I opened my map, identified Norrus’ dot, and started running toward him.
What are you going to do?
“Find him and help him.”
Be careful. I do not understand this disturbance. It is not seismic in nature.
The map showed other dots heading his way. I was nearest. As I approached, another sound could be heard. It was much higher in pitch and warbling to some unidentifiable melody. I reached some sort of ravine. Its walls were not unreasonably steep, and I headed down at a slower pace.
There was some sort of burgundy-colored energy vortex behind an outcropping of rocks. Its three-yard high walls were partially translucent, and I could identify an unmoving figure standing inside. I compared the map; he was Norrus.
FR: I have found him. Norrus appears to be trapped, unmoving in some kind of rotating energy field. He is still standing, which I think is a good sign.
There was no decision to be made. My limited damage resistances to physical, toxic, and acids and bases probably would not help. This would be a matter of speed and momentum.
God of physics, you better work.
FR: I’m going in there to push him out.
I: Wait for backup. We don’t know what that is.
FR: Worst case: Norrus and I both die.
FR: Best case: we both live.
FR: Not happening: me standing here with my thumb up my ass.
Mom, on her horse, was the first to arrive, but Swagger was right behind her.
RS: Son, wait. Let’s talk about this.
FR: Sorry Mom, everyone. I have a plan, but the longer Norrus is in there, the more trouble he could be in.
Sun had made it down into the ravine, and I could hear other shouts above the warbling and rumbling.
FR: Mom and Sun, you’re both tanks. Stand on the other side of the vortex from me. I’m going through it, but I don’t know what will happen. Goal is to have Norrus and me push our way out. Onre, when you get here, join them. We may need your healing.
RS: I have the most hit points. I should do this.
FR: And I’ve got the most immortality. Going through!
I started running directly toward Norrus’ body.
Lucky coin, you best do your thing. Not for me, but for Norrus.
I activated Dodge just prior to entering the vortex.
I’m not after a zebor this time. I’m after a pup, dodging towards him, not away. Rush in, grab him, have momentum carry us out. Easy peasy.
There was a feel of static electricity as I crossed the vortex wall, and a smell of ozone. I entered running as fast as I could, but now it feels like I have slowed down. While still running fast. Maybe faster and a lot slower. Dodge stopped early. I restarted it again. This field was messing with me.
Dodge, dammit, stay up! Target is in sight.
I hope it is only my perceptions. I can’t get bogged down in here! Why is Norrus so tall?
I grabbed him with my right arm and held him close and tight. Still running. Still slow. Still quick. We were making it through the other side, although my senses all seemed to be fading. I saw Mom grab Norrus, so I released him. I think Sun was pulling me. I don’t know anyone else with three arms.
…
I opened my eyes. Mom told me that I had been unconscious for about two minutes. I later learned the vortex and sounds ceased a minute after Norrus and I were both out of it.
I asked, “How is Norrus?” with an extremely dry mouth. I think I croaked the words. My eyes felt dry, not just my throat.
Kossa said, “He is alive, but … not great. Onre is doing what he can. He needed water, and it sounds like you do, too.” Carrie brought me a water flask. Before giving me any, she poured some in her hand. She told me to open my eyes wide, and dripped water in each. I gratefully accepted the flask, but it felt weird moving my arms and hands.
I looked around and saw Norrus laying on the ground, with Onre and Arrjee kneeling next to him. I sat up to get a better look; it felt sort of awkward. Stiff? Weak?
Norrus was taller, older, emaciated. He was not going to die.
I thought as hard as I could, Perhaps prayed. “Skawa! Something very unnatural and scary has happened, and it's very disturbing. Our friend Norrus needs help. If you can hear me, please help him.”
You are not exactly in peak physical shape either, dumbass. Reverse Dodge again? Really? We talked about that.
“Note to my Interface: Living dumbass. Living Norrus.”
Yes. I am blaming your coin for that. And your damn karma.
I held my right arm out, elbow bent across my chest. Moving it felt weird, but so far as I could tell my hand looked okay. Examining my left hand the same way, and it seemed okay as well. My arms were stiff, like my back. It was like the next day after overworking myself at the gym.
Thank Skawa!
Skawa appeared without any fanfare in his Trichyan form. “What happened?” I could see him quickly scan Norrus’ body and mine. “Before you tell me, I can tell you the minds of both Norrus and Forrest are fine. Memories lost due to brain damage would be permanently gone. I’m getting more eyes here, but it appears as if Norrus gained about ten years in age very suddenly. Now, what did you observe?”
Mom explained very coherently, including what had happened after I went unconscious. Basically, they had tried to keep us comfortable and warm, and they had slowly allowed some water down Norrus’ throat. They also splattered some on his eyes when they saw how dry they were Onre had used Bless Blood on him, and his body had accepted quite a bit of new blood. It didn’t help with his overall emaciated appearance, but it did bring his health gauge above 50%.
Skawa asked if anyone observed anything else besides the very low rumbling, the higher pitched warbling, and a rotating burgundy vortex. “Oh, thank you, Swagger. He reported a distinct smell, and the rumbling was unlike anything he had experienced before, worse than any earthquake.”
I added, “Yes, I agree with the rumble sensation. I think the odor was ozone, like you smell in the air after lightning. I felt static electricity all over the surface of my body as I entered the vortex. My senses were messed up inside there – like being fast and slow at the same time. I don’t know if the sensation was there on exiting; I was beginning to black out at that point.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Nature and Wisdom have confirmed what you all experienced here as a temporal anomaly, but not a random occurrence. Look at the vegetation within the vortex area. Do you see how the trees are older than those around it? Yet the grass is new. This incident had intent, although we do not know who or what was behind the intent, or why.”
Carrie asked, “Why did they go after Norrus?”
Skawa replied, “I do not believe they did. Causing an occurrence like this would have taken significant preparation. Norrus was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The intent is most clear in him, though.” I asked what he meant. “Imagine aging ten years in a period of seconds. How much water do you think Norrus would have needed over ten years if he had aged normally? Without intent, he would have dried out and died. Instead, he somehow had sufficient water to survive. His overall mass did not change, which is why he is so emaciated now. His body fat is almost absent, but his bones and muscles and organs all survived. If he had been 5 or 6, his body mass would not have been sufficient to support aging 10 years. But he managed to mature from 11 to about 21.”
“Did it affect me? I feel weird, weak and stiff.” I brought up my stats. They were all down a little, with HP the lowest. They didn’t seem to be going down any further though. I had Interface show the numbers. They were headed up.
That thing drained me.
Sort of.
I snorted in a dark laugh. “Sort of?!”
This is not the time; we will talk later.
“Yes. Wisdom says to look in your pouch.” I took it off my belt and opened it up. What had been two fresh peaches and several handfuls of berries were now rotted and shrunk in on themselves. The smell was horrid. “Nature estimates that your fruit aged about two months, as did you. Fortunately the intent was to keep living things alive and minds healthy, Things which were already dying, like the fruit, died.”
I asked, “Can you fix Norrus? Make him a healthy 11 again?”
“We have repaired what would have been permanent damage due to starvation, dehydration, and rapid aging. His mind is catching up to the ten years his body and brain experienced, but it will be fine also.”
It just came out, and I knew how ungrateful and probably ignorant the words sounded. “But you’re gods! Please fix him”
Skawa replied mentally with palpable anger, “Young Forrest Rhodes, you are an immortal – overseer of all future. You fix him.”
“I … cannot.”
Softer. “Nor can we. But what you need to realize – Norrus is not broken. He is changed. With the help of his family and friends, he will adapt, as mortals tend to do. In the end, he may end up gaining more than he lost.”
He replied vocally, “Gods cannot reverse the effects of time. Contrary to what Forrest expressed, Norrus is not broken – he is changed. Help him adapt.”
Mom said, “We all will. Regarding the vortex, could that have been the Priestess’ doing?”
“No,” Skawa replied. She may have been in some way peripherally involved, but even the most advanced Skolturi Wraith could not do such a thing. But whatever forces caused this would not have needed her assistance.”
----------------------------------------
He changed tack. “It would be awkward and stressful to bring Norrus back to Cottages either by carrying him or by horse, even after he recovers consciousness. I’m going to use my doors to get you back. Gather all your horses here.”
“Do you know what he means by ‘his doors’?”
I believe he is referring to the doors he had Ator Robins build for ‘Skawa’s Adventure’.
“Oh, yeah.”
Only Mom’s horse and Swagger had come here. He and Sun ran up the ravine wall to gather the remaining horses. Those who remained had quiet conversations about what we had seen and done today. Kossa spent a few minutes teaching Carrie the basics of playing a recorder. Fortunately, none of the other mounts had wandered off, so they were all able to return within ten minutes.
A pair of adjoining doors appeared with no wall to support them. They were exquisitely crafted, with Skawa’s Trichyan form carved onto one and Einigi’s Skolturi form on the other. Skawa was set in a backdrop of a mountainous area, with a huge cave opening leading into the dark. Einvigi was shown in a wooded backdrop near a large stream. There were three globes near the tops of each door, which probably represented other gods who do not generally appear to mortals. Ator showed himself to be an amazing craftsman and artist.
Skawa announced, “I had expected these to be first used from the academy, but this will prove a worthy maiden voyage. Please use them to return to campus, to the doors’ other side.”
I asked, “Swagger, is it alright if we remove your barding to use it as a stretcher for Norrus? If four of us each grab a corner, we will be able to support him with it.”
S: Yes, please do.
Ferret wondered why we didn’t place his unconscious form onto Swagger with someone else in the saddle to support him. “I don’t know what condition his muscles are in. I know mine feel stretched and stiff, and I only experienced two months of aging. He aged ten years and grew considerably. Keeping him prone should minimize the chance of us inadvertently harming him."
We untacked Swagger to get the barding, and restored his saddle afterward, just to have a place to carry it. With the barding, now essentially a blanket, spread out on the ground, it was obvious it would not be long enough for Norrus' adult body. Onre, Mom, Arrjee, and I carefully lifted and laid him on the barding with his head at one end. I was thinking we would allow his knees and lower legs to overflow the other end and bend toward the ground. Sun objected to that, saying that if my speculation concerning his strained muscles was correct, it would be better to support his lower legs directly, keeping them even with his body.
Thus four of us lifted a corner of the barding while Sun supported his legs. They used an arm to support each of Norrus’ feet, with his third arm underneath and gently supporting both calves.
I told him || Trichyan anatomy is amazing. You can accomplish just about anything with three long arms having two elbows each. impressed
|| Thank you.
Arrjee joked || But we only have one penis to worry about.
Skawa added || Don’t knock variety, pup. And Forrest, our double-elbowed long arms have the drawback of less overall leverage per arm. Imagine the stress it places at our shoulders.
|| I hadn’t thought of that.
I instructed our carriers, “Keep the barding stretched lengthwise, so his body remains as flat as possible.” It folded into a sleeve as we raised him.
“Well done,” praised Skawa. “Now, open both doors and walk through. I’ll shut them from this side once everyone is gone.” They opened outward toward us. Nothing felt special about passing through them. On one side was the ravine, and on the other was the campus.
Mom suggested we check to see if Harron is home, and if so bring Norrus there. We laid Norrus gently on the ground as Kossa ran to Harron’s apartment.
I looked around at where we were. By the time I turned around I saw that the doors were shut. Behind us was about a ten-foot wide brick and mortar wall that was about eight feet high. No building, just a wall with the two doors centered and framed within it. Centered above them was a bronze sign stating, ‘SKAWA’S ADVENTURE’. It was about four feet long and a foot high. The doors had the same artwork we had seen from the other side. I tried to open a door to see if Ator had crafted the same thing on both sides, but it would not open, nor would the other.
Onre informed me that the other side of the doors was simply finished and varnished wood with no pattern. The wall had been built at the end of and perpendicular to the parade grounds, near the center of campus. I walked around it. The other side had no doors, nor any sign that there were doors at all. It was just a sturdy, double-layered brick wall standing on its own.
Harron arrived first, stating that Kossa was getting the wraiths as well. “Holy crap! She said Norrus had aged ten years and was unconscious and emaciated, but I couldn’t picture it until now.” He slowly scanned the pup from his head to his feet while we quickly told him an overview of what had happened. When he heard that I had aged too, he scanned me as well. “Since gods told you Norrus would recover his full health, for the time being we will need to feed him well, but not overly so. Make sure he gets exercise to build back his muscle mass to a healthy level. And Forrest, you should be fine. If what I understand about your sixdays is correct, next Tuesday you should be fully recovered.”
Yes, that is accurate.
He asked me with routine curiosity, “When did you reach Level 7?” Everyone else stared at me to analyze.
“Huh?” I asked cluelessly.
“Interface, when did I become 7?”
During your two months of aging in the vortex. There were a lot of important things going on since then, and there has not been an appropriate time to explain the complex details. Here is a start:
Achievement: Boost Armor, C
Achievement: Boost Armor, B
Achievement: Level 7
“B??! How did it get there from D?”
Involved and complex. I suggest attending to your friends for now, and we will discuss everything later.
“Holy crap. Boost Armor has been active for two months solid, right?”
Yes. I will explain in more detail later.
“Interface tells me I leveled while in the vortex. I didn’t even realize it until you told me.” Onre asked what leveled me. “Uh, it is apparently very complex, and Interface doesn’t think it is a good time to explain it all right now. Basically, my Boost Armor skill has been active for two months. It ranked from D to B. That's a lot of RP and XP.”
Harron found my circumstance to be extremely unusual, but he focused on the important matter. “Let’s bring Norrus to my apartment. Could someone run into town to get his Mother?” Mom explained that she had taken a trip to Capital City and she might not be back yet. Carrie said she would go check and ran off to do so.
Asiel and Orian arrived along with Kossa, and we summarized the situation for them. The former telekinetically lifted him. “Let’s go. Harron, I’ll follow you.” I picked up Swagger’s barding.
Mom said, “We shouldn’t crowd Harron’s apartment. I’m going to town and report to the Mayor what occurred. Forrest, Norrus seems to have an attachment with you as sort of a big brother. I suggest you remain with him. Everyone else is free to stay or go. Even with what happened, I’m glad you-all got to visit neighboring villages.”
S: I’ll lead the horses back to the stables. Thank you for showing us around the region, Rhetta.
“You are welcome, Swagger. It was about time everyone knew the area better.”
He somehow managed to get the attention of the other horses and they followed him away. Harron began heading to his apartment. Asiel followed, supporting Norrus, and I and Ferret followed them. Orion left to find Ronkel. Everyone else decided to head to our student apartment, the fort.
Ferret explained, “I’m closest to Norrus’ age. Well, I was, anyway. We talk 'lot and play together. That’s probably going to change now, but I would like to be there as a friend when he wakes up.”
A hoarse voice spoke at low volume. “I don’t feel very good, and I can't move. What happened, and what’s happening? And Ferret, why would it change? Minor gods, my throat must be drier than it feels. I sound awful.”