Teresa was enjoying the warm, summer’s day. The air was filled with uncountable fuzzy cottonwood tree seeds, it was filled with so many seeds that Teresa imagined that the seeds were snow as she frolicked in front of the convoy.

Well, convoy was probably too strong a word for the one cart, one merchant, two merchant helpers, and three prospective adventures walking the path behind Teresa. They were all headed to the town of Cleewatta for the Quest put out by Cleewatta’s adventurer’s guild.

Unlike the rest of caravan, Teresa was enjoying the bright forest day much more than she was worrying about the goblin threat or the rift-sign omen from earlier in the day.

The cottonwood seeds swirling across the path were absolutely beautiful. Teresa felt her [Green Mage] class sing, each seed reflecting a different harmony in a chorus of potential. She felt connected to the world through each floating seed. Like she could feel any approaching goblin or surprise opening rift.

Or, at least that was how Teresa explained herself when the caravan master asked her if he was paying her to dance or guard the caravan.

The day was beautiful, the red light of the Brother and the distant blue of the Mother were both in the sky.

Teresa didn't care Bradley, the merchant helper said about the rift-sign being bad luck. She had better things to do than walk by him at his beck and call, Teresa thought, as she continued to dance among the cottonwood seeds in front of the caravan.

And that is when she saw the body and the blood on the road.

-------

Jack was unconscious on the ground, and in very bad shape. He had a particularly deep wound in his side that had clearly been spilling quite a bit of blood.

Jack was not aware of how feeble his struggles had seemed to the goblins. Panic blinded him to the goblin’s mockery and japes.

For in truth the Goblins let Jack go as soon as they heard Teresa’s caravan. To the goblins, the chance to attack a lone human was rare. It was even rarer for that human to be a lone weak pup, without any heaven cursed protections.

------

Jack woke up in immense pain. A wooden sealing stretch above, the bandages around his torso were tight. His side ached. The bandages itched. Jack tried to shift around in the bed to get more comfortable, but it was rapidly becoming apparent that there was no position that did not ache. Jack did notice that the sheets seemed more rough than the soft cotten blend that he had at home.

“I need to figure out what is going on”

Jack tried to sit up and immediately hissed in pain.

“I just attacked by little green men, after finding myself on this strange world.” Jack had a moment of doubt, was he going insane in some mental hospital? The aches throughout his body hit him again.

Jack tapped his heels together while mumbling “there is no place like home” with his eyes closed. After waiting a moment, he opened his eyes to the same wooden room.

“Forget it” Jack muttered as he decided that he had better things to worry about than doubting his own existence. He started looking around the room more closely in an effort to distract himself from the pain. The room was filled with familiar things that were just ever so slightly different than what he would expect. Jack was propped by some pillows on the bed and to his left was a regular seeming night stand with a flower shaped lamp giving off a gentile glow, a glow that seemed to pulse with light in a slow beat.

At least, Jack thought it was a lamp until he noticed that the light was coming from the petals of the flower which seemed to grow out of the side table. Around the base of the flower was a circular mandala that pulsed with light as well.

“Curious” Jack thought to himself. He seemed to be out of immediate danger, that meant that who ever found him was friendly, right? Jack glanced around the room again, empty except for him, the bed and the weird flower table/light.

Jack decided that he needed to take stock of his body, so he closed his eyes in a familiar meditative technique. A smile came to his face as he remembered his father teaching it to him as a little kid, Jack had been having trouble going to sleep at the time, so his father had suggested this technique and Jack had used it throughout his life whenever he needed to calm his thoughts.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

First, Jack sent his awareness to his toes. He had long since gotten past the urge to wiggle them, he just let his mind become aware of what was going on at the ends of his feet. Jack’s toes hurt, but not nearly as much as they probably should have from walking barefoot such a long distance in a forest. There was still the sharp sting of a laceration across the sole of his foot.

Next, Jack sent his awareness up his legs. He categorized more cuts, shallower and with some sort of gel and bandage combination, but again lacking in the expected muscle ache of a man past his prime who walked and fought … just yesterday?

Jack realized that he didnt actually know how long ago the strange events had happened, and so he went on with his meditation.

Jack sent his awareness up his body, his hips seemed fine however the wound in his side ached to the pulse of his heart. There was a weird tingle at the bottom of Jack’s spine, but his wounded side was too distracting. Under the bandage around his abdomen, did it feel wet in a different way than the wounds on his legs?

Jack continued moving his attention upwards. There was that tingle again rushing up through his spine. Jack tried to isolate the sensation but was too distracted by the ache of a bruise on his right pectoral. How did he even get that? Jack wondered.

Jack shifted his awareness to his fingertips. There were no bandages on his hands or fingers, Jack could have sworn that he had roughed them up in his fight with those strange creatures but he also felt no damage either.

As Jack moved his awareness up one arm after another, he felt more bandages and gel on his right bicep and left shoulder. There was that strange tingling feeling at that back of his neck again. At the lower part of his spine it was like faint pins and needles that turned into more of a rushing sensation up his spine the closer it got to his head.

Jack had an alarming thought and broke his mediation to wiggle his fingers and toes briefly. He let out a sigh when he was able to, thankful that he wasnt paralized.

Jack returned his awareness back to the sensation in his spine. It was easier to distinguish now that he had identified so many wounds. The rushing sensation traveling up his spine seemed to reach a crescendo just at the back of his neck before disappearing into … into what was that at the back of his head?

-----------------------

Charles was frustrated with his niece. None of her story made any sense.

“Are you sure that this was all you found him --”

“Yes uncle,” Teresa interrupted him

“Dont interrupt me, this is important” Charles ran his hand through his hair before deciding to tell her, “Look, Im trying to avoid a bad situation here.” He waved her to a spare seat in his office, before sitting down across from her.

“When you brought him in. I thought that he was in your caravan, so I went through of crystals to heal him” Charles went on.

“Those crystals are expensive, Teresa. And if he has no clan or backing, then who is going to pay for that? Lord Dirksure has been tracking all the crystals going through the clinc, especially with the [Area Quest: Goblin Slaying] the church has put out. The lord wants said he wants ‘his crystals’ back ---

“But Uncle! That’s not fair”

“I know, Teresa. But fair doesn't pay the bills, and Lord Dirksure is the one who provides the crystals in the first place”

There was a pulse of magic from Charles’s desk.

“It seems that our foundling boy has woken up, Teresa, this is serious. Lord Dirksure already has the debt bond ready to go, it is just a question of who he is going to put it on. And I certainly wont let Lord Dirksure take it out of our clan. Do you understand?”

All of this seemed horribly unfair to Teresa. As a proud Thumgru clan [Greenmage] she had a natural connection to the life around her. She had been raised to love and cherish the lives of everything and everyone around her even if they weren't part of the Thumgru clan. She had expected to be rewarded for saving the boy on the road.

It just didnt seem right that the boy would have a slavery bond forced on him if she couldnt convince her uncle to pay for the boys healing. She had already to uncle Charles what little she knew, but her uncle was not satisfied with the confusing and weird situation surrounding the boy. Why was he out alone? Where were his clan tattoos? Where was his money pouch? And why was his blessed aura so weak? Just where had he come from?

Charles was waiting patiently for Teresa to nod in understanding.

“Teresa, do you understand me?” Charles repeated.

“Yes uncle”

“Good then tell me everything about how you found him one more time and then we will talk to him and get some answers”