((Book 1 if this is your first time here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZZBHBMF
Book 3's finished version:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK72L912))
As soon as I'm out of the door of the farmhouse, I rush to the door and push through it; hoping beyond hope that the son was alive. Why would they take him? How many more people are going to die because I was too slow? How many of those people on the poison island could have been saved had I gone out the week before like I had first wanted?
After I step out of the blackness between worlds, the ground clacks underneath my feet, and the horizon stretches far before me. As I step forward, I accidentally kick something that rolls hollowly across the ground as I step out of the door. I glance toward the noise and notice a skull that looks like a dog's skull. A dogman's skull? No. Its snout is much too long, and its eyes too far back. I slide the skull into my backpack. Perhaps, Nyt would be interested in it.
After I slide it into my bag, I look around further. More bones and more skulls lay scattered along the plateau. Embedded in the ground, colored tiles covered in red and brown smears, and petrified arrows. I climb the small building I had stepped out of, and look down upon it.
The mosaic paints the faded picture of a red fox, dressed in flowing robes of deep purples and blacks. Is that what the skull was from? It was a beautiful picture, and for a moment I wish I had brought a camera. Perhaps I should get one? Start a YouTube channel or something. I step to the end of this balcony and look around.
The fogwall climbs a steep cliff behind me that the house and mosaic plateau, and terminates at the very peak. The house itself overlooks a wide gorge, that dipped down toward a rushing river. Along the hillside, both on the descent and the ascent were hovels much like the one within the plains of the last dive. Stone roads and stone stairs cut through the slopes leading to wide streets that sprawled out to lead to a wider city beyond the fogwall. In the patches of green between these streets, wild fruit and vegetables grew in abundance.
At the highest peak across the gorge, there stood the faint outline of a large humanoid figure overlooking the valley; forever watching through the veil of fog.
"The Land of Giants, huh?"
I can see why.
Figures move along the streets. At this distance, I can't really make out what they are. They seemed too small to be minotaurs, yet their gaits reminded me of them. I slip into Shadow's form sneak down the side of the mountain, and approach one of these creatures, situated on a roof of one of the buildings. More features become obvious as I do so; pointed horns that jut out from their foreheads; cloven feet clacking around the stone. Tufts of brown fur adorned their bodies; bare torsos covered by woven cloths. First minotaurs, and now Satyrs? Did the creator of Efra take inspiration from Greek myth, or perhaps our worlds intertwined at some point in the distant past. Either would make sense; considering how closely the sentient life on this planet mimics animals on Earth. Then was the creator deity somehow connected to Earth? Or perhaps our creator was connected to Efra.
I set down on the roof that the satyr stands watch on, and shift into my human form. Now that I know that there are creatures on this world not loyal to Roki, I need to confirm whether or not these satyrs are; if I were to kill those working against him, it'd be a detriment to the human race and Earth. An ally is an ally, after all. I point my staff forward and whisper the incantation for Sleep.
"I welcome thee, o weary souls, into the domain of Caer Ibormeith. Let her whisk you away on billowing wings."
A cool wind rushes across the rooftop and sweeps aside the gathered dust. The satyr wobbles on its feet and falls over. I grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to the ground so he didn't fall off the roof. I pin its arms to the ground and set my knee on its chest to keep it in place. It's only then that I notice the talisman hanging around its neck; a dagger through a feline skull. Much like the talismans I had been tasked to destroy in the past. Well, I suppose that answers my question, so before the creature has a chance to wake up, I slide my dagger free from its sheathe, and jam it into the creature's throat until the gurgling stops.
I peer out over the gorge. The fogwall extends up the cliff face of the opposite side of the gorge and ends about halfway up. It was maybe about half a mile between here and there. Whereas, the fogwall on either side of me encompassed maybe 10 feet of width, leading to a long rectangle enclosed area.
There were, perhaps, fifty or so buildings closely gathered in this small section of what I could see through the thick fog, was part of a huge gorge that ran for miles in either direction. If I weren't in a hurry, I would take my time and search every single building for things, but for now, I'll rely on intuition. I wipe the blood off the dagger on my pants and slip it back into its sheathe.
At the bottom of the gorge was a rushing river that I could hear even at this distance. Over that river, there was a large, elaborate stone fort. White and red flags fly at the top of the two stone towers; one on either side of the river. If I were a commander, I would be there. I pull the talisman off the neck of the satyr and put it in my backpack. Perhaps the metal can be melted down into something useful. After that, I sit cross-legged on the top of the building, close my eyes, and chant the mantra for Far Sight, while focusing on the name, 'Paul,' as my subject.
My vision leaves me and blinks across the land; hovering over the gorge town, then to the river, and then to the fort. Once at the fort, my consciousness sinks into the stone walls of the lower floors, and then through the thick wooden floor. There, my mind stops inside a dungeon within the river fort. It sits at the bottom of the fort, and within it at least are different types of various animals there; cows, pigs, chickens, quail, a couple dogs, and a deer. Paul is a lanky kid; tall, thin, and awkward, and shares a cell with a large cow currently lying on the only straw bed within that cell.
I snap my consciousness back to my body and push myself up. My legs had fallen asleep, so I shook the buzzing out of them while I stretched out my back before climbing down the roof and beginning my descent.