11 :: Change of Stations

Nora’s knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on the pistol. Part of her just wanted to refute everything Kurt had just told her. She sincerely questioned whether or not he was telling the truth. She didn't know him well enough to take his words at face value, but if they truly were genuine, she couldn't afford not to. She decided to take them with a grain of salt. A little wariness wouldn't hurt, but calling him a liar after everything that he had done for her would just be rude.

She heaved a deep sigh. What exactly had she been pulled into? She was in way over her head, and she knew it. Every time things seemed to be looking up, some other problem materialized. Now did she not only have to wait a year to go home, but she had to keep herself and her classmates safe from some mysterious threat that had wiped out whole squads of more-experienced Wardens. Never was she more thankful for this gun than she was now. Kurt may be… Kurt, but at least he had given her this. She resolved to keep it on her body at all times, no matter what.

Nora thought about her next steps. She wasn't ready to leave yet. She still had all of her belongings on her, so she could go whenever she wanted, but there were still so many unknowns. There were several things that she wanted to ask Kurt, but getting too close to his past was probably playing with fire. Even if he was confined to this realm, he was still a powerful ally to have. He probably considered her something along the lines of a welcome distraction at this point, but she was determined to get on his good side, and that meant that any questions about how he ended up here were probably taboo. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

“Let's head back to the office for now. I'd like a shower, and there are still some things I'd like to know,” she suggested.

“Agreed,” Kurt confirmed, running a hand through his curls in a futile attempt to get them out of his face. “Before we go though, take this with you,” he said with a gesture towards his feet where a leather rucksack sat, filled to the brim with tiny rocks. Nora reached for the bag and began to stick it in her storage dimension before she was stopped by Kurt.

“It'll be better for your stamina if you carry things like this more often. It also helps you to better pass as a traveler,” he explained.

He wasn't wrong, but Nora was already having one hell of a day to begin with. She considered refusing, but ended up slinging the bag over her shoulders anyways. She had never had much reason to be concerned with her physical fitness. Spatial magic had done an excellent job of making up for her shortcomings, but she needed to start conserving her energy whenever possible or she wouldn't be able to expand her pool as quickly as she would have liked. Her ego had taken a serious hit from this whole experience and she felt like she needed to make up for it somehow.

With a good 50 lbs added to her back, Nora and Kurt began their journey back through the forest. It was much more difficult than Nora had imagined. Her feet nearly dragged across the coarse path, and the biggest challenge of all came in the form of the plants that rose from the ground in cords and nets that threatened to trip her up. Raising her feet high enough to escape their grasp was almost enough to make her give up several times, but somehow, she was managing to keep up with Kurt’s slow and steady pace.

Some time later, when the sky was all but dark, the two came upon the imposing, blue wall of the city. The doors to the double gate were just beginning to close and they had to hurry in order to make it through. They traced their way back through the city and finally entered Kurt’s office. After the two had both rinsed the sweat from their bodies, they were finally able to have a conversation.

“How many wardens have gone missing so far, to your knowledge?” Nora began, rubbing her stiff shoulders and inwardly cursing herself for heeding Kurt’s advice. She reached into the bag sitting on the couch by her side and began destroying pebbles hand over fist as she listened to Kurt’s response.

“Well, there was the original warden of that world, and the the first guy who came looking for him. Then there was the first group that came through with five people, and then the second with twelve. That makes for 19,” Kurt counted. Twelve people were in the last group. Nora had never heard of such a large group of wardens being assembled.

If headquarters was willing to send that many, they had to have some idea of what was going on. Perhaps she would be able to find some record of what that was in the missing warden’s office. The world where she had been summoned was the most likely place for her to find answers. Nora grit her teeth and burst a pebble in agitation. Returning to that world without any information about what might be waiting for her was just walking into a trap. She had been lucky enough to escape while she was there. She couldn't just charge back in.

“I see. There have to be records somewhere of these expeditions to find the missing Wardens. I haven't been around long enough to know where or how to find these records. If you were me, where would you start?” Nora inquired as she returned to calmly erasing pebbles. Kurt paused before responding.

“That would depend on the scope of the mission and whether or not Headquarters wanted to be discreet about it,” he began. “Normally, the mission briefing and any results that came of it would be catalogued at Headquarters. Something that produces this many deaths though might be kept a bit more secret. I, personally, can't imagine Headquarters keeping too much information about it around. The best place to find any kind of records would be with the missing Wardens which doesn't help at all. Your next best bet would be to find whatever office they were using as a base, which is also probably out since that would be back on the world you came from, unless you intend to charge right back into danger. The only place outside of that realm would be in one of the Warden’s offices in the nearby realms. One of those Wardens may have some information for you.”

“Do you know anything about the wellbeing of the other wardens in the nearby realms?” Nora responded.

“Nothing,” Kurt replied shortly. “Several of them are prisoners like me, and the remaining few that are still capable of jumping realms aren't exactly keen on visiting our kind. However, if you did find one of them, they might be able to help you contact headquarters for assistance, although I'm not certain they'd be game for another rescue mission in this region. Wardens don't grow on trees, you know?”

“Honestly,” Nora sighed, “that sounds like as good of a plan as any. I'll need to get more information if I ever hope to defend myself or the others from whatever is in that realm. If I manage to find some help along the way, all the better.”

“That's what I would suggest,” Kurt agreed with a shrug. “Be careful though. We have no idea what kind of state any of the surrounding realms are in. You might be running out of the frying pan and into the fire. I'm inclined to think that you'll be okay though. If the other realms were being attacked as well, there's no way they wouldn't have come after me.”

“They might be scared of you,” Nora suggested. “That magic you showed me is nothing to shake a stick at.”

“Perhaps, but only if they knew about it,” Kurt replied with an unconcerned smile. “I don't know how anyone would know what I'm capable of unless I'm under some kind of observation, which would be problematic in its own right. I don't take kindly to being watched.” Nora understood and didn't press the issue.

“Any realms you would recommend as a first target?” she continued.

“You'd probably want to start with one of the more legitimate Wardens. If I remember right, those would be stationed here, here, here…, and here,” Kurt explained, walking over to his projection of the outer realms and pointing out a few points of light. Nora pulled a small notepad from her storage dimension and drafted up a makeshift map.

“Any other advice?” Nora asked as she finished up her drawing and placed the notepad into her nearly empty rucksack.

“Nothing you don't probably already know,” Kurt answered dismissively. “Don't stand out, make straight for the Warden’s Office, check for traps outside the entrance. If you can, you should come back here periodically. It never hurts to have a backup of anything you learn. We don't need another Warden disappearing and taking whatever secrets they had gleaned about this region with them.”

“You just want company,” Nora teased. “Don't worry, I plan on playing it safe. I'll stop back frequently, especially at first.”

“Alright!” Kurt chuckled in response. “I assume you'll start here then?” he asked, pointing to the closest realm governed by what he had labeled as ‘legitimate’ Wardens.

“Yep,” Nora confirmed, observing the energy that she had amassed. She would barely have enough energy to make the closest jump as it was. Besides, she didn't want to stray too far for now. She reached for her traveling cloak and threw it on over her shoulders. She ran a hand over her sides to verify that her pistols were still in place. One sat on each of her hips, her standard piece on the right, and Kurt’s modified piece on the left. She had donned a clean set of nondescript traveling clothing after her shower and sincerely hoped that the next realm she visited would be cooler so that she wouldn't burn through her supply of clean clothing so fast.

After a moment's hesitation, Nora pulled up her hood. She didn't know what the typical appearance for residents of this realm would be. Blue hair was normal for Svenivelle, but it wasn't for Earth. She had been able to get away with it there by using hair dye as an excuse, but that wouldn't fly in a second stage realm like this world or the one she had been summoned to.

Finally, she grabbed the bag Kurt had given her to carry pebbles in and fixed it to her back. She would refill it at the next opportunity. For now, she just needed to make it to the school and find the Warden’s office. She shot a glance back at Kurt who was sitting leisurely on the sofa where she had found him.

“I'm counting on you!” he grinned mischievously. “Don't die on me!”

Nora stuck her tongue out at him and was met with a chuckle as she closed her eyes. She compared a mental image of the map she had drawn to the nearby realms she could sense. Finding the realm she had settled on, she smiled.

“I'll be back,” she promised as she vanished into thin air.

Sitting alone in his office, Kurt smiled. He had a feeling that he might not be stuck here for much longer. Eventually, he stood and sauntered lazily over to his ancient, bronze terminal and brought up the search function. He typed Nora's name into the bar, and brought up her personnel file, scrolling through it with a leisurely air, until a certain piece of information caught his attention. His eyes widened as a whistle left his lips. He hadn't expected it to be that bad. This was quite a burden to bear.

***

Sorry I'm late with this one! I don't have an excuse. Things came up. Next chapter will be up on Thursday. Thank you for reading, and please tell me what you think!