Professor Dweli slipped her arms around my neck to give me a hug and hold me in close. “It’s going to be all right, okay? We’ll… get him back. Somehow. I should’ve grabbed that damn book! Well, he’s not going far. I’ll beat it out of him. Does he actually believe all that stuff about another world past the storms?”
My Master had just disappeared before our eyes. An Initiate of the Mage’s Guild, Roffil, tricked him into stepping into a spell circle, which banished him from the face of Terra. I was the bait used, taking advantage of Master’s desire to take care of me to get him to think less clearly.
Roffil thinks he’s the hero, because he “vanquished a demon from the World of Chaos” or something similar. He ran off, leaving me in shock and Dweli trying to get me to snap out of it. It’s not working.
“It’s true. Some of it.” I was barely aware of what I was saying, I was just in shock.
She pulled back somewhat. “Is there anything you two won’t hide from me?”
“He’s not a demon, he’s just… from another world. Like Terra but different. It’s called Earth, and it’s a world where magic is… unknown, and so mankind went down the path of science instead. Technology, machines, devices… But he’s as human as you or Roffil. Well, maybe not Roffil.”
“So he’s not in danger? He’s just… home?”
“Earth isn’t home, it’s hell. There’s too many people, everyone hates everyone. The tower is home. Hammerfell is home.” I glared at the corner of the room, lost for a moment in bitter memories. And now Earth had taken Master from me. No, no, Roffil did that. A low growl began to rumble in my chest and throat.
There were shouts outside, voices. Dweli nudged me. “They’ll be here soon. Just… Stay with me. We might need Roffil, so no attacking him. Yet.” Figures she’d understand what was on my mind.
Professor Elwarn was first on the scene, with a scared-looking Roffil in tow. Seeing him survey the damage, the broken door, splinters of wood, shards of crystal, burned tatters of rug, ash on the floor, dirt and dust everywhere… I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him actually look shocked. Maybe I’m forgetting a moment during our first visit, but I always remembered him looking more like an iron statue than a person. “Professor Dweli, would you mind telling me what the hell happened here?”
“Mage Tola has been attacked. Roffil used some sort of spell to… teleport him out, as far as we can tell? But we aren’t sure where. Roffil has some pretty outlandish claims, though.”
“They’re NOT ‘outlandish’!” Roffil couldn’t resist bristling at the comment. “They’re true! He’s back where he belongs, in the Chaos World! He’s… His kind is behind the Storms!”
As much as it pained me to stay silent, I knew I had to. If I spoke up, they wouldn’t believe me, as Master’s pet. Not only that, but it would weaken his case. All I could do was glare at Roffil and hope he could feel how badly I wanted to shred him. Maybe feed him to the hatchlings.
“We don’t know that, Initiate!” Dweli could snap at him, at least. That helped a lot. “All we have is your word. We’ll have to examine the spell you used, we’ll have to… to… I don’t know! We need some kind of proof!”
Elwarn snatched the tome Roffil was waving around out of his hands before he could even try to brag about it. “I assume this contains the basis of your assumptions, Initiate?”
Roffil managed to look even more arrogant. “It’s genius! I made incredible breakthroughs on the Storms, I even managed to contain a piece of one inside a gem, the one affixed to the cover! It’s an invaluable focus for any spells related to them!”
Elwarn was already looking through the pages. “This is going to take time. Your runework is as sloppy as ever. For now, we are confiscating this, and I will begin the investigation. Initiate Roffil, you are to be confined to quarters for the time being. If I even THINK you are setting foot outside them without permission… I don’t think even your father can extricate you from the mess you’ll find yourself in, even if he were so inclined.”
The kid paled at the ice-cold glare Professor Elwarn fixed him with, swallowing hard, but he drew courage from his convictions. His chest puffed out, even if his voice did shake a little. “You’ll see. You’ll all see, you’ll be thanking me in no time!” With that, he stormed out of the room, presumably heading to his quarters to wait for word.
Elwarn sighed deeply as he looked at the book in his hands, then at the scene again. “Professor, if you could keep poor… Princess, yes? If you could keep her from being too distraught without her Master… I understand there’s no control spell to worry about, but I do worry how she’ll react without his guidance. Let me know if you need any sort of bindings, or any other supplies.”
“N-no, nothing like that is needed. She trusts me, I think.” She looked at me and I pushed my head into her hands, trying to show that I’d be good without giving myself away.
“Good, that’s one less thing to worry about in all this mess. I’ll contact Master Korrigan once I’m back in my office, let him know what we know, but I’ll direct him to you if he has questions. I need to go over this… collection of writings he calls a spellbook.” Seeming to consider the matter closed the moment he was done talking, he simply nodded before leaving.
Dweli and I retreated to the nursery storeroom, where the squeaking hatchlings were happy to see us.
“So, now what do we do…?” Dweli idly petted the green female hatchling, the one I’d started calling Relia. I hadn’t come up with names for all of them yet, but that was a nice sounding name.
“I don’t know, but we have to get Master back… Maybe there will be a spell that can be used, or the others can make one out of Roffil’s research? Once they figure out how the ‘banishment’ worked?” The red one was pawing at me, and I decided on the name Koralldon somehow.
We sat mostly in silence, stewing in our inability to do anything. I had lost track of how much time had passed when there was a knock at the door. Dweli answered it to find a courier, one of the staff that spent their time fetching things and assisting the mages and such. “Master Korrigan’s been looking for you, madam. He tried using your messaging stone but you’re not at your office…” He trailed off a little, feeling awkward to state the obvious, perhaps.
“Oh, yes, I didn’t think about that. Thank you. Could you go to my office and fetch that for me? I’d rather not leave the dragons alone right now.”
“Yes, madam. Right away.” With that, he took off towards the other buildings. It wasn’t long before another knock signaled his return.
She took the crystal ball-like object. “Thank you again. I shouldn’t need anything else, I’ll find another courier if I need to.” He nodded and took off again.
Dweli closed the door, sitting on the floor and holding the ball in her hands, focusing on it. “Master Korrigan, sorry about the difficulty. How can I assist you? I have Princess with me as well.” I don’t think anyone’s had a chance to tell Korrigan that Dweli knew I could talk, but maybe he would pick up on the hint. After a moment, the ball began to glow, signifying a two-way connection had been established.
The stern, authoritative voice echoed from the ball. “Glad she’s safe. I’m told you know about what happened.”
“I was there, but I wouldn’t say I understand it, Sir.”
“I don’t understand it, either. This business with another world… If they truly are behind these… Chaos Storms, as that Roffil boy calls them… This could be an incredible danger. Have you heard anything about this?”
“I… Perhaps… Are you… busy with visitors? If so, perhaps we could talk later? There’s… someone who might know more, but…” She was staring at me, struggling to find a way to refer to me without giving me away.
“Busy? This matter is what I’m busy with! If there’s any information, I need to–… Is it a ‘mystery witness’?”
Dweli looked at me questioningly. That was the term that was used for me on our first visit, so I nodded. I don’t know if that was a term that was widely used, but it’s how Master and Korrigan initially spoke of me.
“Yes, Sir.”
There was silence for a moment. “I think I want to hear this in person. Where are you?”
“Storehouse two. If you have a moment, the hatchlings would love you if you brought some more meat for them.”
The administrator chuckled softly. “Very well. I’ve been wanting an excuse to see them anyway.” The glow faded, signifying the connection was severed.
There was a knock on the door, but then it opened almost immediately after. It seems Korrigan considered the knock a minor courtesy before entering. “I stopped at the feast hall on the way in and they gave me this, apparently this isn’t the first you’ve requested.”
“It’s important that they eat properly during this formative time in their lives.” Dweli’s reply was chipper, with a grin that made it clear she had no shame in abusing her rank to get special privileges for the hatchlings.
The “Leader of Academics” sat down on the floor, carefully taking pieces of meat and feeding them to the little tiny dragons, a grim smile on his face. “Your owner is a most perplexing fellow, you know. The rumors, the strangeness, the way he talks, the things he knows, the things he doesn’t know… And from what Elwarn tells me, there is some weight to Roffil’s accusations, as loathe as I am to believe them. The magic as written only reacts to things that have… been touched by the storms, perhaps. I deeply hope you have a very, VERY good explanation for what is happening to the world.”
It felt good to finally be able to speak up on this mess. “I have… some information, but I don’t think I have an explanation.”
First, I filled him in on the attack, then I filled him in on what I saw of the spell. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell much about magic beyond its presence, the motion of flowing energy.
Korrigan clearly was getting annoyed that I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. “I didn’t ask about what’s already been reported to me, I asked about this Other-world business.”
“Yeah, well… It’s… awkward. But yes, there… is another world, beyond the storms. But it’s not responsible for them! Chaos storms are a problem there, as well! I think they may be… some kind of weakening of whatever keeps the two worlds apart, normally. For one thing, there’s no actual rain in them, your clothes aren’t wet if you’re caught in one.”
“From what we’ve observed, wet clothes are the least of your worries. Generally, victims are never seen again. Sometimes entire swaths of land are devastated. Rarely, entirely different trees and plants are there in their place. Sometimes even fragments of stone that weren’t there before, or perhaps unearthed by the scouring.”
“I don’t know too much about them, but one of the things that can happen… is that after the storm passes, you find yourself in the other world. That’s how Master came to Terra, he was caught in one of the storms on Earth. At first, he thought he’d gotten lost, but even after it cleared, he couldn’t find anything he recognized.”
“Terra isn’t just a single kingdom, you’re talking about all the lands, known and unknown. And you’re talking about ‘Earth’ like you’re certain it’s something different. It’s possible he was simply teleported from another kingdom.”
“With all due respect, Sir, it’s not. Earth is a world of its own. All the lands are known and accounted for, and Terra simply isn’t among them.”
Dweli shook her head. “What do you mean, all lands are known? There’s… there’s always more land! Just keep going in any direction! Cross whatever water is in your way!”
I grimaced, sighing again. “If Terra is similar enough to Earth, then that’s not true. If it is true, then that’s just more proof the two worlds are different. It’s hard to explain, but… Literally the entirety of Earth has been seen, mapped, charted… Inside and out, above and below. Terra is something different. Trust me on this.”
Korrigan picked up another piece of meat, offering it to Koralldon, stroking a finger along her back gently. “Your owner trusted you a lot to tell you this much.”
“I’ve listened intently to all the stories he’s told me. I might be the one being on Terra the most knowledgeable about Earth, with Master gone.”
Dweli was still unconvinced. “How can there be a land that exists, yet not be part of the land that exists?”
Korrigan nodded. “She raises a point.”
I sighed. I hadn’t wanted to bring this up, but maybe it was time. “What about England?”
“I said a land that exists.”
“It does. On Earth. We think the legends are from people who have crossed between the worlds in the past. Earth has a lot of legends that are simply fact on Terra, like magic. And dragons.”
Both Korrigan and Dweli stared with widened eyes. “That might be an accusation bolder than this demon business. You don’t think Tola may have been… making things up to impress you? Or test the limits of your belief? Or for any reason at all?”
My tail thumped lightly, which made the hatchlings stiffen and look around, wanting to see what upset their mother. “I swear it is the utter truth. As sure as the sky is blue and things fall down, or anything else that is unshakeable fact.”
The blue female squeaked in protest at not being given food. I thought for a moment about names and settled on Taya. Taking a piece from the bowl in my jaws, I brought it down to her and let her nibble at it, tearing little pieces off with her fangs and gulping them down.
Korrigan stroked his chin, seeming to be lost in thought. “That still doesn’t help us much on how to proceed.”
The clearing of a throat got his attention, Dweli speaking up. “Hearing from Princess is one thing, but for any proper investigation, we need to hear from the accused, don’t we? From Mage Tola?”
“Ideally, but how? That idiot child only drafted the single spell. Who knows how long it will take to create something that can reach him, let alone find a way to, wherever he is?”
My tail lashed. Taking a deep breath, I spoke up. “We use the spell again. Set it up again. We can try it, if nothing else. Even if it doesn’t work, it would be practice in understanding it, right?”
“That’s a pretty thin excuse, dragon.” He levelled a gaze at me, one I didn’t much care for.
“But it’s something! We have to try it! If there’s even the slimmest chance… Please, it’s the only thing I have to hold on to… If I really do lose Master, I… I don’t know what I’ll do…” I didn’t have to pretend for my voice to start breaking, the emotion was genuine.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Normally, I would refuse, but… I dislike Roffil quite a lot. We’ll have him set the spell up again exactly as it was, but I don’t know what result we’ll get from it. You understand, though, that while Roffil isn’t exactly cleared of wrongdoing, he’s not convicted of it either, yes? You will be able to control yourself should this end in failure?”
I huffed and flicked my tail. “I won’t spill a drop of his blood. Unless he attacks me again. Will that be acceptable? Sir?”
“Hmph, I have a dragon calling me Sir and making promises… This position gets stranger every year.” He chuckled softly, perhaps trying to lighten the mood a slight bit. “Yes, that will be acceptable, Princess.”
“Thank you, Sir.” I wasn’t particularly in the mood for lightness right now. The beginnings of a plan were forming in my mind, and it wasn’t one I was looking forward to… But rescuing Master was all I cared about.
It took nearly a week to gather the materials necessary. The stone floor had to be fully scrubbed and repainted from scratch. New crystals had to be placed and charged. Other ingredients had to be obtained and prepared. It was a huge day, as the project had to be kept secret. We couldn’t risk a panic by having knowledge of potential demons and such become widespread. The only thing worse than that would be baseless rumors running like wildfire, if only half the information was known.
Finally, the room was prepared. Roffil stood, reading from his tome. Master Korrigan, Professors Elwarn and Dweli, and myself stood watching. There was no rug this time, no need for a trap or deception. The crystals began to glow, and even the painted circle seemed to shimmer with light. If I still had hair, it’d be standing on end from the energy in the air.
Roffil sagged once it was done. Even with the crystals, it still took a lot out of him. But now the circle was ready. All three of the other mages had been using their preferred ways of watching magic. Elwarn had his monocle, specially made to allow him to see magic, though I didn’t know what it looked like to him. Dweli simply watched, but I think her senses were more attuned to the spell-less flow of energy a natural animal used. Korrigan held his hands together, thumbs and forefingers touching, in a way that reminded me of people on Earth imagining a photograph or television set.
With the circle prepared, the others looked at each other. Finally, Korrigan cleared his throat. “If anyone is going to head to this Earth, it’ll need to be an experienced practitioner. There’s no telling what will be waiting for us on the other side. I’m loathe to ask anyone to take on such a dangerous assignment, however…”
Elwarn nodded, straightening himself somehow even more than he already was. “Very well, I shall volunteer to retrieve the Mage Tola. The accused.” That last bit was said with a bit of extra stress to his tone as he glared at Roffil, as if to remind him that his accusations were still unproven. However, when he stepped into the circle, nothing happened. Everything remained dormant, anticlimactically. Looking embarrassed, he stepped back out to his original position. “Or, I suppose I won’t.”
Dweli stepped in second without bothering to say anything first, but again, the circle didn’t do anything. With a sigh, she stepped out. Korrigan stared at the circle, then at Elwarn. “So it truly does require… how was it you phrased it? ‘Storm-touched’?”
“It would seem. I don’t suppose you have any other alleged demons in mind, Initiate Roffil?” Elwarn seemed quite upset at being at a loss. Figures he wouldn’t care for anything he didn’t understand.
“No Sirs, but… but you see? That Tola…! He really was a demon!” Desperation made him even more whiny than usual.
“He was ‘storm-touched’, that’s as far as we are willing to commit to at this time until we have more proof, Initiate.”
Roffil started to bristle and wind himself up for more arguing, the others preparing to argue back, but I had enough of this. I took the moment to make my move.
I started to walk towards the circle, but the glint of the gem on Roffil’s tome caught my eye. If that truly had research on the magic, on the storms, on travel between worlds, then it would potentially be incredibly useful. Snapping my jaw on the book, fangs digging lightly into the leather-bound cover, I yanked it out of Roffil’s surprised hand. Claws scrabbled on the stone floor as I flung myself into the circle in the center of the room. Roffil barely had time to get off a shout before the room was bathed in light, and I found myself suspended in the air, caught by an invisible force that threatened to squeeze the life from my body.
Wind whipped around me, shouts from all around, the chaos made it so hard to keep track of things. “What’s going on?” I think that was Korrigan.
“The damn beast! It took my book!” That had to be Roffil.
“Princess!? How… What?” Dweli’s voice, I knew that one a lot, since I’d practically lived with her for the last two months now.
“Why is it working for her?” Elwarn? Korrigan?
“I don’t know! It shouldn’t! …The book! The gem! The circle must be reacting to–” The voice trailed off, like I was being launched through a long hallway, the sound lost to the whipping of air and not-air and light and thunder and… well, chaos, I suppose. Mortal senses really don’t know what to make of the void between worlds, I suppose.
Without my presence, the four humans coughed from the smoke and dust that started to settle. Each looked at the other three, and at the ruined circle, catching their breath as the air cleared. “I don’t suppose… anyone got a good look at the active spell?” Korrigan glared at the ash and burn marks on the stone.
“No, Master Korrigan. I… I have no idea what possessed that dragon to… do that. Maybe it somehow sensed the book would allow it to make use of the spell? Mage Tola did say something about it being able to sense magic somehow, but I don’t know the details.” Elwarn put away his monocle into a breast pocket.
Dweli blanched a little, but only offered a shrug when the others looked at her. “I have no idea how much she knows when it comes to such things. We– Tola and I, I mean, hadn’t talked about it. It’s possible Tola doesn’t know either.”
“But he took my book…! What’s going to happen to my case without my book? Professor Elwarn, you studied it, right? So you know I’m right? Right?”
Both Elwarn and Korrigan glared at Roffil. Elwarn’s stern voice cut harshly. “If you have nothing constructive to say, I highly recommend you keep silent. As for your case… It remains unchanged. Mage Tola is somehow connected to the storms, but that proves nothing about him being a demon.”
Master Korrigan sighed as well. “Unfortunately, it’s going to take a long time for us to be able to get any more information. We can’t very well imprison the Initiate while we research for… potentially years. Executing him would be similarly difficult. I will have to think how best to proceed, but in the mean time… Initiate Roffil, you may want to think about a career path that isn’t part of the Mage’s Guild. For now, everyone, if anyone asks, Mage Tola has… suffered an accident. Tell no one the details of it, just that we don’t know when he will return. No word on who caused it, what happened, all we ‘know’ is that there was an accident. Possibly involving teleportation magic.”
“But how can I claim Right of Conquest on my tower if I can’t say I vanquished him?”
“Very well, you can choose to either claim you ‘vanquished’ a Guild Mage of higher rank and standing than yourself and be expelled from the Guild at a minimum, or you can be silent–”
“--for once…” Dweli muttered under her breath, earning her an ice-cold glare from Master Korrigan. Her head bowed at the wordless rebuke.
“…Or you can be silent, continue your studies, and we’ll see how things go from there. At the moment, I’m leaning towards you being in good standing with the Guild on paper, but not having any actual support or contact with any of us. As it is, this favor we are doing for your father is being stretched to its breaking point.”
“Favor? My father is doing you the favor by sending me here!” Roffil bristled more.
“It almost amuses me you think that, Initiate. Almost.” With that, Master Korrigan turned and walked out the door, slamming it heavily behind him. Dweli struggled to keep from laughing, and perhaps Elwarn was tempted, except he’d never show it.
The others left shortly afterwards, going their separate ways. Dweli returned to the storeroom with the hatchlings. Without their mother, someone would have to watch them, after all…
Before I had disappeared from Terra, about a week prior, the Mage Tola arrived on Earth. Outdoors, in an area full of trees and brush, some distance away from a road on the outskirts of a city. It was a shock, moments ago he had been on Terra, in the Mage’s Guild, and about to introduce a kid named Roffil to his left and right fists. Maybe some kicking, he didn’t really have a plan going in. Either way, at definitely no point did any of his plans involve this.
He leaned against a tree. His body was sore, he felt like he’d been turned inside out and pulled like taffy. The truth was probably far worse, but he was thankful this was all he felt after being pulled from one universe to another. Were they universes? Were they something else? Dimensions, realities, worlds, or something there wasn’t a word for? Regardless, he couldn’t find anything that gave him hope of getting back sitting here in the woods. Rescuing Princess would, regrettably, have to wait until he managed to save himself, first.
After recovering, he started walking. Upon finding the road, he picked whether to follow it left or right mostly at random, turning to his right. He idly mused to himself about how such a trip would have been unbearable before his time on Terra. Of course, without camping supplies, food might be an issue. He could probably hunt some sort of animal with magic, though. He even had his spellbook, it was in his bag that he was wearing when he stepped into the trap, so he wouldn’t be limited to just whatever he had memorized or could work out on his own with paper, without reference books.
Though, now that he thought about it, would magic work, on Earth? Since nobody was around, he decided to test it. Calling forth the familiar power, he sent lances of ice into the woods. That was comforting, the thought of being without magic made him feel almost naked, after spending most of the last year with it. Still, if it was lost, he could live. He’d survived on Earth without magic just fine in the past, after all.
Tola walked into town, passing between the buildings around him. The concrete road was a bit easier to walk on than the dirt paths, or even cobblestone roads of Windselton. It was starting to get late, but he realized a bit of an issue: Sovereigns weren’t exactly common currency, and he had lost his wallet a long, long time ago. Though… they WERE made of solid gold…
The pawn shop was in a sketchier part of town, but that might have been to Tola’s advantage. The person at the counter had made him wait when he took the three coins into the back and ran them through every test he could. He had been expecting them to be fake, but if they were, they were damn good ones… He had kept running test after test because he couldn’t believe his eyes at first. Nitric acid, scratching on a test stone, magnets, everything. Who would waste high-quality metal on costume coins? But every analysis said they were pure. Thus, Tola walked out of the pawn shop with a few hundred dollars to safely tuck into his bag, in the small secret compartment that was sealed with magic.
Still, that money wouldn’t last long, and he only had so many coins, and without having proper identification, the shop wouldn’t risk buying much of the gold in case it was stolen. It still got him a meal for the evening. It had been so long since he’d had a hamburger!
The lack of a driver’s license prevented him from getting a room at a hotel, though. Leaning against the wall outside as night fell, he pondered his options.
“Hey, I like the outfit. You wouldn’t happen to have a bit of cash, would you? I’m really hoping to be able to spend the night with a bed and a shower, you know?” A voice called to him from a man that had just rounded the corner.
Tola raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to go over the words in his mind. They seemed like a genuine compliment, or at least trying to sound like one to have a better chance of resulting in generosity. “I can understand that. I would’ve liked that, but I guess you need some form of ID, which I’m… lacking, at the moment. But since I can’t stay, why not.” He slipped his hand into his bag, the magic sealing the pocket allowing him through when it wouldn’t allow anyone else, and withdrew several bills. “They said a night was sixty, so here’s eighty.” He could get more if he needed to, and he could spend the night under the stars somewhere if he needed to.
“Wait, really?” The man hesitated before taking the bills, in case they were pulled away. “Oh, bless you! God bless!”
“Eh, I’m not the religious sort. I just don’t see any reason for us both to suffer, is all.”
“Still, that’s really kind of you. If you really need a place, you could try the homeless shelter. I’d go, but, uh… They’re a little… mad at me. I’m still, y’know, trying to get sober and all, but it’s so hard with no job and all, you know what I’m saying? But yeah, they shouldn’t have a problem with you, you haven’t done anything, right?”
“I literally just got in town a couple hours ago. I’ve been… away for a while.” Tola smirked a little, thinking about how much he could say, but choosing not to say any of it.
Still, with that generosity, he’d gotten a lead on something that could serve as, if nothing else, a temporary base of operations while he started putting things together. If he was going to be stuck on Earth, he’d have to get started somewhere, and perhaps he’d be able to get more assistance there. So he started walking, following the directions he’d been given.
Arriving at the shelter, he explained a rather edited version of his story. “I’ve been camping in the wilderness for a while, but I was robbed and now I have no way home. All I have left is what I have on me, and my wallet isn’t among that, so I don’t even have an ID anymore. I was told I might be able to stay the night here, and get started on getting stuff set up tomorrow?”
“That’s terrible! Have you filed a police report about the robbery?”
“Yes, but… it happened while I wasn’t there, someone found the campsite and ransacked it, taking everything of value and destroying everything else. I didn’t see anything, so there’s not a lot they can do. I don’t even have a phone, so they can’t even contact me if they do find anything. Not that they will, most likely…” Tola did his best to convey the appropriate sadness.
“Oh no… Well, we can help with some things, at least… What’s your name?”
Ah, a name, that would be a bit of a snag, wouldn’t it? He pretended to be distracted to buy himself a little time to think. “Ah? Oh, ah, James. Smith.”
The person typed a bit into the computer, probably looking for any previous records. “Date of birth?”
“December… 18th. 1991.” He’d have to remember the date he just gave, in case they asked about it later.
“Social Security Number?”
“I, ah, don’t… actually have it memorized, I have my card back home…”
“That’s all right, we can do without for now, though it does limit a little bit on what we can do for you. Have you ever been with us before, or used any aliases?”
“No, never. I’m not even sure what town I’m in, I just found a road and followed it to get here.” It’s always best to tell the truth when possible, cuts down on the amount of things to remember. And it was technically true.
“You’re in Ida Grove. You must’ve been turned around at some point, huh?” Tola must’ve been staring blankly for a bit too long, as the woman at the counter questioningly added, “Iowa?”
“Right, yeah, I knew that, I was just… surprised, I’m further from home than I thought I was, that’s all.” Okay, they can’t all be truth.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Anyway, you’re all set, let me show you the center.” With that, she gave him a guided tour. There were a couple “lounge” areas, with couches and tables, with break room style appliances for storing and heating food, though signs repeatedly stated that you did so at your own risk. There were bedrooms, though they were tiny and barely furnished at all. There were restrooms with communal showers, a bank of stalls on one end and coin-operated machines for dispensing sample-sized toiletries. There wasn’t much beyond that, at least not accessible to guests. After leading him back to the bedrooms, she singled one out, presenting a key on a keyring with the center’s logo on it. “If you lose the key, we have to change the locks, so that’s a fee. You’ll be required to pay that before you’ll be allowed to stay again, so please be careful. If you need anything else, feel free to let any staff member know. Once you get an ID, we can probably get you set up with a Lifeline Phone, it’s a government program but I’ll need your social to be able to activate it.”
“This is… already much more generous than I expected, I’m very grateful. Is it all right if I step out for a bit? I want to try to get something to drink, I saw a store nearby.”
“It’s not alcohol, is it? There’s no alcohol allowed on the premises, you know.” She took on a stern tone.
“No, no, just soda. Maybe a bottle of water for later tonight.”
“That’s all right. Just know that we do close and lock the doors at eleven.”
“I won’t be gone long.”
Tola settled back into the room with his bag he’d gotten from the pharmacy across the street, which included a prepaid cell phone, since he could get that without having to identify himself. It was finally a quiet moment to reflect on his situation, start to make plans for the future, and begin the process of carving out a place for himself. Again. While the phone went through its initial setup processes, he passed the time with his spellbook. With the runes he studied still fresh in his memory, he started drawing them on the pages in the back, just in case he’d need them. It also gave him time to devise and put into place a warding spell that would alert him if anyone entered the room while he slept. Not that he was going to fall asleep any time soon, between the wild day, the worries about Princess and what he left behind on Terra, the bed that was so much softer than what he’d grown used to… and the lack of a scaly pet to press in and lay her head on his chest…
I woke up laying on grass, my body jolting awake. I’m not sure how long I was out, maybe hours, maybe minutes, maybe not at all. The sky was dark, it was late at night. The book was laying next to me, as I scrambled to my feet. My head felt like a mess, the last few events scrambled as I sat down and remembered what happened. I wasn’t sure, but if everything being said was true, I was on Earth now. Picking up the book in my jaw, I spread my wings and launched into the air. Sure enough, once I was over the tree line, I could see a ribbon of road nearby, and in the distance, the lights of a city. I lowered back down before anyone saw me.
I was about to head for the road when I stopped. I had only the barest sketch of a plan when I had jumped into the portal, even grabbing the book was a last-minute addition. From what I heard, I think Roffil thinks the book was the reason I was able to cross. Perhaps it was, I don’t know if I still counted as being “from Earth” anymore, with both my body and soul changed since I arrived on Terra… But either way, it meant my secret was still secret.
One of the things I had planned on was something I had almost completely forgotten about. Raising a forepaw, I tapped the bell on my collar, closing my eyes and concentrating. Using the spell imbued some time ago, I summoned the illusion of a large dog to cover my body. If I remembered correctly, the magic for the collar’s spell came from the wearer. Master even had to devise a special method for allowing it to use the “dragon-flavored” magic my soul produced in a human-designed spell.
Looking myself over, it appeared to have worked. I was disguised, as long as I kept my wings tucked in close to my body. Now it was time to figure out how I was going to find Master. Maybe I could find a lead at that city? I had no idea if we were even anywhere near each other, but maybe if I could access the internet, I could find him?
I stepped onto the road, the asphalt so strange under my paws. Everything was so brightly lit, too. The squealing tires, however, were not enough warning for me to react, before something slammed into my side and sent me rolling across the pavement. My head was spinning as the streetlights above danced and snapped back into place again and again, a groan coming from my muzzle as I tried to look at what hit me. As my vision started to fade, I saw a car with two headlights, the tome laying on the road where I’d dropped it, and a shape getting out of the car. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stay awake long enough to see them step into the light before I was swallowed by the darkness, dimly aware of the pain of possibly broken ribs as I blacked out…