He quickly pushed himself up again, but his surroundings had changed significantly. Instead of the dark forest, he now found himself on a stretch of green grass in the middle of the day – or was it? He couldn't quite tell as the sky was just greyish, and the illumination seemed to come from everywhere, making it impossible to track the sun. But this wasn't unique to the sky. A strange foggy veil covered the entire area, making it hard to see into the distance. The one other thing in his field of view, the tree next to him, looked exactly like the one in the forest.

›Hmm, what do you think just happened?‹, Vern asked, sheathing his sword and turning to Velvet. ›I am not dead or something, am I?‹

However, Velvet didn't reply and stared at his paws while slowly moving forward.

›What's wrong? Are you alright?‹

›Yeah, just very unfamiliar … to feel the ground beneath me.«

›Really?‹ Vern came closer and stretched his hand out towards Vern's silvery body, and surprisingly, it didn't go straight through. When he touched his fur, Velvet backed off in surprise.

›Don't just do that!‹, Velvet snapped at him.

›Uh, why not?‹

Vern took a few steps back.

›I am not used to it‹, he replied and calmed a little.

›Alright … then let's figure out what's going on for now‹, Vern said, silently sneaking closer again from Velvet's dead angle.

›My ears are still excellent‹, Velvet said and avoided Vern swiftly without even looking. ›But so are my eyes. I think there are some structures in the distance. Follow me.‹

Velvet went ahead, Vern right behind.

It was much warmer here, and there was no indication of winter. Quite the opposite – the lush green grass gently swayed whenever a brise brushed along, making it feel like a somewhat normal summer day.

As they traversed this perfect meadow, Vern started sweating and opened his coat.

Suddenly, Velvet stopped and quickly looked left and right. ›Someone is coming straight toward us‹, he said. ›Should we hide?‹

Vern caught up to him. ›Hmm, no. If it's just one, I can probably handle it if necessary.‹

He waited next to Velvet, waiting and ready to draw his sword.

Humming that gradually became louder broke the eerie silence, and eventually, a figure emerged from the fog.

The man, who was pealing a fruit with a knife while walking, had white hair and wore a robe of similar color. He was very much preoccupied with his fruit as he maneuvered his knives skillfully along its edges. Therefore he didn't notice Velvet and Vern at first who remained unmoving like statues.

Eventually, though, his eye left the fruit, looking forward, and he stopped in his tracks. With only about five meters of distance between them, his gaze flickered from Vern to Velvet and back.

Vern was ready to respond to any and all hostilities, but the man didn't exhibit any. He scratched his beardless chin while the surprise slowly vanished from his face.

»Did you come here with Maggie?«, he asked calmly, his voice was dulcet. »Must be, yes? Since I've just bumped into her with her dirty clothes on.«

Vern glanced at Velvet, wondering what he should say. However, the fox just stared back silently.

»Where exactly are we?«, Vern asked after a few seconds.

Meanwhile, the man had curiously eyed up Velvet, who didn't seem to like that and tried to escape his gaze by moving away.

»Well … I guess you should follow me for now. I don't really know what to do in this situation.« The man laughed and turned the way he came, signaling them to follow.

Vern had a lot of questions, but it didn't feel like he would get an answer if he asked them. Additionally, he didn't want to disturb the man while he ate his fruit and chose to remain silent.

›What's going on?‹, Vern asked Velvet instead.

›I have no idea … but the longer I am here, the more weirdly familiar this place feels …‹

Soon Vern was also able to spot the houses through the fog, and the man led them to one on the edge of what looked like a village.

It was small and built entirely out of wood in a style Vern hadn't even seen in the capital, which was known for its diverse architecture.

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The man knocked on the door while Vern and Velvet curiously looked down the deserted streets, but there were no other people to be seen.

»Maggie, it's me! I picked up your guests that you've lost along the way.«

»What are you talking about now, Rhone?«, an annoyed voice replied from behind the door. But they heard her approach nonetheless and open it.

»Can't you just stop bothering me? What I do is none of your busine–«

The woman with white hair, dressed in similar attire to the man's, stopped midsentence and eyed them up dumbfoundedly.

»Have you lost your mind?«, she exclaimed after overcoming her surprise. »Why would you bring them here?«

»What do you mean? Haven't you brought them here?«

»No, of course not!«

They looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously turning around. Both of their faces now showed a hint of worry as they stared down Vern and Velvet.

»Well … yes«, Vern said, seeing the need to explain himself. »I … or rather, we … did get here on our own. I cut that one tree by accident and it teleported me here.«

He innocently pointed at his sheathed sword.

»You what?«, Rhone asked perpexedly and took a closer look at his sword just to back off the very next second.

»It's that sword«, he whispered to Maggie who had still stood in the doorframe. Her eyes widened after narrowing on it.

»I'll have to check what he's done to that poor tree«, Rhone said to her. »Keep an eye on them. I'll look for Valdin afterward and bring him here as well.«

»No … no!«, she objected, but he was already running off. »Why in my house!?«

She stared after him until his silhouette faded into the fog and then turned her attention to the two remaining, who looked back, unsure what exactly was happening.

Her gaze remained stern. However, she opened the door, stepped aside, and signaled them to come in. »Don't steal anything, don't touch anything, and better you not even dare to loo–«

She went silenced, stupified as Vern flew through the air and crashed into the table standing in the middle of the room. The coins on it flung into the air before pattering onto the floor.

›Ouch, why did you do that?‹, Vern asked Velvet, who blinked at him, calmly standing before the entrance after tackling him inside. ›Oh, I thought it would be better if I'd be in your body since this is really small … guess that didn't work …‹ He started to cram himself through the frame while Maggie walked over to Vern to pick him off the ground and push him aside with so much force, he nearly tumbled into another piece of furniture.

»Why, why … I knew it …«, she mumbled to herself, as she frantically picked up all the coins littering the floor.

»I am sorry«, Vern said. »It wasn't my fault, it–« But he went silent when Maggie glared at him.

He relayed the angry look to Velvet, who innocently licked his paw as he sat down near the entrance. The coat hanging behind him caught Vern's eyes, as it was the one Maggie had worn just a couple of minutes ago. It was muddy and patched, not fitting into the interior that all looked clean and perfectly crafted as far as he could tell.

Well, maybe except for the table that might now have a dent or two …

Maggie put the coins into a drawer and smashed it shut, startling him out of his thoughts.

»Sit down there«, she ordered, pointing to a chair at said table, and Vern complied without objecting. Meanwhile, Maggie closed in on Velvet, who watched her out of the corner of his eyes while continuing to groom himself.

»Hmm … why do you hang out with that filth and not your kindred«, she asked, clearly audible to Vern, and she even pointed at him. »And what happened to your body?«

›Well, that is a long story‹, Velvet replied, letting Vern in on his response. ›Although I am not entirely certain what happened, I think that my kindreds were all murdered, and I also lost my body in the process somehow … do you happen to know anything about it?‹

Maggie gazed at the ceiling, contemplating before Vern heard her response. ›Yeah, I probably do. Anyways, it is good that you have found your way home, even without your body.‹

Vern's and Velvet's eyes fixated on her, awaiting her to elaborate, but she remained silent, continuing her walk around the room, now closing on Vern.

»Give me your sword«, she said, stopping right in front of him with her hand stretched out.

But Vern didn't give in to her demand. »What if I don't want to?«, he asked defiantly.

»I mean, either you give it to me, or I will take it from you«, she said, quite unimpressed. »I don't know if you have noticed, but you can't use mana here like you are used to. Consequently, you're just pathetic as nature intended.«

As she was finishing the sentence, her hand darted forward like an arrow at the sword hilt, pushing Vern's hand away and pulling it out of its sheath. He had tried to react, but unfortunately, it really did seem like he couldn't use mana for enhancement.

»Hey, no fair«, Vern said and stood up. »Why can you use mana and I can't?«

»I didn't«, she replied and pushed him back onto the chair with her free hand while closely examining the sword.

»It's just natural that you are physically inferior to me, so don't fret too much about your pathetic athletic abilities.«

Vern gritted his teeth and changed strategies since she wasn't especially cooperative in giving out information.

»So … you know that sword? You happen to know anything about the Immortals or Eldritch by chance?«

»Why are you asking?« She didn't look at him as she carefully moved one of her fingers along the blade.

»Well, you know, there's this guy, Durant or … maybe you know him by his former name Ignatius. He said I should come to look for the Immortals in that area where I happened to run into you. Funny coincidence, no?«

»Hmm, that brat … he is still alive and didn't bother reporting to us …« She swung the sword a few times through the air before extending the hilt back into Vern's grasp.

He hesitated to take it and was surprised she offered it. »So this is where the Immortals live?«, he asked. »And are you sure you want to give this sword back to me?«

»Yes, and yes. That sword doesn't work the way it does in your world, so it's fine.«

She turned around and walked away. »I'm going to make some tea since we will get more company soon. So until then, just wait exactly on that chair – and don't dare to touch anything.«

Vern watched her leave the room and exchanged glances with Velvet.

›Looks like we're in the right place‹, Vern said, stretching his arms and yawning. Although daylight shone through the window, his body hadn't forgotten that it should be asleep by now. ›Hopefully, this is worth it. I don't feel especially welcome here …‹

›Yes, I hope so too‹, Velvet replied. ›This is certainly a strange place. But at least we've found what we have been looking for. So it is progress and already a success in my book.‹