Vonn started talking with his friends about machinery, going over some of the long to-do list. There might be an immediate need for more air rifles and other weaponry; he could bang out a sword on the anvil if need be. He'd been wanting to do more peaceful things like a camera, a film projector, and electrical gadgets. His shop was starting to sell bicycles and pinball machines and other "low-hanging fruit" inventions he'd brought from Earth. Selen was a big help from the chemistry (er, Alchemist) side of things, and was still developing her own powers in that area. Tazo didn't share their direct knowledge of alien technology, but Vonn had explained it enough that she'd started taking Engineer levels herself.

Vonn expected he and his friends would catapult this kingdom's technology forward in a single lifetime. He'd been given a new life and he meant to repay the gift.

The drifter came back less filthy, finally showing gold-tinted hair with little white spots under the mud. He wore only a torn shirt. A heaping platter of bread and salad and stew was waiting for him at Vonn's table. He awkwardly scarfed it down while standing, also chugging a cup of cheap wine. "Thanks, mister. I'll be out of your fur in a bit."

Selen asked, "Any trouble on the Starry River? We've been dealing with a... situation all last evening in the west."

The Centaur paused mid-bite and laughed until he coughed. "A situation? Are you the town lawyer?"

Selen blinked. "Wait. Vonn?"

Vonn didn't know what she was getting at, but the owl-girl had stopped eating too. "What?"

Selen stood up, faced the Centaur, and began to sing in the tongue of another world. "Yankee Doodle went to town..."

Their guest's dirty face went pale. "I... I don't..."

"Say it!" said Selen. "It's you, isn't it?"

He gulped and answered in English. "A ridin' on a pony. Stuck a feather in his cap..."

Vonn couldn't help but finish the line. "And called it Macaroni."

Tazo stood too, choking down a bite of bread as she stared at the newcomer. "You too?"

The other diners were watching. Vonn wasn't hungry anymore. "We need to talk."

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"I don't mean any trouble, really. Don't know what the hell is going on, but you've got a madman on your border and I'm hoping he doesn't work for whatever overlord you've got in these parts."

Vonn said, "Not at all. So grab your food and come with me. What's your name?"

He flicked his dirty tail and glanced toward the door as if deciding whether to run away. Finally he sighed and grabbed his food plus what bread Vonn and Selen pushed over to him. "I go by Polestar. I'd give you rank and serial number but that doesn't mean much around here."

#

He was quiet while they walked through town and south across the bridge. Vonn, Selen and Tazo let him eat on the way to Vonn's headquarters. A brand-new stone building stood on the south riverbank, with a sign that said "The Rising World Company". The place stood incomplete, with part of the mechanism for a waterwheel in place, but for now it served as the main home for Vonn and Tazo and their former master smith.

Vonn said, "As soon as I go in, we're going to get bombarded with more questions. Let's talk here, mister... Polestar." He bowed and said, "My name is Vonn, and this is my sister Tazo and my friend Selen Moonlit. I'd ask how do you do, but the answer's apparently not good."

Polestar ran out of food and stood there fidgeting, trying futilely to clean his hands. "Since I've spilled the beans, I should tell you, I just got out of that dungeon after spending weeks down there. And then last night I almost got sacrificed, then almost got eaten. There was this thing with too many bony legs; brr. Only a convenient earthquake ripped open an escape route."

"Did you write the word 'HELP' in English?"

"I did! Barely had the chance to do it without getting spotted. I'd been prisoner so long I wasn't thinking right and didn't use a language that anybody would understand. Or so I thought."

Selen said, "Yeah. So. Vonn and I..." She winced, clearly realizing how painful repeating the whole truth was for Tazo, who was standing right there. She went on more carefully. "We carry the memories of past lives on Earth. Tell me if you've heard this story. Somebody got killed, and woke up in a mysterious maze with a masked creature offering a choice of lives to live."

"How many lives?" asked Vonn.

Polestar scratched one ear, looking aside. "Four choices."

"Well, then," said Selen. That by itself was important news. "Did you get three questions, or a magic item?"

"Some kind of glass shield, which I had fun getting back after it was stolen. Then lost again when I poked my nose into that haunted-house maze you've got."

"It's not ours," Tazo said. Her tail was lashing. "Who are you, then? Do you have a family?"

The Centaur's long ears drooped. "Not much of one, but I got taken in and treated halfway decent. I lived out west in Kobold country, used for work by the whole village. You might call me a public servant."

"And when did you get here?"

"Last spring. Been here over a year now, and I figured I was the only one."

They compared notes about what year it'd been back on Earth, and other news of the day. "Same timeline and all," said Selen.

"You mean, I showed up at the same time? Sounds like it. So what's going on? Are we all here on some kind of quest?"

Vonn shook his head. "We've had to make our own. Sorry we didn't get to you sooner; I had to invent the airplane."

Polestar whistled. "From coconuts?"

"What's a coconut?" asked Tazo.

"Never mind. So how much trouble am I in? You sound like you're caught up in this dungeon business."