How could I ever?” I said, offended.
“You’d be surprised what happens to some people after a perilous journey. They just curl up and accept being done.”
“So… why am I here?” I asked.
“Do you trust Archmage Zenfer?”
“Aren’t you the one who brought him to me?” I asked.
“Not exactly. So, do you?”
“I wouldn’t say I do,” I shrugged. “But I also don’t have any specific reasons to not trust him either.”
“Damn,” Sir Kalman frowned. “I was hoping we could get a definitive answer one way or another.”
“... Is that the only reason I’m here?” I asked.
“Of course not. That’s just the first thing on the agenda.”