Duncan quickly picked himself up from the bed and looked around his meager possessions. He first used Identify on his computer.
[PC Personal computer
486 DX2 66Mhz 16Mb RAM 320Mb HDD
Windows 3.11 Operating system ]
“Well, that was rather detailed. What an utter piece of antique crap,” Duncan exclaimed before coming to a realization, “But this proves my skills from the other world work in this one.”
He quickly used Identify on his chair to make sure.
[ Wooden chair ]
“Hmmm, no details. So, I guess I need to know the details before they are identified. Like it was with the fungus,” he deducted before mumbling to himself.
He thought about how much time he had left and a countdown timer showed up.
[ Time off left 12 minutes 43 seconds. ]
Depart
[YES] - [NO]
He mentally clicked yes and he was back in Wazsh’s guest room after a fast sensation of vertigo.
He thought again about the time he has left.
[ Time off left 12 minutes 33 seconds. ]
Depart
[YES] - [NO]
“Ohh. So, I can leave anytime I want and return the same way. Well, that is convenient,” he happily exclaimed before he chose YES.
After a while, he came to his senses and muttered, “I am almost totally, forgetting I am a stranger in a strange land and that my security and wellbeing were nowhere near secure here as… Ehhh, who am I kidding? The neighborhood I am living in is probably as dangerous as the wilds outside of this village.“
Duncan left his room and went downstairs. In the kitchen, he met Wazsh who was cleaning some pans.
“Good morning!” he exclaimed.
Wazsh looked at him and asked, ” What made you so chipper?”
“Today is a new day. By the way, how long have I been gone?” Duncan asked.
“Hmmm. Between 2 hours and a half to 3 hours. Turn your system clocks on in the settings so you don’t bother with this every time you return,” Wazsh replied.
“So, time moves about 12-14 times faster here?”, Duncan asked when he did a quick math computation in his head.
“Time moves at the same speed everywhere. The gravity of the black hole just makes the difference on a relative scale,” Wazsh replied while washing the dishes.
“Don’t be a BEEPhole or are you purposely trying to get me into trouble,” Duncan replied.
“You are learning faster in more ways than one I see,” Wazsh replied.
“Do you think Bolgar is awake yet?” Duncan asked.
“I don’t follow the daily habits of the perpetually angry dwarf named Bolgar. You, unlike me, can go there and check for yourself.” Wazsh replied as he stacked the now clean pans for drying.
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“OK. See you later,” Duncan replied and left. It was dusk outside with only the outer rings of the black hole sun still visible on the horizon and Duncan spent a few moments looking at it.
Duncan soon reached the Bolgar’s smithy this time noticing the sign that was above the door, with big black letters looking like a black metal band name. He didn't know the letters but looking at it he tried [Identify].
[Sign - “Dragon hammer smithy”]
“Seriously Bolgar isn’t this a bit over the top don’t you think?” Duncan mused to himself as he tried the door.
It was unlocked. He entered and went to the forge that was still lingering on with embers flaring every now and then. The dwarf however was nowhere to be seen. He put some more fuel inside for the forge and used the bellows until it was ignited. When he guessed the temperature was about right, he took the hammer and the raw iron ore.
He selected the only thing he could and in about a minute of his time perception he was by the rack with the finished product.
“Mmmph. You just couldn't stay away?” an angry voice from an angry dwarf wearing a pink pajama overall and holding a warhammer in his hands interrupted Duncan’s admiration of his new finished product.
Duncan nervously scratched his head. He would laugh but was afraid of the dwarf’s reaction to him laughing.
“I forgot about the noise,” Duncan quietly replied.
“Yes, you did. You might as well continue and I am going to sleep at Wazsh’s in your bed until morning. Don’t forget to drink and don’t bloody burn down my smithy!” Bolgar replied before he left his smithy without waiting.
Duncan went back to work. Like a robot, he did four blades before stopping to rest and rehydrate himself. He was always like this when he found something new and interesting for him to do. Burning himself out like a candle was just a natural way of life for him.
After another set of four blades, he had to call it quits though at least for a while. He was not tired but his ears were ringing from the constant hammering and grinding. He drank some more water as a constant high-pitched buzz followed him around.
The state of his hands also left a lot to be desired for. He had blisters from swinging the hammer and singed skin from the sparks that flew when he hit the red-hot iron. He sat himself down on a chair in the dwarf’s kitchen and considered what he could do to remedy his condition. The healing potions seemed like a waste to use for this.
In the end, he stuck his head on the dwarf's table and stuck his index fingers in his ears to stop them from ringing. After a while, in this position, the tiredness overwhelmed him and he fell asleep.
“What the hell are you doing?” Duncan was rudely awakened by the seemingly angry dwarf.
He jumped up from the chair startled and the chair fell backward to the floor.
“Hahhaha. Serves you right after the scare you gave me yesterday!” Bolgar said while laughing.
Duncan just eyed him sideways while cringing from tinnitus.
“Are your ears hurting you? I remember this from when I was a novice. Let me check something,” he went and rummaged through one of his closets.
“Here it is. Take this and drip it into your ears and smear it on your blisters,” Bolgar commanded.
“What is it?” Duncan asked before a tirade of dirty looks and angry bellows started.
“It’s a low-quality minor healing potion, what else,” Bolgar said as he shook the small bottle in front of him. Bolgar swayed his head and continued, “Ya could have just used Identify ya know."
Duncan nodded.
Bolgar waved his blister-free hands in front of him, “By using it directly it lasts longer and you also don’t have to taste it,” he stated scrounging his face.
Bolgar put his hands on his hips and had a big, toothy grin, probably the first smile Duncan had ever seen cross the dwarf's face as he said, “I get this cheaply from Elland since these are his failed products.
“Don’t ever try to drink one of these. Blegh. They're vile things,” he said as he spat on the floor.
Duncan nodded in affirmation and Bolgar went on, “Effective for small injuries but vile. You'll retch your guts out I tell ya!”
“Wazsh gave me one as a reward for a quest to drink so I could heal my injuries,” Duncan replied before he smeared some on his palms.
“Did he, now. Hahhahaha. I bet it tasted great,” the dwarf's laugh bellowed.
“BLEEPing BLEEPhole.”, Duncan muttered as he poured the potion into his ears.