The strange, gray-skinned creature lying on the ground had been Kayono only a few moments ago. Bleg tapped it with the butt end of his axe to make sure it wasn’t conscious. Al took a step forward to examine the body, looking it over closely. The clothing was non-magical, authentic tribal wear. Whatever shifted this creature’s appearance did not seem to affect the clothing it wore. There were few items upon it, just the clothing and weaponry it carried, but in the snow next to the creature was something Al did not recognize.

Flynver cautiously picked it up, looking it over carefully. A single rune was etched into what appeared to be a dark stone. It didn’t weigh much, and turning it over revealed no other inscriptions. The rune looked to be dwarven, but the halfling wizard couldn’t read it.

“There’s something written on this” explained the wizard, handing it to Brylla. “Do you know what it says?”

“That’s the rune for ‘Home’” replied the dwarf, looking it over with a raised eyebrow. “Why would you write that on a stone?”

The word triggered the memory in the halfling’s mind that had been tickling at the edge of his thoughts.

“This must be a hearthstone!” shouted the halfling excitedly. “Usually bound to a location. Using the keyword activates it and anything touching the stone is transported to another place. So cool!”

Brylla did not think it was necessarily “cool” but agreed that it seemed quite useful, especially for what appeared to be creatures who might need to get away quickly. Why had they not used it then? Unless… they only had the one? Remembering back to their earlier encounter with Kayono, Tanthalas recalled the circle of tracks that had suddenly stopped.

“I’m not sure you should be playing around with that thing” suggested Bleg, the huge minotaur shying away from the stone. “Sometimes it’s best to leave portals alone.”

There was a mystery to uncover, though, and while the others chased down the remaining creatures, Audak and the rest of the crew agreed to pursue this lead. Flynver held the stone up before him, his small frame dancing excitedly back and forth as he waited for the others to grab on.

“C’mon Brylla, say the magic word!”

Brylla rolled her eyes and then spoke the runeword while they were all grasping the stone. And then the world was torn away from them…

So much fur

Everything for Audak was dark. He couldn’t see or feel or hear anything. There was another presence in the dark with him, though, that pushed at his mind. Audak pushed back, anger fueling him to gain control. Thoughts suddenly streamed into him…

… a strange-looking creature shouting at him as he ran away.

… a beautiful jungle with many bear-like creatures, that walked like men, talking and laughing with each other.

… an explosion and the ground rumbling as shouts echoed out around him.

… a strange magical bolt flying past him, followed by a sting in his shoulder as another one struck him.

Audak couldn’t fight off the memories, but he held on, struggling to gain control, trying to will himself out of this in-between place. He could remember his father, his companions, his good friend, but now these other memories were shoving their way in between. He roared in defiance and suddenly became aware of his surroundings.

There was sand everywhere. He was so very hot, it was a struggle to keep moving. Small white domed buildings were all around him as he charged down a tight alley between them. He didn’t know why he was running, but he had the incredible urge to get away and hide. In front of him were other figures, also running, but they looked strange. They wore outfits, the likes of which he had never seen before. One of the figures had enormous eyes that reminded him of a fly. A small squirrel-man was hurriedly trying to avoid being stepped on by his giant furry feet.

Audak did a double-take as he realized what he had just seen… he was covered in fur. Thick, brown, fur. This was not good.

Ahead of them was the opening for what appeared to be a tavern, a possible place to hide. The man at the lead of their line was pointing in there and led the way. He moved like Tanthalas, but his distinctive pointed ears were gone. He felt like he knew it was Tanthalas, yet somehow the memories in his mind also knew this person as Tanthalas?

This was all very confusing for the young barbarian.

The ambush

Tanthalas had realized very quickly that something had gone wrong with the teleport moments after he found himself running down an alley. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw himself being followed by a halfling-sized squirrel, some sort of large insect, a giant bugbear, and a lizard creature that looked not much unlike Al. The preservation instincts in him kept him moving, and something in him knew that these were his allies, not his enemy. The heat was unbearable, but the dark confines of the tavern in front of them were welcoming, for more than just getting out of the suns.

Wait… were there two suns? And why didn’t that seem strange?

“In there!” he shouted, running for the cover of the entryway. Inside they paused for a moment, their eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. A strange music played through the air as a dancer entertained some of the patrons who had filled the tables in the main room. Behind the bar, a red-skinned man with the horns of a devil was serving drinks. He looked up briefly to wave them in, but was otherwise ignoring them. The patrons of the bar were of all sorts of species that the elf had never seen before. Had they travelled through a dimensional portal?

The ranger didn’t have time to figure out a plan, he simply gestured toward the room and hoped the others would find a place out of sight. Moving towards the bar, he took a seat and ordered a drink, trying to blend in with the crowd. His mind was filled with conflicting thoughts. He knew this place, somehow… he had been here before. Tanthalas’ memories were jumbled, pieces falling together slowly as he tried to fit together these other memories. All he knew for certain was that for some reason he needed to get away from this city or else something bad would happen. They were being chased… but by who? And why?

An answer of sorts darkened the doorway to the bar as the loud grunting noises of several rotund figures pushed their way in, shoving other patrons aside to make room for their wide frames. They reminded Tanthalas of orcs, in a way, but with a snout and tusks like a boar. Their beady black eyes scanned the room, trying to find their prey. The ranger felt certain that these were the ones chasing them. For some reason, he also felt certain that he wouldn’t enjoy it if they were found.

They were close now. The pig-orcs smelled like the back end of an elephant and were about as articulate too. He could hear them grunting at each other as they moved in pairs through the room, trying to locate their targets. Tanthalas had noticed the small squirrel man head to a spot at the bar further down, and the hairy giant that must have been Audak had retreated around the corner to a booth, along with the others. In a few moments these thugs would round the corner and it would be hard not to spot the large furball.

The ranger reached instinctively for his sword, trying to pull it from its sheath and surprise the two closest to him. As he did so, he found nothing but the handle attached at his belt. A strange beam of light shot out of the hilt, forming some sort of energy sword. His instincts took over, swinging quickly at the surprised grunts. A sudden explosion near him suddenly froze several of the thugs, probably courtesy of Flynver. The little squirrel man at the end of the bar was eyeing the results of his actions strangely, frantically tapping at some little panel on his wrist trying to figure out what the buttons did. Shots rang out, a strange mechanical sound as Tanthalas’ companions opened fire. Instead of arrows or bolts, though, strange blasts of magic flew through the air, mostly missing their targets. The patrons of the bar shouted, running for cover, hiding under tables and behind booths.

Within seconds, the grunting thugs were motionless on the floor, with Tanthalas and Audak standing over them, covered in blood. The furry barbarian still had an axe, apparently, and had decided that cutting one of their pursuers into half was the most efficient method. The horned man stepped over from behind the bar, appraising the scene on the floor of his establishment.

“Big mess you made here, folks. On the run, hey? Happens to the best of us.” the bartender said, seeming to take the events in stride. Perhaps this happened more often than expected. “You need to get off-world after what you just did, and I happen to know there’s a freighter docked right now at the eastern launchpad, owned by a slaver. Let’s just say I wouldn’t mind if something bad were to happen to that one.”

The demon-faced bartender smiled widely, showing off his array of sharp, pointed teeth before continuing.

“Now get out of my bar.”

Is there a doctor in the house?

Brylla looked on as the bartender spoke to the furry creature and Tanthalas. Everything was very confusing. Something was affecting her vision. It was as if there were hundreds of versions of the scene before her, but her mind was somehow bringing it all together and able to understand it. It was unsettling. There was some sort of breathing apparatus attached to her face which she somehow knew was keeping her alive. The most distressing thing, though, was not feeling the connection to Lady Sif. Brylla had never really noticed the feeling until it had been taken from her. It had always just been there. Wherever they were now, her goddess could not reach her. Still, somehow, she could sense the presence of the Weave all around her.

Though everyone and everything looked different, it seemed as if they had all arrived together in this place. The large lizard creature checking the bodies looked remarkably close to Al’s dragonborn self. Aside from all the fur, Audak was essentially the same giant tower of a man. Tanthalas was dressed very strangely and his hair was lighter, and perhaps his ears were a little less pointed, but Brylla could tell it was him. That meant the small squirrel man pouncing off his bar stool and joining the crowd must have been Flynver. He seemed to be having the time of his life and was chittering away excitedly.

Brylla knew they had to get moving and followed the others out into the blasting heat they had just escaped from. It was so bright out here that Brylla needed to shield her eyes against the suns. Al was taking the lead and guiding them through the alleyways north. Hadn’t the bartender said to go east? For whatever reason, though, Al seemed very confident in where he was going. As they walked, Brylla started recognizing some of the places they went by, though she had never been here before. The loud noises to her left were a junk yard, and the large tower on the other side of the buildings to the east was the water tower where folks would gather. Ahead of them would be the medical clinic.

How did she know all this?

As they reached the end of an alley, Al called for them to stop. Brylla could see the large roadway ahead of them was filled with pedestrians of all kinds and strange floating vehicles moving slowly, hovering only a few feet in the air. More of those pig-like orcs were moving about the streets, likely trying to locate them. The patrols were spaced out enough that if they waited for the right moment they could likely make it across the street.

“Time to go!” whispered Al, before sliding into the crowds before them. They all easily crossed the road, keeping their heads down and walking purposefully to the clinic. Once inside, they found a small side corridor in which to plan.

“We need some of those healing potions” suggested Tanthalas, pointing at the packages held by the staff rushing around the clinic. “They must have some hidden in a supply closet somewhere.”

“I don’t think they’ll just be handing them out” piped in Flynver, trying to think up a plan. “We’ll need a distraction!”

Pulling the staff towards one of the patients proved very effective, and Brylla was able to pull from both her hosts memories and her own to mimic the actions of the one of the medical staff. They had very little time to take action, but in the few moments available they were able to secure a few of the strange packages that seemed to help speed up the healing process. With any luck, they wouldn’t need any more, but after what they had seen so far it was likely hard to predict what might come after them next.

The infiltration

While the others hurried into the store room, Flynver was taking a look out one of the slitted windows of the clinic. Unlike on Lani, these buildings seemed to be built to block out the light from outside, probably to keep cool. However, a side benefit was being able to look out without being seen clearly. Across the road the wizard could see a strange building rising up out of the packed sand, with two metal figures standing in front of it. He knew this place… in there was what he needed. He didn’t really know the words for these things: terminals, docking clamps, space ports… but somehow he understood what had to be done.

In there was the key to their escape. If he couldn’t get in, they wouldn’t be able to get out. If only he could figure out how.

He knew the two metal things in front of the doors were considered some form of mechanical security. Strange flashes went through his head as his memories were flooded with detailed schematics and circuitry diagrams. They would likely be programmed to keep anybody out, so they would again need some sort of diversion.

“Look over there” Flynver pointed, calling for the attention of the others. “See those two metal guards? I need to get past them so I can use some sort of box inside that building so our ship can leave. Can you pull them away?”

Al grinned. You could tell he already had an idea. Tanthalas seemed eager to help as well, and the others quickly agreed and started making their way towards the back of the building.

While the others skulked around to the back, Flynver strode confidently up to the guards.

“Halt!” shouted one of the android guards, blocking his path. “Restricted access. State your business.”

“Sorry, I was just passing by” lied Flynver, trying to see if he could get past the guards himself. “I saw somebody heading towards the back of the building and just wanted you to know.”

Unfortunately for Flynver the sentinels were not so easily fooled and would not abandon their posts. Flynver shrugged, starting to walk away down the road when he heard an explosion. Apparently, the rest of the crew had decided on a more obvious distraction. Smoke rose out of the back of the building while people shouted from inside. The two guards cocked their heads, receiving some sort of message, then suddenly abandoned their post as they shuffled towards the back, chasing after the fleeing criminals who had launched the attack on their breakroom.

Whistling to himself, Flynver strode confidently through the front doors, saying a kind hello to the receptionist at the front desk and moving directly into the big room at the back. Everything looked so strange. One entire half of the building before him was just a giant wall of glass, peering out over the expanse beyond the city. Some sort of flying machine was coming down from the sky, like a metal dragon coming in to land. Engineers and officers were everywhere, pushing on coloured buttons and dials, monitoring their screens with extreme focus. Off to the other side of the room was the sound of commotion as multiple figures were trying to put out the fire in their breakroom.

Flynver knew he only had a moment of distraction so walked across the room, as casually as possible, over to one of the big flashing screens like the ones the others were pushing on. The strange language and bright lights were so foreign but the conflicting memories in his mind seemed to make it all make sense. It wasn’t like something was translating for him, but it felt more like he innately knew what to do. His small paws danced across the keys, typing in commands and accessing the inner security systems. Lists and logs and access codes kept popping up on the screen, but Flynver didn’t even have time to consciously process it as whatever was guiding him expertly found the ship they needed and unlocked the docking clamps. It was all over in a few seconds and then the squirrel man casually walked back out the door, as if nothing ever happened, trying to avoid the stare of the official-looking woman who was shouting at the droids in the fiery break room.

Flynver nodded a goodbye to the receptionist on his way back into the street, silently hoping nobody was going to ask any questions. As his eyes adjusted back to the bright light of outdoors, with no guards in his way, he breathed a sigh of relief and casually joined the crowds.

The escape

As Al ran through the alleyways, trying to lose the guards, he wondered if the others would remember the meetup point they had discussed back at the clinic. They had only taken a moment to put together this plan, but with any luck, Flynver had managed to do whatever it was he had to do in that place by now. This was when Al needed to use his training. Finding a dark shop to duck into, the rogue perused the wares casually, waiting for the guards to pass by. As soon as they had, he doubled back and then casually joined the mob of people moving their way through the streets of a marketplace. For now, he had left them behind.

His body felt wrong. There were things that seemed familiar, but he could feel that something of his dragonkin was missing. The memories in his mind were jumbled together, but Al had tried to spend a few minutes focusing on them and felt like he understood enough. This version of him was escaping someone, or something, and it was clear that going back there was not an option. Every instinct to flee and hide were pushing through, driving him onward. Al wasn’t sure how they would get back to themselves, but at the moment it seemed like they needed to buy time to figure that out.

As he neared the meeting point, he noticed the large furry creature that must have been Audak pushing his way through a crowd. He and the shorter bug-eyed creature next to him were trying to act casually, just a part of the traffic. Tanthalas arrived silently from the other direction, having slipped by the guards.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” came the chipper voice of the squirrel-faced Flynver, who seemed awfully proud of himself.

Al gestured for quiet and pointed at the large roadway in front of them. There were several patrols in this area and they wouldn’t be able to use the alleyways to cross it. This main square stood between them and the path to the eastern ship port. There weren’t just the orcish brutes standing guard, but also some sort of security force, well-armed and fully armored from head to toe, moving methodically through the crowds and searching the people passing by. They stopped a group riding one of those hovering wagons and inspected each one carefully, checking against something on a small device they were holding.

Taking the lead, Al moved forward slowly, trying to weave in with the natural flow of traffic, breaking off to cross over towards another alley. As they moved past a large, and smelly, beast of burden that was carrying scraps, Al suddenly noticed a patrol group standing guard ahead. Quickly changing direction, the rogue directed the crew to circle around them. That was too close!

It seemed they were going to make it, but then they heard one of the armored soldiers cry out from behind them.

“There they are! Grab them!”

Explosive blasts streamed across the dusty pathway as the soldiers behind them opened fire. The soldiers quickly moved to defensive positions, trying to get cover as Tanthalas and Brylla returned fire. Using the strange hand crossbow held in his claw, Al began firing back as well, moving towards a large stony structure for protection. They were going to have to make a run for it.

As they started moving to escape, another group of the soldiers came charging up the street from in front of them, blocking their only way out. This was getting irritating. If only he could have tapped into his arcane powers as he did back home! Something stirred inside him as he focused on this and he felt the connection to the magic of this universe. It was different, but it was here. He reached out with his soul, trying to manipulate the forces around two of the soldiers. Just as he had hoped, they both slumped immediately to the ground. Unconscious.

Chuckling to himself, Al enjoyed the moment before a bolt of energy blasted into the rocks near him. The others were closing in on the remaining soldier in their way, firing backwards as they went. Audak’s large form was raising a metal axe above his head as he charged, a strange roaring coming from the furry barbarian. The soldier’s armour never stood a chance. The axe cleaved straight through, crushing the man inside the suit, and opening the way forward. Al rushed at full speed to keep up with the others. Those soldiers were likely calling for more reinforcements, so they needed to get to that ship right away.

The shipyard was also guarded, but this time they took no chances. Straight through them, crushing the robot guards as a pack and forcing their way into the hangar. Shutting the door behind them, Al looked out upon the enormous yard before them. A large metal structure stood before them, covered in steel plating and wires and strange contraptions that looked like weapons. The rogue had never seen anything like it, but somehow he knew this was the ship they needed.

They circled around, trying to find the way on board, but met more resistance. The two sentinels stood at the base of a ramp that led into the belly of this metal beast, firing at them to hold them back. Behind them, the ramp started to raise up, trying to cut off their access. The shadow of a figure could be seen at the top of the ramp, holding a button and firing down at them. They didn’t have time for this!

Racing forward, Al used every ounce of strength he could find in his body to close the distance to the ramp and leap aboard, rushing up the steel surface towards the inside of the ship. The figure before him, who must have been the captain, knew he was in trouble but refused to give in. The captain fired at Al, the shot hitting him directly in the shoulder. But then something miraculous happened: the wound started closing up immediately, as if his body could heal itself at an amazing rate. That was a nice touch!

The small rodent-like wizard rushed past him, trying to close the distance to the fleeing captain.

“Wait! We don’t want to hurt you!” pleaded Flynver, showing his hands in a gesture of peace. “We need to get out of here, now. If you can get us out, we’ll let you go.”

The captain looked at the small figure before him, trying to determine if he could trust him. There was little choice in the matter, as Al saw it. The captain might take one of them out, maybe two if he had some secrets here in the ship, but eventually they would command the vessel. He hoped the captain would make the right call.

Fortunately, he did.

As the ship’s engines roared to life, they all strapped into seats in the cockpit, marveling at the technology around them. Flying was not something any of them had experienced, and while this was a rough trip it was still awe-inducing. Out the cockpit windows they could see soldiers below, firing up at them. Ahead, they watched as the clouds gave way to the blackness of space.

As the adrenaline wore off, though, Al felt a presence pushing for control and he could no longer hold it off. He was losing grip on this reality, his mind sinking further back into itself. The last thing he saw as he lost all vision was the sight of a planet, floating below him like a ball. Was this what Lani looked like from up here?

And then it all went black.

Credits

• Cover image: “Escaping a desert planet”, generated by Jason St-Cyr using NightCafe