Chapter Text
…
You have a strange feeling to look outside your window.
……
You get out of bed.
………
You look outside.
.
.
.
The sky was bright blue, birds flying through it. It was nice. Sam smiles a bit, it was nice to get some sun. Sam should probably start his day. He turns around and-
Where.
Where the HELL was he.
There was grass beneath his feet, and trees scattered around. Was Sam dreaming? He had to be. Surely the pinch to wake up thing didn't actually work. Ow. Yeah it definitely didn't work.
“Hello?"
Sam spins around towards the voice. At first he doesn't see it, and then…
An eye. A bright blue eye embedded within the hole of a tree.
Cautiously, Sam steps forward. “Was that you?" he asked.
“Who else?" the eye replies.
“... Who are you?"
The eye chuckles somehow. “I'm Sybil,” more eyes sprout within the trees, “You certainly look odd."
Sam tenses. “I could say the same for you."
“Rude." she squints at him. “You're not from here, are you? I think…” Sybil pauses, “I don't know why, but I remember something about this.”
“Well I'm definitely not from here.” Sam chuckles nervously.
“... There's a village not far from here. Go get your bearings there. There… There will be someone who can help. I think… “ Sybil’s voice sounded strained and almost whispery.
“Are you ok?”
“Fine. The village is that way.” Sybil looks right of Sam. "My eyes will appear in the way you must go.”
Sam nods, following the eyes.
Just as he was told, there was a village. Once he walked in, Sybil had disappeared. Maybe she was limited to the trees? Sam shrugs. He still wasn't entirely convinced this wasn't a dream. While walking through, he kept getting looks. It wasn't shocking, considering that he looked much different from anyone else. Pretty much everyone in the village seemed to be wearing things straight out of M&W. Sam stuck out like a sore thumb.
Ok, even if this was a dream, Sam knew he'd need a place to stay. All he had to do was find a hotel, or inn. Whatever it was called here. Sam glances around, spotting someone incredibly tall in dark blue robes.
That guy should be able to help, hopefully. Sam walks over to the tall person.
“Hey, is there a hotel somewhere here?”
The person jolts at Sam’s voice. "Oh! Hello there. Who are you?"
“Sam. I just need a place to stay the night."
“I'm Aster. If you’re looking for an inn I do believe the tavern doubles as an inn. Although they charge a ludicrous amount.”
Sam groans. He didn't have shit. “Ok. Great." benches it was.
“I can pay, if you need."
What.
“Im a teacher at a local academy,” Aster explains, “they pay me well, I can spare some gold."
“You're sure?"
Aster nods. “In return, you could help me with something.
And there it was.
“What is it?”
“My colleagues and I have been searching for artifacts. If you could assist us in locating them it would be greatly appreciated!”
“... Ok?”
“Wonderful! Come, I'll show you to the inn. Tomorrow we can speak on these artifacts.”
And like that, Aster was off with Sam struggling to follow behind.
Aster was… Nice enough. A bit enthusiastic but whatever. Hopefully Sam could get some money out of this. A place to rest his head was already good of course but Sam had been through this before. A strangers kindness could only go so far before it all fell flat. Sam knew that incredibly well.
He knew he would have to get more money out of Aster, which sucked. Aster was nice and Sam didn't exactly want to swindle him. But you get nowhere without money. Sam sighed, lying in bed.
The inn was nice, at least. Unfortunately the walls were horrifically thin. Sam struggled to fall asleep, hearing every other noise of every other person in the inn. There was a baby crying on one side, and on the other was the sound of a knife being sharpened.
“Sam."
“GAH-!” Sam nearly fell out of bed. He scrambles back to stability and looks over at Sybil. Sybil had sprouted within the cracks of the walls this time.
“Nice to see you too. Listen, Sam. I think its very clear you're not from this place. Some sort of different dimension situation I think. So, I figured I could keep an eye on you. Or,” eyes sprout within the other walls. “eyes, I suppose.”
God that was freaky. "Can you do that anywhere?” Sam asks.
“Pretty much.”
“cool.”
“Well, go get some rest. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”
That is if this isn't a dream, Sam silently adds. He really hoped this was a dream.
Sam rolls over in the bed, closing his eyes and doing his best to fall asleep.
—
“Well of course I'd pay you! You are doing a questwork after all. It’d be criminal not to.” Aster laughed over his tea.
it was good to know that Aster would be paying him, Sam really needed that money. Plus this was already infinitely better than minimum wage. Although that wasn't a hard bar to cross. Is minimum wage even a thing here?
“So… Those artifacts?"
“Right! Of course, yes, the artifacts. Unfortunately we do not know exactly what they are at this moment. The four of us have each been given a vision of the artifact we need. For myself, I have it written down here," Aster rummages through his bag and grabs a piece of paper, “It was that of this shimmering liquid pouring from a dark tube. While I could not catch the liquid myself, a spider had spun a web that had encaptured the liquid." Aster gives the paper to Sam. “I do hope that a fresh pair of eyes will help to decipher this.”
Sam reads the paper, just the same thing just described to him. He didn't understand it for shit. “I'm not exactly good at puzzle solving."
“Bah, that is not necessary. I have a feeling that it will come to you in time. For now,” Aster passes Sam some gold, "retrieve yourself some proper adventurers gear.”
Oh right. Clothes. "Thanks, man.”
Sam and Aster said their goodbyes and Sam quickly made his way to the first clothing store he could find. He knew he'd need more clothes anyways so this was a nice headstart. Sam got himself three outfits, making sure to leave gold to spare incase of emergency. Or general spending. He still had no real grasp on the economy here.
Well, it was whatever. Sam had proper clothes for this place that definitely wasn't a dream at this point. Thank God. Now he just needed to get set up in his inn room. As he folded the clothes into the dresser, he heard clattering and a scream from outside. For some reason, Sam checked it out.
He saw a small scaled man with rows of teeth covering one of his arms. Blood coated some of the teeth, and the blood’s source just barely scrambled down the stairs. Sam stood outside his door, staring at the scene before him until-
The man snapped his gaze to Sam. Shit. As the man charged him, Sam punched him in the jaw(?). The man seemed to stumble back in surprise.
Then, he grins. He attacks again. Sam attacks back. The man attacks. Sam attacks. Again and again until the man falls to the ground. He doesn't get back up.
Sam stands there. Staring at the man. He was… He was alive, right? He had to be. He had to be alive. Surely Sam didn't. He couldn't.
A baby’s crying echoed from an open door to what Sam assumed was the man’s room. Steeling himself, Sam walked inside.