The thick stone walls of Ralynn Castle kept out the cold and held in the heat. The roaring open fire at one end of Max’s chamber was piled high with logs of sweet-smelling timber and plenty of shimmering black coal. The castle staff kept the fire fueled and burning brightly. Max had dragged his little bunk so close to the fire that his face glowed. He had spent too many days and long nights out in the cold, wandering about the wilderness, battling bizarre creatures and dark enemies. For the first time since waking up here in Eveirea, he felt at ease. At last, he could take some time to rest, relax, and really start to feel warm.
The rain slashed against the small glass window, huge drops of near-freezing water coming in waves on a chill wind. His chamber in this high corner tower was warm and dry, but through the small window he could see the cold and wet city below. Even though it was late afternoon, the city was dark under the heavy rain clouds. Flaming torches were already lit across the city, small flickering orange lights along the main street and in the doorways of homes and businesses. The sight of the cold, wet city sent a shiver down his spine.
It was not so long ago that he was high above another cold and rainswept city. Then he had been a thief, climbing tower blocks and stealing valuables from hard-to-reach places for his gangster boss. The last job in that city had placed him in the middle of a transport experiment: an experiment that had activated under a storm cloud, an experiment that had thrown him across the universe and left him here on this strange world, Eveirea.
That had been a new city, skyscraping tower blocks of steel frames clad in shining glass and chrome. This city was old, built from timber and stone. He knew which he preferred.
Max pulled the rough blanket over his shoulders and looked down at the sodden Ralynn City below. Thatch rooftops far below the castle spread across the city. Steam and smoke rising from the thatch roofs, light spilling out of doorways and uncovered windows glistened on the damp streets. Somewhere down there was the little back street tavern he’d recently found. The Roasted Lamb. It was hardly big enough to get a whole lamb over the fire in that cramped little tavern, but the music was good, and that barmaid had given him the eye. As soon as he was fully rested, he’d head back there, try that dark dwarven ale and a bowl of thick-cut lamb chops in sauce.
Only in the last day or so had he been able to come to terms with what had actually happened to him and where he was, but he still couldn’t understand how he had come to be here. If it wasn’t all so real, he would swear it was a dream. He pinched himself several times a day to make sure. Sometimes he thought he must have slipped off that glass-sided tower block and was now lying in a hospital somewhere, deep in a coma. That made more sense than living in this strange world.
There was only one other person here in Eveirea who knew the world that Max had left behind, and he wasn’t even sure she was real. At the moment, she appeared in his thoughts at his shoulder. The ghostly image of the laboratory technician who’d been swept up with him in the transport experiment appeared in shimmering white surrounded by a deep-black outline that was blacker than the empty void of space. Her white lab coat billowed out around her like a cape, her red hair floating behind her as if she was adrift in zero gravity. She first showed up about the size of a kitten and slowly grew to fully adult human size as she spoke.
“You are here because you tried to steal industrial diamonds from the transport portal experiment.” Janet said.
“Are you listening to my thoughts?” Max said, rather nervous. He didn’t want her to know what he really thought about her, that even though she was clearly some sort of science geek, she was a stone-cold babe.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Max,” Janet said. “You only have one thought.”
Max shrugged and pulled the rough blanket tightly around his shoulders. So what if she knew he thought she was hot?
“The only thing you ever think about is how you ended up here.”
Max relaxed.
The chamber door opened slightly, heavy timber on well-greased iron hinges moving with hardly a sound. Princess Shree slipped in through the few open inches. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and leaned back against it.
“Well,” Janet said. “Maybe not the only thing you think about.”
Janet faded away, returning to the dark portal where she was trapped, caught in the transport portal somewhere between Earth and Eveirea. Max hunted around his chambers to check that she wasn’t lingering somewhere.
“Who are you looking for?” Shree said, her voice purring.
“No one,” Max said with a smile. “Just checking we’re alone.”
Shree nodded. “Alone at last,” she said as she walked towards Max. She practically floated as she slipped a bag off her shoulder and moved to the roaring fire. She laid a blanket on the stone hearth in front of the fire and sat down. Patting the blanket, she invited Max to sit next to her.
“Isn’t the stone floor a bit uncomfortable?” Max asked.
Shree took a large bottle of deep-red wine out of her bag and set it on the stone hearth. She looked up at him, bit her lip, and shook her head. She wiped her hand over the blanket. “This is a Blanket of Comfort. Always soft and warm and comfortable.” She pulled Max down to her.
The blanket was soft. Max could not feel the gray flagstones that lay on the floor before the fireplace.
Shree slid closer to him. Max had never been lucky with the ladies, but ever since arriving here in Eveirea, they couldn’t leave him alone—all except Anita the Druid. Maybe that was why he was attracted to her so much.
Shree poured a goblet of wine and sipped it. She wrinkled her nose at the strong taste.
Max sat up. “Shouldn’t you be at your lessons?”
“I drugged the tutor,” Shree said, smiling, biting her lip. “She’s snoring like a cart hog.” Shree slid closer to Max. She loosened the bow on the laces holding her top closed and let the laces hang. She pulled a long pin from her hair and shook her hair loose.
A knock at the door came just as Max slid forward over the Blanket of Comfort to find more comfort in the arms of the beautiful princess. Before Max could answer the knock, the door was flung wide open. The flames flickered and crackled in the sudden gust of wind.
Anita walked in, flinging the heavy door shut behind her as easily as if it had been a tent flap. Her toned muscles on her bare arms rippled. Her dark hair tumbling over her tanned shoulders. She smiled as she paced towards the fire, her cropped leather tunic straining to keep her ample chest and her enthusiasm contained. The straps of her leather fighting skirt swishing as she came and sat down on the bed, arms on her knees.
“Hello, Max,” she said brightly. “Princess,” she added with a nod.
“Anita,” Max said. He could never turn the Druid away. Her hypnotic green almond-shaped eyes had entranced him from the first moment he’d seen her. “Can I help you?”
Anita smiled at Max. “Maybe I can help you. I’ve been studying with the Ralynn City Druid circle. They are only a small group, but I have just gained a permanent increase in my Wisdom stat. It’s always good to be open to new ideas. I just came to see if you wanted to come to a session this afternoon. We’re studying healing herbs. Maybe you’ll learn something and get a Wisdom stat boost too.”
Max didn’t have the heart to tell Anita that he wasn’t a bit excited about herb lore or the local Druid circle, that even though he could undoubtedly benefit from an increase to his Wisdom stat, he was quite happy to forego that little bit of character development and see what Princess Shree had to teach him instead.
“You are not busy with anything right now, are you?” Anita said. Then she spotted Princess Shree surreptitiously fastening her top. Anita looked at Max and her eyes widened. She appeared a little surprised, even crestfallen. “Oh, I see,” she said. “You’re busy.” She stood up to leave.
“We’re just hanging out, you know,” Max said.
“Hanging out?” Anita sounded confused. “Like,” she pointed to the small window, “hanging out the window?”
Shree looked up at Max, also confused. “We didn’t even open the window, and we’re too far up to hang out of it.”
“No, hanging out,” Max said. “You know, chilling.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Anita shook her head. “The fire is bright and warm, Max. If you have a chill, maybe you are unwell.” She turned on her heel and marched to the door. “I will prepare a medicinal tea for you.”
Max was about to try and explain. He kept forgetting how the people he met in Eveirea often could not understand a word he said. But as Anita reached the door, it burst open. In walked Jahrod.
The Warrior dwarf was not wearing his heavy plate armor that Max was accustomed to seeing him in, but some casual clothes that he’d found in the castle. They were extraordinarily brightly colored, something Max still couldn’t get used to. In the wilderness, Jahrod was a drab and gruff figure, but since he’d been resting in the castle, he had shown a surprising inclination towards bright garish, colorful items of clothing and footwear. His shoes had curled toes and were a vivid green. The deep-blue short pants were a little too tight, it seemed. A bright-red tunic with gold-and-purple embroidery completed the outfit, one that reminded Max of an explosion in a fancy dress hire store. Jahrod’s beard was still a huge mass of dark wiry hair. When he grinned, he showed the two rows of heavy, crushing yellow teeth.
“Max, Anita,” Jahrod said brightly. Then he bowed to Shree. “Princess.”
“Is there something you need, Jahrod?” Max said.
Jahrod jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “I have just had the first bowl of scromble in an age. My nephew works in the kitchen, and he made something that tasted almost like it. He couldn’t get all the right ingredients, but he did his best.” Jahrod patted his stomach. “It is not as strong as the proper scromble back home. I don’t think they can get the really ripe guano this far south, but it is pretty good. You want to come and try some?”
Max wrinkled his nose. He’d seen the sort of things Jahrod liked to eat, and he’d been warned about scromble. Max was about to make an excuse when a look of sudden realization swept over Jahrod’s face, as much of it as Max could see through the heavy dwarven beard.
“Oh, that’s right, you are busy. What did you call it, dangling out?”
“Hanging out,” Max corrected him.
Jahrod backed towards the door. Anita went with him.
“We’ll leave you to your dangling then,” Anita said.
Max nodded and smiled as Anita closed the door.
Shree pulled Max back to the Blanket of Comfort before the fire. “Your friends are funny,” she said.
Max had spent so much time with them recently. They’d all been through so much. Now that he was rested, he realized how little time he’d spent with them in the last couple of days.
“Maybe I should go and try some of Jahrod’s scromble,” Max said.
Shree wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think you should. If it doesn’t kill you, you’ll never get the taste out of your mouth. And even if you could free your taste buds, you’ll never be able to forget it, and it’ll spoil every meal you ever have afterwards. Only dwarfs can eat that stuff. And if you ever did try it, I don’t think I could ever kiss you.”
“Kiss me?” Max said.
“If you insist,” Shree said with a smile and crawled towards him, the untied strings of her loose top hanging down. Just as she came close to Max, the door again burst open.
“Up, up, Max.” Elderon the Master Mage swept into the chamber, leaving the door open behind him. “Princess, leave us.”
Max was a little taken aback by his mentor’s sudden arrival and by the way he spoke to the princess. Everyone else in the castle spoke to her with such deference, but Elderon spoke plainly.
Shree got to her feet and gave Max a shy and apologetic smile. “We’ll hang out soon,” she said and walked to the door.
Max stood up and pulled the blanket off the floor.
“Your blanket,” Max said, holding it out to her.
She smiled. “Keep it. You can give it to me one day.” She winked and closed the heavy timber door.
>
>
> Max gains Blanket of Comfort.
>
>
Max reached into his Satchel and removed his rough blanket. He tossed it onto his bed and stuffed the Blanket of Comfort into his Satchel in its place. He was able to fit it in with ease even though his inventory had grown massively. He focused to take a quick look at his inventory. The little rivers of rain running down the window pane formed a table of his inventory.
>
>
> Inventory:
>
> • Satchel
>
> • Good Boots
>
> • Mage Book
>
> • Golden Roc Catapult
>
> • Blanket of Comfort
>
> • Torch
>
> • Polished Wooden Dagger
>
> • Hood of Sneaking
>
> • Polished Staff
>
> • Superior Bullets
>
> • Fine Rope
>
> • Collar of Control
>
> • Padded Leather Tunic
>
> • Dagger of Poison Blade
>
> • Potion of Intelligence
>
> • Flint Tool
>
> • Scroll of Summon Storm Elemental
>
> • Ring of Shadows
>
> • Shortsword of True Striking
>
> • Ring of Extra Spells
>
> • Shortsword of Cold
>
> • Pendant of Defense
>
>
“Elderon,” Max said, pleading, “I am not ready for a magic lesson just now.” He looked away from the table of inventory on the window, and the table melted away, the rivulets of rain flowing naturally down the glass once again.
“Grave news, Max” Elderon said. “An army comes. Common folk from the lands east of here are reporting an army moving towards the Kingdom of Faregent. Pack your things, young Mage. We will travel east from Faregent towards the Hinge and observe this army.”
“The Hinge?” Max looked out at the cold, wet afternoon that had suddenly turned darker. The wind howled and rain lashed the window.
“Pay attention, Max.” Elderon waved his hands over the fire, and a map appeared in the flames. Max could see the two continents of Eveirea and knew he was on the western continent, Awen. Across the Kraken Sea was the eastern continent, Scarfel. The continent of Awen was split into north and south by a long and narrow body of water running from the western ocean and almost to the Kraken Sea on the east coast. Elderon pointed at the narrow sea on the map, and it briefly glowed.
“This is the Salt River. It almost cuts Awen in two except for where north and south Awen meet at the Hinge on the east coast.”
Max could see the kingdoms of southern Awen on the map. He was in the city of Ralynn in the Kingdom of Faregent, which lay between the Breamor Kingdom in the west and the Hinge. North of the Salt River lay two huge kingdoms, the Kingdom of Deepwood, and to the far west, dominating most of the Awen continent, was the Kingdom of Ragewind. At the northern edge of the continent was a long range of mountains of the land known as Essillt. Max knew this was where the Mage council had their seat of power.
At the eastern edge of Essillt, on the banks of the Kraken Sea, was the Kingdom of Eastwind with its bays and river inlets. On the continent of Scarfel, Max saw the long range of high mountains, as high as those of Essillt. The mountains ran north to south, sheer cliffs facing the Kraken Sea, jagged peaks reaching the clouds. The Scarfel Range ran unbroken save for a narrow gap in the north across the Kraken Sea directly opposite a small bay and a port town of Eastcrossing in the Kingdom of Eastwind. Max read the strange names on the Scarfel continent for a moment before Elderon directed Max’s attention back to the Hinge.
“King Aris Deadtide currently holds the Hinge. He is based at his stronghold, Castle Deadtide, on the eastern end of the Salt River. If he is attacking Faregent, it may be that he has fallen to the darkness. I want to observe this army and discover if this is human politics and war or if King Aris Deadtide, who has long been an ally of King Glynn and the kingdom of Faregent, is in fact driven by darkness.” Elderon looked at Max. “We have not stopped the darkness, only slowed its advance.”
Max looked out of the small window. The rain had eased in the last few minutes. It was not heavy but persistent. And the sky was growing darker as the sun slowly slipped to the horizon. It would be dark before he could get out of the city, meaning they would be walking in the wilderness beyond the city in the dark of night. And Max was sure rain would come, hard and heavy, before dawn. He shivered at the thought.
“Do you really need me?” Max said.
“I will not leave you here, Max. You are my responsibility. You are still a very low-level Mage, and you may be in danger. Some in Eveirea may know of your origins and your connection to the darkness, that you came here through the dark portal. They would do you great harm if they found you. You would be little more than a key to them gaining power by controlling the dark portal for themselves. No, Max, you cannot stay. You must come with me.”
Max had previously had encounters with Assassins sent to find and kill him. He knew Elderon was right. Although Max could cast some impressive spells, he was only a Level 3 Mage and had a limited number of spells available to him. He knew Elderon was not the most fun person to be around, but he did keep Max safe, as safe as anyone could be in this wild world.
“Should we first rest and resupply, be sure we are fully prepared for the journey?” Max nodded as if he had settled on the best way to proceed. “Yes, Elderon, we will set off at first light.”
The door burst open, and in stepped Jahrod in full plate armor. Anita behind him in her fighting leathers. Her spear of flame at her side, the stone spearhead glowing a dull red, hinting at the powerful fire magic that lay within.
“Max,” Anita said, “have you not heard?”
“The approaching army?” Max asked.
Jahrod stepped forward and grabbed Max’s Padded Leather Tunic from the dressing stand. He threw it at Max hard. “You will have to try my nephew’s scromble another time, young Mage.”
Max peeled the tunic off his face and slipped it on. He wished he could be as enthusiastic as the rest of his party. He selected the Soft Boots. They were perhaps not as sturdy as the Good Boots, but he liked them, and they were better for climbing.
Anita handed Max his Satchel. He took out his sword belt and scabbard and then selected one of his shortswords. A plain shortsword he had bought in a town far from here. It had no special ability, just a sharp edge. But then there was his Shortsword of True Striking and the Shortsword of Cold. He looked out of the window. It was cold enough out there. He slipped the Shortsword of True Striking into his scabbard. He left the plain shortsword propped up against the bed.
Elderon handed Max his Polished Staff.
“Ready?” Elderon asked.
Max laid his staff on the bed. He took out his Golden Roc Catapult and hooked it to his belt. He stood with his hand resting on the pommel of the sword in its scabbard.
“Ready,” he agreed.
“Are you going to leave your staff behind, young Mage?” Jahrod said.
“Yes,” he said and walked to the door. “I’d rather take an umbrella.”
“What’s an umbrella?” Jahrod said. “Can you eat it?”
“I expect you could,” Max said.
Anita wrapped an arm over Max shoulder. “It’s good to be heading out again with the party, don’t you think, Max?” she smiled at him and held him tight.
A flash of lightning lit up the room. It sent a shiver down Max’s spine. It was thanks to a thunderstorm that he’d ended up here in Eveirea, that and a giant science experiment gone wrong.
“Yes,” Max said as brightly as he could manage. “Nothing like heading out to adventure with the party back together again.”
“Let’s move fast,” said Anita. “The weather will be getting bad in a few hours. We should go.”
The thunder shook the small window as Max closed the door behind him. “Getting worse?” he said to himself. “How could it get any worse?”