ISMUND

I woke up in a cold sweat.

I don’t want this to be a recurring thing. Flashbacks of my family dying are not my favourite. Maybe having a toothpick in my mouth while I sleep will fix it?

Whittling some toothpicks out of the bed frame I stick a few in my mouth.

It doesn’t say the effect is stacking, but, may as well try. Also, I’ve been wanting to see what’s in that box.

Grabbing my pack from the side of the bed I open it and finally retrieve the box. Not having a proper chance to look at it previously I examine it. It’s ornately carved wood embellished

with bits of leather and metal here and there. Flipping the lid open I find,

“Nothing? Mom called it an inheritance for a reason, just need to figure out why. Unless she mixed it up with something else or we suddenly accumulated a lot of debt.” I spoke sadly to myself.

After sitting in silence for a while I stow it away in my bag again.

Gonna get some food and then head out. I wonder how bad my sense of time is. I bet that it’s about mid-day.

Opening my blinds to see how accurate I am I find that morning has barely broken.

I guess the sun is still up, so I’ll count it as a win.

Ignoring my poor guessing skills I head over to the weird girl's door and rap on it.

“Get out. We’re going to leave.” Not bothering to try to catch a response I head down to the dining area and buy myself the cheapest meal, scrambled eggs and dry toast.

It’s passable, a good deal for what I paid.

***

DRIFA

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

“Get out. We’re going to leave.” I hear through the door.

What time is it? It’s only just morning! Couldn’t he wait a bit?

Throwing my sweater on seeing outside is nothing but snow, more snow, and the occasional mountain.

I guess slippers will have to do. It doesn’t seem like that guy is very friendly. I’ll make him warm up to me. Or at least bug him enough to squeeze some info out of him.

“Hopefully everybody else is new around here. It’d be pretty awkward if I was the only one dressed like this. At least my hood should help me blend in as a wizard or something.”

Nodding to myself I throw the hood over my head.

I wonder if they have running water? There is another door over there.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Heading over to investigate I open the door. Not find a sink, but I did find a bucket of freezing water.

They say that ice baths are good for you. Maybe a mini one on my face will help?

I brace myself and splash some of it on my face.

That’s cold!

I dry my face off and hide my butter knife in my hoodie pocket.

I should’ve prepared by getting some sleep instead of sitting awake for so long.

Yawing, I head downstairs.

Oh, it looks like that classic tavern you find in all of those stories like this! Except this is even better and I’m here in person! Sweet! There hasn’t been any mass murder either. I knew those stories were too bleak!

Walking down giddily I look all around me, taking it in.

There he is. It’s probably best to say hi, I don’t know everyone else here and he seemed to know what was happening even if he was a bit icy. It was pretty late.

Seeing an empty seat across from him I plop myself down, to his dismay.

I look over at his almost empty plate, then back up to him.

“So where am I? Did I get drugged and kidnapped or something?” I start the conversation off cheerily, smiling at him.

I have to do whatever I can to get at least something out of this. I’m not particularly keen on being left penniless in some arctic wasteland.

“Yes. I kidnapped you and held you hostage with me in public.” He stares at his food bored. I knew it, I didn’t think I was transported into a system-run world. Nope. I knew it all along. He must be so emotionless because the situation is so serious. Best to get on his good side.

“What did you put me on to make me hallucinate like that? This is pretty far away from the city. Must’ve been expensive. Are you like one of those nice kidnappers? You gave me my room and didn’t tie me up or anything. I guess outside is a pretty good deterrent. Especially in these slippers. So wh-”

He cuts me off and raises his hand.

“I was being sarcastic. Sheesh.” Not looking in my direction he starts pulling his stuff together.

“We’re leaving.” The mysterious man states.

“Where?”

“We’re going to get some rations for the road and some shoes that are less unsightly.” He starts walking out the door without another comment.

Hurrying to follow him I start looking around the town in wonder.

“Whoa!” Astonished by all of the weird clothes and wood architecture I spin around.

“Stop drawing attention to yourself, what you’re wearing is bad enough as is.” The killjoy says seriously.

Following him around as he grabs rations I continue to look around, albeit more subdued.

Pointing at a stall he gets my attention, “We’re getting you some shoes.”

A grizzled white-haired man, presumably the shopkeeper, sits me down grabs my foot, and flings my slippers off.

“Hey!”

Ignoring me he takes a few quick measurements and looks over at the guy I’ve been following.

“What kind do you want?”

“The cheapest. Just good enough to walk in the snow without a horrible blister.”

“Coming right up!”

I watch as the older man grabs what looks like giant socks with leather souls sowed to the bottom and hand them to me.

“Do they fit?”

These are cheap alright.

I tug the ugly ‘shoes’ on and tighten the string on the top that I think is supposed to keep it from falling off.

“Looks good enough. Here’s the cash.” The younger of the white-haired duo hands over the money necessary.

The bag looks a bit lighter than earlier today.

I frown in concern, following him out of the town gates.

As soon as we walk through I feel the sharp chill of the wind hitting me, suddenly more grateful to have any shoes at all.

“Why’s it so much colder over here?” I shout over the wind

“Magic inside the city.”

I guess I’m not going to get much out of him.

After marching for a while I hear something.

GRrOwlLl!

Suddenly on guard, the short-spoken man spins sharply in my direction.

“What was that? I think there must be a monster nearby.” He goes into a pose and seems to realize he doesn’t have anything on hand.

“Uhm, I-” after trying to tell him what it is he turns my way and puts a finger to his lips.

“Shh! It must have an invisibility ability or item. I can’t see it.”

Not wanting to embarrass myself further I just tell him. “There’s no monster, I just haven’t eaten anything today and it’s getting pretty late! You ate and then we left while you searched around for the cheapest items available for what we needed.” Red-faced, I look over at him sheepishly.

“You don’t need to make a big deal. Just tell me so we don’t lose more time.” He chucks some of the rations he bought behind him. Hurriedly, I tumble forward to catch them.

Now That I think about it, why isn’t he sinking? That’s just unfair. Also, I don’t think he’d give me much bother if I mentioned it earlier. Probably would’ve muttered something about me being expensive.

Sighing, I continue to follow him to wherever we’re going.

He still hasn’t told me where that was or his name. Maybe I’ll start calling him ‘Grumps’ to get it out of him.

Liking the idea I give myself a little grin.