“Young man, do you understand me now?” The elderly fairy speaks again. His words are clearly in English now.

The eyes of Markus open wide, and he scoots himself backwards a few inches. He tries to process what happened, and gathers his thoughts, before looking back to the old fairy.

“Ya... I can understand you.” Markus finally says back.

The old fairy flashes another smile, and then turns around to give a thumbs up to the other entourage fairies that have been waiting. A murmur of voices come from the group as they start talking among themselves. He turns back to Markus as the other elderly fairies take off in different directions.

“Good. I'm glad the translation magic still works well.” The old fairy says back to Markus. “My name is Jonathan. I'm a member of this town's governing council” Jonathan continues in fluent English.

Markus stays silent as he listens to Jonathan speak. His head is spinning in all directions about the current situation. How was it possible to suddenly understand him? Was it real magic he saw? Countless questions keep popping into his head.

“No need to be quiet.” Jonathan speaks again. “The translation magic used on you works both ways.” He then taps a finger to his head and continues saying “That spell I used on you has tricked your brain. A little painful at the start, but the benefits are worth it.”

“Wait. Wait. What do you mean?” Markus asks Jonathan with a concerned look.

“It's simple. Your head is now filled with the language of this land. If I remember right, your world calls it Latin. You can speak it and understand it just as well as your own native English.” Jonathan says, but then points a finger upward. “However, it's only temporary. It'll only last until you sleep, then you must reuse the spell again when you awake.”

Markus can't believe what he is hearing. Could such a thing be possible? Latin? More ideas flood his mind about magic.

Jonathan continues speaking. “Just imagine the spell as a trick of the mind. Everything I say will come out as your native language. Whenever you speak, I'm hearing it in ours. Do you understand?”

The explanation makes sense to Markus, but it's a matter of actually believing it. He nods his head and replies “Ya, sounds simple enough.”

“Good. So what's your name?” Jonathan ask Markus.

“My name is Markus Winters. I passed through a strange portal yesterday in a nearby cave. I'm just trying to get back home now.” Markus says in a dejected tone.

“Ah, I know that cave. It used to be a small mining outpost for the Dwarven folks of these lands.” Jonathan quickly replies to Markus.

Dwarfs? That word catches Markus' attention. He immediately thinks about the short mythical warriors from games and movies he's seen all his life.

“Tell me, are you from a country called America?” A surprising question is then asked from Jonathan.

Markus' train of thought breaks when he hears the question. He replies “Ya, I'm from there. Why are ya asking?”

“Ah... good to hear Edward's country is still around. When I was a young man myself, another one of your countrymen went through the same portal you did. He helped our town and people. I spent a long time chatting with him about your world.” Jonathan says as he reminisces about his old friend.

“Others have been here before!? How'd they get back?” Markus speaks excitedly about the new information.

The old fairy simply shakes his head, and says “I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened to him. He stayed with us for a time, but also wanted to return home. We guided him to a nearby human settlement as a starting point.” Jonathan starts showing a small frown as he speaks. “He never came back to us. Humans from your world have arrived on ours since mankind has existed, but I'm not aware anyone has ever returned.”

Markus' excitement quickly vanishes after listening to Jonathan. Even more worrying, he heard the phrase “your world” spoken several times. Was he really in another world? It was too wild to believe, yet everything seen so far tells him it's true. Markus was now trying his best to hide the increasing nervousness he felt within himself.

“Well... enough talking for now. The food has arrived.” Jonathan says as he points behind Markus.

Turning around, Markus sees several fairies dropping off bags unto one of the wooden tables behind him. He now feels the hunger that's been repressed due to all the events of the morning. Any sort of food would be welcomed gift at this point. Markus stands up, and gets ready to head over toward the table.

“Oh, and one more thing Mr. Winters.” Jonathan says, forcing Markus to turn his head back to the old fairy. “Thank you for last night. We appreciate it, and I want to welcome you to the town of Little Creek.”

With those words, Jonathan turns around and flies away in the opposite direction. Markus is left standing alone as he watches the old fairy leave. An unpleasant feeling begins to emerge. Somehow, he knew a long journey was just ahead.