Aniel nodded, and we rose from our seats. I threw back the rest of my mead, and followed her out the door. We wound our way through the city streets, electing to take the less traveled paths, slowly making our way deeper. As we were nearing our destination, the buildings started to grow larger and more opulent. Eventually, we found ourselves in front of a massive structure, clearly significantly older than much of the rest of the city despite being well maintained.

Unlike the brick and timber construction on the journey here, the academy was built of stone and stained glass. Much of the stone had intricate carvings, some having been worn down over time by the elements. Each window portrayed a different scene, with some being notable figures I’d have no hope of identifying, others depicting various battles, and the rest seeming to show advancements in their understanding of the world. There was the odd portrait with the subject having some distortions, but I chalked it up to the difficulty of undertaking such a grand project.

Once I was finished with my gawking, Aniel and I entered and were greeted by a robed man. “Hello, wanderers. What is it that you are in search of today?” I was starting to feel slightly culture shocked, receiving so many polite greetings. It was a stark contrast from your average New Yorker, and would likely have come across as fake, were I on Earth.

“We need to speak with a royal artificer,” said Aniel. “Also, I am aware that enrollment is currently closed, but Zachary here is in need of tutoring in the basics of magic.” The man cocked his head to the side and looked me up and down, before responding.

“That… shouldn’t be a problem,” he said, hesitantly. “Please, follow me.”

Aniel and I obeyed the request, and followed the man down a hallway deep into the building and up a few floors. We came to the end of another hallway where there was a hefty wooden door sealing off the artificer’s quarters. Our guide knocked at the door and announced our presence. “Casten! You have visitors,” he called through the door. A faint clattering sound could be heard, followed by the clicking of several locks, and the door swung open to reveal the first person who didn’t look happy to see me.

“Come in,” he said. The robed man bowed and took his leave as we entered the room. I jumped a little as the door closed and locked itself behind us. Every inch of table space in the room was covered in a chaotic array of machines, parts, and otherwise unrecognizable items. “What do you need,” Casten asked tersely. Aniel pulled the pieces of the crystal from her bag and handed them over. The artificer quirked an eyebrow when he saw what she was holding, and took them gently.

“I’ll be frank,” I started. “I’m not from here, and I don’t mean Nakstal. I mean Astema as a whole. I was tricked into touching that and ended up here, and it’s my only way home. I need it fixed and I am willing to do whatever I must to ensure that happens.” Casten nodded, and inspected the pieces for a moment.

“I am busy at the moment, but I can take a closer look tonight. The damage is extensive, to say the least, so if I’m able to repair it, it will not be cheap. You are to give me ten platinum pieces once I am done,” he stated, suggesting that no negotiations would be happening.

“That’s fine, I should be able to handle that,” I said, unsure if that was the truth. The antlers I sold were clearly rare in their value, and hard to get, so it could be a challenge to find a way to earn five times that amount in a few weeks. Of course, there was always the option of the easy way, but I didn’t exactly want to squander my chance of going home by getting myself arrested.

“Return in one week and I will update you on the status of the repairs.” With that, he unlocked and opened the door, and ushered us out so he could return to his work. We made our way back down to the entrance hall, where Oruan was patiently waiting, and another robed man was talking to the greeter.

“Well, looks like I’ll need to be paying the dungeoneers a visit, after all,” I said, walking up to the hunter. “Ten platinum, which I have come to understand is quite steep.” Oruan’s face paled a little upon hearing that number, but nodded in affirmation. As I spoke, the robed men approached us, and I turned to address them. The second man reached out his hand and introduced himself as Berrilus. “Nice to meet you, I’m Zach. I take it you’ve been dragged into teaching me about magic,” I asked as I shook his hand.

“Correct. What is it that you know so far,” Berrilus asked.

“Magic comes from the gods, they each control a different ‘aspect’, and I have no clue how to effectively control it,” I said with a frown, and received a solemn nod.

“A blank canvas, then. In that case, we can begin whenever you are ready,” he offered.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll come back in the morning, if that’s alright. I have something to take care of, and I am still quite tired from the walk here.” As eager as I was to learn how not to kill myself, my top priority was still to return home, and I couldn’t do that without an absurd amount of money. Unfortunately, that meant I needed to get a job instead of beginning my studies right away. Berrilus gave another nod, and I headed out the door with Oruan and Aniel.

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It was getting late in the evening, and the sun was beginning its descent across the sky, so the hunter set a decent pace as he escorted us to our next target. Thankfully, the academy was close by, and we arrived within ten minutes. Once we reached the door, Oruan turned to me and stuck out his hand.

“I wish you luck, Zachary. Aniel and I must return to Kentrall. The scouts being sent South will be leaving tonight, and we will be going with them,” he said. I met his hand and shook it, returning his farewell.

“If Casten is unable to aid you, you are welcome to come back to Kentrall if you desire. Good luck,” Aniel said cheerily.

“Thank you for the help, you two. If I hadn’t found your village, something would have probably ended up killing me in the woods, so I appreciate you going out of your way to get me here. Safe travels.” As they left, I turned to enter the building before me with the hope that I’d be able to find something worthwhile.

The lobby resembled that of a typical reception area in an office building back on Earth, with a small seating area, a desk near the middle of the room, and a couple of doors leading further into the building. There were a few armor-clad individuals seated on the benches, and a woman seated at the desk with a bulletin board sitting behind her. I got some more strange looks, but that was par for the course by that point, so I ignored them and waltzed up to the desk.

“Hi there! I was told I might be able to find some work here,” I said with a smile. The woman behind the counter turned her head and silently gestured to the board behind her. I anxiously scratched at my chin while I suppressed a grimace. “I, uh… I can’t read. If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll just take whatever is offering the highest reward.” It was such an awkward thing to have to admit to, I would have loved to crawl into a hole and die at that moment. To my relief, nobody in the room seemed to particularly care about that.

“Well,” she began, reaching to grab one of the more weathered postings from the board. “This one has been here for some time now.” She read the paper before continuing. “Offer is for one hundred platinum to clear out a somewhat recently uncovered dungeon East of here, on the road to Lyrim. Once that is done, you are to provide security for a historian as the dungeon is searched for any artifacts.” The job sounded to be simple enough, albeit a pain in the ass, which went a long way to explain the ludicrous amount of money being paid for the job.

“So, what’s the catch,” I asked. “That sounds pretty easy.” The woman’s expression soured as I dug for some more information.

“We have already lost two parties to this dungeon, totaling twelve souls,” she stated gravely. That explains it, then. Make enough to be set for a long time or die trying, I thought. Despite the risk, there were only three other jobs posted to the board, so my odds of being able to earn enough otherwise were slim.

“I’ll do it, provided there isn’t anything up there paying ten platinum,” I said. She shook her head, then suddenly, a voice piped up from behind me.

“Alone?” I turned around to locate the source of the voice and found one of the men seated on the benches staring at me.

“I don’t have very much of a choice. I don’t have anybody to go with, and I desperately need the money,” I said plainly. The man shook his head, but said nothing else. I turned back toward the desk to see a look of pity on the receptionist’s face. She seemed genuinely concerned, but I wasn’t going to let that deter me. I had meant it when I told Casten that I would do what needed to be done so I could leave Astema.

“Very well. Where shall we send the historian once he has been informed you have accepted the job?”

“I’m staying at the Coveted Moon at the moment. I don’t know what preparations need to be made on his end, but the sooner we can do this, the better. I only have a couple weeks before I need the money.” She nodded, and I made for the door so I could be done with the day. Seemingly as an afterthought, the woman called me back to have me register as a ‘delver’. Once that was done, I was actually able to leave.

It took me a while – due to a few wrong turns – but I eventually made it back to the inn. By the time I made it through the door, I was practically shuffling through the street like a zombie, now that my distractions for the day were gone. I decided to skip on dinner, but made my way to the bar so I could get into my room. Rowein greeted me with a polite smile upon my return.

“Hey, I’m ready to get to sleep. Any chance I could get my room key?” She held up a finger, indicating for me to wait while she rummaged through a box of keys under the counter. With the proper one secured, she rounded the bar and led me up to my room. Once she unlocked the door, she passed the key over to me and turned to make her way back downstairs. Before she made it too far, I inquired about a wakeup call so I wouldn’t keep Berrilus waiting too long tomorrow. The answer was a yes, and I bid her goodnight as I entered the room.

It was similar to the inn in Kentrall, just slightly more spacious. The room featured a plush bed, wardrobe, desk, and a singular window. Off to the side was the bathroom, equipped with the same magical bathtub, sink, and toilet, but this room had a mirror! I took a look at myself and was momentarily taken aback. My normally tidy, short black hair was completely disheveled, with brown splotches of mud scattered throughout. There were severe bags under my eyes, as if I hadn’t slept in days. And to top it all off, I was deathly pale, likely from the impalement. I peeled myself away from my horrid visage and plopped onto the bed, falling asleep in mere minutes.