World Between: Chapter 8 part 1

Anna stretched out as she sat up; and yawned. Tilting her head as Aaron glared at her, she motioned for him to wait. She pushed some of her hair out of her face before yawning again as purple smoke puffed out of each ear. “Hmm?”

“What was that?” Aaron said.

“Shadow magic,” Anna replied. “What’s left of that spell anyways. You can make them fade instead of to just disappearing if you try.”

“Has everyone other than Jared and me been settling in where they don’t belong?” Aaron questioned.
Anna shrugged. “Beyond the people who never came at all, I would assume. Hard to tell who the natives are though.”

“I assumed they were the races we’ve never heard of,” Cain replied. “You know? Like Talmo.”

“His armor is futuristic, but he seems like an owlbear,” Anna said.

“A what?” Cain said.

“Dungeons and Dragons, and some video games where you fight monsters use this part bear, part owl creature,” Anna replied. “Talmo doesn’t have a break, mind you, but his arms look the part.”

“Well, most of us would like to go home,” Aaron interjected. “When are we going to the Earth Gem?” 
“Not in broad daylight, but it’s about an hour to get back… sunset?” Anna thought out loud.

“Sunset sounds good,” Cain said. “If we have that kind of food.”

“Oh, I got a lot of dwarven meals!” Anna said. “No wonder this race eats so much, and a lot of good drink too. Some of it even non-alcoholic.”

Aaron rubbed both hands down his face. “Do you have any plans at all?”

“I have some ideas, but all the plans I think of either fall through or don’t work,” Anna replied. “Seemed like a waste to bother with ‘em.”

“Don’t look at me,” Cain replied, eating while Aaron looked over. “I already said I thought this whole thing was dumb luck.”

“And that you weren’t sure if you wanted to go home,” Jared recalled. “so why are coming?”

“Curiosity,” Cain answered. “I have questions, and I would like answers. Seeing this through is the simplest way to get them.”

“You’re not worried? About the world crumbling? Magic fading?” Anna asked.

“I think that would’ve happened by now, or that we at least see some signs of it,” Cain said. “So far we’ve done all this running around, and people started adjusting. Jared doing fine, and both the Gems controlling his magic were destroyed, right?”

“And all my magic has been ‘adjusting’ ever since,” Jared replied.

“Not enough for you to mention. Who here understands this magic system, anyways?” Cain said. “I’m here, and I’ll help. I think that’s good enough.”

Cain explained himself as they walked into the town until the sun fell behind the tree line. Dwarves chattered, and glasses clicked as the sunset tinted the sky a yellowish-orange. Those that weren’t heading to bed were too intoxicated to noticed anything. The light of the lantern and lamps was bright enough to see anyone walking, but also lighting up the gambling tables and late-night shops within the town. Getting to the mountain proved easy enough. The challenge now was getting up it!