Chapter 9

I slept fitfully through the night, in my dreams assassins kept appearing from every shadow. I woke before 5 am unable to get back to sleep. I made my way up into the library and began searching though books trying to find anything on assassins. After a couple of hours I had found nothing and turned to researching tattoo’s. I had no idea what the pair of assassin's tattoos had meant but the fact they both had the same tattoo had to be significant. I also felt certain that the strange blue flashes of light I had seen were all connected. Perhaps these assassins were using some kind of magic to move between houses and attack people, whatever it was, it seemed far too coincidental that I had seen what appeared to be the same blue flash of light it Dogan’s house as I had randomly seen in two other places.

I felt a hand gently prod me and I bolted upright. I had apparently fallen asleep at Atrix’s desk my face mashed against the pages of a book. I sputtered slightly as I pulled off a piece of paper stuck to my face. “Sorry Artix, I must have fallen asleep.” I said rubbing sleep from my eyes.

“Dear boy have you been here all night?” Artix asked in surprised.

“No, I had trouble sleeping last night. So, I got up early and came here to do a bit of reading.” I said stretching cramped muscles.

“Oh, and what are you reading?” He asked curiously eyeing the book my face had been pressed into. He frowned slightly when he saw what it was. “Now why would you be reading a book about some old demon worshipping cult?” he said in alarm.

“I was looking for symbols. I fought a pair of assassins last night breaking into a friend's home. They both had this weird tattoo on their bodies.”

“I see, cultists have been known to mark their members with symbols or tattoos” Artix said with a thoughtful look before handing me a sheet of parchment, “What did it look like?” I drew out a rough sketch of the strange claw mark tattoo. He stared at it, his face going a bit pale.

“I take it you recognize this?” I asked suspiciously. Artix stared at the paper for several long moments before finally sinking into a nearby chair. He took his pipe from a pocket of his jacket and filled it, lighting with a match and taking a long pull before finally looking up at me his face pale and serious.

“Tell me Derek, what do you know of the gods of this world?” He asked solemnly. I thought for a moment over what Shadowfire had told me shortly after I had woken up in this strange new world.

“There are seven of them, they lived here on Elseria for a time, then some sort of war broke out between them and some demons and then they went away.” I said trying to remember what Shadowfire had said to me.

“You are mostly correct. Nearly a thousand years ago the gods lived here on Elseria. Then came the Divine War between the demon lords of the seven hells and the gods. Their war nearly destroyed all of Elseria and gave birth to many of the monsters that still plague us to this day. The greatest of these demon lords was the Dragon Emperess. It is she that now rules over the seven levels of hell commanding hordes of demons and subjugating the other demon lords. Of all the demon lords she was the hardest for the gods to seal away. Once the Divine Barrier was in place however she and her minions could no longer enter our world. That has not stopped her from trying to find a way however, above all things the Emperess seeks to rule across all realities. She finds those in our world who hunger for power and control over others. She tempts them with promises of wealth and power, she corrupts everyone and everything she can get her claws on.” He paused taking another long pull from his pipe.

“You sound very knowledgeable about this Artix,” I said eyeing the man suspiciously. Rather than answering he moved over to a bookshelf behind the desk and pulled off a couple of books. He then pulled a much smaller book from deeper in the shelf. He replaced the first books and brought the small one to the desk where I was sitting. He placed it on the desk and sank into a chair next to me. I watched him for a moment before turning to the book. It looked like a journal, small and worn, with a few nondescript stains on the cover.

I opened and flipped through, noticing several of the pages had been torn out, I skipped over a couple of blank pages until I found the first page with writing on it. Above the writing was a sketch of the tattoo I had seen. I began to read.

Of all the dark cults of this world, I believe none to be more insidious than that of the Cult of the Dragon Emperess. Her servants are fanatically loyal and speak with honeyed words offering power and glory in return for service. They pull you into their ranks an inch at a time until it is too late. They target the weak minded and the young, indoctrinating them and turning them against family and friends. The Queen of Hell seeks to rule all, and she will stop at nothing to see it done. We must offer our thanks to the Gods for sealing her, and the Demon Lords who serve her, in the darkest reaches of the seven hells for all eternity.

“Did you write this?” I asked Artix turning a suspicious gaze on him. He hadn’t moved since I last looked at him and it was several moments before he answered.

“I am sad to say a couple of decades ago, I was taken it by their words. They offered me what I thought I wanted at them time, I was young and foolish. At first it was just a few coins offered up as a sacrifice to their god. Then they wanted a bit more. I stole for them, trinkets at first. I am small and can get into places others couldn’t, we broke into people homes. Stole their gold and jewels. Then they wanted more, we kidnapped people from their homes or traveling on the road. They were enemies of the cult, or so they claimed. We never hurt them though, at least not much. Then one terrible night I was called up to an altar they had built. Strapped to it was a girl who couldn’t have been more than 10, they wanted me to...” his voice broke, and he trailed off for a moment. “They wanted me to sacrifice her in the name of their queen.” A tear ran down his cheek, “I couldn’t do it, they shoved me aside and let someone else do it. Her screams still haunt me some nights. I knew I couldn't stay there any longer, so I ran. I hid for several years, changed my name, and ended up here in Ravensbrook. Last, I had heard of the cult, some adventurers had cleared out a nest of them to the East. We haven’t seen them since, but if they are here in Ravensbrook...” He trailed off again and didn’t speak simply putting his head in hands.

“I won’t let them hurt you, Artix.” I said laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He smiled at me, though I could see unshed tears in his eyes.

“It’s not me I am worried about. If those assassins you fought last night are indeed members of the Cult of the Dragon Emperess, then the people of this city may be in grave danger. The Cult is dangerous and seeks to take over everything they can in the name of their dark goddess,” He wiped his eyes and took on a more confident look. “I’m going to help you find them. So, you and the other adventurers can put a stop to whatever evil plans they have. Now tell me everything you haven't already.”

So, I did, Artix was writing furiously as I spoke determined to get everything down, he didn’t want to miss any potential clues. Unlike the guards, I mentioned the weird blue light and how that had been the third time I had seen it. As I spoke realization hit me and I whirled on Artix.

“They didn’t want the alchemist, or probably not for his alchemy. They wanted people they could sacrifice. You said it yourself, they tried to make you perform a human sacrifice, what if that’s what they were there for. Sneaking into people's homes to kill them as part of some ritual.”

“In my time with the cult, they often kidnapped people and took them somewhere else for their dark rituals. They would need some way to get in and out without alerting the...” he trailed off for a moment his eyes going wide. “That’s what you saw it has to be.”

“What did I see?” I asked staring at him in confusion.

“Some sort of portal, I bet they were using a portal to enter people’s homes. They are often blue in color and cast a bright glow for a few short seconds.” My eyes went wide at the realization.

“That has to be it. Is there some way to track their portals after they have been opened?” I asked in excitement.

“Portals are hard to track, but a strong wizard might be able to reopen a recently closed one... in theory” Artix responded. My mind instantly went to Zavra, could she do it? She was one of the strongest wizards I knew, in truth the only wizard I knew other than Brayden.

“I need to talk to Zavra and the others.” I turned to rush out of the room, but then had a thought. ‘Shadowfire you can fly faster than me, you think you can find the others and bring them here?’ Shadowfire let out an annoyed sigh at being woken up from his nap. A moment later he launched off the shelf and darted through one of the windows without a word.

“He’s very handy to have around isn’t he, perhaps I should get a familiar.” Artix said starring out the window after Shadowfire. It was nearly half an hour before Serk and the others pushed open the door to Artix’s office. He and the others stepped inside, I noticed Shadowfire was curled up on Serk’s shoulder happily napping.

“Your little friend here said it was urgent, so what's going on?” Serk asked.

Over the next few minutes, I filled them in on everything Artix and I had been discussing.

“Portal magic could work,” Zavra said, she had taken a seat near the desk and Shadowfire was curled up on her lap. “But they would need some way back, or at least a way of communicating with whomever is opening the portals.” I thought for a moment on everything I had seen the night before. A thought occurred to me, and I pulled the Inscribed Runestone from my inventory and tossed it to Zavra.

“Something like this?” I asked as she caught the stone. She eyed it for a moment.

“This is an inscribed communication stone. It’s a type of enchantment that uses runes to create magical effects. In this case the runes on this stone are for communication. Most likely someone has another stone, and the cultists would simply activate it when they needed a portal opened for them. That’s my guess anyway,” Zavra said.

“So, we use the stone and tell them to open a portal and head on through, right?” I said hopefully.

“I doubt that would work. It’s been hours since their men went through, I think it's safe to say they know something happened to ‘em. If we tried to use that stone, they may open the portal but who knows what would be waiting on the other side,” Serk said, and my face fell slightly.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” I said sheepishly.

“But now we know there is some nasty group of people working somewhere in Ravensbrook. You also kept one alive, he should be locked up in the prison beneath the guard’s barracks. Maybe we can get something out of him.” Serk said with a small grin.

“I do know a cleric, who has a spell that can force people to tell the truth.” Artix said from behind his desk.

“Now that sounds like just the kind of person we need.” Serk said with a smile.

“He should be in the temple of Vaul, I can take you to him.” Artix said hoping off his chair. We followed him out of the library and down several streets, until we reached a towering cathedral, that reminded me of pictures I had seen of Notre Dame back on Earth. Tall, elegant towers and vaulted ceilings. Instead of statues of different saints however many of the statues were of a tall imposing man with bulging muscles. Sometimes he was depicted holding a globe on his back, other times standing over an anvil with a hammer and tongs.

“Who is the Vaul person?” I whispered to Zavra as we got closer.

“How do you not...” she trailed off a second later looking slightly foolish. She gave a small throat clear and started again. “Well, he is a God, not a person. He is the World Forger. According to all our histories he was the first God and he forged Elseria into the world it is today,” she said happily.

As we approached, I noted a massive stained-glass window showing Vaul holding a globe with a pair of tongs, his hammer raised to strike. I had several questions about how someone could forge a world as if they were a blacksmith, but for now I kept them to myself.

We entered the temple; it had a quiet reverence too it. Pews lined the main hall, and I could see a couple of people sitting in them praying. A center aisle led to a raised platform with a massive statue of Vaul holding up a globe. A man in red and white robes approached us. “Artix,” the man said softly giving Artix a welcoming smile, “It is good to see you. What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping to see Stephan, is he around?” Artix responded quietly.

“Of course, I shall send him out to you.” the robed man said before heading off. A couple moments later another robed figure approached us. He was a younger human man with a warm smile and short sandy blond hair.

“Artix it is good to see you my friend, is there something I can do for you?” Stephan said.

“Do you still have that spell that makes people speak the truth?” Artix asked. Stephan looked puzzled for a moment looking from Arix to the rest of us, then back to Artix.

“I certainly do, are you in need of it?” Stephan asked.

“Well, you see,” Serk said stepping in, “a man was caught by the guards last night and we think he might be involved in some sort of plot against the city. We want to question him, but we are fairly certain he will lie to us, if he answers us at all. If we could somehow guarantee that he was speaking the truth, that would go a long way towards helping us.”

“Of course, I would be more than happy to help.” Stephan said giving a slight bow.

“Wonderful, he should be at the prison. If you’re ready, we would like to head over there.” Serk said.

“Ready whenever you are.” Stephan said in a friendly tone.

We left the temple and followed Serk towards the guard barracks. After telling the guards outside we were there to speak with a prisoner they led us inside. We were led to a small desk where a man in uniform was busy filling out paperwork. He looked up at us as we approached. “Something I can help you lot with?” he said in a bored tone.

“We were hoping to speak with the prisoner they brought in last night.” Serk said simply. The guard frowned in confusion.

“The drunk man? What business do you have with him?” The guard said with concern.

“Is that the only prisoner you have?” I asked stepping forward.

“At the moment he is the only one here. Why do you ask?” the guard said growing more concerned.

“No other prisoners came in last night? No one with a missing hand?” Serk asked trying to sound casual.

“Missing hand?” The guard said with obvious annoyance, “I think I would know if one of the prisoners was missing a hand.” I stepped forward to say something, but before I could Serk but a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Our mistake,” Serk said and tossed the man a couple gold coins. “For your time.” Serk turned and ushered me and the others out of the barracks, not glancing back at the guard. We walked until we were a couple blocks away then ducked into an alleyway.

“Ok, what the crap? I know those two guards picked up the assassin...cultist people last night.” I said in frustration.

“Someone picked up the cultists last night, but I wonder if they were actually guards,” Serk said visibly agitated.

“Crap, you think they may have been fakes?” I asked in frustration.

“Either that or they were working for the Cult, I doubt they would have wanted their members captured and interrogated,” Serk said with a sour look on his face.

“Sorry to interrupt, but did you say Cult?” Stephan asked. I had sort of forgotten about the robed man.

“Yes, we did. You haven’t heard anything about them have you?” Serk asked

“No, I am afraid not, however if there is a cult taking root in the city, I would certainly like to help drive them out, if you would be alright with that?” Stephan said giving a nervous smile.

“Well, I certainly don’t have a problem with you tagging along, just as long as you understand it might get a bit dangerous, can you handle yourself in a fight?” Serk asked.

“I would expect no less from a group of adventurers. You lot always seem to find yourselves in the most dangerous places. Don’t worry about me, I have been trained to defend myself and my allies,” Stephan said, with just a bit too much enthusiasm.

“I don’t mean to sound disrespectful, lad but do you have anything a bit more protective than those robes?” Serk asked cautiously.

“Oh, yes of course.” Stephans eyes went slightly out of focus for a second and as they did, his robes instantly changed into a gleaming set of chainmail armor with underpadding. The armor had the anvil and hammer of Vaul emblazoned on the front. A thick tome was now hanging on his hip and on the other was a Warhammer with gold runes etched into it.

“Hey cool, you have the same armor equip ability as me. Nice armor dude.” I said appreciatively.

“What is a dude?” Stephan asked in complete confusion.

“Does nobody put on armor the old-fashioned way anymore.” Serk grumbled quietly to himself, after a moment and a slight sigh he turned to me. “Derek, I think we should head for that alchemist’s house. He was the last one hit so maybe we can find some fresher clues.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I said and turned leading the way to Dogan’s house.

Several minutes later I was standing in front of Dogan’s house. I glanced back at the rest of the party; at Zavra’s suggestion they were standing a few feet back. I knocked on the door and a moment later I heard a bolt being unlocked. Timidly the door opened a couple inches, and I could just make out Dogan behind the door. The usually friendly alchemist gave me a halfhearted smile as he opened the door wider. He looked as though he hadn’t slept with dark circles under his eyes and still dressed in his pajamas. “Hey Dogan, sorry to bother you. My adventurer friends and I were hoping we could have a quick look around your house, see if we can’t find some clues to the people who tried to attack you.”

“Ah, yes please come in.” Dogan said timidly. We stepped inside and I got a strong whiff of some kind of chemical. “Don’t mind the smell, I’ve been cleaning all morning. Blood stains are hard to get out, but I know a few tricks.” I winced slightly at his words glancing about. The large foyer, where I had fought the two cultists was clean, not a trace of the fight from the previous night. I mentally reoriented myself to the house and lead the way to the back room where I had entered. Alvor stopped me before I stepped in, he stepped cautiously into the room his feet barely touching the floor, head bent as he focused on something I couldn’t see. For several long moments he moved silently through the room taking everything in. Finally, he turned to the rest of us standing just outside the door.

“No tracks coming into the house, they simply start here.” Alvor said pointing at a spot on the floor near the back wall. Zavra stepped in and her hands began to glow softly as she waved them over the wall.

“There is definitely residual magic here.” She said after a moment “Portal magic, it is similar to the scroll I used to portal us back here.”

“I don’t suppose you can reopen the portal?” Serk said which out much hope.

“Afraid not, the magic is mostly gone. Just faint traces, maybe if I had a fresh portal. It would have to be no more than a few minutes old. Even then I am not sure if I could reopen it. Portal magic is advanced rank magic.”

“Hmmm” Serk said in contemplation, “Alright then, so we find a fresh portal. We take to the streets at night, keeps our eyes open for any strange lights. We will have to spread out, cover at least a block or more. We will need some sort of way to keep in touch though.”

“I can make some communication stones; they are fairly simple to enchant. I just need to go buy the components.” Zavra said.

“Alright, so we fan out and use Zavra’s stones to keep in touch with each other. If you see anything let every else know where you are, and we will come running.” Serk said before turning to me, “And no one goes into a house alone.”

“What are you looking at me for?” I said indigently. Serk merely grinned and slapped me on the back before leaving the room. I thanked Dogan for his patience and we left heading into the market to get Zavra’s supplies.

Since it was a little after noon, the marketplace was packed with a variety of people. Some were adventurers but the majority were simple citizens. We made our way through the crowds and stopped at a couple of shops so Zavra could by the components she needed to make the communication stones. We then headed for a potion shop to stock up on more healing potions. Since Dogan hadn’t opened his shop today we headed for a small shop that less people used.

I could tell why right away. The outside of the shop wasn’t much to look at, just a simple wood and brick storefront that looked like it needed repair. We stepped inside and I was immediately hit with the strong smell of herbs and chemicals. The inside of the shop was pretty small, and several shelves crammed full of herbs took up the majority of the space. A counter was set near the back of the shop with a shelf full of potions behind it. Standing behind the counter was a man in what looked like a white lab coat though it was splattered with a variety of colors whose origin I doubted I wanted to know. He had a wild mane of gray hair that made him look like he had stuck his finger in a light socket. He was feverishly writing in some sort of journal and hadn’t seemed to notice our entrance.

Serk loudly cleared his throat and the man jumped in surprise sending the book flying into the air. “My apolo- OW!” the man started to say before his book smacked him in the head before falling to the floor. He gave the book an offended scowl before turning back to us rubbing the top of his head. “What can I do for you?” He said in a slightly high-pitched gravelly voice, giving us a nervous smile.

“Didn't mean to startle you Fenric we were hoping to purchase some healing potions.” Serk said in a friendly tone.

“Right, Yes I remember you... I think,” Fenric said giving Serk a slightly confused look. He shook it off and turned away. I heard the clink of glass as he rummaged around on his shelf. “Son of a crap” Fenric muttered as something fell from the shelf shattering when it hit the ground. He turned and placed 8 small glass vials on the counter. “These are all I have for now. I need to make more it seems. For all 8 that will be 360 silvers.” He said giving another nervous smile as he fidgeted with his hands.

Serk handed off a sack of coins and Fenric gave a smile. “A pleasure doing business with you Fenric, as always.”

“Yes, do come again. Your one of the few who does,” Fenric said with a slightly forced smile.

We left the shop and headed back to the Lucky Gnome where Zavra disappeared into her room. While we waited, I filled Stephan in on what we had figured out thus far. He seemed deeply troubled by the thought of a cult running amuck in the city and was more than eager to help us. By the time dinner came around we still hadn’t seen Zavra. I went up to her room to check on her, but she said she was still busy and would be down soon. Another hour pasted before Zavra joined us at our table. She tossed 5 smooth stones onto the table each had the same faintly glowing rune engraved into them. I picked mine up and examined it.

You have found:

Inscribed Communication Stone.

Properties: Allows you to send simple messages to whoever holds a stone connected to this one.

Nice this would certainly come in handy. Zavra took the seat next to me, she looked a little worn out, but gave me a happy smile. Once night fell, we headed out into the streets and split up each taking a block to ourselves. I had Shadowfire take to the sky to give us an arial view, I hoped he might be able to see something before the rest of us. For the next few hours, I wandered aimlessly through the streets my eyes darting to any movement or quick flash of light. Frustratingly several hours later we had seen nothing.

We met back up in front of Lucky Gnome and decided to try our luck tomorrow. I said goodnight to everyone and headed back to the library. For the next two days I went back to my training in the dojo and spent a few hours each night patrolling with the group. The following day, Marcus and Merina joined the advanced class, both having finally earned the Draco Jitsu skill. Thord and I immediately partnered up with them. After dinner Thord and I sparred as usual though this time he let Marcus and Merina step in a couple times to get a bit more practice in. As soon as we finished sparring a couple of notifications popped up and I grinned in satisfaction.

Your skills have improved, Draco Jitsu level 5, Spell Casting level 3, Illusion Magic level 3, Evocation Magic Level 2, Protection Magic level 2.

You have reached Spell Casting level 3 and can now cast second level spells. Second level spells are more powerful and require more mana and power to cast. Casting a second level spell requires two daily spells. Current Daily spells 3.

You have learned new spells.

I had been using Produce Fire in my last few sparring sessions, not to hurt anyone but having a ball of fire appear in front of your face was enough to make anyone flinch. As long as I didn’t throw the spell at anyone Produce Flame was harmless. That along with my constant use of my Protect spell was certainly helping grind my skill levels up a bit. Draco Jitsu was by far my strongest skill at only one level away from Basic Rank, but my Evocation and Protection spells hadn’t increased before now. I turned to my spell book eager to see my new spells.

Distort (illusion)

Level 2 Spell

Cast time: Instant (channeled)

Duration: 1 minute

Range: Self

Affect: Causes your appearance to flicker and distort making it harder for your enemies to strike you for as long as the spell is active.

Invisibility (illusion)

Level 2 Spell

Cast time Instant (channeled)

Duration: 1 hour

Range: Self

Affect: You touch a creature turning them invisible for the duration of the spell. If the invisible creature attacks or casts a spell the invisibility fades.

Now those spells would come in handy, I hadn’t been using most of my leveled spells since I had such a limited number of them, which was probably slowing down my skill leveling. I could certainly see both of these new spells coming in handy during a fight. Having to use 2 of my daily spells to cast one spell was kind of a pain, but worth it if I could turn invisible. What I really needed was to get some more damaging spells; it was hard to use any of my evocation spells while sparring since I didn’t really want to hurt any of my friends.

I closed out of my spell book and saw that Master Vorjun was eyeing me from the corner of the room. As soon as my eyes fell on him, he gestured for me to approach. I approached nervously and gave a small bow.

“Mister Erlan,” He said in a soft but commanding voice “your progress here in my Dojo has been most impressive. I have never had a student learn as quickly as you. I noticed your Draco Jitsu skill has reached level 5 only one level away from Basic Rank.”

“Yes, Master” I said respectfully, “It is all because of your teachings.” He chuckled slightly.

“Once you have reached Basic Rank it becomes much harder to level up your skills simply by practicing them in non-combat environments. Most people go off and become adventurers, guards, or even mercenaries once they have reached that level. Next week at least two other students should reach Basic Rank with their skills, we will hold a small graduation ceremony for them next Saturday, I expect you will be among those students leaving my class.” He said simply.

“I will try Master.” I said nervously.

“I have no doubt you will succeed.” He said softly before turning and walking away from me. I had been training here for a few weeks now and Master Vorjun still intimidated me. I headed back over to my friends who questioned me over the conversation as we headed towards our rooms.

A couple hours later I left the library to meet up with Serk and the others. We discussed where to head to patrol the streets and decided to head into the North part of the city. Two hours passed as I aimlessly wandered the streets a couple of guards passed me giving me curious glances but didn’t bother me. I was starting to get frustrated this was our fourth night patrolling the city and we had seen no cult activity.

I noticed Zavra slowly making her way towards me, she smiled at me and fell into step beside me. For a few minutes we simply walked together neither of us saying anything. Eventually she turned to me, “It is a nice night out.” she said softly.

“It is, the stars are very pretty, though I have to admit it's still a little strange to me to see that.” I said pointing up into the sky where 3 moons hung high above us. The largest of the 3 moons had a vaguely greenish tint to it, the second largest was a faint orange and the third was white.

“How many moons did your world have?” she asked curiously.

“Just the one, I have a feeling it's going to take a while to get used to having three moons.” I said with a soft chuckle.

“3 moons?” she said in confusion, “we have 4 moons. Sprig is hiding right now.”

“Wait,” I said coming to a stop, “You have four moons?”

“Of course, one for each of the seasons. How else would you know what time of year it is.” she said with a small smile as we started walking again.

“So, the moons determine the season?” I asked in confusion.

“No not exactly. Each moon is largest during a certain period of the year. For example, Sumret, the big green one, will start to look smaller in a month or so and Autis, the faint orange one will get bigger. As each season changes so do the moons. How do you tell when the seasons are changing on your world?”

“It gets colder.” I said, she laughed slightly.

“What was your moon called?” she asked.

“It was just called the Moon.” I said lamely.

“So, your world was named after dirt and your people named the moon, Moon. I do not mean to sound rude, but Earth people do not seem to be very creative.” She said with a smile. I let out a loud laugh.

“You're not wrong.” I said still laughing. “We could be creative on somethings, but perhaps naming things wasn’t our strong suit.”

“Your world seems very different than ours, what kind of magic do you have there?” she asked.

“We don’t have magic, though I suppose the technology we had might seem a bit like magic to you.”

“What is tech-nol-ogy?” she said slowly trying to pronounce the strange word.

“Well for example, we don’t use carts and horses. We have things called cars that have small machines inside them that make them move. People control them and they can go very fast.” she starred at me in fascination. “I had a device about the size of my hand that let me talk to people all around the world.”

“Oh, sort of like a communication stone.” She said beaming.

“Yeah, like that, but with a greater range. It also let me take photographs of people and moving photographs we called videos. I could send people short messages and they could send messages back to me. It let me do a lot of other things as well.” I said and noticed she was staring at her hand as if trying to imagine what such a device would look like. I laughed softly and she looked up at me blushing slightly.

“What was your family like?” She asked with a smile.

“I only had one brother; he is a couple years younger than me. It’s just been the two of us for several years now. Our parents died in an accident nearly 10 years ago.” I said solemnly.

“I am sorry to hear that,” Zavra said placing a hand on my arm, “were you and your brother close?” I shook my head sadly.

“We were, until our parents died; grief has a way of tearing people apart. We said somethings to each other after they died, I don’t even remember what exactly, but it was harsh. We haven’t spoken since, that was over 9 years ago.” I said softly slumping onto a bench. She hesitantly sat down next to me, and we fell silent for several minutes.

“I am sorry,” she said so softly I nearly missed it, “I did not mean to make you sad,” she continued not looking at me.

“It’s ok,” I said placing a hand on hers and giving her a small smile. We fell silent again as our hands slowly intwined.

“Do you miss your world?” She softly asked a few minutes later. I thought over her question and everything that had changed in my life. My life was so different now than back on earth. Here I had friends and felt like my life might mean something, it was no longer the endless grind of work and sleep. I smiled at her as I turned to her.

“If you had asked me that a few days after I arrived in this world, I probably would have said yes, but so much about my life has changed since I first arrived. In my life on Earth, I didn’t have any real friends, my job had me stuck behind a desk all day and most everyone ignored me. It was a dull boring life, and I didn’t realize just how boring it was until the day I came here. I used to play games where I would pretend to be someone else just to escape my life for a few hours, but at the end of the day it was just a game and nothing I did mattered. Sure, I had fun playing, but none of it was real. Then in the blink of an eye my whole life changed. Suddenly I had a chance to live again, to try and be the person I always wished I could be. Now I get to be a hero and go on adventures, best of all I have made friends and maybe even more then friends, “I said giving her a nervous smile, she smiled back blushing slightly. “There are somethings I miss about Earth, but I have had more of a life in this world then I ever did on Earth. I like it here.”

“I am glad you like it; I like having you here,” she said, blushing slightly. I smiled at her, and we fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. A cool breeze picked up and I noticed her shiver. I pulled a cloak from my inventory and gentle placed it around her shoulders. She smiled at me and pulled the cloak tighter. We left the bench and walked on a for few more minutes just enjoying each other's presence.

I was about to say something when I heard Serk’s voice through my stone “Derek you see anything over there?” Walking with Zavra had completely driven what I was supposed to be doing from my mind. I quickly looked about but didn’t see any strange blue lights. I pulled the stone from my belt and spoke into it, “No haven’t seen anything.” A moment later I heard Serk’s voice coming from Zavra’s stone. She gave me a small guilty smile and pulled out her stone. “Nothing here Serk.” I heard Serk growl in frustration. “Alright head back to the Lucky Gnome, I don’t think we will see anything tonight.”

A moment later he relayed the same message to me. I agreed, placing the stone back in my belt. I turned back to Zavra, and we shared a guilty look before turning to head for the Lucky Gnome. As we walked Zavra placed her arm around mine and leaned her head against my shoulder. My heart raised at her touch and her smell was intoxicating. All too soon we reached the street the Lucky Gnome was on. Zavra released my arm and handed back my cloak giving me a shy smile. She headed for the door of the inn, and I held back not wanting to arrive at the same time as her. I watched her walk away enjoying the way her robes hugged her delicate curves.

Serk was frustrated we hadn’t seen anything, as were the rest of us. We agreed to meet up the next night and went our separate ways, Zavra and I shared once last glance at each other before I left. I made my way back to the library my cloak pulled over my shoulders. Zavra’s scent lingered on it, and I held it close to my nose. I tried to stay focused on my surroundings as I walked but my mind kept drifting back to the redhaired half-elf. Eventually I reached my room and fell into bed still wrapped in my cloak.