My small fingers reached out to the ice rose, turning it slowly as I took in his words. As he explained the people he referenced, I looked around the room to check out those who were there with us, curious if there were others like myself. Others trying to hide their identities. "Other worlds? Common magic everyone can learn?" My words were spoken slowly, almost distant, revealing that my mind was drifting through thoughts. My eyes went to the food before me, and my stomach grumbled audibly. "What year is this?” My gaze trailed up to his face. "And how is Naelyra compared to Earth overall?"
He smiled at me. "So, little one, you are from Earth.” He settled back in his seat and let his gaze roam over me hungrily. “Earth is similar in many ways but different in many more. I have been there once. If I recall, it was visibly different. But my stay was short lived.”
I watched as the staff bustled around the room, serving food and beverages, taking advances from the men in the room that had had too much to drink. It wasn’t a family establishment, but it was certainly similar behavior to some places I had been to back home.
He moved to catch my stare. “You are on the planet Naelyra in the city of Eldercairn, as I said. I’m guessing you came through by portal, but I’m not sure how that happened because…”
"Shut up!" It was too much, too fast. My eyes went wide as if I had just snapped back from a trance. I gathered myself and lowered my voice. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. I just..." I looked around the room again. This time as if my vision had cleared. "This explains so much. Now I just need to figure out how to get home." My stomach growled even louder as a sense of excitement rose within me. Pulling the spoon free from the silverware roll, I examined the food before me with a suspicious expression.
He eyed me. "You know the food is perfectly fine right? But getting you home might not be as simple until I find out how you got here."
My green hues went to his. I was a bit surprised he was taking me in such stride. I mean, it wasn’t every day he met a woman from a different world. Or was it? Either way, it was obviously harder for me to comprehend than it was for him. "Yeah. Sorry." I lifted the spoon and nudged at the meal. "What is this?"
He looked at the dish in question then back to me, chuckling softly. "If I had to guess, just moa soup. Moa is like a big chicken from your world." He shrugged, visibly amused by my hesitation.
"Moa soup?" I leaned forward and took in its delicious aroma. After a few bites, I sighed in relief of the sustenance. "Thank you. It's very good. But... So...” I stammered, “Everyone here is just casual about magic and people from other worlds?" I found myself curious if the magic there was anything like I could wield or like the magic on earth as a whole.
"Mostly casual about it, yes. But no, not everyone can do it. Most can with time and training. But in regard to those from other worlds? There’s a good amount of people here that are unaware they exist, and those in charge would like to keep it that way. Your danger comes from both those in charge who might try to be rid of you before the public finds out, as well as those in the public learning of you and trying to kill you out of fear of what you bring or what you may mean. People here are extremely superstitious.” He took a swig from a flask he pulled out of his inner coat pocket. “So, how did you get here, little one?"
I set the spoon in the bowl and leaned back, tucking my bag into my lap. I watched the man and folded my arms across my chest. "Why should I tell you anything? Or trust you for that matter? You want one truth? I don't know where or when I am other than you say I'm on some planet called Naelyra, eating some soup called moa. I was sent to this tavern to find a guy for reasons I don't know, by some old guy that gave me these strange clothes, some money, food and direction. You say you own this place. Cool. But for all I know, at any moment, I'm going to have god knows what happen to me by god knows who. So, excuse me if I am not super keen on telling you my life story without knowing anything about you. But if your real question is if I'm here to upset some precious world order? No. I was minding my own business when I was pulled here. Now, I am just trying to figure out how to get home and maybe after that, how and why I got here." My eyes narrowed a little as I gauged his reaction. While I felt better having raged slightly, I knew I had answered his question anyway.
He chuckled slightly at my rant. "That guy you are looking for is me, and to be honest, this is a rare occasion. For someone to visit this world that is. I get your reservations. However, I do need to know how you got here. Now, tell me what happened, and I will answer some questions for you." He leaned back looking slightly impatient.
I wrinkled my nose, disbelief in my response. "So, your name is Falain?" The name popped back into my mind just then, a sense of relief rushing through me. He didn’t look like a Falain. Not that I knew what
