He shrugged and knocked on the wooden door I had motioned toward. Another man looked through the cracked door, and the door swung open without hesitation. “Let her in,” he barked at the doorman before turning back to me. "Best of luck." He winked at me.
Slightly surprised, I headed for the door. "Thanks." As I passed by the towering man. Seeing a pack of what looked like cigars poking out of his pocket, I looked up at him. "You know, they've proven that smoking is bad for you. It would be a shame to waste that beautiful face." I smirked as I went to duck inside the tavern, now trying to remember who I was looking for and how to explain my situation to him.
The man blinked as he held the door. But instead of letting me pass, he slid down an arm to catch the back of my shirt. "Oh, did they now? Exactly who has proven this?"
I turned and looked at him, yanking on my shirt that was firmly in his grip, barely getting it free. "Excuse me?"
"Exactly who has proven that smoking is bad, little one?" He let go of me but stepped in my way, blocking me from entering the tavern.
Trying not to go into a panic, I straightened out my shirt a little overdramatically. "Scientists? People who..." Shit. I was suddenly glaringly aware that if I was back in time, there was no way anyone had proven this. It wouldn’t have even been a topic of science. "I mean... I read a book where it was a theory. Thanks for helping me in." I tried to duck under his arm once again to slip into the tavern before making matters worse.
He huffed and tilted his head. "Oh, no, ma'am. You come back right now. You really aren't from this place at all are you?" He stopped me from getting past again.
I turned toward him, wishing he wasn't saying that as loud as he was, afraid that we would attract a crowd. "I already told you I'm not. I'm from a small village a number of miles away. And who are you to command me around? What does it matter what small, inconsequential place I'm from? Is there some law that outsiders aren't allowed here?" Oh, how I hoped that wasn't actually the case.
He cracked his knuckles. "Oh, sweetheart. I own this little establishment. So, how about we talk about the subject at hand? Come in and have a seat, darling." He pressed a hand to my back, practically pushing me inside. Once near a spot along the back wall, he waved to a chair and table nearby as people got up and scurried away from his chosen spot. “Sit,” he instructed me.
I blinked at the people leaving the table. Something in the pit of my stomach mocked me, saying I’d screwed up now. Still holding my bag tight against the front of me, I took a seat. "Well, if you own this place, and you insist on interrogating me on my knowledge of smoking research, then would you mind terribly getting me something to eat? And maybe some water?” I pursed my lips at him. “Or one of your waitresses so they can. I hardly see you the type to do such menial work."
With a flick of his wrist, he waved at the staff to fetch the things I had requested. "So which world are you from exactly?"
My jaw fell open. "World? What do you mean?" My mind raced through any possible alternative to the word Earth someone might have used in another time period, but I came up with nothing. "This world. What other world is there?" I at least felt safe enough in that since only those who want to get locked away admitted they think there's any other habitable worlds. "Are you okay, sir? Is this some joke?"
"Oh, I am very okay." He opened his hand and summoned a fireball and watched my reaction.
I flinched slightly. Being a witch, I was used to some magic. But, being from Earth, I wasn't used to such blatant use of it or with such ease. I moved, hitting my back against the chair, pulling my bag up tighter once again. "Warlock? Or hybrid?" I quirked an eyebrow at him. "And how do you get away with being so open about it?" My voice was hushed as I looked around to see the reaction of others. “Is your time period used to this sort of thing, and my time period just has forgotten?”
The corner of his mouth came up, forming a sly smirk. “We are of the same time. We are just not of the same world.”
“Explain.” My eyes narrowed in disbelief. Not that any of my situation’s explanations were believable to me either. Honestly, I was still trying to decide if all of this was a joke. But I could tell this man had answers. Lots of them. And I needed them.
"See, the concept of controlling elements in this world is common. It's something anyone can learn if they have the discipline and strength. You are saying names and reacting not like you know of this." He waved his hand and turned the fireball into ice. The ball of ice shifted and then reformed. He set an ice rose in a glass of water as it was placed in front of me along with a platter of food. "This world is Naelyra. You are in the city of Eldercairn. And people that come here are either lost, homeless, or not really from this world. But not being from here is dangerous."
“So I’ve been told,” I muttered.
He nodded. “Take those words to heart. Unless you have status here in Naelyra,
