-Listen, I, ah, made a bit of a miscalculation while leaving Il with the house and the money…

So that was her fortune then.

-I gave it a little bit too much, meaning she soon started having some uninvited guests. Some "good people" started appearing, saying they want to either adopt her or marry her, to protect the lonely kid of course.

-Even marriages? Isn't she a bit young? Damn. I swear gold diggers are everywhere.

-You don’t even know - she looked towards the forest with disgust. - We were able to dismiss most of them, but last year they started using some different tactics. Every now and again there is an unexpected disappearance among the mansion staff. We asked the city guard to do something about it, but that only led to disappearances spread among the guard force. There is also that one guy. A noble. A pretty shady one to boot. I am pretty sure he’s the one behind those disappearances. He used to be rich, but lately he appears to be completely broke for some reason. He still is powerful though. His family name is widely known throughout the whole capital, and even broke, he is dangerous. People have been even gossiping about him trying to get into King Axlerod's court. I am sure he is plotting something… So. I started looking for some private guard force. We hired some, but I want you to join them.

King Axelrod? So this place is a kingdom. Good to know.

-Huh. That is an interesting idea - I muttered to myself. - An unknown traveler, passing through, looking for a job, is hired instantly in some big city mansion. Doesn't that sound a little bit fishy? - I added aloud.

-Yes and no. Arbo is a trade city, a lot of mercenaries wander through and are often hired. It would be suspicious if some random armed thug was getting hired. But, let's say, if that mercenary was a powerful mage, every business in the city would start sending him propositions. It is not that uncommon for those to appear out of nowhere in the city, and then get hired in a span of weeks, even days.

Another name. Definitely not one I’ve heard before though, and while I wasn’t the best at geography, I was pretty sure I’d hear it, since it sounded like it was the capital she mentioned before.

-I see what you are getting at. I am not a powerful mage though.

-Oh, you are good enough. Especially with your weird abilities.

-I do not want to just flaunt… - I started, but she immediately interrupted me.

-Yes, yes. You don't have to. Arbo is a city that is heavily influenced by green mana. Meaning that most people use nature magic, like me - she pointed at her green crystal. - Speaking of which, I assumed you also used crystals in your magic, but now, with all this, I am not so sure.

-Yes, I still do need them and use them. I don't carry them in plain sight though.

-And there is nothing wrong with that, just asked to be sure, you are weird enough as it is. We will have to change you up a bit. Even as a traveler you would get a lot of weird looks.

-Well, for sure I do look like shit. Do you have something specific in mind?

-So you agree then! - she smiled surprisingly brightly, considering that not so long ago she was so suspicious of everything.

To be honest, I was not keen on accepting but considering that I was in the middle of some woods, on an island without a port, in some land that I had little to no information about, that was not the worst proposition in the world.

-Well, I am getting out of here, quite a bit of info from you and I assume a paid job.

-Of course.

While the deal seemed a bit in my favor and she most likely wanted more from me than it initially looked like, I made up my mind anyway.

-Sure, why not. Not like I have any better chances getting out of here by myself.

Smiling, she extended her hand to me.

-But before we shake hands, can you finally tell me your actual name?

-Ah right. I told you I am El. Actually my name is Melle

-It's a deal then, Melle. - I replied, shaking her hand.

-First things first - she said. - We need to make you look like an actual traveler. Not like… - she paused for a moment - whatever you are supposed to be now.

-That is a little bit rude.

I was wearing some jeans and a “t-shirt” that were both dirty and ripped, so she was not exactly wrong.

She led me back to the house. Inside, there were three rooms. Main one, which was a combination of kitchen and living room, with some basic furniture. There, Il was sitting next to the small table by the window, watching us intently. Second room, where I got led to, was a bedroom, with a queen sized bed and even bigger wardrobe, which occupied most of the space in the room. In the back I could see another closed door, leading to the third room. The whole house seemed cozy, but one feature seemed unique. Every furniture, utensil or decoration was made out of wood or other similar plant matter.

-This place is a fire hazard… - I said, taking in my surroundings.

-Don't worry about it. - she replied with a muffled voice from inside the wardrobe. - Here.

She tossed a small pile of clothes on the bed.

-Luckily for you I still have some of my husband's old clothes. Change into something and come - she said, disappearing into the third room.

One look at the clothes made me want to rethink my decision. No wonder she said I looked weird - most stuff she left me with looked like something you'd find in a museum, at best. Resigned, I started digging through all this junk, trying to find something decent. I managed to find some dark brown plain linen pants, a white linen shirt and some shoes that were at least completely horrible. I tied a knot with a sleeve in a place where my arm should be, so it wouldn't flap around, and put on the one article of clothing that looked nice: a dark, brownish-black coat, large enough to cover the weird set of clothes that I had to wear along with my bag if I had to. It even came with a hood, as well as a belt that looked like it was made of dyed leather. It slightly dragged behind me while walking, but it seemed that the previous owner had the same issue, since it was a bit worn and tattered at the end where it was touching the ground.

-If not for this coat I’d look like some medieval peasant - I muttered to myself, putting my old ragged clothes in the bag, and knocking on the door, where Melle disappeared a while ago.

-You done? - she asked, poking her head out of the room and looking me over. - Good. You look just like some generic wanderer. That will work. Come in.

The room I entered didn't differ much from the style of the rest of the house. Everything was still wooden. It was pretty dark, there were no windows, every wall was full of shelves stocked with books, papers, some gems, small wooden figurines and a lot of herbs. On the left side from the door there was a desk, or rather two stacks of drawers with a literal plank on them, which was serving as a makeshift desk. You’d think someone with her abilities would have some better furniture.

-I noticed you did not pull out your gem last time you, ah, disposed of my plants. Since we don't need unnecessary attention I need you in the future to start using regular gems to cast your spells, not some fancy thing you use now.

-”Fancy"?

-Our crystals need touch to work. My guess is you have something like a necklace or piercing on you that lets you use all those magics, because you never pulled out anything earlier. Either way, you can't use them if you are gonna pretend that you are limited to one element - someone’s surely going to ask you to show it. You need a regular crystal. For starters I can lend you one of mine, they are pretty good quality. If you want something better you'll have to look elsewhere.

She pulled out a small wooden box from one of the drawers and opened it on the desk. Inside, there were three pieces of jewelry: two identical silver rings and a necklace, also silver, all of them with a red gem. The rings looked pretty plain, without any additional decorations, but the necklace had something written on it. The letters were too small for me to read though without getting closer.

-Take one. We are going with fire, should be the best for a city full of green mages, as you proved on my plants.

-And you suppose that those are not “fancy”? Bullshit. Why do you casually have those just lying around? You can't use them, can you?

-No. They are just mementos, really, from old times.

Curious… I was not sure why she wanted me to take one of them, but I decided to play along.

-Well, I am gonna take the necklace, I am not a fan of rings - I said, taking the necklace.

To be honest, I am not a fan of jewelry, period, but I was curious about the writing. I wanted to check it as soon as possible, but decided to wait after she would leave me alone.

-Whatever works.

-Give me a second, I am gonna go outside and check if it works. I don't wanna get caught with my pants down.

-Right. Let me just put those away - she said, closing the box and putting it back to the one of the drawers.

Outside, I walked a few steps away from the cottage. If anything went south, I didn't want to burn something down. I don't know why she would give me something that could go haywire, but since she said it was pretty old, and she couldn't use it, it might.

-Get on with it already, we aren't done yet with all the preparations.

Sighing, I attempted to summon my fire orb, this time, using the necklace as a focus point.

Amusingly, the effect was a bit different. Usually, when you use any magic, the mana gathers at the gem of your choice and then releases in a form of a spell, if there are no interferences that is. If there is a more powerful gem in the immediate vicinity, it might pull the mana towards itself and disturb your casting.

For a second, I thought that’s exactly what happened - the shards of the Origin Crystal pulling the mana to themselves, disturbing the spell, but no. Mana gathered around my crystal shrapnel like I would be using it to cast again, but instead of releasing the spell, it instead was flowing to the necklace and its gem, releasing the spell from there.

-That's… interesting…

Next, I tried summoning a light orb. This one came out normally, completely ignoring the necklace.

-A bit strange… but this should be fine - I said turning to the woman, still standing by the door, looking intently at my orbs.

-Hey! No falling asleep on me! - I added, dismissing the orbs, when she didn't reply, still gazing at them, mesmerized. - Come on, that's not something to be amazed by, just simple spells.

-Right… - she said, finally snapping out of it. - Come inside. We still need to talk through a few things.

Back inside, she sat by the table next to the girl, and she gestured for me to sit on the other side, facing her. As soon Insat down, the girl flinched and moved away as far as she could, while still sitting by the table.

-So, what now? - I asked, wondering what else she had planned.

Ignoring my question, she turned to the girl.

-Honey, do you remember when we talked about you needing more protection last time? I think we found a good candidate for that position.

She looked at me, surprised and moved away even more.

-Come on, I don't bite.

Ignoring me, she continued.

-Don't worry, we won't just hire him right away, he will go through the regular process, so we can be sure about everything.

That remark was concerning.

-Also I don't want you to mention that you ever saw him before when, or if, he’s going to apply for the job.

If?

-But before that, we need to get him out of here. Could you teleport him with you to the city and then show him the way out, so he won't be seen?

Girl moved closer to her and then started whispering something to her ear.

-I guess we could use it but I don't like wasting it.

Another whisper.

-Fine. I guess you are right. Just pick the most useless one.

She nodded, and ran off to the bedroom.

-What's that all about? - I asked, amused by this weird conversation.

-Change of plans. We will transport you near the village north of the city instead.

-You can? Why not do that in the first place?

-Because I am not very keen on using such resources on you - she replied. - I wouldn't even consider that, but since that's what she wants, I won't argue.

-I find it hard to believe that she wants to help me all of the sudden. She seemed scared of me for some reason - I pointed out the obvious.

-Oh, don't get it wrong. She IS scared. If we'd go with my original plan she would have to lead you for a while through a few passages under the city. This way she doesn’t have to babysit you.

-Makes sense. Doesn't matter much to me.

-That should work as well, even better maybe - said Melle. - I'm pretty sure that someone will be traveling from there to the city, so you will have an occasion to tag along with some adventurers or a caravan.

-Why are you so cautious? Don't worry, no one will ever think that you are the one who sent me.

-Better safe than sorry.

-I guess… Everything should be fine, but you have to calm her a bit down - I said gesturing towards the bedroom door. - If I am gonna be a guard, it is gonna be hard to guard someone who doesn't even let you inside their house, you know.

-We will get there when we get there. You have more pressing issues for now.

-Even more planning - I sighed, tired - What is it this time?

-I assume you have no money?

I haven't thought about this yet. Most of my belongings were gone, and that meant I was broke. Not like currency would be the same here anyway.

She noticed the puzzled expression on my face.

-I thought so. As a future employer of yours I will lend you a little bit of gold. Don't worry, I will take my cut from your pay soon enough.

-How generous of you. Thanks. So when am I leaving? - I asked, eager to finally leave that place.

-As soon as Il comes back with her components. Speaking of…

Just as she said that, the door opened and she returned, holding a small pouch.

-Good. Let's get this over with.

The girl nodded, went back to the bedroom and we followed her inside.

On the floor there was now a runic circle, drawn with a similar dust as eatler in the garden, but a lot smaller, about a meter in diameter. I never worked with teleportation magic and saw it in action very few times, so this was pretty interesting to me. The girl pulled out a small piece of wood, covered in runes. I couldn't really read them, since the way it was broken, the words were cut in half in most inconvenient places you could imagine. Putting it on the edge of the circle, she sat next to it and started concentrating.

While I was trying to decipher the runes, Melle disappeared for a second in the other room and came back with a jingling leather pouch the size of my fist.

-Here.

Inside was a bunch of gold coins.

-That should be enough for a few weeks.

-Thanks for your generosity, boss. - I replied, half jokingly, hiding it in my bag.

-Very funny. I am not your boss. Il is. Or rather will be, hopefully. Anyway… - she turned to the girl. - Whenever you're ready.

Apparently she was ready, because her eyes and the circle started to glow as she started the ritual. Moments later, an opening started to form. But instead of, as I was expecting, forming in front of her, hovering above the ground, like portals I've seen usually appear, a circular shape forming the entry point was opened on the floor, like a hatch.

-That is some weird looking portal.

-You are witnessing an arcane spell, known by very few people and that's what you are gonna say? Move it already! - she said angrily. - When you land, go west and you should reach the road. Follow it to the south and you should reach a small village . From there, the capital is to the south.

-What? Am I supposed to jump in? - I said, stepping forward and looking down into the purple tear in the ground. - Your magic is clunky as shiiii...

I haven't even managed to finish my sentence before I got pushed and, stumbling forward, fallen legs first right through the opening.

I used portals a few times before, but this one seemed different. Usually, you would just pop on the other side, like you just walked through the door. This time it felt like I was falling through some kind of tunnel. The feeling was getting even weirder. I couldn't see anything and half way through I noticed the gravity shift around me - instead of falling I was now sliding, and not soon after my sight came back to me, just as I popped out of the other side, sliding on the leaves and wet ground out of a hole on the side of some tree.

-Ow.

Immediately after spitting me out, the portal started closing, and before I even managed to stand up, it was like it never was there to begin with. Only mark that it left was a small piece of wood, or rather bark that seemed to be burning off right in front of my eyes, right where the hole used to be. But before I was able to inspect it, it also vanished, not even leaving the burn mark.

-Why is this magic so weird…- I muttered to myself, cleaning the leaves and dirt off my coat. -So west and south, eh?

I looked up, trying to get my bearings. I was standing in some forest, not even some clearing, just some random place. Before starting my journey, I checked the inside of the pouch I was given. The coins were definitely pretty. Aside from that they actually looked golden and handmade, they were pretty simple: one side was sporting a rather large letter “A”, while the other had a pretty looking tree bearing some fruit. I was pretty sure that I have never seen currency like that before.

-Well, I better start moving along. I'd rather not spend any more time in a forest. - I said to myself, kneeling and picking a small lump of dirt - Visu, nuwo tyfip.

The dirt suddenly moved, affected by my spell.

-South is this way, huh? Let’s go then.

Yet again, I was traveling through a forest, but this time I had a little more idea of where I am, or at least of a destination. Even though it’s been a while since I actually slept, I wasn't particularly tired, most likely thanks to that failed attempt to poison me. And the refreshing swim in that infused water. After this interesting encounter, I was contemplating how much I've learned about this place, and how much I still didn't know. Only thing that has been bothering me. I seemed to be a bit too talkative and felt slightly tipsy. Most likely that was another effect of that "interrogation" before. It started to bother me even more, because after landing in this forest, the feeling subsided, and only now I started to notice that it was there to begin with. The weird itching in my side disappeared as well.

That woman was more powerful than it seemed, and that left me with an uneasy feeling. Or at least a better schemer. It was a good thing in a certain way. If she starts trusting me a bit more, I might learn something more interesting about this word.

This world.

That was constantly on my mind, on repeat. The theory of me being on some strange island on the Pacific flew right out the window when I saw the coins. No one sane would use a currency like this. This is definitely a new world. Still, those recurring names and remnants of the MIRE were strange. So how did they get here? I had some theories, but each one was weirder than the other. Could it be that it is still the same place, but we just straight up broke time itself? That leyline was definitely a big one, so who knows? It would also explain why magic here is so similar to ours. There are differences, but would it be possible that they are just that their magic isn't yet as developed as during my time or rather, future?

Another thought struck me pretty hard. What if I've got it completely backwards - and this world was a product of our experiment, and this was the future - humanity just regressed that much.

-Come on, stop with those stupid ideas - I said to myself.

In any case, if I was to do anything, I had to get out of those woods and get to a city of some sort. Sitting in some random forest was not going to help with anything. And at least, now I had some sort of an objective.