I did finally get some sleep, because the next morning I woke to the sound of someone moving about the room and the smell of fresh bread wafting down the hall. I sat up, trying to blink the sleep out of my eyes, and saw the man from the kitchen the night before – he wasn’t particularly tall, and had a head of messy sandy colored hair and hazel eyes – he had finished emptying the tub with a wave of his hand, and smiled at me apologetically. “They’ll be getting you up soon. There’s some breakfast on the table.” I nodded wordlessly, still too sleep-dumb for words.

When he left, I stood up and walked over to the counter. I could see that he had left new clothes for me. I poured some of the water from the jug into the basin and washed my face, swished some water in my mouth and swallowed it, and rubbed my teeth vigorously with a finger, wondering if there was anything for dental care in a world like this. Then I splashed a few tiny drops of one of the mintier smelling herbal oils on my hands and rubbed it into my pits and under my jaw before getting dressed. The fabric was very soft, and the clothes were slightly loose fitting. The pants were a dark brown and had a tie for the waist, and there was a white shirt and a green vest that could lace up the front, though I left it open. They had left a pair of leather boots, but I opted for my own sneakers instead.

Walking out of my room, I saw that Peyton and Lexie were already sitting at the table. They were both wearing new clothes as well. The pants were very similar to my own, though theirs were both black, but Lexie was wearing a deep red tunic lined in gold and Peyton was wearing a lavender and cream-colored blouse. Peyton was scraping some butter over a piece of bread and there was some bacon piled on her plate. Lexie had some of the same potato soup from the night before poured over her bread slices like a gravy. The loaf sat in the center of the table, already sliced, next to a serving platter with the remaining bacon. They were talking about Lexie’s hair styles for her stream – apparently all wigs. I vaguely remembered that her entire gimmick involved different and vibrant hair colors in every review, sometimes themed around the game she was talking about or playing. They both looked up and greeted me, and I mumbled a low, “Morning.”

I rarely ate breakfast at home, and didn’t really want to stomach the bacon. Instead, I grabbed a few slices of bread for my own plate – it was still warm to the touch. There was a jam of some sort in a jar next to the butter – it was a deep purple in color and filled with little white-green seeds. I spread it across the bread and bit into it. Whatever it was, it was delicious.

When we were finishing up, Greyjon appeared in the doorway and smiled at us. “Sorry about leaving you guys so long yesterday. We’re trying to figure out what we can do to find the lost Grace. But you’ll get the tour today,” and he waved for us to follow him.

This time when we reached the final door at the bottom, there was no barrier. Greyjon easily opened the door into a more spacious room – the tower was only one part of a larger building. “You’re all staying in the Tower of D’walt – it’s been used for special ceremonies for over a millennium at this point, and is also the home of Master Zern,” he said, gesturing back to the door as we exited it. “It’s the oldest part of the Imperial University here.”

“Imperial? So is this an empire of some sort?” Peyton asked.

“It was once an empire, but it’s become more a loose collection of city-states. You’ll learn more about that from Raella though,” Greyjon shrugged apologetically, walking as he spoke. He led us from the large room we had exited the tower from, down a hallway that was lined with a series of rooms, most of which appeared to be empty or dark. “Many of these are the offices and quarters of the staff that resides here on campus. A lot of them are teaching students in the other buildings. But right now, I’m taking you to Master Zern, and to your first lessons here. It may be a bit of an incomplete crash course though. We’re worried about the fourth.” We exited the building into very bright sunlight. I blinked against it, and glanced up – the sky in a fantasy world looked blue after all. Greyjon led the way across a path that cut through what looked like a well-maintained garden, though most of it was browning like autumn was just ramping up.

“Are we going to help find them after all?” Peyton asked.

Greyjon nodded. “Yes. Raella and Master Zern think we can use the three of you to pinpoint which way to go – like a compass of sorts.” He stopped as we entered a small enclosed courtyard. Raella was there, as was Chase and the older gentleman with long white hair from the previous day. I also recognized the younger man that had been holding the last circle – he had short messy brown hair and brown eyes, and a fairly plain face. If it wasn’t for a puckered scar in one cheek, he would not have stood out in any way at all. 

The older man smiled, “You’ll recognize some of us from the night before, I’m sure, but circumstances kept us from giving a more formal introduction at the time, for which I apologize. My name is Wellam Zern, and I am the Master of the Imperial University. This is Raella Harn,” he gestured to Raella, “Our University’s expert on Ancient Divinity. She will be teaching you about the world that we live in and our history. Greyjon Pellort is a Captain of the Kimber City Military, on loan to us for his famed expertise as a battle master. He will train you in the use of weapons and act as a guardian in your journey.” Master Zern turned to gesture to Chase, who did a curtsy much like she had the previous night. “Chase is a student of the University, but her magical prowess and power is prodigal. She has agreed to take time away from her studies to teach your group magic. Aiding her will be Zolambi Demn, our local expert on using Primordial in casting, in case the use of vocalization is easier for any of you to learn.”

“What is Primordial?” Lexie asked, having perked up at the idea of receiving magic lessons.

“The ancient tongue, pre-dating the common god-gifted language of Blest,” Raella said. “Elves are the only people that speak it, perhaps a sign that we existed here before the arrival of the gods. The actual name of the language is lost to us, if it ever had a name, so it is called Primordial to distinguish it from Blest.”

“And Blest is the common language of this world?” Peyton asked, seeming genuinely curious.

“It is. Since it originated from the gods, we find that most cultures on our world, even those that had never met previously, speak this common language. There are sometimes dialectical differences – the gods haven’t touched our world in many thousands of years, and that is plenty of time for language to develop and change. But all current language beyond Primordial has that common root.”

“It just sounds like English to me,” Lexie said.

“We have records of individuals we’ve summoned always stating they understand us or each other perfectly, even though they speak vastly different languages in their homeworld. The last grouping included an individual who claimed to speak Nihongo, and another that claimed to speak Deutsch, but they understood each other perfectly. The summoning spell seems to incorporate you into our world so completely that you naturally understand Blest as your own native tongue.” I frowned as Raella explained. We had all been in the same locale when we were summoned – would a Japanese person and a German person have been hanging out together 500 years ago? Unless perhaps the flow of time was different between our worlds…

Master Zern interrupted my thoughts as he spoke up, “A more in depth explanation can be provided at a later point, Raella. I believe we have all gathered at this moment for a specific purpose.”

“Of course, Master Zern. My apologies, I got carried away,” Raella dipped her head in respect to the older man.

“We have determined a spell that may work in tracking down our lost fourth. If I could have the four of you that I have introduced take your places, and introduce your ward for me, as I assume you have at least learned their names from the previous night,” Zern gestured around the courtyard.

Raella stepped up to Peyton, and moved her to one side of the courtyard. “This is Peyton Hobbs,” she said simply.

“Miss Hobbs,” Zern nodded to her. She smiled politely back.

Chase bounced up to me and maneuvered me across from Peyton and Raella. “This is Lucas Kearney the accountant,” she said cheerfully as she did so.

“Mister Kearney,” Zern noted, nodding to me.

Greyjon tapped Lexie on the shoulder and gestured her over to the side. “This is Lexie Saint,” he said.

“Alexis Saint,” Lexie said, maybe feeling it was important to be more formal in the moment.

Zern smiled at her warmly. “Miss Saint.”

Zolambi moved over opposite of them. I felt Chase’s fingers lightly brush my back. A light sprung up around our four caretakers. I watched Lexie’s head swivel back and forth as she stared in fascination at each of them in turn. Zolambi was speaking as he cast, a strange language that must have been Primordial, and his voice took on a deep, resonant sound as he spoke. The light surrounded us slowly, and then moved between us, and then another source of light appeared. It was small, and closer to me, shaped vaguely like a person – a woman with wavy, shoulder length hair, wearing an oversized shirt. She looked to be crouched down, scrubbing at a floor with a rag. She paused momentarily to sit back and wipe at her brow, glancing up at something.

As the spell was released, the light surrounding the casters dropped, and the image disappeared. “So, she’s to the west, if I remember the specifics of the spell?” Master Zern said, glancing over at Raella.

Raella nodded. “Yes. Her appearance in the circle we form lets us know the direction she is in, and the size she takes lets us know the distance. She’s quite far.”

“That would put her in human lands,” Zolambi said, frowning, his tone worried.

There was a brief pause as glances were exchanged between the group. “She is human herself, so she may be safe,” Master Zern said reassuringly. I wondered why it was dangerous to be around humans, and could see the same question on Peyton’s face. Lexie’s head still swiveled to each person as they spoke, and she frowned in confusion.

“I wonder why she’s cleaning floors?” Zolambi said.

“Maybe she’s trying to earn some coin. She’s in a strange world with nothing to her name. She could be trying to make a fresh start of her life,” Chase suggested cheerfully.

“Maybe.” Zolambi did not seem very reassured, but he didn’t argue further.

“Regardless, we know the spell works. We’ll have to work out the details of sneaking into the human lands, but with a few humans amongst you, it shouldn’t be as dangerous,” Master Zern nodded to Raella, and then made his way out of the courtyard.

Raella turned to look over the rest of us. “Since I will be traveling with you, there will be more time for book learning as we go. Some degree of self defense and basic magical concepts are going to be more important for you to know before we leave. I will leave you to those lessons while Master Zern and I attend to other details.” With that she turned to follow Zern.

I glanced at our remaining instructors – Chase moved over to the side of the courtyard and plopped down on a stone bench, and a light sprung up around Greyjon as he summoned several smoothed sticks from a weapon stand that I hadn’t noticed until now. One each dropped into Zolambi and Greyjon’s hands, as well as to Peyton and me – Lexie hadn’t noticed hers until it thumped to the ground and she immediately ducked to scoop it up. “We’re going to start with something very basic,” Greyjon said with a smile.

---

Though it seemed closer to fall judging by the coloring of the trees and foliage in the gardens, the day was warm and we had worked up a sweat quickly. I was glad I wasn’t wearing the clothes I had arrived in – the looser, softer fabric of the clothes they had given us were easier to move in. Greyjon had decided to take us through the basic motions of two particular weapons, starting with staffs and then moving to wooden swords.

Lexie and I were clumsy and easily tired. Peyton, on the other hand, was ridiculously suited to anything they put in her hands. She hardly seemed to break a sweat, and was doing her best to hide the smirk on her face as she easily disarmed me of the wooden sword when we practiced together.  “You’re really good,” Lexie said, panting as she leaned on her own wooden blade and watched us.

“I’ve had some training,” Peyton admitted.

“Aren’t you, like, a black belt in something or other too?” Lexie asked.

Peyton shook her head. “Not a black belt.” But she didn’t elaborate to say what she had trained in or what belt color she did wear. I somehow doubted it was white.

Greyjon frowned from where he stood watching the short exchange after I had been disarmed. “We’ll avoid using actual bladed weapons with the two of you for now,” he said to Lexie and me. “You’re as likely to cut yourself as your enemy. I’ll have Zolambi help you with the staffs some more while I get you,” he nodded to Peyton, “a little more practice with a proper sword. That’ll be for tomorrow though. For now, let’s move on to bows and thrown weapons.”

Again, Peyton easily outshone each of us. Lexie had a little more luck than me with throwing daggers and small axes. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get the flick right to guarantee the blade would enter my target. I was a little better with the bow at least. As he got more of a feel for our skill levels, Greyjon decided he would have each of us continue practicing with the bows over the next week as well, and would give Peyton extra lessons with the throwing knives, even encouraging her to hang on to the set we were practicing with.

Closer to noon, Chase left and returned with the kitchen staff that seemed to be assigned to us, the same man and woman from the tower – they had hovering in the air around them an assortment of plates, bowls, and cups, as well as a small folding table that was very short. It was apparent that we were meant to sit on the ground to eat at it, like an Asian dining table. We took a break for lunch.

I watched Lexie flop down on the grass almost immediately as our break was announced. “I sit in front of screens all day. I’m so not used to this,” she groaned, then pushed herself up and used the bottom of her tunic to wipe the sweat off her brow. I felt that statement in my soul as I sat at the table to gulp at the water in my cup thirstily. Peyton also sat at the table, taking a cup of water for herself to drink as well. She still seemed very composed and like she could continue for another couple of hours. I thought about the work out videos I’d seen her post online and realized she probably could keep going easily.

After eating, the table was cleared and refolded. As the kitchen staff were leaving with everything floating around them in the air, Peyton said, “I don’t believe we ever caught your names.”

“Oh,” the woman with the messy bun and freckles said, seeming surprised. “I’m Alissa, and this is my younger brother, Quince,” she said, gesturing to the sandy haired man.

“Alissa and Quince,” Peyton repeated like she was committing the names to memory. She smiled, a bright award-winning smile, “Thank you for the meal.”

Lexie, taking her cue from Peyton, nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, thank you so much! And for last night, with the water and everything too. And the clothes,” she said, tugging at her tunic absently.

Feeling slightly shamed that I hadn’t thought of the simple nicety myself, I nodded as my companions spoke, and added my own brief, “Thank you.”

Alissa blushed and waved a hand as though to say it was nothing. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all.”

“You’re very welcome,” Quince added, also seeming slightly taken aback by the thanks. They quickly bustled off.

Chase was smiling widely as she brushed her skirt off, and Zolambi was studying us, his head tilted, his expression inscrutable. This time, Greyjon moved over to the stone bench and laid back on it. I didn’t think it looked comfortable at all, but he crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, looking ready to fall asleep. “Now,” Chase said cheerfully. “Now we’ll begin your first magic lessons.”