“How did it end up like this?”

“Our mistakes and failures brought us here.”

“You’re here?”

“Of course.”

“We don’t deserve to be in here,”

“We’ve done more than enough to be in this prison.”

“You know what I mean.”

“You’re right. This isn’t just.”

…

“Should we fix this?”

“The only way would be to get out. Is that possible?”

“There was a way in.”

…

“Do we have a choice?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“Why not the both of us?”

“It wouldn’t work. Not without him, at least.”

“It would be better if he was here.”

“He is neither here nor there. We must make do without him.”

“Then let me do it. I cannot condone your methods.”

“I only did what was necessary to complete the task at hand.”

“It may have been necessary, but it was not acceptable.”

“Fine. You do not have the power I do. Can you do it?”

…

“Yes.”

“You will not know the things I can. Are you okay with losing that?”

…

“A sacrifice I am willing to make.”

“Then there is no time to waste.”

“Of course.”

“Remember, I will be here, waiting. Should you falter, I will not hesitate to step in.”

“…I know.”

----

He woke up at sunrise. Suran’s back and neck were throbbing with pain; jarring rocks did not make the best of beds. Ironing out the kinks would have to come later because it was time for him to get going. He put on his clothes which had tucked away to avoid dirtying them and went to pull out his sword. It took several tugs to free it from the rocks. Grabbing onto the rope, he hoisted himself up.

There was an icy rock sitting in his stomach. It was a queer feeling; his extremities were chilled and there was a jittery, shaking sensation that seized his body. He was only heading toward Reginald, but each step felt heavier and harder than it should have been. It was annoying him. He wanted to dispel the source of the unease, but he could not determine the source. There was nothing unusual that struck him as the cause, or so he thought. He was walking toward Reginald’s home, a simple task. Before that, he heard the talk from Natalya on the rock, which was not galvanizing even though it made him feel a tinge of nostalgia. Looking around, he finally settled that it was because he was lost. Again.

Somehow or another, Suran managed to find his way. It was unexpectedly noisy when he walked up to the home. A pair of men carried some furniture out of the front door, paying no heed to him. When he walked inside, he heard clattering and conversations from all corners of the estate.

“Good to see you!” Reginald came walking down the hallway to greet Suran, “Knew you would come around.”

“What’s going on,” Suran said, motioning to the men moving items.

“Oh, I’m moving to a new home, so I need some help moving some of my furniture to the new estate.” A crash sounded out from the next room over and Reginald went over and yelled at someone to be more careful. He came back over and asked, “Want to talk somewhere quiet? It might get noisy out here.” Suran nodded his head in agreement. “Let’s go to my study then – oh, should I call Natalya as well?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Reginald led the way through the home towards his study. The two did not encounter Natalya on their way nor did they go out of their way to find her, so they alone sat down in the nearly cleared out study. “What have you decided?” Reginald asked once they became comfortable in their seating.

“I do not think it is possible, but I want to go back to where I came from.”

“What makes you say that?”

“… Because I’m not from… here.”

“Clearly. I may not be a scholar, but I am educated. I’ll grab a map; tell me what remember about your home and let’s see if I can pinpoint it.”

Suran motioned to him to not get up. He thought for a moment before saying, “My home is far different then here in all things – a different world.”

“… A different world?” Reginald looked skeptical.

“We had no magic or spells or enchantments. Instead, we had an unrivaled understanding of our world and technology to match that. We had cities as far as the eye can see with buildings that pierced the clouds. We could cure any disease, mend any wound, with our medical knowledge. Nothing was out of our reach, the bottom of the oceans, the top of the clouds, or even the stars above. Our machines could forge anything and do anything, and our weapons could wipe cities and armies out in an instance. A society by humans and of only humans, no other races or species.” He paused and continued after taking a breath, “My world and this world are not one in the same.”

“What an… interesting place you have described. Then, how did you get from there to here?”

Suran sat thinking. It was some time before he said, “I don’t remember – I don’t know. I was there then I wasn’t. After some time, I found myself here.” Reginald sat there with a rather confused look on his face. Suran’s explanations did not seem to be making much sense to him. “It’s natural this is hard to believe.”

Reginald sighed “I don’t believe it, to be honest. However, I don’t think your story is all that crazy. If you look at the history of our world, you are sure to find stories that are more unbelievable then the one you just told me. A man coming from a different world is hard to believe, but not totally unbelievable.” He adjusted himself slightly in his chair, leaning back for comfort. “I simply don’t know enough one way or another to be sure that your story is within the realm of possibility or not.”

“Is there someone that does?”

The Baron frowned and rubbed his chin. “You are asking for something no average person would know. The only person I can think of is an old acquaintance of mine at the College. Even then, I don’t think his area of expertise is anywhere close to this, but he might know someone or something that has some knowledge on the matter.”

“I will need you to introduce me to him. All I need is a lead. I can handle it from there.”

“Of course. And don’t feel like you can’t rely on me; you do remember I am in your service.” Suran shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Anyways, that reminds me of another obligation that ties me to you. At the castle, the King gave me the responsibility of rewarding you for your service, and that is what I plan to do.”

“I do not need any reward,” Suran said, waving him off.

“That is not an option; If I don’t reward you to the King’s standards and expectations, he will have the Black Paladins most likely punish or kill me, just as they did to Hendrick.”

“Do what you must, but I would like to speak with that acquaintance of yours above all else.”

“I can arrange the meeting for you, quite possibly today if I can reach him, but let me take care of the other obligation I have so I can sleep easier at night.” Reginald then went through his desk, looking through several drawers. “If you remember, the King allotted me a reward from the Estate of Hendrick. One of the things I got was his house – which is really nice might I say. With its owner dead, I have decided to move in, which leaves this house vacant. To help fulfil my obligations, I will bestow this property upon you.”

“Isn’t that… excessive?” Suran questioned reward. It was no doubt a valuable asset; the house was large and of good quality, and he would proper lodgings for as long as he was in the city.

“It still may not be enough to suit the King, and I would rather be safe than sorry.” He pulled out a piece of fancy parchment from his desk. “This is the deed to the home, proof of ownership. All you need is sign it and the ownership will transfer over to you.” He placed the paper and a pen in front of Suran. Picking up the pen, Suran signed a spot at the bottom of the deed. The letters glowed bright for a moment and then faded. “If you’re curious, the deed was constructed with several magical enchantments. It’s protected from most forms of damage, and can’t physically leave the house due to the enchantments. Even though the city records will also verify ownership, it was a measure of insurance our family had made for peace of mind. If you ever want to sell the property, you sign the paper a second time and it will enable you to write your name off the deed and put someone else’s name on it.” Suran nodded in acknowledgement and Reginald tucked away the deed. “Now that’s out of the way, I must ask you, are you still registering with the Guild?”

“I don’t see a reason not to,” Suran said. “I was only going to join it at the suggestion of another.”

“I’d say that is a good choice. You don’t lose anything by joining and it opens up many opportunities in work and connections.” The Baron got up from his chair, “Let’s go and see if we can take care of all your objectives today, but first, I have one more reward, or gift, for you we need to pick up.”

Suran rose, questioning the Baron, “Another one?”

“It’s the last one, trust me. For the King, even this house might not be enough, so please accept it, for my sake at least.”

“It can’t be helped, I suppose.” Suran also rose from his seat and bade Reginald to lead the way. The two walked out of the room.

“Oh, hey Suran!” Outside of the room, Natalya greeted him. “When did you get here?”

Suran kept walking with Reginald past her, “A while ago. I’m heading out with Reginald, if you want to come.” Natalya happily tagged along and the three left the home.