The sun's blinding rays peeked through the drawn curtains of a simple room inside an even simpler blacksmith's hut. Gauthier let out a small groan and peeked through heavily lidded eyes.
The morning has come, land it's time for chores. Gauthier let out a sigh, slipped on his clothes, leather apron, and left the small unadorned apprentice room. Only a few shorts steps lead him into the main room of the blacksmith forge that he apprentices at.
The blast of heat didn't bother him. He didn't really notice when he had gotten used to pumping the furnace. Thick calluses cover the pads of his hands as he grips the wooden handle, pulling and pushing as hard as he can to the orders of his master.
Time is always a blur when he works the bellows. There's a rhythm, a pattern he can see as the is piece removed from the embers, it's almost like it speaks to him, the way the heat retreats from the blade as it's struck, it's almost as if it talks to him of its hopes and dreams. He smiled watching each new birth being forged from the fire.
The clerics and priests often talk about communing with gods but watching his master create masterful pieces of art out of hunks of rock... that's what being a creator is... not whispering ancient words and warping the world to your needs, but listening to the material and communing with it to share in the creation process.
Forging a sword is a dance between the earth and the blacksmith. One does not stomp your feet and force her this way and that, there is an elegant coaxing that must be done in order. An ornate and elaborate dance that, when completed will leave you with a sense of joy, revelling in wonderment.
The final plunge into the oil mixture to cool the blade filled the roaring forge with a sharp hiss, indicating the sword is hardened. He inspected the blade closely and waved for Gauthier to look.
Gauthier trotted over to the anvil and took the still warm blade. It felt like a pulse coursing through the blade as the heat slowly left it. His eyes poured over every detail his fingers checking for cracks, blemishes, cold spots, anything that can destabilize a sword.
People's lives are at stake, and a good blacksmith will never sell shoddy craftsmanship.
"There's a slight bend and the tip is a little uneven, but that can be fixed with grinding... the overall shape is good."He went on into a full detailed explanation looking up to his trades master every seeking the approval and validation of his knowledge.
He was sent to the woods to gather logs to process into char. Having gathered a shoulder bag with supplies, he set off down the familiar path that leads into the thick forest behind the small village he grew up in.
It was the same trail he walked all his life. The familiar twisted knots of large oak trees greeted him like a smiling grandmother greeting her grandson during a family visit. Gauthier approached the tree and rested his hand on the knobby stub where he sheered off a branch for a walking stick.
"I haven't lost it yet... thanks again for the gift," Gauthier said to the tree. He chuckled to himself and imagined the tree talking and wishing him good luck.
The usual sense of calm didn't wash over him like it would every morning. This feeling was unsettling. Gauthier double-checked his gear and scanned breaking into the woods for anything troublesome. Gripping his walking stick, he headed into the deeper thickets. He would grab the odd fallen branch and spend a few minutes breaking it into smaller pieces, and securing it in his basket he converted into a backpack.
It didn't take long for Gauthier to notice something odd.
There was no sound and the sky was dark. He was so lost in thought, he must have lost track of time.
That wasn't really like him.
RUN
"What?"
Before he could hear the strange voice, the ground shook.
I SAID RUN YOU BAFOON DO YOU WANT TO GET KILLED!?! FOLLOW MY VOICE!
Gauthier stumbled and fell, and clung to the ground till the rumbling stopped. A monstrous roar erupted and everything went silent, all he could hear was ringing.
NOW!
Her voice cut through the deafness and shocked him back to his senses. He abandoned his basket and wood, retrieved his walking stick and ran as fast as his legs could take him.
Turn right!
Gauthier made a hard right bank and almost lost his balance as the ground rumbled. He stole a glance behind him and almost fainted at the sight of a massive sixty-foot creature standing a few yards from him.
He would have been where the massive fist would have been... He looked up in shock and found where the head was... and it was glaring at him.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING! RUN!
RIGHT, RIGHT, THEN LEFT, AND THEN RIGHT!
Gauthier didn't waste another second and sprinted as fast as he could into the thicker part of the woods. He didn't recognize any of the trees, and his sense of direction is completely thrown. Since when was there a giant monster that size near the village?
I SAID RIGHT!
Gauthier skidded to a stop and took a hard right. he noticed the trail split and was in a panic to remember what the voice said.
Right, then left, then right. Sheesh, do I need to hold your hand?
"There's a giant monster behind me... I'm sorry if I'm not paying attention to a voice inside my head." Gauthier saw the fork in the path and turned right.
What are you doing? LEFT! THEN RIGHT!
"That's not what you said crazy me..." Gauthier said and cut through the underbrush between the path split. The little distance he made between himself and the monstrosity was lost and he had to dig deep to run down the dirt pathway.
He noticed it getting wider and there was another split.
"Left?" He asked as they were approaching.
Right, NO! Right, I mean...
Gauthier took a hard right and chuckled to himself.
"I know what you mean," he said.
You did that on purpose, didn't you!
"How much further?" Gauthier asked, his lungs were on fire he had to stop for a moment to catch his breath and see how close the monster was. He had put some distance between himself and the rather slow-moving, lumbering creature of terror. "Wow... he's kinda slow isn't he?"
"Hey! You there!" shouted another strange voice from the underbrush. A small stubby fingered hand shot out and waved franticly. "Get in here till we get the all-clear!"
Gauthier, dove into the underbrush. At this point, he figured, listening to strange voices had saved his life once. The gnome is clutching an oversized medallion and squeezing his eyes shut while mumbling to himself.
"Back... away..." the gnome said to himself "Go home..."
The massive creature paused, as if listening to something, then the rumbling steps retreated into the distance.
"Good lord, m'boy!" the gnome said, dropping the ornate medallion to his chest. "What are you doing outside the walls?!"
Gauthier picked himself up from the ground and dusted himself off, and helped the gnome to his feet.
"We haven't had a gnome this close to the village in years," Gauthier said, a sudden realization came to his face. "THE VILLAGE! WE NEED TO GO AND WARN THEM!"
Gauthier picked a direction and ran full speed to where he thought the village was. That creature could destroy everything!
He got three steps when a small pair of boots slammed into his diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him, and crumpling him to the floor like a rag doll.
"Ee's an' i'diot" the assaulting, black-haired halfling glowered at him as she sat on his chest. "Clearly zis one is not from Terris"
"You didn't almost have to kill him!" another halfling complained as she emerged from the underbrush. "but yeah, he's an idiot."
"Oh come on, give the guy a break, he has to be recently displaced, why would anyone want to try to do a morning jog with Terry?" a dark-skinned human said. He watched impassively while leaning against a tree, eating a bag of trail mix.
"YOU!" another halfling said, appearing from the brush. "You do! You go on morning jogs with a Tarrasque!"
He let out a kitten-like sneeze.
"We all know zat one is an i'diot too." the halfling on Gauthier's chest said with an impartial shrug, she looked down at Gauthier and gave him a wink. "We don't mind i'diots."
"Enough already, the poor guy's been through the wringer." another halfling, red-headed this time, said. She appeared from the underbrush and looked exasperated with everyone's antics. "Terry's back in his cave, I've signalled the all-clear."
"Marie, can you please get off our new guest?" the gnome asked. He handed the medallion to the sneezing halfling who put it in a sort of metal case, which was slid into his backpack. Marie the halfling rolled her eyes and removed herself from Gauthier's chest while she grumbled some unknown dialect under her breath.
The gnome stood front and center, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Could we please cut the antics short this time?" the gnome said. "It looks like we have a new member of the community, and should properly introduce ourselves."
"No," said Marie dryly and disappeared into the underbrush.
"Don't mind her, she's from another burrow..." the red-headed halfling said sheepishly. "I'm Researcher Elidie Piepan, a Tarrasque behavioural specialist. You look lost and confused. I'm sorry about that. We have a research station just around the corner. Let's get you some food and drink and tell us what happened okay?"
The odd party lead Gauthier to a small shack in the woods. It was small and unassuming and looked ready to fall over.
"Don't worry, it looks better on the inside." The brown-haired, halfling said with a sneeze. The dark-skinned human chuckled.
"... but not by much," he added while holding open the door and gave a lavish bow. "My crumbling shack is your crumbling shack."
"I'diot" Marie said with a sigh and entered.
"She's such a lovely rose, isn't she?" the dark-skinned human said with a grin. Everyone else followed Marie inside.
Gauthier stood on the threshold unsure of what to do. It seemed all too much to take in. He listened again, calling out to the voice, but it never answered.
Was he going crazy?
"Terry may be asleep now, but he gets hungry and cranky. If it were me, I'd hang out with the people who know what's going on... but that's up to you," the dark-skinned man said, still holding his overly dramatic bow. "This is also hurting my back, but I committed to bowing till everyone's inside... so bro, you're like, killing me right now."
Gauthier let a thin smile creep on his lips and gingerly entered the shack.
"Oh man, that feels good..." the black-skinned human said, twisting his neck while letting off gut-wrenching pops. He secured the door and flopped on a padded chair, digging into some dried snacks in a bag.
"Now that that's out of the way," the gnome said. "Let me introduce ourselves. I'm Researcher Knok Babaubleus... I know it's a mouthful... Ba... bobble... us. I am the leading expert in the Purple Worm. I've studied them for over a hundred and fifty years and have written many papers on the subject. Our Human friend over there... is Ronald Herman, an intern of sorts. A brilliant baubblist and artificer. He just needs the right tutelage.
"Our Alchemical, Artifacery and Gundpowdery expert is Sage Glendale Raven" Researcher Knok said. "He is the one who fashioned the medallion you saw me use."
"We recovered and ESP medallion a while ago that was lost" Sage Glendale explained. "I was able to link it to a magic mouth spell attached to S.I.G.F.R.I.E.D. who we levitated with "Magic Hand" and put inside Terry's ear canal. We think we might be able to train it to understand simple commands... thought it looked like it's magic field was even affecting the connection... I'll have to do more tests..."
A bright light flashed in the room and a goop covered mechanical clockwork box appeared. an arm emerged from the box, and a magic mouth appeared.
"Why is it any time you take me out, I end up covered in goo?" it asked in a tinny metallic voice. "You never buy me anything nice. Is this all I am to you? Something disposable to shove into a monster's ear? I could have been more you know!"
"RONALD!" Sage Glendale screamed. Ronald giggled and protected himself from Sage Glendale who hurled various ink bottles at him. "When did you magic that in!?"
"I'm sorry! I'll change it back!" he said with a smirk and proceeded to clean off the gearbox and etching a few runes with what looked to be a sick with a crystal tied to the end. "It's okay baby, I'll treat you right."
"Anyway," Researcher Elidie broke in, "I think you've been introduced to everyone now."
Gauthier nodded.
"So, how did I get here? Where am I? Why am I not where I was before?" Gauthier was about to ask about the voice he heard, but a part of him felt unable to speak about it.
"I thought the counsels and the elves fixed the displacement arrivals" Elidie snapped.
" 'Zey are trying to contort forces beyond comprehension..." Marie retorted, "...idiots."
The three halflings paused for a moment. Gauthier moved to ask a question, but Knok held up his hand, indicating silence. Elidie and the other two halflings shot Knok look.
"We need to go... now," Glendale said. Elidie and Marie nodded in agreement. Ronald let out a sigh and gathered the gear.
"Terry may be the biggest thing around here, but he's not the deadliest." Knock said. "We need to get to Terris Berg and report in. We'll get S.I.G.F.R.I.E.D. later. Marie, can you do your thing?"
The black-haired halfling nodded and held her twisted staff out for a moment, closed her eyes, and glowed purple for a moment.
"It'z done. We need to go now" Marie commented with a glare.
Everyone rushed out of the hunting shack and into the forest, Gauthier in the middle of the group, following the best he can through the underbrush. He was thankful Ronald stayed behind him and would pick him up to his feet when he would trip.
"Yea, keeping up with these guys is not for everyone." He said with a chuckle.
It felt like hours, but the treeline broke, and Gauthier was amazed at what he saw. A lake... or more of a moat around a massive walled city.
"Welcome to Terris Burg," Ronald said, slapping Gauthier on his shoulder. "Your new home."
Gauthier felt sick, was he really trapped? Everyone here seemed sure of it, Gauthier pondered as Ronald helped him traverse the tangle of the brush between the treeline and the coastline of the lake.
"How long till dawn?" Gauthier asked It feels like we've travelled all night.
Knok checked some bauble on his person and nodded.
"You have a good sense of time, it's been... fourteen hours since we've made your acquaintance," Knok said. He motioned for Elidie forward, who lit a bullseye lantern.
"We're not where you're from." He explained and flashed light from the mirror to the island. "There's no sun... no moon, no stars... it's just this... twilight... all the time."
"I do miss the stars..." Knok said wistfully. A returning signal came from the island. "Looks like our ride is here."
"People have been here for longer than they can remember..." Marie said. Gauthier startled since he didn't notice she was there.
"Are you sure we're not just dead?" Gauthier asked.
"I know you have any questions, boy," Knok said solemnly. "Let's get you to save, some supper, and some clothes. You're going to have a lot of decisions to make soon, and I want you to get some rest before you do."
Gautheir nodded and politely bit his lips and waited. Elidie walked up beside him and held his hand, reassuringly. He looked down and she gave him a warm smile.
"I just want you to know, it's not your fault." She said. "That's the first thing everyone thinks."
A rowboat with no driver or ores arrived to the shore. A rope was attached to the bow. Everyone piled in. Knok tugged the rope, and the party was slowly being pulled to the city.
