Back at the treehouse (post item identification, hygiene potion, and boozy cider quaffing) three of us sat around in our little half kitchen half living room area as Dane grilled us some portabella steaks. Or at least they looked like portabellas. Mushrooms in the forest of Gene were surprisingly hearty and filling, and was the primary protein choice of the area.

  “What I’m saying is we can’t always trust clouds,” Dane was saying, while flipping a hunk of fungi on the hibachi looking grill.

  “I know what you’re saying. But what I’m saying is, that’s a weird way of explaining why you don’t like the beach,” Maleena said.

  “No, it’s not,” Benji said, defending the big man.

  "Yeah, if there are clouds… you expect rain? Right? But sometimes… nothing. Like they got shy or some shit,” You know what I’m saying, Benji.

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay but you guys have magic. Can’t you just—” I began.

  Maleena cut in, “There you go again with the you guys.”

  “Oh sorry, I mean you three,” I corrected.

  Maleena snorted, “No, that’s not what I’m… No what I was commenting on was the you guys part of that sentence. You have magic too, Greg. I saw you turn into a fucking Gazelle not too long ago.”

  “Right… Yeah. Third? Fourth? Day of having powers and I’m still not used to it. Where I’m from...”

  “Where is that again?” Benji cut into the beginning of my monologue.

  “Are we doing that right now? I thought we agreed, after lunch. I’m fucking starving and talking about a place, and the people, I may never get back to again isn’t exactly fun.”

  “But, why can’t you get back? If you need a ride, I’m sure we can figure something out between the four of us and Trelain is probably more than capable,” Benji, the practical one, said.

  “It’s not that. And I guess we’re doing this. Fine,” I took a deep breath and steeled myself, “It’s called Earth. Or did you mean the city? Probably the city. I’m from somewhere called San Francisco.”

  I could see Dane try the words on for size by mouthing ‘San Francisco’ and then he turned his head, “Never heard of it.”

  “Earth? Is that, like… south of here or….” Maleena said with a little smirk. The smartest of the bunch, she had probably already figured it out.

  “No…” I sighed, “It’s not south of here. It’s not any direction. I don’t even know where it is in relation to here.

  They just stared at me. Dane actually put his tongs down, turned around, and leaned over the table to do it.

  “Look, guys. I fell through a mirror; I landed naked in this forest. I almost got murdered by that Randall guy, and then Trelain had some things waiting for me in his treehouse. And now I can teleport and turn into a fucking gazelle, which is cool. I have lit myself on fire several times over, which is weird. And I can summon a big fucking sledgehammer,” I summoned the hammer for effect, and set it on the table.

  Then I continued, “None of those things are normal back home. I don’t even think home is in this universe. Everything is similar, but different. Like I don’t even know how I’m speaking the same language as you, I just am. The little quest giver thing in my mind led me here, and then it led me to the camp where we found… well… you know.” I trailed off.

  “Wait hold up. Quest giver?” Maleena asked.

  “I didn’t tell you about that? Right, no of course I didn’t,” I sighed, “Can we get to that in a minute? I’m stupidly hungry. Dane are those steaks about done?”

  The next thirty minutes were about the most awkward and slightly tedious ones I had spent with the three, yet. I explained the HUD, the achievements, the passives, and how I could read a skill book and acquire a new power immediately.

  I got a few dirty looks for that last one. I shared what my Disciplines were, how I got them from Trelain, and how the stockpile had seemingly disappeared the next day.

  I also told them that I was married, had a bunch of friends I missed dearly and had chosen the Mirror Discipline in hopes of getting strong enough to get back there one day. They, in turn, told me how rare that Discipline was and that no one had seen a book awarding the Mirror Discipline for a century.

  I was a little taken aback and went on to explain that I was currently on a quest to rehab Tre’s wards to make this area safe from interlopers once again.

  Dane was still confused about the quests, but dropped it after Benji likened it to doing jobs for the Hoarfrost Syndicate and how they got their own Discipline books. The room fell silent for a minute and then I spoke up, trying to gently change the subject.

  “So, in the interest of talking about me less. At least for a little while. I can answer more questions later. I just don’t super want to be dropping my whole backstory like we’re some DnD party on our first day.”

  Benji turned to Maleena and softly asked “What’s DnD?” When she shrugged and turned back to me with a raised eyebrow, I continued.

  “What Disciplines do ya’ll have? And if it’s not too… I donno… personal to ask, what are your power suites? I asked.

  Benji perked up, and immediately said, “Frost, Shock, and Light. But I’m sure you already figured that out. At least the first two. I’ve only got the three spells, right now. I didn’t hit Initiate until last week. But its Ice Shell, Lightning Bolt, and this passive from Light called Focal point. It helps me with targeting, basically focusing my vision and improving my aim. It’s how I was hitting those Ice Lances earlier. The Ice Shell, well... it can take some hits. But nothing like what that thing was swinging.”

  “Nice, I was wondering what that shield was. I donno, man, It blocked quite a few bites. No shame. You’ve all got Frost as one Discipline, right?” I asked.

  “That’s how they get you,” Dane droned. “They may kidnap, blackmail, or straight up traffic their way into their numbers… but hey! At least we have magic powers!” He said sarcastically, and then followed it up with. “Oh yeah and I’m a Tactician, Wrath, Frost combo. Been an Initiate for a little over five months now, same as Maleena. So right now I’m sitting with, what? Five out of eighteen? I’ve got the classic Ice Lance they set almost everyone up with, except Benji. Then from Tactician there’s Superior Position. Makes it so I’m wherever I’m most needed on the battlefield, according to my perception. It works kind of like a teleport. Also got the passive Alert. Still getting used to that one. But it plays into Superior Position well. Wrath is the go to strength based Discipline in this corner of the world. Makes me really, really strong. I can hit like a train when I want to. Wait, do you have those?”

  “Trains? Yeah,” I affirmed.

  “Right, well there’s that. Called Wrathful Strike. Also picked up the Tough Skin passive a few days ago. Haven’t had much cause to use it, and when there is I kind of forgot.”

  “Damn Dane, you don’t talk much. But when you do, you never shut up,” Maleena jested.

  “Shut up Leens,” he said sourly, but smiled.

  “Leens? I like it. Wait, why does she have all the nicknames? Braid, Leens?” I asked, joking a little.

  “She doesn’t. My name is Benjamin. Dane isn’t… well… Dane what is your name again? I forgot,” Benji clearly hadn’t forgotten, but Dane played along.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “…Danforth…” Dane mumbled.

  “Right. Dane is better,” I said, and then turned to Maleena, “What about you? I know you’ve got that Bolster spell because my HUD told me about it when you healed me. Which Domain is that from?”

  “Enhancement. That’s my only one from that Domain, but I’ve got my eye on one if I ever make it back home. There’s this noble that has a strongbox, and I could have sworn he had…”

  “Leens.” Benji nudged.

  “Right, sorry. Enhancement, Frost of course, and Cycle.” Maleena said.

  “Cycle? What—”

  “Like the cycle of life, I’d say. From what I’ve read and the spells I’ve picked up, it primarily focuses on the seasons of nature and internal control. Only got two from that Discipline right now. There’s my passive Circulate, which helps keep my blood pumping and gives me extra health and makes me harder to kill. I haven’t had the displeasure of experiencing it of course, but they say a proper adherent in Cycle with Circulate can avoid bleeding out entirely. Complete control of your own blood. Then there’s the spell Stamina Harvest which lets me steal endurance and keeps me up and fighting longer. Bolster, you know. Your run of the mill triage, off-heal. It comes in handy,” Maleena said.

  “Sure did,” I agreed.

  She smiled, “Right. There’s also Windsheer from the Frost Domain. And of course, Ice Lance, the Hoarfrost favorite. I swear they horde those skill books…”

  “So you’ve got five? One more than me,” I said.

  “Yeah, I wish I had a surrogate rich uncle with legendary Discipline books…” she said, half teasing.

  “Believe me, I’m literally from another planet and I have an inkling of how lucky I’ve been. Though I’d rather not get in a powerless naked death match again,” I said, looking down at my hands, “My balls still hurt from the pinecones. I mean, they don’t actually. But the memory… ugh…”

  “Anyway,” Maleena said drawing out the ‘way’.

  “Sorry, right. So, we’ve all got these semi new powers. Trelain has a quest for me. Ya’ll just helped me finish the first part of it. And now that I’ve heard your power suites, I’ve got something for you, Dane.”

  I pulled out the bracers.

  Dead Wrath [Offensive] [Bracers] [Uncommon] Exponential item (see glossary for more details). When equipped, spells that require a physical condition (ie: throwing, swinging, punching) will hit for double the potential damage once every six hits.

  “These seem like they were made for you, honestly. And I know, I know I should be giving something to you Benji. I’m sorry. I really fucked up with that whole burying thing. But I think this will really help, and you seem like a guy that would appreciate a thoughtful gift over an obligatory one. But, next time my looting power gives me something magic and range based, it’s going to you,” I said.

  “You really don’t have to do that,” Benji said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

  “I do, though. Maybe it’s self serving. But please let me just… Let me make amends. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you. I’m really fucking sorry.”

  “So… are these for me or for Benji?” Dane said, accepting the bracers with a confused look on his face.

  “You!” Maleena said, hitting him softly on the shoulder, “Weren’t ya listening?”

  “I was… That’s the problem,” Dane mumbled, mock soothing his battered shoulder and giving Maleena a look.

  “So? Does that mean you’re coming with me for the next couple of quests… err… errands? Which is less cringey?” I asked, eyes falling on Benji.

  “I like quests!” He said, eyes bright.

  “Right. So, shall we party up? Get Tre’s forest back to it’s defenses at the very least. We can decide what to do or if we’re going on our separate ways from there. But, again, ya’ll are welcome to stay for a while,” I said.

  “I think we can stay for a bit. Get some more items like this,” Dane said, looking down at his new bracers, “Seems worth it.”

  “I’d like to see where this is all going, and it’s not exactly like we have anywhere else to go right now,” Maleena agreed.

  “I mean, I should get back home. But not if it’s going to bring Hoarfrost down on my village. I guess we’re staying for a while. At least until we get Trelain’s forest secured. Then we can reevaluate,” Benji chimed in.

  “Agreed,” Dane said.

  “Secure the forest, get some more items, maybe power up a skill or two. I’m in,” Maleena said.

  Before they could discuss whether to join me on my quest any further, my HUD popped up with semitranslucent text.

  Party Invites Sent!

  A second later, the three were looking at me with confusion on their faces. It was Maleena who spoke up for the group.

  “Greg… what the fu—“

  Congratulations! New party formed! Party members get access to Party leader’s quest system, mini map, voice chat, battle log, looting/reward power, and may view each other’s inventories and character sheets.

  Party members will have access to a truncated version of Party Leader’s dimensional inventory management system (current carrying capacity per member: 0/20).

  Party will stay grouped and have access to the aforementioned perks as long as Party leader is within a mile of the group, conscious, or otherwise not incapacitated.

  “Is this what it’s been like for you the whole time?” Dane said, swiping at something in his field of view.

  “Pretty much. Though you can minimize stuff. The battle log shit gets really fucking annoying. But hey, maybe now I can read more into how your spells and items work,” I said, beginning to look into one of Dane’s spells that I didn’t understand.

  “Wait, our powers are written down in here?!” Benji got excited, and his eyes glazed over as he, too, started reading.

  I checked the most common spell between them, first. Wanting to understand the mechanics of their spells in case we ran into more gigantic corpse monsters out in the wild while looking for the Ward ingredients.

  Ice Lance [Active] [Elemental/Destruction Spell] [Domain: Frost] Conjure and shoot a hunk of ice, shaped to your will, at a target. Piercing, Frost damage. Ignores invulnerability (Mana cost: low).

  Moving beyond the shared spell between Maleena and Dane, I turned to the rest of Maleena’s spells. The three were all engrossed with their own discovery of the HUD and were reading as well. Except I think Dane was reading something in his inventory… probably checking out his new bracers. I looked at the next Frost Domain spell on Maleena’s list.

  Windsheer: [Active] [Elemental/Destruction Spell] [Domain: Frost] Emit a freezing gust of wind, Knock back and cold damage (Mana cost: low).

  I finished out the list, finally getting my eyes on Maleena’s spells in the Cycle and Enhancement Domains.

  Bolster: [Active] [Defense/Healing Spell] [Domain: Enhancement] Improve or fortify a physical aspect of target ally. (ex: bolstered low health will be brought back to stability) (mana cost: varies).

  Circulate: [Passive] [Domain: Cycle] Control all aspects of your circulatory system. You cannot bleed out, be the target of any blood loss spells or abilities, and have increased health regeneration.

  Stamina Harvest: [Active] [Drain/Defense Spell] [Domain: Cycle] Drain and absorb target’s stamina, reducing their endurance and speed. Can use to bolster your own stamina over time or can be redirected for an overcharged physical attack (Mana cost: low).

  I turned my attention to Dane’s spells. With his one Frost Domain spell, Ice Lance already studied, I started with his Tactician Domain.

  Superior Position: [Active] [Reaction Spell] [Domain: Tactician] While active, appear immediately in the most advantageous location on the battlefield. Role dependent. Enhanced by perception powers. (Mana cost: moderate).

  Alert: [Passive] [Domain: Tactician] Your perception is greatly improved. Your fundamental understanding of battlefield tactics and positioning is greatly improved. You cannot be surprised or snuck up on. (Mana cost: none).

  Both powers seemed extremely helpful for group dynamics and battlefield awareness. I didn’t understand much about positioning, let alone combat. So seeing someone in my newly found party had a handle on fighting smarter comforted me, greatly. I moved on to read about his Wrath Domain spells.

  Wrathful Strike: [Active] [Physical] [Domain: Wrath] Strike out with extreme force, greatly improving physical strikes (Mana cost: low).

  Well I don’t know what I was expecting, but that one seemed pretty straightforward. I read on.

  Tough Skin: [Passive] [Domain: Wrath] Your durability is greatly improved. Resistant to piercing, slashing damage from a similar power level. Your bones cannot be broken by non-magical means. (Mana cost: none).

  And that’s when I found out that Dane was essentially Superman. I idly wondered if guns were a thing here, and if he was faster than a speeding bullet. No I didn’t. But you get my point, right?

  I moved on to Benji’s power suite, the least built out of the party. His Frost Domain spell was the most unique.

  Ice Shell: [Active] [Elemental/Defense Spell] [Domain: Frost] Create a protective frost barrier over yourself, invulnerable to frost damage, semi-resistant to normal attacks, breaks if too much force or damage is soaked (Mana cost: moderate).

  His Shock Domain showed as having only one spell, and it was one I had seen a lot of within the past few days.

  Lightning Bolt: [Active] [Elemental/Destruction Spell] [Domain: Shock] Hurl a bolt of lightning at a target. Shock damage. Increased damage to targets that are wet or wearing Armor (Mana cost: Low).

  Benji’s one Light Spell wasn’t what I expected from the naming schema. I’d have sooner thought he’d have something like Blinding Light or Moonfire. Instead, it looked more like a perception skill.

  Focal Point: [Passive] [Domain: Light] Enhances targeting ability, guaranteed critical hits with 20% of ranged attacks (Mana cost: none).

  A few minutes turned into ten, and ten turned into a half an hour. Some of the leftovers had gotten cold, and I had just gotten up to refill my plate when I saw that Benji had his head in his hands. At first I misunderstood the smaller man’s posture for grief over his fallen cousins. But then he looked up at me with wild eyes. Wild, but excited.

  “Greg… this changes everything.”