"Who are you and how did you get here?"

Liz dropped the pendant and sprung back. "WHAT the FUCK?"

"Be careful, you might damage the runes!"

"Who is speaking? Where are you?" Liz frantically looked in every direction, trying to spot the speaker. Until her gaze landed on the still open locket.

"You are looking at me, and I am Garuna the Elder, so show some respect!" came from the jewelry on the dusty floor.

"Dungeons, Healing water, a status and talking objects. Now only a dragon is missing. Seriously where have I landed?" Liz held and shook her head, the long overdue panic attack having finally arrived.

"The dragon has returned for him? We must evacuate immediately. Go lass, inform the captain. Nobody is safe."

With closed eyes, Liz continued trying to get her breath under control while the locket continued babbling about evacuation, switching to an unintelligible language midway through a sentence. It was completely oblivious to Liz hyperventilating next to it.

After 10 minutes she was finally able to form coherent thoughts again. 'Oh god, that hasn't happened for years. Fuck you universe for this.'

The pendant had also finally stopped rambling. Taking a deep breath, Liz opened her reddened green eyes and looked at the finally mute locket.

'So the locket is sentient. Maybe it can tell me what is happening right now. I really need some answers!'

"Ok, Pendant. Where am I?" Liz asked while picking up the golden object.

"You are currently trespassing in the chambers of the mage Wulfram. I ask you what you seek and who your master is, thief!"

"I am no thief. Neither am I employed by anyone. At least not here. I mean where is this fort located!"

"The youngest generation really lacks intellect. You are in the Silver Pine Fort, so you are in the Lainartor Valley. If you are no thief, what is it then that you seek?"

"That is a good question. I just woke up in the dungeon of this place and have no idea how I got here. Yesterday I was on Earth, and today I'm in some other realm and get insulted by a piece of jewelry"

"This isn't your home realm? A realm traveler, how wonderful. That I would meet one of you elusive bunch... Truly a wonder. But how you were able to breach the shields of the fort? Hmm... Wulfram must have failed to maintain them properly..." said jewelry replied, completely ignoring the insult.

"I don't think anyone here is alive enough to maintain any shield. Sorry to disappoint you, but this fort is a ruin. And what is a realm traveler?" Liz said, eager to finally have something providing her the much-needed answers. 'The locket is just rambling a bit too much. Let's just play along for now, every bit of new information is valuable'

"...that is unfortunate... Say do you know what year it is? Wait, a realm traveler that doesn't know its abilities? How peculiar! I don't think I can exactly say what the capabilities of a realm traveler are. Your people were always a secretive bunch."

"I don't think its any good but in my realm it was the year 2022. And I'm still not sure what you mean by my abilities" Liz replied to the surly pendant.

"No, that doesn't give me any idea what year it is. My last interaction with Wulfram was on the first moon of 2317. But you could use the time-keeping coin. It should be on the first table next to the door."

Already on the way towards the described table, Liz started looking for a 'time-keeping coin'. She quickly found a coin marked with runes and minted with an hourglass on both sides.

"And how am I supposed to use a coin?" Liz asked.

"You push a small bit of mana inside and it should answer with the time passed since its minting" the jewelry sounded as if the question couldn't have been more silly.

"Ehmm, I not quite sure that I'm able to push anything into this coin. It seems pretty solid to me" Liz held the coin into the light looking for clues.

"You don't know how to manipulate mana? How did you even get here then? As far as I am aware realm travel has a huge need of mana!"

"Then I seem to not be a realm traveler! While I sometimes wished to not be stuck in my home realm I never actively tried to travel the realms as you put it" Liz replied concerned that she might have been responsible for being transported from her cozy apartment into a bat infested dungeon.

'Except if this is a simulation!'

The pendant started mumbling; "Ah I see. But your aura already has hints of...I wonder... Yeah... that should work... but why does it have hints of the fountain... Say lass, have you by chance seen a fountain in a courtyard near the dungeon?"

"Yes I have. Drinking from that was the worst and most painful experience I've had in my life! Do you want me drink from that again? I won't do it!" Liz panicked again.

"Hey slow down, lass! You say it was painful? It shouldn't damage anything, since it is supposed to be a healing fountain.... unless ... if you are right that a lot of time has passed...but your aura does have hints of it...yes, that must be it!"

"What is it?" Liz was annoyed by the mumbling locket.

'Another point against the VR theory, if this is a guide, it is the worst guide possible'

"Ah, sorry! Let me apologize on behalf of my student. The fountain was an experimental pet project of his. It must have overcharged on the ambient mana, causing you to have severe mana burn. But that is currently a good thing, since this seems to have aligned your inner mana with the ambient mana signature of this realm. So you should only need to pick up the coin and press it between your fingers but don't change anything in your aura. By the way, please work on holding in your aura, this botched attempt is most unsightly"

'I have no idea what he means by my aura. Yet another question to add to the list' Liz sighed internally.

"I will gladly give you the time, but in exchange I would like answers to some of my questions" Liz answered the insulting locket.

"Alright, I will answer three of your questions for telling me the time" the pendant sighed, which with its ethereal voice sounded ominous enough for Liz to shiver.

Despite this, Liz proceeded to pinch the coin between her fingers, causing a new presence to enter her mind, this time she could pinpoint its origin to the coin. 'But then where are the others coming from?'

'It has been 1330 years, 4 moons and 7 days since minting'

Liz relayed the dates.

"Ah, if I remember correctly, which I should, this coin was minted on the first night of the year 2000. This means it has been roughly 1013 years since I was last opened. That would indeed mean that Wulfram should be dead. So after your questions I would like to propose a deal to you. So ask away!"

'Year 2000 after what? I don't think this is based on Christianity, or else I'm a millennium in the future! Another question to ask. I'll have to pay close attention to how I phrase the questions or he'll just answer with half answers again. Three questions really isn't a lot to work with. First and foremost I want to know how to get back to Earth and how I even got here! Then it would be nice to know what he has to say about the notifications or how the magic here works. Oh, and probably interesting would be what he has to say about this being a simulation.'

After spending a few moments ordering her thoughts and finalizing her questions, Liz started with the first:

"So if am no realm traveler how would I get back to my home realm?"

"Oh that is an... intriguing question. But I must say that I know of no other way than to be part of the Order of the Travelers. And last I heard they were extinct. But I am no expert on this field and my knowledge of this world is a millennium old. You would be better off to ask an expert."

'Oh another half-answer! And of course, they are extinct! Where can I even find an expert? It isn't like the whole valley is devoid of human life. Seems like I now have my second question. I guess any kind of expert is more helpful than this piece of jewelry!'

"How exactly would I get to such experts?"

"You would need to find a human city with a branch of one of the scholar guilds and orders. As you asked for an exact way to get there, I can't fully answer you that. If the Wildlands are as far-reaching as they were a millennium ago and the settlements are still there, then you are about two weeks by horse from the frontier settlements. However, I suspect that the Wildlands have expanded making this a three-week journey if the roads and paths along the way are cleared. However, I doubt that this will be the case. Not to mention interference by monsters. Additionally, it should be fall, so the mountain pass is impassable until late spring."

'That was at least partially helpful. If I understand him correctly I'm either in the Wildlands or beyond them, which are filled with monsters and I will be unable to reach civilization until in about 8 months. Do they even have months? Is a moon a month? Another good question. And since he said human city, I guess there should also be other civilizations? Elves? Dwarves? And what does he consider monsters?'

'So now my question options are: Asking about other civilizations, the notifications and status, classes, where exactly I am, my aura, dragons, monsters, how their calendar works, runes and magic. And that are decidedly more than one question. And there is still his proposed deal!'

After a minute of thinking about it, Liz phrased her last question:

"Where exactly am I and why is there a fort so far from civilization?"

"I already said that you are in Silver Pine Fort, in the hills of Lainartor Valley. Lainator Valley is one of the areas in the Wildlands that was considered partially habitable. Of all the habitable places in the Wildlands from a millennium ago, Lainator is the only with good access to various rare resources. Additionally, the valley is place to the crossing of two leylines causing a unnaturally high arcane mana concentration. Therefore, various kingdoms of the lowlands cooperated to staff a fort at the source of these valuable resources. Various orders and guilds also took part in establishing this place. As this was your last question, I would like to propose a deal. I'm sure that you want to return home and need an expert and therefore access to civilization for that. I would also like to return to civilization and not spend another millennium lying in a ruin. If I had to guess I would say that you are below level 16?"

"Ehmm, I have no level. How do I even get a level?" Liz replied.

"Oh, you don't have a class? How is that possible at your age?"

"So I need a class? It's the class that levels?" Liz interrupted.

"Yes of course, how do you not know such basics? "

"In my home realm there are no classes. Or levels for that matter." Liz replied.

"How is that possible? Is your mana concentration low as well?" the locket asked, suddenly sounding curious instead of annoyed.

'Seems like this class system is normal. So the notification should be as well'

"No, I don't think there was mana at all. When I woke up after passing out at the fountain I got a notification informing me my mana concentration has reached a critical point"

"You had your coming of age at your high age? Your world must truly be low in mana concentration. How can such a world be stable and habitable?..."

"Hey, I'm 24. I'm not old. Also, we were talking about getting to civilization?" Liz tried to steer the discussion back on topic.

"Oh, yes yes. Where was I? I want to return to civilization. I would assist you in surviving and getting a mage class and in return you would help me get back and become mobile again. The bones on the table shall be my new body"

"New body? How? Am I supposed to complete it? So the runes are animating it?"

"Yes, basically they are animating it. I formerly had a deal with Wulfram to do the same but since he has either abandoned me or the dragon finally got him, I need a new subject to do the job. So I am offering you to be my student. I will make an acceptable magic user out of you, no matter how low your affinity is."

"Wait a moment! Why would a dragon have a problem with your former student?"

"Well, because of me. He stole me from the hoard of the dragon Kahnur. And dragons don't take well to thieves. His whole adventuring group was destroyed by Kahnur by the time he got the position at this fort. Will you accept my deal?"

"Wouldn't that also put me at the ire of the dragon?" Liz asked.

"I don't think Kahnur has any idea what the group stole from him. He probably only ever got their scents in his lair."

'His deal sounds good, since I don't know anything about this environment, classes or simply anything pertaining to this world. Or simulation. But I'm more and more sure that this is no simulation. I mean why would any developer dump me in the middle of nowhere? To conserve computing power? But the more I see, the more I am sure that no computer can simulate something like this. So I really seem to be in an alternate realm. And getting back home might be possible. And to be honest, learning and performing magic along the way sounds fun'

"Yes, I think I will accept your deal. You will help me survive, and I will complete your body if I am able to."

"Very well. I will teach you as my student and expect you to train on your own. I hope we will be able to train you enough to depart here as soon as the mountain pass clears in approximately 9 moons time. You should try to not delay this date, as most monsters only become active in the summer."

"I just have one question: How much time is a moon? Or better yet, how does your time-keeping work in general?" Liz asked.

"A moon consists is 28 days. A year consists of 13 moons. In most human kingdoms the day was subdivided into 24 parts. Which in turn were subdivided in 60 parts. Sometimes further subdivisions were also used. But remember this has always been a political toy and my information is from a millennium ago."

'That sounds like back on Earth. Even a year has nearly the same amount of days. I wonder why they are equal? And his 9 moons match up with my predicted 8 months. So I'm still at the same time in the year as on Earth. Interesting!'

"I don't think the contents of the pantry will last for 9 moons. I would say I have one moon before I run out of food!"

"Have you included the private pantry in upstairs living quarters or in the other towers?" the locket replied.

'Of course there is a minibar in the mage tower'

Intent on taking stock of what Garuna described as the private pantry, Liz ascended the stairs further before suddenly the locket urged her to stop.

"You must disable to defensive enchantments or else you will not survive taking another step! Put your hand on the right corner of this step" the locket explained.

Afraid of moving from her position, Liz awkwardly bend down and did as instructed. Weirdly she felt a pressure lift off her that she hadn't even perceived until this point.

'Huh, I didn't even see any active runes!'

She continued upwards before emerging in a medieval equivalent of a one-room apartment, except it was fives times the size of her last apartment. There was a huge four-poster bed and bookshelves taking up a quarter of the room. Another was filled with a fireplace and two divans. A third was a walled off bathroom, improved by enchantments. In the fourth quarter were the stairs and another small walled-off room which was proved to be a storage room and pantry. This one was mostly filled with fruit and meat, looking as if just recently hunted. To Liz's surprise the enchantments on the wall didn't burn when looking at them and still the food was fresh.

After questioning the pendant about this, she got an explanation.

"Only malfunctioning runes overcharged on mana can be painful to look at, even without a means of perceiving the magic itself. The pantry in the kitchen is most likely unregulated. This tower however uses and directs the ambient mana in perfectly controlled amounts. It took the whole Lower Council of the Mage's Society 5 days to construct it."

'Oh shit, I could have potentially stepped in all numbers of 'deactivated' traps! One more reason why the deal with the pendant - I seriously need to ask for his name again - was a good idea'

Liz quickly took stock of the whole suite and pantry. In the end she surmised, that with both pantries combined she would survive for about 8 weeks, so 2 moons. With the amount of fruit a vitamin deficiency was also unlikely. Is that even a thing or does the magic simply heal deficiencies?

The pendant - or rather Garuna after asking - had no answers as he didn't understand what she meant with vitamins and deficiencies.

Eventually she returned to the workshop and took part in another session of questions and half-answers with the locket. It lasted until the light waned. In this time she learned, that most humans and other races, so far Garuna spoke of gnomes, elves and dwarves, lived in the southeast and the nearest 'civilization' was either a dwarven city deep underground in the mountains that stretched to the east or some tribal cultures of beastkin and monsters that had a semblance of sentience. According to Garuna neither was a safe escape. Finding a dwarven city took serious dedication, and it was a gamble with any tribal cultures in the mountains whether one was welcomed or attacked on sight. Therefore, her best bet was going to the human kingdoms through the Wildlands.

With a lot of new information and after agreeing upon a schedule for the next day, Liz went and got the bed in the upper floor ready to retire after helping herself to a serving of fruit from the pantry. And so, an hour after the sun had set, her first day in a new realm ended. In the night she dreamed of murderous bats, vengeful dragons and annoying lockets.