06 - A strange place

Chapter 6 - A Strange Place

“It is a shame for a capable man to do nothing.”

                                                            -The Amal Tribe

Amal Village, Forest of Despair

Hania

It’s been four days since the Pure, Daniel, was found laughing at the moons. We were worried he may have fallen to a demon’s madness but Wakan wasn’t sure that was the case. After his laughing fit, he fell silent with an occasional giggle and eventually went back inside.

The strange man hasn’t touched his food since then. He just lays in bed, sleeping or staring into the far wall, only getting up to visit the stalls. I wonder what happened. He seemed just fine when he woke up that day.

After making sure he was asleep, I brought a bowl of soup and started sneaking it into his stomach. I wouldn’t feel right if he died under my watch.

“Just how long are we planning on babying him like this?” Musah, one of the warriors tasked to watch Daniel was getting impatient. For a grown man to do nothing all day when he is blessed with good health, this would frustrate any of the Amal people.

“I’m not sure. Wakan says he might be grieving over something and to just watch over him for now.” Watching the the last of the soup disappear with the glow of my mana, I headed back to the kitchen area where Kaya was playing with a mortar and pestle.

“Still, I can’t stand watching this for much longer. It’s pathetic.” Musah complained.

“Heyo!” Aira walked in with bundle of meat. “Chumo and the guys brought back a boar. Said maybe some meat will get the Pure moving a-”

“He’s giving this waste of space meat?! WHY?!”

“I don’t know. They seem to think he’s amusing or something.”

Musah started pacing back and forth while the rest of the warriors sighed. “Chuno and his team… they’re always doing stuff like this. I swear, he’ll feed a goblin if he found it funny.”

Aira handed me the meat then started laughing, “Actually…”

Looking at the catgirls expression, Musah stopped. “No… He didn’t.”

“It was a rock wrapped in some innards. We do it once in a while when we get bored.”

“Idiots… the lot of you are idiots.” Musah sat back down shaking his head.

This girl really worries me at times. Life here can become rather dull, with nowhere to go and the same old scenery everyday. But playing around with monsters? “Aira, goblins may seem weak but they shouldn’t be trifled with. They still pose a threat, especially with their numbers.”

“Ahaha… Yeah, I know. But I was with Chumo so…” The mischievous girl stuck her hands behind her head and avoided my gaze before changing the subject, “Anything new with Daniel? People are saying he’s a Magus from Krestell.”

“Magus my ass.” Musah mumbled.

“Nothing yet.” I leaned on the table watching Kaya put various leaves into different bowls. “Hopefully he gets up soon. Even if he doesn’t speak our language, we can probably learn something of the outside world.”

Aira bunched her lips from side to side in thought. “I have a fireberry I’ve been saving…”

“Fireberry? Maybe you should keep saving it…” I say as Aira made her way towards Daniel.

…

Daniel

Once it was clear I wasn’t on Earth anymore… I lost it. There were already signs hinting at the fact stacking against my denial but I held onto the hope that there was some other explanation for everything. I mean come on. Another world?

When the two moons shined above me, almost mocking the flimsy hope I held onto, all the fight in me went up in smoke. I could only laugh as the whole situation was so unfairly absurd.

My home. Everything I built is truly out of reach now.

So how did this happen? I could only think I either died and this is some kind of afterlife or I really was abducted somehow, maybe even warped into another world like the legends around the Bermuda triangle, but where does that leave me? I’ve become a bum with nothing to my name.

Hell, maybe there is a third option and I’ve gone completely loony, finally snapping under the pressure of my mind. Is this what crazy people experience in their padded rooms? Am I currently a raving, drooling mess in a straight jacket back in the real world?

I sat leaning against the pedestal holding the bright light. In my wish to escape reality, I tried commanding my chi to bring me to its source again. It turns out I wasn’t dreaming that time. My vision blurred and I was suddenly here, in a large stone room with five pillars surrounding a pedestal of light, but this time, my consciousness was clearer, without the floaty sensation.

My body here was a little different. It was slightly transparent and I could make out veins of yellow pulsing with what I’m guessing is chi. I didn’t seem to need to breath either. It was a strange feeling.

This whole place was strange. I’ve found that I could move through space almost instantly here. Not quite teleportation but a blurring rush from point A to point B, warping across the room. The new sensations gave me a nice distraction from my problems for a while but even that eventually gave way to my depression.

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I spent most of my days in here, not even paying attention to the passage of time, sulking at my misfortune. After a while, I got bored and started inspecting the place and took a closer look at everything.

The high walls and ceiling were mostly stone, inlaid with gold in some parts and cracked with wisps of cold, almost tangible darkness seeping out of others. The pillars were a meter thick and of similar fashion as the walls. There wasn’t much else here, the whole place gave a feeling of extreme plainness, but the center piece was a sharp contrast to its surroundings.

Floating above a stone pedestal, was a large, white, almost translucent, orb, illuminating the entire room. It gave off a bright light but didn’t hurt my eyes when staring into it. It was a curious thing. When I approached it, it gave a sense of deep familiarity. I somehow knew I was looking into myself. Strangely, it was discomforting, like looking into a mirror that exposed everything inside. When observed long enough, one could see there wasn’t just light within, but a chaotic darkness barely contained.

Despite the strangeness, I like it here. Alone. Not having to deal with anything out there. Except trips to the bathroom. I’m guessing someone’s been feeding me somehow, which makes me feel a bit guilty but… I just don’t want to deal with anything right now. Thankfully I can feel my actual body and wake up if there is an urgent need.

The only problem I have here is the boredom and the mystery of the world on the other side of the exit. There was a barrier in place of a door to this room but commanding my chi, I was able to make an opening only to peer out into a world of gray. It was like the embodiment of desolation, a barren land and a darkened sky. I couldn’t tell where the light was coming from or if there was a source of light at all but whatever it was, it only added to the gloomy nature of the strange place. It was probably a bad idea to go out there but my curiosity and boredom got the better of me.

When I stepped outside, to my surprise, I didn’t see the building I walked out from. There was just the hole floating in the air, only visible from one side. While marveling at the nature of the strange opening, I was startled at the sounds of running footsteps and jumped back inside, closing the porthole behind me.

So here I am now, staring at the exit and wondering if I wanted to know what was out there. I stood to take another look at the gloomy world when suddenly, my mouth felt like it was on fire and I was pulled out from my hideaway.

…

“AAuugh!” On top of the burning in my mouth, I felt acute motion sickness. What’s happening to me?! I didn’t feel this when I came back those other times!

I ran to the kitchen and dowsed my mouth with water. What is this? Whatever was put in my mouth was extremely spicy and sweet. Some of it went down my throat in my panic, burning all the way down to my stomach.

Holding water in my mouth, I could hear snickering and laughing from the viking bunnies and a catgirl. Those assholes!

The catgirl actually had a one piece dress on, which made her stand out from everyone else here. Seeing a guilty look on her face, I glared at her as she joined the little girl to hide behind Hania who was shaking her head and hands, expressing her innocence in the matter.

Damnit! I don’t know if it’s just the adrenaline but I feel like my body is hopped up on sugar and caffeine. What the hell did they give me?!

Screw this. The burning will stop eventually and I can just return to my dreamworld. I started heading back to bed but one of the viking bunnies started yelling.

“Beh korro tekunsuh?! Aht! Tou joonga GEUTchi!” While yelling strange words, he grabbed my cargo shorts by the waist and started dragging me outside.

“Hey! Stop it! It’s going to tear!”

“Musah! Juat! Wakan la-et ulete!” Hania seems to be trying to stop this beast of a man but he keeps marching on, ignoring her and continuing his cryptic speech.

“Tou meukun. Tlakun. Jah, komah ahkun!”

I guess I’m being kicked out? I don’t blame them, I have been mooching off of their people. But he could at least let me grab my stuff.

People stared as I was half dragged through the village. This guy had an iron grip on my pants, not even giving me a chance to walk on my own. I didn’t want to force him to let go for fear of hurting him. Last thing I want is to bite the hand that fed me.

After a few minutes, he threw me into a wide field of tree stumps and just as I got up, a pick was thrown at me. “What the hell dude! That’s dangerous!”

“Komah ahtah? Meukun ahtah.” He said, nodding, as he stared me down.

Looking around, the area was half the size of a soccer field, probably a new area to be prepped for plantation. He wants me to work?

Hania held the little girl in her arms with a worried look and stood with that stupid catgirl, in front of a growing crowd. It wouldn’t hurt to start repaying them in some way. They’ve saved my life among other things.

Walking to the far edge of the field, I stared at the ground for a while and took a deep breath. My throat and stomach still burned from whatever was given to me but I was almost bursting with energy. Despite that, the depression was still there, mixing into a weird feeling of high and low.

Gripping the pick, I raised it up and swung down hard, creating a small explosion of dirt and eliciting a few yelps from the crowd. The pick glowed a gentle yellow as I continued to destroy the ground.

This brought up memories of working on my own land. My vegetable garden… orchard… I didn’t contract anyone to clear or till the soil there. I rented out equipment and bought tools to do it myself. It was a connection to my home. My very own place in that world. I wanted to create something with my own hands and watch it grow, almost symbolic of finally seeing the fruits of my life’s labor. It was nice… the feeling of accomplishment making it all worth it. But…

“I worked, *KA-PFF!* and worked, *KATOOM!* putting up with bullshit after bullshit, and when I finally saw an end in sight? *KA-Crack!* This shit happenes!” Throwing aside the handle of the broken pick, I grabbed the iron head of the tool and started stabbing at the ground before throwing that aside as well.

It felt like all my anger was pouring out into the field as I punched my way down, line after line, shattering tree stumps and rocks alike. My anger at losing everything, my anger at putting up with people like Delgado for a life I’ll never have… Had I known this would have happened… “RAAAAAH” *KTOOM!*

Panting, and covered in dirt, I came back to my senses as I reached the end of the field. Looks like I made a mess. The plot of land was full of craters and wood splinters. “Oh…pteh. I’ll umm… clean this up.”

…

It took a while to pick out all the pieces of wood and roots still stuck in the ground but I left the field feeling a lot better. My situation still sucks but I can’t remain sulking forever right? I’m reminded of the last words grandpa Kwan told me before he passed.

‘In life, you will sometimes find everything you knew and worked for toppled over. When that happens, throw your fits, be angry or whatever. But know that you have one piece still remaining. You.

…though knowing you, you’ll probably stop and sulk for a while. But don’t stop for too long, son. Time… waits for no man.’

To my embarrassment, tears started falling at the memory of those words, caking with the dirt on my face. He was always able to figure me out so easily, even predicting how I would react to something like this. Did he know, I wonder? That one day, I would lose everything? This was the biggest fall I’ve taken in my life so far, and his words really hit home.

The villagers gave me a wide berth as I passed. Guess my little show gave them a bit of a shock. Wakan and her husband had come at some point and were the only ones who didn’t back away from me. Well, them and the viking bunnies who kept a hand on the hilt of their weapons.

For whatever reason, Wakan was smiling at me while quietly talking to her husband. I need to learn their language if I want to move forward from here. Guess I’ll start with that.

…

After washing up at the well, I returned to the infirmary to find Wakan and Dasan waiting for me. Quickly changing into a fur skirt, I sat down with them and tried to convey my wish to learn their language.

They were pleased with that decision and immediately took me to see a catman who was pounding away at a piece of iron. He was middle aged man, slender with short blond hair and fair skin. Everyone else in this place had a tan except for him.

Dasan introduced the man as Baglin. Looking at the broken metal tools lined up at the side, he seems to be a sort of blacksmith reforging the broken items. But Baglin didn’t look the part at all. He wore a collar shirt and pants under an apron, making him look more like a shop clerk.

After Wakan exchanged a few words with Baglin, the catman called out into the building. A short moment later, the catgirl from earlier walked out with a yawn.

“You…”

“Ah…”

Sigh. I can’t bring myself to stay mad at her. Her little prank led to me finally facing my problems. Stepping forward, I stuck a hand out, “I’m Daniel.”

“Eep!” The catgirl jumped back at my gesture.

“Aira. Eum-hannah.” Baglin gave the catgirl a one armed hug, stating her name. Then turning to her, “Aira, tou Daniel hahno ahktahli wajukun.”

“EEH?! Ahtahtaht!” Aira furiously shook her head, and latched onto Baglins arm. “Ahbbataaa…”

Oh… that’s right. She saw me mess up that field earlier. Is she supposed to be my teacher?

Wakan then sternly spoke up. “Aira! Tou deelotte ahkun. Eheto joongakun! Jee leti ahkun, tou uletehkun tah!”

“Uueeee…” Aira fell to her knees crying.

I’m not sure what just happened but I feel kinda bad for her. Sorry Aira.