Abad''s mind reeled. He knew it had been some time, but it had been lifetimes! He had been asleep for centuries!


    Seeing his shock, the two let him soak in the news for some time, consoling him the best way they knew how. Firtz was kind and had words of wisdom to share, mostly about accepting one''s lot in life and knowing that there was always a plan, even if it was hard to see. A-Nis was mostly silent, but for the first time, she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. The dwarf did the same.


    Outside of his familiar and the grimoire, he hadn''t been touched in what he now realized were centuries. It felt nice.


    After he felt sorry for himself for some time, he took a deep breath, decided there was nothing else to be done, and put it past him. It''s not like he had any real friends or family in the previous era to mourn anyways, and maybe, just maybe, his enemies were all dead too.


    Once he recovered, he led the others in the direction of the old temple. Firtz wanted to see the Yslene''s statue, and A-Nis was curious about the teleportation circle. She explained as they walked that there were many teleportation circles in this age. Most small and mid-size towns had at least one for public use, and there were often several more dedicated to shipping and governmental uses in larger towns and cities. People frequently traveled around the country to tie themselves to new circles, allowing them to travel between the towns and cities with ease. Once tied and registered with the local governing body, people could use them for a small fee.


    He asked about private teleportation networks, curious if they still existed in this age. She noted that some people used them, but they were mostly unnecessary. They were largely linked to criminal activities since they were difficult to track, so it was illegal to establish teleportation circles without registering them first. If caught, the punishment was several years in any number of work camps, from mines to farms to foresting.


    He had never let criminality stop him before, but if it really was so easy to travel now, he would save many hours and thousands of gold using the existing networks. Plus, it would force him to explore this new world he found himself in. He''d likely set up some private circles for his own use at some point, but that could come later.


    They puttered around for a while since they both were curious about the old buildings dotted throughout the settlement. After an hour or so of opening rusted doors and scraping away moss and plants, they made their way to the temple. Abad watched from the doorway as Firtz knelt down in front of the old statue, holding the holy symbol that hung around his neck between his palms and whispering soft prayers to Yslene.


    In their conversation before, Abad had learned that he was a paladin of some renown among the dwarves. He had been gathering new companions for many years after his old party retired. He said with a grin that A-Nis was the first person he recruited and that he couldn''t have chosen better. A-Nis had nodded in agreement. Seeing him pray in front of the statue, Abad realized that, despite his boisterous personality and lack of formality, he was more devout than he let on.


    A-Nis wasn''t religious, claiming that she "worshiped the hunt," whatever that meant. Leaning against the doorway of the temple, he watched her poke around the gazebo for a while. Apparently finding little of note, she began searching around for something or another in the brush. He could hear her talking to herself as she did, oranges peels trailing behind her as she searched. Then, after an hour of prayers from the dwarf and ambiguous tracking from the elf, she suddenly knelt down and pulled something out of the brush. Walking over, Abad asked what she found.


    "Bones. Looks like the monster we were tracking ended up dying here." Her voice was flat. She didn''t seem pleased.


    "You mentioned something about that earlier. Do you need proof that it died?"


    She nodded, pulling a dagger out from her belt. Sawing at the skeleton''s vertebrae as she pulled. With some sawing and twisting, she managed to wrench the sun-dried skull free and shoved it into a sack. "Just this."


    "So you don''t need to kill it then?"


    "Sort of." The woman stood, turning away from the brush and throwing the sack over her shoulder. "The guild needs proof of the kill. I just got it. I just failed the quest I was on though, so they''ll know I wasn''t the one to kill it. We''ll get paid half for that." She sighed. "It happens. Part of the job."


    "What were you tracking?"


    "A big cat." She sheathed the dagger in her belt again and walked toward the temple."We got a quest from the guild that said it had killed some livestock and snatched a kid, so we figured it''d be worth checking out. We tracked it into the woods, but we lost the trail a week ago because of the heavy rains that''ve been pelting the region. I finally picked the trail back up, which led us here. Didn''t expect to run into anyone else since it''s so damn desolate. But now that we''ve met you and the trail''s ended, I guess we can go home and call it a job complete. Not a total win, but it works out. We can help you get back to the world too, if that''s what you''d like."


    "I..." Abad didn''t know what he wanted. He was stranded in a world he didn''t know.


    "Look, there''s not much out here. This region has been mostly dead since the War of Nations. With the outer towers weakening, the worst you''ll probably get out here is some dense mist storms and the occasional monster. The walls are still good in this area, so the scary stuff is mostly kept out. But, whatever got the cat had to have been pretty tough, so I wouldn''t be so sure there isn''t something big out here with us. Stay if you''d like, but it''ll either be really dull or a short grave. Dice roll on that." She looked down at the cat''s bones again, kicking one.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The cat had been picked clean. There were clear tooth marks on its thick bones, meaning something had definitely eaten the creature. The tooth marks were too coarse and misshapen to belong to an animal, and two of its limbs were missing. Whatever got it was big. He figured it probably was a monster of some kind. Abad didn''t know if he wanted to go toe to toe with something big enough to kill a ten-foot monster cat just yet.


    Abad thought a moment longer but decided what he wanted to do. "Yeah, I actually would like that. I''m not one to take charity though, so I''ll pull my weight."


    "Don''t worry about that." Firtz'' voice called out behind them. "We don''t get attacked often, but when we do, we hold our own. We''ll be your escort." His eyes unfocused for a second, then he gave a little chuckle. "And look at that. The Goddess just provided me with a new quest, just for you." He slapped Abad''s arm.


    The dwarf really was quite strong. Despite Abad''s [Resilience I] enchantment, he could feel the short man''s strength with every playful slap. He''d get a bruise before too long.


    Firtz raised his axe above his head. "Grab your sword my good man. It''s time to quest!" When Abad didn''t raise anything, he looked the elf over, lowering his axe as he did. "Well, you can raise your wand. Staff. Orb?" He looked for any casting implements Abad might be holding. "Whatever you use, raise it up and travel with me, my good elf!" Laughing, the dwarf marched away from them, past the gazebo, and into the wilderness beyond.


    "Firtz, wrong way buddy." A-Nis called.


    The dwarf chuckled, turned on his heel, and marched the other direction.


    ***


    It turned out that was the wrong direction too, but Firtz took it all in good stride.


    By nightfall, they reached a small camp nestled at the base of a fallen tree. A campfire was already going. Around the fire sat another elf. She looked remarkably like A-Nis but a bit younger. She was dressed in armor, but her bracers were off. She had noticeable scars on her forearms and face. Her blue eyes, lighter than her sisters, glowed in the fire light.


    A-Nis whistled, and the elf''s head popped up.


    "Took you both long enough!" The elf stood. A moment later, she embraced A-Nis in a bear hug while Firtz began unloading his gear. "Sister, I''m happy you''re safe." A-Nis bristled at the hug. "Nice to see you too, Firtz."


    "Bah, we''ve been marching all day. I gotta get these boots off, then we can do the hugs and crying and all that." He had already pulled one boot off. The smell hit Abad immediately. He shuffled away from the dwarf.


    "Who''s this?" The girl gestured toward Abad with her chin.


    "A scholar we found in some old ruins out there. Said he teleported here, but the spell screwed up, and he lost all his levels."


    "A-Shani. A-Sha to my sister. Shani to everyone else." The woman extended her arm. Abad clasped it in the way of the common elves, forearm to forearm. "Lost your levels?" The girl''s face scrunched up as she looked him over. "Never heard of that."


    "Us either, but that''s not the wild part. Listen to this." A-Nis explained the situation to her sister while Firtz started cooking.


    After a few minutes, the smells of fire and sizzling meat and onions reached Abad''s nose. His stomach churned harder than it ever had. Abad realized he was starving. He chuckled to himself. If it weren''t for his talent [Dark One''s Shadow], he''d likely be a hollowed out husk of a man by now. He inwardly thanked the Dark One for the gift of not needing to eat much.


    Abad sat next to the old dwarf while Shani and A-Nis talked with one another. Taking the opportunity, Abad chatted with Firtz, his eyes frequently drifting to the cast iron pot the dwarf was tending as they spoke.


    It turned out that Firtz was far more intelligent than he had expected, though his interests differed from Abad''s considerably. The man was equally devout as he was sharp, with verses and prayers peppering the man''s speech. The ability to weave allusions into one''s words was a quality that Abad appreciated in the past, and while he didn''t particularly enjoy the religious allusions the dwarf relied on, he still enjoyed his wit.


    After some time, the meal was finished, and a bowl of steaming stew was placed in Abad''s hands. He was merciless. He had wolfed down half the bowl by the time he realized the dwarf was waiting for him. The man had his holy symbol in hand and was ready to give grace. Abad imagined burning the old dwarf alive for stopping him from eating his meal, but he wanted more, both today and in the future. Firtz was a good cook.


    He dropped his spoon into the wooden bowl and lowered his head in faux prayer.


    "Bless us, O Goddess of Life, who provides us the land on which our food grows. Thank you for creating the sun that gives life to the grain and grass that fattens the creatures that feed us. Bless us with strength to fight for Your will."


    The elves both nodded. This was a ritual they clearly had been subjected to many times.


    "Goddess be praised." Abad murmured before gobbling down more stew.


    "Are you a believer, lad?" Firtz'' grey eyes took Abad in.


    "Not really. The Goddess and I haven''t always been on good terms." For many, many reasons."


    "You can always change your ways if you need."


    "See, I''ve heard that many times, but even when I tried, I was still punished. So, She and I keep one another at arm''s length, I think."


    "You never know, lad. Maybe she has plans for you that you just don''t know yet. After all, if you were truly so hated by her, wouldn''t you have died in those ruins? Or perhaps when you cast your spell?"


    Abad thought a moment. He had dodged death more than a few times. If he ever saw Her, he''d have to ask Her what the hell She wanted from him. As far as he could tell, She mostly wanted him to linger on and suffer forever. "I suppose so. I guess I''ll find out what''s in store for me as I keep moving forward."


    The rest of the dinner was eaten in relative silence. The girls murmured to one another from time to time, and Firtz told stories about his past. After his third bowl, Abad was stuffed.


    After dinner, the little group began to set up for bed. Armor and weapons were discarded, and the elves plopped onto their hammocks. The dwarf was insistent that true dwarves slept on the ground and proceeded to lie down on the hard earth with nothing but his cloak for a blanket and his breastplate for a pillow. Abad, having nothing but his cloak, tried to curl up next to the fire, but the cool night air chilled his bones. He threw a couple logs into the fire and fell into a fitful sleep.