D20

-2-

It's been the better part of a week since Dredax appeared to you in that strange moment, and you've kind of settled into a sort of roommate habit with the massive bull. He's been taking care of you while you've been laid up, as walking has been painful, and though it was definitely an odd situation at the beginning, it felt as though it was somehow... normal now.

Those first few days, you spent some time getting to know one another, but overall it was mostly your getting to know him; you had a LOT of questions. But who wouldn't if a minotaur just... fell out of the sky and into your life?

He was very patient with you about the whole thing, answering pretty much any sort of question you could come up with. As it so happened, upon his arrival here, he'd been somehow gifted with just enough working knowledge of this world to not have the stereotypical 'oh my god, metal beasts' freak-out when he saw a car for the first time, as well as just general knowledge of the common sense of things, such as door locks and, oddly enough, appliances. Turns out he was a wizard in the kitchen.

The one thing he couldn't answer, however, was how he'd come to be in your world.

"I have no inkling of an idea, human."

You sit up in interest; that seemed weird. "Really? No idea at all?"

Dredax leans back against the couch from his relaxed position on the floor, his powerful form too large to fit on your meager furniture. He stares up at the ceiling, eyes unfocused.

"Before I came to be here, I... I was in my tent, near the Stormshard Castle. A perilous maelstrom had run my comrades and I down sometime after our encounter with your avatar, and continued to pursue us from that ruined place."

You remembered something in passing being said about Stormshard Castle somewhere before, but pay attention as Dredax continues.

"I remember hearing one of my comrades speaking of the unnatural color of the sky, and of the cursed land surrounding the Stormshard. Then an odd cry of frustration... and..." he trails off, face pinched. "Thunderous light, followed by a falling sensation, and then..." he looks down, eyes meeting your own. He smiles slightly, shaking his head. "I tripped."

You're silent for a bit, somewhat lost in the depth of his gaze. It takes the distant passing of a police siren to shake you from your trance, Dredax's eyes being drawn by the sound. Your mind spins with what he'd told you; while you'd hoped for something more enlightening, he didn't seem to have any idea what he was doing here, either. The mention of that fateful evening brings to mind something he'd said back then, and you figure now was as much of a good time to ask as any.

"Dredax?"

The bull turns toward you expectantly, brow raised slightly in question. You blink, trying to figure out how to phrase the question.

"That night we met... you said something about being manipulated," you say, and his expression darkens. "What did you mean by that?"

Dredax looks away, face a mask of concentration. While you wanted to know what he was thinking, you were loath to break his focus. After a moment, he gives you a brief, near-humorless smile.

"This will take some time to explain. Would you care for some tea?"

You nod, a bit taken aback, and he rises, horns just barely clearing the high ceilings without having to stoop. He heads to the kitchen, busying himself with the tea things. After setting the kettle on to boil, he sighs heavily.

"In this world," he begins, turning toward you, "you play a game. You create your avatar to represent you in the game world, and wander through it, meeting other characters, and occasionally, doing battle with various enemies, in pursuit of a goal of some sort."