Okay, where shall I start?
First, my name - or at least the name I use here is Murdoch Wright Sitz. As I have come to realize later, and as you may have guessed already, I got it out of a random name generator. Currently, I am a twenty year old university student - yes, I managed to trade some of the stuff I had on me when I landed here.
So, how did I end up here? Basically, I screwed up - or rather, the thing I was so close to finishing blew up in my face. No, that was not a figure of speech. That is how I ended up basically falling onto this planet (though luckily, the actual fall was maybe a couple of metres at most), with no idea of where I was, or the language, or the society, or basically anything, all alone.
Let's get straight to the story. There were lectures in the morning that day (stupid idea, really. Why don't they start after noon and end at, maybe six o'clock?) so I had to be at university by nine. I actually made it in time. The lecture went fairly well - I mean, imagine having to listen to stuff you've heard a million times already and trying not to fall asleep (I didn't succeed, entirely).
There were lectures in the afternoon as well, so I planned to grab lunch at the university canteen. So I joined a group of friends for the purpose. Some were expecting me to explain the lecture to them, but thanks to the aforementioned issue, I had a little trouble with it. The others quickly started gossiping. It was quite boring, to be frank. I excused myself quickly, and thought I'd go to the library - there was a book I wanted to borrow. It was a short walk, and I was halfway there, when someone suddenly called my name. As in, my real name, not Murdoch.
This was after a lecture, so it took a second to register. I turned around, and almost screamed. Before you judge me, I was, and still am an academic. The guy standing in front of me was someone I was acquainted with due to my previous work. I'll only tell you that this guy is not a human, and is definitely bad news if you cross him. Also, he's definitely not from this planet/universe/dimension/whatever.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Looking for you."
No, this was not a sweet gesture. This guy probably needed my help and sought me out on this planet. I had to escape the situation. I had to think of a solution, fast. Before my confused brain could come up with an appropriate response, he spoke again.
"Okay, the situation is a bit serious, which is why I bothered to come all the way here. Fundamentally, we need you back. Immediately."
There had to be a catch, somewhere. "Explain the situation first."
"Well, it's sort of complicated. Remember Phobos? Yeah, he kind of showed up. After you magicked yourself away, there isn't anyone else who can actually figure out how to get rid of him. We desperately need your help."
This did sound quite serious, but a year of dealing with spam email later, I wasn't so keen to believe him right away. The core argument was far from solid. I wasn't the only one who could figure out how to deal with Phobos. Besides, it wasn't like he'd turn into a natural disaster unless you let him. I decided to probe a little further.
"What did he do?"
"Possessed a kid, caused havoc, abandoned the kid and possessed a soldier, and that soldier has currently dropped off the map. The problem is, given you disappeared, the rumour is that you're dead, so none of them are afraid to do as they please. You have to come back."
"What about the keystones?"
"Seriously? They broke when you disappeared. That's the issue. You have to figure how how to reconstruct them."
That really was serious. Without the keystones, the state would be vulnerable to almost all supernatural threats. The strangest, most magnificent state in the world - the one I helped build, to begin with - would be destroyed in short order. Something had to be done about this. I just might be able to repair the keystones. I had to get back.
"Okay, how do I get back?"
"I was hoping you'd know. I can't take you with me, given you're a fundamentally different being."
This was fun.
"This is probably not the best time to tell you this, but there is no magic here. Yeah, there is a little here and there, but it's nowhere near enough for me to transport myself back, provided I knew my way back."
"Look, if I bring the keystone fragments with me, can you repair it?"
"What makes you think that's possible? No, someone else will have to do it. I can tell someone how to do it, but..."
"Okay, then tell me."
"You know why I won't. But what I can tell you is how to find Phobos. Will that suffice?"
"Yo, Murdoch! Who's that? A friend of yours?" asked Kathy.
She was also going to the library, apparently. This was one of my classmates.
"He's a friend of mine," I said quickly. That's the best thing I could think of, despite the fact that the thing in front of me could generously be described as humanoid. Kathy did have something of an imagination, which probably explained her rather unusual reaction.
"I see. Does your friend have a name?"
"Robin," he said quickly, "name's Robin."
I resisted the urge to facepalm. Kathy, however, was happy with the answer, and was apparently planning to continue the conversation. I had to get her out of here, fast, if I was to give 'Robin' the formula to find Phobos.
"So, are you cosplaying?" asked Kathy.
"Ah, yeah. You see, we have to go to the - uh - the next convention - not the one here, it's still too far away, but since Robin here is a professional, so - um, we need to discuss it in secret. You see, it's all top secret. Could you please leave us alone for a while? I'll join you in the library? Look, I know you have ideas, but we're running out of time now, so..."
"Okay, okay. Just, I'm available if you need any help. Bye."
With that, Kathy left, so I could return to what I was doing. Luckily, I had a notepad on me, so I quickly scribbled the formula on it. Whether 'Robin' would get it was doubtful, but there were other people he could contact if he wanted to get it explained to him.
I tore that page out and gave it to him. With that, he left right away - almost too quickly. Still, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I rushed off to the library. It took be a couple of minutes to locate the book I wanted, and I went to the desk to check it out. It was there that I ran into Kathy again. She had just checked out one of the books, and was waiting for me outside.
"Hello," she said, "so, I kind of want to talk to you. Can we walk to class together?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, "continue."
"Who are you, really? You're not from this world, are you?"
There is no way she could know. This was her overactive imagination, as usual.
"I know you're thinking of an excuse, but tell me, Murdoch, which school did you go to? Also, what are the names of your parents, or guardians? Where were you born? Where did you spend your childhood? And when is your birthday?"
Unfortunately for her, I had my cover story down. I answered all these questions in the very order they were presented to me. Big mistake.
"You know, that's a good way to find out someone using a cover story," she said, "so, that's a cover story, and an incredibly well thought out one. What was your friend? He wasn't human now, was he? and you weren't speaking to him in English for the first part of the conversation which is highly unusual given your backstory. So, where are you from? You're either an alien or a magician. Which is it?"
"And how did you reach that conclusion? Besides, I wasn't speaking English because that's not his native language."
"I won't tell anyone about him," she said, "just tell me when you're ready to talk about it. Try to stay awake during this lecture at least."
After that, things fell into the usual pattern again. The semester had just begun, so studies weren't too difficult (except for the odd assignment). Kathy seemed to have forgotten the incident entirely. Sometimes, when I was free, I would think about what was going on back at home, but all the information I had was a brief conversation with one person. Sometimes, my doubts would creep back in, but I pushed it out of my mind forcefully. I didn't live there anymore, it wasn't my problem.
Two weeks passed without incident. That day was unusual from the start. First, there was a power cut at my apartment. Then I nearly got run over by a vehicle trying to cross the road. Next, I managed to trip over my own feet at the university gate. After that, I thought no more disasters could occur, but I managed to walk right into the door of the building at the university. Then the morning lectures started, and it was a section I knew inside out. The only silver lining was that the afternoon lectures were cancelled, and I could research as much as I wanted in the university library.
I did go there that afternoon (having crashed into the library door and tripped over the threshold - both being places I've navigated before without incident). I soon found the shelves I was looking for, and started browsing it, trying to decide whether I wanted to read any of the books there. I was absorbed in the this task when someone spoke behind me, in the language of my country (a fact I didn't realise at the time).
"Browsing libraries as usual, aren't you? Are you satisfied with yourself?"
"Any reason I shouldn't be?" I asked, and turned around me. I recognised the person at once.
"Ella? What are you doing here? How..."
"This is obviously a hologram, and I could locate you, yes - figure out how I did it. I mean, if Renard could pull it off, there is no reason..."
"So did you find Phobos..."
"What do you think?"
"Funny, the formula should have been..."
"Don't be stupid! Phobos was never free in the city! Now you've gone and given him the key to finding him, and..."
"Then are the keystones safe?"
"Of course not! You destroyed half of them with whatever you did, and someone else - I guess Renard - finished the rest. They're gone. If they were intact Phobos wouldn't even be a problem..."
"Wait, so Renard got the formula, and used to find Phobos, and set it one the city?"
"No he hung it on his wall! Stop asking stupid questions! Now, get yourself back here the way you ended up there, right now, or I'm going to come there expressly to..."
"Wait, Ella, there is no magic here, I can't make my way back unless you can open a tunnel from there. Can you do it?"
"Look, there was one armed mob on the south side of the city, and someone was caught trying to break into the academy, someone disrupted communications to about a quarter of the city - Phobos is feeding, and it's growing. I can't possibly find the resources needed to open a portal. You'll have to do it from that end, somehow."
"But..."
"The only reason I was able to use a hologram was because there is at least some magic there. At least, tell me, what formula did you give him?"
"It's an experimental one that I've been working on. I'll give it to you as well. You should be able to find Phobos every time that way."
"You can't..."
"let me finish. If I am going to get back there, there is only one way to do that. Get Renard, or someone else like him, to visit this world, regularly. Can you do it?"
"But - okay, I'll try raising it with the council. Now give me the formula - we're running out of time."
I sketched the formula, and it was enough for her - she was one of my brightest colleagues after all. After she disconnected, the true meaning of it all dawned on me. I had put my entire country in danger, and worse, given to tools to control a dangerous force of nature to a conniving, ambitious, trickster. I knew his character, and yet I let him fool me completely. Was he using some sort of spell to control my mind? Impossible. There was no way he could control my mind.
"So, another friend from your world?" asked Kathy, suddenly looking into the aisle, "I thought I heard someone talking in the same foreign language again, so - hey, are you alright? You look pale."
"Y-yeah, I'm alright," I said quickly - too quickly. Kathy caught on right away.
"So, what really happened?"
"Nothing, really. I'm just feeling a little off, that's all."
She didn't buy it, as far as I could tell. She suggested going out for some fresh air, but I managed to shake her off for the time being by grabbing a random book and walking away as fast as I could. I got through the rest of the day without suffering any major injury. The power was back on when I went back home. I thought the worst was behind me, so I decided to spend the evening relaxing. I had just taken up a book, when a hologram appeared right in front of me. It was Ella again.
"The council decided they need you back right away," she said, the moment she appeared, "they're planning to arrest you - I think so, anyway, I'm not supposed to contact you until they allow me to, so don't reply, and let me finish this quickly. The only supernatural entity we could find to send to you was Deimos. he's already on earth. Please, please, be careful."
With that, the hologram disappeared.
------------------------------------END OF CHAPTER ONE-----------------------------------------
None of the characters or places described in this work are representative of any real people, incidents, or the like.
Please do not post this story on other sites or on any other media. Instead, add the link to this blog post.
Thank you for reading.
"Hello," she said, "so, I kind of want to talk to you. Can we walk to class together?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, "continue."
"Who are you, really? You're not from this world, are you?"
There is no way she could know. This was her overactive imagination, as usual.
"I know you're thinking of an excuse, but tell me, Murdoch, which school did you go to? Also, what are the names of your parents, or guardians? Where were you born? Where did you spend your childhood? And when is your birthday?"
Unfortunately for her, I had my cover story down. I answered all these questions in the very order they were presented to me. Big mistake.
"You know, that's a good way to find out someone using a cover story," she said, "so, that's a cover story, and an incredibly well thought out one. What was your friend? He wasn't human now, was he? and you weren't speaking to him in English for the first part of the conversation which is highly unusual given your backstory. So, where are you from? You're either an alien or a magician. Which is it?"
"And how did you reach that conclusion? Besides, I wasn't speaking English because that's not his native language."
"I won't tell anyone about him," she said, "just tell me when you're ready to talk about it. Try to stay awake during this lecture at least."
After that, things fell into the usual pattern again. The semester had just begun, so studies weren't too difficult (except for the odd assignment). Kathy seemed to have forgotten the incident entirely. Sometimes, when I was free, I would think about what was going on back at home, but all the information I had was a brief conversation with one person. Sometimes, my doubts would creep back in, but I pushed it out of my mind forcefully. I didn't live there anymore, it wasn't my problem.
Two weeks passed without incident. That day was unusual from the start. First, there was a power cut at my apartment. Then I nearly got run over by a vehicle trying to cross the road. Next, I managed to trip over my own feet at the university gate. After that, I thought no more disasters could occur, but I managed to walk right into the door of the building at the university. Then the morning lectures started, and it was a section I knew inside out. The only silver lining was that the afternoon lectures were cancelled, and I could research as much as I wanted in the university library.
I did go there that afternoon (having crashed into the library door and tripped over the threshold - both being places I've navigated before without incident). I soon found the shelves I was looking for, and started browsing it, trying to decide whether I wanted to read any of the books there. I was absorbed in the this task when someone spoke behind me, in the language of my country (a fact I didn't realise at the time).
"Browsing libraries as usual, aren't you? Are you satisfied with yourself?"
"Any reason I shouldn't be?" I asked, and turned around me. I recognised the person at once.
"Ella? What are you doing here? How..."
"This is obviously a hologram, and I could locate you, yes - figure out how I did it. I mean, if Renard could pull it off, there is no reason..."
"So did you find Phobos..."
"What do you think?"
"Funny, the formula should have been..."
"Don't be stupid! Phobos was never free in the city! Now you've gone and given him the key to finding him, and..."
"Then are the keystones safe?"
"Of course not! You destroyed half of them with whatever you did, and someone else - I guess Renard - finished the rest. They're gone. If they were intact Phobos wouldn't even be a problem..."
"Wait, so Renard got the formula, and used to find Phobos, and set it one the city?"
"No he hung it on his wall! Stop asking stupid questions! Now, get yourself back here the way you ended up there, right now, or I'm going to come there expressly to..."
"Wait, Ella, there is no magic here, I can't make my way back unless you can open a tunnel from there. Can you do it?"
"Look, there was one armed mob on the south side of the city, and someone was caught trying to break into the academy, someone disrupted communications to about a quarter of the city - Phobos is feeding, and it's growing. I can't possibly find the resources needed to open a portal. You'll have to do it from that end, somehow."
"But..."
"The only reason I was able to use a hologram was because there is at least some magic there. At least, tell me, what formula did you give him?"
"It's an experimental one that I've been working on. I'll give it to you as well. You should be able to find Phobos every time that way."
"You can't..."
"let me finish. If I am going to get back there, there is only one way to do that. Get Renard, or someone else like him, to visit this world, regularly. Can you do it?"
"But - okay, I'll try raising it with the council. Now give me the formula - we're running out of time."
I sketched the formula, and it was enough for her - she was one of my brightest colleagues after all. After she disconnected, the true meaning of it all dawned on me. I had put my entire country in danger, and worse, given to tools to control a dangerous force of nature to a conniving, ambitious, trickster. I knew his character, and yet I let him fool me completely. Was he using some sort of spell to control my mind? Impossible. There was no way he could control my mind.
"So, another friend from your world?" asked Kathy, suddenly looking into the aisle, "I thought I heard someone talking in the same foreign language again, so - hey, are you alright? You look pale."
"Y-yeah, I'm alright," I said quickly - too quickly. Kathy caught on right away.
"So, what really happened?"
"Nothing, really. I'm just feeling a little off, that's all."
She didn't buy it, as far as I could tell. She suggested going out for some fresh air, but I managed to shake her off for the time being by grabbing a random book and walking away as fast as I could. I got through the rest of the day without suffering any major injury. The power was back on when I went back home. I thought the worst was behind me, so I decided to spend the evening relaxing. I had just taken up a book, when a hologram appeared right in front of me. It was Ella again.
"The council decided they need you back right away," she said, the moment she appeared, "they're planning to arrest you - I think so, anyway, I'm not supposed to contact you until they allow me to, so don't reply, and let me finish this quickly. The only supernatural entity we could find to send to you was Deimos. he's already on earth. Please, please, be careful."
With that, the hologram disappeared.
------------------------------------END OF CHAPTER ONE-----------------------------------------
None of the characters or places described in this work are representative of any real people, incidents, or the like.
Please do not post this story on other sites or on any other media. Instead, add the link to this blog post.
Thank you for reading.
