Adam felt the searing pain in his abdomen keenly-after all, he had been stabbed. Groans of pain weakly escaped his lungs as he clutched the new hole in his side from his bent position. The little thief drew his blade against the twine looped round Adam's belt, hoping to make off with what he perceived to be the most valuable of blunders: Adam's ass ancient gourd? Confusion swept past and smothered the rage blanketing Adam's mind as he wondered why he had been stabbed. Doubled over his open wound Adam could not help but be perplexed when faced with the current situation. Why had he been shanked over the weathered and somewhat wilted piece of leather hanging off his belt. Was this guy just really thirsty or just really committed to stealing at least something from Adam-despite his empty pockets and clear lack of material wealth. Surely he couldn't have know about the mission he was on and the supposed immense power contained within his gourd. Then Adam realised the reasoning behind why he was being stabbed and robbed really wasn't of more importance than the fact that he had been stabbed and was getting robbed. As these thoughts ran through his brain he noticed that the small man in front of him had not left, and was still in fact frantically sawing at the tactile cord in order to separate Adam's magical gourd from his person. Deciding he had spent enough time shocked and surprised as strange things continued to happen to him, Adam swung his fist at the things cowl with all the force he could muster from his disadvantaged position. All at once it seemed that time swung back into motion.
The thief jumped back from Adam's belt-perhaps sensing the blow incoming-as sound rushed back into Adam's ears. The angry shouting of the nearby townsfolk reached him as a cacophony, feet stamping towards him informing him to the intervening crowd and alerting the thief that he had overstayed his welcome. Snapping out of his manic episode the would be pincher seemed to realise his attempt at daylight robbery was unsuccessful. The cloaked figure dashed back towards the safety of the alley, darting between the grasping hands and ham handed fists of the local butchers and bakers and other medieval workers as he did so. A couple of eager adventures made to follow after the thief into the confines of darkness but a warding arm halted their passage. 'you won't find him now he's in there lads, best not follow a thief into the heart of its territory.' One of the pursing young men looked at the other uncertainly as they were barred from entering the alley. This caused Adam's gaze to slip from the back of the smaller mans head to the back of the bigger ones, his eyes passing from short dirty brown hair to long flowing blond locks. He noticed the second mans wider shoulders and the fancy plate armor draped over his form, confirming to himself the strangeness of the world he was in and that if random people walked around the street dressed for war reenactments then this probably wasn't going to be the last time he got stabbed here.
The leading youth's head shifted from its position staring down the alley to the intervening man's hand before swinging back up to his well fed face. The youth took a step back from the man signaling his acquiescence to the order. Adam's attention wavered from the confrontation as his focus was drawn back to the searing pain in his side.
The adrenaline was leaving Adam's system, allowing him to once again experience the rare treat of acute abdominal puncture. Figuring he might as well utilise the magical gourd there had been so much fuss over Adam grabbed onto to the neck of the waterskin, pulling it away from his belt without thinking to untie the thick knot first. The gourd came free from his belt easily, one of Adam's eyebrows raising as he noticed the suspicious lack of damage on the now loose cord. The thread showed only the faintest signs of being recently sawed into. As he took a drink of the gourd he realised how strange it was for it to be heavily knotted onto his belt instead of hung on some sort of loop for easier access like must be the case for most other gourd owners, but decided the (already effective) added security to the hopefully magical object far outweighed the strange glances he might get for his carry choices. Steeling himself for disappointment Adam stopped thinking about trends in gourd security and took a drink of the elixir.
Instantly Adam felt warmth fill him. The pain in his side was replaced with mild tingling and the blood that had started to flow from his body ceased to do so. If the hands that had been held closed just a moment ago against his injured side were still held there Adam would have felt the flesh that had been torn instantly be knitted back together. The single swallow of the thick liquid immediately repaired the harm done to his body, the throbbing pain in it present one moment and then gone the next. Adam quickly stoppered the gourd despite the fact he had been told the elixir was limitless, he didn't need to drink any more than he just had. A laugh escaped his lips, disbelief written across his features. As the adventures approached Adam, having returned from talking with the heavyset man at the mouth of the alley, they noted the effects that the single swig of the elixir had on the strangely dressed man's body and the relief he was experiencing. Eyebrows somewhat raised they approached the man, equally impressed and envious to the power of his healing draught.
"I'd ask if you were alright but it appears whatever's in that gourd is valuable enough after all" the armored one announced loudly. Piping in the shorter more bedraggled member of the duo made his voice known
"Yeah that's a nice little potion you got there friend-makes me wonder how you got your hands on such nice gear and yet still managed to be stabbed so easily. With your awareness skills I'm guessing you don't hunt the black forest very often?" The blond man simply looked down at his friend impassively, in response he promptly shut his mouth before his words could get any further away from him.
"what my partner here was trying to say is it's nice to meet another adventure around here and if you'd like we'd be happy to give you a run down on the area. Apparently there hasn't always been a thieves guild running around the city-that is if the rumors around the city are to be believed and this isn't just a local gang of bandits making an extended stay. Either way we'd be willing to give you a tour of the local area and show you where's safest to stay if you'd like. The Guild outpost is not far from here so at the very least we can take you in that direction. Me and my partner here have been in the area for almost a month now and so we are qualified to introduce you to this 'little slice of paradise' " The knight or whatever he was smiled at his own joke as he stared at Adam expectantly. 'Getting stabbed is no way to be introduced to a town after all!' he added.
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The friendly duo had clearly pegged Adam as a member of their Guild and had he been in his right mind Adam would of probably have taken them up on the offer and explained to them once they were somewhere safe and cool that he wasn't in fact an adventurer but would still like to know where and what the hell the Black Forest was and why he needed great awareness to be in it. He probably would have jumped at the chance to receive help from anyone who offered it, armed strangers or not. However, Adam's mind was not in the right place, or in fact focused on the two people in front of him or indeed the world outside himself at all. Adam's mind was instead tracking the warm feeling in his body as it moved down from his wound and torso directly into his bladder. In fact, as the sensation began to concentrate in that area Adam stopped listening to the man's words altogether. Instead Adam focused on pressing his legs tightly together and trying not to piss himself.
The two men's patient expressions morphed into fear and wariness as Adam's suddenly fiendish gaze met their own. 'WHERE IS THE NEAREST BATHROOM' Adam shouted in response to the mans offer. The two adventures who had traversed many a dungeon together, who had fought many a beast and slogged through enemies for days on end without a moment of peace or respite read the mans posture for it's blaring meaning: this guy needed to go, and he was gonna go now-Wherever that growling down the tunnel meant an approaching dire bear or not. Two hands raised and one of them pointed at a sign hanging from a beam extended from a two story buildings nearby exterior the knight responded to Adams need. Adam bolted towards the tavern with all the speed and ferocity he could muster, yanking open the door without loss of forward momentum and slipping through the entryway almost bonelessly, leaving the door to hang open behind him. Ignoring the heads turned to watch the frantic man's hopping entry, Adam locked eyes with the tavern keeper. Gourd now somehow fastened back to his belt his hands pushed over his crossed legs and stayed there. The tavern owner yanked his thumb towards the far side of the room where two doors stood closed and beckoning.
As Adam sprinted and hopped towards the fastened bathrooms, dodging around round mug stained tables and seated patrons as he went, the door on his right opened inwards. A man left the room rubbing his bleary eyes and looked up to see the frantic lunging form of Adam loom towards him. In surprise he jumped to the side with startled exclamation and witnessed the strange man enter the vacated restroom, thankfully maintaining some presence of mind to kick the door closed behind him. The man shivered as he played over the image of that truly desperate man lunging towards him. The eyes of a man with nothing to loose baring down upon you being something you don't easily forget. Relaxing from the tense seized position he was in Galen walked away from the bathroom slowly, resolving to himself to never impede a man on his way to taking care of his most pressing business-the sight of Adam's visage immortalized in his memory.
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Adam washed his hands in his sink. He felt weary, exhausted in a way he'd never been before. He's been teleported stabbed, and then teleported again. He'd been healed, and then cursed with a need to use the loo past what is natural. He recalled how the strange voice in his head had told him the power of the elixir would 'run through him' and shook his head at the irony of it. But as he ran his hands under the hot water he couldn't help but grin at how stupid the supposedly 'real events' had been. Chosen to save the future and invade the past, the very idea was ridiculous.
Adam chuckled, looking at himself in the mirror as he dried his hands. There behind the mirth was the worry about what his mind had just put him through. He could see the tightness in his smile and in the tenseness of the skin around his eyes. His face was pulled halfway into the anxiousness, the fear. Unsettled, Adam couldn't bear look at/into himself much longer. He needed to process what he had been through, forced himself through. Being stabbed, feeling that terrible pain and that miraculous healing for what-the chance to be some fantasy hero. Did Adam really want to be one so much he could have had such an episode? Did he really need to be some sort of conquering champion so much he would do away with his reality. The more he allowed himself to explore the event the more he felt himself shaking. He turned to leave, as much resolved to work through this dilemma as he was to hide from it, ignore it and do anything else. To take a nap and forgot about his foray outside of sanity, maybe he would wake up and realise he'd been dreaming all along after all. Somewhat mollified by the thought Adam swivelled to face his bathroom door, coming face to face with his beloved gourd hung on a nail where the hook for his towels used to be. All illusions of comfort fled Adam's mind. Panicking he threw open the door and ran outside into his home, desperately trying to escape this strange nightmare.
Adam ran out onto the smoky street of what could have been a post-industrialist Chicago. The greys and blacks of the shadows and grimy buildings exteriors illuminated by the harsh white of street-lamps and the softer shinning of the moon. The road was stark black, the surface of the substance possessing an almost iridescent sheen. The bold dark of the tarmac and the painted stripes sitting upon it, running along the road and intersection, in sharp relief to the drab sidewalk beside it. Adam stood outside in a world of black and white, the closest thing to colour the silverly hip flask clipped onto his belt. He ran his hands through his hair, noticing as he did so their unnatural shade of monochrome. Taking a deep breath Adam tried to centre himself, his hands dropping to his sides and unfurling in an attempt to relax. He tried to be still and let the tension leave his grey body. Adam filled his lungs with air, his hands clenching of their own accord despite vain efforts to the contrary. Then he screamed for a third time.