The trio seemed to pause for a moment, turning to look at each other before the man burst into laughter. He pointed at the elf with one hand while slapping his thigh with the other. The elf, in turn, began to slap at his armored shoulder while telling him to shut it over and over. The woman with the marbled skin simply smiled and leaned into the man, looking as if this scene was a frequent event.

Killian could tell that, though it was real on the surface, it was mostly relief that powered their actions now. The teasing laughter in the man as he held his partner tight. The elf slapping the shoulder of the man with little real power, the bow in her limp hand half rested on the ground. The mages eyes fighting to stay open, smiling more through long habit than the actions of her friends.

Killian smiled at the three strangers and let them come down from the high of surviving. After they did so, sober looks fell across their faces, and the elf stepped forward. She surprised Killian by clutching her bow in both hands in front of her and bowing at the waist.

"I thank you, honored kinsman, for your help in saving our lives." She spoke in a somber and officious tone. "I know not if we could have gotten away on our own, but I do know that Imari would not have survived that blow if not for your intervention."

Killian raised his hands, saying, "Whoa there, there's no need for bowing." The tone of his voice clearly showing discomfort. "I helped because you needed it."

She raised her head enough to see the look on Killian's face, a look that matched the uncomfortable tone he held. The elf shot back into a standing position and apologized before saying, "If my reactions go too far, it is only because of ignorance. I have never met one of the Fadeborn and have never learned proper etiquette for interacting with the honored ones."

Killian realized this was because of his choice of race; he knew he would be a sight for everyone around him, but the reaction from the elf was interesting. He guessed that certain races of elves held a higher position in their society. He held a deep hope that every elf he encountered didn’t try to bow and scrape at him. He hoped really, really hard.

"No etiquette needed; I may be a dusk elf, but I know very little of my own people. Maybe that's a story we can talk about later, but for now, how about we introduce ourselves. Once again, my name is Killian. Killian Creed."

He held his hand out to her, and she tenderly shook it. Killian gave a mental sigh, glad that the gesture seemed to be common in this world as well. The man and his partner shook his hand as well, the man introducing himself and his companions in the elf's stead.

"My name is Arden; this beautiful lady here is my lover, Imari, and she is Shanalil, or just Shan for short."

Killian got a good look at them now that they weren't fighting for their lives. The man was tall and classically handsome, with dark brown hair cut short on the sides and back but half as long on the top. His brown eyes carried a jovial look that told Killian that the man must not take much too seriously. Though the shield and sword rested at his feet now, combined with the breastplate, pauldrons, gauntlets, and grieves, his gear clearly marked him as a warrior. Given his actions in their fight, Killian would call him a vanguard or a tank if he wanted to use game terms.

The woman he still held to his side, Imari, was a head and a half shorter than he was. Blonde hair in a braid fell down her back to her waist. The marbled patterns on her body, not covered by the gray utilitarian robes, reminded Killian of paintings of ocean waves. The shape of the markings were all the color of red wine but flowed in a way that would lead you from one into the next. Killian wondered if they all connected in such a way or if it was only the ones on her face and neck. The staff on the ground beside her combined to bring to mind a classical mage from the cover of a book, though Killian was surprised about the power he had seen her thin frame wield.

Shan, seeming to recover from her interaction with Killian going differently than she had assumed, had a look of fire back behind her forest green eyes. The way it was directed at Arden made Killian instantly know he didn’t want to be on the end of one of her glares. Where Imari's hair was long, Shan's was just short enough to brush her shoulders, about the same as Killian's himself. Clad in well-made and well-fitting leather armor, she stood in a clearly unconscious way to allow the quiver on her hip to rest comfortably. A falcon, the bird he saw from afar, landed on a thick pad attached to her left shoulder, clearly made for the purpose. She looked every inch like a fantasy ranger.

"Well," Arden began, "now that Shan has recovered from her cow towing, can I ask what a dusk elf is doing all the way out here?" Shan's bow cracked across the man's head hard enough to make Killian wench and Arden shout and begin rubbing the damaged area.

Chuckling Killian responded, "Well, I'm on a journey of sorts and don’t really know where I am. I just picked a direction and started traveling." He thought up a quick and plausible lie and continued. "I tried out a long distance teleport spell I was trying to learn and ended up where ever here is. I knew there was a high possibility I would be flung to a random location, and so I saw it as an opportunity to see the world I know so little about and prepared for a long journey."

The trio looked shocked. Imari asked, "You tried long range teleportation, expecting to find yourself in unknown territory and for an unknown amount of time, willingly?". She looked as if she would rather do anything else.

Killian smiled and responded, "I have always wanted to do something like this for some time." Killian wasn’t even lying about that. "Location didn’t really matter to me. This may seem strange, but I don’t really know much about the world. Truth be told, I don’t even know about my own people; where I lived, I was the only one of my kind." He turned to Shan to address her specifically. "So any insult I may have just given you in response to your thanks was equally through ignorance."

Shan took him in for a moment and gave him a short smile, replying, "Then I guess we can both just call it even and be informal with each other."

"I would love nothing more." Killian agreed. He continued to the group, asking, "So where are you guys heading? I have no real destination, and I figure safety in numbers. I would also love some guides if you would be willing?"

Arden finally took his arm from around Imari and bent down to retrieve her staff. Handing it to her, he said, "We are heading back home to Falcons rest after a few days hunting. If you have no specific destination, then I think I can speak for the rest of Blue Feather in saying that you are more than welcome."

"Blue Feather?" Killian asked, tilting his head.

"Sorry," Imari responded. "We are adventurers, and together we call ourselves Blue Feather."

Shan turned around, showing her back, and gestured at the tail of her bird. In the middle was a single blue feather. She spoke over her shoulder.

"Nahlen here has always had this one feather; no matter if it is plucked, it always grows back blue. I always wanted to join the Rangers Guild growing up. The day my little guy here hatched and I became a full apprentice, we registered to become adventurers together to celebrate."

Arden grinning ear to ear, saying, "We spent hours trying to think up a cool name, but in the end, Imari and me wanted to celebrate Shan's dream coming true. A unique trait her falcon had being the name of our trio would always remind her that she did it."

Shan, with red in her cheeks, swung her bow at her friend once more, but he managed to dodge it this time. The two began to spat with each other. Imari, walking to stand beside Killian, asked a question that got Killian thinking.

"Arden is right; we would love to have you. You don’t appear to have any supplies with you, did you leave them somewhere when you came running?

Arden seemed to hear what she said as he added, "Or does it have something to do with how those loud weapons appeared from nowhere?"

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Killian knew the moment he started fighting with them that he couldn’t hide his pocket spaces, but he didn’t know if he should tell them more information. Erring on the side of caution, he told them, "You saw how I can blink around, right? My magic lets me interact with space; one such way is a pocket I can store things in. It's pretty big, so I was able to cram a lot of things in it for a journey of an indeterminate time."

"That sounds incredibly useful. I wish we could do that." Arden said jealously.

Imari's eyes lit up as she excitedly said, "I've never heard of magic like that! I mean, I've seen plenty of magic bags, but they are all anchored to physical items here on this plane! I'll have to ask if teacher has ever heard of your type of magic! Do you mind if I ask you some questions while we make our way to Falcons Rest?"

The apologetic looks on the faces of the other two members of Blue Feather let Killian know this was something that happened often. Imari seemed to have a large interest in magic. What interested Killian about what Imari had said was this teacher. A hope blossomed inside Killian. Dusk elves could learn any magic, and though he loved his choice of magic, Killian knew there were quite a few things he had to give up when he made his choice. He also had to admit that, though his magic was powerful, he currently had no offensive capabilities besides his stored arsenal. Killian knew for certain that there would be many things that a bullet would be worthless against, and though he had more than just bullets in terms of modern weapons, he would need some form of offensive magic. He had been working through a possible space magic solution in the back of his head, but that would need testing to even see if it was possible. So he replied to Imari.

"That would be fine with me, at least if you introduce me to this teacher. I'm not misunderstanding that this person teaches magic, am I?"

"No, your right." She replied with a worried tone. "But I can't promise she would take you as a student. She is pretty harsh most of the time; I only became her student because we are related. And even then, only because I have a talent for wizardry."

Killian nodded his head, saying, "An introduction is all I ask for; if she is as interested in my magic as you are, maybe I can make a bargain with her."

Imari lit up at hearing an agreement and even more at the mention of a bargain, saying, "Yes! That could actually work! She is a scholar before she is a teacher."

Imari shrugged her pack higher on her back, calling for them all to hurry along. She seemed to, at least for the moment, forget about her obvious exhaustion. She only got a few steps before Arden grabbed her pack, stopping her in place. He told her that they should find a place to rest, stating that she had already hit her limit before the fight with the nightmare. Killian had to agree; she looked like she would collapse at the first firm breeze. He smiled as he spoke into the middle of Imari's response to her lover.

"If you're ok with it, I have a way to travel while you guys get some rest." The trio looked intrigued, and he continued. "Now the vehicle I have stored away is something you most likely have never seen before. It's like the weapons you mentioned before, Arden. It's not powered by magic in any way, but we can cover a lot of ground. I'm going to bring it out, so don’t freak out."

Killian waved a hand at the road just to give a visual sign he was doing something and shifted the Jeep from the garage. It appeared in all of its olive-drab glory, making the three of them still jump in surprise. They approached, laying hands on the Jeep, feeling it's mate painted finished. Killian noted that indeed, they clearly hadn't seen anything like a car before. He assumed, but he didn’t know if there was an arcano-tech place in this world. There might still be, depending on how far the adventurers have traveled from where they were born.

"If you'd like," he said, bringing their attention back to him, "I could store your gear in my pocket space, or we could just throw it in the back."

When they looked confused, he walked to the back and swung open the door, showing them the storage space. They placed their packs and gear in the back. Killian thought to himself that it was just to see if it could all fit in the vehicle. He even told Arden he could remove his armor and store it to be more comfortable, but he also stated it would be easier to sit inside. Arden gladly began taking off the armor, and Killian showed the woman how to open the doors and climb inside. He was amused at the wonder they felt in the comfortable seats and tried not to laugh as he explained why seatbelts were a good thing to wear. The trio were almost excited to see if Killian was lying about the speed the Jeep could travel. Shan took the passenger seat clearly so the couple could sit together in the back, and she couldn’t hide the desire to fiddle with the dials and buttons she found in front of her. It took everything Killian had in him not to burst out laughing when he turned the key. The three adventurers shouted in a moment of fear as the Jeep "growled" at them. He didn’t try to explain how a combustion engine worked but barely succeeded in assuring them it wasn’t alive. Killian rolled down the windows, losing his battle to hold back laughter. He thanked whatever god was responsible for the lovely weather, as he knew he wouldn’t have been able to survive the trio's reaction to air conditioning.

With all of that, Killian slowly worked his way up to a worthwhile travel speed. He was surprised that it only took about five minutes for Imari to begin slinging her questions about his magic. So he gave her the basic description of what he could do with his space/time magic, though clearly not mentioning time, if only because he had no abilities involving it. She was delighted to learn he was a sorcerer, claiming she had a feeling he was since Killian didn’t speak any words or use gestures to use his magic. Killian learned that, at least in the region he found himself in, sorcerers were pretty rare. This led him to his own questions, and he learned a fair bit of useful information. Imari seemed to give more information than he did.

First, he learned about the city they were heading to. Falcons Rest was a large city resting just inside the great redwood forest. Apparently the back fourth of the city was built in and among the massive trees, this being where the most important place in the city is housed. The Rangers Guild. This rangers guild is different from all others in The Elder Realm, Killian learned. The city gets its name from the practice of raising falcons, which, according to the trio, are absolutely everywhere. When they fully bond with their ranger, they are allowed to go where they please. You can see them on every roof of every building in the city. Shan informed him that a part of training to be a ranger is learning to impower whistles with their magic, which their bonded falcon can hear from an apparently limitless distance for the most senior rangers but is still dozens of miles for the average ranger. Killian was wrapped as Shan took over, speaking about the magic a ranger could use with their falcon. Shan could share senses with Nahlen, which she used effectively for some pretty difficult shots with her bow as well as hunting and tracking. She could cast magic from Nahlen as if it came from herself to draw attention or drive prey where she wanted. She could funnel her magic into his talons to allow for some deadly attacks. Killian listened as Shan told him of her goal of growing strong enough to use the transformative magics to grow Nahlen to the size to become what she called, Sky Titans, at will. A falcon big enough for all of Blue Feather to ride or to fight the terrifying monsters that call the sky their home. Killian glanced up at the bird flying overhead and could imagine what she described well. The city seemed to be populated mostly by three races. Humans, Elves, and Atali, which is what Imari seemed to be. In the past few decades, Falcons Rest has seemed to gain some power in the region, and the rangers that call it home are the reason the area seems to be relatively safe.

When he asked about how the trio had found themselves in such a dangerous situation, Killian was glad he had Shan use her seatbelt so she didn’t climb into the back and assault Arden once again. The beleaguered man told Killian of how they had found a cave hidden away and how he had put forth the idea to search it. They had already met their goal of Tunnel Fang horns and convinced them that the worst they would face would be some lost time. He has assumed there was a chance it would be a goblin lair or something of the like. Which he informed Killian could grant them some good profit, not only from the adventurers guild open bounty, but from any loot the little bastards may have collected from people they had killed or plundered. When Shan started to drill into Arden, Imari calmly but firmly sided with Arden, stating that though they nearly died, no one could have known that Morrachel would have made its lair there. Killian nearly drove off the road when he learned that Malevolent Nightmare was just the name for the type of monster they had fought. There weren't many, and all had their own name, Morrachel being the name of the one they had encountered. They informed Killian that that monster had been in the area for a few centuries and that the only reason Falcons Rest was still around was because of the power the city could bring to bear, but also because Morrachel was lazy and its regeneration, though powerful, drained it heavily, especially when it had recently woken. This is why Imari was able to chase it off. Blue Feather had woken it in their shock and knew that if they did enough damage to it, Morrachel might retreat. The trio mentioned that they would have to inform the guilds so an eye could be kept on the nightmare. If it stayed awake and began moving in the area, a large-scale endeavor would have to be made to keep the city safe.

They traveled until the light in the sky began to bleed into red and orange. The trio suggested pulling to the side of the road to camp, happy to inform him that they had traveled enough to significantly reduce their arrival time and thus had no reason to push into the night. Killian agreed to help his new friends retrieve their gear from the Jeep before shifting it away. Killian smiled as, watching the others begin to set up their supplies, he shifted some of his own supplies on the ground in front of him. They marveled at the synthetic tent he quickly erected and bowed as they thanked him for the folding camp chairs he set up for them to sit in. He was just thankful that they were too happy about how easy travel and camping were to ask how big his pocket space was. Sitting down in his own prepared chair, he listened as they began to argue over who would prepare the night's meal.