It wasn’t long before I was abruptly woken back up from my little nap by the door to the building being violently swung open. Edran rushed in with a very serious expression on his face, Morna and Arno following shortly behind, carrying my confiscated gear. I happily re-equip my items as Edran begins speaking.
“So, I’ve been informed you encountered a knell nearby. We have a hunting party ready to go after it, but I must ask for your help guiding them to where you first laid eyes upon the beast,” he asked. “You will, of course, be compensated with food and lodging for a short time as a result,” Edran offered. Well, turns out you know one of my favorite words, friend. Compensation makes the world go round, I thought.
“I don’t necessarily have a problem with that, I’m no stranger to hunting,” I said. “However, I’m not sure how much help I can be. All I really had time to remember is that I saw it West of here, by a small stream.”
“I understand. Though, you are currently the best one here suited for the job, as you’re the only one who is capable of recognizing the area you saw it,” Edran replied. A reasonable line of thinking, I thought to myself.
“Well, makes enough sense to me. Can’t say I wouldn’t like an opportunity to kill that fucker. He gave me the scare of my life when I saw him,” I said with a small chuckle. To say that’s an understatement would be putting it lightly. One of the most terrifying experiences of my life would be a more accurate way of putting it, only topped by hearing “Deimos” speak for the first time, and the time I miraculously survived a helicopter crash. That was also the most helpless I’ve ever felt, I was convinced I wouldn’t be surviving that.
“That is no surprise. They are fearsome beasts, and there aren’t many who get to say they encountered a knell while alone, while managing to escape unharmed. It’s quite impressive that you managed to do so,” Edran informed me. “Anyway, I’ll take you to the hunting party so you can set off. The sooner this is dealt with, the better.” And with that, we left the infirmary and made way for the market area.
Spotting the group of hunters was easy. There were five again, just like the group I saw before getting captured, and they were all clad in similar armor. This time, however, those not sporting bows were carrying spears and shields. Clearly, they were not taking the threat of this animal lightly, and I may very well be lucky I got away the way I did. One of the hunters handed me a bow as I approached the group. Curious, I gave the string a good pull. Man, that’s like a forty pound draw. No way am I planning on getting close enough to be able to use this thing, I thought as I handed back the bow.
“I can’t use that. It’s way too weak, I am not interested in getting that close to the knell,” I protested.
The one who handed me the bow scoffed. “What, you expect to just watch?”
“No,” I replied flatly. “I’m just going to shoot it if I get the chance.”
“With what,” another one of the hunters asked. “You don’t expect to hit it with spells, do you? That would be suicide.”
“I’ll just use my pistol,” I asked, more than stated. I then unholstered and drew my firearm. “Do you seriously not have any guns here?” It’s hard to believe any town this rural wouldn’t be at least somewhat armed in today’s age. To not have even one hunting rifle amongst an entire Eastern European village is strange.
“THEY ARE TRUTHFUL.”
With the unexpected intrusion, ice shot up my spine and I reflexively twitched around to aim at where I thought I heard the voice from. Nothing there. I started scanning in every direction around me to find where he was. At my panicked reaction, the hunters and Edran drew their weapons and joined in looking for the threat. One of the hunters’ eyes were glowing a brilliant gold as he searched.
“What is it?! I don’t see anything,” the hunter with the glowing eyes exclaimed.
“You seriously didn’t hear that,” I asked, completely baffled. “Then you either did hit me too hard, or I’m going crazy.” Seriously, how can you not hear someone screaming in your ear?
“What is it that you heard, Mr. Petel? There is nothing around,” Edran said, as he put his sword back in its sheath.
“Deimos,” I snapped as I put my pistol away. “Ever since I got kidnapped, when I sleep, I have these freaky dreams where I’m in a void. He just says some cryptic shit and throws me out of my sleep. And now I’m hearing him while I’m awake, if I even am!” I had just about had enough weird shit for an entire lifetime crammed into just three days. At this point, the likelihood that I’ve just snapped and am actually locked up in an asylum seems to be increasing. And that was when I noticed just about every one of the hunters, plus Edran, staring at me slack-jawed. Oh, what now, I wondered.
“You… you’ve been to Deimos’s domain,” one of the younger hunters asked. “And He speaks directly to you?!” The poor guy looked like he was about to pass out. The rest of the group didn’t seem to be faring much better. Only Edran seemed to even be stable on his feet at the moment. The reaction caught me off guard, so it took me a while to realize that they had recognized the name, and were even in some degree of awe.
“Wait, you’ve heard that name before? Who is Deimos,” I questioned the hunter who had spoken up. However, it was Edran who replied.
“Zachary…” Well, the formalities have come to an end. Now, to see if that’s good or bad. Judging by his concerned expression, more than likely bad. “In all my years, even those in the throes of the deepest insanity know that name. How do you not know the head of the pantheon,” he asked, bewildered.
“Pantheon… Wait, what, like the Greek gods? Still, I’ve never heard of that one,” I said. And that’s not to mention that I had absolutely zero clue what ancient Greek mythology had to do with me going crazy.
Stone-faced, he replied, “I have never heard of another pantheon before. Deimos is the god of wisdom, knowledge, and magic. Many of the other gods draw some of their power from Him to do their work. Where do you hail from, if He has no worshippers there,” Edran asked. Oh, a town full of nutjobs, then. They all genuinely believe in magic and gods. I’m totally going to die here, I thought.
“I grew up in upstate New York, but I’m originally from Florida,” I said. I needed to play along if I was going to make it out of here.
“I do not know of the kingdoms of New York or Florida. Are you from one of the Southern continents,” Edran asked. That was a new one. Even people living uncontacted deep in the heart of Siberia know where the U.S. is. It was all I could do not to just stare in return, but my face still betrayed a look of sheer disbelief.
“The United States? America? Right between Canada and Mexico, one of the largest countries in the world… Not ringing any bells,” I asked as I looked around. Recognition wasn’t present on a single face. I must really be in the middle of nowhere, I thought. Come to think of it, I hadn’t even seen any roads leading into or out of the village. Just some stone pathways snaking throughout the more heavily trafficked areas. “There’s no one religion there, it’s basically a giant melting pot. Sure, Christianity/Catholicism are the most widely practiced from what I’ve seen, but there are plenty like myself who don’t buy into any of that, or believe something else entirely. Land of the free and all that,” I muttered, adding an eye roll for good measure. Religion and politics are not my favorite topics.
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“How many pantheons do your people have,” one of the hunters blurted out.
“Off the top of my head? Like, maybe ten that I can remember. A couple even practice magic like you guys. Wiccans and Pagans. Although I’ve yet to see any of that actually work,” I added. Sure, a jab may not have been totally necessary, but it felt at least a little justified with them pulling my leg so hard. That was when Edran cleared his throat to get my attention. With a maybe rightfully unamused look, he extended his arm in front of him and held up his palm, as if to carry an invisible serving tray. Suddenly, a small flame erupted from his hand, and I jumped back in surprise.
“What the fuck,” I exclaimed. I couldn’t see him holding anything that could produce a flame as I stared in shock. “What are you using to do that,” I asked. Satisfied and seemingly intrigued by my reaction, Edran gave a soft smile and the flame disappeared. All of the hunters were showing various levels of amusement, as if they were watching a child taste ice cream for the first time.
“You’ve honestly never seen magic before, have you,” Edran asked calmly. All I could do was shake my head in response as I contemplated what I just saw. There was no other way to describe it than magical, after all. Was Arno reading my mind in the interrogation, and that’s why he knew I was leaving things out? And the hunter’s golden eyes, did he have some kind of special sight? The mirage while I was hiding from the knell… was that me? My mind was racing and I began hyperventilating. This was too much mind warping information to take in at once.
“I…” My voice barely came out as anything more than a huff of air. “I… think I need a second,” I managed. Taking a seat in the grass, everything started to sink in. I just witnessed magic. I likely had been this whole time and couldn’t reconcile with that fact. They talk as though the existence of gods is just some casual fact of life, yet were in awe that one would even speak to me. I don’t like that. And hell, if gods and magic are real here, I’m probably not even in the same fucking universe! How the hell am I supposed to get home?!
My spiraling was interrupted by Edran cutting in. “I see… I think I understand what is going on,” he said. At that, I perked up, albeit very slightly. “Judging by the fact that you had a teleport shard in your possession when we brought you in, I assume you came into contact with one before you ended up here?” I simply nodded in reply. “Okay. I’m also going to assume, due to your ignorance of the gods and magic, that you are not of this world. Quite frankly, I’ve never heard of such a thing happening.” My heart sank, hearing that. “However… it should theoretically be possible for you to return, should you find someone capable of inscribing a new shard with the proper runes. Sadly, we do not have anyone here even close to capable of such a thing,” he stated.
While not the worst news I had ever received, it was pretty high on the list. I could no longer say I didn’t outright hate my boss. He sent me on a job completely blind, and probably knew what he was getting me into. And that bastard with the crystal knew exactly what he was having me do by grabbing it. You think you can just dump me in another universe and make me someone else’s problem, do you? Well, I guess you didn’t know who I am, either, asshole, I thought to myself. Anger is one hell of a motivator, and those two had done exactly the right thing to make me very, very angry. They treated me like a toy, to just use and throw away as they saw fit. I’d make sure they realized that was a mistake.
“That’s fine,” I said as my resolve hardened. “As long as someone can get me back home, that’s all I need. I’m going to bury the assholes who ripped me from my home and sent me here.” I looked at the group of hunters before me and continued. “So, I’ll ask that instead of food and housing, my payment for helping kill this knell be assistance in finding who I need so I can get back,” I said, looking to Edran.
“I don’t see a problem with that. Once you return, we can begin preparations to escort you to the capital. There should likely be someone there who may be able to provide you with what you need,” he offered. I nodded, as that sounded good to me. A quest to the capital to find a fancy wizard in some fantasy world so I can return home. How cliché. Can’t say I would have ever expected to have to live a real world game of Dungeons and Dragons, though.
“Alright, then I see no reason to wait any longer, we have a monster to hunt,” I said with an evil grin. At that, Edran wished us luck and departed for the barracks. I turned back to the group of hunters and spoke up again. “I suppose we should do introductions. My name is Zachary, you can call me Zach if you’d like.” The group took turns introducing themselves, the first being the hunter with the sight magic, Oruan. Next to him was Taran. Continuing down the line we had Hanne, Deanok, and Lindrel. With introductions complete, I motioned for the hunters to follow me and started heading due West.
As our mission commenced, I decided it would be good to get some more information on what exactly it is we were planning on killing, apart from a vague declaration of danger. “So, Oruan, what can you tell me about knells? All I really know is they’re aggressive and pretty scary,” I said as I avoided getting my foot tangled up in some shrubs.
He gave me a quizzical look before responding. “Well, they’re not just aggressive. They’re highly dangerous predators that will actively hunt anything that isn't powerful enough to scare them away,” he said, trying to gauge my reaction. “They’re incredibly fast and agile, even capable of chasing and catching birds that don’t manage to make it through the canopy in time. They also often use mind magics to paralyze their prey with fear to make them easier to catch. I honestly don’t understand how you managed to get away,” he admitted.
That had me stumped. I definitely can’t run faster than a bird can fly. The magic would explain why I was so terrified when I saw it. A deer wouldn’t normally be enough to scare me like that. That begs the question, though, how did I get away? If they’re that dangerous, by all intents and purposes, it should have had me dead to rights. Am I resistant to fear magic? Or just magic in general? Maybe because there isn’t magic on Earth… I contemplated.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. Maybe it got tangled up in something? I managed to outrun it until I ended up tripping over myself and tumbling to a stop. I ducked behind a tree to hide, but I thought I was dead for sure,” I said. “I was a mess, and when I opened my eyes it was standing right in front of me. It looked me right in the eye, but it was like it couldn’t see me. It started sniffing around and then just… ran off.”
After I said that, Oruan and the other hunters exchanged a few shocked glances. Then, Lindrel spoke up. “You managed to outrun a knell? You can’t seriously expect us to believe that,” he protested. “They’re almost as fast as dragons.” The others nodded in agreement.
I couldn’t help but let out a quick laugh. Of course there are dragons, too. Nobody had better ask me to go slay one, I’m no knight in shining armor, I mused. “Look, I don’t know what to tell you. I saw it and I just started running before I realized what I was doing, like my legs had a mind of their own. Everything until I tripped was just a blur,” I stated. Then, another thought occurred to me. “Wait, you said they're very agile, but aren’t they blind? How is that possible,” I asked.
“They’re not blind,” Taran interjected.
“Then would it be safe to assume I somehow cast some sort of magic to hide? There was a strange shimmering surrounding me while I was hiding behind the tree,” I said.
“It’s possible you used dark magic to mask your presence. That would be quite the task without any training, though. Especially if you claim to come from a world with no magic,” Oruan said, with a healthy amount of skepticism in his tone. Seeing my look of concern, he seemed to have a bit of a realization. “Oh, if you’re worried about how that sounds, don’t be. Dark magic is just magic that utilizes darkness. And while it’s rare, it’s not unheard of for someone to have a natural affinity for magic,” he reassured me.
Thankfully the hunters, while seemingly skeptical, didn’t seem to be too put off by my tale. I didn’t think, when I saw Edran conjure that flame, that I’d be capable of using magic. It would seem, though, you do not have to be of this world to do such things. That could come in quite handy, and finding someone to teach me magic might just make my life a whole lot easier here.
As we continued our trek through the woods, we passed the time by exchanging stories of our various hunts. I regaled them with accounts of my off time, spent on weeks long trips camping and hunting moose in Alaska. They treated me with stories of tales of all the strange mythical creatures they managed to feed the village with, in return, and their various mishaps while tracking their prey.
Before too long, the terrain started to become vaguely familiar. Eventually, we stumbled upon the dragonfly hunting grounds I had spotted a couple of days prior. “Alright, I recognize this spot,” I said as I drew my pistol. “We should be careful from here on out. It’s only another few miles until we reach where I found the knell. If they’re as fast as you say, I don’t want any surprises,” I said as I took a look around. Not seeing any signs of immediate danger, I turned toward the mountains and led the group South.
Slowly making our way along, everyone seemed to be very on edge. Those with bows had them drawn with arrows at the ready, and those with spears and shields were anxiously scanning their surroundings. Oruan’s eyes were shining with that golden glow as he tried to spot the knell through the dense vegetation. After about an hour of stalking our way through the woods, the sounds of nature were pierced by a bellowing call that sounded like a cross between an elk and an angry bull. Coming to a dead stop, the group turned toward the source of the sound, and we collectively spotted it. Standing atop a slight hill off to our right was the knell, staring right at us.