Creatures of Magic

Waking up

I woke up to the smell of something...odd. I opened my eyes slowly, allowing my eyes to adjust to the light. From what I could tell I was laying on my back in a lush autumn forest, and it was around mid-day. As for how long I had been out, I had no idea.

Without moving I looked around, suspiciously surveying my surroundings.

Trees, trees, trees, bushes, birds, trees, and... Miran. The events of the other night slowly came back to me, like a fog being lifted. My suspicion slowly curdled into something darker.

Something hot, angry and unpleasant in the pit of my stomach started to stir. I felt my body temperature rise as I glared at the back of Miran's head. My thoughts turned dark and menacing, and it was as though a dark cloud had descended upon me.

I was furious. Prepare yourself for a world of pain Miran, I thought to myself, still glaring at the back of his head. As though he could hear my thoughts Miran gave a slight shiver and looked around with a slightly spooked look in his eyes. Not noticing me, he shook his head and returned to whatever it was he was doing.

I tried to get up while his back was turned, but found that my hands and feet were bound, and from my position there was no way to get up silently without using my hands. I gave an internal growl of frustration. Then an idea came to me.

I wiggled my arms slightly, and an evil grin slowly spread across my face.

That idiot.

He forgot to search me for weapons.

With silent, carefully calculated movements, I managed to wriggle the dagger from my arm sheath and into my hands. With a quick tugging motion the ropes that bound my hands fell away. I flexed my hands, a plan forming in my mind. While Miran's back was still turned I cut the ropes around my feet, but left them in the same position, with the cut hidden from view, so he wouldn't know that I was awake, or that I had escaped.

I closed my eyes and resumed the facade that I was unconscious.

I fought to relax my body as I heard foot steps coming closer. I waited until they passed me before rising up silently. I dropped to the ground and kicked out with my leg, taking his legs out from under him and sending him sprawling to the ground.

I leaped into the air but landed on  nothing as he recovered quickly a rolled out of the way. I jumped up only to narrowly avoid a kick aimed at my back. I feinted right then went left ducking under his guard and landing a few well placed punched before he blocked and quickly returned with a roundhouse kick that I just barely blocked.

I went to feint again but was caught by surprise when he tackled me, and we both went flying into the ground, me on my stomachs and him on my back.

"Would you just...!" He started, but was cut short as I heaved up wards and used that momentum to fling him off my back and in a flurry of well placed pinches and kicks I threw him onto the ground. He tried to get up, but by that time I was already on top of him, pinning him down with a knife to his throat.

"What." I spat, "Would I just what?" I was practically hissing with venom.

He flinched.

"Let me explain..." He said slowly.

"Why should I?" I asked with mixed amounts of incredulous and anger in my voice.

"Because you have questions. And, you won't be able to get out of here without me." He said, some surety returning to his voice. I felt my muscles tense at that.

"What do you mean?"

"First," He started, but I cut him off.

"No." I pressed the knife close to his throat, "The only thing keeping you safe right now is my curiosity, but it won't last long. I suggest you tell me what I want to know when I want to know it before my patience wears out, or you may find yourself wishing you had. Also, if I get even the slightest suspicion that you're lying to me, you'll regret it." I said darkly.

The surety vanished from his eyes and was replaced by apprehension.

"Why did you say couldn't I leave here without you?"  I questioned.

"This," his eye's drifted around the clearing, "Is a pocket reality I created." In spite of myself I looked around the clearing.

"Only I, and others like me, can come and go, and take people in and out." I was no longer even looking at him.

"What's a pocket reality?" I asked, curiosity creeping into my voice.

"Its... um, its like a tiny little world, existing on its own, but also attached to another world. Sort of like a cloth had another piece of cloth sewn onto it. Separate, but attached."

"How do you get in and out?"

"Well, say you're on the earth plane when you create it. Its always there, floating around the earth plane, and as long as you are on the earth plane, you can connect to it."

"Floating around? I thought you said it was sewn on?"

"Well, yeah, but I was saying that for the sake of explaining it in a way that would make sense. It's complicated."      

" Explain."

"I can't."

"Try!" I said impatiently.

"Well..." He started, "Its like this. If you create a pocket  reality on the earth plane, you will always be able to access it on the earth plane. If your on another plane, its like it isn't even there at all. In the earth plane its always there. Everywhere. Its like a little piece of nowhere got turned into somewhere and now its stuck there."

"What if you created a pocket reality on another plane? Would the sane rules apply?"

"Yes, in fact, the spirit plane that I'm trying to find was once a mere pocket reality."

"But then, what happened to change it?" I asked.

"No one knows. Some say it gained so much power that it became an independent world. Others say it was always an independent world, we just never realized it."

I looked back at where he lay on the ground.

Wait. What?

When had I gotten up and started walking around? I don't remember that.

"When... How... Why am I walking around?" I said in absolute befuddlement.

He looked at me curiously.

"You don't remember?"

"Obviously not if I'm asking you!" I snapped. He raised his hands in a gesture of submission.

"Woah there, just a question."

"A bloody pointless question." I muttered.

He gave me a strange look before replying.

"Soon after you started asking me questions, you got up and started looking at everything."

"I... Really?" I asked.

"Mhm." He replied.

Weird. Really weird.

The sound of something bubbling caught my attention.

"What's that?" I asked, looking over to the large pot over  by a group of trees. Its what Miran had been standing over earlier.

"Lunch. Sort of." Miran said.

"Lunch?! It was night time, and... How long have I been out? Oh, and on that note, how did you knock me out?" I shot a dirty look at him,

"You are not forgiven for that, by the way."  He avoided my eyes and coughed nervously.

"So."I said, coming to stand in front of him, "What now?"

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Yes this is short.

Yes this has taken forever.

I'M SORRY.

I know, I'm terrible.

Something glitched and a few weeks ago, like, half of it got deleted and I really don't have the time to write it all again in time, so I'm posting this.

I'M SORRY.

DON'T HURT ME PLEASE.