‘’Rotson Village’’

I grab another piece of bread as I stuff my mouth with soup. Not a single piece of food is safe in front of me. I unleashed the glutton inside as I eat away all the hospitality.

‘You have quite the appetite. What were you doing all alone in the wilderness?’ Evander asks while looking at me with astonishment. I forget to swallow the bread in my mouth.

‘I fewf fwom we swky.’ I completely forgot about any sort of table manners. This is what happens when you go on a forced fast.

‘Uhm…could you please repeat that?’ Evander looks with a raised eyebrow at me. I swallow and repeat myself.

‘I fell from the sky…’

After I passed out, it seems that the old man took me to his village and house, and treated me until I woke up, which was a day later.

………….just a while back……………..

[I wake up, and feel myself completely drained from energy. I had this weird dream. I fell through a puddle, and fell down into a weird world, where I was attacked by some undead creatures, until an old man used magic to save me.

‘Hahaha, what a weird dream…’ I look around, but the surroundings are completely unrecognizable. I’m in an old, wooden room, clearly decorated as a guest room. A pot of flowers, a small cupboard and a candle. A chill runs down my spine. ‘N-No way… That was supposed to be a dream…’ While I say that softly to myself, the door opens slowly. I anxiously wait for someone to come through. I see an old man around his fifties, but still with brown strides through his hair. His beard isn’t that long, but it does go all the way till his Adam’s apple, so to call it short… I look into his light brown eyes, as he carries a cup on a plate towards me. It’s the same old man that saved me before I passed out. So, it’s the same man that made me pass out. He offers me the warm cup. It looks like a cup of tea. I take a small sip from it, and feel the warmth enter my body, while the taste of forest fruits lingers on my tongue.

‘-------,------.’ My head hurts when he talks. I still can’t understand him.

‘Uhm…I can’t understand you…’ He looks troubled as he examines me. He can’t hear me as well? That’s what I am guessing from his reaction… This is getting troublesome. He suddenly jumps up, and puts his fist in his palm.

‘-----!’ He makes a ‘’Wait a moment’’ gesture and leaves the room. He comes back a moment later with an old walking stick. I have currently no idea what’s happening over here… While I ponder about it, he already starts speaking again, but he lights up at the same time.

‘Gah, what are you…’ I freak out. He starts to speak louder, and puts the end of the stick on my forehead. The tip starts glowing fiercely, and I get knocked back. My vision darkens for a moment, while I fall into the pillow with the back of my head. It hurts, like my brain is beating as a heart.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Not really, my head really hu-…’ I suddenly notice. ‘I can understand you!’ I close in on his face without thinking. He takes a few steps back.

‘Not really, I just used magic to make you speak and understand our language. So we can talk on equal length without any cryptic voice and language.’ I laugh slightly at what he says.

‘True…it was killing me.’ It truly was…almost literally.

’If you can, you can come to my dining room, and I’ll have some food prepared for you. You seem awfully hungry.’ My stomach growls at his proposal.

‘Ah, how embarrassing…’ The stomach can’t lie it seems.

‘By the way, my name is Evander. You're here in my hometown, Rotson Village.’]

………………….

……………

So here I am, stuffing my mouth with food shamelessly. 'Y-You fell from the sky?' I nod furiously as I grab a piece of chicken (I'm not actually sure if it is chicken, but it's delicious), and eat it away in 2 bites. Maybe I should’ve considered that I’m in a house with a stranger who I have never even seen in my life, in a world which I don’t know anything about. Well, the hunger was a bit too strong. 'I think you should calm down, before you choke yourself.' Evander's warning goes unnoticed, as I choke myself on some bread.

'!!!' I keep beating on my chest, but it has no effect.

'Take some water...' Evander offers me some water, and I swallow it instantly. *Cough* *Cough* I almost died again... Maybe I really need to calm down. 'Now that I think about it, I haven't caught your name yet.' He looks at me pitiful, since I almost choked.

'Ah, of course.’ I quickly jump off my chair, and stand in front of me. ‘The name is Brandr of Edelweiss.' I make a grandiose bow.

'Brandr...that's an unusual name.'

'It means "sword" in my language.' I proudly pronounce. 'Since I'm very good with a sword.'

‘So, your parents knew you were good with a sword since birth?’

‘…’ I have nothing to say to that. I always introduced myself like that, and no one ever commented on it. Were they afraid of me? Either way, its embarrassing ‘A-anyway, the name is Brandr.’

‘Good to see you’re still doing alright, Brandr.’ He grabs all the plates I used and brings them to the kitchen. Only then I notice how much I've eaten. How embarrassing. ‘Come. Let me introduce you to the others in the village.' He opens the door, and I quickly follow behind him. I just let myself get carried by the flow for the moment.

……………………………………..

Evander gives me a tour through the village. Only that ends fast. Probably due the fact that his village is pretty small. I quickly get introduced to everyone. It is then that I notice that Evander is well-respected around here. It makes me think that he’s the chieftain of the village, but that possibility was ruled out when he explained it himself. Apparently he did something for his country, and now he’s pretty well known. 'You said you were from another world, right?' He suddenly breaks the silence once more.

'Ah, yes. I come from a city-state named Edelweiss, but I need to find a way back.’

‘Then you probably are from another world. I have never heard of something called a Redelneiss…’

‘It’s Edelweiss though…and I just said that.’ I look at the sky, which is still engulfed by the dark clouds, but they haven't moved anywhere since I passed out. If it weren't for the creepy clouds and the undead, it would've been a nice place. Calm and beautiful.

'Say, Evander. Do you know what these clouds are?'

Before he answers me, a few thunderbolts strike down. He frowns, while I panic. To think that I would be able to see lightning struck to the ground. I look around, and notice that everyone is suddenly acting different. Some are even carrying weapons. ‘What’s going on here? Evander, what’s wrong?’

'Abyss... Brandr, come with me now!' Evander says as he heads out by himself.

'Abyss…?' I repeat the word to myself, but before I know it, Evander is out of my sight. 'Hey, Evander? Wait up for me!' I run in the direction I think I saw him leave. ‘What is this Abyss supposed to mean?!’ Why is everything happening at the same time? I’m having a bit of trouble keeping up with all these bizarre events.

…………………………………

I run to the outskirts of the village, and see Evander facing three other undead creatures.

He starts speaking in a hushed voice, and he shoots a fireball through his walking stick. He burns the monsters to crisps.

'Amazing...' He took them out in an instant. So this is magic. It’s like I landed right into a fairy tale.

'Brandr, it's time to prove your excellence with a sword.' A villager creeps up to me as he says that.

‘Ghya!’ I wouldn’t even notice him if Evander didn’t point him out. That was scary as hell…

'Take it, and show me how good you are.' I see the villager offering me a sword. I grab it, and swing with it a few times. It's a medium sword, to my frustration, it’s amazingly heavy for the small sword it is. I can't complain about it though. They probably don’t have anything else. This looks more like a self-defense weapon rather than a soldier’s favorite steel sword.

Soon after, a few other undead creatures walk up on us. ‘I don’t know what this is all about, but let me show you all the excellence of the Royal Edelweiss Swordplay. Feel honored to witness its superiority.'

I charge upon the monsters. 'Let's go!' I roar and run to the first one. I give him a low-kick him, making him fall to the ground. I try to stab his head, but the second undead tries to slice my back. I parry by swinging my sword backwards over my head. I jump to the left, turn around, and charge on the third one. I slice him diagonal to the right shoulder, killing it instantly. I turn around again, and swing my sword with it, taking down the second and fourth at once. The first one tries to hit me from above, but I smack his sword away, and slice downwards, killing it.

That went easier than expected, I can tell myself that. I head to Evander after defeating them.

'That was impressive indeed.' I can only laugh prideful.

'The Royal Edelweiss Swordplay is more of a free form style. Let the sword move you, and not the other way around. That’s the rule of my style.’

‘Well, like I said, I’m impressed. Let us return to my shelter. I want to discuss something with you for a moment,’ he tells me with a slightly stern face. I silently walk behind him, as he leaves the ground where the undead spawned. I still have no clue what on earth just happened. Out of nowhere, some creatures appeared, threatening to kill us. I quickly defeated them, but I don’t even know what I defeated. And that was the scary part. I never killed a person before, and I couldn’t identify them in any other way then undead. I hope Evander will explain to me what just happened, because no matter how I ponder about it, I can’t make head and tails off this sudden event.

Evander opens the unlocked door of his house, and heads to the kitchen. He soon returns with two cups of what seem like tea. He places them on the table, signing me to sit down with him. I nervously sit as he told me to, maybe because I am still a bit shaken. ‘Uhm, Evander, can you tell me what just happened?

Without answering my question, Evander starts talking. 'Listen, Brandr, I need to tell you something.' He starts whispering. 'Join my trip to the capital. I could use your help. You coming from another world, and the appearing of Abyss might have a connection. I will ask for an audience with the Queen and Princess.' I shake my head furiously.

'No, no, no. I need to find a way to return to my own world. I don’t want to sound offensive, but I literally have nothing to do with any of this. Fighting weird undead creatures in another world.'

'Brandr, think about it. It might help you find your way back home. I never told you to fight any more beasts from Abyss, and there is probably more information in the capital then in this rural village. Besides, if I can get the royal family on our side to help us, you’ll be back home in your world in no time,’ he concludes, as he takes a sip of his cooled-down tea. I quickly take a sip as well, and smell the aroma of what presumably is mint, freshly placed into the cup. His offer certainly is appealing. His facts are worth considering. It looks like I have no real choice in this one…

'Alright, you win. I'll join your trip,' I tell him, giving in to his proposal. He smiles at my response.

'Great, let us pack up and head out.'

‘Wait, today?’ Isn’t that a bit fast. I haven’t even prepared for anything.

‘I certainly don’t plan on going in a few weeks, so yes, today.’ Evander is a bit of a strict person it seems. Things are going a little to fast for me now… ‘Come on, finish your tea. It should be cooled off by now,’ he tells me as he gets up, and heads into another room. I quickly drink the tea as he tells me, and follow him.