The elder sat on the ground as he looked to the courtyard in front of him. Inside what remained of the magical circle was a single floor house. It did not look like the typical cottage, it was strangely designed. It barely fits in the center of the large space. it looked like it was made of smooth stone the color of parchment. On the roof sat red brick tiles in the shape of interlinked semi-circles, and covering the tiles were metal frames that held aloft black windows angled in such a way to not be used as windows. He could see that the edging of the house was made from a dense wood, the windows were too large and clear. He could also hear someone stirring in the house.

The elder got up and dusted himself off and wondered where the entryway was.

Then a door opened, and he realized how obvious it was, he had assumed the rectangle stained glass window framed in the wood was just a window.  

From the door stepped out a massive human, they were at least a full head taller than your normal human, and where slightly taller than his people. It held a rectangle object which had a small white light in its hand. In its other hand, it had a metal tool that looked like a small pair of plyers.  On its back, it had a metal staff strapped against their back. To its side, it had a sheath holding a strange metal device on their side.

They stepped out of the house. They knew they had to check that the gas mains were off. They also had to check the house for risks. A strong earthquake could cause damage which would end up causing the house to become like a bomb if the gas was leaking. They didn’t notice that they were in a courtyard of an ancient keep, nor did they notice the group of people in robes staring as they walked the perimeter of the house to the gas shut off valve. The gas main auto shut off was not triggered, so they closed the valve manually and sighed with relief, hopefully, the house won’t blow up now. They would have to open all the windows and find their camping gear and sleeping bag. They spoke out loud to no one “It looks like I’m camping outside until the house can be inspected.”

As they turned to head back to the house, they heard a voice calling out. They looked out to where the street should be. In front of them was an elderly man in an elaborate cosplay of a demon. They had bluish-white skin, black robes with magical stars and things, a colorful Rosicrucian cross around their neck, and devil style goat horns that looked glued to his forehead. To complete the look, he seemed to wear those heeled boots that made it look like he had goat legs. All in all, very good cosplay.  

They then noticed that instead of their neighbor’s house, there was a medieval-style tower. They stepped forward and looked around them carefully and saw the keep walls in which their house was sitting in the courtyard. This was the moment they realized they were not in the San Fernando Valley anymore, they wanted to make a Wizard of Oz joke, but decided this was way worse than the big one, and not anywhere as fun as the Wizard of Oz, plus they didn’t have a dog so talking to one seemed dumb.

The elder watched the person as they turned to face him, he noticed that he or she had female breasts and walked with a hunch. At the same time, its gate was masculine, the build was manly and from what he saw of the face it was a man’s face but cleanly shaven although the elder could see the shadow where a beard would grow. It was just the breasts that confused the look. Maybe he was suffering from a curse.