Gauthier sat in a wooden chair, in front of a simple table with a warm breakfast, inside a closed down tavern. 

He quietly ate his meal, feeling quite refreshed after bathing in Knok's water contraption... a rain closet.

"RUTHIE!" a halfling screamed from behind a stack of scrolls and ledger books... "WHERE DID THE QUARTERLY REPORT GO!" 

"PRIM!" A rather gruff sounding voice screamed back. "I swear to the gods..." 

"It's ROSIE!" Primrose huffed. "You get to be called Ruthie when your name is Durruith! Lonilinirein is called Lonnie... it's not fair!" 

Was she... upset that her nickname didn't rhyme with theirs?

An elf seemed to be at his wit's end with the banter and slammed a stack of large books on the ground. 

"You two sure are showing our new arrival a great impression of our brand new organization," he said. "Instead of bickering about trivialities, why doesn't someone get a broom and sweep the supply cupboards.  

"I think Durthy should do it. Derpy Durthy!" Primrose giggled. "DEPUTY DERPY DURTHY REPORTING FOR DOODY!"

"Oh, I'll get it all right," she said and grabbed the broom. "Get over here!" 

Primrose deftly hopped over the counter and bolted down the hallway giggling and taunting Ruthie with her new nickname while Ruthie chased after her. 

You're here...

Gauthier looked around after hearing the familiar voice. Only Lonilirien looked up at him with a raised eyebrow from some paperwork. 

A red-haired woman descended the stairs, wearing spectacles. She had the same eye tattoo like the other guild workers. Lonnie whispered to her and handed her a few papers. She nodded and walked straight to Gauthier's table. 

Was this the person Knok told him to meet?

Lonnie set down a teacup next to the woman who sat in front of him and promptly went back to work. He quietly waited while she took a few sips of her tea while she read over parchments. 

"Gauthier?" she asked, not looking up. 

"Yes." he stammered.  

"I'm Erin Nyx, Guild Manager at this establishment," she replied and turned to another page. 

"Wow..." she said, finishing up the parchment she was reading. "The report Knok gave me is interesting." 

"I'm not sure what you mean." Gauthier stammered.

"How did you survive out there?" Erin said, she leaned forward and locked eyes on him. "The truth." 

"It's just the woods... I mean, yea, there's things... but... that!" Gauthier felt his heart race at the thought of the tarrasque. 

"You were less than twenty feet from Terry," Erin said, no expression. "Let me ask again, how did you survive?" 

"I ran," Gauthier admitted. "I ran and ran and ran some more." 

"Do you know where you are?" Erin asked. 

"R...something... Knok mentioned it."

"Now... before you answer this next question... I want you to hear my words closely." 

Gauthier nodded, swallowing hard. 

"You are in a realm... none of us here knows. We're all lost, like you." Erin said. "This is how we survive... those walls and that lake." 

Gauthier nodded again. 

"The way you came here... is how everything comes here. Including Terry." Erin said. "We have spent decades... training Team F.E.E.T and a few others to be able to navigate those woods undetected. Based on this report, you were in those woods for well over two hours before running into Knok, and with Terry on your heels." 

"He doesn't really move that fast..." Gauthier said under his breath.

"So, it seems that you're perfectly fine to survive out there then," Erin said and gathered her papers. "Because clearly you can." 

"I'll have you escorted to shore." 

"NO!" Gauthier's terror flooded his veins. He knocked over his food as he clutched his chest, his heart felt like it would explode from his chest. 

Erin pulled his face to her's, an icy glare chilled him to the bone. 

"How... did you... survive," Erin said.

"I... heard a voice. It told me where to go... it felt like it was in my head." Gauthier stammered. "I also heard it again... when I was in here. Just before you came back... she said she was feeling sleepy... I thought I was just going crazy." 

Erin's stone face vanished into a smile, like that side of her's was never even there to begin with. 

"Thank  you." She said. "I've reviewed your information..."

"Wait, that's it?" Gauthier asked. "I told you a strange voice in my head lead me to Knok and helped me outrun Terry!"

"And you also walked out of your home, into familiar wood, and walked into a Tarrasque..." Erin pointed out. "both improbable, but clearly not impossible."

"People hear voices in their head all the time, there's ESP spells and everything. I found out when I got here, that apparently the gods are real too. So if you were pulled here for some reason, who am I to stop it?" 

"But..." Gauthier stammered, clearly confused. 

"You... don't really grasp the situation." Erin continued, her charming smile fell as she continued. "We're in bad shape. We are a community on the brink of starvation and death. We have to trust each other, and lying about something you think is crazy when clearly it's not... is not the way I would like to start our relationship."

"Why? You have huge dwarven walls, elves, I saw a dozen clergy and wizards on my way here...and you've clearly done well enough to build all this." 

"The elves call this place Ard'Vanwa. It's an old... mixed term; I'm told by the community. It roughly translates to the realm of the things that are lost, and unable to be retrieved." 

"I'm just a smith's apprentice..." he stammered. 

"Yes, and I'm sure we can find your someone to apprentice under if you wish to pursue that." 

It felt fake like there was a blindfold that was going to fall away or an illusion spell fading. He waited for something... anything to happen. Erin remained silent. 

Don't... leave.

Gauthier looked to his hands, trying not to react to the voice in his head. Erin smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You're going to be okay," she said. "I'm sorry I gave you a hard time.

Don't... leave.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Nyx," Gauthier said. "I'm not sure what to do now."

"Were you happy as a smith?" Erin asked. "I've seen a few apprentices, and they're a bit more..." 

"Buff?" Gauthier scoffed. "Big meatheads with big hands... they only are good with armour plate and large projects. It's good to have a meathead when working on cauldrons, but not so good with fine detail work." 

"Impressive," Erin smiled. 

"I really don't see how." Gauthier. "All I ever did was work the bellows and check for cracks. My master never let me swing the hammer until my arms were the size of tree trunks, not saplings." 

"Your master was quite smart," Erin said. "He saw talent and was trying to grow and foster it. He allowed a bellows boy to give him input on his work and study the techniques in detail so when you were strong enough to reproduce them, you would already be ahead of the curve." 

Gauthier felt a pain in his chest. The thought of his master, thinking he fell to some wild beast, or just abandoned his post. A flood of guilt washed over him, Erin was right. He had been so stubborn and angry about not being able to make his own projects. He fought back his tears, his balled fists shook.

Erin placed a reassuring hand on his trembling fists.

"We all feel this," she said. "Everyone of us is feeling what you're feeling. It's what connects us, and makes us a family." 

"Five hundred or so survivors." she continued. "I like to call us thrivers." 

"Why even bother?" Gauthier said. "Clearly some god didn't want us, and just... discarded us." 

"So?" Erin said. "I was sad in my old world, I had a friend, and I had a family, but I was still sad." 

"Why?" Gauthier asked. 

"In my world, people get sad for many reasons that seem rather trivial to other people. Now... I think we have some perspective." 

"So... how?" Gauthier asked... "Or... I don't really know what to ask."

"It's overwhelming," Erin said. "With me, I was going for a jog. I got home, came into my apartment door, tossed my keys into the dirt where I thought my coffee table was going to be and had planned on watching a few things I recorded earlier... and was almost trampled by some idiot on a horse"

"Does anyone know how it happens?" Gauthier asked. Erin shook her head no.

"Everyone has an idea... but no one has an answer," she said. "Is there magic where you're from?" 

He nodded. 

"Good, so this will be easier to explain," Erin said. "Magic's a sort of story and make-believe where I'm from, so this took me a bit of getting used too." 

"The elves and magic-users agree on one thing. We're nowhere." She said. "It's like... we're not connected to anything? The sources, spheres, I can't remember all the names... where this place is, can't connect to them."

"Could we just be really far away? Are there other gods or beings to contact?" Gauthier asked. Erin shook her head no. 

"That's the thing, it's empty, a fully true void," Erin said. "Magic works, because the source of it... trickles in." 

Gauthier looked confused. 

"Whatever is pulling people, trees, monsters, and whatever else here, is apparently grabbing sunlight, air, soil, rain, and everything else that makes this a perfect ecosystem." 

"Has anyone tried to venture past the forests and find the edge of the lands?" Gauthier asked. 

"Oh, we found the edge." She said, and slide a map to him. 

It depicted a massive floating island with a towering mountain to the north and a wasteland desert to the west, where the Tarrasque's home is.

"This is it?" Gauthier asked. 

"Yup." she chuckled. "floating island."  

"I..." Gauthier stammered. 

"You know, you're doing quite better than the other ones." she chuckled. "Let's get down to business." 

 "Because of my natural organizational talents, and various contributions to our lovely city, I have been appointed the manager of this newly formed Explorer's Guild," she said. 

"So... you don't run the town?" he asked. She giggled. 

"Oh no, this is as much stress as I need. I'll leave the city to the council," she said. "We need to get you situated to your new life here in Terris."  

"Oh..." Gauthier said, his face fell. Erin ruffled his hair again. 

"Stop sulking. It's not all doom and gloom," she said. "This realm has its perks. I mean, where else can you watch someone crazy enough to jog with a Tarrasque?"

"Watched?" Gauthier's throat cracked. Erin ignored his question and continued on.

"So, you were a blacksmith. We have a few dwarves who run the local smith shop. They can use some help, even if they act like they don't. Don't take no for an answer. If they give you grief, come to me and I'll sort it out." She said while making a notation in a large book. 

Gauthier felt numb as she explained some housing options if he can get apprenticed, and some other things he couldn't really hear, as his mind drifted to a feeling of panic in his mind. 

No! Don't do it! You can't leave me here! I saved your life!

'Do what? I don't understand who you are! Did you send me here for some reason?' Gauthier thought. 'I'm a smith, maybe I can learn from these dwarves, and when I get back...'

I hate you!

"Stop!" Gauthier shouted and bolted to his feet. Erin looked up at the young man in shock. 

"Umm... are you okay?" She asked. She moved next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. Gauthier couldn't stop trembling. "It's a lot to take in." 

"Yes..." he said. "I'm sorry. That's..." 

Erin waited for him to finish. 

"That's the old... me. Can I do something different?" 

Erin grinned. He noticed the three other staff members began to bustle about more, clearing off tables, stacking books and bringing out various... only thing he could describe them as are baubles.

"So..." Erin said, ignoring the increased bustle behind her. She sat him down and retook her seat across from him. She leaned forward and whispered, "... there's this initiative." 

Gauthier looked around and followed suit. Erin continued in hushed whispers.  

"We got a way out." She said and winked. 

"What?!" he shouted. Erin kicked his shin, and he promptly sat back down. 

"I can't say too much." She said. The announcement will be in a few days, "but... we've been spending a lot of our wizards and elves time to finding a way out of this joint... er realm." 

"So, we have a portal built. I wanted to call it a Realmgate..." Erin explained. 

"A realm-gate is something not possible... and the way you go on about it..." Lonny interjected. 

"Major O'Neal might have something to say about that!" Erin retorted, she turned back to Gauthier. "If magic portals and flying dragons can be here, then god-damn it, so is the RG-1!"

"Do you miss your General?" Gauthier asked. Erin sighed and nodded. She took a deep breath and spoke dreamily of her memories...

"We would meet once a week, it was a special night. I would turn off my phone, get into something comfortable, and curl up with some wine, and wait for him to arrive," she said. "I would be enamoured by my O'neil's tales of valour and action against his foes." She said wistfully.

"But now... I fear he goes on without me. Forever traversing the stars, fighting evil and bringing peace to those worlds who were enslaved by worms... I can hope he can one day find peace, and be able to spend his days doing what he loves."  

"Which is?" Gauthier asked. 

"Fishing!" She said with a smile. "He could just sit there, all day and fish in his pond, a soul at rest after a job well done." 

"HE NEVER CATCHES ANYTHING" Rosie shouted over her shoulder. "NOT ONCE! He's a lousy fisherman!" 

"IT'S ABOUT FISHING!... NOT CATCHING!" Erin shouted over her shoulder back. She turned back to Gauthier and chuckled. "Sorry. We like to banter. I never liked working in a stuffy environment." 

"So... what about this portal?" Gauthier asked, steering the conversation back on track. Erin's smile faltered, and she fumbled with some parchments. She handed him a flyer. 

Seeking adventurers for fame and glory!

A groundbreaking discovery has rocked the town of Terris, as it was revealed to us that the research into connecting to the realms has successfully connected. 

Now, the call goes out to everyone. The council has established a new branch of government, the Explorer's Guild. 

The Explorer's Guild shall start open recruitments. Our goal is to explore the realms we can connect to and find a suitable and sustainable location to escape from Ard'Vanwa. 

If you have any skills with a bow or sword, have any experience with magic, traversing various wildernesses, and speak many languages, then Terris Burg needs you!

Sign up and enjoy exclusive guild bonuses and benefits! Free room and board for those who participate...

It continued on, but was marked over with corrections... it seemed to be a rough draft of a notice she's about to post. 

"I needed to know because you clearly have the skills to handle unique situations. We are used to handling newcomers. We have traps and stations set up all over the forest in order to catch wanderers and put them somewhere safe till we can get to them." 

"We're professionals here, and we understand people are different." She continued. "That's a natural talent, and something that would be a great asset to us. Don't think of us as a government body, since I made it clear to the city council, that this will be an independent operation."

"I am running the show." She said, deadpan. "And I have the final word in anything that happens here."  

"If you leave here, and go work at the smithy, you will have to follow the City Council's rules." She said. "It may seem nice and pristine, but our community is a little... different." 

"Understand, there is no water springs, no crops, no fishing, no hunting... nothing natural." Erin pointed to the map. "This lake is created with a scavenged scroll we recovered... a limited wish spell." 

Gauthier was amazed at the power of that kind of magic! a simple scroll could create that?

"One of the displaced had hoarded the scroll," Erin said dryly. "He was living with us for over a decade... and had that in his possession... just in case he needed it. Since the few clerics who got in contact with a deity was providing enough water for the town... but, those clerics could only produce that miracle once a day, and it was draining on them." 

"Desperate, we sent out dozens of our friends into the woods to find something... anything... and we did," she said. "A scroll of locating magic."

"Weeks went by as to how we could use this," Erin said, taking a sip from her cup. "No one knew how strong a scroll would be, or if it would even work here." 

"So," Erin continued. "They voted and determined that the magic scroll was something that was expendable, and a great way to test how magical scrolls would work." 

"Understand," Lonny interjected. "Until we found that scroll, the only magic we had was what we had memorized, and written down using material we crafted from scavenged works here. Parchment is easily made, but, we have never used a scroll that was displaced before." 

"So, in the interest of science," Erin said with a chuckle. "We cast the scroll, to see what happened."

"The magic led us to that man's house, and under his floorboard," Erin said grimly. "He broke the most sacred rule of the city." 

"Hoarding?" Gauthier asked. "I mean, those were his scrolls..."

"No," She said. "That was never the point." 

"We're all stuck here together, this city is founded on mutual respect and understanding. The council is made up of representatives of various communities and tensions between those factions are always a hairs breath from breaking." Erin said. "So, what rule did he break?" 

"Trust," Gauthier said. 

"Exactly," Erin confirmed. "We need to be aware of our capabilities at all times. There is no law here, no government, no gods... just us, the forest, and Terry." 

"There is no one coming for us." She said. "The only thing we demand when you stay with us is trust and honesty." 

"What happened to the guy? the one with the scrolls?" Gauthier asked.

"He went for a jog with Terry." She said. "The council has changed a few times since then. We were desperate and all of us have done things that are regrettable at the time." 

"I see," Gauthier said. "And what's the point of that rather macabre story?" 

"That is who your governing authority will be," she said. "Or, you can join the Explorer's Guild." 

"We are purely autonomous from the Council," Erin explained. "Any and all staff and sub-contractors are under the exclusive protection of the Explorer's Guild and do not fall under the Council's jurisdiction. Should anyone have an issue with a guild member, I or one of my staff will handle the situation, and will meet with you to discuss the results." 

"Why would you do that?" Gauthier asked he'd never heard of any employer going out of their way to protect a worker like this. 

"It takes a special person, a person who is brave when up against impossible odds. Sometimes, those people may not truly understand the finer points of social etiquette." She said. "And I, for one, think they shouldn't be penalized on not remembering which fork goes to were... or if you have a hard time understanding the function of a door. A person is good at what they are good at! You don't take the fastest swimming fish and yell at it because it can't fly."

"This... is absolutely insane." She said all pleasantries fell from her face. "I want you to know we understand how dangerous this can be. Every time you go through the portal, you're risking your life." 

"The best way to describe what I'm asking for is adventurers. People who can survive against impossible odds, who are witty, able to think on their feet, can work in a team and can... tolerate his co-workers." 

"I'm just a runt who ran the bellows for a smith for five years..." he said glumly, "But, I can handle a lot." 

"That's what I expected to hear." She said with a grin. "Would you like to sign up?" 

Before Gauthier could say anything the dwarf lady, who he just noticed had a full beard, hefted him up from his chair and dragged him to a set of weights, numbered from three to eighteen.

Rosie had parchment and ink ready at a table. Gauthier looked confused. 

"Grab a weight, and see if you can pick it up," Ruthie said and hefted up the hand weight numbered seventeen. "See? Easy!" 

Gauthier started with the number seventeen, and couldn't even lift it. He moved down the line till he reached number eleven and was able to hoist it up with a struggle using both hands. 

"Eleven Strength!" Ruthie shouted.

Lonny pulled him away from the weights and sat him in front of a small stack of papers. Each one contained a riddle or puzzle.

"Try and puzzle out as many as you can. Take as long as you need." Lonnie said and watched curiously as Gauthier worked his way through all the papers. 

Lonnie took a moment to go over his work and nodded. 

"Seventeen is correct." He said, and Rosie made a notation. Lonnie pulled out another book and started reading from it. Rosie poised to notate. 

"You walk down an alleyway and spot a pink kobold speaking to a gnome about knitting techniques..." 

"Pink?" 

"Three red dragons and a brown dwarf are playing a game of Old Hag..." 

"What's a dwarf doing with red dragons?" Gauthier asked, and Lonnie changed the question as if his questions were the answer. 

After what felt like an eternity of insane garbled nonsense, the questions stopped. 

"Wisdom Score is 16," Lonnie said, and Rosie jotted it down. 

Gauthier stood up to stretch and was pushed over to a set of stairs. At first glance, it looked like it went to the next floor. When he stood in front of it, he noticed the steps were progressively tinier and tinier the further up he got, and there were no handrails to one side.

"Go up as high as you can," Erin said. "One step at a time. If you touch the wall, then that's your score." 

Gauthier steadied himself and proceeded to climb the stairs, the space between them was large enough for him to fall through, and there were heavy pillows to soften his fall.

He did better than he thought and went up to sixteen steps. The last few were as thin as a washing pole, and he lost his balance.

"Dexterity Score: Sixteen!" Ruthie shouted. Rosie made the notation.

Gauthier felt battered, bruised, and famished. They helped him back to a table that was covered in pies, with Rosie sitting across from him. 

"Next is your constitution check," Erin said. "Primrose... was feeling left out, so we let her come up with this test." 

"Ya eat pie!" She said excitedly. "But you have to race me. The number of pies completed is your score!" 

"Then... why do I have to race against you?" Gauthier asked, looking at the obscene number in front of him.

"Think of it as a time limit," Erin said with a chuckle. "No one expects you to beat Rosie when it comes to pie eating." 

He couldn't believe his eyes at how fast the halfling was putting away pies. He could barely keep up and felt quite ill after 8 pies.

"Ya okay there, bud?" Erin asked. He nodded but felt bloated. She handed him a sheet of paper with his scores, and the last score was already filled in.

"There's no Charisma test?" he asked confused. 

"No, we have a system, and it's a secret!" Primrose said with a wink and pulled an unfinished pie to her and continued to eat. 

Gauthier shook his head, his arms still burned from the weights, his stomach was full of pie, he had never eaten this much in his life, so he was feeling heavy and sleepy. Then Lonny sat down across from him and continued to ask questions, 

"Have you had any magical training? Can you cast any magical spells? Do you have any scrolls or scroll making materials on hand? Do you own a spellbook? Do you have any spells memorized beyond level 3?" 

"Lonny!" Erin snapped. "let the boy answer..." 

"Umm... never thought about spells or magic. I just like swords and smithing. I love the feel and shape of them, they are pure and have no hidden goals or agendas. A sword is thought to be evil or good, but that's the wielder. They're forcing their will upon that sword... but never knowing or understanding how it was born to this world. People view weapons as tools to be used, but never respected or truly seen." 

Erin, Lonny, Rosie, and Ruthie had stopped what they were doing and stared at Gauthier while he spoke, Rosie sniffled and wiped a tear away.

Gauthier stopped and listened. He could hear sobbing. 

Why did you have to say that?! You're making this worse on me now!

Gauthier stood up from the table and wandered away, almost in a trance. Primrose was about to say something when Erin held up her hand to silence her, Primrose covered her mouth to keep from blurting something out.

Gauthier followed the hushed sobs to a barrel filled with swords, maces and other gear. He knelt down and pulled out all the weapons, slowly inspecting each one, feeling the craftsmanship and the heart of the smith of each one. 

All of them were happy and content, except one. 

It was a nondescript shortsword. He pulled it from the shieth and Primrose and Ruthie let out a gasp. Lonnie lunged forward, but Erin put her hand out to stop him and put her finger to her lips. 

"Do you see something about that blade?" Erin asked and approached slowly, moving into his field of vision. "As a guild member, we offer a stipend, free room and board, and access to a guild shop... There is a hundred and thirty GP sign-on bonus that can be used in our requisitions department... er guild shop." 

Gauthier held the blade, his mind fixated on it. the craftsmanship was exceptional and beyond anything, he's seen. 

It was rusty in parts, and anyone who glances at it would think it was a normal sword, but, the detailing and trim work indicates a master's hand. The blade was in pain, he could feel it by holding her.

Erin knelt down and rested her hand on his shoulder. 

"Why don't I let you sleep on it. You can take the sword in good faith. It's not safe, even if it looks it, and everyone should be armed at all times. Consider it a welcome gift, wether you decide to join or not." 

All Gauthier could do was nod. Ruthie and Lonnie help him up and guide him, hugging his sword, back to his guest room.