Gnak

Sorry for the massive delay on the chapter. I should hopefully be back now with my usual semi-regular releases. Enjoy!

Seeing that none of the three knew of London, a feeling of despair started to bubble up inside of me.

"It's the capital of England. Off the coast of Europe. You know Europe right? America? Asia? Africa?" Recieving only blank looks of confusion and shakes of the head my mind whirled. "No. No..."

This is another world. I'm in another world.

The consequences of this raced through my mind as I thought of my family, my friends. Everything I had known gone. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to return to. It made me feel nauseous and I rested my head on my hands as my thoughts span.

Why? Why me? How the fuck did this happen?!

I tried as best I could to remember everything that happened, anything I could surrounding that blank space in my memory. Try as I might, nothing new came up, absolutely nothing of significance.

As I looked up at the dusky distance, a ray of hope shone on my thoughts.

Qubit has to have something to do with this.

Not only has it displayed an ability to store things by making them vanish, seemingly teleporting them, but has been apparently attached to me since I woke up. I had not thought too much of why it had my name listed in its menu, but that combined with the fact it cannot seem to stray too far from me means it has been clearly assigned to me. Why, how or by whom I had no clue but It being the only possession with me when I woke up in this world could mean it had transported me. Or perhaps it is here to help me, as it has been very useful so far. Maybe both. Either way, it is here with a purpose, and at the very least unlocking its secrets will give me a goal.

"Valerie?" Lucie's voice broke me from my thoughts. "Are you alright?"

I took a couple of deep breaths before I responded, but even then merely gave a slight nod, not trusting my voice to answer in kind.

"I just... need a moment."

"This sounds like bogus. Memory loss? I don't buy it. If you don't want to say something then don't rather than lie to our faces."

Despite everything, Tristan's jab elicited a faint smile upon my lips, thankfully hidden from view.

"Holy hell, how insensitive can you be?" Larry turned in his seat to face Tristan "Do you fancy yourself as an inquisitor, claiming to know the truth from the lie?"

"Don't tell me you fell for it and actually believe that half assed story. Are you playing the knight for the damsel in distress so you can bed her later?"

I was appalled at that comment, but definitely not as much as Larry who proceeded to get up and approach Tristan with a raised fist before getting intercepted by Lucie.

"No violence. He is injured enough as is." she then turned from Larry to Tristan. "But next time I won't intervene. So shut your mouth if you know what's good for you."

Relenting with the promise to get his chance next time, Larry returned to the reins and got us moving again.

In the silence that ensued, I did my best to come to terms that I might not see my friends and family for a long while, but every time they came up in my mind my chest tightened.

---

The sheep eventually departed from the road and into a pen, allowing us to finally return to our original pace. This, however, did not last long as we soon after arrived at our destination as the sunlight waned, finally giving me peace of mind and allowing me to take off the veil. It was a quiet, quaint village with nicer houses than the ones in the forest, although still in the same wooden style. In what seemed to be the village center we stopped at the only three story building I could see, from which light, music, voices and an aroma which was undoubtedly food but did not stir my appetite in the slightest. It was akin to smelling a flower, pleasant but not very appetizing.

"Seems quite full. They must be celebrating the end of the harvest." Larry commented as he maneuvered the cart to the adjacent horse stables.

As soon as the cart came to a stop, Lucie hopped off with a sack and Tristan followed soon after, albeit more slowly and likewise carrying what was most likely his personal belongings.

"We'll get the rooms sorted. Take care of Chestnut or we will start eating without you." Lucie said while giving the horse a quick pat before hurrying to get inside.

"How would you even know" Larry then turned to me. "Go with them. No need to stick around in the cold."

Only when he mentioned it did I remember it was meant to be cold at the moment, making me glad I probably would never have to worry about it again, save for keeping appearances that I did. I hopped off the cart as well and followed the other two, who were already opening the door to escape the cold.

I rushed along to catch up and my senses were assaulted as I stepped into and through the doorway. There was singing, cheering and a whole lot of other clamor as the patrons crowded the insides with plenty of drinks both in hand and littering the tables. It was also warm inside from a roaring fireplace and the bodyheat of the farmers, most of which also smelled of sweat, mixed with alcohol and food. It was also a little disorienting finally seeing so many people after days of being stranded but seeing them so joyous only made me feel more alone. This was more than just moving to a new country. I did not belong here. There was nothing I could connect over with the people here and had to walk on eggshells to keep me being a vampire a secret. Unless I could find someone I could be open about that with, I could not see myself making friends, and with magic being real I had no way of knowing how they would take it here.

I don't want to risk it with those three.

Pushing through the crowd we made our way to the bar and I hung back as Lucie sorted out the rooms with a raised voice to be heard. After paying the innkeeper she handed one of the keys to Tristan and then one to me.

"Figured it might be best if we each had our own rooms for the night. Let us cool down a bit. Luckily most of the people here are locals so they had space to spare but I doubt that will be the case in the next few days."

She then stepped behind me to hand Larry the final key, who had just entered with a sack of his own and was seemingly getting infected with the jovial mood around us as he scanned the room with a smile.

"Don't suppose we will find a place to sit. Eat upstairs and come back down for some celebratory drinks?"

"Knock yourself out. I'm way too..." Right on queue a yawn interrupts Lucie mid sentence. "...tired. I'll treat Valerie and then hit the hay."

"It's alright. I have my own food." I said as I patted my rucksack.

"Don't be like that. A warm meal will be good for you, in mind and body."

With a sigh I relented.

"Alright. Thanks. I'll pay you back when I can. For the room as well."

"Just forget about it, it really isn't a big deal. Food here can't be any more than a few Buckles and the room can be written off as a business expense."

"I just don't like owing people money. It bothers me and makes me feel guilty."

"Then pay for my meal next time if it makes you feel better. Now come on, I'm starving."

Lucie pulls me along as she steps up to the bar where Tristan was already ordering. It seemed like he had already placed our orders but I had no idea what they served here as I could not see any signs. Regardless of what it was, however, I doubted I would be able to stomach it and waited patiently until the innkeeper brought out four steaming bowls of what looked like vegetable stew and expertly poured an equal number of tankards.

I could drink water. I wonder if I can manage other liquids. I hope I won't be completely deprived of alcohol.

With food and drink in hand we left the din and clamour of the festivities behind via a staircase leading up the the rooms. After a second set leading up to the top floor we each found our rooms and with a brief exchange of good nights, broke off.

I was careful to let Qubit in before closing the door behind me and placing my dinner on the small table opposite the single bed. The room was rather narrow with a single window facing the back of the inn, a nightstand and a wooden chest at the foot of the bed.

I placed my rucksack in the empty chest and sat down on the bed. I watched the steam coming off of the stew for a few moments, taking in the solitude the room provided to try and relax myself a little bit. I could still dimmly hear what was happening downstairsand I turned my attention to the window. I opened the wooden shutters and looked out into the village.

Is this really another world? Is there any other possibility?

With that thought in mind, I turned around and grabbed the tankard, putting it to my lips and taking a drink before even smelling it. I quickly ended up sitting it right back out as it tasted rancid, leaving an aftertaste akin to that of puke.

Well, that answers that. No alcohol for me. Another shitty thing amongst a load of shit.

The stew surprisingly smelled quite pleasant in contrast and looking for something to rinse the taste our of my mouth, I filled up the wooden spoon with just the broth and gave it a taste test. At the very least it was not disgusting but I definitely would not go out of my way to eat it.

At least something I could eat in front of others without throwing up. I just hope it wouldn't upset my stomach.

"Qubit can you drain the contents so it seems like I ate and drank it? After that, it will be time for our favorite yes no game."

I observed Qubit's performance as both the bowl and tankard vanished, only to reapear looking exactly how I requested. I was honestly impressed with how well it understood what I wanted making me wonder if it could be the most advanced AI on Earth.

If it were still on Earth. What if it's alien technology. After everything so far, with magic and all that, would that even be far-fetched?

It was true that it could do things that I would have normally considered impossible, but the question was whether it was magical or technological in nature. Or perhaps both.

Was I abducted by aliens, given this cube and somehow dumped in a fantasy world?

It sounded like an absolutely absurd notion. I could not even fathom for what plausible reason that would even happen.

What could they even gain from this? Am I being watched on a gameshow and Qubit is the camera? I can't believe this is my prevailing theory.

I could not help but let out a chuckle at my entire thought process as I watched Qubit expectantly waiting for my questions.

"Did I get kidnapped by aliens, given you, and left stranded on a magic planet?"

I had no idea what sort of response I was expecting. I did not know what response I wanted. All I know is that when Qubit flashed twice, I was left speechless. And when the next screen came up, both my mind and body froze.

Higher Authorization Level Granted

Current Authorization Level: 4