Hannah and Esme were riding on the back of a caravan. They were confused, dirty, and hungry. But they had hope. Hope that this man would bring them to the nearest town. Esme looked at his back suspiciously.
"I don't think we can trust this guy, we should get off, what kind of man uses a caravan with horses nowadays?"
"Come on Esme, he's our only hope, it's either ride with him, or probably starve out there. You think I trust him? Of course not"
They were whispering, making sure that the man couldn't hear them.
''What if he's planning on selling us somewhere? I say we get off, right now, Hannah."
"Okay, wait, why don't we ask this guy where we are first, so we at least have a clue of what to do?"
But the man broke the silence first, but he kept looking ahead.
"So, you still didn't answer my question, what happened to you folks? Were you Goblin prisoners? I heard there was a small tribe around here in the woods."
Hannah and Esme looked at each other, having the same, stupefied expression on their face. Esme spoke first.
"Goblins? Do you mean Goblins like in video games?"
"'Scuse me, ma'am? Video game? Is that some sort of new game the nobility brought up?"
Hannah was about to speak up but Esme looked at her, eyes wide and put her hand on Hannah's mouth. Esme quickly replied with a short no, saying it was something private.
"Ah, well, I won't pry miss. What are your names''
Esme quickly replied
"I'm Sophia, this is Victoria, what about you, good sir?"
"The name's Auden. Auden Craul. I'm a small local [Trader], I travel between the towns 'round here, nice to meet you"
"Likewise, so, mister Auden, could you inform us about, what continent we're on?"
Auden looked back at them for the first time, looking baffled. He turned back, looking ahead at the road.
"Well, that's an unusual question right there, We're on Irasal, miss. Do you really not know?"
"No, I-I was just making sure, thank you."
Hannah and Esme looked at each other. Irasal. That continent didn't exist on Earth. Esme looked at Hannah and whispered.
"I think we're in another world."
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Auden was taken aback, he had never seen such ignorant people before. He had stopped when he had spotted the two women because they looked lost, and he was right. And now he was giving them a geography lesson.
"Yes, this is the third time I'm telling you this. There are five continents, Irasal, Aranea, Sahir, Draele and Kistror, We're in northern Irasal right now."
He heard the girls whisper amongst themselves again, but he couldn't make out their conversation. If they were so ignorant, they were either Drake or Lizardfolk prisoners that were born there and escaped through Mount Varlen. He sighed, hoping to get to Winsor soon. This was supposed to be a relaxing ride. He wanted to sell his luxurious goods to the richest of the city, and he was supposed to think of a strategy.
He was a level 19 [Trader], Winsor was the biggest city he was going to yet. He wanted to reach level 20 during his stay, and get a good skill. He heard one of the girls, Sophia, ask a question.
''So, could you tell us what country rules here, or if there are even any countries here?"
He sighed.
This was going to be a long day.
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Hannah saw stone walls rise on the horizon. She still couldn't believe what she had heard from the man.
They were in another world. How was that even possible? Her mind tried to make sense of the situation, but she was panicking. There was no going home now, was there?
She shook her head and looked at Esme. It looked like she was deep in thought too.
Auden had said that all humans on Irasal and Draele were ruled by one emperor. He was called Vitelius. The humans on Sahir used to be ruled by his ancestors too before they broke away. Okay. So they were going to this city called Winsor, which was apparently one of the biggest cities in the region. But what were they going to do once they were there? She'd have to speak to Esme about it, and soon.
The caravan reached the city walls, and they were stopped by two guards in armor.
"Halt. State your business in Winsor."
"Good day, I'm a [Trader], and, well, these two..."
Hannah saw Auden get off the carriage and speak privately to the Guards. Whatever he said worked, and they were in. The city was... big, it was a real city, not some backwater town Hannah expected. There was a proper paved road, proper buildings made of stones and bricks. The people looked caucasian, and most of them had brown hair. There were numerous alleys, but Auden stuck the main road. He stopped next to an inn, and put his horse in the stables.
"I told him you were my two apprentices so that they'd let me pass, hope you don't mind."
Esme intervened before Hannah could speak
"Oh, we don't mind at all, thank you, sir. Would you be so kind as to buy us a small meal? We're famished. We haven't eaten in two days."
"Sure thing, you can tell me about yourself too then, over a few drinks of course!"
Esme smiled and nodded. Hannah followed her lead, but she wanted to speak to Esme in private about coming up with a living plan. She entered the inn. It was called Winsor's gem. It was apparently the best inn in the city according to Auden.
They sat at a table in the corner of the inn and were given the menu. Hannah breathed a sigh of relief once she saw this world had similar food to theirs. Hannah ordered a simple steak with potatoes on the side, and right everyone took their order, Auden asked a question. The question Hannah feared the most
"So, miss Sophia, and miss Victoria, where are you from?"
Esme answered instantly while nudging Hannah under the table at the same time.
"To tell you the truth mister Auden, we don't remember, we just woke up in the forest one day, only remembering our names."
"Ah, I see, that's unusual but not unheard of. A memory erasure spell maybe? That seems the most likely. But only a powerful [Mage] could do that. They'd have to be at least level 50, and you don't see those every day"
And just like that, Auden had dropped a bomb on the two young women. Not only was magic a thing in this world, but there were also apparently levels too. Auden continued.
"You could look at your classes to try to guess what your job was before, I won't ask you what they are though."
"Yes, we did that earlier, thank you."
The food came, it tasted delicious. Auden didn't ask many questions after that. After a while, it was time to say goodbye. Hannah came forward first.
"Thank you so much, mister Auden. For everything."
"Yes, thank you, you helped us a lot."
"Pay it no mind, I'd always help a human in distress. You're lucky it was me who found you first though."
He pulled something out of his pocket and gave it to Esme.
"Here, one gold coin should last you a week, or even longer if you stay at a cheaper inn. I recommend trying to get to the adventurers guild. It's a bit deeper on the main street. You can start a few jobs there. And, well, if you're not into fighting, well you can always try and work at a store or at an inn with a lower level innkeeper that's hiring."
Auden left, shortly afterward, after renting a room in the inn for the night. The girls made sure the doors were locked.
Hannah started.
"Okay, this is the craziest damn world ever, what is this? levels?! magic?! Goblins?! If there are goblins, there must be other monsters too, like trolls or something!"
"Yes, this is insane, but there are shows and stories about this scenario. Anyways we need to get a job, or look for one at least, otherwise we're going to be homeless. Soon."
"Right, we should go to another inn tomorrow, this one is really expensive. I mean 14 silver coins per night? Really?! This [Innkeeper] better be god damn max level, if there's even a max level."
"Agreed. Second is, we need to find a library or a book somewhere in the city. A book about this world. The most important thing after money is information. And we clearly need more. Also, not a single word about our situation to anyone. If someone important found us, we'd be hunted for sure."
"You're right. But we had Auden right here, why didn't you ask him for more information then?"
"I don't trust him. Also, I came up with an amnesia excuse on the spot. Sorry."
"Why don't you trust him, he fed us, and gave us money too!"
"I just don't! He gave me a bad gut feeling. I only trust you, since you're the only one in this situation with me. We have to stick together. It's only us here. Us against the world."
"Yeah... you and me."
They talked deep into the night and made a plan. Tomorrow they would find the first inn that would hire them. The Adventurers Guild was off-limits. They wouldn't do anything that made them risk their lives. After they secured a job, and had a steady income. They would find a library and read about the world.
They didn't know tomorrow was going to turn into a disaster.
