An unknown amount of time passed, and my nap was interrupted by one of the soldiers who came into the tent and tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped slightly when they woke me, still on edge from earlier. The soldier didn’t react to my surprise and just pushed a wooden plate into my hands before leaving.
I was stupefied as I watched them exit after that terse exchange. Looking down, the plate in my hands was filled with a heel of bread and a couple of slices of cheese. It was a very basic meal, but I wasn’t one to complain and just ate what was there. Bread was a little stale, but the cheese was alright, not exactly fresh but it tasted good at least. Oh shit, that was the last criteria. Now that I had eaten and tasted something I had confirmed with all five senses that this was indeed happening. With the plate empty I walked over and set it down on the small table before taking a seat on the stool.
Now that I had some food in me, I could commit a little more energy towards thinking about my current situation. Okay, so you were attacked by a giant silver snake who strangled you into unconsciousness, possibly death, woke up in a field in the middle of nowhere, ended up getting involved in an active warzone conflict straight out of some fantasy novel, apparently died several times, and are now a potential prisoner to an army of elves... I’ve lost my damned mind haven’t I.
Burying my head in my hands, I rubbed them across my face in frustration. This entire situation made precisely zero sense, and the worst part was I was stuck in wonderland until I found some way home. Whatever had sent me here was probably some complicated magical mumbo jumbo that most likely required an equally complicated magical deus ex machina level of contrived bullshit to send me back, and I didn’t even have any shoes!
Thumping my head on the table a couple times was my attempt to brute force some ideas out of my useless brain. Think, think, think damnit. Winne-the-Pooh wasn’t going to help me right now. Actually, for all I knew, he could walk into my tent with a jar of honey, and I would probably be pretty happy to see him. Yep, I've lost my god damned mind. At this point I was convinced Christopher Robin was a damn nut case.
Okay, okay, what do I have to work with? There were the elves, they seemed to have a good understanding about magical things given all the spell slinging I saw earlier. Maybe I could get their help in some way? But why would they help me? I was a nobody, a ‘peasant’ to quote their king, they had no obligation to assist me with anything.
What else do I have? There was the whole magically coming back to life thing. Could that be used to my advantage? The only applicable thing I could think of that would require the use of such a talent would be if I became a soldier for their army. Problem was, I had no idea how to fight, and really didn’t know how this thing worked. Was there a set number of lives like some sort of arcade game? What was the extent of damage that I could recover from? What would happen if I lost a limb? All these were disconcerting questions that I really didn’t want to find the answers to.
While in the middle of bemoaning my hopeless situation someone entered the tent. My head snapped up at the intruder to see the relatively familiar face of the captain, who looked particularly exhausted right now. It was probably a good idea to be friendly, any amount of help they could give would be welcome.
“Hey, uhm, captain, what can I do for you?” There wasn’t any immediate reply. Instead, the captain took a few steps towards me which caused me to stand up a little straighter like I was at attention, he simply had that kind of presence to him. He brought his hand out from behind his back and presented a bundle of clothing to me.
“Get changed, you will be in the presence of the king and your current attire is unacceptable.”
I looked down at my muddy, bloody clothes. “Ahh, right, sure, I can do that.” Accepting the fresh clothes from the captain, he promptly turned and walked out of the tent. As he exited, another pair of elves entered and dropped off a wash basin, saying that it was so I could clean up my body. I thanked them and once they were gone, stripped out of my soiled outfit and started to clean myself before changing into the new clothes that were given to me.
These clothes were certainly different from what I was used to wearing. It kind of felt like I was dressing up to go to one of those medieval fairs in old timey casual wear, but hey, I had some leather strapped sandals now, so making progress at least. The shirt was white and a little loose on me, but the beige pants fit alright. I wasn’t sure what to do with my old clothes, so I just folded them up and left them on the table.
Brushing aside the tent flap, the evening sun was there to meet me with its’ warmth. The captain was waiting for me outside and gave me a once over before nodding his head slightly. “Acceptable, follow me and do not stray.”
The man marched off deeper into the formation of tents and I quickly stepped over to follow along with the two guards who had been assigned to me close behind. Looking around the camp as we moved, the other soldiers were doing various tasks. Some were maintaining their gear, others were getting something to eat, a couple of them were on patrol, and there were many of them who were simply relaxing. The general mood of the camp was rather relaxed, they obviously didn’t expect trouble here.
Our small group went straight to the center of the camp where the largest tent, obviously belonging to the king, was. We walked right up to the entrance and the captain turned around to address me again.
“You will be in the presence of his majesty King Alathos. You will address him as lord, sire, king, or majesty as appropriate. Do not speak unless spoken to and answer all questions directed at you as concisely as possible. Is that understood?”
Well, now I’m nervous. With a nod that I did understand, the captain turned back around, brushed aside the tent flap, and stepped inside with me right behind him. The tent muted the light inside, but it was still plenty bright. The décor inside the tent looked very kingly with the plush upholstered chairs, richly colored tables with food or drink present, and even a few rugs placed about the interior. There were four individuals inside the tent all standing around the large map table where they were reviewing what was probably the surrounding area. Whatever conversation had been going on beforehand stopped as we entered, and all eyes fell upon us.
I clammed up under the withering gaze of these undoubtably powerful individuals who were rubbing shoulders with the king. The captain stepped forth to announce our arrival. “My lord, I brought the man you requested.”
“Very good captain, you may wait outside.” With a short bow the captain turned and exited the tent, leaving me without a metaphorical shield with which to navigate this situation. “I apologize generals, but I would like a moment to speak with this man. Please avail yourselves to the food in the meantime, I will return shortly.”
King Alathos then stepped around the table and started to approach me as the generals all found some other part of the tent in which to loiter. I tried my best to appear confident, but I was pretty sure I was doing a horrible job at that. Now that I had a look at the king outside of his armor, I noted his features. He had silver grey hair tied up in a neat ponytail that touched at the small of his back. His face was angular yet with soft curves that betrayed the fact that he probably wasn’t one to participate in regular physical activity. His eyes were piercingly blue, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he could burn a hole through whatever he was looking at with the intensity alone. He looked very youthful with the only thing betraying any age being a few wrinkles around the eyes. To top it off he currently sported an embroidered vest with runic symbols stitched in gold about it and clean black pants that ended in slightly dirtied boots.
His entire being practically screamed royalty and here I was, a stranger in their world facing down a king. “The mysterious man who appeared in the middle of my battlefield, at last we get the chance to properly meet. What is your name?”
Swallowing my apprehensions and steadying my voice I attempted a reply. “It’s James, uhm, sire.” How the hell does one even converse with royalty? Okay, just pretend you're roleplaying, you’re dressed up and everything, now act the part.
“James hmm, doesn’t sound like a common name for those living near the capital. Are you from the southern provinces perhaps?”
“I, uhh...” I forgot, I'm terrible at acting.
“There’s no need to be nervous James, you’re not in any trouble. In fact, I would like to invite you to the capital as a personal guest of mine. It would please me greatly to have you accept.”
Wait, what? I’m a personal guest of the king now? Why? I hadn’t done anything that would make me that important, in fact, I haven’t done anything at all since coming to this world. Maybe he’s interested in my situation too? There was no way to know the motives behind this invitation, but it felt like it was something you couldn’t refuse. Maybe this could be an opportunity to make some new powerful friends in this world who could help me get back to mine.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“I would be honored to accept your invitation.” I dipped my head a little bit to convey appropriate respect to his offer.
His lips curled upwards in a slight smile. “Excellent, we will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning. I would leave today, but there are still some matters that need my attention. Captain Versillion will come collect you when it is time to depart, until then, rest up for it will take most of tomorrow to reach the capital.” He gestured for me to take my leave, so I did so.
Stepping outside the tent a mystified feeling overcame me at the progress of events I had gone through. Other than initially landing in an active battle, things seemed to be progressing very smoothly and I assumed positively. Apparently, I wasn’t a prisoner but a guest, and of the king no less. There were some concerns over how easily it was all coming together, but I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so my misgivings were kept to myself.
My escorts took me back to my tent and left me to my own devices for a while. It was just past midday, so I still had a lot of time to burn before tomorrow. Boredom was kicking in fast, and there was only so much pacing a man could take. A little exercise helped burn an hour or two, but I was quickly back to just finding anything with which to entertain myself. I drew pictures in the dirt, performed a drum solo with the table as my instrument, and even indulged in a little murmur singing with accompanying awkward dance. What I would have done to have a book or something to read at the very least, though any book here was probably written in a language I couldn’t understand.
Dinner was delivered and that was a welcome distraction from my boredom. They gave me a bowl of potato soup with little bits of meat in it. Oddly enough, the soup made me feel homesick. I missed the soup kitchen, the friends I made, my apartment, my family at the orphanage, hell, even school was missed. I just wanted to go home.
The soup left me in a bit of a dour mood. It was appreciated for sure, and it tasted better than lunch had, but I would rather be eating Alissa’s soup right now. My thoughts began to wander towards how long I would be here, how long it would take for me to get back home, I’d probably miss my chance to ask her out next week. Shit, I also had a test this week. Hopefully being abducted to another world is a good enough excuse for my absence. Then again, I would most likely be thrown into an asylum if I tried to use that excuse.
Once the soup was finished, I set the bowl down on the table next to my bloodied clothes. The clothes really needed a wash but were probably already horribly stained, not to mention the holes that would need to be patched in them. Just then someone new came into my tent. I had not seen this elf before, and he was dressed down from the usual soldiers that I was accustomed to at this point. He bowed his head towards me slightly and then began to talk.
“Might I take those sir, for cleaning?” He said with a gesture towards the bowl and clothes.
The clothes were basically useless to me in their current state, so if they were offering to clean them then I had no problem with that. “Go ahead, can’t exactly wear them as they are anyway.” I gave a little friendly chuckle. The elf offered nothing more in terms of the conversation and just collected the items before disappearing behind the tent flap.
The light outside was just starting to fade as the shadows crawled across the camp, growing ever larger. While in the middle of doing a little dance with music playing in my head the tent flap opened again. My dance quickly ended, and I stood up as straight as possible, slightly embarrassed and wondering if they saw that. It was the elf from before and he returned bearing my clothes in a much cleaner state than they were before. After a quick thanks for the service, he turned and exited with another slight bow.
For all the dirt and blood that was on it he did a good job with the cleaning. There were dark spots where I had bled into the fabric and it left a stain, but it was still a vast improvement. The holes were there, however, but maybe it wasn’t his job to do such things and I would be on my own in that regard. I only had a cursory idea of how to patch clothing, but it could be done if I found the right supplies. As it was now, I would have to continue wearing the medieval garb as it was the cleanest and most presentable option available.
It was getting dark enough that it became possible to get some sleep. Stripping off my shirt but leaving the pants on, as I crawled into the cot and pulled the thin blanket over me. It felt a little rough, but manageable in terms of annoyance levels. Tossing and turning, it took me a few minutes to find a comfortable position on the unfamiliar bed that had little in the way of support. After a couple of minutes, I finally found a position that was conducive to a long rest and settled in.
In the quiet of the night with only the soft sounds of activity from the rest of the camp my mind was left to wander. A part of me was still trying to come to terms with landing in this strange place filled with magic and monsters, another part was trying to come up with any ideas of how to escape this new reality, and a third part was contemplating how best to even survive in this world. What would I do for money or food? It was doubtful that I could just leech off the king's good graces forever. Eventually all these separate thoughts tired themselves out and I was finally able to forget all my problems for a little bit and sleep.
The next morning saw an early rise as I had been warned would occur. The captain jostled me awake and instructed me to get dressed and grab whatever was mine. This task was accomplished in record time as I had next to nothing and was already half dressed. The crisp dawn air outside was a sobering feeling and the early morning light, just barely peaking up from the horizon, made me yawn. The smell of morning dew, smoke from campfires and the cooking of the first meal of the day were all encompassing.
Captain Versillion led the way to a food line where others were collecting their meals. Most of those in the line were in their early morning garb with some of them being partly armored up. Our turn to get food came up and I was quickly handed a strip of dried meat and some more bread. We ate as we walked and had just finished up the last bit of my meal when we came upon a small caravan of horses being saddled up.
“Do you know how to ride a horse?” Versillion asked.
“Uhh, no.” I answered honestly. I hadn’t lived anywhere rural, so the amount of horses present was negligible to non-existent.
The captain let out a sigh and then gestured for me to follow. “Fine, you’ll ride with me.”
That was both okay and not okay. It was reassuring to have someone who could actually handle the animal was in charge, but it also looked awkward to try and fit two people on one horse. We went up to the front of the pack and the captain mounted a horse with practiced ease.
“Put your foot in the stirrup and then swing your leg up and over.” Versillion instructed.
Following the instructions, and with a couple little bouncing hops beforehand, I jumped up and mounted the horse. A smile began to creep onto my face as I sat astride the horse. I felt like a cowboy, though the presence of the captain, whom I was getting intimately close with, lessened that feeling somewhat. The rest of the company mounted up as well and a moment later I saw King Alathos stride over, wearing his ceremonial looking armor minus the helmet. His gaze fell on me and the captain for a moment and there was a brief flash of a smile across his face before he too mounted his steed.
“We make for the capital, to home men!” Alathos shouted out to the caravan who promptly gave their horses a nudge to get them moving. Our group of around twenty exited the camp at a quick trotting speed that bounced me up and down in the saddle as we went. It was a rougher ride than I imagined it would be, or maybe it was because I was new to this. Attempting to hold myself down against the horse to help prevent some of the bouncing was met with limited success. This would be a trip that would last most of the day, according to Alathos, and if I didn’t find any way to ride comfortably this would suck.
We got out into the open field, and I marveled at the simplistic natural beauty that it contained. My experience being outside of a city was limited due to school and work, so this trip through the natural world was kind of nice. I decided to try and make small talk with the captain while we traveled so I can learn a little bit more about what’s going on.
“So, why were you guys fighting those monsters?”
“Do we need a reason to kill those savages? If you really want to know the specifics, we were informed of that army roaming through our lands and pillaging the towns as they went. It was a threat that could not be ignored, so we mobilized in force to crush them.”
Okay, understandable. “Right...” There was a pause that took place to separate the different topics. “What’s the capital like?”
“Never been? I suppose you must live out in the sticks then. It is a majestic city that holds the most impressive examples of our architecture and magical constructs. You’ll see it soon enough.”
“I guess I will.” We rode along through the plains until we reached a forest. It looked similar to any other forest, but small details were changed. There were different and very colorful flowers, strangely shaped mushrooms grew much larger than anything on earth, and there were insects flying about that couldn’t be identified in the slightest.
We stopped at a lake a few hours later to water the horses and switch mounts to not tire them out. The break allowed me to stretch and get off my sore butt. However, it only lasted about half an hour before we were once again back on the road.
The forest was full of life to the point that it practically pulsed in the air. It felt magical, in fact, it could very well be magical considering everything else that had happened. There was a compulsion to explore, like a tickling sensation that demanded to be scratched, but my current situation forbade it, so the feeling quickly vanished.
A couple hours passed with me alternating between being saddle sore and enjoying the surroundings. The forest started to thin, and we could see open fields again. Soon after that, the fields of grass started to turn into fields of grain, orchards of apples, and other grown produce. It was becoming clear that we were getting close to the city as signs of civilization became more prominent.
The sun was starting to get low in the sky when a glint on the horizon caught my eye. This glint turned into a sparkle as spires rose from the earth and stretched into the air. The towers gave way to a castle sitting atop a tall hill which spread downwards into a city of stone and large gleaming crystals. Even from a distance it looked like how you would imagine a fantasy city to be. My anticipation was boundless, and I almost spurred on the horse into a full gallop to get there faster. Luckily, I had some measure of restraint left to realize that was probably a bad idea that would get me both thrown off the horse and earn the ire of the captain at the same time. Still, I was smiling like an idiot as we approached, and I couldn’t wait to get my first look at the city up close.