The good news was that Nora was 100 times closer to figuring out where she was. The bad news was that 100 times zero is still zero. When Nora landed, she had immediately fallen into a pool of water. It was an occupational hazard, but that didn't make it any more comfortable. Knowing what kind of strange and typically dangerous creatures are known to reside in large bodies of water, Nora swam her hardest for the shoreline.

She would have liked to use a pocket dimension to walk across the floor of the lake, but the jump had taken even more out of her than she had expected. The swim took the rest out of her, and by the time she hauled herself up onto the sandy shore, she was capable of little more than collapsing. She lay there in the sand, wet tendrils of hair clinging to her face and chest heaving, for over an hour. As she waited for her energy to recover, she noticed that the water didn't end with the sand. This realm was terribly humid. It seemed to her that every rasping breath she took brought her a little closer to drowning.

She also noticed that this realm was experiencing a similar spatial anomaly to the realm she had been summoned to. The spatial energy here was just as lacking. It was too much for it to be a coincidence. Someone or something had sucked the energy right out of the realms in this region. It was disconcerting. Who or what had that kind of power? Nora wasn't sure she wanted to find out. At the very least, she wouldn't be jumping any time soon. The scant energy that she was harvesting from her surroundings was nowhere near enough to perform any kind of teleportation.

It might be enough for something else though. Breathing deeply, Nora extended the fingers of her right hand into the air above her. She sighed contentedly as she felt the connection with her storage dimension. Her storage dimension was the pocket dimension she kept with her at all times. It was small enough that it didn't take much energy to maintain, and it was of great convenience. The storage dimension was where she kept all of the items she needed to have on her at all times. In it were several changes of clothes in the styles of different realms, her school materials for her three primaries, and her uniform and badge.

Nora briefly considered withdrawing her uniform but decided against it. The blocky, scarlet cloaks looked out of place in just about any realm. It was better to wear something nondescript when performing recon. A loose white shirt, followed by a pair of fitted brown leggings unfolded from the space at her fingertips. Without even bothering to check her surroundings, she began peeling off the wet clothing from her skin and replacing it with the set she had withdrawn. The soft cotton felt glorious against her skin. She inwardly reprimanded herself for leaving the wet clothes on as long as she had. Once she was more or less dry, she withdrew a generic, dark grey traveling cloak and a pair of sturdy brown buckled boots.

Finishing off her preparations, she withdrew some things that she didn't normally carry. At her waist she strapped a short, thick blade that was good for hacking away inconvenient foliage. Finally, she tucked away a little flintlock pistol at her hip. She shouldn't need it, she told herself, but she didn't want to be caught unprepared. There was no telling what kinds of things she might meet in a forest like this, and her magic… well, when it came to aspects of magic other than spatial, Nora was a little bit lacking. Her unpredictability in those areas had led her to develop a habit of always preparing a backup plan and it had served her well in the past.

Satisfied that her current appearance was generic enough to pass as a traveler, and that she had recovered enough stamina to continue, she set off into the jungle. Civilization was the first step to finding a way home. If she could find civilization, she could find a Warden’s Office. If she could find a Warden’s Office, she could find answers.

The forest proved to be just as warm and damp as the rest of this world. The over abundance of creeping vines covered tree and soil alike in a green leafy carpet with the occasional red or orange flower here and there. The vines had strangled out enough of the ground plants to leave Nora a clear path even without her odd short sword. In a couple of places, the vines formed webbing that blocked her way, but they cleared easily with a few swings of the blade.

After a while, the canopy began to lighten, indicating the thinning of the forest. Sparse patches of stumps showed that some logging had taken place in this area. Ruts laced the ground where the trunks had been dragged. As Nora followed the tracks left by the lumber transportation, she felt her faint feeling of hope begin to solidify.

It wasn't long before the forest gave way into a field of leafy crops parted down the middle by a worn, dirt road. Nora sheathed her blade and heaved a sigh of relief as she took off down the path. A soft breeze rolled across the field and swept away some of the humid air. Nora pulled a clawed hand through her sweaty bangs as she breathed it in. The end was in sight.

Eventually, the path branched onto a wider dirt road, bordered by trees on either side. At the end of the road, in the distance, Nora could see the beginnings of some kind of wall or fortress. It took her a half hour of brisk walking to reach the gate she had seen from afar. The walls seemed to be made of cut stone, covered in a sort of bluish plaster. The doors themselves were of a thick, pale wood with bronze inlay. A curved wall jutted out from the otherwise straight wall behind it, forming a D shaped entrance with one gate on the inside and one on the outside. This setup made it easier to defend and was commonly found throughout many different realms.

Eight guards in studded leather armor were stationed at various locations surrounding the city doors. This seemed to be another second tier realm. Nora watched as a pot of suspicious brown liquid was thrown to the side from the top of the wall amended her classification to very early second tier. The guards offered no resistance to her entering the city. It seemed that mingling with the local foot traffic was enough to avoid drawing their attention.

The inner city’s buildings were made of bricks made from that same blue clay. The streets, especially around the entrance, were full of lively chatter with merchants peddling their wares and haggling prices with their customers. The language here seemed to belong to one of the more common branches, bearing a close resemblance to ancient Mayan. Nora was proficient in Old Norse and Latin, and beginning in Chinese, but Mayan was a language she had yet to conquer. She could recognize it well enough, thanks to the exposure she’d received in various realms, but the meaning eluded her. She paid close attention to what was being said in the hopes of picking some of it up.

As she neared the center of the city, the lively clamor of the market had been reduced to a dull roar. Here, more polite conversations could be heard as the locals socialized. One thing that she noted was the lack of magic in any public setting. This was probably a nation that shunned it. At the very center of the city was a large pyramid structure. This was most likely either a religious or government structure. It was an option, but it didn't seem very promising. Nora continued her stroll, keeping an eye out for any structures that might meet the criteria she had in mind. Finally she found it. Large courtyard, stately pillars, tasteful art, young persons hustling to and fro carrying stacks of scrolls crammed into their satchels. It was almost certainly a school.

For whatever reason, the Wardens almost always stuck their offices inside of the most prestigious academic institute in the area. Maybe it was their supposed dedication to the exploration of the unknown, or maybe it was their staunch elitism that made them feel right at home with all of the other promising young academics. Maybe it was just the general lack of security around university campuses that made strangers coming and going at odd hours easier to get away with. Any way, it was undeniably a convention that the Wardens strictly upheld, mostly out of the convenience of uniformity. No matter what world you visited, you just looked for the fanciest school you could find and you'd wind up at the local Warden’s Office in no time.

This was exactly Nora’s plan. She wandered through hall after hall, earning her some curious stares, but none bothering to ask her if she was lost. Most of that she attributed to the fear induced by her current appearance. There aren't many brave enough to needlessly confront a young woman running around with twigs and leaves sticking out of hair like it was absolutely normal.

Eventually, she found her way to an isolated hallway that was unusually deserted and the few classrooms along it vacant. It was at the very end that she found what she was looking for. A golden ornament depicting a four-pointed star bordered by a Möbius strip marked an otherwise simple wooden door. Other than the crest, the only thing out of place was the handle. There was none. Only those who knew the trick would be able to open it.

Nora rotated the star in a certain pattern, each turn drawing a series of mechanical clicks from the contraption. Upon finishing, Nora was greeted with a much louder click as the contraption rotated upwards to reveal a recess in the door containing a faintly glowing amber sphere. Nora shoved her face in front of the sphere and stated the pass phrase that was unique to herself. The stone glowed brighter for a moment before fading back. With one final click, the wooden door creaked open.

All Warden’s Offices used the same layout. The foyer consisted of a small waiting area used by those who were authorized to make requests of Wardens. Most of the time these visitors were shamans, academics, or rulers who encountered problems that involved matters of time and space. Wardens weren't really very secretive. Most governments were aware of the Wardens and known to cooperate with them. Those who needed to know knew and those who didn't were completely oblivious. Those who did know understood the kind of powers the Wardens held and knew better than to cross them. In the rare occasion that they truly needed a Warden’s assistance, they needed only to ask.

Nora crossed the lobby, her boots tapping against the white marble floor. Everything in the waiting rooms screamed opulence. Even the wooden furniture was covered in gold leaf, and the seats upholstered in a luxurious, plush, red velvet. At the other end of the room was another door. This was the door that could only be opened by Wardens. It required an insignificant amount of spatial energy that worked like a key to be fed into it to open.

Nora placed her hand against the rich wood and pushed. On the other side of this door was where she would find her answers. Whether or not an actual Warden was stationed there, she would at least find records concerning the abnormalities she had observed in this region.

The room on the other side of the door was dark. Papers, clothes, and clay flasks littered the floor. Drawers were flung open, the bed was in a state of disarray. Despite the mess, there was no dust. Whatever had happened here had been recent. If she didn't know better, Nora would say that the place had been looted. She did know better though. Only Wardens should be able to enter this room. Even if someone tried to push past a Warden on their way in or out, they would be deflected by a spatial barrier.

A sudden movement on the sofa caught her attention and her hand whipped to her side where she drew the flintlock she had prepared beforehand. On the other side of her guides, a figure lay prone. The figure was male, but he was wearing a loose white nightgown that must be normal for this realm. The gown did little to cover the pattern of dark tattoos that crisscrossed his back and limbs. Nora watched as the man pulled his arms beneath him and shifted himself up to look at her. Dark eyes peeked out from long, unwashed, dark hair.

“What's going on?” the man asked warily, noticing the firearm pointed at his face.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Nora demanded, her eyes never straying from the guides of her pistol.

“Where the hell do you think you are?” the man questioned in kind. “I'm the fucking Warden.”

***

Thanks for reading! We finally meet our third kind of main character! Also, I added a mockup cover that I made on my mobile. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!